Q&A With the Design Team

[Lackey]

Originally Posted by Sciz

So my dream of Valve and Telltale collaborating on a TF2 series is more plausible than I expected? :O

That is INCREDIBLE. Best idea I've heard in a long time.

That said, are you guys interested in any new properties to work with?

Like TF2...

[bubbledncr]

Originally Posted by freelancehero

4. Is it painful where Max put his stuff? ...............Wait why am I'm answering that question?

I had the wonderful privilege of animating a possible answer to this question for season 3.

[Astro Gnocci]

Originally Posted by bubbledncr

I had the wonderful privilege of animating a possible answer to this question for season 3.

Now THIS is scary

[Jake]

Originally Posted by TheHutt

So you're saying that the lip sync is auto generated depending on the voices, thus playing a game in a localized version would cause the animation to change?

Yep, we re-run the lip sync system when we get a batch of localized voices. Note that part way through Wallace & Gromit we re-did our lip sync system, and it's way better now. The results are hopefully apparent in Tales of MI, where the characters look a lot less wobbly-mouthed than old Sam & Max stuff. The Devil's Playhouse is the first Sam & Max game to use the new tech, and I think it shows. With the new lip sync, higher res faces, and some light blend shapes going on, Max's mouth and face finally hits a lot more shapes and poses from the comics. It looks nice.

How are the changes in emotions of characters controlled in the middle of a line?

When we localize the game, those either end up working out nicely, or they don't. Depends. The system tries to adjust for time if a localized dialog line is longer or shorter, but doesn't always hit perfectly. I think we tend to do better at it than most, but I'm biased.

3.) Is Majus somehow involved in the design of this game? If yes, what should I look for in the final episodes? How can the "I wonder what happens"-series continue if Majus has so much insight into the games?

Majus and Suro aren't involved in the design work, but they're doing cutscene stuff in the games. Their first task was to fill the streets of 301 with boozing pigeons and scampering rats and things, but they have since moved on to more technical art and cutscene work. You'll be able to see a Majus cutscene at a climactic point in 302, for instance.

[light_rises]

Originally Posted by bubbledncr

I had the wonderful privilege of animating a possible answer to this question for season 3.

... I'm torn between a simple "wat" or "DEAR GOD WHY?!"

Both of which would be my round-about way of saying: "Bring it."

[Bloody Eugene]

Hi guys!
I really appreciate your work... I think Telltale is the greatest adventure company at the moment! I really like your philosophy on making games, on telling stories and on the relations with players!

Just one thing: it was already answered that the game will be english only, but what for other languages? Will they ever be available? I know people here in Italy who would have bought Tales of Monkey if only it was in Italian! I know that multi-language in a episode production could be difficult, but you can reach more and more people with it! You can release patch, or make different versions of the game, but please don't do distribution like Atari did: Season 2 (TWO!!!) will be available in Italian in may, after 2.5 years of waiting and only with subtitles. I prefer much more to download patches from your site and buy directly from you. So, any plans about translations?

[S@bre]

Originally Posted by Lackey

That is INCREDIBLE. Best idea I've heard in a long time.

That said, are you guys interested in any new properties to work with?

Like TF2...

Use minigun with scout
Use minigun with soldier
Use minigun with pyro
Talk to 'self': "Bwahahahaha! What coward sends babies to fight me!"
Use minigun with demoman
Use minigun with heavy
Use minigun with engineer
Talk to 'self': "Cry some more!"
Use minigun with medic
Use minigun with sniper
Talk to 'friendly-looking medic': "Medic!"
*switch characters*
Use knife with heavy's back.
Talk to 'dead heavy': You died as you lived: morbidly obese!"

You know, I don't think TF2 lends itself to adventure gaming.

[Tjibbbe]

Originally Posted by Jake

...boozing pigeons...

Woo!

[murr4y]

Originally Posted by Chuck

No, no game is perfect (...)

Except the ones you guys make of course

[seanparkerfilms]

The new season (or first episode, at least) seems to be rated E10+, rather than T. Were you guys surprised to get a lower rating, unsurprised (due to it being less edgy, perhaps?), or was it a conscious decision to aim for the rating?

Basically, should we expect the same levels of subversive naughty humor laced with mild profanity in the past, or has language been toned down a bit (maybe it was the severe amount of bleeped-out four-letter words throughout the first two seasons that netted it a T)?

Either way, I trust you guys in the fullest to continue delivering on amazing, hilarious games, no matter what rating it has, just curious.

[Will]

Ratings systems are weird. I don't feel like this season is any more or less mature than previous ones. Take that how you will.

[sascha23]

Originally Posted by ttg_Stemmle

Anyone wanna dare us to bring back the Soda Poppers?

No sir.

*drops everything and backs away slowly*

[Hassat Hunter]

Originally Posted by bubbledncr

I had the wonderful privilege of animating a possible answer to this question for season 3.

Does it make me a sick person if I look forward to what the result has been?

Originally Posted by Bloody Eugene

Season 2 (TWO!!!) will be available in Italian in may, after 2.5 years of waiting and only with subtitles.

Ah... the blessings of living in the Netherlands, where any developer who TRIES dubbing gets horribly crucified .

Talking about Ratings and bleeped out words: I once heard somewhere, in a dev commentary on some TV-show how they would actually swear to properly make the bleeps the correct time, but the Rating Board would get the episodes before this process was done (and thus, with full profanity). How is that at TTG?

[Rather Dashing]

Was the E10+ rating even available when the first two seasons were released? I can't remember when it came in, but it's a relatively recent addition.

[Remolay]

yes it was.

[ttg_Stemmle]

Originally Posted by seanparkerfilms

The new season (or first episode, at least) seems to be rated E10+, rather than T. Were you guys surprised to get a lower rating, unsurprised (due to it being less edgy, perhaps?), or was it a conscious decision to aim for the rating?

Basically, should we expect the same levels of subversive naughty humor laced with mild profanity in the past, or has language been toned down a bit (maybe it was the severe amount of bleeped-out four-letter words throughout the first two seasons that netted it a T)?

Either way, I trust you guys in the fullest to continue delivering on amazing, hilarious games, no matter what rating it has, just curious.

As Will said, the ratings system is a constant source of bemusement

Me, I'm a big fan of subversivity (particularly with regards to the manglement of languagisms), and less of a fan of profanity (unless it's really frellin' funny). Make of that what thou willst.

In other words, there may be some veiled naughtiness in 303 and 304,
Mike "I get PAID to destroy the Queen's English, SCORE!" Stemmle

[Kroms]

Hmmm...I keep wanting to ask things about the writing, as I feel that Telltale's packed with great writers, and they're never asked about it.

Okay, uh,...howww do you make sure something is funny or not?

Do youuu ever write backstories for your characters?

Yeah, I suck at asking questions. It's worth noting that those question marks at the end are related to whether or not this is a decent question, and not for grammatical purposes.

[Joop]

Originally Posted by Hassat Hunter

Ah... the blessings of living in the Netherlands, where any developer who TRIES dubbing gets horribly crucified .

Not entirely true.
I bought Beyond Good and Evil on Gamecube, there was no English version.
At first I wanted to trade it in, but after realising how good the dub was, I didn't even bother. It was well dubbed ánd really funny.

[Tjibbbe]

Originally Posted by Hassat Hunter

Ah... the blessings of living in the Netherlands, where any developer who TRIES dubbing gets horribly crucified .

The Dutch version of Heavy Rain is one of the most hilariously bad things I ever experienced. Why in the world they chose to hire A-list actors like Carice van Houten is beyond me. They'll never get their money's worth for that. The Dutch market isn't that big, and most people will still choose to play the English version. Here's an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_09eH_EERg
Believe me, it gets even worse. Carice sounds like she's terribly ashamed to be in a videogame. The voice of the guy behind the counter in that video sets the quality-level for most of the voices in the game. I've been crying my eyes out from laughter with my friends with this game - not really what the game sets out to do.

So yeah, Telltale, never even start thinking about a Dutch voice over for any of your games. Just don't. It'll all just end in tears.

Another question for the design team: How do you decide who gets to do which episode (of which series)? Is it just random, or based on personality? Was it just coincidence that Jordan got to do the Trogdor-episode and that Stemmle got to do the episodes that were set on Flotsam?

[Leak]

Originally Posted by bubbledncr

I had the wonderful privilege of animating a possible answer to this question for season 3.

Do not want!

Originally Posted by Jake

You'll be able to see a Majus cutscene at a climactic point in 302, for instance.

Hand drawn in Flash, using Majus' unmistakable style? WANT!