Could someone...

ThatoneJeff

...point me in the direction of an interview with Telltale where they explain their process for creating games in episodic format and what their success in fulfilling this episodic format can be contributed to?

Or does no such Interview exist?

Or does Telltale not reveal their secret formula... like the coca cola company?

Thanks for reading.

Origami

May I ask why it is you want to know?
Seems like an interesting research.

Hayden

Here's a little bit from an interview with Mark Darin:

RPGFan: What are the differences between creating an episodic game vs. a "whole" game? Is it easier? Harder? Is writing an episode just like writing a whole game, only shorter? Please describe for us, if you could, what the process of generating episodic content looks like.

Mark Darin: For me, the episodic games seem to be a bit more hectic, with each of our games releasing monthly. The writing has to be done quickly, but we have different designers writing and directing each episode, very similar to the approach that television shows take. It's a model that seems to be working well for us.

I know there are more informative interviews as well. I'll just go look for a few. If you want to search yourself, then look for interviews with Mark Darin, Dave Grossman, etc.

Origami

Why does TellTale have the director change for every episode? Why not have a group of directors and have them work throughout the whole game.

Rather Dashing

Origami wrote: »

Why does TellTale have the director change for every episode? Why not have a group of directors and have them work throughout the whole game.

Because then one director can focus on the full course of an episode's creation. While Episode 1 of a given season is finishing up, episode 2 is in an earlier state of being, and perhaps episode 3 is starting up. They need each director to stay on and work with a single episode to its completion, and they need to make multiple episodes at once.

Origami

I c. Ty

Hayden

7:10 - 7:50 of this video interview is semi-informative. Emphasis on the 'semi'.

Edit: And now for something a little more substantial, an interview with Mike Stemmle:

GPA: What's different about the development process? How do you decide what goes into each episode?

MS: If most games are like movies, episodic games are more like television shows. Each of our games has a small cadre of designers who are in charge of the overall story and design for an entire season. Once the core design for the season is ironed out, individual episodes are assigned to specific designers, who are responsible for the specific design details of their episode, and usually the script. Of course, that’s a gross simplification.

GPA: On a similar note, what is a typical development cycle like?

MS: We usually try to spend a few months working out the overall story arc before letting anyone build any models or animate anything (outside of a few proof-of-concept experiments). Once that’s in place, designing the first episode begins in earnest. This usually takes a month. Then, while the script is being written, sets and character models are starting to get built, and rudimentary code wiring begins. By the time the script is recorded (which takes another week), the animators have begun their work, and are starting to hand things off to our “choreographers.” Now the fun begins, as everyone piles on to cram everything into the game, all at once. This usually takes another 4-6 weeks, including time for a pick-up recording session and an external playtest. All in all, it takes about 3-4 months to bring an individual episode from a vague idea to a finished product.

ThatoneJeff

Origami wrote: »

May I ask why it is you want to know?
Seems like an interesting research.

I've always been interested in how Telltale works.

Also I aspire to some day create my own Adventure game

And thanks for the responses everyone.