Gamertell

About two weeks ago, I headed off to Macworld Expo expecting to see plenty of iPhone cases but not many Mac games.

That’s pretty much what I got but I still have to say I left San Francisco feeling good about the state of gaming on the Macintosh. I mean, can I really hold game publishers responsible for not setting up shop at the Macworld show floor? Hardly any companies were there this year, but Macworld still managed to pack in the faithful. I think many exhibitors who took this year off will return in January 2011.

But for now, screw them. Let’s talk about one of the companies that did bother to show up for Macworld Expo: Telltale Games.

It helps, of course, that the company had something to talk about. Having previously been a PC, Xbox 360 and WiiWare publisher only, where else but at Macworld would you want to officially announce your move into the Mac community? And considering their only other spotlight competition was the GameSalad challenge and a media only press conference from Alawar, it’s no wonder Telltale’s booth continually drew a pretty good crowd. I mean, they had by-God iMacs set up! Displaying games! That you could sit down and play!

But they weren’t stopping at their booth; Telltale was everywhere in the form of flyers and buttons as Wallace & Gromit, Sam & Max, and Strong Bad canvassed for votes to be the game that follows Tales of Monkey Island (now available) in the release cycle. Votes are still being accepted, in fact, so head on over to make sure your voice is heard. If you don’t rock the vote, the terrorists win, or whatever.

Anyway, the point is that you couldn’t swing a dead iPad bag without wafting a game flyer off a lunch table or abandoned iPhone app kiosk. The guys at Telltale were working hard to promote their games, and God bless ‘em for it. Although awareness doesn’t always beget profits in the world of Mac gaming, Telltale stands a great chance of making this work. Why? Because they understand their audience.

See, a few years back, Electronic Arts suddenly threw Mac gamers a bone with titles such as Madden NFL Whatever, Need for Speed Something, Command & Conquer This and That and Tiger Woods Insert Joke Here. None of them sold well enough for EA to bother considering the Mac with the next round of updates. Why? Because those are gamer games, and gamers don’t play on the Mac. That’s not to say there aren’t Mac users who are also hard core gamers, but rather that these people are likely getting their fix on consoles, not on their MacBook.

But Telltale’s games aren’t aimed at the hardcore crowd. They’re point and click adventure games, easily accessible by everyone. They involve puzzle solving, not complicated military strategies and playbook memorization. They’re the types of games that people my age grew up playing, and are now playing with our kids. They also involve known commodities (Guybrush Threepwood and Sam & Max in gaming circles, and Wallace & Gromit in entertainment circles).

In addition, if the pricing scheme follows its PC and console counterparts, players will be able to buy the game one episode at a time. This fits in better with the ridiculously low prices Apple fans are used to paying for iPhone and iPod touch games, and it helps to ease that initial investment. Paying $30 or $40 for a full game you may not like is a risk. Paying $8.95 for a single episode is safer, and makes for a better impulse buy. If Apple and AT&T have shown us anything with their iPhone data plan, it’s that buyers are more willing to pay more in the long run if they can get immediate gratification with less up-front investment.

Not that you need to worry with Telltale. I haven’t had the chance to try out most of these games, but I am currently reviewing Tales of Monkey Island for Appletell. It’s exceptionally well made in regards to graphics, performance and story. It’s actually funny and entertaining to play. If Monkey Island is any indication of what’s to come, then if we can’t give Telltale their own holiday, we should at least include them as a reason to celebrate one that already exists. I’m sure they’d be happy to be tagged onto President’s Day or Cinco de Mayo.

(As an aside, do you think countries outside the US get upset when we adopt their holidays as our own under the guise of us accepting other cultures and our nation’s diversity, when it’s really just another excuse for people to get drunk? What will the French say when bars start advertising dollar pitchers of crappy beer in honor of Bastille Day?)

Voting for the next Telltale game will come to an end on February 28, 2010. Soon thereafter, provided everyone voted intelligently and the results aren’t being counted by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures will be heading our way.

Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People and Sam & Max Save the World will follow, and if that’s not enough to keep you busy for quite some time, then…well, then I’ll be back within a week or so to tell you where else to look for some Mac gaming goodness.

I mean, come on. Telltale may be getting their own national holiday but that doesn’t mean they have to do all the work.

Cripes, you people are demanding.