AUSTIN, TEXAS – Telltale Games is one of the best companies in the business when it comes to story-driven games, but what about when games have no story? The developer recently announced that it would partner with Mojang to bring its cinematic brand of adventure games to the Minecraft universe, and has now revealed a few more details about what fans can expect.
I attended a Telltale Games panel at SXSW 2015 and heard the developers talk about both the challenges and rewards of creating emotional, mature adventure adaptations such as The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among us and Game of Thrones. The company actually has a long history of doing lighthearted games, however, which is why it considers itself a good fit for a narrative-heavy Minecraft installment.
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The developers were quick to clarify that while Minecraft: Story Mode would be a story set in the Minecraft world, it would not be a story about Minecraft, per se. The setting is deliberately vague and open-ended, more about what players create than a cohesive narrative to tie the world together.
One audience member pointed out that Telltale usually honors the elements of its source material, such as introducing new fairytale characters in The Wolf Among Us or incorporating anarchic humor into Tales from the Borderlands. He asked whether Telltale Minecraft would allow players to design and share their own creations: a concept central to the Minecraft mythos. Telltale did not offer a specific response, but agreed that creativity and collaboration are, indeed, at the heart of the game, and it would try to respect that.
Lydia Winters, a Mojang representative, joined the Telltale team onstage and confirmed that Mojang has been heavily involved in the creation of Telltale’s Minecraft adaptation. Telltale generally collaborates closely with its partners to ensure that the game stays true to the spirit of the original property. Winters was also reluctant to give away exact story details, save to say that it would not focus on Steve, the generally accepted name for the player character of the main game.
Telltale also let drop a few hints about Super Show, its new original IP. The developer will collaborate with a number of film studios, including Lion’s Gate, to produce a variety of multimedia adventures. Each month, players will receive a playable Telltale episode, as well as a watchable episode from the film studio. There may also be other components to each story, although Telltale would not say exactly what they would be.
Walking Dead fans may also be pleased to know that The Walking Dead Season 3 is definitely on the way, and it might arrive sooner rather than later.