Too many games depict James Bond as a mass murderer, says Telltale chief

James Bond video game adaptations too often make the British agent out to be a killing machine, straying from his true essence as an intelligent and calculated super-spy. That's the opinion of The Walking Dead developer Telltale Games cofounder Kevin Bruner, who told OXM recently that it would be a dream to make a game based on 007 some day.

"I'm a giant James Bond fan and I'm always frustrated by games that make him a mass murderer," Bruner said. "He's a super-spy, and that's a different skillset. The films make him less of a mass murderer, and there's not much killing in the books--more spying and intrigue."

It should be noted that Telltale Games has no immediate plans to make a James Bond video game, and Bruner was only speaking on the condition of what franchise he would like to work on if money and politics were no consideration. Telltale is also interested in making a Star Wars title.

It is unclear which publisher currently holds the publishing rights to the venerated James Bond series. The most recent rights-holders were publishing giants Electronic Arts and then Activision, though the Call of Duty company's deal reportedly expired at the end of 2012.

The most recent James Bond game was 2012's 007 Legends, which featured missions based on the franchise's 50-year history.

Also in the interview, CEO Dan Connors discussed the role of licensing in Telltale's history and suggested that the company may seek to create its own franchise one day.

"Licensing has played an important part in enabling this company to do as much as it's done without having to create a new IP wholecloth, which is a big undertaking with a lot of associated risk," Connors said. "[But] as we become bigger and can execute that, [creating our own franchise] gets more and more attractive."

"I think we're looking more at 'Can we engage some great storytelling mind to come in and work with us on something and make it not just a game franchise, but a full-on entertainment franchise with comics or a TV show and such and build it all together at once?' We really see that as the next thing that's gonna happen," he added.

Telltale's portfolio so far includes games based on The Walking Dead, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, Fables, Wallace and Gromit, and Law & Order. The company is currently working on adventure games based on Game of Thrones and Borderlands.