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Putt-Putt Travels Through Time is a 1997 video game and the fourth of seven adventure games in the Putt-Putt series of games developed and published by Humongous Entertainment. In 2014 Night Dive Studios re-released the iOS, Linux and Steam versions. On January 3, 2022, a port was released on the Nintendo Switch, as one of the first Humongous Entertainment games to be released on the system alongside Freddi Fish 3: The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell.[3] This is the last game to feature Jason Ellefson as the voice of Putt-Putt.

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Putt-Putt Travels Through Time
Developer(s)	Humongous Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Humongous Entertainment[lower-alpha 1]
Producer(s)	Ron Gilbert
Designer(s)	Brad Carlton Bret Barrett Matthew Mahon Nick Mirkovich
Writer(s)	Laurie Rose Bauman
Composer(s)	Jeremy Soule
Engine	SCUMM
Platform(s)	Android, Macintosh, Windows, iOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch
Release	Released: June 1, 1997 (Win, Mac)[1] August 14, 2012 (iOS) October 4, 2013 (Android) Re-released: May 15, 2014 (Linux) May 15, 2014 (Steam)[2] January 3, 2022 (Nintendo Switch)[3]
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Production

The production team brainstormed ideas for the follow-up title in the Putt Putt franchise. Among the alternate titles were: Putt-Putt Goes to the Carnival, Putt-Putt Saves the Universe, and Putt-Putt Learns to Fly. They eventually settled on Putt-Putt Travels Through Time.[4] While the designs of the main characters were already established, the team had to work on designing to look of new characters such as Merlin the Medieval Sorcerer.[5] Next, the scripts was written and storyboards were created to layout how each scene would work as a self-contained piece, as well as part of a larger story.[6] Background artists then interpreted both the script and storyboards to create the look and feel of the game through the backgrounds; part of their job was to leave sufficient space for clickable hotspots. Once the basic design sketch was approved, it was given more detail and finally painted.[7] Next, animators created series of drawings based on the storyboards which when viewed together would simulate movement; each of the 30,000 drawings were then individually scanned into a computer, where they were cleaned up and had imperfections removed.[8] The next stage was for artists to colour frames and animate clickpoints; Humongous noted that while this stage was "tedious", it allowed low-level artists to be creative and use their initiative.[9] Next, the work was handed over to programmers who wrote code to ensure the game responded to player choices, and who added sound effects to synch up to the animations.[10] The music was created by Humongous, while voice actors were auditioned by the company (if new to the franchise), then sent to a studio to record their lines.[11]

Putt Putt game designer Nick Mirkovich commented that there was a design philosophy of creating immersive interactive world for players to explore, and that like other games by Humongus, items needed for game completion were programmed to be in different places for separate playthroughs.[12] Players could go behind the scenes into the game's production via the company website.[12]

Plot

The game begins with Putt-Putt (voiced by Jason Ellefson) packing his new school supplies. Putt-Putt is excited to show Mr. Firebird his history report, calculator, and Smokey the Fire Engine lunchbox before school starts. He wakes up Pep, brings his coin, and heads down the road to Mr. Firebird's Lab. Mr. Firebird explains about his new Time Portal invention, which allows the past and future to be seen without actually traveling there. After Putt-Putt takes out his things, Mr. Firebird attempts to start the machine, fails, and realizes he needs a coin to start the machine. Putt-Putt offers the coin, and Mr. Firebird starts the machine.

However, the Time Portal goes haywire and opens up. It sucks Putt-Putt's objects and Pep into different times. A panicked Mr. Firebird tells Putt-Putt he cannot close the time portal unless all the present items are retrieved back from the different eras. Putt-Putt assures him that he will personally enter the portal and gather his things and Pep.

After many adventures in four different time periods (Stone Age, Medieval, Old West, and the Distant Future), Putt-Putt returns to the present with his things and Pep, and Mr. Firebird closes the portal for good. Putt-putt reassures a worried Mr. Firebird that Time Traveling was fun and that he had a good time. Mr. Firebird points out Putt-Putt will be late for school, so Putt-Putt leaves. At school, Putt-Putt shares with his classmates about all the things he learned while time traveling.

Gameplay

The game mechanics are the same as the prequels including the glove box inventory, horn, radio and accelerator. There are also a number of optional minigames throughout the four eras.

Reception

Computer Shopper felt the game was fun, but ultimately failed to live up to predecessors of the genre.[13] The Cincinnati Post deemed the game "outstanding", and recommended that younger children purchase an earlier title in the Putt Putt series first to acquaint themselves with computers before attempting this more "challenging" title.[14] The Boston Herald gave the game a rating of 4.5 stars, praising the abundance of clickable hotspots in every scene which would keep kids entertained while completing the adventure.[15] The newspaper also deemed the game one of the "finest kid titles ever".[16] Rocky Mountain News gave it a B, commenting that it lived up to the quality standard of Humongus Entertainment.[17] The Washington Times wrote that the game was "delightful" and "uncomplicated".[18]

In the fourth quarter of 1997, the game was the 4th biggest seller in the PC Kids/Edutainment category.[19]

References

External links

• Putt-Putt Travels Through Time at MobyGames
• Putt-Putt Travels Through Time at Humongous Entertainment

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