Glaad (formerly known as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) have brought their media awards back for the 31st year, and for the second year in a row they're recognising video games "for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community and the issues that affect their lives".
Last year, Jay Castello wrote about how these video game awards highlight difficulties in celebrating queer representation, and this year it's slighty better, but it still feels a bit like it's missing the point.
]]>Telltale's complete run of Walking Dead story-o-adventures is now available bundled up The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series, with a few bonus bits and pieces too. That's 23 episodes across four seasons, a miniseries, and one interstitial, stuffed into one digital bag with a load concept art, a music player, and the option to play the whole series with the comic book-y "graphic black" art style introduced late in the run. With no upgrade discount for owning any of the originals, The Definitive Series is probably more for newcomers and completionists - but maybe you're one of those?
]]>Eleven months after Telltale Games laid off employees and shut down, the company are back. Kinda. Ish. Not really. Holding company LCG Entertainment today announced that they've bought a chunk of Telltale's intellectual properties, assets, trademarks, and technology. Wrapping themselves in the flayed hide of Telltale Games and using their name, LCG Entertainment plan to not only return old Telltale games to sale but make new games in old series too. This isn't a move by former Telltale folks, mind, more a group of investors. But Telltale are back, baby! Kinda. Ish. Not really.
]]>The sad saga of Telltale's fall is due one last tragic chapter. GOG have just announced that all of the defunct choose-your-own-adventure studio's games will be de-listed next Monday, May 27th at 11am BST. That includes Telltale's own games like Puzzle Agent, and all three seasons of Sam & Max adventures, as well as licensed games like The Wolf Among Us, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Batman, and the excellent Tales From The Borderlands. The last of which has already been removed from Steam, though publisher 2K Games are working to bring it (and it alone) back, as reported by Eurogamer.
]]>Having survived the death of Telltale Games and risen from the grave, The Walking Dead: The Final Season today launched its fourth and final episode. This is the end, the end of Clementine's story, the proper end of Telltale's tales, the end of it all. I'm sure she'll be fine. Here, have a peek at the trailer.
]]>The long and gruesome journey (and in the game) of The Walking Dead: The Final Season will finally draw to a close on March 26th, Skybound have confirmed. Clementine has survived the death of many friends and father figures across the four seasons, and the game has unexpectedly survived the mid-season death of its makers, Telltale Games, by continuing at Skybound Games with some former Taletellers. They've mentioned March 26th before but, given the history, confirmation is important. So there you go, seven weeks to stock up on tissues for an ending that I'm sure that will be dandy peachy grand swell just lovely.
]]>Zombie choose-o-drama The Walking Dead: The Final Season released its third episode this week, after a short delay as Telltale sadly closed its doors and Skybound took over development (thankfully with at least some of the former workers on board).
I haven’t finished it yet, because who has time to finish video games nowadays, even episodic ones that are only a few hours long. But I did play and enjoy the second episode close to its release, and a combination of choices – and mistakes – I made stood out to me, so: here is a story of how I messed up.
Spoilers for episode two below!
]]>Life in a post-zombaplocalyptic world has never been easy for Clem, and judging from the new trailer for The Walking Dead: The Final Season's next episode - Broken Toys - she's preparing for war. Produced under new studio Skybound Games (thankfully using former Telltale talent), the third of four episodes will be available to all existing season owners on January 15th on all stores. Those late to the party won't be able to pick it up on Steam or GOG anymore as the game has become an Epic Games Store exclusive. The end is nigh, give or take one more episode - give it a peek below.
]]>Not only has Telltale's The Walking Dead: The Final Season found a new developer in Skybound Games after Telltale's sudden implosion, but it's setting up shop on the Epic Games Store. If you already bought the season on Steam or anywhere else, you'll find the upcoming two episodes there, but for anyone thinking of picking up the series now, it's exclusive to Epic's new storefront starting with Episode 3: Broken Toys on January 15th. Below, the voice of Clementine - Melissa Hutchinson - gives us an official FAQ on what's happening with the rest of the season.
]]>The third episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season will finally arrive on January 15th, 2019, Skybound Games have announced. Episode three, 'Broken Toys', was initially due to launch on November 6th but it was somewhat held up by developers Telltale Games shutting down and all. Skybound, the owners of The Walking Dead, have rounded up some former Telltale folks under their own games division to finish the four-episode finale, and now they're rolling again.
]]>Following the abrupt layoffs of hundreds of Telltale employees two weeks ago, the company has reached a deal with Skybound Entertainment that will allow The Walking Dead: The Final Season to be completed. Skybound’s founder, Robert Kirkman, is also the original creator of The Walking Dead comics, so it seems a natural enough fit, but questions remain about what this will mean for the original workers.
]]>The lights have finally gone out at Telltale Games, as its final few staff have now been axed too, as reported by Gamesindustry.biz. Over 90% of the company's staff - around 250 - were laid off without warning or severance barely two weeks ago.
A skeleton crew of another 25 was retained to complete contractually obligated work, which some took to mean the Minecraft: Story Mode adaptation for Netflix. Whether even that can happen is in question - according to now ex-Telltaler Rachel Noel on Twitter, the last few members have been laid off too, also without severance.
]]>Today brings one more twist to the story of Telltale's tragic end. As reported by Polygon, the company has been hit by a class-action lawsuit filed by a former employee over a possible breach of local law.
The prolific adventure studio laid off almost its entire staff last week (minus a skeleton crew who will stay on for a little while longer) with no warning or severance. The suit alleges that this was in violation of California employment law (the WARN act, specifically), and the studio may yet owe the fired staff a full 60 days pay and benefits.
]]>Telltale Games have confirmed that they will indeed release episode two of The Walking Dead: The Final Season today as planned, despite last week's sudden and massive layoffs, and there is a chance they'll be able to finish the full four-episode season "in some form." Several potential partners have shown interest in supporting the series, Telltale say, though this is far from settled and it could all still collapse for business reasons. Not to mention that some former staff have said Telltale's Walking Dead team were amongst those laid off, so they'd need to, er, rehire folks. But it's a glimmer of hope for the game, at least.
]]>In the wake of Telltale Games laying off 250-odd employees with no notice or (reportedly) severance pay, former Taletellers have been sharing warm memories and silly goofs from working there. They've explained the secret rules of a running joke started in Sam & Max, revealed daft scenes they made to amuse themselves in The Walking Dead with bananas and eyebeams, explained a serendipitous sweary accident in Tales From The Borderlands, and even gushed a bit about good times. The situation sucks but the moments and memories being shared are at least bittersweet.
]]>Following yesterday's initial reports that Telltale Games were effectively shutting down, the studio behind licensed story 'em ups including The Walking Dead and Batman: The Enemy Within have confirmed the bad news. All but 25 Telltale employees have been let go (that's 250-ish people gone, former members report), cut down to a skeleton crew to "fulfil the company's obligations to its board and partners." The studio say they've had "a year marked by insurmountable challenges." Telltale haven't yet confirmed quite what will happen to their past, present, and future games, saying they'll talk about their portfolio "in the coming weeks", but I wouldn't expect much more from them. What a sorry mess.
]]>Update: Telltale have officially confirmed the bad news that they've closed most the studio and only 25 employees remain.
As reported by Gamasutra, it seems that prolific choose-your-own-adventure studio Telltale Games is shutting down. This is backed up by media posts from developers at and close to the studio, such as Outerloop's Chandana Ekanayake.
The Verge report that a skeleton crew of around 25 will remain at the studio, down from around 250. A source tells USGamer the upcoming The Wolf Among Us 2 and a Stranger Things adventure series have been cancelled. Telltale Games have released no official statement yet.
]]>Fans of The Walking Dead have been lingering on a reasonable question lately: what kind of ending will The Final Season be for our erstwhile hero Clementine? Specifically, and fittingly, there’s speculation about whether she’ll survive it all. A recent blog post by season director Chris Rebbert might just put some of those fears to rest – or perhaps it’s all just to lull us into a false sense of security.
Spoilers for the end of season one and the very opening of The Final Season below the cut!
]]>I’m not usually one for in-game collectables, but Telltale’s The Walking Dead: The Final Season has me on board. For starters, assuming the first episode sets a reliable precedent, there are only six of them per episode, so it won’t take hours to track them all down. But more importantly, items that Clem and AJ can find and use to decorate their room are equal parts fascinating and deeply, deeply creepy.
Spoilers ahead, obviously, though nothing especially story-based.
]]>After four seasons of mental and physical anguish, plucky orphan Clementine is nearing the end of her story. The first episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season is out now, with three more to follow over the coming months. Telltale say that this is the end of the story of Clementine, who's now found herself an orphan of her own to look after, though I don't know if I'd also take that to mean this is their final Walking Dead game. Either way, the first episode is out now, and has a demo already out so you can play the beginning of the beginning of the beginning of the end for yourself.
]]>The end of Clementine's story begins soon in The Walking Dead: The Final Season, which launches its first episode next week, and today we can play the beginning of the beginning of the end of the zombie apocalypse story 'em up in a short free demo. It's only 20-odd minutes long but introduces us to Clem now she's become a gamedad herself, protecting an orphan of her very own by stabbing baddies in the head. They grow up so fast! It also lets us kick the tyres and see how the game runs on our PCs, whether it goes Dawn Of The Dead (2004) or a bit more Dawn Of The Dead (1978).
]]>With The Walking Dead: The Final Season on the horizon, players are gearing up to import their saves from the previous episodes and give Clementine’s story their own personalised ending. But if you lost your saves, are thinking about your previous decisions in horror, or just plain haven’t played the earlier seasons, worry not. With Telltale’s new browser-based Story Builder, you can recap the story so far and create your ideal scenario for moving forward into the final stretch. You’ll still feel like a monster for making some of the decisions, but at least it’ll be a time saver!
]]>The beginning of the beginning of the end for darling Clementine begins with the first episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season in August, but what about the beginning of the beginning of the beginning of the end? If you're impatient, eager, carefree, or just a bit bored, you can now watch the first fifteen minutes of Episode 1 in a gameplay video Telltale debuted at San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend. Please don't make me explain that this 16-minute video of the start of the game reveals much of what happens within the first 16 minutes of the game.
]]>Telltale have been very busy lately, in-between signing deals with Netflix and tussling with their former CEO. The studio that (gradually) popularised episodic games has a lot on their plate, and now they've got a pretty heavy dessert lined up for once they've finished the upcoming fourth and final Walking Dead game season. According to anonymous sources speaking to Variety (and somewhat supported by job listings), the studio are retiring their long-lasting but occasionally wonky in-house Telltale Tool engine and moving over to Unity.
]]>Clementine's long and tragic journey will begin to draw to its end (one way or another?) on August 14, Telltale Games announced today, when the first episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season arrives. We're revisiting Clem as she begins to shoulder even more of the burdens of surviving the zombie apocalypse, trying to build a safe home and protect people - including a little orphan of her own. They grow up so fast. Here, catch a glimpse in this new trailer.
]]>Veteran The Walking Dead storyman Gary Whitta will return to the episodic zombie apocalypse story 'em up for its fourth and final season, Telltale Games announced today. Whitta was story consultant on the first season and wrote its fourth episode, as well as contributing to add-on episode 400 Days, but hasn't been involved with it for years. The series has declined over the years so hopefully he might help reverse this.
Telltale have also announced they're working on prettied-up versions of their earlier Walking Dead games for a big console collection, though they haven't confirmed if those will come to PC too. (Update: doesn't look like it.)
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