Season 3: The Same Old?

[Guybrush Threepwood]

http://i35.tinypic.com/2uqzrjl.png

We've been to the street, the office, Bosco's and Sybil's for two seasons now, so how do you think these locations should be changed for the third season? Should Bosco's and Sybil's be changed completely, or would you be happy with minor changes? Would more items added to the office satisfy your need for change?

I personally think that all the locations I've suggested need a big revamp. If you think about it, when buying a sequel to a non-episodic retail game, you never expect to visit places you did in the first game. Take Monkey Island for example - you didn't visit the same place again in each game (except places such as the SCUMM Bar, but they had been fully redesigned to fit the graphical requirements of the game).

I'd probably be okay with the office changing to the same level as it did from season one to season two, because you hardly ever need to go in there, but for places that Sam & Max are often visiting I'd be pretty let-down if there wasn't something majorly different about them.

What about you?

[unsilviu]

Yeah...lets not forget that they might abandon sybil or bosco's: thres a new inhabitant: maimtron 9000!

[DrRocketGenius]

I don't know. Maybe Bosco will build a bigger store/building with all his money?

[splash1]

I think they should remodel the entire neighborhood, and allow us to explore the outside of Sam & Max's office, like in HtR. Also there should be a new neighbor, and like a lot of stuff should be changed such as Sybil's office, Bosco's store, Stinky's Diner and more! Sam & Max should be better then ever in Season 3!

[TrogLlama]

If you think about it, when buying a sequel to a non-episodic retail game, you never expect to visit places you did in the first game.

That's not necessarily true. The Ace Attorney games all had the office/detention center/police department that you always went to every single game. Banjo-Tooie started in the same place as Banjo-Kazooie. If I recall correctly, Pikmin 2 had a couple of the same places as Pikmin 1, but redesigned to reflect changes over time to the terrain. Those are just a few examples off the top of my head.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

The Ace Attorney games all had the office/detention center/police department that you always went to every single game.

True, but they got criticised for it. The other games you listed are much bigger in scale though, and have more locations for you to visit and don't have you constantly going back there.

[Harley Quinn]

Stinky's should be taken over by Starbucks! Nah, that's too realistic.

[Randulf]

Stinky's should be taken over by Starbucks! Nah, that's too realistic.
Stinky should overtake Starbucks! The first step in her inevitable world domination in the future.

[eriqchang]

I want a 2d hand-painted cel-style season 3!! (LOVED the first two seasons visually.. not complaining!) But it would be amazing to see a more "Curse of Monkey Island" style for a third game. Or possibly a full non-episodic self-contained adventure.

[Udvarnoky]

I can't imagine such an enterprise would be in any way possible given the adventure game market these days.

[Snocat]

How about we save the major explorations for a new genre of Sam & Max game! Like some kind of wonky rpg or first person shooter! I mean, Sam & Max doesn't always have to just be a click-and-point type game right?

[eriqchang]

Of course it's possible. Anything is possible with the right people and a strong vision.

[Rather Dashing]

I'm all for changes of the same level as the ones in-between Seasons 1 and 2, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with a radical restructuring of core game areas. Sam and Max episodes always give us new areas to explore, the areas that are the same within a season provide a sense of consistency between episodes. Season 2 improved on the issue of new content by usually providing new observational dialogue for the items that carry over, and I felt that was enough(for me, anyway) to satisfy my need for things to not remain same-y.

With the episodic model, I feel some things *have* to remain the same during a season, to give it a cohesive sense of being a full entity after the fat lady's encore. Much in the same way that a television show normally has those settings which carry over throughout the seasons and series, it's necessary in the same way for some things to remain the same throughout an episodic series. How can we start off an episode without a scramble for the phone?

Now, I did think that the robot's radical reconstruction of the main town area to streamline it for gameplay purposes was no less than brilliant. I honestly didn't realize what they had done for awhile. But the thing that keeps the games from feeling same-ish, to me, would be new situations, new observational quips for clicking on the same object, and the areas outside our core starting place.

I want a 2d hand-painted cel-style season 3!! (LOVED the first two seasons visually.. not complaining!) But it would be amazing to see a more "Curse of Monkey Island" style for a third game. Or possibly a full non-episodic self-contained adventure.

I actually don't like this idea...I like for a series to remain consistent when it comes to general artistic style. I wouldn't want a "realistic, first-person Okami" any more than I want a new 2D Sam and Max. Yes, Hit the Road used 2D and cartoony graphics, but a new 2D Sam and max would hardly look VGA, and the series has already moved past that point. To go back seems....it doesn't feel like it really fits.

And also, episodic is more or less Telltale's bread and butter, and...they do it right. I enjoy getting a new episode each month for a $35 subscription fee, rather than paying $50-60 for a big game that might last me a week or two. My interest and intrigue is spread out over half a year or so, and I love it. I'd really rather not see Telltale abandon the model that is as close to my definition of perfect as I think the universe will allow.

How about we save the major explorations for a new genre of Sam & Max game! Like some kind of wonky rpg or first person shooter! I mean, Sam & Max doesn't always have to just be a click-and-point type game right?

No.

[eriqchang]

The episodic model is excellent and they've made it work very well. I think what I'm hoping to see IS a 2d animated game from Telltale vs. a full 3d title as with all their past releases. I DON'T think adventure gaming, in general, has "moved" past 2D. But yes, I agree that the series, having gone to 3D.. it would be awkward perhaps?

[Udvarnoky]

Of course it's possible. Anything is possible with the right people and a strong vision.

And a couple of million dollars and a two year development schedule.

[eriqchang]

A two year development cycle.. yes.
A big budget.. not necessarily.

[Udvarnoky]

Time is money. And you did specifically namecheck CMI, which has got to be the most expensive adventure game LEC ever made second to Grim Fandango (I'd imagine). No one would want a fully illustrated monster sized adventure game with hand drawn animation more than me, believe me.

[Rather Dashing]

The episodic model is excellent and they've made it work very well. I think what I'm hoping to see IS a 2d animated game from Telltale vs. a full 3d title as with all their past releases. I DON'T think adventure gaming, in general, has "moved" past 2D. But yes, I agree that the series, having gone to 3D.. it would be awkward perhaps?

I never said that adventure gaming has gone "beyond" 2D. But it would seem awkward, at least, for the current series to get totally revamped after two seasons, the equivalent of two games in in the world of big retail releases.

Also, we don't really have many 3D adventures...it seems to me that making adventure games work in 3D is something that makes the genre as a whole not feel...obsolete in video gaming today.

[eriqchang]

No one would want a fully illustrated monster sized adventure game with hand drawn animation more than me, believe me.

I'm right there with you. ;) And we've got Vampyre Story along with a handful of others coming over the horizon.

[Alucard]

I'd like to see all new locations. The office is fine to keep but all the other repeat characters need to take a break for a bit.

[bambi]

The current Sam and Max episodes seem to be like some prequel to Hit the Road it feels like the didnt really Hit the Road yet....

I love the detail of the neighbourhood but it is just very unpleasing, that there are only the two extremes of where they doing something regarding the neighbourhood or they are going to hell / too moon or to santa (lets say very very far )... And somehow in the end everything is connected to the neighbourhood. They connect it to story quite well but in the end ... it just feels like yeaah right :D of course we end up in the street or of course its sybil or bosco.

But as discussed before maybe what we want is not what episodic content is able to offer. The episodic model is quite dissapointing contentwise sofar but telltale did a good job with story always kept me interested but for me it didnt justify re"abuse" of content.

So in the end:
Lucky we have Sam and Max :D thanks telltale
Episodic Content ... did not work for me with Sam and Max.
It would be nice to see the content pushed ... giving story the room it needs

Cheers

Edit:
To answer the question:
I would not like to see anyone else than Sam & Max / maybe Bosco / Flint again
Locations: Office /middle of the Street

[DrRocketGenius]

Or maybe Bosco could get robbed, that way he can go back to selling things. :D

[Rakushun]

The office has to stay. The street, however...whatever.

[Amaterasu]

I would like season 3 to be a little more true to S&M's original roots.
The locations should be a lot bigger and funnier, like the "burning tire mountain", the "bungee from president's nose dino park", the "mistery vortex" and of course, the "world's largest ball of twine"!!! XD I would like to see THAT in 3d.

by the way, one of the biggest problems I had with seasons 1-2 was that there was not enough motion in the screens. I dunno why, but it felt a little lonely... well untill the zombie factory, THIS one had tons of background movement and was awesome!

so:

-more true-to-franchize locations
-more background motion to give a feeling of life to the scene
-no more Sybil >,> please... actually, I also don't wanna see any old character except Bosco, Flint, and of course, Jurgen. XD
-also, I know it's hard, but we would all love a new design for old locations like the office and the street, to give it a fresh feeling. I would also like to see the hallway outside of the office, maybe even Flint's office? and the legendary "upstairs". quote:
Sam: oh, we don't go upstairs.
Max: not since the accident...
-and as always, longer, more riddles, more items in inventory.

Thanks as always!!! when I grow up I wanna be as awesome as TellTaleTeam!!!

P.S. did I mention the music was perfect in any sense of way? go JEJ!!!





...did somebody say BIRTHDAY?!

[Col_Shaggy]

I wouldn't mind an episode, or two or three, were we never return to the street\office.

More "rooms" to story locations. For example: there could be a weapons factory you have to operate to get a weapon to battle the villian. So, inside the factory, you have get into a supply room to get the parts you need then you have to break into the supervisor's office to get the keys to the machinery then you have to load the machinery on the factory floor before going into the control room to run the machinery.
That's sort of the basic idea, 4 rooms for a couple of puzzles, and if it's extended to the villian battles it could make them a little more complex and interesting.

P.S.
Give us a lot more things to shoot!

[Dangerzone]

I think the main issue here is the reuse of old content, and there are lots of feelings on the issue... So let me sum it all up...

"New" games should have a constant sense of wonder and discovery (and yes, this can be achieved with old content if done right... read below).

There should be a sense of actual excitement when you see a location pop up or open again, you should be curious about what is new and different about it this time before you even enter... Not have the feeling of, "Oh no, Sybil's again?"

Reusing locations and characters is well and good (it makes games longer, think about it!). But if you reuse them, you have to more-or-less change everything about them to make them interesting again...

For locations, don't just change a few scene items and add to running gags, you need to also change things like lighting, atmosphere, and camera angles... So that you literally see everything in a whole new way each episode, you need to change so many things that the player thinks "Wow, this used to be sybils?"

For characters, you also need to change something about them each time you see them, (epically if they are going to be a main part of an episode). If not, then they should only be in the game for a brief cameo, and leave as soon as they stop being funny (characters also don't have to be in every single episode either). When you see a reoccurring cast member, the feeling should be either, "Wow, long time no see, i almost forgot about him. or "Wow, I thought he looked ____ in the last episode! (add an appropriate running appearance gag to the blank)

I also think that by season 3, they have enough in the pool that they can rotate things, (I.E. like what they did with Sybil's in season 2, it was only in 2 episodes).

But, there also needs to be less of a balance between new and old things in each episode... Currently, there is one new thing for every old thing we see. This makes players feel like they are digging through old crap to get to the new stuff, and this feels like a chore to them... In season 3, for every old thing we see, there needs to be at least 2 other new things in the episode, that way the old content is a lot less daunting (unless of course you can make something feel totally new again, which is almost as hard as making something from scratch).

Personally, I like seeing "some" old things again in episodic games... To see how the world changes from episode to episode, but it needs to be BIG changes... Things expanded, opened, or gloriously destroyed. Not just, "oh, they got a new plant, and some other junk"... I need to be thinking, "Wow, how the hell did that happen?"

this is not a TV show, where BIG changes only happen once every 5 years... with only 5 episodes a year, EVERY episode needs to have BIG changes in it, treat every episode like a season in itself, and just completely blow us out of the water with the premieres and finales

In short, If the audience does not say, "wow" or bust out in laughter upon seeing something, its best to be left on the cutting room floor for that episode.

[Hero1]

I would like the season to have a completely new "homebase" I dont mind having the same locations used within a season but i dont wanna see the street again after 11 episodes of it.. I think if sam & max moved to space for the next season they could have a standard 4 or 5 sets/rooms/locations to be used for the whole season

[Amaterasu]

I think the main issue here is the reuse of old content, and there are lots of feelings on the issue... So let me sum it all up...

"New" games should have a constant sense of wonder and discovery (and yes, this can be achieved with old content if done right... read below).

There should be a sense of actual excitement when you see a location pop up or open again, you should be curious about what is new and different about it this time before you even enter... Not have the feeling of, "Oh no, Sybil's again?"

Reusing locations and characters is well and good (it makes games longer, think about it!). But if you reuse them, you have to more-or-less change everything about them to make them interesting again...

For locations, don't just change a few scene items and add to running gags, you need to also change things like lighting, atmosphere, and camera angles... So that you literally see everything in a whole new way each episode, you need to change so many things that the player thinks "Wow, this used to be sybils?"

For characters, you also need to change something about them each time you see them, (epically if they are going to be a main part of an episode). If not, then they should only be in the game for a brief cameo, and leave as soon as they stop being funny (characters also don't have to be in every single episode either). When you see a reoccurring cast member, the feeling should be either, "Wow, long time no see, i almost forgot about him. or "Wow, I thought he looked ____ in the last episode! (add an appropriate running appearance gag to the blank)

I also think that by season 3, they have enough in the pool that they can rotate things, (I.E. like what they did with Sybil's in season 2, it was only in 2 episodes).

But, there also needs to be less of a balance between new and old things in each episode... Currently, there is one new thing for every old thing we see. This makes players feel like they are digging through old crap to get to the new stuff, and this feels like a chore to them... In season 3, for every old thing we see, there needs to be at least 2 other new things in the episode, that way the old content is a lot less daunting (unless of course you can make something feel totally new again, which is almost as hard as making something from scratch).

Personally, I like seeing "some" old things again in episodic games... To see how the world changes from episode to episode, but it needs to be BIG changes... Things expanded, opened, or gloriously destroyed. Not just, "oh, they got a new plant, and some other junk"... I need to be thinking, "Wow, how the hell did that happen?"

this is not a TV show, where BIG changes only happen once every 5 years... with only 5 episodes a year, EVERY episode needs to have BIG changes in it, treat every episode like a season in itself, and just completely blow us out of the water with the premieres and finales

In short, If the audience does not say, "wow" or bust out in laughter upon seeing something, its best to be left on the cutting room floor for that episode.

yes, what they did with Bosco's store in 204-205 was just amazing!
the intro of 204 was just awesome. I really was into it!

[RMJ1984]

The current Sam and Max episodes seem to be like some prequel to Hit the Road it feels like the didnt really Hit the Road yet....

I love the detail of the neighbourhood but it is just very unpleasing, that there are only the two extremes of where they doing something regarding the neighbourhood or they are going to hell / too moon or to santa (lets say very very far )... And somehow in the end everything is connected to the neighbourhood. They connect it to story quite well but in the end ... it just feels like yeaah right :D of course we end up in the street or of course its sybil or bosco.

But as discussed before maybe what we want is not what episodic content is able to offer. The episodic model is quite dissapointing contentwise sofar but telltale did a good job with story always kept me interested but for me it didnt justify re"abuse" of content.

I mean not all locations have to have alot in them, give us the hall back in Sam & max house, give us more locations to visit and looks at :)

So in the end:
Lucky we have Sam and Max :D thanks telltale
Episodic Content ... did not work for me with Sam and Max.
It would be nice to see the content pushed ... giving story the room it needs

Cheers

Edit:
To answer the question:
I would not like to see anyone else than Sam & Max / maybe Bosco / Flint again
Locations: Office /middle of the Street

Yeah i have to agreed we you, Sam & max act alittle yonger and not so grown up voilent like in HTR which i miss, i ofc hope as always Season 3 will evolve even more, im stilling missing more interplay between Sam & Max like in HTR, and not for max to just be someone you are draggin around with a few random comments and hits.

[Col_Shaggy]

Being able to actively use Max more in puzzles would be a great addition. Rather than just having him hang around as a tip generator.

[Gman5852]

That's not necessarily true. The Ace Attorney games all had the office/detention center/police department that you always went to every single game. Banjo-Tooie started in the same place as Banjo-Kazooie. If I recall correctly, Pikmin 2 had a couple of the same places as Pikmin 1,

and in threeie it starts in the same place.

And your right about pikmin one and 2 as well.

[dimomarg]

maybe. but Bosco and Sybil MUST BE IN THE GAME

[Gman5852]

maybe. but Bosco and Sybil MUST BE IN THE GAME
Yes.
Sybil's office technicly changes a lot.
Considering she gets a new job every game.

[Shwoo]

I disagree that the games should be more like Hit the Road. The characters and locations in seasons one and two feel deeper and more interesting to me than the Hit the Road ones, and that might be because they recur more. Or because they're all important to the story in some way, or some other reason, I'm not sure. I'd hate it if all the continuity was erased between seasons two and three.

I mean, new content is always necessary, but I think calling for the removal of almost all the recurring characters and locations is a bit extreme. I like the recurring characters and locations.

I would like season 3 to be a little more true to S&M's original roots.
The locations should be a lot bigger and funnier, like the "burning tire mountain", the "bungee from president's nose dino park", the "mistery vortex" and of course, the "world's largest ball of twine"!!! XD I would like to see THAT in 3d.
That's not Sam and Max's original roots. The comics are. The episodic games don't have to be true to Hit the Road because, unless I'm totally mistaken, they're not based on Hit the Road. They're based on the comics, just like Hit the Road is. The locations in the comics are pretty full of action so that doesn't undermine your point at all, but it just irritates me when people act like Hit the Road came first.

This post might make it look like I hate Hit the Road, but I don't. It's a fun game with excellent writing, and I enjoyed it. I just think it has its flaws just like any other game.

[Mario]

Personally, I would buy The Same Old every year, if the writing remained excellent. Of course I would like something excitingly new even more, but as long as the humour's great, I'm happy.

Apart from that, Telltale obviously needs to shake things up a bit. Reusing the old locations (even modified versions) and game mechanics again would lead to quite a backlash from reviewers and many fans, I'm sure. Episodic gaming is a great opportunity to try aut something new anyway, especially when it comes to PC Adventures Games, which seem to be stuck in an evolutionary dead end since... what, 15 years? Dont' get me wrong, I like the classic Point and Click games, but fresh ideas are needed to get the genre back into the spotlight outside of Germany again.

By the way, Eurogamer's review of Season 2 (http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=134168) makes some excellent points relevant to the discussion.

[LikaLaruku]

Yeah...lets not forget that they might abandon sybil or bosco's: thres a new inhabitant: maimtron 9000!

Maimtron could end up being more of a residence than a resident. lol.

[LikaLaruku]

I think they should remodel the entire neighborhood, and allow us to explore the outside of Sam & Max's office, like in HtR. Also there should be a new neighbor, and like a lot of stuff should be changed such as Sybil's office, Bosco's store, Stinky's Diner and more! Sam & Max should be better then ever in Season 3!

I'd be satisfied with getting to visit the other side of the street, further up or down the street, or maybe some places from the old 2D game for a good joke, like "Heu, remember when I put so-&-so here 20 years ago? Let's see if it's still here."

An idea I'm sure no one witll disagree with is just making absolutely everything interactive instead of static, & things that are static at least get commentary when clicked on. It always bugged me that Bosco's store had static isles.

[LikaLaruku]

I want a 2d hand-painted cel-style season 3!! (LOVED the first two seasons visually.. not complaining!) But it would be amazing to see a more "Curse of Monkey Island" style for a third game. Or possibly a full non-episodic self-contained adventure.

No one does cell for 2D games, it's all Flash now. Do you have any Idea how long it takes to make 5 min. of animation in cell?

Anyway, that would be okey for a "casual game" by a different company, like BigFish & their subsidary little programmers. It could be a Serendipity game (hidden object), a classic side scroller (arcade) or a Sprite RPG (mimics the look & feel of classic Zelda, Final Fantasy, Warcraft, & Ultima games).

[LikaLaruku]

How about we save the major explorations for a new genre of Sam & Max game! Like some kind of wonky rpg or first person shooter! I mean, Sam & Max doesn't always have to just be a click-and-point type game right?

An RPG would be awesome: Sam & Max travel a wide map on foot (Desoto broke down, guys have to backtrack on foot to collect parts they can't afford to replace or that nobody makes anymore), beat the ever-loving crap out of NPCs, loot bodies & houses, sell loot, upgrade/enchant/trade weapons, do mind-numbing side quests, & more beating & looting.

[RMJ1984]

I would like season 3 to be a little more true to S&M's original roots.
The locations should be a lot bigger and funnier, like the "burning tire mountain", the "bungee from president's nose dino park", the "mistery vortex" and of course, the "world's largest ball of twine"!!! XD I would like to see THAT in 3d.

by the way, one of the biggest problems I had with seasons 1-2 was that there was not enough motion in the screens. I dunno why, but it felt a little lonely... well untill the zombie factory, THIS one had tons of background movement and was awesome!

so:

-more true-to-franchize locations
-more background motion to give a feeling of life to the scene
-no more Sybil >,> please... actually, I also don't wanna see any old character except Bosco, Flint, and of course, Jurgen. XD
-also, I know it's hard, but we would all love a new design for old locations like the office and the street, to give it a fresh feeling. I would also like to see the hallway outside of the office, maybe even Flint's office? and the legendary "upstairs". quote:

-and as always, longer, more riddles, more items in inventory.

Thanks as always!!! when I grow up I wanna be as awesome as TellTaleTeam!!!

P.S. did I mention the music was perfect in any sense of way? go JEJ!!!





...did somebody say BIRTHDAY?!

Totally Agreed with you, new sam and max is good, but it needs to change for the better to be more like "Hit the road" and those locations :) locations can be a bit boring in new sam and max, in hit the road, they had alot for dept, wackyness and style, which i miss alot.

[benjamin]

Things are gonna be difrent. Don't forget, Sybil and Abe are married now.

[Zeek]

Things are gonna be difrent. Don't forget, Sybil and Abe are married now.

And the DeSoto is possed by the demonic forces of Hell.

[YoshiAngemon]

Maybe the new season can take place within the same universe as the TV Show, with the Sub-Basement of Solitude, and familiar bad guys like Lactose the Intolerant, Mack Salmon, and Sam & Max's Favorite Nuisance - Lorne, the Friend for Life. And you can get Harvey Atkins to voice Sam. Just keep Max's voice unchanged! Either that, or you can put in Sam & Max Hit the Road as a Bonus Unlockable game for Clearing all the episodes of the season.

[Shwoo]

I don't think LucasArts and... Fox, I think? would like that very much.

[TomSuperman]

Maybe they could give us the source code after season 3 but it would require telltale tool. The telltale tool was seen in CD form in comic con so maybe they could release it for $100. That way the fans could edit and change the season as they like.

[tabacco]

"seen in CD form"?

[xChri5x]

Maybe they could give us the source code after season 3 but it would require telltale tool. The telltale tool was seen in CD form in comic con so maybe they could release it for $100. That way the fans could edit and change the season as they like.

Hahaha

[patters]

Maybe they could give us the source code after season 3 but it would require telltale tool. The telltale tool was seen in CD form in comic con so maybe they could release it for $100. That way the fans could edit and change the season as they like.

no just no, adventure games are not at all useful for mods, go play the elder scrolls, or unreal tournament. if you want to make an adventure game use a different engine, such as the one that out of order used. besides i reckon if the telltale tool was sold, it would cost a lot more than $100. i don't think that would release the source code as it can lead to increased piracy

[Compy 386]

I'm gonna eat my hat if it doesn't reference, in any way, shape, quote, or form, SBCG4AP, since 102 contained refernces to Telltale's other downloadable games (Bessy is possibly the same kind of cow from Bone 2, the poker table from TTG poker hidden in the set). As for locations reorginization, I'll bet Bosco ups the ante on the paranoia scale... somehow..., and Sybil will break a fourth wall with one of her jobs.

[SBB GameMaster]

I'm gonna eat my hat if it doesn't reference, in any way, shape, quote, or form, SBCG4AP, since 102 contained refernces to Telltale's other downloadable games (Bessy is possibly the same kind of cow from Bone 2, the poker table from TTG poker hidden in the set).
You forgot about "The Barrelhaven" prop from when you first walk into the TV studio! :)

[Jake]

I'm gonna eat my hat if it doesn't reference, in any way, shape, quote, or form, SBCG4AP, since 102 contained refernces to Telltale's other downloadable games (Bessy is possibly the same kind of cow from Bone 2, the poker table from TTG poker hidden in the set). As for locations reorginization, I'll bet Bosco ups the ante on the paranoia scale... somehow..., and Sybil will break a fourth wall with one of her jobs.

Homestar's already also got a cameo on the Sam & Max Season Two DVD.

[Zeek]

Homestar's already also got a cameo on the Sam & Max Season Two DVD.

I wouldn't call it a cameo if you supply menu links to the trailer and game play videos.

However, I still have yet to view all the easter eggs, soooo...

[Compy 386]

Homestar's already also got a cameo on the Sam & Max Season Two DVD.

I meant in-game, like my examples in ep. 102, and, on the flipside, Homestar saying on the phone "Yes? Yes. Yes. NO! Yes!" like Sam did in ep. 104.

[tabacco]

I wouldn't call it a cameo if you supply menu links to the trailer and game play videos.

However, I still have yet to view all the easter eggs, soooo...

That's not what he meant :)

[Jake]

However, I still have yet to view all the easter eggs, soooo...

Indeed.

[TomSuperman]

Maybe some parts of the episode could be real time and have alternative ways to solve .And you would get different situations depending on how you solved it and how much time it took you to complete them. Maybe their could be a good and bad situations caused by the time and actions. Each episode could also have multiple endings including a bad ending after which we would have to restart from the beginning. That would increase replay value.

[Zeek]

Maybe some parts of the episode could be real time and have alternative ways to solve .And you would get different situations depending on how you solved it and how much time it took you to complete them. Maybe their could be a good and bad situations caused by the time and actions. Each episode could also have multiple endings including a bad ending after which we would have to restart from the beginning. That would increase replay value.

And take longer to build!

[Shwoo]

Maybe some parts of the episode could be real time and have alternative ways to solve .And you would get different situations depending on how you solved it and how much time it took you to complete them. Maybe their could be a good and bad situations caused by the time and actions. Each episode could also have multiple endings including a bad ending after which we would have to restart from the beginning. That would increase replay value.
Multiple endings might be a problem in an episodic game.

Also, I hate it when games can be rendered unwinnable when you make a single stupid mistake, and I especially hate it when games can be rendered unwinnable because you took too long to do something.

...Damn you, Sierra.

[Zeek]

Multiple endings might be a problem in an episodic game.

Also, I hate it when games can be rendered unwinnable when you make a single stupid mistake, and I especially hate it when games can be rendered unwinnable because you took too long to do something.

...Damn you, Sierra.
Why am I having flashbacks of Freddy Farcus after reading that post?

[LikaLaruku]

Multiple endings might be a problem in an episodic game.

Also, I hate it when games can be rendered unwinnable when you make a single stupid mistake, and I especially hate it when games can be rendered unwinnable because you took too long to do something.

...Damn you, Sierra.

I ocassionaly have that problem with RTSRPG games. Always did hate it Neverwinter Nights when you say the wong thing to/choose the wrong option from/get cut-off while talking to an NPC & either had to restart the conversation or reload the whole game to get a different ending, especially in Underdark.

As for multiple endings in an episodic game being a problem, nah. More options are always better & liniarness in games has been going out of style for years. Having multiple choices & multiple endings in an episodic game could make it like those old "create your own adventure" books we probably all read as kids. The only negative aspect I can think of is that they would take longer to make.

[Blehboy]

I mean all of these ideas being thrown out there are interesting, but we have to realize that there's been a lot of change already. It's true to say that episodic gaming needs those places of recognition and returning characters. From season 1 to season 2 there was a lot of good change, and they really made it so each episode was pretty different. Perhaps in season 1 it started to get a little repetitive, but it was still great and they obviously learned from it because season 2 had a ton of game diversity.

They should keep the office (change it if they like) because it has always been a constant

Perhaps switch around the neighborhood with new shops or revamped old ones

Bring in some new chars and give some old ones a break (but not get rid of them)

And keep the STYLE the same, you're all saying to basically switch how the game is played and that shouldn't happen from one season to the next, these guys are doing a great job