2003 video game
Pajama Sam: Life Is Rough When You Lose Your Stuff! (also known as Pajama Sam 4) is a computer game made for children ages 5-8.[2][3]
Sam's Pajama Man comic book is lost in a strange world, where he meets a dirty sock who needs to get to his other sock, who is clean. He goes on a journey to find a way to clean the dirty sock and to find clothes (a shirt, shoes, and the socks) to get to Grubby Corners Mall, where his comic has found its way to. In this game, Pajama Sam's voice is provided by Elisha Ferguson rather than Pamela Adlon.[4] This is the only Pajama Sam game without a demo, possibly because the game was only released after Atari's takeover along with Putt-Putt: Pep's Birthday Surprise. The game was released in 2003, and was digitally re-released on May 29, 2014.[5]
Plot
While watching television, Sam sees a breaking news story announcing that Pajama Man is coming to the local shopping mall to sign autographs. After his mother agrees to take him to the mall, Sam decides to get his copy of the first comic book in the Pajama Man franchise signed, only for it to be stolen from a pile of dirty clothes. After finding his cape, Sam leaps into the pile and lands in a world filled with junk.
Sam encounters a dirty sock, who was banished from his drawer and separated from his matching sock due to his filth; he reveals that the person who stole the comic intends to take it to the Grubby Corners Mall get it signed by Dr. Grime, Pajama Man's unclean arch nemesis, much to Sam's horror. After obtaining clothes to pass the mall's dress code, Sam enters the mall to look for his comic book.
In the mall, Sam is mistaken for Dr. Grime by a group of children and hides in Grime's dressing room, where he finds his comic book, only to realize that he's covered in dirt. Hatching a plan to get himself clean, Sam uses the heat from a cup of hot cocoa to set off a sprinkler, flooding the mall in the process. Afterwards, Sam reiterates his plan to get his comic book signed by Pajama Man. A photo of Sam standing with Pajama Man is then shown before the credits roll.
Gameplay
Unlike the previous adventure games, there are no multiple scenarios for the objectives to be completed; they remain the same for each playthrough. However, the location of the jar to catch fireflies in has two variations; it can be in a pile of clothes beneath the dresser, or at the entrance to the Grubby Corners Mall.
A returning feature from the other games is the optional side objective to collect objects; this time, it is to collect Sam's 24 Pajama Man trading cards. They contain information about all the characters from the Pajama Man comic books, including their favorite snack, color, or a fun fact about them. If all of the trading cards are found, a picture of the Pajama Man characters can be viewed from the back of the cards.
A new feature is the ability to play the game's minigames in the menu, though they are only available after having been played for the first time. It is also possible to replay the dirty sock's song on the menu.
Development
Soundtrack
The score was composed and produced by Nathan Rosenberg (The Doghouse NYC Studios). Much time and funds were invested in the music composition to accompany the gameplay. Latin was the desired genre for the game with over 45 minutes of soundtrack and optimum quality using real instruments. The solution to retain quality, time and budget was hiring drummer John Bollinger who used a number of syncing techniques to get the music just right. After two days of composing several soundtracks, saxophonist Tom Glusac was hired to add finishing touches to the soundtrack. Thus all the audio for the game was delivered just in time and under the budget.[1][6]
Reception
Common Sense Media provided a positive review of Pajama Sam: Life is Rough When You Lose Your Stuff!, but described the game as being worse and less polished than its predecessors.[7] The game received the Silver Honor award from the Parents' Choice Awards.
