Telltale, San Rafael maker of video games, lays off most of its staff

Telltale Games, an independent developer and publisher that championed narrative in video games through its characters’ conversations and quandaries, has laid off most of its staff, the San Rafael company said.

Telltale created point-and-click adventure games based on well-known entertainment properties like “The Walking Dead,” “Game of Thrones” and Batman. The games could be bought piecemeal as each $5 episode was released — usually two to three months apart — or, eventually, all at once.

The studio had leaned on licensing since it was founded in 2004, with early games based on comic book series like “Sam & Max” and “Bone,” and eventually movies such as “Jurassic Park” and “Back to the Future.