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Sam & Max: Freelance Police

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Not to be confused with The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police.
Sam & Max: Freelance Police
The title screen for Freelance Police
The title screen for Sam & Max: Freelance Police
Developer(s)LucasArts
Designer(s)Michael Stemmle
SeriesSam & Max
EngineProprietary
Platform(s)Windows
ReleaseCancelled
Genre(s)Graphic adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Sam & Max: Freelance Police was a graphic adventure computer game developed by LucasArts until its cancellation in 2004. The final game in the company's adventure game era, Freelance Police was originally intended to be released for Windows in early 2004 and was intended as a sequel to the 1993 title Sam & Max Hit the Road. The game was based on the characters of Sam and Max, the "Freelance Police", an anthropomorphic dog and "hyperkinetic rabbity thing" who debuted in a 1987 comic book series created by Steve Purcell. Freelance Police was first announced in August 2002, and was later fully unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2003. Like its predecessor, Freelance Police was designed as a point-and-click adventure game, using a new 3D game engine in place of the SCUMM and GrimE engines used in past LucasArts adventure games. The development of the project was lead by Michael Stemmle, one of the original designers for Sam & Max Hit the Road, while Steve Purcell assisted in developing the game's plot and artistic direction.

Although the game's development appeared to be proceeding towards completion without difficulty, LucasArts abruptly cancelled production of Freelance Police in March 2004, citing economic and market conditions. The cancellation of the game was received very poorly by fans of the series, Steve Purcell and the video game industry's media. Many of the latter saw this move as the culmination of the decline of the adventure game genre. LucasArts later terminated its adventure game development, and many of the Freelance Police design team left to create Telltale Games and continue development of such adventure games. Steve Purcell moved the Sam & Max franchise to Telltale Games in 2005, allowing for a revival of Sam & Max video games.

Overview

Freelance Police moved the franchise into 3D graphics, but retained the point-and-click gameplay of its predecessor

Sam & Max: Freelance Police was designed by LucasArts as a graphic adventure game, a sequel to the 1993 title Sam & Max Hit the Road. The game was to be powered by 3D computer graphics, rendered in real-time. Lead designer Michael Stemmle described the graphics as "achieved via a precarious balance of shaders, bump maps [and] lightmaps".[1] Stemmle stated the game engine itself was "cobbled together from parts of engines that are already lying around LucasArts", including elements from Gladius, RTX Red Rock, Full Throttle: Hell on Wheels and Star Wars: Obi-Wan.[2][3] Little was revealed of the actual gameplay itself, other than that Freelance Police would not follow the same control scheme used by 3D LucasArts adventures Grim Fandango and Escape from Monkey Island, but rather would return to point-and-click mechanics used in the 2D LucasArts games.[1] Freelance Police would also have contained 19 minigames. Like the minigames featured in Sam & Max Hit the Road, many of these minigames would be entirely optional as to whether the player played them or not, while others were necessary to continue in the plot.[4] As with other LucasArts adventure games, the game was designed so that the player characters could not die or reach a complete dead end.[4]

Very little was revealed about the plot in Freelance Police. Steve Purcell, the creator of Sam & Max, had previously been a LucasArts employee and one of the lead designers on Sam & Max Hit the Road, before taking up a job at Pixar as an artist. Purcell had assisted in the development of both plot development and art direction, producing concept art of various characters and locales.[5] An interview with Stemmle in January 2004 provided a very rough outline of the game's plot. Stemmle stated that the game's story was "really six stories, loosely held together by a thrilling über-plot".[6] Each individual story contained a separate case for the Freelance Police, taking place in a variety of environments such as "a low-rent space station, and a lame-ass neopagan desert bacchanal" and featuring "freakish bad guys".[6] Stemmle stated that the intention was to keep the "über-plot" concealed for a while, but noted that it contained "all the barely plausible grandeur that fans have come to expect from Sam and Max".[6] Beyond the return of the titular characters of Sam and Max, only one other character, Flint Paper, had been confirmed for the game. Paper is briefly featured in some of the Sam & Max comics and had made an offstage appearance in Sam & Max Hit the Road, and was described by Stemmle as "the Freelance Police's rough 'n' tumble private detective neighbour".[6] Stemmle also noted that Paper would have played a "critical role" in the game's "über-plot".[6]

Due to the nature of the plot, LucasArts had considered releasing the game in episodic fashion and using digital distribution, something favored by the development team but opposed by the management division, who preferred the more traditional methods of retail distribution.[1] Post-release bonus content was also considered; Stemmle remarked that "we're planning to have several types of new content available shortly after we ship the boxed version. Bonus content will include everything from new power-ups to new minigames...and maybe even entirely new interactive Sam & Max cases [the player] can download".[1]

Development

File:Freelance Police concept art.jpg
2003 concept art for Freelance Police; series creator Steve Purcell assisted in art and plot development

The development of a sequel to Sam & Max Hit the Road was first announced by LucasArts on August 27, 2002. In their press release, LucasArts president Simon Jeffery stated that "the Sam & Max sequel, much like the recently announced Full Throttle II, perfectly complements LucasArts' renowned adventure game legacy and lends further support to the company's commitment to investing in and developing more of our original properties".[7] Although the game was projected for release in the first quarter of 2004, no additional details were revealed by LucasArts.[8] The game was officially announced for Windows at the Electronic Entertainment Expo convention on May 12, 2003, where full title "Sam & Max: Freelance Police" was unveiled.[9] LucasArts reaffirmed the projected early 2004 release date at the convention.[10] The game's trailer was also revealed at E3,[11] reintroducing the characters and showing that the original voice actors for Sam and Max, Bill Farmer and Nick Jameson respectively, were set to reprise their roles.[4] Over the following months, several small media releases were made, showing various screenshots and discussing the development direction of the game. The game's release was highly anticipated by journalists in the video games industry, who published various previews and interviews with the development team, particularly with lead designer Michael Stemmle, one of the original designers of Sam & Max Hit the Road.[4][2]

In August 2003, LucasArts halted production on the Full Throttle adventure game sequel Hell on Wheels,[12] leading the media to speculate that Freelance Police might suffer a similar fate.[13] LucasArts reassured the media that Freelance Police was still in production and was nearing completion, reiterating that the game would be released in 2004.[13] Media coverage continued; PC Gamer US in particular ran an interview with Stemmle as a cover story in February 2004.[4] However, on March 3, 2004, LucasArts abruptly announced the cancellation of Freelance Police. In a short press release, LucasArts' Acting General Manager, Mike Nelson, stated that "after careful evaluation of current market place realities and underlying economic considerations, we've decided that this was not the appropriate time to launch a graphic adventure on the PC".[14]

The reaction to the game's cancellation was overwhelmingly negative. Commentators in the industry's media felt that the cancellation was another example in a decline in the adventure genre,[15] many noting that LucasArts appeared to be moving to consolidate its position with low business risk Star Wars themed titles instead of the adventure games that had brought them success in earlier years.[15][16] Freelance Police's cancellation is often cited as the culmination of the downward decline in the adventure genre.[17][18][19] The cancellation had come so suddenly that some magazines accidentally published favorable previews of the game after LucasArts' announcement.[1] A petition of 32,000 signatures stating the disappointment of fans was later presented to LucasArts.[5] Steve Purcell, the creator of the Sam & Max franchise, was described as "stunned" by LucasArts' decision.[1]

LucasArts' sudden decision to stop production on Sam & Max is mystifying. Sam & Max was on schedule and coming together beautifully. 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. The rug has been pulled out from under this brilliant team who've so expertly retooled Sam & Max for the 21st century. I'm extremely frustrated and disappointed especially for the team who have devoted so much effort and creativity to Sam & Max. It's a shame to think that their accomplishments, as well as the goodwill that has been growing in the gaming press toward this project, will all go to waste due to this shortsighted decision.

— Steve Purcell[20]

A newly established German company, Bad Brain Entertainment, claimed to have entered negotiations with LucasArts to acquire the game, but nothing resulted from this.[5] LucasArts subsequently dismissed many of the designers involved with developing their adventure games,[21] and in 2006 stated that they did not intend to return to the adventure genre until the "next decade".[22] Some of the former Freelance Police development team formed Telltale Games in June 2004, to continue developing the sorts of adventure games that LucasArts no longer wished to produce.[23] Telltale Games later unsuccessfully attempted to buy the rights to Freelance Police from LucasArts, which would have enabled the team to finish the game.[24] When LucasArts' license with Purcell to produce Sam & Max games expired in mid-2005, Purcell took the franchise to Telltale Games, where it was developed into an episodic series of games.[5] Entitled Sam & Max: Season One, the new series debuted in October 2006.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Sam & Max Freelance Police". The International House of Mojo. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  2. ^ a b "Sam & Max: Freelance Police". GamePro. United States: IDG Entertainment: p. 74. 2004. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ Bronstring, Marek (2003-03-17). "Sam & Max: Freelance Police". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Cover Feature: Sam & Max: Freelance Police". PC Gamer. United States: Future plc: p. 47. 2004. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b c d "After Darkness Comes the Light (Part 2)". The History of Sam & Max. Telltale Games. 2007-07-24. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Interview: Sam & Max: Freelance Police". Computer and Video Games. 2004-01-06. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  7. ^ McNewserson, Newsey (2002-08-27). "Sam & Max Are Back!". IGN. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  8. ^ "Sam & Max sequel announced". GameSpot. 2002-08-28. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  9. ^ Blevins, Tal (2003-05-12). "E3 2003: Sam & Max: Freelance Police". IGN. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  10. ^ Thorsen, Tor (2003-05-13). "Sam & Max: Freelance Police announced". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  11. ^ "Sam & Max Freelance Police Trailer 1". GameSpot. 2003-05-13. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  12. ^ Parker, Sam (2003-08-07). "LucasArts cancels Full Throttle". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  13. ^ a b "Sam & Max lives: Still in development...". Hyper. Australia: Next Publishing Pty Ltd. 2004. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  14. ^ Butts, Steve (2004-03-03). "Sam and Max Cancelled". IGN. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  15. ^ a b Adams, David (2004-03-24). "Missing in Action: The Lost Games of the PC". IGN. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  16. ^ "What the Hell is Wrong with LucasArts?". The International House of Mojo. 2004-03-03. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  17. ^ Dickens, Evan (2004-03-03). "Sam & Max R.I.P.: My Reaction". Adventure Gamers.
  18. ^ "Roundtable #113: Choose Your Own PC Adventure". IGN. 2004-03-24. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  19. ^ Parish, Jeremy. "The Essential 50 Part 33: Myst". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  20. ^ Rodkin, Jake (2004-03-05). "Steve Purcell comments on Sam & Max 2's cancellation". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  21. ^ "LucasArts Feels the Force of New President's Rationalisations". Spong. 2004-07-16. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  22. ^ "LucasArts at E3". G4tv. 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  23. ^ Jenkins, David (2004-10-04). "Sam & Max 2 Developers Form New Studio". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  24. ^ Fahs, Travis (2008-05-07). "Beta Blues, Vol. 2". IGN. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
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