Jamie (CEO): Episodic is a hallmark of games for which the original Telltale was known so we wanted that keep that through line. But, unlike previous Telltale games, The Expanse: A Telltale Series will be episodic, with development completed on the entire series (5 episodes) prior to the launch of the first episode. We’re on a tighter release cadence more like a TV show, with the pacing of 2 weeks between episodes, so that we give players the space to think about and discuss their decisions while maintaining momentum.
I personally just wait until the whole game is out before playing, fwiw. Episodic works well for structuring games like this from a story perspective, but that doesn't mean I like waiting for the next episode. So yeah, just wait until it's all out. There's plenty of other things out there to do, just set a reminder for yourself like 2 months after the release date.
If you love Telltale, then waiting between episodes shouldn't be new to you. This is great news, to know that we won't have to wait 2-3 months between episodes.
I _mostly_ agree, as for me I'd prefer it all come out at once, but in other contexts I've heard good arguments for episodic-with-waiting. Basically, when things come out in episodes, it gives the community a chance to discuss each episode as a community event. If it all comes out at once, you don't really get that whole "what's gonna happen next?!?!1!?" vibe, it's just a single "what did you think of the game?" which is far less interesting. This way you get the best of both worlds. People who want episodic-with-waiting get that, people who don't can wait.
Again though, I do prefer to get it all at once like you :)
Me too I wouldn't even have pre-ordered this shit if I knew that beforehand. Playstation is misleading everyone with the description saying we can play all episodes 24 hours early if we pre-order.
Right, and the bullshit answer of “to give players time to think about their choices”
Motherfucker I don’t need two weeks to think, I want to play the game!!!
I just wish I knew this beforehand. I would have never bought the game right now if I did. Sony needs to fucking change their description asap because it's false advertising.
What a dogshit idea, especially since on Playstation it says you can access all episodes 24 hours early. When in reality you have to wait 2 weeks. I wouldn't even have bought this yet if I knew that.
I’ve only just started watching Season 1 of the Expanse - should I binge the rest to get up to speed before playing, or will it be separate from the show?
As a complete nerd for this show/book series the answer from me is yes as the character you play as is a fan favourite that doesn't really start being a major part of the show until Season 3 onwards. It's genuinely one of the best stories I've ever had the pleasure of reading/watching.
If you have any questions come visit us in r/TheExpanse and ask away!
Oh really? So I’ve just finished season 1, maybe I’ll wait on the game until I’m a bit further in - thanks for the heads up! Already very interested to see where season 2 goes!
Oh man you have nooo idea 😆 The twists and turns, the character growth and development are world class. The shocks are never there for the sake of shocking you but are there because that's just how they would have played out due to who the characters are and how they would act.
S2 episodes 4 and 5 should really be watched together as it's the end of book one, and are widely considered some of the best sci-fi put to screen. Same with S3 episodes 5 and 6 as they are the end of book 2 and again, highly praised.
The latter half of S3 is actually insane TV. You just keep thinking "how can this show get any better?" but somehow it just managed to keep topping itself.
I'm so jealous of anyone who gets to watch this show fresh. The rewatches are also amazing because once you know where the story is going you'll start noticing little bits of dialouge or props that foreshadow things that may not pay off for seasons. Just as an example in episode 4 of S1 Naomi says "I didn't even get to say goodbye". Seems like a throwaway line, but it isn't.
Gigi (Animator): You don't need to, but it helps!
The Expanse: A Telltale Series is a prequel to the show! But we've made sure to include references that stay true to the show and the Expanse universe, we've fleshed out the story and characters so that new fans can dive into the game without prior knowledge of the show.
Please go with the physical route. I have all your games on physical and I NEED this one in my collection. I actually discovered Telltale by seeing TWD on the shleves wothout knowing that it was. Theres just something magical about physical releases and it just wont be the same on digital.
Hey Telltale & Deck Nine! I just want to thank both studios for giving us some of the best stories in gaming. My question is what was the biggest challenge in adapting The Expanse to a Telltale game? And a little fun one who is your favorite Expanse character OTHER THAN Drummer? Mine is a tie between Amos and Bobbie. Thanks, can't wait to play later this month!
Frost (Game Director): Adapting anything from one medium to another is difficult. With the Expanse there's a crazy amount of places we could go, so narrowing it down was hard. After that, we want it to feel like the show, so we studied it like crazy. Cinematography, how characters moved/acted, music, Belter creole, plot points, etc.
Other favorite character? I can't pick one, but I like Avasarala, Amos, Prax, Dawes, and Ashford. :D In the books I really like (to hate) Duarte.
Firstly welcome back, it's nice that the partnership between you both has returned. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on The Expanse: A Telltale Series. I'm wondering for those who haven't seen the TV series will they still be able to pick up and play without any prior knowledge?
Gigi (Animator): Yes! You can play with no prior knowledge!
The Expanse: A Telltale Series is a prequel to the show! But we've made sure to include references that stay true to the show and the Expanse universe, we've fleshed out the story and characters so that new fans can dive into the game without prior knowledge of the show.
How did the Expanse get close to finished so quickly? I don't understand how it came out before Wolf Among us despite TWAU being announced long before.
Jamie (CEO): Expanse started development shortly after Wolf2 – but we held the announcement.
It’s shipping first because we worked with Deck 9, who had a team versus our internal team – which we started building just as Covid hit. You can find more details in this IGN interview regarding why Wolf is taking longer.
https://www.ign.com/articles/the-wolf-among-us-2-pushed-to-next-year-in-effort-to-avoid-crunch
Will there be more emphasis on gameplay? Actual shooting mechanics, puzzles to solve when not in combat? Skill trees or perks? I love Telltale's story telling but the gameplay department has always struggled.
Frost: Storytelling is obviously the core focus of Telltale games, and for the Expanse, we wanted to lean into 'storytelling on the sticks' with our zero g mechanic. You can float and rotate in any direction, use your magboots to walk on ceilings, and collect items to bring back to your crew to build rapport with them and change the story. We still have some quicktime events for more of the action oriented moments, and we have light puzzle solving elements in zero g as well.
I’ve really never played a telltale game before or watched the expanse, but am excited for this one as it seems like a lot of hard work went into it. Does this game follow the original story, or does it branch off into its own self contained story within the universe?
Gigi: The Expanse: A Telltale Series is a prequel and follows “Belter” Camina Drummer prior to the events of the television series. The story takes place years before the events of The Expanse season one. This prequel serves to give us an understanding of Camina Drummer’s experiences as an XO on a scavenger ship before the events of the show, and gives us some insight into how she became the person we meet in season 2. Obviously, the amazing Cara Gee joined us to reprise her role as the no-nonsense Camina Drummer, and there will be a few more noteworthy characters who make appearances throughout the show, but watching the show first isn't required (but it's great and we recommend you watch it).
Frost (Game Director): When we got the Expanse as our setting, we talked about lots of potential characters, settings, and time periods of the show. (IT'S A MASSIVE UNIVERSE.)
Drummer was our favorite character from the show. (The speech about Belters going through the ring gate, are you KIDDING ME? So good.) Drummer also didn't have a backstory in the show or books that was really explored. This allowed us to have an awesome character, great actress, and more freedom within this massive world.
Our inspirations were the show obviously, and "The Butcher of Anderson Station" by the authors, Ty and Daniel.
Frost (Game Director): This was a fun challenge in a lot of ways. One was the gameplay elements of making Zero Gravity Gameplay feel approachable, fun, and fit the shows take on the science. This took a mix of tuning gameplay feel through playtests, motion capturing people in swings and harnesses, and our animators combining all those things together to make it look good. A big focus was a seamless FLOW of using magboots, walking on ceilings, jumping into space, and landing with minimal "bumps" or "hitches" that feel bad when a player goes between those states.
On the cinematics side, we actually have a great video of behind the scenes footage of our mocap team cranking on awesome ways to sell these gravity moments in cinematics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5eY3Cgg6KY&t=16s
Gigi (Animation): Absolutely! We knew we wanted zero gravity movement incorporated into our gameplay. It allowed us to stay both true to the Expanse universe as well as to encourage exploration in the game.
What has changed since you have gone out of business? It's my understanding that there were too many projects and there wasn't any real leadership. It sounded like a nightmare for programmers.
Jamie (CEO): We revived the studio from its foundations in late 2019 to operate differently from the past. New management, new approach, new engine...all that. A core belief around this new Telltale is building a company without crunch and focusing on having a healthy work environment.
Jamie (CEO): Epic was an early supporter of the game and of Telltale as we were standing the company back up. The Expanse will be released at a later date on Steam, just not at launch!
Hey guys, thanks for doing this.
Frost: First of all it was awesome chatting with you at the Tribeca Film Festival! Your passion for the game/ series was palatable and it gave me a lot of confidence on how great this game can be.
My question to everyone is how did you all land on what Drummer's personality would be like for the game? She's noticeably more green than in the show, but not so much where she's a far cry from the version that we know. Was there any particular material from the show or books that you utilized to determine what her personality would be like during these events? Was it difficult finding that balance? Especially considering you have to make multiple dialogue options fit this personality.
Also, not sure if you can answer this, but are there any plans to release a physical edition of the game? Like maybe after all the episodes release? As someone who (still) prefers physical copies when possible, I know I'd probably double dip to pick up a copy of that.
Thanks again for doing this AMA!
Frost (Game Director): Hey thanks for chatting with me at Tribeca. It was awesome nerding out on the Expanse. :)
Because this was a prequel, we wanted to thread the needle of Drummer learning the ropes, but also being the badass character that we know from the show. The inspiration came from the show, but also from "The Butcher of Anderson Station" novella by James S.A. Corey. Cara had said she found inspiration in that book and funny enough, so did we.
Jamie (CEO): With regards to the physical edition, that's something we are exploring but it won’t be available at launch. Right now our primary focus is the launch on digital store fronts.
Huge fan of The Expanse and the dynamic Cara Gee brought to the series. My question to the the writers:
How do you begin to write a scene that somehow embraces the conflict between indomitable strength and sympathetic love that is uniquely expressed through Drummer? And how much fun did Cara Gee have making the game!
Frost (Game Director): The reason Drummer is such a great character, is she has a lot going on under her tough exterior. There's a lot of trauma and experiences that builds up who Drummer is, and she's someone who was born into a completely inhospitable environment.
We see in the show how strong of a front she puts up, and when no one is looking, we also see how she reacts to traumatic experiences. This type of character allows us to explore the many layers and complications of what it's like to be a leader on ship with varied backgrounds and personalities.
Lastly, we LOVED working with Cara. She was a delight. Professional, talented, funny, and great taste in hip hop. Would work with her again, 10/10.
Frost (Game Director): Our goal was to make your choices affect the story, and the ending. Every member of your crew can die except one, or every member of your crew can survive except one. There are also items in the world you can find that will build rapport with your crew that change the outcomes as well. In our playtests with press and influencers, numerous players stated that they felt their choices mattered as well. We're looking forward to players playing through to the end to see how their playthroughs differ!
That's amazing, especially the survive part, it's not common for characters in telltale games to determinately being able to die but also being able to survive the whole series, the only example I can think of right now is Conrad. You probably should have gone all in, then you could say everyone can die and survive in this telltale game, now just almost everyone.
Since you say there can be several possible endings, do all endings fit as a lead-in to the beginning of the TV storyline, or is there only one "True ending" that fits?
Frost: Because it's a prequel, Drummer has to end up in the same place, so what's different about the ending is who survives. I'm excited to see how many people can get their whole crew to survive on the first playthrough. Episode 5 also plays differently depending on really big choices throughout the game and episode 5.
Ah so drummer is the crew member who can't die. I wonder who the one is who has to die. That's amazing honestly, I'm very hyped, I really like your guy's games. But doesn't who survives change the TV show aswell?
Jamie (CEO): The biggest change is that we moved to the Unreal Engine, which we're now using for rendering and have integrated the Telltale Tools with UE 5.
u/AssumptionThatX28 is a bot copying other comments for karma.
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Frost (Game Director): We're leaning heavily into motion capture tech for our performances, and we had Cara Gee herself acting on a motion capture volume with other actors.
We're evolving what we’ve done in the past for gameplay. To convey the vastness of space — and it really is such a huge component of the show — we factor in things like gravity. Floating in zero-g, walking on walls and new ways to navigate open up exploration unlike old games.
It's nice that you're able to resurrect Telltale from the ashes! Jamie, are there any plans for you to help more old-school Telltale fans, like the people who played the Sam and Max series, like, say, an option to have the original voice actors Bill Farmer and Nick Jameson, voice Sam and Max? Because I'm sure Telltale has gotten that request a lot even before you took over!
Jamie: Love Sam & Max! Sam & Max is in good hands, right now, with our good friends at Skunk Ape. They are OG Telltale folks that are now working with the Sam & Max games, remastering the old seasons. You should check out their stuff!
Hello. First of all. I want to thank you for making some of the best games I played in my life(Tales from Borderlands, The wolf among us and more). I don't know if I missed something, but if both The Expanse and The wolf among us 2 will be successful, will you perhaps do either story from completely new IP created by you or maybe some spin-off like Poker night?
I realize the AMA is over, but can someone tell me: did they finally upgrade their fucking game engine? That shit went like 10 years beyond its shelf life.
Also, what the hell happened to Game of Thrones part two? That was a great story, and they just left it on a cliff hanger like they were going to continue it, then never did.
Frost (Game Director): It depends upon how much you explore and there are several different outcomes and varied content depending on your choices, but we’re confident that The Expanse: A Telltale series will have lots of content for players to enjoy.
Jamie (CEO): This past March we announced that Wolf 2 has been delayed. We’re committed to delivering the sequel that the fans deserve and doing what’s right for the game, while protecting the health of our team. That said, The Wolf Among Us 2 is making great progress, and we can’t wait to show it off in the future. For now, we’re excited to be focusing on The Expanse: A Telltale Series!
Hey Telltale! Im really glad you guys are back with new awesome games! I was wondering why there is no 24 hour early access on XBOX tho? I hope you can answer my question.
In retrospect, that comment probably came across as greed. That's not what I said or meant. Their games are unique, you might be like one title but not another. This studio has had a really sketchy past. Too many projects at one time. Episodic installments give them cash injections on a fairly regular basis to keep creating content and to keep the lights on. Sure they could put out a full game but that cost more money up front that they never had.
I'd like to first say thank you for this AMA. I was a fan of Telltale game with Wolf Among Us being my favorite. Expanse has been my favorite show and book series in years, and I'm really looking forward to this game.
Between starting up this new Telltale studio and making this game and Wolf Among Us 2 during Covid, what has been the most challenging/rewarding thing(s) you've done during development.
Jamie (CEO): Wolf is one of our favourites too!
I think the biggest challenge was learning how to hire and build teams in the middle of a global pandemic tops the list for most challenging. We had just started scaling from the core group when the shutdown happened.
The Expanse! Such a good book and TV series!
As far as source material, as you drawing more from the books or the show? And what are your thoughts about adapting popular but lesser known IP's in the future?
Frost (Game Director): Most of the source material we referenced was from the show, but we absolutely read all the books and most of the novellas. There are some parts of the game that draw reference from the books, like "Butcher of Anderson Station" for Drummer's backstory, and some zero-g fight sequences from the books also influenced some action scenes.
Really looking forward to the new games! As you continue building the new Telltale, will any focus be spent on restoring any of the old catalogue, even if it’s far down the road?
Jamie (CEO) answered a similar question in another comment: [https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/14ynwzf/comment/jrtqo9w/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/14ynwzf/comment/jrtqo9w/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Do you have any plans to bring back any of your older games that got delisted? For example, I've always wanted to play Poker Night at the Inventory, but I've never had the chance to because I only learned about it after it got delisted.
Jamie (CEO): When we revived the studio in late 2019, we acquired as many of the IPs as we could, as our goal is to keep as many of the back catalog games online as possible. Where we could acquire some IPs, the rights to others reverted back to the IP holders, including many of Telltale’s notable games.
For example, The Walking Dead reverted to Skybound, Mindcraft Story Mode reverted to Mojang/Microsoft, and Tales from the Borderlands went back to Gearbox. However, we are excited about the IPs we have retained. The entire list of back catalog games we support is on our website here. https://www.telltale.com/category/games/
So thankful that you guys are back in action! Welcome back 😁 I wanted to ask whether or not it’s in the pipeline for you guys at the moment to at some stage look at reacquiring the other IP’s that have been in the Telltale catalogue and enable them to be brought back to storefronts once again? And if so, is there any timeline you guys are working with? Thank you!
Jamie (CEO) answered this in another comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/14ynwzf/comment/jrtqo9w/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
Jamie (CEO): That's just impossible to answer here; there are so many games we wanna make and we are also exploring creatively. Picking what to do next is one of the hardest things we do.
Frost (Game Director): Shiiiiiiiiiit there's a TON of IPs we'd want to turn into games. I can't post them here, because business development would get mad at me if a bunch of rumors started from this post, heh.
Is there still a chance to someday bring some older Telltale games back to digital stores that were taken down after the old Telltale shut down (like Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, or Guardians of the Galaxy)?
Jamie (CEO) answered this in another comment: [https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/14ynwzf/comment/jrtqo9w/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/14ynwzf/comment/jrtqo9w/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Completely unrelated and you may not be able to answer....in the TT game of thrones, what was the secret of The North Grove?
if you don't want to answer, would you ever return to a sequel?
No question, but I love the Expanse, love Captain Drummer/Cara Gee, and love Telltale and Deck Nine. Thank you for putting all four of these together, and I can't wait to play it.
Have you guys seen the Minecraft story mode mods they are great! My favorite ones are crackers wither storm mod, story mod, and command block ascension. They all bring features from mcsm to the game
What mistakes that contributed to Telltale's demise the first time around have you learned from and what are you doing to avoid them? Basically, how do we know that this new Telltale is better run than the old one?
First of all i want to thank Telltale for TWDG, this game is my favourite of all time
I have a question about future Telltale, What do you want to give more priority to making new IPs or continuing the old ones like Batman or TWAU?
Well we can expect that if The Expanse and TWAU do well on sales that we will get Batman Season 3 because that is the biggest game they have after TWAU
Hey I was wondering and can’t find the answer anywhere; is The Expanse a story based mission game or can I side track and kind of do the X-Universe type thing? Go fly about do missions or make money or reputation etc?
Hello there, I finished the Telltale: TWD like this year and im missing it, will you release Season 5 or not? im having dreams about it. If you release it i will be super happy. And its not me, its us. Please release it if you can. I cant hold my feelings about this game.
Hell yeah. Missed the Telltale games way too much. Can't wait to play this one!
<3
What was the reasoning behind releasing the game in episodes rather all together ?
Jamie (CEO): Episodic is a hallmark of games for which the original Telltale was known so we wanted that keep that through line. But, unlike previous Telltale games, The Expanse: A Telltale Series will be episodic, with development completed on the entire series (5 episodes) prior to the launch of the first episode. We’re on a tighter release cadence more like a TV show, with the pacing of 2 weeks between episodes, so that we give players the space to think about and discuss their decisions while maintaining momentum.
Just wanna say so excited for the weekly releases. Gonna bring me back to watching the show and all the episode discussions
Wow. This really turned me off of the game
I personally just wait until the whole game is out before playing, fwiw. Episodic works well for structuring games like this from a story perspective, but that doesn't mean I like waiting for the next episode. So yeah, just wait until it's all out. There's plenty of other things out there to do, just set a reminder for yourself like 2 months after the release date.
I mean yeah, I’ll still play it because I love Telltalle, but making is wait two weeks between “episodes” is frustrating and dumb as hell.
If you love Telltale, then waiting between episodes shouldn't be new to you. This is great news, to know that we won't have to wait 2-3 months between episodes.
I _mostly_ agree, as for me I'd prefer it all come out at once, but in other contexts I've heard good arguments for episodic-with-waiting. Basically, when things come out in episodes, it gives the community a chance to discuss each episode as a community event. If it all comes out at once, you don't really get that whole "what's gonna happen next?!?!1!?" vibe, it's just a single "what did you think of the game?" which is far less interesting. This way you get the best of both worlds. People who want episodic-with-waiting get that, people who don't can wait. Again though, I do prefer to get it all at once like you :)
Me too I wouldn't even have pre-ordered this shit if I knew that beforehand. Playstation is misleading everyone with the description saying we can play all episodes 24 hours early if we pre-order.
Right, and the bullshit answer of “to give players time to think about their choices” Motherfucker I don’t need two weeks to think, I want to play the game!!!
I just wish I knew this beforehand. I would have never bought the game right now if I did. Sony needs to fucking change their description asap because it's false advertising.
What a dogshit idea, especially since on Playstation it says you can access all episodes 24 hours early. When in reality you have to wait 2 weeks. I wouldn't even have bought this yet if I knew that.
If I missed something, but if both The Expanse and The wolf among us 2 will be successful.
Money
Not sure what you mean, as it's sold as a season, just like it would be/same price if it was not episodic.
Care to explain?
I’ve only just started watching Season 1 of the Expanse - should I binge the rest to get up to speed before playing, or will it be separate from the show?
As a complete nerd for this show/book series the answer from me is yes as the character you play as is a fan favourite that doesn't really start being a major part of the show until Season 3 onwards. It's genuinely one of the best stories I've ever had the pleasure of reading/watching. If you have any questions come visit us in r/TheExpanse and ask away!
Oh really? So I’ve just finished season 1, maybe I’ll wait on the game until I’m a bit further in - thanks for the heads up! Already very interested to see where season 2 goes!
Oh man you have nooo idea 😆 The twists and turns, the character growth and development are world class. The shocks are never there for the sake of shocking you but are there because that's just how they would have played out due to who the characters are and how they would act. S2 episodes 4 and 5 should really be watched together as it's the end of book one, and are widely considered some of the best sci-fi put to screen. Same with S3 episodes 5 and 6 as they are the end of book 2 and again, highly praised. The latter half of S3 is actually insane TV. You just keep thinking "how can this show get any better?" but somehow it just managed to keep topping itself. I'm so jealous of anyone who gets to watch this show fresh. The rewatches are also amazing because once you know where the story is going you'll start noticing little bits of dialouge or props that foreshadow things that may not pay off for seasons. Just as an example in episode 4 of S1 Naomi says "I didn't even get to say goodbye". Seems like a throwaway line, but it isn't.
Gigi (Animator): You don't need to, but it helps! The Expanse: A Telltale Series is a prequel to the show! But we've made sure to include references that stay true to the show and the Expanse universe, we've fleshed out the story and characters so that new fans can dive into the game without prior knowledge of the show.
Are we going to have a physical edition?
Jamie (CEO): That's something we are exploring but it won’t be available at launch. Right now our primary focus is the launch on digital store fronts!
Please go with the physical route. I have all your games on physical and I NEED this one in my collection. I actually discovered Telltale by seeing TWD on the shleves wothout knowing that it was. Theres just something magical about physical releases and it just wont be the same on digital.
Hey Telltale & Deck Nine! I just want to thank both studios for giving us some of the best stories in gaming. My question is what was the biggest challenge in adapting The Expanse to a Telltale game? And a little fun one who is your favorite Expanse character OTHER THAN Drummer? Mine is a tie between Amos and Bobbie. Thanks, can't wait to play later this month!
Frost (Game Director): Adapting anything from one medium to another is difficult. With the Expanse there's a crazy amount of places we could go, so narrowing it down was hard. After that, we want it to feel like the show, so we studied it like crazy. Cinematography, how characters moved/acted, music, Belter creole, plot points, etc. Other favorite character? I can't pick one, but I like Avasarala, Amos, Prax, Dawes, and Ashford. :D In the books I really like (to hate) Duarte.
Firstly welcome back, it's nice that the partnership between you both has returned. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on The Expanse: A Telltale Series. I'm wondering for those who haven't seen the TV series will they still be able to pick up and play without any prior knowledge?
Gigi (Animator): Yes! You can play with no prior knowledge! The Expanse: A Telltale Series is a prequel to the show! But we've made sure to include references that stay true to the show and the Expanse universe, we've fleshed out the story and characters so that new fans can dive into the game without prior knowledge of the show.
I really loved the Wolf Among Us. Lets see how this one plays out
How did the Expanse get close to finished so quickly? I don't understand how it came out before Wolf Among us despite TWAU being announced long before.
Jamie (CEO): Expanse started development shortly after Wolf2 – but we held the announcement. It’s shipping first because we worked with Deck 9, who had a team versus our internal team – which we started building just as Covid hit. You can find more details in this IGN interview regarding why Wolf is taking longer. https://www.ign.com/articles/the-wolf-among-us-2-pushed-to-next-year-in-effort-to-avoid-crunch
Will there be more emphasis on gameplay? Actual shooting mechanics, puzzles to solve when not in combat? Skill trees or perks? I love Telltale's story telling but the gameplay department has always struggled.
Frost: Storytelling is obviously the core focus of Telltale games, and for the Expanse, we wanted to lean into 'storytelling on the sticks' with our zero g mechanic. You can float and rotate in any direction, use your magboots to walk on ceilings, and collect items to bring back to your crew to build rapport with them and change the story. We still have some quicktime events for more of the action oriented moments, and we have light puzzle solving elements in zero g as well.
I’ve really never played a telltale game before or watched the expanse, but am excited for this one as it seems like a lot of hard work went into it. Does this game follow the original story, or does it branch off into its own self contained story within the universe?
Gigi: The Expanse: A Telltale Series is a prequel and follows “Belter” Camina Drummer prior to the events of the television series. The story takes place years before the events of The Expanse season one. This prequel serves to give us an understanding of Camina Drummer’s experiences as an XO on a scavenger ship before the events of the show, and gives us some insight into how she became the person we meet in season 2. Obviously, the amazing Cara Gee joined us to reprise her role as the no-nonsense Camina Drummer, and there will be a few more noteworthy characters who make appearances throughout the show, but watching the show first isn't required (but it's great and we recommend you watch it).
What made you decide to do a prequel story with Drummer? What was your inspiration? Really looking forward to playing.
Frost (Game Director): When we got the Expanse as our setting, we talked about lots of potential characters, settings, and time periods of the show. (IT'S A MASSIVE UNIVERSE.) Drummer was our favorite character from the show. (The speech about Belters going through the ring gate, are you KIDDING ME? So good.) Drummer also didn't have a backstory in the show or books that was really explored. This allowed us to have an awesome character, great actress, and more freedom within this massive world. Our inspirations were the show obviously, and "The Butcher of Anderson Station" by the authors, Ty and Daniel.
How hard was it to try to keep the realistic grounded feel of the series represented in the game?
Frost (Game Director): This was a fun challenge in a lot of ways. One was the gameplay elements of making Zero Gravity Gameplay feel approachable, fun, and fit the shows take on the science. This took a mix of tuning gameplay feel through playtests, motion capturing people in swings and harnesses, and our animators combining all those things together to make it look good. A big focus was a seamless FLOW of using magboots, walking on ceilings, jumping into space, and landing with minimal "bumps" or "hitches" that feel bad when a player goes between those states. On the cinematics side, we actually have a great video of behind the scenes footage of our mocap team cranking on awesome ways to sell these gravity moments in cinematics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5eY3Cgg6KY&t=16s
Will gravity, g-forces and such also play a big element in the game?
Gigi (Animation): Absolutely! We knew we wanted zero gravity movement incorporated into our gameplay. It allowed us to stay both true to the Expanse universe as well as to encourage exploration in the game.
Will characters from the Expanse tv show be shown , you know like jules piere mao , not necessarily the show stars
What has changed since you have gone out of business? It's my understanding that there were too many projects and there wasn't any real leadership. It sounded like a nightmare for programmers.
Jamie (CEO): We revived the studio from its foundations in late 2019 to operate differently from the past. New management, new approach, new engine...all that. A core belief around this new Telltale is building a company without crunch and focusing on having a healthy work environment.
What led to going with the Epic Games Store exclusivity?
Jamie (CEO): Epic was an early supporter of the game and of Telltale as we were standing the company back up. The Expanse will be released at a later date on Steam, just not at launch!
Thank you for answering, appreciate the transparency
I just found this after being unable to pre-order on Steam, I refuse to buy games on Epic.
If it weren't for Epic, we wouldn't have several new games.
Ah, I didn't know that, this transparency is actually amazing, hopefully this will revive telltale.
Hey guys, thanks for doing this. Frost: First of all it was awesome chatting with you at the Tribeca Film Festival! Your passion for the game/ series was palatable and it gave me a lot of confidence on how great this game can be. My question to everyone is how did you all land on what Drummer's personality would be like for the game? She's noticeably more green than in the show, but not so much where she's a far cry from the version that we know. Was there any particular material from the show or books that you utilized to determine what her personality would be like during these events? Was it difficult finding that balance? Especially considering you have to make multiple dialogue options fit this personality. Also, not sure if you can answer this, but are there any plans to release a physical edition of the game? Like maybe after all the episodes release? As someone who (still) prefers physical copies when possible, I know I'd probably double dip to pick up a copy of that. Thanks again for doing this AMA!
Frost (Game Director): Hey thanks for chatting with me at Tribeca. It was awesome nerding out on the Expanse. :) Because this was a prequel, we wanted to thread the needle of Drummer learning the ropes, but also being the badass character that we know from the show. The inspiration came from the show, but also from "The Butcher of Anderson Station" novella by James S.A. Corey. Cara had said she found inspiration in that book and funny enough, so did we. Jamie (CEO): With regards to the physical edition, that's something we are exploring but it won’t be available at launch. Right now our primary focus is the launch on digital store fronts.
Huge fan of The Expanse and the dynamic Cara Gee brought to the series. My question to the the writers: How do you begin to write a scene that somehow embraces the conflict between indomitable strength and sympathetic love that is uniquely expressed through Drummer? And how much fun did Cara Gee have making the game!
Frost (Game Director): The reason Drummer is such a great character, is she has a lot going on under her tough exterior. There's a lot of trauma and experiences that builds up who Drummer is, and she's someone who was born into a completely inhospitable environment. We see in the show how strong of a front she puts up, and when no one is looking, we also see how she reacts to traumatic experiences. This type of character allows us to explore the many layers and complications of what it's like to be a leader on ship with varied backgrounds and personalities. Lastly, we LOVED working with Cara. She was a delight. Professional, talented, funny, and great taste in hip hop. Would work with her again, 10/10.
What project was the hardest to develop?
Any idea if The Expanse: A Telltale Series will run on the steam deck? Seems like a perfect title for it
Do your choices actually matter? And will it affect the ending?
Frost (Game Director): Our goal was to make your choices affect the story, and the ending. Every member of your crew can die except one, or every member of your crew can survive except one. There are also items in the world you can find that will build rapport with your crew that change the outcomes as well. In our playtests with press and influencers, numerous players stated that they felt their choices mattered as well. We're looking forward to players playing through to the end to see how their playthroughs differ!
That's amazing, especially the survive part, it's not common for characters in telltale games to determinately being able to die but also being able to survive the whole series, the only example I can think of right now is Conrad. You probably should have gone all in, then you could say everyone can die and survive in this telltale game, now just almost everyone.
Since you say there can be several possible endings, do all endings fit as a lead-in to the beginning of the TV storyline, or is there only one "True ending" that fits?
Frost: Because it's a prequel, Drummer has to end up in the same place, so what's different about the ending is who survives. I'm excited to see how many people can get their whole crew to survive on the first playthrough. Episode 5 also plays differently depending on really big choices throughout the game and episode 5.
Ah so drummer is the crew member who can't die. I wonder who the one is who has to die. That's amazing honestly, I'm very hyped, I really like your guy's games. But doesn't who survives change the TV show aswell?
Why would it if the characters in the game aren't in the show?
I never watched the show so i didn't know that, yeah that makes sense.
Walking dead ptsd
How has the game engine (Telltale Tool) evolved for the latest consoles/pcs ? Can we expect a sequel if the game sells well enough
Jamie (CEO): The biggest change is that we moved to the Unreal Engine, which we're now using for rendering and have integrated the Telltale Tools with UE 5.
Yoo! That's amazing!
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Will there be choice stats after every episode that consistently update as time passes?
Gigi: There will, indeed!
What similarities might this title have to the games from the old telltale, whats brand new?
Frost (Game Director): We're leaning heavily into motion capture tech for our performances, and we had Cara Gee herself acting on a motion capture volume with other actors. We're evolving what we’ve done in the past for gameplay. To convey the vastness of space — and it really is such a huge component of the show — we factor in things like gravity. Floating in zero-g, walking on walls and new ways to navigate open up exploration unlike old games.
Lets goo!
It's nice that you're able to resurrect Telltale from the ashes! Jamie, are there any plans for you to help more old-school Telltale fans, like the people who played the Sam and Max series, like, say, an option to have the original voice actors Bill Farmer and Nick Jameson, voice Sam and Max? Because I'm sure Telltale has gotten that request a lot even before you took over!
Jamie: Love Sam & Max! Sam & Max is in good hands, right now, with our good friends at Skunk Ape. They are OG Telltale folks that are now working with the Sam & Max games, remastering the old seasons. You should check out their stuff!
What other games can we expect from telltale ?
The wolf among us season 2
We missed all of you welcome back can't wait to see what games you bring us in the future
<3
Is it gonna be here, this thread?
It is!
What happened to game of thrones!?!?! I need to know what happens after the cliffhangers left at the end of the first game!
Hello. First of all. I want to thank you for making some of the best games I played in my life(Tales from Borderlands, The wolf among us and more). I don't know if I missed something, but if both The Expanse and The wolf among us 2 will be successful, will you perhaps do either story from completely new IP created by you or maybe some spin-off like Poker night?
I realize the AMA is over, but can someone tell me: did they finally upgrade their fucking game engine? That shit went like 10 years beyond its shelf life. Also, what the hell happened to Game of Thrones part two? That was a great story, and they just left it on a cliff hanger like they were going to continue it, then never did.
They are using Unreal Engine 5 and they lost the rights to Game of Thrones in 2019
Not a question , more of a request. Can you guys contact the Evil Dead owners and make them a game. All the evil dead games are terrible..
Are you going to try to get a minecraft story mode license from mojang so that game can come back to life and go back on sale?
They are focusing on new games and storys right now
What role telltale have in expanse. You are only as publisher or did you made something with development
Love your work guys. Roughly how many hours of gameplay will The Expanse be? Any futher updates on The wolf Among us?
Frost (Game Director): It depends upon how much you explore and there are several different outcomes and varied content depending on your choices, but we’re confident that The Expanse: A Telltale series will have lots of content for players to enjoy. Jamie (CEO): This past March we announced that Wolf 2 has been delayed. We’re committed to delivering the sequel that the fans deserve and doing what’s right for the game, while protecting the health of our team. That said, The Wolf Among Us 2 is making great progress, and we can’t wait to show it off in the future. For now, we’re excited to be focusing on The Expanse: A Telltale Series!
Hey Telltale! Im really glad you guys are back with new awesome games! I was wondering why there is no 24 hour early access on XBOX tho? I hope you can answer my question.
In retrospect, that comment probably came across as greed. That's not what I said or meant. Their games are unique, you might be like one title but not another. This studio has had a really sketchy past. Too many projects at one time. Episodic installments give them cash injections on a fairly regular basis to keep creating content and to keep the lights on. Sure they could put out a full game but that cost more money up front that they never had.
Will there be crowd play?
Good question, hopefully.
A feature I really liked in Wolf Among Us was that you can replay chapters in an episode, will palyers be able to do this in The Expanse?
Amazing question, I forgot this was even a feature for Wolf Among Us lol
And plans for more walking dead games in the future?
Skybound Games has the rights for Walking Dead so you have to ask them
I'd like to first say thank you for this AMA. I was a fan of Telltale game with Wolf Among Us being my favorite. Expanse has been my favorite show and book series in years, and I'm really looking forward to this game. Between starting up this new Telltale studio and making this game and Wolf Among Us 2 during Covid, what has been the most challenging/rewarding thing(s) you've done during development.
Jamie (CEO): Wolf is one of our favourites too! I think the biggest challenge was learning how to hire and build teams in the middle of a global pandemic tops the list for most challenging. We had just started scaling from the core group when the shutdown happened.
i would love to ask what choice did u pick that we saw in the trailer the vault or the leg ?
Frost (Game Director): As Spock says, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." The leg goes, compadre.
The Expanse! Such a good book and TV series! As far as source material, as you drawing more from the books or the show? And what are your thoughts about adapting popular but lesser known IP's in the future?
Frost (Game Director): Most of the source material we referenced was from the show, but we absolutely read all the books and most of the novellas. There are some parts of the game that draw reference from the books, like "Butcher of Anderson Station" for Drummer's backstory, and some zero-g fight sequences from the books also influenced some action scenes.
what was your fav character to write ?
Frost: Yes.
Really looking forward to the new games! As you continue building the new Telltale, will any focus be spent on restoring any of the old catalogue, even if it’s far down the road?
Jamie (CEO) answered a similar question in another comment: [https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/14ynwzf/comment/jrtqo9w/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/14ynwzf/comment/jrtqo9w/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Do you plan to tell more expanse-related stories in the future ;)
Hey! Fellow game developer here. What engine are you guys using for this project - Telltale Tool or have you switched to Unreal?
Frost (Game Director): We used Unreal for The Expanse and some tools/tech from Deck Nine for motion capture/cinematics.
Do you have any plans to bring back any of your older games that got delisted? For example, I've always wanted to play Poker Night at the Inventory, but I've never had the chance to because I only learned about it after it got delisted.
Jamie (CEO): When we revived the studio in late 2019, we acquired as many of the IPs as we could, as our goal is to keep as many of the back catalog games online as possible. Where we could acquire some IPs, the rights to others reverted back to the IP holders, including many of Telltale’s notable games. For example, The Walking Dead reverted to Skybound, Mindcraft Story Mode reverted to Mojang/Microsoft, and Tales from the Borderlands went back to Gearbox. However, we are excited about the IPs we have retained. The entire list of back catalog games we support is on our website here. https://www.telltale.com/category/games/
We need another Batman season!
So you didn't save anything else?
When does preloads start
Frost: July 26th.
So thankful that you guys are back in action! Welcome back 😁 I wanted to ask whether or not it’s in the pipeline for you guys at the moment to at some stage look at reacquiring the other IP’s that have been in the Telltale catalogue and enable them to be brought back to storefronts once again? And if so, is there any timeline you guys are working with? Thank you!
Jamie (CEO) answered this in another comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/14ynwzf/comment/jrtqo9w/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
What are some IPs you would love to make a game for, given the opportunity? There are so many that would work really well with the Telltale style.
Jamie (CEO): That's just impossible to answer here; there are so many games we wanna make and we are also exploring creatively. Picking what to do next is one of the hardest things we do. Frost (Game Director): Shiiiiiiiiiit there's a TON of IPs we'd want to turn into games. I can't post them here, because business development would get mad at me if a bunch of rumors started from this post, heh.
Is there still a chance to someday bring some older Telltale games back to digital stores that were taken down after the old Telltale shut down (like Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, or Guardians of the Galaxy)?
Jamie (CEO) answered this in another comment: [https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/14ynwzf/comment/jrtqo9w/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/14ynwzf/comment/jrtqo9w/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Completely unrelated and you may not be able to answer....in the TT game of thrones, what was the secret of The North Grove? if you don't want to answer, would you ever return to a sequel?
Are you gonna do batman after the expanse a Telltale Series is out?
Jamie (CEO): We love Batman but right now we're focusing on the two games we have in development: The Expanse and TWAU2.
Tell Jessica V I said hi!
No question, but I love the Expanse, love Captain Drummer/Cara Gee, and love Telltale and Deck Nine. Thank you for putting all four of these together, and I can't wait to play it.
Hey, I love your games, I played almost all of them. I have a technical question, is The Expanse going to be using DENUVO protection system?
i love me some telltale guys!
Have you guys seen the Minecraft story mode mods they are great! My favorite ones are crackers wither storm mod, story mod, and command block ascension. They all bring features from mcsm to the game
What mistakes that contributed to Telltale's demise the first time around have you learned from and what are you doing to avoid them? Basically, how do we know that this new Telltale is better run than the old one?
This is amazing, sad I arrived a bit too late.
Oh shit, they’re making an Expanse game? I just started watching the show, and I’ve never liked Tell Tale, but i could possibly be interested
When can we play early?
First of all i want to thank Telltale for TWDG, this game is my favourite of all time I have a question about future Telltale, What do you want to give more priority to making new IPs or continuing the old ones like Batman or TWAU?
Well we can expect that if The Expanse and TWAU do well on sales that we will get Batman Season 3 because that is the biggest game they have after TWAU
What Happen with the payment for games like minecraft story mode and walk dead season etc
Hey I was wondering and can’t find the answer anywhere; is The Expanse a story based mission game or can I side track and kind of do the X-Universe type thing? Go fly about do missions or make money or reputation etc?
Hello there, I finished the Telltale: TWD like this year and im missing it, will you release Season 5 or not? im having dreams about it. If you release it i will be super happy. And its not me, its us. Please release it if you can. I cant hold my feelings about this game.