Last month, the talented pixel artist Christina Antoinette Neofotistou (AKA Castpixel) revealed a mock up they had created for a Playdate game based on LucasArts legendary point-and-click adventure Sam & Max. And, much like everyone else who has seen it since, we can't help but wish to see it turned into a proper project in the future.
According to Neofotistou, the mockup was created as a commission for Jake Rodkin, who you might know as a former Telltale developer who contributed to Telltale's Sam & Max games, and a member of the studio Skunkape (the developer of the recent Sam & Max remasters). It was reportedly created as a proof of concept to see if Neofotistou could translate the black & white ink-style from the original Steve Purcell comics to the Playdate's 1-bit screen and was put together using a mix of Photoshop and construct 3.
If you've ever played the original 1993 adventure game before, looking at the image Neofotistou posted, you'll immediately notice the location depicted on screen as being Sam & Max's office from the opening of the very first game, complete with the same dartboard on the wall and a television on the desk.
However, what you might also notice too is that Sam's rabbit-y sidekick Max seems to be missing, replaced with a doppelgänger of the dog detective. As Neofotistou states, this was to basically show what Sam might look like in light and shadow, if the game went ahead.
It all looks remarkably faithful to Steve Purcell's original creation, but according to Neofotistou on BlueSky, they say the project "probably won't happen", stating that it's ultimately up to people like the Playdate creative lead Nevr Morgan, Steve Purcell, and Panic co-founder Cabel Sasser whether something like this goes ahead, but "I wouldn't get my hopes up".
In a message to Steve Purcell, the creator of Sam & Max, in fact they stated, "Jake showed it to you a while ago! I'd make this game with the both of you in an *instant*. Just say the word!"
What do you think? Would you also like to see Sam & Max appear on the Playdate? Or is there another platform you'd like to see the duo come to next?