The International House of Mojo

MTV Multiplayer is doing a "GDC Chain" of questions where one developer passes on a question to another developer.

Tim Schafer was asked by Sucker Punch President Brian Fleming (I know!): "What is our favorite tentacle, and why?"

Tim's answer: “The green tentacle is nice, but the purple tentacle is more of a go-getter. He really evolved as a character in that he grew a hand. I was sad to see him get squished and sent off to Saturn.” He then asks "Wanted" producer Pete Wanat a question, which you can read here.

Wanat, by the way, was the one responsible for getting Jack Black to do Brutal Legend, so thumbs up to you, Pete. You wear those sunglasses because you're cool and you know it.

Source: MTV Multiplayer

Hothead had a panel at GDC today, where they mentioned Deathspank. Surprisingly, the game is not episodic, but will probably have DLC later on. Also worth mentioning is the fact that Ron brought-in his own game engine, an "updated version of SCUMM". Interesting, to say the least. I wonder what caused them to change their minds about it being episodic. Possible suspect: Mixnmojo.

Update: Ron blogs about it:

"DeathSpank isn't a very patient guy. He would never be able to play though one episode after another. He'd just run in and play them all at once. He's that kind of guy. He also gets impatient if someone doesn't die fast enough.

So what we did was take all the story, puzzles and fight'n and weave them into one larger game. The overarching story is the same, but the world is larger, more open, more compelling and completely load-less. You can walk from one end of the vast world to the other and never see a load screen or camera cut."

Thanks, Ron!

Random thoughts: is it just me, or does Deathspank seem designed to be sequel-less (i.e.: we're already being told the whole story)? And does this re-shaping of the game mean it will get delayed?

Source: Gamasutra

The ever vigilant Pumpkin Post has noticed the existence of the following Youtube video:

The latest Autumn Moon news post made yesterday reveals two major things. The first is that Bill is finally ready to start talking about that secret project Autumn Moon has been developing concurrently with the AVS series. Only a code title is being revealed, it being Teal Harvest: Terror Beyond the Act or Power of Forming a Mental Image of Something Not Present to the Senses or Never Before Wholly Perceived in Reality (abbreviated TBAPFMISNPSNBWPR).

Bill says that the game is already in its final four months of production, which puts its release ahead of AVS2: A Bat's Tale. Yes, you have TWO Autumn Moon games to look forward to. The release date for the mystery game is still not yet decided by the publisher (whoever it is), but AVS2 will likely follow "4-6 months" after, which I'm guessing puts the latter in an early 2010 timeframe.

On a less uplifting note, in the wake of the recent unearthings of some unused AVS audio recordings in the game's data files, Bill has been forced to publicly confront the fact that yes, an entire FMV cutscene and a few shots from some others, were cut from AVS before it shipped. Bill was planning on animating the dropped scene for the sequel, but is apparently so agitated by the voyeurism involved in making the scandalous discovery that he is now unwilling to resurrect the scene unless demands are met:

I might change my mind if I receive 5 MILLION emails asking me to put it back in AVS2. In addition, these emails must contain a 12 page (single space) written apology, along with a solemn pledge to buy AVS2 and TH:TBAPFMISNPSNBWP when it comes out. Got that?! 5 Million!

He then goes on to list an e-mail address, billiamreallysorry@amegames.com, where you can send the apologies. Yes, you.

Exclusively on Behind Mojo, we give you the latest trailer for Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings on the Wii.

See it here.

Well, go ahead. It's an official AME post, so rest assured that they're reading it. (Thanks to the Pumpkin Post for the tip-off.)

I'd suggest better writing, and probably better structure. The first was all set-up, no pay-off. Maybe also releasing a good demo, really, since that demo really harmed the game. There's other stuff, of course, but I'm sure you're better at pointing it out than I am.

Source: The Pumpkin Post

The first of three Brutal Legend panels has happened, and got not one, not two, not three but four rounds of applause because of sheer awesome. Crank your hype-meter up to eleven because this shit just got serious.

If you're feeling more offended than interested, right now, because I said "Shit", then don't bother reading on. Brutal Legend is stuffed full of Metal (capital M), testesterone, beautiful, scantily-dressed women and no lack of breasts. It's the core and essence that dominated the imagery of the golden age of metal. The art-style was inspired by the works of Frank Frazetta and Simon Bisley, which leads to a lot of colour contrasting and silhouettes.

Now, the game itself has changing weather conditions and a dynamic day/night cycle. As Art Director Lee Petty wisely points-out, more than half of what you see at any given point, in any game (I'm guessing especially sandbox games like Brutal Legend), is the sky. And so Double Fine has decided to treat the sky as the canvas it ought to be, and it goes from everything from "tranquil orange" evening to "swirling cyclone of purple with long streaks of lighting" (lighting, or lightning?).

Although more information was given-out, there's an embargo that's preventing the press from talking about it - until next week. Either way, thanks to Kotaku for sharing what they could.

Update: Gamasutra lays some new thick and delicious information, guaranteed to light your senses on fire.

Source: Kotaku

The worldwide premiere of Mata Hari on GamersGate has somehow missed its latest purported release date of March 25th. Now it's listed for "mid-April." You can make a book on it.

The development of Bioware's first MMO is plugging along and they've put up a few new things the last couple of weeks on their page:

• A second video documentary - about the story aspect of the game. Full of hype and with people trying to make it seem like the second coming of MMOs.
• More of that comic with the "interesting" drawing style.
• The Bounty Hunter - The announcement of the first playable class.

Brutal Legend got some preview press today, and while the writers are still under embargo, Kotaku were kind enough to have posted some new Brutal Legend concept art. Check it out!

Don't forget that Tim is hosting the Game Developers Choice Awards tonight. It only airs on TV on Friday, but if you know anywhere where we can get live coverage, or live text, please tell us in the comments!

Source: Kotaku

A sympathetically rabid fan of Autumn Moon's A Vampyre Story contacted The Pumpkin Post after some incessant sniffing around in the game's resource files. What he found were unused voice recordings that were apparently from cutscenes that got shortened/removed from the final game. The deleted story points include some additional lines in the game's opening cutscene, as well as the audio remnants of a scene where the Monsignor and his partner Balcu receive their orders to kill Shrowdy and recover the Book of Shrowds.

An overview of the missing dialog in addition to how to hear it can be found in The Pumpkin Post news entry. Just to be safe I'll shout Spoilers! here, as the reasons behind some of these edits may very well be that these story threads are intended to be revealed in the sequel.

I once accidentally typed this site's URL as http://www.mixmojo.com/, and discovered that the for-sale domain is "your gateway to sites on the Internet for Libido!"

That reminds me: LSD has some positive qualities that you might not be familiar with.

Hey, guess what? Yahoo! Games is hosting an exclusive gameplay trailer (the first) as well as some new screenshots for Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings. While not mindblowing, you'll be relieved that it looks a whole lot better than all previous glimpses, noticeably lacking that terrible blurry look we've seen in all the earlier Wii screenshots, which apparently (and thankfully) were not actually representative of how the game actually looks. (Given the vast difference in sharpness, I suspect some tomfoolery with the capture method of the first screenshots.)

While we still don't have much indication - either positively or negative - of how well the game will actually play, or even if it's any good at all, we can at least take comfort knowing that those earlier screens were vastly inaccurate. Vastly.

Telltale released their first episode of Wallace and Gromit, entitled Fright of the Bumblebees, today. If you haven't still picked it up, do so now. For one week only, the game will be for $29.95, and everything you buy along with it will be 50% off (this offer is also extended to those of you who pre-ordered). So what are you waiting for?

Update: Review is now up.

All you need to know is the title: Tim Schafer in Host Master and the Conquest of Humour. It's wish fulfillment. If you're wondering how I posted this before DFAN, it's by having gone back in time and then beating Tim to the punch. Yes.

The stars are aligning, and LucasArts seems to be getting their release dates straight. Thanks to Spong and Indiana Jones Shop, unless there's another slip it seems those dates for Indiana Jones and the Sock of Kings are:

June 9th (US)
June 12th (UK & Europe)

The rest of the world should be around this time too.

John Walker of Eurogamer has posted the second part of his Knights of the Old Republic retrospective. You can read the first part here.

Source: Eurogamer

The Game Developers Conference has arrived!

GDC will start on Monday, March 23rd, 2009, and conclude on Friday, March 27th.

There's several Mojo-related events lined-up. The first one will be on Thursday, and will be about the Art of Brutal Legend; the second is on Friday, and will involve several developers, including one Double Finer, who will talk about sound design, and the third one (also Friday) is probably the one that gives-out most hints to the content of the game, and is about creating the right team and methods for testing something with the "the size, scope, nature" of Brutal Legend.

Tim Schafer himself is hosting the awards ceremony. You can watch the presentation and ceremony, but alas only on Friday - three days after the awards are given-out on Wednesday. G4 TV will exclusively air the proceedings at 6:30 PM PST. If you want live text-based coverage, you'll probably want to flock to the likes of Kotaku. G4TV.com will also have "around-the-clock" coverage.

Tim also hosted the 2007 Awards Ceremony, which you can watch here.

Don't forget that we might also get a new Brutal Legend trailer.

Now, if anyone only knew where we could get some sort of transcript from the Double Fine panels, or some sort of live-text coverage...

Now up.

Also, there are some pretty sweet deals on the Telltale Hub-Chamber if you pre-order the game now...

Update: You can also apparently download another version of the demo, a "a limited edition, GamePro-branded" version exclusively from its site (direct download here).

Source: Gamepro

Officially, I mean. The super sexy web site for A Bat's Tale has launched, complete with screenshots, press releases, and all the other things that you expect to accompany a game announcement. Here's the marketing department plot synopsis:

Mona, the unwilling vampire mired deep in denial, is trapped by the vindictive Dr. Riga Mortus in his secret lab in Draxsylvania. Players will guide Froderick through the macabre town of Gothford Falls, where he will encounter old enemies and make some new friends, including inept magician The Great Fauxdini, conceited local Goth artist Raven Gothguy, and seriously lame serial killer Jack the Gimper among many others. Mona and Froderick will explore many interesting locations, such as Dr. Legume's Home for the Sanity Challenged, an Executioner's Practice Grounds, Mortus Labs, and, the scariest of all, a tavern full of disgruntled sports fans low on beer! Help Froderick free Mona by dressing as a little girl again, making his own zombie, and getting pummeled almost to death by the local hooligans, the notorious Belfry Boyz. Then play Mona as she scours through hundreds of shamelessly padded résumés looking for the perfect day-time guardian to watch over her as she returns to Paris !

The game will feature over twenty-five 3D characters, over forty hand-painted locations, fifteen hours of game play, and will include dialogue written by two ex-LucasArts game designers, Larry Ahren and Jesse Clark. Their experience from working on so many LucasArts classics such as Sam and Max: Hit the Road , Monkey Island 2 , Full Throttle , and Curse of Monkey Island will be a welcome addition to the already experienced Autumn Moon team.

You'll be wanting to poke around and check out all the cool stuff within, like the awesome concept art, so I'll leave you to it. I'll also point out that, like The Pumpkin Post, Adventure Gamers scored itself an exclusive character image, so check that out too. Oh, and did I mention Larry Ahern? Exciting stuff these days.

The new issue of UK-based PSM3 is out, drunk, partying, gorgeous and waiting for you to get your filthy paws all over her. Eddie Riggs makes one sexy cover, and I mean damn. Remember, kids: if it ain't smoking with a guitar in its hands, it's not worth looking up to.

Source: Double Fine Action News

The Pumpkin Post has been informed that the official site for AVS2 - http://www.avampyrestory2.com/, will be launching tomorrow. The game's full title has also been revealed: A Vampyre Story 2: A Bat's Tale. And don't forget to check out the exclusive wallpaper!

You should read The Post, you know. It has been diligently following the updates made to Von Kiefer's journal, which is the home of a lot of backstory and some exclusive art. And there's another cool tie-in website for the game, by the way: a calendar, with a painting being drawn for each month. (The calendar is seen in-game, and Froderick mentions the web site when looking at it.) The Post has also noticed this Youtube dedication to Mona. Read the Pumpkin Post, is what I'm getting at.

If you've played and enjoyed the Wallace and Gromit demo, or just want to give Telltale some props and recognition, please register at FileRadar and "Blip" the demo. Think of it as Digg: the higher the blips, the more likely people will check it out. Awesome? Awesome. So are you, once you Blip it. (Blip it good.)

Source: Telltale Forums

LucasArts is holding a web-forum Q&A session to discuss the gameplay of Staff of Kings.

If you have any questions, click here and ask away.

Source: LucasArts

From what I can tell, all you have to do is sign-up to Twitter and then follow Telltale's, and you might be one of the three lucky winners who gets free copies of the PC version which you so graciously pre-ordered.

Source: Twitter

As reader AlfredJ noticed in the comments of the previous related post, Jeff Smith has addressed the reference to an upcoming Bone video game made by Publishers Weekly:

You know, I don't know what the video game thing is all about. There is no new Bone video game in the works. I think it may be refering to something Scholastic is planing for its website - - a little flash game, maybe, or it could just be an internet rumor that made it onto the list!

Damn.

Despite the assurance that the keyboard/mouse controls for the PC version of Wallace & Gromit (the company's first non-point 'n click game) are quite manageable, Telltale has long insinuated that they would offer gamepad support for those with the means to replicate the more fluid console controls found on the 360. This feature has been confirmed, with Kevin Bruner stating that the PC version will support Logitech and Xbox gamepad controllers. woot.

What happens when you mix Star Wars, Doom and Full Throttle? Dark Forces, of course, now in a retrospective by John Walker of Eurogamer.

Source: Eurogamer

The guys at joystiq have noticed an intriguing bit of information in Publishers Weekly's writeup about this month's top ten best-selling comics, a list which includes Crown of Horns, the final of the colorized Bone books released by Scholastic. Here's the book's entry as it appears in the list.

6. Bone: Crown of Horns.
Jeff Smith.
Graphix/Scholastic, $9.99 ISBN 978-0-439-70632-2
Crown of Horns vol. 9 is the final volume of Jeff Smith’s acclaimed comic fantasy adventure saga. Originally self-published in black & white in 1991, Scholastic/Graphix began publishing the series in full-color in 2005 and it has gone on to sell more than 2 1/2 million copies of the new edition. The Scholastic/Grahix edition released a 100,000 initial printing of the concluding volume and the new edition has been translated and sold in more than 30 countries. Look for a new Bone videogame to be released in the spring.

Underlining by me. This should definitely be considered rumor material, and even assuming it's true a new Bone game doesn't necessarily have to be developed by Telltale, not to mention that if a Bone game is indeed slated for Spring (which we're in), it seems odd that there's been not a peep about it anywhere. Definitely an interesting rumor though, and we'll see what comes of it, if anything.

Dank, Graham Annable's still regularly updated (despite him departing the company long ago) webcomic about the caveman inventor of the same name, reached its 100th installment two days ago.

You're probably familiar with the comic, which has been running on Telltale's website since February of 2005, for crying out loud, which is over six months prior to the release of Bone: Out from Boneville. Can you remember the days when Dank's head graced the header links of the Telltale web site? Can you remember when everyone assumed that he would be the star of the company's first adventure game, with the fact that he was modeled serving as evidence?

Anyway, if you haven't been keeping up with the comic, do so now! And we're always happy to plug Annable's work in general, which is why I'd also encourage purchasing such masterpieces as Further Grickle and Stickleback. And did you know that he was storyboard artist on the movie Coraline, still playing at a theater near you?

Telltale is now finally ready to start taking pre-orders for Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures, with the first of the four episodes being released on March 24th - less than two weeks away! If you pre-order the season, you get it at a price pf $26.00 as opposed to the standard $34.95 you'll pay if you wait until it premieres. As a part of the special, you also get episodes 201 and 104 of Sam & Max and Strong Bad respectively as free bonuses.

As with Sam & Max and Strong Bad, Wallace & Gromit will run on a monthly schedule with episodes 2-4 following in May, June, and July, though specific days have not yet been hammered out. Also, as always, Telltale is offering a physical disc of the series for season customers after all the episodes have been released. (On a similar note, the disc for Strong Bad is said to become available very soon.)

Finally, some exclusive marketing is being done through Yahoo! Games, which is currently hosting the game's new trailer, and will on this coming Monday (March 16th) have a playable demo up for download. If you want to re-read everything you just did in the form of a Doug Tabacco forum post, click here!

The CV of an animator at Traveller's Tales revealed some unannounced Lego projects at the studio - which is the way most gaming secrets seem be be revealed these days. She then confirmed it, but then stupidly said that both games are unconfirmed (huh?).

They are, fairly predictable, Lego Harry Potter and Lego Indy II. However, the biggest surprise is that the latter is going to be called Lego Indiana Jones II: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, suggesting that the whole game is going to be based around Indy IV.

Hey guess what? We need your reader opinions and/or editorials for the next Secret History article, which is, of course, about The Curse of Monkey Island, which in case you didn't know is pretty much single-handedly responsible for the entire LEC fan explosion in the mid-to-late 90s. Oh, how I pine for those days.

Anyway, send your stuff in, and get to replaying the game if you haven't done so in awhile. Relive the delights of Murray the demonic skull (Hey! He became our star rating!), El Pollo Diablo (Hey! He became the name of our retired polls!) and friends, all of whom comprise the cast of one of the best graphic adventures of all time. (Even if Elaine's accent is still perplexing.) Yargh!

More important than your sisters birthday and more exciting than a weekend with Barack Obama, it's... LucasArts Secret History!!

This week we're looking at The Dig, or "--HISTORY DELETED--" as it's known at LucasArts.

Find out about thrilling meetings with Spielberg, explosive development teams, and more mysterious alien forces than you can shake a decapitated hand at! Behold... The Dig!!

Thanks a lot to Dan Lee for the header art, to Sean Clark and Bills Eaken and Tiller for their informative answers, and to everyone who wrote in with their opinions and memories.

Some spiffy new information about the control scheme, structure, and gameplay of Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures (the new voice actor is absolutely amazing, apparently!), plus an interview, all courtesy of the awesome Adventure Gamers.

Source: Adventure Gamers

I vaguely remember reading about "Monkey Island Memorial Day" last year, but what I hadn't realised was the terrifying scale of the operation, or the fact that this was to become a yearly event.

In 2007 the organisers brought 500 rabid Monkey Island fans together in Vienna and entertained them with a series of themed distractions. This year the two day convention is shaping up to be even more (bizarrely) organised and ambitious than before. There's a web-site with a lot more information, including photos from last year, and details of this years tightly packed schedule. Our own Monkey Island convention seems a little tired in comparison.

Also, from the Memorial Day Blog:



Er, what? This is the reason The SCUMM Bar died.

Source: Marek's Facebook

In his latest blog post, Steve Purcell provides some concept art for a Steam Mecha Max toy that was never made.

At one point I had talked to a company about making this toy. The top of the head would pop off revealing the little Captain Nemoesque Sam & Max pilots sporting goggles, top hats and ascots. Sadly it didn't happen but if I wish hard enough...

Crazy.

Update: Now Steve's got the same picture up in Mecha form, complete with a cockpit view. Enjoy!

(This little comic strip was originally created to sweeten the reading time for people brave enough to venture into my giant-sized, near philosophical essay Gamer's (illusion) of freedom published at Adventure Classic Gaming about how games limit your actions to the extreme and make you love it. Still, the comic is a minor masterpiece in itself, so big thanks to Mojo for helping me to expose it to a larger audience.)

The criminally under-appreciated-but-still-hailed Dave Grossman has been interviewed by Videogamer about the upcoming Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures, and it's one hell of an interview. He explains how the control scheme works, how the interactivity between the titular characters and everyone else is structured, how Aardman helped Telltale make the game as authentic as possible, and a window for a release date. Just go read, it's an excellent interview.

Dave has also been listed in IGN's Top 100 Game Creators of All Time, although at a criminal 73rd spot. Baffling. Ron Gilbert too is underappreciated at a measly 81 out of a 100. The top 60 have not yet been revealed, but expect Tim Schafer, to name one potential idol of Mojo obsession.

Update: Tim makes it on number 21. Congratulations to all three.

Source: Videogamer

The individual product pages for the various releases of Staff of Kings on Amazon each feature a handful of screenshots for their respective versions. The Wii page only has screens already seen, but the DS page has some new ones, and the PS2 and PSP pages have nothing but new ones. Check them out, won't you?

An interesting post from last month can be found on Bill Tiller's personal blog. As you may know, Tiller was the artist of the beloved site logo for adventure gaming mega-site and friend of Mojo, Adventure Gamers. But as he reveals, the original design was a trifle less sanitized.

Notice anything different about this logo?

Yep. The guns. I was told that might imply that adventure games have a lot of shooting. So I was asked to changed it. So I did, to an idol and a Torch. I agree. Good call AG!

At least the compromise Marek and Bill cooked up did not involve walkie talkies.

Some number monkey has generated a list of the "most consistent" publisher based on scores from the horror of the game industry: Metacritic.

The results put one-trick-pony Rockstar at the top with 19 points, followed by Telltale Games with 14 points!

Source: gamesindustry.biz

A somewhat weird stash of screenshots can be found over at Unseen 64, belonging to the PSP version of Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, which as you may know is being developed by the studio Amaze. (As is well-known, A2M is behind the now main Wii/PS2 versions, and I'm still not entirely sure who's doing the DS version.)

The authors of the site seem to be going by outdated information, under the mistaken impression that the PSP version is in danger of cancellation, but the screenshots, which they claim come from 2006/2007 from when the game was still called Staff of Moses, are definitely interesting to look at, and the visuals look better for PSP than what we've seen of the Wii version looks for its platform. Like the DS version, the PSP version is said to be a pretty different game (though obviously within the same general story and universe), though it's unclear exactly in what way.

Amazon has the cover art for the Staff of Kings Prima strategy guide up:

It seems to me, based both on the quality of the design and precedence on Prima's part, that this could be the cover art for the actual game. I'm guessing that release date is equally revealing.

Update: Online retailers now feature the cover art for the game itself.

Tingler Updates: We've got the large version in our gallery now. We might be the first to do so.

Although Mata Hari has received less than stellar reception from German reviewers, I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like judge for himself the latest graphic adventure game Hal Barwood and Noah Falstein have cooked up.

Unfortunately, the game's worldwide launch in the form of a digital download through GamersGate has been delayed yet again. It's now listed as coming out on March 25 - not that you're actually going to believe it until the game is installed on your hard drive.