The 7th Guest

Did You Know?

• The second disc of the CD-ROM set included a single audio track playable on a CD player, almost half an hour long, featuring in-game music and two live recordings: 'The Game' and 'Skeletons in My Closet'.
• The game begins with a flashback to 1935 in the town of Harley-on-the-Hudson, where drifter Henry Stauf kills a woman to steal her purse.

Cast and characters

Henry Stauf, portrayed by Robert Hirschboeck, is the owner of the mansion. He was a homeless drifter who became a successful toymaker after visions showed him the toys he would create; the people of Harley know nothing of his past. His name is an anagram of Faust. The player character is Ego, a disembodied consciousness voiced by Keith Ranney, who moves through the house solving puzzles and observing events from that mysterious night. The game is presented in first-person view through Ego's eyes, and Ego does not know how he came to the house or why. Tad, played by Douglas Knapp, is a boy who lives next door and enters the house on a dare, then cannot get out. Martine Burden, played by Debra Ritz Mason, was once Miss Harley-on-the-Hudson but left the small town; she returns after her wealthy boyfriend dumps her and is attracted to Edward Knox. Edward and Elinor Knox are an older married couple; Elinor, played by Jolene Patrick, still loves her husband and tries to help Tad, while Edward, played by Larry Roher, has financial troubles and teams up with Martine. Edward is killed by Hamilton Temple, who slams his head into a coffin to save Tad. Elinor is last seen turning into a mannequin, calling out to Tad for help.

Development

The 7th Guest was conceived by game designer Rob Landeros and programmer Graeme Devine. When they presented the idea to Martin Alper, CEO of Virgin Games, they were fired so they could start their own company, Trilobyte, to develop the game. The planned live-action video of walking through the house was abandoned after pre-rendered 3D sequences proved feasible and more cost-effective. Writer Matthew Costello was given the design document. The developers used 24-bit Super VGA graphics and a textless, TV remote control-like interface to appeal to a broad audience and simplify console porting. Devine created the GROOVIE game engine for continuous CD-ROM data streaming. The game was the first graphic adventure to use 640x320 graphics with 256 colors; Trilobyte spent over $500,000 and more than two years on the graphics. George Sanger composed the soundtrack. Early blue-screened footage had ghostly auras, which were left in as a feature. Puzzles were taken from 19th-century puzzle books due to copyright issues. Cast members performed all possible actions and usually looked into the camera to react to the player.

Reception

The PC version of the game earned generally favorable reviews. Jim Trunzo of White Wolf described it as brilliant software setting new standards. Chuck Miller of Computer Gaming World offered a mixed critique, calling it both a nightmare and a dream, and argued that despite its long development, the game needed more work; he valued the rich gameplay but criticized the unrealistic minimum system requirements and reported stability and compatibility problems. In April 1994, the same magazine noted the game consistently ranked high in reader polls and recommended it to puzzle enthusiasts. Electronic Entertainment hailed it as the first truly compelling interactive CD-ROM game, and Bill Gates declared it the new standard in interactive entertainment. The CD-i version also received mostly positive feedback. GamePro praised its sinister story, challenging puzzles, graphics, and creepy atmosphere. Electronic Gaming Monthly's reviewers considered it superior to the computer versions. Power Unlimited gave it a 70% score, commending the beautiful graphics and scary story while noting the puzzles were extremely difficult. Next Generation rated it three out of five stars. Paul Murphy, reviewing the Macintosh version in Dragon, stated the game suffers from an identity crisis, unsure whether it is a puzzle collection weighed down by a horror story or a horror story weighed down by puzzles.

Legacy

The 7th Guest and Myst are considered the killer apps that popularized CD-ROM for computer systems. Trilobyte released a sequel, The 11th Hour, in December 1995, which received mixed initial reception and did not sell as expected. Plans for further sequels were initiated but never completed due to the company's demise. Rob Landeros attempted an official third installment titled The 7th Guest Part III: The Collector, releasing a trailer that later disappeared. Trilobyte released a compilation of puzzles from both games and Clandestiny called Uncle Henry's Playhouse, which sold only 27 copies in the United States. The 7th Guest was ported to CD-i; plans for a 3DO port of The 11th Hour fell through. In 2010, the first game was ported to iPhone and iPad, and later to other systems including Macintosh. A stand-alone version of the Microscope Puzzle, The 7th Guest: Infection, was released. In 2013, Trilobyte partnered with Night Dive Studios to re-release both games on Steam. A Kickstarter campaign for The 7th Guest 3: The Collector failed to meet its $435,000 target; a subsequent Crowdtilt campaign with a $65,000 goal also failed.