The thing that's bugged me with Telltale's Sam & Max...
Well, I guess I'm about to write a bit of a whine post, but I hope you'll bear with me.
You see, the one thing that's really bugged me ever since the start of Season One is that I get the impression that the world of Sam & Max is not as wacky as S&M's street and the other locations they visit. I mean, while the comics (as well as the Lucasarts game) are full of jabs at New Yorkers, the American way and all kinds of kitschy Americana, the Telltale game just fails to convince me that the outrageous characters and events that we get to meet and see in S&M's adventures is really the general way of life in this fictional representation of New York City and the rest of the world.
I understand that we can't have everything since it's obviously not possible to add more than a couple of new rooms each episode given the episodic format, but still I really hope that you'll choose to make Season 3 more "down-to-Earth" than previous installments. For instance, I'd love to explore more of the surrounding blocks of NYC, or maybe we could get to drive off to a more everyday location of the U.S.
I obviously don't want you to make a new HtR, but still I must say that I loved having a game where you just visit gas stations and various tourist attractions, and thus show off Steve Purcell's truly unique take on the USA.
Just some thoughts.
You see, the one thing that's really bugged me ever since the start of Season One is that I get the impression that the world of Sam & Max is not as wacky as S&M's street and the other locations they visit. I mean, while the comics (as well as the Lucasarts game) are full of jabs at New Yorkers, the American way and all kinds of kitschy Americana, the Telltale game just fails to convince me that the outrageous characters and events that we get to meet and see in S&M's adventures is really the general way of life in this fictional representation of New York City and the rest of the world.
I understand that we can't have everything since it's obviously not possible to add more than a couple of new rooms each episode given the episodic format, but still I really hope that you'll choose to make Season 3 more "down-to-Earth" than previous installments. For instance, I'd love to explore more of the surrounding blocks of NYC, or maybe we could get to drive off to a more everyday location of the U.S.
I obviously don't want you to make a new HtR, but still I must say that I loved having a game where you just visit gas stations and various tourist attractions, and thus show off Steve Purcell's truly unique take on the USA.
Just some thoughts.
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That's a very important point that is important to make.
I'm guessing Steve thinks up a lot of ideas, but one of the things that made both the comics and the cartoon (and HTR) good was that it was a satire on USA. It was all a satire of one country, so it was much easier to follow the comic patterns.
The current format Telltale's currently working in is really international, which steals a lot of the charm that was in the franchise's previous incarnations.
I realize that as pony requests go, that's like asking for a unicorn, but still...it would be way cool.
I actually wish for both of those things.
Damon!
I would PAY to get my paws on the Telltale Tool! I wish TT would atleast consider lisencing it out! I dont care if it cant edit already-compiled games like S+M, I'd just like to be able to use it to make my own games! (and I seem to remember somone saying it ties in directly to Maya, which I'm currently studying)
But I think you're right, when wishing for ponies, you (and now even more I) asked for a unicorn... or maybe even a pegasus...
http://alban.dotsec.net/7.html
Never doubt the open-source community.
I'll try to do better next time.
Thanks for summing up my thoughts. Though it should be pointed out that classic S&M also made room for international settings, but always from a stereotypical american point of view.
Like when S&M get to visit a Phillipines filled with every 'foreign' and 'exotic' cultural stuff imaginable. Come to think of it, I would have loved an in-game comment about how the Stuttgart setting obviously was created without reference material...
Yeah, I loved Bosco's store for the first couple of episodes. However, I think it was a big production mistake to have S&M react to him as the lunatic he really is. I would have preferred a more laid-back approach, where they just treat him as though he doesn't at all stand out to them, thus giving the impression that this kind of character is quite representative for the kind of people they would expect to meet in any given store. It would certainly make the New York City of their world seem a lot less normal than it does now.
(Are my whine posting skills picking up?
or you could try this. I highly, HIGHLY recommend the Life of D. Duck.
So, it seems like your complaint is either that the format is too strict (Which is has to be) or that the plot is too grandiose (Which... well, why shouldn't it be?). Mind you, it would also be great if they could whip up another full-length game with lots of new locations to visit, even if they were all locations in the USA (Or even all in New York). I think that prolly any direction they decide to take the series in will be similarly-if-not-equally as great, though. So I'm not really against what you're saying, and I'm enough of a brown-nosing fan to agree that it would be good if Telltale worked to appease your complaints (Because I will agree that Telltale doing ANYTHING is a good thing. I.e., I would also agree that it would be good if Telltale did NOT bother working to appease your complaints).
there are a lot of "crazy" stuff that felt missing in the telltale seasons, like the burning tire mountain, and of course mnt rushmore (with bungee from the noses of the presidents). though I really like the clouds out of the office. XD
hmm... actually I can't find anything as crazy as the original sam and max game locations.
also I felt the missing of the hallway between the office and the street, though it's not so important. XD
bosco's store is my favorite I guess. ^;^
I think one of the problems is that the 3d makes the screens look smaller with less action...
I dunno. take the fishworld from the original game for example. it had huge backgrounds, and the fisherman was fishing... I dunno, it felt more alive, big and colorful.
whlie season's 1 locations cannot be compared to season's 2 (which were awesome), I dunno... it always feels like something is missing. maybe the characters and NPC's arn't using the enviroment enough.
-edit-
oh, jurgen talking in the phone and dancing jumped to mind. XD ya, the parts with jurgen felt alot more alive.
Dude! thanks! I didn't know that existed!
MRe: Still not whiny. As great as the games are, I don't think they 'break the fourth wall' nearly often enough. If ever. Sam & Max should be commenting dryly on their surroundings and ignorance of those who have created them, as they have in all their previous incarnations.
Sarcasm, Sarcasm, Sarcasm.
Jai, pick a side. Where's "The Vision", man?
Amaterasu: i don't think we need to bring back HTR locations, but you bring up a good point about the environments seeming less vast than in HTR.
I think Telltale should approach locations in a way that they make fun of it. Current locations are great though, I gotta admit you're doing a good good job at Stinky's, the office is pretty good (though could use cleanup) etc.
For instance, when S&M visit a location abroad it would be nice if you were given the impression that all the game designer knew of the place is something he/she saw on the TV the other night. In the very first published comic ("Monkeys violating the heavenly temple"), we got to see Steve Purcell's take on the Phillipines: a strange land containing everything from kangaroos to the Eiffel tower (iirc), and with lots of joke about the author's obvious cultural ignorance. There really is great potential in Telltale's take on both Easter Island and Stuttgart, but neither of them is exaggerated enough for any kind of self-mockery.
The US locations we get to see in the games - like the establishments of Bosco and Stinky - are usually great, and are just as they should be filled with lots of background gags in the form of various products, posters, etc. The only thing I think is a big miss here is that our heroes far too often react to things as though they were out of the ordinary. I miss the kind of comedy that would arise whenever something completely weird happens, but S&M just disregards it as though they don't find it one bit out of the ordinary.
Aw...
But even if in season 3 S&M conquer the universe and several parellel universes, it's fin with me, if it stays as brilliant as the second season. I give you free hand on everything Telltale, you'll work it out.
P.S. by the way, what's that green icon, I used supposed to be?
Mr Purcell's comic and ideology is one of arresting silence in comedy. The attention paid to dialog and setup with an unsuspected apex, as quoted from Bad Day on the Moon, "Sam: It's a giant moon roach coffee shop. It's uncanny, like some earth parallel development; Max: I never dreamed I'd live long enough to hear you say earth parallel development and mean it, Sam", contrasts the complex build up of description, to Max's simple outlook on the situation. This sort of thing happens all throughout the comic series and in the original HtR game.
I remember reading about Purcell's outlook on Sam & Max, and how it is a spoof on the usual detective comic scenario. There's such a great buildup over the the detailing of the dialogue, not just to parody the situation at hand, but to cut it down and bring it to an arresting hault. Pair that ideology with the American culture, and have the Max quips reflect society's actual covering up of those ideologies. I quote from chapter 3 of On The Road: "Sam: I think he said to come back later. Let's go wander through the new mall for a while. Max: Oboy! We can look at everyone we're glad we aren't"
In conclusion, I really think mRe's statement is completely right, but we shouldn't entirely focus on the local of the area being the underlying argument, it should be the reflection of the characters to the environment. In more of a Purcell-like fashion, trying to capture that, as well as bring something just as original and funny from the creators.
Great suggestions!
I'm simultaneously proud and freaked to have sparked something of an academic discussion on the good ol' forums. And yes, I fully agree that the location isn't as important as the ongoing dialogue between S&M and their approach to different social situations. Not sure if I follow your thoghts on Purcell's 'ideology' though.
On a different note,
Forum Contest: In how many wrong ways can you write my screen name?
/\/\RE /\/\re /\/\Re /\/\rE /\/\R3 /\/\r3
Besides, space is the extreme limit in one direction and Hell in the other (or so they told me in Bible class). They've been to both, now it's time to explore home!
I guess I shouldn't participate in my own contest, but still... I have a European keyboard.
mr€
Beat that.