Telltale’s Game of Thrones Project: Hopes and Dreams from a Rabid ASoIaF Fangirl

By Jennifer Cheek on

 

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Back in December 2013, Telltale Games officially confirmed rumors that they would be making a Game of Thrones game with a teaser trailer at Spike VGX. Although the trailer was about 95% tease and 5% trailer, the announcement got my blood pumping. I loved Telltale’s Walking Dead games and I am a huge A Song of Ice and Fire fan, so the prospect of a Game of Thrones adventure game is right in my sweet spot. It’s like Telltale created a concept that was specifically tailored to my fangirlish needs. At this point in development, there is no real information about what story the game will tell or what characters it will focus on. As I sit in this terrible limbo between finishing my A Storm of Swords re-read and the beginning of Game of Thrones season 4 on HBO, my mind is ablaze with the great possibilities for storytelling in Telltale’s Game of Thrones game. Here are a few of my hopes and dreams…

  1. Multiple Viewpoints – Given the multiple narrator style of ASoIaF and the five protagonists of “The Walking Dead: 400 Days,” I think Telltale’s Game of Thrones adventure could benefit from exploring Westeros through the eyes of several of its citizens. Wouldn’t it be cool to follow the story of a battle or political plot from the perspective of a hedge knight, a camp follower, a minor lord, an innkeeper and an outlaw? One of my favorite parts of the Game of Thrones saga is the new information you gain as you consider events from different angles. An adventure game that utilizes the multiple narrative device could make for some pretty brutal decision-making.
  2. New Characters – Though it is certainly possible that we will see some familiar faces in the Game of Thrones game, I hope the story focuses on completely new characters. Part of the reason that Telltale’s Walking Dead games were so compelling is that the main characters were essentially blank slates for the player to fill in. As you played the game, you slowly created the personality of the main character through the decisions you made. If Telltale’s Game of Thrones uses characters we already know, we’ll be missing out on that crucial character development process that Telltale has utilized so powerfully in their previous releases. That being said, I would not mind  my potential main character meeting some canon characters, which brings me to…
  3. Cameo Appearances – I know, I just said that I wanted the new Game of Thrones games to have new characters, but part of the reason why I’m playing a Game of Thrones game in the first place is because I love the characters from the series so much! So, how about a compromise? Maybe we could run into Tyrion in a brothel in King’s Landing, or catch Arya chasing cats around the Red Keep. Basically, I want to experience that nerdy little jump of joy when I realize that I recognize a character.
  4. Smallfolk – If you’ve read any of the ASoIaF books or watched Game of Thrones on HBO, you’ll notice that the great majority of the characters in the series are noblemen and women. Even the people who are not lords and ladies are either well-to-do or at least live in a castle. What’s happening to the smallfolk while these nobles fight for control over the land they live on? The short answer is “nothing good,” but I would love to see Telltale’s game explore the plight of the peasant firsthand. How do you react when your village is sacked just because some highborn dude you’ve never even seen decides he wants to wreak havoc?
  5. Lady Characters – The Game of Thrones series has already done a pretty great job of including an array of interesting and complex female characters, and I’d like to see this reflected in the game as well. But I do have one request – can I see a lady outlaw? Please? Maybe Wenda the White Fawn? I like my female characters like I like my coffee…morally grey.
  6. Unexplored Locations – One way to avoid weird and boring story overlaps between existing Game of Thrones materials and the video game experience would be to spend some time in places we know exist in the World of Ice and Fire but haven’t really visited. I would mention some places here, but I fear the spoiler police. If you want to know what places I’d like to visit specifically, I guess you’re going to have to ask me on Twitter!
  7. A prequel – This is probably my favorite concept for a Game of Thrones game simply because it allows the game makers to tell a story in the world of ASoIaF without dipping too heavily into territory we’ve already covered in the books and shows. And let me tell you, as a reader of the Dunk & Egg prequel books, there is a ton of story to explore in a prequel game. Namely heaps of Targaryen drama. So, what I’m saying is that I would probably explode from happiness if Telltale’s Game of Thrones game was a prequel. Bring on the dragons, baby!

Though Telltale expects to release the first in the Game of Thrones series in 2014, there’s a pretty good chance that we still have some waiting to do before the game comes out. But that’s ok. We ASoIaF fans are used to waiting. In the meantime, I’ll just be over here nursing my hopes and dreams for the game, waiting for Telltale to kill everything and everyone I love.

 

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