The International House of Mojo

Wallace & Gromit!

"We're certainly going for the clay look with this," Telltale Games CEO Dan Connors told The Associated Press. "Clay presents a challenge if you really get into the detail of it. For example, adding fingerprints in a medium where there aren't any is one of the discussions of how far we should go with the game's detail."

"Grand Adventures" will allow gamers to play as both Wallace and Gromit, engaging in zany entrepreneurial schemes and tinkering with kooky contraptions. Connors said "Grand Adventures" will feature more physical and situation-based comedy and would likely follow the distribution model of Telltale's episodic video game series "Sam & Max."

Source: Associated Press

The Telltale Games Store has now been updated with a preorder page for the boxed version of Sam & Max Season Two, which is expected to ship August (that's next month, by the way). Those who already bought the whole Season will of course be getting it for FREE (apart from shipping of course) and should be getting an email through shortly - I've got mine already.

Apart from the five episodes, there's a bonus region-free DVD with:

• A concept art gallery
• A brand new outtake reel
• Production notes from members of
the Sam & Max design team
• Twelve desktop wallpapers
• Cutscene video reels with 4+ hours of commentary tracks from the developers
• Promotional trailers for all five games plus the cinematic teaser that kicked off the season
• "Sam & Max Nearly Save Christmas,"
a 20-minute holiday special
• An MP3 soundtrack sampler

And of course, and extraordinarily cool exclusive cover by Steve Purcell.

And that's not all! There's also the welcome return of the pointlessly collectable Case File and the fantastic Season Two Soundtrack (which also has it's own exclusive jazzy Steve Purcell cover).

Oh, and if you're planning on getting both the soundtrack and case file, maybe you'd like to do this instead, where you get both of those and the fabulous poster showing the Season Two artwork!

We now return to QVCMojo...

Yeah, it turns out we weren't joking about it, even though maybe we should have been. The Tingler and I went ahead and put together a Mojo podcast about Insecticide, accomplished by using two tin cans, a piece of yo-yo string long enough to cross the Atlantic, and a pair of Talkboys. The end result is every bit as awkward, self-indulgent and unfocused as you'd want from something out of Mojo. The general idea was for it to be just two guys shooting the breeze about Insecticide, and I hope it succeeds in increasing your interest for the game if it happened to be low.

The fact that we've never done this before and had no idea what we were doing will probably be evident enough when you listen to it, but wait until you hear that the only option you have to get it is this ~60MB download (68 minutes). Well, actually The Tingler attempted to sex things up by also making this video version (which features gameplay videos and screenshots to complement the audio) for the folks into huge file sizes. I only watched enough of it to verify that it wasn't in fact just a DVD rip of Weekend at Bernie's Part II, but what I saw seemed awesome. I also believe that a few minutes were shaved off of the video version after Thrik and Remi whined about the podcast being just barely too long for them to watch on their iPhone during church, or something.

Anyway, enjoy, if that is the appropriate word, and please do leave your feedback!

• Audio version (62MB)
  
• Video version (516MB)

Over at their recently launched Sam & Max Wii page, Telltale has put up a trailer and some new screenshots. The trailer is awesome, but none of these glimpses of the port actually show gameplay, and so we continue to be deprived of Sam's hand in action. Judging by the screenshots and the footage though, the game hasn't lost anything in the translation.

In the midst of all the E3 shenanigans, Nintendo has released its epic slate of Wii games to be published in the near future. Wiifanboy has got the list, and if you need visual proof of Sam & Max: Season 1's inclusion there's always this scan. Hopefully that date's true, because it's quite soon!

As JP posted on the forums (but not here, for whatever reason), Telltale's appearance at this year's Comic-Con will be where they announce their remaining "mystery license" for which they'll develop a new episodic series:

On Saturday [the 26th], Comic-Con will hosts a Telltale Games panel where the creators will announce plans for a third episodic game series to join their Sam and Max and Strong Bad series.

So keep an eye out for that.

It doesn't reveal anything crazy, of course, but it's still pretty awesome, and features the real version of the box art. Also, check out this magazine ad for it. Look for the Wii version of Sam & Max: Season 1 sometime this fall, marking the duo's first appearance on a game console (not that they haven't tried in the past).

Also don't forget that the first episode of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, Homestar Ruiner, is still due for simultaneous release on WiiWare and PC sometime this month. Hopefully we'll get some pricing and scheduling information sometime soon, but in the meantime, get excited for all the Telltale goodness (which remember also includes the unveiling of a whole new game), that's coming your way in the near future.

Update by Gabez: all a-shiver about Telltale's mystery new licence? Speculate away on our forums!

There actually hasn't been any shortage of previews of Sam & Max: Season 1 for the Wii, but I've never bothered mentioning them because they haven't told us anything we didn't know before, nor did they even offer screenshots.

Thankfully, today's preview from IGN has a trifle more to say, such as mentioning that there will be unlockable concept art and character bios. Also, they provide what seems to be the first four genuine screenshots from the Wii version. Unfortunately, none of them showcase the cursor so you can't see Sam's hand icon in action just yet, but something tells me that if you visit Telltale's main page and click "Watch the trailers" on their new Season 2 flash banner, you might get a horizontally rotated sneak peak.

Oh, and I should also probably inform you of this new Strong Bad preview, this new Strong Bad Q&A, and this Dave Grossman interview up on the Telltale blog.

Telltale Games's Mark Darin has been dragged out of the studio, beaten-up and interrogated to reveal new details on Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People. They managed to get some good information; but he passed before they could extract that one, elusive secret about Strong Bad's gloves...

Source: Wiiware World

All you have to do to find that out is to ask Telltale.

Source: Wall Street Journal

So apparently Telltale is having trouble choosing between these two possible covers for the Sam & Max: Season 1 Wii release:



and needs your help to decide! Participate in the only election this year that means anything and let 'em know your preference.

Did you know this already? Probably, but we didn't post about it. So here you go.

The brothers Chapman, creators of Homestar Runner and, by extension, Strong Bad, have been interviewed by Kotaku (update: the actual link!) and some of the questions are about Telltale and the cool game for attractive people.

Update by Zaarin: While I'm sure that book about Napoleon is excellent, this is the interview we wanted to point you to.

Source: Kotaku

There's a new Attractive trailer for Strong Bad, which, as you all know, is the Wiiware/PC game coming in July from Telltale. Take a look: it's good gameplay footage.

Also, three lucky people will get to win the first episode of the Wiiware version from Nintendo World Report Telltale. All you have to do is to create a Mii, submit it and bribe the judges. Good luck to everyone, and come on Strong Bad!

Source: Nintendo World Report

It would seem that Joe Pinney, who used to work at LucasArts a long time ago, has joined the ever growing ranks of Telltale as their latest designer.

Don't feel bad if you've never heard of Pinney's name, as it seems the only game he served on back at LucasArts as project leader was Indiana Jones and the Iron Phoenix, the sadly canceled graphic adventure sequel to Fate of Atlantis. Nonetheless, it's always nice to see another member of the old LucasArts family find a new home at LucasArts 2.0 Telltale Games, where their talents can hopefully be applied to games that are actually allowed to see the light of day!

There's important news, there's really important news, and then there's this. Remember when you were playing through Telltale's Sam & Max games, all the while saying to yourself, "Wow, these games have great characters, a compelling story, wonderful dialog, and fantastic artwork, but they nonetheless totally blow because they're lacking a seemingly inconsequential element from Hit the Road and those Freelance Police screenshots that really pulls the whole package together: Sam's hand as a cursor." From the looks of things, Telltale is correcting their tragic mistake with the upcoming Wii version, still due for an August release. Says Jake:

We're doing the game justice on the wii, though. Widescreen [...] Also, the UI has been tweaked for consoles, allowing you to select dialog options and inventory items (and browse the menu) with the d-pad as well as with face buttons, and there is a new, pretty episode launcher. The Wii version also marks the return of a favorite Sam & Max cursor of yore.

Those of you who've been staying away from Season 1 can now finally get onboard. Don't scare us like that again, Telltale.

Kotaku had a lunch date with Mike and Matt Chapman, where it was learned that the premiere of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People would not launch this month as originally announced, but rather will be available next month. To quote Kotaku's quote of the Brothers Chapman:

The game is actually now getting pushed back to July, but the game is going to just be much better for it. It's just development time.

This is pretty sad news (and as far as I know Telltale's first delay ever, unless it's Nintendo's doing), but the postponement is short, and it's far better for this to happen at the beginning of the series than the alternative.

Update: On a more positive note, Telltale will be appearing on Gamespot's live web show "On the Spot" at 4:00 P.M. Pacific time, or about 45 minutes from now. Representing the company will be Emily (Telltale's version of Ronda Scott) and producer Brett Tosti. Telltale promises new stuff from the game to be showcased, so do check it out. (And if you miss it it'll surely be archived somewhere around here later.)

If you're lucky enough to be going to this year's Comic-Con, that is: Steve Purcell, winner of the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic and creator of all that is psychotic bunnies and (cool) anthromophic dogs, is going to be there. It's the same Purcell you're thinking of, as evidenced by the official site. (Also, clicking on that link will kill your dial-up; there's a LOT of pictures.)

The event takes place at San Diego, so if you happen to live in the area and yet manage to not go the Convention and write a sonnet about Steven then keep in mind that you deserve to die. Also your feet smell funny.

Source: Film School Rejects

At the Telltale blog, Emily points out a video with Dave Grossman by GameCyte, which you may recall as the site that had a previous video interview with Telltale's Brett Tosti about Strong Bad. According to Telltale these interview are from a visit GameCyte had at the studio's offices recently, and there's still one more to go. For now though, listen to Dave.

In other Telltale news, the repeatedly delayed Sam & Max Surfin' the Highway hardcover should be available next month.

Over at Dreamcatcher/JoWood/The Adventure Company/EA's official page for the upcoming Wii port of Sam & Max: Season 1 you can find a reiteration of the August release month as well as an image of a simple yet really nice potential cover for the game's case:

This image is a lot less placeholder-looking than certain alternatives, but that's still not proof. Troubled fans in search of closure pointed out this new development in a Telltale forum thread, to which diegetic video game sitcom theme song lyricist Jake Rodkin explained, That box still isn't the final one but is very close.

Compelling!