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In 2013, Licensed games are still fighting an uphill battle. When you take into account their reputation, it's hardly a wonder as to why this is. For every Batman: Arkham City, Spider-man 2, or TellTale's The Walking Dead, there is a laundry list of licensed games that were cheap cash grabs, showing a lack of care, creativity, or common sense that went into them. You would think that step 1 in creating a title based on an already existing IP would be: "what is it that people love about it, and how do we transfer that into a stellar gaming experience?" The licensed games that excell, such as the Batman: Arkham series and even Capcom's 8-bit Disney classics such as Duck Tales, create an interactive work that is faithful to its subject matter in terms of both how it plays and the feeling it captures.

As a huge fan of The Walking Dead (both the comic series and the show), to say I was let down by The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct would be an understatement. However, the title's lack of polish, quality, and budget was hardly a surprise; the fact that we saw hardly any gameplay footage lead up to its release, it was being outsourced to a studio with a dodgy portfolio, and that it was clearly being rushed to coincide with Season 3 were all red flags as to the title's inevitable failure to capture what fans of the franchised love. AMC's The Walking Dead game didn't have to be a "dead in the water" title - it could have been fantastic, differentiating itself from Telltale's incredible comic-inspired adventure adaptation and interpreting the themes of the show into a great gaming experience. Here is how I think it could have been done; I even whipped up some visuals to aid the imagination, so here goes!

         In the immortal words of Paul Bearer, "Ohhhhhhhh yesssssssss"

Choosing The Right Publisher

To get things started right, let's go with a publisher/developer that would have been far better suited for the job than Activision: Bethesda. Bethesda has been knocking them out of the park lately, and they show no signs of slowing down. They are also the masters of massive open-world rpg's, which is exactly what AMC's The Walking Dead game should have been: I can't tell you how many times I've taken part in (or overheard conversations) about what someone would do or how they would act in the scenario of a zombie apocalypse. This game would give you just that opportunity to explore those notions by having you create a character at the games onset with a great skill tree system ala Skyrim to back it up: want to be a rugged woodsman, with an emphasis on tracking and stealth? Go for it. Or would you prefer to have a knowledge of medicine like Hershel Greene, which would prove invaluable to a post-apocalyptic world? Be our guest! And in case Bethesda Game Studios would be too busy to take on the work load, Obsidian could always step in; they've shown they are more than capable with tackling an open-world monster with Fallout: New Vegas.

 

           Anyone who's seen Rick pissed knows it's not wise to anger the man.

Character Interaction

Bethesda's titles focus on interaction between the player and the world they are exploring, especially in regards to NPC's going about there digital lives amidst the landscape. Imagine if AMC's The Walking Dead game followed the timeline of the television series: the game begins with an escape from Atlanta amidst napalm raining down in a frenzied attempt to slow the outbreak. From there, time progresses - maybe you run into Shane, Lorie, and Carl on the highway out of Altanta, and decide to follow them back to camp. Or you go it alone, and might not meet up with the group until you stumble across Hershel's farm, over a month of in-game time later. Perhaps you don't even get a glimpse of Rick's group until the "Ricktatorship" has begun, and by that time you've already buddied up with The Governor at Woodbury. That's how massive and alive TWD's world needs to be. It's not a stretch either, considering Bethesda's games already feature NPC's on a schedule; this would just take it one awesome step further. To sweeten the deal, there is a reputation system like the one featured in New Vegas, so don't expect to be welcomed with open arms by 'Team Prison' if you've spent dozens of hours being a bastard in Woodbury.

 

           "Woodbury, eh? Sounds nice......"

It's A Mad (Massive) World

Robert Kirkman's vision for The Walking Dead is a sprawling, post-apocalyptic epic; in effect a story without end. The game should reflect this by giving fans a gigantic world to explore, with boatloads of content to discover and quests to see through. What's most important though is the effect the players have on this harsh landscape where society has crumbled and everyday is a struggle; give gamers the option to in effect, create an alternate timeline to the television series based on their own actions, while keeping big plot beats in place. Robert Kirkman has said that the reason the show deviates from the comic is to keep fans on their toes and retain that element of suprise. In AMC's The Walking Dead game, maybe because you convinced Rick to travel to Fort Benning, so the trip to the CDC never happened and Jackie is still with the group. This will put the player in control, and can provide some brilliant parallel moments that could even be better than the comic or show itself.

 

          Imagine this playing as you say goodbye to a character you've known for 100's of hours

This Sorrowful Life

One of the biggest failures of Survival Instinct is that it had none of the emotion and pathos that are so crucial to The Walking Dead, and make the universe so compelling. In AMC's The Walking Dead, the players should feel the weight of their actions and be forced with the hard, desperate truth that in this world everyone is living on borrowed time. Titles like The Last of Us, Red Dead Redemption, and Telltale's TWD have shown the naysayers that a game can make you care deeply about the characters, and can bring brilliant emotional moments for gamers to the surface. Imagine that because of your mistake (or something completely outside of your control) you're forced to mercifully put down a character that has been with your group for 70+ hours to prevent them from turning into the undead, and coming to terms with the fact that in this world, it's the living who are truly the 'walking dead'. Throw in Bear McCreary chilling soundtrack, and you have the makings of some of the most emotionally driven moments in gaming history.

So what do you guys think? Is there something you would add that could make the game even better? Or for fans of the franchise, how would you approach a Walking Dead gaming adaptation? Sound off below, and as always, thanks for reading!