Interview with Al Lowe

by Craig White 1 January 2005

Al Lowe

Al Lowe has worked for Sierra On-Line for over 17 years now. He is the star behind the lovable Larry Laffer and has also created such masterpieces as Freddy Pharkas and the family game Torin’s Passage. Al’s next project is a 3D on-line casino game called Larry’s Casino. After Larry, he plans to work on Larry 8, which could possibly be Larry’s first 3D adventure! If you want a laugh, feel free to read on and learn about Larry’s hits and his very big misses.

Is it true you are the world’s oldest living computer game designer?

(Laughs) Of course! At least, that’s what I’ve claimed for years. To date, no one has ever challenged me! On the other hand, it’s scarcely a title to fight over, is it?

What software titles have you worked on during your “stay” with Sierra?

I started programming in 1978 and within a few years was creating games for Sierra. My first full-blown, animated 3-D graphic adventure game for Sierra was The Black Cauldron, in 1984. In ’87, the Leisure Suit Larry series began. All in all, I’ve been involved in one way or another with over 25 software titles, plus many hint books for various games including my own. And of course, my latest project completed was Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love for Sail.

How did you get started in this business?

Before I was a game designer, my background was in education. I was a high school band director for ten years and a school music administrator for six years after that. I designed a few educational computer games before joining Sierra, then several of Sierra’s Disney titles in the early 80s.

Before Larry, you made many educational titles. Tell me about more these.

I began by writing three games back in 1982. As I recall, computers hadn’t even been invented then–I think I used a chisel to carve the code into stone tablets! (laughs) I’m still proud of those games, because they were some of the very first software that was a fun game first and educational second. At the time, educational software was so drill and practice oriented. You know: first do this, then do it again, then do it again, then take this test, now here’s your final score. Oh, and be sure to beep the speaker at me every time I make a mistake! My goal was to create educational titles that were games first and foremost, something kids would want to spend time with because they were enjoyable. Most of them didn’t realize they were learning at the same time!

Besides designing, what else have you done for Sierra?

In the early years, everyone had to do everything! On my first products, I did graphics, programming, writing, sound effects, package design, you name it! Of course, the games looked like it, too! (laughs) Almost immediately, I stopped doing graphics. But I still programmed right up to Larry 5. I also programmed games for other designers: King’s Quest III and King’s Quest IV, plus the original Police Quest. And, for a short time back in the mid-80s, I was Sierra’s entire music department. I wrote all the music for every game the company did. This was back when there were no books to explain things, no MIDI, no sequences, no computer-ready synthesizers … we were plowing completely new ground. We struggled mightily to come up with some way for our computer games to communicate with synthesizers. We’ve come a long way not only technically but musically. Isn’t it ironic: after all that work to be the first computer games with MIDI, we’re now dropping MIDI completely! Of course, it’s only because we now have the ability to play all-digital music. It was very exciting to have Torin’s Passage enriched with the music of Oscar-winning composer Michel Legrand. And now, Leisure Suit Larry 7: Love for Sail! has authentic “lounge music” plus original disco hits from the 70s, performed by the original artists—just like K-Tel! (chuckles)

Now, an interesting game you made was Torin’s Passage. Compared to Larry, it is quite different. Why the change?

Torin was quite different from what most people expect of me. It is much more a traditional “gamer’s game,” and it’s “squeaky clean!” No buxom babes, no risque humor. I wanted to design something that wouldn’t be “off limits” to my daughter, Megan, who’s 14. After creating products both for children and for adults, it seemed the logical next step was a game with appeal to both. This is one game a family could enjoy together.

When you look back to your early years in game design, how does it compare to today’s standards?

As we’ve added specialists to our development teams, it has become much more formal. Back in 1987, when we created the first Leisure Suit Larry, there was a grand total of two people on the project: Mark Crowe and me. Mark did all the backgrounds and all the animation for that entire game! I did all the programming, music, sound effects, and wrote all the text. Design? Oh, I don’t care, Mark–what do you want to do? Now, with 15 people working on a game, the design becomes much more formalized. The initial design for Larry 7 was over 100 pages of fine print, and that didn’t include one line of dialogue! Later, as the game took shape, Don Munsil and I added another 500 pages of text. But, I’m proud to say, the initial design described the final game with at least 95-percent accuracy. The other 5 percent was wonderful suggestions and improvements added through the creativity of our team members.

Let’s talk about Larry for a while. Honestly, how much of Larry is in yourself?

Not much, I hope! Of course, after all these years, he does begin to rub off on you!

Okay, then let’s flip it around. How much of yourself is in Larry?

All of me, I suppose. Since nearly everything in there came out of my mind, you could say there’s a great deal of me in Larry. I like to say Larry is the swinging side of me that I’ve kept repressed through all my years of happy monogamy. I’ve been happily married to my wife, Margaret, for over 28 years now. We have two children, Brian (20) and Megan (13). While I still play saxophone professionally, I haven’t hung out in bars or picked up chicks in many, many years!

When you look into the magical crystal ball of games, what do you see?

I see nothing but great things coming for the world of computer gaming. I think games will become more interactive, rather than less. My goal is nothing less than full-fledged interactive movies, with multiple paths through the plot, filled with ultra-realistic graphics, intelligent responses to your actions, and background music that continually evolves to fit the situation. We’ve learned big-name stars and Hollywood production values don’t make up for interactivity. I hope my games will never sacrifice game play or interactivity to flash and dash.

In other words, great games are coming?

You bet! Especially the multiplayer Larry Casino game I am working on now. But please note that this will not replace Larry 8.

How could you possibly have dreamed up as big of a loser as Larry Laffer?

In late 1986, I felt the time was ripe for a game that I didn’t see anywhere else. Something that dealt with mature subject matter, and with humor. At the time, every computer game was terribly serious: save the princess, save the galaxy! And set in fantastic settings: medieval times or other planets. I thought the world was ready for a game set in modern times, with modern people. Larry’s loser image just kind of grew with the character.

Was Larry based on anyone you know?

No, he’s based on jerks everyone knows! Well, there was a guy who worked as a traveling software salesman for Sierra back then …

Larry’s been going for a long time now–don’t you think the joke is wearing a bit thin?

What do you mean, now? Hell, this joke was thin to begin with … and that’s one of the things that makes it funny. I try to never “talk down” to the gamer. I assume you have intelligence, understanding, some maturity. I try to write the same way I would talk if we were sitting around and just talking. Men have been doing that for hundreds of years, and the jokes are still coming. I think Larry will go on and on, until the public decides they’ve had enough. But, after they see Love for Sail! I think they’ll be just like our team: laughing so hard they’ll cry for more!

What sort of people do you think buy Larry games?

Mostly prison inmates and crazed lonely losers … not! We’ve surveyed Larry players and found they strongly match the game-playing population in general, with one exception: a higher proportion are women! It seems women relate to Larry, probably because at least once in their life, they dated a jerk like him.

You must be compared to Leisure Suit Larry a lot (at least you are to me). What do you think of this comparison? Did you try to put as much of yourself into his character?

Yes. It’s obvious, but false. There’s almost nothing of my character in Larry. The truth? I’m the narrator. You know, that smart ass who “knows all” and laughs at Larry under his breath.

Over the years, Larry has certainly evolved a lot. From a very pixilated loser to a beautifully animated loser. What do you see in his future?

It’s safe to bet whatever happens, it’s not gonna be pretty! Actually, right now, it looks like Larry got lucky. He met some “friends” who needed a front man for their new casino, and they even let him decorate it. You’ll be able to see it next spring. It’s called Leisure Suit Larry’s Casino and it’s going to be the best Internet gambling and chat you’ve never lost any real money in!

In Larry 7, there are many comical Easter eggs. Did you plan these in the design process, or did the team sneak ’em in behind your back? What do you think of them (the Easter eggs)?

Some were “designed in” by me, but most came from the team. I love ’em.

Right now you are working on a multi-player Larry Casino game, right? Tell me more about this.

Leisure Suit Larry’s Casino will feature wonderful Internet chat and great gambling in a casino that only Larry would decorate. It will track your gambling but never ask you for real money. I’ve got some new chat ideas that I think everyone is really going to enjoy. The Larry part? Think how Larry would expect people would want to gamble. Yep, that’s what we’re doing. It’s the first casino game where everyone gambles naked sitting around in hot tubs!

In the spring 1997 InterAction magazine, the Letters to the Editor section mentions that you are working on a golf game. Is this true? If not, what happened to it?

DreamLinks is still in the early design stages. It will feature Sierra’s new golf engine (which is getting great reviews). Vance Cook, the designer, has done some really great things, including TruSwing, which lets you use the mouse to swing instead of just slapping the space bar. DreamLinks is my variation, which features realistic golf played in real locations that will never see a golf hole.

Of course, I must ask what really happened with Larry 4? Was Ken mad when you “lost the floppies,” and do you plan to skip another Larry?

Why, yes, uh, that’s what happened. Sure it is. I think.

3D is very much “in” now. Do you think Larry will be seen in 3D?

Actually, Leisure Suit Larry’s Casino features my spoof at 3-D animation: CyberLarry2000. I can say, without fear of correction, you’ve never seen anything quite like it!

Speaking of 3D, what do you think of the way adventure games are evolving? What would you like to do to change things around?

I think you’ll have to wait for Larry 8 to ship late next year for the definitive answer to that question. I do know, good games never go backwards and they never stay the same. You guess.

You are the oldest person working at Sierra, right? What do your co-workers think of this, and more importantly, what do you think? (grin)

At Sierra? Hell, I’m the world’s oldest living computer game designer! And, to answer your second question, they either like it or they’re history! No, seriously, sometimes it’s good; sometimes it’s bad. The trick is knowing when maturity and insight are important and when they’re just in the way. I hope to continue figuring this out as I go along, of course.

In each of your Larry games, there is a character that very much resembles the CEO of Sierra, Ken Williams. What is your call on this? Would you say it is an attempt to “make friends” with the boss? (grin)

Does the phrase “suck up” come to mind? (grin) Nah, it’s too late to “make friends.” Ken’s my best buddy, and our relationship is hardly lord and peasant! It actually started because I thought it would be grins to make fun of him in a game, and also because it’s damned hard coming up with 40 to 70 interesting names for each of these games. His is available and I know he’s not going to sue me!

What was your first thought when you first came to work with Sierra, and what did you do?

I’m too late. I assumed I was late to the party; all the great programmers were already developing great games, and I was this former high school music teacher with not even a computer class to my credit trying to program games and write dialog. Just goes to show what I know.

It is a fact that you were a school teacher before you designed games. Does the school you worked for know what you’re doing now, and what do they think?

The people I worked with always knew I was funny; I mean, you don’t spend your life a quiet serious guy and then start writing humor games. You’ll have to ask them what they think. I presume they think I’m crazy … but better off financially!

It is very obvious that you are a funny man. Does this come naturally, or do you spend countless hours thinking up jokes?

I’d like to say it comes naturally, but the more I think about it the more I realize I devote a great deal of my life to studying contemporary society so as to make fun of it. This includes reading The New York Times cover to cover every day, watching lots of late night TV (Letterman and Conan, not Leno; too sucky), every cable channel’s comedy specials, going to lots of comedy shows, etc. So, if that’s work, put me down for it!

Do you think Larry will ever get a woman, for good?

No.

Put simply, does your wife like Larry?

No. But she likes the things Larry buys!

How do you come up for new ideas for Larry? I read that the team must read Playboy magazine in order to realistically draw women. Do you think this is necessary?

It’s not necessary for me, as I’ve actually seen real women naked. But for those guys … Nah, that’s just a joke. We never work from photographs of naked women. We hire real models and make ’em pose here in my office!

Passionate Patty was a very nice touch in the Larry’s adventure game. She has introduced women into playing the game. Why did you want to add her, and do you think she will be back?

I just thought Larry needed some contrast, and I tried to come up with a woman who would be as different from Larry as possible. I made Patti everything Larry is not: hip, worldly, sexual, confidant, aggressive, etc.

Do you have any last words you would like to add?