The Wolf Among Us

Prerelease Info

Episodes#

Episode 1: FaithOriginally titled "Death of a Stepsister". ¹ Episode 2: Smoke and Mirrors Episode 3: A Crooked Mile Episode 4: In Sheep's Clothing Episode 5: Cry Wolf

Scrapped Gameplay Mechanics#

Scent Tracking#

Originally, alongside the more robust investigative gameplay elements, Bigby was also intended to have a Scent ability that allowed him to sniff objects and environments for clues. Although the mechanic was ultimately cut, many remnants tied to this feature still remain in the game files, including sound effects, textures, particle effects, and character animations. The existence of this mechanic was later confirmed by former Telltale creative designer Mark Darin in 2019, when he shared screenshots of an internal design document explaining how the feature was intended to work.²

It appears that this feature was originally part of the game's script before the rewrites. Although it carried over into the revised version, the lack of references to it outside of Episode One suggests that it was cut relatively early in development.³

Covering Your Tracks#

The original version of the game appears to have placed a much greater emphasis on keeping Fables and Fabletown hidden from the Mundane world. While the importance of keeping Fables a secret remains a recurring theme occasionally mentioned in the final game, it has little to no impact on the gameplay or story, as characters rarely make any effort to conceal their identities or supernatural events.

Cut files suggest this was originally intended to be a much more significant gameplay element. There are many leftover assets, including fully voiced dialogue, scripted sequences, and gameplay logic, which indicate that the mechanic progressed well beyond the planning stage. While some of the content is somewhat unpolished, it appears to be largely functional, suggesting the feature was cut relatively late in development.

• Evidence of this can still be found at the beginning of Episode 2, where Bigby was originally meant to steal evidence from the police station after being interrogated.

Unused Characters#

Following the critical and commercial success of The Walking Dead, Telltale heavily reworked many aspects of the original story⁴, which resulted in many characters being either scrapped or significantly altered. Despite this, many of their character models were repurposed as background pedestrians in order to populate the streets and buildings of Fabletown.

Clorinda#

One of Cinderella's stepsisters, she was a central figure in the game's original scrapped storyline, which revolved around her mysterious death. In the final game, the only remaining traces of the character are several textures from her apartment, a placeholder texture for a picture frame that references her family, and object data for a window that still references her name. The object's name implies that Bigby would have used his cut scent-tracking ability inside her home.

Livia#

Clorinda's mother. Very little is known about her or the role she was intended to play in the original story. Her character model remains in the game files and, like many other scrapped characters, she was repurposed as a background pedestrian. She can be seen in the Episode 2 teaser, sitting on a set of steps, where she looks at Bigby as he approaches, which is the only animation associated with her that remains in the files.

According to unused dialogue, she appears to have viewed herself as superior to others and held strongly classist beliefs. She also believed that Fables should not be forced to live in secrecy and instead should be allowed to reveal their true nature to Mundies.

Cinderella#

While Cinderella can be seen several times throughout the game, she is never directly interacted with. Her role in the game is largely diminished from the storyline that was originally envisioned for her⁶, ultimately being relegated to a background pedestrian alongside many other cut characters. Much like her stepmother, her only major appearance is in the Episode 2 teaser, where she can briefly be seen speaking with her before being interrupted by Bigby.

• While her character model was repurposed for the final game, her sunglasses go completely unused.

The Cryer#

In the final game, Cryer is a minor background character who serves little purpose beyond appearing in various locations throughout Fabletown. However, according to an interview with the developers, he was originally intended to be The Boy Who Cried Wolf and serve as Bigby's deputy. His final design still reflects this concept, as his clothing, much like Snow White's, features details referencing the fairy tale from which he originates.

The White Queen#

The sister of the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland. Next to nothing is known about her intended role or purpose in the original storyline. However, the surviving assets indicate that she was developed relatively early, as concept art exists depicting both the White Queen and her entourage of card guards. The game files also reveal that she originally had her own apartment. This environment was later completely repurposed as the home of Sleeping Beauty and Beast, we know this thanks to the naming conventions of the textures and assets found within the apartment, all of which reference the White Queen. Although the character herself was cut, we do know what she was supposed to look like. Her model was fully repurposed for Aunty Greenleaf, the Witch of Fabletown, with both the model and its textures still using names that reference the White Queen.

Unused Models#

To do: A non-modified render of Nerissa. A NSFW tag can be added to the page.

• The game files contain an unused model of Nerissa in her mermaid form. It is unknown where this model was intended to be used. Much like her pole dance model, she is completely topless from the waist up.
• Detective Kelsey Brannigan has an unused alternate model in which she is dressed in jogging clothes. The intended purpose of this outfit is unknown, although it may have been connected to the game's earlier storyline, in which Brannigan was originally intended to play a larger role investigating Fabletown. While the model itself goes unused in the final game, it briefly appeared in the original diorama for Episode 3 before later being removed.

Scrapped Sequences#

Clorinda's Apartment#

Several leftover animations that depict Bigby investigating Clorinda's apartment.

Avoiding the Cop#

After the altercation with the Woodsman, Bigby was originally meant to conceal the damage and cover his tracks in order to avoid raising suspicion.

Unused Textures#

Debug textures#

• Some type of safe-area guide used to test the positioning and alignment of the user interface.
• A Telltale and Warner Bros. logo, likely the earlier versions used in the splash screen before the Fable-themed ones were created.

User Interface#

• Found among the Main Menu files are several high-quality textures of paper pages. Given the game's fairy tale theme, it is possible the main menu was originally intended to resemble the pages of a fairy tale book.
• A leftover icon from Tales from the Borderlands. Strangely, the icon is just the lock from this game's main menu but with a Vault Key logo edited on top, suggesting that it was likely only intended as a placeholder.
• A unused icon for the cut Scent Tracking gameplay mechanic.

Clorinda#

There are several textures related to the cut character Clorinda.

Textures for Clorinda's apartment, including a cabinet, walls, and ceiling. Most notably, the bathroom wall texture matches the one seen in the released concept art for the game.

A placeholder texture for two picture frames. One was intended to depict Clorinda, her sister Glorianna, and their mother, Livia, while the other was meant to feature Cinderella by herself.
The filename, "PhotoA," suggests that multiple versions of this texture were originally planned.

Unused Animations#

This page or section needs more images. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough pictures. Please fix this. Specifically: Would be nice to have some gifs showing these off.

Clorinda#

In the anichore archive for Episode 1: Faith, there are unused chores that were supposed to take place in Clorinda's apartment, a location that was completely cut from the game.

Cut Scent Mechanic#

Animation chores that reference the cut Scent mechanic. These animations were also meant to take place in Clorinda's apartment.

Cinderella Fight#

There are unused animations referencing a fight between Cinderella and the Tweedle brothers. This never occurs in the final release.

Notes#

• Although technically not unused, Livia's only remaining animation is named sk5_livia_toSitCraneDesk. The animation's name suggests it was originally intended for a scene in which she would sit at Crane's desk, before being repurposed for the Episode 2 teaser.

Unused Voice Lines#

To do: Please rip these out of the game rather than having a video here.

Voiceclips for Bluebeard can be found in the files of the game, luckily, there is a video about it, so here it is. Watch on YouTube

Unused Content Compilation#

Please elaborate. Having more detail is always a good thing. Specifically: Not exactly obvious what is meant to be shown here. Also, probably shouldn't have all this stuffed into one video.

This video showcases the unused content that shows the different plot points of the game at some point. Watch on YouTube

Oddities#

• The Settings menu lists Audio and Video under the same category. However, selecting it only displays the audio options, while all video-related settings are instead located in the Graphics menu.
• When Bigby first sees Grendel at The Woodland, both of his eyes are normal. However, for the rest of the game, his right eye appears clouded, similar to how his eyes normally look in his natural form. While there could be an in-universe explanation for this, the game never addresses this change, nor do any characters comment on it. Because of this, it may simply be an oversight by the developers.

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References#