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GAME · 1994 · USA

Plumbers Don't Wear Ties

10 archived facts 2 topics

Plumbers Don't Wear Ties is a 1994 video game that became notorious for its poor quality.

10 Interesting Facts About Plumbers Don't Wear Ties

Interesting Facts (9)

  1. #001

    Jeanne Basone, who plays Jane, said the game was never meant to be published and began as a project made for fun. Curiosity about how many people would buy it eventually led them to release it to the public.

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  2. #002

    Several magazines, PC Gamer UK among them, reviewed a PC edition (PC Gamer UK gave it 3%), yet that version was never released. In 2017 a YouTube user came across a copy of the Windows 3.1 build in an Indiana library and put it online. That build carries a 1993 copyright year, has better audio and omits Jane's video introduction.

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  3. #003

    Plumbers Don't Wear Ties is marketed as an FMV game, yet it contains just one full-motion video: an intro in which Jeanne Basone stands before a carelessly hung sheet and explains the basics of play.

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  4. #004

    Widely ranked among the worst games ever made. It drew heavy criticism largely because most of the game plays as a slideshow of still images, even though it was marketed as full motion video (only the intro used FMV). Its notoriety has since earned it a cult following, and in the 2020s it was even remastered for next-gen consoles.

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  5. #005

    The game moves like a slideshow rather than FMV because the creators wanted to avoid an "Adult Only" rating for the scene in which Jane undresses for her boss, Thresher.

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  6. #006

    Plumbers Don't Wear Ties became widely notorious after the Angry Video Game Nerd featured it in 2009, prompting many people to play it simply to see how bad it was.

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  7. #007

    For the remaster, Limited Run restored every image and added a new intro that recreates the original with Jeanne Basone, down to a carelessly hung background sheet.

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  8. #008

    A making-of documentary covers the difficulties of remastering the game, with Jeanne Basone discussing the original production and the Angry Video Game Nerd discussing his coverage and the game's rise to infamy.

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  9. #009

    Writer/director Michael Anderson plays Jane's father and the first narrator, credited as Harry Armis.

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Deeper Meaning (1)

  1. #010

    A secret code let players see partial nudity (John's butt and Jane's side boob) in the shower scenes. Without the code, those body parts are hidden behind on-screen censorship icons. The PC version is uncensored by default.

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