[Take It Sleazy]

Montezano's Quest is a fictional video game invented by television writer Adam I. Lapidus for an episode of "Full House". It is among a select few 1990s portrayals of video games that don't use Pac-Man sound effects. Because it is used as a complete b-plot, the game mechanics and concepts are much more fleshed out than a usual "I'm playing Alien Zappo 2000" throwaway line. This really stuck out to me as a kid obsessed with games. The whole thing has this great half-real feeling of a semi game-knowledgeable dad telling you second hand about what he thinks his kids are playing. Here are the game related parts of the episode:



Watching this again as an adult, I'm trying to figure out what exactly what the hell these people are supposed to be playing. It generally seems to be some kind of a ToeJam and Earl meets Fractured Fairy Tales adventure game. Let's break down what we can tell about it by each scene.

Scene 1: The game is for SNES and has a nice voice sampling system. (This is from 1994 so the system was at it's peak technological prowess if the game is "new".) There is an in-game "voice of God" narrator who mocks you if you fail.

This being pre-internet, combined with the fact that she is seemingly just starting the game, means that Michelle's dialogue on the reputation of the game likely either came from the back of the box or playground chatter.

Scene 2: The game's main goal is to find 3 magical keys.

The game has revealed either in the manual or through onscreen dialogue that at this early stage, you have to enter the door to the Magic Universe. There are multiple ways to approach this door puzzle. This would typically be in the realm of a more traditional adventure game with maybe Lucasarts or Snatcher style choices on screen for a console game. However, Uncle Jesse, who is apparently not good at video games, can not only intuitively and clearly understand what is happening on screen, he can manipulate the game using only the Advantage Joystick with context-senstive controls.

The character's head is dented, indicating either a visual damage system or a cartoony Earthworm Jim style animation sequence.

The narrator apparently also gives you Shadow of the Colossus style warnings of how to approach the game. Considering how he mocks you when you die, I think some of these warnings are possibly lies to stop you from fulfilling your quest. Maybe he is a trickster/unreliable dungeon master like in the Hitchhikers Guide text adventures.

Scene 3: Jesse, now furiously button mashing, is involved in a combat sequence with Intergalactic Wombats. The sound effects indicate that he is using an energy blast of some sort to defeat them. He may possibly be inside of a vehicle.

Joey is the person who is most knowledgeable about the game, having seemingly previously played it to a higher level than Michelle has reached. It may be his cartridge.

Jesse enters an especially dangerous section of the cave and the narrator gives him an audio warning of "DANGER". This may be because it has a high enemy density or because he is low on health. Joey advises him to "eat the Power Biscuit" which either replenishes his health or perhaps increases his ability to defeat the enemies in some way.

Scene 4: The game audibly warns "MAYDAY. LOSING POWER" as if they are in an aircraft of some kind. Jesse implores Joey to attempt to raise the power level of the main character in some way and hands him the controller. Joey may know how to access an inventory item or cheat code to help him out, or he is possibly picking up another "power-up" item from a location to difficult for Jesse to reach.

You are able to either knock over or execute an "empty" command on items such as the Nuclear Waste Barrel. This would suggest that the player is perhaps now on foot.

After collecting the second key, the main character is transported to the Pasture of Lost Hope. Joey knows about this place despite there apparently being no on screen indicator of the location name. He has either heard about it second hand or been here earlier in a playthrough. Danny seems disoriented. It was an abrupt level transition. Despite it's name, The Pasture doesn't necessarily seem to be an in-game punishment seeing as there was no time to do something "wrong" after collecting the second key, but this may be the trickster-DM at work.

The Power Biscuit is probably a pallet swap of the Cosmic Cow Pie.

Scene 5: There is an Enchanted Kayak minigame. The overall game seems to have a variety of play styles. The family's dramatic movements indicate a first person perspective. Perhaps this is a Mode 7 section. The game indicates to them onscreen that they are at the Pond of Peace.

Scene 6: Danny saying "trolls at 12 o'clock" means that this section is most likely either a top down or first person perspective.

Scene 7: The troll guarding the castle is unclear on screen before he attacks. There is some form of melee combat including a Hyper Punch move. The game has a fanfare after defeating the troll, but he is only unconscious. Perhaps he is doing the well-worn boss trope of taking a second form.
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I think it's kind of interesting that the script seems slightly more knowledgeable about video games than any actor's portrayal of actually playing the game. What kind of game do you see Montezano's Quest as? Is Montezano our player or the narrator? Is anyone else filled with the strange desire to program this thing? Can you tell the Olsen Twins apart?

[skelethulu]

I have always been fascinated with fictional videogames. They usually sound pretty terrible, but this one, at least, could have been alright. Reminds me of Legacy of the Wizard with its complicated progression.

Lucky Wander Boy (which I am pretty sure is just a Space Harrier ripoff), on the other hand, sounded kind of lame.

Still, this shows a remarkable amount of depth compared to something like Roseanne, where the characters just watch the Super Mario World attract mode the whole time.

[gamingjustin]

This sounds like the sequel to Takeshi's Challenge.

[haze]

a cow pie in a pasture that looks like a powerup is a brilliant idea of cohesive world-building. or it could just be a mean prank.

let's get more writers to design videogames (but don't tell them to WRITE a videogame)

[colour_thief]

Sounds to me like it's roughly based on Thayer's Quest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thayer's_Quest

[Take It Sleazy]

Hey yeah, if you ignore the actors spastic controls, a combination Myst/Dragon's Lair game makes perfect sense.

[Sketch]

Found this thread after reading the Podcast thread and googling Montesuno - this was the top hit! And should have been front-paged. This is one of the most beautiful threads I've read in a long time - and Sleazy could well be a genius despite his scary looking avatar. That's some insightful writing there - and a joy to read.

I've finished Thayer's Quest, but I wasn't really thinking of it when watching the video.

I got some serious Maniac Mansion meets Castlevania 2 vibes. MM because of the context-sensitive actions and adventure aspect (and the key under the mat), and CV2 for its obtuse internal rules.

In fact most TV portrayals I've take the route of CV2 or Tower of Druaga, with impossible to fathom goals and ridiculously obtuse logic. This feature had an interesting paragraph in it.

[luvcraft]

Guys I'm getting some serious Kujibiki Unbalance vibes from this thread. It's kind of scaring me.

Also, I found this and this by googling "list of fictional video games".
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[Take It Sleazy]

SITCOM FUN FACT: This comes from season eight episode nine of Full House. Weirdly, season eight episode nine of The Cosby Show also has a b-plot about a highly detailed video game that adults eventually become obsessed with!

[diplo]

there's an actual game called montezuma's revenge wherein you collect keys.
that's the most obvious connection to a real product i see.

[spinach]

this is really creepy
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http://thenicestpeople.tumblr.com

[CubaLibre]

[luvcraft]