Telltale and the resurgence of adventure games.

I have been a longtime fan of the monkey island series, and enjoyed the genre of adventure games generally since around the age of eight when I first played Curse of monkey island. However most would say that adventure gaming entered something of a recession around the time that the critically lauded yet financially underwhelming Grim Fandango debuted in late 1998. Soon after  Lucasarts decided that the genre was no longer commercially viable and all but shut down its adventure gaming departments to the dismay of adventure gamers everywhere. As a direct result rival company Sierra followed Lucasarts example and diverted their attentions from the genre.

 
At this point the genre is in a vegetative state, while a loyal contingent of dedicated fans remains there is very little to sustain them. Of course there are still adventure games being developed at this point, but not of a substantial quantity or quality. In 2000 the last of the Lucasarts adventure games was released. Escape from monkey island much like Grim Fandango was by no means a failure, critical reception was positive but again the game struggled at retail. Escape advanced upon the series itself by introducing monkey island not only to the third dimension but also ( perhaps even more surprisingly ) to the playstation 2. While a bold move on Lucasarts part, the move to consoles did not provide the stimulus to reinvigorate adventure gaming and the genre atrophied.  Studios moved to the more lucrative action gane genre, and while two separate attempts were made to produce sequels to Sam and Max hit the road but both were stillborn.

Six years pass, and you may assume that six years of little movement is not what a comatose genre needs, however it is in 2006 when Telltale games ( a company founded on former Lucasarts employees ) attain the rights to the Sam & Max franchise which they had previously been denied by their former company. Most would unequivocally agree that Terlltale has the pedigree to develop this beloved franchise, and they would be correct. Telltale find great success with Sam & Max season one. How? By catering to the first person shooter masses? By abandoning the humour for gritty gears of grey realism and gore? No. The burgeoning Telltale find success, firstly by adhering to the formulae that the neglected fans know and love and secondly by identifying a new distribution model which had not yet been implemented successfully and finding it to be the ideal match for their games. 

Telltale games have since found great success with their numerous series, including Wallace & Gromit and Tales of monkey island, not only finding the all important critical and commercial success but also the acclaim of a dedicated fanbase. Telltale games have went from strength to strength since, proving in the process that episodic gaming can work (even if bigger developers can't crack it) and provoking a resurgence in the market which resulted in Lucasarts remaking the first two . installments of the monkey island franchise. 
 
In my opinion we have now reached the true golden age of adventure gaming. But I can't help but wonder, if Telltale succeeded only in part because of what I have already mentioned, and in part because they simply delivered a beloved genre with an existing but malnourished fanbase into a new. generation of gaming. Could Lucasarts have found the same market without Telltale or would they have pulled the genre further from its roots and alienated existing fans while failing to impress new ones?

 
Has the saturation point been reached? Are we heading for a huge crash and another depression. I feel we are in safe hands.Regardless what is your opinion on the Telltale phenomenon and the state of these games today?    

I have been a longtime fan of the monkey island series, and enjoyed the genre of adventure games generally since around the age of eight when I first played Curse of monkey island. However most would say that adventure gaming entered something of a recession around the time that the critically lauded yet financially underwhelming Grim Fandango debuted in late 1998. Soon after  Lucasarts decided that the genre was no longer commercially viable and all but shut down its adventure gaming departments to the dismay of adventure gamers everywhere. As a direct result rival company Sierra followed Lucasarts example and diverted their attentions from the genre.

 
At this point the genre is in a vegetative state, while a loyal contingent of dedicated fans remains there is very little to sustain them. Of course there are still adventure games being developed at this point, but not of a substantial quantity or quality. In 2000 the last of the Lucasarts adventure games was released. Escape from monkey island much like Grim Fandango was by no means a failure, critical reception was positive but again the game struggled at retail. Escape advanced upon the series itself by introducing monkey island not only to the third dimension but also ( perhaps even more surprisingly ) to the playstation 2. While a bold move on Lucasarts part, the move to consoles did not provide the stimulus to reinvigorate adventure gaming and the genre atrophied.  Studios moved to the more lucrative action gane genre, and while two separate attempts were made to produce sequels to Sam and Max hit the road but both were stillborn.

Six years pass, and you may assume that six years of little movement is not what a comatose genre needs, however it is in 2006 when Telltale games ( a company founded on former Lucasarts employees ) attain the rights to the Sam & Max franchise which they had previously been denied by their former company. Most would unequivocally agree that Terlltale has the pedigree to develop this beloved franchise, and they would be correct. Telltale find great success with Sam & Max season one. How? By catering to the first person shooter masses? By abandoning the humour for gritty gears of grey realism and gore? No. The burgeoning Telltale find success, firstly by adhering to the formulae that the neglected fans know and love and secondly by identifying a new distribution model which had not yet been implemented successfully and finding it to be the ideal match for their games. 

Telltale games have since found great success with their numerous series, including Wallace & Gromit and Tales of monkey island, not only finding the all important critical and commercial success but also the acclaim of a dedicated fanbase. Telltale games have went from strength to strength since, proving in the process that episodic gaming can work (even if bigger developers can't crack it) and provoking a resurgence in the market which resulted in Lucasarts remaking the first two . installments of the monkey island franchise. 
 
In my opinion we have now reached the true golden age of adventure gaming. But I can't help but wonder, if Telltale succeeded only in part because of what I have already mentioned, and in part because they simply delivered a beloved genre with an existing but malnourished fanbase into a new. generation of gaming. Could Lucasarts have found the same market without Telltale or would they have pulled the genre further from its roots and alienated existing fans while failing to impress new ones?

 
Has the saturation point been reached? Are we heading for a huge crash and another depression. I feel we are in safe hands.Regardless what is your opinion on the Telltale phenomenon and the state of these games today?    

A couple things I would like to mention, or remind you: Costs.
 
While Telltale's recent efforts have been glorious, the budget for all of their games is phenomenally low. 
For some perspective: Back at PAX last year the guys at TellTale did an event where they made a script with audience participation, they recorded the dialog on the spot from the audience, and they animated the characters with complete lip-syncing. I think the whole process took about an hour. It looked great.
 
Episodic content is built for small less complex projects like adventure games. One great reason why Telltale is able to make bank is that they aren't exactly in direct competition with anyone. Buying a few episodes here and there, is a far cry from lamenting either purchasing a telltale game, or a brand new current gen game. They're cheap to make, it's profitable and it looks like there's no immediate room for concern.

While its true that their engine costs are small since adventure games require less complex engines, they also have little marketing costs since they have a fan base that keeps up with releases.  Plus no gimmicky famous voice actor casting.