A lot of stuff happened over the past couple of weeks, so in this week's Electronic Wireless Show podcast we briefly round up some of the Unity nonsense, and some of the more interesting and/or funny bits of the Microsoft leak that happened at the start of the week. But what we really want to talk about is intellectual property rights! Bill Willingham, the man who came up with Fables (the IP that brought you The Wolf Among Us) declared via. blog post that he's making Fables a public domain property. What does that mean? Can we all just make Fables video games now? And what can we do with Sherlock holmes?
Plus: James broke the Lenovo Legion Go, I've been playing lots of games that aren't Starfield, and James recommends more music!
]]>US author and artist Bill Willingham has rather dramatically announced that he is placing the Fables comicbook property in the public domain, including all Fables spin-offs and characters. This means that - pending a judgement from third-party legal experts, anyway - anyone can now create art of any kind set in the Fables universe. "What was once wholly owned by Bill Willingham is now owned by everyone, for all time," the author wrote on his Substack. "It's done, and as most experts will tell you, once done it cannot be undone. Take-backs are neither contemplated nor possible."
You might recognise Fables as the universe in which Telltale's The Wolf Among Us is set. It's a grubby noir fairytale world in which bedtime story characters like Snow White and Prince Charming live discreetly among regular humans, aka Mundies, having been driven from their homelands by a mysterious Adversary. I confess I've not read any of the original comics - I've only ever played the Telltale adaptation, which I enjoyed. I feel guilty about that in hindsight, because Willingham seems to have a pretty dim view of Telltale's work, though that's partly to do with what he considers to be his longstanding unfair treatment by Fables publisher DC Comics.
]]>I was a big fan of classic TellTale, the studio that put out episodic adventure games on a conveyor belt. I'm not the new one in sheep’s clothing, because they haven’t released anything yet. Like many, I was especially drawn to The Wolf Among Us, a neo-noir murder mystery set in the same universe as the Fables graphic novels. It would have been quite poetic to return to the series ten years after its debut, but that’s not going to be paw-sibble, as new TellTale have announced that The Wolf Among Us 2 has been delayed out of 2023. There’s no new release window, but maybe it'll be ready in 2024. Hopefully.
]]>The Steam Mystery Fest is well underway, discounting countless games about detectives, murder mysteries, or generally strange occurrences. Lots of heavy hitters have big sales like Return Of The Obra Dinn and Pentiment, but as always, you’ll need to do quite a bit of scrolling to find the hidden gems. The sales last until February 27th, so you have a week to grab some cheap games, and if you’re struggling with recommendations, here are some good’uns.
]]>The Wolf Among Us 2 has had a ruff (hah) development, to put it lightly. Surviving the catastrophic implosion of Telltale Games, last year's edition of The Keighleys saw the creature wearing Telltale's skin arise to confirm that the big bad sequel was still in development. Don't get your hopes up for more news at tonight's awards, mind - the devs today explained that while The Wolf Among Us is still happening, it's not quite time to let this poor pup loose.
]]>Happy love day, you disgusting piece of filth. Got you. That was an example of what today’s young people call “neggling”. This is when you are nice and nasty in such quick succession that the body becomes inexplicably aroused. Spasms of lust take over both neggler and negglee, resulting in a paroxysm of extramarital sex and, subsequently, the degeneration of humanity. This is just one of the signs of an unhealthy relationship. But there are many more examples in videogames. Here are the 10 most toxic couples out there. Don't worry, you can argue fruitlessly in favour of any of them. That's the point of these articles.
]]>If you've not played The Wolf Among Us and so don't quite get why folks are excited about last night's news that the sequel is back in development, good news: you can now get the original for free. It's the latest freebie offered by the Epic Games Store to overcome animosity, and it's a good'un. We declared Telltale's episodic urban fairytale detective story the best adventure of 2014, you know.
]]>Oh, happy days! The Wolf Among Us 2 has survived the death of Telltale Games and is reborn with the studio's kinda-sorta-not-really rebirth. The company wearing the skin of Telltale announced at The Game Awards tonight that yes, they will indeed resume the splendid moody detective story set in Bill Willingham's comic book world of Fables. I don't know about the new Telltale but we declared the original Wolfamongus the bestest best adventure game of 2014, so fingers crossed? Some of the old dev team are back, too.
]]>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.
]]>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.
]]>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.
]]>Like a lot of Telltale stuff, I got really excited for The Wolf Among Us because I adored Bill Willingham's Vertigo comic book series. I played the first episode of season one and was like "Hell yeah, check out that hot wolfdadbod. Rawr!" And then I failed to see it through for way too long. Never fear, dear reader, for I finally finished season one back in March. It is... so good. Few things in recent games have simply oozed that level of style, and I am here for it. Unfortunately, today we've been told that Telltale is pushing back the release of The Wolf Among Us 2 into 2019.
This is the result of "fundamental changes" around Telltale Games. Changes like laying off a quarter of your staff and potentially switching game engines. Ch-ch-ch-changes.
]]>Episodic storytellers Telltale Games have announced a trio of new seasons for some old games. More Batman, more The Walking Dead, and more The Wolf Among Us are in the pipeline. Batman's second season will start in August while the others are expected in 2018. Click on for a blast of Taletellers gabbing about the games.
]]>Update: Well ho ho ho don't I look a fool. Telltale have since announced a new season of Wolfamongus, along with more Batman and The Walking Dead. But no mention of new Borderlands, sadly.
If you've been hoping to hear more from Telltale Games about new seasons of The Wolf Among Us and Tales from the Borderlands, don't hold your breath unless you're willing to pass out over and over for an indefinite -- and possibly endless -- time. After That There Internet You Get Nowadays became excited about a marketing hint internauts took to be about an impending Wolfamongus announcement, Telltale marketman Job Stauffer stepped in with a hose to cool everyone's jets. Nope, it sounds like Telltale won't release me of either any time soon (if they ever do?).
]]>Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.
The Wolf Among Us [official site] remains one of the only games my wife and I have bonded over. She just doesn't really care for them, but that doesn't stop me for always keeping an eye out for something that she might be willing to try. When I pitched The Wolf Among Us, I knew she'd bite (Boo - Ed). An urban fantasy game about fairy tale creatures? Who wouldn't like that premise!
]]>Adventure games have been experiencing a resurgence this past year, but our favourite was by a developer that's hit a creative peak of their own after grinding away at the genre persistently for years. It's The Wolf Among Us.
Adam: Wolf-a-Mongoose, as my computer just autocorrected, pips a couple of other contenders to the post in this category thanks to its new-noir style. If the quality of Tales From the Borderlands keeps up after a surprisingly strong start, it might be Telltale's best series since the first Walking Dead, but in the battle of Clem and Bigby, the wolf is king.
]]>Well, how to do this without spoilers? "In the final episode of the first season of Telltale's adaptation of/prequel to comic series Fables, the current storyline is concluded semi-satisfactorily and there are more quick-time events than usual." There you go, we're done here.
Fine. FINE. You want more? Fine.
]]>"I should really catch up on The Wolf Among Us," I tell myself roughly once a week. "I really like that fairly tale noir world, but I'm way behind on episodes." Now, though, I'm wondering if I shouldn't just wait until next week, sprinkle some bacon bits atop a heaping bowl of popcorn, and binge play the whole season. The Wolf Among Us Episode Five: Cry Wolf is about to huff, puff, and blow down all the straw, sticks, and bricks the rest of the season has laid. Will there be a season two after? No idea. For now, though, this is case closed. There's a trailer below, which I haven't watched because Obvious Spoiler Warning.
]]>The fourth part of Telltale's inadvertently long-running adaptation of fairy-tales-in-modern-New-York comic Fables was released yesterday. As, like its predecessors, it can only be bought as part of a season pack, part of me questions the wisdom of writing it up individually, but hey, I've started so I'll finish. I do avoid largely spoilers below, but it's going to be pretty nonsensical if you've not played the series so far.
Everything's going in the right direction now. This is the episode of Telltale's fairy tale noir adventure where the brooding atmosphere of menace and distrust is fully backed up by events and implications. While, to a significant degree, the overly-obviously-titled 'In Sheep's Clothing' is a retread of prior episodes' structure, it's finally moving away from questions and onto answers, as well as capitalising on some character relationships which had been either lightly sketched or outright abandoned since the first episode. With the net tightening - whether around the perpetrator or around our heroes remains an open question - there's a real sense that people are in danger, and that I might be the one to bring doom to their door.
]]>In a fit of wistfulness, I've stopped seeing episodic things through to the end. Life rolls on seemingly endlessly until it stops abruptly, incomplete, messy, with few plots wrapped up. I've seen most of Twin Peaks five times but can't face having no new mysteries, no more surprises, no further Albert Rosenfield revelations. No matter how messy I've heard the end is (very, they say), if I'm enjoying something, I'd rather have it roll on endlessly without me. But if you do like conclusions, one's creeping nearer for The Wolf Among Us. Telltale have announced that their comic book adventure game's penultimate episode will arrive next Tuesday, May 27, and given a little peek at it.
]]>The third chapter of Telltale's adventure game adaptation of the 'what if fairy tales were real and lived in New York?' comic Fables was released on Tuesday. I played it on Wednesday. I then published an article about it on Thursday. I might play it again on Friday. Here's why.
Ah, that's much better. After such a strong start - for me, the most compelling Telltale opener yet - The Wolf Among Us hit lengthy and mysterious delays, followed by a disappointingly perfunctory episode 2. It left me wondering if the series was playing for time, but now it has had that time. Fortunately, it seems to have paid off. Longer, with many more decisions, a stronger sense of consequence and a wise focus on character development above melodrama, this series can once again be said to be a wolf rather than a poodle.
]]>I will not watch The Wolf Among Us Episode 3: A Crooked Mile's launch trailer. I will not watch Wolf Among Us Episode 3: A Crooked Mile's launch trailer. I will not watch Wolf Among Us Episode 3: A Crooked Mile's launch trailer. I won't, I won't, I won't. I haven't finished Episode 2 of the Fables comic spin-off yet, and I've heard this sizzling reel of piping hot footage is free-range and spoiler-fed. Good news, however, is that this means Big (Bad) Wolf Little Tokyo (alternate/not real title) Ep 3 is right around the corner.
]]>Arriving some four months after October's first installment of Telltale's adventurish adaptation of fairy tales in the real world comic Fables, Smoke & Mirrors sees protagonist Bigby Wolf continue to investigate a series of murders. Given the cliffhanger ending of episode 2, you'll forgive me if I'm plot-light in the below. I.e. no spoilers, but it does presume you're fairly familiar with the game already.
]]>The internet was ready to huff-and-puff and blow Telltale's house down to find information on the next episode of their fable-inspired, Fables-derived adventure The Wolf Among Us. When a Reddit user created a popular thread to complain about the lack of information though, co-founder Kevin Bruner piped up with a rough release date. The second episode will hit during the first week of February.
]]>Two Smiths and one Meer gather to discuss the latest episodic adventure game from Telltale (they of the recent Walking Dead series). The Wolf Among Us is based on the comic series Fables, and concerns folk from fairytales carving out a noirish life in the big city. It also concerns MURDER MOST HORRID. You should perhaps read Adam's thoughts yesterday for a more fulsome summary, but moreso you should have played the game, for this here article is awash in the dreaded SPOILERS.
Are you sitting comfortably, or at least in a way that won't cause you back problems in later life? Then we'll begin.
]]>How do you follow The Walking Dead? At a slow pace and a safe distance, preferably while soaked in corpse juices and with intestines draped around your neck. Or, in Telltale’s case, the sensible option is to provide more of the same. The Wolf Among Us, adapted from DC Vertigo’s on-going Fables series, is another comic adaptation and, as with The Walking Dead, its creators care more for their characters than for puzzles or challenge. Here's wot I think of episode one.
]]>Telltale have put themselves in a difficult spot. After years of their mediocre adventures getting rather overly generous reviews (and their excellent Strong Bad series earning them), last year they produced a genuine hit. The Walking Dead saw the developer finally stop being a LucasArts tribute act, and develop their own distinct identity. Now they've got to follow it. DC's Fables-inspired The Wolf Among Us is their first attempt to do so, and it looks to be taking the mechanics of Walking Dead even further. The first episode is out tomorrow, and there's a sweary launch trailer below.
]]>Telltale seem to have a bit of a swagger about them now. The Walking Dead was pretty good, and they know it. They're taking that swagger over to The Wolf Among Us, which has a confident new trailer, below. In case you missed the excitement, it's a new episode series based on the Fables comic book series - with you playing as Bigby Wolf - and it's coming up towards the end of this year. Perhaps not my sort of thing - I never did truly respect a point and clicker - but I do like a man with sideburns.
]]>Yesterday, I put on my fuzzy-eared detective hat and grilled Telltale president Kevin Bruner about his company's next big, hopefully not bad thing, The Wolf Among Us. The Fables-based caper sounds like a worthy (though unexpected) follow-up to The Walking Dead, but it's hardly the only story being writ large by Telltale's ostentatiously oversized quill pens. The developer also regularly creates experimental prototypes involving AI, story structures, the way players communicate with characters, and tons more. Fittingly - given the developer's love of episodic stories - they call it the Pilot Program. Some of these "weird" ideas make it into games, but many of them don't. Ultimately, though, this is Telltale's way of paving a path to its own future. I quizzed Bruner about the good, the bad, and the ugly of his company's experiments, as well as a couple other loose ends like King's Quest. It's all after the break.
]]>To hear Telltale tell the tale, The Walking Dead wasn't built to be a wildly acclaimed game of the year award magnet. A good game? Yes. A great story? Clearly. But not a bowling ball catapult into zombified super stardom. With all eyes suddenly on the once-unassuming developer, "that Fables game" has an incredibly tough act to follow. But The Wolf Among Us is a) about a gruff, nicotine-addicted werewolf detective and b) not about gazing sullenly out the window while protesting, "No, it's just the rain/my allergies/this waterfall we're standing under." It takes place in a mad fantasy reality where anything can happen - except, um, the undead apocalypse. It's maybe a bit different. So, where does Walking Dead's DNA end and Wolf Among Us begin? What about Fables-specific issues like mystery-solving, a pre-established main character, wolfed-out combat, and a somewhat controversial creator? I spoke with Telltale president Kevin Bruner about all of that and more.
]]>The Wolf Among Us is what Telltale are calling their episodic adventure series based on Bill Willingham's 'what if fairy tales were real and in the present day?' comic Fables, but let's be honest, we're all going to call it Fables even though it'll confuse people who've only heard of Lionhead RPGs. So far all they've shared about their first post-Walking Dead game is some artwork and a précis, but in an unprecendent move in the games industry, they've now released some screenshots of their upcoming videogame. It has a lot in common with The Walking Dead's comic art come to life look, but ramped up, gothier, stranger. I don't really know the comics, but I dig the look of this a lot. Wolf these down.
]]>I wonder if Telltale are worrying about Difficult Second Album Syndrome, despite Fables: The Wolf Among Us actually being about their dozenth adventure game series. The rapture their Walking Dead series was met with puts them, if not actually on the A-list then at least on the waiting list for the A-list. By which I mean they're on the list of developers who I'd say are on the list to be on the list. Maybe I should do a list of all of them., but to be honest I feel a bit too listless to bother.
The Wolf Among Us, then. It's an episodic adventure game based on the modern-day fairy tales, Big Bad (were)Wolf-starring DC comic series Fables.
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