Are you guys planning on tailoring the different episodes together to one whole game so we can play the episodes back2back MI style from start to the end credits, or will it be separate episodes selectable at the main menu like S&M?
I don't think anything's been decided, but this is a good idea.
I don't think anything's been decided, but this is a good idea.
Thank you! You've all been saying that it is a continuing story anyways. And with the chapters intertwined, it would be awesome to get the feeling you're playing this single epic non-stop 15-20hr adventuregame (like the previous ones)!
Are you guys planning on tailoring the different episodes together to one whole game so we can play the episodes back2back MI style from start to the end credits, or will it be separate episodes selectable at the main menu like S&M?
Are you guys planning on tailoring the different episodes together to one whole game so we can play the episodes back2back MI style from start to the end credits
I was wondering are there any members of the telltale team that have visited or are from Australia? Just the mention of Echidnas on the brainstorming forum got me thinking.
I loved the Perth day joke. wish that was a real holiday :P When you live in one of the most isolated cities in the world and it gets mentioned... anywhere, it makes your day
I was wondering are there any members of the telltale team that have visited or are from Australia? Just the mention of Echidnas on the brainstorming forum got me thinking.
I loved the Perth day joke. wish that was a real holiday :P When you live in one of the most isolated cities in the world and it gets mentioned... anywhere, it makes your day
I think they like making jokes about Australia - such as the President being as crazy as a dingo in an Adelaide maternity ward It was quite a giddy moment to hear my not-very-well-known home city being mentioned. Same goes for Perth day, I guess
Are you guys planning on tailoring the different episodes together to one whole game so we can play the episodes back2back MI style from start to the end credits, or will it be separate episodes selectable at the main menu like S&M?
(Sorry if question has already been answered)
We've never done this before, so don't hold your breath. On both Sam & Max seasons' DVDs and on the Strong Bad DVD (and on the Wii and XBLA releases of Sam & Max) the episodes have remained separate, with a DVD-style launcher menu.
If we could bump the games up back to back in a way that wouldn't totally sabotage our QA and software build teams by effectively dumping a full length new untested game build on their plates (which that could be considered under many very real situations), it's definitely worth considering... but again, it's not something we've done before, so absolutely no promises. I'm just waving my arms around, here, saying "cool idea," without knowing the repercussions.
So again, don't hold your breath. Cool idea, though.
We've never done this before, so don't hold your breath. On both Sam & Max seasons' DVDs and on the Strong Bad DVD (and on the Wii and XBLA releases of Sam & Max) the episodes have remained separate, with a DVD-style launcher menu.
If we could bump the games up back to back in a way that wouldn't totally sabotage our QA and software build teams by effectively dumping a full length new untested game build on their plates (which that could be considered under many very real situations), it's definitely worth considering... but again, it's not something we've done before, so absolutely no promises. I'm just waving my arms around, here, saying "cool idea," without knowing the repercussions.
So again, don't hold your breath. Cool idea, though.
Thanks for considering it!
I love the way the fans are "influencing" the developement of this game!
Yeah, I like a full game. Great as releasing in episodes is, I prefer to stick the DVD in and play the whole game instead of re-loading inbetween chapters. It just feels weird to me, then again I am a technophobe
It feels kinda like say CIV4, if you have to load a new chapter whenever you get to a new age
We've never done this before, so don't hold your breath. On both Sam & Max seasons' DVDs and on the Strong Bad DVD (and on the Wii and XBLA releases of Sam & Max) the episodes have remained separate, with a DVD-style launcher menu.
If we could bump the games up back to back in a way that wouldn't totally sabotage our QA and software build teams by effectively dumping a full length new untested game build on their plates (which that could be considered under many very real situations), it's definitely worth considering... but again, it's not something we've done before, so absolutely no promises. I'm just waving my arms around, here, saying "cool idea," without knowing the repercussions.
So again, don't hold your breath. Cool idea, though.
Is it possible to trigger the selection of the next chapter from the main menu automatically rather than just combine all the chapters to make one large game? Like there would be a small load screen while the disc would run the next chapter?
We've never done this before, so don't hold your breath. On both Sam & Max seasons' DVDs and on the Strong Bad DVD (and on the Wii and XBLA releases of Sam & Max) the episodes have remained separate, with a DVD-style launcher menu.
If we could bump the games up back to back in a way that wouldn't totally sabotage our QA and software build teams by effectively dumping a full length new untested game build on their plates (which that could be considered under many very real situations), it's definitely worth considering... but again, it's not something we've done before, so absolutely no promises. I'm just waving my arms around, here, saying "cool idea," without knowing the repercussions.
So again, don't hold your breath. Cool idea, though.
Wouldn't this create a situation where if you were to play the game in it's "episodic" form, you would have no access to the areas later on (i.e. you're playing episode one and cannot go to locations in ep. 5), but if you played the "full" game, you would have full range of travel? Essentially, what I'm saying is that you could theoretically visit areas at the end of the game before you're supposed to unless something were added in to prevent/trigger this.
Actually, I guess this brings up a question of my own...will any future episodes visit areas from previous ones (ex. Episode 3 goes back to area X that you started episode 2 at), or will they be entirely new locations?
Also, was there any specific event you guys would reference that made all of this possible? The brass at LucasArts seemed set against adventure games for (what seemed like) an eternity. Was it the switch to Darrell Rodriguez that got this all rolling or was something brewing beforehand?
Wouldn't this create a situation where if you were to play the game in it's "episodic" form, you would have no access to the areas later on (i.e. you're playing episode one and cannot go to locations in ep. 5), but if you played the "full" game, you would have full range of travel? Essentially, what I'm saying is that you could theoretically visit areas at the end of the game before you're supposed to unless something were added in to prevent/trigger this.
Actually, I guess this brings up a question of my own...will any future episodes visit areas from previous ones (ex. Episode 3 goes back to area X that you started episode 2 at), or will they be entirely new locations?
Ah, I think they just meant that it could be an idea to have the next chapter start straight after the previous chapter, instead of going to menu. I think the episodes themselves would be identical.
From what I've heard they are focusing on new locations for each new game, with no central hub location (kind of like CMI where part 1 is on the ship, part 2 is on plunder, part 3 is on blood, part 4 is ship combat, and part 5 is at the carnival, except the chapters will be more similar in length)
They haven't said for sure old locations -won't- be revisited, but mostly it looks like it'll be new stuff every time.
Is it possible to trigger the selection of the next chapter from the main menu automatically rather than just combine all the chapters to make one large game? Like there would be a small load screen while the disc would run the next chapter?
I was reading the Sam N Max wiki listing their cameo appearances and inside jokes in other games and was wondering if there are such easter eggs in the new MI.
Is it possible to trigger the selection of the next chapter from the main menu automatically rather than just combine all the chapters to make one large game? Like there would be a small load screen while the disc would run the next chapter?
If we could bump the games up back to back in a way that wouldn't totally sabotage our QA and software build teams by effectively dumping a full length new untested game build on their plates (which that could be considered under many very real situations), it's definitely worth considering...
'Tis! Make this Monkey Odyssey come true! By the way, will Guybrush be called "Ulysses" again, as in EfMI? I found it perversely fitting (like many other things in that game...).
If you didn't like the sound quality in Sam & Max Season 1 and 2, it's gotten a lot better!
Um… I have S&B and W&G both for the PC, and the voices sound really compressed to me, and about 70+ other people at the topic: “Please increase the sound quality for voices” and there are many more topics about sound quality then just the one. Could you kindly explain how the voices sound remotely uncompressed?
I should note that we've changed how audio is done since and including Strong Bad. Before the audio was pre-compressed and fixed for all builds/platforms. Now the sound is re-compressed at build time with each platform having different compression ratios. While this increased the time it takes to make a build, we're in a lot more control of how little or much sound is compressed.
So does this mean that in the DVD version, the audio will be even less compressed than in the download version?
Are you guys planning on tailoring the different episodes together to one whole game so we can play the episodes back2back MI style from start to the end credits, or will it be separate episodes selectable at the main menu like S&M?
I don't think anything's been decided, but this is a good idea.
I, for one, disagree - I think it kind of messes up the cliffhangers by removing the mental space between the episodes. (Sometimes you notice a similar effect when you watch a TV show designed to have commercial breaks after those breaks have been removed.) The season is designed serially, and should be played that way for maximum enjoyment. In fact, I personally think that the folks who wait until the run is over to play the whole season at once (and some people will) are going to miss out on a cool part of the experience, that being the conversation that goes on in the intervening weeks between episodes.
I, for one, disagree - I think it kind of messes up the cliffhangers by removing the mental space between the episodes. (Sometimes you notice a similar effect when you watch a TV show designed to have commercial breaks after those breaks have been removed.) The season is designed serially, and should be played that way for maximum enjoyment. In fact, I personally think that the folks who wait until the run is over to play the whole season at once (and some people will) are going to miss out on a cool part of the experience, that being the conversation that goes on in the intervening weeks between episodes.
Just my opinion, mind you.
I never thought about it that way.. good point. In fact, you've just changed my mind on the whole subject.
regarding this whole joining the episodes thing, I'd like to add that I like it the way that Telltale have done it in the past but I wouldn't mind a launcher so instead of having 4/5/6 icons (depending on the series) you just get one from which you can choose the episode you want to play.
Probably would work best on the dvd versions (I know that the autorun for the Sam & Max dvd gives what I sorta said above already).
The season is designed serially, and should be played that way for maximum enjoyment. In fact, I personally think that the folks who wait until the run is over to play the whole season at once (and some people will) are going to miss out on a cool part of the experience, that being the conversation that goes on in the intervening weeks between episodes.
I agree, completely, and part of that cool part is just waiting. The second season of Sam & Max did all this quite well, building up great cliffhangers and then leaving you with wonder and expectation for weeks, accompanying the player not for hours but for months.
However, once the season is over, it seems natural to just play one episode after the other (and in the right order: would you play What's New Beelzebub? before playing Chariots of the Dogs?): interrupting the progression of the story to swap from one chapter to the following makes less sense then, and the player should be free to set his own rythm. Many 19th century novels (Oliver Twist, The Portrait of a Lady, Pinocchio...) were published in monthly installments on magazines: looking at them closely we can still find all the cliffhangers and wrap-ups which were peculiar to the genre, but we mustn't stop reading whenever a chapter ends. If installments are episodes, a DVD becomes the complete book we buy now: it's inevitably different from the original product, but - when the serialized experience has ended - it can give it new life.
You could always include both options, if it's possible...
I, for one, disagree - I think it kind of messes up the cliffhangers by removing the mental space between the episodes. (Sometimes you notice a similar effect when you watch a TV show designed to have commercial breaks after those breaks have been removed.) The season is designed serially, and should be played that way for maximum enjoyment. In fact, I personally think that the folks who wait until the run is over to play the whole season at once (and some people will) are going to miss out on a cool part of the experience, that being the conversation that goes on in the intervening weeks between episodes.
Just my opinion, mind you.
I think I just got served by my boss. This is why he is the creative director. Listen to him.
I, for one, disagree - I think it kind of messes up the cliffhangers by removing the mental space between the episodes. (Sometimes you notice a similar effect when you watch a TV show designed to have commercial breaks after those breaks have been removed.) The season is designed serially, and should be played that way for maximum enjoyment. In fact, I personally think that the folks who wait until the run is over to play the whole season at once (and some people will) are going to miss out on a cool part of the experience, that being the conversation that goes on in the intervening weeks between episodes.
Just my opinion, mind you.
You're right, but on the other hand keep in mind that a strong fraction of German/Italian/Spanish/French players will be forced to experience the whole TOMI in a complete translated package AFTER the series has wrapped.
I guess an option to link the episodes together would be welcome. Nothing mandatory, just an available option.
It kind of seems like a whole lot of work for something that isn't so important, imho. I kind of like the episodic view over the game and Dave is right... It would take all that feeling away from us once we link them. I think that, beyond the common warm fuzzy feeling we get when we finish a chapter, we also will feel anxious to begin the next one (even when we will replay the game).
For me, it's important that I will play it, no matter in what "format" (episodes/linked).
I, for one, disagree - I think it kind of messes up the cliffhangers by removing the mental space between the episodes. (Sometimes you notice a similar effect when you watch a TV show designed to have commercial breaks after those breaks have been removed.) The season is designed serially, and should be played that way for maximum enjoyment. In fact, I personally think that the folks who wait until the run is over to play the whole season at once (and some people will) are going to miss out on a cool part of the experience, that being the conversation that goes on in the intervening weeks between episodes.
Just my opinion, mind you.
In defense of the people who want it (I couldn't care less, but I like this idea), one could also look at it as a book. Books are divided into chapters, (Think "episodes"), that can end suspensfully, and you can stop at the end if you want. If you want to fluidly keep going, you don't have to put down the book in order to get the next chapter.
(Yes, I also see the other side, where a book ends suspensfully and you have to wait for the sequel, but I still think its a good point.)
I agree with the launcher idea, or an in-game menu that lets you choose the episode/chapter you want to play.
I also think it would be nice to have it (the launcher or main executable) taking use of the Windows Vista/7 Game Explorer wich also displays age, developer, genre and other details to keep everything nice and organised.
Btw, I love this pre-order forum idea, great job Telltale!
I dont think that option would ruin the experience of the game, if we all think its only gonna be usefull when we REPLAY the game, not on our first look.
The first time we play, we will have to wait one month between episodes, and the cliffhangers will work, and our minds will explode and all that.
But after the game is over, and we want to replay it, no one is gonna wait willingly one month between episodes to keep that original feeling, it wouldnt make sense anyway cause we already know how those cliffhangers are resolved.
So to make a long story short (too late i know), the game experience will be the same.
(Unless someone decides to play the game once the whole season is complete, but those fellas dont have blood on their veins, they are undead monsters)
So jumping to a different topic that is along similar lines: How about keyboard support for dialog selection like the old monkey island games used to have? I admit, I'm lazy, and at times I've reached over and hit '1' only to remember that it didn't do anything so I'd have to move my mouse all the way over to the selection box and then painstakingly click on the selection... you understand the grueling task I'm speaking of here.
Seriously though, it would be a nice feature in the PC version of the Telltale Engine. Its been something I have wanted since the first Sam 'n Max. I know it wouldn't work well for Wii-Ware or XBLA. Admittedly I'm still slowly playing through Strong Bad and I haven't tried Wallace and Gromit so I'm not sure if you have perhaps come up with something but I thought I'd ask anyway.
I suppose given TTG at the end of the day has to focus on making a good game and making money, the launcher option would be a waste of resources.
I know I was one who wrote he supports back-to-back, but I think now the issue is just becoming a schism over nothing. Simply clicking escape, (or backspace, or space, or ctrl+alt+del or whatever it takes to get rid of credits) and clicking on another icon will take all of about 30 seconds. Sure it'd be nice to have the option, but maybe fans could do a custom launcher for that?
Comments
...this should be interesting...
I don't think anything's been decided, but this is a good idea.
Everyone's pretty cool, but we had this intern a while back that was a real pain in the ass.
Thank you! You've all been saying that it is a continuing story anyways. And with the chapters intertwined, it would be awesome to get the feeling you're playing this single epic non-stop 15-20hr adventuregame (like the previous ones)!
I would love that. Please do this.
Do you know how many hot chicks you guys would get if you did this? Millions. (Okay that was a lie, but it would be AMAZING.)
Ideally, you'd have the option to choose an individual episode, or to "Play all," like on a TV show DVD, except with intermediate credits removed
I loved the Perth day joke. wish that was a real holiday :P When you live in one of the most isolated cities in the world and it gets mentioned... anywhere, it makes your day
And it has to have audio commentary like the S&M games
I want to know if there is anything new about 'Murray' returning, I mean his backstory is really facinating :P
I think they like making jokes about Australia - such as the President being as crazy as a dingo in an Adelaide maternity ward
We've never done this before, so don't hold your breath. On both Sam & Max seasons' DVDs and on the Strong Bad DVD (and on the Wii and XBLA releases of Sam & Max) the episodes have remained separate, with a DVD-style launcher menu.
If we could bump the games up back to back in a way that wouldn't totally sabotage our QA and software build teams by effectively dumping a full length new untested game build on their plates (which that could be considered under many very real situations), it's definitely worth considering... but again, it's not something we've done before, so absolutely no promises. I'm just waving my arms around, here, saying "cool idea," without knowing the repercussions.
So again, don't hold your breath.
Thanks for considering it!
I love the way the fans are "influencing" the developement of this game!
+1
+1
+100000 :d
It feels kinda like say CIV4, if you have to load a new chapter whenever you get to a new age
Is it possible to trigger the selection of the next chapter from the main menu automatically rather than just combine all the chapters to make one large game? Like there would be a small load screen while the disc would run the next chapter?
Wouldn't this create a situation where if you were to play the game in it's "episodic" form, you would have no access to the areas later on (i.e. you're playing episode one and cannot go to locations in ep. 5), but if you played the "full" game, you would have full range of travel? Essentially, what I'm saying is that you could theoretically visit areas at the end of the game before you're supposed to unless something were added in to prevent/trigger this.
Actually, I guess this brings up a question of my own...will any future episodes visit areas from previous ones (ex. Episode 3 goes back to area X that you started episode 2 at), or will they be entirely new locations?
Also, was there any specific event you guys would reference that made all of this possible? The brass at LucasArts seemed set against adventure games for (what seemed like) an eternity. Was it the switch to Darrell Rodriguez that got this all rolling or was something brewing beforehand?
Ah, I think they just meant that it could be an idea to have the next chapter start straight after the previous chapter, instead of going to menu. I think the episodes themselves would be identical.
From what I've heard they are focusing on new locations for each new game, with no central hub location (kind of like CMI where part 1 is on the ship, part 2 is on plunder, part 3 is on blood, part 4 is ship combat, and part 5 is at the carnival, except the chapters will be more similar in length)
They haven't said for sure old locations -won't- be revisited, but mostly it looks like it'll be new stuff every time.
This would be great.
'Tis!
Um… I have S&B and W&G both for the PC, and the voices sound really compressed to me, and about 70+ other people at the topic: “Please increase the sound quality for voices” and there are many more topics about sound quality then just the one. Could you kindly explain how the voices sound remotely uncompressed?
So does this mean that in the DVD version, the audio will be even less compressed than in the download version?
I, for one, disagree - I think it kind of messes up the cliffhangers by removing the mental space between the episodes. (Sometimes you notice a similar effect when you watch a TV show designed to have commercial breaks after those breaks have been removed.) The season is designed serially, and should be played that way for maximum enjoyment. In fact, I personally think that the folks who wait until the run is over to play the whole season at once (and some people will) are going to miss out on a cool part of the experience, that being the conversation that goes on in the intervening weeks between episodes.
Just my opinion, mind you.
I never thought about it that way.. good point. In fact, you've just changed my mind on the whole subject.
Probably would work best on the dvd versions (I know that the autorun for the Sam & Max dvd gives what I sorta said above already).
I agree, completely, and part of that cool part is just waiting. The second season of Sam & Max did all this quite well, building up great cliffhangers and then leaving you with wonder and expectation for weeks, accompanying the player not for hours but for months.
However, once the season is over, it seems natural to just play one episode after the other (and in the right order: would you play What's New Beelzebub? before playing Chariots of the Dogs?): interrupting the progression of the story to swap from one chapter to the following makes less sense then, and the player should be free to set his own rythm. Many 19th century novels (Oliver Twist, The Portrait of a Lady, Pinocchio...) were published in monthly installments on magazines: looking at them closely we can still find all the cliffhangers and wrap-ups which were peculiar to the genre, but we mustn't stop reading whenever a chapter ends. If installments are episodes, a DVD becomes the complete book we buy now: it's inevitably different from the original product, but - when the serialized experience has ended - it can give it new life.
You could always include both options, if it's possible...
I think I just got served by my boss. This is why he is the creative director. Listen to him.
You're right, but on the other hand keep in mind that a strong fraction of German/Italian/Spanish/French players will be forced to experience the whole TOMI in a complete translated package AFTER the series has wrapped.
I guess an option to link the episodes together would be welcome. Nothing mandatory, just an available option.
For me, it's important that I will play it, no matter in what "format" (episodes/linked).
In defense of the people who want it (I couldn't care less, but I like this idea), one could also look at it as a book. Books are divided into chapters, (Think "episodes"), that can end suspensfully, and you can stop at the end if you want. If you want to fluidly keep going, you don't have to put down the book in order to get the next chapter.
(Yes, I also see the other side, where a book ends suspensfully and you have to wait for the sequel, but I still think its a good point.)
I also think it would be nice to have it (the launcher or main executable) taking use of the Windows Vista/7 Game Explorer wich also displays age, developer, genre and other details to keep everything nice and organised.
Btw, I love this pre-order forum idea, great job Telltale!
That's because EVIL is fast as lightning! Muahaha!
The first time we play, we will have to wait one month between episodes, and the cliffhangers will work, and our minds will explode and all that.
But after the game is over, and we want to replay it, no one is gonna wait willingly one month between episodes to keep that original feeling, it wouldnt make sense anyway cause we already know how those cliffhangers are resolved.
So to make a long story short (too late i know), the game experience will be the same.
(Unless someone decides to play the game once the whole season is complete, but those fellas dont have blood on their veins, they are undead monsters)
Seriously though, it would be a nice feature in the PC version of the Telltale Engine. Its been something I have wanted since the first Sam 'n Max. I know it wouldn't work well for Wii-Ware or XBLA. Admittedly I'm still slowly playing through Strong Bad and I haven't tried Wallace and Gromit so I'm not sure if you have perhaps come up with something but I thought I'd ask anyway.
I know I was one who wrote he supports back-to-back, but I think now the issue is just becoming a schism over nothing. Simply clicking escape, (or backspace, or space, or ctrl+alt+del or whatever it takes to get rid of credits) and clicking on another icon will take all of about 30 seconds. Sure it'd be nice to have the option, but maybe fans could do a custom launcher for that?