Adventure World 1 (2014)

Celebrating Adventure World's 10th Anniversary

Adventure World 1 (2014) was one of the first games I ever made.
I figured I may as well release it. Better late than never!

I started making browser games in JavaScript back in 2014. I was 13 at the time. I made a few small and unremarkable projects when I started out - as one does. But Adventure World was my first big project.

Adventure World's characters and story are based on toys I used to play with as a kid. These toys were Happy Meal toys: a bunch of little dog dolls (I believe it was "The Dog"), and a mouse cat toy. After being rejected by our cat, the mouse found companionship with the dogs. I used to draw storyboards for a fictional cartoon involving these characters. The cartoon was called "Mouse and Molly". In the cartoon, the titular Mouse and Molly would go on absurd adventures with their friends. Molly is a Bernese Mountain dog. She's a kind, courageous, and level-headed character who can't resist the call to adventure. Her brother Bart is a German Shepherd. He is always by Molly's side, even in situations where he'd rather not be. He's cowardly and not that bright, but his love and respect for his sister gives him the strength to venture outside his comfort zone. Their friends Max and Seth are a Boxer and a Golden Retriever respectively. Max is a weapons and combat enthusiast - he is in his element when the task at hand requires brute force. Seth is a hermit and computer geek. While the others are on the field, Seth is in his basement one step ahead of the enemy. Mouse is a scientist and a goofball. Mouse seldom leaves the comfort of his impossibly vast underground laboratory. While he may prefer the company of the machines in his lab, Mouse can't shake the allure of the adventures headed by Molly and the gang. The adventures of Mouse and Molly were equally as varied as they were absurd, and yet somehow they would often find themselves saving the world.

Adventure World 1 was adapted from a prototype of a 2D top-down adventure game. While looking for an identity for the game, I decided to use the characters and premise of the Mouse and Molly cartoon. The direction of the underlying prototype was uncertain from the beginning, and it didn't become any clearer as the game developed. I was even so enthusiastic that I forgot to finish the first game before working on a sequel. Tackling a project of this scope at such a young age and with no experience was probably not the right move, but that didn't matter back then. I was working with what I had, and I was motivated (something I struggle with a lot nowadays).

The game didn't turn out great. It's not something I would release today, but I didn't know how to release it back in 2014 - nor did I care to. But now that making games is such a big part of my life, and now that I've brought up Adventure World so many times, I figured I should probably release it.

While I could try to improve the game, I feel that it needs to be left alone. I'm here to preserve it, not do it better. I leave doing it better for another time and another game.

For more information about Adventure World 1 & 2 and how they compare, I recommend watching my retrospective video.
If you just want to watch playthroughs with developer commentary (and impromptu patching), check it out here.