Putt-Putt Joins the Parade is a 1992 video game and the first of seven adventure games in the Putt-Putt series of games developed and published by Humongous Entertainment. Upon release, the game sold over 300,000 copies.[2] The combined sales of Putt-Putt Joins the Parade, Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon and Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo surpassed one million units by June 1997.[3]
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Putt-Putt Joins the Parade | |
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![]() Windows / Macintosh cover art | |
Developer(s) | Humongous Entertainment |
Publisher(s) | Humongous Entertainment[lower-alpha 1] |
Director(s) | Ron Gilbert |
Designer(s) |
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Writer(s) | Laurie Rose Bauman Annie Fox |
Composer(s) | Tom McMail |
Engine | SCUMM |
Platform(s) | MS-DOS, 3DO, Macintosh, Windows, Linux, Steam |
Release | November 6, 1992 (MS-DOS)
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Genre(s) | Adventure |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
When Putt-Putt (voiced by Jason Ellefson) hears on his radio that today is the day of the Cartown pet parade, he decides to visit Fire Chief Smokey and join the festivities. Before he can enter the parade, he must find a pet, a balloon, and make himself presentable. Putt-Putt sets off through Cartown, mowing lawns and delivering groceries for his friends and neighbors to pay for a quick car wash. Along the way, Putt-Putt clears obstacles, helps find a missing child, and begins a close friendship with a puppy named Pep. He returns to Smokey just in time for the beginning of the parade and happily leads the line of cars and their pets through the streets.
The game plays like a typical point-and-click adventure game with the player moving Putt-Putt from one location to the next, picking up items and using them with mouse clicks. (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.) Fully voiced characters can be talked to and every scene is filled with colorful and animated interactions. Putt-Putt places collected items in his glove box, which serves as a simple heads-up display.
After the game's creation, Humongous Entertainment had intended to get Electronic Arts to distribute the product, invoking a lawsuit from Lucasarts over the ownership of the SCUMM game engine and disruption from press release.[4]
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.[5]
Aggregator | Score |
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GameRankings | 50% (PC - 1 review)[6] |
Publication | Score |
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Adventure Gamers | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
IGN | 8.2/10 (PC)[8] |
MacUser | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Publication | Award |
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Choosing Children’s Software | 1999 Best Picks for the Holidays Award[10] |
Anders CD-ROM Guide | 1997 Medallion Award[10] |
Sesame Street Parents | 1997 Reviewer’s Choice Award[10] |
CES | 1994 Innovations Showcase Award Winner[10] |
CNET | Top 100 CD-ROMs Award Buy It! Award[10] |
MacUser | Five Mouse Award Best New Children’s Program[10] |
Kidsoft | Member’s Choice - Early Learning[10] |
PC Entertainment | Best PC Educational Game[10] |
Compute! | Best Educational Program[10] |
CD-ROM World | The CD-ROM 100 Best[10] |
Family Fun Magazine | Software of the Year[10] |
Parents' Choice | Parent's Choice Award[10] |
Home PC | Top 100 Products[10] |
Family PC | Family Tested-Recommended[10] |
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 (DAP) ratings. Of the thirteen programs selected, Putt-Putt Joins the Parade ranked as the most frequently played game.[11]
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