But did you know that it's been featured in at least 48 video games? From Ant City to Timesplitters 2, Mr. Juandrful at Kezins has gleaned the full list. It's longer than Wikipedia's list of games using the scream, and includes titles not yet released (where the scream is used in a trailer), so he seems to have done his homework. We had a little something on this back in 2006, but not a full list of games. So check it out. And booby prize goes to whomever comes up with the best onomatopoeic spelling of the scream, in the comments.

We've All Heard it: The Wilhelm Scream [kezins.com]

The Minus World gang put together a list of five LEGO video games that will never ever happen, though we're not 100% sure that LEGO Juno is completely off the table. Our favorite is above, but heretics may find LEGO The Passion of the Christ more to their liking.

5 LEGO Video Games That Will Never Happen [The Minus-World]

Yes, there's even a market for the terrible PlayStation Speed Racer game! Plenty of interesting charts and graphs await hopeful auctioneers at VGPC. I'm off to put a spit shine on my copy of The X-Files for PSone in anticipation!

Summer Movies Increase Game Prices. Go Speed Racer! [VGPC]

The list details the 10 and upcoming 11th (Lego Indiana Jones on June 6) and 12th (a TBA action title later) games featuring Dr. Jones. Ahhhhh but they left one out!!! Neener-neener this is why I posted it, to make myself look smart! Midscape released "Indiana Jones in the Lost Kingdom" for Commodore 64 in 1984 — and it deliberately did not include an instruction manual. "No one told Indiana Jones the rules. And no one will tell you."

It was a puzzle game, and definitely not rendered with the kind of appeal the Lego games have. Death consisted largely of being hit by a bird or falling from a great height, then running off the screen in a panic as a funeral dirge played. It was hard and stupid. But because it was Indiana Jones, I felt compelled to play it.

That hooks back into my feeling about Crystal Skull. I was gonna see it no matter how badly it was reviewed, and pretty much everyone except Roger Ebert put a butt-hurting on it. I felt very much like I did during the Star Wars Prequels. After coming out of Attack of the Clones, I told a friend: "George Lucas has created a new moviegoing experience. The Joyless Obligation." And now it's infiltrated the Indiana Jones franchise.

Hey, we're not the only ones. Sex and the City fans probably know what I'm talking about after this weekend, too.

Indiana Jones and the History of his Video Games [British Gaming Blog]

And it's quite possible that this is viral marketing for the upcoming title (out in June), if not the movie (this week). They roll this sucker in San Francisco, and LucasArts is around the block in the Presidio. Five million Legos is not something you buy or assemble that quick — if it is a solid 5 mil Legos. I don't really see them flaking off as it tumbles, so it may be a bunch of big pieces- parts made by Lego and assembled by this team. Also, it's S.F. in the middle of the day, no moving cars in the shot, very few parked, so they probably got a filming permit. And the big flatbed truck too ... good bet this is marketing.

But it's clever, and I admire any creative impulse that gets you to roll a Lego boulder down a big hill into a parked van. Plus it has a guy dressed as Sallah, and fezzes are awesome. But if this was Boston, they'd all be arrested for terrorism.

LEGO Boulder [YouTube, thanks cashius22]

Mini Indy Calls Out Big Indy [Postal MovieSet]

According to the anonymous comment, "Mich (& company) was unhappy with his delaying of the Force Unleashed and Indiana Jones titles." The commenter implies that Ward was more interested in delivering "kick ass" games more so than games that shipped on time, on budget and with, we assume, an acceptable level of ass kicking.

Anonymous then goes on to write that interim president Howard Roffman's replacement of Ward "could spell trouble for the LucasArts division" if he aligns with those who feel that properties such as Indiana Jones and Star Wars should be more often handed off to third-party developers.

He or she then rips into the working relationship with ILM, calling Zeno, the pipeline that LucasArts' internal game engine Zed runs upon, "garbage" and "one of the worst first party developement tools out there." That certainly inspires some confidence.

The full comment is definitely worth a read, regardless of whether it's 100% factual or not. At the very least, it provides interesting insight into the (possible) inner workings at LucasArts. let's just hope someone doesn't get Force-choked to death because of it.

GameSetInsight: Disgruntled Of Presidio Writes... [GameSetWatch]

Fantastic, now I have two excuses to buy Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I wonder when I can start showing my son the flicks? I'll have to rewatch them to make sure they're not too racy first, I guess.

Special Indiana Jones DVD to Ship with Lego Indy Demo [Ars Technica]

The DS version will be making use of the microphone to solve puzzles by blowing out torches and also included will be a cooking mini-game featuring the infamous monkey brains scene. Something tells me you won't be seeing THAT in Cooking Mama 3.

With all it's various in-jokes and trademark LEGO humor, I think that LEGO Indiana Jones will be a sure fire hit with fans of the genre and kids alike. I wasn't really on the LEGO Star Wars tip when it came out, but there is no doubt that LEGO Indy will be a permanent part of my game collection when it comes out this summer.

Lego Indiana Jones Flash Game [Lego.com - Thanks Fyren!]

Lego [have] already replaced them with an anonymous genocidal, occultist, trenchcoat-wearing master-race.

It's presumably not the recently announced LEGO Indiana Jones, as the game carries a T rating from the ESRB, with the company's LEGO Star Wars releases receiving E and E10+ ratings. It's possible the PSP version of Indiana Jones will be a scaled-down version of the next-gen console Indy game revealed just before last year's E3, which then had a working title of Indiana Jones 2007.

Entertainment Software Ratings Board

New Indy 2007 footage from LucasArts, in a faux German WW2 propaganda-flavored shell that calls to mind the flippant and endearing flavor of the old adventure games. If they can preserve that feeling while imbuing it with fistfights and car chases, I'm going to be extremely pleased. Computer and Video games, where I got this clip, says:

LucasArts has of course spilled the beans on the euphoria technology previously, explaining that, in a nutshell, it imbues in-game characters with more 'natural' behaviour. It not only adds an extra layer of authenticity to proceedings but additionally, because it all works in real-time, we'll never see the same behaviour or action or reaction from an NPC twice. Just watch the game footage - which features lots of Indy punching people - in the trailer and it'll all become crystal clear. Hopefully.

It looks better on CVG than YouTube, so head over there for a closer look if you haven't seen enough above.

I wonder if the graphics have been slowmo'd a little for this trailer (aside from the obvious slow motion sequences), because everyone still looks a bit floaty. I'm hoping for snappy combat, more like the feel of GTA, where cracking a bat over someone's face felt more realtime than this trailer makes Indy look. Everything looks gooey and rubbery, and needs to be sped up by about 10%.

Still, I love the idea of never-the-same-way-twice combat. This makes reloading at checkpoints and fighting the same guys, or replaying the game at all, far more interesting.

Eliza Gauger

Better quality vid here [Computer and Video Games]

Chris Williams, LucasArt honcho and project lead for the new Indiana Jones game that excites me so much (seriously), is on the docket for this year's GDC.

GamesIndustry says:

Williams will address the conference with his key note entitled Unlearn What You Have Learned: Implementing Next-Gen Gameplay, which promises to reveal an insight into the tools, technology and development challenges of the next-generation development process.

Also in discussion will be LucasArts' relationship with other partners.

These will include a look at Industrial Light and Magic and how LucasArts utilises tools based on ILM's film technology, Natural Motion's behaviour-based AI and its collaboration with Pixelux Entertainment.

GDC occurs in October and I'm now hoping to be there. Eliza Gauger

More here [GamesIndustry]

If you read my last update you'll know that things are a little unstable at the office today, so I did my best to check and see if we'd already posted this (sorta old) little movie demonstrating the post-ragdoll physics being used in the new Indiana Jones game. And I don't think we have. Be sure to write outraged e-mails to the tips address if I'm wrong, 'kay?

I think that might be Bashy scrabbling at the door just now, so I'll make this quick. This here video was made using the Endorphin engine, which LucasArts has mysteriously appropriated and renamed euphoria (yes, it does have to be lowercased and italicized)

The video is neat-ish, but I would have liked to see some clearer representations of the "same scenario, different results" thing being trumpeted in Game Informer's June Indy article. The screenshots look promising, if a little over-lightbloomed. But it sounds like Lucas himself has been a key part of the project from beginning to end, so I'm already resigned to be enraged by the story and dialogue. Sigh. Eliza gauger

A team of Barnett college students has released a demo of their SCUMM-based adventure title, Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth.

SCUMM, or "Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion", is a powerful scripting language by Grumpy Gamer Ron Gilbert. It has long since entered its dotage and been replaced by upstarts like the GRIME system (created for Grim Fandango), but has found new life in the continuing efforts of independent adventure game developers who prefer their players to do exactly as they're told, with none of this "nonlinear" jibba-jabba.

The game, Fountain Of Youth (known by many as FoY) is a freeware point and click adventure game with a similar style to the classic LucasArts adventure, Fate of Atlantis. It is being developed by an international team of enthusiastic fans of both Indiana Jones and point & click adventures.

A ten-room playable demo is available on the site right now, so I checked it out. Man, it brought me back (I miss you, Guybrush!). It's a pitch-perfect replica of the old LucasArts SCUMM games, with all the artistry, gratifyingly bad puns, and tantrum-throwing frustration that those titles entailed. It has all-new art, music, and story; a comprehensive website; forums; and the vague language of all volunteer-based freeware projects: "We'll let you know when its ready, so check back then!" Well okayyyy.

Not particularly encouraging, but the demo seems hopeful. I wish them luck and I'll be checking in. Eliza Gauger

Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth Homepage [Barnett College]

UPDATE: An observant reader pointed out that this game is actually being developed with the general point-and-click engine Adventure Game Studio, which allows users to create remarkably SCUMMlike games. Fooled the hell outta me!

Through a deal with Pixelux, the tech will be on display in the next Indiana Jones game, as well as future Star Wars titles. The press release promises: "With DMM in action, a Jedi unleashes the Force like never before. His violent Force push hurtles a helpless stormtrooper through a stone column, blasting it apart. Moments later, the sudden lack of support causes the building to smash to the ground, piece by piece. Meanwhile, a virtual Jabba the Hutt presides over his court, as rolls of gelatinous fat bounce and jiggle thanks to a body composed of DMM."

What do you think? Sure, it sounds great when some PR proxy is enthusing about it hypothetically, but is the hardware even available yet for Lucasarts to make good on their claims? Or is this going to be another Red Faction style fake-out? Check out the full press release after the jump.

LUCASARTS AND PIXELUX REDEFINE ENVIRONMENTAL REALISM FOR NEXT-GENERATION INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT

Exclusive Digital Molecular Matter

technology makes every structure in every game world react exactly as it would in real life

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - May 8, 2006 - LucasArts announced today that it has partnered with Pixelux Entertainment Inc. to include revolutionary Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) technology into all internal titles currently in development for next-generation video game consoles. DMM is exclusive to LucasArts beginning with Indiana Jones 2007 [working title] and continuing with the next Star Wars experience. This breakthrough in material physics will bring an unprecedented level of realism to next-gen projects by making completely interactive environments that react as they would in real life. From crumbling walls to shattering glass and even swaying organic plant life, in-game objects have material properties that behave realistically all in real time.

If a structure exists - big or small, dense or thin, floppy or rigid - DMM causes it to react in the same way dictated by reality. For example, unlike what you'd see in current-gen games, wood doesn't simply break apart along a predetermined seam every time - rather, it splinters into countless pieces from the exact point of impact, also taking into account the amount of sheer force exerted. The same rules apply to any substance imaginable: Rubber bends and snaps back into place. Glass shatters. Crystal fractures. Stone crumbles. Carbonite (yes, the very alloy that encased Han Solo) dents.

With DMM in action, a Jedi unleashes the Force like never before. His violent Force push hurtles a helpless stormtrooper through a stone column, blasting it apart. Moments later, the sudden lack of support causes the building to smash to the ground, piece by piece. Meanwhile, a virtual Jabba the Hutt presides over his court, as rolls of gelatinous fat bounce and jiggle thanks to a body composed of DMM.

"Pixelux has been a fantastic partner in our effort to bring true next-generation gameplay to these new consoles," said Peter Hirschmann, vice president of product development at LucasArts. "Digital Molecular Matter enables us to deliver game worlds that feel truly dynamic and alive - we can pack in dramatically more gameplay per square foot than was ever possible with earlier hardware generations."

"When it comes to unlocking the potential of DMM - a technology that many engineers believe is still 10 to 15 years away - it's hard to beat opportunities like next-gen Indiana Jones and Star Wars," said Vik Sohal, chief operating officer at Pixelux. "Partnering with LucasArts is the perfect way to introduce DMM to the gaming public."

LucasArts will demonstrate DMM during a behind-closed-doors tech demo set in a galaxy far, far away on May 10-12 at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles, CA.

About LucasArts
LucasArts, a Lucasfilm Ltd. company, is a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software worldwide for video game console systems, computers and the Internet. Based in San Francisco, CA, as well as on the Internet at www.lucasarts.com, LucasArts was created in 1982 by George Lucas to provide an interactive element to his vision of a state-of-the-art, multifaceted entertainment company.

Lucasfilm Ltd. is one of the world's leading film and entertainment companies. Founded by George Lucas in 1971, it is a privately held, fully integrated entertainment company. In addition to its motion-picture and television production operations, the company's global activities include Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, serving the digital needs of the entertainment industry for visual-effects and audio post-production; and Lucas Licensing, which manages the global merchandising activities for Lucasfilm's entertainment properties. Additionally, Lucas Online creates Internet-based content for Lucasfilm's entertainment properties and businesses. Lucasfilm's motion-picture productions include five of the 20 biggest box-office hits of all time and have received 19 Oscars and 53 Academy Award nominations. Lucasfilm's television projects have won 12 Emmy Awards. Lucasfilm Ltd. is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

About Pixelux Entertainment Inc.
With engineers who have worked on everything from military missile tracking to the racecars of legendary NASCAR drivers, Pixelux was founded in October 2003 with a mission of automating art asset production through physical simulation. Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) technology has been designed to take full advantage of next-generation architectures, utilizing GPUs and multiprocessor cores to achieve an unprecedented degree of realism. Pixelux is a member of middleware programs for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 with versions of DMM being prepared to take unique advantage of each of these platforms. DMM will also be available for properly equipped PCs. Pixelux is currently working exclusively with LucasArts to apply DMM into next-generation games released through September 2008, such as new titles based on Indiana Jones and Star Wars . Pixelux is also marketing middleware products to the United States military. For more information, please visit http://www.pixeluxentertainment.com.

Imagine a swaying rope bridge. With euphoria in action, characters visibly attempt to balance themselves, their feet stumbling, their arms flailing, and their hands reaching for security as the unpredictable movements of the bridge threaten to send them plummeting to their doom. Perhaps they all survive. Perhaps they all fall. The use of euphoria means the action isn't scripted - it's simulated - so you'll never be able to predict exactly what will happen, no matter how many times you've experienced a certain scenario.

Note that apparently euphoria is properly spelled in lowercase italics. When speaking the name out loud, LucasArts requests that you lean forward approximately twenty degrees.