Picking at "They Stole Max's Brain!"

edited February 2011 in Sam & Max
I'd like to preface this post with a disclaimer of sorts: I've only dropped by these forums every once in a while, and though I haven't seen this topic discussed anywhere else, I still suspect that I might have overlooked something related to it. If that is the case (or if this subject is something the developers would prefer that I not bring up here), then I apologize.


Sometimes I like to look through the resource files of older adventure games to see if I can find some material that wasn't included in the final product. I've found lots of unused animations, backgrounds and speech clips in the resource files of many of Sierra On-Line's games,* and to my surprise, I found some particularly interesting lines of dialogue in the resource files of "They Stole Max's Brain!" with the aid of Bgbennyboy's Telltale Speech Extractor.

(Note: To keep this list from being even more verbally tedious than it already is, I'll describe my findings as if the incarnation of the game that they appear in actually exists instead of saying things like, "Item X was originally in location Y" and "You originally had to solve Puzzle 3 in order to talk to Character 8".)

-Flint Paper actually shows up in the cultists' cavern in the beginning of the game instead of just appearing in a flashback.

-The "A Brief History of Bad Ideas in Transportation" exhibit is complete rather than merely being advertised as a coming attraction. There is narration about it on the audio tour, and there are descriptions of its displays, one of which is a boat called "The Screaming Narwhal" ("Although eminently seaworthy, The Screaming Narwhal, a pirate ship of unknown origin, was infamous for its inability to travel anywhere without a map.").

-There is a third puzzle that has to be solved to dissolve the alliance between Papierwaite and Skun-ka'pe. From what I've pieced together from the dialogue, in order to solve it, you need to take the Enigma deodorant from Papierwaite's office, have Sammun-mak shapeshift into the Toxicodendron palinus (the prehistoric poison ivy, which must have originally had a picture of it on its sign, along with all the other plants in the display), rub the deodorant on Sammun-mak, then put the deodorant back where it originally was. After Papierwaite goes to his office to freshen up and returns to the planetarium, he starts hopping around and yelping in pain. Skun-ka'pe thinks that Papierwaite is mocking him by comparing him to the "bug-picking simians" of Earth, and Papierwaite accuses Skun-ka'pe and his minions of causing the museum to become infested with fleas.

-The rebels don't just give you the brain screw -- they can only tell you that it is in one of the city's gift vaults. Norrington tells Max which vault this is (the one that appears in the final game, conveniently enough), and you not only have to find a way inside it, but also find a way to get Sam to pick up the screw (since Sam refuses to take anything from Sammun-mak without a very good reason, and Max is currently a bit lacking in the appendage department). When you ask Sal about the brain screw, he says that it was removed from the Museum of Mostly Natural History and placed in the vault by Sammun-mak himself.

-The sign-spinning minion is still advertising a pet store in the alternate reality, only the pet store is now selling crocodiles. You can have Sam enter the store, but he just walks right back out again, remarking that the crocodiles really don't like Max (a little like the Radio Yurt gag).

-Two of the accessories of power are considerably different: The Ornament of Fealty is the Ear Stud of Fealty, the Medallion of Tithing is the Ring of Tithing (or alternately, the Brass Ring of Generosity). I can see why they were changed, since an ear stud and a ring would be more difficult to see.

-There are a few more 2D images that Max can shapeshift into in the alternate reality. One is them is a picture of a corn dog (probably from one of the boxes outside Stinky's Diner). That's right: Max can change into a corn dog. As you might guess, this causes a lot of confusion for Sammun-mak when Max defiles the corn dog pyramid in this shape. There's also an image of an object that nobody can identify -- after Max destroys the corn dog pyramid as this object, Sammun-mak has to explain what it is (an ornate sandal-tightening device called a meshkant).


*I found a tiny graphic that looks a lot like Max's head in the resource files of Torin's Passage (which features a pair of skunks named Sam and Max).

Comments

  • edited January 2011
    It's always pretty neat to hear what could have been in these games. Also, Papierwaite is the ONLY 'villain' who would ever pause in the middle of a grand diabolical scheme to go freshen up. Classy.
  • edited January 2011
    Ooh, great finds.

    Is it somewhat morbid that I was actually curious about that 'Bad Ideas in Transportation' exhibit? (aka, thanks for sharing the info. :P )

    In all honesty, adding to the list of complications if the following ever happened, I think Max would have attempted to devour himself from the inside-out if he ever became a corn dog.
  • edited January 2011
    So... A direct reference to ToMI was too much for us costumers, eh?

    It's okay, Telltale, I got my answer.
  • edited January 2011
    Y'know, this episode probably wouldn't have been the worst of the season for me had they kept this stuff in.
  • edited January 2011
    Yeah, the best part about Episode 3 was the Noir and Museum parts, so extending them, having a Monkey Island reference (and a Map reference), and an extra puzzle to start the fight between Skun-ka'pe and Paiperwaite would have been good.
  • edited January 2011
    I think Telltale nixed the Enigma deodorant puzzle to avoid the Three Tasks cliche they are so known for. Besides that, it makes more sense to have puzzles that show the extent of Papierwaite's Yog-Soggoth worship and establish Sal as a character you routinely get beaten up to solve puzzles than to eliminate one of the other puzzles just to explain Enigma deodorant. I wish they had kept the puzzle in, however.
  • edited January 2011
    I think Telltale nixed the Enigma deodorant puzzle to avoid the Three Tasks cliche they are so known for. Besides that, it makes more sense to have puzzles that show the extent of Papierwaite's Yog-Soggoth worship and establish Sal as a character you routinely get beaten up to solve puzzles than to eliminate one of the other puzzles just to explain Enigma deodorant. I wish they had kept the puzzle in, however.

    People like the Three Tasks cliché, though. I remember I was weirdened out when I solved the entire thing in two subpuzzles.
  • edited January 2011
    :(

    More puzzles (and humour) would have definitely helped 303, season 3's worst ep.
  • edited January 2011
    Hmmm I really liked 303. I laughed a ton at some of the lines during the Noir scenario.
  • edited January 2011
    I think Telltale nixed the Enigma deodorant puzzle to avoid the Three Tasks cliche they are so known for. Besides that, it makes more sense to have puzzles that show the extent of Papierwaite's Yog-Soggoth worship and establish Sal as a character you routinely get beaten up to solve puzzles than to eliminate one of the other puzzles just to explain Enigma deodorant. I wish they had kept the puzzle in, however.
    I sure as hell hope that's not their reasoning. If you really wanna break the three task cliche, do it by adding another puzzle, not by cutting content out of the game. And if you can't add another puzzle, then just go with the three tasks thing!
  • edited January 2011
    lombre wrote: »
    I sure as hell hope that's not their reasoning. If you really wanna break the three task cliche, do it by adding another puzzle, not by cutting content out of the game. And if you can't add another puzzle, then just go with the three tasks thing!

    Well, they could have cut it out because of time and budget constraints which, if so, is a damn shame. I really wish Telltale could make a Director's Cut version of "The Devil's Playhouse," with 301's Alternate Reality Game, the extra puzzles in 303, and 305's music themed puzzles intact. I'd pay an extra ten bucks for that.
  • edited January 2011
    Well, they could have cut it out because of time and budget constraints which, if so, is a damn shame. I really wish Telltale could make a Director's Cut version of "The Devil's Playhouse," with 301's Alternate Reality Game, the extra puzzles in 303, and 305's music themed puzzles intact. I'd pay an extra ten bucks for that.

    Time and budget I can understand. But cutting it simply because they don't want three puzzles is just ridiculous.
    A director's cut would be pretty cool, they Jake said that the bits of music dialog from 305 were from something that's not 305.
  • edited January 2011
    lombre wrote: »
    Time and budget I can understand. But cutting it simply because they don't want three puzzles is just ridiculous.
    A director's cut would be pretty cool, they Jake said that the bits of music dialog from 305 were from something that's not 305.

    I would still love to know what they're from, though. "Something that's not the game" is a bit too vague for my tastes. :p
  • edited January 2011
    I would still love to know what they're from, though. "Something that's not the game" is a bit too vague for my tastes. :p

    I suspect it had something to do with the Alternate Reality game that the Nutrition Specs were supposed to come from.
  • edited January 2011
    Nice finds. :D With this extra stuff 303 would definitely have felt less like padding.
  • FlyFly
    edited January 2011
    Awesome finds!
    Akril15 wrote: »
    Flint Paper actually shows up in the cultists' cavern in the beginning of the game instead of just appearing in a flashback.

    I see why they cut that. Making Flint actually give Sam advice makes it seem like he 'caused' Sam's freakout or that Sam's personality flip is conscious acting rather than his ~HIDDEN DARK SIDE!!!!~, which isn't as a) dramatic or b) hilarious.
    Akril15 wrote: »
    The "A Brief History of Bad Ideas in Transportation" exhibit is complete rather than merely being advertised as a coming attraction.

    Aw :( I would have loved to have poked around in there. The museum exhibits were the second best part of 303, behind the Noir stuff. Still, I can understand Telltale not wanting to make a whole other room just for Monkey Island shoutouts (and presumably the location of the Hindenburg picture?).
    Akril15 wrote: »
    Ear Stud of Fealty

    I can understand why they changed that, but somehow I imagine Sam would not enjoy getting sharp objects forced through his ear, although his loyalty to Sammun-Mak would make him cheerfully endure the misery. I'm imagining something like Max's response to his horrible tattoo in the comics, only with more brainwashed smiling.
    Akril15 wrote: »
    As you might guess, this causes a lot of confusion for Sammun-mak when Max defiles the corn dog pyramid [as a corn dog]

    .../r/ing audio of this. Max not only being a corn dog but defiling a corn dog pyramid as a corn dog is way too paradoxical for me to imagine.
    Akril15 wrote: »
    meshkant

    This wasn't the 'mystery object' in the museum, was it? The one Sam kept coming up with alternate justifications for? Neanderthal nose-hair clippers or what have you?
  • edited January 2011
    MOAR puzzles > less puzzles
  • edited January 2011
    I could see why they would cut the deoderant puzzle, I would of found it a drag to have to complete two 'Three Tasks' situations in one episode. If it were to be differently placed or had a longer set of steps I think they should of put it in. I don't think TellTale should keep falling back on the same three tasks setup, one puzzle with many steps would be better. I find it strange they'd scrapped a few puzzles but in the game they double on a puzzle solution.
  • edited January 2011
    These are all great finds. Good job. :)

    Will you let us know about anything else you find? (Be it from Sam and Max or any of Telltale's other games.)
  • edited January 2011
    Hope someone finds more of this stuff in diffferent episodes or something.
  • edited February 2011
    Thanks, everyone! (Darn...I really shouldn't start new threads right before going on a 2-week vacation.)
    Fly wrote: »
    .../r/ing audio of this. Max not only being a corn dog but defiling a corn dog pyramid as a corn dog is way too paradoxical for me to imagine.
    All righty -- I tried to include all of the relevant lines in the following MP3s:
    Max's reaction to changing into a corn dog (I'm not 100% certain that the last two lines were meant to follow the first-- that's just the order they were in.)
    Max defiles the corn dog pyramid (1)
    Max defiles the corn dog pyramid (2)
    Sammun-mak's reaction to his pyramid's destruction (notice that he stops using the royal "we" in his last line)
    Fly wrote: »
    meshkant
    This wasn't the 'mystery object' in the museum, was it? The one Sam kept coming up with alternate justifications for? Neanderthal nose-hair clippers or what have you?
    You know...now that you mention it, I think you just might be right. I never thought of that thing while I was trying to figure out what the meshkant was and where it appeared, but that mystery object does seem to be the most likely candidate.
    Will you let us know about anything else you find? (Be it from Sam and Max or any of Telltale's other games.)
    If I find something particularly noteworthy, I probably will. So far, I haven't found any large batches of unused lines in the other episodes of The Devil's Playhouse, but I'll keep searching them (and the rest of the Telltale games I own) whenever I have time to waste.
  • edited February 2011
    Is there a place where you've written about things you've found in Sierra games?
  • FlyFly
    edited February 2011
    Akril15 wrote: »
    All righty -- I tried to include all of the relevant lines in the following MP3s:
    Max's reaction to changing into a corn dog (I'm not 100% certain that the last two lines were meant to follow the first-- that's just the order they were in.)
    Max defiles the corn dog pyramid (1)
    Max defiles the corn dog pyramid (2)
    Sammun-mak's reaction to his pyramid's destruction (notice that he stops using the royal "we" in his last line)

    Thanks for getting back to me. The clips are great/disturbing. ♥
  • edited February 2011
    Akril15 wrote: »
    All righty -- I tried to include all of the relevant lines in the following MP3s:
    Max's reaction to changing into a corn dog (I'm not 100% certain that the last two lines were meant to follow the first-- that's just the order they were in.)
    Max defiles the corn dog pyramid (1)
    Max defiles the corn dog pyramid (2)
    Sammun-mak's reaction to his pyramid's destruction (notice that he stops using the royal "we" in his last line)

    Wow, the episode could have been better with those left in. Great find.
  • edited February 2011
    JuntMonkey wrote: »
    Is there a place where you've written about things you've found in Sierra games?
    Yes -- this is where I upload most of my findings.
  • edited February 2011
    Thanks!
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