Telltale Interview -- Dave Grossman

Posted by dave

June 28, 2005

Greetings. Dave Grossman here, casting discursions from the darkened recesses of the Fifth Corner of Telltale. The volcanic gargling of the Motorcycle to the Moon project next door has stilled, and the gentle hum of the morale fans is like the soothing voice of a distant waterfall. People are working with computers, clickety-click, and it sounds like a bunch of beetles having a wild party.

Heather's been interviewing people here on the blog and it's more or less my turn, but Heather is busy today doing actual work on Bone. So, I will simply have to interview myself.

Me: So, wait, Dave, you're working at Telltale now?
Me: They made the mistake of leaving the door unlocked one day while everyone was at lunch. Now they can't get rid of me.

Me: According to your website, you've been avoiding having an actual job for a long time. What finally lured you out of your cave?
Me: True, I've been freelancing ever since I left LucasArts eleven years ago, and I like it, but the hermity nature of freelancing is bad for your social skills. A few months ago I absent-mindedly took my shirt off at a restaurant and started grooming the hair on my stomach, and I realized I should probably spend more time around people.

Me: Or less. But here you are, so: why Telltale?
Me: They'll play poker with me. The wisdom of playing with people who wrote the AI for a computer poker game escapes me, but I like it. Also, Telltale is a company where characters and story are the foundations of a game, instead of being the wrapping paper on yet another boring run-around-and-shoot-and-don't-do-anything-else title. The bulk of the games industry is, sadly, a place where people think having a conversation about "character"' means trying to think of a cool weapon for the protagonist to use. (You think I'm exaggerating, but that really happens all the time.) Not so Telltale. It's very refreshing to be here. And it's a small company where people enjoy their jobs -- like LucasFilm was in 1989, but without the mountain lions.

What will you be doing there? Here?
It is my solemn duty to guard the Table of Communal Food. Daniel's fiancé made scones and vanilla butter the other day. Yum! The Fifth Corner is a delicious place to be. I also plan to do a little writing and game design, schedule permitting. Probably I'll post to this blog every now and then as well.

We understand you used to make public access television shows with Telltale CEO Dan Connors. Did he ever do anything embarrassing in front of a camera?
Let's just say he can't fire me.

Will you send us a tape?
Come see me after hours.

What is your deepest, darkest secret?
Apart from that TV show, it's probably my peculiar weakness for Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. I mean, lots of people liked Terminator, Total Recall, and Predator, but I actually own a copy of Kindergarten Cop and I've watched it more than once. There, I've said it, it's out. I pretty much stopped paying attention after the odious Jingle All the Way, but the older films are still fun for me, although Conan in particular is kind of creepy to watch now that Arnold is the governor of the state I live in. (Being a fiction writer is next to impossible when real life is so bizarre. Oh well, at least I'm not from Minnesota.)

We learn something every day. What did you learn today?
I learned that Microsoft Word knows the correct spelling of "Schwarzenegger,"' but cannot spell "blog."'

Heather asks good questions. When's she coming back?
Pipe down, you ungrateful wretch. You'll take it and like it.

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11 Comments

	I'm not familiar with Dave Grossman or what he's done at LucasArts, but I'll take Telltale's word that he's a good asset. He certainly seems to have a good wit, as most people do who manage to pull off interviewing themselves. Hehe... "You'll take it and like it." I'm going to use that one.
	Comment by artwking4 June 28, 2005, 8:41 pm

	>>"You'll take it and like it."
	Comment by Bogie June 28, 2005, 9:31 pm

	Looks like the "Team" and "Credits" page needs an update. :-) Artwing, you heard of Day of the Tentacle, Secret of Monkey island...
	Comment by JP June 28, 2005, 9:41 pm

	Artwing, here's a credits list from MobyGames; Voodoo Vince (2003), Microsoft Game Studios Pajama Sam 3: You Are What You Eat From Your Head To Your Feet! (2000), Humongous Entertainment Total Annihilation: The Core Contingency (1998), Atari, Inc. Curse of Monkey Island, The (1997), LucasArts Total Annihilation (1997), Cavedog Entertainment Full Throttle (1995), LucasArts Day of the Tentacle (1993), LucasArts Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (1992), LucasArts Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (1991), LucasArts Maniac Mansion (1990), LucasArts Secret of Monkey Island, The (1990), LucasArts
	Comment by JP June 28, 2005, 9:47 pm

	This is very good news indeed. I wish I'd own a timemachine so I could peek in to the future right now and see a little bit what Dave is going to create. :)
	Comment by Kolzig June 29, 2005, 5:33 am

	Hmmmm... Impressive, most impressive. Adventure games are saved.
	Comment by artwking4 June 29, 2005, 8:38 am

	Hm, yes, I suppose I could have included a few credits... interviewing yourself is hard. The Moby list is not bad, though a few of those credits must just be "special thanks to Dave" or "person who was nearby but didn't do anything on this game: Dave." I'm pretty sure I didn't actually do any work on Fate of Atlantis, for example. Also there's only one children's game on there, and I've probably written a dozen or so, but oh well. Close enough. PS: Curse that Bogart, he's always stealing my lines.
	Comment by dave June 29, 2005, 1:49 pm

	hey dave any plans to work on an original title at telltale? have you been working on anything that you think would suit telltale.. and i just have to say the story for day of the tentacle was absolutely brilliant..i never expected maniac mansion to go there after the 1st game.. also if you are minding the food who is minding brendan..dont let him out of the closet or all hell will break loose!
	Comment by hero1 July 2, 2005, 4:08 am

	Ah, original material. So dangerous, but so sweet. I certainly wouldn't rule anything out, I happen to like sweet and dangerous. As for Brendan, we've bricked up the closet for the safety of humanity, leaving only a small hole for breathing and Twinkies.
	Comment by dave July 5, 2005, 6:19 pm

	Man cannot live on bread and water alone, but twinkies are fine. Good interview. BTW, thanks for the poems, and the games.
	Comment by VSTM July 6, 2005, 10:58 am

	Twinkies are my thing too :). Btw, Monkey Island needs to live on as a game download in the casual games space or something...
	Comment by Ron L. July 11, 2005, 11:17 pm

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