The X-Fools

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The X-Fools
Composer(s)
Chronic Music
Platform(s)Windows, Macintosh
ReleaseOctober 1, 1997[1]
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player

The X-Fools: The Spoof Is Out There is an interactive comedic 1997 video game developed by

Microsoft Windows 98.[2] The game was distributed throughout North America by Mindscape.[3]

Plot and gameplay

The game centres around two ex-FBI agents and skeptics named Mully and Scudder (parodies of X-Files protagonists Scully and Mulder) who encourage the player to undergo training as a new recruit. As such, the player is "subjected to a deprogramming regimen" according to Business Wire, which consists of a series of games, quizzes, and skits.[3] The gameplay experience is essentially a series of minigames thematically linked to the television show The X-Files. For instance, Conspiracy Computer sees the protagonists analyse popular conspiracies, and Run, Agent, Run! sees the player evade aliens and villains from The X-Files.[4] Kill Screen described the style of the game as "distractionware" and an "interactive MAD Magazine."[5]

Development

Palladium's vice president of marketing, Rob Halligan, explained that the success of Pyst paved the way for The X-Fools,[6] and noted that the game was being released at a time rife with interest in the supernatural: the news was buzzing with the 50th anniversary of the Roswell incident, the Mars Pathfinder mission, and the impending premiere of the fifth season of The X-Files.[3] Artist Tom Richmond, who had an ongoing professional relationship with Parroty Interactive, provided some of the game's illustrations.[7] Michael Donovan did voice work for the game.[8]

Release and promotion

The game's official website went live on September 16, 1997, and allowed players to access additional content, while providing a free demo for those yet to purchase the title.[9] The website held a "Conspiracy Quest Contest" from October 31, 1997 to July 17, 1998[10] where players solved riddles relating to the concurrently airing fifth season of The X-Files,[11] with prizes (a digital camera, 2,000 acre real estate plot on Mars, and a Palladium Gift Pack) being awarded to multiple winners.[12] It also allowed players to send "X-cards",[13] and offered players the opportunity send in X-Files questions for the developers to include in the title's trivia minigame entitled Trust No One.[14] Game modules from The X-Fools were added as bonus features on the Special Edition of Pyst in October 1997.[6] The X-Fools uses Shockwave as its game engine.[15]

The game received mixed reviews from critics upon release; Positive reviews from MacHome's Tamara Stafford and Roy Bassave of The Seattle Times suggested fans of the original series would enjoy The X-Fools.[16][4] Detractors included PC Gamer's Richard Cobbett, who negatively compared the game to Parroty's previous title Microshaft Winblows 98 (1998);[2] and Wojciech Kotas of The Mac Gamer's Ledge, which found The X-Files' self-referential humor better than the "lukewarm," limited, and uninspired parody of the game.[17] In 2011, The Sydney Morning Herald ranked the game 79th on its Re-Play: 100 worst games ever list, writing that it "couldn't be unfunnier".[18]

References

  1. ^ Staff (October 1, 1997). "X-Files Spoof on CD-ROM". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on February 18, 1998. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Cobbett, Richard (February 5, 2011). "Saturday Crapshoot: Microshaft Winblows 98". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  3. ^ a b c Naify, Robert (October 1, 1997). "Newest Parody – The X-Fools – Takes Comical Look At Little Green Men And Government Cover-ups". Business Wire. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  4. ^ a b Bassave, Roy (November 9, 1997). "CD-Rom – The X-Fools". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  5. ^ Kotzer, Zack (December 16, 2015). "A few things I learned from the late-90s game about nerds, Star Warped". Kill Screen. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  6. ^ a b Naify, Robert (October 21, 1997). "Parroty Interactive Launches PYST Special Edition; New Special Edition of PYST Includes a Module of Driven, a Sneak Peak Parody of the Eagerly Anticipated Riven – Sequel to MYST". Business Wire. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  7. ^ Richmond, Tom (October 27, 2016). "Illustration Throwback Thursday- Star Warped!". Richmond Illustration. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  8. ^ Donovan, Michael (2000). "Main Page". Botsmaster. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  9. ^ Spy. Sussex Publishers, LLC. March 1998.
  10. ^ "Conspiracy Quest Official Rules". The X-Fools. June 29, 1998. Archived from the original on 1998-06-29. Retrieved 2017-07-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  11. ^ "Conspiracy Quest". The X-Fools. June 29, 1998. Archived from the original on 1998-06-29. Retrieved 2017-07-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ^ "Conspiracy Quest Winners". The X-Fools. March 4, 2000. Archived from the original on 2000-03-04. Retrieved 2017-07-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. ^ "X Cards". The X-Fools. March 1, 2000. Archived from the original on 2000-03-01. Retrieved 2017-07-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. ^ "Trust No One". The X-Fools. November 16, 1999. Archived from the original on 1999-11-17. Retrieved 2017-07-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ^ "X-Fools Abduct This". The X-Fools. 29 February 2000. Archived from the original on 2000-02-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. ^ Stafford, Tamara (January 1998). "The X-Fools". MacHome. Archived from the original on 2000-01-06. Retrieved 2017-07-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  17. ^ Kotas, Wojciech (December 2, 1997). "X-Fools Review". The Mac Gamer's Ledge. Archived from the original on 2000-06-06. Retrieved 2017-07-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ^ "Re-Play: 100 worst games ever". The Sydney Morning Herald. March 17, 2011. Retrieved 2017-07-06.

External links

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