December Update
Redesign is only a few weeks from being launched. No. Really!
For now, if you're interested you can follow @thescummbar on Twitter, and we'll keep you in the loop there.
Ghost Pirates and the Galleon of Doom? March 29, 2010
Bill Tiller’s latest tweet will be of great interest to fans:
Brain storming ideas fir Ghost Pirates and the Galleon of Doom! Fun fun fun!Now, even assuming a sequel to Ghost Pirates has been greenlit by a publisher, the fact that they’re “brain storming” would make a release pretty distant. Still, exciting!
Posted by Jason
Autumn Moon maestro relaunches site March 27, 2010
A development recently alerted to the world by The Pumpkin Post is the fact that Pedro Macedo Camacho, the composer responsible for the film quality soundtracks of both of Autumn Moon’s games, has relaunched his online presence at http://www.musicbypedro.com/.
Why do you care? Well, for one thing, Pedro has posted several tracks from his A Vampyre Story and Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island scores for your enjoyment. In fact, I don’t know that the entire soundtrack for both games isn’t on there. To listen, navigate to “Projects” under the “Music” menu item on the top of the page, then choose your game on the left. (The Flashy nature of the site prevents me from providing a more direct link.) How awesome is that?
Posted by Jason
Ghost Pirates chart a course for digital shores March 20, 2010
Given the amount of people who seem to be waiting on the digital version of Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island, I figured I’d ask Mamba Games, the UK publisher, if they had any kind of status they were at liberty to share on that front. Here’s what they got back to me with:
Thank you for your email. The download should be available from our site within the next 3 weeks, or if you order off the website we will ship direct to you.So there you go. If you’re willing to sit tight for a bit longer, you can get Ghost Pirates in a format as non-corporeal as the game’s protagonists. If you can’t hold out (and who could blame you?), you have the usual options open to you.
Posted by Jason
Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island - our review March 18, 2010
Back when it was originally announced, Ghost Pirates seemed poised as a humble comeback for the fantasy pirate adventure game, and today it drowns helplessly in an angry ocean of Monkey Island resurgence. But now the English version of Bill Tiller’s all-new swashbuckling romp is available, and we’re here to tell you our opinion, which is, of course, always right. Read!
Posted by Jason
Sean Vanaman fingered by Idle Thumbs March 18, 2010
The latest Idle Thumbs podcast for March 15th 2010 features Sean Vanaman of Telltale Games. You may remember him from such GDC panels as that one on comedy from the other day.
In the podcast, from about the 46 minute point, they discuss that very panel and Sean has some quite interesting things to say about writing for Guybrush.
Have a listen up there, or directly here.
Posted by SurplusGamer
Interrogation of Sam & Max cast continues March 17, 2010
Samandmax.co.uk is at it again, and they ain’t quittin’ until they get their hands on every last voice actor bearing a credit on a Sam & Max episode. Their latest interview is with Brian Sommer, the voice of such characters as Brady Culture and Jurgen’s monster. You may also know him from his roles in other Telltale titles, including Bone, CSI, and TMI. As always, it’s well worth reading what Samandmax.co.uk was able to extract.
Posted by Jason
Mixnmojo Podcast #9 March 16, 2010
This week we talk about Monkey Island 2 Special Edition (including which version of Monkey Island 1 is the best), Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse (including the question “is Max gay?”), and Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island (Bill Tiller’s new game; mild spoilers included).
You can download it here (1:08 hrs, 62mb). The jingle was by Goblin, and the musical “bed” is from Bart Klepka’s Barbary Coast Booty Remix.
Incidentally, apologies for the news post below that for some reason decided to jump ahead in time by 8 years. We think someone might have accidentally brushed against some tables in the database… let’s hope that’s the case anyway, and that it’s not the site falling apart again!
Posted by Gabez
Tim Schafer, Sean Vanaman discuss Comedy in Games, inspire unfunny news headlines March 14, 2010
On the last day of the Game Developer’s Conference Sean Vanaman (Telltale games writer), Rhianna Pratchett (daughter of Terry and writer of the Overlord games), and Tim Schafer (oh, you know him and not Sean Vanaman? Shame on you) chaired a panel on Comedy In Games. 1Up has a nice sum-up, along with some nice quotes. Of course Tim gets all the best ones.
Moderator: Either within the games world or outside it, what informs your comic sensibility when you’re putting together a script or a game?
Tim: [long pause] Where are we stealing our ideas from?
Posted by The Tingler
Ghost Pirates shanties shant be denied March 13, 2010
As those who’ve played it (a populace which I’m thankful to announce now includes me!) are well aware, Autumn Moon’s regular composer, the super-talented Pedro Macedo Camacho, assembled another excellent score with his music for Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, the pirate song that the game opens with (essentially its version of “A Pirate’s Life for Me”) ended up being truncated, so Pedro came to the rescue by providing the Post with the complete version of the song along with the lyrics.
Even more exciting is that Pedro suggests that wheels are in motion in order to get an official soundtrack album of Ghost Pirates released, and if that doesn’t happen, he will offer it himself for free. I like the cut of that man’s treble clef.
Posted by Jason
Mojo's throwback reviews continue! March 11, 2010
Even though we were arguably the most appropriate web site on the entire internet to review The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, we ended up being the only one not to do so. In preparation for the hotly anticipated LeChuck’s Revenge revamp, we’ve rectified the situation.
Note: Apologies for all the broken and/or weird stuff you may have observed while I was getting this published – Mojo has a few miles on her. Also, for anyone who cares, the score is supposed to be 3.5 skulls – we’ll get that fixed at some point, I’m sure.
Posted by Jason
Sam and Max The Devil's Playhouse: The Penal Zone officially announced! March 11, 2010
Yes, Telltale has finally launched its website for Sam and Max Season 3: The Devil’s Playhouse.
The site includes the recently-leaked-and-then-removed official season trailer, plus several screenshots from the first episode, whose title is, as we had already guessed, The Penal Zone. Incidentally, a couple of the new images showcase the new direct control system in action!
The website also includes the names of all five episodes in the season.
- Episode 2: The Tomb of Sammun-Mak
- Episode 3: They Stole Max’s Brain!
- Episode 4: Beyond the Alley of the Dolls
- Episode 5: The City That Dares Not Sleep
As well, there’s now a boatload of new Monkey Island merchandise available, including a second set of TMI buttons, a replica of the Voodoo Lady’s tarot card set, a TMI drinking mug, a TMI T-shirt, a portfolio of concept art by Telltale’s Ryan Church, and best of all, a “treasure chest” of TMI swag. This last item includes, among other things, a replica Piece of Eight, a “Trial of the Century-y-y-y” souvenir button, and a copy of Reginald Van Winslow’s beloved map.
Posted by ATMachine
MI:SE costumes for your PlayStation Home avatar March 11, 2010
It pales in comparison to our previous announcements, but at some point in last night’s exciting press conference, LucasArts announced that the clothing of various Monkey Island characters would soon be available for your PlayStation Home avatar to wear.
This Joystiq article includes a photo. It appears that most of the costumes are taken from the Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition.
Sadly, it would seem that Stan’s coat features a realistic plaid pattern! Shocking, we know.
Posted by ATMachine
LeChuck's Worst Kept Secret Confirmed March 10, 2010
“LeChucks Revenge: Special Edition is official! New puzzles, new enemies, new hair!”
New Puzzles? What?
And… is there an announcement Three?
Update by Jason: While clarification of the features will no doubt come in the morning in the form of a press release and an official site launch, it’s been confirmed that, like with Monkey Island 1, there will be full voice acting, and the original game will be included. “Developer commentary” has bizarrely been alluded to as a bonus feature – who knows what that means, but Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert were on-site for the announcement. Also, here’s the cover art.
Further Update by ATMachine: According to LucasArts’ Twitter feed, MI2:SE will feature voice acting both in the high-resolution updated-graphics mode and in the low-res, original-graphics mode. Plus, Guybrush’s hairstyle has been changed, so hopefully there will be fewer complaints about that this time round.
Update 3: According to LucasArts, MI2:SE will be available for PSN, XBLA, Mac, iPhone, and PC.
Update 4: This Joystiq article suggests that the game will be released “this summer.” Also, there will be a new direct control scheme implemented in addition to the previously used point-and-click method.
Finally, it notes this about the extra content:
“They’ve also added never-before-seen art from Peter Chan and Steve Purcell and developer commentary (!) for you Monkey Island fanboys out there (that’s you).”
Update 5 by Jason: Official site launched and here’s the press release.
Posted by jp-30
Secret of Monkey Island heading to PSN and Mac (UPDATE: And Telltale's online store!) March 10, 2010
LucasArts has revealed via its Twitter account that The Secret of Monkey Island (Special Edition) is heading to the Playstation Network and to Mac. That’s “Announcement One”, apparently.
Expect more details in the coming hours from the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco.
And bring on “Announcement Two”!
Update by ATMachine: Reports trickling out from the LucasArts press conference suggest that SOMI:SE will soon become available for purchase from Telltale’s website. However, this has not been confirmed yet.
Update 2: In addition to the earlier Twitter report, Kotaku has now picked up the news of Telltale selling SOMI:SE in their online store, so it seems pretty official.
Posted by jp-30
Bay Area Sound interview March 07, 2010
It’s actually somewhat shameful that it’s only now that we’re posting an interview with BA Sound, the guys who handle the audio for the titles of LEC as well as Telltale and the other spinoffs.
Depending on the project, their services range from a game’s sound design, music composition, and voice direction, and given the particular importance those things have in a story game, and considering that the studio’s resume of them is longer than a Double Fine development cycle, it’s clear that they’re owed a lot for what makes some of our favorite titles so awesome. And that you owe it to yourself to read the interview.
Posted by Jason