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Telltale interested in 360 development
Let's keep it simple. There's a job posting over at the Telltale Games website. Said job posting is looking for a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed Xbox 360 programmer. Said programmer is desired to move an existing engine and art assets to the Xbox 360. Finally, said programmer must have a "love of adventure games." Put it all together and you get Sam & Max on the Xbox 360. We'll note (as did Joystiq's lovable Ludwig Kietzmann) that Telltale's current Sam & Max adventures are episodic, making them a good fit for Xbox Live Arcade.Granted, it's all speculation at this point -- many things are these days -- but it seems like good speculation so far. If nothing else, at least this points to some adventure games coming to the Xbox 360, an idea with which we are thrilled.[Via Joystiq]
Telltale Games looking to develop for Xbox 360
In this week's installment of our ongoing series, "Is Sam & Max coming to [platform here]?" we examine a job posting for an Xbox 360 programmer that went up last week on Telltale Games' official website. The systems programmer position entails the implementation of Telltale's "core 3D graphics and audio systems on the Xbox 360," as well as the modification and support of existing art and production assets. Furthermore, it's preferred that any applicants have a "love of adventure games."Now, there's no need to leap to any conclusions here. Indeed, the most desirable conclusion lies at the end of a simple game of hopscotch -- minimal effort is required to reach it. Given their recent success, episodic nature and small file sizes, Telltale's Sam & Max episodes seem like an ideal fit for Xbox Live Arcade. Unfortunately, we live in a world that's far from ideal and with no official announcement, there's no telling what tale Telltale is working on next. We've always been rubbish at the whole waiting and seeing thing.
Joystiq review: Sam & Max - The Mole, the Mob, and the Meatball (PC)
The number three, being quite unimpressive on its own, is generally not associated with the concepts of success or industry progress. Coming third place in a race will net you a thoroughly unspectacular bronze medal. Off the track, we're constantly reminded that three's a crowd and that death comes in threes. The latter often follows the ill-advised consumption of a three-bean salad. With the release of Sam & Max's latest 66 megabyte-sized adventure, however, the time has come to toss all those clichés and phrases. Telltale's episodic endeavor is the first to even reach its third episode, easily exceeding Valve's trickling of Half-Life 2 games and similar efforts by Ritual Entertainment, just recently absolved from SiN. It would be an empty victory if the three episodes were trivial wastes of time, but thankfully, the opposite holds true. This victory is filled to the brim with sharp writing, engaging gameplay and a level of charm that is quite simply, inescapable. Those three qualities absolutely permeate The Mole, the Mob and the Meatball, though they're occasionally joined by some minor issues. Having now reached the halfway mark of this season, we're given some perspective as to what exactly those are.
3D Realms discusses Steam, episodic games
Gamasutra interviews Scott Miller, the head of 3D Realms, about PC game download services, episodic content, and other current industry issues. Miller wants Valve to spin Steam off into its own company, because he wants to work with a download-only service instead of a competitor. He thinks that an independent service will take Steam's place because he -- and we assume other developers -- don't like giving Valve a cut of the profits and a glimpse into private sales numbers.Miller also thinks episodic games could work, but they're not yet succeeding because of delays between releases. He prefers spending the time to ship a single game with an ending instead of three short cliffhanger episodes staggered over a year or two.We think he's spot-on in these assessments. Steam seems to be succeeding because Valve's great games have carried the service. Sure, other developers have signed on -- especially recently -- but Miller makes a simple argument why Valve's company can't dominate the whole download industry.We're also excited about the potential of episodic games, but few have been released on a regular schedule. And even then, how long can gamers wait between episodes? Sam and Max episodes will be released each month -- is that the right length, or still spaced too far apart?
Sam & Max cartoon coming to GameTap
GameTap users will soon be able to watch The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police, the animated show that was on Fox Kids back in the late nineties. The first episode will debut this Thursday, October 12, and will percolate at a rate of one episode per week. GameTap TV will also be airing a "Making of Sam & Max" original show.The Sam & Max show ran for 24 episodes. If GameTap keeps their promise of one episode per week, we'll have something to look forward to every week until March 22, 2007. As for Sam & Max: Season One: The first installment debuts next Tuesday, October 17. GameTap users gloat about their fifteen day exclusivity. On November 1, everyone can get Sam & Max. GameTap users lose bragging rights but still get the animated show. Periods of gloating recommence in December, for 15 days each month, until the end of the season in April. Sam & Max: Season One, sans GameTap, will be $9 per episode or $35 for a season pass. Those who need a quick Sam & Max fix can check out fr34kystyley's Sam & Max repository on GooTube YouTube -- act now before The Man shuts it down! Continue reading for some artsy craftsy bit of time wasting nonsense.
Joystiq interviews Dan Connors and Emily Morganti of Telltale
We recently spoke with Dan Connors, CEO of Telltale Games, and Emily Morganti, Web Marketing Coordinator for the company. Both were excited about the October 17 release of Sam & Max: Culture Shock, the first episode of the multi-part series. Sam & Max will be part of GameTap's $10 monthly subscription service on its launch, and it will be available as a stand-alone game from Telltale in November.Connors -- who got his start at LucasArts during its adventure game heyday -- and Morganti spoke about what the episodic trend means to creators, how Sam & Max will entice gamers and non-gamers, and how characters' thong size matters less with digital distribution. (We'll guess that Max is a 3.)
Joystiq interviews David Reid of GameTap
We recently sat down for a quick meeting with David Reid, VP of Marketing for GameTap, the Turner game-download subscription service. GameTap had previously announced that the episodic releases of Sam & Max and Myst Online: Uru Live would be added to the service as part of its monthly $10 fee; these are the first new games to go alongside GameTap's catalog of re-releases. Reid talked about how GameTap is growing, the sort of gamer it attracts, and how -- as Reid says with his marketing prowess -- the site is shifting from the DVD-model to the HBO-model of new content.
Sam & Max "season premiere" Oct. 17 on GameTap
It's been thirteen years since Sam and Max hit the road in the case of the missing sasquatch and another four since we first caught wind of a sequel. After several failed attempts to return our favorite dog and rabbity-thing duo back to the world of crime-fighting video games, the fine folks at episodic game dev Telltale want the world to know that Sam & Max: Culture Shock is almost here.The "season premiere" of their highly anticipated point n' click is coming to subscription-based gaming service GameTap on October 17th, with the worldwide release (read: no subscription necessary) some two weeks after that. Telltale is still mum on the cost of the direct download, but did say it would weight in at a svelte 75MB. Considering that Bone's 4-6 hours of gameplay goes for $13, we imagine Sam & Max's estimated 1.5 hours will go for considerably, but not proportionally, less.* The other option, of course, is signing up for GameTap's free two week trial. We imagine that, like any free trial, they're counting on enough people wanting Sam & Max two weeks early, that they'll trudge through the sign-up process, play the game, and then either decide the $10 monthly fee is entirely fair or just neglect to cancel it out of sheer laziness.Depending on Telltale's S&M release schedule (designed to be shorter installments, released more frequently), the GameTap subscription may work out to being only marginally more expensive than downloading each episode individually. Add a couple more episodic series (Penny Arcade, anyone?) or some MMO content (Uru Live) and you've got yourselves a really compelling package; the HBO of the episodic gaming scene. *We've just called our bookie, our money's on $7.
GSW talks Sam & Max with Telltale's Dan Connors
While we were tooling around GameSetWatch, a certain rabbity-thing/dog duo caught our eye. As readers of the site know, there are few things we like more than Sam & Max ... weeelll, maybe being called [fill in your gaming platform of choice] fanboys by our dear readers, but few things beyond that. So it was with great pleasure we noted the second installment of GSW's new interview column (last week was Henry Jenkins) wherein they talk with Telltale Games' Dan Connors about -- what else? -- episodic distribution! When asked why the episodes would be shorter than the Bone games, Connors responded, "Because they will be coming out on a much tighter schedule." With a several month break between Bone episodes so far, it sounds like Telltale is trying to pick up the pace for Sam & Max. There's some more nuts and bolts about who's writing what and why GameTap is a good partner (FYI: "Turner has been very successful in creating networks and they are putting a lot of resources into ensuring GameTap is a success"), though we'd have liked to hear more about LucasArts abandoning their classic point-and-clicks for endless Star Wars sequels. But maybe we're just masochists.
Sam & Max not GameTap exclusive
Joystiq reader Danno has pointed out that, according to the Sam & Max F.A.Q., gamers will not need a GameTap subscription (a correction we need to make for the better of society): in fact, the title will still be available as a download via TellTale's main page in the same manner in which Bone is currently offered.The F.A.Q. further offers some tidbits about the voice acting (which is not being done by any Sam & Max veterans -- "Take a few minutes to stomp your feet and swear at us. We'll wait."), their decision to work with GameTap ("They're giving us the freedom to make the games Sam & Max deserve"), and their decision to work in 3D (series creator Steve Purcell's day job).We're excited; the title is due out in the fall and a downloadable trailer is purported to hit the internet on Thursday -- be sure to check it out for some old-school adventure action.
2nd Bone episode price slashed to $12.99
Telltale Games have announced the second episode in their ongoing Bone series, Bone Act 2: The Great Cow Race, will carry a new, more attractive price point of $12.99, an impressive 35% drop from the first offering's $19.99 price. Telltale CEO Dan Connors defines their competition saying, "We will expand the audience for games enormously by setting a price that competes directly with DVDs, music CDs, books and cable television." They've already discussed other aspects they've sought to improve upon from the initial episode, including the oft-criticized length. In blunt terms, Telltale's sophomore effort hopes to deliver more game for less money. They are clear to specify this only applies to the upcoming Bone episodes: "As of today, the company is lowering all episodes in the Bone series distributed through its digital download channel to the new lower price of $12.99 each in line with the new structure." Either this price might not apply to the forthcoming episodic Sam and Max game or, more likely, Telltale has simply avoided making any promises for a product that isn't ready to ship yet. Bone Act 2: The Great Cow Race will be available later this month.
Telltale gets funding for episodic adventures
Next Generation reports that Telltale Games, creators of the episodic adventure game Bone and the proud home of the upcoming episodic Sam and Max game, has received $825K in funding "to expand its technology development, marketing and investment efforts." The investment brings their total seed funding to $1.4 million.The purview of Telltale Games was to reduce costs attributable to publisher overhead by delivering games directly to audiences episodically. The point and click adventure game genre was thought to be unprofitable leading, in part, to the continued delays and cancellations of the Sam and Max games. Thanks investment group for helping to get our favorite dog and rabbity-thing duo back on track!See also:Telltale, Bone, and Sam and Max at WonderconSam & Max stage a comeback -- for real this time
Telltale, Bone, and Sam and Max at Wondercon
Gamasutra has a feature up about Telltale Games, the independent developer working on episodic adventure games Bone and Sam and Max. CEO Dan Conners and Telltale compatriots--all LucasArts alums--participated in a panel at the Wondercon comic convention in San Fransisco, touching on topics ranging from episodic gaming to collaborating with artists like Jeff Smith and Steve Purcell. Conners fielded questions concerning episodic gaming, and the ability to tailor content to suit consumer response. Gamasutra writes, "In response to one early question, Conners explained how feedback helped to shape the second Bone game. Although they had consciously designed the first game to be linear and relatively narrow in the options available to the player, the team received lots of complaints from experienced gamers who found the game clunky and a little tedious; partially as a response, they rebalanced the second game to offer 'more choices, more options.'"
