Thimbleweed Park
- Ezra Readhead
- Nov 3, 2022
- 2 min read
It’s like opening a dusty old desk drawer and finding an undiscovered LucasArts adventure game you’ve never played before.
(“Thimbleweed Park: A New Classic Point & Click Adventure!”)
From the developers of Monkey Island, Thimbleweed Park is an old-school point-and-click adventure that looks, sounds and plays like a LucasArts title from the late 80s. By staying true to its roots, they have created something that feels genuinely fresh in today's industry (“How Thimbleweed Park Recreates the Glory Days of Graphic Adventure Games”).
The comically dated UI (fig.1) where players interact with scenery by selecting from a menu of verbs has been designed for older audiences, of whom clicking "use [x], on [y]" is second nature. This is also beneficial for younger players, new to this style of game, as it requires them to consider their actions and outcomes, as opposed to clicking on every object until something happens (“How Thimbleweed Park Recreates the Glory Days of Graphic Adventure Games”).
This combination of freedom and restrictions enables the creativity that we see in the early gaming scene (Miceli), appreciated by gamers with a desire to discover elements and experiment with them (fig.2).
A discouraging factor of video games nowadays is the complex user interface, overwhelming graphics and controller combinations that are difficult to learn, let alone master. The unadorned UI of retro games is enough to attract those who aren't 'traditionally' gamers, as it eliminates unnecessary complexity and does not require any expertise to advance through the game- only a thinking outside the box mentality.
This is evident through the IMDB user ratings (fig.3), where more positive responses came from those less represented in the video games industry, that being both women and those above 30.
By redefining the market for video games in a non-discriminatory, gender neutral way, the developers of thimbleweed park encourage a wide demographic to their game.
The retro aesthetic of Thimbleweed Park, as explored earlier, highlights the formal elements of Thimbleweed Park gameplay. A notable dramatic feature, however, is the use of characters in developing an engaging narrative for the player (fig.4).
The game begins as a single player murder mystery, where you have 5 characters to switch between. While the different characters don't have vastly different skills, they have varying knowledge and limitations (Reynolds). If a player was stuck on a particular puzzle thread, they could easily switch to another character to get away from it. Although, the game eventually requires multiple characters to work together on one task in order to solve it.
In playing with these characters and completing side quests, players add nested loops into the story and the plot immanently thickens.
The game is no longer a whodunnit, but now a search to unveil the true intentions of each of them and how they are individually involved in the case (“Thimbleweed ParkTM”).
Just as a player thinks the game is about to end, it doesn't. There are many layers to the Thimbleweed story, and it never fails to keep the player hungry for exploration.
References
“How Thimbleweed Park Recreates the Glory Days of Graphic Adventure Games.” Eurogamer.net, 16 May 2016, www.eurogamer.net/how-thimbleweed-park-recreates-the-glory-days-of-graphic-adventure-games. Accessed 3 Nov. 2022.
“LTTP: Thimbleweed Park - Ransome McJerken and the AI-Ien Mindbenders.” ResetEra, www.resetera.com/threads/lttp-thimbleweed-park-ransome-mcjerken-and-the-ai-ien-mindbenders.68625/. Accessed 3 Nov. 2022.
Mairi. “Thimbleweed Park | Review.” The Escape Roomer, 15 July 2021, theescaperoomer.com/thimbleweed-park/. Accessed 3 Nov. 2022.
Miceli, Giacomo. “Retro-Gaming: Not Just Nostalgia.” Plotting the Curiosity Vector, 31 July 2017, www.jamez.it/blog/2017/07/31/retro-gaming-not-just-nostalgia/. Accessed 3 Nov. 2022.
Reynolds, Whitney. “Thimbleweed Park Review.” Polygon, 30 Mar. 2017, www.polygon.com/2017/3/30/14951566/thimbleweed-park-review-ron-gilbert-windows-pc-steam-xbox-one-play-anywhere. Accessed 3 Nov. 2022.
“Thimbleweed Park.” Game UI Database, www.gameuidatabase.com/gameData.php?id=1321. Accessed 3 Nov. 2022.
“Thimbleweed Park (Video Game 2017).” IMDb, www.imdb.com/title/tt6537356/ratings. Accessed 3 Nov. 2022.
“Thimbleweed Park Blog- UI Changes.” Blog.thimbleweedpark.com, blog.thimbleweedpark.com/ui_changes.html. Accessed 3 Nov. 2022.
“Thimbleweed Park Review.” GameSpot, www.gamespot.com/reviews/thimbleweed-park-review/1900-6416642/. Accessed 3 Nov. 2022.
“Thimbleweed Park: A New Classic Point & Click Adventure!” Kickstarter, www.kickstarter.com/projects/thimbleweedpark/thimbleweed-park-a-new-classic-point-and-click-adv?gclid=Cj0KCQjwqoibBhDUARIsAH2OpWjj6ejXNYZl-S8ZrBA4kmiVDspZyBZ3JiK1Y8pulUpiSAW99PMz0ncaArU1EALw_wcB. Accessed 3 Nov. 2022.
“Thimbleweed ParkTM.” Thimbleweedpark.com, thimbleweedpark.com. Accessed 3 Nov. 2022.
Vuckovic, Daniel. “Thimbleweed Park Is Coming to Switch on September 21st.” Vooks, 12 Sept. 2017, www.vooks.net/thimbleweed-park-coming-switch-september-21st/amp/. Accessed 3 Nov. 2022.
Comments