News Tell Me Why (Dontnod/MS) - Chapter One on Aug 27, Two on Sep 3, Three on Sep 10

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Set in small-town Alaska, Tell Me Why places you at the heart of a mystery in an intimate, true-to-life story where twins Tyler and Alyson Ronan use their extraordinary bond to unravel memories of a loving but troubled childhood.

“The core mechanic of the game is the special bond Tyler and Alyson share and is also a theme strongly anchored into the Dontnod storytelling approach,” explained Florent Guillaume, Tell Me Why‘s Game Director. “Over the course of the story, players will explore the identical twins’ different memories of key events and choose which memory to believe. Ultimately, the choices players make determine the strength of the twins’ bond—and the future course of their lives.”

Tyler and Alyson are both playable characters and equal heroes in the story. “We love them both,” continued Guillaume, “And we are especially grateful to Microsoft for its full support, openness and help regarding Tyler’s identity and character, as a transgender man.”

Dontnod has worked closely alongside Microsoft and the LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD in shaping Tyler as an authentic representation of the trans experience, as well as a genuine, multidimensional character. Tyler is also the first playable videogame hero from a major studio and publisher who is also transgender. “Microsoft and Dontnod have approached Tyler with a real commitment to authenticity,” explains Nick Adams, Director of Transgender Representation at GLAAD. “Tyler is a fully-realized, endearing character, whose story is not reduced to simplistic trans tropes. Creating a playable lead trans character – and taking such care to get it right – raises the bar for future LGBTQ inclusion in gaming.”

The story of Tell Me Why is comprised of three chapters that will release on a clear and predictable schedule. Dontnod are passionate about the opportunities for community-building and audience engagement that come with episodic storytelling, but they are also dedicated to innovation and improvement.

“We listened closely to fans of narrative adventure games, and we heard loud and clear how painful unpredictable gaps between episodes can be,” said Peter Wyse, General Manager for Xbox Games Studios Publishing. “We’re thrilled to announce that the entire Tell Me Why story will release in the Summer 2020.”

 

RionaaM

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Sounds like LiS2 meets Remember Me. Can't remember seeing a trans character in any other game, so it's great that they're finally being represented. I trust Dontnod to pull it off with a lot of tact and care.

I also like that they're addressing the problem of having a huge gap between episode releases. I'll probably buy it day one if it comes to Steam, but to avoid a similar situation to LiS2 I'll be waiting for the whole thing to be out before starting it.
 
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prudis

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prudis

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This summer, players will get to explore the secrets and mysteries of the Ronan twins’ childhood in Tell Me Why. Tell Me Why’s story will unfold over the course of three chapters, with all chapters releasing just a few weeks apart.

But what exactly does that mean – and what kind of an experience can fans expect from a short wait in between each chapter?

We reached out to game director Florent Guillaume and executive producer Arnaud de Pischof to get their perspective on the release plan for Tell Me Why.
Tell Me Why: DONTNOD Entertainment is known for creating emotional, compelling stories across a variety of genres. Have the studio’s experiences in making past titles changed the way you’re approaching Tell Me Why?

Florent Guillaume: Absolutely! There are so many things we learn with each new game, from how to create multifaceted characters and intriguing stories to how to design accessible but rich game mechanics – or even how to organize a development team to produce several episodes in parallel. Every new game and story require us to reinvent ourselves, and each time we become wiser and stronger from the learnings of the previous one. This is especially true with episodic games because they are still so new in the industry, and there’s so much uncharted territory to explore there. We’re just at the beginning!

Tell Me Why: What inspired the short timeline for Tell Me Why’s chapter releases?

Florent Guillaume: Fan feedback was our primary source of motivation. We could hear how important it is for fans to be able to enjoy our games without having to wait for long periods of time in between each episode or chapter. Having shorter waits and predictable release dates brings more challenges for us in terms of production, but we hope these changes will be great improvements to the overall player experience.

Tell Me Why: What are some of those newfound production challenges from shorter gaps between releases?

Arnaud de Pischof: There are a lot! We actually need several months to create a full chapter, and having only a few weeks between each release means we have to complete most of each chapter by the time the first comes out. This requires solid processes and lots of organization. It is quite challenging, but the team is doing great, and we are really happy with the result so far.

Tell Me Why: So why not just release all the chapters at once?

Florent Guillaume: As fans of episodic TV shows, we understand that having to wait for that next episode can be an exciting thing but also very frustrating. We’re hoping to find the right balance for players: giving them enough time to share their experiences with Tell Me Why with their friends and the community, while also ensuring that that wait does not become frustrating. We definitely want the community to have enough time to discuss, speculate, and build on their experiences – in just enough time to enjoy the wait between episodes! Because of this, we hope fans’ adventures will be greatly improved with a short wait in between each part of Tell Me Why’s story.

Arnaud de Pischof: We also want to make sure fans have time to finish each chapter before the next one releases. In playtests, we’re seeing that some people complete a chapter within two or three hours – but some players who really want to dig deep into the experience take much longer, which is great! We don’t want fans to feel rushed by the release schedule.

Tell Me Why: What else would you like fans to know about Tell Me Why’s episodic structure, or about how the game is being made?

Florent Guillaume: We’re currently deep into production and are pleased to see the game coming together more and more every day. We’re very excited about how it’s going so far, and we hope our players will enjoy the story of Tyler and Alyson when it comes out this summer!

Arnaud de Pischof: We know that DONTNOD has fans on lots of different platforms, and we’re excited that players will be able to experience all three chapters of Tell Me Why on Xbox and on PC via the Windows Store and Steam. We also think Tell Me Why is a great match for xCloud, and we’re looking forward to talking more about our streaming plans in the near future!
 
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prudis

prudis

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The first chapter of narrative adventure game Tell Me Why will launch for Xbox One and PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store on August 27, publisher Microsoft and developer Dontnod Entertainment announced during the Xbox Games Showcase. The second chapter will follow the next week, and the third and final chapter the week after.
 

C-Dub

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I still need to play Life is Strange 2, and now this is coming next month. Can't wait!

Out of the two upcoming Dontnod games, this one definitely looks to be the more interesting.