NoClip Releases Documentary Covering The Stories Of Former Telltale Employees
Throughout its 14-year lifespan, Telltale Games have developed a plethora of incredible titles. Games that I will hold with me for the rest of my life. The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Bordlerlands, Batman: The Enemy Within. All were defining examples of how the focus on telling brilliant stories helped make the adventure-game genre what it is today. Its sudden closure announced in September last year came with no warning to its hundreds of staff. Not only were they given no severance pay, but they were told to leave the premises almost immediately, along with the added sting of being told they all only had two weeks left of health insurance.
Adding insult to injury, this was all in the midst of the final season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, only completing two out of four episodes that would be the closing chapters for the story of beloved protagonist, Clementine, at the time. Hoping that revenue from the game could have been the stepping point to securing the studio’s future, it was sadly too late.
That’s the bulk of what was covered in the majority of headlines last year, before the stories of other studio closures and lay-offs took the news spotlight in the months ahead. But what about the people behind the closure? The people whose lives were suddenly turned upside down with no notice? That’s where Noclip have come in.
Since its founding in 2016, Noclip have been dedicated towards creating non-biased video game documentaries, being entirely crowdfunded in order to retain full creative control. Other games and studios covered in their documentaries have included a history of Bethesda Studios, Fallout 76, The Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn, Rocket League and Game Grump’s Dream Daddy. Founded and headed by Danny O’Dwyer, formerly of Gamespot and Kinda Funny Games, Noclip is renowned for its sharp yet insightful journalistic style. With a laid back, open approach to its interviewees, Noclip have been exceptional in bringing open, fleshed out discussions to the topics at hand.
Hearing the stories of four former Telltale employees, this latest documentary is without a doubt Noclip’s finest work to date. Taking on a sensitive subject that is entirely new to them, they fully bring to light the impact of the issues plaguing the gaming industry today: harsh working conditions brought by crunch, the need for more unionization and most importantly, job security.
If you have a spare 54 minutes and care about the developers making the games you love, this is more than worth every moment of your time.
