Sam and Max 2: Reloaded

CamelToes writes "Sam and Max 2 is not dead! According to a Gamespot article, the team that was working on bringing the new Sam n' Max adventure game 'has formed a new studio called Telltale Games. The San Rafael-based developer will concentrate on re-energizing the adventure game market.' Amazing what an on-line petition will do these days."

Comments

Finally- hope it pans out!

[Jarlsberg]

I've been waiting for this ever since Sierra got sold out. Man, the adventure games you could make with a game engine like Doom 3 or the forthcoming Half-Life 2 engine. If it were done right, I'm damn sure it'd re-energize the adventure game market.

Re:Finally- hope it pans out!

[Flamefly]

I think the adventure games (ala DOTT, Sam and Max, Monkey Island) lose the special something that comes with the timelessness of 2D graphics. 2D just has a more... magic realism aspect about it, weird things can easily happen, sam can be stretched this way and that, people can be flushed down time portal toilets and it works! In 3D it wouldn't come close, Sam and Max wouldn't be 10% as good if it was done in 3D.

3D is awesome for somethings, but a comedy adventure isn't one, the characters are all so different that it just lends itself to 2D, people don't *want* it to be realistic, they want an escape! 2D gives you the ability to have cartoonish moves, to really give the character movement that builds that character persona rather then the standard 3D walk cycle, and in 5 years when current 3D looks, frankly, like shit, the 2D version thereof will look as fresh as it was when it was made, that's what makes Disney films so damn enduring.

2D is easy enough to do, the engine is simple and you just need to trap a good team of artists, and a few ace scriptwriters in a room and you have a timeless classic.

FF

Re:Finally- hope it pans out!

[INT 21h]

Grim Fandango. Nuff said.

(Though some would say it is a 2D/3D hybrid, pshaaw I say)

Re:Finally- hope it pans out!

[skabb]

I'll tend to agree, but if it's done right, it may be good. F.ex. Shrek is a great 3D cartoon, quite different than the old classics of 2D cartoons, it looses some, but then again, it gains some atmosphere that wasn't there at first.

The trouble is to rewamp a 2D character into 3D, still capturing that magic, Creating a fresh new character in 3D is easier, so I'll wait and see...

There is a couple of gems regarding "3D" adventures out there, so I hope the producers get it right, and let the adventure genre live on... dont spoil the magic of the classics, use new technology if you want, but only as a tool to express the true art if needed, not because its fancy!

Re:Finally- hope it pans out!

[adolfojp]

I agree 100 percent

I remember that some of the magic of these games was the beauty of the backdrops. Yes, even in 16 colors. 3D hardware still lacks the power to render vast and rich environments down to the smallest detail. We are getting closer and closer, but we haven't arrived to the point where we can make 3D artworks that compare to their 2D counterparts.


Cheers

Adolfo

Re:Finally- hope it pans out!

[adolfojp]

It is true, but I bet that most of us don't have the kind of rendering farms that Pixar/Dreamworks have. Much less sitting in our desktops ;-).


Cheers,

Adolfo

Sam & Max not dead?

[Moonbird]

Well, how so? It seems only the dev team is working on its own now. I doubt they get the rights to publish the Sam & Max game, as much as I wished they would.

Sam and Max 2 not officially back from the dead

[SamNmaX]

Though this is certainly very positive news, they have not yet announced that Sam and Max 2 has been resurrected. I'm guessing they are in the middle of making a deal on that, though it's a touch premature to say it's back.

From the article:

But what about the question on everyone's mind--is a new Sam and Max title coming? Although Telltale Games hasn't specifically said anything, the upcoming first press release from the company does reference the game three times, then ends by saying that Telltale is currently "in the design phase on a well-loved license." Could it be?

Re:Sam and Max 2 not officially back from the dead

[ja2ke]

Thanks for saying that. Even if it is true that Telltale is working on a Sam & Max title, we have no way of knowing that. The article never says so, it never even directly hints it. In the Q&A, the Telltale guy even mentions Sam & Max along with other LucasArts things they're not in contact with. I wish /. stories wouldn't jump the gun so badly.

Yes everyone would be pleased as punch if when they reveal their game, it is in fact a Sam & Max title, but talk about creating false hope and false hype!

Prepay

[Effugas]

Uh, I'd prepay for a Sam 'n Max 2. Like, right now. And I'm not the only one.

--Dan

And While There At It...

[dduardo]

Bring Back Maniac Mansion

Re:About San Rafael....

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, same thing in Los Gatos which is not really pronounced the way you say Los Angeles or Las Vegas

people just don't bother to pronounce spanish words correctly

it's like BINgO GrinGo!

LucasArts

[rsmith-mac]

Considering that this isn't a Star Wars title, I think we'll see LA be a little more flexable than usual. If they were to licence out S&M to Telltale(perhaps even the previous work), and Telltale did digital distribution, that would push all the risk on to Telltale. Without any risk, and a licence LA really doesn't really seem to see a future in, LA may bite as an easy way to score a cut of the revenue.

Re:LucasArts

[Zorilla]

Problem is that they couldn't really make any cross-game inside jokes that use trademarks anymore, such as the Star Wars and Sam and Max costumes when Guybrush goes to pick up his party suit in Monkey Island 3. Then there's always the "Help me, . You're my only hope."

I guess the rubber tree gag can still be used.

You just haven't been paying attention, have you?

[Thedalek]

How many of these blood-soaked and mind-numbingly repetitive first-person shooters will be remembered a decade hence?

Doom, 1993.
Doom 2, 1994.

And next year, I'll wager a lot of us still remember Star Wars: Dark Forces.

Honestly, nine out of ten slashdotters can probably still hum the Doom theme song.

O.K. but

[evil crash]

Who owns the rights to the characters? With out the permission of the license holder, all that coding is gonna get you a cease and desist letter.

Re:O.K. but

[Dimensio]

Steve Purcell owns the rights to the characters, and I suspect that any Sam & Max work would get his approval.

The problem is that I believe that LucasArts licensed the game rights to start work on Sam & Max 2, and the question now is whether or not they had an "exclusive" deal. If they did, then this could put a damper on things.

Even if they don't, though, they probably own the rights to any work done on Sam & Max: Freelance Police, and I doubt that they'll let the project go for someone else to profit on it.