Toonstruck... 2?!

[ThunderPeel2001]

One game I forgot to mention in the classic adventure games thread was the wonderfully subversive Toonstruck. It was a fantastically twisted take on classic cartoons, and I remember it fondly. Well apparently the rights holder is keen to finish the second game that they got 50% through when the first one didn't sell so well and was cancelled...

"For all of you who were/are fans of the original, the unparalleled Toonstruck, a point-and-click adventure starring Christopher Lloyd and Ben Stein and featuring the voice talents of Tress MacNeille (The Simpsons, Futurama), Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson), Dom DeLuise (many a Mel Brooks and Don Bluth film), Tim Curry (Rocky Horror) among many others, today is your lucky day, hopefully to be followed by even luckier days to come...

Keith Arem, the rights holder for the Toonstruck and the unreleased material which was to become the second half of the game but was cut before the final release due to software limitations at the time (this was 1996), has expressed interest in dusting the cobwebs off the ill-fated sequel and releasing it for several platforms pending sufficient fan support."

To quote Mr. Arem:

"...While the game was internationally critically acclaimed, the game did

not receive the sales we hoped, and the second half was never released.

Now that my career has developed, I would like to re-release an updated

version of Toonstruck to include the 2nd half of the game (iPad, online,

etc), but I would need tremendous fan support to justify its release..."

Pretty interesting stuff. For those who want to support it and see a remastered Toonstruck/Toonstruck 2 here's what you need:

FB Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=140186316013394

and

Petition: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/toonstrucktwo/

[Roderick]

I'd love a Toonstruck 2, especially if it's made from material that was already made (i.e. completely in synch with the tone of the original). I loved Toonstruck, it was one of the first games I bought with my own pocket money.

Petition signed!

[syntheticgerbil]

I should probably sign just because I must have beaten Toonstruck like four times, but I don't think I ever really enjoyed it much.

[Roderick]

That's weird. Didn't you have other games to play that you liked better, then? It sounds desperate.

14 years later, I can still recite bits and pieces of the conversation with the Footman

,,'Best King of Cutopia'?"

,,O yes! That one was quite an honor: it was bestowed by the king himself."

[elmuerte]

I've never played Toonstruck.

On a scale of Bud Tucker via Chronomaster to Hopkins FBI, how does it rate?

[ThunderPeel2001]

I've never played Toonstruck.

On a scale of Bud Tucker via Chronomaster to Hopkins FBI, how does it rate?

Lol. I've no idea. Better than DarkSeed, worse than Grim Fandango?

It's basically about an animator who works for a soulless corporation, creating brain dead cartoons ("The Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun Show") who gets trapped in his own idea of hell... Cutopia.

rUWBFk0erEs

It's better than the intro video suggests...

What it does well is balance the hatred for cuteness by making its inhabitants somewhat likeably retarded... Plus, it gets somewhat more subversive as it goes on, IIRC. (I seem to remember an S&M club at one point.)

[Kolzig]

Signed the petition week or two ago. I think this was in Mixnmojo earlier.

[elmuerte]

ugh... interlaced video...

did somebody create an improved engine for that game yet?

[ThunderPeel2001]

ugh... interlaced video...

did somebody create an improved engine for that game yet?

I prefer to think of it as "RoboCop vision".

[elmuerte]

oh wait.. it looks much better in it's original or double size... the scale used in the embedded movie is quite terrible.

[syntheticgerbil]

That's weird. Didn't you have other games to play that you liked better, then? It sounds desperate.

I was much younger, had way less games to play or any in queue to finish, and Toonstruck looks and moves nice in the very least. Zanydu had all the greatest parts.

On a scale of Bud Tucker via Chronomaster to Hopkins FBI, how does it rate?

Way ahead of Bud Tucker and Chronomaster. Both of those games were complete trash to me. I don't know a thing about Hopkins FBI.

[elmuerte]

Hopkins FBI wasn't good either. I just wanted to confuse people by mentioning less known adventure gamers of a not-so-great quality.

[ThunderPeel2001]

I've heard of Hopkins FBI and it's apparently a lot worse than "not-so-great". There's an entertaining write-up that pegs it as THE worst adventure game of all time:

http://www.richardcobbett.com/codex/the-horror-of-hopkins-fbi/

[Roderick]

I want to play Hopkins FBI.

[Roderick]

Damn, seeing that Toonstruck intro (and the outro and credits) again made me remember how much this game means to me. So much fun memories! Bip-bo-bip-bo-bippety-boo!

[FluxW]

Some more news: a Toonstruck 2 livejournal community has opened, and Keith Arem made a new announcement on the Facebook page:

Hey All -

Thanks for your support and dedication. We sincerely appreciate your devotion to our project, and we hope to do you proud. It may be some time before you start to hear official announcements, but we are hoping your support helps raise awareness and confidence for an updated re-release of Toonstruck.

As you are… aware, much of the game was never released due to time and budget constraints. We are evaluating the cost and time to incorporate these assets into the initial re-release. In the coming months, I will do my best to get you behind the scenes peeks into the development process.

Thanks again for your continued support, and I hope to provide you with more news soon.

Best Regards -

Keith Arem

PCB Productions

And the petition has already reached 3240 signatures!

[ThunderPeel2001]

And the petition has already reached 3240 signatures!

That's really not much at all... but who signs online petitions these days, anyway? I hope we get to see this become a reality.

[Ben X]

Toonstruck is now playable through scummvm's latest daily builds! You may want to wait until the next official stable version (v3, I think), but it's working perfectly for me so far. Oh, glorious Toonstruck! I just have to hope that the timed puzzles aren't borked.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Toonstruck is now playable through scummvm's latest daily builds! You may want to wait until the next official stable version (v3, I think), but it's working perfectly for me so far. Oh, glorious Toonstruck! I just have to hope that the timed puzzles aren't borked.

Excellent news.

In other news: You DO play games! I was beginning to wonder. It crossed my mind recently that I've not seen you post about a game in a very long time.

[Ben X]

I don't play many any more, as I can't afford it! I pretty much only play the free indie games and old adventures that my laptop can manage.

[Roderick]

Bip-bo-bip-bo-bippety-boo!

[ThunderPeel2001]

I don't play many any more, as I can't afford it! I pretty much only play the free indie games and old adventures that my laptop can manage.

That makes me sad. I feel as though we should all send you our spare games! My cash is very up and down, as you know. All I can offer is Puzzle Agent and Portal 1, if you want them...

If you don't want them, they're up for grabs for any other established Thumb, come to think of it.

[Ben X]

Aw, thanks dude. Dan offered me a copy of Portal the other day, actually. I've got to register with Steam and download the demo to see if it works (I doubt it will, not sure if Half-Life 1 would run on this laptop).

EDIT: that being said, I bagsy your copy of Portal in case Dan has given his away already.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Aw, thanks dude. Dan offered me a copy of Portal the other day, actually. I've got to register with Steam and download the demo to see if it works (I doubt it will, not sure if Half-Life 1 would run on this laptop).

EDIT: that being said, I bagsy your copy of Portal in case Dan has given his away already.

It is yours. Just let me know when you're all Steamed up.

Edit: That came out wrong.

[Ben X]

Portal runs on my laptop! It's all jaggedy and shit, but it runs smoothly! God bless Valve! (I got Dan's copy now, so yours can go elsewhere, thanks TP.)

Back on-topic:

"So you're telling me if he was a butler, he'd be a big, giant..."

"Exactly."

Edited April 27, 2011 by bbX1138
Don't start every post with "So, ..." like you're Blossom or something.