The International House of Mojo

ScummVM and its sister project, ResidualVM are participating in the Google Summer of Code once again.

This year, the students are working on the following games:

ScummVM:

Pink Panther: Passport to Peril and Pink Panther: Hokus Pokus Pink. Student: Andrii Prykhodko

The Immortal. Student: Joseph-Eugene Winzer

Star Trek: 25th Anniversary and Star Trek: Judgment Rites. Student: Matthew Stewart

ResdiualVM:

The Longest Journey (currently completable with missing features). Student: Liu Zhaosong

While we're on the subject of ScummVM and ResidualVM, both projects have had updates lately:

ResidualVM 0.31 has been released. This is a bugfix release that fixes a few bugs in Myst III, in preparation for Cyan's upcoming digital release of Myst III that will use ResidualVM to play the game.

ScummVM's addition of Xeen, the first RPG engine added after ScummVM changed their guidelines to allow RPG games alongside the adventure games, is now completable in the daily builds. There are five RPGs that are currently completable: Might and Magic IV, Might and Magic V, World of Xeen, World of Xeen 2 (CD Talkie), and Swords of Xeen. If you want to play these games in the daily builds, make sure that you place xeen.css in the same folder as your game files.

Well, we were told it works, and what the hell… Looks like Rum_Rogers was right! Wine + GOG + Escape from Monkey Island = your friend. We’ve put together a short guide on how to set it all up, so give it a go if you want. Fair warning: Expect no more support from us. ;

ScummVM announced today that Cyan Inc., the creators of the Myst series, and ScummVM are "establishing a new partnership, with both teams working together as closely as possible in the future".

Later this year, Cyan Inc. is re-releasing the entire Myst series, thanks to a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original Myst.

Myst: Masterpiece Edition and Riven: The Sequel to Myst will be powered by ScummVM, and Myst III: Exile will be powered by ScummVM's sister project for 3D adventure games, ResidualVM.

The ScummVM team stated that they'll be working together in the future to "make your journey through the Ages even more pleasant". More news will follow soon. It will be really interesting to see what else will come from this new partnership.

Telltale announced on their website that, due to the "fundamental changes" (likely referring to the restructuring after a round of layoffs that happened due to a toxic environment that cultivated in the studio after the surprise success of the first season of The Walking Dead), The Wolf Among Us Season Two has been delayed until 2019.

They've stated that the reason for the delay is because they are "committed to exploring new ways to tell our stories. Taking this extra time will allow [them] not only to focus on quality but also to experiment and iterate in order to craft something truly special".

If this means that the gameplay will be significantly different than the cut-and-paste style gameplay that's been in Telltale's games since The Walking Dead, then the delay is certainly most welcome.

Update by Jennifer: Tales from the Borderlands is also free (and DRM-free), for Windows and macOS if you purchase $15 or more worth of games during the GOG.com Halloween Sale.

As long as you have an Xbox One. And wait until November. And have a Gold membership.

Caveats aside, Tales from the Borderlands is underrated and you should play it.

And that's all I got. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

All of Disney's catalog is currently on sale at GOG.com. That includes tons of LucasArts games:

Afterlife

Armed and Dangerous

The Dig

Loom

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb

Monkey Island 1 SE

Monkey Island 2 SE

Outlaws + A Handful of Missions

Sam & Max Hit the Road

Star Wars: Battlefront II

Star Wars: Empire at War

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II

Star Wars: Dark Forces

Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II

Star Wars: Jedi Knight II - Jedi Outcast

Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D

Star Wars: Tie Fighter

Star Wars: X-Wing

Star Wars: X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter

Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance

Star Wars: Rebel Assault 1+2

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Saga

Star Wars: Rebellion

Star Wars: Star Fighter

Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders

We're now a week into 2017, which means it's the perfect time for a new poll. We couldn't just put one up on the first day of the new year. That's just not The Mojo Way™.

There's a lot of goodness coming out this year, from just about every company that this site covers. So go to the poll on the right and let us know which one has you excited the most.

ScummVM, the project that aims to re-create engines for point-and-click adventure and role-playing games, using the original scripts and data files, so that the games run on modern (and some not-so-modern) systems, has received a new release.

This release brings support for six new games: Myst, Myst: Masterpiece Edition, U.F.O.s (also known as Gnap), and Sierra's Hi-Res adventure games #0: Mission Asteroid, #1: Mystery House, and #2: The Wizard and the Princess.

There's also been a lot of bugfixes for Sierra's SCI games, the addition of Hercules rendering and font for the AGI games, an enhanced Sherlock games experience, and the addition of AmiUpdate on the Amiga port.

ScummVM is the project that aims to re-create the engines used in adventure games (and, since this year's Google Summer of Code, role-playing games) so they can be played on systems ranging from Windows, Mac, and Linux to iOS, Android, and even consoles such as Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and Wii.

Right before a major release they do a public testing phase for new and improved games, which helps them iron out any remaining bugs. This testing cycle includes two new games: Myst (and Myst: Masterpiece Edition) and U.F.O.s (also known as Gnap). There also have been a lot of improvements in the SCI engine as of late, so they are also testing Conquests of the Longbow, Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist, King's Quest V, King's Quest VI, Quest for Glory 1 VGA, Quest for Glory 3, Space Quest 1 VGA, and Space Quest 4. Other games that have seen recent improvements and are undergoing testing include Beneath a Steel Sky, the Commodore-64 version of Maniac Mansion, Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Rose Tattoo, and Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel.

So, if you have any of those games, play them through in a daily build of ScummVM on your platform of choice, and report any bugs you find at the new and improved ScummVM bug tracker. Then tell the team about your experience, and any bugs you filed (or if you didn't spot any bugs at all) in this thread on the ScummVM forum.

It feels like it is 2012 again. Disney has halted game production and will switch to a licensing model.

For those of you who have been waiting for more Lucasfilm figures for Disney Infinity, you're going to have to stop waiting as Disney Infinity will cease production as a result of this decision. Three characters from Alice Through the Looking Glass will release later this month, and a Finding Dory playset will be released in June. These will be the final figures released in the Disney Infinity line.

The primary developer of Disney Infinity, Avalanche Software, will also be closed. We at Mojo give our fondest well-wishes to the nearly 300 people who lost their jobs as a result of this decision.

Duke Grabowski's Kickstarter updated with news that more Duke Grabowski is coming, as the game is now episodic and will now be published by Alliance Digital Media.

The game that backers will be getting will now be episode one out of five. Backers will get the game exactly as described in the Kickstarter, but the good news is that Duke's adventures will be larger than planned. The other good news is that the backing by a publisher means that the Duke Grabowski team can now work on the game full time. The first episode, the one that backers of the Kickstarter will be getting, is now planned to be finished in July.

I'm back from PAX East. I'll post about my experience at the show in a bit, but for now, I'll catch up on some of the releases that have happened lately.

The Walking Dead: Michonne, the miniseries by Telltale Games that reveals what happened to the character of Michonne during the period when she left the group in the comics after the events of All Out War, is now complete, with yesterday's release of episode 3.

Also receiving its third episode yesterday was King's Quest, the official ninth game in the series, by The Odd Gentlemen. This episode, Once Upon A Climb, tells the story of how Graham saved his future wife Valanice, who is also Gwyndolyn's grandmother.

Double Fine is coming to PAX East in Boston this weekend. They'll be at booth #6123 showing off Day of the Tentacle Remastered and Headlander. They'll also have three Double Fine Presents titles, Gnog, Gang Beasts, and Everything. A new title will be shown at the show as well.

They'll also be selling merchandise at the show, including the Raz and Two Headed Baby Pinny Arcade pins, and a new special edition game bundle box. The bundle contains 10 games, with 10 game cards drawn Jon Magram and Melissa King. The game cards can be seen below (click to see them in a larger size).

I'll also be volunteering at the Double Fine booth at PAX East this weekend, so if you're at the show, come by and say hello. :)

Update: 4/19 10:45PM: Two more games have been added to the bundle: Jurassic Park: The Game and Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People.

Telltale Games are now in a Humble Bundle. For $1 or more, you can get Back to the Future: The Game, Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse, Poker Night at the Inventory, Puzzle Agent 1 & 2, and The Walking Dead: Season One. If you pay more than the average (currently just over $8), you also get The Walking Dead: 400 Days, The Wolf Among Us, Poker Night 2, and Tales from the Borderlands. Finally, if you pay more than $12, you'll also get Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead: Season Two.

Note that all of these games are redeemed through Steam only, as there is no DRM-free option available. There is about a week left to pick this bundle up, and there are hints that more games will be added to the package soon.

Source: Call me Squinky

Telltale managed to meet its projected dates for two of its series, as today sees a double release from the studio. Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 5 sets up the scenario for the upcoming three downloadable content episodes, while The Walking Dead: Michonne is the penultimate chapter of the three episode mini-series, furthering the danger and setting up the finale.

Both episodes are available to download today across all all available platforms, except for the Wii U version of Minecraft: Story Mode. Also, due to an unexpected delay, the PlayStation versions of The Walking Dead: Michonne Episode 2 will be delayed until the 31st of March.

Also, Telltale now has a dedicated page available for the Adventure Pass, which will be available as downloadable content and will encompass episodes 6, 7, and 8 of Minecraft: Story Mode, continuing the story from the cliffhanger at the end of episode 5. Episode 6 will be available Summer 2016, and the other two episodes will follow shortly afterward.

Update March 25th: The video in this post just became more relevant as Shrmargin pointed out in our comments section that The Wolf Among Us will be free in its entirety to Xbox Gold subscribers on Xbox One in April.

Telltale updated their blog with Minecraft: Story Mode news. Episode 5 will be releasing on February 29th. Then three new episodes will be released as downloadable content that can be purchased on the platforms supported by the game. The DLC episodes will be released over the course of this year.

Also, Mashable revealed, in an article with Telltale's CEO Kevin Bruner, that The Walking Dead: Season Three will begin releasing some time this year. More news will be revealed about Telltale's third season of The Walking Dead when Comic Con International occurs between July 21st and July 24th.

Finally, did you ever notice that Prince Lawrence's television displayed Night Court in The Wolf Among Us? Did you ever wonder what the two would look like mashed up? I made a video to answer that question, so you don't have to wonder anymore.

Telltale's South by Southwest Batman panel is now online for all to see.

Some interesting things have emerged from that panel. Players will play as Bruce Wayne more than usual in a Batman game. In many situations, there will also be a choice between confronting a situation as Bruce Wayne, or going all in as Batman. As Batman, you'll also be given a choice to physically harm a suspect or take a more diplomatic approach through interrogation to get the information you're seeking. You won't be able to play the whole game without becoming Batman, but the developer's have stated you should be able to play a large portion of it as Bruce if that's the way you wish to play.

It is going to be similar in approach to their The Wolf Among Us series in terms of artistic presentation. It will be set in its own universe. Although it will draw from the 77 years of comic lore that already exists, the team will be able to make their own mark on the iconic characters.

It will have an art style inspired by DC artists such as Jim Lee, Greg Capullo and Neal Adams. It will have an M for mature rating, will consist of five episodes, and will begin releasing this summer.

For those waiting for Day of the Tentacle Remastered to show up on Steam, it can now be pre-ordered there as well.

Like GOG.com's Day of the Tentacle store page, Steam only lists Windows as a supported platform. Mac and Linux versions are coming, but they won't be available at launch.

ScummVM, the project that allows multiple point and click adventure games to be played on modern (and some not so modern) architectures, has been updated to 1.8.0. New in this release is support for ten new games:

• Amazon: Guardians of Eden
• Beavis and Butthead in Virtual Stupidity
• Broken Sword 2.5: The Return of the Templars
• Labyrinth of Time
• Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender
• Sfinx
• The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Rose Tattoo
• The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel
• Zork: Grand Inquisitor
• Zork Nemesis: The Forbidden Lands

Additionally, there are new ports for GCW-Zero and Raspberry Pi. The graphics subsystem for the Sierra AGI engine has been overhauled, and the SCUMM engine has also received some love. The original Maniac Mansion walking code for the V0 and V1 version of the game has been implemented, Maniac Mansion can now be played from within Day of the Tentacle, and lip sync animation has been improved in later Humongous Entertainment games.

There's a whole lot more new with this release, as it's been a long time coming, so head over to the ScummVM site and give it a spin.

You can now pre-order Day of the Tentacle Remastered for Windows from GOG.com at the pre-order price of 10% off its regular rate of $15. It's also going to be released for Mac and Linux, but this isn't yet reflected in the GOG game info.

It's scheduled to be released on March 22, 2016. It will be released for PlayStation 4 and Vita as well.