Telltale Joins Lionsgate for Video Game/TV Series
Telltale has announced a joint venture with Lionsgate Studios to create “Super Shows,” which will combine elements of a traditional TV show with a video game.
Neither company is new to the small screen business. Lionsgate currently produces Netflix’s Orange is the New Black and AMC’s critically acclaimed Mad Men; and Telltale has built its reputation on creating games based on popular series like CSI, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones.
“A Super Show episode combines one part of interactive playable content with one part of scripted television-style content,” Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s not an interactive series with a show, or a TV show with a game, but a story integrated in a way that only [we] can do.”
However, the way each episode unfolds depends on what the player interacts with first. “If you play the interactive episode first, certain elements of the scripted episode portion will be tailored to reflect some choices made in your interactive play through. If you watch the show before playing, some elements in the interactive portions may be presented differently than if you had played first,” Bruner added.
The first hybrid series will be an original franchise. But that doesn’t mean the game developer won’t eventually take on one of the franchises in Lionsgate’s vault, like The Hunger Games. “As we move forward, I certainly can imagine building future Super Show series based on existing IP when it makes sense,” Bruner said.
You won’t have to invest in the Super Show platform to enjoy the new material. But the regular non-interactive version probably won’t be released at the same time. “At some point, non-interactive episodes of the scripted content will become available as traditional TV-style episodes on streaming services and broadcast TV,” declared Bruner. “While this obviously can’t deliver the interactivity, this version of the scripted episodes will stand as completely satisfying top-quality television entertainment.”
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Telltale Joins Lionsgate for Video Game/TV Series
Telltale has announced a joint venture with Lionsgate Studios to create “Super Shows,” which will combine elements of a traditional TV show with a video game.
Neither company is new to the small screen business. Lionsgate currently produces Netflix’s Orange is the New Black and AMC’s critically acclaimed Mad Men; and Telltale has built its reputation on creating games based on popular series like CSI, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones.
“A Super Show episode combines one part of interactive playable content with one part of scripted television-style content,” Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s not an interactive series with a show, or a TV show with a game, but a story integrated in a way that only [we] can do.”
However, the way each episode unfolds depends on what the player interacts with first. “If you play the interactive episode first, certain elements of the scripted episode portion will be tailored to reflect some choices made in your interactive play through. If you watch the show before playing, some elements in the interactive portions may be presented differently than if you had played first,” Bruner added.
The first hybrid series will be an original franchise. But that doesn’t mean the game developer won’t eventually take on one of the franchises in Lionsgate’s vault, like The Hunger Games. “As we move forward, I certainly can imagine building future Super Show series based on existing IP when it makes sense,” Bruner said.
You won’t have to invest in the Super Show platform to enjoy the new material. But the regular non-interactive version probably won’t be released at the same time. “At some point, non-interactive episodes of the scripted content will become available as traditional TV-style episodes on streaming services and broadcast TV,” declared Bruner. “While this obviously can’t deliver the interactivity, this version of the scripted episodes will stand as completely satisfying top-quality television entertainment.”