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Should I send this letter to LucasArts?

Started by Bad Asp, October 19, 2010, 03:35:05 PM

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Bad Asp

I am writing a letter to LucasArts, asking them to uncancel Sam and Max: Freelance Police.  Here is a draft of the letter I am sending them:

To Whom It May Concern,

I, (insert name here), am writing this letter to express my disappointment with LucasArts' cancellation of Sam and Max: Freelance Police.  This game was much anticipated by fans of the Sam and Max series, and while Telltale has acquired the rights to the Sam and Max franchise and released sixteen episodes of their own, I feel that none of them have the charm the original Sam and Max games once had.  I am also concerned with the casting, since neither Bill Farmer nor Nick Jameson have been invited back to reprise their roles as Sam and Max, respectively.  Instead, the roles were given to cheap substitute actors who I feel did not do justice to the series.  Also, in one episode, "The City That Dares Not Sleep", the original voice actors were impersonated by the current ones, and I felt that was disrespectful.

It is because of this that I implore LucasArts to reconsider its decision to cancel Freelance Police, and allow production of the game to continue.  The project has a long history of hard work and is both well-known and well-respected throughout the gaming industry.  LucasArts may also potentially gain financially from this project.
In addition, I request that LucasArts also rerelease Sam and Max Hit the Road in the United States of America.  I know that you no longer have the license to Sam and Max, but I request that you do this anyway.

I appreciate a response to this message within a week.

Thank you,
(insert name here)


What do you think?  Should I change something, or is the letter fine the way it is?

drunkenmonkey

What exactly do you hope to accomplish by sending this letter. I don't see Lucas Arts going back to adventure games. Unless you count the monkey island special editions, but they could just be a one time deal.

wilco64256

You never know.  If enough fans show enough interest in something surprising things can happen.
Weldon Hathaway

atec123

Quote from: wilco64256 on October 19, 2010, 03:51:42 PM
You never know.  If enough fans show enough interest in something surprising things can happen.
(Example: both C&Ds for you guys)
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drunkenmonkey

Quote from: wilco64256 on October 19, 2010, 03:51:42 PM
You never know.  If enough fans show enough interest in something surprising things can happen.
That's true, don't let me dissuade you, BA. As far as your letter, it could be a bit more polite, a little less demanding. And back up some of your claims with evidence, show some numbers perhaps. Telltale are doing some great things with the Sam and Max and the Monkey Island franchises. As far as Lucas Arts are concerned this is a success, show them your views are not of the minority. I can only tell you, my bro, liked the Telltale games better than the original. Try to get more people to back up your cause.

snabbott

Yeah - a letter from one person probably won't do much. If you can start a campaign like they did with Save TSL - who knows? I would suggest making it more polite, though. For example, I wouldn't use the term "cheap subsitiute actors."

Also, have you verified that the original actors would even *want* to reprise their roles?

Steve Abbott | Beta Tester | The Silver Lining

KatieHal

I wouldn't insult the new actors. In a letter like this, if you want to be taken seriously, you have to maintain a professional demeanor. The rest of your letter does that, but calling the new actors cheap substitutes will not help your case.

Also I would try to send it to both LucasArts and TellTale. TTG are the ones making and casting the games now, after all.

Katie Hallahan
~Designer, PR Director~

"Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix." Christina Baldwin

I have a blog!

Enchantermon

Quote from: KatieHal on October 19, 2010, 04:50:40 PMI wouldn't insult the new actors. In a letter like this, if you want to be taken seriously, you have to maintain a professional demeanor. The rest of your letter does that, but calling the new actors cheap substitutes will not help your case.
Especially when discussing a largely subjective point of view.
Quote from: Bad Asp on October 19, 2010, 03:35:05 PMIn addition, I request that LucasArts also rerelease Sam and Max Hit the Road in the United States of America.  I know that you no longer have the license to Sam and Max, but I request that you do this anyway.
It's possible that the rights to this game went with the rights to Sam and Max. If they did, Lucasarts is obviously not going to rerelease the game, because whoever does own the rights will be on them like white on rice. A better way to put this would be to ask them to investigate options for a re-release. Again, it makes your letter sound more professional.
Quote from: Bad Asp on October 19, 2010, 03:35:05 PMAlso, in one episode, "The City That Dares Not Sleep", the original voice actors were impersonated by the current ones, and I felt that was disrespectful.
This is an issue that should be taken up with TTG, not LucasArts, since employees (or contractors) of TTG were responsible for casting the new Sam and Max games. LucasArts has no control over that.
So what if I am, huh? Anyways, I work better when I'm drunk. It makes me fearless! If I see a bad guy, I'll just point my sword at him and saaaaaaaaaay, "Hey! Bad guy! You're not s'posed to be here! Go home or I'll stick you with my sword 'til you go, 'Ouch! I'm dead!' Ah-ha-ha!" Ha-ha. *hic* See? Ain't no one gonna be messin' wit' ol', Benny!

Lambonius

Uh...yeah... ::)

You DO realize that Lucasarts doesn't own the rights to Sam and Max at all, don't you?  Steve Purcell owns the rights, and Steve Purcell is working with Telltale on the new games.  Lucasarts couldn't do anything about this even if they wanted to.

I agree that I liked the original voice actors a little better, but this is just a misguided pipe dream.

MusicallyInspired

#9
Err.....you're about 8 years too late. There's no way Freelance Police is gonna come out now. Besides, Telltale Games (made up of members who left LucasArts after that time) took half the ideas from Freelance Police and put them into Sam & Max Season One (Save the World). A lot of the things you're addressing can't really be asked of LucasArts anymore but Telltale. LucasArts haven't had anything to do with Sam & Max for about a decade. They don't own it. They never did. The rights have always belonged solely to Steve Purcell, its creator. They are not in charge of anything Telltale has done with regards to Sam & Max. But again, Telltale are made up of people who left LucasArts after FP was canceled, so Sam and Max are in good hands. Just get the current games and enjoy them. FP will never see the light of day. Accept it.

In short, no you shouldn't send this letter. Very little of it is relevant to LucasArts anyway at this point with the only thing they could probably do being to rerelease Hit the Road somehow.

Bad Asp

Quote from: MusicallyInspired on October 19, 2010, 07:19:57 PM
Err.....you're about 8 years too late. There's no way Freelance Police is gonna come out now. Besides, Telltale Games (made up of members who left LucasArts after that time) took half the ideas from Freelance Police and put them into Sam & Max Season One (Save the World). A lot of the things you're addressing can't really be asked of LucasArts anymore but Telltale. LucasArts haven't had anything to do with Sam & Max for about a decade. They don't own it. They never did. The rights have always belonged solely to Steve Purcell, its creator. They are not in charge of anything Telltale has done with regards to Sam & Max. But again, Telltale are made up of people who left LucasArts after FP was canceled, so Sam and Max are in good hands. Just get the current games and enjoy them. FP will never see the light of day. Accept it.

In short, no you shouldn't send this letter. Very little of it is relevant to LucasArts anyway at this point with the only thing they could probably do being to rerelease Hit the Road somehow.

Must not be discouraged... must not be discouraged... must not be discouraged...

KatieHal

If you truly want to send it, then go for it. It's good to have realistic expectations--something may come of it, and that would be great. But it's also possible nothing will happen. And it never hurts to try! Even if you fail, you can move on knowing you've done everything you could've done.

Nothing is almost sure to happen if it gets sent to the wrong people, however. :) So making sure it goes to the right person is very key!

Katie Hallahan
~Designer, PR Director~

"Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix." Christina Baldwin

I have a blog!

Blackthorne

Quote from: Bad Asp on October 19, 2010, 09:48:35 PM
Quote from: MusicallyInspired on October 19, 2010, 07:19:57 PM
Err.....you're about 8 years too late. There's no way Freelance Police is gonna come out now. Besides, Telltale Games (made up of members who left LucasArts after that time) took half the ideas from Freelance Police and put them into Sam & Max Season One (Save the World). A lot of the things you're addressing can't really be asked of LucasArts anymore but Telltale. LucasArts haven't had anything to do with Sam & Max for about a decade. They don't own it. They never did. The rights have always belonged solely to Steve Purcell, its creator. They are not in charge of anything Telltale has done with regards to Sam & Max. But again, Telltale are made up of people who left LucasArts after FP was canceled, so Sam and Max are in good hands. Just get the current games and enjoy them. FP will never see the light of day. Accept it.

In short, no you shouldn't send this letter. Very little of it is relevant to LucasArts anyway at this point with the only thing they could probably do being to rerelease Hit the Road somehow.

Must not be discouraged... must not be discouraged... must not be discouraged...

You must not be discouraged, but MI is right - LucasArts has nothing to do with this anymore.  Tell Tale and Steve Purcell are the people you should right.  If you want to continue with your letter writing campaign, Spartacus, I suggest you send it to the proper people. 

But I will tell you - the chances of your wishes being granted are very slim.


Bt
"You've got to keep one eye looking over your shoulder
you know it's going to get harder and harder as you
get older - but in the end you'll pack up, fly down south, hide your head in the sand.  Just another sad old man, all alone and dying of cancer." - Dogs, Pink Floyd.

crayauchtin

I just wanted to comment on this, as my views would be redundant at this point.

Quote from: Bad Asp on October 19, 2010, 03:35:05 PM
I appreciate a response to this message within a week.

You -- who to LucasArts is a hohum nobody (no offense, that's not how I think of you!) -- are giving a big ol' company like LucasArts a deadline for when they should answer your letter?

If they decided to answer you within a week, I can guarantee it would probably include the words "Do not contact us again" or possibly "Stop wasting our time". Consider how much mail they probably get. You can't demand a deadline for a response from a corporation on your first correspondence with them, they'll take it as disrespectful (especially considering your tone in the rest of the letter).

If, given the other things mentioned in this thread (like the fact that LucasArts doesn't own the rights to Sam & Max) you still decide you want to write them I would recommend rewriting the letter in its entirety or at the very least scrapping that sentence. You could replace it with "I would appreciate a response to my concerns" or "I hope to hear your thoughts on this" but that ending sentence absolutely will not fly.
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MusicallyInspired

#14
It's not about being discouraged, Bad Asp, it's about being completely and utterly unrealistic. Nothing will come of this because it isn't LucasArts' problem. Really, you guys, do you want him to make a fool of himself by encouraging him? That's pretty mean.

And the chances of your wishes being granted are significantly less than slim. As in non-existent.

Cez

#15
I've actually heard, from people at Telltale, that the game wasn't very good either. Too many ideas going into the project to modernize it and make it available on consoles, etc. One of the guys was going to show me a copy once, but then we didn't take a look at it at the end.

Also, the people behind Freelance Police are not at LucasArts anymore. Most of them are at Telltale now. The game is very, very old and would need a full revamp. In any case, LucasArts would probably hand it to Telltale to do it, which, as someone already mentioned here, most of the ideas went to season 1 already, and I would not hold my breath on getting the original actors back. I'm not sure why Telltale didn't use them, especially since they moved mountains to get the original actors of Monkey Island to reprise their roles, so it's possible there was some sort of legal reason, or simply monetary reasons --they are certainly not cheap since they have to fly Max in everytime they need him. Sam, on the other hand, is local.

As much as I like to believe letters do work, and they worked with us, a single letter would not get anything but maybe a cordial response. Like someone else suggested, you need to go to a much higher level and organize something bigger if you want to be heard --and, like Katie said, always keep your feet on the ground! If it doesn't happen, at least you've tried! Maybe you can get them to consider doing a high-res version of the original :)


Cesar Bittar
CEO
Phoenix Online
cesar.bittar@postudios.com

Bad Asp

I'm pretty sure that's what I plan on doing.  I know I posted this somewhere else, but I illustrated a children's alphabet book I worked on with my sister, and I hope I can get that book published.  I could use the money from the book to try to work out a deal with LucasArts to maybe purchase the programming code off of them and possibly get it off their hands.

I will do anything to get that game... anything.

atec123

Quote from: Bad Asp on October 20, 2010, 05:28:16 AM
I'm pretty sure that's what I plan on doing.  I know I posted this somewhere else, but I illustrated a children's alphabet book I worked on with my sister, and I hope I can get that book published.  I could use the money from the book to try to work out a deal with LucasArts to maybe purchase the programming code off of them and possibly get it off their hands.

I will do anything to get that game... anything.

Join telltale.
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Maintainer of TSL in OSX via Wine
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We are the Defenders of Jazz Ballet
People say, when they see us:
Hey, folks! It's the Saviours of Jazz Ballet
Fearless heroes of kick and spin

Lambonius

Quote from: Bad Asp on October 20, 2010, 05:28:16 AM


I will do anything to get that game... anything.


Would you...get down on your hands and knees in public and bark like a dog?

KatieHal

Somehow I don't think that would help achieve his goals here :P

Katie Hallahan
~Designer, PR Director~

"Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix." Christina Baldwin

I have a blog!