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PAX 07: The Sam & Max panel (we made a scene!)
Despite being told we'd be creating an episode, it turns out games (even episodic ones!) take a little longer than an hour (but just barely we imagine). Improv comedy style, they take suggestions from the crowd for events in the game. First, a favorite fruit? Pomegrenates we yell out. A vacation destination? Someone yells "North Pole." A new career for Sybil? "Taxidermist" two blurt out over each other. The writing process has begun. Sam: Hiya Sybil!Max: What's your story lady? Sybil: I'm an orthopedic surgeon, baby!Sam: Holy heavenly horse radish in a Houston whorehouse!Max: Who cares, I'm running for re-election!Sam: More importantly we need a pastrami on rye to save the world!Sybil: Why do you think I have a pastrami on rye sandwich? Max: Orthopedic surgeons always have pastrami on rye sandwiches!Sam: They use them for lubrication!Max: It's science, Sybil. Sybil: The problem with science is you can't prove it. Also I need condiments. Sam: To Bosco's little buddy!
Sam & Max Season 2 starts this Fall
Telltale Games has officially announced the upcoming return of gaming's deadpan dog and hyper-kinetic rabbity thing, Sam & Max. The uniquely untrained detective duo is back this Fall in a second season of episodic entanglements, playfully putting the kibosh on crime and successfully solving brazenly bizarre, yet intensely intriguing mysteries through the obnoxious overuse of ludicrous lagomorphs and amazingly awful alliteration. Next paragraph! "We're keeping the general structure and gameplay, and focusing on telling farther-reaching, crazier stories," says Telltale's design director, Dave Grossman. He notes that there will be several changes in store, prompted by both the desire to "to make the most fun games anyone has ever played" and fan feedback obtained during Sam & Max's episodic debut. That should translate to more varied locations, longer episodes, tougher puzzles and more adorable cats -- if we're reading these message boards right. Sam & Max Season Two episodes will arrive on the GameTap subscription service first and become available for purchase on Telltale's website the next day. No pricing has been announced for the individual downloads yet, but more information on the season will be divulged at tomorrow's San Diego Comic-Con in a panel entitled "Episodic Games and Comics – Made for Each Other." Look for it in room 1AB from 11:30 to 12:30 if you're attending.
A spec guide for classes that aren't yours
Nowadays, you lucky kids have the Armory, and you can, on demand, look up the point-by-point spec of any player in the game. You can see who's Fire, who's Affliction, and who's Resto at a moment's notice, and gone are the days where you had to guess what spec a player was from the spells they cast.Or are they? I'd hazard a guess that most players don't have the Armory on quick dial, and yet all players still encounter different specs of classes every single time they play. In an Arathi Basin, by the time you've looked up the other guy's spec on the Armory, the game is over.So it's still valuable to know specs just by glancing at the spells players are casting, and this is a guide to help you do that. Want to know at a glance whether your main tank laying down Mortal Strike is really specced Protection as he says, or if he's got a few extra points in Arms than he should have? Want to know if that Warlock who sent a Felguard after you in the battlegrounds is specced Demonology or Destruction?I've put together a handy guide to spotting specs of classes that aren't yours-- there are a few telltale spells in each class that will giveaway a player's spec at a glance, and save you the momentary trouble of having to punch their name into the Armory. I've also given you a short brief on what each spec can and can't do for you (so you're not asking priests in Shadowform to buff you with Divine Spirit). To check it out, hit the link below.
Penny Arcade Expo exhibitor list unleashed
The exhibitor list for this year's Penny Arcade Expo has been made, checked twice, and finalized. While the past exhibitors are all still present (including favorites Pink Godzilla), the major publishers have signed up en masse. Joining Nintendo and Microsoft this year on the super-sized list of 53 exhibitors are Sony, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Sierra and Konami, among many others. Indie representation will be provided Gamecock, Telltale, and more. Is that the shadow of E3 we see before us? Full list after the break.
Sam & Max episodes now available on Steam
What did the folks at Telltale Games do today? We'll tell you! They turned a Valve and streamed their sparkling Sam & Max episodic series out of a GameTap and straight into a kettle. Then they, uh, boiled it. Because Sam & Max Season 1 is now available for purchase on Steam, you see. Also, we're terrible at this. Let's try again.Telltale Games and Valve have announced that the first episodic series to become available on Steam (yes, there was a joke there) is Sam & Max Season 1, with single episodes priced at $8.95 each. There's a 10% discount to be had during this first week of release, and those who balk at bit purchases can buy in bulk -- bundles of the first three (or last three) episodes go for $19.95 each. If you manage to miraculously avoid adventure's detective duo on Steam, GameTap and Telltale's website, you'll still have to deal with August's retail release from JoWood and The Adventure Company. You'll have nowhere to run, you lagomorph loather.
Telltale secures $6 million for multi-platform episodic content
Displaying a respectable level of business acumen, Telltale Games has announced that the $6 million in funding it recently secured will not go towards the procurement of the world's largest ball of twine, but rather the expansion of its episodic endeavors. Provided by San Francisco-based venture firms, Granite Ventures and IDG Ventures SF, the funding will allow Telltale to continue building upon their current franchises, such as Bone and Sam & Max, and pave the way for new episodic projects. "This funding will allow us to stay on the cutting edge of innovation by building out our team and our tools, and by taking on new licenses for the episodic treatment," says Telltale CEO and co-founder, Dan Connors. The Telltale team also plans to develop for multiple hardware platforms, a goal that seems right in line with its previous job listings and the success digital distribution has enjoyed on all current consoles. It's about time proper episodic content moved beyond the PC, wouldn't you say?
First screens of Sam & Max season finale, 'Bright Side of the Moon'
Telltale Games has unveiled the first images and trailer of the inevitably ludicrous finale to its episodic Sam & Max series, Bright Side of the Moon. In their continued mission to save civilization from hypnotic enslavement, the highly untrained duo embarks on a mission to the Earth's only natural satellite (sans paper bags) and attempts to foil an unspeakably nefarious mastermind (what other kind is there?). The action, the adventure and the depravity will become available on Gametap April 26th, and will hit Telltale's website shortly afterwards on May 10th. The penultimate episode, Reality 2.0, is already available on the official site. %Gallery-2534%
Telltale has their Wii programmer
At the recently-concluded Wondercon, Sam and Max designer Dave Grossman revealed that Telltale's pursuit for a Wii Programmer had been successful and the company has since pulled the job listing down from their website. Of course, no other information was revealed by the company's many representatives on-hand at Wondercon. Hopefully, we'll learn something new, but until then keep your browser pointed at Wii Fanboy for news as it develops.
Telltale talks: Sam & Max on Live Arcade?
Last week, we reported that Telltale Games was looking for an Xbox 360 programmer with a love of adventure games. Speculation ran rampant (rampant, we say!) that Sam & Max was bound for Xbox Live Arcade. Eurogamer caught up with Telltale to see if they could round up any more info. Telltale didn't outright admit that a Sam & Max game is headed to the 360, but a spokesperson did note that Telltale is a proponent of digital distribution and that the company would "look closely" at a service like Xbox Live Arcade.So, Telltale is definitely looking to produce something for the Xbox 360, and if they do make something, they would seriously consider releasing it via Xbox Live Arcade. Do with that what you will (not something gross, please).[Via Joystiq]
Bone: DS adventure renaissance continues [update 1]
[Update 1: The announcement was about Bone for the PC and not for the DS. It mentions that the publisher is "focusing on the PC and Nintendo DS markets", not the game. We apologize for the misunderstanding. Thanks to eric c for the correction!]Before the episodic Sam & Max games, Telltale Games were known among adventure game holdouts for their adaptations of Jeff Smith's Bone comic series. They followed a similar business model: periodic, bite-sized chunks of delicious puzzle solving, set in cult comic book trappings.Now publisher Xider is bringing the Bone games to the DS PC and unidentified games to the DS in Europe in 2007. We hope that they decide to bring them stateside as well, and that they don't decide to shoehorn weird touch screen/microphone puzzles into what is supposed to be a pretty good adventure series. It's still possible, but the identities of the DS games have yet to be announced.We're so proud of our little DS, bringing back two of our favorite long-lost game genres: the graphical text adventure and the 3D adventure game.
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 looking for Wii programmer, Sam & Max far behind?
Telltale Games is looking for a Wii systems programmer with a "love of adventure games." So the obvious deduction is that Sam & Max are headed to Wii, right? Probably.But Telltale forum administrator Jake is quick to remind us, "We haven't made any announcements about why we're hiring a Wii developer, and we really really haven't said that we're working on a Sam & Max game for the Wii." Guess Telltale is still rounding up the last of the gigantic trumpets. Good luck scoring those cherubs, though...[Via Wii Fanboy]
Telltale Games looking to the Wii
Telltale Games, the studio currently in charge of the Sam n' Max titles, has recently put out a calling for a Wii programmer. Among the very long list of necessary technical experience, the final line includes a requisite love of adventure games. Seriously.So, is SnM coming to the Wii? Rather contrary to their namesake, the company remains tight-lipped. An official forum post by the developer reads: "We haven't made any announcements about why we're hiring a Wii developer and we really really haven't said that we're working on a Sam & Max game for the Wii. If we do such a thing, you guys will be the first to hear about it, surrounded by 800 gigantic trumpets and probably some cherubs or something. But as of right now, you're talking crazy talk."Crazy-talk is the only kind we deal with, people. Our guess? Sardonic canines and whack-job lagomorphs are coming to a Wii near you.
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.)
Sam & Max on Wii? Telltale wants your help [update 1]
In a public forum post, Telltale Games employee Emily Morganti chronicled the rise in interest to have Sam & Max on the Wii, noting that ultimately they like the idea of putting the zany romp (our description, not theirs) on Nintendo's console. Unfortunately, Telltale needs Nintendo to notice them -- and as a small self-publishing developer, that's not easy to do.That's where we (Joystiq and its readers) come into play. Telltale thinks the Wiimote would be a perfect fit for its point-and-click Sam & Max, and we're inclined to agree. If you care enough to join the cause, contact Nintendo and tell them you want to see Telltale Games get some support for a Wii version (it's done! See below).While you're at it, tell us: on what platform(s) would you like to see Sam & Max rear its ugly head? Wii Mac PlayStation 2 or 3 Xbox 360 / XBLA I don't care about Sam & Max [via 1UP][Update 1: Wow, that was quick. Emily over at Telltale has updated this particular blog entry:"They took notice! We got a phone call from Nintendo this afternoon. We'll take it from here - please don't email them anymore!"Well done, guys. Thanks JulianZ for alerting us.]
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 to debut this fall on GameTap [update 1]
After more than a decade of absence, Sam & Max will be returning in an all-new episodic adventure game this fall. The catch? According to this press release, Turner's gaming service that provides a library of games for a monthly fee. GameTap coproduced the title with TellTale Games.An official website has launched for the title, and an official video will debut on the site Thursday. This is big news for GameTap, but we don't know of any plans to distribute the game via conventional means -- will only GameTap players be able to get their Sam & Max fix? Say it ain't so![update 1: not exclusive to GameTap]
Episode 2 of Bone series available now
The second installment of Telltale's episodic Bone series is available for download, starting today, for the newly reduced price of $12.99. There is also a packaged version available for $17.99, a combo pack with Episodes 1 and 2 for $24.99, and the download includes a free trial mode so you can try before you buy. The story: It's Spring Fair time as The Great Cow Race begins - with games, goodies and challenges. Gran'Ma Ben is preparing to compete in the Great Cow Race (yes, she'll be running) and Phoney Bone hatches a devious plan to profit from the competition. Meanwhile dark forces are at work in the mountains.An early review from Eurogamer gives the title a 7/10, praising the improved puzzles, while lamenting the short four hour play time. Apparently their major beef is the title's juvenile sensibilities which haven't changed since the first episode. "If there's one area Bone could improve on, it's the killer lines - and, selfishly, it needs to stop pandering to the kids so much." Thankfully the Sam & Max demographic is a little older!
