Leisure Suit Larry - the last one Al Lowe made (LSL7) was the best in the series. Plans to make its sequel were shelved then axed due to lack of funding and confidence, I'm led to believe. Sierra/Vivendi Universal lost their way with MCL (but I still enjoyed it) and BOB got such terrible reviews that places like Amazon are dropping prices to £6 just to get rid of the damn things! The original Larry franchise lends itself perfectly to the episodic format and TT have a reputation for hauling the original design teams in. To top this, at the beginning of another thread, it appeared a forum member got in contact with Al Lowe about this and he didn't say no (personally, I think he wants his character back and revert Larry's reputation to an extremely witty tease).
DuckTales - I loved that show when I was a child! This too would fit an episodic format perfectly. Disney are far too busy with High School Musical sequels and Pirates of the Caribbean to worry about a forgotten thing such as DT. If TT politely drop Disney a line, enquiring the possibility of negotiating a licence, they might get it. If they can get Monkey Island off LucasArts, I believe TT are geniuses when it comes to bargaining!
I'm not sure if there'd be any point to a Hitchhiker's game when most of the people playing it would already know the story and therefore it wouldn't be challenging at all. If Douglas Adams was still with us I'd love for him to write the script for a game but alas that could never happen.
I still say Jasper Fforde's 'Thursday Next' series would be great and the episodic format would fit nicely too (although I'd prefer them to follow on in the same way they've done MI).
I agree with the Discworld recommendation 100%. The first two games were fantastic and Discworld Noir was very playable.
You'll be hard-pressed to find someone here who doesn't want to see a Grim Fandango sequel and Telltale would be perfect for the job!
I'm not sure if there'd be any point to a Hitchhiker's game when most of the people playing it would already know the story and therefore it wouldn't be challenging at all. If Douglas Adams was still with us I'd love for him to write the script for a game but alas that could never happen.
Have you played the Hitchhikers text adventure game? I had read the books many times and that was still really tough.
I'm not saying it would work in episodic format though.
I actually went through the whole list from the first post, but as it was such a big block of text, it didn't get approved or something. Good thing I copy-pasted it to a text file so I could try again at a later date!
Let's go through that original list and see if they'd be good ideas or not. I'll even link the less familiar ones to their respective Wikipedia pages, so you don't have to. You're welcome!
Rex the Runt - this could possibly work. The humour is a cross between Sam & Max and Strong Bad, and Telltale do already have ties with Aardman Animation. It's not the most popular show in the world though, and it has been 8 years since it aired.
Day of the Tentacle - I'm not sure this would work well as an episodic series, but otherwise I'm all for it.
Myst - Wouldn't work. It's a very serious series, and primarily played from a first-person perspective. It'd be too much of a shift for Telltale, not to mention that Cyan Worlds, the original developers of the series, are doing fine on their own.
Indiana Jones - Again, not at all sure this would work as a series of episodic adventures. The games have moved into that awful catch-all phrase 'action adventure', and dodgy Wii controls and unskippable cutscenes aside, it's worked out pretty well.
Simon the Sorcerer - Doing fine on its own. Well, I say fine, but has anyone here actually played the newer ones? Yeesh. Besides, there's a new one out in Germany anyway. It doesn't need a helping hand - it needs to be shoved over the edge.
The Simpsons - Really cannot see this working as an adventure game. As with Indy, 3D platformers seem to be working pretty well for that particular franchise.
Doctor Who - I would love this. I think there was another thread mentioning that this was a possibility, and I think it'd work pretty well. It's also guaranteed to be better then previous Doctor Who games - Top Trumps, anyone?
Gabriel Knight - This was an old adventure game series that did everything wrong (odd 2D interface, FMV, dodgy 3D camera), yet still worked. If Jane Jensen ever finishes Gray Matter, she'll probably make a GK4.
Pushing Daisies - I suppose this could work, as a series of Private Investigations, but I think Bryan Fuller is actually going ahead with a comic book "third series", much like Angel or Buffy.
Maniac Mansion - If you've heard of LucasFan Games, chances are you know about both Maniac Mansion Deluxe (the remake) and Maniac Mansion Mania, the Reality-On-The-Norm style series set within the Maniac Mansion universe. That's more than enough MM. Provided you speak German.
Grim Fandango - I'd much prefer a remake with better controls to a sequel that would need a completely different story set in the same world to avoid invalidating the greatness of the original. It was such a beautifully self-contained story, I can't think of a single way you could continue it.
Space Quest - I think this is a series from a bygone era. Or, to put it another way, it's Monkey Island in space, and we don't need another MI, do... we...
Futurama - Yes please! The writing is, and always has been, the best thing about Futurama, and an adventure game would be the best way to make use of that. The characters, the setting, the chance to make Bender tell people to bite his shiny metal... I think this could work extremely well. Plus, with the announcement of a new series coming in 2010, this could be an excellent tie-in.
Red Dwarf - Again, could work well but I think Doug Naylor would have to let other people at least help out with the writing in order to make it funny, and I don't think he'd really be willing to do that. Shame. Plus, they'd never get the look of the characters just right.
The Dig - Self-contained story that doesn't need to be picked up again.
Full Throttle - I'd love to see more adventures of Ben Throttle (yes, that's his full name), but I really doubt this would work episodically, and I think it'd be too dark for Telltale.
MacGyver - Somehow, I doubt most players would be able to figure out they need to put sodium metal into a cold pill casing and drop it into a container of water in order to make a hydrogen bomb*.
Family Guy - As before, this'd work better as a decent 3D platformer, unlike the abysmal effort that most people have played.
Doctor Who - wait, didn't I already..?
King's Quest - I think that's died a well-deserved death. Don't believe me? Try playing the first one and see how long you can go for without dying.
Police Quest - The life and times of modern policeman are bogged down in paperwork, basic crimes and more paperwork. I highly doubt it'd make a particularly interesting series of video games, and if you ever played Police Quest 2, I'm almost certain you'll agree.
Quest For Glory - Another self-contained series which wouldn't really benefit from being forcibly re-opened. Or picked open, anyway. (Now that's what I call an in-joke.)
Loom - Given the new relationship between Telltale and LucasArts, I suspect this would work extremely well. Not sure if it'd actually sell, but that's not really my department.
Calvin and Hobbes - While the comics themselves were wonderfully charming and very funny, I really don't see how they'd make good adventure games. Unless they were something like Pajama Sam. *shudder*
Star Trek - Given that the series now has a blank slate, there's really no limit to what could be done, and sadly, given all the possibilities, I don't think they'll decide to do a bunch of adventure games. 3D platformers or space RTS titles are more likely.
The Mighty Boosh - I've never watched it, and having read the Wikipedia page, I don't see how it'd work out as an adventure game. It seems a little too surreal.
Get Smart - Never saw the TV show (before my time), but I can imagine what it's like. Again, not altogether sure it'd cross over into an adventure game particularly well, and it's a pretty old franchise...
'An H.P. Lovecraft based game' - This just plain wouldn't work as an adventure game. HP Lovecraft wrote extremely dark and macabre stories, and they'd only really translate into video games as horror titles. Not at all appropriate for adventure titles made by Telltale.
Garfield - He's had two lousy movies and a repetitive comic strip. These do not make for a good game. Besides, he's had plenty and they've all been rubbish.
The Boondocks - Again, I've not seen the show, but I doubt it'd work as an adventure game series. I'll have to YouTube it, seems like an interesting show.
Discworld - I think this would work pretty well. The Discworld series has always had a slightly (but not overpowering) British sense of humour about it, and it's had adventure games before. Given how long it's been since the last one, a return for Eric Idle as Rincewind in a series of episodic titles would be extremely welcome, I feel.
Monk - I've seen a couple of episodes of this, and again, I think it's too quirky for a video game. Though I'd say the same for House, and they made a DS game of that, so what do I know?
Laura Bow - The games were great, but they're a long gone relic of a golden era. Modern replacements are Art of Murder (No Wikipedia page, sorry) and Secret Files, though I'll agree that they're not as good.
Simon the Sorceror - Again? Did you even check this list?
A Nuklear Power RPG - If by 'Nuklear Power RPG' you mean 'get Brian Clevinger of NuklearPower.com to help script a game', then YES. Given that 8-Bit Theater, the main attraction of NuklearPower.com, is a sprite-based comic retelling of the very first Final Fantasy, a Nuklear Power RPG would basically be a remake of Final Fantasy I. And hasn't that been remade enough?
Sanford and Son - Why would anyone think this would make a good game?
Leisure Suit Larry - I think this has had it's day, unless you could get Al Lowe back on it. Even then, it'd be too adult for Telltale anyway.
The Neverhood - You know that this had a sequel (Skullmonkeys) and they're making a film of it, right? If the film takes off, then yeah, this may be good. But I think Doug TenNapel would make it rather then Telltale.
The Feeble Files - I don't think the original was good enough to warrant more of it.
Beneath A Steel Sky - I highly suspect that if Revolution are still going, they'll make this eventually.
Blade Runner - We already got one fantastic adventure game. Let's leave it be.
Gateway - I think the original poster was referring to this, in which case I don't think it'd work out as an adventure game. Maybe as an Elite-style flight sim or something like Mace Griffin, which had spaceship-stlye segments and First-Person shooter aspects. Well, maybe.
Death Gate - Never heard of it, which doesn't bode well at all.
Shannara - I really do doubt this would work out at all. You'd have to be incredibly faithful to the books to avoid some sort of uprising from the fans, and somehow I doubt that anyone would honestly want that job, especially when the world has been going for thousands of pages already.
Blazing Dragons - A much better suggestion then some of the others in this list, but it's too old a title and it's too obscure, even by Telltale's standards.
Digimon - Ha!
So Blonde - A little early to be calling for more, isn't it? Besides, they're already doing a 'what if..?' remake for the Wii and DS. I'm looking forward to it, actually.
Kyrandia - I'd actually like to see these remade, perhaps allowing players to explore for 5 minutes without dying.
Normality - This could work I suppose, but you'd pretty much have to redo everything about the game in order to make it work. Would you really want that?
Sanitarium - Self-contained story, doesn't need or deserve a sequel.
Stupid Invaders - There was an incredibly faithful game (which I really should track down at some point), but the series is originally French and sadly too obscure to really warrant a repeat.
Ceville - Again, this only recently came out. Stop jumping the gun!
Flight of the Amazon Queen - It's not a bad little game, but it's too similar to Indiana Jones for most people to want another one.
Still Life - A sequel for this just came out! Gah!
Chewy - You mean Chewy: ESC from F5? That was a terrible game! Terrible!
The Accolade adventures - Wikiepdia turned up nothing, so I'm gonna leave this one alone.
Zak McKracken - There's several fan sequels for this. The New Adventures of... is one, Between Time and Space is another. A remake of the first one would be much appreciated though, it looks pretty basic these days.
Neil Gaiman's 'The Sandman' - This would most definately not work as an adventure game. And even if it were to somehow be made into a game at all, Telltale would not be the people for it.
Lucifer - See 'The Sandman'.
Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - With the new one by Eoin Colfer due out later this year, a game wouldn't be amiss, but somehow I can't really see it happening. How would you go about doing it, anyway? Remake the old one that was absurdly difficult?
Dilbert - I'd actually quite like to see this. Think Strong Bad in the office he works at, then set a series of random adventures there. You wouldn't be too far off the mark, and I think (with enough imagination and occasional adventures 'out there') it could work pretty well.
*An actual plot device from the very first episode.
[*]Zak McKracken - There's several fan sequels for this. The New Adventures of... is one, Between Time and Space is another. A remake of the first one would be much appreciated though, it looks pretty basic these days.
Actually, if you can get your hands on the FM Towns version of Zak Mckracken, it looks pretty nice.
Because many of these suggestions are both cool and extremely unlikely, I'll go ahead and throw this one out there:
The Venture Brothers
I imagine it to be similar to the Maniac Mansion/Day of the Tentacle style of gameplay, with the ability to switch between characters. One can always dream.
The Perils of Penelope Pitstop
You play as the Ant Hill Mob and occasionally as Penelope Pitstop. Your goal is to keep the fourth wall breaking Hooded Claw from kidnapping and killing Penelope Pitstop. Of course, no real action, as in the series you'd get plenty of time to save her (for some odd reason). It also gives you two inventories, one for the Ant Hill Mob, one for Penelope Pitstop. The action is fast-paced, but you can do each short "puzzle" in your own tempo. The biggest puzzle elements come when the Ant Hill Mob gets into some kind of trouble causing Penelope to save them so that they can save her.
Scooby Doo
Seriously, do I really need to explain why? Also, why wasn't this on the list yet? Oh, and it of course needs the musical chase scenes in every episode. I miss songs in the recent Telltale Games games.
Dora the Explorer
Yeah, never mind about that one...
Another Code
LOLWUT? Yes, a Nintendo exclusive game. Sure it wouldn't be fair towards people who don't have a Nintendo console, but to them I'd say:
Disney's Filmore
Don't shoot me, but I loved the series. And, it's a great way to show that Disney games can still be good. And it already seems that Disney hires cheap developer studios, so why shouldn't they hire Telltale Games for a detective-like game with awesome chase scenes and stuff like that.
Street Fighter
I actually don't know why the hell I even put this on the list.
A game based in the world of one of my novel projects
Would be interesting once I finally released my first novel. I mean, it could work. I'd imagine it having five different stories, with the final story being one of the stories described in the first novel.
Telltale Games: The Game
Work your way up as a developer for Telltale Games? Sounds like a brilliant idea for a video game.
Also, why does Maniac Mansion appear twice in the list? I mean, everybody surely knows that Day of the Tentacle is just another Maniac Mansion game.
Oh, and we should make petitions for each and every suggestion.
Actually, if you can get your hands on the FM Towns version of Zak Mckracken, it looks pretty nice.
Looks nice, plays awkwardly. Too many commands to choose from. And it's kinda fiddly to get working on a PC. But your point remains a valid one.
Now to pick apart the newer suggestions...
The Venture Bros. - While it's certainly an interesting show, I don't think it's popular or flexible enough to be made into a video game series. Then again, I'd say the same about Harvey Birdman, so what do I know?
The Perils of Penelope Pitstop - I'd say that this was too old a show to really work as a video game series, but then they did make a Wacky Races video game not so long ago. That was a racing game though, which lends credence to the theory that an adventure game wouldn't really benefit the characters.
Scooby Doo - No. Just... no. We already have one crime-fighting team, why would we want another, far more annoying one?
Another Code - It's a nice idea, but I doubt the series would do particularly well as an episodic series. Plus, the games seem to really emphasize the interactivity of the systems they're on, which I think would be pretty hard to replicate on the PC.
(Disney's) Filmore! - It last aired in 2004, so I think it's had its day, really. It's a nice idea, but I have my doubts as to how long you could get away with kid-versions of real-life crimes. Who wants to investigate stolen scooters or illegal frog racers?
DuckTales - This has very much had its day. Plus, it's a Disney trademark, and I highly doubt they'd let anyone else make games on it.
Toonstruck - Yes please! There was actually supposed to be a sequel, but sadly the first didn't sell well enough to warrant the making of one. Be nice to see it made some day...
Psychonauts - It's a self-contained story, and even if a sequel were to be made, not only would it be another action-adventure, but I strongly suspect that Double Fine, or more specifically Tim Schafer, would be the ones to make it.
Quantum Leap - Again, the show's had it's day. Besides, it finished. Properly. With a finale and everything. Why would you want to undo that?
South Park
After whoring out the series with racing games, first person shooters, pachinko-like games and tower defense games, a point & click game would not look that odd.
HomestarRunner.com
Yeah, that would-wait, never mind...
Doctor Who
Just making you write again about Doctor Who.
Johnny Bravo
Yeah, we still need to make a petition for it.
Captain EO
... is what I WOULD say if Michael Jackson was still alive.
MS-DOS
What do you mean, point & click? Back in the old days, we typed our verbs!
South Park - I could see this working. Won't happen, but I could definitely see it working.
HomestarRunner.com - No! Terrible idea! That'd never work! Well... not unless you focused on one of the other characters. Like, I dunno, the Cheat? No, that'd get old. Uh...
Doctor Who - I've said before and I'll (probably) say it again: I think this would work exceptionally well. You can't really do any other kind of game with the character - he's not a gun-toting action hero, so most types of games are out, and he does normally talk his way out of situations, which adventure games are well known for... Plus, if it were done episodically, then there'd be a chance of using different Doctors in each episode. That'd just be awesome. And I'm almost positive that the remaining Doctors (Tom Baker and Christopher Eccleston excepted) would be more then happy to provide voices, not to mention the companions. Why hasn't this been done already, dammit? Do you need me to write up the design specs? 'cause I will. Seriously. I'll go off and do it. Just watch me.
Johnny Bravo - Ha, I remember him. While an adventure game would probably work, chances are it'd end up being like Leisure Suit Larry, and I think most people are sick of that type of game. Besides, Dexter's Laboratory would be way better.
Captain Eo - I think they're actually still working on a Michael Jackson game. It's no secret they were working on one before he died, so I'd imagine they'd keep working on it, if only to help alleviate the massive debt he built up during his life (though renewed sales of his albums are doing a lot to help that).
MS-DOS - DOS sucks. Old games suck. Old DOS games where you had to type out your verbs sucks three times as hard.
South Park - I could see this working. Won't happen, but I could definitely see it working.
HomestarRunner.com - No! Terrible idea! That'd never work! Well... not unless you focused on one of the other characters. Like, I dunno, the Cheat? No, that'd get old. Uh...
Doctor Who - I've said before and I'll (probably) say it again: I think this would work exceptionally well. You can't really do any other kind of game with the character - he's not a gun-toting action hero, so most types of games are out, and he does normally talk his way out of situations, which adventure games are well known for... Plus, if it were done episodically, then there'd be a chance of using different Doctors in each episode. That'd just be awesome. And I'm almost positive that the remaining Doctors (Tom Baker and Christopher Eccleston excepted) would be more then happy to provide voices, not to mention the companions. Why hasn't this been done already, dammit? Do you need me to write up the design specs? 'cause I will. Seriously. I'll go off and do it. Just watch me.
Johnny Bravo - Ha, I remember him. While an adventure game would probably work, chances are it'd end up being like Leisure Suit Larry, and I think most people are sick of that type of game. Besides, Dexter's Laboratory would be way better.
Captain Eo - I think they're actually still working on a Michael Jackson game. It's no secret they were working on one before he died, so I'd imagine they'd keep working on it, if only to help alleviate the massive debt he built up during his life (though renewed sales of his albums are doing a lot to help that).
MS-DOS - DOS sucks. Old games suck. Old DOS games where you had to type out your verbs sucks three times as hard.
Do Doctor Who.
The idea of being able to use the sonic screwdriver in different ways, as well as you would need an item combination would make instant win!
Yeah, only, the general rule is that the sonic screwdriver is never used as a way to get him out of trouble. Ironically. Even though he always has his sonic screwdriver.
Oh, and:
Dexter's Laboratory
Because you said so.
High... School... Musical
Because I say so, and because I know you'll puke your eyes and ears out.
Docto-*SHOT*
Telltale, by now you should get the message. Get the license for Doctor Who. NAO.
WALL-E
Okay, I know people didn't really appreciate his voice and all, but hear me out... You know what, never mind. WALL-E's awesome. Making a game around his period of solitude or his period of happiness would be awesome. Imagine him trying to help the humans build up a civilization, by doing the trivial tasks, like finding a way to irrigate water, or to power a small settlement using the Axiom. Maybe even a climactic episode where he needs to clear the way for a landing platform of yet another space station coming back to Earth.
Soulja Boy Tell'Em
Because everybody loves that prick.
Cooking with Telltale Games
Okay, how about this? An interactive cooking program, where you decide the tempo of the game. You'll actually make real recipes. Good idea? No. Idea? Yeah, but not a very good one.
Doctor Who is, like, THE SciFi series everyone should have at least heard of, with stunning, high-resolution, 3D landscapes, sophisticated score and musical effects, detailed animation and special effects, elegant point 'n' click control of characters, objects and magic spells, and no burdensome typing, mapping, or inventory management. An easy and engaging game for beginners and veterans alike.
Looks nice, plays awkwardly. Too many commands to choose from. And it's kinda fiddly to get working on a PC. But your point remains a valid one.
Now to pick apart the newer suggestions...
The Venture Bros. - While it's certainly an interesting show, I don't think it's popular or flexible enough to be made into a video game series. Then again, I'd say the same about Harvey Birdman, so what do I know?
Scooby Doo - No. Just... no. We already have one crime-fighting team, why would we want another, far more annoying one?
Another Code - It's a nice idea, but I doubt the series would do particularly well as an episodic series. Plus, the games seem to really emphasize the interactivity of the systems they're on, which I think would be pretty hard to replicate on the PC.
DuckTales - This has very much had its day. Plus, it's a Disney trademark, and I highly doubt they'd let anyone else make games on it.
Indiana Jones - Again, not at all sure this would work as a series of episodic adventures. The games have moved into that awful catch-all phrase 'action adventure', and dodgy Wii controls and unskippable cutscenes aside, it's worked out pretty well.
Simon the Sorcerer - Doing fine on its own. Well, I say fine, but has anyone here actually played the newer ones? Yeesh. Besides, there's a new one out in Germany anyway. It doesn't need a helping hand - it needs to be shoved over the edge.
The Simpsons - Really cannot see this working as an adventure game. As with Indy, 3D platformers seem to be working pretty well for that particular franchise.
Gabriel Knight - This was an old adventure game series that did everything wrong (odd 2D interface, FMV, dodgy 3D camera), yet still worked. If Jane Jensen ever finishes Gray Matter, she'll probably make a GK4.
Maniac Mansion - If you've heard of LucasFan Games, chances are you know about both Maniac Mansion Deluxe (the remake) and Maniac Mansion Mania, the Reality-On-The-Norm style series set within the Maniac Mansion universe. That's more than enough MM. Provided you speak German.
Space Quest - I think this is a series from a bygone era. Or, to put it another way, it's Monkey Island in space, and we don't need another MI, do... we...
MacGyver - Somehow, I doubt most players would be able to figure out they need to put sodium metal into a cold pill casing and drop it into a container of water in order to make a hydrogen bomb*.
King's Quest - I think that's died a well-deserved death. Don't believe me? Try playing the first one and see how long you can go for without dying.
Quest For Glory - Another self-contained series which wouldn't really benefit from being forcibly re-opened. Or picked open, anyway. (Now that's what I call an in-joke.)
Calvin and Hobbes - While the comics themselves were wonderfully charming and very funny, I really don't see how they'd make good adventure games. Unless they were something like Pajama Sam. *shudder*
The Mighty Boosh - I've never watched it, and having read the Wikipedia page, I don't see how it'd work out as an adventure game. It seems a little too surreal.
Get Smart - Never saw the TV show (before my time), but I can imagine what it's like. Again, not altogether sure it'd cross over into an adventure game particularly well, and it's a pretty old franchise...
'An H.P. Lovecraft based game' - This just plain wouldn't work as an adventure game. HP Lovecraft wrote extremely dark and macabre stories, and they'd only really translate into video games as horror titles. Not at all appropriate for adventure titles made by Telltale.
The Boondocks - Again, I've not seen the show, but I doubt it'd work as an adventure game series. I'll have to YouTube it, seems like an interesting show.
Monk - I've seen a couple of episodes of this, and again, I think it's too quirky for a video game. Though I'd say the same for House, and they made a DS game of that, so what do I know?
Laura Bow - The games were great, but they're a long gone relic of a golden era. Modern replacements are Art of Murder (No Wikipedia page, sorry) and Secret Files, though I'll agree that they're not as good.
Sanford and Son - Why would anyone think this would make a good game?
*An actual plot device from the very first episode.
Don't take offense to anything I say. This is a list of my disagreements and reasons, but there was quite a bit I did agree with as well.
The Venture Bros: This show was INCREDIBLY popular, and turned out to be one of the most popular if not the most popular, and wittiest most well written, shows Adult Swim ever had. I'd say it would make just as much money as Strong Bad or Wallace and Gromit did. You underestimate the popularity of this show; it's more well known than anything Telltale has done outside of Wallace and Gromit and CSI.
Scooby Doo: This has already been made into a series of adventure game episodic serials on Warner Brothers website; and the games were very very good. You should try them out.
DuckTales: It's Disney; what more can I say. If you say this series wouldn't work for adventure games you do not understand it at all. Some of it inspired Indiana Jones for crying out loud. And if you don't think Disney would lease it; people said the same about Monkey Island and Lucasarts.
Indiana Jones: This was already TWO adventure games; and it's based on episodic serials of the 1940s and 50s. What better fit could there be?
Simon the Sorcerer: Play the first two games; they were great. The fact the newer ones suck so bad is evidence that the series NEEDS a good hand to go out on a good note. See - Monkey Island.
The Simpsons: This was a video game already sure; but it could work in basically any medium. As long as it has material to spoof to death, it will be doing it's job right. It's no less plausible than Futurama.
Gabriel Knight: What was wrong with the 2D interface on this? I loved it.
Maniac Mansion: This is your most groundless argument among all of your arguments. The Mania series is a series of fangames; some containing strong language, and most of them are uninspired basic adventure game cliches. I don't even understand how in a million years you could prefer this over a new official commercial sequel. No offense.
Space Quest: It's true this one may not work as well in Telltale's scheme, but I think it could have a very good shot. Besides, saying it is so much like Monkey Island is a bit of a fallacy. Logically, to say that it is that much like Monkey Island, is to say that it is the only thing that much like Monkey Island. To say it is Monkey Island in space is the same as saying the Naked Gun is Monkey Island with cops. It's a separate entity with many differences from Monkey Island.
MacGyver: You're just looking for things to nitpick here. MacGyver uses common items and knowledge that can be found anywhere (or added in game somehow) to escape deadly situations. Basically EVERY adventure game ever made. It's just as illogical to hypnotize a monkey into a monkey wrench to turn off a waterfall, but that made it into the greatest adventure game of all time. No. Just no.
King's Quest: I beat Kings Quest 1 in two hours the first time I played it completely. That was the AGDI remake. This point doesn't amount to it being a bad series to redo, it amounts to you not being good enough at playing the game.
Quest For Glory: Just as plausible as any other Sierra game.
Calvin and Hobbes: If you had read the Sam and Max comics and didn't know that they had been in any adventure games, you wouldn't know they were fit for the genre either.
The Mighty Boosh: A lot of adventure games were surreal. Like Sam and Max, Monkey Island, Beneath a Steel Sky...
Get Smart: It's not that outdated; there was a recent Warner Brothers reboot movie.
H.P. Lovecraft: This is perfect for an adventure game. Know how I know? Four brilliant adventure games were made in the Lovecraft universe. Alone in the Dark is one. Shadow of the Comet, Prisoners of Ice, and Dark Corners of the Earth(Part FPS) are others.
The Boondocks: It would run on a similar formula as Wallace and Gromit. Adventures set in a small suburban neighborhood spoofing racism and racial tension. In fact, Wallace and Gromits small-street setting kind of proves you can set an adventure game basically ANYWHERE and make it interesting.
Monk/ Psych: Quirky is the best thing for an adventure game. Honestly, getting around Monk's phobias and being a convincing fake psychic would be better than the average detective show.
Laura Bow: See Quest For Glory, King's Quest, and Space Quest.
Sanford and Son: I admit this is one of my least likely choices, but it's a dream one, same as MacGyver. To me an adventure game with a central hub in a junkyard presents all sorts of inventory possibilities. And that show got pretty wacky with stories at times. But I admit; it's pretty unlikely.
Quest For Glory: Just as plausible as any other Sierra game.
This is the only case in which I think Darth Marsden has a point. The ending was pretty final for both the characters and the world. Also, the fact it's an RPG would make a monthly schedule very punishing for the developers, with all the balancing, multiple player classes, and so on.
Don't take offense to anything I say. This is a list of my disagreements and reasons, but there was quite a bit I did agree with as well.
I find I rarely take offence at anything on the internet. No idea what 'offense' is. Anyway, time to rip your argument to shreds. That's what I do best, after all!
The Venture Bros: This show was INCREDIBLY popular, and turned out to be one of the most popular if not the most popular, and wittiest most well written, shows Adult Swim ever had. I'd say it would make just as much money as Strong Bad or Wallace and Gromit did. You underestimate the popularity of this show; it's more well known than anything Telltale has done outside of Wallace and Gromit and CSI.
I'm going to hold my hands up here - I haven't seen the show. For all I know it could be adventure game gold. I have done a little interweb research though, and what I've found doesn't see to indicate that way though.
The strength of your argument for this seems to be the old 'it's an awesome show, it would therefore make an awesome game' line of thought. I'm not saying this applies directly to you, but most people who think this are idiots. There's a long, time-consuming process behind taking an already existing franchise and converting it into a different medium. Some work great as a TV series but wouldn't work at all as a video game series. Others are the other way round. Some would be perfect for both. I could, for example, write the plot for 'an awesome Doctor Who adventure game series', but if I don't factor in all the dialogue, the puzzles, the limitations of the medium and so forth, then I haven't written a game. I've spent an entire afternoon drafting a TV episode. (Actually, it's two, and I've got ideas for four more, bbut that's besides the point).
Scooby Doo: This has already been made into a series of adventure game episodic serials on Warner Brothers website; and the games were very very good. You should try them out.
You're right, they're not bad. Basic, but enjoyable. So why the heck should Telltale make more of them?
My main concern with Scooby Doo is the target audience. SD is aimed at kids, who have wide imaginations but limited cognitive power. Adventure games are aimed at late-teens and up, people who still retain that imaginative flair, but who would also think to use the rubber chicken (with a pulley in the middle) on the cable in order to get across. I'm sure there's a chicken crossing the road joke there somewhere, but whatever. As it is, SD already has a bunch of 3D platformers, and judging by the reactions of my nephew, kids seem to enjoy it as that. Why change something that works?
DuckTales: It's Disney; what more can I say. If you say this series wouldn't work for adventure games you do not understand it at all. Some of it inspired Indiana Jones for crying out loud. And if you don't think Disney would lease it; people said the same about Monkey Island and Lucasarts.
Again, you seem to be using a tried and tested line of thought here. This one's 'if it worked for company A, why can;'t it work for company B?'. There's a large number of differences between the Mouse House and the House That George Built.
The first, and most obvious, is that Disney is not a video game company. They've published games they've licensed to other companies (most notably with *shudder* video game tie-ins), but they haven't really developed their own - not in a long time, anyway. The second, and most crucial one, is that Disney suck. They've gone downhill recently in a big way,what with their straight to DVD sequels and constant pimping out of anything that even hints at being a success. LucasArts also went through a sucky phase, but they're pulling out of it. They've had a change of management (totally for the better) and they really seem to realise that they should care about the games being released.
I've not actually mentioned DuckTales. That's because it's been years since I last saw it. Still have that movie with the Genie on VHS. Can't watch it - we're a DVD family now - but it's nice to have nonetheless. It could well be adventre game worthy. It's just never going to happen.
Indiana Jones: This was already TWO adventure games; and it's based on episodic serials of the 1940s and 50s. What better fit could there be?
I'd love to see more Indiana Jones adventure games. It's probable that the only way that'll happen is through fan-games though. Indy's gone the action-adventure route, and dodgy Wii controls aside, it seems to be working pretty well for him. I too wish it would happen, but it's extremely unlikely.
Simon the Sorcerer: Play the first two games; they were great. The fact the newer ones suck so bad is evidence that the series NEEDS a good hand to go out on a good note. See - Monkey Island.
I'm going to be straight up honest with you - the Simon the Sorcerer series has never been particularly good. The first two were stupidly hard, made little sense and featured way too much backtracking. It's gone downhill from there ever since it went 3D. There's no point in resurrecting something if it couldn't even stand on its own in the first place.
The Simpsons: This was a video game already sure; but it could work in basically any medium. As long as it has material to spoof to death, it will be doing it's job right. It's no less plausible than Futurama.
Yes, The Simpsons has had a wide variety of games - Beat 'em Ups, Wrestling, Skateboarding, Driving... But it's only really hit its stride when it embraced platforming aspects. Once you go down the action-adventure route it's pretty damn hard to come back - Wallace and Gromit only just managed it, and that's only because nobody played the first two games (well, except me). Even then, there's still problems with the games. But that's for another time.
Besides, which would ou rather have an episodic adventure game series of - Futurama or The Simpsons?
If you said The Simpsons, then you can bite my shiny metal ass.
Maniac Mansion: This is your most groundless argument among all of your arguments. The Mania series is a series of fangames; some containing strong language, and most of them are uninspired basic adventure game cliches. I don't even understand how in a million years you could prefer this over a new official commercial sequel. No offense.
I'd prefer a proper remake with no 'oop, you took too long, game over' aspects over a sequel. Besides, Day of the Tentacle was WAY better then the first game, and I'd want a sequel to be based on that rather then the first game.
Space Quest: It's true this one may not work as well in Telltale's scheme, but I think it could have a very good shot. Besides, saying it is so much like Monkey Island is a bit of a fallacy. Logically, to say that it is that much like Monkey Island, is to say that it is the only thing that much like Monkey Island. To say it is Monkey Island in space is the same as saying the Naked Gun is Monkey Island with cops. It's a separate entity with many differences from Monkey Island.
There's similarities. Don't argue the fact. There's the bumbling lead character, the bizarre incidents that occur to him, the illogical puzzles .. there's a bunch of similarities. I'm not saying they're virtually identical, but they do share some common aspects.
And I would like to see a revival of the series, but I'd really prefer remakes in which you can't freakin' die first. I can't stand adventure games that let you die. Massive turn-off for me. I play adventures to be mentally challenged, not punished for not figuring out exactly what I have to do first time round. If I wanted that I'd play a first person shooter.
MacGyver: You're just looking for things to nitpick here. MacGyver uses common items and knowledge that can be found anywhere (or added in game somehow) to escape deadly situations. Basically EVERY adventure game ever made. It's just as illogical to hypnotize a monkey into a monkey wrench to turn off a waterfall, but that made it into the greatest adventure game of all time. No. Just no.
Monkey Island et al get away with those sorts of puzzles because they're clearly not based in the real world. They're zany and bizarre, so every so often they can afford to include a random puzzle like that. A MacGyver game would be full of puzzles like that, but because it's in a real-world situation and played straight, it looses the ability to make the player go 'oh, I guess that's pretty clever'. Instead, they'll simply fail to see the connection and give up, or they'll somehow stumble upon it and think 'well how the hell was I supposed to know that?'. I fully stand by my statement.
King's Quest: I beat Kings Quest 1 in two hours the first time I played it completely. That was the AGDI remake. This point doesn't amount to it being a bad series to redo, it amounts to you not being good enough at playing the game.
I have two reasons for not thinking this'd be a good bet.
One - They're difficult. You say you mad it through in two hours? Hooray for you. I like to think I'm a pretty good gamer. I've been doing this for half my life (Playing games, not writing well-informed responses to the thoughts of someone I've never met and probably never will). And yet for the life of me I could not get through Kings Quest I. And if I couldn't get through the first game, think how bad other people are gonna suck at them.
Two - They're set in ye olde England. That's a terrible setting for an adventure game. Or any game really, except possibly an RTS. There's just not enough to keep people's interest.
Calvin and Hobbes: If you had read the Sam and Max comics and didn't know that they had been in any adventure games, you wouldn't know they were fit for the genre either.
Calvin and Hobbes is a very sweet, innocent and charming world. Sam & Max is not. Again, you're pulling the old 'if it works for A, why not for B?' line out again. Different comic, different scenario. Unlike Sam & Max, you'd be stuck with the scenarios given - you wouldn't be able to make your own. That leads to very real problems if you're making a series, because once you're hit four or five, you're out. No future expansion. Done.
Get Smart: It's not that outdated; there was a recent Warner Brothers reboot movie.
And they should have either left it as a stand-along film or given it a proper sequel. Instead they rushed out a crappy direct-to-DVD film and ruined the whole thing.
H.P. Lovecraft: This is perfect for an adventure game. Know how I know? Four brilliant adventure games were made in the Lovecraft universe. Alone in the Dark is one. Shadow of the Comet, Prisoners of Ice, and Dark Corners of the Earth(Part FPS) are others.
I honestly haven't read them, so I'll only say one thing before moving on - HP Lovecraft stuff seems incredibly dark, and CSI aside, that really doesn't sound like Telltale.
The Boondocks: It would run on a similar formula as Wallace and Gromit. Adventures set in a small suburban neighborhood spoofing racism and racial tension. In fact, Wallace and Gromits small-street setting kind of proves you can set an adventure game basically ANYWHERE and make it interesting.
Monk/ Psych: Quirky is the best thing for an adventure game. Honestly, getting around Monk's phobias and being a convincing fake psychic would be better than the average detective show.
Yeah, because detectives are totally original adventure game concepts.
[/Sarcasm]
Seriously though, that's what Monk is - a detective. And OCD aside, he's a very standard one, which feels very clichéd. I'll admit Psych is a more interesting take on the premise, but even then it'd still revolve around the same sort of things as a PI game, and suchforth. And honestly, I don;t think the TV audience would cross over into a video game one. Like I say though, I'd have said the same thing about House.
Laura Bow: See Quest For Glory, King's Quest, and Space Quest.
Again, I'd actually quite like to see more Laura Bow games, but as I said the first time around, she's been supplanted. Shame, there aren't many adventure games where the lead character is female.
Sanford and Son: I admit this is one of my least likely choices, but it's a dream one, same as MacGyver. To me an adventure game with a central hub in a junkyard presents all sorts of inventory possibilities. And that show got pretty wacky with stories at times. But I admit; it's pretty unlikely.
You've written my response for me, so I'll let you dream with this one. I'll also point out that the show's based on a British one called Steptoe and Son, so if you're interested in seeing more, try and watch 'em.
My main concern with Scooby Doo is the target audience. SD is aimed at kids, who have wide imaginations but limited cognitive power. Adventure games are aimed at late-teens and up, people who still retain that imaginative flair, but who would also think to use the rubber chicken (with a pulley in the middle) on the cable in order to get across. I'm sure there's a chicken crossing the road joke there somewhere, but whatever. As it is, SD already has a bunch of 3D platformers, and judging by the reactions of my nephew, kids seem to enjoy it as that. Why change something that works?
And my question is, why not? It's not like Telltale has ever tried to reach this same audience with the Adventure genre. It would be a great challenge for everyone.
And look at it. The only thing kids need to do are finding clues, and set traps for the "ghosts". By setting a more scalar hint system which defaults to very hint-y, kids wouldn't even need to think a lot, while it still leaves some challenges for the more mature people who grew up with the cartoons. If you really would want it, you could add some platform elements. Sure, the pause button would need to be re-assigned, but using the keypad or WASD controls for movement, and the space bar for jumping (mostly for grabbing ledges or stuff on ropes or chains) would add to the fun. And, maybe to spruce it up, make the chase scene a bit more interactive, even a (non-mandatory) minigame.
There's enough to play around with the adventure genre, and Scooby Doo would potentially be able to attract that other untapped audience in the Adventure genre.
And my question is, why not? It's not like Telltale has ever tried to reach this same audience with the Adventure genre. It would be a great challenge for everyone.
And look at it. The only thing kids need to do are finding clues, and set traps for the "ghosts". By setting a more scalar hint system which defaults to very hint-y, kids wouldn't even need to think a lot, while it still leaves some challenges for the more mature people who grew up with the cartoons. If you really would want it, you could add some platform elements. Sure, the pause button would need to be re-assigned, but using the keypad or WASD controls for movement, and the space bar for jumping (mostly for grabbing ledges or stuff on ropes or chains) would add to the fun. And, maybe to spruce it up, make the chase scene a bit more interactive, even a (non-mandatory) minigame.
There's enough to play around with the adventure genre, and Scooby Doo would potentially be able to attract that other untapped audience in the Adventure genre.
There already are Scooby Doo adventure games, I played a few of them on Gametap a while back, and they sucked.
I'm going to hold my hands up here - I haven't seen the show. For all I know it could be adventure game gold. I have done a little interweb research though, and what I've found doesn't see to indicate that way though.
The strength of your argument for this seems to be the old 'it's an awesome show, it would therefore make an awesome game' line of thought. I'm not saying this applies directly to you, but most people who think this are idiots. There's a long, time-consuming process behind taking an already existing franchise and converting it into a different medium. Some work great as a TV series but wouldn't work at all as a video game series. Others are the other way round. Some would be perfect for both...
Before you make any judgments, DM, ya really should check out an episode or two. They are very self-contained and -er- episodic. Part Johnny Quest, part Scooby Doo, part Indiana Jones, and completely hilarious.
Here is a link to one currently available at the Adult Swim website:
I can't access that video as I'm in the UK. For anyone else with the same problem, here's the same episode on YouTube - Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four.
Having watched it, my suspicions have been confirmed - I think it's just a little too crazy to really work. It's also very fast paced, which doesn't work at all well with adventure games. Seems like a great show though - wish they actually showed it over in merry ol' England.
I find I rarely take offence at anything on the internet. No idea what 'offense' is. Anyway, time to rip your argument to shreds. That's what I do best, after all!
I'm going to hold my hands up here - I haven't seen the show. For all I know it could be adventure game gold. I have done a little interweb research though, and what I've found doesn't see to indicate that way though.
The strength of your argument for this seems to be the old 'it's an awesome show, it would therefore make an awesome game' line of thought. I'm not saying this applies directly to you, but most people who think this are idiots. There's a long, time-consuming process behind taking an already existing franchise and converting it into a different medium. Some work great as a TV series but wouldn't work at all as a video game series. Others are the other way round. Some would be perfect for both. I could, for example, write the plot for 'an awesome Doctor Who adventure game series', but if I don't factor in all the dialogue, the puzzles, the limitations of the medium and so forth, then I haven't written a game. I've spent an entire afternoon drafting a TV episode. (Actually, it's two, and I've got ideas for four more, but that's besides the point).
Having watched it, my suspicions have been confirmed - I think it's just a little too crazy to really work. It's also very fast paced, which doesn't work at all well with adventure games. Seems like a great show though - wish they actually showed it over in merry ol' England.
You haven't really given a good reason why that is a bad line of thought. Episodic games themselves are made to be like TV shows. That's what episodic is about. Look at CSI. If CSI hadn't been made into an adventure game yet, would you have agreed it would make a good one? And don't pull the "Venture Bros. and CSI are two different shows" argument. You know perfectly well what I'm saying. Just because it worked for CSI doesn't mean it would work for the Venture Bros., sure, but it doesn't mean it wouldn't work either. As far as being crazy, Sam and Max were way crazier in their TV show, but translate slightly less zany in adventure game format. So the Venture Bros. could too. The blunt of your argument seems to rest with "it's two different mediums so therefore the material couldn't possibly transfer well", but with Telltale that's not a valid argument.
You're right, they're not bad. Basic, but enjoyable. So why the heck should Telltale make more of them? Why change something that works?
I wasn't talking about the ones on GAMETAP at all. Look on the kids section of Warner Bros. website. There are flash made ones there, which are quite good. I have no clue how the GAMETAP ones are. Just because it worked one way doens't mean it wouldn't work another. Besides it's already been done, so we know it would work. Why should Telltale make more? I'm not saying they should, but I definitely think they'd do a great job. Remember that this list is a list of things each person would like to see. In the end a lot of your arguments don't work because they come down to personal preference vs. personal preference.
Again, you seem to be using a tried and tested line of thought here. This one's 'if it worked for company A, why can't it work for company B?'. There's a large number of differences between the Mouse House and the House That George Built.
The first, and most obvious, is that Disney is not a video game company. They've published games they've licensed to other companies (most notably with *shudder* video game tie-ins), but they haven't really developed their own - not in a long time, anyway. The second, and most crucial one, is that Disney suck. They've gone downhill recently in a big way,what with their straight to DVD sequels and constant pimping out of anything that even hints at being a success. LucasArts also went through a sucky phase, but they're pulling out of it. They've had a change of management (totally for the better) and they really seem to realize that they should care about the games being released.
I've not actually mentioned DuckTales. That's because it's been years since I last saw it. Still have that movie with the Genie on VHS. Can't watch it - we're a DVD family now - but it's nice to have nonetheless. It could well be adventure game worthy. It's just never going to happen.
Well, it may never happen, but so what? Again I'll say it; this topic is mostly for what each person would love to see. DuckTales is based around great adventures, so of course it would work for the medium. It's just never been given a chance. Now when you said Disney sucks, you clearly showed that this is based on personal opinion. Disney has made many great movies through Pixar and has left most of it's animation assets in that field. Pixar is a brilliant company. As far as Ducktales, if Telltale had the rights, Telltale would most likely write the episodes and put them together, meaning we wouldn't be seeing any of the sucking Direct to DVD style work on those episodes. By the way, Disney is going back to it's roots with the beautiful looking Princess and the Froig. Look up a trailer of it; it looks great.
I'm going to be straight up honest with you - the Simon the Sorcerer series has never been particularly good. The first two were stupidly hard, made little sense and featured way too much backtracking. It's gone downhill from there ever since it went 3D. There's no point in resurrecting something if it couldn't even stand on its own in the first place.
Please don't make THIS mistake. You're better than this. This entire post is made up of personal opinion and bias. Don't try to push your personal opinion off as fact. (I'm probably a hypocrite by saying this; okay I am one.) Look, honestly, lots of people loved the first two Simon games and thought they were great and lots of fun, myself included. It stands on it's own VERY well; I and many I know still bother to play it. True, the game has some faults in these areas, but they have a lot of charm and great comedy which people just love. You wouldn't buy it; I would.
Yes, The Simpsons has had a wide variety of games - Beat 'em Ups, Wrestling, Skateboarding, Driving... But it's only really hit its stride when it embraced platforming aspects. Once you go down the action-adventure route it's pretty damn hard to come back - Wallace and Gromit only just managed it, and that's only because nobody played the first two games (well, except me). Even then, there's still problems with the games. But that's for another time.
Besides, which would ou rather have an episodic adventure game series of - Futurama or The Simpsons?
If you said The Simpsons, then you can bite my shiny metal ass.
Here you and I agree 100%. Futurama is the most perfect idea for an adventure game I've heard on this forum, and I'm a big advocate of the idea. I was never a Simpsons fan, but I think it could work just as well. In fact an AGS one is being worked on, and it looks quite good, though it may never be finished.
I didn't actually mean the first one, which was great. I was referring to the second and third titles. That's my bad, and I apologise for it.
Okay, never mind then.
I'd prefer a proper remake with no 'oop, you took too long, game over' aspects over a sequel. Besides, Day of the Tentacle was WAY better then the first game, and I'd want a sequel to be based on that rather then the first game.
DOTT was the better game, but the reason I argue for Maniac Mansion is because there are characters in that game I believe should get time in the spotlight. Specifically Razor and her band, the Scummettes. Massive personal opinion here, so I'm leaving myself wide open. But do I think the gameplay from MM should return, no way.
There's similarities. Don't argue the fact. There's the bumbling lead character, the bizarre incidents that occur to him, the illogical puzzles .. there's a bunch of similarities. I'm not saying they're virtually identical, but they do share some common aspects.
And I would like to see a revival of the series, but I'd really prefer remakes in which you can't freakin' die first. I can't stand adventure games that let you die. Massive turn-off for me. I play adventures to be mentally challenged, not punished for not figuring out exactly what I have to do first time round. If I wanted that I'd play a first person shooter.
I admit I haven't finished a Space Quest game because of the deaths yet, but many people loved that aspect of them. The massive difficulty. I actually enjoyed it in Kings Quest and Quest for Glory. I mark it off as the VGA remakes of the SQ games were not that amazing; SQ4 and 5 were the best, but 6 was awful IMO. Many liked 6 but I did not. I doubt if TT did the games that they would include the deaths though; that's just not their style.
Monkey Island et al get away with those sorts of puzzles because they're clearly not based in the real world. They're zany and bizarre, so every so often they can afford to include a random puzzle like that. A MacGyver game would be full of puzzles like that, but because it's in a real-world situation and played straight, it looses the ability to make the player go 'oh, I guess that's pretty clever'. Instead, they'll simply fail to see the connection and give up, or they'll somehow stumble upon it and think 'well how the hell was I supposed to know that?'. I fully stand by my statement.
The ability to take what seems illogical and make it logical and amazing is what makes the character so endearing, not to mention the fact it makes him out to be like a sort of pulp superhero. I disagree that it wouldn't make you feel clever; the thing is, you're thinking that all of MacGyver's gadgets were as obscure as bubblegum and tin foil. that's just not true; he did everything from using helium tanks to blow out a door to fighting ants with fire in the jungle. I'm sorry but it's the lack of knowledge of how flexible this character really is that makes your argument fall apart.
I have two reasons for not thinking this'd be a good bet.
One - They're difficult. You say you mad it through in two hours? Hooray for you. I like to think I'm a pretty good gamer. I've been doing this for half my life (Playing games, not writing well-informed responses to the thoughts of someone I've never met and probably never will). And yet for the life of me I could not get through Kings Quest I. And if I couldn't get through the first game, think how bad other people are gonna suck at them.
Two - They're set in ye olde England. That's a terrible setting for an adventure game. Or any game really, except possibly an RTS. There's just not enough to keep people's interest.
Personal preference. You wouldn't buy it; I would. I won't argue your point here because you are entitled to your personal opinion.
I'd like to thank Radogol for responding to this, meaning I don't have to. Cheers mate!
I agree with what he said actually. It wouldn't be Telltale's thing. Maybe Double Fine or Bioware would do it, but not Telltale.
Calvin and Hobbes is a very sweet, innocent and charming world. Sam & Max is not. Again, you're pulling the old 'if it works for A, why not for B?' line out again. Different comic, different scenario. Unlike Sam & Max, you'd be stuck with the scenarios given - you wouldn't be able to make your own. That leads to very real problems if you're making a series, because once you're hit four or five, you're out. No future expansion. Done.
Two sided argument. Just because the comic is different doesn't mean it wouldn't work. You missed my point before. Also, you're discounting Calvin's extremely active imagination and ability to change the environment around him into alien and foreign worlds. Just because they never ended up in a adventure game style scenario in the comics doesn't mean you couldn't put them in one and still keep it true to the comics.
Again, I stand by my statement. Simply too surreal.
But imagine the possibilities. I think this one just takes imagination.
And they should have either left it as a stand-along film or given it a proper sequel. Instead they rushed out a crappy direct-to-DVD film and ruined the whole thing.
I agree to this point.
I honestly haven't read them, so I'll only say one thing before moving on - HP Lovecraft stuff seems incredibly dark, and CSI aside, that really doesn't sound like Telltale.
I'm really not sure here; but you're probably right that Telltale wouldn't do it. But I was actually argument the fact that you said it wouldn't make a good adventure game period. You really kicked yourself in the face when you said that, seeing as it was already made into four great ones. But it's probably not Telltale's thing.
See The Venture Bros.
See the Venture Bros. You can take almost anything and put it into an adventure game scenario and keep it true to the spirit of the original.
Yeah, because detectives are totally original adventure game concepts.
[/Sarcasm]
Seriously though, that's what Monk is - a detective. And OCD aside, he's a very standard one, which feels very clichéd. I'll admit Psych is a more interesting take on the premise, but even then it'd still revolve around the same sort of things as a PI game, and suchforth. And honestly, I don't think the TV audience would cross over into a video game one. Like I say though, I'd have said the same thing about House.
While I disagree that they wouldn't make good adventure games, I do have to consider the point about audience.
Unfortunately, most of both our arguments rest with personal preference, and I'm not sure I have presented good enough arguments; but I AM sure you haven't. (But that may be my arrogance talking)
You haven't really given a good reason why that is a bad line of thought. Episodic games themselves are made to be like TV shows. That's what episodic is about. Look at CSI. If CSI hadn't been made into an adventure game yet, would you have agreed it would make a good one? And don't pull the "Venture Bros. and CSI are two different shows" argument. You know perfectly well what I'm saying. Just because it worked for CSI doesn't mean it would work for the Venture Bros., sure, but it doesn't mean it wouldn't work either. As far as being crazy, Sam and Max were way crazier in their TV show, but translate slightly less zany in adventure game format. So the Venture Bros. could too. The blunt of your argument seems to rest with "it's two different mediums so therefore the material couldn't possibly transfer well", but with Telltale that's not a valid argument.
While I agree with your point about the possibility for material transfer between mediums, I have to disagree on Venture Bros. working as an adventure game.
I love Venture Bros. I love it to death. In my opinion, it's the only show worth staying up late for on Adult Swim since they
killed
Harvey Birdman. But I'm not sure if it'll work as an adventure game, since the show is pretty action oriented most of the times.
Story-wise, it's perfect, the characters, the setting possibilities, they'll fit, but the feel of the show might not survive the translation to an adventure game. To make it into a point-and-click adventure game is to focus the gameplay less on the action scenes, which is one of the things the show is famous for, and this will make the game feel different than the show. Of course, there's a chance that Telltale might surprise us, but this is pretty unlikely.
Sam and Max worked because the thing that made the franchise famous was the personalities and wackiness of the two main characters and the world they live in. Almost any genre would work for a Sam and Max game as long as they keep these two elements in it.
Actually, I wouldn't want an action game based on VB either, since it'll end up like the frustrating ATHF golf game and that upcoming Metalocalypse Dethgame which looks awful.
Oh, and after playing the CSI game, I wouldn't mind a Monk or Psych game, actually.
I'm not going to say that I'm right and you're wrong. As you say, it's really a matter of personal preference. We each have out own opinion and I was stating mine. Also, when writing my last set of responses, it was about 1 in the morning - and then the internet crapped out when I tried to post, so I had to rewrite everything, meaning a few points may have been inadvertently left out. I'll try and mention those along the way.
You haven't really given a good reason why that is a bad line of thought. Episodic games themselves are made to be like TV shows. That's what episodic is about. Look at CSI. If CSI hadn't been made into an adventure game yet, would you have agreed it would make a good one? And don't pull the "Venture Bros. and CSI are two different shows" argument. You know perfectly well what I'm saying. Just because it worked for CSI doesn't mean it would work for the Venture Bros., sure, but it doesn't mean it wouldn't work either. As far as being crazy, Sam and Max were way crazier in their TV show, but translate slightly less zany in adventure game format. So the Venture Bros. could too. The blunt of your argument seems to rest with "it's two different mediums so therefore the material couldn't possibly transfer well", but with Telltale that's not a valid argument.
As I said, you have some valid points and this is one of them. But as I said, Venture Bros just seems too absurd to really work. Yes, the elements are there, but it's a little too violent and the characters are a tad too random in their actions to really convince me. tredlow phrased it pretty well. If Telltale can overcome that, then I will admit it might make for a good series.
I wasn't talking about the ones on GAMETAP at all. Look on the kids section of Warner Bros. website. There are flash made ones there, which are quite good. I have no clue how the GAMETAP ones are. Just because it worked one way doens't mean it wouldn't work another. Besides it's already been done, so we know it would work. Why should Telltale make more? I'm not saying they should, but I definitely think they'd do a great job. Remember that this list is a list of things each person would like to see. In the end a lot of your arguments don't work because they come down to personal preference vs. personal preference.
I did play the Warner Bros ones - I can't get Gametap in the UK. Still seemed pretty basic, though like I said before, they weren't at all bad. If Telltale were to make Scooby Doo games, I've no doubt they'd be good, but again, the target audience of Scooby Doo is young kids. If they were made, I honestly believe that young kids would get bored after there not being enough action and older gamers wouldn't even try it as it's not aimed at them.
Well, it may never happen, but so what? Again I'll say it; this topic is mostly for what each person would love to see. DuckTales is based around great adventures, so of course it would work for the medium. It's just never been given a chance. Now when you said Disney sucks, you clearly showed that this is based on personal opinion. Disney has made many great movies through Pixar and has left most of it's animation assets in that field. Pixar is a brilliant company. As far as Ducktales, if Telltale had the rights, Telltale would most likely write the episodes and put them together, meaning we wouldn't be seeing any of the sucking Direct to DVD style work on those episodes. By the way, Disney is going back to it's roots with the beautiful looking Princess and the Froig. Look up a trailer of it; it looks great.
If Disney really is making efforts to improve themselves, then I admit that a DuckTales series could be good. I'd really need to see proper proof of it though, and even then I still don't think I'd be entirely convinced. And the comment about Disney not sucking because they're working with Pixar doesn't hold a huge amount of water - as far as I'm aware, it's Pixar doing the majority of the work there.
Please don't make THIS mistake. You're better than this. This entire post is made up of personal opinion and bias. Don't try to push your personal opinion off as fact. (I'm probably a hypocrite by saying this; okay I am one.) Look, honestly, lots of people loved the first two Simon games and thought they were great and lots of fun, myself included. It stands on it's own VERY well; I and many I know still bother to play it. True, the game has some faults in these areas, but they have a lot of charm and great comedy which people just love. You wouldn't buy it; I would.
Ok. I think we'll agree to disagree on this one. I'm not a fan of the series (despite owning all the games - even the puzzle collection - to see if I like any of them), and you are. Not gonna argue with you on this.
Not mentioning the Futurama or Gabriel Knight comments, as we agree on them and there's nothing to discuss. That said, do you have a link to the Futurama adventure game? I'd love to take a look.
DOTT was the better game, but the reason I argue for Maniac Mansion is because there are characters in that game I believe should get time in the spotlight. Specifically Razor and her band, the Scummettes. Massive personal opinion here, so I'm leaving myself wide open. But do I think the gameplay from MM should return, no way.
Your last sentence there is a little confusing - should the gameplay return or not? I'm thinking you meant 'But I don't think the gameplay from MM should return, no way'. If that's the case, then I agree with you.
I honestly never really got into the first Maniac Mansion, primarily because it was so open. If they brought back the universe and just had a few playable characters who visited the others - like, for example, the trio from DotT helping the Scummettes get a gig or something - then I can see that working out pretty well.
I admit I haven't finished a Space Quest game because of the deaths yet, but many people loved that aspect of them. The massive difficulty. I actually enjoyed it in Kings Quest and Quest for Glory. I mark it off as the VGA remakes of the SQ games were not that amazing; SQ4 and 5 were the best, but 6 was awful IMO. Many liked 6 but I did not. I doubt if TT did the games that they would include the deaths though; that's just not their style.
Again - the deaths are very off-putting to new players. I tried them again and liked the stories and the characters, but the puzzles seemed pretty hard at times and there was the whole dying thing. Removing those would be a major design decision.
Tell you what. If they remade the Space Quest games, keeping the deaths BUT rather then make you restore a save game/restart the whole thing, they instead just took you back to the beginning of the area, then I could see this working a lot better. That way you'd still be punished, but not enough so to make you feel annoyed or wanting to rage-quit the game.
The ability to take what seems illogical and make it logical and amazing is what makes the character so endearing, not to mention the fact it makes him out to be like a sort of pulp superhero. I disagree that it wouldn't make you feel clever; the thing is, you're thinking that all of MacGyver's gadgets were as obscure as bubblegum and tin foil. that's just not true; he did everything from using helium tanks to blow out a door to fighting ants with fire in the jungle. I'm sorry but it's the lack of knowledge of how flexible this character really is that makes your argument fall apart.
Fair enough. I'll admit defeat on this one due to lack of experience with the subject matter.
Personal preference. You wouldn't buy it; I would. I won't argue your point here because you are entitled to your personal opinion.
Once again, I think we'll agree to disagree. I do feel that a straight medieval setting really isn't good adventure game material, but I won't ram the point down your throat. As you say, personal preference.
Two sided argument. Just because the comic is different doesn't mean it wouldn't work. You missed my point before. Also, you're discounting Calvin's extremely active imagination and ability to change the environment around him into alien and foreign worlds. Just because they never ended up in a adventure game style scenario in the comics doesn't mean you couldn't put them in one and still keep it true to the comics.
Here's where I lost some of the original points. I also made reference to the limited cast (there's really only 7 other characters - points if you can name them) but given the limited cast of Wallace & Gromit, that's not really a valid point anymore, is it?
It's actually hard to say why I don't think this wouldn't work. Maybe it's the idea of giving these silent characters a voice (inevitably we've all given them voices of our own and we'd never be happy with one that doesn't match that). Maybe it's the idea of making puzzles based around the worlds that Calvin imagines (in the comics the stories flow really well, and stopping every couple of minutes to solve a problem would feel very contrary to that). Maybe it's the idea of ruining what was something pretty much perfect (the 'George Lucas' effect, if you will). I dunno.
I think the real, deal-breaker behind why these games wouldn't work though is that Bill Waterson (as far as I know) still doesn't want to do anything more with the characters. Without his involvement, I just plain wouldn't want to play the games, and though can't prove it, I'd like to think that others would feel the same.
But imagine the possibilities. I think this one just takes imagination.
Maybe my imagination's running on empty, but I still can't see it working that well. Agree to disagree?
Get Smart and HP Lovecraft not mentioned because we agree with the former and I can't be bothered to argue with the latter. Out of curiosity though, how well received were those 4 adventures?
See the Venture Bros. You can take almost anything and put it into an adventure game scenario and keep it true to the spirit of the original.[
I've seen the first episode of this - Part One and Part Two - and aside from being pretty adult, I could, theoretically, see this working. It is very, very adult though.
Sanford and Son skipped because we've essentially agreed to disagree on that.
Unfortunately, most of both our arguments rest with personal preference, and I'm not sure I have presented good enough arguments; but I AM sure you haven't. (But that may be my arrogance talking)
That's a fair enough statement. If my arguments don't hold water, then do feel free to challenge them. That's how a good discussion is formed. Don't be afraid of being arrogant - just make sure that doesn't turn into insulting. That's when all logic gets thrown out the window and it all comes down to who can come up with the biggest swear. And I would so win that.
I'm not going to say that I'm right and you're wrong. As you say, it's really a matter of personal preference. We each have out own opinion and I was stating mine. Also, when writing my last set of responses, it was about 1 in the morning - and then the internet crapped out when I tried to post, so I had to rewrite everything, meaning a few points may have been inadvertently left out. I'll try and mention those along the way.
That said...
Venture Bros.As I said, you have some valid points and this is one of them. But as I said, Venture Bros just seems too absurd to really work. Yes, the elements are there, but it's a little too violent and the characters are a tad too random in their actions to really convince me. tredlow phrased it pretty well. If Telltale can overcome that, then I will admit it might make for a good series.
I actually agree with most of what tredlow said. There's no way for me to fully argue against the shows emphasis on action, except to say that there is plenty of action in adventure games, for instance Full Throttle. Now if it were an adventure game, naturally it would focus away from Brock Sampson and onto the bumbling brothers themselves. The violence factor is also a good point.
Scooby DooI did play the Warner Bros ones - I can't get Gametap in the UK. Still seemed pretty basic, though like I said before, they weren't at all bad. If Telltale were to make Scooby Doo games, I've no doubt they'd be good, but again, the target audience of Scooby Doo is young kids. If they were made, I honestly believe that young kids would get bored after there not being enough action and older gamers wouldn't even try it as it's not aimed at them.
Like Monk and Psych, I don't know if I can argue against the target audience, because it's completely sound. Adventure games are too tedious for children; even if they find the jokes funny they won't know how to play it.
DuckTalesIf Disney really is making efforts to improve themselves, then I admit that a DuckTales series could be good. I'd really need to see proper proof of it though, and even then I still don't think I'd be entirely convinced. And the comment about Disney not sucking because they're working with Pixar doesn't hold a huge amount of water - as far as I'm aware, it's Pixar doing the majority of the work there.
Also, what's a froig?
I thought Pixar was Disney's 3D animation branch. And, uh, woops. Typo. :P
Not mentioning the Futurama or Gabriel Knight comments, as we agree on them and there's nothing to discuss. That said, do you have a link to the Futurama adventure game? I'd love to take a look.
I was talking about a Simpsons game, not a Futurama one actually. It's actually more of a template so other people can make their own game, complete with all the art and engine needed. But the last update was May 2008, so I doubt it'll ever be finished. Here's a link. http://www.bigbluecup.com/yabb/index.php?topic=2667.0
Maniac MansionYour last sentence there is a little confusing - should the gameplay return or not? I'm thinking you meant 'But I don't think the gameplay from MM should return, no way'. If that's the case, then I agree with you.
I honestly never really got into the first Maniac Mansion, primarily because it was so open. If they brought back the universe and just had a few playable characters who visited the others - like, for example, the trio from DotT helping the Scummettes get a gig or something - then I can see that working out pretty well.
I don't think the gameplay should return, just the characters.
Space QuestAgain - the deaths are very off-putting to new players. I tried them again and liked the stories and the characters, but the puzzles seemed pretty hard at times and there was the whole dying thing. Removing those would be a major design decision.
Tell you what. If they remade the Space Quest games, keeping the deaths BUT rather then make you restore a save game/restart the whole thing, they instead just took you back to the beginning of the area, then I could see this working a lot better. That way you'd still be punished, but not enough so to make you feel annoyed or wanting to rage-quit the game.
I could see this being an acceptable compromise. One reason Telltale wouldn't put the deaths in at all is their "not out to defeat the player" policy.
I loved it. The King's Quest and QfG VGA remakes are what got me to finish the games. I just love them.
Calvin & Hobbes
I think the real, deal-breaker behind why these games wouldn't work though is that Bill Waterson (as far as I know) still doesn't want to do anything more with the characters. Without his involvement, I just plain wouldn't want to play the games, and though can't prove it, I'd like to think that others would feel the same.
While my main argument is just that C&H would make a great adventure game, I wouldn't want to go against Bill Waterson's wishes on the matter.
The Mighty BooshMaybe my imagination's running on empty, but I still can't see it working that well. Agree to disagree?
Get Smart and HP Lovecraft not mentioned because we agree with the former and I can't be bothered to argue with the latter. Out of curiosity though, how well received were those 4 adventures?
Agree to disagree. As far as the Lovecraft adventures, all were well received by those who played it except for Prisoners of Ice, which was a tad cliche and bland, which is sad as it followed up my personal favorite Lovecraft adventure, Shadow of the Comet.
Alone in the Dark frustrates many due to the RE and Silent Hill style controls, but once you play it and finish it, I believe it's worth it. It's one of the best games I ever played; the atmosphere is great. But all of it's sequels are terrible.
Shadow of the Comet had keyboard controls in an adventure game, which doesn't normally work, but in some instances in the story I think it was needed. And it has a GREAT story. And the actor cameos such as Vincent Price, Jack Nicolson, etc. make it a very fun experience as well. There's one part in a crypt that is downright terrifying, but some may just find frustrating because of the difficulty.
The BoondocksI've seen the first episode of this - Part One and Part Two - and aside from being pretty adult, I could, theoretically, see this working. It is very, very adult though.
Yes, it's probably too adult to find a good target audience unfortunately. But I think it would work wonders as an adventure game. It's funny as this show started out as a comic strip.
That's a fair enough statement. If my arguments don't hold water, then do feel free to challenge them. That's how a good discussion is formed. Don't be afraid of being arrogant - just make sure that doesn't turn into insulting. That's when all logic gets thrown out the window and it all comes down to who can come up with the biggest swear. And I would so win that.
Ah, no I don't want to be rude. But I just plain disagreed to the extent I had to say something. Plus, the discussion has been fun. I apologize if some of my arguments have seemed unreasonable, but that is sometimes how a debate must go. And in the end, this is just a topic for what we'd all love to see, not necessarily what will ever happen. It's actually really interesting to look through the flaws and good points of turning this or that into an adventure game.
I find it curious that no one mentioned a Firefly/Serenity adventure game yet.
It probably shouldn't be too difficult to get the rights to, since everyone involved with the franchise seems to be interested in continuing the story...
Comments
DuckTales - I loved that show when I was a child! This too would fit an episodic format perfectly. Disney are far too busy with High School Musical sequels and Pirates of the Caribbean to worry about a forgotten thing such as DT. If TT politely drop Disney a line, enquiring the possibility of negotiating a licence, they might get it. If they can get Monkey Island off LucasArts, I believe TT are geniuses when it comes to bargaining!
I still say Jasper Fforde's 'Thursday Next' series would be great and the episodic format would fit nicely too (although I'd prefer them to follow on in the same way they've done MI).
I agree with the Discworld recommendation 100%. The first two games were fantastic and Discworld Noir was very playable.
You'll be hard-pressed to find someone here who doesn't want to see a Grim Fandango sequel and Telltale would be perfect for the job!
Have you played the Hitchhikers text adventure game? I had read the books many times and that was still really tough.
I'm not saying it would work in episodic format though.
I don't really think Grim Fandango should necessarily get a sequel, and if it did, I'd prefer that Mr. Schafer's lads over at Double Fine do it.
Yeah, it was TOO tough, I hadn't read the books at the time and it really punished you for it!
I retract my statement then!
Let's go through that original list and see if they'd be good ideas or not. I'll even link the less familiar ones to their respective Wikipedia pages, so you don't have to. You're welcome!
- Rex the Runt - this could possibly work. The humour is a cross between Sam & Max and Strong Bad, and Telltale do already have ties with Aardman Animation. It's not the most popular show in the world though, and it has been 8 years since it aired.
- Day of the Tentacle - I'm not sure this would work well as an episodic series, but otherwise I'm all for it.
- Myst - Wouldn't work. It's a very serious series, and primarily played from a first-person perspective. It'd be too much of a shift for Telltale, not to mention that Cyan Worlds, the original developers of the series, are doing fine on their own.
- Indiana Jones - Again, not at all sure this would work as a series of episodic adventures. The games have moved into that awful catch-all phrase 'action adventure', and dodgy Wii controls and unskippable cutscenes aside, it's worked out pretty well.
- Simon the Sorcerer - Doing fine on its own. Well, I say fine, but has anyone here actually played the newer ones? Yeesh. Besides, there's a new one out in Germany anyway. It doesn't need a helping hand - it needs to be shoved over the edge.
- The Simpsons - Really cannot see this working as an adventure game. As with Indy, 3D platformers seem to be working pretty well for that particular franchise.
- Doctor Who - I would love this. I think there was another thread mentioning that this was a possibility, and I think it'd work pretty well. It's also guaranteed to be better then previous Doctor Who games - Top Trumps, anyone?
- Gabriel Knight - This was an old adventure game series that did everything wrong (odd 2D interface, FMV, dodgy 3D camera), yet still worked. If Jane Jensen ever finishes Gray Matter, she'll probably make a GK4.
- Pushing Daisies - I suppose this could work, as a series of Private Investigations, but I think Bryan Fuller is actually going ahead with a comic book "third series", much like Angel or Buffy.
- Maniac Mansion - If you've heard of LucasFan Games, chances are you know about both Maniac Mansion Deluxe (the remake) and Maniac Mansion Mania, the Reality-On-The-Norm style series set within the Maniac Mansion universe. That's more than enough MM. Provided you speak German.
- Grim Fandango - I'd much prefer a remake with better controls to a sequel that would need a completely different story set in the same world to avoid invalidating the greatness of the original. It was such a beautifully self-contained story, I can't think of a single way you could continue it.
- Space Quest - I think this is a series from a bygone era. Or, to put it another way, it's Monkey Island in space, and we don't need another MI, do... we...
- Futurama - Yes please! The writing is, and always has been, the best thing about Futurama, and an adventure game would be the best way to make use of that. The characters, the setting, the chance to make Bender tell people to bite his shiny metal... I think this could work extremely well. Plus, with the announcement of a new series coming in 2010, this could be an excellent tie-in.
- Red Dwarf - Again, could work well but I think Doug Naylor would have to let other people at least help out with the writing in order to make it funny, and I don't think he'd really be willing to do that. Shame. Plus, they'd never get the look of the characters just right.
- The Dig - Self-contained story that doesn't need to be picked up again.
- Full Throttle - I'd love to see more adventures of Ben Throttle (yes, that's his full name), but I really doubt this would work episodically, and I think it'd be too dark for Telltale.
- MacGyver - Somehow, I doubt most players would be able to figure out they need to put sodium metal into a cold pill casing and drop it into a container of water in order to make a hydrogen bomb*.
- Family Guy - As before, this'd work better as a decent 3D platformer, unlike the abysmal effort that most people have played.
- Doctor Who - wait, didn't I already..?
- King's Quest - I think that's died a well-deserved death. Don't believe me? Try playing the first one and see how long you can go for without dying.
- Police Quest - The life and times of modern policeman are bogged down in paperwork, basic crimes and more paperwork. I highly doubt it'd make a particularly interesting series of video games, and if you ever played Police Quest 2, I'm almost certain you'll agree.
- Quest For Glory - Another self-contained series which wouldn't really benefit from being forcibly re-opened. Or picked open, anyway. (Now that's what I call an in-joke.)
- Loom - Given the new relationship between Telltale and LucasArts, I suspect this would work extremely well. Not sure if it'd actually sell, but that's not really my department.
- Calvin and Hobbes - While the comics themselves were wonderfully charming and very funny, I really don't see how they'd make good adventure games. Unless they were something like Pajama Sam. *shudder*
- Star Trek - Given that the series now has a blank slate, there's really no limit to what could be done, and sadly, given all the possibilities, I don't think they'll decide to do a bunch of adventure games. 3D platformers or space RTS titles are more likely.
- The Mighty Boosh - I've never watched it, and having read the Wikipedia page, I don't see how it'd work out as an adventure game. It seems a little too surreal.
- Get Smart - Never saw the TV show (before my time), but I can imagine what it's like. Again, not altogether sure it'd cross over into an adventure game particularly well, and it's a pretty old franchise...
- 'An H.P. Lovecraft based game' - This just plain wouldn't work as an adventure game. HP Lovecraft wrote extremely dark and macabre stories, and they'd only really translate into video games as horror titles. Not at all appropriate for adventure titles made by Telltale.
- Garfield - He's had two lousy movies and a repetitive comic strip. These do not make for a good game. Besides, he's had plenty and they've all been rubbish.
- Barney Google Too old and too irrelevant.
- The Boondocks - Again, I've not seen the show, but I doubt it'd work as an adventure game series. I'll have to YouTube it, seems like an interesting show.
- Discworld - I think this would work pretty well. The Discworld series has always had a slightly (but not overpowering) British sense of humour about it, and it's had adventure games before. Given how long it's been since the last one, a return for Eric Idle as Rincewind in a series of episodic titles would be extremely welcome, I feel.
- Monk - I've seen a couple of episodes of this, and again, I think it's too quirky for a video game. Though I'd say the same for House, and they made a DS game of that, so what do I know?
- Psych - See 'Monk'.
- Laura Bow - The games were great, but they're a long gone relic of a golden era. Modern replacements are Art of Murder (No Wikipedia page, sorry) and Secret Files, though I'll agree that they're not as good.
- Simon the Sorceror - Again? Did you even check this list?
- A Nuklear Power RPG - If by 'Nuklear Power RPG' you mean 'get Brian Clevinger of NuklearPower.com to help script a game', then YES. Given that 8-Bit Theater, the main attraction of NuklearPower.com, is a sprite-based comic retelling of the very first Final Fantasy, a Nuklear Power RPG would basically be a remake of Final Fantasy I. And hasn't that been remade enough?
- Sanford and Son - Why would anyone think this would make a good game?
- Leisure Suit Larry - I think this has had it's day, unless you could get Al Lowe back on it. Even then, it'd be too adult for Telltale anyway.
- The Neverhood - You know that this had a sequel (Skullmonkeys) and they're making a film of it, right? If the film takes off, then yeah, this may be good. But I think Doug TenNapel would make it rather then Telltale.
- The Feeble Files - I don't think the original was good enough to warrant more of it.
- Beneath A Steel Sky - I highly suspect that if Revolution are still going, they'll make this eventually.
- Blade Runner - We already got one fantastic adventure game. Let's leave it be.
- Gateway - I think the original poster was referring to this, in which case I don't think it'd work out as an adventure game. Maybe as an Elite-style flight sim or something like Mace Griffin, which had spaceship-stlye segments and First-Person shooter aspects. Well, maybe.
- Death Gate - Never heard of it, which doesn't bode well at all.
- Shannara - I really do doubt this would work out at all. You'd have to be incredibly faithful to the books to avoid some sort of uprising from the fans, and somehow I doubt that anyone would honestly want that job, especially when the world has been going for thousands of pages already.
- Blazing Dragons - A much better suggestion then some of the others in this list, but it's too old a title and it's too obscure, even by Telltale's standards.
- Digimon - Ha!
- So Blonde - A little early to be calling for more, isn't it? Besides, they're already doing a 'what if..?' remake for the Wii and DS. I'm looking forward to it, actually.
- Kyrandia - I'd actually like to see these remade, perhaps allowing players to explore for 5 minutes without dying.
- Normality - This could work I suppose, but you'd pretty much have to redo everything about the game in order to make it work. Would you really want that?
- Nightlong - Too old, not obscure, too much work.
- Sanitarium - Self-contained story, doesn't need or deserve a sequel.
- Stupid Invaders - There was an incredibly faithful game (which I really should track down at some point), but the series is originally French and sadly too obscure to really warrant a repeat.
- Ceville - Again, this only recently came out. Stop jumping the gun!
- Flight of the Amazon Queen - It's not a bad little game, but it's too similar to Indiana Jones for most people to want another one.
- Still Life - A sequel for this just came out! Gah!
- Chewy - You mean Chewy: ESC from F5? That was a terrible game! Terrible!
- The Accolade adventures - Wikiepdia turned up nothing, so I'm gonna leave this one alone.
- Zak McKracken - There's several fan sequels for this. The New Adventures of... is one, Between Time and Space is another. A remake of the first one would be much appreciated though, it looks pretty basic these days.
- Gang Garrison - Cute. But no.
- Neil Gaiman's 'The Sandman' - This would most definately not work as an adventure game. And even if it were to somehow be made into a game at all, Telltale would not be the people for it.
- Lucifer - See 'The Sandman'.
- Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - With the new one by Eoin Colfer due out later this year, a game wouldn't be amiss, but somehow I can't really see it happening. How would you go about doing it, anyway? Remake the old one that was absurdly difficult?
- Dilbert - I'd actually quite like to see this. Think Strong Bad in the office he works at, then set a series of random adventures there. You wouldn't be too far off the mark, and I think (with enough imagination and occasional adventures 'out there') it could work pretty well.
*An actual plot device from the very first episode.Actually, if you can get your hands on the FM Towns version of Zak Mckracken, it looks pretty nice.
The Venture Brothers
I imagine it to be similar to the Maniac Mansion/Day of the Tentacle style of gameplay, with the ability to switch between characters. One can always dream.
The Perils of Penelope Pitstop
You play as the Ant Hill Mob and occasionally as Penelope Pitstop. Your goal is to keep the fourth wall breaking Hooded Claw from kidnapping and killing Penelope Pitstop. Of course, no real action, as in the series you'd get plenty of time to save her (for some odd reason). It also gives you two inventories, one for the Ant Hill Mob, one for Penelope Pitstop. The action is fast-paced, but you can do each short "puzzle" in your own tempo. The biggest puzzle elements come when the Ant Hill Mob gets into some kind of trouble causing Penelope to save them so that they can save her.
Scooby Doo
Seriously, do I really need to explain why? Also, why wasn't this on the list yet? Oh, and it of course needs the musical chase scenes in every episode. I miss songs in the recent Telltale Games games.
Dora the Explorer
Yeah, never mind about that one...
Another Code
LOLWUT? Yes, a Nintendo exclusive game. Sure it wouldn't be fair towards people who don't have a Nintendo console, but to them I'd say:
Disney's Filmore
Don't shoot me, but I loved the series. And, it's a great way to show that Disney games can still be good. And it already seems that Disney hires cheap developer studios, so why shouldn't they hire Telltale Games for a detective-like game with awesome chase scenes and stuff like that.
Street Fighter
I actually don't know why the hell I even put this on the list.
A game based in the world of one of my novel projects
Would be interesting once I finally released my first novel. I mean, it could work. I'd imagine it having five different stories, with the final story being one of the stories described in the first novel.
Telltale Games: The Game
Work your way up as a developer for Telltale Games? Sounds like a brilliant idea for a video game.
Also, why does Maniac Mansion appear twice in the list? I mean, everybody surely knows that Day of the Tentacle is just another Maniac Mansion game.
Oh, and we should make petitions for each and every suggestion.
Now to pick apart the newer suggestions...
South Park
After whoring out the series with racing games, first person shooters, pachinko-like games and tower defense games, a point & click game would not look that odd.
HomestarRunner.com
Yeah, that would-wait, never mind...
Doctor Who
Just making you write again about Doctor Who.
Johnny Bravo
Yeah, we still need to make a petition for it.
Captain EO
... is what I WOULD say if Michael Jackson was still alive.
MS-DOS
What do you mean, point & click? Back in the old days, we typed our verbs!
The idea of being able to use the sonic screwdriver in different ways, as well as you would need an item combination would make instant win!
Oh, and:
Dexter's Laboratory
Because you said so.
High... School... Musical
Because I say so, and because I know you'll puke your eyes and ears out.
Docto-*SHOT*
Telltale, by now you should get the message. Get the license for Doctor Who. NAO.
WALL-E
Okay, I know people didn't really appreciate his voice and all, but hear me out... You know what, never mind. WALL-E's awesome. Making a game around his period of solitude or his period of happiness would be awesome. Imagine him trying to help the humans build up a civilization, by doing the trivial tasks, like finding a way to irrigate water, or to power a small settlement using the Axiom. Maybe even a climactic episode where he needs to clear the way for a landing platform of yet another space station coming back to Earth.
Soulja Boy Tell'Em
Because everybody loves that prick.
Cooking with Telltale Games
Okay, how about this? An interactive cooking program, where you decide the tempo of the game. You'll actually make real recipes. Good idea? No. Idea? Yeah, but not a very good one.
Read!
Wait, I think I did something wrong here...
Don't take offense to anything I say. This is a list of my disagreements and reasons, but there was quite a bit I did agree with as well.
The Venture Bros: This show was INCREDIBLY popular, and turned out to be one of the most popular if not the most popular, and wittiest most well written, shows Adult Swim ever had. I'd say it would make just as much money as Strong Bad or Wallace and Gromit did. You underestimate the popularity of this show; it's more well known than anything Telltale has done outside of Wallace and Gromit and CSI.
Scooby Doo: This has already been made into a series of adventure game episodic serials on Warner Brothers website; and the games were very very good. You should try them out.
DuckTales: It's Disney; what more can I say. If you say this series wouldn't work for adventure games you do not understand it at all. Some of it inspired Indiana Jones for crying out loud. And if you don't think Disney would lease it; people said the same about Monkey Island and Lucasarts.
Indiana Jones: This was already TWO adventure games; and it's based on episodic serials of the 1940s and 50s. What better fit could there be?
Simon the Sorcerer: Play the first two games; they were great. The fact the newer ones suck so bad is evidence that the series NEEDS a good hand to go out on a good note. See - Monkey Island.
The Simpsons: This was a video game already sure; but it could work in basically any medium. As long as it has material to spoof to death, it will be doing it's job right. It's no less plausible than Futurama.
Gabriel Knight: What was wrong with the 2D interface on this? I loved it.
Maniac Mansion: This is your most groundless argument among all of your arguments. The Mania series is a series of fangames; some containing strong language, and most of them are uninspired basic adventure game cliches. I don't even understand how in a million years you could prefer this over a new official commercial sequel. No offense.
Space Quest: It's true this one may not work as well in Telltale's scheme, but I think it could have a very good shot. Besides, saying it is so much like Monkey Island is a bit of a fallacy. Logically, to say that it is that much like Monkey Island, is to say that it is the only thing that much like Monkey Island. To say it is Monkey Island in space is the same as saying the Naked Gun is Monkey Island with cops. It's a separate entity with many differences from Monkey Island.
MacGyver: You're just looking for things to nitpick here. MacGyver uses common items and knowledge that can be found anywhere (or added in game somehow) to escape deadly situations. Basically EVERY adventure game ever made. It's just as illogical to hypnotize a monkey into a monkey wrench to turn off a waterfall, but that made it into the greatest adventure game of all time. No. Just no.
King's Quest: I beat Kings Quest 1 in two hours the first time I played it completely. That was the AGDI remake. This point doesn't amount to it being a bad series to redo, it amounts to you not being good enough at playing the game.
Quest For Glory: Just as plausible as any other Sierra game.
Calvin and Hobbes: If you had read the Sam and Max comics and didn't know that they had been in any adventure games, you wouldn't know they were fit for the genre either.
The Mighty Boosh: A lot of adventure games were surreal. Like Sam and Max, Monkey Island, Beneath a Steel Sky...
Get Smart: It's not that outdated; there was a recent Warner Brothers reboot movie.
H.P. Lovecraft: This is perfect for an adventure game. Know how I know? Four brilliant adventure games were made in the Lovecraft universe. Alone in the Dark is one. Shadow of the Comet, Prisoners of Ice, and Dark Corners of the Earth(Part FPS) are others.
The Boondocks: It would run on a similar formula as Wallace and Gromit. Adventures set in a small suburban neighborhood spoofing racism and racial tension. In fact, Wallace and Gromits small-street setting kind of proves you can set an adventure game basically ANYWHERE and make it interesting.
Monk/ Psych: Quirky is the best thing for an adventure game. Honestly, getting around Monk's phobias and being a convincing fake psychic would be better than the average detective show.
Laura Bow: See Quest For Glory, King's Quest, and Space Quest.
Sanford and Son: I admit this is one of my least likely choices, but it's a dream one, same as MacGyver. To me an adventure game with a central hub in a junkyard presents all sorts of inventory possibilities. And that show got pretty wacky with stories at times. But I admit; it's pretty unlikely.
This is the only case in which I think Darth Marsden has a point. The ending was pretty final for both the characters and the world. Also, the fact it's an RPG would make a monthly schedule very punishing for the developers, with all the balancing, multiple player classes, and so on.
I'm going to hold my hands up here - I haven't seen the show. For all I know it could be adventure game gold. I have done a little interweb research though, and what I've found doesn't see to indicate that way though.
The strength of your argument for this seems to be the old 'it's an awesome show, it would therefore make an awesome game' line of thought. I'm not saying this applies directly to you, but most people who think this are idiots. There's a long, time-consuming process behind taking an already existing franchise and converting it into a different medium. Some work great as a TV series but wouldn't work at all as a video game series. Others are the other way round. Some would be perfect for both. I could, for example, write the plot for 'an awesome Doctor Who adventure game series', but if I don't factor in all the dialogue, the puzzles, the limitations of the medium and so forth, then I haven't written a game. I've spent an entire afternoon drafting a TV episode. (Actually, it's two, and I've got ideas for four more, bbut that's besides the point).
You're right, they're not bad. Basic, but enjoyable. So why the heck should Telltale make more of them?
My main concern with Scooby Doo is the target audience. SD is aimed at kids, who have wide imaginations but limited cognitive power. Adventure games are aimed at late-teens and up, people who still retain that imaginative flair, but who would also think to use the rubber chicken (with a pulley in the middle) on the cable in order to get across. I'm sure there's a chicken crossing the road joke there somewhere, but whatever. As it is, SD already has a bunch of 3D platformers, and judging by the reactions of my nephew, kids seem to enjoy it as that. Why change something that works?
Again, you seem to be using a tried and tested line of thought here. This one's 'if it worked for company A, why can;'t it work for company B?'. There's a large number of differences between the Mouse House and the House That George Built.
The first, and most obvious, is that Disney is not a video game company. They've published games they've licensed to other companies (most notably with *shudder* video game tie-ins), but they haven't really developed their own - not in a long time, anyway. The second, and most crucial one, is that Disney suck. They've gone downhill recently in a big way,what with their straight to DVD sequels and constant pimping out of anything that even hints at being a success. LucasArts also went through a sucky phase, but they're pulling out of it. They've had a change of management (totally for the better) and they really seem to realise that they should care about the games being released.
I've not actually mentioned DuckTales. That's because it's been years since I last saw it. Still have that movie with the Genie on VHS. Can't watch it - we're a DVD family now - but it's nice to have nonetheless. It could well be adventre game worthy. It's just never going to happen.
I'd love to see more Indiana Jones adventure games. It's probable that the only way that'll happen is through fan-games though. Indy's gone the action-adventure route, and dodgy Wii controls aside, it seems to be working pretty well for him. I too wish it would happen, but it's extremely unlikely.
I'm going to be straight up honest with you - the Simon the Sorcerer series has never been particularly good. The first two were stupidly hard, made little sense and featured way too much backtracking. It's gone downhill from there ever since it went 3D. There's no point in resurrecting something if it couldn't even stand on its own in the first place.
Yes, The Simpsons has had a wide variety of games - Beat 'em Ups, Wrestling, Skateboarding, Driving... But it's only really hit its stride when it embraced platforming aspects. Once you go down the action-adventure route it's pretty damn hard to come back - Wallace and Gromit only just managed it, and that's only because nobody played the first two games (well, except me). Even then, there's still problems with the games. But that's for another time.
Besides, which would ou rather have an episodic adventure game series of - Futurama or The Simpsons?
If you said The Simpsons, then you can bite my shiny metal ass.
I didn't actually mean the first one, which was great. I was referring to the second and third titles. That's my bad, and I apologise for it.
I'd prefer a proper remake with no 'oop, you took too long, game over' aspects over a sequel. Besides, Day of the Tentacle was WAY better then the first game, and I'd want a sequel to be based on that rather then the first game.
There's similarities. Don't argue the fact. There's the bumbling lead character, the bizarre incidents that occur to him, the illogical puzzles
And I would like to see a revival of the series, but I'd really prefer remakes in which you can't freakin' die first. I can't stand adventure games that let you die. Massive turn-off for me. I play adventures to be mentally challenged, not punished for not figuring out exactly what I have to do first time round. If I wanted that I'd play a first person shooter.
Monkey Island et al get away with those sorts of puzzles because they're clearly not based in the real world. They're zany and bizarre, so every so often they can afford to include a random puzzle like that. A MacGyver game would be full of puzzles like that, but because it's in a real-world situation and played straight, it looses the ability to make the player go 'oh, I guess that's pretty clever'. Instead, they'll simply fail to see the connection and give up, or they'll somehow stumble upon it and think 'well how the hell was I supposed to know that?'. I fully stand by my statement.
I have two reasons for not thinking this'd be a good bet.
One - They're difficult. You say you mad it through in two hours? Hooray for you. I like to think I'm a pretty good gamer. I've been doing this for half my life (Playing games, not writing well-informed responses to the thoughts of someone I've never met and probably never will). And yet for the life of me I could not get through Kings Quest I. And if I couldn't get through the first game, think how bad other people are gonna suck at them.
Two - They're set in ye olde England. That's a terrible setting for an adventure game. Or any game really, except possibly an RTS. There's just not enough to keep people's interest.
I'd like to thank Radogol for responding to this, meaning I don't have to. Cheers mate!
Calvin and Hobbes is a very sweet, innocent and charming world. Sam & Max is not. Again, you're pulling the old 'if it works for A, why not for B?' line out again. Different comic, different scenario. Unlike Sam & Max, you'd be stuck with the scenarios given - you wouldn't be able to make your own. That leads to very real problems if you're making a series, because once you're hit four or five, you're out. No future expansion. Done.
Again, I stand by my statement. Simply too surreal.
And they should have either left it as a stand-along film or given it a proper sequel. Instead they rushed out a crappy direct-to-DVD film and ruined the whole thing.
I honestly haven't read them, so I'll only say one thing before moving on - HP Lovecraft stuff seems incredibly dark, and CSI aside, that really doesn't sound like Telltale.
See The Venture Bros.
Yeah, because detectives are totally original adventure game concepts.
[/Sarcasm]
Seriously though, that's what Monk is - a detective. And OCD aside, he's a very standard one, which feels very clichéd. I'll admit Psych is a more interesting take on the premise, but even then it'd still revolve around the same sort of things as a PI game, and suchforth. And honestly, I don;t think the TV audience would cross over into a video game one. Like I say though, I'd have said the same thing about House.
Again, I'd actually quite like to see more Laura Bow games, but as I said the first time around, she's been supplanted. Shame, there aren't many adventure games where the lead character is female.
Oh wait.
You've written my response for me, so I'll let you dream with this one. I'll also point out that the show's based on a British one called Steptoe and Son, so if you're interested in seeing more, try and watch 'em.
And my question is, why not? It's not like Telltale has ever tried to reach this same audience with the Adventure genre. It would be a great challenge for everyone.
And look at it. The only thing kids need to do are finding clues, and set traps for the "ghosts". By setting a more scalar hint system which defaults to very hint-y, kids wouldn't even need to think a lot, while it still leaves some challenges for the more mature people who grew up with the cartoons. If you really would want it, you could add some platform elements. Sure, the pause button would need to be re-assigned, but using the keypad or WASD controls for movement, and the space bar for jumping (mostly for grabbing ledges or stuff on ropes or chains) would add to the fun. And, maybe to spruce it up, make the chase scene a bit more interactive, even a (non-mandatory) minigame.
There's enough to play around with the adventure genre, and Scooby Doo would potentially be able to attract that other untapped audience in the Adventure genre.
There already are Scooby Doo adventure games, I played a few of them on Gametap a while back, and they sucked.
http://www.gametap.com/video-games/Scooby-Doo-:-Showdo-20000287-36.html
http://www.gametap.com/video-games/Scooby-Doo!-Case-F-20000283-36.html
http://www.gametap.com/video-games/Scooby-Doo!-Case-Fi-20000285-36.html
http://www.gametap.com/video-games/Scooby-Doo!-Jinx-at-20000286-36.html
http://www.gametap.com/video-games/Scooby-Doo!-Phantom-20000284-36.html
Here are the ones that are on Gametap.
Before you make any judgments, DM, ya really should check out an episode or two. They are very self-contained and -er- episodic. Part Johnny Quest, part Scooby Doo, part Indiana Jones, and completely hilarious.
Here is a link to one currently available at the Adult Swim website:
Viva Los Muertos!
Edit:
Oh, yeah, and an ode to everyone's favorite henchmen 21 & 24.
Having watched it, my suspicions have been confirmed - I think it's just a little too crazy to really work. It's also very fast paced, which doesn't work at all well with adventure games. Seems like a great show though - wish they actually showed it over in merry ol' England.
You haven't really given a good reason why that is a bad line of thought. Episodic games themselves are made to be like TV shows. That's what episodic is about. Look at CSI. If CSI hadn't been made into an adventure game yet, would you have agreed it would make a good one? And don't pull the "Venture Bros. and CSI are two different shows" argument. You know perfectly well what I'm saying. Just because it worked for CSI doesn't mean it would work for the Venture Bros., sure, but it doesn't mean it wouldn't work either. As far as being crazy, Sam and Max were way crazier in their TV show, but translate slightly less zany in adventure game format. So the Venture Bros. could too. The blunt of your argument seems to rest with "it's two different mediums so therefore the material couldn't possibly transfer well", but with Telltale that's not a valid argument.
I wasn't talking about the ones on GAMETAP at all. Look on the kids section of Warner Bros. website. There are flash made ones there, which are quite good. I have no clue how the GAMETAP ones are. Just because it worked one way doens't mean it wouldn't work another. Besides it's already been done, so we know it would work. Why should Telltale make more? I'm not saying they should, but I definitely think they'd do a great job. Remember that this list is a list of things each person would like to see. In the end a lot of your arguments don't work because they come down to personal preference vs. personal preference.
Well, it may never happen, but so what? Again I'll say it; this topic is mostly for what each person would love to see. DuckTales is based around great adventures, so of course it would work for the medium. It's just never been given a chance. Now when you said Disney sucks, you clearly showed that this is based on personal opinion. Disney has made many great movies through Pixar and has left most of it's animation assets in that field. Pixar is a brilliant company. As far as Ducktales, if Telltale had the rights, Telltale would most likely write the episodes and put them together, meaning we wouldn't be seeing any of the sucking Direct to DVD style work on those episodes. By the way, Disney is going back to it's roots with the beautiful looking Princess and the Froig. Look up a trailer of it; it looks great.
Please don't make THIS mistake. You're better than this. This entire post is made up of personal opinion and bias. Don't try to push your personal opinion off as fact. (I'm probably a hypocrite by saying this; okay I am one.) Look, honestly, lots of people loved the first two Simon games and thought they were great and lots of fun, myself included. It stands on it's own VERY well; I and many I know still bother to play it. True, the game has some faults in these areas, but they have a lot of charm and great comedy which people just love. You wouldn't buy it; I would.
Here you and I agree 100%. Futurama is the most perfect idea for an adventure game I've heard on this forum, and I'm a big advocate of the idea. I was never a Simpsons fan, but I think it could work just as well. In fact an AGS one is being worked on, and it looks quite good, though it may never be finished.
Okay, never mind then.
DOTT was the better game, but the reason I argue for Maniac Mansion is because there are characters in that game I believe should get time in the spotlight. Specifically Razor and her band, the Scummettes. Massive personal opinion here, so I'm leaving myself wide open. But do I think the gameplay from MM should return, no way.
I admit I haven't finished a Space Quest game because of the deaths yet, but many people loved that aspect of them. The massive difficulty. I actually enjoyed it in Kings Quest and Quest for Glory. I mark it off as the VGA remakes of the SQ games were not that amazing; SQ4 and 5 were the best, but 6 was awful IMO. Many liked 6 but I did not. I doubt if TT did the games that they would include the deaths though; that's just not their style.
The ability to take what seems illogical and make it logical and amazing is what makes the character so endearing, not to mention the fact it makes him out to be like a sort of pulp superhero. I disagree that it wouldn't make you feel clever; the thing is, you're thinking that all of MacGyver's gadgets were as obscure as bubblegum and tin foil. that's just not true; he did everything from using helium tanks to blow out a door to fighting ants with fire in the jungle. I'm sorry but it's the lack of knowledge of how flexible this character really is that makes your argument fall apart.
Personal preference. You wouldn't buy it; I would. I won't argue your point here because you are entitled to your personal opinion.
I agree with what he said actually. It wouldn't be Telltale's thing. Maybe Double Fine or Bioware would do it, but not Telltale.
Two sided argument. Just because the comic is different doesn't mean it wouldn't work. You missed my point before. Also, you're discounting Calvin's extremely active imagination and ability to change the environment around him into alien and foreign worlds. Just because they never ended up in a adventure game style scenario in the comics doesn't mean you couldn't put them in one and still keep it true to the comics.
But imagine the possibilities. I think this one just takes imagination.
I agree to this point.
I'm really not sure here; but you're probably right that Telltale wouldn't do it. But I was actually argument the fact that you said it wouldn't make a good adventure game period. You really kicked yourself in the face when you said that, seeing as it was already made into four great ones. But it's probably not Telltale's thing.
See the Venture Bros. You can take almost anything and put it into an adventure game scenario and keep it true to the spirit of the original.
While I disagree that they wouldn't make good adventure games, I do have to consider the point about audience.
Unfortunately, most of both our arguments rest with personal preference, and I'm not sure I have presented good enough arguments; but I AM sure you haven't.
(And they're different than the ones on Gametap? Also holy hell Gametap is amazing getting an account now.)
http://scoobydoo.kidswb.com/games/
I believe this is the page the games are on.
That's them; just go to the adventure section.
While I agree with your point about the possibility for material transfer between mediums, I have to disagree on Venture Bros. working as an adventure game.
I love Venture Bros. I love it to death. In my opinion, it's the only show worth staying up late for on Adult Swim since they
Story-wise, it's perfect, the characters, the setting possibilities, they'll fit, but the feel of the show might not survive the translation to an adventure game. To make it into a point-and-click adventure game is to focus the gameplay less on the action scenes, which is one of the things the show is famous for, and this will make the game feel different than the show. Of course, there's a chance that Telltale might surprise us, but this is pretty unlikely.
Sam and Max worked because the thing that made the franchise famous was the personalities and wackiness of the two main characters and the world they live in. Almost any genre would work for a Sam and Max game as long as they keep these two elements in it.
Actually, I wouldn't want an action game based on VB either, since it'll end up like the frustrating ATHF golf game and that upcoming Metalocalypse Dethgame which looks awful.
Oh, and after playing the CSI game, I wouldn't mind a Monk or Psych game, actually.
That said...
Venture Bros. As I said, you have some valid points and this is one of them. But as I said, Venture Bros just seems too absurd to really work. Yes, the elements are there, but it's a little too violent and the characters are a tad too random in their actions to really convince me. tredlow phrased it pretty well. If Telltale can overcome that, then I will admit it might make for a good series.
Scooby Doo I did play the Warner Bros ones - I can't get Gametap in the UK. Still seemed pretty basic, though like I said before, they weren't at all bad. If Telltale were to make Scooby Doo games, I've no doubt they'd be good, but again, the target audience of Scooby Doo is young kids. If they were made, I honestly believe that young kids would get bored after there not being enough action and older gamers wouldn't even try it as it's not aimed at them.
DuckTales If Disney really is making efforts to improve themselves, then I admit that a DuckTales series could be good. I'd really need to see proper proof of it though, and even then I still don't think I'd be entirely convinced. And the comment about Disney not sucking because they're working with Pixar doesn't hold a huge amount of water - as far as I'm aware, it's Pixar doing the majority of the work there.
Also, what's a froig?
Simon the Sorcerer Ok. I think we'll agree to disagree on this one. I'm not a fan of the series (despite owning all the games - even the puzzle collection - to see if I like any of them), and you are. Not gonna argue with you on this.
Not mentioning the Futurama or Gabriel Knight comments, as we agree on them and there's nothing to discuss. That said, do you have a link to the Futurama adventure game? I'd love to take a look.
Maniac Mansion Your last sentence there is a little confusing - should the gameplay return or not? I'm thinking you meant 'But I don't think the gameplay from MM should return, no way'. If that's the case, then I agree with you.
I honestly never really got into the first Maniac Mansion, primarily because it was so open. If they brought back the universe and just had a few playable characters who visited the others - like, for example, the trio from DotT helping the Scummettes get a gig or something - then I can see that working out pretty well.
Space Quest Again - the deaths are very off-putting to new players. I tried them again and liked the stories and the characters, but the puzzles seemed pretty hard at times and there was the whole dying thing. Removing those would be a major design decision.
Tell you what. If they remade the Space Quest games, keeping the deaths BUT rather then make you restore a save game/restart the whole thing, they instead just took you back to the beginning of the area, then I could see this working a lot better. That way you'd still be punished, but not enough so to make you feel annoyed or wanting to rage-quit the game.
MacGyver Fair enough. I'll admit defeat on this one due to lack of experience with the subject matter.
King's Quest Once again, I think we'll agree to disagree. I do feel that a straight medieval setting really isn't good adventure game material, but I won't ram the point down your throat. As you say, personal preference.
Incidentally, have you tried A Tale of Two Kingdoms? I have a feeling you'd enjoy it.
Skipping Quest for Glory as there's no point debating something we both sort-of agree on.
Calvin & Hobbes Here's where I lost some of the original points. I also made reference to the limited cast (there's really only 7 other characters - points if you can name them) but given the limited cast of Wallace & Gromit, that's not really a valid point anymore, is it?
It's actually hard to say why I don't think this wouldn't work. Maybe it's the idea of giving these silent characters a voice (inevitably we've all given them voices of our own and we'd never be happy with one that doesn't match that). Maybe it's the idea of making puzzles based around the worlds that Calvin imagines (in the comics the stories flow really well, and stopping every couple of minutes to solve a problem would feel very contrary to that). Maybe it's the idea of ruining what was something pretty much perfect (the 'George Lucas' effect, if you will). I dunno.
I think the real, deal-breaker behind why these games wouldn't work though is that Bill Waterson (as far as I know) still doesn't want to do anything more with the characters. Without his involvement, I just plain wouldn't want to play the games, and though can't prove it, I'd like to think that others would feel the same.
The Mighty Boosh Maybe my imagination's running on empty, but I still can't see it working that well. Agree to disagree?
Get Smart and HP Lovecraft not mentioned because we agree with the former and I can't be bothered to argue with the latter. Out of curiosity though, how well received were those 4 adventures?
The Boondoks I've seen the first episode of this - Part One and Part Two - and aside from being pretty adult, I could, theoretically, see this working. It is very, very adult though.
Sanford and Son skipped because we've essentially agreed to disagree on that.
That's a fair enough statement. If my arguments don't hold water, then do feel free to challenge them. That's how a good discussion is formed. Don't be afraid of being arrogant - just make sure that doesn't turn into insulting. That's when all logic gets thrown out the window and it all comes down to who can come up with the biggest swear. And I would so win that.
Let's all make a petition.
ONWARDS! TO THE TARDIS-MOBILE!
Like Monk and Psych, I don't know if I can argue against the target audience, because it's completely sound. Adventure games are too tedious for children; even if they find the jokes funny they won't know how to play it.
I thought Pixar was Disney's 3D animation branch. And, uh, woops. Typo. :P
I was talking about a Simpsons game, not a Futurama one actually. It's actually more of a template so other people can make their own game, complete with all the art and engine needed. But the last update was May 2008, so I doubt it'll ever be finished. Here's a link. http://www.bigbluecup.com/yabb/index.php?topic=2667.0
I don't think the gameplay should return, just the characters.
I could see this being an acceptable compromise. One reason Telltale wouldn't put the deaths in at all is their "not out to defeat the player" policy.
I loved it.
While my main argument is just that C&H would make a great adventure game, I wouldn't want to go against Bill Waterson's wishes on the matter.
Agree to disagree. As far as the Lovecraft adventures, all were well received by those who played it except for Prisoners of Ice, which was a tad cliche and bland, which is sad as it followed up my personal favorite Lovecraft adventure, Shadow of the Comet.
Alone in the Dark frustrates many due to the RE and Silent Hill style controls, but once you play it and finish it, I believe it's worth it. It's one of the best games I ever played; the atmosphere is great. But all of it's sequels are terrible.
Shadow of the Comet had keyboard controls in an adventure game, which doesn't normally work, but in some instances in the story I think it was needed. And it has a GREAT story. And the actor cameos such as Vincent Price, Jack Nicolson, etc. make it a very fun experience as well. There's one part in a crypt that is downright terrifying, but some may just find frustrating because of the difficulty.
Yes, it's probably too adult to find a good target audience unfortunately. But I think it would work wonders as an adventure game. It's funny as this show started out as a comic strip.
Ah, no I don't want to be rude. But I just plain disagreed to the extent I had to say something. Plus, the discussion has been fun. I apologize if some of my arguments have seemed unreasonable, but that is sometimes how a debate must go. And in the end, this is just a topic for what we'd all love to see, not necessarily what will ever happen. It's actually really interesting to look through the flaws and good points of turning this or that into an adventure game.
It probably shouldn't be too difficult to get the rights to, since everyone involved with the franchise seems to be interested in continuing the story...