Horké léto

The graphics for the video game were created by Marek Píša. Píša and Viktor Bocan also participated in the screenplay writing. Sound and music were created by William Foldes. Most characters, excluding some female ones, were voiced by comedian Zdeněk Izer, a notable Czech impersonator. The game shares a humorous style that can seen across several Czech adventures, such as Polda.[2] Horké léto was the first Czech game with professional dubbing.[3] The game's most famous quote comes in its opening scene: "I am an ordinary kid. Guys call me Rambo and girls [call me] asshole. Otherwise, I'm Majer. Honza Majer".[2] Like many other domestic video games of the era, Horke Leto was intended to appeal directly to Czech and Slovak players.[4] The game became a phenomenon upon its release and it immediately ranked among the most popular Czech adventures.[5] In 2003, however, Petr Ticháček wrote that the fan base of the game had heavily diminished.[6]

According to Miroslav Mrňa, the idea of a sequel was brought up by JRC, an exclusive distributor for the first game. The developers found the proposition interesting and decided to pursue it. Initial work on the sequel began in late December 1998.[7] The team consisted of one scriptwriter, two programmers, three graphic artists and two musicians.[8] Mrna described the development and production process of the game in detail for iDNES.cz.[9] A watercolour-style design was used for the backgrounds of Horke Leto 2; it was painted by hand and then scanned into a computer. The images were inspired by the works of painter Jan Štěpánek.[4] By mid-November, the game was expected to be released in time for the Christmas season.[10] The game was planned to be released around the same time as Polda 2 and there was a friendly rivalry between the two titles.[4] Horke Leto 2 caught the attention of Bonusweb during development, who devoted a considerable amount of airtime to the game. This included a series of news articles where they observed the game's development; gave a preview and review; provided a tutorial; published an interview with project leader Miroslav Mrňa and finally gave away a demo.[11] IDEA Games completed a conversion of the game for iOS and Android platforms in 2012; players could access a 30-minute episode before having to pay in order to complete the rest of the adventure.[12] The game was re-released with updated graphics.[13]

While developers from Centauri Production wanted to create a second sequel to the game, they were unable to obtain the rights for the name "Horke Leto" or the main character Honza. The original title for the third in the series was intended to be Raiders of the Lost Casino, but this was only used for international distribution purposes.[4] In May 2005, the third title was announced as being prepared for release in the third quarter of that year.[14][15] Subsequently, the game was scheduled to be released in the first few weeks of 2006.[16] This was later pushed to February that year.[17] Akella demonstrated the game as a work-in-progress at E3 2006.[1] Akella planned an English release for the end of 2006.[1] A French version was made and released 24 August 2007.[18] The game's visual style is both cartoon-like and gritty.[1]

In Horké léto the player takes control of teenager Honza Majer, who must rescue his family after they are captured by cannibals. In Horké léto 2, Honza Majer must retrieve an artifact—the Purple Salamander—from the bandit, One-Eye Dingo. Žhavé léto 3 ½ sees the player take control of Honza's grandfather, the hapless protagonist Johnny Majer, who must compete with the Mafia in the age of the prohibition. Set in the gangster age of the 1930s, the player takes control of the handsome street rat Johnny who inherits a casino, only to discover that there is a plot to take it off him.[1]

The first two games are point and click adventures controlled by the mouse. The third is mainly a point and click adventure with elements of stealth, fighting, driving, and shoot ‘em up.

• Video games in the Czech Republic