Next week's release of Jurassic Park: The Game represents an interesting--I'd even say, dramatic--shift for longtime adventure game developer Telltale. Although the company has only been around in its current form since 2004, many of its founders were former LucasArts employees who, nearly 20 years ago, pioneered the adventure game format on PCs with the Sam and Max series. In this decade, they've worked out a pretty effective formula of developing episodic, story-based games that have mostly been character-focused comedy/adventures featuring (sometimes devious) puzzles and their patented brand of humor. And while they've dipped their toe into other genres in the past--notably a couple of CSI games--Jurassic Park sees the studio edging a little closer to action territory, with a greater emphasis on speed and survival than in games from the company's past.
Recently, we spoke to Telltale CEO Dan Connors, and Designer Joe Pinney about bringing Jurassic Park to consoles and the PC, about putting players on the clock and (possibly) watching them get killed, as well as some teases about their recently-announced Walking Dead game.
Making a Jurassic Park game the Telltale way
Jurassic Park: The Game takes place immediately after the plot of the 1993 film, and is set on the main site of the chaos, Isla Nublar. The action revolves around a minor character from the film, scientist Dr. Gerry Harding as well as the missing shaving can filled with dino embryos stolen by Wayne Knight’s computer tech character Dennis Nedry. “We wanted to deliver an experience that feels like you’re going into one of those Jurassic Park films.” This is from Jurassic Park: The Game designer Joe Pinney, who explains that this was a chance to get up close and personal with the human stories from the movie while also contending with hungry, angry dinos. Read More...
