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Telltale Games is shutting down

Falksi

Arcane
Joined
Feb 14, 2017
Messages
10,538
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Nottingham
I didn't think anyone could make a Monkey Island game so flat & boring as they did the Tales series. Good riddance.
 

Darth Roxor

Royal Dongsmith
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Djibouti




latest
THE VULTURES ARE GATHERING. THEY CIRCLE OVER YOUR PATHETIC CASTLE.
 

vota DC

Augur
Joined
Aug 23, 2016
Messages
2,258
Yes, I didn't forgive :
* killing Bone, the game that their first customers (such as I) bought to support a new studio with an original license
* going from few-puzzles to no-puzzle
* direct control in Monkey Island
* zero investment in their engine (no remappable keys in ten years with a 300 person studio ? Go fuck yourself, greedy bastards)

One more lesson : when you live by a niche (adventure gamers), respect your niche

So, now, Daedalic...

Direct control was indeed a bad idea but was in Monkey Island 4 too, Telltale with 5 did a better job than Monkey Island 4 that is Lucasart....that means something. But instead of improving Telltale become worse and worse after each game....I mean they are just poorly interactive movies now!
 

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
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Messages
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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
The original TWD was extraordinarily successful. It was almost like a PUBG-caliber chart topper for a short while back in 2012 (the golden age of Steam!). If Telltale had banked those profits instead of expanding so rashly, I think they could have survived pretty much indefinitely.

You could easily imagine them having become a kind of boutique developer working for the highest bidder, one game at a time, quality over quantity. Instead we got this. What an epic rise and fall.
 

Drakron

Arcane
Joined
May 19, 2005
Messages
6,326
You could easily imagine them having become a kind of boutique developer working for the highest bidder, one game at a time, quality over quantity.

Yes because they did exactly that, look at how many freaking licenses they had going on ... Walking Dead, Batman, Game of Thrones, minecraft and every single one played exactly the same ... there was no evolution, just the same formula using the same engine and the same "gameplay" down to the non-decisions.
 

J_C

One Bit Studio
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Project: Eternity Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
Unbelievable that this happened so sudden. I have only played two of their games, TWD1 and The Wolf Among Us, but those were brilliant in their genre. I hope the devs find new jobs soon.

How can a company let go 250 people from one day to another without severance, without healthcare is beyond me. Oh, wait, they live in the USA, the best country in the world.
 

Sizzle

Arcane
Joined
Feb 17, 2012
Messages
2,471
Unbelievable that this happened so sudden.

It wasn't sudden, they've been having problems for a while now.

I have only played two of their games, TWD1 and The Wolf Among Us, but those were brilliant in their genre.

In the genre of "barely a game" - sure.

How can a company let go 250 people from one day to another without severance, without healthcare is beyond me. Oh, wait, they live in the USA, the best country in the world.

Upper management incompetency.
 

J_C

One Bit Studio
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Unbelievable that this happened so sudden.

It wasn't sudden, they've been having problems for a while now.
Yeah, but going to work in the morning, where they tell you that you have 30 minutes to pack....you can't prepare for that.

I have only played two of their games, TWD1 and The Wolf Among Us, but those were brilliant in their genre.

In the genre of "barely a game" - sure.
Whatever, call it that if it makes you feel better.

How can a company let go 250 people from one day to another without severance, without healthcare is beyond me. Oh, wait, they live in the USA, the best country in the world.

Upper management incompetency.
True. But this incompetent? Fuck these people.

Why is this thread in the adventure gaming forum?
So you can ask this typical edgy Codex question.
 

Sizzle

Arcane
Joined
Feb 17, 2012
Messages
2,471
Unbelievable that this happened so sudden.

It wasn't sudden, they've been having problems for a while now.
Yeah, but going to work in the morning, where they tell you that you have 30 minutes to pack....you can't prepare for that.

Unfortunately, it's quite common in the exciting world of game development.

A similar thing happened to a friend of mine who works in HOPA development. One day, out of the blue, they fired half the company. He survived those cuts, but works in a state of constant fear that it's only a matter of time before they fuck up so badly that he will also be let go.

I have only played two of their games, TWD1 and The Wolf Among Us, but those were brilliant in their genre.

In the genre of "barely a game" - sure.
Whatever, call it that if it makes you feel better.

It doesn't, really. Their barely-more-games-than-walking-sims showed some potential, but they were always the same thing, done in the same graphical style, with the same characterization, pathos, awful QTE, and false C&C. You played one post-TWD Telltale game - you've played them all.

How can a company let go 250 people from one day to another without severance, without healthcare is beyond me. Oh, wait, they live in the USA, the best country in the world.

Upper management incompetency.
True. But this incompetent? Fuck these people.

You have to remember that these are the guys that obtained the King's Quest license and didn't do anything with it, yet jumped at the chance to do Minecraft games. Incompetent doesn't even begin to cover them.
 

SausageInYourFace

Angelic Reinforcement
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In your face
Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit. Pathfinder: Wrath
How does it work when a company shuts down but its games are still on sale? If noone else picks up the IP, where do the profits of defunct companies go if there is not reciever and administration left?
 

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
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Messages
97,228
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
How does it work when a company shuts down but its games are still on sale? If noone else picks up the IP, where do the profits of defunct companies go if there is not reciever and administration left?

I don't think it's confirmed that the company has gone bankrupt. In theory the owners could shut down the studio and continue to earn money from the back catalog (like what Herve does with Interplay's games)
 
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IHaveHugeNick

Arcane
Joined
Apr 5, 2015
Messages
1,870,123
Yeah, WD moved more units than most AAA blockbusters from big honchos. Then they had the terrific Wolf Among Us and you'd think they were destined to become a serious player in the industry.

Instead they kept expanding and from an indie company got bloated to 250 people, kept wildly acquiring expensive licenses and started mass-producing basically the same game, with the same formula, same engine, same mechanics, with a different license. At first it was quantity over quality, but eventually it stopped even being that, because somehow these 250 people barely ever managed to release anything. How do you have this much staff and your output is 1-2 short episodic seasons a year, if that? Especially since you get to reuse tech, systems, and use a bought license so you have half of your work done before you even begin.

It boggles the mind. I had good fun with some of their stuff, but at this point nothing of value was lost, and I'm amazed they even lasted this long.
 

Ranarama

Learned
Joined
Dec 7, 2016
Messages
604
I guess their lie that they were providing choices and consequences in their games finally caught up to them.
 

Flou

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 23, 2016
Messages
869
Location
Hellsinki
Imagine being the "Telltale Gameplay designer". What is this gameplay you speak of?

And ever so subtle Obsidian is at fast



Every company that is hiring the area will do the same, and have done in the past.
 

Bocian

Arcane
Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
1,912
How can a company let go 250 people from one day to another without severance, without healthcare is beyond me. Oh, wait, they live in the USA, the best country in the world.
Of course, blame the company, not the incompetence of the people involved. They knew what they were in, knew the conditions they have, they decided it suits them. Cry me a river now.
 

Flou

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 23, 2016
Messages
869
Location
Hellsinki
Unfortunately, it's quite common in the exciting world of game development.

A similar thing happened to a friend of mine who works in HOPA development. One day, out of the blue, they fired half the company. He survived those cuts, but works in a state of constant fear that it's only a matter of time before they fuck up so badly that he will also be let go.

This is exactly why companies such as Blizzard can poach talent from lower tier developers. You have at least some job security at Blizzard compared to none at TellTale, Obsidian etc. If a project gets cancelled, there goes your job.
 

IHaveHugeNick

Arcane
Joined
Apr 5, 2015
Messages
1,870,123
Not so far in the future, in Ubisoft HR department there's gonna be a job interview

- I see that you have spend 5 years as TellTale gameplay designer?

- That's right.

- So what valued lessons have you learned during that time?

- Everything we do is predetermined, there is no free will.
 

Ezeekiel

Liturgist
Joined
Dec 19, 2016
Messages
1,783
I didn't see anything of value in this. Instead, The Wolf Among Us was rather nice, too bad it was only one season.
Was the wolf among us nice because of telltale or because of the source material? (I have not read the comics)
 

Ezeekiel

Liturgist
Joined
Dec 19, 2016
Messages
1,783
Unbelievable that this happened so sudden. I have only played two of their games, TWD1 and The Wolf Among Us, but those were brilliant in their genre. I hope the devs find new jobs soon.

How can a company let go 250 people from one day to another without severance, without healthcare is beyond me. Oh, wait, they live in the USA, the best country in the world.

Work related laws are mostly a state thing, I think?
Entirely possible that the people let go originally wanted such laws and helped make them happen, or unknowingly supported lobbyists/politicians who did (through voting because of a different issue and ignoring a politicians other ideas, then getting the whole sordid package), but I haven't bothered actually looking into this specific case.

Regardless, game dev in the U.S. appears to be clustered in a small number of specific areas, which usually have a lefty majority that can vote in whatever crazy stuff they want, including making intentionally infecting somebody with aids a mere misdemeanor and whatnot. If they wanted to be protected from this, they could probably have made it happen but didn't.

Edit: Ok, their tweets mention the bay area. So my guess was right.
 
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