A Eulogy For A Friend: Telltale Games
By Jesse Collins ·
We will miss you, Telltale Games. Let's celebrate your life by talking about the games we loved the most over the past 13 years.
I’m going to start by saying that this was difficult to write. The death of Telltale Games is like reading about a celebrity passing away that you followed for majority of your life or like losing a friend that has been around a very long time. I stared at this blank page so long, mourning a great studio that has made both fantastic and not fantastic games for a large portion of my life. I’m going to be honest with you when I say that I’m going to write this eulogy very candid and as a fan. Needless to say, there may be spoilers sprinkled throughout this article.
— Telltale Games (@telltalegames) September 21, 2018
Let me go back to earlier in September. As far as the public (the fans, the gamers) all knew, Telltale Games was working away on the final season for The Walking Dead, a Netflix show for Minecraft: Story Mode, The Wolf Among Us Season 2, (potentially) Game of Thrones: Season Two, as well as a Stranger Things title that most people didn't know about. This may have had any number of other projects in secret that we had no idea about and never will. According to recent reports, a failed financial round caused a sudden plug to be pulled, causing at least 250 people to lose their jobs, leaving just 25 to finish up before the doors get locked. This came after 90 people lost their jobs as recently as 2017 during mass layoffs at that time. As all of their games were licensed from other intellectual properties, funding is everything. Losing that was immediately devastating to the long running company.
Catch a ride!
Now that that is out of the way, let’s not cry over it. Instead, let’s celebrate some of the coolest things they ever did and talk to some fans. This was a company with 13 years of history. Anyone that played some of their games tend to latch onto a favorite or at least a fond memory of playing. With that being said, let’s get the amazing Tales From The Borderlands out of the way first.
Robert Workman, writer for Comicbook.com, as well as many others, believe Tales From The Borderlands to be the best due to the “perfect tone” set by the property. “Tales From the Borderlands,” he stated, “put a wonderful story-based spin on Gearbox's world, while introducing some fantastic characters along the way. It's a spin-off done truly right, and I wanted more.”
The storytelling within the Telltale Borderlands game perfectly encompassed the way that Borderlands has been set up without the need to take on the hyper-violent narrative the series is known for. It is by far one of my personal favorites out of the massive list that Telltale has done. Also, come on. Finger guns.
The Walking Dead had more than a few fans
Tim Salas of California joins fans of The Walking Dead in saying that the “first two seasons” of TWD are his favorite. The depth and portrayal of the characters were compelling and the choices that the game made players face were heartwrenching and just brutal at times. Clementine, and the rest of the world, will remember this.
My favorite game would be #TheWalkingDeadSeries. I don't know why tho but I am just so emotionally attached to the game. Specially to Clementine. As a fan, it hurts to know that the end of her journey wont come to pass. ?
— Feam (@fmlstre) September 27, 2018
The Walking Dead’s first season won multiple “Game of the Year” awards in 2012 when it was released. It’s no wonder people fondly remember it. Colin Regan, contributor for Twin Galaxies, continued that sentiment, stating his favorite was TWD’s Season 1. “When I finished the last episode,” he said, “I just kinda had to take a walk right after it. Such an emotional and powerful experience. That last scene hit a tender spot in my heart that not many games have hit since”
Twd because that was the only game that could connect me with characters and be emotional attached to a character
— Owen (@Owen07861973) September 28, 2018
Brendan Frye, Editor in Chief at CGMagazine, thinks that The Walking Dead was the epitome of what fans should expect in similar games. “The Walking Dead clearly showed the potential in what the future of adventure games could be.”
My would be The walking dead Michonne on first place because she has an actual skill she's an badass character tho the walking dead season 1,2,3,4 i like them too but i played michonne more then the new seasons that came out so far.
— Bestgamer3 (@BestGamerO3) September 28, 2018
While we were worried that The Final Season of The Walking Dead wouldn't be finished to wrap up Clem's story, it seems some partners have come forward to get the job done, luckily. We theorized something like this may happen before.
— Telltale Games (@telltalegames) September 24, 2018
In the mean time, Twitter user Alfie gives a heartfelt story about The Walking Dead and what it means to them, told in three, then five, all the way up to seven parts.
The Walking Dead series. I remember I first downloaded the game and played for 5 minutes and didn’t like the way the game was made by having to choose different iptuons and I uninstalled it. That was one of ghe biggest mistakes I had made. 1/3
— Alfie (@laitnedifnoc_) September 28, 2018
I reinstalled it a few months later and I fell in love almost instantly. The characters, design, story, different decisions I could make, different dialogue was so great. After besting it I knew I had to go on to play the next one. So I got the second season. 2/3
— Alfie (@laitnedifnoc_) September 28, 2018
I played the second season and third season where I just fell in love with the characters throughout the series. I experienced so many emotions whilst playing all 3 as well. I also got to play TWd Michonne which was fantastic as well! 3/3
— Alfie (@laitnedifnoc_) September 28, 2018
Going to extend this to a 5 comment thread so this is 4/5. All of the sudden there was a trailer for TWD: The Final Season. And what else can I say except I was too excited. Later ok there was gameplay, the new movement system got me super hyped up to play it as well. 4/5
— Alfie (@laitnedifnoc_) September 28, 2018
August 14, 2018. The first episode of the final season was released, and I couldn’t believe I was playing it. From a little girl surving with a loving, caring, astonishing character named Lee, to a grown female protagonist looking after a cute, caring, astonishing character- 5/6
— Alfie (@laitnedifnoc_) September 28, 2018
named AJ. (Short for Alvin Junior) This is by far the best series if the games I’ve ever played. Thank you @telltalegames @Melyhutch @DaveFennoy @gavinhammon @gideonadlon @cissyspeaks and many, many more. (I couldn’t find their @‘s! Don’t be mad at me.) 6/7
— Alfie (@laitnedifnoc_) September 28, 2018
Sorry this went from a 3 to 7 comment thread. I didn’t mean to drag it on that long! But one last time, thank you to all the Developers @telltalegames and to the kind hearted people who lent their voice for the games! Good luck with everything everyone! <3
— Alfie (@laitnedifnoc_) September 28, 2018
The Wolf Among All Of Us
One game that gets brought up very often is The Wolf Among Us, based on the popular comic book series, Fables. As a personal fan of the graphic novels, I very quickly became a fan of this game myself. It truly felt like a story within the Fables comics. The Wolf Among Us: Season 2 was originally destined to come out, being announced during E3 2017.
Crystal Sheffield of Florida explained why having a Fables game was fantastic, stating that The Wolf Among Us “is a treasure. Fables doesn’t get enough recognition, it’s a great comic.”
TJ Denzer, Senior Editor of Twin Galaxies, wholeheartedly explained why The Wolf Among Us was just top-notch. “ (Telltale) perfectly handled the monster inside Bigby, giving these peeks at what he could be, but never fully pulling back the curtain until a crucial moment in which the whole reveal was intensely satisfying. And besides that, the intrigue of the mystery was enthralling and the characters were so emotionally captivating. I felt for a lot of them by seasons end.”
Morgan Shaver, Editor at Greenlit Content chimed in, rattling off a simple (but true) list of what made TWAU great. “Original, fun, engaging, great writing.”
“I first fell in love with Telltale,” Shaver then elaborated, “after playing The Wolf Among Us, and that love grew with games like The Walking Dead and Tales From the Borderlands. I was always impressed by how easily the stories pulled me in and how each episode left me wanting more. In a way, Telltale's work felt like playing through the choose your own adventure books I grew up on. Telltale was a company comprised of master storytellers, and it stings to hear about the mass layoffs. My heart goes out to all those affected.”
Sam & Max Save The Day
It's not just fans that are coming out to give their support. Earlier this week, Sam & Max creator, Steve Purcell spoke out about Telltale closing and offered his love. The episodic Sam & Max Telltale games, such as Save The World, were among some of the earliest games.
We’re right with you, Steve.
I’m Batman, You're Bruce Wayne.
Additionally, Telltale was known for taking a well known story and turning it on its head. Another game that caught my eye was Batman: The Telltale Series due to its big reveal that Thomas Wayne was (gasp) a bad guy. Where most Batman stories, especially games, follow Batman as the caped crusader, this series focused way more on Bruce Wayne handling business without the cowl. By the second season, he had gotten himself mixed up with some of his biggest villains thinking that the rich kid has a dark side, even joining their little club to get information. Telltale just did so well on balancing the action of being Batman and not making the Bruce Wayne parts as boring as the majority of Batman movies make him seem.
David Mercado of Georgia lamented both Tales From The Borderlands and Telltale’s take on Batman. “I really loved Batman (The Telltale Series) and (Tales From The) Borderlands,” he started. “It was just really interesting to see them explore two series traditionally known for violence and expand on the world space in an interactive narrative driven media.”
Telltale’s had some weirder games that just, well, worked
But, don’t forget some of the weirder titles that Telltale has done over the years. While not usually the first pick for many people, Tales From Monkey Island, Bone, and Puzzle Agent hold up the test of time. Some good, some bad. But, out of some of the weirder ones, one that sticks in my memory the most, is Poker Night at the Inventory.
Poker Night, at its core, is just a silly Poker game, calling back to Telltale’s roots and their first game Telltale Texas Hold‘em. I’m not a poker player much myself, but it was the wrapping that kept me playing. There were two games in this series, but they both always make me laugh due to the ridiculous characters in them, all licensed from other IPs. The first game had the titular psycho Max from Sam & Max and Strong Bad from Homestar Runner, both from Telltale games prior. Tycho from Penny Arcade and the Heavy from Team Fortress 2 were welcome additions too.
But, it wasn’t until the second game that things got weird, the fun kind of weird. The dealer was GLaDOS from Portal that time around, which made having the sassy robot Claptrap from Borderlands all the more amusing. Having Claptrap was really meant to be a hint that the Tales From The Borderlands game was coming. Sam from Sam & Max joined in this time, with Max “supporting” him. The two off-the-wall characters this time were Brock Samson from Venture Brothers (even voiced by Patrick Warburton himself) and Ash Williams from The Evil Dead, neither of which got Telltale episodic games of their own, but probably should have. The entire series was really just a testament to their own history, with tons of references to other games in their repertoire.
A weird one, but I loved the Puzzle Agent duo. Wholesome, endearing animation, & fun to solve. On par with the Nancy Drew games for making me feel calm and in control despite, y’know, the exterior world.
— ZR ? (@ZCRnotVCR) September 28, 2018
Minecraft Story Mode was another bigger property handled on Telltale, including a Netflix show that was in development. Whether or not the show is being finished by the remaining 25 members of staff is to be determined, but Minecraft Story Mode is much loved by fans. Shelby Moledina, Director of Product Management at Warner Bros. Games, spoke out about Story Mode due to her son. “I loved playing through Minecraft Story Mode with my son, who was 7 at the time, and never sat through an adventure game with me otherwise.”
Senior Editor at Marooner’s Rock, Andrew Peggs, spoke up as well. “When it comes to Telltale Games,” he said, “I spent so much time playing many of the games they've created. Games that did catch my eye include Minecraft: Story Mode, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series. However, one game that had me playing for hours on end and laughing was Tales from the Borderlands. The game alone was gold in terms of being very enjoyable to play since I'm a Borderlands fan. Keeping with the Borderlands style of art was also pleasing and the game itself was full of little jokes and scenes that has laughing as well. No one will ever forget the gun fight! When it came light to the company closing down, I'm sad to see so many franchises end on the Telltale series of games.”
In conclusion...
Not everything that Telltale did were home runs, of course. Jurassic Park immediately comes to mind, but they did also do the CSI games. Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series isn’t bad, but it hasn’t gripped the same notoriety some of the other titles mentioned earlier have. But, no studio knocks it out of the park 100% of the time and that’s OK. While some games are generally left at the door, there’s just way more good than bad to remember anyway.
This is a studio that many people hold in their hearts for various reasons. They didn’t really have any properties of their own, but they always made sure to take steps further than other companies tend to of other people’s IPs. The much-loved titles weren’t just churned out cash-grabs. They told stories no one else knew to tell. In some cases, like Borderlands, they became intertwined to be official canon in the lore. In others, like Batman and The Wolf Among Us, they told a unique story that captured the hearts of those who played it.
We’re here today to bury a friend. That friend deserved better than an end like this. We feel for the game designers that lost their jobs so suddenly, their families and livelihoods taken at the drop of a hat, and hope to be able to follow each of them into whichever company they head to next. The studio may be gone but those that held that studio up are not. Telltale Games was a company, an outer shell, but the people in the company are still out there making great games.