I have several of the old games still at home but cannot really play many of them considering that I do not have direct access to a floppy drive anymore. Some came on CD on the other hand, but even those may not be playable right away due to changes in computer hardware and operating system.

ScummVM is an Open Source project that has been designed as an interface to make those old games playable again on modern PCs. While the project concentrated on Lucas Arts adventure games in the beginning, hence the name ScummVM, it is now supporting a variety of classic games, including some of my all time favorite games.

A list of all games currently supported is available here. Some of the supported games include Day of the Tentacle, Gabriel Knight I and II, the Monkey Island Series, Broken Sword I and II, as well as the Indiana Jones series.

This guide explains how to play those old games on your new modern PC with the help of ScummVM. Start by downloading the latest version of the application for your operating system from the developer website. The project supports many different operating systems, from Windows, Linux and Mac over various mobile devices to gaming systems. They even have a version for the Commodore Amiga and Sega’s Dreamcast.

Please note that you need the original files from the floppy disks or CDs to play the game. You basically point the game to the files on your local hard drive. I suggest you copy them from the original CD or floppy disk to your hard drive to play them directly from there so that you do not need to have the CD or floppy disks at hand whenever you want to play the game.

Start ScummVM and click on the Add Game button on the right of the interface. You now need to use the file browser to select a game directory on your computer.

ScummVM will pick up any games under the selected folder hierarchy. Pick one of the games and select OK twice to add it to the program listing. You can alter game settings if you like on the second configuration screen, for instance to enable fullscreen gaming mode or to change the game volume.

You start a game that has been added with a click on it and then another click on Start. You can alternatively double-click the game in the list.

The game will run in the window with no apparent option to go back to the menu. Here are a few helpful keyboard shortcuts to get you sorted out.

• Ctrl-F5, Displays the start menu
• Ctrl-q, Quits the application
• Alt-Enter, Toggles full screen mode
• Alt-s, Create screenshot
• Ctrl-[0-9] and Alt-[0-9], load and save game states
• Space, Pauses the game

A list of all available hotkeys is available in the readme.

Adding games is the hard part, once that’s done there is nothing stopping you from enjoying those classical adventure games again on your modern computer.

Some fans decided to create their own versions of Lucasarts games and Maniac Mansion is surely one of the games with the most fan based add-ons and remakes ever. First there is Maniac Mansion Deluxe, a faithful copy to the original Maniac Mansion game with improved graphics and a interface that reminds me of Day of the Tentacle, the successor of Maniac Mansion. The goal in Maniac Mansion is to create a team of three students – out of seven available ones – and rescue Sandy who was kidnapped by the evil Dr.Fred.

Each student has certain advantages but also disadvantages which may aid or hinder you in some puzzles throughout the game. You interact by using the words in the lower half of the screen with items that are visible on the screen. A simple example would be to click on open and the on the door to open the door.

The most used command for a item will always be available on right-click. For the door it would be open, or close if it is open. You can switch characters by clicking on their icons or pressing F1-F3. F5 loads or saves a game, F8 restarts the game, ESC stops sequences and ALT-X closes the game.

Just a great remake would not be enough of course for a Maniac Mansion overkill. The website Maniac Mansion Mania has a list of fan made Maniac Mansion games that all use the look and feel of the original.

The games are categorized in seasons and episodes. Season one for instance contains ten episodes. All can be played without additional files. Most games are unfortunately available in German only but some have been translated to English and other languages as well.

It seems that some fans are currently translating all episodes into English to make those games available to a worldwide audience. Four of the ten episodes of season one have been translated into English by now. Take a look at all seasons and episodes of Maniac Mansion or the international ones only.

The website offers a creators pack as well, you may download it and create your own episodes using the interface and characters known from Maniac Mansion.