It’s certainly not easy to make a game based off a hit television
series; one has to only look back at properties like Buffy,
The
X-Files, and The Sopranos
to find examples of fantastic shows that transitioned into video games
via bland and uninspired adaptations. And the less said about the Home
Improvement
SNES game featuring dinosaurs, the better. Observing this
sad trend makes it all the more surprising that Telltale was
able to create a fantastic opening
to their downloadable series based on The Walking Dead.
Sadly the success that they had with the AMC hit caused an old wound to
open in the form of us thinking about the potential behind 2008’s Lost: Via Domus,
and how it failed in every aspect that The Walking
Dead succeeds.
Ubisoft Montreal released their
adaptation of the ambitious ABC series at the very end of Lost‘s
third season. As the season finale dramatically widened the scope of
the series, Lost: Via Domus attempted to retread over the first 60
episodes by placing fans in the shoes of a brand new character. What
followed was a bland, uninspired trod through the jungle without any
focus whatsoever. Characters from the show would randomly pop-up for
the sole purpose of having fans recognize them, and strange gameplay
mechanics were shoehorned for no apparent reason. In short, the game
was a bit of a mess. So why is it that Telltale was able to succeed
with The
Walking Dead where Ubisoft
failed with Lost?
Understanding the Source
Material
