Phantasmagoria is a CD-ROM horror-themed computer game series created by Sierra On-line for the DOS and Windows platforms. The series is composed of two games: Phantasmagoria and Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh, released in 1995 and 1996, respectively. The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... Horror can mean several things: Horror (emotion) Horror fiction Horror film This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Instructions on how to use the directory command. ... Windows redirects here. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ...

Phantasmagoria

Adrienne looking at a photograph.

Made during the height of the "interactive movie" boom in the computer game industry, Phantasmagoria is notable for being one of the first adventure games to use a human being as an on-screen avatar. Actress Victoria Morsell spent months in front of a bluescreen filming the hundreds of actions players could direct her character to perform. The game was released on seven CDs to accommodate the massive amount of video generated by this process, the creation of which was contracted by Sierra to Kronos Digital Entertainment (who had previously worked on Sierra's King's Quest 6). Today it still stands as a record of sorts for the largest number of media cuts used in a game, though several other games — including an adventure game based on The X-Files television series — have matched it in the sheer number of CDs used. However, if it were to use modern day video compression codecs while keeping the same resolution, the game could probably have shipped on as little as one or two discs. On the other hand, however, the seven discs were used to highlight the seven days, during which the story takes place - the game could easily fit about five discs, even without the advanced video compression. Also, it is worth mentioning that large portions of data were repeated on each CD, to avoid disk swapping when playing the game. Image File history File links Phantasmagoria_box. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A game engine is the core software component of a computer or video game or other interactive application with real-time graphics. ... Sierras Creative Interpreter (SCI) refers to the scripting language created by Jeff Stephenson of Sierra On-Line for its adventure games after the older AGI. While AGI was a procedural language, SCI is completely object-oriented. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Video games are categorized into genres based on their gameplay. ... Horror can mean several things: Horror (emotion) Horror fiction Horror film This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... This is an article about the computer and video game genre. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... The Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC) was an independent, non-profit organization founded in the USA in 1994 by the Software Publishers Association as well as six other industry leaders in response to video game controversy and threats of government regulation. ... 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The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... It has been suggested that FMV game be merged into this article or section. ... Pac-Man is one of the most recognizable video games ever created. ... This is an article about the computer and video game genre. ... Appeared in Sierras video game Phantasmagoria in 1995. ... The bluescreen setup. ... Look up sierra in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Kings Quest VI is universally known as the high point of the series for its in-depth plot, its landmark 3D graphic introduction movie, and its great voice acting, with actor Robby Benson providing the voice for Alexander, the games protagonist. ... 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The game script was about 400 pages long, four times the size of a regular movie script, and an additional 100 pages of storyboards set the style for the over 800 scenes in the game. The game required four months of filming alone and over 200 persons were involved in the production, not counting the Gregorian choir of 135 persons that was used for parts of the music in the game. Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

Plot

The story by Roberta Williams, somewhat similar to that of The Shining, revolves around paperback writer Adrienne Delaney, who has together with her husband Donald Gordon just bought a remote, enormous mansion previously owned by a famous magician in the late 19th century, Zoltan Carnovasch (Carno). Adrienne is hoping to get in the mood for writing her next novel and Don, a photographer, wants to photograph things. Immediately upon moving into the house, Adrienne begins having nightmares. Unbeknownst to the happy two, Zoltan the magician was into black magic and had summoned an evil demon which possessed him and made him murder his wives in grotesque ways. (Remotely connected to their favorite occupation - for example, in one of the most controversial film sequences the chubby Regina is force fed animal entrails through a funnel until she suffocates.) As far as the townspeople know, the wives died naturally however tragically, but as Adrienne explores the house she starts to see visions of the murders taking place. She finds out that Zoltan met his demise when his last wife realized he was a murderer. She conspired with her lover to kill Zoltan by sabotaging the equipment for his most famous and dangerous escapology trick; inspired by "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe, Zoltan would escape from being strapped to a chair with a built-in axe that swung back and forth above him and lowering until it killed him, all while his head was covered with a burning hood. The plan went wrong and both the wife and the lover as well as Zoltan died, and the demon escaped into a secret room of the mansion. Adrienne unwittingly releases it shortly after moving in and it possesses Don. Seeking help from among others the repenting spirit of Zoltan and a 110 year old man who as a boy was a witness to the demon's escape, Adrienne manages to banish the demon forever, although by then the completely insane Don gets killed. Roberta Heuer Williams (born February 16, 1953) is a retired computer game designer. ... The Shining may mean: The Shining (novel), by Stephen King The Shining (film), Stanley Kubricks adaptation of the novel The Shining (mini-series), the ABC mini-series scripted by Stephen King The Shining (band), an English music group named after Kings novel This is a disambiguation page: a... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... John Dee and Edward Kelley evoking a spirit: Elizabethans who claimed magical knowledge A magician is a person skilled in the mysterious and hidden art of magic, which can be described as either the act of entertaining with tricks that are in apparent violation of natural law, such as those... This article is about the literary concept. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... “Fiend” redirects here. ... Disembowelment is evisceration, or the removing of vital organs, usually from the abdomen. ... Harry Houdini, a famous escapologist and magician. ... This article is about the short story by Edgar Allan Poe. ... Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, playwright, editor, literary critic, essayist and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. ...

Phantasmagoria was a notable departure for designer Roberta Williams, best known for her family games like the King's Quest series. Featuring graphic gore, violence and a rape scene, the game stirred controversy over age restrictions and target audiences in the maturing game industry. It was banned in Australia while CompUSA and other major retailers refused to carry it. The game was never banned in Germany, but has an 18-Rating. Roberta Heuer Williams (born February 16, 1953) is a retired computer game designer. ... Kings Quest IV screenshot Kings Quest is an adventure game series made by the American computer game company Sierra On-Line (currently known as Sierra Entertainment). ... CompUSA, Inc. ...

Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh

In 1996, Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh by Lorelei Shannon was released. Though still enormous in size — coming on five separate CDs — it was in no way as large as its predecessor. Image File history File links Phantasmagoria_2_box. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Video games are categorized into genres based on their gameplay. ... Horror can mean several things: Horror (emotion) Horror fiction Horror film This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... This is an article about the computer and video game genre. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is the organisation responsible for film classification (see Motion picture rating systems and History of British Film Certificates) within the United Kingdom. ... The Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC) was an independent, non-profit organization founded in the USA in 1994 by the Software Publishers Association as well as six other industry leaders in response to video game controversy and threats of government regulation. ... Microsofts disk operating system, MS-DOS, was Microsofts implementation of DOS, which was the first popular operating system for the IBM PC, and until recently, was widely used on the PC compatible platform. ... Windows redirects here. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ...

Dropping the unique adventure game style interaction in favor of an interactive movie format, A Puzzle of Flesh was more expensive to produce and less popular with audiences tiring of video clip-driven games. Though some concluded that it was a substantial improvement over the original in several areas, others dismissed the game, criticizing it for its completely different atmosphere, lack of creativity, interactivity and excessive violence.

The plot of the second game in the series revolves around the character of Curtis Craig, a 30-year-old man working in a company managed by the enigmatic Paul Warner. Curtis' mysterious and traumatic past is a key element in the plot, as he pieces together his experience to form a picture of his soul, one whose discovery might lead to his demise. Harassed by quasi-delusions which seem all too real, Curtis aims to uncover the truth about his family, co-workers and most importantly, his own existence. As his delusions become more and more real and begin to have an enormous, terrible impact on his surroundings, Curtis must confront his fears or risk getting devoured by what lives within him.

A Puzzle of Flesh has a fairly standard interface, with the cursor shaped into the distinctive logo of WynTech, the company employing Craig. The inventory is accessible practically at any time, while events of some importance can be recalled using an option that plays the clip the player selects from any single chapter.

The game was a financial failure — probably the result of a rapidly falling interest in interactive movies, especially ones packed onto several CDs — and no further titles in the series were produced.

The US and German uncut-version was put on The Index in Germany, but not the heavily-cut UK version. This article has been translated, and needs attention from someone approaching dual fluency. ...

Trivia

Phantasmagoria 2 was the first computer game to establish the playable character as being bisexual. In human sexuality, bisexuality describes a man or woman having a sexual orientation to persons of either or both sexes (a man or woman who sexually likes both sexes; people who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to both males and females). ...

In Phantasmagoria 2, the location of the fetish club was actually the original location of a popular downtown Seattle fetish club called The Vogue. Most of the extras in the club scene were Technical Support phone reps from Sierra Online.

External links

• The Phantasmagoria series at MobyGames
• Interview with Roberta Williams, Adventure Classic Gaming
• Review of Phantasmagoria
• Interview with Stan Liu of Kronos Digital, at GameCritics.com