Maniac Mansion Creators Launch Kickstarter for New 2D Point-and-Click Adventure

The point-and-click adventure genre is just not the same these days. Sure, Tellale Games has picked up the torch somewhat with critically lauded titles like Back to the Future and The Walking Dead, but those are still a far cry from the likes of Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island, and other classic LucasArts titles from the late 80s and early 90s. To that end, Maniac Mansion creators Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick have started a Kickstarter for a spiritual sequel that would have fit right at home on a Commodore 64.

Thimbleweek Park is as old-school as they come, with fat, pixelated graphics and text commands that have to be assembled word by word. Mirroring the development process of yesteryear, Gilbert and Winnick are building this almost entirely on their own, only adding an additional artist and programmer six months into production. It's a true labor of love by the masters of the genre.

The game takes place in the town of Thimbleweed Park, where two detectives are called to investigate a dead body in the outskirts. You'll also be able to take control of three other characters who share some as-of-yet-unknown connection with the these recent corpse. And of course, you can expect the same brand of humor that Gilbert and Winnick are famous for.

Thimbleweed Park is being developed for Windows, OS X, and Linux, and is currently targetting a June 2016 release. Just under $66K of the $375,000 has already been reached, with 29 days left before the end of the campaign.