'Back to Future,' 'Jurassic Park' to become games

[June 09, 2010]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Telltale Games is going back in time for a new series of video games.

The developer is creating episodic titles based on the "Back to the Future" and "Jurassic Park" franchises. The popular Universal Studios film trilogies spawned several games in their heyday in the '80s and '90s but have been absent from the interactive realm. The as-yet-untitled Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PC and Mac games are set to be released this winter.

"I think it's a prime time to reintroduce these properties in the digital world," said Dan Connors, CEO at Telltale Games. "Telltale Games has always set out to be a great storytelling company. We've been honing our chops over the past six years, and we're ready to take on these two iconic properties and continue to advance storytelling in games."

Telltale Games previously created episodic games based on Aardman Animations' Oscar-winning animated film series "Wallace and Gromit," Steve Purcell's comic series "Sam and Max" and Matt Chapman's online cartoon "Homestar Runner." The San Rafael, Calif.-based developer approached Universal Studios when looking for inspiration for their next game series.

"'Jurassic Park' and 'Back to the Future' are two of our broadest and most beloved properties," said Bill Kispert, interactive vice president at Universal Studios. "We were very interested in bringing them into the interactive space, but they're not exactly the kind of properties that lend themselves to the stereotypical shoot-'em-up style of gameplay."

Connors said the games, which are in the early stages of development, would tell new stories extending the "Back to the Future" and "Jurassic Park" lore. He teased that the "Back to the Future" games may include a DeLorean ride back to the 1970s while the "Jurassic Park" games would be intense and add new backstories to the series' man-versus-dinosaur mythology.

"The games are going to exist within these worlds," said Connors. "I wouldn't call these games sequels per se but a new interpretation of their worlds for a new medium. For one generation, it's an introduction to these series. For another generation, it's a thing they can look back on and something they can share warmly with their family and friends."

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Online:

http://www.telltalegames.com/

[Associated Press; By DERRIK J. LANG]

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