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Telltale engine doesn't support PlayStation ... yet

by Andrew Yoon { Jul 3rd 2009 at 2:45PM }

Telltale has been churning out some fantastic adventure games as of late. The team responsible for Sam & Max, Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People and Wallace & Gromit has found its games on both WiiWare and Xbox Live Arcade. But why no love for the PlayStation Network? It's "easy," explains Dave Grossman to The Guardian. "Our engine doesn't run on the PlayStation yet."

We'd like to think that the developers are working on making the engine that powers these games fully multi-platform. We don't see why Telltale couldn't handle the PS3, especially considering the success found by the folks behind Penny Arcade Adventures.

Telltale: Tales of Monkey Island might come to XBLA 'later on'

by Richard Mitchell { Jun 23rd 2009 at 2:30PM }

Speaking to Eurogamer, Telltale's Dave Grossman spoke to the possibility of seeing Tales of Monkey Island on Xbox Live Arcade. Currently slated only for Wii and PC, Tales of Monkey Island could eventually see the light of day on XBLA, according to Grossman. "We didn't so much decide not to put it on Xbox Live Arcade as we decided not to put it on XBLA now," said Grossman, explaining that Telltale has been alternating platforms for each release. Joystiq readers will recall that Strong Bad is on Wii, while Wallace & Gromit is an XBLA title.

Grossman indicates that Tales of Monkey Island may wind up on XBLA, saying, "Yeah, I mean I wouldn't rule it out. We might do that one later on."

Regarding Telltale's overall strategy for future titles and other platforms, Grossman says that Telltale would eventually like to release "on every downloadable channel there is." When that will actually happen revolves around "how and when and can [Telltale] actually afford to do it."

Telltale's Dave Grossman promises Tales of Monkey Island will be more 'epic'

by Andrew Yoon { Jun 19th 2009 at 5:00PM }

A brand new episodic Monkey Island adventure is heading to PC and WiiWare this summer. While some are weary of the game's new 3D look, series co-creator Dave Grossman reassures players that the upcoming adventure is a true sequel. "The series takes place a couple of years after the end of the last game. The characters are a little bit older, but haven't really learned anything," he says in this exclusive video.

The episodic format is giving Telltale an opportunity to create a grander adventure for the upcoming game. "It's going to come out one chapter at a time over the period of five months, and the story's going to be told that way. So, it's more of an epic saga," Grossman says.

The first episode of Tales of Monkey Island will be available on PC in July, with the Wii release to follow shortly thereafter. To check out this video on your Wii, check out the Nintendo Update channel next Monday.

Gallery: Tales of Monkey Island

Telltale: Episodic Day of the Tentacle is 'feasible'

by Jem Alexander { Jun 19th 2009 at 1:15PM }

Is Telltale single-handedly reinvigorating the point-and-click adventure genre with 15+ year old game licenses? Yeah, it is -- and you don't hear us complaining. First Sam & Max made a triumphant return in 3D and then E3 saw the announcement of a new episodic Monkey Island series from the studio. Now, talking to Videogamer.com, Telltale's CEO Dan Connors said that "feasible is a good word" when asked about the chances of an episodic Day of the Tentacle series.

"I always think of Sam & Max, Day of the Tentacle and Monkey Island as the big three franchises," Connors continued. Seeing as two of the three are under the company's belt already, that makes DOTT the logical next step, but it's "having a 'wait and see' approach with Monkey." So if you want a new Day of the Tentacle series, you'd better buy -- and enjoy! -- The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition and Tales of Monkey Island and help usher in the next golden age of point and clicks.

This Wednesday: Magic the Gathering, Sam & Max hit the XBLA

by Richard Mitchell { Jun 15th 2009 at 1:43PM }

This week, Xbox Live Arcade gets not one, but two genres that rarely see the light of day on consoles. First, we've got the collectible card game, Magic the Gather: Duels of the Planeswalkers. Unlike the weird Magic title on the original Xbox -- which played something like a weird monster summoning / volleyball hybrid -- Planeswalkers sticks to the traditional card game, which should make fans mighty happy. The game will deal 800

($10) damage to your wallet.

Next, we have the XBLA debut of the Sam & Max adventure series, Sam & Max Save the World. Save the World is actually the first season of the Sam & Max episodic series that has been available on PC and Wii for some time now. That's six episodes of comedy gold for 1600

($20). For those keeping score, that's the same price as the PC version and $10 cheaper than the Wii version.

Sam & Max save the world on XBLA June 17

by Randy Nelson { Jun 11th 2009 at 9:45PM }

Telltale Games just slipped a note under our door to inform us that season one of Sam & Max, subtitled Save the World, is all finished up and coming to Xbox Live Arcade on June 17 for 1600 Microsoft Points (or $20 Earth Bucks). That's next Wednesday! (Thankfully, the spit-take shield for our TV should arrive on Monday.)

But what of season two, Beyond Time and Space? It's definitely headed to XBLA "in the coming months," according to the tellers of tales. That's good to know, seeing as nailing down something outside the bounds of space-time can be pretty tricky.

Some original voice cast returning to Monkey Island

by Justin McElroy { Jun 8th 2009 at 1:45PM }

Here's a bit of good news for those worried about Telltale's Tales of Monkey Island capturing the spirit of the series. The episodic title will welcome back Dominic Armato as Guybrush Threepwood and Alexandra Boyd, who portrayed Elaine Marley in Curse of Monkey Island.

The two other returning characters, LeChuck and the Voodoo Lady, have new voice actors attached but (unsurprisingly) Telltale says it's very happy with them. OK purists, are you totally excited yet?

Are you listening, BBC? Telltale wants to make Doctor Who games

by Jem Alexander { Jun 8th 2009 at 12:30PM }

During an interview with UK Develop magazine, Telltale's CEO Dan Connor's discussed the licenses that he'd love the company to work on in the future. Getting hold of the Monkey Island license was a pretty major coup, but he's also got his eye on The Young Ones -- a classic UK comedy show -- The Big Lebowski and Spinal Tap. Another name that gets passed around the office quite often, which may be more plausible, is Doctor Who.

"We do get emails from people asking us to make a Doctor Who series," Connors says. "Maybe if we can get a channel into the UK with Wallace & Gromit we could talk business with the BBC, that would be really good for us." We have a feeling it would be really good for us, too. The Doctor Who universe fits Telltale's point-and-click episodic style perfectly and, with some direct input from the producers of the show, could tie in very nicely to fill in some between-episode gaps. Worse things have been done with the franchise, after all.

Telltale working on Sam & Max Season 3, using cursor-less controls

by Griffin McElroy { May 28th 2009 at 2:00PM }

Everyone's favorite bipedal canine and hyperkinetic rabbity thing missed the "Early 2009" window for the launch of their third season of adventure games -- but fear not! In a recent interview with The Inquirer, a few fine folks from the Telltale crew explained that the developer is still working on Sam & Max Season 3 -- though the controls may feel a little less clicky this time around.

According to Telltale co-founder Kevin Bruner, Season 3 will feature the cursor-less, console controller-friendly control scheme featured in the PC and 360 adventure title Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures. Makes sense -- we know Telltale is interested in bringing the new season to consoles, and having a sans-pointer control scheme would let them do that with ease. However, we imagine adventure game purists and mouse fetishists alike will be none too pleased.

Achievements spotted for Wallace & Gromit's first XBLA-bound episode

by Xav de Matos { May 21st 2009 at 2:30PM }

Xbox 360 Achievements for Wallace & Gromit's adventure (already ongoing on PC) have surfaced and X360A.org have scooped them up. Like any other XBLA title, Wallace & Gromit's Fright of the Bumblebees includes a possible 200 Gamerscore points to help players pad their personal Xbox profile "baseball card" statistics.

Fans of the famous British-born, stop-motion clay animation series will notice the careful attention Telltale Games put into the achievements -- primarily the the multiple achievements referencing Wallace's love for cheese. Here's hoping the XBLA translation for the adventure game turns out as Gouda as the PC version. Amirite?

Gallery: Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures

Telltale to reveal new game series at E3

by Jem Alexander { May 14th 2009 at 9:45PM }

In a self-congratulatory press release celebrating the company's fifth anniversary and the sale of its millionth episode, episodic puzzle-adventure developer Telltale games has indicated that "a new series in development will be announced at E3." The press release doesn't contain any more information about the new series, though we're always happy to hear that Telltale is working on something new.

Chances are that it will be another point-and-click adventure series based on an existing, popular property, though we'd be very interested in seeing a new, home-grown IP coming from the developer. Whatever it turns out to be, we look forward to finding out at E3 early next month.

Telltale talks episodic content on Wii

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 11th 2009 at 12:55PM }

Telltale Games (Sam & Max, Strong Bad) CEO Dan Connors mentioned in a recent interview that WiiWare "requires the most planning" of the online console marketplaces. In fairness, though, he explains that all the current console makers' online storefronts attempt to make content relatable to the audience. Connors notes that Strong Bad was "perfect" for Nintendo, which we're sure has a little bit to do with the enhanced sales after Nintendo's "storage solution" was introduced.

Connors doesn't make any further announcements for Telltale's brand of episodic gaming for the Wii, but he does say that the company will continue to evolve the adventure genre and feels the developer will continue growing the adventure genre for "years to come." A positive sign for more potential Telltale titles on the Wii front, perhaps?

Second Wallace and Gromit episode, 'The Last Resort,' available now

by Justin McElroy { May 5th 2009 at 9:00PM }

Telltale continues to nail episodic gaming where others fail, releasing the second episode of its third series, and on time no less. Wallace and Gromit in The Last Resort is available now for those of you who purchased the complete $34.99 series.

Because we reviewed the last one, we likely won't take up your time with a second critique. But honestly, if you weren't charmed out of your pants enough for a purchase by the first episode, then there's nothing we can do for that blackened lump of pumice you call a heart.

Telltale: Strong Bad sales have doubled since SD Card Menu update, more WiiWare coming

by JC Fletcher { Apr 9th 2009 at 4:00PM }

It appears that some of the kids who "boycotted" the Wii Shop Channel until Nintendo offered some kind of fix for the storage issue have, true to their word, started buying stuff. Telltale Games sent out a press release claiming that sales of the Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People series have "more than doubled" since the GDC unveiling of Nintendo's "storage solution." Telltale didn't specify any numbers -- just that whatever the rate of sales was since GDC is better than whatever the rate was before.

"Nintendo's new solution really opens the door for players to add to their collection of downloadable games, which is critical for a series with multiple installments," Telltale CEO Dan Connors said in the press release. "This is a major step forward for episodic gaming. We're looking forward to even greater success on WiiWare with Strong Bad, as well as other projects."

Other projects!

Gallery: Strong Bad Episode 5: 8-Bit is Enough

Sam & Max Surfin' the Highway bundles games with funny

by Jason Dobson { Apr 8th 2009 at 8:25AM }

Sam: Whatcha got there, little buddy?
Max: Why, Sam, it's a book about us? That's creepy!

Telltale Games is selling the 20th anniversary edition of Sam & Max Surfin' the Highway, bundling together the 197-page graphic album with the publisher's Sam & Max episodic adventure game for the PC. The book, which has been out of print for nearly a decade, contains the complete collection of Steve Purcell's Sam & Max comics, including 25 new pages of previously unreleased artwork.

The collection is currently available in paperback for $29.95, which includes both the book and a DVD containing the most recent 5-episode season of Sam & Max. A more pricey $59.95 hardcover edition is also available, which ships with both seasons tucked between its supple pages. Closet lagomorphs with some extra geld can also shell out for the $99.95 bundle, which nets the book, games, soundtrack, the complete animated series and a Sam & Max t-shirt and hat.

Sam: And look, the thing was also nominated for an Eisner Award. That'll look good on the wall.
Max: Yup, right next to Hitler's head!
Sam: You're a scary bunny.