Telltale Games

As the lead designer and writer on the second episode of Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse, "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak", Andy Hartzell plays a major role in making the Sam & Max games so fun, challenging and even a little crazy. Andy joined Telltale in 2008. Before joining us, he established a name for himself in the indie comic book scene with Fox Bunny Funny. You can see Andy's handiwork in the Fox Bunny Funny anthology, available at the Telltale Store.

We took a moment to ask Andy a few questions...

"The Tomb of Sammun-Mak" is the next episode in The Devil's Playhouse series. What was it like to work on that?

Fun, of course. I came to Sam & Max right after finishing up on the Wallace & Gromit series...talk about whiplash! The world of West Wallaby Street operates according to strict rules. Steve Purcell's universe, in contrast, promised an arena where I could go wild - an outlet for all my most outlandish, bizarre, and just plain inadvisable ideas. I ultimately discovered that this universe does have rules, but they're pretty loose.

Chuck Jordan [lead designer on The Devil's Playhouse season and on Episode 1: "The Penal Zone"] has done a great job framing up this season and developing fresh new mechanics, and the artistic crew has established a new standard for lush visuals. "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak" takes full advantage of all these breakthroughs: lots of big new environments to explore, new ways to get around, new powers to wield.

What's in store for Sam & Max in this episode?

My favorite superhero comics are always the origin stories, and in a way this is Sam & Max Issue #0. Not that we discover our heroes are the result of a secret government experiment gone awry or anything...but we will discover where many of the features of their world came from. And of course we'll learn more about the Devil's Toybox, the terrible chest that makes Sauron's Ring of Power look like a cracker-jack prize.

We're told that villains and psychic powers are big elements this season. What can you tell us about the role those play in the second episode?

Episode 1 revolved around Skunk'ape, the marauding space gorilla (I'm sorry--was that a spoiler? Yes, for those of you who haven't gotten that far: it turns out Skunk'ape is evil). "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak" doesn't have a single arch-villain. Everybody in this episode has ulterior motives. Don't trust any of them.

You'll find that we've changed up the cast list quite a bit for this episode. Aside from our heroes, nobody from Episode 1 will appear in Episode 2. However, those who have played through the first two seasons of Sam & Max will be pleased to find some of their old favorites putting in guest appearances.

What's one thing that jumps out to you from "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak"?

There's a lot of high points to choose from, but I think I'll single out "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak" itself. It's enormous, with way more depth and detail than anything you've seen in the Sam & Max series before: lots of shadows and flickering firelight, hidden passageways to explore and death waiting around every corner - everything you want in a tomb, all a bit askew, as befits Sam & Max's world. It was designed by the ubiquitous Ryan Jones and built by our own Drew DiDomenico...amazingly, the first environment he's ever built from scratch.

When will "The Tomb of Sammun-Mak" be out?

Watch for it in a few weeks. The exact date will be announced soon.