The Wolf Among Us

This page provides an overview on the game The Wolf Among Us, structured in facts about the main characteristics of the game, followed by a more detailed analysis of the core game mechanics and the decision-making process inherent in the game.

About the Game

The Wolf Among Us is an episodic point-and-click adventure game developed by Telltale Games, with individual episodes released in chronological order between October 2013 and July 2014. The game mechanics are very similar to those of The Walking Dead, Telltale Games' previous title. The game was initially available for PC/Mac, as well as Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Later it was ported to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS and Android. The content of the game is based on the comic Fables of the author Bill Willingham but plays before the events of the comic series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysj_MQ0nuXw

Story

The Fables (characters from the fairy tales of the Grimm brothers) have fled their homelands due to an unknown danger and have settled in the fictional district of Fabeltown in Manhattan, New York. There they try to lead her life undercover form of humans, but they cannot completely overcome the relationships inscribed in the fairy tales and increasingly rub each other out between drug use, poverty, bureaucracy, and violence. In the middle of this, the player starts the game in the role of Bigby Wolf, the sheriff of the community. The sheriff, who is trapped in his ambivalent origins as the "bad big wolf", tries, guided by the player, to uncover several linked murder cases in the interwoven web of prejudice, hostilities, old feuds and corruption while he at the same time tries to save the community from a crisis that increasingly threatens to wipe it out. During this, the player gets deeper and deeper into the structures of the community, until finally the supposed cause of all problems is found.

In addition to this plot, the game is also about confronting the player with moral choices and letting the story react dynamically to the decisions made.

Episodes

A special feature of the game is its episodic nature, typical for Telltale. Each of the five episodes is conceived as a block of action, each of which has an arc of tension and a climax towards the end. Each episode has the same structure and is divided into several parts. At first a review of the previous episode begins (this is replaced by an introductory cut-scene in the first episode). This is followed by an introductory plot and the intro, which remains the same throughout all episodes. Most of the episode is taken up by the main part, which is followed by the climax. This consists of either a big fight or an event that is important for the narration. Finally, there is a preview of the most important events of the coming episode and credits that list all those involved in the development.

Characters

A total of 36 different characters are involved in the plot over the course of the five episodes. A detailed description of each character, including a list of their appearance during the story, can be found in the community's Fables Wiki Because of their position as plot-bearing characters, this Wiki discusses the two characters Bigby Wolf and Snow White.

Bigby Wolf (The Big Bad Wolf)

Bigby Wolf is the protagonist and playable character of the game. In his role as sheriff of Fabletown he is the executive of the government of the fables and is responsible for protecting the fables from the mundies (ordinary humans) and the fables from themselves. In this role, he has the burden of ensuring justice, which repeatedly raises moral dilemmas as the plot unfolds. These are passed on to the player who directs Bigby's actions and decisions. His character is based on the fairy tale character "the bad wolf" from the fairy tales of the Grimm brothers. (cf. ) Together with Snow, Bigby tries to solve the mystery of the two murders that take place during the first episode.

Snow White

As a deuterogonist, Snow as such is partly on the side of Bigby (and the player) and partly against his (the player's) decisions. From the very beginning she thus forms a counterbalance to the narrative temperament of Bigby and the decisions of the players. In the plot of the game she initially takes on the role of assistant to the deputy mayor Ichabod Crane. After his death she takes over his position. This role opens up a contradiction in her relationship with Bigby, as she is on the one hand his boss and ultimately responsible for his actions, but on the other hand she is also a close friend. Her character is taken from the fairytale "Snow White" by the Grimm brothers. Initially in the role of accompanying and supporting Bigby, and later as a representative for the affairs of the Fables, she accompanies Bigby (and the player) through the events of the game and acts as a close reference and confidant who, compared to many other characters, suspects or plans nothing bad towards him.

Gameplay and Graphics

At the beginning of the game, the player can choose from one of the five episodes that make up the plot of the game. Although the game develops chronologically from episode 1 to episode 5, it is possible to start each section of the game from the beginning without any preconditions.

For the player, the game itself consists of a sequence of three possible elements.

1. The selection of one out of five dialogue options (silence is always possible)
2. The execution of Quick-Time Events (QTEs)
3. Free movement in spatially limited sections (e.g. a corridor of a building or a short section of a pavement) This is where the player can interact with marked objects or persons.

Apart from these three options, certain objects of the game world (money, keys) can be collected in an inventory to be used elsewhere.

The controls of the game are designed in the style of a point and click adventure. Away from the dialogue windows, a "selection circle" (similar to a crosshair) is used to interact with the game world. The character is moved with the keyboard (WASD) or the joystick of the controller, instead of following the mouse clicks like in a traditional point and click adventure.

The graphics of the game are designed in a cel shading style, which is very similar to the drawings in a comic book. This is contradicted by the three-dimensionality of the game world, which, however, appears very flat due to the technique of Cel Shading.

Research-Relevant Topics of the Game

Decisions and consequences

Already at the start of the game the player is informed by a text overlay that the game adapts to the decisions that are made and that the plot will vary accordingly.

During the game, the player is also repeatedly informed by a text message that certain decisions made change the in-game relationship with the character concerned. This happens when a Non-Player Character (NPC) remembers the outcome of the decision, agrees with the outcome, or rejects the decision made.

At the end of each episode, the player is presented with an overview of all decisions that are important for the plot, which shows the personal decision as well as the percentage of all other players who have made the same decision. This function requires an established network connection.

At the end of the game, after all five episodes have been played through, a further overview shows which promises and actions were made, kept, and carried out towards the characters of the game. In addition, information is provided about which NPCs have died during the game and which of their deaths were caused by the player.

Decision-making options

To be able to distinguish between decisions that are important and unimportant for the narrative, this article divides the individual decisions possible in the game into main and secondary decisions. These are classified according to the valuation of the game, which gives a hint to the player after main decisions, but not in the case of secondary decisions. Furthermore, only main decisions are presented in the final presentation of all decisions after each episode.

Main Decisions

These are "noticed" by the other non-player characters in the game. This means an improvement or deterioration in the relationship between the characters and will usually have positive or negative consequences in a later action. Alternatively, key decisions can directly bring about a significant change in the game plot, for example by making the choice to save one character and neglect another in return.

Secondary decisions

Compared to the main decisions, these do not entail far-reaching consequences and rather serve to advance the narrative level of the game and to lay the paths to the respective main decisions. They usually consist of small details of the game world, most of the dialogue options and parts of the QTEs.