The International House of Mojo

After a little over a month of beta testing, ScummVM 0.12.0 was finally released to the public today.

Head on over to the official site to grab a copy!

Support for five new games, including Kyrandia books two three, has been added. The following changes and improvements were done to the SCUMM engine part:

• Rewrote parts of Digital iMUSE, fixing some bugs.
• Rewrote the internal timer code, fixing some speed issues in e.g. COMI.
• Improved support for sound effects in Amiga version of Zak McKracken.
• Added support for mixed Adlib/MIDI mode in Monkey Island 1 (Floppy).

At the beginning of this year, it was rumoured that a developer called A2M were working on a version of Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings for less powerful consoles (Wii, PS2, PSP and DS) much like how Krome Studios have done with The Force Unleashed. The rumour suggested that their version not only had a smoother development than the LucasArts version but that it was going to be released this year to coincide with the home video release of Indy IV.

It seems like this might actually happen, as the European ratings board PEGI have just rated the game for handhelds. It's possible that the Wii and PS2 versions will be released with the next-gen LucasArts version, but the handheld versions were deemed different enough to be released earlier.

Interestingly, they've been given a surprisingly high rating: 16+.

At the very least, this does confirm that the title Staff of Kings is correct. Now, why haven't LucasArts said anything? Even the Clone Wars games haven't been rated yet!

UPDATE: Well, well, well. Since this was spotted, several sites have starting discovering new info. Here's two things I don't think anyone's noticed:
1. A2M confirmed that they were working on an Indiana Jones title for LucasArts, so that rumour's true.
2. That PEGI page has REMOVED the rating for the PSP version of the game. It did seem odd, as the PSP version is likely very similar to the PS2 version, for that one to be released. The radically different DS version alone makes more sense.

Kotaku also have a few interesting points, such as the possibility that the Nazis will be once again Generic Soldiers. Oh, and we got quoted by TheRaider.net. Woo!

Source: Siliconera

If you were attending PAX, you would see three brief DeathSpank teasers on a huge screen in a big room. Since you weren't, you will be watching them off of Ron's blog.

Ron's latest masterpiece will be released sometime in 2009.

Former LucasArts employee and current Autumn Moon boss, Bill Tiller, has taken some time out from developing A Vampyre Story to talk to adventureclassicgaming.com about the development of the two aborted Full Throttle sequels.

My opinion is that there existed some major difference of opinion between the team and a particularly influential person, who didn’t like the direction we were going. And in the end those differences could not be resolved. So in the end instead of a team that had worked on Full Throttle 1 working on the sequel, LucasArts went with a team that hadn’t worked on the first game instead. And again, in my opinion, that was a mistake.

The article is peppered with beautiful "Payback" concept art by Tiller. It may not be new, but I don't think I've seen it all before.

Source: Adventure Classic Gaming

This year's Penny Arcade Expo (or PAX) will unsurprisingly be attended by our conditional friends Telltale Games, who will be showing off their latest and upcoming episodic creations. If you plan or hope to attend, check out the full expo schedule to see what time the Telltale-hosted panels will take place (such as a rendition of last year's "Make Your Own Scene" panel, this time Strong Bad themed). You can also pay a visit the the Telltale blog to observe the web crew building the company's excellent booth for the event, if you are so inclined.

Those aren't the only Mojo Guests showing up at PAX. It is apparent that one Ron Gilbert will be there, though he is quick to note that no form of DeathSpank will be shown off only in the form of teasers. Still, if you want to get that copy protection code wheel signed or something, here's your latest chance.

If you should happen to be like most people and are unavailable to physically attend the expo this weekend, fret not. The always worthwhile Telltale Blog will likely be brimming with coverage of what went down.

A reader named "DJEJAY" sent over some Maniac Mansion themed fan art, the inspiration for which seems to encompass the original game, Day of the Tentacle, and that awful unique TV show.





In the interest of clearing a few things up, he had this to say at the conclusion of his e-mail:

P.S. some things about these fanarts:
1. The pink fox thing is my fan character, DJ.
2. The little bug man is........HARRY THE FLY! Lol I love how he turned out!
3. The hamster on my ear in the first pic is my little companion. Ed and I both have hamsters. Ed's hamster, I decided to nickname Hermy while I named my hamster, Chaka.
4. The second pic is backwards but it says day of the tentacle.
That's all! Enjoy!

You heard him. Enjoy.

The trailer for the next episode of SBCG4AP, entitled Strongbadia The Free, is now available to watch at the game's site i.e. right here. It's the same preview that was attached to Homestar Ruiner, so don't get too excited.

There are a load of brand new screenshots, though.

So the lucky guys at 1UP managed to meet one Tim Schafer (who, surprisingly, isn't some awesome figment of our imaginations but actually exists), drag him into their studio, strip-search him (the fan-girls go wild) and get his voice on their podcast.

Based on my experience, this will do three things to the listener: 1. It will make you smarter; 2. It will make you laugh; and 3. It will make that baby you are pregnant with look like Tim Schafer. So, you know: listen.

Source: Double Fine

When do you stop making something that people enjoy? When they’ve had enough, when you've run out of inspiration, or simply when your creation is finished?

I don't know how you are, but whenever I go around to somebody's house for tea, a part of me is always panicking because I don’t know how long to stay for. Sometimes it seems that the line between staying too long, and not staying long enough, is too thin for conception. The problem applies all across the board: to television, to theatre, and to electronic entertainment.

The following article was formulated in seven hours worth of cold, dirty bath water.

The game's official website has been updated with a new trailer showing off the game's art as well as Froderick's voice!

The site also promises more updates and screenshots over the following weeks so check back regularly!

Tingler Updates: The site also confirms our previous report that the game will indeed be released October 30th, just in time for Hallowe'en. Hooray!

For those interested, the Force Unleashed demo is now available for the 360 and PS3.

Impression? Certainly reminiscent of the Dark Forces games, a lot of cool powers available off the bat, and it quite possibly has the potential to be a very fun game. On the flip side, the controls are, in my opinion... funky...

Additional Note from Gabez: Penny Arcade celebrate the arrival of STFU's demo with this most amusing comic

Okay, how about sending in some reader opinions for the Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis article.

Update by Tingler: Not long to go now. Here's something to tide you over...

Our very own Zaarin was browsing through his favorite Norwegian gaming web site, where he found this interview with Dan Connors from Telltale. It's a good read, I'm sure, if you understand the language.

One quote that some of your favorite Mojoers found interesting, reads, (and is translated obviously,) "We like the net community around the franchise, the same way we also love the Sam & Max comunity or the Mix'n Mojo community." (Emphasis added.)

Awww. And to think this comes from Telltale, that actively removed our link from their Friends section! But hey, that's probably part of their special kind of love.

Just to prove I don't just make Star Wars posts on this site, occasionally I can even point your way to something actually interesting. Like this: a new interview with Tim Schafer at The Escapist.

There's a few things of interest in there, especially his correction that Psychonauts was not a flop as many believe - or as he suggests, actually want to believe.

Oh, and there's a quick glimmer of hope for Brütal Legend, where the interviewer suggests that it's still possible that Activision may pick up the title - they're still currently just "reviewing their options" about the Sierra games they haven't taken yet.

Today is/was already the first day of GCDC in Leipzig, Germany (remember, there's supposed to be some major A Vampyre Story presence there), and Gamasutra met up with the one and only Dan Connors to talk about Telltale. Dan discusses the difficulties of putting an episodic game in the online console space, and a few interesting statistics are made known:

20 percent of players who buy a first episode next buy the whole season altogether, says Connors. Without providing specifics, he also said "most players" buy the whole season at once directly from Telltale, while "retail is the most powerful content-mover out there."

Read it all! And as always, be sure to check Telltale's blog section for the latest article related to the company. That way we can get away with forgetting to mention them.

Maniac Mansion fan "defgav" has been working on a hack of the game's NES ROM, defiling the game and giving it sort of a new personality. He explains:

It's a NES rom of Maniac Mansion hacked kinda crazy. Most of the text is changed. Some of the graphics are altered.. specifically the characters are ALL JACKED UP! Hence, they are zombies. See.. it kinda plays like a fake sequel: The radiation was so strong the first time the kids saved Sandy that it mutated them into zombies. Now they're out for revenge. The goal is to blow up the house!

Read more about his efforts (which have been going on for five years) in his forum thread, where you can grab the ROM and run it through your NES emulator of choice.

You'd think they actually listened, but NO; they dragged me out of the dumpster ANYWAY! "You have to make something up, Kroms. We're real journalists now!" And I must oblige, for they are the Man (the man is called Gabez by the way).

Anyways: there's this upcoming event called PAX, which is a convergence of the Geeks of the World on Seattle; this happens on August 29th, just in time for school to start. And guess who's gonna be there? Deathspank! In the form of merchandise, too.

Christmas has finally come early.

Source: Hothead

In a double-whammy of Star Wars whup-ass, two falls have been reported for the previously inconquerable series.

Firstly, The Dark Knight continues to beat all expectations and has now ousted Star Wars: A New Hope as the No. 2 Top-Grossing Film of All Time in the domestic US market. Bear in mind the new Batman film has only been on the market for five weeks, whereas A New Hope has had 30 years.

And if that weren't enough, new animated movie The Clone Wars is doing absolutely shockingly and has only made $15.5 million this weekend - which was also beaten by The Dark Knight. It's basically a TV cartoon pointlessly put up on the big screen, so obviously the fans aren't as stupid as they appear (cough).

Although I quite enjoyed it... I'll get me coat.

Source: ComingSoon.net

I'm sure all of you have seen this before as it's almost a year old, but I don't remember seeing it mentioned on Mojo then. Anyway, it brightened my day a bit, and so thought it was worth posting.

In case you hadn't noticed, the first Star Wars film to be released since the saga wrapped up and so makes a mockery of all the time we invested in them, Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Movie, is now available in cinemas and on BitTorrents everywhere.

If you've seen The Dark Knight four times already and would rather poke your eyes out than see The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, why not give it a whirl?

Then visit here, of course.

At E3 this year, Nintendo unveiled their new Wii peripherial - the MotionPlus - which gives absolutely perfect 1:1 control and which the Wii was supposed to have done in the first place.

According to the latest issue of Game Informer magazine, a lot of developers are annoyed at Nintendo for keeping this a secret from them, and the most vocal of them is LucasArts.

According to GameInformer:

LucasArts in particular wasn't happy at being kept in the dark - especially since it created Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels specifically for the console. The game was even included in Nintendo's press conference, the setting in which the Wii Motion Plus was introduced - which the game doesn't use, much to LucasArts' dismay.

While I understand LucasArts' annoyance, especially as swordfighting was one of the minigames used to demonstrate the device at E3, if they'd waited until MotionPlus was available Lightsaber Duels wouldn't be out until late 2009 - way after the Clone Wars TV series has finished.

Source: NeoGaf

Two weeks on from Activision Blizzard's surprising exile of Brutal Legend, you might be wondering what the state of the game's future is. In short: things are just as cloudy and uncertain as they were right after the news broke.

According to Variety, MTV are definitely not publishing the game as was rumoured. MTV's official statement after being asked directly is that they aren't publishing the game, and that:

"We are big fans of Tim Schafer. We hope the game finds a good home."

Meanwhile, rumours are thundering through the internet that Electronic Arts may be taking Brutal Legend on board. This doesn't match up with an insider source's earlier comment saying that the publisher would be an untraditional one, but it's very possible the aforementioned publisher was MTV and negotiations simply fell through.

Once known for dismal working practices and unoriginal release schedules, EA has been working very hard recently to change how they're perceived by generating new, original games. The upcoming Spore and Mirror's Edge are a testament to this, as are recent outputs such as Mass Effect and Crysis.

No other publisher could market Brutal Legend as aggressively as EA, so I'd be very much open to seeing the game join the 'new' EA and its line-up of quality games. It is by far the best chance Brutal Legend has of hitting the kind of widespread exposure it most probably deserves.

According to a press release by publisher Ascaron, A Vampyre Story is coming out this Hallowe'en - or at least October 30th.

Whether this is just good timing or intentional marketing, whatever, the game's coming out!

Source: Games Press

To complement our excellent review, Telltale decided to release the episode itself, so what the hell are you reading this for?

Clicky!

Continuing our Star Wars YouTube Marathon that seems to have sprung out of nowhere, may I present our first actual videogame-related clip!

What would happen if Obi-Wan had used Jedi Knight's Force Speed in the battle with Darth Maul?

Steve Purcell has uploaded a couple of new scans to his blog.

The relevant post shows the art for the season 2 DVD and the soundtrack CD which we previously reported on.

The first Strong Bad episode "Homestar Ruiner" from Telltale finally has a locked in release date for PC and Wiiware (where available).

Mark August 11 on your calendars, for that is the very day.

Proof inside!

Update by Jason: Also, the five episode season is available for pre-order for the PC at a cost of $34.99, identical to Sam & Max. Individual episodes are $8.95. Additionally, the WiiWare versions will be 1000 Wii points ($10) per episode.

Reminder By The Tingler: It should be pointed out that this is the American release date only. While of course that won't affect PC owners, those wanting the special Wii Ware version outside the US will have to wait a little while longer. Although according to Telltale, the delay should be fairly minimal.

Source: Telltale games

You probably think of CHUD as a site about movies, but they'll also occasionally report about game-related stuff, such as when they spread the love about Sam & Max. And considering how much traffic that site gets, good on them for that.

Anyway, one of the CHUD guys was visting LucasArts/ILM HQ for whatever reason and couldn't help but notice some unrevealed concept art for the elusive game. For obvious reasons said images couldn't be shared, but here's a summary of their findings:

- Art with Indy and the staff of Moses shows Indy striking water with the staff, with Nazis in the background.

- The same elephant chase art that's been around for a while is up, so the elephant ride/chase could still be a go.

- In addition to San Francisco locations include India and China; I was hoping the elephant chase might take place on Lombard St. Sigh.

- One piece shows Indy looking at the Golden Gate Bridge being built. Previously we'd heard the game takes place in 1939, but the bridge was finished in 1937.

- Art also shows a Zepplin called the Odin.

- The response to inquiries about the title Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings were met with a smile and 'the title is not announced'.

If we were talking about any other game these tidbits would be nothing to write home about, but this is about as big a deal as news on the upcoming Indiana Jones game gets.

Holy crap, is it time for another secret history article? Yes, yes it is, and this time we dig through LeChuck's Revenge, the perennial Mojo favorite.

Run over and read like crazy! Oh, and that wonderful piece of art is totally another Dan Lee original.

With the release just a month away, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is of course getting a lot of coverage even if it's mostly things we've heard already.

However, I have to direct you to this video at GameSpot (standard version here), which cheered me up immensely and shows that LucasArts do still have a sense of humour. Well, they did until they got rid of all their staff anyway.

Basically, it shows the Apprentice picking up Jawas by the head, electrocuting them, and then booting them like a football. Disgusting creatures, but they do fly well.

Source: Youtube