From late 2002 until mid-2005, a popular magazine called The Inventory
was featured here at Just Adventure. Unfortunately, due to a lack
of interest from staff writers, the magazine only produced 25 issues
before folding last May. But its creator, Dimitris Manos, also editor
of Adventure Europe, has been hard at work on an independent adventure
called The Exchange Student that will not disappoint.

TES is an “interactive sitcom” similar in structure to
the Bone and upcoming Sam and Max games, with episodic installments.
The primary installment is called “First Day in Sweden.” The
story focuses on Emilio Carboni, a 22-year-old Italian boy who, try
as he may, has never been successful with the ladies. His pal Vicenzo
suggests an exchange program to Sweden, where he recently spent some
time and befriended many attractive young women. Thus, Emilio is
determined to leave the Casa Carboni and become a man!

The game’s cartoonish art fits its silly, sometimes sophomoric
humor. The crowning artistic achievements are the backgrounds, created
by none other than Bill Eaken. His art has been featured in such
notable games as Leisure Suit Larry 3 and The
Curse of Monkey Island,
to name a few. They are detailed and creative, capturing the feel
of each new setting with distinctive flair. The characters are more
like caricatures, and if you look closely you will laugh at some
of the features that the artists gave them (i.e. lots of chest hair
for Emilio).

The UI is simple to use. There is a bright orange arrow that will
blink when you roll over a hotspot. You have three interactive icons:
look, talk, and use. (As in many recent games with this type of interface,
especially Al Emmo, it is fun to try all three for each object and
person!) When you roll your mouse over the top of the screen, a bar
pulls down with links to the Main Menu and and in-game hint system
(cleverly titled ‘Ints and Tips), as well as your inventory.

The demo only included two small puzzles: ridding Emilio’s room
of ‘incriminating evidence’ (all of his, er, adult material) and
making him ‘look and smell like a Roman god’ so as to woo the Swedish
girls. These tasks are clearly outlined for you in the beginning
and the solutions are quite clever. As far as I can tell, the game
bases most of its puzzle on logical thinking, though sometimes with
an added creative twist. Sometimes it is necessary to think like
the main character in order to come up with a solution!

The voiceovers are very
well-done for an independent offering. The ever-talented John Bell
works his magic with the lead role, the
mother’s weeping and sniffing throughout her lines is a riot, and
the father’s Godfather-like demeanor is played to a tee. It should
also be mentioned that one of the actresses, Irene Tuomainen, originally
from Sweden, has been the voice coach for Jennifer Garner on TV’s “Alias,” to
help with her Swedish accent.

Because the demo was so short, I wrote Dimitris to ask him a few
additional questions about his game:

When did you decide you wanted to make an AG?

Well it’s been a dream
of mine since I was a little kid. But, that dream seemed very distant
back then. Later on when I started publishing
The Inventory, I was ‘forced’ to play many adventure games for the
purposes of reviewing. This process gave me a better insight in what
it takes to make an adventure game. It was at that time that I first
thought of making an adventure game. The timing was also right because
the tools needed for making a game are much more accessible nowdays
than they were a few years back.

How did the idea for TES come about?

At some point, I think
about 2 years ago if I remember correctly, a publisher of mobile
games contacted me and asked me if I know
of someone who would like
to write stories for their games. I suggested that I could give it a go,
and write some plot suggestions for them. They said that they
were looking for
games similar to Leisure Suit Larry and Laura
Bow… I had been an exchange
student myself, and during my years as an exchange student I met quite
a few ‘Larry-like’ characters so with real life events being an
excellent source
of inspiration I started writing a story about an exchange student from
Italy
who embarks on a quest for romance! The publisher liked the idea and we
started working on the game, but half-way in development the publisher
said that
they would like to postpone its release and buy the rights
and maybe develop it
in the future. I prefered to retain the rights and look for another publisher.
After about a year of negotiations I realized that the mobile market is
not ready for an adventure game yet (unless that adventure game
is very very
simple and can fit in 20KB!) Therefore I prefered to start
my own company and release
The Exchange Student in episodes in the form of a casual game.

What has the experience
as an indy developer been like?

Like waves in the sea.
It is never easy to start your ‘own thing’ . There were many moments
in the past 2 years when I felt like
quitting. There
were other
moments when I was really excited. For example, it’s not so often that
someone happens to work side by side with someone who has such a
tremendous history
in gaming like Bill Eaken. Seeing the game come into life is also a
fantastic experience. So all in all, it’s been a mixture of feelings,
but mostly
it’s been a learning experience. And some things I’ve learnt are:
– Never announce a release date
– Never work with someone without a contract
– Never give up

If you’re as interested in this game as I am, be sure to visit
the official website and sign up for the newsletter. In just a few
short weeks, you will be able to order the PC version of Episode
1 from the website, with the Mac and Pocket PC version available
a month after. The newsletter will confirm this information and let
you know when the trailer is released and if any casual game portals
choose to pick up the game. (Plus, did I mention that the website
will have you laughing out loud?)

I encourage everyone
to put The Exchange Student on your ‘anticipated games’ list. It
is definitely one to watch out for!