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Dear all,

We are writing a book about Maniac Mansion that will be published at The University of Michigan Press in 2014. It would be very helpful for us to hear about your experience in adventure game, and especially Maniac Mansion.

The purpose of the Landmark video Games book series is to provide an interesting and accessible introduction to the most important video games. Insofar as video games are, along with novels and film, part of the nowadays cultural landscape. The series will be opened to all video games, no matter the genre and the platform. It will illuminate the games for a cultural approach and concentrate on the specific elements of the medium.

This interview is only for academic purposes. Here is the link to answer it (it will not take long).

Thanks a lot for your help!

Best,

Claire, Olivier, Sébastien

[DOWNLOAD WEBSITE]

DOWNLOAD WEBSITE

EXPLORE, DECIDE AND FACE THE CONSEQUENCES:

VIDEO GAMES ARE NOT A TRIVIAL MEDIUM OF EXPRESSION

An expressive game allows you to dive into someone else's life in order to explore his or her psychological / cultural / social problems. You can experience his or her ethical / moral dilemmas and face the consequences that occur of such situations.

Keys of a gamespace is part of this approach of video games, linked to the research of Sébastien Genvo on the expressive potential of game design. Just like cinema or comics, we think that video games in general are not a minor medium of expression. They can also deal with heavy or complex topics. For example, the following works have been sources of inspiration for our project : Mystic River, EraserHead, Twin Peaks (movies), A Town faraway, Black hole, American Splendor(comics).

In order to achieve its goals and in order to be accessible to everyone, our game is free.

Reviews :

PC GAMER: "an incredibly engaging, gorgeously presented and confidently delivered game."

JTM GAMES :"it will take you on an emotional, psychological, and ethical interactive journey that can only be experienced through the art of gaming."

Freeware Genius: "It's a rare gem in the world of retro gaming and I can honestly say I hope we see more games like it in the future."

The Daily Telegraph: One of the year's best free games, 2011

Gamespy: Gamespy's 101 Free PC games of 2012

Hope you enjoy the game, feedback is welcome!!

Sébastien.