Difference between revisions of "Last Chance to See (software)"
(→Review) |
|||
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
==Review== | ==Review== | ||
===Good=== | ===Good=== | ||
| − | * The program contains audio of [[Douglas Adams]] reading the majority of the book. Adams is the perfect performer since he's not only the author, but is also a fantastic reader. The audio is recorded at | + | * The program contains audio of [[Douglas Adams]] reading the majority of the book. Adams is the perfect performer since he's not only the author, but is also a fantastic reader. The audio is recorded at a sample rate of 22,050 Hz, which is more than adequate quality. |
* The software includes hundreds of photos shown along with the reading which really helps bring to life the stories of the group's travels. | * The software includes hundreds of photos shown along with the reading which really helps bring to life the stories of the group's travels. | ||
* The software has a lot of navigation features allowing you to jump to any section and create bookmarks wherever you want. It's fast and responsive, quite a feat for 1992. | * The software has a lot of navigation features allowing you to jump to any section and create bookmarks wherever you want. It's fast and responsive, quite a feat for 1992. | ||
Latest revision as of 14:06, 9 April 2024
Last Chance to See is a multimedia software application developed by Serious Productions and MultiMedia Corporation and published by The Voyager Company for Macintosh Classic and Windows 3 in 1992.
The program is essentially a fully-illustrated audiobook of Last Chance to See read by the author, Douglas Adams, with zoological information by Mark Carwardine.
Personal
Last Chance to See is one of my favorite books, and, when I learned about this software, I was interested in trying it out. Because I initially found it in an archive of video games, and Adams wrote the script to several games in his life, I assumed it was going to be some sort of adventure game, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover it was actually a multimedia book read by Adams.
Review
Good
- The program contains audio of Douglas Adams reading the majority of the book. Adams is the perfect performer since he's not only the author, but is also a fantastic reader. The audio is recorded at a sample rate of 22,050 Hz, which is more than adequate quality.
- The software includes hundreds of photos shown along with the reading which really helps bring to life the stories of the group's travels.
- The software has a lot of navigation features allowing you to jump to any section and create bookmarks wherever you want. It's fast and responsive, quite a feat for 1992.
- There are a variety of "sidebars" which offer additional information about the book. These include details about the species read by Mark Carwardine, interviews with people about the book, bloopers and humorous audio recorded during their travels, interviews with other scientists, and various other information.
Bad
- Although the software includes hundreds of images, they are down-graded to use the the default 256 or 16-color palettes of Macintosh or Windows 3, neither of which is conducive to photographs, so they look awful by today's standards. At least they used a decent dithering algorithm when they down-sampled them.
- When you see a sidebar and click on it, it instantly stops the audio to cut to the sidebar's audio. Then, when the sidebar is done, the audio from the main book resumes without so much as a fade in. This is a bit disorienting.
Ugly
- Nothing.
Media
Covers
Each of the covers uses a lovely photo of a Northern white rhinoceros.
Macintosh - USA.
Windows 3 - USA.
Macintosh - Japan.
Screenshots
Windows 3 - Title screen.
Windows 3 - Main menu.
Windows 3 - Credits.
Windows 3 - Publishers.
Windows 3 - Prologue: Twig Technology
Windows 3 - Sidebar - Aye-aye.
Windows 3 - Section 1: Here Be Chickens.
Links
