Telltale Games

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Telltale Games, Inc.
Type Private
Industry Video game industry
Founded June 2004
Founder(s) Dan Connors
Kevin Bruner
Troy Molander
Headquarters San Rafael, California, United States
Products Graphic adventure games
Employees 125[1]
Website www.telltalegames.com

Telltale Games is an independent digital publisher founded in June 2004 as Telltale, Incorporated. Based in San Rafael, California, the studio includes designers formerly employed by LucasArts. Its business model revolves around episodic gaming and digital distribution,[2] and it is best known for its various graphic adventure game series based on popular licensed properties.

Many of the games that have been developed by Telltale Games are released episodically. Several episodes, released together in a season, are released periodically through a certain timeframe, often concluding around half a year or so after the initial release. Notable titles by Telltale include game adaptations of Sam & Max, Homestar Runner, Monkey Island, Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and The Walking Dead.

Contents

History [edit]

Company foundation [edit]

Telltale Games was founded by a group of former LucasArts employees who had been working on Sam & Max: Freelance Police, a sequel to the 1993 game Sam & Max Hit the Road, prior to its cancellation on March 3, 2004. In an early press release the vocal public response to said cancellation was cited as a main reason the company was founded.[3] The Telltale Games team has a large collective experience working on LucasArts' famed classics.

On February 11, 2005, the company released their first game — Telltale Texas Hold'em, a poker card game simulator which was intended primarily to test their in-house game engine.[4] This was followed by two games based on Jeff Smith's Bone comic book series. More episodes were planned, but later aborted. They then developed CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder for Ubisoft, and although it was composed of several free-standing episodes, it was released exclusively at retail as a single package. The same is true for the follow ups, CSI: Hard Evidence, CSI: Deadly Intent, and CSI: Fatal Conspiracy.

After securing two rounds of angel investment from San Francisco Bay Area angels including members of angel group Keiretsu Forum,[5] Telltale attempted to buy the rights to complete Sam & Max: Freelance Police from LucasArts, but when they were denied, they secured the rights to create new games from series creator Steve Purcell. Unlike their previous games, Sam & Max: Season One (published in collaboration with GameTap) was their first episodic series released on a tight monthly schedule—a landmark for the game industry. The series proved successful, and Telltale went on to produce two additional Sam & Max seasons. Since then, they have continued to produce series based on popular licenses released in monthly episodes. Several series that Telltale went on to work with were largely comedic, including games based on Wallace & Gromit and Homestar Runner. Tales of Monkey Island, based on the popular LucasArts series, marked one of their most successful series to date, owing in part to the history many of its developers had with LucasArts adventure games.

Pilot Program [edit]

To supplement their normal episodic games, Telltale created a Pilot Program in early 2010 to explore one-off games that would explore other gameplay and storytelling approaches that could eventually be incorporated into their episodic games.[6] The first game, Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent, a puzzle-solving game in collaboration with Graham Annable, was released in the middle of June 2010, while Poker Night at the Inventory, a crossover poker game featuring characters from Sam and Max, Homestar Runner, Valve's Team Fortress 2, and the webcomic Penny Arcade, was released late in 2010. Telltale later went on to follow up Puzzle Agent with a sequel, Puzzle Agent 2 in 2011. Additionally, in 2013, Telltale continued the Poker Night series with Poker Night 2.

Growth of company and acquisition of popular franchises [edit]

Having established themselves as working with comedy franchises, Telltale later chose to work with dramatic franchises as well in addition to comedy series. In June 2010, Telltale announced that they had secured licences with NBC Universal to develop two episodic series based on Back to the Future and Jurassic Park.[7] Further series based on licensed properties were announced in February 2011, including series based on the comic book series The Walking Dead and Fables in association with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment,[8] and a series based on the King's Quest adventure games by Sierra.[9] Telltale's King's Quest was confirmed to be cancelled on April 3, 2013.[10]

By 2010, Telltale has proven itself successful, with yearly revenues of $10 million, 90% greater than the previous year.[8] Part of this is attributed to Back to the Future: The Game, which Steve Allison, the senior vice president of marketing, called their "most successful franchise to date".[11] Allison states that for most of their games, they only need to sell 100,000 copies to break even, but many of their recent releases have seen twice that number or more; Allison anticipated that The Walking Dead series could be a $20 to $30 million franchise.[8] Telltale expects with the additional licensed franchises, the studio and its revenues will continue to grow at a similar pace. They announced expectations of the studio to expand from their 90 employees to 140.[8]

In April 2011, Telltale announced another licensed episodic series, based on Law & Order: Los Angeles,[12] which later changed to encompass multiple Law and Order shows.

In 2012, Telltale had its biggest success yet with The Walking Dead, which sold one million copies in 20 days,[13] and topped the sales charts on Xbox Live,[14] PlayStation Network, and Steam.[13] Due to the success of the first game, Telltale announced a sequel in July 2012.[15][16][17] Telltale announced intentions to move to a new location and expand from 125 to 160 in Spring 2013,[18] after The Walking Dead sold 8.5 million episodes.[19]

Development philosophy [edit]

Telltale Games presents itself specifically as a developer of episodic games. Many critics feel that Telltale is the only company to have done episodic gaming right,[20][21][22][23] usually citing its ability to consistently deliver on a monthly schedule. Telltale is also seen by movie studios and other content producers to take a more realistic approach to movie tie-in games; rather than the difficult model of "see the movie; play the game", Telltale is noted for working with studios and screenwriters to create a strong experience that pays homage to the original film or franchise.[8]

While chiefly a developer, Telltale Games values its ability to self-publish their games;[24] the only times it has had a classic developer-publisher relationship is with Ubisoft for the CSI games.[25] They have struck financial arrangements with GameTap for the first two seasons of the rebooted Sam & Max games, but for the rest their publishing arrangements have been made after the games were already completed and had already been sold via digital distribution.

Telltale aims to have a presence on as many platforms and avenues of digital distribution as possible.[26] To date, they have released games through GameTap, on Windows and Mac through Steam and similar services in addition to their own online store, on Wii via WiiWare and disc, on Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade and disc, on PlayStation 3 through PlayStation Network and disc, on iPhone and iPad through iTunes, on PlayStation Vita, as well as through various web based games portals. They are also rumored to be developing games for the Wii U.[27] Telltale was one of the companies who Sony confirmed have pledged third party support for the PlayStation 4 at the PlayStation Meeting 2013.[28]

Development history [edit]

Game Release Date # of Episodes Platform(s)
Telltale Texas Hold'em 02005-02-11February 11, 2005 1 (Standalone title) Microsoft Windows
Bone: Out from Boneville 02005-09-15September 15, 2005 1 (Standalone title) E Microsoft Windows
CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder 02006-03-21March 21, 2006 5 episodes (Standalone title) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2
Bone: The Great Cow Race 02006-04-12April 12, 2006 1 (Standalone title) E Microsoft Windows
Sam & Max Save the World 02006-10-17October 17, 2006 - April 26, 2007 6 episodes (monthly) Microsoft Windows, Xbox Live Arcade, Wii
CSI: Hard Evidence 02007-09-25September 25, 2007 5 episodes (Standalone title) Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Wii, Xbox 360
Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space 02007-11-08November 8, 2007 - April 10, 2008 5 episodes (monthly) Microsoft Windows, Xbox Live Arcade, Wii, Mac OS X, PlayStation Network, iOS
Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People 02008-08-11August 11, 2008 - December 15, 2008 5 episodes (monthly) WiiWare, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Network, Mac OS X
Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures 02009-03-24March 24, 2009 - July 30, 2009 4 episodes (monthly) Microsoft Windows, Xbox Live Arcade, iOS (Episode 2 only)
Tales of Monkey Island 02009-07-07July 7, 2009 - December 8, 2009 5 episodes (monthly) Microsoft Windows, WiiWare, Mac OS X, PlayStation Network, iOS
CSI: Deadly Intent 02009-10-20October 20, 2009 5 episodes (Standalone title) Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, Wii
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse 02010-04-15April 15, 2010 - August 30, 2010 5 episodes (monthly) iOS (Episode 1 only), Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation Network
Hector: Badge of Carnage 02010-06-03June 3, 2010 - September 22, 2011 3 episodes iOS, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent 02010-06-30June 30, 2010 1 (Standalone title) E P Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, PlayStation Network
CSI: Fatal Conspiracy 02010-10-26October 26, 2010 5 episodes (Standalone title) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii
Poker Night at the Inventory 02010-11-22November 22, 2010 1 (Standalone title) E P[29] Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows
Back to the Future: The Game 02010-12-22December 22, 2010 - June 23, 2011 5 episodes (monthly) Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, iOS, Wii
Puzzle Agent 2 02011-06-30June 30, 2011 1 (Standalone title) E P iOS, Mac, Microsoft Windows
Jurassic Park: The Game 02011-11-15November 15, 2011
November 15, 2011 - May 24, 2012		 4 episodes (Standalone title)
4 episodes (bi-monthly) (iPad)		 Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, iOS, PlayStation Network, Xbox 360
Law & Order: Legacies 02011-12-22December 22, 2011 - March 29, 2012 7 episodes (bi-weekly) iOS, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows
The Walking Dead 02012-04-24April 24, 2012 - November 20, 2012[30] 5 episodes (bi-monthly) Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iOS, PlayStation Vita[31]
Poker Night 2[32] April 24, 2013[33] 1 (Standalone title) E P Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation Network
The Wolf Among Us[34] Q2 2013[35] TBA Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
The Walking Dead Season Two[15][16][17] Q3 2013[36] TBA TBA
E. ^ Episodes within season released as standalone titles
P. ^ Pilot Program title

References [edit]

  1. ^ Harang, Jason (2012-11-20). "Dan Connors to Jake Rodkin: "We're Bigger than U.S. Steel"". The International House of Mojo. Retrieved 2012-11-20. 
  2. ^ GameCyte - The Telltale Art: Heads of Tales
  3. ^ "Telltale Games, A New Game Development Studio, Opens Doors In Northern California". Telltale Games press release. 2004-10-04. Retrieved 2009-06-17. 
  4. ^ Morganti, Emily (2009-05-15). "Give us your opinion, we'll give you Telltale Texas Hold'em". the Telltale Blog. Retrieved 2009-06-17. 
  5. ^ Telltale Games: Downloadable games lure exuberant investors San Francisco Business Times, March 12, 2006
  6. ^ "Telltale Games Kicks Off New Game Pilot Program to Foster Innovation" (Press release). Telltale Games. 2010-05-10. Retrieved 2011-02-20. 
  7. ^ Lang, Derrek J. (2011-02-11). "'Back to Future,' 'Jurassic Park' to become games". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved 2010-06-09. 
  8. ^ a b c d e Duryee, Tricia (2011-02-17). "Telltale Signs That Videogames Will Be Downloaded, Not Sold at Retail". All Things Digital. Retrieved 2011-02-17. 
  9. ^ Clark, Matt (2011-02-18). "Telltale Confirms 'King's Quest' Reboot And 'Fables' Game". MTV. Retrieved 2011-02-18. 
  10. ^ "Activision is planning something for King's Quest After Recovering the Rights From Telltale Games". Digital Trends. 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2013-04-03. 
  11. ^ Hinkle, David (2011-02-18). "Back to the Future is Telltale's 'most successful' franchise". Joystiq. Retrieved 2011-02-20. 
  12. ^ Davidson, Pete (2011-04-18). "Telltale's next project: Law & Order: LA". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2011-12-01. Retrieved 2011-04-18. 
  13. ^ a b "Telltale Games' The Walking Dead Sells a Million". IGN. Retrieved 2011-07-14. 
  14. ^ "The Walking Dead Tops Xbox Live Arcade Chart". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2012-05-15. 
  15. ^ a b "Telltale Games Planning The Walking Dead Season Two". The Escapist. Retrieved 012-07-16. 
  16. ^ a b "The Walking Dead Season Two Insinuated by Telltale". Joystiq. Retrieved 2011-03-08. 
  17. ^ a b "More The Walking Dead Games in the Way From Telltale, Activision". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2011-03-08. 
  18. ^ "Telltale Games plans major expansion". North Bay Business Journal. Retrieved 2013-01-28. 
  19. ^ "The Walking Dead sold over 8.5 million episodes since release". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2013-01-28. 
  20. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (2008-04-10). "Q&A: Telltale tells why Sam & Max works". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-07. 
  21. ^ Kollar, Philip (2007-10-17). "Why is Episodic Gaming So Hard?". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2009-04-19. 
  22. ^ Elliott, Phil (2009-03-16). "More companies will move into episodic games – Telltale". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2009-04-19. 
  23. ^ Geddes, Ryan (2009-03-16). "Are Episodic Games the Future?". IGN. Retrieved 2009-04-19. 
  24. ^ Remo, Chris (2007-03-19). "Telltale CEO Dan Connors on Sam & Max". Shacknews. Retrieved 2009-06-14. 
  25. ^ Remo, Chris (2009-05-06). "Interview: Telltale's Connors On Episodic Gaming's Bite". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-06-13. 
  26. ^ Grant, Christopher (2009-02-10). "Joystiq interview: Telltale's Dan Connors on XBLA, Wallace & Gromit". Joystiq. Retrieved 2009-06-13. 
  27. ^ Harang, Jason (2012-03-22). "Rumor Mill: The Walking Dead coming to Wii U?". The International House of Mojo. Retrieved 2012-03-23. 
  28. ^ "Two Tantalizing Tidbits". The International House of Mojo. 2013-02-24. Retrieved 2013-02-24. 
  29. ^ "Poker Night confirmed as Pilot Program title". The International House of Mojo. 2010-09-04. Retrieved 2013-05-02. 
  30. ^ "The Walking Dead: The Game Retail Bundle Details". IGN. Retrieved 2012-10-28. 
  31. ^ Moriarty, Colin (2013-03-23). "The Walking Dead: The Game Retail Bundle Details". IGN. Retrieved 2013-03-23. 
  32. ^ "Telltale Teasing The Key Party". The International House of Mojo. 2013-03-27. Retrieved 2013-03-27. 
  33. ^ Miller, Greg (2013-04-01). "Telltale Games' Poker Night 2 Announced". IGN. Retrieved 2013-04-02. 
  34. ^ "Telltale's Fables is Called The Wolf Among Us". IGN. 2013-03-27. Retrieved 2013-03-27. 
  35. ^ Purcheese, Robert (2013-03-07). "Season Two of Telltale's The Walking Dead "aiming for" THIS autumn". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2013-03-16. 
  36. ^ Wallace, Kimberly (2013-03-06). "Telltale’s The Walking Dead Season Two On Track For Release This Fall". GameInformer. Retrieved 2013-03-06. 

External links [edit]

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Bone series
CSI series
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Puzzle Agent series
The Walking Dead series
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