It’s Time to Bring Back SCUMM-style Gaming

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I remember being totally hooked on adventure games growing up, and it’s amazing to think about how a lot of my favorites back in the ’90s were built on something called SCUMM. It was this engine Lucasfilm Gaming created way back in 1987 specifically for Maniac Mansion. Basically, it was the tool they used to make those classic point-and-click games, and they kept releasing awesome titles for years. Sadly, they stopped making new SCUMM games in ’98, though we’ve gotten a few remasters since then. It’s cool to know the history behind the games I loved!

Point-and-click adventure games existed before SCUMM, with titles like 1984’s Enchanted Scepters laying some groundwork. However, options for players using this interface were limited. SCUMM revolutionized the genre by displaying all possible actions whenever a player clicked on something, moving away from a purely trial-and-error approach. This innovation made adventure games incredibly popular in the 1990s, leading to many critically acclaimed titles. Unfortunately, both the genre and the SCUMM interface lost popularity around the year 2000.

SCUMM Gave Players New Ways to Experience Adventures

SCUMM is a game design system that lets players interact with the game world using actions and objects. Players have an inventory, and the game environment is filled with things they can use or manipulate. These interactions are driven by ‘verbs’ – actions like ‘talk,’ ‘pull,’ ‘pick up,’ or ‘consume’ – which were originally displayed as text commands at the bottom of the screen. Later versions replaced the text with icons representing these actions, making it easier to understand what could be done with each object.

Compared to today’s games, this all seems simple, but back in the ‘90s, it was a brilliant way to create an engaging, interactive story. Several well-known games were built using this technology, including the popular Monkey Island and Sam & Max series, as well as memorable titles like Loom, Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle, The Dig, and Grim Fandango. You might be wondering why I think these kinds of games should make a return, and that’s understandable. Modern adventure games are much more complicated, but as anyone following the gaming world knows, nostalgia is a powerful force.

Point-and-click adventure games are still being made, and some really good ones have come out recently from independent developers. If you enjoyed classic games like Day of the Tentacle, you should definitely check out titles like The Beekeeper’s Picnic and Rosewater, both released in 2025 to great reviews. However, we’ve lost the big studios that used to make these kinds of games, leaving only small teams to create them as passion projects that don’t always get the attention they deserve. The genre needs a comeback, with new, original games that have enough funding to truly thrive.

SCUMM-Style Adventure Games Deserve a Comeback

The recent popularity of retro-style games – like 2D platformers with pixel graphics – shows that classic game development techniques are still relevant. While adventure games similar to those made with SCUMM in the 1990s are now mostly created by independent developers, there’s a clear demand for this type of game. With more support from major publishers, this market could really expand.

Enjoyed classic adventure games like SCUMM? Share your thoughts in the ComicBook Forum discussion!

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2026-02-17 21:14