WGTC Huddle: Is Telltale’s Formula At Risk Of Saturation?

WGTC Huddle is a recurring feature on We Got This Covered, where editors discuss news, gaming trends, hot titles, and what they had for breakfast. This week, Michael Briers is joined by staff writers Robert Kojder and Paul Villanueva to cast a collective eye over Telltale Games. Can the studio juggle four projects at once? What do we want to see from their Game of Thrones series and Tales From The Borderlands? Read on to find out.

Michael Briers:
At the VGX awards show in December, Telltale Games revealed plans to adapt Game of Thrones and Tales From The Borderlands using its familiar, episodic framework. Arguably the highlight of the event, the news meant that these two properties joined The Walking Dead and Fables (The Wolf Among Us) in the studio’s prestigious roster of IPs. It’s understood the GoT license involves an expansive multi-year, multi-title deal, whereas Borderlands will introduce characters such as Handsome Jack et al to the Telltale audience. That said, with the studio now collaborating on four, distinct series simultaneously, does Telltale risk spreading its formula too thin?

Robert Kojder:
It depends on how they tackle it. I think they should only focus on two seasons at once. Telltale has actively been hiring more workers to beef up their studio size, so maybe that will eventually come into play.

Paul Villanueva:
It’s hard to give that answer without knowing all the ins and outs of the studio. I mean, are the several key people that scripted The Walking Dead‘s and The Wolf Among Us‘ tremendous scripts scattered about now? Or are they the same cohesive unit that have just been slammed with more homework. In short, yes, it is a big gamble to take on all these games as well, but if time is taken and the proper comb-throughs are made, it can work. So far, their content has been stellar.

Michael:
There’s no doubting that development on the Borderlands and GoT projects has been ongoing for some time, but considering that the studio planned to release a new episode of The Walking Dead Season One with each passing month, it raises concern as to whether the team can maintain the output of four projects at once. So Rob, would you rather they place TWD and Fables to one side first before venturing into Westeros and Pandora?