Telltale Games

We revealed the first trailer for Jurassic Park last week and opened up pre-orders for the game that's been "65 million years in the making" so I figure it's time to start bringing in some folks working on the game in for the "Three Questions" series. 

I had a chance to sneak four questions in to Jurassic Park designer Mark Darin recently, and here's what he had to say!

Q: What has been your favorite part of working in the world of Jurassic Park?

Mark Darin: I've really been enjoying exploring the lives of these characters who have been left behind on the island and those who have been sent in to get them. For the most part, these are just regular folks; not scientists or dinosaur experts. But I think my favorite part so far has been imagining what the other areas of the park are like. In the movie, we only got to see a few areas and I've always wondered, "what other attractions did they have planned?" Well now we get to answer some of those questions!

Q: Was Nedry's missing Barbasol can always the crux of the Jurassic Park story you and the team have been crafting? What led you to that story thread?

Mark Darin: The Barbasol can with the stolen embryos was at the top of the list from day one. It's an iconic piece of the film and seemed like bit of a loose end. It just seemed fun to follow that thread just a little longer to see what would have happened next! We tossed around a lot of ideas in the initial pitch meetings, with some ideas being better than others! One pitch that didn't make it dealt with smugglers capturing civilian boaters and forcing them onto the island to collect trapped dinos which were then sold to the black market as commodities - food, skin, horns, etc. Think Blood Diamond, but with dinosaurs!

Q: What, to you, are key elements of a story told in the Jurassic Park universe?

Mark Darin: For me, two key elements common in every Jurassic Park Story are respect (and conversely a lack thereof) for the dinosaurs, and the exploration of the bonds that make a family. A Jurassic Park story is about people and how they come together to face forces of nature that are much bigger them them, in this case literally.

Thanks for your time Mark. I rather like ichthyosaurs myself; he was my favorite character on the cartoon from the late 80s, Dinosaucers. 

What are some questions (that would realistically get answered) that you'd like to ask folks from the Jurassic Park team? Let's hear it in the comments. 

We're very proud to announce that Telltale Games ranked first among mid-size video game publishers in 2010 on Metacritic! With an average Metascore of 78.4, we are what Metacritic calls "the clear leader" in our immensely accomplished group for the year. We also earned the highest average Metascore among PlayStation 3 publishers!

With our 14 scored releases last year including the full season of Tales of Monkey Island on the PlayStation 3 which earned an 86 Metascore, Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Episode 2: The Tomb of Sammun-Mak for PC and Mac which earned an 83 Metascore, and Back to the Future - Episode 1: It's About Time for PC and Mac which earned a 75 Metascore, we really nailed it in each of the seasons we released last year. We're poised to do that and so much more in 2011 too, with the remainder of Back to the Future, all of Jurassic Park, and some other fun surprises slated to hit this year! All of this success would not be possible without the tremendously hard work put into these games by our ridiculously talented teams; give it up for them!

That said, Metascores are great and all, but what really matters to us is that the fans of the characters, worlds, and stories we put together, love what we have to offer. We will continue to work hard to delight you folks with the stuff you keep coming back to Telltale for! 

To read more details about how we stacked up on Metacritic, head over to the site and read the feature. 

What was your favorite Telltale product from last year? Let's hear it in the comments! 

As a follow-up to yesterday's question and answer piece with Back to the Future co-designer/writer Mike Stemmle (Here), we've squeezed a few answers out of his counterpart Andy Hartzell. Here's what Andy had to say when asked the same questions. 

Q: Who is your favorite new character from "It's About Time" or "Get Tannen!"?

Andy Hartzell: Emmett. Young Doc is not, strictly-speaking, a new character, but he's a new take on an old character and he's a lot of fun. he's all of old Doc's intensity, his manic quality, but without his older self's knowledge and authority. He's frightened of his domineering father and tortured by his repressed love of science, all of which makes for great comic fodder. 

Q: What is your favorite scene from Back to the Future - Episode 1: It's About Time? 

Andy Hartzell: The scene in which you meet and befriend young Emmett. Our director, Dennis Lenart, found a way to keep the scene active, even though it's really just an extended dialog sequence. The banter between Marty and Emmett is awkward and frustrating in all the right ways.

Q: What's your favorite Back to the Future-ism? 

Andy Hartzell: That's a tough one...I'll go with "Tell me Future Boy...", because I love the crazed irony in Christopher Lloyd's delivery. 

I'm a fan of "Future Boy" too. Do you guys have any favorite Back to the Future-isms? Let's hear it in the comments. 

We don't like to leave the hard working team behind our games alone for even a moment, so getting a word in edge wise with Back to the Future co-designer/writer Mike Stemmle as he, along with the incredibly awesome folks finishing up Episode 2: Get Tannen! (launching this month), can be a little tricky. Mike graciously took a few minutes to answer some Back to the Future related questions for your enjoyment - thanks Mike! Here's what he had to say!

Q: Who is your favorite new character from "It's About Time" or "Get Tannen!"?

Mike Stemmle: Personally, I'm a big fan of Edna Strickland. When we first meet her, she doesn't appear to be more than a stereotypical, annoying cat lady with a head full of prejudices and an apartment full of newspapers. But as we get to know her in 1931, she appears to be a passionate, clear-headed do-gooder. What happened to her? And will Marty and Doc's mucking about in the past change her destiny for the better?

Q: What is your favorite scene from Back to the Future? 

Mike Stemmle: It's hard to really pick a favorite, but today I'll go with the 'George finally standing up to Biff' scene cause it really makes you cheer and cry at the same time.

Q: What's your favorite Back to the Future-ism? 

Mike Stemmle: Although I'm sure Mr. Lloyd is getting tired of saying it, "Great Scott" is an amazingly versatile line. It can be used to convey about eight different emotional states, depending on the context. I think we're hitting all of them. 

Is there anybody you'd like to hear from at Telltale? Any particular aspect of the game-making process you'd like some more light shed on? Let me hear it in the comments!