We`ll get your website to have Domain Authority 50 or we`ll refund you every
cent
for only 150 usd, you`ll have DA50 for your website, guaranteed
Order it today:
http://www.str8-creative.co/product/moz-da-seo-plan/
thanks
Alex Peters
Friday, September 25, 2020
Thursday, September 24, 2020
Friend, Voting in DuPage Starts Today! Critical information for you to know...
| | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Lighting For Gaming Photos And Videos - Neewer ZC-10S Review
Everyone likes a good photo on a blog, Insta or the Twitters and a good well lit video on the Utubes is a bonus too.
I was very fortunate to have Mrs YG buy me some lighting for my photos recently and after a few weeks use I thought it would be an idea to share them wider and illustrate their use for gaming related photos.
Below is a Utubes video going through the contents of the Neewer ZC-10S set and their operation.
I've added some photos below to give you an idea on how the lights work.
The first photo is taken in my games room, it might time so their is no external light source, the room is well lit with a high power "cool" strip light.
The second photo is taken with the one high, one low set up shown in the first photo on this post, it's easy to see that the light levels have increased dramatically, however it can be very easy to have too much light and "white out" a picture.
Shadows can also be an issue if the intensity of the light levels are too high, look at the shadows from the flags on the buildings in the bottom photo.
Looking in the next set of photos, I will look at a bit more detail, the above "control" photo is simply taken with no additional lighting.
Followed by full intensity with both lights.
The next photo is also full intensity but the lower light has been moved to the front of the subject to light up the faces, note how the rear building is whitened out and the flag shadow is very prominent.
With the lights in the same position I've dropped down the intensity by 3 on both and things are starting to get better.
This final photo would be my choice, both lights dialled back by 6 from the strongest, the buildings are no longer standing out, the shadows on the figures are adding to the level of detail, possibly too dark for some but we are now in the area of personal taste rather than definitely too dark or too bright.
The lights also make a great portable paint table illuminator as well, I used them recently whilst on holiday.
Hope that's been useful, see you for the monthly update next week.
Monday, September 21, 2020
Downlod Gokumod For Gta Sandeas
download gokumod for gta sandeas full free in this website
this mod only for gta snadeas
goku mod is super hero mod for gtan sandeas an all gta it is super hero and goku mod is so power full
press gh all in formation about goku mod in gta sandeas in gta snadeas goku mod is so popular i also upload all mod for gta snadeas
गोकु मोड यहाँ पर फ्री मिल रहा है इस वेबसाइट पर और मोड़ में अपलोड कर रहा हु
हमरे वेबसाइट को फॉलो करे जिससे आपको नया अपडेट मिलते रहे गे धन्यवाद
goku cartoon information
Son Goku (Japanese: 孫 悟空（そん ごくう） Hepburn: Son Gokū) is a fictional character and main protagonist of the Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He is based on Sun Wukong, a maincharacter in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.
Initially believed to have been born on Earth, Goku later learns that he is a member of an extraterrestrial warrior race called the Saiyans, which is also the reason for his superhuman strength, and his birth name is Kakarot (カカロット Kakarotto). As Goku grows up, he becomes the Earth's mightiest warrior and protects his adopted home planet from those who seek to harm it. Goku is depicted as carefree and cheerful when at ease, but quickly serious and strategic-minded when in battle and also enthusiastic to fight. He is able to concentrate his Ki and use it for devastatingly powerful energy-based attacks; the most prominent being his signature Kamehameha (かめはめ波), in which Goku launches a blue energy blast from his palms. Also pure of heart, Goku has frequently granted mercy to his enemies, which has often earned him additional allies in the process (though has also resulted in others taking advantage of his kindness), and he is one of the few who can ride the magic cloud called Kinto'un (筋斗雲, lit. "Somersault Cloud", renamed "Flying Nimbus" in Funimation's dub); which was another element adapted from Journey to the West.[2]
write dball to activate goku mod
download link is here
password is fulla1
Sunday, September 20, 2020
Friend, my heart breaks with the loss of RBG, let it only strengthen our resolve in this fight...
| | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
1500 google maps citations cheap
Rank the google maps top 5 for your money keywords, guaranteed
http://www.str8-creative.io/product/1500-gmaps-citations/
regards,
Str8 Creative
http://www.str8-creative.io/product/1500-gmaps-citations/
regards,
Str8 Creative
Saturday, September 12, 2020
The Darkest Dream, 5E, Adventure/Campaign Review
As you prepare the camp for the last night of Carnivalles by the town of Nevermore you know your welcome is reaching its end. But you want this to be a good night. This will be your last stop before winter sets in. There is more that weighs your thoughts as you approach the new year. Next year is known as The Year of Dark Dreams.
-----
The Darkest Dream is Chapter One of the Red Start Rising Campaignset in the Wy'rded World (Zyathé). The campaign is written by Alphinius Goo and AJ Martin and published by Gooey Cube. I met Alphinius at SaltCon 2020 (website) and was invited to participate in a game hosted by a professional game master (GM), Dax Levine that introduced us to Zyathé through the opening of The Darkest Dream (review of game session). I was given a copy of The Darkest Dream for review purposes.
The Darkest Dream is an in-depth set of materials. This product is not only setting up the adventure, and the first chapter of Red Star Rising Campaign, it provides material to compliment the material for the Wy'rded World as an alternative game world for your 5e fantasy gaming.
The authors of The Darkest Dream know they are giving a lot of information. This packet includes an Adventure Booklet of over 50 pages, a GM Reference Book of over 60 pages, 20 pages of additional reference material, 60+ 8 ½ by 11 visuals to be used during gaming, 40+ non-player Character (NPC) Portraits, 24 pre-generated characters, and 2 decks of card for Gooey Rewards and Special Items. (I feel like they were shooting to complete their own Christmas carol.) Everything you get is useful in building the immersive experience Gooey Cube wants to create.
A GM should have a good understanding of what is contained in this material before beginning the campaign. Alphinius and AJ have written plots and subplots throughout the main adventure and the side quests included. GMs are made aware at the beginning they are setting the ground work for future adventures with the events that unfold during this chapter. Events that will come to fruition as the entirety of the campaign unfold and enfolds the players. The number of gaming aids supplied not only benefit this individual game, but later ones.
The world of Zyathé is a unique place (review of the Cylcopaedia) and The Darkest Dream brings player into particular aspect of the world. This campaign is also written for heroic characters. Because of these aspects there is a wide selection of pre-generated characters for players to use. It is recommended, and I agree, players choose one of these characters to play. The added benefit of using the characters provided is there are storylines for each of them included in the adventures. They each have individual information that will come into play as the story advances. Along with the specific campaign being played here, they give a means of being introduced to the world of Zyathé in a way that will not require complete knowledge of the larger setting. And since they are travelers, I think as the campaign continues the broader aspect of the world will be presented.
A main aspect of The Darkest Dream is players are part of the Hanataz culture. This would be relatable to the Traveler or Roma cultures. This is another reason for using the pre-generated characters. It also gives players an opportunity of exploring a cultural difference they may not be regularly associated with. As we played our characters this was an aspect that brought forth wonderful role playing and story creation.
There is so much material available it is hard to go through all of it in a limited amount of space. I will attempt a summary of the rest of the material. The handouts and portraits provide great visuals at the table. The characterizations also provide a summary of information on the back to allow for a refresher, or quick reference to the NPC without needing to flip through the reference books. The decks provide additional quick and easy reference for what characters have and can do. The Gooey Rewards are designed to heighten the role-playing experience by allowing players to a particular action or adjust minor aspects of play.
The gaming experience was centered on role-playing with enough combat to maintain the threat of physical damage. From the first part of play, as people were able to take the information from the characters' backgrounds, The Darkest Dream was about who the characters are and the situations they are in. This game is written more for that than the strategy of how to defeat an opponent. Groundwork is being set for long term play of the characters, and the NPCs they are encountering. It is clear there is going to be more interactions that lead to deeper story.
As the adventure ends the players and their characters are left with a major cliffhanger to draw them further into the story.
Overall
The Darkest Dream, Chapter One of the Red Star Rising Campaign is a great adventure for players and GMs who want to have an immersive experience in the story they are creating. It is more than an outline of what should be happening as the adventure unfolds. It has a number of storylines, with hooks and promises, of what is to come. This adventure, and campaign, requires more from the GM than many other adventures I have read, played, run, and reviewed. This preparation pays off for everyone at the table with greater ability to create the story, get into the personalities of characters and NPCs, and create memories of games that will be stories to be told in later days.
You can find out more at Gooey Cubes website (link).
-----
The night of Carnivalles comes to a close. It is a time for rest from the long day. Because for you have seen The Night has just begun.
 |
| The cliffhanger |
I'm working at keeping my material free of subscription charges by supplementing costs by being an Amazon Associate and having advertising appear. I earn a fee when people make purchases of qualified products from Amazon when they enter the site from a link on Guild Master Gaming and when people click on an ad. If you do either, thank you.
If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.
I have articles being published by others and you can find most of them on Guild Master Gaming on Facebookand Twitter(@GuildMstrGmng).
Game 121: Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist (1993): Introduction
by Alex
Hello there, dear The Adventure Gamer family. I am back after a long absence to review another game, and another Al Lowe game, but this time it's not an entry in the Leisure Suit Larry series. No, I'm leaving my polyester pal behind and traveling to the old west to play Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist, Mr. Lowe and co.'s 1993 outing in the Sierra adventure game library. There was a CD-ROM version (more on this later), with voices and everything, released in 1994, but I'm playing the DOS version, mainly because I'm not a huge fan of CD-ROM games.
1993 is smack in the middle of the golden age of Sierra adventure games, which I contend lasted until 1996. You might disagree with me, and I'm sure will let me know in the comments below, but that's what makes life interesting, right? And we all need a little adventure, uncertainty, and chaos in our lives right about now.
The last game I blogged about for The Adventure Gamer was Quest for Glory III: Wages of War back in 2018. In the interim, my wife and I had another child, started a business, and I've published two novels, with another novel and a non-fiction book set to publish before the year is up. Plus, I got to meet Joe Pranevich in person, which was really cool. But how many adventure games did I play during this time? With the exception of the first two Quest for Glory games with my son, zero. So I've been busy. If both my adventure gaming prowess and my writing are rusty, please bear with me as I play myself back into shape.
Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist—and I'm sorry, every time I hear the name Pharkas all I can think of is Scott Farkus, the bully who tormented Ralphie, his brother, and their friends in A Christmas Story.
Anyway, Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist is Al Lowe's homage to comedy westerns a la Mel Brooks's popular 1974 comedy Blazing Saddles. Would you believe I have never seen Blazing Saddles? I know Gene Wilder's in it, there's a gigantic Indian named Mongo that punches his horse, that Cleavon Little's character gets called the N-word a lot (which means this movie is probably not long for this world), and that the central bit of humor is a gigantic fart joke.
So, yes, no wonder Al Lowe wanted to make his own version of it. That sort of humor is right up Lowe's alley. I didn't intend that to sound dirty, but since we're talking about an Al Lowe game, all of our minds immediately went to the gutter (don't lie).
But Lowe wasn't alone! Oh no, Lowe designed Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist (I'm calling it FPFP from now on because the full title is a real mouthful (fingerful?) to keep on typing) with Josh Mandel. If the name sounds familiar, it's because he worked on many Sierra games either as a producer, designer, writer, voice actor, artist, or some combination of those roles. Which games? How about Space Quest 6, The Dagger of Amon Ra, King's Quest V and VI, and EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus. Mandel worked for other companies afterwards, such as Take-Two Interactive and Mattell, but he also lent his voice talents to the fan remakes of the first three King's Quest games, reunited with Al Lowe on 2013's Leisure Suit Larry: reloaded, and was a writer on Quest for Glory designer (and sometimes TAG commenter) Lori and Corey Cole's Quest for Glory quasi-reboot Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption. He was also the model for the coroner in Police Quest III: The Kindred, but the less said about that game, the better.
I also think he might like fart jokes.
Before firing up the game, let's take a look at the manual.
Titled The Modern Day Book of Health and Hygiene, 1881 edition, the manual is presented like an old-time medical—some might say "pseudo-medicine" almanac written by one Hyman J. Lipschitz, M.D., the President of Phrenologists for Health, Enervating Elixers, Longevity, and Mental Energy, aka (sigh) PHEELME.
This guidebook also has a pretty humorous disclaimer on page two:
Anyway, this isn't so much an instruction booklet on how-to-play, but what I'm assuming is a very elaborate form of copy protection. You see, Part 1, the Pharmacopoeia, describes various chemicals that can be used as medicines, and in some cases, how to make them. They are sometimes funny, and clearly some entries are there just for laughs, but I'm getting serious King's Quest III vibes from this whole thing.
Part 2 features "home procedures" for things like acne, broken bones, and constipation (no coronavirus though). There's also a (sigh) flatulence spectrometer, where the doctor is advised to catch fart gas in a paper bag or something and burn it in a spectroscope to figure out the exact chemical compound of what is causing the patient to have the vapors. Things like lentils, apples 'n brown sugar-cinnamon, and meaty by-products, along with the cure. This is the level of humor we're dealing with, people. It's an Al Lowe game, what should I expect?
Actually, the manual is pretty funny, full of the dry, straight-faced humor we've come to expect from Mr. Lowe, and the kind of humor I actually get a kick out of. It reminds me of Mad Magazine, where the humor is stupid and low-brow, but an intelligent kind of stupid and low-brow. You know what I mean, right?
In any event, it's time to start this game up.
The familiar Sierra fanfare and accompanying logo always give me all sorts of warm and fuzzy feelings, as does the sound and graphical style of the title screen, and I'm particularly excited to delve into Freddy Pharkas (wait, that didn't come out right . . .) since I've never played this game. That's right! Other than reading about this in Sierra's InterACTION magazine (Sierra's version of Nintendo Power) when I was a kid, I have no experience whatsoever with FPFP. I'm playing this blind, and have been looking forward to this for quite some time.
I decide to check out the game's prologue, and am treated to a well-written and well-composed Western ballad detailing the life of one former famous gunslinger Freddy Pharkas and how he came to be a one-eared pharmacist in the frontier town of Coarsegold, California, a real town near Sierra's actual location in Oakhurst, California. Coarsegold was apparently also the setting for Sierra's 1981 On-Line Adventure #3: Cranston Manor, which TAG reviewer Joe Pranevich is yet to review.
The ballad is quite good and humorous while packing in a lot of backstory (kind of like this post). Al Lowe wrote the music—although future Quest for Glory IV composer Aubrey Hodges is the main composer for this game—and Lowe and Mandel both wrote the lyrics. I've reprinted the lyrics below so you understand the game's premise, interspersed with screenshots from the intro (follow the bouncing ball!)
He was born in old St Louie,
By the age of four Dad knew he was the
Best little crackshot the West had ever seen.
By the time he reached pubescence,
He could outshoot all the adolescents
West of Durango and north of Abilene.
Pharkas, Freddy Pharkas.
Famous gunslingin' deputy.
Freddy Pharkas, Freddy Pharkas,
Frontier hero-to-be.
Then one day young Freddy Pharkas
Stared at eyes as black and dark as night, the
Eyes of an outlaw, well-known throughout the West.
Oh, the tough kid's name was Kenny,
And he outdrew Freddy Pharkas, when he
Shot Freddy's ear off to prove who was the best.
Now our hero, Freddy Pharkas,
With wounded pride and earless carcass,
Vowed to the heavens to give up gunnery.
He'd be better off, he reckoned,
With the lifelong dream that always beckoned:
Pestles, not pistols, and pharmacology.
Pharkas, Freddy Pharkas,
Highest score on his S.A.T.,
Freddy Pharkas, Freddy Pharkas.
Five-year college degree.
After Fred matriculated,
Got his Ph.D. and graduated,
Moved out to Coarsegold and bought a pharmacy.
He's a real prescription writer,
And they don't know he's an ex-gunfighter,
Locked up his mem'ries, repressed them totally.
But his peaceful new survival
Soon was shot to hell upon arrival
Of Coarsegold's schoolmarm, the sweet Penelope.
She has captured Fred's affection,
But he's scared he'll get a huge …rejection,
Can't bear to tell her just what he used to be.
Pharkas, Freddy Pharkas.
Frontier Pharmacist bourgeoisie,
Freddy Pharkas, Freddy Pharkas.
Peerless, earless, and free!
The CD-ROM version is apparently sung by Al Lowe himself, because as he describes on his website, everyone thought he had a "funny voice." You can read all about it, and listen to the ballad, here.
Act I then begins, making me think this game is going to be chapter-based, and you are taken to Coarsegold's main street as someone is boarding up a building, where a toothless old coot named Whittlin' Willy starts to tell you all about ol' Freddy.
I gain control of Freddy and check the interface. The standard Sierra point-and-click icons are there (Walk, Look, Action, Speak, Inventory), and I take a moment to click the Action icon on various things, which may-or-may-not have included Freddy's man-region.
There are no surprises, which works for me as this interface generally works really well. In my inventory I only have the key to Freddy's pharmacy. I'm looking forward to inventory gags, as Al Lowe's Leisure Suit Larry V was full of humorous messages—each unique!—when you clicked any item on any other item in your inventory. I hope this attention to detail, and bad jokes, carries over to FPFP.
And of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that there is a (sigh) Golden Balls Saloon.
This humor style, of course, is par for the course and I don't view it as a negative per se. I groan and cringe at these kinds of jokes, but I actually like them. They're generally harmless and Al always seemed like a good guy who just like getting a few yuks out of gamers.
Here he is, describing the inspiration for FPFP:
"In 1992, I noticed that there wasn't a single Western computer game, even though Western movies had been popular off and on for years. But I wanted to make a humorous Western. What sort of Western could be funny? While discussing this with Roberta Williams, I started to say 'farmer' but my mouth tried to say 'rancher' and out came a tangled mess that kind of sounded like, 'farmer-cist.' Hey! A pharmacist? Why not? Thus was born Freddy Pharkas, Frontier Pharmacist!
I think it may well be my funniest game, due in great part to the wit of Josh Mandel. Computer Gaming World called it 'The Blazing Saddles of computer games' (see box cover below) which I considered perfect praise since that movie was my inspiration."
Funniest gmae, huh? I sure hope so! Leisure Suit Larry has its moments, but nothing is really laugh out loud funny. Maybe FPFP will be. We'll see!
I have high hopes reading this bit of trivia from Josh Mandel:
"Mandel had explained in a commentary the reason why there were so many more jokes in the Floppy Disk version as compared to the CD-ROM version of the game, 'I had co-designed, directed, produced, and written the floppy version; there were no plans at all, at the time, to produce a CD version. When sales of the floppy version justified a CD version, I was no longer available to produce and direct it, having by then started on SQ6. Al Lowe was then tapped to do the casting and recording of the CD version, but the game already had so much text in it that, when it came time to record the inventory text, Al just stopped—he was, he said, tired of sitting in the sound studio. As I had written the vast majority of the game's text and dialogue, I pointed out to him that, in the process of cutting roughly 15% of the game's text from the recording, he'd not only left out many jokes, but many clues and hints as well.'"
And like I said, I'm playing the DOS version, so not only will I not be missing out on "clues and hints," I'll be getting all the jokes as well. Oh boy!
Mind you, I have no clue what the plot is, but I'm eager to hop in and see what Coarsegold has to offer. If there are references I don't get in my posts, please let me know. I'm a medium-sized Western fan. I love the idea and image and aesthetic of cowboys and the American west, I've seen several John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies, and I have some Louis L'Amour paperbacks I need to get around to reading, but I'm no expert or connoisseur of the Western genre. Then again, I'm no expert or connoisseur of the adventure game genre and that doesn't stop me from writing about, so maybe I have nothing to worry about.
Anyway, time to saddle up and play. See you next time, pardner! Yee haw, yippie-ki-yi-yay, and all that jazz.
Hello there, dear The Adventure Gamer family. I am back after a long absence to review another game, and another Al Lowe game, but this time it's not an entry in the Leisure Suit Larry series. No, I'm leaving my polyester pal behind and traveling to the old west to play Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist, Mr. Lowe and co.'s 1993 outing in the Sierra adventure game library. There was a CD-ROM version (more on this later), with voices and everything, released in 1994, but I'm playing the DOS version, mainly because I'm not a huge fan of CD-ROM games.
1993 is smack in the middle of the golden age of Sierra adventure games, which I contend lasted until 1996. You might disagree with me, and I'm sure will let me know in the comments below, but that's what makes life interesting, right? And we all need a little adventure, uncertainty, and chaos in our lives right about now.
Well actually, no. I certainly don't! Thankfully, I live out in the middle of nowhere, USA, where nothing happens and we like it like that, but life has certainly been adventurous, uncertain, and chaotic enough for me and my family, thank you very much! We're all fine, and I hope you are too. But with civil society is crumbling all around me, there's nothing better to do than fire up an old adventure game and blog about it. So here we go.
The last game I blogged about for The Adventure Gamer was Quest for Glory III: Wages of War back in 2018. In the interim, my wife and I had another child, started a business, and I've published two novels, with another novel and a non-fiction book set to publish before the year is up. Plus, I got to meet Joe Pranevich in person, which was really cool. But how many adventure games did I play during this time? With the exception of the first two Quest for Glory games with my son, zero. So I've been busy. If both my adventure gaming prowess and my writing are rusty, please bear with me as I play myself back into shape.
Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist—and I'm sorry, every time I hear the name Pharkas all I can think of is Scott Farkus, the bully who tormented Ralphie, his brother, and their friends in A Christmas Story.
 |
| This guy. |
Anyway, Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist is Al Lowe's homage to comedy westerns a la Mel Brooks's popular 1974 comedy Blazing Saddles. Would you believe I have never seen Blazing Saddles? I know Gene Wilder's in it, there's a gigantic Indian named Mongo that punches his horse, that Cleavon Little's character gets called the N-word a lot (which means this movie is probably not long for this world), and that the central bit of humor is a gigantic fart joke.
 |
| Al Lowe |
So, yes, no wonder Al Lowe wanted to make his own version of it. That sort of humor is right up Lowe's alley. I didn't intend that to sound dirty, but since we're talking about an Al Lowe game, all of our minds immediately went to the gutter (don't lie).
But Lowe wasn't alone! Oh no, Lowe designed Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist (I'm calling it FPFP from now on because the full title is a real mouthful (fingerful?) to keep on typing) with Josh Mandel. If the name sounds familiar, it's because he worked on many Sierra games either as a producer, designer, writer, voice actor, artist, or some combination of those roles. Which games? How about Space Quest 6, The Dagger of Amon Ra, King's Quest V and VI, and EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus. Mandel worked for other companies afterwards, such as Take-Two Interactive and Mattell, but he also lent his voice talents to the fan remakes of the first three King's Quest games, reunited with Al Lowe on 2013's Leisure Suit Larry: reloaded, and was a writer on Quest for Glory designer (and sometimes TAG commenter) Lori and Corey Cole's Quest for Glory quasi-reboot Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption. He was also the model for the coroner in Police Quest III: The Kindred, but the less said about that game, the better.
 |
| Josh Mandel |
I also think he might like fart jokes.
Before firing up the game, let's take a look at the manual.
Titled The Modern Day Book of Health and Hygiene, 1881 edition, the manual is presented like an old-time medical—some might say "pseudo-medicine" almanac written by one Hyman J. Lipschitz, M.D., the President of Phrenologists for Health, Enervating Elixers, Longevity, and Mental Energy, aka (sigh) PHEELME.
This guidebook also has a pretty humorous disclaimer on page two:
Note to those people who might think a parody of a quack remedy guide that pretends to be from the 19th Century could really contain factual information but are too stupid to read disclaimers such as this anyway: The information contained herein is absolute and utter balderdash, provided by Sierra On-Line, Inc. for your Entertainment ONLY and to provide information and clues for FREDDY PHARKAS, FRONTIER PHARMACIST. Do not take the medications we prescribe. Do not apply the balms and liniments we describe. Do not attempt the procedures we outline. Do not believe that Manual Labor is still the President of Mexico. Nothing within this pamphlet is accurate and truthful, to the best of our ability. We are being entirely facetious. Do not, repeat DO NOT, use this documentation as a real medical guide! It's a joke! Okay? Get it?We get it, Al and Josh, we do. Also: the president of Mexico being named Manual Labor is a precursor to the horrible/awesome name puns that pervade this game.
Anyway, this isn't so much an instruction booklet on how-to-play, but what I'm assuming is a very elaborate form of copy protection. You see, Part 1, the Pharmacopoeia, describes various chemicals that can be used as medicines, and in some cases, how to make them. They are sometimes funny, and clearly some entries are there just for laughs, but I'm getting serious King's Quest III vibes from this whole thing.
 |
| Excerpt from the Pharmacopoeia |
Part 2 features "home procedures" for things like acne, broken bones, and constipation (no coronavirus though). There's also a (sigh) flatulence spectrometer, where the doctor is advised to catch fart gas in a paper bag or something and burn it in a spectroscope to figure out the exact chemical compound of what is causing the patient to have the vapors. Things like lentils, apples 'n brown sugar-cinnamon, and meaty by-products, along with the cure. This is the level of humor we're dealing with, people. It's an Al Lowe game, what should I expect?
Actually, the manual is pretty funny, full of the dry, straight-faced humor we've come to expect from Mr. Lowe, and the kind of humor I actually get a kick out of. It reminds me of Mad Magazine, where the humor is stupid and low-brow, but an intelligent kind of stupid and low-brow. You know what I mean, right?
In any event, it's time to start this game up.
 |
| Hello, old friend. |
The familiar Sierra fanfare and accompanying logo always give me all sorts of warm and fuzzy feelings, as does the sound and graphical style of the title screen, and I'm particularly excited to delve into Freddy Pharkas (wait, that didn't come out right . . .) since I've never played this game. That's right! Other than reading about this in Sierra's InterACTION magazine (Sierra's version of Nintendo Power) when I was a kid, I have no experience whatsoever with FPFP. I'm playing this blind, and have been looking forward to this for quite some time.
 |
| This issue right here—I wish I still had it, but scans of it are available at Al's site |
I decide to check out the game's prologue, and am treated to a well-written and well-composed Western ballad detailing the life of one former famous gunslinger Freddy Pharkas and how he came to be a one-eared pharmacist in the frontier town of Coarsegold, California, a real town near Sierra's actual location in Oakhurst, California. Coarsegold was apparently also the setting for Sierra's 1981 On-Line Adventure #3: Cranston Manor, which TAG reviewer Joe Pranevich is yet to review.
The ballad is quite good and humorous while packing in a lot of backstory (kind of like this post). Al Lowe wrote the music—although future Quest for Glory IV composer Aubrey Hodges is the main composer for this game—and Lowe and Mandel both wrote the lyrics. I've reprinted the lyrics below so you understand the game's premise, interspersed with screenshots from the intro (follow the bouncing ball!)
He was born in old St Louie,
By the age of four Dad knew he was the
Best little crackshot the West had ever seen.
By the time he reached pubescence,
He could outshoot all the adolescents
West of Durango and north of Abilene.
Pharkas, Freddy Pharkas.
Famous gunslingin' deputy.
Freddy Pharkas, Freddy Pharkas,
Frontier hero-to-be.
Then one day young Freddy Pharkas
Stared at eyes as black and dark as night, the
Eyes of an outlaw, well-known throughout the West.
Oh, the tough kid's name was Kenny,
And he outdrew Freddy Pharkas, when he
Shot Freddy's ear off to prove who was the best.
Now our hero, Freddy Pharkas,
With wounded pride and earless carcass,
Vowed to the heavens to give up gunnery.
He'd be better off, he reckoned,
With the lifelong dream that always beckoned:
Pestles, not pistols, and pharmacology.
Pharkas, Freddy Pharkas,
Highest score on his S.A.T.,
Freddy Pharkas, Freddy Pharkas.
Five-year college degree.
After Fred matriculated,
Got his Ph.D. and graduated,
Moved out to Coarsegold and bought a pharmacy.
He's a real prescription writer,
And they don't know he's an ex-gunfighter,
Locked up his mem'ries, repressed them totally.
But his peaceful new survival
Soon was shot to hell upon arrival
Of Coarsegold's schoolmarm, the sweet Penelope.
She has captured Fred's affection,
But he's scared he'll get a huge …rejection,
Can't bear to tell her just what he used to be.
Pharkas, Freddy Pharkas.
Frontier Pharmacist bourgeoisie,
Freddy Pharkas, Freddy Pharkas.
Peerless, earless, and free!
The CD-ROM version is apparently sung by Al Lowe himself, because as he describes on his website, everyone thought he had a "funny voice." You can read all about it, and listen to the ballad, here.
Act I then begins, making me think this game is going to be chapter-based, and you are taken to Coarsegold's main street as someone is boarding up a building, where a toothless old coot named Whittlin' Willy starts to tell you all about ol' Freddy.
 |
| Nope, not sitting on your lap. Not getting anywhere NEAR that lap, thanks. |
I gain control of Freddy and check the interface. The standard Sierra point-and-click icons are there (Walk, Look, Action, Speak, Inventory), and I take a moment to click the Action icon on various things, which may-or-may-not have included Freddy's man-region.
 |
| I mean, it's an Al Lowe game. I kind of had to. |
There are no surprises, which works for me as this interface generally works really well. In my inventory I only have the key to Freddy's pharmacy. I'm looking forward to inventory gags, as Al Lowe's Leisure Suit Larry V was full of humorous messages—each unique!—when you clicked any item on any other item in your inventory. I hope this attention to detail, and bad jokes, carries over to FPFP.
And of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that there is a (sigh) Golden Balls Saloon.
This humor style, of course, is par for the course and I don't view it as a negative per se. I groan and cringe at these kinds of jokes, but I actually like them. They're generally harmless and Al always seemed like a good guy who just like getting a few yuks out of gamers.
Here he is, describing the inspiration for FPFP:
"In 1992, I noticed that there wasn't a single Western computer game, even though Western movies had been popular off and on for years. But I wanted to make a humorous Western. What sort of Western could be funny? While discussing this with Roberta Williams, I started to say 'farmer' but my mouth tried to say 'rancher' and out came a tangled mess that kind of sounded like, 'farmer-cist.' Hey! A pharmacist? Why not? Thus was born Freddy Pharkas, Frontier Pharmacist!
I think it may well be my funniest game, due in great part to the wit of Josh Mandel. Computer Gaming World called it 'The Blazing Saddles of computer games' (see box cover below) which I considered perfect praise since that movie was my inspiration."
Funniest gmae, huh? I sure hope so! Leisure Suit Larry has its moments, but nothing is really laugh out loud funny. Maybe FPFP will be. We'll see!
I have high hopes reading this bit of trivia from Josh Mandel:
"Mandel had explained in a commentary the reason why there were so many more jokes in the Floppy Disk version as compared to the CD-ROM version of the game, 'I had co-designed, directed, produced, and written the floppy version; there were no plans at all, at the time, to produce a CD version. When sales of the floppy version justified a CD version, I was no longer available to produce and direct it, having by then started on SQ6. Al Lowe was then tapped to do the casting and recording of the CD version, but the game already had so much text in it that, when it came time to record the inventory text, Al just stopped—he was, he said, tired of sitting in the sound studio. As I had written the vast majority of the game's text and dialogue, I pointed out to him that, in the process of cutting roughly 15% of the game's text from the recording, he'd not only left out many jokes, but many clues and hints as well.'"
And like I said, I'm playing the DOS version, so not only will I not be missing out on "clues and hints," I'll be getting all the jokes as well. Oh boy!
Mind you, I have no clue what the plot is, but I'm eager to hop in and see what Coarsegold has to offer. If there are references I don't get in my posts, please let me know. I'm a medium-sized Western fan. I love the idea and image and aesthetic of cowboys and the American west, I've seen several John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies, and I have some Louis L'Amour paperbacks I need to get around to reading, but I'm no expert or connoisseur of the Western genre. Then again, I'm no expert or connoisseur of the adventure game genre and that doesn't stop me from writing about, so maybe I have nothing to worry about.
Anyway, time to saddle up and play. See you next time, pardner! Yee haw, yippie-ki-yi-yay, and all that jazz.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)