According to Adventure Gamers, the latest issue of PC Zone includes an interview with LucasArts Public Relations guy Tom Sarris. In the interview, Tom discusses Full Throttle 2 and the potential for more LucasArts sequels. Here's a highlight:
There'll definately be another Monkey Island game. You've seen four incredibly well-done versions of Monkey Island, and there's an immense amount of stories that remain to be told within that series. And not only that series -- I mean Grim Fandango especially, we'd love to revisit that one day. Sadly, Tim Schaffer probably won't be involved, but we don't think that means the property has to suffer at all.Poor Tim... always getting his last name misspelled. Check out Adventure Gamers for more highlights from the interview as well as a screenshot of a 3D Ben standing outside of The Kickstand.
As global PR director for LucasSrts, Tom Saris has the enviable job of overseeing the promotion of some of the most eagerly awaited PC games in the world. As well as the lucrative licences for Star Wars and Indiana Jones, plus the announcement of a new flight combat title from legen Lawrence 'TIE Fighter' Holland, LucasArts has recently been delving into its back catalogue for 21st-century franchises. PC ZONE was granted an audience with Mr Saris, who discussed Indy, a sequel to Sam & Max Hit the Road, a new Monkey Island game, Full Throttle II and Star Wars Episode VII...
PCZ: Is LucasArts committed to the PC as a games platform?
TS: LucasArts' commitment to the PC remains as strong as it ever was. I think that's been proven by things like Star Wars Galaxies, Knights Of The Old Republic, PC versions of the adventures Full Throttle II and Sam & Max 2, and Jedi Outcast, which I think was really well received. I don't think the PC is something we'll ever move away from. It's an incredibly strong part of our legacy, and we'll always try to honour that.
PCZ: Can you tell us about Lawrence Holland's new WWII game?
TS: A little bit. We don't have a name for it yet - we're just about to get to that stage. It certainly takes its inspiration from Secret Weapons Of The Luftwaffe and the other games that sort of fell within that realm, but I think it's updated for a new generation. With someone like Lawrence Holland, who's just so incredibly talented and shown how successful he can be, it's going to do well. Again, I think there's a challenge there. How to strike an appeal, if that mamkes sense.
PCZ: WWII flight sims are quite a niche genre though...
TS: Well they are, yeah, but at its heart is great flight combat. And whether it's set in the Star Wars universe or in the World War II realm, a good flight combat game is a good flight combat game. I think that Larry Holland and Totally Games have absolutely proven themselves to be master os that genre. We have very high hopes for it.
PCZ: Will it have slightly more arcady gameplay?
TS: I'd say so, yeah. I think that if you're used to some of the elements that appeared in the originals, then I think this will have a high appeal to you. It will meet those expectations, and yet for people who haven't played those kinds of titles, there's a dynamic in the gameplay that they'll find very appealing. I've seen some very early models for some of the aircraft in the game, and they look spectacular.
PCZ: What can you reveal about Full Throttle II?
TS: I do know that there will be several rival gangs in the game, and they're looking great. All the character models are superb - Ben himself particularly. We also recognised that the length of the first game was one of its shortcomings - no pun intended - and we're definitely going to extend this one far more than the original.
PCZ: What about Indiana Jones And The Emperor's Tomb? How does it differ from Infernal Machine?
TS: It seems to me that gaming has evolved a lot in the short time since the last Indy title. For starters, there are a lot of people who like to have a greater action element. As a result, the gameplay of Emperor's Tomb is much more reflective of the style of the Indy films.
PCZ: How exactly is LucasArts going to 'update' popular brands?
TS: Unlike an established character such as Indy, when we revisit brands such as Full Throttle and Sam & Max, the real challenge is to establish the same kind of credibility that a Star Wars or Indiana Jones game has. While these are sequels to well-loved originals, we're dealing with a different generation now and we're going to have to do a lot of work to achieve that. We're not quite sure yet how we're going to do it with Sam & Max 2. We're so focused on our autumn and spring games at the moment that we haven't even really begun to think very seriously about what efforts we're going to need to put into it.
PCZ: So Sam & Max 2 is in development?
TS: Yes, but it's very, very early days right now. However, in the next six to eight months it will really progress to the point where we can showcase it at the E3 videogames show in May and show people that it's going to be a very important part of our line-up.
PCZ: Are any of the original team working on Sam & Max 2?
TS: Actually, yes. Mike Styemmle is one opf the originals. Back in the day he worked with Sean Clarke and Steve Purcell to head up development of the first game. And that's basically Mike's role now - he's the director of the project, and it's nice to hve that connection. Mike's got this absolutely wicked sense of humour - it's very subtly. You know there's always something bubbling under the surface. And I think that's absolutely going to be played out in the enxt game.
PCZ: Is LucasArts moving away from a point-and-click style?
TS: Yeah, but how we'll do that I'm not quite sure. But I believe that, as in the original games, there will be mini-games that you can play, as well as the overall adventure.
PCZ: Does LucasArts have an overall answer to the problem of how to evolve the adventure game beyond point and click?
TS: I'm not sure that we have one overall answer that's going to make everyone happy, but I reckon it';; depend on the game and what you want the characters to do. One element may fit with one set of characters and not another. But I don't know that we have one simple formula that is going to work across all the games. But it'll be interesting to see - especially with Sam & Max 2.
PCZ: Are there any other popular franchises that LucasArts will re-visit?
TS: There'll definitely be another Monkey Island game. You've seen four incredibly well-done versions of Monkey Island, and there's an immense amount of stories that remain to be told within that series. And not only that series -- I mean Grim Fandango especially, we'd love to revisit that one day. Sadly, Tim Schaffer probably won't be involved, but we don't think that means the property has to suffer at all. You look at someone like Sean Clarke, who's involved as director of Full Throttle II. Sean's extremely talented, and I think he'll bring an interesting perspective to Full Throttle, in the same way someone could do with a sequel to Grim Fandango. This is definitely something we want to continue to exploit as we move forward and as the emphasis on Star Wars games lessens, because after Episode III, there'll be no more Star Wars films.
PCZ: No Episode VII then?
TS: (laughs) No, I don't think an Episode VII is on George Lucas' horizon, so for LucasArts to remain competitive as a company, we need to take advantage of some of the established properties that are a part of our legacy.
pfff, it makes me sick : come on guys, make brand new adventure game instead of running in circle!
For instance, I don't think we're going to see The Sixth Sense 2, but maybe 20 or 30 years ago we would have... someone somewhere figured out the fact that things like that just don't work. It's odd that the video game industry hasn't taken note of this... I mean surely they've all seen tons of shitty sequels to movies they've loved, and can somehow apply that to their own line of work...
I guess they think to themselves "sure knockoff sequels such a lot of the time... but this time it will be different!" Beh who knows, maybe it will be different :)
so indeed, lets wait and see, if they mess up? more their loss than ours...
"we don't think that means the property has to suffer at all"?? I think the property would suffer more with a bad sequel.
But that's just what I took from Tom's quote. He could have meant something else.