Train2Game News Future of Telltale

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Episodic story wranglers Telltale have a new CEO, and he’s revealed some interesting information in his inaugural statement.

Not content with their current series The Wolf Among Us, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Tales from the Borderlands and soon Minecraft: Story Mode, new CEO Kevin Bruner has announced big things in the companies future.

In a statement to Gamesindustry.biz Mr Bruner said “We’re thrilled to continue our growth and bring our unique style of scripted entertainment to the next generation of digital media, and do that across thousands of different devices. Our top priority is to continue fostering an environment where the most talented and creative storytellers in the industry are working side by side with the world’s biggest creative partners. We’re already working on some of the biggest franchises in entertainment, and when you add our unannounced partnerships and upcoming original IP, it’s clear the most exciting time to be at Telltale is now, and there will continue to be more and more opportunity to innovate ahead of us.”

Telltale are fast becoming one of the staple companies in the games industry with their fantastic story telling and moral dilemmas

I for one am incredibly excited to see where this company is going next and what there own IP will entail.

Train2Game News Minecraft Story Mode

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As 2014 comes to a close, Telltale are delighted to confirm the partnership with Mojang to create a new episodic game series based on one of the most popular video games in history – Minecraft.

Minecraft: Story Mode will be an all-new narrative-driven game series developed by Telltale in collaboration with Mojang. Set in the world of Minecraft, the series will feature an original story, driven by player choice. It will not be an add-on for Minecraft, but rather a separate stand-alone product that will premiere in 2015 on consoles, computers and mobile devices.

Telltale’s game series will mix new characters with familiar themes, in an entirely original Minecraft experience, inspired by the Minecraft community and the game that continues to inspire a generation.

2014 is Telltale’s tenth anniversary year; seeing in the climactic finales of the critically acclaimed and best-selling The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead: Season Two. With the recent premieres of both Game of Thrones and Tales from the Borderlands, their 2015 lineup will include the remainder of both of those new series, and now it will also include the premiere of Minecraft: Story Mode.

After ten years of making games, Telltale is JUST getting started!

Train2Game News Game of Thrones Episode one review

Game of ThronesTelltale have been very lovely people again and they sent me the first episode of the Game of Thrones episodic to play through.

The first thing I have to mention is that Telltale are true experts at catching the feel of an IP. Borderlands, The Walking Dead and now Game of Thrones have the exact feel as they show, comic, game or book it represents.

The art style is beautiful and slightly different to the normal comic book style we see from Telltale. This has been done more in an oil painting style which suits the game. I played the game on Xbox One and as you’d expect it is a crystal clear image.

The choices you have to make through the game are very Game of Thrones style and are incredibly difficult to make, you often move on wondering if you have made the right choice and questioning, what if?

As with the Borderlands game this can be played if you have never seen the show or read the books as the story stands on it’s own. However if you are a fan of the series the inclusion of characters from the show will increase your enjoyment, or fear in some cases.

I highly recommend picking this up and look forward to playing through the rest of the Game of Thrones series.

Winter should definitely come to your console!

Train2Game News Tales from the Borderlands Episode One Review

Tales from the BorderlandsTelltale gave me the absolute pleasure to review Tales from the Borderlands for them and it was a fantastic first episode for the series.

As you may or may not know Telltale have made a name for themselves over the last couple of years by releasing episodic games based on The Walking Dead and the Fables graphic novel. These games had incredible stories with difficult, soul torturing decisions to be made which would affect your entire game.

Now with Tales from the Borderlands they have taken a slightly different approach. As the subject matter is a lot more light hearted the decisions you make aren’t quite as heart wrenching as previously seen from Telltale. The story and characters however more than make up for this.

You play this game as two different main characters, one a disgruntled Hyperion business man and the other a Con woman. Both characters are highly entertaining in there own ways and both have a great side character to go with them.

I would highly recommend this amusingly, entertaining first episode whether you have played a Borderlands game before or not. Obviously you will enjoy it more if you have played Borderlands 1 and 2 but it is not necessary as there is a quick catch up at the beginning of the game.

I am incredibly interested and excited to see where this new Tales from the Borderlands is going to go and how it will evolve. I can see good times ahead!

Train2Game News Telltale Game of Thrones Trailer

Game of ThronesTelltale Games has announced the first Look at the Six-Part Episodic Game Series Based on the Emmy Award-Winning Television Series, Game of Thrones.

Based on the award-winning HBO television drama series,  Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series tells the story of House Forrester. Caught up in the events of The War of the Five Kings, they are placed in a precarious position where members of the household must do everything they can to prevent the house from meeting its doom.

Today we can announce that some cast members of the series will reprise their roles in the game. While players will control five members of House Forrester in their story, the series will have them interacting with fan favorite characters throughout the season, including Tyrion Lannister performed by Peter Dinklage, Cersei Lannister performed by Lena Heady, Margaery Tyrell performed by Natalie Dormer, and Ramsay Snow performed by Iwan Rheon. Additional cast members will appear in later episodes.

The game series is based on the world, characters and events seen in HBO’s TV show, which in turn is based on George R. R. Martin’s books (A Song of Ice and Fire). The events in the game series begin towards the end of Season Three of the series, and end right before the beginning of Season Five. Players will visit familiar locations such as King’s Landing and The Wall, as well as unfamiliar locations such as Ironrath, the home of House Forrester.

House Forrester is a noble house from the Wolfswood in the north of Westeros. Bannermen to House Glover, they have always offered unswerving loyalty to the ruling great house of the North – the Starks. The Forresters are seated at Ironrath, an imposing stronghold surrounded by towering ironwood trees. Built over fifteen hundred years ago by Cedric Forrester and his triplet sons, Ironrath is a testament to the strength and endurance of Ironwood. The Forrester house words are ‘Iron from Ice’, which echoes their belief that – like the ironwood itself – the adverse conditions and unforgiving landscape of the North only makes them stronger.

The game will be played from five different points of view. Each is a member of House Forrester; either a direct family member, or a person in service to the House. Scattered across Westeros and Essos, each will play their part in seeking to save House Forrester from destruction.

Playing as five characters not only reflects the epic scope of Game of Thrones, but is also something that the player needs to be mindful of. This is because the actions of one character can ripple out to affect the rest of House Forrester. Multiply the actions of one character by five, and you’re truly playing the Game of Thrones… where you win, or you die.

Additional details on the series and its upcoming premiere episode, ‘Iron From Ice’ are forthcoming. Stay tuned to the Telltale Games Blog, twitter, and Facebook pages for more information as the premiere approaches, the first of six episodes, which will be arriving for download soon on PC/Mac, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and iOS, with additional platforms to be announced.

You can view the trailer by following the link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q1vt9BX4Eg&feature=youtu.be

Train2Game News Tales of the Borderlands

Tales from the BorderlandsTelltale Games welcomes you back to Pandora with the very first look at Tales from the Borderlands.

Announced less than a year ago, and shown behind closed doors at E3 and PAX Prime, today is the FIRST time the studio are sharing a look at the game to fans across the world.

The final casting details have also been revealed. The season will feature Troy Baker as Rhys,  Laura Bailey as Fiona,  Chris Hardwick as Vaughn,  Erin Yvette as Sasha, Patrick Warburton as Vasquez, Nolan North as August, and  Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack. Additional casting details from the season are yet to be announced.

Set on the unforgiving world of Pandora after the events seen in Borderlands 2, Tales from the Borderlands is a five part episodic game series full of Borderlands’ trademark humor, following two adventurers on their quest for greatness.

You’ll play as Rhys, a Hyperion ‘suit’ with dreams of being the next Handsome Jack, and Fiona, a Pandoran con artist looking to score her biggest ever swindle. Thrown together as unwilling partners in an adventure to recover cash they both think is theirs, their journey will take you on a wild ride where gangsters, bandit lords, and Vault Hunters are just some of the obstacles you’ll encounter, in this new take on the award-winning universe created by Gearbox Software.

The season premiere episode of  Tales from the Borderlands, titled  ‘Zer0 Sum,’ will soon be available for digital download worldwide across multiple platforms. Stay tuned to Telltale Games on  Twitter and  Facebook for the latest details on release dates.

Each episode will be available via PlayStation Network for  PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 for US$4.99 or equivalent. Alternatively, consumers can purchase a Season Pass for US$19.99 or equivalent, which entitles players to all five episodes in the season as they become available.

The season will also be available on Xbox Games Store for  Xbox One and  Xbox 360 for just US$4.99 or equivalent per episode. Players will also be able to purchase a Season Pass upgrade for US$14.99, which entitles players to Episodes 2-5 as they release.

The series will also be available for  PC/Mac via the Telltale Online Store, Steam, and other online digital distribution outlets as a Season Pass for US$24.99 or equivalent that includes entitlement to all five episodes as they release.

The series will also be coming to compatible  iOS devices via the App Store and to Android-based devices before the end of 2014.

You can view the trailer for the game by heading to YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOPmNBM3Yew&feature=youtu.be

Train2Game News: Norwegian class using game to teach ethics

The Walking DeadThe teacher of a high school ethics class in Bergen, Norway is using Telltale’s the Walking Dead to help drive discussion about morality and choices.

Tobias Staaby is certainly not the first to notice that the Zombie game forces players to make some gut-wrenching decisions, but the religion lecturer may well be the first to make it part of a curriculum for an ethics course.

“I thought I would get angry phone calls from a mother or father,” Staaby told Norwegian news publication NRK.no, “but so far I have not gotten it.”

Students at the Nordahl Grieg school vote on which path to take when a moral quandary presents itself in the game, discussing both the theory behind their decision and the results their actions have within the game.

“I want a good catalyst for discussions about ethical theories or ethical dilemmas,” Staaby explained.

“This game provides students with a space they can navigate and discuss within according to the curriculum.”

Students say that the shared experience of the subject matter as presented in the game has helped them to learn the complex subject of modern ethics

Staaby says he hopes other instructors will follow on his classroom successes.

“In five years I hope there are more people who use this similarly,” he said.

This is a great example of games being able to do more than just bring enjoyment. Video games can challenge each of our moral ethics if done well and much more.

Train2Game News: The Walking Dead Season Two announced

The Walking Dead season 2Telltale Games and Robert Kirkman, the Eisner Award-winning creator and writer of The Walking Dead, have officially revealed The Walking Dead: Season Two – A Telltale Games Series.

The Walking Dead: Season Two – A Telltale Games Series, is now available for pre-order on PC/Mac via the Telltale Games Online Store as well as Steam.  The second season will make its highly-anticipated premiere later this year on PC/Mac, home consoles and iOS, with additional platforms to be announced.

The Walking Dead: Season Two – A Telltale Games Series will continue the story of Clementine, a young girl orphaned at the outset of the undead apocalypse, now left to her own devices to seek safety and survive in a world gone mad.  Now assuming the role of an ordinary child, players will struggle to outwit both the dead and the living in situations that will test their morals and control the flow of the story through their decisions and actions.

“The terrifying nature of Robert Kirkman’s world has allowed Telltale to push the boundaries of interactive drama in video games to a place that has had fans anxious to know what will happen next in this series,” said Dan Connors, Co-Founder and CEO of Telltale Games. “Today we can finally lift the veil, albeit only a little, on how this story will continue, and we’ll soon be putting players in the shoes of a lead role that will challenge their expectations of how to survive in a world where no one can be trusted.”

Expected to premiere later this year, The Walking Dead: Season Two – A Telltale Games Series will consist of five episodes that will be released for digital download over the course of the season and will conclude in 2014.  Players can save 10% off of the purchase price of the PC/Mac versions with a pre-order of the season pass, giving them access to all five episodes when ordering through the Telltale Online Store, or through the Steam digital distribution service.

To date, The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series has sold more than 21 million episodes worldwide, earning more than 90 Game of the Year honors from outlets including Metacritic, USA Today, Wired, Spike TV VGAs, Yahoo!, The Telegraph, Mashable, Polygon, Destructoid and GamesRadar, and was also the recipient of two BAFTA Video Games Awards for Best Story and Best Mobile Game.

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 17.06.13

The Last Of UsThere is a brand new number one this week with the PlayStation exclusive, The Last Of Us which was released on Friday. Animal Crossing: New Leaf came in at number two, unable to beat the popularity of The Last Of Us. Rugby Challenge 2: Lions Tour Edition also came out this week and debuted at number twelve. Finally, with the announcement of the DLC at E3 last week, The Walking Dead by Telltale Games also made a welcome return to the top 20, coming back in at number seventeen.

All formats

Week ending 15 June 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 THE LAST OF US SONY COMPUTER ENT.
2 ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF NINTENDO
3 GRID 2 CODEMASTERS 1
4 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 7
5 FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 2
6 INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 11
7 FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 5
8 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM – LEGENDARY BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 4
9 LUIGI’S MANSION 2 NINTENDO 8
10 ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 10
11 DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE DEEP SILVER 6
12 RUGBY CHALLENGE 2: LIONS TOUR EDITION ALTERNATIVE
13 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 13
14 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 15
15 DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS NINTENDO 9
16 BIOSHOCK INFINITE 2K GAMES 14
17 THE WALKING DEAD TELLTALE GAMES
18 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS 20
19 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 18
20 REMEMBER ME CAPCOM 3
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 07.06.13

Son of NorIt’s Friday so it is time for a Train2Game industry news round up!

stillalive studios celebrated after its Kickstarter campaign, to raise $150k to fund the completion of its debut 3rd person action adventure PC/Mac/Linux title; Son of Nor, was a success, making $151,175 at its close. The team are now putting all efforts into the completion of the highly anticipated game and have announced its launch onto Steam Greenlight and call for support and people’s votes on the platform. The link to this can be found here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=143053545. During the month long crowd-funding project the studio announced a number of exciting partnerships that will allow players to use integrated hardware such as the Emotiv EPOC; a revolutionary personal interface for human computer interaction, a so called Brain Computer Interface (BCI); the partnership will allow players to control character actions, such as telekinesis, terraforming and magic with the power of their minds and Oculus Rift; that will allow players to immerse themselves in the lore and adventure of Son of Nor deeper than ever before by using this hugely exciting virtual reality device in game.

SpongeBob SquarePants fans can build their very own Bikini Bottom with Nickelodeon’s brand-new city building app, SpongeBob Moves In. Released and available worldwide, SpongeBob Moves In features a stylized 2D design and gives fans a whole new way to interact with the hit animated series. The game is available on iOS and costs £1.49. In the game, players build Bikini Bottom to their own tastes and are tasked with keeping the city’s residents happy by making all their wishes come true. As players advance in the game, they can unlock exclusive-to-the-app, untold stories about how their characters, including SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Plankton, Squidward and Sandy, first arrived in the town. Written by the SpongeBob SquarePants series writing staff, these stories are told through brand-new animated short videos unlocked throughout the game.

Diablo 3 is coming to the Xbox 360 as well as PlayStation, Blizzard has announced. The action role-playing game launches on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 3rd September 2013. The game is already announced for PlayStation 4, although that version is without a release date. There is currently new word of an Xbox One edition. If you pre-order the PS3 or Xbox 360 version and you’ll get the Infernal Helm in-game item. You can wear this at level one and gain an experience bonus to boot.

Telltale games have been using their twitter account to tease and excite fans. They have been using the Vine app to show little six second clips showing characters that are drawn in the same art style as The Walking Dead game. It started with the Day 2 trailer, which is interesting as the first episode of Season 1 was Day 1. It shows a missing persons board and someone hanging up a picture of a character called Vince. Vine 2 is titled Day 220, and it’s the same missing persons board with Bonnie being added to it. Bonnie apparently stood outside the White House once. Vine 3 shows a man named Russell, who, by the looks of it, seems to be a recent graduate.

Finally, Masahiro Sakurai took to Twitter to confirm the news today of the brand new Smash Bros. He said (via Google translation): “In Nintendo Direct delivery of 23:00, June 11, New video of “Smash Bros.” will be unveiled for the first time. Simultaneous world, here for the first time! Do not miss.” You can watch it from 3pm UK time. Sakurai is serving as producer on the new Smash Bros. game, which is a Wii U/3DS crossover in development at Namco Bandai.