Telltale Walking Dead

[usedtabe]

<3 <3

[Arttemis]

I bought the disc for this and am eagerly awaiting to play this with my wife, who owns all but the latest issues of the graphic novel. The fact that it's in that universe will probably make her giddy.

The preview for the fps WD title also has me excited with the choices for who to save and who to kick out of the group when your vehicle is full, and a supposed emphasis for survival. I really hope it resembles the difficulty and rationing found in ZombiU, but being a fps by Activision, I don't think that's even a possibility.

[ZombiePlatypus]

The preview for the fps WD title also has me excited with the choices for who to save and who to kick out of the group when your vehicle is full, and a supposed emphasis for survival.

Yeah, that limited seating, coupled with being able to send folks in your crew out on their own, got me interested. I didn't really give the game any thought at all until that was revealed.

[TheRemedy]

Just sayin.

[Revuhlooshun]

"Scheduled to be released in 2013."

Better be December 31st, 2013, because the game looks rough as fuck right now.

[ZombiePlatypus]

That musical score makes up for it though.

[Zodiac Eclipse]

Yeah, that limited seating, coupled with being able to send folks in your crew out on their own, got me interested. I didn't really give the game any thought at all until that was revealed.

That's one (of many) things that really bothered me about the show. They take like 3-4 cars everywhere, and Daryl rides on a motorcycle by himself. What a freaking waste of gas. Seems like they'd want to conserve as much as possible since they can't just pull up to a gas station when they run low.

[GlowBear]

Got 1st episode on iOs for free and well yeah it's pretty engrossing and seems quite good. Will probably get the rest on Xbox or PC. I am converted!

[Stevil]

Dex's and ZP's reasons for saving Doug are mine as well. Anyone not save Duck? Wonder how that option plays out.

Spoiler!

Kenny saves Duck, no matter what happens, but he's utterly pissed with you for the rest of the game. You can choose to save neither and it still plays out the same way. I saved Duck because I knew what happened to Shawn in the comic - he's dead before Rick and co. meet The Greene family. Probably one of the few times I sort of "cheated", I guess.

At certain points I wished it were a movie or comic so I could skip the retarded gameplay and just enjoy the story. I also saved Doug because fuck bitches acquire technology son. I loved when I was only part of 23% who chose him. Fucking gamer white knights.

It's funny because in the final episode, someone calls you out for saving the skirt. I did it because I just wanted to pile on the tension, make the story more interesting (because I was all kinds of grey in that game). She knew Lee was a convict, Doug was just comic relief. I also expected her to be the "Andrea" of the group.

But don't worry,

Spoiler!

she ends up dying anyways (and in a rather bullshit way). They don't even bother dwelling on her death. It's just kind of a "Oh, well, that was a thing that happened" moment, despite that her and Lee were starting to get close. A rather low point in the storytelling, in my opinion.

Basically this. I finally finished it this morning and although the game was very well written throughout, I can't help but feel like it tried to get me to like the ending by making me feel empty inside. The sad thing is it might have worked if my decisions had actually affected the outcome of the game in any way, which as far as I can tell is not the case.

Spoiler!

From what I've read, everyone except Clementine dies or is separated from Lee, who also dies, this happens regardless of any decisions you make throughout the season. I'm not saying I expected anything different, I'm under no illusions about "choices" in video games, I know they rarely mean anything. But for a game which went to such lengths to get you attached to the characters, more of an effort could have been made to at least trick me into thinking that my actions made some kind of a difference.

Still a cool game for fans of the genre though.

You see, TWD isn't about choice affecting the ending. It's about how you feel in that moment. You can pick the best choice, only for someone to have their head blown off anyway because choice is not mutually exclusive to control. It was about doing the best you could.

I don't think something like the RV scene was bullshit either, and I heard all the butthurt on the Telltale forums. It's not that choices don't matter - because if you're being engaged, then its obviously doing its job. People got pissed because they were fine with being thrown to the wolves, but they got annoyed when a fave died and that they had no control...and isn't that what Lee goes through in just about every situation?

Just to add, from the start, this about Lee's choices having an effect on the relationships around him. He doesn't actually do anything that radically changes the plot in any way - he's just another survivor. It's not exactly Mass Effect, where to certain degrees, Shepard changes the outcome of a quest. It's far more intimiate than that, and the choices reflect your thoughts and feelings. It's why you're engaged.

[ZombiePlatypus]

Well said, Stevil.

Though regarding the Duck thing, Kenny remembers it if you don't try to save him, but he doesn't really stay pissed at you for it. I'd consider Kenny and my Lee good friends, even though I made opposing decisions where I felt the need to.

[Revuhlooshun]

It's hard for me to feel attached and emotionally engaged when I realize early on that my feelings don't mean anything within the first 20 minutes of the game. Right after that bullshit on Hershel's farm, the game telegraphed to me in big, bold letters: "YOU ARE MY BITCH. I DO WHAT I WANT." From then on, I took the role of a passive movie viewer and didn't bother getting too invested in anyone. The only people I gave a shit about was Clementine (you'd have to be a psychopath not to) and myself (Lee)--everybody else was officially "whatever."

And before anyone goes into "but surely you've gotten attached to movies or TV shows without having any input in them": Very, very few. I watch no television shows outside of news programs and barely any movies. The Wire is the only show in the last 10 years I've watched to completion, and that was only after being pestered into it by a friend 5 years after it had ended.

Also,

Spoiler!

The RV was bullshit to me because Lee barely reacted to the death of a character that he admitted he had feelings for in my story. "Oh, well, she's dead, guess I better wait it out on Clementine." That was my problem with it--it just seemed unnatural given the prior scenes with her. I have no problem with everybody dying.

It was a great story, but I generally don't get attached to individual characters in any story. I'm more interested in the plot and details. The Wire has been the only exception to the rule.

[Stevil]

Also,

Spoiler!

The RV was bullshit to me because Lee barely reacted to the death of a character that he admitted he had feelings for in my story. "Oh, well, she's dead, guess I better wait it out on Clementine." That was my problem with it--it just seemed unnatural given the prior scenes with her. I have no problem with everybody dying.

It was a great story, but I generally don't get attached to individual characters in any story. I'm more interested in the plot and details.

Spoiler!

They jump on the RV in total shock - it was classic fright and flight. What was there to say, anyway? I liked Lily, but there was no coming back from that. I put her on the RV, and had no idea why. There was no plan and nothing to say. It's how people would react in real life. Lee explains it best in Episode 4 - Clem is all he has left in a world gone to total shit.

It's not unnatural, either. Lily was clearly losing it when Lee and Kenny came back from the drug store. Not to mention she was living with the guy who killed her dad. She became the de facto leader, and also the outcast for doing it.

[Revuhlooshun]

Spoiler!

What was there to say, anyway?

Spoiler!

How about a "damn, that really sucked, yo"? Or something. Anything. There's plenty of time after the RV breaks down to reflect back on the moment. This was a character that my game claimed its lead character had an attachment to, though you definitely wouldn't have known it if you judged it by his indifference to that moment.

Larry's death gets more reflection for Christ's sake.

[Stevil]

How could they?

Spoiler!

Ben just saw someone die for his lies. Kenny and Katjaa have a dying son on their hands. Did you really want to hear Lily's bullshit excuse when you're stuck in the middle of nowhere and have a whole new bunch of problems on your hands. Nobody mourned for Mark, so I don't get why Carley/Doug is a special case because they lasted 2 and half episodes.

Pacing-wise, they went for a two punch and standing around talking about some supporting character's death would have diluted the next scene's impact.

Besides, Lee does talk about it to Katjaa. It doesn't need to be a five minute dialogue. A few lines is more than enough.

[Revuhlooshun]

I don't care what the side characters have to say about it--they didn't have an attachment to that character, according to my game. What Lee says about it matters to me. All he says to Katjaa about it amounts to,

Spoiler!

"Eh, yeah, I liked her, but whatever. Shit's rough these days."

Maybe Lee is just more fatalistic and pessimistic than I am.

[Dexter345]

I can't wait to finish the episodes I haven't finished yet so I can read the other half of what goes on in this thread.

[Revuhlooshun]

Soon it'll be one giant spoiler tag.

Let's make it happen.