Telltale have made their name by making spin-offs of TV shows, comic books, and movies. Their output has been hit and miss, but when they’re good, they’re really good. Recently I was thinking about the formula for their games—the QTEs, the branching stories, the moral choices—and thinking about what TV shows would suit it.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
The voyages of the Enterprise are perfect fodder for an episodic game. Each chapter would be a different cosmic discovery, whether it’s a murderous nebula, a primitive society on the verge of destruction, or some kind of mad, sentient crystal. And, as Picard, you’ll have to decide how to deal with them.
The X-Files
Some of the best X-Files episodes were the ‘monster of the week’ ones, where Mulder and Scully would investigate a case involving some kind of bizarre paranormal phenomenon—that, of course, Scully would be sceptical of, despite mountains of physical evidence. There were the flesh-eating nocturnal bugs in ‘Darkness Falls’, the chilling ‘flukeman’ from ‘The Host’, and the freakish family in ‘Home’.
Deadwood
Dialogue and characters are a big part of Telltale games, and dearly departed HBO drama Deadwood is full of rich, foul-mouthed characters to extract interesting drama from. This lawless Wild West town is full of back-stabbing, crime, corruption, and vivid characters, and I like the idea of playing as Seth Bullock and trying to bring some law and order to the place, with Al Swearengen as your nemesis.
The Prisoner
This brilliant ‘60s series is about an ex-spy who finds himself imprisoned in ‘The Village’—an idyllic-looking town that’s actually a sinister prison for people whose heads are filled with classified information. Try to escape and you’ll be hunted by Rover, a giant, sentient beach ball that’s more terrifying than it has any right to be.
Quantum Leap
You wouldn’t have to change the basic structure of a Quantum Leap episode for it to work as a Telltale game. Sam Beckett ‘leaps’ into some random period in history, as a random person, and has to solve a puzzle and find a way to escape. This usually involves recreating some important moment in that person’s life.
Twin Peaks
The town of Twin Peaks is heaving with interesting, oddball characters, and the ‘darkness’ of the surrounding woods could form the basis of an interesting mystery story—but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a murder like in the show. You could be an outsider like Cooper, or a local. But the strange spirits and influence of the Black Lodge would have to figure in somehow, ‘cause that’s what the series is all about: the shadowy secrets that lie beneath the seemingly perfect town.
Battlestar Galactica
The story of the Battlestar Galactica has already been told, but I think a story set board it during the events of the TV show would work. It could be a character drama, with the Cylons’ pursuit—and the stress it causes the fleet—as the backdrop. The Galactica was a huge ship with a crew of thousands, so there are bound to be dozens of interesting stories to tell about its crew and how they endured the events of the series.
Seinfeld
Look, bear with me here. This would be amazing. A game about nothing. Each episode is about the struggles of the characters, and would be largely based around dialogue. George’s relationship woes. Jerry clashing with Newman. Kramer dreaming up some ridiculous new money-making venture. Elaine on a disaster date with some guy who, I dunno, eats too loud or speaks too slowly. Actually, this is a terrible idea. I’m really sorry.
Arrested Development
A multi-character epic, in which you play as all the major characters. Help Tobias become an actor. Bring the family business back from the brink as Michael. Try to get back into the Alliance of Magicians as Gob. Escape from prison as George Senior. Perhaps the game could mirror season 4 and have each episode focus on a single character, but with stories that subtly interlink as the series goes on. I’ll stop now.
