Adventure Gamers - Forums

Hi guys, I figured if anyone might be able to recall an obscure title it might be hardcore adventure game fans - i’m at the end of my rope regarding this.

See, when I was a kid back in the 90s, my dad used to have compilation “books” of macintosh CDs - They had a lot of different things, I remember the Mac version of Mario’s Time Machine being among them, I believe Descent was another… Really cool stuff to have as a kid. There was an adventure game that was in that book I THINK, i’m not certain… Memory does fade with time, after all.

Here is the (little) I recall about the game:

-First person with an inventory system. The graphics weren’t FMV or anything similar as I recall.

- There was some flavor text regarding “nostrils”, I think in regards to a bottle or jar I had in my inventory.

- I fell into a chasm after crossing a bridge that broke. I never made it past that area.

- I remember there being giant mushrooms.

So yes… Very little to go on. If anyone recalls this game or has any info, please respond! Thanks!

Dare to Dream?

It’s first-person with an inventory and cartoon graphics (therefore, not FMV).
You collect tree snot from the nostril of a tree.
You fall into a chasm when crossing a bridge.
There are giant mushrooms.

It was a shareware game in three parts. It sounds like you may have had all three as a retail release, or at least Parts 1 and 2.

If I have guessed correctly and that is the game you remember, then you might be interested to learn the trivia that it was made by a young Cliff Bleszinski, who became the design director of Epic Games and is the creator of Jazz Jackrabbit and Gears of War, and co-creator of Unreal. (Yes, really. Everybody starts somewhere. )

Hmm, this is a hard one… It sounds familiar, some of those scenes even look familiar, but I don’t think its it… I think the art was more advanced than VGA, and i’m fairly certain it was on Macintosh, but my memory might be working against me. Even the name sounds familiar

Does anyone else have any ideas?

Ah yes, good point, Dare to Dream was Windows only. My mistake.

More questions that might yield helpful details below. It’s totally OK if you don’t remember or aren’t sure, just say so or skip that category and move on to other questions.

Age:
About what era would you guess the game was made? Early 1990s? Late 1990s? Early 2000s?

Graphics:
Did you move node-to-node (like Shadowgate or original Myst) or smoothly in real-time 3-D (like Realms of the Haunting or Real Myst)?
If node-to-node, were graphics handdrawn (like a painting or cartoon) or pre-rendered 3-D (like Myst or Riven)?
Which word best describes the graphics—Artsy/stylized, cartoony, painterly, photorealistic?
Colorful or grey/brown/green?

Story:
Do you remember what the game was about or what your goal was?
Was the setting modern day, historical, cartoon world, fantasy, sci-fi…?

Tone:
Funny or serious?

Characters
Were you playing as anyone in particular or just as yourself?
Did you encounter other characters in the game? (Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never.)
Do you remember anything about the characters?

Interface:
How did you select verbs like Look/Use/Pick up? Were there buttons for selecting verbs on screen and, if so, were the verbs represented by words or icons? Do you remember roughly how many verbs there were (e.g. less than 5, or 5 or more) and how they were laid out (in a menu at the bottom, etc.)? Were there no verbs and everything was single-click like Myst?

Where was the inventory? Always on screen? If so, what side of the screen? Did it pop up on screen only when opened?

Gameplay:
Just to double-check, many RPGs are played in first-person and have inventories, so I’m assuming you remember this game as an adventure game because it had inventory puzzles, little or no combat, and no stats (Strength of 10, Intelligence of 15, etc.)?

Memorable moments/details/puzzles:
Anything else that stands out about the game like the nostrils, bridge/chasm, and giant mushrooms?
Puzzle elements in particular are often a great clue for tracking down adventure games because those show up in walkthroughs.

I didn’t own a Mac growing up so I may not be familiar with your game unless it was also on PC, but these questions should be helpful to other forum members in addition to myself. Some people here have a nigh-encyclopedic knowledge of adventure games, so with the right clues, we might figure out which one you’re looking for.

Watched a lets play of it last night. I guess my memory served me incorrect, because when a very key item popped up: Petroleum Jelly. I’m now more than 90% positive thats my game.

Thank you so so so much, it was haunting my memories, now I just need to figure out how to play it