Lets be honest… so far all of the Game of Thrones games have sucked. A Game of Thrones: Genesis, a strategy game, was uninspired and boring; whilst Game of Thrones, the RPG, was little more than a light version of Skyrim, but with worse graphics and a broken combat system. There had been some hope when it was announced that an Online MMORPG called Game of Thrones: Seven Kingdoms was in the works, but after watching the trailer the overwhelming feeling is this will be just another one of those grinding, repetitive MMORPG games… not to mention that it’s already way overdue.
But, it seems that one gaming studio, Telltale, with a VERY good record is ready to save Game of Thrones… The creators of The Walking Dead video game. If you’ve not played them yet, how about we call upon the words and wisdom of one of fantasy’s most renowned authors and video games addict, Joe Abercrombie? Abercrombie said that The Walking Dead game was ‘an amazing game’ that ‘scores huge on the human interaction, imagination, narrative drive and drama.’ Another of their games, The Wolf Among us, is already picking up hugely positive reviews, one critic confirming that their winning Walking Dead formula is repeated: “The Wolf Among Us lures players into a fairytale-based murder mystery that has them hooked throughout.”
Telltale have said that the Game of Thrones games will be episodic in nature and that their deal with HBO is part of a ‘multi-year, multi-title partnership’ with the first game in the series targeted to premiere digitally in 2014 for home consoles, PC/Mac, and mobile devices.
Initially, Telltale tweeted about their excitement to be working on the games before co-founder and CEO, Dan Connors, released the following statement: “Since the very beginning, Telltale’s goal has been to work alongside the most talented and respected forces in entertainment, bringing their worlds to the interactive space as no other game studio can. Working with HBO to develop a new game series based on Game of Thrones is a natural fit for our studio. This partnership will create an experience that will captivate the huge, global Game of Thrones audience. It will put them in control of the epic stories of warfare, intrigue, violence and revenge that we know and love.”
HBO’s Josh Goodstadt, Director of Global Licensing, later added that: “We’re delighted to be working with Telltale Games, a proven leader in the creation of engaging interactive content. Our fans are always looking for new, exciting ways to engage with the Game of Thrones brand and this game series will put them right in the middle of the action by letting them decide where the story will lead. This brings a whole new dimension to the world of Westeros.”
It certainly seems that both the developers and HBO licensing team are on the same page and recognising what we, as fantasy fans, want from a video game. A trailer has been released that reveals the right kind of atmosphere, but shows very little more than that I’m afraid. Here it is anyway:
With all the disappointing television/movie to video game adaptions that we’ve had over the years – especially when you consider A Game of Thrones‘s gaming history – I’d usually be pretty skeptical about this announcement. Turns out though I’m pretty damned excited to see what they come up with and give it a play myself 🙂
Jennie Ivins
Personally, based on the Walking Dead game I’ve played, I think that if anyone can do the series justice it is Telltale and the episodic nature should really, really work. I know in the Walking Dead games you aren’t part of the same plot as the TV Series either (not directly anyway), which should mean some cool new stories to experience 🙂
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