Telltale Games have become one of the most prolific developers in recent years, yet having revived the 90’s classic Sam & Max and receiving mild success with Jurassic Park and Back to the Future, it was not until The Walking Dead arrived that the storytelling juggernauts became mainstream.
A powerful narrative with choice and consequence mechanics worked perfectly within the zombie comic world. This culminated with the episodic adventure being included in many game of the year lists. Telltale Games then began to dabble in other genres and success continued as they did so.
Their next endeavor was another comic book adaptation in The Wolf Among Us (My personal favorite) and this was soon pursued by season two of The Walking Dead.
Telltale Games began to avert their attention away from the illustrated medium and they began to tackle TV, novels and gaming worlds. Tales from the Borderlands, Game of Thrones and Minecraft: Story Mode received the same treatment as the previous stimuli. All of the projects were critically praised but the real achievement was seeing how well the developers could adapt their gift to fit multiple genres. They managed to create funny and intimate stories within each of these diverse worlds whilst respecting the lore and fans.
Telltale Games are now in a position where other developers want them to create unique tales within their developed IP’s. We already know that Telltale Games are very busy with The Walking Dead: Michonne, The Walking Dead Season 3, an untitled Marvel project and a recently announced Batman game in development.
What universes would you like to see Telltale games take on? I have five ideas which I feel would fit perfectly into the already stellar portfolio of the gaming developer.
1. Harry Potter
Being a huge fan of the Harry Potter series and desperately craving J.K Rowling to write another book, a journey into the world via Telltale Games would certainly be welcomed. We are currently seeing the universe grow with a new movie saga, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them in development. Another announcement followed with the recent news of a stage play, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child entering production so there are plenty of opportunities for new tales here.
As is the case in Telltale’s recent ventures, you would assume the role of someone within the universe who is not the main character. You could be a student embarking on your own adventure at Hogwarts with the characters we know and love making appearances. Imagine seven episodes spanning the duration of a student life?
How about a prequel set during the dark years when Voldemort was at full power? The opportunity to be able to see Sirius and Lupin in their younger years would be thrilling. Could you even meet Lily and James Potter before their untimely end? These all sound exciting prospect to me.
2. Lego
We have seen Telltale Games devise a wonderful tale within the world of Minecraft whilst maintaining the core mechanics of the creative game but how about the world of Lego?
The Lego Movie was a brilliant blend of all the Lego universes into a hilarious, action-packed adventure. Imagine Telltale Games being able to take control of this diverse world and creating a story where we decide the outcome.
In The Lego Movie, we saw a colossal amount of characters from dozens of properties. We saw Batman, Superman, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Milhouse, Gandalf, Dumbledore and even William Shakespeare! I would love to see all of these characters in one game with beautifully written dialogue that has become affiliated with Telltale Games.
Envisage a story that spans across the worlds of Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, Lord of the Rings and Ghostbusters!
3. Rapture (Bioshock)
Maybe a lore that is not so richly known but no less dense, the underwater utopia that is Rapture would be a wonderful backdrop to create a rich narrative within.
Irrational Games, who developed Bioshock, created one of the most interesting locales seen in a video game. Rapture is an underwater city where only the elite live. Created by Andrew Ryan, the premise of Rapture was to create a society for the brightest minds on Earth without the influence of politics or religion. Everyone would have freewill to pursue their own interests as opposed to assisting a collective community.
Unfortunately, the capitalist idea was flawed and the rich became richer leaving the poor in poverty. A civil war erupted and the once ambitious dream became a nightmare.
In Bioshock, we only managed to experience this utopia after its downfall but imagine being there during the collapse? DLC released for Bioshock Infinite gave us a brief glimpse of what life was like in Rapture but it was a warped reality of the city. I want to see a true depiction of the downfall.
4. Star Wars
Need I really explain why this would be a good idea?
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is dominating the box office and with the promise of two more films in the series and three spin-off movies, Star Wars is back. If you also include the continuing Star Wars Rebels animated series, you have dozens of possible opportunities to devise a riveting tale.
The obvious choice would incorporate the Jedi Knights but I would love to see Telltale Games take a more sinister approach. In Tales from the Borderlands we played as criminals. Morally their intentions were good but it was a nice change to be in the shoes of scoundrels.
How about a bounty hunter themed piece? Everyone loves Boba Fett and yet we still do not know a lot of concrete information about him. With Star Wars 1313 being canned a few years ago which was due to incorporate the green armored villain, it would be great to pilot the Slave I in a Telltale adventure game.
Any story in a galaxy far, far away would be exciting so hear my plea Telltale!
5. Fallout
I absolutely adore the world of Fallout. The post-apocalyptic alternate universe is full of dark comedy and brimming with potential stories.
The majority of the Fallout games begin the same way with you emerging from a vault (a fallout bunker) and seeing the world for the first time after the great nuclear war of 2077. The Fallout fanbase adores the universe because the characters and scenarios you encounter are some of the best seen in gaming. With the surrounding world being so grim, the inhabitants bleed twisted humor but there are still opportunities for powerful, intimate moments.
The recent Fallout games have covered Boston, New Vegas, and Washington so the entirety of America is up for grabs. With an already established lore and recognizable factions, Telltale Games could easily create a story here which is very different to anything the have done before.
Do you think these ideas would be enjoyable? What recommendations do you have? Let us know in the comments below.
