TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
What came first? The dispatching minigame or the Z-Team?
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With the games we used to make [at Telltale], we were so conditioned to gameplay being a thing you had to do to check a box.
I'll admit, I didn't expect much from Dispatch's gameplay before I played it. After all, it's more or less a Telltale game, which were always more concerned with dialogue choices and story sequences than they ever were with gameplay. But, somehow, AdHoc managed to make Dispatch more fun to play than it is to watch.
There's the incredible dispatching minigame that sees you managing your team of heroes (well, ex-villains), a surprisingly challenging hacking puzzle, and quick time events. The mere thought of QTEs, which were all the rage back in the 2010s, makes me shudder today, but Dispatch is one of the very few games to do them well.
In a GDC talk with Dispatch creative directors and AdHoc Studio cofounders Nick Herman and Dennis Lenart, they discussed how the game's puzzle mechanics developed. And most notably, how they managed to make QTEs actually fun.
Early in development, the team wanted to focus on light puzzling minigames that would directly tie into Robert's job at SDN—dispatching. This didn't begin with a dispatching minigame, but one thing was for certain in Lenart's eyes: "We are definitely not doing QTEs."
Herman used an example of helping Invisigal through a security camera feed (an early version of the robbery section, I assume), where you'd switch cameras to navigate the space, interact with objects, and call things out to her.
"We weren't really sure it was actually fun. It was kind of cool and different. But was it fun? With the games we used to make [at Telltale], we were so conditioned to gameplay being a thing you had to do to check a box… We just needed it to not suck," Herman said, describing the concepts for Dispatch's gameplay.
Returning to the drawing board with these thoughts in mind, Lenart recalls a game called This is the Police, which ended up having a big influence on the direction AdHoc would take. In This is the Police, you manage a team of police officers; in Dispatch, those are superheroes. It's a management sim, in many ways, and it's fun.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
The Z Team was then created to give you a team to manage, as it was just a story of me...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
With the games we used to make [at Telltale], we were so conditioned to gameplay being a thing you had to do to check a box.
I'll admit, I didn't expect much from Dispatch's gameplay before I played it. After all, it's more or less a Telltale game, which were always more concerned with dialogue choices and story sequences than they ever were with gameplay. But, somehow, AdHoc managed to make Dispatch more fun to play than it is to watch.
There's the incredible dispatching minigame that sees you managing your team of heroes (well, ex-villains), a surprisingly challenging hacking puzzle, and quick time events. The mere thought of QTEs, which were all the rage back in the 2010s, makes me shudder today, but Dispatch is one of the very few games to do them well.
In a GDC talk with Dispatch creative directors and AdHoc Studio cofounders Nick Herman and Dennis Lenart, they discussed how the game's puzzle mechanics developed. And most notably, how they managed to make QTEs actually fun.
Early in development, the team wanted to focus on light puzzling minigames that would directly tie into Robert's job at SDN—dispatching. This didn't begin with a dispatching minigame, but one thing was for certain in Lenart's eyes: "We are definitely not doing QTEs."
Herman used an example of helping Invisigal through a security camera feed (an early version of the robbery section, I assume), where you'd switch cameras to navigate the space, interact with objects, and call things out to her.
"We weren't really sure it was actually fun. It was kind of cool and different. But was it fun? With the games we used to make [at Telltale], we were so conditioned to gameplay being a thing you had to do to check a box… We just needed it to not suck," Herman said, describing the concepts for Dispatch's gameplay.
Returning to the drawing board with these thoughts in mind, Lenart recalls a game called This is the Police, which ended up having a big influence on the direction AdHoc would take. In This is the Police, you manage a team of police officers; in Dispatch, those are superheroes. It's a management sim, in many ways, and it's fun.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
The Z Team was then created to give you a team to manage, as it was just a story of me...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?