The game follows Lee Everett, a convicted criminal who becomes the guardian of a young girl named Clementine amidst the onset of a zombie apocalypse in Georgia.

They worked closely with Robert Kirkman, focusing on making a narrative where players made morally challenging decisions that influenced the storyline while avoiding conventional game-over scenarios.

Released in five episodes between April and November 2012 on various platforms, The Walking Dead received widespread praise for its emotional depth, the dynamic between Lee and Clementine, and its impact on the adventure game genre.

[10] In the game, the player character, Lee Everett, tries to survive and protect a young girl named Clementine during the midst of a zombie apocalypse, working with a small group of survivors.

[16] Some conversation trees require the player to make a selection within a limited time, otherwise Lee will remain quiet, which can affect how other characters respond to him.

[16][18] The player can choose to play in "Minimal" mode, disabling hints and the "choice notification" feature that signals changes in the game or characters' attitudes toward Lee.

[19][20] In more action-based sequences, the player must follow on-screen prompts for quick time events (QTEs) so as to keep themselves or other characters alive;[9] if they die, the game restarts from just prior to the QTE.

[22] On day one of the outbreak, convicted criminal Lee Everett (Dave Fennoy) is being transported to prison when the police car crashes after hitting a walker.

After killing the reanimated cop, Lee flees from a group of walkers and takes shelter in a suburban home, where he meets Clementine (Melissa Hutchison), a young girl whose parents had traveled to Savannah.

They are rescued by Shawn Greene (Peter Edward Mussad), who takes them to his father Hershel’s (Chuck Kourouklis) farm, where they meet Kenny (Gavin Hammon), his wife Katjaa (Cissy Jones), and their son Duck (Max Kaufman).

The group loses two of their own, including Lilly's father Larry (Terry McGovern), but eventually escapes the farm, leaving it overrun by walkers.

Separated from Omid and Christa, Lee reaches the hotel alone and confronts Clementine's captor, The Stranger (Anthony Lam), who reveals he is the owner of the car they had previously ransacked.

The downloadable content 400 Days relates stories of other survivors in the zombie apocalypse, starting at its onset and occurring concurrently with the first season.

[28] Before The Walking Dead, Telltale Games had success with episodic adventures based on established properties, such as Sam & Max and Tales of Monkey Island.

[9][29] Sean Vanaman noted that before securing The Walking Dead, Telltale's Carl Muckenhoupt was working on a text-based prototype with an "active world," where objects and characters acted independently of player input.

[34][35] Kirkman, who had enjoyed Telltale's Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, appreciated their storytelling focus and player engagement.

[36] The CEO of Telltale, Dan Connors, noted that Kirkman's involvement helped shape the story and introduce new characters while incorporating established ones from the comics.

[40][41] Clementine's role was considered critical to the game's writing, with the team focusing on making her a "moral compass" while ensuring that as a child character, she wasn't perceived as whiny or annoying.

[40] Similarly, Lee, the game's Black protagonist, was designed to incorporate his race without making it integral to the story; instead, societal reactions shaped the character without dictating the narrative's direction.

Additionally, they designed The Walking Dead so that episodes 2–5 would be treated as downloadable content, bypassing slot scheduling and enabling same-day release on PCs and consoles.

[43] The Walking Dead was initially announced as a five-episode series, with releases planned approximately on a monthly basis as digital downloads for Windows, OS X, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

[48][49] A special Collector's Edition was made available exclusively at GameStop in North America, featuring artwork by Charlie Adlard and The Walking Dead: Compendium One, a collection of the first 48 issues of the comic series by Robert Kirkman.

[50] After this retail release, some Xbox 360 users reported performance issues due to storage limitations, leading Telltale to offer free digital download codes as compensation.

[46] In November 2013, Telltale announced a Game of the Year Edition, available for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, which included the five episodes, the 400 Days DLC, the original score, and a behind-the-scenes feature.

[57] This pinball adaptation featured designs representing set pieces from all five episodes and included animated models of characters Lee and Clementine.

[77] as it was praised for the harsh emotional tone, the characters, particularly the connection established between Lee and Clementine, story and the resemblance to the original comic book, though there was some criticism towards technical glitches.

It was recognized as "Game of the Year" by USA Today,[105] Wired,[106] GamesRadar+,[107] Official Xbox Magazine,[108] Destructoid,[109] Digital Trends,[110] and Yahoo!

[103][127] Connors stated they aimed to build on players' favorite elements from the first season, while considering story continuation and potential character ties to the TV show.

[130] Revealed at the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo and released in July 2013,[27] this content introduced five new characters and carried decisions from The Walking Dead into Season Two.

[135] The game's emphasis on narrative-driven, choice-based gameplay is regarded as having "paved the way" for subsequent titles that adopted a similar approach, such as Life Is Strange and The Quarry, both of which focus on player choices and their impact on the unfolding story.