Gap

edited December 2007 in Sam & Max
OK, I gotta know.

Is there a particular reason you're delaying episode 202 until January?

It makes a lot of sense from a marketing perspective, because it means ISS is the most recent throughout the whole Christmas season.

But you're about to hold playtesting sessions for the THIRD episode. Which means it's playable, in some form. Which likely means episode 2 was playable some time ago.

Is Episode 202 done, and being delayed for business reasons? Or am I really really confused?

Comments

  • edited December 2007
    We're not delaying it, it's always been scheduled like that. We did the same thing for Season One, you may remember. Mostly I think it's because the holidays are an insane time for game releases.
  • edited December 2007
    No, I remember you doing that for Season 1.

    But I don't remember you having playtests of The Mole, the Mob and the Meatball during the dead month between Culture Shock and Situation: Comedy.

    Did you, and I'm just forgetful?

    Or am I right, and you're delaying it for business reasons. Because as I said, it makes a boatload of sense from that perspective. I just wanted to know if it was, in addition, not done.
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited December 2007
    We're a little quicker with the schedule this year than we were last year (it's easier to get an Episode One out the door when you've already got your main characters, a slice of the supporting cast, and the basic building blocks for a few environments already built and loaded with animation before you even start writing the episode), but by and large things are very similar to last year. We might not quite have been at focus test time at this time last year, but we were already well into episodes two and three, production-wise, before Christmas came around.

    The gap happens because Christmastime is insane -- it is a true devourer of new game releases whose names don't start (or end) with "Halo" -- and it's nice to have two months instead of one right at the start, to have twice as much time before the next release, to get everybody on board and set up for the season, before we start pouring out episodes. This year it's especially nice since the first episode is a Christmas episode, but yeah, having two months at the start to skip Christmas and to have a slightly longer lead time right out of the gate for people to get on board has always been part of the schedule for both Season One and Season Two, regardless of how the internal game production schedule is set up.
  • EmilyEmily Telltale Alumni
    edited December 2007
    But I don't remember you having playtests of The Mole, the Mob and the Meatball during the dead month between Culture Shock and Situation: Comedy.

    We didn't actually have a playtest for The Mole, The Mob, and The Meatball, but if we had it probably would have been at roughly the same time. I think we're a little farther ahead of schedule with Season Two, mainly because we knew what we were getting into and were able to plan better.
  • edited December 2007
    Is Episode 202 finished?
  • edited December 2007
    I think at this time it would be, yeah. Maybe a few minor touches to go.
  • EmilyEmily Telltale Alumni
    edited December 2007
    Yes, it's finished.
  • edited December 2007
    I think not having the machinima shorts has really lost the flow that season 1 had.. I havent really got any reason to come back here til january 10..and its kinda dead on the forums :(
  • edited December 2007
    Hero1 wrote: »
    I think not having the machinima shorts has really lost the flow that season 1 had.. I havent really got any reason to come back here til january 10..and its kinda dead on the forums :(

    I forgot about the machinimas :O Any chance those'll come back?
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited December 2007
    Hero1 wrote: »
    I think not having the machinima shorts has really lost the flow that season 1 had.. I havent really got any reason to come back here til january 10..and its kinda dead on the forums :(

    The gap between 1 and 2 was also a period of less extreme foruming last year as well... people dont remember super well since it was a year ago. Also I'm sure that yes, the machinimas did help a bit, but I believe we only really had three of those in the gap between 101 and 102 last year. I think more than anything last year people were still coasting off the high of getting any new Sam & Max after 13 years.
  • edited December 2007
    i remember some concerns about certain voice actors medical well-being last year, which was perfectly understandable.

    anyway, I like to think of it more positively. I'd hate for my favorite grass-roots game company to have to work slavishly through the holiday season. That vacation time is well-deserved (you can admit it, everybody wants at least a few days off to go see friends and family!).
  • JakeJake Telltale Alumni
    edited December 2007
    Soup wrote: »
    i remember some concerns about certain voice actors medical well-being last year, which was perfectly understandable.

    That was unfortunate, but as has been said, the 2 months between the premiere and the bulk of the season were planned both times, so the voice actor medical issue from last year really had no bearing.
  • edited December 2007
    Soup wrote: »
    I'd hate for my favorite grass-roots game company to have to work slavishly through the holiday season. That vacation time is well-deserved (you can admit it, everybody wants at least a few days off to go see friends and family!).
    Vacation time?

    We're supposed to get vacation time?
  • edited December 2007
    Chuck wrote: »
    Vacation time?

    We're supposed to get vacation time?

    I hear the FBI have developed a new interrogation technique. It's apparently 25% more effective than Chinese water torture. Lock suspect in small closet(preferably one belonging to a Brendan q. Ferguson)Then promise them that they will be only let out once they have written 10, 000 lines of hilarious dialogue...
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