Mock Body Parts Displayed At The Meeting Room For Telltale Games' 'The Walking Dead'
During the SXSW panel the co-creator of “The Walking Dead” Robert Kirkman revealed details for another upcoming game based on the popular franchise, this time under the development of studio Overkill. Branded as “Overkill’s The Walking Dead,” the game will apparently be a multiplayer centric shooter similar in vain to another popular shooter from Overkill, “Payday: The Heist.”IN PHOTO: Mock body parts are displayed at the meeting room for Telltale Games' "The Walking Dead" during E3 2012, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, in Los Angeles June 6, 2012. Reuters/Phil McCarten

Modern videogames are getting increasingly cinematic, with the line separating games from movies being blurred even further. Telltale Games plans to push the envelope of cinematic style in videogames even further with its upcoming project. The completely new IP will be a cross between a videogame and TV show according to the developer.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner has described the hybrid game-TV show concept as Super Show. This formula will be the foundation for the developer's next release, which will be a completely new intellectual property. Bruner explains the concept as a blend of interactive playable content with the traditional scripted content associated with TV shows.

"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 Telltale can do," said Bruner in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "For us it's a very natural evolution of the interactive story telling expertise we've pioneered."

Just like the recent Telltale games such as "The Wolf Among Us" and "The Walking Dead", the Super Show will allow gamers to make choices that change the course of the storyline. Only this time there seems to be a stronger emphasis on the cinematic aspect. According to Engadget, the hybrid offering will contain more content than a regular hour-long TV show.

The main feature that distinguishes the Super Show from Telltale's existing cinematic games is the separation between the interactive and non-interactive parts. Gamers will have the choice of either starting off by playing the interactive part or watching the cinematic half. The developer assures that the choice is not supposed to affect the experience.

Unlike its TV counterpart, the Super Show will have its episodes spaced further apart as stated by Bruner in the interview. The release schedule will lie somewhere between a weekly TV series and the more spaced out release frequency of existing episodic Telltale games.

Bruner also explores the possibility of applying the Super Show format to existing Telltale properties during the course of the interview. He also used the opportunity to reflect on the company's recent partnership with Lionsgate, and the entertainment houses' "significant investment" into the videogame studio. This development could signal Telltale videogame adaptations of popular Lionsgate properties such as "Hunger Games," "Mad Men" and "Orange is the New Black."

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The Walking Dead: Season 2 - Reveal Trailer (credit: TelltaleGames YouTube channel)