The International House of Mojo

Sure, you already own Psychonauts, but here's a chance to buy it again, as part of the Humble Indie Bundle. Why would you want to do that? Well, it's the whole charity thing, but more importantly, the other games in the bundle are pretty much stone cold classics. Limbo, Sword & Sworcery EP, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and (for a $7.34 donation at the time of writing) Bastion? Oh! Em! Gee! to that! Plus you get all the soundtracks thrown in too, all for an amount of your choice!

The games are available on Mac, Linux, and PC, and there are few excuses not to do this. Run and donate!

Since we've been posting about the SpaceVenture Kickstarter, I thought I'd update with news that a playable prototype demo has been released which already contains a lot of the humor that the Space Quest series is known for. The Guys from Andromeda (the creators of SpaceVenture, and the creators of the Space Quest series) plan to release a new prototype demo each time a $100,000US goal is met. It's currently just above $270,000US (54% funded) with less than two weeks left to go.

Also, The Space Quest Collection is today's daily deal on Steam. For 9 more hours, you can pick up all 6 Space Quest games for only $5US.

The Space Quest games play just like SpaceVenture, so if you enjoy those games, pick a pledge tier and support SpaceVenture.

It's rare for an indie bundle to include an adventure game, so the Bundle in a Box: Adventure Bundle is a very rare thing, as this indie bundle includes nothing but adventure games.

Like the other indie bundles out there, this is a pay-what-you-want bundle to support developers and charity. For a minimum of less than $2US, you will receive the LucasArts-inspired adventures Ben There Dan That: Special Edition and its sequel Time Gentlemen, Please from Size Five Games. You will also get the adventure set in a neo-noir dystopian future, Gemini Rue, from Wadjet Eye Games, and the text adventure (interactive fiction) 1893: A World's Fair Mystery from Illuminated Lantern. You will also get the never before released The Sea Will Claim Everything by Jonas Kyratzes.

If you pay more than the average of less than $6US, you will also get the first game from Wadjet Eye Games, The Shivah, and the heavy-metal influenced zombie adventure from Walk Thru Walls Studios, The Metal Dead.

Based on an invitation they extended to EGM, LucasArts will have at least one new game to show off at E3 this year. So what will it be? The perennially greenlit-and-then-cancelled Battlefront III? The aerial combat game implied by some job listings some time ago? Might we finally begin seeing some sort of video game shaped consequences of the "We hired Clint Hocking" and "We've licensed the Unreal 3 engine" announcements from like, well over a year ago?

I dunno, but even money says whatever it is will be unworthy of my time Star Wars-related. Not that it's the only thing you have to look forward to from LEC; as we told you a few weeks back, they're planning on issuing a re-release of the first two Knights of the Old Republic games sometime this year. And thank goodness, right? God knows there aren't oodles of less readily available games from their prestigious catalog that people would care to see back in circulation over a hidden gem like KOTOR.

Thanks to Threepwood4life for the heads up. Poor sap thinks people still read the forums!

JP Update: Gamezone is reporting that a 'first look' of this new Star Wars franchise will screen on GTTV on May 31, with gameplay footage to be shown on June 6th.

Source: EGM

Garry M. Gaber, who worked on LucasArts Star Wars titles of varying critical acclaim (including Rebel Assault II, Shadows of the Empire, Jedi Knight, Force Commander and the Galactic Battlegrounds series) has launched a kickstarter campaign for a new Space Combat Simulator 'Starlight Express Inception' for PC and... Playstation Vita?

You know the deal, here's the Kickstarter page - $150,000 needed (~$40,000 at the time of writing).

Of special interest is this: So, not only a chance to fund, but also a chance for modders to work on the game.

Good luck, maybe this will also inspire Larry Holland, who is the person most associated with the Star Wars Space Combat Simulator legacy.


Edit: If you don't want to wade through the screeds of text on the Kickstarter page, Gaming Union have just posted this interview with Garry M. Gaber regarding the game.


Update: The game just squeezed over the funding goal, so we can expect a new space combat simulator to come out sometime next year(?).

Source: Kickstarter

The iPad was the only platform to get Jurassic Park: The Game in Telltale's usual episodic format. Telltale was releasing the games monthly until episode three. Then, there was a long break. But, iPad users need fret no more, as, after a four month hiatus, Jurassic Park: The Game: Episode 4: The Survivors for iPad (iPad 2 or higher recommended) is now out and ready to be ordered at the iTunes store.

Ron Gilbert's much-anticipated new game is The Cave, a puzzle platformer an adventure game coming to PC and consoles in early 2013. Check out the announcement trailer below:

Looks awesome! You can read some first-look previews by Rock, Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, Kotaku, Giant Bomb, Ars Technica, Joystiq, PC World, Destructoid, and The Verge, who describe the game as Maniac Mansion meets The Lost Vikings.

Source: Grumpy Gamer

In an epic 5 page interview with Tim Schafer, it is revealed that Double fine are working on a sequel to their Microsoft Kinect title "Happy Action Theatre".

There's a lot more to the article of course, Halford vs. Osborne, Kickstarter, growing up, LucasArts... etc. Go read it or crawl back under your rock. Your choice.

Source: SF Weekly

Hey, wanna see something exactly like that image from/regarding Ron's new game that we just posted? Look no further than this tweet from SEGA's Twitter page dated yesterday. This would certainly make it pretty clear that the game, which I'm assuming at this point is The Cave, will be published by SEGA for platforms unknown.

And lest we forget, Ron's been carrying on about something happening tomorrow, and as sure as ten dimes will buy a dollar it's gonna be this game's announcement. I wonder what genre it will turn out to be?

For the past few days, Ron "Ronzo" Gilbert has teased us with characters on puzzle pieces. Today, we have the complete image for you to behold:

Source: Grumpy Gamer

The fourth episode of the on-line talk show Playing Dead has just been released. Join lead designers Sean Vanaman and Jake Rodkin (of Mojo fame) as they talk about the first episode of The Walking Dead and share juicy tidbits about the upcoming second episode.

Last week Telltale reported on the release of a visual upgrade for the iPhone version of Tales of Monkey Island. The update is available to those who own the "Retina" capable iPhone 4 and 4S models, and the difference is like Wally B. Feed with and without a lighthouse lens.

The upgrade is free to those who can make use of it, and there's apparently some sort of discount going on with the series at the App Store right now, so, you know, food for thought for your nonexistent people who have an iPhone, read this site and never played Tales of Monkey Island.

Source: Telltale's Blog

The Twins are the final two playable characters, making the puzzle complete. The Mobster was cut from the game according to Ron himself.

Also, it looks like something will happen on Thursday.

Source: Grumpy Gamer

Today's character is known as The Knight and he goes next to The Time Traveller.

Source: Grumpy Gamer

Predictably, Ron Gilbert has uploaded yet another image of a character from his upcoming game. The Scientist is a character we've seen in earlier concept art as well, though there have been some smaller changes. In the puzzle, the piece fits next to the Hillbilly, meaning there is at least one more character to go.

Source: Grumpy Gamer

The Journey Down Chapter One is the first part of a four part point-and click adventure game by Skygoblin (formed by the merger of the developer of the Nord casual MMO, SLX, and the indie dev team responsible for the freeware lo-res The Journey Down Chapter One, Skygoblin). It is an HD remake of a free low-resolution game, named The Journey Down: Over the Edge. The game has been getting a lot of pre-release buzz in our forums for it's art direction. Developer Skygoblin was "inspired by the cartoony style of Bill Tiller's COMI, as well as Peter Chan's Full Throttle and Grim Fandango", and you can definitely see the influence in the art direction.

The game has had a long development cycle, starting out on Adventure Game Studio, then switching to a custom engine called Gobby. But now, the wait is over, as The Journey Down has been released for PC, Mac, and Linux in downloadable form at Adventure Shop, Desura, and a whole lot of other places.

Ron Gilbert has revealed a fourth character on his blog! Since we now have four pieces, we've tried to fit them together. As you can see below, three of them go next to each other, leaving the time traveller out in the cold.

Is Ron Gilbert working on some insane puzzle game? Earlier this month, several game sites (but not us) received a puzzle that when solved turned out to also be a tease for this mysterious game.

When it comes to Ron Gilbert's new game, we've so far had pictures of a mobster, a scientist, a prize booth thing, and a ceiling mounted laser cannon. Now, behold the hillbilly, the monk, and the time traveller!

And that would make it Telltale's fastest-selling game to date by the estimation of this press release.

Telltale has made upping themselves in sales figures a fairly routine occurrence. You might call them a going concern. Be sure to keep an eye on this promising team of "television adventure game" developers.

Source: MarketWatch

Since Mojo last looked at Kickstarter, Replay Games' drive to collect half a million dollars to remake the first Leisure Suit Larry game finished with over $150,00 in surplus. This week, Jane Jensen's Pinkerton Road kickstarter is nearing its end, having met its goal of $300,000.

The Two Guys from Andromeda (famous for the Space Quest series) have also decided to get on the bandwagon with their SpaceVenture kickstarter to see if they can get enough money to make another adventure game set in space. Last, Chris Jones and Aaron Conners' Project Fedora is firing up its campaign to collect $450,000 to make a sequel to the famous Tex Murphy adventure games.

Seems the fine folks over at Kotaku just received a package from Double Fine with a puzzle inside. Putting it together and you get some interesting picture (which, I'm guessing, is probably related to Ron's game).

Source: Kotaku

It's true! Just head on over to the GDC Vault, where it is now preserved.

Source: GDC Vault

The prices of Double Fine's PC games are now at an incredibly low price ($9.99US in a bundle with Psychonauts, Costume Quest, and Stacking, $2.99US a piece for Psychonauts and Costume Quest, or $7.49US for Stacking) at Amazon. As a result, Psychonauts is currently #1 on Amazon's list of best selling video games, and Costume Quest is #4.

It's good to see Psychonauts finally at the top of the charts where it belongs (especially now that there is no external publisher sharing in any profit Psychonauts makes).

There's some new Star Wars game rumors floating around. First of all, Siliconera noticed that Lucasfilm registered a trademark for Star Wars 1313, for use for video games. The fact that a game was registered by Lucasfilm rather than LucasArts isn't unusual. Lucasfilm also registered the trademark for The Force Unleashed in 2006. GameSpy suggests that the Star Wars 1313 may be a game about Boba Fett, because Boba Fett apparently used CT-1313 as an alias in a Star Wars novel.

The second rumor concerns re-releases rather than new games. Apparently a pre-order for a Knights of The Old Republic I & II bundle for PC has popped up all over at places like Newegg.com J&R Electronics, and Smart Game Shopper. The latter has the release scheduled as 6/27/2012, but considering the (lack of) reliability of release dates by retailers, I'd take that release date with a grain of salt.

Zipline Games issued a press release today announcing that Double Fine has selected their Moai platform to power their upcoming adventure game.
I guess SCUMM got rejected. The press release also indicates that the studio is aiming for a Spring 2013 release. Oh, and here's a video:

Source: Virtual-Strategy Magazine

What game is being referred to here? I'm going to assume that middle finger means "just tell me" - it's Star Wars: Battlefront III.

Yes, the oft-cancelled sequel to the lucrative shooter franchise is back in the headlines yet again thanks to a juicy interview between GamesIndustry International and Steve Ellis, co-founder of Free Radical, that sheds a little more light on how the relationship ended, and apparently it wasn't pretty.

It turns out the game was nearly finished and the publisher-developer relationship didn't sour until the arrival of that destructive force that dooms even Star Wars projects, a management shift.

The whole sordid affair, as well as more insider tales from Free Radical's storied history, can be found in the full interview.

Source: GamesIndustry International

Hey, look, a timely review! Or it would have been timely had Mojo not died.

Regardless, pretend like you haven't played "A New Day" yet, and read our review.

We're back! Most things should work, but if you find something wonky, don't hesitate to tell us in the comments.