Telltale's inexorable journey to becoming Skynet reaches its next phase.
Episodic game maker Telltale Games has cut a deal with Lionsgate Entertainment for an unspecified sum that will see the San Rafael-based studio start making episodic TV/game "Super Shows," starting with an original Telltale Games property.
As part of the deal, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer and newly-minted Unity CEO John Riccitiello will join Telltale's board of directors.
Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Source: Gamasutra
The material from the second episode doesn't start until one minute in. As always journey to Youtube if the video doesn't embed properly for you below.
Source: Youtube
And that is what one calls "link bait".
But! It's sorta true. Gamesutra tells us Connors is stepping down, and is being replaced by TTG co-founder, Kevin Bruner. There is also some talk about the company being kind of a… harsh… place to work these days, which doesn't come as a big surprise. The company has lost some high profile names lately. Grossman, Stemmle… The place just hasn't been the same since Jake left.
More interesting, perhaps, is that they will be "expending 'a lot of energy' working on original IP". That could be a good thing, right?
As for Connors, he will remain on board as an "executive advisor", which, if similar situations are anything to go by, pretty much means he'll be sitting at home, waiting for his non-compete clause to run out.
Good luck to all, from the ever positive Mojo!
Source: Gamesutra
Adventure Gamers has posted an informative interview with Dave Grossman, as interviewed by former Telltale PR person Emily Morganti. Dave talks about his time at LucasArts, leaving Telltale, joining Reactive Studios as chief creative officer on their interactive audio dramas, working with Bill Tiller on Duke Grabowski: Mighty Swashbuckler, and hints at future projects.
Some of the most interesting points brought up in the interview include the fact that Brian Moriarty, the creator of Loom and project lead of the unreleased first version of The Dig is on the board at Reactive too, and the team is going to try to do a text adventure style audio drama at some point, with Dave hinting towards a Sherlock Holmes story and one based on Jekyll and Hyde. Another interesting tidbit is that Dave Grossman is going to be helping out with another game project that had a successful Kickstarter, but he can't talk about that yet. So, even though Dave is working from home now, 2015 certainly looks to be a busy year.
Updated by me, because apparently Jason, Jennifer, Zaarin, and whoever else works here these days have been too lazy to do so ¬¬… It's Minecraft: Story Mode. Yes. I'm underwhelmed too.
"Super secret surprise announcements before the holiday break? Maaaaaybe. ...hashtag #subtle!," tweeted TTG's Job Stauffer mysteriously, teasingly followed up with ,"Well, kids... You see... When two game developers love each other VERY much... and they get together...". I'm sure all Telltale forum dwellers are sharpening their pencils, getting ready to write love poems about whatever comes next, already.
Anyway! In mere hours the announcement will be made, and we're all excited to see what TTG, Disney, and Double Fine will do with Full Throttle what will come next.
In an unprecedented streak of Mojo features, we spit out a review of "Zer0 Sum", the first episode of Tales from the Borderlands. I know, right? Updates? Reviews almost on time? It's a Festivus miracle!
Join in on these historical events by reading the review.
The first episode of Game of Thrones, Iron From Ice, now has release dates. It will be available on December 2 on PC/Mac through the Telltale Store and Steam. On December 3, it will release for the PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One worldwide. On December 4, it will release for iOS, and then on December 9 it will release for the PlayStation 3 worldwide. It will also be coming to Android at an as of yet unannounced date in December.
The first episode of Tales from the Borderlands, Zer0 Sum is out now for PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One worldwide, and for PS3 and PS4 in North America. There's still no release date set for the Mac version, and the PS3 and PS4 release in Europe will be happening on the 3rd of December.
You know him from LucasArts, you know him from Telltale, and you might even know him from Humongous Entertainment. And now you'll also know Dave Grossman from Reactive Studios, where he's the chief creative officer.
"Who the hell does this Reactive think it is?", you may ask, and a good question it is. The studio is known for its Codename Cygnus, a Kickstarted "interactive radio drama." Apparently it uses "speech recognition," which means it's perfectly suited for playing on the bus.
(Yeah, I don't know, I never tried it; it could be awesome for all I know.)
Anyway! Good luck to Mr Grossman on his new gig. We're looking forward to see where this is headed.
You can find Reactive Studios website here.
Source: IGN
If these are the first images of Telltale's series, it's looking pretty good. Telltale's Job Stauffer described the style as a living oil painting, and I'd have to concur. I can't wait to see how it looks in motion. You can see some of the images below (click to enlarge):
Update: Tales from the Borderlands is available to preorder on Steam now for 10% off the usual $25USD price, and the page lists the release date as November 25 (though note that Steam dates can sometimes be estimates that change before release. Telltale hasn't announced an official date yet).
The Tales from the Borderlands launch trailer is here, which means the first episode of the game should be releasing soon, as Telltale's games usually launch within a week or two of the launch trailer. Episode titles haven't been revealed yet, but it's known there will be five episodes and the Australian Classification board lists the name of the first episode as ZER0 SUM. The platforms have been announced as PC, Mac, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and iOS. More platforms will be announced at a later date.
In other Telltale news, they have quietly started shipping the collector's DVDs for The Walking Dead Season Two and The Wolf Among Us. If you have already or are planning on purchasing these games from the Telltale Store, you can get the DVD for the season at just the cost of shipping by clicking buy now at the game's website. And, if you're still wondering about the Tales from the Borderlands trailer, you view it below:
Well, you know… Whatever.
The concluding review of The Walking Dead's season two is just what it says on the tin, and more. (More meaning some musings on what lies ahead for TTG.) So! Read damn it!
The Brutal Legend Limited Edition Indiebox has shipped to those who ordered it in October, full of items using concept art from the game. If you missed it, but would like to order it, there's still time. You can pick it up at the indiebox store for $25 USD.
The Massive Chalice beta is now available to all via Steam Early Access. Everyone who backed it at $20 or more should get a Steam code for this version. Oh, and even though it's on Early Access, it is fully funded, so there's no worry about it not becoming fully realized. The 1.0 release is scheduled for Spring 2015, and the game has full funding to make it up to that point.
Game of Thrones is now more than just a title image and a string of cryptic clues. Telltale has revealed the first concrete information about their series based on the HBO show based on the novels. It will consist of six episodes, and will feature five different playable protagonists all from the same house, in this case, the House of Forrester. Some of the people may be blood relatives of the Forrester clan, others may be people who work for the house, but every decision that you make will have consequences that will affect the entire house. The first episode will be called Iron From Ice and is set to arrive for download soon on PC/Mac, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and iOS, with additional platforms to be announced.
"Q4 2014" isn't merely the vague release information Telltale has offered on its upcoming Game of Thrones adaptation; it's basically the only information. So you can imagine my surprise when Telltale re-states that the first episode will be released before the new year.
This coincidentally puts the release three hundred and eighty-seven years ahead of George R.R. Martin's next release in the book series, which is expected to hit shelves December 2401.
Update: August 26: It's out now for PC and Mac through the Telltale store, as well as Steam. It's available now on PS3 and Vita in North America too.
The Walking Dead: Season Two finale is almost here, and Telltale has released a 5 minute trailer, with no spoilers for the upcoming episode. They have also revealed when the game is going to be released, and it's soon. It will be released on PC, Mac, and on PS3 and Vita in North America on August 26th, 2014, on Xbox 360 and on PS3 and Vita in Europe on August 27th, and on iOS on August 28th, 2014. Release dates for Android versions have not yet been revealed.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mike Stemmle (co-creator of Sam & Max Hit the Road and Escape from Monkey Island) left Telltale Games back in May. His credits list the first version of The Wolf Among Us, before it was redesigned, and Tales from the Borderlands. So, we'll likely see a little bit of Michael Stemmle's work in the next few months when Telltale's Borderlands series starts.
Now, IGN is reporting that Dave Grossman (co-creator of Monkey Island 1+2 and Day of the Tentacle) has left Telltale too. Now, more than even before, it feels like the end of an era. We at Mojo wish Mr. Stemmle and Mr. Grossman the best of luck in their future endeavors.
