After three HBO seasons and five epic novels (with two forthcoming), there will finally be a video game that will try and capture the unpredictable, back-stabbing, character-driven craziness of Westeros. Telltale Games’ announcement trailer doesn’t say much other than one exists and it’ll be out in 2014. According to the YouTube blurb, there will be several titles over several years, but we know there will be an episodic game, which is the most intriguing aspect of this announcement. There’s been an RPG and an MMO in development, but an episodic game feels the most appropriate.
I’ve read the books, watched the show, and so I’ll definitely play the game, and I’m extremely curious how they will pull this off. It’s a Catch-22.
Both the novels and the show are heavily character-driven. Obviously, anything centered on politics and intrigue has to be. To capture the essence of the show, the game should incorporate multiple POVs, and the depth and unpredictability of its characters. And ultimately, the identity of Game of Thrones (or A Song of Ice and Fire) is the characters. It doesn’t matter if the game is set in Westeros, and includes the Wall, the Fingers, King’s Landing, and the Others, etc, etc. Game of Thrones isn’t complete without Tyrion Lannister, and the Starks, and Littlefinger…. So how do you make a game that gets inside these complex characters’ heads (many of who get whacked at some point), include all the POVs, and maintain the unpredictability and intrigue? Quite the challenge and difficult to succeed.
Telltale can chicken-out, opt the Walking Dead solution and create original characters. They could do that, but that would suck! If that’s the case, I would rather someone try another RPG or even the MMO might be better.