Escape from Monster Manor

Escape from Monster Manor is a first-person shooter video game developed by Studio 3DO and published by Electronic Arts exclusively for the 3DO.

Escape from Monster Manor
Developer(s)Studio 3DO
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Producer(s)Stewart Bonn
Trip Hawkins
Programmer(s)Leo Schwab
Artist(s)Stefan Henry-Biskup
Composer(s)Robert Vieira
Platform(s)3DO
Release
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

The game was released as Virtual Horror: Norowarate Yakata[lower-alpha 1] in Japan.

Gameplay

Escape From Monster Manor is a first-person shooter where the player character explores a haunted mansion in a 3D environment, and must defeat spiders, ghosts, and other menaces to escape.[2]

The objective of the game is to collect pieces of a sacred talisman in each stage, then make it through twelve levels to the exit to escape. Rather than having a HUD, the player's health is visible as damage to the on-screen hand and the ammunition is listed as a bar on the gun sprite.

Development and release

The game's main developer was Leo Schwab.[3] A computing and programming prodigy, Schwab was best known for his Amiga screen hacks and animations during the mid-late 1980s[4] and for developing Disney Presents: The Animation Studio for Silent Software in 1990.[5][6] Schwab joined Electronic Arts head Trip Hawkins when the latter founded The 3DO Company for the release of the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer.[7] For Escape from Monster Manor, Schwab has cited Wolfenstein 3D as the chief inspiration for the game. After some months working on a different 3DO game, Schwab and his team abandoned that project and switched to the less ambitious Escape from Monster Manor so that they could have a demo to present at that year's Consumer Electronics Show.[8] The game's source code was released onto GitHub under the MIT License on August 7, 2022,[9] with an accompanying live stream on YouTube by original developer Leo Schwab.[10]

Reception

Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game a 6.75 out of 10, mentioning some minor issues with the control but overall recommending the game for its well-rendered graphics and genuinely creepy audio.[13] GamePro praised the game's frightening graphics and audio, nerve-wracking challenge, and strafing ability.[15] A review in Edge praised the "look and feel" of the game, but criticized the simplicity of the game design and gameplay. The game was compared unfavorably to DOOM and given a score of 5/10.[12] The game was reviewed in 1994 in Dragon #204 by Sandy Petersen in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Petersen gave the game 2 out of 5 stars.[2]

Notes
  1. Japanese: バーチャルホラー 〜呪われた館〜, Hepburn: Bācharu Horā ~Norowareta Yakata~, lit. Virtual Horror: Cursed House

References
  1. Famitsu staff (April 29, 1994). "新作ゲームクロスレビュー" [New Games Cross Review]. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin (in Japanese). No. 280. ASCII Corporation. p. 75.
  2. Petersen, Sandy (April 1994). "Eye of the Monitor – Escape from Monster Manor" (PDF). Dragon. No. 204. TSR, Inc. pp. 61–62. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  3. Matthews, Will (December 2013). "Ahead of its Time: A 3DO Retrospective". Retro Gamer. No. 122. Imagine Publishing. p. 26.
  4. Skelton, Mindy (March 1988). "Leo Schwab Is Just Having Fun". .info. No. 19. Info Publications Ltd. pp. 47–9. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  5. Schenck, Ben (March 1991). "Graphics". .info. No. 37. Info Publications Ltd. pp. 20–3. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  6. Means, Ben and Jean (December 1990). "Interview with Leo Schwab, Creator of Disney's The Animation Studio". Compute!. No. 124. ABC Publishing. p. A8. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  7. Times Roman (April 1994). "The Outside World". Amiga News. Vol. 2, no. 3. Portable Computing International. p. 8. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  8. Schwab, Leo (September 24, 2012). Let's Play – Monster Manor, YouTube. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  9. Escape from Monster Manor - GitHub
  10. Schwab, Leo (August 7, 2022). Escape from Monster Manor: A Source Code Walkthrough (Podcast). YouTube. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  11. Smith, Geoffrey Douglas (1998). "Escape From Monster Manor – Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  12. "Testscreen – Escape from Monster Manor". Edge. No. 7. Future Publishing. April 1994. p. 79.
  13. Semrad, Ed; Carpenter, Danyon; Manuel, Al; Williams, Ken (March 1994). "Review Crew – Monster Manor". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 56. Sendai Publishing. p. 38.
  14. Halverson, Dave; Sgt. Gamer; Rickards, Kelly; Brody (February 1994). "Viewpoint – Monster Manor". GameFan. Vol. 2, no. 3. DieHard Gamers Club. p. 19.
  15. Tommy, Toxic (April 1994). "ProReview: Escape from... Monster Manor". GamePro. No. 57. IDG. pp. 58–59.
  16. Wynne, Stuart (1995–1996). "Review: Escape from Monster Manor – A laughing skull, howling ghosts and a hanged man make for an extraordinairly packed haunted house". 3DO Magazine (Special Gold). No. 1. Paragon Publishing. p. 38.
  17. Otto, Dr.; R.I.P. (March 1995). "The Final Word game review – Escape from Monster Manor – Electronic Arts". Game Zero Magazine. Game Zero. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  18. "Tests Express... Escape from Monster Manor (Electronic Arts)". Génération 4 (in French). No. 63. Computec Media France. February 1994. p. 75.
  19. Lord Casque Noir (February 1994). "CD Tests: Escape from Monster Manor – Trop peu d'action, pas assez de décors mais une ambiance réussie". Joystick (in French). No. 46. p. 162.
  20. Forster, Winnie (September 1995). "Spiele-Tests – Monster Manor". MAN!AC (in German). No. 23. Cybermedia. p. 50.
  21. Schneider, Ulf (April 1995). "Real 3DO – Reviews: Escape from Monster Manor". Video Games (in German). No. 41. Future-Verlag. p. 79.
  22. Davila, Mike (April 1994). "Power Reviews: Escape from Monster Manor". VideoGames - The Ultimate Gaming Magazine. No. 63. Larry Flynt Publications. p. 75.
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