Lassie Games Presents: "What Makes You Tick?"
"What Makes You Tick?" tells the story of a young man named Nathan who has been sent by his university to deliver an important message to a retired professor. However, while searching around the professor's last known residence, Nathan discovers that he's not the only one seeking the old man and his brilliance.
Originally released in May 2007, "What Makes You Tick?" was a freeware game by Matthias Kempke built using Greg MacWilliam's original Lassie game engine (built on Macromedia Director). Following its release, Tick quickly received wide recognition as an outstanding independent developer achievement by sources including BBC Entertainment and PC Gamer Magazine, and has remained a popular indie title since.
In response to Tick's popularity, Matt and Greg teamed up to produce a sequel, titled "What Makes You Tick: A Stitch in Time." Stitch greatly expands upon the world of "What Makes You Tick?" to conclude the original story and introduce many new intrigues. Stitch was built with a formal production budget and released in September of 2010 as a commercial game.
The original "What Makes You Tick?" has been left poorly supported on modern systems as time and technology move on. Keeping the spirit alive, Matt and Greg worked to modernize the original "What Makes You Tick?" into an online-playable adventure powered by the Stitch engine (built on Adobe Flash). Rereleased in January 2012 as a freeware game, the modernized version introduces licensed music, improved interface features, and presentational continuity with Stitch.
In 2004, Lassie engine programmer Greg MacWilliam visited Matthias Kempke for the first time at his home in Germany. Before Greg left the United States, he asked if there was any novelty items he could bring for Matt. Matt replied, "Dr. Pepper... in a can." Years later while creating "What Makes You Tick?", Matt paid homage to the visit by giving Greg a cameo in the game where he offers our hero a can of Dr. Pepper.