If you like Graphic Adventures, there are three names capable of making you smile from ear to ear: Bernard, Laverne y Hoagie. The three young protagonists of Day of the Tentacle and the last hope of humanity against the plans of a terribly evil man Purple Tentacle Determined to conquer the world. What if I told you that there were originally planned to be six instead of three?
First things first: the way in which the LucasArts adventure is designed is quite unique, since after the initial stages of the plot, each of the protagonists ends in a different time. Bernard in the present, Laverne in a dystopian year 2194 and Hoagie sharing a table with the Founding Fathers of the United States in 1794.
So, and this is important, in the sequel to Maniac Mansion you not only had to solve the puzzles of a huge setting, but also know how to get around and exchange items over 400 years and in three timelines. Said like this it sounds complicated, but in practice it is a lot of fun. So how did three more protagonists fit together?
The idea of playing through three different eras remained in place. Day of the Tentacle, but the big change was that, as in the 1987 game, at the beginning we were given the option to choose between six protagonists, greatly expanding the replayability, since depending on who we played with there would be different events and dialogues. Something that sounded great on paper, but was a nightmare for the team.
To maintain our own sanity during production, we decided it would be best to limit it to Bernard, Hoagie, and Laverne, rather than allowing the player to choose between multiple protagonists.
There were many more things to animate than in Maniac Mansion, and having to animate all those actions for the six characters at hand would have cost us our lives.
Which brings us back to the main question: who were the young people who did not make it to the Mansion? To begin with, one of them was already present in Maniac Mansion original and another ended up starring in one of the funniest puzzles of Day of the Tentacle.
- Razor She is the redhead who has to put up with Bernard in Maniac Mansion (and got rid of him in the sequel). Her main trait, besides being a punk, was her musical qualities.
- Originally, Chester He was going to be a beatnik with a goatee, addicted to coffee, nicotine and Jazz. The curious thing is that the character was recycled and ended up being the twins Ned y Jed from the year 1794.
- Of Moonglow nothing was ever known, and It was all a personality. Long blonde hair, a different earring in each ear, very baggy clothes. and short stature. She was wearing a crystal hanging around her neck and that, added to her sandals, gives us a clue about her style and philosophy of life.
It is clear that their personalities would have provided a lot of play when interacting with each other and with the game’s puzzles, in addition to creating new havoc in different eras; but the truth is that Day of the Tentacle It only needed three protagonists and a really evil villain to be one of the best graphic adventures ever made. And he is perfect just the way he is.
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