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Sam And Max Developer Funded to Make 'Bone'

Next Generation reports that Telltale games, the current developer of the Sam and Max sequel, has been given $825,000 in a new round of funding. From the article: "Telltale CEO Dan Connors said, 'With our first titles based on Jeff Smith's popular comic books [Bone], Telltale is releasing accessible, innovative, interactive stories for the masses. This expansion funding gives us the ability to move even more aggressively in key areas of our business and further accelerate our company's strategy and growth.'"

82 comments

  1. Hope this is good... by The+Rizz · · Score: 1

    The Bone series was excellent, and could translate into a wonderful line of games.
    The old Sam & Max video game was one of my all-time favorites, and if they can make a Bone game even half as good as that, I'll defeinitely be buying it.

    1. Re:Hope this is good... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Uhm, they already made a Bone game. The summary didn't make this clear. It was generally panned for taking only an hour to complete.

    2. Re:Hope this is good... by slavemowgli · · Score: 1

      Sam & Max (the comic) was brilliant, of course, but the video game wasn't quite as good as other LucasArts games, so just in case you haven't done so yet, be sure to check out Monkey Island 2 and Day of the Tentacle in particular. Those are easily among my most favourite games of all times.

      --
      quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
    3. Re:Hope this is good... by JavaMoose · · Score: 1
      All excellent, but my all-time favorite has to be:

      Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

    4. Re:Hope this is good... by Valdrax · · Score: 1

      I've never read Bone, so to me the real news is that there's another Sam & Max sequel in the works after LucasArts put an axe in the back of the last one. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go dancing around in circles giggling and making a fool of myself.

      It's a good thing most of my coworkers have gone home.

      --
      If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
    5. Re:Hope this is good... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I wish I could mod the parent up, but eh. I bought the first episode and frankly felt cheated. The graphics were passable and the voice acting was good, but there was absolutely not $20 worth of game in that download. I've actively warned people from it, since.

      If the fate of adventure gaming is to nickel and dime its enthusiasts to death with content that barely passes muster as a demo, then it can roll back over into its grave.

    6. Re:Hope this is good... by LarsWestergren · · Score: 1

      I urge you all to buy Psychonauts if you liked those, it is chock full of Tim Schafer goodness! When I heard that it was going to released on consoles, I thought "nah, pass", especially since the previews seemed to pitch it like a platformer. Well, after it won numerous end of year awards for plot, artwork, music, best adventure game, "best game no-one played", game of the year etc on several sites I decided to buy it when it finally was launched for the PC in Europe (a couple of weeks ago).

      It is brilliant! I'd say it is 50% adventure game, 50% platformer. All that brilliant scenery in Day of the Tentacle or Sam and Max that you longed to explore, but you couldn't, because it was just 2D? Now you can! First game in ages that had me laughing out loud too, several times.
      ("Aaah! It's Goggalore!"
      "What a magical lady."
      "I am a construction worker. These are my tools. Look at that lady - She has rather large breasts.")

      There are some fairly complex psychological concepts being dealt with here and there too, once you see past the jokes.

      It is not perfect though. I got the "grinding to a halt" bug a few times that some report on AMD64 systems, and the last levels where a bit of a bore when there were long difficult sections you had to get past and no save points. I still think you should buy it though. Best game I played in years.

      --

      Being bitter is drinking poison and hoping someone else will die

  2. Score +5 VC Speak by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is releasing accessible, innovative, interactive stories for the masses. This expansion funding gives us the ability to move even more aggressively in key areas of our business and further accelerate our company's strategy and growth.

    Can a human being really say this crap without gagging? Please allow me to translate:

    This expansion funding gives us the ability to move even more investor cash into our own pockets even more aggressively and further accelerate out personal wealth building. w00t!!!

    1. Re:Score +5 VC Speak by yroJJory · · Score: 1

      I'm guessing you've never worked for a small developer. This isn't exactly EA.

      --
      Jory
    2. Re:Score +5 VC Speak by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      if it results in a game where you take one character dip him in water and smush his face in a electrical panel to get to the next segment.....

      I am so all over that game....

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    3. Re:Score +5 VC Speak by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 1

      This isn't exactly EA.

      Thank heavens for that. *shudder*

    4. Re:Score +5 VC Speak by khallow · · Score: 1
      I'm guessing you've never worked for a small developer. This isn't exactly EA.

      It still doesn't excuse silly verbiage. Why couldn't he say in human-tongue, "With this money, we're going to make some awesome, interactive games, we're going to nail some key areas of our business, and we're going to do all of that faster than before."

    5. Re:Score +5 VC Speak by yroJJory · · Score: 1

      It still doesn't excuse silly verbiage. Why couldn't he say in human-tongue, "With this money, we're going to make some awesome, interactive games, we're going to nail some key areas of our business, and we're going to do all of that faster than before."

      He probably did and the PR folks changed it around to be more sellable. Having run my own business for a while now, being casual is nice, but it's not always appropriate for press releases.

      --
      Jory
    6. Re:Score +5 VC Speak by khallow · · Score: 1

      In addition to "nice", I'd add "effective". I see what you're saying, but I can't believe the vacuous chain of buzzwords will impress a useful audience. My take is that the PR folks aren't doing their job here.

  3. That can only be a good thing... by Retroneous · · Score: 1

    That can only be a good thing. All I want to see, is Sam and Max make a return to gaming in the correct way - by starring in a game that befits their status.

    My fingers are crossed that Telltale are the guys for the job...

  4. Recording it right now! by yroJJory · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Funny, I'm recording the dialog for Bone 2 right as I read this!

    Jory

    http://studio.jory.org/

    --
    Jory
    1. Re:Recording it right now! by spoco2 · · Score: 1

      As someone who is working with the team, are your impressions that they are a high quality outfit with a lot of creative potential who just maybe will be able to give us waiting fans the Sam & Max game we've always wanted... or do they seem perhaps a little over their heads?

    2. Re:Recording it right now! by Legion303 · · Score: 1

      Please replace the woman who voiced Thorn and Grandma Ben with someone competent.

    3. Re:Recording it right now! by yroJJory · · Score: 1

      Those parts have already been re-cast and recorded.

      --
      Jory
  5. Wow... by Chrismith · · Score: 1
    Wow...four comments so far, and not a one of them at all relevant to anything. If you don't have anything to say, keep your damn mouth shut.

    I for one can't wait for the new Sam & Max game. It's been far too long. Glad to see that development hasn't completely died yet.

    1. Re:Wow... by Retroneous · · Score: 1

      How was my comment not relevant? It said pretty much exactly the same as yours did...meh.

    2. Re:Wow... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow...four comments so far, and not a one of them at all relevant to anything. If you don't have anything to say, keep your damn mouth shut.

      I for one can't wait for the new Sam & Max game. It's been far too long. Glad to see that development hasn't completely died yet.


      Thank god you came along and wrote up a content-free post. You really added to the discussion there, sizzlechest. I see a +5 Insightful coming.

    3. Re:Wow... by Chrismith · · Score: 1

      Not yours. When I hit the reply button, there were four comments basically calling Zonk an idiot for posting this on the front page. That's what I was referring to.

    4. Re:Wow... by Retroneous · · Score: 1

      Ah, OK - didn't see those. Sorry! :)

    5. Re:Wow... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Neat a little child retard that thinks he is god here. Welcome!

      what you took 1 minute to generate a Slashdot ID just to piss in everyone's cheerios? how very mature of you.

      Call me when you have an id that is 5 digits or less little boy. Your UID means you are one of the many that knows nothing and is very late to the party.

      Granted there are some that have a brain and a UID as high as yours. but you obviousally have shown us that the salad bar at denny's has not only a higher IQ but more personality as well.

    6. Re:Wow... by khallow · · Score: 1

      I personally think it would be intriguing to have a little-child-retard-god show up at the advent of a second Bone game. Certainly better than the usual background noise you get.

    7. Re:Wow... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I gotta go to the bathroom!

  6. Hip, Hip... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hooray!

    Hip, Hip...

  7. TellTale Games and 'Episodes' by Rekolitus · · Score: 1

    It would seem that Telltale games is releasing games in an 'episodic' format, which conveniently makes them more money. I can only assume the same will apply to their Sam and Max game, which can surely only be a bad thing.

    >> Will games be episodic?

    You will certainly see a series of episodic PC games. Sam & Max will likely appear in other places as well. Perhaps in entertainment formats not yet imagined by our fragile little brains. Perhaps, ... Circle-vision!... Or not.

    1. Re:TellTale Games and 'Episodes' by ChaosDiscord · · Score: 1
      "It would seem that Telltale games is releasing games in an 'episodic' format, which conveniently makes them more money. I can only assume the same will apply to their Sam and Max game, which can surely only be a bad thing."

      Which conveniently makes them money more quickly. They're making adventure games, a genre mainstream gaming has labelled as dead. They're lucky to have gotten what investment money they did. Up to this point they lacked the funding to do an entire game in one shot. Episodic releases means they could create part of a game, sell it, making some money, and use that money to make more of the game.

      I'm not fond of it, but given the sad state of the adventure gaming market it seems shortsighted to begrudge their business model. While I'd prefer to buy a complete game at once, if this gets me more and better adventure games that's hardly "only a bad thing."

    2. Re:TellTale Games and 'Episodes' by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Other adventure developers stay in business without resoting to overpriced episodic content, why can't Telltale?

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    3. Re:TellTale Games and 'Episodes' by darc · · Score: 1

      Name one. LucasArts? Dead. Funcom? Moved on to MMOs. Publishers of Syberia? Don't see Syberia 3? Uru? Dead. I could go on.

      --
      Tired of legitimate data sources? Try UNCYCLOPEDIA
    4. Re:TellTale Games and 'Episodes' by Shar-Kali-Sharri · · Score: 1

      Tim Schafer, one of the greatest game-designers from Lucas Arts have his own developing studio Double Fine,
      they made the absolutely fantastic game Psychonauts - while a 'platformer' - it has all the spirit and soul of
      the lucas arts classics - in addition to being immensely funny. Telltale games has a lot of other people from Lucas
      Arts. Ron Gilbert who together with Tim Schafer created the two first Monkey Island games are currently working
      on a yet un-disclosed adventure-rpg game. Funcom is working on a sequel to the adventuregame-classic "The
      Longest Journey", its called Dreamfall and will be released spring 2006. White Birds - the developers of Syberia
      is working on Paradise - a point'n'click adventure game taking place in Africa - release April 2006.

      So please - do go on... (for more info on many of these games, visit http://www.adventuregamers.com/)

      --
      In Soviet Russia my signature is reading YOU
    5. Re:TellTale Games and 'Episodes' by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Revistronic was the one I was looking at before posting.

      That B. Sokal guy who made (or more exactly led development of) Syberia is still working on new games at Microïds.

      Anaconda is fairly active.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    6. Re:TellTale Games and 'Episodes' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Psychonauts sold very, very, very few copies. It's a fantastic game (hell, I'm in the credits) but it is not an example of commercial success. Plus, it's not an adventure game, so it's not even that relevant to the discussion.

      Funcom is a much larger developer than Telltale. They have a diverse portfolio with different types of genres ranging from casual games to MMOs. They can afford larger budgets and years and years of development. Plus, Funcom is a publisher. They don't need to pitch their games elsewhere, it's all in house. Telltale has an online business model, or in the case of their CSI game, an external publisher. They need constant revenue; CSI from Ubisoft will help with that, but it's definitely not what they intend as their main source of income.

      Ron Gilbert does not yet have a publisher for his game. There is no guarantee he will get one (unfortunately), and he is not working with a studio, he's just doing design work on his own time. Plus, again--adventure/RPG is not an adventure game. I don't want to give the impression there's anything wrong with games that aren't adventure games, not at all! However, the point is that it's very very very difficult to get good funding for a straight up adventure title these days. Telltale doesn't make hybrids, they make pure adventure games.

      As far as White Birds goes--well, we'll see how that turns out, I guess. They're also based in Europe, which gives them an advantage as adventure games sell far better in Europe than they do in North America.

  8. Boneville extraordinaire! by kin242 · · Score: 1

    As long as its not made by Phone Bone Inc I'm sure it will all turn out great! There be dragons...

    --
    kin242.net
  9. New interactive comic for Sam & Max too... by RyanFenton · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Steve Purcell has created some interesting interactive online comics on their site at:

    http://www.telltalegames.com/comics/samnmax/?perma link=8367058FE9CC052C2FEB69468A83EE4C.txt

    Fairly entertaining, but only a few pages so far. He doesn't seem to have lost much of his sense of humor after all these years.

    On a related note - I checked ebay recently. Steve Purcell's comics have become surprisingly valuable - found out my copy of "Sam & Max: Surfing the Highway" is worth hundreds. I'm keeping it though - it's the one comic I own, and it's worth the humor.

  10. Does anyone know who the voices will be? by Harvester+of+Eyes · · Score: 1

    Personally, I think it would be great if they could Bill Farmer and Nick Jameson to reprise their roles. The voices in the cartoon were okay, but still couldn't measure up to the Lucasarts game.

    --
    "Space is what I need, what I feed on..."
    1. Re:Does anyone know who the voices will be? by Kazzahdrane · · Score: 1

      Telltale staff have stated in their forums that they're still in discussions with voice actors, but are well aware of how much the fans love the actors who provided the voices of the duo in the first game. So here's hoping :)

    2. Re:Does anyone know who the voices will be? by yroJJory · · Score: 1

      Don't sweat it. We'll get the voice acting right. :-)

      --
      Jory
  11. Yeah, but will they be programming 'Bone' in... by jonathantu · · Score: 1

    Quiche++?

    1. Re:Yeah, but will they be programming 'Bone' in... by kin242 · · Score: 1

      Brilliant!!! :D

      --
      kin242.net
    2. Re:Yeah, but will they be programming 'Bone' in... by yroJJory · · Score: 1

      That's what we did today. Only 3 Quiche lines in Bone 2. Oh well. :-)

      --
      Jory
    3. Re:Yeah, but will they be programming 'Bone' in... by Andrew+Kismet · · Score: 1

      Heresy. There should be far more Quiche! Quickly, before the sound files get all... smooshed up and compressed into some evil database of games-programming-soundness.

    4. Re:Yeah, but will they be programming 'Bone' in... by yroJJory · · Score: 1

      hehe..well, the quiche bits are mainly in the first book.

      Wouldn't it be more of a heresy for the game to not stay true to the story?

      --
      Jory
    5. Re:Yeah, but will they be programming 'Bone' in... by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      Meh. Record a hidden dialogue where the characters complain about the lack of quiche lines and/or other things that might cause fanboys to exhibit irrational behavior. Maybe even put a reference to said fanboys as the closing line. Convince the developers to actually put it into the game, only accessible through some incredibly contrived method. Bing, you get one quality easteregg.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    6. Re:Yeah, but will they be programming 'Bone' in... by yroJJory · · Score: 1

      Who said we didn't already record quiche-centric dialog for use as an easter egg?

      --
      Jory
    7. Re:Yeah, but will they be programming 'Bone' in... by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      Great minds think alike... ;)

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  12. Funding is the Real News Here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Only the new funding is newsworthy.
    The Bone game itself has been around for a while.
    It was first reported on slashdot almost a year ago to the day, when the developers were still working at LucasArts.
    You can play a demo or buy the full game at the developers' website

  13. I've played "Leaving Boneville" by NeuroManson · · Score: 1

    And even though I couldn't afford to buy into continuing the game, I can say it's definitely worth playing. Great voice acting, good amount of interactive material, overall a good game from the sampler alone.

    --
    Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
    1. Re:I've played "Leaving Boneville" by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      The trouble with the game is that it has about one hour worth of content. So even in terms of length the demo gave a proper impression...

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  14. Accessible? For the masses? by Crouty · · Score: 1
    > Telltale is releasing accessible, innovative, interactive stories for the masses.
    Read: Another project to ride the bandwagon of the most basic games imaginable for 4th generation computer users who just discovered computer games.

    I guess this is not going to be a game for us geeky folk.

    --
    On se Internetz nobody noes your German.
    1. Re:Accessible? For the masses? by ja2ke · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If the first episode they released is any indication, the Bone series is definitely "all ages," aimed at being approachable by anyone.
       
      The Sam & Max games, though, I'd imagine will be aimed more at the hardcore gaming audience who grew up with the insane puzzle-driven adventures of the 90s.

  15. But what about... by Descalzo · · Score: 1
    Full Throttle

    I keep that one aroud, just to see the beautiful 'bike fighting' sequence. Easily one of my favorite games of all time. Then there's the fun way Ben talks.

    How great was my joy when I learned they were making a sequel. How great my disappointment when I learned the sequel had been cancelled.

    --
    I cried real tears when Li Mu Bai died.
    1. Re:But what about... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Be glad the sequel was canceled. I was bummed at first, too, until I found out more about the poor design of the game and gameplay.

  16. Telltale rocks to work with by yroJJory · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You should know, first off, that I am an adventure gamer. Most other games don't pique my interest, but I've been a longtime Sierra Online & LucasArts adventure game fan, beginning way back with the Infocom text adventures and through all the Space Quest series and more.

    So, when the folks who founded Telltale were let go from their projects at LucasArts, I was thrilled to see they were striking out on their own and made it a goal to be working on their new projects.

    Last year, we did sound for Bone: Out from Boneville and a CSI game Telltale produced for Ubisoft (which will be shipping very shortly). The writing has been excellent all the way through. The actors we are using are all top-notch. And the company's goals really are on making adventure games that people want. Bone: The Great Cow Race has been in dialog production for about 2.5 weeks (and we wrap up tomorrow) and has, again, been very high quality.

    The game is funny. It is clever. It is true to the comic book. And I think adventure gamers like me will love it. (I know that I'm eager to play it!)

    --
    Jory
    1. Re:Telltale rocks to work with by spoco2 · · Score: 1

      That is excellent to hear... myself being an enormous fan of all things Lucasarts and Sierra in the world of Adventure gaming... and to hear that they are ex Lucasarts and talented people doing a top job makes me very excited for future games they will release... I am currently downloading the Bone demo to see what it's all like!

      Thanks for the feedback, and good luck with the future of your excellent looking studio.

    2. Re:Telltale rocks to work with by Jarlsberg · · Score: 1

      That's really excellent to hear. :) I got a new issue of the UK magazine Retro Gamer in the mail yesterday and it had a huge feature on Sam & Max and Telltale. It's worth reading if you can find a place to pick it up.

    3. Re:Telltale rocks to work with by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ubisoft? :( That means StarForce, so no thanks.

  17. Why is adventure gaming in such a sad state? by grahamsz · · Score: 1

    Games like DOTT, Monkey Island and Sam and Max were so much fun, and I never felt that Doom came close to providing that level of enjoyment.

    I realise that many people prefer FPS but are there really so few Sam and Max (resisting the opportunity to abbreviate it) fans out there?

    1. Re:Why is adventure gaming in such a sad state? by grumbel · · Score: 1

      ### I realise that many people prefer FPS but are there really so few Sam and Max (resisting the opportunity to abbreviate it) fans out there?

      I think the main problem is that the publishers tend to only support the stuff that works for the mainstream, adventures don't do that, while FPS do, at least in the eyes of the publishers. That doesn't mean that there arn't enough adventure fans out there to break even, but it means that the big money lies elsewhere and thats where the publishers send there money. Its sad, but its basically no different in holywood or other entertainment industries, the movies with the big explosions get the big budget, anything else often doesn't even get advertisement.

    2. Re:Why is adventure gaming in such a sad state? by yroJJory · · Score: 1

      It's not that there aren't fans. Clearly there are. The real "problem" is that adventure games don't sell a million copies. They receive critical acclaim (when well done) and help promote the company as a top-notch developer, but they rarely (over the past decade) do much beyond breaking even, and that typically is at around 50-100k copies.

      Sam & Max (at LucasArts) was canceled for this very reason. It wasn't that a bad game was going to be made or that it wouldn't sell. But it wouldn't sell nearly as well as something with a Star Wars logo on it, such as KotoR.

      What Telltale's business model allows is for them to release smaller games quickly, allowing them to recoup their costs and make some profit, enabling another game to be made.

      And they don't have the huge distribution costs.

      Making quality games isn't exactly inexpensive, especially if you want to have well-acted dialog. Consider that in order to make a Bone game, in addition to just the artists, level designers, writers, programmers, and other in-house folks, there are outside vendors, such as myself. And let's not forget the voice talent!

      Note that nearly all the reviews of Bone: Out from Boneville (and many of the comments here on /.) have noted the high quality voice acting. This doesn't come cheap.

      While I don't know the actual numbers of how much Telltale pays for their game production, I would estimate that just the dialog recording & editing alone (not including sound design and music) cost somewhere around $20k. At $20 per copy, that translates to sales of around 1000 games just to pay for the voice in one episode!

      I don't even want to think about how much it costs to employ all the animators, programmers, and more who also create the game!

      --
      Jory
  18. Seems unlikely by PCM2 · · Score: 1
    On a related note - I checked ebay recently. Steve Purcell's comics have become surprisingly valuable - found out my copy of "Sam & Max: Surfing the Highway" is worth hundreds. I'm keeping it though - it's the one comic I own, and it's worth the humor.
    I wouldn't put too much stock in that. Like any collectible, a comic book is only "worth" what people will pay for it. I was in a local comic book store here in San Francisco once and overheard a phone conversation with the owner: "Buy your comic books? Sure. That's easy. How much do they weigh? What? It's a simple question. Well go to the scale and weigh them and I'll tell you what I'll pay you for them."
    --
    Breakfast served all day!
    1. Re:Seems unlikely by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, and for years now people have been paying hundreds for that Sam & Max collection, so that's what it's worth.

  19. This should have been released 2 years ago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    FYI, lucasarts was almost done with a Sam and Max 2 when they pulled the plug on funding at the last second.

    They even had a trailer done and it looked fantastic:
    http://www.gamershell.com/download_2120.shtml

    I have no idea if this game is related in any way, though.

    1. Re:This should have been released 2 years ago by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Telltale is mostly the Sam & Max team from LucasArts.

    2. Re:This should have been released 2 years ago by yroJJory · · Score: 1

      I have no idea if this game is related in any way, though.

      The Telltale Sam & Max title will be completely new and different. While part of the time came from the LucasArts Sam & Max team, many others worked on other projects either at LucasArts or other game companies.

      --
      Jory
  20. How odd... by Anne+Honime · · Score: 1
    ...I just dug out of basement tonight my old floppies of Sam & Max and gave a shot to the game with scumm ; while I had already finished it a long time ago, I'm still nearly peeing myself in laughter every time Max is speaking. Great great great game.

    As the old saying goes, they don't make them like this anymore. Didn't you notice how games have become so boringly serious since the eve of "realistic 3D" everything ? At least, cartoon characters had to rely on humor to be entertaining. I miss them all, Indiana Jones, Monkey Island, BASS, Day of the tentacles (what a game... I spent an enormous amount of time on this one, really, it was huge!). Give us back the fun !

  21. HA by AugstWest · · Score: 1

    This expansion funding gives us the ability to move even more aggressively in key areas of our business and further accelerate our company's strategy and growth.

    Schmmock schmock schmock schmock schmock schmock schmockity schmock schmock schmock schmock schmockly schmock schmock schmock schmock schmock business anf schmock schmock schmock's schmock schmock schmock.

    I'm glad they got money, bu jesus, this is like scraping my brain with sandpaper. Please speak English about what you;re actually doing, we're happy about it.

  22. Subject by Legion303 · · Score: 1

    Perhaps Telltale can use some of that money to hire voice talent that doesn't suck donkey balls for the next few installments of the game. The Bone siblings were OK, but everyone else was mostly shit. Mostly.

    1. Re:Subject by yroJJory · · Score: 1

      So far, you're the only one who hasn't liked the voice acting in general. Apart from two characters that we wanted to re-cast before the initial release (but couldn't due to budget limitations), everyone else who acted in the game was excellent. They are actors we use all the time on LOTS of projects.

      --
      Jory
  23. First game was so so by wmaycisco · · Score: 1

    I really enjoyed the graphics, sound, etc. on the first game, but for $20, it took maybe an hour to finish and the play wasn't that interesting - definately not worth paying that much for each chapter. I hope that additional chapters will be cheaper, or I'm pretty sure they won't be getting my money.

  24. oooo, new Sam and Max by Mark+Gillespie · · Score: 1

    can't wait. Not entirely sure what "Bone" is thou... Sam and Max is a classic, and LucasArts were fools to let it drop. Lets hope the new guys can do it justice.

  25. Excellent news by NigelJohnstone · · Score: 1

    I want to play more adventure games, Monkey Island 3 was excellent, Myst, even Zork Nemesis, I was disappointed when Sam and Max got cancelled.

    I kind of expect them all to move to web based games though, because then the game engine can stay on the server and so piracy stops being a problem and distribution cost drops to pennies. Rather than these $40-$70 shiny boxes with big expensive printed colour manuals on retail shelves.

    1. Re:Excellent news by yroJJory · · Score: 1

      Personally, I loved Monkey 4, but I'm not exactly impartial, since I was one of the sound designers for it. :-)

      --
      Jory
  26. Will there be... by Otonotachibana · · Score: 1

    Succulent little bone creatures, marbled in fat?

  27. He was apparently chanelling Phoney Bone... by alispguru · · Score: 1

    Phoney was primarily a con man - that isn't too far removed from a marketspeaking CEO, though.

    --

    To a Lisp hacker, XML is S-expressions in drag.