SCUMM

SCUMM stands for Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion (English for scripting tool for Maniac Mansion). This is software that has been programmed in 1987 by Ron Gilbert and Aric Wilmunder for Lucasfilm Games to simplify the creation of portable point-and- click adventure games.

Technology and Development

Before SCUMM existed, had to LucasFilm for each computer architecture create your own version of each game. With SCUMM alone the virtual machine must be ported once. The game is available with SCUMM as bytecode that can be run without any adjustment of the various engines. The game designer can concentrate so on the creation of the story, graphics and music and the logic.

A game using the SCUMM thus consists of two parts:

  • Platform-independent bytecode and resources
  • A game engine, which is also the Virtual Machine for SCUMM scripts

SCUMM (as well as the game engine ) was, as the name suggests, originally developed for Maniac Mansion, but later used in many other LucasArts adventure games, while extended several times and rewritten.

The original game engine ( SPUTM, SCUMM Presentation Utility TM) was developed by LucasArts up to version 8, wherein gradually numerous extensions such as imuse (Interactive Music Streaming Engine, enriched with control data music), SMUSH (Video Engine) and INSANE ( Event management) have been added. The game engine version 5 was designed by Ron Gilbert for his company Humongous Entertainment separately up to version 11.

The scripting language that is translated by SCUMM into bytecode, is somewhat similar to the C programming language, is essentially but for simple commands ( Enable character X, Move figure, Speak Text ) allowed but, aside from simple scripts of cutscenes also a kind of multitasking, where multiple actions occur simultaneously.

Games

Most SCUMM games have a verb - object interface. The player-controlled character has an inventory, and the game world is littered with the objects with which the player can interact, using for this purpose a variety of verbs. Of these there were in the early games also abundant, but this was slashed in The Curse of Monkey Iceland to three, namely: "Look at ", "Use " ( "Use " was context-dependent and could cause various actions, Take, take, press, etc.) and " talk to" ( depending on the context could also eat, lick, chew, etc. mean ).

The puzzles include generally, to use the correct activity with the appropriate subject, for example: "Use biscuit cutter with a different rubber tree". " Talk to" leads to dialogue sequences in which the player from a list of pre-defined questions or other utterances selected, whereupon the addressed character reacts with a given answer. As an exception to this general paradigm the game LOOM is to say, which is not the usual verb - object paradigm, but rather uses dialog sequences.

SCUMM version 0

  • Maniac Mansion ( C64 version (1987))

SCUMM version 1

SCUMM version 1.5

  • Maniac Mansion ( NES version (1990))

SCUMM version 2

  • Maniac Mansion ( Amiga version (1989 ), Atari ST version ( 1989), Enhanced PC version (1989))
  • Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders ( Amiga version (1988 ), Atari ST version ( 1989), Enhanced PC version (1989))

SCUMM version 3

  • Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders ( FM Towns version ( 1991))
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ( PC version (1989 ), Amiga version (1989 ), Atari ST version ( 1989), VGA PC version (1990 ), Mac version ( 1990), FM Towns version (1990 ) CDTV version (1992))
  • LOOM ( PC version (1990 ), Amiga version (1990 ), Atari ST version ( 1990), Mac version (1990))

SCUMM version 4

  • LOOM (CD -ROM PC version (1991 ), FM Towns version ( 1991), PC Engine version ( 1992))
  • The Secret of Monkey Iceland ( PC version (1990 ), VGA PC version (1990 ), Amiga version (1991 ), Atari ST version ( 1991), Mac version (1991))

SCUMM version 5

  • The Secret of Monkey Iceland (CD -ROM PC version (1992 ), FM Towns version ( 1992), Sega MegaCD version ( 1993))
  • Monkey Iceland 2: LeChuck 's Revenge ( PC version (1991 ), Mac version ( 1991), Amiga version (1992 ), FM Towns version ( 1994))
  • Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis ( PC version (1992 ), Mac version ( 1992), Amiga version (1992 ), FM Towns version ( 1994))

SCUMM version 6

  • Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle ( PC version (1993 ), Mac version (1993))
  • Sam & Max Hit the Road ( PC version (1993 ), Mac version (1993 ), Windows PC version (2002) )

SCUMM version 7

  • Full throttle: Full Throttle ( PC version (1995), Mac version (1996 ), Windows PC version (2002) )
  • The Dig ( PC version (1995), Mac version (1995 ), Windows PC version (1995))

SCUMM version 8

  • The Curse of Monkey Iceland ( PC version (1997))

Successor system

For the last two adventures by LucasArts, Grim Fandango and Escape from Monkey Iceland, was converted to a new engine called GrimE.

Ports

It is the ScummVM project ( SCUMM Virtual Machine) has succeeded in developing a free, portable, based on the SDL library in C written engine that enables above SCUMM games to play on systems on which the original versions are either not at all or only to a very limited run.

Point-and-Click The Curse of Monkey Island Loom (video game) IBM Personal Computer Nintendo Entertainment System CD-ROM The Secret of Monkey Island Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge Full Throttle (1995 video game) Sierra's Creative Interpreter Adventure Game Interpreter
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