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Adventure Classic Gaming has posted a new interview with Pan Metron Ariston's Dimitris Manos. The developer discusses his studio's first title, The Exchange Student. The episodic point and click adventure game follows the humorous exploits of Emilio as he endeavors to get to know the women of Sweden.

The Exchange Student is a comical adventure game series (or “interactive sitcom” as you have called it) that is partly inspired by your own life experiences in Sweden (even though I am not sure if you want to claim any resemblance between Emilio and yourself). What parts of The Exchange Student mirror elements of your own life?
Most of the characters and the events in the game are inspired by real people and real situations I came across during my years as an exchange student in Sweden. I have very fond memories from my time as an exchange student. You see young people from all over the world interacting with each other, you see cultures collide and the outcome is almost always interesting and amusing. You see young men and women starting friendships and relationships with an expiration date, but they bond so much as if tomorrow does not matter. Whoever has the chance to go on an exchange student program should grab the opportunity, it is a once in a lifetime experience. Emilio is not Dimitris, but most of the characters surrounding Emilio are all inspired by characters I met in the past.

The theme of The Exchange Student is decisively whimsical and humorous. It is hard not to compare The Exchange Student to classics such as Leisure Suit Larry and Spellcasting series. How do you put a new twist on an old theme in your own games? How do you answer your potential critics complaining that the theme is just too juvenile?
I won’t deny that the game resembles the Leisure Suit Larry series, but it is definitely not a copy of Larry. The similarity between TES and Larry is that the main protagonist is someone who is not so popular among the ladies and keeps trying his luck with them nevertheless. The similarities end there. The Exchange Student focuses more on the life of foreign exchange students in a rule-abiding society such as the Swedish one. Life in countries like Spain and Italy is very different to life in Sweden and when you have south European people living in a country of the north like Sweden the result is quite humorous.
I would not call the theme of the game juvenile. The story of the game is based in true events and people, so it could very well be described as a sociology study–game.

Adventure Classic Gaming: Dimitris Manos Interview

The Exchange Student

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