Line #12 Creator/TelltaleGames


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8	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/telltale_games_logo.png]]
9	[[caption-width-right:350:''TV Tropes will remember that.'']]
10
11	->''"The paths may diverge, but they will end up at the same place."''
12	-->-- '''Alfred Pennyworth''', ''VideoGame/BatmanTheTelltaleSeries''
13
14	Based in San Rafael, California and specializing in licensed, {{episodic\|Game}} {{adventure game}}s, Telltale Games was formed in 2004 by former Creator/LucasArts developers Kevin Bruner, Dan Connors and Troy Molander when ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'' was [[ScrewedByTheNetwork canceled]].
15
16	At first, they were known for making games for relatively obscure [=IPs=] with cult followings, such as ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}'' and ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'', and series like ''Franchise/SamAndMax'' and ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' that were previously handled by their spiritual parent company.
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18	They often released all sorts of {{machinima}}s and [[{{Mockumentary}} mockumentaries]] in between games to appeal to the fans. The interpretation of Hell seen in Sam And Max was very clearly modeled on their own office. They even published a complete ''Sam And Max'' comics treasury (the first in 12 years), ''Surfin' the Highway'', and commissioned a new comic from Steve Purcell.
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20	In 2011, they released ''VideoGame/JurassicParkTheGame'', which departed from the typical puzzle and exploration-based gameplay of point n' click adventure games and instead followed a more linear storyline with [[PressXToNotDie quicktime events]] and choices that would alter how the game played out. They used this same style for the 2012 release of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne'', which proved to be their breakthrough hit: it was released at the height of ''Franchise/TheWalkingDead''[='=]s popularity, the gameplay style had been refined since ''Jurassic Park: The Game'', with much more emphasis placed on the "choices matter" aspect, and some extremely high-quality and gut-wrenching writing. The game was critically acclaimed, with many calling it one of the best games of 2012, and single-handedly brought Telltale Games into mainstream attention.
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22	After this, Telltale took the success of ''The Walking Dead'' and ran with it. In 2013 they started releasing a [[VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonTwo second season]] of ''Walking Dead'' adventure game episodes, as well as ''VideoGame/TheWolfAmongUs'', based on the ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'' comic series which like ''The Walking Dead'' was a narrative-driven, "choices matter" adventure game. Their newfound popularity also got them access to some more high profile [=IPs=]: in 2014 they released ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'', a narrative-driven, "choices matter" adventure game, as well as ''VideoGame/GameOfThronesTelltale'', a narrative-driven, "choices matter" adventure game, and 2015 saw the release of ''VideoGame/MinecraftStoryMode'', which was, you guessed it... a narrative-driven "choices matter" adventure game.
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24	Telltale Games' downfall came down to oversaturating their market. The success of that first ''Walking Dead'' game led to them pumping out as many games [[StrictlyFormula in the same style]], which placed a burden on the developers working on the games, oversaturated a genre that Telltale had created and had almost complete control of, and pushed them away from their older style of more straightforward adventure games that, while not pulling in as much as the first ''Walking Dead'', consistently made the studio money. Several of these games were well-received (though a good deal more had mixed reception), but critics agreed that Telltale never managed to recapture the magic of ''The Walking Dead'''s first season.
25
26	On September 21, 2018, it was revealed that Telltale Games had undergone a major downsizing, reducing their numbers to a skeleton crew of 25 working on a ''Minecraft'' project for Creator/{{Netflix}}, resulting in the cancellation of all their announced upcoming projects, and with ''The Walking Dead'''s final season being finished by Skybound Entertainment, Robert Kirkman's production company. By November, however, the remaining Telltale staff were let go, and Telltale entered into assignment proceedings to liquidate all of its assets to creditors, effectively dissolving the entire studio. As a result of the proceedings, some of Telltale's games were pulled from online services such as Platform/{{Steam}}.
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28	On August 28, 2019, nearly a year after Telltale Games shuttered, LCG Entertainment bought Telltale Games and rebranded themselves as the old company, planning on releasing old and new games alike, starting with the long awaited second season of ''VideoGame/TheWolfAmongUs''. On December 2021, it was announced that the new Telltale Games is working with Creator/DeckNine to bring a new adventure series based on ''Series/TheExpanse''. Much of the talent involved with the studio prior to the 2018 mass layoff would also regroup in late 2021 to form a new studio called Dramatic Labs, who are working on a licensed ''Franchise/StarTrek'' game called ''VideoGame/StarTrekResurgence''. Another group of former Telltale developers from the company's early years formed Skunkape Games. Skunkape bought the rights to Telltale's ''Sam & Max'' games to remaster them and is releasing the games onto modern consoles.
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30	!!Games and game series by Telltale Games include:
31	[[index]]
32
33	* ''Telltale Texas Hold'em'' - 2005
34	* ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}''
35	** ''Bone: Out from Boneville'' - 2005
36	** ''Bone: The Great Cow Race'' - 2006
37	* ''VideoGame/{{CSI}}''
38	** ''CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder'' - 2006
39	** ''CSI: Hard Evidence'' - 2009
40	** ''CSI: Deadly Intent'' - 2009
41	** ''CSI: Fatal Conspiracy'' - 2010
42	* ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice''
43	** ''Sam and Max: Save the World'' (Season 1) - 2006-2007
44	** ''Sam and Max: Beyond Time and Space'' (Season 2) - 2007-2008
45	** ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxTheDevilsPlayhouse'' (Season 3) - 2010
46	* ''VideoGame/StrongBadsCoolGameForAttractivePeople'' - 2008
47	* ''VideoGame/WallaceAndGromitsGrandAdventures'' - 2009
48	* ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' - 2009
49	* ''VideoGame/HectorBadgeOfCarnage'' - 2010-2011
50	* ''VideoGame/NelsonTethersPuzzleAgent''
51	** ''Puzzle Agent'' - 2010
52	** ''Puzzle Agent 2'' - 2011
53	* ''VideoGame/PokerNightAtTheInventory'' - 2010
54	** ''VideoGame/PokerNight2'' - 2013
55	* ''VideoGame/BackToTheFutureTheGame'' - 2010-2011
56	* ''VideoGame/JurassicParkTheGame'' - 2011
57	* ''VideoGame/LawAndOrderLegacies'' - 2011-2012
58	* ''VideoGame/{{The Walking Dead\|Telltale}}''
59	** ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne'' - 2012
60	** ''The Walking Dead: 400 Days'' - 2013
61	** ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonTwo'' - 2013-2014
62	** ''The Walking Dead: Michonne'' - 2016
63	** ''[[VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonThree The Walking Dead: A New Frontier]]'' - 2016-2017
64	** ''[[VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonFour The Walking Dead: The Final Season]]'' [[note]]Final two episodes developed by Skybound Entertainment[[/note]] - 2018-2019
65	* ''VideoGame/TheWolfAmongUs'' [[note]](based upon ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'')[[/note]] - 2013-2014
66	** ''The Wolf Among Us - Season 2'' - TBD
67	* ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'' - 2014-2015
68	* ''VideoGame/{{Game of Thrones\|Telltale}}'' - 2014-2015
69	* ''VideoGame/MinecraftStoryMode'' - 2015-2016
70	** ''Minecraft: Story Mode - Season 2'' - 2017
71	* ''VideoGame/BatmanTheTelltaleSeries'' - 2016
72	** ''Batman The Telltale Series: The Enemy Within'' - 2017-2018
73	* ''VideoGame/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyTheTelltaleSeries'' - 2017
74	* ''Stranger Things'' - Cancelled
75	* ''VideoGame/TheExpanseATelltaleSeries'' - 2023
76	[[/index]]
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78	!!This article adapts to the changes you make. The trope list is tailored by how you edit.
79	%%
80	%% As with all Creator/ pages, trivia tropes about the creator specifically are to be posted here,
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84	* AcclaimedFlop: Most of Telltale Games' library was essentially this - many games were loved and enjoyed, but weren't money-makers outside of ''VideoGame/MinecraftStoryMode'', ''[[VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadTelltale The Walking Dead]]'' Season 1, and publishing the Platform/XboxOne and Platform/PlayStation4 versions of ''VideoGame/SevenDaysToDie''.
85	* AuthorCatchphrase: Starting with ''The Walking Dead'', two messages are prevalent in their [[ChoiceAndConsequenceSystem choice-and-consequence]] games: The first thing you usually see at the beginning is "This game series adapts to the choices you make. The story is tailored by how you play," and during gameplay, "X will remember that" usually pops up after major dialogue decisions.
86	* BreakthroughHit: Two: the ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'' revival was the company's first episodic gaming success. ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadTelltale'' won tons of awards and gave them recognition among the mainstream gaming press.
87	* ExecutiveMeddling: After the success of ''The Walking Dead'', it was mandated that all later games followed the style it had set up.
88	* ExpandedUniverse: Most of their games are sequels or parts of a greater whole to the original work in some way.
89	* InSpiteOfANail: Despite the games often acting like nearly every choice the player makes will have some lasting effect on the narrative, in reality, only a handful of them will impact the plot, and the story will almost always follow the same, linear beats regardless of the decisions made.
90	* MortonsFork: Unfortunately enough to get its own [[MortonsFork/TelltaleGames page]].
91	* OptionalCharacterScene: Variously in their games, depending on the choices made, each character has several different scenes.
92	* ProductionPosse: Roger L. Jackson, Creator/DaveFennoy, Adam Harrington and Andrew Chaikin pop up a lot, among others. Notably [[AvertedTrope averted]] in ''Game of Thrones'', though, which features an entirely new slate of voice actors for Telltale, including actors from the HBO series.
93	* RereleasedForFree: Around the time ''The Walking Dead: Season 1'' finished its run, the first episode became free. ''VideoGame/TheWolfAmongUs'', ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'', and ''VideoGame/GameOfThronesTelltale'' followed suit, although around the end of their runs.
94	* RevisitingTheRoots: They've experimented with much more dramatic or dynamic story-telling for quite a while and state that they intend for ''Poker Night 2'' (featuring [[Franchise/EvilDead Ash Williams]], [[WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers Brock Samson]], [[VideoGame/{{Borderlands}} Claptrap]], and [[VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Sam]] as players, while [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} GLaDOS]] deals) to be much more humorous.
95	--> '''Dan Connors:''' It's great to revisit our roots after the success of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead''. People might not know that we have a strong history of humor in our games, and players are going to find a lot of laughs in ''Poker Night 2'', ''Poker Night 2'' is another example of our ability to work with phenomenal partners and bring great characters to life in the gaming universe.
96	* RunningGag: The drink Banang has popped up in some form or another throughout their games.
97	* SadisticChoice: Every time there's a point-and-click game, this trope is inevitably played straight and, at times, exaggerated.
98	* StrictlyFormula: While their episodic adventure games were already developing this reputation beforehand the runaway success of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne'' and the company's wish to make lightning strike twice led to this becoming a deliberate part of their development strategy according to internal documents released when the company folded in 2018.
99	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
100	** Telltale Games [[http://www.gamespot.com/articles/scott-pilgrim-creator-rejected-telltale-games-title-offer/1100-6300143/ wanted]] to do ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'', but Bryan Lee O'Malley (''Scott Pilgrim''[='=]s creator) rejected the offer, not because of a dispute between him and Telltale, but because he believed that Scott couldn't work out as an AdventureGame. One may wonder what would have happened if we had gotten this over [[VideoGame/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorldTheGame a multiplayer beat-em-up game]].
101	** They announced plans to do a new ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' game and gave it a fair amount of press, but rights complications prevented it from being made.
102	** Telltale announced in 2018 they were going to develop a second season of ''VideoGame/TheWolfAmongUs'', an ''Franchise/EvilDead'' game that would have featured Creator/BruceCampbell and a ''Franchise/StrangerThings'' game. With their September layoffs, those games were canceled. LCG Entertainment's August 2019 buyout of Telltale eventually lead to the resumption of the second season of ''The Wolf Among Us''.

Context Creator / TelltaleGames