Virtual Springfield is a Simpsons Video Game… Not based on Bart?
Explore the entire town of Springfield in glorious Virtual Reality. Simpsons style.
Okay, there’s certainly been Simpsons’ games that haven’t been based solely around Bart. But Virtual Springfield really goes in the complete opposite direction… it’s not really based off anything. No plot, no story, no real objectives outside collecting cards around the town of Springfield. It makes for a shallow experience. But if you’re here to experience Springfield from 1997. With original voice-acting and incredible locations from the show. This is a great way to experience the Simpsons universe.
Virtual Springfield is a tour around the Simpsons home town. Direct from 1997. The real aim of the game is collecting. Find the next item to unlock the next area. Find the cards to unlock the final secret. Professor Frink’s ‘website’ that shut down a long time ago. Check out the Wayback machine archives here to get a glimpse of this broken website.
Frink’s secret website gave you two secrets. Otto’s map of Springfield, complete with all the non-interactive locations. If nothing else, Virtual Springfield payed a lot of fan service. As well as a cheat code that would allow a player to transport instantly between locations.
Hold down the SHIFT + V + S keys (simultaneously, ahem!) and double-click on the desired destination star. Then in a whoosh of scientific miracle making, with the calculations and the adding and dividing, carry the one, mmoohey, you will be instantly teleported to that location!
As a kid, I spent most of my time exploring the mini-games, trying to find them all. They’re simple (and boring). But between the the Kwik-e-Mart’s DOOM clone with Apu, throwing water balloons from Bart’s Treehouse and the whole Arcade from the Simpsons cartoons, there’s certainly a bit of variety here and plenty of references to the show.
If you’re after a game, this isn’t going to cut it. If you want a Simpsons experience, this is amazing! The FMV graphics have kept their charm and reflect the slightly rougher quality of the Simpsons animations from the 90’s, there’s so many iconic locations, items, events and things to look at that this game, that was just a virtual tour when it was released, is a full-fledged Nostalgia tidal wave.
Recording Virtual Springfield – Windows XP Screen Recording
In 2013, I kicked off reviewing some PC titles with Beavis & Butthead: Do U and Goosebumps: Escape from Horrorland. Recording the footage can actually be a little difficult. I didn’t have any luck with either FRAPS or Hypercam 2 within Windows 7. I ended up creating a Windows XP Virtual Drive that could windowed within Windows 7 and installed those 3 titles. To keep the recording as simple as possible, I actually used Hypercam 2 from my Windows 7 operating system to record my Virtual Drive window. Sound was looped from the headphone jack to the microphone jack on my tower. I didn’t want to fight with emulated sound-cards in Windows XP (and how to make Hypercam detect them).
I recorded all the footage for the game in a few hours. This game is super short. Maybe it was different as a kid, traveling to all those different locations and clicking on literally everything in every screen. But playing through this game now, a bit older, a bit wiser. It’s short. Filled to the brink with nostalgia that instantly calls back hundreds of Simpsons’ episodes. But you won’t play the mini-games for long, you won’t listen to every record in Ned Flanders shelf or look at every recording at Krustylu Studios