You鈥檇 be forgiven for confusing the new video game 鈥淒ispatch鈥� with a TV show. In fact, its creators hope you do.
鈥淲e want people to look at this and think it鈥檚 a premium animated television show,鈥� said鈥淒ispatch鈥� director Nick Herman. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want them to look at it and think it鈥檚 a game.鈥�
The story of 鈥淒ispatch鈥� follows a battered ex-superhero, played by Aaron Paul of 鈥淏reaking Bad鈥� fame, as he鈥檚 recruited to the Superhero Dispatch Network. Over the course of eight episodes, released on a weekly basis, players steer Paul鈥檚 character through workplace rivalries and romances, all as he tries to whip former supervillains into a respectable crime-fighting team.
鈥淭his kind of started out as what if 鈥楾he Office鈥� meets 鈥楾he Avengers,鈥欌�� said 鈥淒ispatch鈥� writer Pierre Shorette.
Shorette and Herman previously worked for Telltale Games, a company known for story-driven adventures based on other properties, from 鈥淭he Walking Dead鈥� to 鈥淭ales from the Borderlands鈥� to 鈥淭he Wolf Among Us.鈥� But after joining forces with other veteran game developers to found , they crafted something wholly their own 鈥� an irreverent comedy designed for broad appeal.
鈥淲e definitely think there鈥檚 so many people out there who would really love this, who would never think about playing a game,鈥� said fellow AdHoc co-founder Dennis Lenart. 鈥淗opefully, this could potentially be their kind of gateway into this type of experience.鈥�
But while the AdHoc team always wanted to reach a wide audience, their vision changed drastically over years of development.
鈥淚t started as more of a short-form live-action television show that was interactive,鈥� said Herman. 鈥淭his really weird new bleeding edge thing that kind of fell apart when COVID happened 鈥� we were about to step onto a set.鈥�
So AdHoc decided to animate the game, with a voice cast drawn from Hollywood talent like Paul and Jeffrey Wright, YouTubers like and , and industry legends like Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham of 鈥�.鈥�
The sharp writing and high production values of 鈥淒ispatch鈥� impressed these veterans. 鈥淭his is an animated series 鈥� it鈥檚 a movie,鈥� remarked Willingham. 鈥淚t can鈥檛 possibly be from a game, and it鈥檚 such an improvement over what we know from Telltale-style games in the past.鈥�
鈥淥ur job can often be weird to describe,鈥� said game actor Erin Yvette. 鈥淏ut being able to show them a clip from 鈥楧ispatch,鈥� it immediately interests any layperson, whether they鈥檝e played a video game before or not.鈥�
But it鈥檚 the game鈥檚 many branching choices that set it apart from the animated TV shows it emulates.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a sense of ownership that comes with the choose-your-own-adventure element of it,鈥� said Yvette. Her co-star Laura Bailey agreed.
鈥淚 know when I play these kind of games, I always want to go back and see all the choices, but it鈥檚 so hard to make the other choice,鈥� Bailey said. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e presented with these same options, I鈥檓 like, 鈥楴o, no, this is me!鈥欌��
Like the classic Telltale games, 鈥淒ispatch鈥� even provides statistics at the end of each episode that tell people what percentage of players made the same choices they did.
鈥淵ou might get a choice and think 100% of people think like I do, I鈥檓 positive,鈥� said Lenart. 鈥淭hen you get to the end and it鈥檚 like you and 14% of people did this 鈥� then you talk to your friends and they鈥檙e like, 鈥榃hy would you do it your way. That makes no sense.鈥欌��
鈥淒ispatch鈥� developers think these stats don鈥檛 just spark conversations; they also keep the game trending as its episodes drop week by week. But they also hope the game鈥檚 slick animation keeps it in the zeitgeist.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking to do something that felt more evergreen,鈥� said Shorette. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 look back at season three of 鈥楤ob鈥檚 Burgers鈥� and go like, 鈥極h, this looks really last gen,鈥� 鈥� it鈥檚 just not even a barrier anymore.鈥�
So far, that approach seems to be paying off. 鈥淒ispatch鈥� , an impressive number for a small studio. Shorette believes Adhoc has succeeded at attracting newcomers and hardcore gamers alike.
鈥淲e鈥檙e comfortable sitting in this place in between 鈥� maybe your thumbs are tired from playing Battlefield,鈥� says Shorette. 鈥淐ome on over, the new episode of 鈥楧ispatch鈥� is out. Hang out with us for a while and have a good time.鈥�
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