Elmo Pug

Elmo Pugs

• Elmo Pug (original version) (SQ3EGA)
• Elmo Pug (alternate version) (see also Space Quest III - The Pirates of Pestulon (alternate version) VGA time sector)
• Elmo Pug (future version) (from SQ3SVGA (time sector) in the SVGA timeline and his appearance in SQ6).
• Elmo Vohaul Pug (Companion version)

Behind the scenes

Elmo Pug original version is the version that appears in the original game, but also covered almost directly (with very few additions) in The Official Guide To Roger Wilco's Space Adventures (1st Edition).

Note there isn't much difference between Elmo Pug in his original appearance (1st Edition), and version that appears in alternate universe (see The Official Guide To Roger Wilco's Space Adventures (2nd Edition)). The main difference comes down to Roger thinking he's working for Sub Rosa Service] of Space Fleet (1st Edition) to save the Two Guys and defeat Elmo Pug. Where as in 2nd Edition, he thinks he's working for Star Confederation. This is limited expanded universe offered in the guides (but directly influenced by the game universes).

The Companion version is not only tied to SQ1VGA alternate universe, it also greatly expands on Elmo Pug's history tieing him throughout all four (later five games in second edition). Though none of that appears in the games themselves. It is part of Companion's unique expanded universe.

Elmo Pug is thought to be a parody of Bill Gates, head of Microsoft. However this is only a coincidence. Neither company name, nor the company itself was inspired by Microsoft, but instead was inspired by Sierra On-line itself (although there are associated references to Mattel's Rock'em Sock'em Robots and videogame and arcade console companies like Atari and possibly Nintendo, see ScumSoft Corporation).

According to Scott Murphy however Elmo is based on a young Ken Williams (going with the entire theme that Scumsoft is a parody of Sierra On-line).

SM: Well, the various past lawsuits against Space Quest are something of a legend, so I guess so. You know, lawyers are like life insurance salesmen but without the sense of humor. We've made a lot of fun of Roberta Williams over the years, but she doesn't seem to care so that's not any fun, and maniacal ScumSoft President Elmer Pugg was patterned after Ken Williams...Gee, I hope Ken doesn't read this.

Elmo Pug is also categorized under 'Nerd' with his office sprite appearing in View.115 (the shared Nerd graphics file) and listed as "Nerd and 'elmo' several times under Script.093 files. He is literally a stereotypical nerd, the boss Nerd, the king of the nerds. One might consider it a race of "Nerds", as all or most of the graphics of the Nerds share Elmo's face and glasses as well.

He may also be inspired in part by Elmer Fudd (The Official Guide To Roger Wilco's Space Adventures does) and Pugsly Addams (compare their overweight stripes shirts). The glasses seem to be a generic reference to stereotypical nerds/geeks, etc (as per references in the game files).

At least going by 'descriptions' given in The Official Guide To Roger Wilco's Space Adventures or in the games concerning the amount of time between SQ3 and SQ6, rather than specific dates given in manuals (which may be inaccurate or related to time travel advertising), Elmo Pug would be roughly 21 during SQ6 (SQ6 takes place a 'few years' after SQ3 according to lines in the game) making him a legal drinker under certain USA, Earth based laws, but he doesn't look a day over 40 (life has been hard on him). See TOGTRWSA timeline.

Elmo Pug's background and involvement in the games is fairly limited. He doesn't appear in SQ3 until late in the game and by then you only have a few interactions with him, before escaping Pestulon. Then a rather brief, and boring encounter with him in SQ6. Scumsoft itself does make appearances in SQ5 and the future time sectors in SQ4. This likely inspired the reference in the The Official Guide To Roger Wilco's Space Adventures, to Elmo Pug's possible existence during SQ12 era, and what he'd be doing at that time (assuming his business took off again), and that he'd be unlikely to hold a grudge against Roger, or anyone for that matter (much as was the case was in SQ6).

It's not actually known when the Two Guys were kidnapped, in relation to when Roger found them. According to SQ3 manual they were kidnapped after he escaped the Asteroid Fortress, and had been in suspended animation for indeterminable amount of time. It seems they would at least had to have enough time to make Astro Chicken for Elmo Pug (or at least retool the game). An ad in Galactic Inquirer might suggest they had been there for a few years. Alternatively it might imply they learned their education through the ScumSoft School of Game Design, before they hired elsewhere, and then after finding success then kidnapped again. At least within The Official Guide To Roger Wilco's Space Adventures Astro Chicken had been out since Roger had been working Xenon Orbital Station 4, and he became a very good player, the best Astro Chicken player around. In this timeline, perhaps only a few months had passed since he escaped Labion. This of course does appear to be a discrepancy due to the fact that SQ3 manual states that the two guys were kidnapped 'after' Roger went into suspended animation, some time after SQ2, but before Roger woke up again. Of course ScumSoft are software pirates they might just as well stole an already successful games and then produced some bootleg cabinets which they distributed around to various places. These having had the coded messages embedded in them.