831 contestants (not counting the 168 that started late and were therefore disqualified), one Lucasfilm Games adventure classic, four hours, and a dream. That was the premise of the Adventure Game Aptitude Test (AGAT), held by Woe Industries recently.
Out of those hundreds of participants, only 2 managed to complete the test, beating the game within the four-hour time limit. That's right, just 2 people can say that have adequate adventure game skills for the test. As pointed out by PC Gamer, that makes the pass rate just 0.24%. On Bluesky, Woe Industries said "the SAT, MCAT and most forklift operator certifications lie prostrate at our feet."
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"We had about 4,500 people sign up for a reminder of the test date. We lost a few of those people due to the exam time," Woe Industries told PC Gamer in an email. "This project was always going to be a push and pull between fun and restriction. Asking people to play this game under very unconventional and ridiculous circumstances to see what kind of gameplay that elicited from them. Maintaining a fixed start time was a big part of that. But if we ever do it again, maybe we'll try to find a more universally accessible time."
"Our two champs actually beat the game relatively fast, which does make us wonder if they just knew the game very well already," continued the developer. "But hey, no crime studying for a test. They didn't know the game ahead of time, so they must have amazing memories."
No crime indeed, especially as the game was 1987 hit Maniac Mansion, which it's hard to imagine anyone being such a fan of they'd be able to memorise how to beat it in such a short span of time. The AGAT seems to be shaping up to be an adventure gamer's white whale, and we can't wait to see how it evolves in the future.