DESCRIPTION

Maniac Mansion is a graphic adventure parodying sci-fi, horror, and monster movies. Twenty years ago a meteor crashed into the backyard of Dr. Fred and Nurse Edna Edison's stately Victorian mansion. Things haven't been the same since, from their strange-looking son dropping out of school to patients mysteriously disappearing from County Hospital. When teenager Sandy Pantz is suddenly abducted, her boyfriend and his closest pals agree to break into the mansion to rescue her. Players will control the boyfriend, Dave Miller, and a choice of two friends before sneaking into the Edison residence. Each character offers distinct skills and abilities to help solve puzzles.

While previous adventure games involved players typing in commands with the keyboard, Maniac Mansion introduces a point-and-click interface that displays all available commands directly on the screen. Players use the mouse to first select one of the listed verbs and then an object by clicking somewhere within the environment. Each valid object will have its name displayed on the screen, so players will know what can or cannot be interacted with. Thus, clicking "walk to" and then a door will have the character automatically walk through an open door. The development team christened this interface "SCUMM," short for Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide