Minecraft Unofficial FAQ (Please Read Before Posting)
Jennifer
Moderator
Unofficial FAQ (Last Update on May 31, 2016)
Please note all information here is compiled by volunteer moderators who are not Telltale Staff members.
Community moderators such as Jennifer, Vainamoinen, and Blind Sniper helped write this unofficial FAQ. We check our facts thoroughly and have a lot of Telltale experience on our backs, but this is not an 'official' source, we're just volunteers!
If you are having trouble downloading an episode or are having trouble running the game on your system, please consult the Telltale Games Support Center. There are solutions for the most common problems there. If you can't find an answer to your problem there, please submit a request or send an e-mail to support@telltalegames.com.
Adventure Pass (Episode 6-8 DLC) FAQ
(1) What is the Adventure Pass?
The Adventure Pass is a downloadable add-on for Season 1 of Minecraft that adds three more episodes (Episodes 6-8) to Season 1 of Minecraft. You must own at least Episode 101 of Minecraft to download the Adventure Pass.
Visit Telltale's official Adventure Pass page for more details: https://www.telltalegames.com/minecraftstorymode/adventurepass/
(2) Does the Adventure Pass come for free if I own the Season Pass, or do I need to purchase these extra episodes?
You will need to purchase the three extra episodes, and you must own at least Episode 1 of Minecraft: Story Mode Season 1. They do not come included with the Season Pass for Season 1.
(3) When do episodes from the Adventure Pass premiere?
Episode 6 will premiere June 7th. Episodes 7 and 8 will follow "soon after" in the following months of Summer 2016.
(4) What is the plot behind these extra episodes?
Episodes 6-8 will focus on the adventures of Jesse and his friends after the first four episodes of Season 1. Episode 5 (included with the first Season) will lead into the story for the three extra episodes as DLC. The Telltale blog goes into more detail, saying "these continuing Adventures of the New Order of the Stone will follow the additional escapades of Jesse and the group as they explore new and unfamiliar worlds beyond their own."
(5) Telltale has so many games in development. Will this affect the quality or development time of this game?
No. Since the success of Walking Dead: Season 1, Telltale has sized up from 70 people to near 350 people, and now have five times the amount of staff members they had during Season 1, so multiple projects at once should not be a concern. They now have a big enough staff to work on four projects at once as well as extra staff members to work on side projects.
Even though Telltale announces their projects ahead of time, this doesn't mean that each game is in full production. All games by Telltale Games are first started with a small team of just a few people, who do things common in very early development, such as sorting out the season wide story and working on concept art. As the deadline nears, more people are brought in to work on other things, but it is still a small team. Full production doesn't start until the current seasons wrap up, and seasons that are announced years in advance won't begin full production until long after that. The currently ongoing series also don't affect each other, as different teams are working on each project. Even in the case of shared staff, the work load is light enough for these staff members, that their working between projects doesn't have any affect on the quality or development time of either project.
In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, Kevin Bruner stated that "Telltale's approach to game development is much more like television than most other game developers. Across all of our series — The Walking Dead, Minecraft: Story Mode and more — the development process at Telltale spends a significant amount of time upfront in the writer's rooms not just with writers, but designers, directors and creative input from all across the studio. It's not unusual for our games to exist longer on whiteboards and sticky notes and in scripts than they do in traditional game production. It's incredibly similar to how TV often spends so much time in preproduction and planning before moving into actually shooting."
Season 1 FAQ
(1) What exactly is "Minecraft: Story Mode"?
Minecraft: Story Mode is an episodic story driven game set in the Minecraft game universe.
(2) What kind of game can we expect?
Telltale has only just established its new trademark game style with The Walking Dead in 2012. We don't expect that style to change completely for Minecraft. Telltale focuses on new storylines, (mostly) new characters and aims to tell new, intricate stories in well-known settings. The game progresses through the player's dialog and plot choices, interspersed with carefully orchestrated QTE action sequences.
(3) So this is going to have a story?
Definitely. The game has been confirmed to be "narrative driven". It will be based on player choice, like all of Telltale's episodic games since The Walking Dead. The story follows Jesse, who the player can choose to be either male or female. Jesse's features are also customizable, both of which are a first for Telltale. Jesse is part of a group of friends who revere the legendary Order of the Stone. The Order consists of four adventurers, a Warrior, a Redstone Engineer, a Griefer, and an Architect, who are famous for slaying an Ender Dragon. While at EnderCon, Jesse's group discovers that something is wrong. Terror is unleashed, and they must set out on a journey to find The Order of the Stone if they are to save their world from oblivion.
(4) Do I have to play the original Minecraft game before I can play Telltale's series?
You will get more from the game if you are aware of the franchise before you play it, but it is not necessary. Telltale does a good job of adding things that people who know the franchise will appreciate, while keeping the game from getting confusing for people who are new to the franchise.
(5) Are the original creators of Minecraft involved?
Mojang is working with Telltale to make sure that Minecraft: Story Mode is as "Minecrafty" as possible.
(6) Will this game's story follow Steve (the playable protagonist in Minecraft), or will Telltale use new characters?
The game will use new characters alongside "familiar themes" according to Telltale.
(7) Minecraft typically doesn't have much of a story. Will Telltale's story become the official Minecraft story?
According to Telltale and Mojang, the story will not act as "official lore" for Minecraft. Instead, it will act as an "interpretation" of Minecraft's world.
(8) So who will write most of the game?
Telltale will write the majority of the game, but Mojang and "community members" from Minecraft will also have input on the story.
(9) Will it require Minecraft to play?
No. It's not a DLC for Minecraft. It's a separate, episodic game, that is about Minecraft, set in the Minecraft universe.
(10) Telltale's games since The Walking Dead have players making tough choices. What kinds of choices will you make in Minecraft: Story Mode?
As Jesse, you have to make different choices between choosing which of your friends to help. Additionally, you can also choose one of different items to craft during certain scenes in the story as well.
(11) For which platforms will Minecraft: Story Mode be available?
It will be released for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, PC, Mac, Wii U, iOS and Android.
(12) How much will it cost?
It is the current Telltale price of $5 per episode or $25 for the whole season. There will also be a retail season pass disc for consoles that is scheduled to be released on the launch day of episode 1 for $30. Prices vary per platform.
(13) What is the season pass disc and how does it work?
The season pass disc is a retail disc which will contain episode 1. It will also allow owners of the disc to download the remaining four episodes once they are released. Because it requires downloading the four episodes that are not on the disc, an internet connection is required. The disc itself is the season pass that enables the rights to download the games, so it won't be linked to a single account, and the disc will be tradeable.
(14) I'm new to all that episodic game stuff. How are they doing this?
You can expect to receive a new episode roughly every five to eight weeks. Each episode contains an individual part of a story that is held together through a narrative that connects all of the episodes together into what Telltale calls a season. Think along the lines of a serialized television series such as Lost. An episode usually lasts about as long as a good movie would.
(15) How many episodes will there be?
The season will consist of five episodes. The first episode will be titled The Order of the Stone.
(16) When will the episodes be released?
Episode 1: Consult the Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 1 Waiting Thread.
Episode 2: Consult the Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 2 Waiting Thread.
Episode 3: Consult the Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 3 Waiting Thread.
Episode 4: Consult the Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 4 Waiting Thread
The release dates for the rest of the episodes are not out yet!
(17) What time of the day are episodes available?
This depends on the store in question. Most companies update their digital store in the evening in their timezone. Telltale sometimes makes releases at midnight in their timezone (PST) in their store, but this isn't always a certainty.
(18) Will the different platforms release simultaneously?
Almost. Telltale has come a long way since 2009, when the PC and console releases of their episodes were months apart. Nowadays, most platforms released within days of each other, and even these small lags were only due to the different release schedules of XBLA and PSN NA. However, PSN Europe always lagged a bit more. It is to be expected that these lags will also be apparent and unavoidable during the "Minecraft: Story Mode" release. Be prepared!
(19) Are there concrete release dates for all these episodes?
Ok, here's the really really important part. There absolutely are not!! While Telltale doesn't start each new episode 'from scratch', large parts of the development cycle still take place during these release months. From writing to animation to voice acting to possible gamer input from the forums, it all comes together to form a new episode only weeks and days before release; and eventually, another time frame insecurity is added when console manufacturers receive the final build of the episodes for their quality assurance process.
As a consequence, since Telltale has to sync up release dates with all of their distribution partners, fixed dates will only be announced mere days before an episode releases (in Telltale's blog, on their twitter, facebook page, etc.). Don't ever believe dates given by various unofficial sites! These are nothing but estimates, placeholder dates and possibly wishful thinking.
(20) Telltale has so many games in development. Will this affect the quality or development time of this game?
No. Since the success of Walking Dead: Season 1, Telltale has sized up from 70 people to near 350 people, and now have five times the amount of staff members they had during Season 1, so multiple projects at once should not be a concern. They now have a big enough staff to work on four projects at once as well as extra staff members to work on side projects.
Even though Telltale announces their projects ahead of time, this doesn't mean that each game is in full production. All games by Telltale Games are first started with a small team of just a few people, who do things common in very early development, such as sorting out the season wide story and working on concept art. As the deadline nears, more people are brought in to work on other things, but it is still a small team. Full production doesn't start until the current seasons wrap up, and seasons that are announced years in advance won't begin full production until long after that. The currently ongoing series also don't affect each other, as different teams are working on each project. Even in the case of shared staff, the work load is light enough for these staff members, that their working between projects doesn't have any affect on the quality or development time of either project.
In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, Kevin Bruner stated that "Telltale's approach to game development is much more like television than most other game developers. Across all of our series — The Walking Dead, Minecraft: Story Mode and more — the development process at Telltale spends a significant amount of time upfront in the writer's rooms not just with writers, but designers, directors and creative input from all across the studio. It's not unusual for our games to exist longer on whiteboards and sticky notes and in scripts than they do in traditional game production. It's incredibly similar to how TV often spends so much time in preproduction and planning before moving into actually shooting."
(21) For which languages will the game be available?
There are seven different subtitle languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Portuguese.
(22) Will there be a bonus/free collector's DVD version available when I purchase the game directly from the Telltale store?
It's not known if a bonus DVD will be available, but it's certainly a possibility.
Comments
"...We don't expect that style to change completely for Borderlands."
I suppose that's a mistake?
Fixed it!
Cool! I think it will be a good game!
With all these new projects given to telltale games, they will have less time to spent on the walking dead season 3.
I call "minecraft: story mode" extremely overused, and its not a good concept to make a story about... Just the graphics.. you can't make a telltale game of minecraft, it would suck so bad.
Yeah, yeah. You can't make a game with all new characters! That would suck!
Oh wait, that's what they did with The Walking Dead.
Is there a chance it will be free for people who already have minecraft? Or a discount?
Likely not, as it is a standalone game. However, Steam typically has a pre-order discount for newer Telltale series.
This is so fucked already.
Indeed, "bring Kenny back" as community input ruined an entire Season.
I didn't mind season two.
But you do acknowledge the extreme fan service that people "didn't mind"?
I doubt that Telltale will take THAT MUCH input from Minecraft community members.
A majority of the suggestions from the minecraft community would be worse than bringing back Kenny in season two. one of the members on their forums thinks you will play as a squid "derping" around who then sets off on an adventure to rescue his family.
Having the community involved doesn't mean a majority opinion would make something that wouldn't make a decent story. Telltale wouldn't let any idea go through to the final game. They created their name because story comes first in their games, since they tell tales. They aren't going to drop that philosophy for this game.
This game is the bomb!!!!!! Man Mojang and Telltalegames Rock.
It may be true about the less time on TWD season 3, but you are wrong with the whole 'this will suck". I wish they had less projects. The only games I care about on Telltale are TWD and TWAU. Now it is Minecraft: Story Mode as well. I wish they had never started Borderlands or Game of Thrones. Who gives a fuck about that shit? Nobody.
will it be rated m or e?
It will definitely be rated M.... just kidding!
Jokes aside, Telltale likes to make games that are faithful to the source material they are basing the game off of. Since Minecraft is rated E10+, I can assume that the Telltale game will be rated something close to that too.
i can't whait
I sincerely all the other games like TWD or TWDUSI do not care I approached the teeltates games only for minecraft : story breast mod there would not even set foot but in my opinion this alliance with Mojang has been a great idea because being two being manufacturers of videogames will do a great thing so I say congratulations to teeltates game and can not wait that the title will be released minecraft : story mod
Looks like they've put out the official FAQ, and this time they don't mention anything about episodes being available between 4-6 weeks.
After all the episodes are released for this game, will all of the episodes be released again in a disc version?
That's almost a certainty. The only games by Telltale that never received a disc release were the Poker Night games, Puzzle Agent 2, and Hector: Badge of Carnage.
(11) For which platforms will Minecraft: Story Mode be available?
It will be released for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, PC, Mac, iOS and Android.
Isn't it also on Amazon devises and the Fire TV?
They said this at the Minecon Panel.
They're android devices.
[removed]
Agree!
Well, the only thing that has to be updated here is that the game is also coming out on the Wii U.
Does anyone know if this will be 2 player local or just a single player campaign?
It's not like the original Minecraft, sadly you can't go co-op. Although it would be interesting, but no
If I Buy the game in pre purchase on Steam. It will be with the Whole season? I am not so sure.
Thanks.
Yes. On PC/Mac, buying the game on Telltale or Steam gives you the Season Pass with all 5 episodes. On Steam, the game will automatically update when a new episode is released.
This game isn't going to play as a typical Minecraft map, but rather a narrative focused Telltale game with a Minecraft theme. Gameplay will be single player, and will consist of you choosing player dialogue, light exploration, and timed button prompts. You will make choices in the game that influence the outcome of the narrative, making it your own personalized story.
I noticed that this game will be released for Wii U but is there going to be a season pass disc for the Wii U or is it only downloadable through eShop.
There will eventually be a Season Pass Disc for WiiU as well. It might release sometime a few weeks after the Season Pass disc gets released for other consoles.
However, I am only a Volunteer Moderator and not a Telltale Staff member so this is purely an educated guess on my part.
i HAVE BROUGHT MINECRAFT STORY MODE ON STEAM FOR £18
MY QUESTION IS WILL I NEED TO PAY FOR THE OTHER 4 EPSODES OR NOT???
onece you have finnished the current episode will you be able to free roam the world?
DUDE UR A MODERATOR HOPW DO U NOT KNOW THAT MINECRAFT STORY MODE WILL BE RATED 12+
lol "what a good mod u are"
No, there is no free roaming in this game.
The price you pay on Steam includes access to all episodes as they release so there are no extra charges.
What time does xbox one come out?