Tall Tales: Does Telltale Have What It Takes?
Robert:
I’m still curious why it took 4 months to release episode 2 of The Wolf Among Us. Also, if they can’t deliver on their release dates, then yes, they should temporarily shelve one. Although, they’ve since said that such a delay won’t happen again.
Michael:
Yeah, absolutely. TWD was a monumental success for the studio as a whole, and it’s understood that they’ve doubled their workforce as a result. But like you said, WAO slipping to February doesn’t exactly allay any fears.
Robert:
I just want to know what caused it. Was it related to writing the episode? Developing it? Crucial game bugs? They’ve been suspiciously quiet about this fiasco.
Paul:
See, you hear that their studio beefed up but then a longer wait than usual for an episode for The Wolf Among Us occurs and it’s like, I don’t know, what the hell’s going on? But hey, if a longer wait means a higher quality product, then I’m fine with it.
Michael:
True, and it’s important to remember that Fables and TWD were announced simultaneously in 2011, and they ostensibly finished a whole season of Lee Everett and Co. before introducing us to the Fables universe. Do you guys think we’ll see a similar release schedule as regards Borderlands/GoT?
Robert:
I think they’ll always keep The Walking Dead ongoing, but swap out Wolf Among Us for something new, then swap that out for another. In other words, their second project will be a revolving door of sorts, allowing them to experiment while still releasing episodes of their bread and butter, per se.
Paul:
I honestly have no idea how the release dates for each episode will pan out and how the development schedule will fall into place. Will they craft the entire season then distribute them monthly/bi-monthly? Or develop as they go and release them whenever they’re done? I would prefer the former over the latter, but if their team can handle developing on-the-go, then I would love that. Hopefully I’m not into some ideal candy land picture full of raining pizza, but I would love to have an episode of something new every month or two.
Robert:
From what I understand, they outline the story — the entire trophy/achievement list included — but they actually write and develop each episode one at a time, which probably takes 1-2 months
Michael:
It really comes to down to a question of quality, like Rob pointed out. Telltale and TWD in particular has experienced its fair share of game breaking bugs — especially the PS3 version — with corrupt saves and jarring texture pop-ins happening pretty regularly. It is the perfect scenario, alternating between four esteemed IPs with each new month, but then that raises the question of whether such an approach would dilute their unique approach to narrative.
