Ask the Telltale Back to the Future Team (Almost) Anything!

We're doing another Back to the Future Q&A session (our last was with series co-creator Bob Gale), this time with some of the Telltale Games Back to the Future team.

We'll have first episode director Dennis Lenart and series designer Mike Stemmle up for questions this time around...and anybody else from the team that is in the vicinity.

Ask as many questions as you like in this thread (this is the only place I'll be taking questions from). Make sure to get them in by 12:00 pm PST on Monday, October 25 - I'll be closing the thread at that point.

Keep this in mind: This is a pre-release Q&A, so while you can leave any questions you like in the thread, things like 'what is the storyline for the entire season?', 'is so-and-so playing Character McGillicutty?' or 'what are all the time periods the game takes place in?' probably won't get answered. All that stuff will be officially answered in due time - it is the 25th Anniversary of the film's release soon isn't it?

Anyway, have fun asking your questions!
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Comments

  • edited October 2010
    Do we see medieval times and/or times before that?
  • edited October 2010
    I just wanted to know did anyone ever feel intimidated on this project. As in " Man I don't want to ruin my favorite series, how should we approach this?."
  • edited October 2010
    Are puzzles easier/harder in your eyes compared to prior series from a design perspective? (ie, Is it easier to come up with a puzzle for BTTF then it is to come up with one for Wallace and Gromit?)
  • edited October 2010
    Tell us a bit about the soundtrack. eg. Will you be recording a new score (based on Alan Silvestri's theme) by Jared E-J? And might you be using any pop / rock songs in the game, perhaps even by the likes of BTTF stalwarts Huey Lewis & the News or ZZ Top?
  • edited October 2010
    Do you feel proud with you've done so far?
  • edited October 2010
    jp-30 wrote: »
    Tell us a bit about the soundtrack. eg. Will you be recording a new score (based on Alan Silvestri's theme) by Jared E-J? And might you be using any pop / rock songs in the game, perhaps even by the likes of BTTF stalwarts Huey Lewis & the News or ZZ Top?
    Fixed and seconded
  • edited October 2010
    Fixed and seconded

    Maybe he was referring to Jurassic Park :p

    Seriously though, excellent question! And if I may add something to it... Will the music be syntethized or will it have some live players?
  • edited October 2010
    Which experiences from your previous episodic episodes have been the most beneficial and will enhance the gaming experience for this series?

    Does this new title introduce any new concepts being introduced to the episodic adventuring formula now that Telltale seems to have all the basics down?
  • edited October 2010
    1. Back to the Future is arguably the biggest license placed in Telltale's hands yet. Have the developers felt any sort of unusual pressure dealing with such a large, beloved property?

    2. On a similar note, suppose you could get your hands on whatever license you wanted. Complete creative control, no questions asked. What would you give the Telltale treatment to?

    3. This one's for Michael Stemmle specifically. You were heavily involved with Sam and Max Hit the Road, a game currently trapped in something of a legal limbo, since LucasArts still owns the game but not Sam and Max themselves. This isn't a "Is this going to happen?" question, but would you like to have Hit the Road resurrected in some way? (Be it a remake, a re-release, or maybe even using characters from it in future Sam and Max episodes.) And now that you've revived Sam and Max and Monkey Island, is there another old LucasArts adventure you'd like to breathe new life into?

    4. What has working with Christopher Lloyd been like?

    5. As a big fan of adventure games, from Infocom to Sierra to LucasArts to...well, Telltale, I'm grateful for how you've been contributing to a genre that would probably be dead without you. Do you hope your success will inspire other companies to make adventure games of your own, or are you happy to more or less have a monopoly on the genre?

    6. Despite generally making your games with the PC in mind, nearly your entire library has had a console release at this point. Have you had any sort of difficulty developing your games for both computers and consoles? Which one have your games found more success in? Also, since you've experimented in portable gaming now by producing games for the iPhone and iPad, do you see any potential in bringing Telltale to the Nintendo 3DS?

    7. I don't really have another question, but um...what's the deal with Superball? Every time we see that guy it just raises further questions. :p
  • edited October 2010
    1. How will the game be different from or simliar to the original BTTF trilogy?
    2. Will there be any features of this game that will be brand new for Telltale?
    3. When can we expect the game to be out?
    4. One last question: When can I preorder?
  • edited October 2010
    Will there be Pepsi?
  • edited October 2010
    Fixed and seconded

    Oops, thanks!
    Trenchfoot wrote: »
    Do you feel proud with you've done so far?

    LOL, They're hardly going to say their somewhat embarrassed by it.
  • edited October 2010
    1) When Telltale first received the go-ahead to produce a series based on Back to the Future, what were the absolute musts that your team wanted in the game?

    2) At any point in the series, will the DeLorean be damaged or some aspect of it rendered inoperable? (I ask because this seemed to be a major theme in the films :) )

    3) Will the time train be making an appearance?
  • edited October 2010
    Is the game gonna be a interesting, mix of new stuff with things from the movie, or will it be apart from what happen in the 3 movies? are new paradoxes created from old ones?

    Will Clara and the kids be protagonist at some point?(please say no, please say no...jajjaja :D)

    Is the game gonna be a "marty and doc adventures" through different time zones, changing history(say quantum leap, bill and ted, day of the tentacle) or would it be more focused on characters, and the close reality of the characters and their lives?
  • edited October 2010
    Is the game good?
  • stirpicusstirpicus Telltale Alumni
    edited October 2010
    When can we expect to find out the rest of the voice cast?

    SO PSYCHEDDD.

    :)
  • edited October 2010
    How many times will we hear "Great Scott!" being said? (though, it can never be enough)
  • edited October 2010
    Because Jennifer never gets any love from fans or anybody:

    Will we finally see Jennifer get fleshed out? Will Jennifer have an important story role?

    Will you be approaching Steve Purcell or Drew Struzan for some exclusive cover art?
  • edited October 2010
    1. Will this series follow the 5 episode, one a month format?
    2. Are the episodes seperate, or part of one long story?
    3. Is working on this game much different from working on others?
    4. Are expecting to add any really challenging puzzles? (Please do!)
    5. Should we consider the game cannon in the BTTF universe?
  • edited October 2010
    Is the game good?

    The game is good.

    ...Really????
  • edited October 2010
    1- Will there be puzzles which use actions in multiple timelines?

    One example of this is the DOTT puzzle in which you create Vinegar for the future, by sending a bottle of Wine to the past, and letting it age.

    2- Will we ever see any regret for "improving" the future?
    For instance, When Marty goes to the "new" 1985 at the end of BTTF1, he is forever locked away from his original parents.
    While these new-and-improved parents are "better", he will never see the mom and dad he grew up with.

    3- As Doc Brown explained, when you change the past, it splits off a new timeline. When you go forward, you reach this new timeline.. This means to the perspective of Marty's parents in timeline A, he left and never came back! ;(

    4- What are your favorite time travel games? Have you played ChronoTrigger, Journeyman Project, DOTT, Shadow of Memories, Space Quest 4? What did you like or not like?

    5- Will there be multiple player characters?

    6- Will you be including easter eggs, if people enter dates that aren't specifically designed for the game? One example: In Space Quest 4, you can travel to Ortega, the are from SQ3. You immediately die ;)

    It might be fun to stop by the 1720s and visit an island in the tri-island area, or 1996 to visit Jurassic Park (If you have even one room ready, it would be amusing)

    7- I recall you did a survey a while back, asking people what were the most important BTTF tropes.. Are you going to release the results to that publicly?

    8- Your original announcement lists All the major consoles, plus PC and Mac. (http://yhoo.it/bw8TT5)
    Is this still the plan? Will they all be released at once? What about iPad?

    9- What factors have gone into the decision to be DL-only for consoles? While retail shopping isn't as strong as it once was, there is still a sizable community who only buy games in Gamestop/Bestbuy/Walmart. Your PC box sets are a great start, but why not do this for consoles, too? Expense?

    10- Does time travel in the BTTF game use the "Delayed Ripple Effect", where in things fade out over time, or are changes instantaneous?

    11- Can you give details on some of the specific edits that Bob Gale suggested?

    12- Will you be including anything from sources outside the 3 movies? The Short-Lived Animated Series? Comics? etc?
  • edited October 2010
    1. Is the game actually going to be a point and click and adventure game like your other games (I hope so)?

    2. Will we get a chance to physically drive the delorean around, or will it all be the same as a map screen?

    3. Will we get to see more story involving Biff's or Marty's brother's past before the films?

    4. If the answer to question 1 is yes, what sort of crazy inventory items can we expect to find in the series?

    5. Will we run into Doctor Who at some point?
  • edited October 2010
    Will we be able to go back in time and save J.F Kennedy?
    Will there be some hidden easter eggs or references to other Telltale Games?
  • edited October 2010
    The one that jumps out at me is just to wonder if there's an official word on why Michael J. Fox isn't doing the voice. There are obvious reasons to speculate on, of course, but given that he did the Spike TV spot and did it well, it would be nice to have him at center stage for this. :)

    -The Gneech :cool:
  • edited October 2010
    The Gneech wrote: »
    The one that jumps out at me is just to wonder if there's an official word on why Michael J. Fox isn't doing the voice. There are obvious reasons to speculate on, of course, but given that he did the Spike TV spot and did it well, it would be nice to have him at center stage for this. :)

    -The Gneech :cool:

    I don't think they've explicitly said he isn't, just that Lloyd is the only person they're announcing so far.. Am I wrong?
  • edited October 2010
    Will the story be based by the movies, or is it a different story for these games?
  • edited October 2010
    You're correct, actually, I was operating on incomplete information. Consider my question redacted until there's more official information.

    -TG :cool:
  • edited October 2010
    I also wonder if MJF is on board or not.

    And when will we finally see an ingame screenshot and/or trailer?

    Not sure if you can/want answer those question, but hey at least i was able to restrain myself asking for the release date... :D
  • edited October 2010
    Will this game shy away from profanity? I'm just wondering because while the movies were pretty clean, the infrequent use of swearing was always very believable and effective, and there's really only one correct response when you're about to crash into a manure truck

    Also...
  • edited October 2010
    seibert999 wrote: »
    Will the story be based by the movies, or is it a different story for these games?

    I can answer this one.

    The game is an all-new story - so it's not the video game adaptation of the films.
  • edited October 2010
    mathman77 wrote: »
    Should we consider the game cannon in the BTTF universe?

    I'd like to know this too. Bob Gale said no. One of the Telltale Guys said yes in an interview (while sitting in a Delorean). WHO DO I BELIEVE?

    Also, it's spelled 'canon'.
  • edited October 2010
    How much of the original cast and crew is involved? How did this project (and the JP game) come to be?
  • edited October 2010
    BiggerJ wrote: »
    I'd like to know this too. Bob Gale said no. One of the Telltale Guys said yes in an interview (while sitting in a Delorean). WHO DO I BELIEVE?

    Also, it's spelled 'canon'.

    I think that one's pretty clear too- Bob Gale doesn't consider it Canon, while the TellTale team does ;)
  • edited October 2010
    Hello, I know why you decided to use a car as a Time Machine. But why did you choose a car like the Delorean? And what other car did you had in mind before the Delorean? It looks awesome by the way, thanks for making this great movie. Regards
  • edited October 2010
    e1ven wrote: »
    I think that one's pretty clear too- Bob Gale doesn't consider it Canon, while the TellTale team does ;)

    But which canonicity is canon? *head explodes*
  • edited October 2010
    BiggerJ wrote: »
    I'd like to know this too. Bob Gale said no. One of the Telltale Guys said yes in an interview (while sitting in a Delorean). WHO DO I BELIEVE?

    Also, it's spelled 'canon'.

    I'm pretty sure what Telltale said is that the game will follow the movies' canon, meaning that it won't contradict anything established in the movies. But there's a difference between following canon and being canon.
  • edited October 2010
    The one question I want to ask, probably won't get answered... but I figured I'd put it out there.

    Keeping in mind that he has reprised the Marty McFly role recently for a Spike awards advert, will Micheal J Fox be doing the voice of our beloved hero?

    The fact that Peter Sallis wasn't in the W+G games put me off getting them, to be honest. I don't know if the same situation would arise here, but I would be put off at first anyway...

    Here's hoping!
  • edited October 2010
    what was your motivation for deciding to create this game? hopefully to replace the other games.....:)

    is it coming out the way you imagined it to be?
  • edited October 2010
    With the game appealing to a larger audience are you having to simplify puzzles?
This discussion has been closed.