Sam and Max 2 - cancelled

[lagamorph321]

You can see some ideas coming together on http://www.savesamandmax.com. I like the online distro idea - although LA would be really concerned about pirating of this one. Bah, I've written my emails to pr@lucasarts.com and encourage anyone else who gives a *&* to do the same.

[Brushguy]

I'd love to check it out, but unfortunately, http://www.freewebs.com/savesamandmax has overrun its bandwith limit.

 

Freewebs gives an EXTREMELY limited amount of bandwidth, and I'm sorry to say that they've told me it won't be back up until the 25th.

 

It is a good sign though, in a way. I guess samandmaxfiend gets all the glory in the meantime...

 

Since my site's down for a while, I want to help samandmaxfiend out as much as possible.

[Max Salmon]

Originally posted by samandmaxfiend

i was thinking..could there be something we could mail to lucasarts.. an item that is veryyy sam & max..and would represent them..

 

I am a diehard fan of all the Sam and Max stuff. I had the comic compilation and the eps taped of TV and are now transfered on VCD. Still enraged with... well, pretty much anything with the situation, but I got a few ideas...

 

1. Make the brown bag puppet of Max as seen in the comic and instruction manual of the game. But inside it's mouth, have a letter of the plentiful raw feelings we all have...well, everyone except SyntheticGerbil, who no one is really sure why he is this devoted to nay-saying Sam&Max (I'll just blame Comunism for now). It's kinda stupid, but i really can't picture a office room stacked with paperbag maxs'.

 

2. Get a Screenshot from the Sam and Max Dress Up game (I'm sure it had a mitty name in the game, but my memories are blined by fury) and put a bunch of bloodied clothes on one of them and put Mike Nelsons face on it. Then put all the weapons on the other one and viola! Fasionable protesting!

 

I've called Mike Nelson, I've been on the Penny Arcade Forums, I have written an E-mail to Gabe on PA, I have written 2 e-mails to each adress given, and on the off chance of those few people who vist the comic ElfOnlyInn.keenspace.com, I E-mailed him too. I should really get a life...

 

nah

 

If only he knew ---->.

[Canine_Shamus]

If we could get Penny-Arcade to do a comic, that would be awsome. That would really boost intrest.

[samandmaxfiend]

hey i like that max puppet idea..has any1 scanned that comic online..i wanna put it on http://www.savesamandmax.com .. ?// can some1 scan it and e-mail it to me info@savesamandmax.com

[Max Salmon]

I don't have a scanner sadly, so if anyone has a scanner and a comic compilation, or a friend with a scanner, or an enemy that you can seduce to use the scanner, it would be greatly appreciated (sp?).

 

But im doin my best as far as getting everything out there. It has now become my AIM Profile and i threathen suicide if they don't sign the petition. Then again, that will probably remove sigs, but it was worth a shot.

[Brushguy]

I have a scanner and copies of the Max Hand Puppet, in both black/white and color. That's a good idea about the puppet, but I already sent my written letter and my parents don't want me sending another...

[lagamorph321]

Hey all,

I know everyone that's posting on the boards wants this game to be made, but I only see postings by a select few. I want to help the guy who made the savesamandmax.com website organize fans into a 'club'.

 

Anyone interested in joining the cause? It's the die hards that will encourage people who could be swayed to do what all of us have done so far - emailed pr@lucasarts.com, stevepurcell, gaming mags and anyone else who will listen.

 

Is there a fan base already organized and kicking LA butt?

 

What do you think? - i hate to call it a fan club, so any suggestions for a name are appreciated. Poke fun if you have to - just join in :-)

 

lagamorph321@yahoo.com --- yeah i know i spelled lagomorph wrong

[Max Salmon]

Originally posted by Brushguy

I have a scanner and copies of the Max Hand Puppet, in both black/white and color.

 

Kickass, but please scan in one and send it to Savesameandmax.com so he can host it and then put the link up on the boards here.

[Skinkie]

Actually I think it's already up on one of the sites around here. I printed it off at one point. Unfortunately I don't remember which one. Then you could just swipe theirs.

[GreenClue]

I think the other site, Save Sam & Max, has had its bandwidth exceeded because when I sent NTFS the information that the game was cancelled to post on their page I used that website address instead of the newer one of Save Sam & Max Freelance Police since it wasn't entirely together at the time Uh, so, yeah, I messaged them to change the link but added a comment to the post anyway... you can see it under Gaming News.

[SyntheticGerbil]

Wow, indentions really do make all of the difference.

[Dimensio]

Oops. The new paragraph indentations got cut off. Sorry about that. I do actually indent with new paragraphs, and the letter will be double-spaced.

[BlueRockman]

I hear that, man. I hear that.

 

And I note medicore being "at best" for LucasArts at current, while generally, we seem to recieve "purile crap".

 

And man, I love how you hit the nail on the head about the only quality games coming from the third party developers. Perhaps maybe if we get into the gaming business, we should just rally as many third party developers as possible so we can just be lazy and pretend that we make decent games.

 

But seriously though. I hate what LEC has done. I opted for boycotting, e-mailing, and if I did live in the CA area, would gladly join the picket lines. I don't take a lazily done two-line note as poorly written as Mr. Nelson's as acceptible closure.

[braindead200]

jeez i guess i was wrong.monkey island 4 was awesome but the puzzles were very hard and fustrating.im no indiana jones fan,i dont like star wars that much anymore.they're cocentrating the most on star wars more than anything.they should stop doing that since every star wars game is very boring.but yeah lets hope they release more squels games after episode 3 of star wars

[Skinkie]

No Indiana Jones fan? What kind of a person are you? BAH!!!

[Dimensio]

Thanks for some feedback. A simple read-through led me to see a number of typographical errors (spelling mistakes, omitted words), and I have thought of how to rephrase some of my comments.

 

I want to avoid going too negative, hence my focus on LucasArts's level of mediocrity without actually referring to things as "purile crap" (I also want to avoid such coarse language).

 

Unfortunately, I had very little sleep last night, and as such I'm not sure how much of a proper mindframe I'm in for futher editing, so I may have to delay mailing the letter until Saturday. I won't delay it further than that, however. I'm considering sending it via priority mail, to get it to LA sooner.

[zongman]

Check "Lucas Archives volume 1" on amazon.com

(item containing sam&max hit the road)

 

I put up a review that says it all

 

 

Best regards,

Zong.

[NHJ BV]

I've sent them an email too, and signed the petition:

 

"Dear sir,

 

I cannot express how disappointed I am at the cancellation of Sam &

Max: Freelance Police. The first game was absolutely great, and many

looked forward to the sequel Lucasarts was developing (an online

petition has almost 10.000 signatures at the moment of writing). A few

had their doubts, as the game was in 3D, but most people looked

forward to it as one of the better games to buy this year. Seeing as

the release date was only some two-and-a-half months away, I and many

others with me do not understand why this game was cancelled; or, to

phrase it better: why Lucasarts didn't decide on whether or not they

wanted to make a Sam & Max sequel *before* they started production.

Now Lucasarts wasted money, time and their reputation making an

unfinished game. To me it seems that finishing it would at least allow

Lucasarts to make some money out of it, while now all funds spent on

the project are wasted.

 

Some suggested that perhaps the project wasn't coming along well,

which is a good reason to cancel it, but Steve Purcell's comments on

the cancellation of the project suggests otherwise: "I couldn't have

been more pleased with the quality of the writing, gameplay, hilarious

animation and the gorgeous 3D world that Mike Stemmle's team has

created". Also, there are pretty strong rumors that all of the

voice-acting for the game had been finished. Please reconsider the

cancellation of the project; there are many looking forward to the

game, and there have been quite some successfull adventure games that

were released over the past few years, like Syberia, or The Longest

Journey.

 

By now, LucasArts has probably recieved hundreds of emails, not all as

polite as this one (I had a week or so to cool down by now) asking the

same, but please allow Sam & Max: Freelance Police to be released to

the world. If this is not an option, please consider one of the

following:

 

-Release whatever has been made until now as a free download,

especially the voice acting.

 

-Release whatever has been made until now and include the source code,

I'm sure there will be some talented programmers/modders in the

adventure community who can make something out of it if the voice

acting is done.

 

-Put just one or two programmers back on the game and release it at

some point in the future, perhaps this Christmas or even later.

 

-Transfer/sell the rights on Sam & Max, and preferrably all work that

has been done so far, to a software developer who is willing to finish

and release the game. This way, Lucasarts will get some of the money

back they put into it, adventure gamers around the world will be

happy, and Lucasarts will regain it's now ruined reputation.

 

Regards,

<my name>"

[ShyBearUK]

Just my tuppence worth. Never been as incensed about a game cancellation as I am about this one, so have sent off mails to Mary Bihr, Michael Nelson, Ronda/Randy(?) Breen and the PR address, as well as signing the petition (just the once).

 

I am absolutely gutted about the decision, and I can only hope that we will be able to get through to them somehow.

 

mail follows:

 

"

I found out this morning that a game which I have been eagerly awaiting ever since completing the prequel in 1993, has been cancelled. In case you're in any doubt, it's the one about a canine law enforcement agent and his lepine partner.

 

It's not often that i feel strongly enough about something of this nature to send an e-mail, but this has to be one of the most ridiculous decisions ever made by a software company. The prequel was the first game I ever bought for my first PC, although I had a history of playing Lucasarts games on my Amiga: Maniac Mansion, Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders, etc, and I can't help but think that whoever made the decision to axe this game doesn't really have any idea what the games-buying public actually want.

 

When I say 'game-buying public' I refer to the people that buy games for themselves, not the parents and relatives that buy yet another Star Wars game for their child/grandchild/etc because they see the Star Wars brand and think 'Oh, it's Star Wars, little Timmy would like that. Everyone likes Star Wars'. Unfortunately, not everyone DOES like Star Wars, and Lucasarts is in serious danger of alienating their original fanbase.

 

As if it wasn't bad enough that this game was cancelled, I also found out about another sequel to a classic Lucasarts adventure, about a man and his motorbike, being cancelled, although I know I'm a little behind the times on that one.

 

The only reason that the adventure game genre appears to be dead is that no-one is really releasing enough adventure games at the moment, but one has only to look at Syberia, Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon, The Longest Journey and the like to realise that these games DO sell. All it would take to revive the genre to its former glory would be one game to stand above all others. Purely based on the online reaction to the cancellation of the aforementioned game, I would warrant that it could've been that game. Thousands would have bought it purely because of their feelings and memories of the first game, and if it actually turned out to be good it would have even made some new fans for the franchise.

 

I would like to take this chance to urge you to reconsider this decision, and I'm not alone. I have signed an online petition to cancel the cancellation of the game, and it has already been signed by nearly SEVENTEEN THOUSAND people! Surely this is some indication of how well the game would sell. Bearing in mind the percentage of people who would actually take the time to sign an online petition, and also the people who do not have access to the Internet, nor the time to go surfing around and find out where to send emails, surely it would be a viable commercial option?

 

You will notice that I have avoided mentioning the name of the game so that I can bypass any filters which you are more than likely to have had put in place. I am sure that by now you are heartily sick of receiving mails on this topic, but hopefully this will show you how serious we, the fans, are.

 

Until I hear that this decision has been reversed, I feel it is my sad responsibility to boycott any future Lucasarts releases. Hopefully if enough of us take this step, Lucasarts will be forced to listen.

 

 

Yours, disappointedly "

[my full name]

[Dimensio]

I have deleted my previous posting to avoid cluttering up this discussion with redundant information. I have revised my letter, and spellchecked it. I will print it, sign it and mail it tomorrow. I would like any feedback that anyone has to offer, as well as any correction of grammatical mistakes or apparently omitted words. If you think that it is great as-is, feel free to tell me. If you think that it outright sucks and that I should start over, tell me that as well (but give me some direction so that I don't make the same mistakes all over again).

 

Note that I do indent my paragraphs. I just can't get them to show here. Also, the letter is in 10-point font. I have not decided if I wish to use double-spacing (which makes it two and a half pages) or smaller 1.5 spacing (which reduces it to two full pages).

 

To Whom it May Concern,

 

I am contacting you – as are, I am told, many others – to express my opinion as a video and computer game consumer regarding the recent and surprising cancellation of Sam & Max: Freelance Police. I have little doubt that you are now well aware of the outcry regarding the cancellation of such a promising and anticipated title, and I have noticed a great deal of confusion regarding your decision; it is a sentiment shared amongst professional game reviewers and the gaming enthusiasts who post on various Internet message forums. I can understand their confusion: while much of the game's development was kept secret, the scant information that was released showed great promise for the project. This, in addition to the cult-like status of the game's characters and because the game itself is a follow up to one of the most popular and memorable LucasArts adventure games ever made (which is quite a feat given that it was just a single game, rather than a series such as the Monkey Island games) – to the point of being referenced in relatively recent LucasArts titles – leads a great number to wonder why your company would cancel production for what is sure to be a profitable title. Unlike many enthusiasts, however, I am not confused by your decision. I believe myself to have a good understanding of the two primary reasons for the cancellation of Sam & Max: Freelance police.

 

The first reason, of course, is as was stated in the short and almost cowardly-worded press release: market conditions. Some have questioned the competency of a marketing department that concludes that the release of a title such as Sam & Max: Freelance Police would not be profitable at this time, asserting that it is difficult to gauge the predicted success of a title in a genre that is currently represented in the market by at most three other titles. It is a popular belief that your marketing department conducts lazy research by looking at the dearth of adventure games currently available and concluding (by virtue of the fact that a genre that is not represented well cannot sell well) that a new adventure title could not possibly sell well. I have avoided such a hasty generalization of your marketing department's tactics, however. I realize that your marketing department needn't do any research at all within the adventure game genre, nor do they need to consider the potential anticipation of the title given the popularity of Sam & Max. All that they need to consider is that no matter how much money Sam & Max ultimately grosses, producing and marketing the title to make it profitable will require some amount of effort and investment above “bare minimum”. They also realize that the Star Wars name is currently so popular that they can easily dump a very small amount of development money into a title, pay for a few magazine advertisements and send a few large cardboard displays to video game retailers and people will buy the title in droves regardless of its quality merely because it is set within the Star Wars universe. I understand that LucasArts has made the simple economic decision of producing licensed mediocre products rather than investing in a quality piece of software because quality software that does not carry the “Star Wars” name is simply not as profitable in the long run.

 

It is this initial understanding that leads to a revelation regarding the second reason for the cancellation of a promising title such as Sam & Max: Freelance Police. If LucasArts invests in and releases a well-designed, offbeat and quality title, gamers will begin to have higher expectations from the company. When the next mediocre Star Wars game is released, with minimal effort applied to making the title fun to play, gaming fans will wonder why your company was unable to release another game as well-made “that game with the rabbit and the dog”. I understand that you are currently able to place the LucasArts name on quality titles such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, but knowledgeable gamers and game reviewers are well-aware that those quality “LucasArts” titles are always developed by third party publishers such as Bioware and that they only carry the LucasArts name because of licensed Star Wars elements. As such, I understand your decision to cancel Sam & Max: Freelance Police as part of an ongoing policy of dedicating your in-house development staff to mediocrity.

 

It is with this ultimate revelation of your current company strategy that I find myself saddened with the knowledge that LucasArts is no longer the company that I used to know. I had once associated your company with quality titles, especially in the adventure game genre (always standing above and beyond offerings from other companies, to the point where other gaming companies began mimicking the SCUMM engine design to some degree) but also with revolutionary titles such as the X-Wing and TIE Fighter series. Now, however, it seems that LucasArts is uninterested in a reputation for quality gaming titles in favor of churning out whatever you believe can gain you the greatest income with the least amount of expenditure. It is with a heavy heart that I must admit to myself that while I once trusted LucasArts for quality titles, I can no longer justify any purchase of a LucasArts title.

[Brushguy]

And I am the 200th post! Mwahahahaha!

 

Sorry.

 

Keep sending that mail, people!

 

pr@lucasarts.com

[lagamorph321]

Hi,

I really like your letter. It might help to rework the items in parentheses into seperate sentences to avoid sounding like a run on sentence with no end in sight because even the most patient...um...right.

 

Next to last paragraph has a little error...(missing maybe an 'as'?)

as well-made as "that game with the rabbit and the dog."

 

instead of

 

as well-made “that game with the rabbit and the dog”.

 

Thanks for taking the time to write a good letter. I'll happily send one myself backing your valid points.

[Dimensio]

Thanks for the tip. I've been rereading and tweaking things. I took out a lot of the parenthetic inclusions, because many of them were too wordy, and I added in the missing "as".

 

The letter will be printed later. I will decide tonight whether to send it via First Class or through a more expensive but more reliable method.

 

Note to all who also plan to write letters: If you're going to write a letter, make sure to follow the right standards. I was set to double-space until I read not to do that. See http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/BusinessLetter.html for two examples of proper business letter writing techniques. I'm using the Indent style, because I prefer it aesthetically, but block style should be fine as well.

[The Tingler]

This was posted on the LucasArts Technical Forum.

 

"Sam & Max: Freelance police

Posted: Mar 8, 2004 9:37 AM

 

This Forum is only for technical support for LucasArts games so we have removed the threads regarding the cancellation of Sam & Max: Freelance Police. However, please send any feedback you have to our Public Relations Dept. at PR@LucasArts.com

 

Ronda Scott, our Community Relations Specialist is monitoring the mail to this address and reviewing your comments. Rest assured, your voices are being heard.

 

Thank you. "

 

At least we have someone to write to. Don't insult her - she's just the one reading the mail!