Putt-Putt Joins the Parade

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Putt-Putt Joins the Parade
Putt-Putt Joins the Parade Win-Mac Boxart.jpg
Windows / Macintosh cover art
Developer(s) Humongous Entertainment
Publisher(s) Humongous Entertainment [lower-alpha 1]
Director(s) Ron Gilbert
Designer(s)
Writer(s) Laurie Rose Bauman
Annie Fox
Composer(s) Tom McMail
Engine SCUMM
Platform(s) MS-DOS, 3DO, Macintosh, Windows, Linux, Steam
Release
  • November 6, 1992 (MS-DOS)
  • 1993 (3DO)
  • 1995 (Mac, Windows)
  • April 17, 2014 (Linux)
  • April 17, 2014 (Steam) [1]
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Putt-Putt Joins the Parade is a 1992 video game and the first of seven adventure games in the Putt-Putt series of games developed and published by Humongous Entertainment. Upon release, the game sold over 300,000 copies. [2] The combined sales of Putt-Putt Joins the Parade, Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon and Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo surpassed one million units by June 1997. [3] This is also the first game produced by Humongous Entertainment.

Contents

Plot

On a sunny morning in Cartown, Putt-Putt turns on his radio and hears an announcement about a pet parade event. Though excited at this news, Putt-Putt acknowledges that he doesn't have a pet and thus wouldn't qualify to participate. He meets with the parade's manager, Smokey, who encourages him to find a pet and a balloon for the parade as well as a car wash in order to enter the parade.

During his mission, Putt-Putt finds and befriends a stray dog by giving him a bone and names him "Pep". After Putt-Putt does all the tasks he needed to do, Smokey signs him up for the parade and even lets him lead in it. The cars in the parade all drive off as the sun sets and the credits roll.

Gameplay

The game plays like a typical point-and-click adventure game with the player moving Putt-Putt from one location to the next, picking up items and using them with mouse clicks. Putt-Putt places collected items in his glove box, which serves as a simple heads-up display. In the 3DO version, the on-screen pointing cursor is moved with the D-pad and a button is used to click on what the cursor is pointing at.

Release

After the game's creation, Humongous Entertainment had intended to get Electronic Arts to distribute the product, invoking a lawsuit from LucasArts over the ownership of the SCUMM game engine and disruption from press release. [4]

When a demo of the game was completed, it was uploaded to CompuServe. It took time before a single user downloaded the game, then gave a lengthy review which gave a steady increase in audience. [5]

Reception

In 1997, a study conducted by the University of Texas at Austin compared children's reception of educational games with their professionally assigned developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) ratings. Of the thirteen programs selected, Putt-Putt Joins the Parade ranked as the most frequently played game. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SCUMM</span> Game engine developed by LucasArts

Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion (SCUMM) is a video game engine developed at Lucasfilm Games, later renamed LucasArts, to ease development on their graphic adventure game Maniac Mansion (1987). It was subsequently used as the engine for later LucasArts adventure games and Humongous Entertainment games.

<i>Putt-Putt</i> (series) Video game series

Putt-Putt is a series of children's adventure and puzzle computer games created by Humongous Entertainment. This franchise was Humongous Entertainment's first game series to be developed. They primarily involve clicking to get to a destination, although some sub-quests and mini-games involve the keyboard. The main character, Putt-Putt, an anthropomorphic purple convertible, and his dog, Pep, travel to various locations.

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<i>Pajama Sam</i> Video game series

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<i>Freddi Fish</i> Video game series

Freddi Fish is a series of point and click games from Humongous Entertainment. The series began in 1994. Freddi Fish is an anthropomorphic yellow fish who takes on detective investigations throughout the series. Her best friend, a green fish named Luther, goes with her on all her adventures. The voice of Freddi Fish was performed by Annette Toutonghi and the voice of Luther was performed by Mike McAuliffe at Bad Animals Studio in Seattle, Washington. The series sold more than 2.5 million copies and won over 75 awards of excellence. In each game there are multiple different possible sets of quests one has to complete in order to complete the game, depending on the playthrough.

<i>Freddi Fish 2: The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse</i> 1996 video game

Freddi Fish 2: The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse is a 1996 video game and the second of five adventure games in the Freddi Fish series of games developed and published by Humongous Entertainment. It was released on iOS under the title Freddi Fish Haunted Schoolhouse Mystery and on Android with a shortened title Freddi Fish: Haunted Schoolhouse in 2014. It was also released on the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in May 2024.

<i>Freddi Fish 3: The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell</i> 1998 video game

Freddi Fish 3: The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell is a 1998 video game and the third of five adventure games in the Freddi Fish series of games developed and published by Humongous Entertainment. An iOS version was released with a shortened title Freddi Fish & the Stolen Shell, and also released with a "Lite" demo version that featured subtitles and text boxes in the gameplay. It was considered one of Atari's capital projects available on its website and on the App Store. A Nintendo Switch version along with Putt-Putt Travels Through Time was released in January 2022, followed by the PlayStation 4 version on the PlayStation Store in November.

<i>Spy Fox in "Dry Cereal"</i> 1997 video game

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<i>Spy Fox 2: "Some Assembly Required"</i> 1999 video game

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humongous Entertainment</span> American video game developer (1992-2006)

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<i>Putt-Putt Joins the Circus</i> 2000 video game

Putt-Putt Joins the Circus is a video game and the sixth of adventure game of the Putt-Putt series of games. It was developed and published by Humongous Entertainment in 2000.

<i>Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo</i> 1995 video game

Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo is a 1995 video game and the third of seven adventure games in the Putt-Putt series of games developed and published by Humongous Entertainment. The animation style also changed with this game to hand-drawn animation, in contrast to the pixel art graphics of the previous two games, following the studio's jump from DOS to Windows with Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds the previous year. The game was reissued on April 19, 1999. In November 2011, the game became the first Humongous Entertainment game to be rereleased for iOS and Google Play. Developed by Nimbus Games Inc., the iOS version of this game released by Atari was discontinued. A Nintendo Switch version was released in February 2022, followed by the PlayStation 4 version on the PlayStation Store in November the same year.

<i>Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When Its Dark Outside</i> 1996 video game

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<i>Putt-Putt Enters the Race</i> 1999 video game

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<i>Putt-Putt and Peps Balloon-o-Rama</i> 1996 video game

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<i>Pajama Sam 2: Thunder and Lightning Arent so Frightening</i> 1998 video game

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<i>Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon</i> 1993 childrens video game

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<i>Fatty Bears Birthday Surprise</i> 1993 video game

Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise is a 1993 adventure video game developed by Humongous Entertainment. It is the second game by Humongous Entertainment, the first being Putt-Putt Joins the Parade. It is also the first installment of the Fatty Bear point-and-click games, although the character was also used in the mini-game compilations Fatty Bear's Fun Pack and the crossover spin-off Putt-Putt & Fatty Bear's Activity Pack. In July 2013, Tommo bought the Fatty Bear license for the Atari bankruptcy proceedings.

<i>Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds</i> 1994 video game

Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds is a video game developed and published by Humongous Entertainment and the first game released for the Freddi Fish franchise. It was released on November 7, 1994. In 2008, it was released on the Wii under the title Freddi Fish in Kelp Seed Mystery as well as Windows and Macintosh, and on Android with a shortened title Freddi Fish and the Missing Kelp Seeds. The Wii version's availability was limited by legal problems concerning its development. A spin-off handheld LCD game titled Freddi Fish: Jellyfish Jamboree was also released in 1999 that was based on a minigame from Kelp Seeds. Ports for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 were released in February 2024.

<i>Putt-Putt Travels Through Time</i> 1997 video game

Putt-Putt Travels Through Time is a 1997 video game and the fourth of seven adventure games in the Putt-Putt series of games developed and published by Humongous Entertainment. In 2014 Night Dive Studios re-released the iOS, Linux and Steam versions. In 2022, a port was released on the Nintendo Switch in January, as one of the first Humongous Entertainment games to be released on the system alongside Freddi Fish 3: The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell, followed by a PlayStation 4 version in November.

References

  1. ↑ "Putt-Putt Joins the Parade on Steam". Steam. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  2. ↑ Robert Sorbo. "Cyber Elite - Shelley Day". Archived from the original on April 9, 2009. Retrieved September 4, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ↑ People Staff (June 2, 1997). "The Little Car that Could". People . Archived from the original on May 19, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Lucasarts vs Humongous Entertainment". Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  5. ↑ "An Interview with Ron Gilbert". Game Bytes. No. 9. March 13, 1993.
  6. ↑ "Putt-Putt Joins the Parade Information, Screenshots & Media". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on April 8, 2015. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
  7. ↑ LeVitus, Bob (December 1995). "The Game Room". MacUser . Archived from the original on January 22, 2000. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  8. ↑ Escobedo, Theresa H.; Evans, Sharon (1997-03-28). "A Comparison of Child-Tested Early Childhood Education Software with Professional Ratings". ERIC – Institute of Education Sciences . Archived from the original on 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2019-02-14.

Notes

  1. ↑ The 3DO version was published by Marubeni. The Steam release was co-published by Tommo and Night Dive Studios.
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