Telltale Games has a lot on its plate with the season 2 of the Walking Dead and episode 2 of The Wolf Among Us underway. It’s almost surprising that they revealed that they’re working on not only Game of Thrones but also Tales from the Borderlands—ok, so it’s no surprise that they revealed their Game of Thrones project.
Still, gamers and media addicts alike need not fear for their favorite franchises. Telltale Games has a proven track record of collaborating with famous franchises, creating incredible, interactive experiences. Telltale Games is essentially the one neighbor who will return your wrench on the day they said they would, which is why I’ve compiled a list of five franchises that we would like for Telltale Games to handle.
Mass Effect
Apparently Telltale Games would love to create a game based off Star Wars. Aside from potential legal issues, I can’t see them ruling out creating a game based off one of the most recognized franchises. Still, when I played The Walking Dead, I kept having flashbacks to the Mass Effect franchise, which seems similar enough to Star Wars.
Mass Effect, like Star Wars, has its own binary moral system that might as well be renamed light and dark sides. Still, in the Star Wars universe, light pertains to good and dark pertains to evil; in Mass Effect, Shepherd is still striving for the same goal—to fend off the reapers—albeit with varying degrees of asshole. We want Telltale to create a game with choices that are as tough as the ones found in the Walking Dead, but in the Mass Effect universe, and perhaps they could tie it into the new Mass Effect 4 (and inevitable trilogy).
Neverwhere
Neverwhere, like most of Neil Gaiman’s fiction, has a fantastic setting and a great group of characters. I can see Telltale using a similar art style used in The Wolf Among Us for Neverwhere’s London Below. This art style would perfectly capture the humorous, dark fantasy that’s prevalent in Gaiman’s fiction. The main character, Richard Matthew, is just a normal guy, so Telltale could focus on old-school point-and-click puzzle solving. Telltale could even dedicate an episode to each of the protagonists such as Hunter, Marquis de Carabas, or Door.
Honestly, I would be happy to include any work of fiction by Neil Gaiman—be it from his adult or children’s books. Some may argue to include the The Sandman, which I haven’t read; others may want American Gods, which is my favorite. My point is Neil Gaiman and Telltale Games is a perfect match.
Breaking Bad
The problem with Breaking Bad is I don’t know how they could use Walter White as a character. He’s already made his choices, and his story has come to an end. Sill, Breaking Bad has a strange mixture of dramatic tension, brutal action, and surprisingly funny moments.
Fortunately, we do have one morally questionable character remaining in Breaking Bad who is getting his own spinoff show: Saul Goodman. All of the choices could pertain to remaining loyal to his client, or simply doing the sleaziest thing to cover his tracks. Or maybe they could make a tie-in prequel starring everyone’s favorite drug dealer, Jessie Pinkman. Then again, Walter White had to make some difficult choices in Breaking Bad, and I wouldn’t mind reliving some of them as Heisenberg.
Firefly/Serenity
Let’s face it; we will never have another Firefly season or movie. Keep in mind, there was recently an announcement of a new series of comics based on the franchise. Still, Joss Whedon is too busy directing the second Avengers movie, and the cast ages every time we reminisce on the good ole days.
This is a shame, as the universe is rich with swash bucklin’ adventure, especially from a space smuggler’s perspective. Who do you trust? Who do you sacrifice? What’s the plan? These are some of the questions Mal Reynolds had to face while onboard the Serenity and Telltale would be masters at recreating similar dilemmas. It would even be a solution to getting the original cast on board. While they may be old in body, they’re still young in voice—I mean at heart.
Archer
These days, Telltale seems to be more focused on interactive experiences, moving away from their point-and-click forte. I propose a callback to their older days, and I think FX’s Archer is the franchise to try it with.
Archer has plenty of action moments that would easily fit into action sequences similar to The Wolf Among Us or The Walking Dead. Where Archer shines, of course, is with its vehement dialogue. Choose among a variety of lies to help Archer cover his tracks; solve puzzles to sneak into places such as ODIN’s base or his mother’s desk cabinet; help Mallory Archer get rid of yet another body. Archer would be perfect for a game that blends Telltale’s current direction with its previous point-and-click experience.
What’s Your Dream Telltale Game?
Come on. We know you have a favorite franchise that you would love for Telltale Games to handle. Let us know your dream game in the comments below! And just keep in mind that if you list a game in the comments, it was probably number six on the list.
