The Game Design Round Table #11: Storytelling & The Walking Dead. With Telltale
Jan 23, 2013
Sean Vanaman and Jake Rodkin, both game designers at Telltale Games, delve into the art of storytelling in games like The Walking Dead. They discuss the unique challenges of narrative-driven game design versus traditional formats. The duo shares their collaborative experiences, emphasizing the blend of writing and visual design in crafting emotionally resonant stories. Listeners gain insights into the iterative feedback process and the evolution of adventure games, showcasing the balance between player engagement and innovative gameplay.
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From Disney To Telltale
- Sean describes his path from Disney creative development to writing and design at Telltale across many projects.
- He recounts working on Wallace & Grommet, Monkey Island and Puzzle Agent before those experiences fed into The Walking Dead.
Begging Into A Career
- Jake tells how he begged Telltale for a job as a fan of LucasArts adventure games and slowly moved into design.
- He credits web and UI work as the bridge that brought him into story and gameplay design.
Overlapping Roles Improve Design
- Sean and Jake emphasize heavy role overlap and shared responsibility across writing, systems, and scenario design.
- They argue that blurred roles enabled constant mutual checking and richer design outcomes.
