The International House of Mojo

While nothing as trivial as a Sam & Max game could ever possibly fill the Traxion-shaped void in all our hearts, I must for completion's sake mention that Situation: Comedy is now up on Telltale's site for download. Go buy the game/redeem your pre-order!

No, it's not going to make you feel better, and things will never be the same. But it just might, with a little grace, help make the pain slightly more bearable.

If you're subscribed to Gametap now would be as good a time as any to check out the latest animated short, "Reality Blights." And if you're not subscribed to Gametap, then a few days from now would be as good a time as any to check it out on Telltale's site.

And what's up with The SCUMM Bar being updated? Somebody should look into that.

Has been since yesterday, actually. Of course, those of you who are subscribed to Gametap probably don't need to be told this. If you're not in North America or aren't interested in Gametap, fear not, for January 5th is a mere two weeks away. And don't forget, if you bought Culture Shock from Telltale but lamely didn't grab the season set, you can do so now for a reduced price.

It's almost like Sam & Max games are being released!

That I've managed to stumble upon, anyway. Softpedia has got some very positive things to say about the second episode. They also put up a ton of new screenshots that may give away a lot, but I'm just sayin'.

1up's got a new preview for the second Sam & Max episode in the form of a short Q&A with Dave Grossman. A few new details are made known (which I'm assuming are safe since they come from Grossman), and included are what seems to be a new screenshot as well as some neato concept sketches. Ruin the game!

Did you miss out on the episode 1 giveaway because you were too lazy and talentless to submit something? Don't make the same mistake twice! Telltale's giving away three copies of the second Sam & Max episode as part of their latest Holiday-themed contest. To enter simply head on over to the Comic Generator and, using their new Christmas panels, make something that doesn't suck. Could it be any easier? No.

Also, the third (and the final before the episode 2 premiere) machinima short is now on Gametap. Look for it on Telltale's site tommorow.

Telltale have just posted the English version of an interview with Dave Grossman that first appeared in the Belgian gaming magazine PC Gameplay Benelux in November;

As I recall, the way it happened was that Tim Schafer and I were fresh off of Monkey Island 2 and ready to lead our own project... The [Maniac Mansion] license fit reasonably well with our collective sense of humor, and I think there was the feeling that having it nominally be a sequel would keep us from going too far off the deep end. So we worked on the design for a while and then presented it to the rest of the all-powerful project leader group, who recognized its merits. We were advised to cut five characters and three locations, which was a fairly standard thing to be told and we were ready for it. I think it took under a half hour to make the cuts to the design, and then we went ahead and built it.

Dave also riffs on Sierra, LucasArts in general and of course Telltale.

Source: Telltale Games

Since CSI 3 Dimensions of Murder was released this past Spring, the question I'm assuming was on everyone's mind was, "So is Telltale making the next one?" Well, this press release from Ubisoft announcing the next game, the Telltale-developed CSI: Hard Evidence, pretty much puts that issue to rest. Besides the little info the announcement offers including the promise of "an all-new garage lab for analyzing large evidence" and "longer play experiences," it seems that lead designer Greg Land is staying on for this installment, and the release date is Spring 2007. Check out this Telltale forum thread to feast your eyes on the first screenshots, and keep close watch on Telltale's site for their own announcement.

This is pretty awesome news because the last game was quite fun. Haven't played it yet? Why not buy it for less than twenty bucks?

Ben Gorman brings word that a Scandinavian newspaper called Verden's Gang has thrown some love in Psychonauts and Sam & Max's direction.

First Psychonauts, which presumably was released throughout continental Europe this year, was named "best platformer", edging out games like the brilliant New Super Mario Bros. and LocoRoco.

Sam & Max: Culture Shock didn't win as such, but was named a runner up after Dreamfall in the adventure category. Little surprise there, seeing that Dreamfall is a Scandinavian game.

Congrats to both Double Fine and Telltale!

Go watch it! If you have Gametap, of course. Expect it online in a few days. ...Well, bye!

What's in store next time on Sam & Max?

Glad you asked, all you need to do to find out is click through to Telltale's Sam & Max Situation: Comedy section here, then hit the Gameplay Videos link and fire up the first of the 2 clips. The second is also absolutely worth watching, of course, if you haven't done so already.

Tally Ho, Fools!

Source: Telltale Games

If you want to know what floats Dave Grossman's boat right now you could rifle through his garbage, or alternately read this little Gamasutra Q&A session.

Sounds: I like a little of everything, but at the moment I seem to be particularly listening to lounge music and funk. I also really enjoy unusual covers of usual songs ? I made a collection of versions of Ring of Fire, for example, which I use to test people's patience. My current favorite band is Cocktail Angst, a dazzling lounge combo with Latin overtones and a sense of humor, who unfortunately stopped playing together last I heard.

Source: Gamasutra

In the latest blog Heather writes about the "Director's Cut" releases of the first two Bone games. The reasons behind the additions in these new versions are explained, and included are some storyboards for the new opening sequence and a Q&A with Jeff Smith, so the entry makes for good reading.

Oh, and the first Sam & Max machinima short may or may not be appearing on Telltale's site today. People with extremely good ears or who are liars may notice that Max's voice is a bit different in the short and the previously released gameplay video from episode 2. This is because Max's actor has been replaced. I couldn't tell, personally, and Max Voice #5 seems solid.

Oh, and those Bone Director's cuts were officially announced, too.

Update: The machinima short is up for viewing on Gametap's site.

Legolas813 on the Telltale forums has revealed that the first of the Sam & Max machinima shorts has gone up on GameTap. These small animations are used to keep up the interest between Sam & Max episode, and may include some plot advancement linking the episodes together.

Word is that the shorts will be released to the non-GameTappers on the Monday following the GameTap release.

Source: Legolas813

So as not to interfere with the Sam & Max Episode 2 announcement, there has been a soft launch of the revamped BONE games.

If you already have purchased the games in their previous form, it's a free upgrade. And if you've played Culture Shock and now have a hankering for more Telltale goodness, well you can download a demo version, or the full thing right here.

Here's what's new in the Director's Cut version;

We're really excited about releasing updated versions of the first two Bone games. Both games now support multiple resolutions, and there are some other little technical kinks that we have been able to work out. Content wise, there's a great new opening cutscene in Boneville that I think everyone's going to really like. We also have re-recorded Thorn and updated her model to look like the one from Cow Race (which we liked better).

Other than that there are little touches here and there in both games where we added new lines or sound effects or other small things to make the story flow more smoothly. Jeff Smith (Bone creator) is really happy with the results, and so am I.
- Heather Lee, Telltale Games.

So, what are you waiting for?.

PS: Thanks to Udvarnoky for the tipoff on the Telltale Forums.

Source: Telltale Games

Why are you reading this when you could be checking out a trailer and screenshots for the new Sam & Max episode, "Situation Comedy." I could editorialize and say that it looks sweet, but you don't want to hear that. Run and laugh!

Telltale has put up three more awesome music tracks from Sam & Max: Season 1 for download. They include the opening music, the Soda Poppers theme, and as a nice treat, a track from the upcoming episode 2. Give them a listen!

And unless there's some sort of mixup, the third track reveals the second episode's title: Situation: Comedy.

The Autumn Moon and Telltale discussions were both held and are now over, so why not go and read them now if you weren't able to take part? The Autumn Moon chat's here and the Telltale one would be in this vicinity.

It's that time of year again! No, not Thanksgiving. The thing that matters. The highly anticipated second annual Adventure Developers Online Conference hosted by Adventure-Europe. If you don't remember last year's, it's an open forum chat with adventure game developers. And like last year, Autumn Moon Entertainment and Telltale Games will be there for your insightful queries. The event will be held next week, so check the time blocks of all the companies you want answers from.

And don't forget you can check out the results of the 2005 chat here.

If you've read the latest Telltale newsletter (which you have, seeing as you're subscribed to it and all), you know that newly updated versions of the Bone games are so close to release that they can't even give us a date yet. Besides scalable resolutions, the games will now include additional "lines and cutscenes," a less bad Thorn model in Out from Boneville, and re-recorded voice for the same character in the same game (by the Cow Race actress).

Regarding the dialogue, it was apparently written by Smith himself and possibly Heather. Is it just more lines from the comic or entirely new writing? Either way, it's pretty cool that the digital nature of the games' distribution allows for this kind of postmortem expansion, not just for the tech but, it would seem, for the story as well!

But, wait, does this mean that the bitter fan schisms that result from multiple versions of the same film will also occur with Telltale's games? Will "purists" insist on only playing the "theatrical cut" of Bone, with the original actors and unaltered scenes? Gran'ma Ben shoots first!

And hey, check out the nice Sam & Max banner that Jake put up! Doesn't it make you want to buy the game a second time?