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The following interview was conducted via email with Al Lowe himself.  It ended on Feb. 13, 2000.  One of Mr. Lowe's stipulations for this interview had been that I not ask questions already asked of him in previous interviews, I hope I was able to achieve this.

Trantor: Hi, Al! I want to start with a few questions about your past with Sierra and then move forward to your present and the all-mysterious future. The first adventure game you made for Sierra was the classic Black Cauldron (1984). This was also the first non-typing interface game Sierra brought out. Why was this interface not expanded to other games sooner and did it play a role in Sierra’s final transition to an icon-based system?

Al: Actually, that was my 5th game for Sierra; there were several other games like it first. It was intended to be a child’s game and I tried to make it as easy as possible. So I used the same interface I had used on Dragon’s Keep, Troll’s Tale, and Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred-Acre Wood. It did provide some inspiration to Roberta, when she first developed the icon-driven interface.

 

T: It seems that over the years Sierra tried to expand its repertoire of game franchises with games like Lighthouse, Ramna, Gold Rush and of course Freddy Pharkas and Torin’s Passage. Why do you think these games didn’t develop the cult followings of games such as Larry, King’s Quest or even Quest for Glory? Are adventure gamers more brand-oriented than others or is it just the "nature of the beast?"

Al: If anyone knew what made music, movies or games a hit, they would only produce hits. The reality is: you do the best you can and sometimes you get lucky. I think the reason our sequels sold well was that they were consistently better games than the originals—and kept improving over the years. Only when a sequel went flat, did you see sales drop.

 

T: Probably the biggest change in the Larry games ever was the graphic update of the Larry 1 remake and Larry 5. How did you decide on such a comic-like style and what kind of reactions did you get, both from the press and users about this?

Al: The earliest games had little or no style since we had such primitive graphics capabilities. Of course, we started hiring artists more familiar with real cartooning and their training helped us immensely.

 

T: As long as there has been Larry there have been rumors of a Larry movie. Now you have spoken about this before, but just out of curiosity, how close did this ever come to occurring, or was it really just wishful thinking on behalf of the fans?

Al: It was more than wishful thinking by the fans. We got close several times. Once, in 1989, Guber-Peters (which got bought out by Sony Pictures, I believe) flew both Ken & I down to Hollywood for meetings. (Now there’s a story I’ve just got to write up and post on my web site!) Another time, Touchstone Films (Disney’s R-rated company) actually paid Sierra $30,000 to option the rights to produce a movie. They wrote at least 3 scripts, pitched it to Jim Carrey when he was hottest, but nothing came of it, and it died of old age in studio hell.

 

T: In Larry 7 you made some pretty hefty changes, not only graphically but from a game play standpoint. First of all, is the complete abolition of death. Deaths were always a major source of aggravation in the Larry titles (and all Sierra games for that matter) and while Larry 6 flirted with the idea of getting rid of them, they were still there. After speaking with one of the members of the Torin’s Passage team shortly after that games release (I believe it was Jim Murphy) I was left with the impression that Larry 7 was still to have deaths. Were they originally part of the design and if so why were they left out, or were they omitted from the beginning of the games conception?

Al: There were a couple of "dead ends" in Larry 6. Was there death in Larry 5? I just got tired of it after Freddy Pharkas, Frontier Pharmacist. Those deaths were so much fun ("Yep; and that’s the way the story ends; that Freddy was jest a damned fool!") that I just designed around them.

 

T: I can’t help myself, who thought up the Where’s Dildo gag?

Al: I believe it was Jason Piel, who is currently spearheading a new game coming from Sierra soon called Johnny Drama! Knowing Jason, I bet it’s going to be great.

 

T: Enough about the past now. Looking at the present, you have been keeping yourself busy, having just been named Vice-President of Technology for jacknabbit.com, a new Internet startup. Tell us a little bit about jacknabbit, your part there and how big you think the IPO is going to be. (Stock options…drool!)

Al: Jacknabbit.com is the leader in real-time online appointment scheduling. With our software, any small business can log on our web site, fill out a form, and their appointment book is immediately online for anyone anywhere to use. I’m in charge of designing the software and getting the product to market (which is not that much of a change from my old Sierra days). IPO? Early 2001? Who knows?

 

T: You also have a book coming out soon. What’s that going to be about and when can we expect it?

Al: The book has taken a back seat to jacknabbit.com. Perhaps when I retire the next time…

 

T: You also run CyberJoke 3000™, a daily joke email service. What prompted this and what are your future plans for the system?

Al: I have always collected and swapped jokes with others on the Net, since I first went on-line back in 1987 to beta-test Leisure Suit Larry 1. I’ve saved off roughly 10% of the jokes I’ve received. Even using them in Larry games didn’t reduce my database much. So, what the hell, I figured "why not give them away!?" And that’s what I’m doing. Anyone who wants to subscribe, just send a blank email to CyberJoke3000-subscribe@eGroups.com and you’re in.

 

T: Again, a little bit back to games... some traditional adventure games have gone 3D. We know that you were planning on making Larry 8 a true 3D game. Have you had a chance to play titles such as Gabriel Knight 3 and Grim Fandango? If so, do you see any gameplay advantages or disadvantages to adventure gaming in 3D? How did there executions of 3D adventuring differ from your vision for Larry 8 and would you change anything based on what you have seen from these other titles?

Al: I believe there are humor possibilities in 3-D that no one has yet explored. I would love to be the first to do so. 3-D graphics hardware has made games possible that we could only dream of producing, even as recently as last year.

 

T: Other traditional adventure games have decided to abandon their tried and true adventuring legacies and embraced the "oh, so popular" Action/Adventure genre started by Tomb Raider and it’s like. Hal Harwood (producer of many LucasArts games including all the Indy games) went so far as saying in an interview with PC Gamer that the Action/Adventure is the way of the future. What do you think of the latest incarnations of King’s Quest and Indiana Jones? Is this the right direction for adventure gaming in the 3D age?

Al: I saw no reason for running around and killing everything on a level of KQ8 just so I could start finding and solving that level’s puzzles. It bores me. (If I hadn’t cheated and used "God Mode" I wouldn’t have bothered to finish.) It’s not the game that I would make. (Of course, perhaps that’s why I’m not making games?! <grin>)

 

T: You were one of the first to tackle the challenges of online gaming, with the Sierra Network and the work you did on that system, with the goal of creating an online multiplayer Adventure game. Today we have massively multiplayer games such as Ultima Online and Everquest. How do they compare with the ideas you once had for a comparative multiplayer experience and what would you like to see done differently?

Al: Those games are graphically miles ahead of what I ever dreamed of…yet, the interactivity and development still is primitive compared to real people. Why are there no current period games? Why are there no male-female relationships? Where are the serious games? (Gabe excepted, of course.)

 

T: What is the current legal situation of the Leisure Suit Larry license? You worked for over 15 at Sierra as a "freelancer" and not a full time employee. Do you own the rights to Larry? Could Sierra try to make a Larry without you? Do you have a possibility of making a Larry game for another company?

Al: I don’t own the rights to Larry…Sierra does. They are not interested in a new game. I’m willing to do LSL8, but I can’t without Sierra. The could, but don’t want to. Another company might purchase the rights to Larry and hire me as a designer, but I don’t expect it.

 

T: It’s a new millennium (give or take a year) so I must ask about the future. Where does Al Lowe go from here? You’ve been an educator, a musician, a programmer, a designer... what else can you do?

Al: I’m going to work in the morning…at jacknabbit.com.

 

T: Thank you for your time and cooperation... Hopefully the next time we see you you’re sticking your mug through the doorway of some alien ship with lipstick-covered tentacles everywhere.

Al: It’s been great. And, in closing, I just want to say to all the Larry fans everywhere how much I appreciate their kind letters and support in this troubled period. Leisure Suit Larry lives on in the hearts of his fans everywhere!