Now the important question is why? Is there really a good reason for there to be a sequel?
Fans want to see more stories in this universe and with these characters. And the Maniac Mansion universe feels like it would lend itself to more stories. It's not like Full Throttle or Grim Fandango where everything wraps up really nicely and it would be difficult to come up with an interesting continuation. After Day of the Tentacle, the Mansion's still there, Bernard and the Edisons are still there. There aren't any major changes or character developments that would make a sequel impossible. And if nothing inherently precludes the possibility of another sequel and the fans want to see one, why not make one if they get the chance?
A "new Day of the Tentacle" would be a new Maniac Mansion. And it would suck.
I see no reason why it would suck... The background and characters are so awesome... telltale did an amazing work on Sam&max and Monkey Island, how the hell could a new maniac mansion or dott suck?
Sorry, personal opinion here. If you enjoyed Day of the Tentacle's conventional and linear gameplay and its Saturday Morning kid's cartoon atmosphere, you'd probably enjoy a Telltale Maniac Mansion sequel. But due to the immense popularity and series-ruining nature of Day of the Tentacle, anyone who actually prefers and enjoys the original game in the series is SOL.
Last Crusade wasn't a new wasn't a new Temple of Doom movie, it was a new Indiana Jones.
To be fair, the first Indiana Jones movie was "Raiders of the Lost Ark," with the "Indiana Jones" title retroactively added to it when "Indiana Jones" became a franchise. So not only is it a terrible example of your point (Temple of Doom wasn't a new Raiders of the Lost Ark movie), it's actually a pretty good example of how a franchise can evolve to emphasize its more popular elements.
In this case, I'll just say that Day of the Tentacle's cover art generally features the phrase "Maniac Mansion" in very, very small letters. If there were ever a third game in this series, I wouldn't want it to be "Day of the Tentacle 2" or "Maniac Mansion 3," I would want it to be an all-new story with its own unique title, preferable a title that doesn't mention mansions or tentacles, and perhaps it would also feature "Maniac Mansion" in very small letters on its title screen.
While I found DoTT to be one of my favorite adventure games, it wouldn't do the series justice to simply replicate it. I've said it before but I'll reiterate here: to make a proper sequel to the series, you have to look at the extent to which DoTT evolved and expanded on the gameplay and story of Maniac Mansion, and then apply that same degree of evolution over and above Day of the Tentacle. So in my mind that would require another reshuffling of main characters, further clever innovation in the character-swapping gameplay, along with another fresh sub-genre of science fiction to both spoof and to draw a new key gameplay mechanic from. Simply making another time-travel adventure with the same 3 kids from DoTT seems appealing on the surface, but I think it would fall really flat because it wouldn't be adding anything new to the series. DoTT added a ton of new characters and some extremely clever new gameplay and story hooks, and a sequel would have to add even more, even if that means that somebody's old favorite character gets phased out.
To be fair, the first Indiana Jones movie was "Raiders of the Lost Ark," with the "Indiana Jones" title retroactively added to it when "Indiana Jones" became a franchise. So not only is it a terrible example of your point (Temple of Doom wasn't a new Raiders of the Lost Ark movie), it's actually a pretty good example of how a franchise can evolve to emphasize its more popular elements.
I don't think it was a poor example for this reason at all. It works quite well, I think, because:
1. I did not mention or use Raiders of the Lost Ark, but even if I did, Raiders to Temple wasn't a case of a later sequel usurping the naming of the entire series, a la "Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle" becoming "the Day of the Tentacle series", it was applying a series-specific to a series because "Raiders of the Lost Ark" wasn't going to cut it in terms of making a sequel, because nobody was raiding fucking arks. We don't have Raiders of the Lost Ark, then Raiders of the Lost Ark: Temple of Doom, and then Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which would have been a far more apt comparison(if you can find a similar example of a title within a series usurping the naming rights, please mention it)
2. Seriously, it's not like Indiana Jones was a bit player or a side character that was really popular so they thought, "Oh, let's make it about this guy now"(a la an alternate universe in which Boba Fett takes over as the main cast member for the Star Wars films). You can't call Maniac Mansion a "Day of the Tentacle" game, because it doesn't really center around the Tentacle at all. He's just kind of there.
In this case, I'll just say that Day of the Tentacle's cover art generally features the phrase "Maniac Mansion" in very, very small letters. If there were ever a third game in this series, I wouldn't want it to be "Day of the Tentacle 2" or "Maniac Mansion 3," I would want it to be an all-new story with its own unique title, preferable a title that doesn't mention mansions or tentacles, and perhaps it would also feature "Maniac Mansion" in very small letters on its title screen.
Many series don't need to feature "SERIES NAME" in big letters on promotional materials. Notice the poster art for the Friday the 13th movie Jason Goes to Hell, or the Nolan Batman series film The Dark Knight.
Besides, that, have you ever tried opening the manual? I understand that Day of the Tentacle fans are apparently afraid of and confused by manuals, but they were meant to be opened to at least the inside cover, generally. The Maniac Mansion 2 title also appears on the reference card. The idea that Day of the Tentacle is not a Maniac Mansion game because the TEXT ON THE BOX ISN'T BIG ENOUGH is absolutely ridiculous.
While I found DoTT to be one of my favorite adventure games, it wouldn't do the series justice to simply replicate it. I've said it before but I'll reiterate here: to make a proper sequel to the series, you have to look at the extent to which DoTT evolved and expanded on the gameplay and story of Maniac Mansion, and then apply that same degree of evolution over and above Day of the Tentacle. So in my mind that would require another reshuffling of main characters, further clever innovation in the character-swapping gameplay, along with another fresh sub-genre of science fiction to both spoof and to draw a new key gameplay mechanic from. Simply making another time-travel adventure with the same 3 kids from DoTT seems appealing on the surface, but I think it would fall really flat because it wouldn't be adding anything new to the series. DoTT added a ton of new characters and some extremely clever new gameplay and story hooks, and a sequel would have to add even more, even if that means that somebody's old favorite character gets phased out.
They didn't "evolve the gameplay" so much as remove it entirely to make way for another typically-designed LucasArts game. All they did to "evolve" Maniac Mansion was to strip out the ability to pick a team, the ability to play a section with any kid you wanted, multiple solutions to puzzles, a living world based on scripts in which characters actually moved about and lived rather than just standing about gaping at the wall and waiting for you to do something, and the multiple endings of the original game. In its stead, they replaced the original atmosphere with that of a typical kids cartoon, made it another linear adventure game in a static, lifeless world with singular puzzle solutions and very much the same mechanics of their last few adventure outings and every other graphic adventure released at the time, sans possibly death. It wouldn't do the series justice to evolve it? If we're going off the mold and direction of Day of the Tentacle, it would do the series an injustice to not strip it down to remove puzzles altogether, or perhaps to make just another adventure series in the mold of the last few games the developer made, with a Maniac Mansion(sorry, Day of the Tentacle) skin draped over it. If we're going off my standards, though, it's doing the series an injustice that we haven't taken it behind the old barn and shot her yet.
You come across as being very angry, and I'm not attempting to provoke such a reaction. I haven't really played enough of the original Maniac Mansion to have any opinions regarding the relative quality levels of the games, but I will agree that Day of the Tentacle was much more of a "typical" adventure game where Maniac Mansion was (and still is) much more one-of-a-kind.
I'm more interested in discussing the logistics of sequel titles, since I find that interesting.
I still think that Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was a pretty weird example in your argument that overall series titles don't or shouldn't change based on the second installment, since the Indiana Jones series is a series that did change its overall title starting with its second installment.
(if you can find a similar example of a title within a series usurping the naming rights, please mention it)
Closest thing I can think of is First Blood => Rambo: First Blood Part II => Rambo III, but that also follows the "main character becomes title character" trend that you've already commented on.
Another bizarre example might be how some of the individual Final Fantasy games have their own sequels (such as Final Fantasy X-2 and the increasing number of Final Fantasy VII sub-games). Of course, that might not be a good example example because the Final Fantasy series is extremely nonstandard in terms of its overall lack of connected elements between titles, so it makes some sense that when a sequel does carry very specific elements from a previous title, it is identified as a sequel to that particular game.
Then there's also Super Mario World => Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island => Yoshi's Island 2...
and similarly: Super Mario Land => Super Mario Land 2 => Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 => Wario Land series...
Those are perhaps more relevant than the Rambo and Indiana Jones ones because the new series title is rarely if ever retroactively applied to the earlier games in the series.
I can't think of anything else off the top of my head.
It all comes down to marketing, and I'd say there's bigger recognition 'out there' for DOTT than MM. Hence it makes more sense for a new game in the series to adopt the DOTT subtitle.
See also the Dark Forces series that adopted the Jedi Knight branding as it progressed.
The only thing that counts is generating sales, so the most recognisable title wins. Simple as that.
To be fair though, the Indiana Jones series is mostly referred to by the directors as the Raiders series.
Also, DotT is a pretty poor name for a series, since the Day of the Tentacle was just one instance that has been avoided. Maniac Mansion would still be the better name, seeing as even DotT still took place in the aforementioned mansion.
LucasArts approached Telltale about it. I'm too lazy to get quotes right now.
Moving on from all the Rather Dashing-and-others initiated borderline off-topic ranting (yes, you don't like DOTT. We get it already!), can we get a little elaboration on this please? I've not heard about that.
You come across as being very angry, and I'm not attempting to provoke such a reaction. I haven't really played enough of the original Maniac Mansion to have any opinions regarding the relative quality levels of the games, but I will agree that Day of the Tentacle was much more of a "typical" adventure game where Maniac Mansion was (and still is) much more one-of-a-kind.
Oh no, don't take it as anger. I'm very passionate about Maniac Mansion as one of the greatest adventure games of all time from a design perspective, and I do get annoyed/miffed/perturbed when it's treated like "the imperfect prototype for Maniac Mansion that, God bless them, they just couldn't get quite right", or something of the sort. But I'm hardly *mad*, at least not at you in particular. =p
I'm more interested in discussing the logistics of sequel titles, since I find that interesting.
Then there's also Super Mario World => Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island => Yoshi's Island 2...
and similarly: Super Mario Land => Super Mario Land 2 => Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 => Wario Land series...
Those are perhaps more relevant than the Rambo and Indiana Jones ones because the new series title is rarely if ever retroactively applied to the earlier games in the series.
This is the one you "stuck to" the most(didn't make my argument against it for me), so I'll just say that this one is more of a case of early Nintendo of America localization, and btw isn't Yoshi's Island 2 just called Yoshi's Island DS? Granted, odd, and probably the best example, but still, not exactly "Branded" as a sequel.
Moving on from all the Rather Dashing-and-others initiated borderline off-topic ranting (yes, you don't like DOTT. We get it already!), can we get a little elaboration on this please? I've not heard about that.
To be fair, on this forum "borderline off-topic" is staying relatively really well on-track(not that I *like* that, mind you, but it's at least the accepted norm).
Also, I definitely would have added something if I had something to add to that, but I honestly haven't sen anything of the sort and I couldn't find anything when I looked. I've read so many interviews, and I'm sure I've found a lot that says they'd LIKE to do another Maniac Mansion if they could, but not that there was an actual business discussion about it.
I'd really like to see a Maniac Mansion sequel where they focus on one of the other kids from the original game. Though when I say that, what I mean is "I want them to make a game about Razor and the Scummettes." It could involve Green Tentacle's band and some kind of crazy music festival being held at the mansion. (well, if they can use it for a novelty salesman convention...)
Or the meteor could always return, depending on the ending you got it's
either a successful writer, in meteor prison, or shot into space.
None of those really stop it from returning as a villain.
Well, the NES ending where it got eaten by the plant might work, but I don't think that would be canon. ETA: Come to think of it, can you feed the meteor to the plant in the standard version of the game as well? I've never gone back to try it.
This is the one you "stuck to" the most(didn't make my argument against it for me), so I'll just say that this one is more of a case of early Nintendo of America localization, and btw isn't Yoshi's Island 2 just called Yoshi's Island DS? Granted, odd, and probably the best example, but still, not exactly "Branded" as a sequel.
Wario Land is the best example, then. The wording is slightly different on the Japanese games, but the numbering and title changeover is identical, including the important Mario Land 2 => Mario Land 3 / Wario Land => Wario Land 2 transition.
My siblings and I used to play Sam & Max: Hit the Road and Day of The Tentacle when we were young'uns and they were SOOOOO amazing!! Especially Day Of The Tentacle because it had the most awesome storyline and brilliant concept of playing characters in the past, present and future and that you had to flush certain items to each other in the time machine toilet in order to use in different time-zones. Also, what you did in the past would affect things in the present and future! It's THE most awesome game ever...please please please make a new one!!
There's LOADS of people here in England that would love to see another Day of the Tentacle as well. We just love tentacles over here!
It was our (my siblings and I) favourite game when we were little along with Sam & Max Hit the Road. I would love love love to play another one. The concept of DOTT was AWESOME and soooooooo much fun to play!! There's loads of us over here in the UK that would just die of excitement (yes yes, I'm overexaggerating, but only slightly!) if another DOTT came out!!! Love it!!! It would probably be the best thing to happen since sliced bread... xx
I want to be a masochist here and suggest that the series involves reality hopping.
I think it would have the potential for lots of cool characters, cool puzzles and lots of cool environments to see.
(Plus can play on the original's idea of having different characters and different endings along with the second one's time travelling puzzles)
However it could also be mind bogglingly insane! >:D BWAHAHAAAA!
Did some thread merging magic to have quite a lot of DotT requests combined in this here place. Threads from 2006, eh? I think I'll search for the Indy ones as well. I might have to post in these.
Comments
Fans want to see more stories in this universe and with these characters. And the Maniac Mansion universe feels like it would lend itself to more stories. It's not like Full Throttle or Grim Fandango where everything wraps up really nicely and it would be difficult to come up with an interesting continuation. After Day of the Tentacle, the Mansion's still there, Bernard and the Edisons are still there. There aren't any major changes or character developments that would make a sequel impossible. And if nothing inherently precludes the possibility of another sequel and the fans want to see one, why not make one if they get the chance?
I see no reason why it would suck... The background and characters are so awesome... telltale did an amazing work on Sam&max and Monkey Island, how the hell could a new maniac mansion or dott suck?
To be fair, the first Indiana Jones movie was "Raiders of the Lost Ark," with the "Indiana Jones" title retroactively added to it when "Indiana Jones" became a franchise. So not only is it a terrible example of your point (Temple of Doom wasn't a new Raiders of the Lost Ark movie), it's actually a pretty good example of how a franchise can evolve to emphasize its more popular elements.
In this case, I'll just say that Day of the Tentacle's cover art generally features the phrase "Maniac Mansion" in very, very small letters. If there were ever a third game in this series, I wouldn't want it to be "Day of the Tentacle 2" or "Maniac Mansion 3," I would want it to be an all-new story with its own unique title, preferable a title that doesn't mention mansions or tentacles, and perhaps it would also feature "Maniac Mansion" in very small letters on its title screen.
While I found DoTT to be one of my favorite adventure games, it wouldn't do the series justice to simply replicate it. I've said it before but I'll reiterate here: to make a proper sequel to the series, you have to look at the extent to which DoTT evolved and expanded on the gameplay and story of Maniac Mansion, and then apply that same degree of evolution over and above Day of the Tentacle. So in my mind that would require another reshuffling of main characters, further clever innovation in the character-swapping gameplay, along with another fresh sub-genre of science fiction to both spoof and to draw a new key gameplay mechanic from. Simply making another time-travel adventure with the same 3 kids from DoTT seems appealing on the surface, but I think it would fall really flat because it wouldn't be adding anything new to the series. DoTT added a ton of new characters and some extremely clever new gameplay and story hooks, and a sequel would have to add even more, even if that means that somebody's old favorite character gets phased out.
1. I did not mention or use Raiders of the Lost Ark, but even if I did, Raiders to Temple wasn't a case of a later sequel usurping the naming of the entire series, a la "Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle" becoming "the Day of the Tentacle series", it was applying a series-specific to a series because "Raiders of the Lost Ark" wasn't going to cut it in terms of making a sequel, because nobody was raiding fucking arks. We don't have Raiders of the Lost Ark, then Raiders of the Lost Ark: Temple of Doom, and then Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which would have been a far more apt comparison(if you can find a similar example of a title within a series usurping the naming rights, please mention it)
2. Seriously, it's not like Indiana Jones was a bit player or a side character that was really popular so they thought, "Oh, let's make it about this guy now"(a la an alternate universe in which Boba Fett takes over as the main cast member for the Star Wars films). You can't call Maniac Mansion a "Day of the Tentacle" game, because it doesn't really center around the Tentacle at all. He's just kind of there.
Many series don't need to feature "SERIES NAME" in big letters on promotional materials. Notice the poster art for the Friday the 13th movie Jason Goes to Hell, or the Nolan Batman series film The Dark Knight.
Besides, that, have you ever tried opening the manual? I understand that Day of the Tentacle fans are apparently afraid of and confused by manuals, but they were meant to be opened to at least the inside cover, generally. The Maniac Mansion 2 title also appears on the reference card. The idea that Day of the Tentacle is not a Maniac Mansion game because the TEXT ON THE BOX ISN'T BIG ENOUGH is absolutely ridiculous.
They didn't "evolve the gameplay" so much as remove it entirely to make way for another typically-designed LucasArts game. All they did to "evolve" Maniac Mansion was to strip out the ability to pick a team, the ability to play a section with any kid you wanted, multiple solutions to puzzles, a living world based on scripts in which characters actually moved about and lived rather than just standing about gaping at the wall and waiting for you to do something, and the multiple endings of the original game. In its stead, they replaced the original atmosphere with that of a typical kids cartoon, made it another linear adventure game in a static, lifeless world with singular puzzle solutions and very much the same mechanics of their last few adventure outings and every other graphic adventure released at the time, sans possibly death. It wouldn't do the series justice to evolve it? If we're going off the mold and direction of Day of the Tentacle, it would do the series an injustice to not strip it down to remove puzzles altogether, or perhaps to make just another adventure series in the mold of the last few games the developer made, with a Maniac Mansion(sorry, Day of the Tentacle) skin draped over it. If we're going off my standards, though, it's doing the series an injustice that we haven't taken it behind the old barn and shot her yet.
I'm more interested in discussing the logistics of sequel titles, since I find that interesting.
I still think that Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was a pretty weird example in your argument that overall series titles don't or shouldn't change based on the second installment, since the Indiana Jones series is a series that did change its overall title starting with its second installment.
Closest thing I can think of is First Blood => Rambo: First Blood Part II => Rambo III, but that also follows the "main character becomes title character" trend that you've already commented on.
Another bizarre example might be how some of the individual Final Fantasy games have their own sequels (such as Final Fantasy X-2 and the increasing number of Final Fantasy VII sub-games). Of course, that might not be a good example example because the Final Fantasy series is extremely nonstandard in terms of its overall lack of connected elements between titles, so it makes some sense that when a sequel does carry very specific elements from a previous title, it is identified as a sequel to that particular game.
Then there's also Super Mario World => Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island => Yoshi's Island 2...
and similarly: Super Mario Land => Super Mario Land 2 => Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 => Wario Land series...
Those are perhaps more relevant than the Rambo and Indiana Jones ones because the new series title is rarely if ever retroactively applied to the earlier games in the series.
I can't think of anything else off the top of my head.
See also the Dark Forces series that adopted the Jedi Knight branding as it progressed.
The only thing that counts is generating sales, so the most recognisable title wins. Simple as that.
Also, DotT is a pretty poor name for a series, since the Day of the Tentacle was just one instance that has been avoided. Maniac Mansion would still be the better name, seeing as even DotT still took place in the aforementioned mansion.
Moving on from all the Rather Dashing-and-others initiated borderline off-topic ranting (yes, you don't like DOTT. We get it already!), can we get a little elaboration on this please? I've not heard about that.
This is the one you "stuck to" the most(didn't make my argument against it for me), so I'll just say that this one is more of a case of early Nintendo of America localization, and btw isn't Yoshi's Island 2 just called Yoshi's Island DS? Granted, odd, and probably the best example, but still, not exactly "Branded" as a sequel.
To be fair, on this forum "borderline off-topic" is staying relatively really well on-track(not that I *like* that, mind you, but it's at least the accepted norm).
Also, I definitely would have added something if I had something to add to that, but I honestly haven't sen anything of the sort and I couldn't find anything when I looked. I've read so many interviews, and I'm sure I've found a lot that says they'd LIKE to do another Maniac Mansion if they could, but not that there was an actual business discussion about it.
Or the meteor could always return, depending on the ending you got it's
Wario Land is the best example, then. The wording is slightly different on the Japanese games, but the numbering and title changeover is identical, including the important Mario Land 2 => Mario Land 3 / Wario Land => Wario Land 2 transition.
There's LOADS of people here in England that would love to see another Day of the Tentacle as well. We just love tentacles over here!
I think it would have the potential for lots of cool characters, cool puzzles and lots of cool environments to see.
(Plus can play on the original's idea of having different characters and different endings along with the second one's time travelling puzzles)
However it could also be mind bogglingly insane! >:D BWAHAHAAAA!