“Isn’t this supposed to be about Sam & Max?” You’re right again, so let’s go back even further. And as the saying goes, they all lived happily ever after: Steve Purcell returned to LucasArts as an artist and animator and contributed to the studio’s growing line of SCUMM-based adventures including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and The Secret of Monkey Island. “Harsh, dude.” Right, but it wasn’t long before he was contracted to create artwork, including the cover art for Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders. Just a section of the rather creepy cover art for Willow: The Game.And you’re right, if an actual late ‘80s Lucasfilm Games RPG existed it would be pretty well known, but it was cancelled pretty soon after Steve Purcell was hired, right alongside his employment. “Wait a second, LucasArts made a fantasy RPG? Was it Willow: The Game? Why is this the first I’m hearing about it?” Well, the Willow game was developed by Capcom and was primarily a platform affair relegated to the arcade market, and a pretty poor game at that. How could it go wrong? READ HISTORY BOOKSteve Purcell was hired by Lucasfilm Games in 1988 as an animator for a then in-development fantasy RPG. A suit-wearing gumshoe canine and a hyperkinetic bunny rabbit who work as freelance police? Count me in. But even in a medium that is sorely lacking in the hijinks and adventures of a well-suited comedic pairing, Sam and Max would have stood out. YES NOIt’s no wonder, then, that comedy duo Sam and Max remain such icons in the world of gaming.
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Mario and Luigi are a good example: the interplay between them is often very amusing, but even their RPG outings are light on story.
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Or the simple fact that there are very few comedic games in general, and those that tend to be light-hearted usually forego narrative completely or simplify it to its most basic level. It could be because most narrative driven gaming experiences tend to be single player and in turn, single character affairs. But for some reason gaming seems to be pretty light on the whole concept, and it’s hard to say exactly why. Not pictured: Dave.Animation has had its fair share of comedic duos too, from Beavis and Butthead, to Pinky and the Brain, amongst many, many others. Notable comedy double acts that have come and gone over the years include the likes of silent film stars Laurel & Hardy, rat pack ‘50s crooner Dean Martin alongside French national treasure Jerry Lewis, the pot smoking and hippy-friendly antics of Cheech and Chong, and more recent examples like the cinematic pairings of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (as seen in Hot Fuzz) and Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham (as seen in The Expendables). It’s that added layer of an established and long-standing friendship that has been winning over audiences for decades.
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There is something immediately accessible about watching two funny people verbally or physically spar with each other for the sake of laughter. The concept of the comedy duo or comedy team has been around as long as the art form itself, from the earliest days of vaudeville acts, through to the rise of both film and television.