There is a short Q&A for this in the latest Xbox magazine. Also one of the developers posted this in their forums...
The Walking Dead features direct control, and you play as Lee throughout the game. We want you to experience the types of choices and conflict, and the extended fallout from those choices, that Rick experiences in the comics and the show -- hence you playing as the same character throughout the season -- but everyone involved agreed that literally putting you in Rick's shoes would defeat the point, because you'd already know what he would do in every key moment of his post-coma life.
The game has action moments and times when a split second decision or reaction is required, but by and large we're working to make sure there is a 1:1 correlation between what you're doing with the controller or keyboard/mouse, and the action on screen, as opposed to the one-step-removed abstracted feeling you can get with quick-time events.
As for Clementine's role: I don't think a Telltale game has ever had an escort mission, and I doubt one ever will.
We're getting very close to talking about the game more formally, which is something I'm looking forward to! As people probably know, I love reading and participating in the forums (maybe too much), and it will be nice to finally have some public stuff out there to talk about and discuss with folks more openly and often. I'm psyched.
