Tag Archive

That KOTOR MMO: Big Reveal Soon?

Written by Alec Meer on October 3, 2008.

Oddly, the story we ran four months back about EA letting slip that Bioware were working on a Star Wars: Knight of the old Republic MMORPG is one that continues to pick up sporadic comments even now. Seems there’s a lot of very, very strong feelings about KOTOR, with a lot of people concerned that it moving online means they’ll never see another single-player outing or have the various dangling plot-threads resolved. Even without any details whatsoever, there was a lot of spitting, expletive-filled fury about the game’s mere existence, much of which we removed in the name of peace, harmony and not having this site be the number one Google hit for “F*CK YOU EA!!!!!!!”

Sounds like we’ll soon find out whether folks’ fears are justified, as ‘orrible UK tabloid The Daily Star has blared that it’s off to see the game in San Francisco. Details and screens soon then, hopefully. Will it be Galaxies 2, WoW in space or will a rejuvenated Bioware - going on what we’ve seen of Dragon Age so far - come up with something new and distinct? Via CVG.

Full Throttle Remembered

Written by John Walker on August 27, 2008.

I would like to publically declare my love for Full Throttle. Something very strange happened with history and opinion on that game - it was well received by critics, it was completely fantastic, it was Tim Schafer’s most mature writing (three years before Grim Fandango). And then somehow it became the black sheep of LucasArts’ output, condemned by false memories of being too short, and having awful arcade sequences throughout. Which just isn’t true! Certainly it was a shorter adventure compared to others in their catalogue, but it was such an astonishingly fine one. And the arcade bits? Pieces of piss, apart from one crappy section with the demo derby. Get over it! Restore Full Throttle to its rightful glory! And then check out this excellent piece from Adventure Classic Gaming, discussing the fate of the two aborted sequels with former LucasArts artist, Bill Tiller.

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I Knew He Wasn’t A Real Doctor

Written by Alec Meer on August 20, 2008.

During a bout of iPhone willy-waving down the pub recently, someone observed that there are two things that always get released for any piece of hardware that’s hacked to run homebrew code, and everyone duly installs them. Then doesn’t do anything with them except show them off to people in the pub. The first is Quake. It used to be Doom, but in the 3D age the big Q seems to have become the de facto way of demonstrating that a given piece of hardware has something decent under the hood. Touchscreen controls mean iPhone Quake isn’t hugely playable, but it does look amazing.

The second, and the source of my point, is SCUMMvm, the esteemed emulator for the old LucasArts adventure games. I suspect everyone who installs SCUMMvm, whether it’s for their PC, their PDA, their PSP or whatever, has a favourite game they install alongside it. For many it’s Day of the Tentacle, and God knows there’s a legion of Monkey Island die-hards, but for me it’s always Sam & Max Hit The Road. Except I never play it. I only watch the intro.
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LucasArts On Star Wars And PC Development

Written by John Walker on May 12, 2008.

Why did LucasArts appear to abandon original development in favour of churning out Star Wars games sausage factory-style? Because they got “a little excited.” And why no Force Unleased on PC? Because console-equivalent PCs cost £2000, apparently.

While interviewing the producer responsible for the current-gen consoles, VideoGamer.com learned the Star Wars obsession was all down to misplaced enthusiasm, something they’ve learned from since. Cameron Suey explains after the jump.

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RPS Exclusive: Mike Stemmle Interview

Written by John Walker on April 26, 2008.

A few weeks back we heard the splendid news that LucasArts alumnus Mike Stemmle had joined Telltale. As one half of the team that created the original Sam & Max: Hit The Road, who better to get involved? So we got in touch and spoke to the man, finding out what he’s been up to in the meantime, what it’s like to return to S&M after all those years, the potential for the modern adventure, and how former colleague Sean Clark should have been a lot more careful at Mike’s wedding.

RPS: The last time I saw you was in the depths of LucasArts, midway through the development of Monkey Island 4. So my first question has to be, does your office still look like this?

(Click for the full glory)

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Mike Stemmle Joins Telltale

Written by John Walker on February 19, 2008.

Here’s some interesting news. Telltale, they behind the recent Sam & Max episodes, have hired Mike Stemmle, one half of the LucasArts double-act who created the original Sam & Max: Hit The Road.

(I should stress, I took this photo eight years ago, and he looks nothing like this now. But his office is worth remembering. Click the pic to see the full-size. Oh, and this hung from the middle of the room.)

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LucasArts games on iPhone

Written by Alec Meer on November 26, 2007.

Is this PC-related? Yeah, I reckon so. It’s about PC games, and about a piece of hardware that works with the PC. I’m sure someone will be kind enough to inform me in unbiased, restrained terms should they disagree, however.

Anyway, despite being a hopeless gadget junkie, I’ve resisted an iPhone. Frankly, If I had a viable form of the internet wherever I went, what precious little social aptitude I have would disappear completely. But a touch-screen phone with which I can pretend Sam & Max Hit The Road is still as funny as I thought it was ten years ago? Ooh.

And yes, I know I could already do this on a horrible Windows Mobile Smartphone, but those are, as I say, horrible. A DS with a flashcart, on the other hand… Ye Olde Pointe’n'clicke Emulatore ScummVM is a wonderful piece of software, and I’m cheered whenever I hear it’s been ported to yet another new platform. I hope that, one day, all-purpose DOS emulator DOSBox will make similar headway, as I want to play Fury of the Furries on the back of my digital camera.

Name That Tune

Written by Alec Meer on November 16, 2007.

I’m reviewing Thrillville: Off The Rails for the lovely PC Gamer UK at the moment. Should you wish to know whether this theme park management jobbie’s worth the price of admission, you’ll have to read their next issue, for I am sworn (or at least politely asked) to silence until then. However, I stumbled across this happy surprise in one of its many crazed mini-games:

Yes, yes, enough about the terrifying giant robot kitten head - d’you recognise the music? If not, the answer lurks in the following invisi-text: It’s Monkey Island, you uneducated dolt. Now get out of my sight.

Oh, how it sings to my haggard soul. You can keep your bloody Still Alive. The reason for its shock appearance (completely at odds with the rest of the game’s soundtrack, which includes Lilly Allen, Avril Lavigne, Blur and a lot of pounding trance music) is that the game’s published by Lucasarts. Whether it’s a knowing nod to gaming heritage or was just lying around unclaimed in the Lucasian archives, I don’t know. Anyone from Lucasarts or developer Frontier reading this who can illuminate us? And that reminds me - we should probably do a shamelessly Digg-friendly ‘Best Game Theme Tunes Ever!’ feature at some point…