Telltale and Doctor Who?

[lobotomy42]

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/08/are-you-listening-bbc-telltale-wants-to-make-doctor-who-games/

OMG PLEASE???? I would buy this game 10 times.

[thorn]

I <3 both Telltale and Doctor Who but I can't imagine how this could happen and not be a massive gob of shite. For one thing, the doctor would never work as a playable character because he's meant to be slightly mysterious and have knowledge that the viewer/player doesn't. Also, I can't see how any game, especially a point-and-click-adventure, could capture the atmosphere and ethos of the tv show.

[elmuerte]

I have my doubts it'll work, couldn't you simply sonic-screw-drive all puzzles?

[thorn]

Wait a moment... Telltale have already made the Doctor Who game. It was called Sam and Max, Season Two: Chariots of the Dogs.

[toblix]

Don't you mean Doctor Whom?

[ysbreker]

Don't you mean Doctor Whom?

No, Toblix, we don't. And you know that, young man.

After they're done with Dr Who I vote we give them the rights for a life on mars/ashes to ashes game.

[lobotomy42]

One of the great things about Doctor Who is that the premise is completely flexible. You can tell stories long, short, fast, slow, scary, funny, sad, or adrenaline-fueled. So I really don't think it would be that difficult to write Doctor Who stories for the adventure game medium.

Consider the episodes of the new series "Blink," or "The Empty Child." In Blink, we follow Sally Sparrow around a series of locations (several repeated) as she tries to unravel the "timey-wimey" mystery of what's going on with the creepy statues in the creepy house. She figures this out by talking to people, talking to people, reading letters, watching a DVD, and talking to some more people. In "The Empty Child," the Doctor and Rose get split up almost immediately - Rose has to charm the mysterious Captain Jack into telling her where the mysterious foreign object is buried, while the Doctor hangs out with a young girl and a band of orphans as they try to puzzle out why this creepy kid in a gas mask is following them.

In both cases, most of the time is spent watching the characters talk to other characters trying to glean clues as to "what is going on here," moving on to new locations, making new conclusions based on what was previously learned and then trying to figure out the next bit - essentially, an adventure game. The latter story structure lends itself almost immediately to Gabriel Knight-esque game that jumps between the two primary characters. Sure, there's the occasional "Run!" bit, but that's what cut-scenes are for, right?

Plus, Doctor Who is fairly episodic in nature - despite its best efforts, there are rarely huge over-arching plots with much significance - which also lends itself nicely to a series of TellTale episodes, ya?

Honestly, if there were one genre that lent itself to Doctor Who it would *have* to be the adventure game genre.

I know it's just a wish at this point, but still, a guy can dream, eh?

[thorn]

Thinking about this further, I suppose my objection is that none of the Telltale games I've ever played (and very few other games in the adventure genre) have a genuine sense of tension and danger. Many of the best Doctor Who episodes have ended with a ticking clock, a race against time or the Doctor and his companion running, running, running from some terrible monster. I just can't see how that vibe could be instilled in to a game.

[nsps]

Thinking about this further, I suppose my objection is that none of the Telltale games I've ever played (and very few other games in the adventure genre) have a genuine sense of tension and danger. Many of the best Doctor Who episodes have ended with a ticking clock, a race against time or the Doctor and his companion running, running, running from some terrible monster. I just can't see how that vibe could be instilled in to a game.

Maybe they could work in some "The Last Express"-style against-the-clock stuff.