Phantasmagoria is a point-and-click adventure game designed by Roberta
Williams for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows. Released by Sierra On-Line on
August 24, 1995, it tells the story of Adrienne Delaney (Victoria
Morsell), a writer who moves into a remote mansion and finds herself
terrorized by supernatural forces. Made at the peak of popularity for
interactive movie games, Phantasmagoria features live-action footage. It
was based on Williams's 550-page script, about four times the length of
an average Hollywood screenplay, and cost $4.5 million to develop. Peter
Maris directed a cast of 25 actors, all performing in front of a blue
screen. The musical score includes neo-Gregorian chant performed by a
135-voice choir. Phantasmagoria became one of the best-selling games of
1995. It received mixed reviews, earning praise for its graphics and
suspenseful tone, but criticism for its slow pacing and easy puzzles.
The game drew controversy, particularly due to a rape scene. Some
retailers declined to carry it, religious organizations and politicians
condemned it, and it was refused classification altogether in Australia.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantasmagoria_%28video_game%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1812:
Peninsular War: Seeing that his army was in danger of being cut
off, French commander Jean-de-Dieu Soult retreated from Cádiz, ending a
30-month siege.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_C%C3%A1diz>
1892:
Goodison Park (pictured in 2006) in Liverpool, England, one of
the world's first purpose-built football grounds, opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodison_Park>
1941:
Adolf Hitler ordered the suspension of the T4 euthanasia
program of the mentally ill and disabled, although killings continued in
secret for the remainder of the war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aktion_T4>
1992:
Hurricane Andrew made landfall in South Florida, the third most
intense Category 5 system to hit the United States during the 20th
century.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Andrew>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
rain fire and brimstone:
(transitive, idiomatic) To send horror or destruction.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rain_fire_and_brimstone>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I don't believe it's possible to be neutral. The world is already
moving in certain directions, and to be neutral, to be passive in a
situation like that, is to collaborate with whatever is going on. And I,
as a teacher, do not want to be a collaborator with whatever is
happening in the world. I want myself, as a teacher, and I want you, as
students, to intercede with whatever is happening in the world.
--Howard Zinn
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Howard_Zinn>