There is commentary for the JP episodes with the Deluxe, I believe.
I believe you've misread his question, which was more of a suggestion.
On the Sam and Max Seasons One and Two DVDs, we had the option to watch the cutscenes, with commentary as optional audio tracks. Since then, all we've had are commentary tracks over cutscenes with no way to just watch the cutscenes. I doubt this was intentional or the kind of decision you personally make, but we'd greatly appreciate if for future releases we had the option to watch things without the commentary if we just want a laugh instead of playing the full version.
If I may add my opinion here, I think MI2 is still the adventure game that's referred to the most when it comes to different difficulty settings, and the differences in that game are basically entire puzzle chains being simplified in the "easy" mode... like instead of going through a puzzle to get a certain object you need, in "easy" mode it's just lying around for you to pick up. Of course, you could just as well integrate the "easy" solution in a more coherent way through a conversation puzzle or something.
But to add to the topic in some way, I've gotta say I'd support the idea of straying off the monthly schedule towards, let's say, a bi-monthly release. Especially with the Telltale Tool getting more powerful (and I definitely support some R&D for the engine!), asset creation, animation and all the "chore" work require more time to match the high standards the engine is capable of right now. JP is a good example of the Tool's new quality standard, but it feels slightly rushed in certain areas: Animation "hiccups" or crude textures that were acceptable with the comic look of "Tales" or "Sam & Max" do feel awkward with the semi-realistic humans featured in "Jurassic Park". Quality needs time, and I don't think people would mind a longer wait for the next episode, if the quality gets so much better by that.
Also, with more projects in the pipeline side by side, a two-month gap can easily filled with the episode of another Telltale game
Regarding multi-language releases: I appreciate the effort, and JP was definitely a huge step up from BTTF (and I'm still extremely disappointed with the German version of that, but I guess you remember my mail about that ). Anyway, the localization for JP was very well done, almost bug free this time around, and the choice of voice actors was considerably better (although it was made a bit easier since there weren't any recurring characters from the movies, whose voice actors had to reprise their roles from back then). And I guess to add a question or two to the whole thing: Did you learn anything from the localization of BTTF that you tried to improve upon with JP? Are you planning to continue to release your games multi-language-wise in the future? (at least the "big ones", as "Puzzle Agent" obviously didn't get dubs in different languages)
We tried a more limited version of that with BTTF where the title screen allowed players to show the "goals" popup UI or not, but it probably didn't have quite the effect you were looking for if I'm reading into your question correctly.
The problem IMHO is that the puzzles were too straight, so the "goals" popup was just redundant of what you've already on your mind.
I've heard it suggested before that if the puzzle was say, to find an object hidden in a room that the "normal" setting would basically have a camera cut when the character enters the room that would show the basic area where the item is hidden, pointing the player in the right direction. If the player was using the "hard" setting, that same scene would instead just show the character enter the room and look around with no suggestion as to where to start looking. Is that kind of what you're thinking? I think it's an interesting idea so I wanted to probe a bit more
Absolutely. It's a start.
But I can add: in "hard mode" you can provide more hotspots even if they are not useful, just to bring more challenge (more objects to interact means more combination possibles) while in "normal mode" only the useful ones are displayed.
More on it: in "Hard mode" you've to do more passages to accomplish a task. IE: charachters won't talk to you unless you convince them (maybe with dialogue), while on "normal mode" the charachter is already "unlocked" to answer you.
If you build some kind of tool that make possible to provide some hotspot in "hard mode" and some other in "normal mode", most of the trick is done. Say, if in the game you need some scissors: in "normal mode" you will find them inside a drawer, but on "hard mode" the same drawer isn't an hotspot so you con't open it and you've to make the scissors through 2 knives and a pin (and those objects are still visible in "easy mode", but not available as hotspots).
With the same assets, just switching the available hotspots, you can change the difficulty, without having major changes on the game's structure.
I could go on, but I'm worried to derail the thread....
Tell me what you think of it!
And... OMG I'm talking to THAT Dennis Lenart! BTTF Ep.1 !!!! Congrats for the most profitable TT series ever!
Absolutely. It's a start.
But I can add: in "hard mode" you can provide more hotspots even if they are not useful, just to bring more challenge (more objects to interact means more combination possibles) while in "normal mode" only the useful ones are displayed.
While the idea would work, the problem would be that the easy mode users would be missing out on the extra dialog which would be a pity since the writing is always brilliant.
Getting back to the topic, are there any plans for more games in the style of poker night at the inventory? I thought that game was a great way to introduce new gamers to the TT writing without having to invest in a whole season fist.
Why did you want clips of Telltale being funny? Is there a franchise you're trying to get that needs funny clips for your resume? If so, can you say what it is? If you can, what is it? Also, I assume there isn't going to be SBCG4AP 2 anytime soon, but do you know what's been keeping Mike and Matt from working on homestarrunner.com?
While the idea would work, the problem would be that the easy mode users would be missing out on the extra dialog which would be a pity since the writing is always brilliant.
Yeah, but it gives the "hard mode" gamers some brilliant dialogue to compensate their extra work! :P
First of all I would like to thank you for all the great games Telltale has provided us with since 2004 and for largely contributing to the ‘revival’ of a genre that was often considered to be ‘dead’. During the previous years, licenses such as Puzzle Agent, Hector, Back to the Future, and now Jurassic Park have introduced to the gaming community new ways of how to combine a well written story with innovative gameplay elements in order to create cinematic, story-based games, in other words adventure games. Those games have certainly helped the adventure genre to evolve, grow larger and move to different paths, beyond its ‘traditional’ and maybe conservative point and click character.
However, during this process a very crucial, if not neuralgic, element of adventure games seems to grow weaker: the puzzles. Of course the puzzles of the afore-mentioned titles are cleverly designed, inspired, well tied to the story. But unfortunately they are so easy, that they don’t really stand for a challenge, even for an average player with no experience in puzzle solving. I am well aware that your goal is to keep the flow of the story and action running, without the puzzles acting as time-stoppers. I just wonder if instead of oversimplifying their solution, it would be better to invest on creating challengeable and memorable ways of solving them, that would satisfy both the experienced and the novice (with the support of the hint system) players.
And two game proposals:
- A new Indiana Jones adventure game would be great
- A collaboration with Tim Schafer on creating a Full Throttle game!
As far as testing what I said earlier in the thread about being more deliberate and focused should make it so our test team isn’t stretched thin and can take more time on things like PC compatibility which is a very difficult thing. Before Wallace and Gromit we were just a PC company and the rendering tech was very lightweight and compatible
The TT engine has had new components added throughout the life of TTG. The renderer on JP is obviously much more complex then what we had on previous projects. The tricky thing is building the assets to exploit the technology in a way that doesn’t gag a lower end system. The tool contains all of our production process, cross platform compatibility and digital publishing technology so its an important part of everything. I think some time with the rendering technology is going to bring great results.
Easy verse hard is something we are always trying to solve. Its really frustrating for us to have someone check out our content and think it looks great, then when they try to play they get stuck on the first puzzle and stop. I have always pushed for more dynamic difficulty that recognizes frustration (clicking on the same thing over and over) and addresses it but that gets super complicated superfast. We will be continuing to work on this to figure out the right balance. It seems like hints on demand is the most straightforward approach
Translations is Spanish and Italian. We have talked about ways to enable translations of the game by users in any language including Pig Latin or Esparanto. The web side of the business will be getting a major facelift and these will be the types of things we expect to support
As far as reviews, we were working on launching the PC to the public until Wednedsay and PSN can’t be out until the game is on the service and we had review codes out by Thursday.
We have talked about it what characters would you like to see?
Nelson Teathers, Strong Sad, Homestar, Doc Brown, Strong Mad, Marty Mcfly, Wallace, Coach Z, Guybrush Treepwood. Obviously not all of them, but those are some suggestions. (My number one choice would go to Doc Brown.)
I would love to see another 'At The Inventory', but please not another Poker game. I love Poker, but the fun of the concept is four people from various universes all having fun at a club-bar. Murder was one of the best ones, but I'd also think doing something similar to the classic 'Mafia' game would make fun if everyone had different dialogue for different roles. That's far more important to me than the parties involved; that the actual game is enjoyable and conveys an entertaining atmosphere.
Also; multiplayer. I don't know how, I don't know why, but any future At the Inventory title should, if keeping with the 'casual party' theme, have multiplayer.
While the idea would work, the problem would be that the easy mode users would be missing out on the extra dialog which would be a pity since the writing is always brilliant.
I would think that after a player finished with the "easy" mode, then they would understand the principles of adventure gaming well enough to attempt the "hard" mode. The extra dialogue would act as an incentive.
Not trying to hijack Dan's thread here because he is the man when it comes to answers, but I just wanted to chime in and get a bit of clarification regarding one of your questions. Do you mean that basically at the beginning of the series, the player would get an option (in the title screen, say) that would basically say "normal - I'm just here for some fun" or "hard - I'm an experienced adventure gamer" and then depending on the player's choice they would get the same game, just with some of the hand holding bits missing (hints would still be available on both settings if needed though of course). We tried a more limited version of that with BTTF where the title screen allowed players to show the "goals" popup UI or not, but it probably didn't have quite the effect you were looking for if I'm reading into your question correctly.
I've heard it suggested before that if the puzzle was say, to find an object hidden in a room that the "normal" setting would basically have a camera cut when the character enters the room that would show the basic area where the item is hidden, pointing the player in the right direction. If the player was using the "hard" setting, that same scene would instead just show the character enter the room and look around with no suggestion as to where to start looking. Is that kind of what you're thinking? I think it's an interesting idea so I wanted to probe a bit more
I'd like to take this opportunity to present a suggestion that's been brewing in my mind since I played Double Fine's Stacking.
In that game, there are multiple ways to solve each puzzle.You're allowed to progress once you've solved a puzzle one way, but there's always some contrivance to allow the puzzle to remain available, so that you can solve the puzzle again and again until you've found each of the possible solutions. The game presents this all rather transparently, with a UI overlay in the area of the puzzle showing you how many of how many solutions you've found. Most puzzles have around 3 solutions, one of which is fairly straightforward, and some of which are pretty devious or complex. This lets players who just want to explore the story to cruise through with the easiest solutions, and for people looking for a challenge to explore and tax their mind.
Now, giving every puzzle 3 solutions may seem like 3 times the work, but from the perspective of somebody trying to find all solutions to one puzzle before moving on to the next one, it strongly resembles the "Bring me three things" gates that are very common in Telltale's games. So in a lot of cases, you guys are already doing that much work, so if you wanted to add an Easy option, you could make it so a player on Easy mode would only have to bring one of the things to the gate. So, say in Situation: Comedy on Easy mode, you'd only have to bring Myra a contract OR a scandal OR a clip, and then she'd let you in. The nice thing about that is that it lets people explore and find the first solution that seems easy to them, rather than eliminating options and restricting them to what the developer thought would be easier. The downside, I suppose, is that the player on Easy would encounter a lot more potential red herrings, but as long as they keep thinking "what can I use to open this door" rather than "what do I need this wrench for" I think it would be okay.
It's just a thought. It just seemed to me like if Stacking had a Hard mode that forced players to find every solution to each puzzle, it'd feel a lot like an old-school Telltale game, and in my mind a Telltale game Easy mode that's structured more like Stacking seems like it would work pretty well too.
Hey, Dan, it's me again, the creator of Sam and Max Abridged. Yeah, I know, with all the incidents involving the jeep and Metacritic, I just couldn't resist throwing in my two cents! ;P
Anyway, long story short, 2012... 25th anniversary of Sam and Max, right? Does Telltale have any plans to give our beloved canine shamus and his lagomorph companion a big anniversary blowout with something that Sam and Max fans have been asking for - like, say, the uncanceling of a certain game which never should have been canceled in the first place, or at least a rerelease of Sam and Max Hit The Road?
In that game, there are multiple ways to solve each puzzle.You're allowed to progress once you've solved a puzzle one way, but there's always some contrivance to allow the puzzle to remain available, so that you can solve the puzzle again and again until you've found each of the possible solutions.
I like this. One of the fun things to do in games is to see all the possible things that can happen. The LucasArts style where the characters don't die for making wrong choices made this even easier (you used to have to Save, try something, die, Restore, try something else), though it kind of gets you in the habit of choosing deliberately wrong things first so you don't solve the puzzle too fast and miss out on the other possibilities.
Count me as another vote for the option for harder puzzles. For an easy/hard switch, consider character interactions where they'll give you an item (or something else you need) fairly easily in "easy" mode, but you have to jump through hoops or find something for them first in "hard" mode.
And of course, I'd really like to see (and would buy) an official Sam & Max Season 3 Soundtrack.
I love Telltale! It's great that someone is still doing point and click graphic adventure games. My favorite Telltale game is Back to the Future. That said, will Back to the Future the Game continue? I can picture it easily going on for season after season!
I have some other questions if you'd be willing to answer them.
We aren't currently working on SBCG4AP2 as fun as that would be. I am not sure whats up with Matt and Mike its been a while since we chatted. I though I saw Matt in the Wa Wa Wubzy credits but I am not sure that was him
Thanks for the kind words of support. I think the integration of puzzles into the game where and how is something we will be talking about alot educated by the JP experience. Its all a great balancing act.
Glad you like Back to the Future. We have definitely discussed it and I heard Chris Lloyd mentioned it at an event so that was exciting for us. We are doing a lot of planning at this point but BTTF would be fun. Which is you favorite thing about the game that you would like to see more of?
So I am signing out tonight but I will keep an eye on this thread if you there are more questions
I'm a huge fan of Telltale and would really love to work for you guys someday. Unfortunately, I haven't got any industry experience yet, as I'm still working on finishing up my B.S. in computer science. Any advice for steps I could take so that I might be in a position to work for you guys someday?
And thanks for taking the time to post in this thread!
I'm a huge fan of Telltale and would really love to work for you guys someday. Unfortunately, I haven't got any industry experience yet, as I'm still working on finishing up my B.S. in computer science. Any advice for steps I could take so that I might be in a position to work for you guys someday?
And thanks for taking the time to post in this thread!
^^^^^
I was just about to post this same exact question, haha. I'm also working towards a B.S. in computer science(with a minor in theater) and was wondering on how to prepare for hopefully working for you guys.
Also, I was wondering how you hire voice actors, as I also aspire to voice act in a video game some day, and seeing as Telltale games make my favorite games, it would be a dream role to be in a telltale game.
Thanks for answering all these questions, you're awesome!
I have a question regarding your company's future. Something I have noticed is that Telltale strongly caters the gameplay around the franchise, not the franchise around the gameplay. The last three game series you have released: The Devil's Playhouse, Back to the Future and Jurassic Park, have all been criticized by adventure game veterans as being too easy. This has led many to believe that this is a direction Telltale seeks to exclusively go down. While I have been vocally critical of Back to the Future for it's lack of difficulty I have recently discovered it is a good gateway adventure game for those who are inexperienced in the genre. I had a friend who had never played an adventure game from beginning to end before and she, a big fan of the movies, thoroughly enjoyed BttF. BttF and JP are both based off popular film franchises however and can expect a high fanbase of people not experienced to the genre. However, when you made ToMI and the older Sam & Max seasons the puzzles were notably more challenging and that's what the people wanted. Do you feel, then, that it is important to ramp up the difficulty for an established series like King's Quest, because that's what the fans will be expecting, or is it more important that all the games you publish from now on be totally accessible to people who have never played adventure games before?
I suppose in a nutshell my question is this: are the puzzles in BttF and Jurassic Park easier than what you have done in the past because they are new game franchises with lots of casual fans or because that's the direction you want to take all your games in from now on? This issue seems to be the biggest divider in the fan community today.
But to add to the topic in some way, I've gotta say I'd support the idea of straying off the monthly schedule towards, let's say, a bi-monthly release. Especially with the Telltale Tool getting more powerful (and I definitely support some R&D for the engine!), asset creation, animation and all the "chore" work require more time to match the high standards the engine is capable of right now. JP is a good example of the Tool's new quality standard, but it feels slightly rushed in certain areas: Animation "hiccups" or crude textures that were acceptable with the comic look of "Tales" or "Sam & Max" do feel awkward with the semi-realistic humans featured in "Jurassic Park". Quality needs time, and I don't think people would mind a longer wait for the next episode, if the quality gets so much better by that.
Also, with more projects in the pipeline side by side, a two-month gap can easily filled with the episode of another Telltale game
This I fully agree with. It mirrors my thoughts towards the issue, especially the proposition of a bi-monthly release format (which I've discussed at length in the past).
I'm just wondering, Dan, if such a schedule would actually be a possibility. Because, from our perspective as players/consumers, we can see a whole lot of potential benefits from such a schedule. Firstly, you don't have to abandon the regular episodic format (which has proved so enjoyable for players, and so advantageous for developers such as yourselves). Also, a 2-month wait surely won't be too grueling for most of your customers, I wouldn't imagine. And, along with this, it would surely give the team much more opportunity to truly make the episodes all that they can be, and devote a little more time to improving and fully fleshing them out; would it not allow the developers to put a little more thought and care into creating, crafting and bringing all of the assets together?
So my main questions, all in all, are: would such a schedule be possible for Telltale in the future? And would it actually be more beneficial for Telltale, or are these potential benefits merely unrealistic, wishful thinking on our part?
Hello! I'm usually a lurker here, and I haven't made a post in a long time, but when I saw this thread, I felt it would be a good place to post some of my thoughts about Telltale. There are two things I want to mention, one is a suggestion to improve the quality of Telltale's games, one is a question about Telltale's future.
First, I know this is something that has been addressed in a few other posts in this thread, but I feel that I should address the topic of the difficulty of Telltale's games. I'll start by saying that the difficulty of all of Telltale's games from the first Sam & Max season the the second episode of The Devil's Playhouse was practically perfect. All of the puzzles were challenging but not frustrating. However, I found that the latter 3 episodes of the Devil's Playhouse were too easy, though I still overall enjoyed it. However, I have not bought either Back to the Future or Jurassic Park due to difficulty concerns. Pretty much everyone has said that those two games are even easier than The Devil's Playhouse. In fact, according to the poll shown in the link below, 3 out of 4 people find that BTTF was too easy. To get to the point, I feel that the difficulty of the puzzles need to be increased to the difficulty of Telltale's older games. I feel that if the difficulty was increased, it would bring back old fans who may not have bought Telltale's recent products due to difficulty concerns (like me) and bring in new fans who like the IP that Telltale is creating. These fans overall do not mind the difficulty of the game, they are just happy that you are are reviving the IP they are a fan of and do not care about the gameplay. Even if there are fans that like the easier difficulty more, there are some possible solutions to please both sides. While difficulty settings has already been mentioned as a possible solution, another solution is to just have the game played as a movie that can be watched. At the beginning of the game, the player could have the option of watching the game as a movie, and not actually play the game. This would be a totally optional, of course, but it would please the casual gamers, while the hardcore gamers can play the game normally, which would have difficulty of Telltale's older games. To sum it up, I feel that the difficulty of Telltale's games should be increased, as it would please both casual & hardcore gamers, and make the community a happier place. I mean, geez, Telltale fandom is at each other's throats more than Doctor Who fandom, and that's saying something! http://www.telltalegames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25996
Second, do you have plans to announce anymore games soon? I know that you guys have a lot on your plate already, so it wouldn't surprise me if you didn't, but I'm always curious on what Telltale's planning.
First and foremost, I am a fan of Telltale and respect the work of all the creative individuals under your roof. Some games are great, others not so. However, I have bought almost every single game in your catalogue and I foresee myself continuing to do so in the near future.
I was going to ask a question regarding new IPs (not based on existing franchises) but you've already covered that earlier in this thread. Allow me then to ask a few questions about the Telltale Tool and the Pilot Program.
The Telltale Tool appears to me to be a very flexible adventure game engine, capable of classic 2D point-and-click adventure games (Nelson Tethers and Hector), 3D point-and-click adventure games (Sam & Max, Tales of Monkey Island) and more cinematic action oriented games (Jurassic Park). Are there any plans to license the engine or at least distribute a freeware, cut-down version so fans and others interested in building adventure games are able to utilise the engine and learn the ins-and-outs?
This of course ties into my next question about the Pilot Program. I've played Puzzle Agent and I've played Poker Night at the Inventory. I enjoy both games and at one point in time I preferred them over Sam & Max Season 3. I enjoy them for the fact that they were new and experimental; a fresh approach from Telltale. We've also seen Telltale acting as a publisher to Straandloper for the Hector series. If Telltale has considered licensing the Telltale Tool to third parties (or even considering distributing a free-to-use version), are there any plans to utilise the Pilot Program as a means to support and publish third party titles utilising the engine?
I know it is all pie-in-the-sky, wishful thinking. One can dream though.
Once again, thank you for your time in answering these questions in this thread. It has definitely been one hell of a week and I hope that Telltale as a whole can overcome the situations.
If any other Telltale employee is reading this, I give my thanks to your skills, talent and creativity in creating these games, good and bad, exciting and disappointing. Keep up the good work and fight the good fight.
I'm sure many of the fans are curious about your upcoming King's Quest project. When can we expect to hear something about it?
Also, are you checking other classic adventure titles, especially ones whose original creators are still interested to work on, such as Tex Murphy or Quest for Glory?
Hi Lattsam
Can't talk about anything right now but what do you think Sam and Max would want us to do for their 25th.
Unfortunately I dont see us doing anything with the stuff that belongs to LA
A Special Edition of all sixteen episodes with the original voice actors, Bill Farmer and Nick Jameson, reprising their roles as Sam and Max. Of course, that's what I've always asked for, but somehow never gotten. You can still sell versions that have the new blood... it's just that the old guard would like a chance, even in today's marketplace. Remember, there are Sam and Max fans other than just the casuals!
I know that you haven't gotten both of them before because of your "money issue", but hopefully that's resolved and you can finally do that now. You do not have to do all the episodes at once if you feel that's too much money... just redub season 1 and wait a while... and if for some reason it becomes popular, do season 2... and if that becomes popular, season 3! Besides, I've spoken with both of them before, and they would be willing to voice their characters once again if given the opportunity.
It's wishful thinking, I know, but I am not letting go of my dream of a retro revival!
A Special Edition of all sixteen episodes with the original voice actors, Bill Farmer and Nick Jameson, reprising their roles as Sam and Max. Of course, that's what I've always asked for, but somehow never gotten. You can still sell versions that have the new blood... it's just that the old guard would like a chance, even in today's marketplace. Remember, there are Sam and Max fans other than just the casuals!
I know that you haven't gotten both of them before because of your "money issue", but hopefully that's resolved and you can finally do that now. You do not have to do all the episodes at once if you feel that's too much money... just redub season 1 and wait a while... and if for some reason it becomes popular, do season 2... and if that becomes popular, season 3! Besides, I've spoken with both of them before, and they would be willing to voice their characters once again if given the opportunity.
It's wishful thinking, I know, but I am not letting go of my dream of a retro revival!
I would be willing to re-buy the games if Bill Farmer & Nick Jameson came onboard. They always had such strong personalities. Not that the new ones don't, but there's SO many cartoon franchises and I feel Sam&Max isn't so much a cartoon franchise as a vessel for intelligent sarcasm. Same reason I fell in love with the comics, with hit the road and despite the addition of "The Geek" and differing voices, even the show, in part.
Don't get me wrong, S&M have had great 3 seasons so far, with 3 being the best in my honest opinion. It just used to be a harder PG-13.
Dan, could you try to buy the source of the unfinished Sam&Max Lucasarts sequel?
I heard it was like 70 percent finished...plus the graphics still hold up, if you ask me. (not that I particularly care about tech..)
A Special Edition of all sixteen episodes with the original voice actors, Bill Farmer and Nick Jameson, reprising their roles as Sam and Max. Of course, that's what I've always asked for, but somehow never gotten. You can still sell versions that have the new blood... it's just that the old guard would like a chance, even in today's marketplace. Remember, there are Sam and Max fans other than just the casuals!
Implicit here is that older, more veteran adventure game players care about the original voice actors while casuals don't. But that's too general. I remember playing the original Sam and Max as a kid, and going back to it now, the voice actors are a bit too heavy on the accents.
Hah, when I first played Hit the Road it didn't come with any fancy voice acting, so this fuss has always been weird to me. (But I'll keep it at that since I don't want to stir up this debate again.)
Hey Dan, when do you think you will start making Sam and Max games again? I'm getting tired of these big franchise games that are destroying your company,
Thanks for answering these questions, interesting stuff. I'm enjoying Jurassic Park so far (I've only had time to play episode 1 and part of episode 2 so far, I've been pretty busy, but I can't wait to check it out a bit more very soon). I love how cinematic these games have become. One of my favorite things about playing Telltale games is seeing the technological advantages from game to game. Can't wait to see more of Walking Dead and the other coming projects!
Some questions:
1) I agree with the guys who suggested doing something for Sam & Max's anniversary. Obviously a new game would be the best thing ever. Maybe something really special, like revisiting the highlights of their freelance police career over the years. Just one epic story were elements from the Telltale episodes, the comics, the cartoon series and Hit the Road (although those last two might be difficult) come together. Or something. You guys are better at thinking up stuff like this than me anyway.
Some other ideas about what I would like to see in a Sam & Max game: Season 3 was the ultimate 'Sam & Max in New York'-experience (not to mention my favorite Telltale game ever), so perhaps it would be cool to go to a completely different set of locations for a fourth season. Like another road trip through America or the entire world, or space. Other things that I would kill for: Mack Salmon and Fizzball. Yeah, just forget about all the other things I mentioned, Mack Salmon and Fizzball should be top priority. And maybe force Steve Purcell to start working on another comic.
2) Would you ever consider making a game in an entirely different genre (while obviously still focusing on story and character). I know Jurassic Park is already pretty different, and I would love to see what a Telltale platformer/rts/whatever would look like.
3) I know you probably can't answer this one, but would you ever consider doing a Doctor Who, Discworld or Muppets-game? Those are probably the three franchises that I would be most excited about. Oh, and Indiana Jones.
4) You mentioned a website redesign. Can you talk a bit about what we could expect?
5) Is Law & Order still getting released this year, and is it still based on the LA-version of the television show?
I'll stop here, because those are probably too much questions already. Thanks for taking the time, and please keep on making awesome games.
Comments
There is commentary for the JP episodes with the Deluxe, I believe.
I believe you've misread his question, which was more of a suggestion.
On the Sam and Max Seasons One and Two DVDs, we had the option to watch the cutscenes, with commentary as optional audio tracks. Since then, all we've had are commentary tracks over cutscenes with no way to just watch the cutscenes. I doubt this was intentional or the kind of decision you personally make, but we'd greatly appreciate if for future releases we had the option to watch things without the commentary if we just want a laugh instead of playing the full version.
But to add to the topic in some way, I've gotta say I'd support the idea of straying off the monthly schedule towards, let's say, a bi-monthly release. Especially with the Telltale Tool getting more powerful (and I definitely support some R&D for the engine!), asset creation, animation and all the "chore" work require more time to match the high standards the engine is capable of right now. JP is a good example of the Tool's new quality standard, but it feels slightly rushed in certain areas: Animation "hiccups" or crude textures that were acceptable with the comic look of "Tales" or "Sam & Max" do feel awkward with the semi-realistic humans featured in "Jurassic Park". Quality needs time, and I don't think people would mind a longer wait for the next episode, if the quality gets so much better by that.
Also, with more projects in the pipeline side by side, a two-month gap can easily filled with the episode of another Telltale game
Regarding multi-language releases: I appreciate the effort, and JP was definitely a huge step up from BTTF (and I'm still extremely disappointed with the German version of that, but I guess you remember my mail about that
The problem IMHO is that the puzzles were too straight, so the "goals" popup was just redundant of what you've already on your mind.
Absolutely. It's a start.
But I can add: in "hard mode" you can provide more hotspots even if they are not useful, just to bring more challenge (more objects to interact means more combination possibles) while in "normal mode" only the useful ones are displayed.
More on it: in "Hard mode" you've to do more passages to accomplish a task. IE: charachters won't talk to you unless you convince them (maybe with dialogue), while on "normal mode" the charachter is already "unlocked" to answer you.
If you build some kind of tool that make possible to provide some hotspot in "hard mode" and some other in "normal mode", most of the trick is done. Say, if in the game you need some scissors: in "normal mode" you will find them inside a drawer, but on "hard mode" the same drawer isn't an hotspot so you con't open it and you've to make the scissors through 2 knives and a pin (and those objects are still visible in "easy mode", but not available as hotspots).
With the same assets, just switching the available hotspots, you can change the difficulty, without having major changes on the game's structure.
I could go on, but I'm worried to derail the thread....
Tell me what you think of it!
And... OMG I'm talking to THAT Dennis Lenart! BTTF Ep.1 !!!! Congrats for the most profitable TT series ever!
Getting back to the topic, are there any plans for more games in the style of poker night at the inventory? I thought that game was a great way to introduce new gamers to the TT writing without having to invest in a whole season fist.
Yeah, but it gives the "hard mode" gamers some brilliant dialogue to compensate their extra work! :P
First of all I would like to thank you for all the great games Telltale has provided us with since 2004 and for largely contributing to the ‘revival’ of a genre that was often considered to be ‘dead’. During the previous years, licenses such as Puzzle Agent, Hector, Back to the Future, and now Jurassic Park have introduced to the gaming community new ways of how to combine a well written story with innovative gameplay elements in order to create cinematic, story-based games, in other words adventure games. Those games have certainly helped the adventure genre to evolve, grow larger and move to different paths, beyond its ‘traditional’ and maybe conservative point and click character.
However, during this process a very crucial, if not neuralgic, element of adventure games seems to grow weaker: the puzzles. Of course the puzzles of the afore-mentioned titles are cleverly designed, inspired, well tied to the story. But unfortunately they are so easy, that they don’t really stand for a challenge, even for an average player with no experience in puzzle solving. I am well aware that your goal is to keep the flow of the story and action running, without the puzzles acting as time-stoppers. I just wonder if instead of oversimplifying their solution, it would be better to invest on creating challengeable and memorable ways of solving them, that would satisfy both the experienced and the novice (with the support of the hint system) players.
And two game proposals:
- A new Indiana Jones adventure game would be great
- A collaboration with Tim Schafer on creating a Full Throttle game!
Thank you,
Tasos
Good Questions
As far as testing what I said earlier in the thread about being more deliberate and focused should make it so our test team isn’t stretched thin and can take more time on things like PC compatibility which is a very difficult thing. Before Wallace and Gromit we were just a PC company and the rendering tech was very lightweight and compatible
The TT engine has had new components added throughout the life of TTG. The renderer on JP is obviously much more complex then what we had on previous projects. The tricky thing is building the assets to exploit the technology in a way that doesn’t gag a lower end system. The tool contains all of our production process, cross platform compatibility and digital publishing technology so its an important part of everything. I think some time with the rendering technology is going to bring great results.
Easy verse hard is something we are always trying to solve. Its really frustrating for us to have someone check out our content and think it looks great, then when they try to play they get stuck on the first puzzle and stop. I have always pushed for more dynamic difficulty that recognizes frustration (clicking on the same thing over and over) and addresses it but that gets super complicated superfast. We will be continuing to work on this to figure out the right balance. It seems like hints on demand is the most straightforward approach
Translations is Spanish and Italian. We have talked about ways to enable translations of the game by users in any language including Pig Latin or Esparanto. The web side of the business will be getting a major facelift and these will be the types of things we expect to support
As far as reviews, we were working on launching the PC to the public until Wednedsay and PSN can’t be out until the game is on the service and we had review codes out by Thursday.
Nelson Teathers, Strong Sad, Homestar, Doc Brown, Strong Mad, Marty Mcfly, Wallace, Coach Z, Guybrush Treepwood. Obviously not all of them, but those are some suggestions. (My number one choice would go to Doc Brown.)
Also; multiplayer. I don't know how, I don't know why, but any future At the Inventory title should, if keeping with the 'casual party' theme, have multiplayer.
I would think that after a player finished with the "easy" mode, then they would understand the principles of adventure gaming well enough to attempt the "hard" mode. The extra dialogue would act as an incentive.
I'd like to take this opportunity to present a suggestion that's been brewing in my mind since I played Double Fine's Stacking.
In that game, there are multiple ways to solve each puzzle.You're allowed to progress once you've solved a puzzle one way, but there's always some contrivance to allow the puzzle to remain available, so that you can solve the puzzle again and again until you've found each of the possible solutions. The game presents this all rather transparently, with a UI overlay in the area of the puzzle showing you how many of how many solutions you've found. Most puzzles have around 3 solutions, one of which is fairly straightforward, and some of which are pretty devious or complex. This lets players who just want to explore the story to cruise through with the easiest solutions, and for people looking for a challenge to explore and tax their mind.
Now, giving every puzzle 3 solutions may seem like 3 times the work, but from the perspective of somebody trying to find all solutions to one puzzle before moving on to the next one, it strongly resembles the "Bring me three things" gates that are very common in Telltale's games. So in a lot of cases, you guys are already doing that much work, so if you wanted to add an Easy option, you could make it so a player on Easy mode would only have to bring one of the things to the gate. So, say in Situation: Comedy on Easy mode, you'd only have to bring Myra a contract OR a scandal OR a clip, and then she'd let you in. The nice thing about that is that it lets people explore and find the first solution that seems easy to them, rather than eliminating options and restricting them to what the developer thought would be easier. The downside, I suppose, is that the player on Easy would encounter a lot more potential red herrings, but as long as they keep thinking "what can I use to open this door" rather than "what do I need this wrench for" I think it would be okay.
It's just a thought. It just seemed to me like if Stacking had a Hard mode that forced players to find every solution to each puzzle, it'd feel a lot like an old-school Telltale game, and in my mind a Telltale game Easy mode that's structured more like Stacking seems like it would work pretty well too.
Anyway, long story short, 2012... 25th anniversary of Sam and Max, right? Does Telltale have any plans to give our beloved canine shamus and his lagomorph companion a big anniversary blowout with something that Sam and Max fans have been asking for - like, say, the uncanceling of a certain game which never should have been canceled in the first place, or at least a rerelease of Sam and Max Hit The Road?
Please say yes!
I like this. One of the fun things to do in games is to see all the possible things that can happen. The LucasArts style where the characters don't die for making wrong choices made this even easier (you used to have to Save, try something, die, Restore, try something else), though it kind of gets you in the habit of choosing deliberately wrong things first so you don't solve the puzzle too fast and miss out on the other possibilities.
Count me as another vote for the option for harder puzzles. For an easy/hard switch, consider character interactions where they'll give you an item (or something else you need) fairly easily in "easy" mode, but you have to jump through hoops or find something for them first in "hard" mode.
And of course, I'd really like to see (and would buy) an official Sam & Max Season 3 Soundtrack.
I have some other questions if you'd be willing to answer them.
We aren't currently working on SBCG4AP2 as fun as that would be. I am not sure whats up with Matt and Mike its been a while since we chatted. I though I saw Matt in the Wa Wa Wubzy credits but I am not sure that was him
Can't talk about anything right now but what do you think Sam and Max would want us to do for their 25th.
Unfortunately I dont see us doing anything with the stuff that belongs to LA
I'd say they'd probably want you to carve their names into some criminal's spleen, but that's just my opinion.
Thanks for the kind words of support. I think the integration of puzzles into the game where and how is something we will be talking about alot educated by the JP experience. Its all a great balancing act.
Glad you like Back to the Future. We have definitely discussed it and I heard Chris Lloyd mentioned it at an event so that was exciting for us. We are doing a lot of planning at this point but BTTF would be fun. Which is you favorite thing about the game that you would like to see more of?
So I am signing out tonight but I will keep an eye on this thread if you there are more questions
Dan
I'm a huge fan of Telltale and would really love to work for you guys someday. Unfortunately, I haven't got any industry experience yet, as I'm still working on finishing up my B.S. in computer science. Any advice for steps I could take so that I might be in a position to work for you guys someday?
And thanks for taking the time to post in this thread!
^^^^^
I was just about to post this same exact question, haha. I'm also working towards a B.S. in computer science(with a minor in theater) and was wondering on how to prepare for hopefully working for you guys.
Also, I was wondering how you hire voice actors, as I also aspire to voice act in a video game some day, and seeing as Telltale games make my favorite games, it would be a dream role to be in a telltale game.
Thanks for answering all these questions, you're awesome!
I suppose in a nutshell my question is this: are the puzzles in BttF and Jurassic Park easier than what you have done in the past because they are new game franchises with lots of casual fans or because that's the direction you want to take all your games in from now on? This issue seems to be the biggest divider in the fan community today.
This I fully agree with. It mirrors my thoughts towards the issue, especially the proposition of a bi-monthly release format (which I've discussed at length in the past).
I'm just wondering, Dan, if such a schedule would actually be a possibility. Because, from our perspective as players/consumers, we can see a whole lot of potential benefits from such a schedule. Firstly, you don't have to abandon the regular episodic format (which has proved so enjoyable for players, and so advantageous for developers such as yourselves). Also, a 2-month wait surely won't be too grueling for most of your customers, I wouldn't imagine. And, along with this, it would surely give the team much more opportunity to truly make the episodes all that they can be, and devote a little more time to improving and fully fleshing them out; would it not allow the developers to put a little more thought and care into creating, crafting and bringing all of the assets together?
So my main questions, all in all, are: would such a schedule be possible for Telltale in the future? And would it actually be more beneficial for Telltale, or are these potential benefits merely unrealistic, wishful thinking on our part?
First, I know this is something that has been addressed in a few other posts in this thread, but I feel that I should address the topic of the difficulty of Telltale's games. I'll start by saying that the difficulty of all of Telltale's games from the first Sam & Max season the the second episode of The Devil's Playhouse was practically perfect. All of the puzzles were challenging but not frustrating. However, I found that the latter 3 episodes of the Devil's Playhouse were too easy, though I still overall enjoyed it. However, I have not bought either Back to the Future or Jurassic Park due to difficulty concerns. Pretty much everyone has said that those two games are even easier than The Devil's Playhouse. In fact, according to the poll shown in the link below, 3 out of 4 people find that BTTF was too easy. To get to the point, I feel that the difficulty of the puzzles need to be increased to the difficulty of Telltale's older games. I feel that if the difficulty was increased, it would bring back old fans who may not have bought Telltale's recent products due to difficulty concerns (like me) and bring in new fans who like the IP that Telltale is creating. These fans overall do not mind the difficulty of the game, they are just happy that you are are reviving the IP they are a fan of and do not care about the gameplay. Even if there are fans that like the easier difficulty more, there are some possible solutions to please both sides. While difficulty settings has already been mentioned as a possible solution, another solution is to just have the game played as a movie that can be watched. At the beginning of the game, the player could have the option of watching the game as a movie, and not actually play the game. This would be a totally optional, of course, but it would please the casual gamers, while the hardcore gamers can play the game normally, which would have difficulty of Telltale's older games. To sum it up, I feel that the difficulty of Telltale's games should be increased, as it would please both casual & hardcore gamers, and make the community a happier place. I mean, geez, Telltale fandom is at each other's throats more than Doctor Who fandom, and that's saying something!
Second, do you have plans to announce anymore games soon? I know that you guys have a lot on your plate already, so it wouldn't surprise me if you didn't, but I'm always curious on what Telltale's planning.
First and foremost, I am a fan of Telltale and respect the work of all the creative individuals under your roof. Some games are great, others not so. However, I have bought almost every single game in your catalogue and I foresee myself continuing to do so in the near future.
I was going to ask a question regarding new IPs (not based on existing franchises) but you've already covered that earlier in this thread. Allow me then to ask a few questions about the Telltale Tool and the Pilot Program.
The Telltale Tool appears to me to be a very flexible adventure game engine, capable of classic 2D point-and-click adventure games (Nelson Tethers and Hector), 3D point-and-click adventure games (Sam & Max, Tales of Monkey Island) and more cinematic action oriented games (Jurassic Park). Are there any plans to license the engine or at least distribute a freeware, cut-down version so fans and others interested in building adventure games are able to utilise the engine and learn the ins-and-outs?
This of course ties into my next question about the Pilot Program. I've played Puzzle Agent and I've played Poker Night at the Inventory. I enjoy both games and at one point in time I preferred them over Sam & Max Season 3. I enjoy them for the fact that they were new and experimental; a fresh approach from Telltale. We've also seen Telltale acting as a publisher to Straandloper for the Hector series. If Telltale has considered licensing the Telltale Tool to third parties (or even considering distributing a free-to-use version), are there any plans to utilise the Pilot Program as a means to support and publish third party titles utilising the engine?
I know it is all pie-in-the-sky, wishful thinking. One can dream though.
Once again, thank you for your time in answering these questions in this thread. It has definitely been one hell of a week and I hope that Telltale as a whole can overcome the situations.
If any other Telltale employee is reading this, I give my thanks to your skills, talent and creativity in creating these games, good and bad, exciting and disappointing. Keep up the good work and fight the good fight.
Is the Universal licence ongoing? Could there be more from their movie / tv / music IP in the future?
Uni music just acquired EMI. How's about that (non Rock Band) Beatles game? I hear they have a few fans scattered around the globe.
I'm sure many of the fans are curious about your upcoming King's Quest project. When can we expect to hear something about it?
Also, are you checking other classic adventure titles, especially ones whose original creators are still interested to work on, such as Tex Murphy or Quest for Glory?
Jonathan
A Special Edition of all sixteen episodes with the original voice actors, Bill Farmer and Nick Jameson, reprising their roles as Sam and Max. Of course, that's what I've always asked for, but somehow never gotten. You can still sell versions that have the new blood... it's just that the old guard would like a chance, even in today's marketplace. Remember, there are Sam and Max fans other than just the casuals!
I know that you haven't gotten both of them before because of your "money issue", but hopefully that's resolved and you can finally do that now. You do not have to do all the episodes at once if you feel that's too much money... just redub season 1 and wait a while... and if for some reason it becomes popular, do season 2... and if that becomes popular, season 3! Besides, I've spoken with both of them before, and they would be willing to voice their characters once again if given the opportunity.
It's wishful thinking, I know, but I am not letting go of my dream of a retro revival!
I would be willing to re-buy the games if Bill Farmer & Nick Jameson came onboard. They always had such strong personalities. Not that the new ones don't, but there's SO many cartoon franchises and I feel Sam&Max isn't so much a cartoon franchise as a vessel for intelligent sarcasm. Same reason I fell in love with the comics, with hit the road and despite the addition of "The Geek" and differing voices, even the show, in part.
Don't get me wrong, S&M have had great 3 seasons so far, with 3 being the best in my honest opinion. It just used to be a harder PG-13.
any plans to release the Earl Boen version of Tales ep.1 on your store?
I heard it was like 70 percent finished...plus the graphics still hold up, if you ask me. (not that I particularly care about tech..)
I would prefer that over a new Sam and Max game.
Oh I just saw Dan's answer to my post
Implicit here is that older, more veteran adventure game players care about the original voice actors while casuals don't. But that's too general. I remember playing the original Sam and Max as a kid, and going back to it now, the voice actors are a bit too heavy on the accents.
Thanks for answering these questions, interesting stuff. I'm enjoying Jurassic Park so far (I've only had time to play episode 1 and part of episode 2 so far, I've been pretty busy, but I can't wait to check it out a bit more very soon). I love how cinematic these games have become. One of my favorite things about playing Telltale games is seeing the technological advantages from game to game. Can't wait to see more of Walking Dead and the other coming projects!
Some questions:
1) I agree with the guys who suggested doing something for Sam & Max's anniversary. Obviously a new game would be the best thing ever. Maybe something really special, like revisiting the highlights of their freelance police career over the years. Just one epic story were elements from the Telltale episodes, the comics, the cartoon series and Hit the Road (although those last two might be difficult) come together. Or something. You guys are better at thinking up stuff like this than me anyway.
Some other ideas about what I would like to see in a Sam & Max game: Season 3 was the ultimate 'Sam & Max in New York'-experience (not to mention my favorite Telltale game ever), so perhaps it would be cool to go to a completely different set of locations for a fourth season. Like another road trip through America or the entire world, or space. Other things that I would kill for: Mack Salmon and Fizzball. Yeah, just forget about all the other things I mentioned, Mack Salmon and Fizzball should be top priority. And maybe force Steve Purcell to start working on another comic.
2) Would you ever consider making a game in an entirely different genre (while obviously still focusing on story and character). I know Jurassic Park is already pretty different, and I would love to see what a Telltale platformer/rts/whatever would look like.
3) I know you probably can't answer this one, but would you ever consider doing a Doctor Who, Discworld or Muppets-game? Those are probably the three franchises that I would be most excited about. Oh, and Indiana Jones.
4) You mentioned a website redesign. Can you talk a bit about what we could expect?
5) Is Law & Order still getting released this year, and is it still based on the LA-version of the television show?
I'll stop here, because those are probably too much questions already. Thanks for taking the time, and please keep on making awesome games.