Putt-Putt Joins the Parade
Help a little car join the Cartown Pet Parade.
Putt-Putt Joins the Parade is a 1992 children's point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Humongous Entertainment under its Junior Adventures label. It was the first game developed by the company and the first entry in the seven-game Putt-Putt series. The game follows Putt-Putt, an anthropomorphized car, as he attempts to enter the Cartown Pet Parade by obtaining a balloon, paying for a car wash or paint job, and finding a pet dog, which he names Pep.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Putt-Putt Joins the Parade
- Developer
- Humongous Entertainment
- Publisher
- Humongous EntertainmentThe 3DO version was published by Marubeni. The Steam release was co-published by Tommo and Night Dive Studios.
- Director
- Ron Gilbert
- Designer
- Laurie Rose Bauman · Annie Fox · Ron Gilbert · Shelley Day
- Writer
- Laurie Rose Bauman · Annie Fox
- Engine
- SCUMM
- Composer
- Tom McMail
- Series
- Putt-Putt
- Platforms
- MS-DOS, 3DO, Macintosh, Windows, Linux, Steam
- Genre
- Adventure
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Putt-Putt Joins the Parade was the first game developed by Humongous Entertainment, released under its Junior Adventures label. The game was originally released on November 6, 1992 for MS-DOS, and has since been ported to the 3DO, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh OS, Linux, iOS, and Android. In 2014, it was re-released on Steam. The game was followed by Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon the following year.
After the game's creation, Humongous Entertainment had intended to get Electronic Arts to distribute the product, which invoked a lawsuit from LucasArts over the ownership of the SCUMM game engine and disruption from press release. When a demo of the game was completed, it was uploaded to CompuServe. It took time before a single user downloaded the game, then gave a lengthy review which gave a steady increase in audience.
The game plays as a typical point-and-click adventure, with the player moving Putt-Putt from location to location, picking up items and using them with mouse clicks. Collected items are stored in Putt-Putt's glove box, which serves as a simple heads-up display. In the 3DO version, the on-screen pointing cursor is moved with the D-pad and a button is used to click on what the cursor is pointing at.
Reader's Guide
Putt-Putt Joins the Parade holds significance as the debut title from Humongous Entertainment and the first game in the Putt-Putt series. Its release was marked by a legal dispute with LucasArts over the SCUMM game engine, and its initial distribution was complicated by intended involvement with Electronic Arts. The game's audience grew slowly after a demo was uploaded to CompuServe, eventually gaining traction following a detailed review from a single user. In 1997, a study conducted by the University of Texas at Austin compared children's reception of educational games with their professionally assigned developmentally appropriate practice ratings. Of the thirteen programs selected, Putt-Putt Joins the Parade ranked as the most frequently played game, indicating its lasting appeal among young players. The game has been ported to multiple platforms over the years, including a 2014 re-release on Steam, ensuring continued accessibility.
Did You Know?
- In the game, Putt-Putt names the stray dog he finds 'Pep'.
- A 1997 University of Texas at Austin study found it was the most frequently played game among thirteen educational programs tested.
More in Adventure Games of the 1990s 1-24
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