Lego Island

LEGO Island
LEGO Island box cover
Developer(s)	Mindscape
Publisher(s)	Mindscape
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Genre(s)	First-person action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

LEGO Island is a Lego-based Action-adventure comedy computer game developed by Mindscape. Released for Microsoft Windows on October 2, 1997, the game is the first in the Lego Island series (and the very first Lego video game), followed by Lego Island 2 The Brickster's Revenge, Island Xtreme Stunts, and Lego Island Xtreme Stunts Lego sets.

Gameplay

Lego Island is a nonlinear game with a first-person perspective. The game features a series of missions including pizza delivery, jet ski racing, and putting the Brickster back in jail. It also features a variety of playable characters that each have unique abilities that can help the player throughout the game.

Screenshots of Lego Island

Plot

There is no necessary objective to Lego Island. The player can choose to roam around customizing the island or do missions. The primary mission is getting a call from a criminal named the Brickster and thinking it's a police officer, a pizza must be delivered to the jail using the character Pepper, which will in turn let the Brickster out of jail. The only way for him to get out, however, is if the player is not only controlling Pepper, but also have built the helicopter (he escapes in it). After the Brickster escapes, Pepper must go around the Island and do certain missions to get him back in before he disassembles the entire island. After this, the player can still roam around the Island.

Customization

It is possible to customize the game. When playing as Pepper, players can change plants and change hats. Pepper can also change Mrs. Post's house. When playing as Nick, players can change colors of things. When playing as Laura, players can change walking animations, or "moods." Laura also can change the way plants and houses that can't be entered react. Players can also build various vehicles and customize colors and textures.

Characters

Playable characters

• Pepper Roni is the adopted son of Mama and Papa Brickolini and may be considered the main character. He is a child who fantasizes of heroism and is good at math, but has dyslexia. While playing as him, a narrative game can be triggered in which the Brickster escapes, destroys the helicopter, and begins deconstructing the island. Pepper has to reassemble the helicopter and assist Nick and Laura in catching the Brickster before he destroys the entire island. He was voiced by Toy Story voice actor John Morris.
• Papa Brickolini is an aging Italian chef who runs the Pizzeria, and can sometimes be slightly forgetful. He was voiced by Ralph Pedusto.
• Mama Brickolini is a piano player and Papa Brickolini's wife. She immigrated to Lego Island with nothing but the clothes on her back and her grand piano. Like Papa, she is of Italian descent. She is quite motherly. Her two favorite things in life are "hot pizza and cool music." She was voiced by legendary voice actress June Foray.
• Nick Brick is a police detective whose behavior and actions mimic those of a detective in film noir. He has a very monotonous voice and calm demeanor. He was voiced by Fred Raker.
• Laura Brick is a somewhat gung-ho cop who "is all about people - people and respect." and is Nick Brick's sister. She is very down-to-earth and active. She speaks with a Minnesota accent and was voiced by Erin-Kate Whitcomb.

Non-playable characters

• The Infomaniac is a rather eccentric old man who lives in the Information Center. He guides the player around the island and provides help whenever needed. He was voiced by Patrick Hagan.
• The Brickster is a criminal who for the most part remains incarcerated in the jail. If Pepper delivers a pizza to him after building the helicopter, the Brickster is able to escape by melting the lock on his cell with the fumes from the extremely spicy pizza. He then proceeds to wreak havoc until the player is able to recapture him. He was voiced by David Lander.
• Nubby Stevens is the owner of the gas station, who appears to be a highly philosophical man who, according to Laura, "won't stop talking about the mysteries of life." He was voiced by John Debanard.
• Enter and Return are a pair of dimwitted hospital workers who assist the player in the hospital minigame. They were respectively voiced by two of the game's programmers, Wes Jenkins and Frank Hausman.
• Mr. Super is the unseen mascot from the Superstore who speaks in a Boston accent. He appears in a long-winded advertisement for the Superstore's wide selection of hats and was voiced by Wes Jenkins.
• Pollywanna is a cynical recurring character, a bird who appears in a wide variety of odd places to complain about whatever situation he is in.
• Captain Click is a skeleton who, in the game, appears to be a disembodied voice who appears mysteriously in two locations on the island, talking with a pirate-like accent. Clicking on a certain cupboard in the sky deck of the information center causes the voice to demand that the player "find the key", apparently on the opposite side of the island. It also appears when one clicks on a door in the cave, but says nothing of substance.
• Bill Ding is the man who assists the player in building the various vehicles in the game. He dons a wide variety of hats that cause him to adopt various personalities pertaining to whatever location he is in. He was voiced by Terry McGovern.

Development

"Lego Island" was co-created by Scott Anderson, Dennis Goodrow, Wes Jenkins, Paul J. Melmed, and Dave Patch. Wes Jenkins was the only one who worked on any sequels (Lego Island 2 as writer).

The SW developers on the project when the product was shipped were Jim Brown (the soul of the project), Randy Chou (3D algorithms, general programming), Alex Goldobin (path algorithm) and Eric Ellis joined the project late.

Each one served in a specialized field of the game's production & design: Anderson served as executive producer & led the project, Goodrow was the lead programmer & director of development, Jenkins was creative director & writer, and Melmed served as director of education & research. Melmed's contribution was working with Jenkins on designing characters based on psychological research. Dave Patch was the Art Director with a staff of great animators and artists. Gary Clayton provided talent casting, voice recording and editing and sound design.

Jenkins had previously worked on such games as Mario is Missing & Mario's Time Machine, 20th Century Alamanac, Wings. He would go on to work with Lego Island 2, Lego My Style and Mindscape's Star Wars Chess.

The original title was to be "Adventures on Lego Island"; evidence of this still exists in the game.

When they began, technology was so limited that they considered making the game with a custom 3-D engine, which was used in several id Software titles of the day. In the end, DirectX was chosen.

The actual concept of a 3D game was originally questioned, debated and argued about by the administrators of Mindscape.

Originally, the game was to be part of a series, with five other games planned, including Beneath the Phanta Sea (the Phanta Sea was the sea where Lego Island was located) and an archaeological game called Dig. Jenkins later worked on a pilot for a Lego TV series which included some Lego Island characters.

Additionally, various features were planned but not included due to time constraints, several of which were actually referenced by the game; e.g. remodelling buildings.

Several famous voice actors were included in the cast; such as June Foray and David Lander. Jenkins also provided some voice talent.

New software was created to automatically lip-sync the faces to the voice recordings, and the eyes animations were then made by hand. The software was designed so that one could easily alter the software configuration so as to make lip-synching in other languages possible.

A contest was held in which winners would become beta testers on the game.

Setting

Lego Island takes place on a relatively small remote island consisting of roads and Lego buildings. Most of these buildings are based on real Lego sets in circulation at the time of release for the game. The game is highly surreal and somewhat psychedelic; obstacles on the racecourses, various scripted events, and the behavior of the characters is often rather bizarre and quirky.

File:Legoislandmap.png

A map of Lego Island.

The island includes several key locations:

• The Information Center is the largest building in the game, with three floors and several rooms to explore. The first floor contains the game's metadata - the player's completion and ranking in the various competitions as the various characters. The player can change characters, jump to a few key locations, and exit the game. There is also an elevator. The second floor plays a humorous animation clip wherein a swimming LEGO man who encounters a shark flees. The third floor is a sky deck where the player can view the vistas of the island and change the time of day. The bicycle is parked outside.
• The Police Station houses the area where the helicopter can be built. The helicopter can be used at any time after building; upon completion, delivering a pizza to the jail (as Pepper) triggers the escape of the Brickster and the subsequent narrative. The motorcycle is parked outside.
• The Jail is a small rock across a bridge from the main island where the Brickster is held. The helicopter is accessible here once built.
• Lifeguard Post is a small hut on the beach. The jet ski can be built within, after which the jet ski can be accessed at any time. While on the jet ski, ramming a certain buoy a small ways off the ocean triggers the jet ski race event.
• The Pizzeria is "the only place to eat on the island". Papa and Mama Brickolini are both here; Papa is working in the kitchen while Mama plays her piano. Pizza delivery missions take place here. They can be launched while on or off the skateboard; when the mission starts the player is automatically placed on the skateboard. The skateboard is also parked just outside. A jukebox next to the pizzeria allows the player to listen to any of the music played on the in-game radios.
• The Superstore is closed for remodeling.
• The Gas Station is a gas station and repair shop in the center of the island. Nubby and his assistant Nancy work here. The buggy can be built here, after which it is accessible at any time.
• The Hospital is where Enter and Return work. The ambulance minigame can be accessed here; the ambulance cannot be ridden except within the context of the minigame.
• The Racetrack is a drag-racing course that is mostly inside of the mountain. The racecar can be built here; however, it can only be used within the context of the racing minigame, which is also accessible here.
• The Cave is a secluded cavern with a chest and a mysterious door.
• The Park is a residential area with houses and a walking area.

Reception

The game received a high amount of critical acclaim from family publications and children. They praised the game for its interactive, customizable environments, simple pick-up-and-play gameplay mechanics, quirky humour and for retaining the cute, colourful feel of the toys the game was based on. Some even praised the game's soundtrack.

The success of LEGO Island convinced Lego to release more games based on their products (including the now popular LEGO Star Wars games) as well as releasing two sequels to the game: Lego Island 2 The Brickster's Revenge in 2001 and Island Xtreme Stunts in 2002.

Awards

Lego Island won "Family Game of the Year" at the Interactive Achievement Awards in 1997, as well as the "Best Kid Title of the Year" award from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and won several awards from Family publications.

These awards included Family PC's top-rated virtual toy award, Family Life's "Critic's Choice" award and Home PC's kid testers' "Reviewer's Choice" stamp of approval.

Wes Jenkins won a Smithsonian Institute Innovation Award for his work on the game.

See also

• Lego Island 2
• Island Xtreme Stunts

External links

• Lego Island at MobyGames
• Wes Jenkins', Creative Director, website
• Lego Island at IMDb