SBCG4AP is a new episodic game series starring Strong Bad and the rest of the crew from the Homestarrunner.com cartoons. The games are being developed by Telltale Games, the same company who has been tirelessly turning out Sam & Max episodes since 2006.
Homestarrunner.com is a cartoon created by Mike and Matt Chapman in 1999, and Strong Bad is the series' most popular character. He's an awesome guy who enjoys answering emails from random fans, beating up his younger brother, and messing with people. It's kind of hard to explain. Just visit homestarrunner.com and see for yourself.
(Oh, also Strong Bad was voted Sexiest Man Alive by Salon.com. Which is a little weird, since he's a cartoon character who goes around wearing a lucha libre mask and no shirt, but we try not to be judgmental.)
Attractive people.
These are story games, with weird plots and tons of dialogue conceived through a mind-meld between the guys who make the Homestarrunner.com cartoons and the team who brought you Sam & Max Seasons One and Two. In each SBCG4AP episode, you take control of Strong Bad and interact with other characters in beloved locations such as Strong Bad's basement, Bub's Concession Stand, and The Stick. Besides talking to other characters and messing with their minds, you'll also get to dress up in funny costumes, check email on Strong Bad's trusty Lappy 486, and play arcade-style mini games such as the timeless Snake Boxer 5.
Yes! For the first time, you'll be able to sit down behind Strong Bad's keyboard and send your very own Strong Bad emails to anyone on your Wii friends list. (They don't even need to have the game!) You can even attach pictures taken with the in-game camera to these emails, to show off Easter eggs or crazy costumes that you uncovered while playing.
The five-episode season of SBCG4AP has premiered on WiiWare and PC! You can order the PC version here. For details on buying the Wii version, check out these simple instructions. There's also a free demo of the premiere episode, Homestar Ruiner, if you want a little taste.
Telltale releases our episodic games in seasons, the same way TV series are released. At the beginning of a season, we announce the schedule, so you'll know exactly how many episodes are coming and when they'll be released. We've released two full Sam & Max seasons this way (hey! check them out!), and we're getting pretty good at it, if we do say so ourselves.
The Wii version is 1000 Wii points, and can be purchased through the Wii Shop Channel. The PC version is $8.95 for an episode, or $34.95 for the full season. You can order the PC version through our online store.
Since the Strong Bad games were designed to be downloadable, the file size is pretty small. The PC version of Homestar Ruiner is 69MB. The Wii version takes up 319 blocks, and requires 11 blocks for saved games.
Episodes will be released monthly, giving you just enough time to play through the game, dissolve into fits of mad laughter (and potentially freak out any cats or small children in the vicinity), poke around and find all the hidden stuff we crammed into the game for your amusement, and tell all your friends how great it was before it's time to start on the next one.
Very! Matt and Mike Chapman (the creators of homestarrunner.com) have been involved with every aspect of this series. They're helping us get the art as close as possible to their original Flash cartoons. They're working with us on the storylines and taking editing passes on the scripts to make the writing punchier and more Strong Bad-y than we ever could have done alone. They're recording the voice lines (along with Missy Palmer, who plays Marzipan). If you're already a fan of the Chapmans' work, you're going to recognize their influence all over these games. And if you're not a fan yet, you will be!
The designers and writers on Telltale's side include: Mark Darin of Nick Bounty fame; Chuck Jordan, lead writer on Sam & Max Season Two, Mike Stemmle, designer on Sam & Max Hit the Road, Afterlife, and the ultimately cancelled Sam & Max Freelance Police (it wasn't his fault!); and Dave Grossman, designer on Sam & Max Season One, Day of the Tentacle, Secret of Monkey Island... the list goes on and on. That's some good talent!
Of course not! Believe it or not, we're now a big enough company that we can work on all sorts of things at once. Sam & Max will be back in early 2009 with a new season, plus we're bringing their adventures to the Wii this fall. And then there's Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures on the way as well. Will wonders never cease?
Yes. The "actual gameplay footage" at the end of the video really is actual gameplay footage. (If you haven't seen the video yet, watch it!)
No, the games are built with the Telltale Tool, the same in-house engine we use for all of our games. Thanks to new widgets like renderers and toon shaders that we've integrated into our 3D engine, we're able to make the game look so much like the cartoons you almost can't tell the difference. (Plus, in 3D we get to do all sorts of things with Strong Bad that can't be done in a 2D Flash cartoon!)
We're not exactly sure. Two guys with mustaches showed up at the office one day, shouting out all these crazy ideas for the game. The Chapmans seem to trust them, so we figured we'd make them a silent partner (emphasis on silent). To see some of Videlectrix's work, visit their website.
Keep an eye on our Strong Bad page and Strong Bad's development blog for all the latest updates about the series. And if you subscribe to our newsletter, we'll keep you up to date with game-related announcements.
