Sam & Max Save the World

2006 2007 episodic video game

| genre = Graphic adventure
| modes = Single player
| platforms = Microsoft Windows, Wii, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4

Sam & Max Save the World is a graphic adventure video game developed by Telltale Games. The game was originally released as Sam & Max: Season One before being renamed in early 2009. Save the World was developed in episodic fashion, comprising six episodes that were released for Microsoft Windows over the course of late 2006 and early 2007. The episodes were initially distributed online by GameTap and Telltale Games themselves, although the later retail releases of the game were published by The Adventure Company. A Wii port of the game was published in late 2008, and an Xbox Live Arcade version was released in mid 2009. A remaster of the game by Skunkape Games was released in December 2020 for Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows, in August 2021 for Xbox One, and in September 2022 for PlayStation 4. Based on Steve Purcell's comic book series Sam & Max, the game follows the title characters Sam and Max—self styled vigilante private investigators, the former an anthropomorphic dog and the latter a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing"—through several cases involving a hypnotism conspiracy. Each episode features one case with a contained story, with an underlying plot running through the series. The game was announced by Telltale Games in 2005 following the cancellation of Sam & Max: Freelance Police by LucasArts in the preceding year; many of the employees at Telltale Games were members of the Freelance Police development team. The game received a positive response from critics, with praise bestowed on the game's humor, graphics and gameplay, but concerns were voiced over the low difficulty of the puzzles, repetition in design between episodes and the effectiveness of the story. Opinions dissented across the Atlantic; some British reviewers did not appreciate the writing in the way that American critics did. Nevertheless, the game has won several awards and is often cited by commentators as the first successful application of episodic distribution. The game was accompanied by a number of short machinima videos set between each episode. The game was followed by two episodic sequels: Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space in 2007 and Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse in 2010.

Sam & Max Save the World is a 3D graphic adventure game in which the player controls the character of Sam. The player has Sam explore the environments of the game and solve a series of puzzles using a simple point and click interface. Depending on the type of in game entity a player selects using the cursor, the player can have Sam walk around an area, look at and comment on objects, pick up certain items or otherwise try to use them. Sam may also engage in conversation with non player characters; when this occurs, the game presents a dialog tree with several subjects to pick from. Topics of conversation may directly involve the story or provide assistance with the game's puzzles, while others may be entirely unconnected. In some cases, the player may be able to choose dialog for Max to speak as well. The player may select any of the items in the inventory and can then attempt to use them on objects in the game world or give them to other characters simply by clicking on the desired target. Unlike Save the Worlds predecessor, Sam & Max Hit the Road, inventory items are context specific, and cannot be used together or combined to create new items. which, when selected, will present the player with a list of available destinations. The DeSoto is also used for several driving sequences, usually involving pursuing or fleeing criminals in other vehicles. In these driving sequences, the player can use Sam's gun, the car's horn, or have Max attempt to communicate with other vehicles via a megaphone. In addition, special inventory items may be used to complete specific puzzles within these sequences. Driving sequences are also used for several minigames, such as pulling innocent drivers over for fabricated felonies. In keeping with the developer's heritage from the LucasArts adventure games, Sam & Max Save the World is designed so that the player characters cannot die or reach a complete dead end. Max is described as a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing"; cunning, uninhibited and reveling in violence and mischief. His reactions to situations usually incorporate force but often with a seeming disregard for his own personal safety. Together, the Freelance Police operate out of a dilapidated office block in a dangerous neighborhood in New York City where they receive cases over the telephone from an unseen police commissioner. There are several supporting characters that consistently appear throughout the episodes. Bosco is the proprietor of the nearby convenience store and supplies the Freelance Police with a number of items across the game. Driven paranoid by repeated shoplifting, Bosco is obsessed with conspiracies, believing that nearly every US government agency, as well as many criminal outfits, are after him. As such, his store is overwhelmed with security devices and contraptions created by Bosco himself. He regularly attempts to disguise himself as a variety of foreign nationals, but to little effect. Further down the neighborhood is Sybil Pandemik, who owns a small office across from Sam and Max. Sybil is unable to keep a consistent job and regularly changes her career choices. Introduced as a psychotherapist, she is noted to have worked as a tattoo artist, software tester, tabloid journalist, professional witness and Queen of Canada. In a hole in Sam and Max's own office resides Jimmy Two Teeth, a rat who works as a petty criminal, confidence trickster and fence. He profusely dislikes Sam and Max, who he sees as always interfering with his work. Other characters include the Soda Poppers, a group of three former child stars from the 1970s. The three, each with their own trademark catch phrase, first appear as victims of hypnosis in the first episode, later acting as the judges on a Pop Idol parody in the second episode. By the fourth episode, they are elected the governors of the Dakotas and plunge the region into civil war over ownership of Mount Rushmore. He is often seen attempting to promote his self help guides based on Prismatology. The next case the Freelance Police get involves liberating a studio audience held hostage by a deranged TV talk show host, Myra Stump. At the TV station, Sam and Max deduce that Myra has been hypnotized and, after using other shows in the studio to become celebrities, they convince her to let them become guests on her show. Once on the show, Sam notes a strange toy bear on the host's desk, the source of the hypnotism. Using the studio sound system, Sam electrocutes both Myra and the bear, allowing the audience to leave. The commissioner then tasks Sam and Max with infiltrating the Toy Mafia, a criminal organisation operating from a casino. The commissioner's mole in the organisation has gone quiet; he wants the Freelance Police to find out what happened to the mole. Sam and Max quickly discover that the Toy Mafia are responsible for the toy bear that hypnotised Myra. As they gain the Mafia's trust, they ascertain that the mole has switched sides and is now leading the outfit. After discovering that the casino is a front for a factory producing the hypnotizing bears for mass distribution, the Freelance Police sabotage the factory and destroy the operation. Soon after, the US President starts bringing in bizarre policies; Max is particularly concerned about the introduction of gun restrictions, while Sam believes the President has been hypnotized. At the White House, Max beheads the President, revealing him to be a mechanical puppet designed to hypnotize the nation through TV broadcasts. The President's bodyguard, none other than the now fallen Toy Mafia's pit boss, activates a giant robot disguised as the statue at the Lincoln Memorial to run in an emergency election against Max. Sam discredits Lincoln's campaign, resulting in Max winning the presidential election. Lincoln begins a destructive rampage through Washington D. C., but is neutralized when Max fires an intercontinental ballistic missile at him. The next case given to Sam and Max involves dealing with a computer crisis that is causing the world economy to collapse. They discover the problem is a virtual reality program called Reality 2.0, powered by the Internet (which has gained sentience), which is hypnotizing people so they never want to leave the program. Sam and Max access the program themselves and introduce a computer virus that crashes Reality 2.0 and deletes the digital embodiment of the Internet. Prior to expiring, the Internet reveals that it was following the plans of one Roy G. Biv. Sam eventually deduces that Roy G. Biv is actually Hugh Bliss, a character seemingly in the background of all their previous cases. The Freelance Police travel to Bliss' Prismatology retreat on the Moon, where Bliss is preparing a device to hypnotize the entire planet. Bliss reveals himself as a colony of sentient bacteria that feeds off of the endorphins produced by human happiness; by hypnotizing the planet, Bliss assures himself of a permanent supply of nourishment. Bliss activates the device, but is killed when Sam tricks him into a tank of water and boils it using the rocket engine of a lunar lander. Returning to Earth, Max takes great pleasure in reversing the hypnotism by personally knocking everyone on the planet unconscious.

Episode Designer/Writer Release date GameTap release General release "Culture Shock" Brendan Q. FergusonDave GrossmanSteve Purcell October 17, 2006 November 1, 2006 A group of former child stars, the Soda Poppers, are hypnotized into causing trouble in Sam and Max's neighborhood. "Situation: Comedy" Brendan Q. FergusonDave GrossmanJeff LesterSteve Purcell December 20, 2006 January 5, 2007 Sam and Max must deal with a talk show host who has taken her audience hostage. "The Mole, the Mob, and the Meatball" Brendan Q. FergusonDave GrossmanJeff LesterSteve Purcell January 25, 2007 February 8, 2007 A mole in a nearby mafia outfit has gone quiet, so Sam and Max are tasked with finding out what happened to him. "Abe Lincoln Must Die!" Brendan Q. FergusonDave GrossmanChuck JordanSteve Purcell February 22, 2007 March 9, 2007 Believing that the US president has been hypnotized, Sam and Max journey to Washington to save him. "Reality 2.0" Brendan Q. FergusonDave GrossmanHeather LogasChuck JordanSteve Purcell March 29, 2007 April 9, 2007 An Internet craze is hypnotizing people across the world, so Sam and Max try to destroy the Internet. "Bright Side of the Moon" Brendan Q. FergusonDave GrossmanHeather LogasChuck JordanSteve Purcell April 26, 2007 May 10, 2007 Having discovered what is behind the hypnotism cases, Sam and Max travel to the Moon to save the world.

For the release of each episode, Telltale Games released three corresponding machinima shorts. These shorts are set between the episodes; fifteen were released in total. The first short, "Frank Discussion", released on November 30, 2006, has Sam and Max share a discussion regarding frankfurters and their preservative properties in Bosco's store. The short was followed on December 7 by "Trainspotting", in which Sam ponders the meaning of life while Max questions the sensibility of being outside, away from the comforts of their office. On December 12, Telltale released "A Painstaking Search": having misplaced the keys to their office, Sam and Max return to Brady Culture's hideout in an attempt to retrace their steps. The first short of 2007, "Reality Blights", was released on January 4 and sees Max volunteer the duo to appear on a reality television show, Four Freaks in a Terribly Cramped Office. "Egregious Philosophy Platter" was released seven days later on January 11 and features Sam and Max as host the hosts of television show Egregious Philosophy Platter, discussing the philosophers Socrates and Descartes. The final short relating to television shows, "Kitchen Consequential", was released on January 18 and follows Sam and Max hosting Fun in the Kitchen With Sam and Max where they showcase a few recipes of special effects. "Interrogation" was released after the game's third episode on February 1, in which Sam and Max demonstrate how to properly interrogate a suspect. This was followed by "Coffee" on February 8; in the short, Sam and Max experiment with telekinesis on coffee cups. On February 15, "The Blank Blank Blank" was released, where Sam and Max discuss with Bosco a government agency so secret, the acronym is classified. Following episodes relate to Max's tenure as US president after "Abe Lincoln Must Die! "; "War Games", released on March 1, has Sam and Max engage in military activities from the White House's war room under the pretense that they are mere simulations. It was followed by "The Teapot Drone Scandal" on March 15, in which Max orders a Secret Service agent to recite "I'm a Little Teapot" over the telephone. "Saving the Economy" was released on March 22, showing a broadcast by Max outlining his plans to make the economy more efficient by irrationally extending daylight saving time. On April 5, "Artichoke" was released, in which Max holds a press conference where he is unwisely questioned about his gun control policies. The penultimate short, "Bosco", was released on April 12, and shows Max starting a negative campaign against Bosco for the presidential election, despite the fact that he is not running. "A Fireside Chat", the final episode, was released on April 19, depicting a broadcast by Max to the state of Idaho in the hopes of getting them to vote for him.

Sam & Max Save the World originates from Sam & Max: Freelance Police, a graphic adventure game that was developed by LucasArts from 2002 to 2004. Freelance Police was a sequel to the 1993 title Sam & Max Hit the Road. However, LucasArts ceased production on Freelance Police in March 2004. In the subsequent weeks, LucasArts underwent major restructuring; many of the developers who worked on past LucasArts adventure games were made redundant. Some of the former Freelance Police development team consequently formed Telltale Games in June 2004 to continue developing the sort of adventure games that LucasArts no longer wished to produce. Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell, who described himself as disappointed and frustrated with LucasArts' decision, took the Sam & Max franchise to Telltale after the LucasArts license expired in mid 2005. Telltale Games announced the new series of Sam & Max games in September 2005. Brendan Q. Ferguson, who worked on Freelance Police as a programmer, designer and writer; Dave Grossman, one of the project leaders on Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle; and Purcell primarily led the development of the project. Unlike Freelance Police, Save the World was developed in episodic form, with episodes being released in quick succession, to allow for reduced development time between titles and quicker delivery of content to consumers. The following month, Purcell began publishing a Sam & Max webcomic entitled "The Big Sleep" on the site; the webcomic ran for twelve issues and concluded in April 2007. Purcell won an Eisner Award in 2007 for the webcomic. In March 2006, Telltale acquired in funding from a group of private investors, to help sustain growth until its next round of equity funding. Telltale released the game's trailer for the Electronic Entertainment Expo in May 2006, showing the new voice actors for Sam and Max: David Nowlin and William Kasten respectively. However, Andrew Chaikin voiced Max in the first episode, but was unable to continue in the role due to health reasons. While at the convention, Telltale revealed that the first episode was forecast for release towards the end of 2006, via the distribution service GameTap. Telltale announced a release date of October 17 over GameTap in early September, with the note that each episode would be made available from Telltale themselves within fifteen days of release. Development on the first episode was completed on September 25, and from October 10, GameTap began hosting the Sam & Max animated series as promotional material for release. The first episode, "Culture Shock", was released on time on October 17. The next five episodes were released over short intervals until the series finale in April 2007. The series debuted on Steam on June 15 the same year. Telltale began shipping a special collectors edition of the game in July, while the retail version of the game was published in August. January 2008 saw a significant update to the game, upgrading the game engine and ensuring compatibility with Windows Vista. Three months later, Telltale announced a Wii version of the game. Telltale reported that an email campaign and Internet rumors of a port had stirred up interest within the company for producing a Wii version. They redesigned the game's point and click interface to accommodate the Wii Remote, the primary controller for the console. The game was initially forecast for release in North America on October 7, 2008, but was released a week later on October 14. The European version was published later in December. In February 2009, Telltale Games renamed the game from its initial release title of Sam & Max: Season One to Sam & Max Save the World. Telltale's public relations spokeswoman, Emily Morganti, explained that while Season One was thought to communicate the game's episodic nature to potential consumers, the company felt that it was nondescript in relation to the game's story. Both Windows and Wii versions of the game were republished using the new title.