Telltale Games' journey of inheritance between the cult graphic adventure game Walking with Wolves and its sequels is as contrived and dramatic as the two games themselves.
The original game was released in 2013, and the developers promised to launch a sequel in 2017, however, there was chaos within the studio, first causing the game to be postponed, and then to the developers themselves in a desperate situation. In 2018, the studio was finally acquired, returning with the promise of Walking with Wolves 2.
In 2019, Telltale Games and AdHoc Studio (made up of former Telltale Games employees) again announced the development of a sequel. The two studios didn't hear anything about the game until February, when the game team, Adam Harrington (voice actor, who plays Biggy in the game) and Erin Yvette (voiced by Snow), teamed up with industry insider Geoff Keighley to unveil the game live and behind-the-scenes footage.
What's new? Using Unreal Engine and a large green screen, the entire live show was shot in the Scenes of Walking with Wolves 2. We spoke with the CEO, CTO, and employees of The AV Society to discuss why the gorgeous environment of the game's Godmother Bar was chosen as the backdrop for the livestream, how this effect was achieved, and why the developers decided to use Unreal Engine to create this latest game.
It is reported that "Walking with Wolves 2" will land on console platforms and Epic game stores later this year.
Why did you decide to start an interview about Walking with Wolves 2 in the game scene?
Jamie Ottilie, CEO of Telltale Games: We wanted to do something special for our fans because they've been patiently waiting for new news since we first announced the game's return in December 2019. We also knew it hadn't been in the news for too long, and the games we were going to launch were highly anticipated by them, so we wanted to do something special.
What people are most eager to know is how loyal the new team will be to the original game, and what Walking with Wolves 2 will look like with the new engine. Our video providers, The AV Society and Media One, suggested an interesting way to answer these questions by using virtual sets in games, which also made the press release more like an event.
How did you come up with this plan step by step?
Ottilie: When they proposed using virtual sets, we quickly adopted the idea and listed all the optional sets. This makes perfect use of the team's work and breathes more dynamism into the world of Walking with Wolves 2. This time, the line between Fable Town and the mortal world will be blurred even more, and New York City will become more like a place name in the game. Therefore, mixed reality is a very natural choice for this event.
After seeing how industries like film and television use Unreal Engine, we asked ourselves how we could take it to the next level in this Q&A session and bring out the feeling of casual chat to our fans. We realized that we could use the environment of the godmother bar directly in the game. Everything from lighting to tracking shoots can be adapted to what we capture in our state-of-the-art green screen studios.
How did you build the green screen stage?
Ottilie: One of the reasons virtual production is so appealing is that many of the tools have been best practiced in other areas, such as green screens. The industry already has a lot of experience in using green screens, and it does not need to do too much post-processing to achieve good results. When we shoot, the main consideration is the footprint and lighting. Preparing a large, satisfying, smooth green background took us a lot of effort.
How did Unreal Engine help you build virtual sets and capture interviews in the context of your game?
Tracy Peterson, Executive Producer, MediaOne Studios: When Media One was invited to help produce the announcement event, with the goal of "significant impact," the creatives at AdHoc and Telltale bravely took our challenging advice and did everything they could to impress the audience. Their new engine is built on the Unreal Engine platform, and we know that interviewing in a virtual game set is an interesting decision. We've been using Unreal sets in our Vegas studio, so we started discussing what assets in the game could transport viewers into the fairytale world of Walking with Wolves 2, and they suggested using the Godmother Bar as a set.
The staff at AdHoc and Telltale provided extensive support for their artwork and custom projects in Unreal Engine, which solved the problems we needed to face and helped the production system function properly. We needed to inherit the custom lighting model in the game while ensuring that the lighting was compatible with tracking and camera systems.
Can you tell us what other tools you used to create in-game interviews?
Peterson: We shot the entire interview using LA Castle Studios' Brainstorm 3D virtual set system. Initially, we wanted to shoot every shot on set, but we quickly discovered that the finished product would be much better if post-processing was added. We made the final backplane using green screen footage, tracking data, and frames rendered with Unreal Engine cinema tools, and then fully composited in After Effects to truly create a fantasy world.
How did you capture this live interview on the game set? Have you overcome some of the major challenges? If so, can you tell us about it?
Peterson: Virtual production can be challenging anyway, but for the video game industry, there needs to be a special consideration for engines and assets. We're using a deeply customized engine, so when it comes to tracking and real-time camera tools, we need to cross many barriers to compatibility. Our workaround was implemented through Unreal Engine's toolset, such as a large number of data import/export options and high-quality frame rendering provided by Sequencer.
Does this approach to interviews and demystification enhance the experience, and will you adopt a similar approach in the future?
Ottilie: Our main goal was to add immersion and fun to the whole experience, making it more like small talk while drinking. It can also make fans feel like they've arrived in Fable Town — though they won't be released until 2023.
We wanted to find a fun, unique way to tell the story behind our story. If anything, the experience of making this work inspired us a lot of ideas and drove us to ask ourselves: What else can we do next? Since we can focus on filming developers gathering at the bar of the Godmother's Bar, we can certainly easily have them and Geoff chatting while playing darts or disc games. You see what I mean.
Don't be surprised if you see us back at the Godmothers Bar again, this could be a way for us to show directly to our fans in the future. Especially on the night of chicken wings.
The original Walking with Wolves was built using Telltale's internal engine. Why did the studio decide to switch to Unreal Engine when making a sequel?
Zac Litton, CTO of Telltale Games: Some aspects of Telltale games, such as chapter-based features, customized filters, and the need for rapid iteration, still require some Telltale proprietary tools. So we remade, modified, and updated these tools, and then rolled them over the unreal engine. Legacy engines bring outdated, proprietary tools that can pose a variety of challenges. In terms of the way we work, pipelines are everything, and being able to iterate, adapt, and move forward is critical. We wanted a smoother, faster, and more reliable pipeline, and Unreal Engine could do that. Moreover, it is widely used throughout the industry, greatly broadening the way talent is recruited.
How has Unreal Engine improved the look and gameplay of the sequel compared to the original game?
Litton: The recent Wolf With 2 trailer proves what we can achieve with the new engine. The team was able to stay true to the novel-like graphics and indistinguishable good and evil qualities of the original game, but all of this will be presented in a more colorful, vivid and eye-catching 4K high frame rate. So we think these improvements are obvious to fans. And because Unreal Engine is open, we can build on it and overlay our tools to create a smoother, faster development pipeline and a more polished end product.
How has the transition to Unreal Engine affected the development of the second game, and how does it feel to be developing in Unreal Engine right now?
Litton: While updating and modifying our proprietary tools to work with Unreal Engine, we're also rebuilding the company, staffing the team, and dealing with the pandemic, so we're putting more time into the production front than we did our previous productions. But that ultimately improves the pipeline and workflow, so it's all worth it, and there's a side benefit: the writers have more time to write the script. The head of creation said in other interviews that the process allowed them to fully realize their original vision of the game.
Have you overcome any particular challenges while using Unreal Engine?
Litton: As mentioned before, it's crucial to have Telltale's proprietary tools work well with the new engine. We wanted to improve our workflow, improve the player experience, and meet our iteration needs. This was the most critical challenge, but thanks to Unreal Engine's openness, we overcame it.
Do you have any expectations for Unreal Engine 5 and the technology it will bring?
Litton: We were well off the road to wolf 2 before Unreal Engine 5 was announced, and we're busy developing the game right now. But we've been watching what other teams are doing with new tools and new engine features because we've always wanted to provide the best possible experience in future games.
This article is reprinted from the Official Unreal Engine website.