Dementia, it's a state of mind (Armed & Delirious)

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Dementia, it's a state of mind (Armed & Delirious)

SelenicMartian: Sep 14, 2013; Sometimes it's not the bomb that's retarded.

Part 1. I can take whatever pill I want.

Part 2. Chefort, wait for your turn..

Part 3. It has a different taste.

Part 4. Hey you psycho shrimpo you...

Part 5. Hi, guys, gal's, hetero's...

Part 6. Suddenly I'm getting very tired.

Part 7. It's only money.

Part 8. Pity my rear end

Part 9. I love to make baloons.

Part 10. He might have already been death.

P.S.: Cleaning, Plunger, Carpet, Traps, Patience, Party.

orenronen posted:

Oh, an LP for this game. I have some insight about the developer that I don't think is readily available anywhere on the English web.

Makh-shevet ("מחשבת") was indeed an Israeli computing company in the '80s and '90s, and despite the comment at the very beginning of the LP they had the pixelated man logo from the very beginning, long before Lucasarts did. They were founded in a Kibbutz and focused on publishing programming tutorial books for kids. They had BASIC programming books earlier personal computers like the Commodore 64 before hitting it big with books aimed at the version of BASIC shipping with DOS-based PCs, which became very popular in the mid '80s (that was my own first computer and I had the Makh-shevet BASIC books with it -- I probably wouldn't have a career as a programmer if it wasn't for them, in fact). They branched out into more programming stuff, going as far as completely translating the Logo programming language into Hebrew, and also developed a couple of productivity applications for DOS in the late '80s.

At that point Israel was a country where game piracy was the norm. There was literally no legitimate market -- we had quite a few computer stores at that point, but they only stocked a minuscule number of imported games, often locked behind the counter, for very high prices for the very few people who were crazy and rich enough to buy them. In the late '80s and early '90s Makh-shevet, along with one or two other publishers, began to change that. They translated manuals and boxes for a wide variety of American and British games and published them for much cheaper than they used to be. In about a year or two they transformed the market - it's not that piracy was suddenly gone (it was very much still rampant), but it was much more acceptable to actually buy game software and computer stores had shelves of them. Makh-shevet was the only company who tried to go even farther and actually localize the games themselves. They did it for a few adventure games in the '90s, and they were actually not bad at it. They published translated Hebrew versions of Loom, Simon the Sorcerer and Dark Seed, among others.

In the mid '90s they tried game development, and that's where this game is coming from. They have a number of releases that never left Israel (some edutainment software and some actual games), and two that did - Master of Dimensions, their first serious adventure game, and Dementia, their second and last. The game actually have a third name - it's original one: It's called GrannyX in Israel.

Their game business obviously didn't go well - they merged with another company at the end of the '90s and soon after the brand disbanded.

I actually visited their offices back in the '90s. They published Day of the Tentacle for Lucasarts, and offered to upgrade floppy versions to CD ones. It was easier to go there rather than to mail my copy in, so I did and ended up with the special pyramid box for my troubles. Fitting for an office inside a Kibbutz, it was more of a large cluttered house that served as both a warehouse for their publishing operations and a development center.

SelenicMartian fucked around with this message at 12:41 on Dec 28, 2017

# ¿ Nov 11, 2017 20:46

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# ¿ May 14, 2024 21:06

SelenicMartian: Sep 14, 2013; Sometimes it's not the bomb that's retarded.

Whybird posted:

I was confident at first that this was one of those instances like Limbo of the Lost, where outsider art somehow manages to get published as a game, but this game is by the same developers as the fairly well-respected Wizardry series, so now I just don't know what to think.

Actually, it's by an Israeli company.

http://www.mobygames.com/company/makh-shevet

quote:

Makh-Shevet Ltd. was an Israeli PC games developer, publisher, localizer and distributor during the 90s.

The company filed for bankruptcy in 1997.

Gee, I wonder why.

# ¿ Nov 13, 2017 08:43

SelenicMartian: Sep 14, 2013; Sometimes it's not the bomb that's retarded.

The game is starting to get a little crazy.

Part 2. Chefort, wait for your turn..

# ¿ Nov 16, 2017 18:48

SelenicMartian: Sep 14, 2013; Sometimes it's not the bomb that's retarded.

A bit of NSFW audio, maybe?

Part 3. It has a different taste.

Yes, that's a Basic Instinct reference on the shot.

# ¿ Nov 24, 2017 17:05

SelenicMartian: Sep 14, 2013; Sometimes it's not the bomb that's retarded.

I suppose, we're going to have a broken puzzle in every update

Part 4. Hey you psycho shrimpo you...

# ¿ Dec 1, 2017 14:22

SelenicMartian: Sep 14, 2013; Sometimes it's not the bomb that's retarded.

I don't think we're ready for anything happening in this one

Part 5. Hi, guys, gal's, hetero's...

# ¿ Dec 8, 2017 14:44

SelenicMartian: Sep 14, 2013; Sometimes it's not the bomb that's retarded.

This time there's boob jiggle and the most idiotic dialogue so far.

Part 6. Suddenly I'm getting very tired.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2017 20:28

SelenicMartian: Sep 14, 2013; Sometimes it's not the bomb that's retarded.

At some point they started to apply random voice clips to events, I think.

Part 7. It's only money.

# ¿ Dec 18, 2017 16:29

SelenicMartian: Sep 14, 2013; Sometimes it's not the bomb that's retarded.

We're back to the regular crazy and random Oma.

Part 8. Pity my rear end

# ¿ Dec 21, 2017 17:48

SelenicMartian: Sep 14, 2013; Sometimes it's not the bomb that's retarded.

Thesaya posted:

I have given up watching this. I really hate the game. Thank you for the LP, but I'm out.

No! Come back! For real seething loathing for this game you have to watch the next part! It's got musical numbers, and a dancing number to no music, and awful puzzles and...

Part 9. I love to make baloons.

Official guide for the race puzzle:
- Use the helmet on the referee ( the guy that sleeps )
- Click on the cubes in front of granny, one by one
- When you reach the other side click on the goblet (the trophy) � �a goblet�

Fan guide for the race puzzle:
- Put the football helmet on Granny. She is (sometimes, but not always) informed that she can begin the game ; whereupon she quickly discards the helmet (what was it for?) & begins the game ! S A V E !
- This may be a bit tricky (or extremely easy), but not really hard. One way of 'winning' is as follows (there may be better, easier and more precise methods. It's possible sometimes to simply walk to the trophy and take it ... random ??) :-
There is a sort of forecourt of 4 large squares in front of the game area (near the right side of the screen). As each of the four creatures lands on its particular forecourt square, 'dose' it with sun tan lotion (gives them sticky feet --- at least temporarily). Then position Granny at the jumping off point at the middle-front of this forecourt. Click on a square in front (or behind) of one of the four creatures, and it jumps to that square, often causing one of the obstacles to rise or fall. Do the same with the other creatures until the first small square of the middle row opens up for Granny --- click on this free square and Granny jumps onto it. By continuing this procedure, Granny can proceed along the middle row from square to square (five in all). After this, she just has to click on the trophy and Granny automatically obtains a goblet. (N.B. Sometimes, Granny may have to backtrack in order to 'wake the creatures up' !).

# ¿ Dec 26, 2017 13:22

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# ¿ May 14, 2024 21:06

SelenicMartian: Sep 14, 2013; Sometimes it's not the bomb that's retarded.

Solumin posted:

The dialogue is just so bad!

It gets worse :smug:

Part 10. He might have already been death.

So, how many of you saw that plot twist coming?

# ¿ Dec 28, 2017 12:41

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Dementia, it's a state of mind (Armed & Delirious)