Episodic or Full Release? Length Between Episodes?
Since we now know that new Telltale will have their games fully developed before they release them, would you prefer them to keep the episodic release form or release the game all in one instead? If you would prefer them to release the game fully, do you prefer releasing it as a basic game, with no episodes, or just have all 5 episodes released simultaneously? And, if you prefer normal episodic release like old TT, what would you want the wait between episodes releasing to be? For me personally, I would like to keep the standard episodic releases because I think having the game released in episodes, one by one, over a period of time, builds alot more hype and time for fans to cover theories. It keeps the game relavant for longer as well as opposed to releasing the game all in one. But, that's just my opinion, I would love to here what y'all think so please tell me in the comments.
Comments
Hmmm... personally I'd enjoy seeing episodes release episodically, but more so weekly than anything else, having a weekly release would allow us to have good discussion for several weeks instead of one gargantuan mass to talk about for a week and move on from.
Episodically to give us time to discuss and make predictions, but not huge 2 month+ waits. 1 month between episodes max and also no live development. Use the wait solely to fix bugs from previous and/or future episodes, don't make the whole episode during the wait
.
I agree! I think Tell Me Why is a good example on how episodic games should be released. They released their episodes every week, which I think is a good way to do it. Maybe every 2 weeks you could release the next episode.
I think the team is too small to handle episodic releases effectively, but the advantages of being episodic are:
Basically, episodic releases promote the more social aspects of game playing. If you're going to play it all by yourself, then you might as well have it all at the same time.
I kinda hope they still release it episodically but in the end it should really be whatever format will bring the most sales. I feel weekly would probably be the best choice as it keeps the game episodic and makes it more like a TV show which I feel most people would be into if the game is episodically released. Personally I actually didnt mind waiting a month (if it truly was a month lol) because it was plenty of time to think of theories and just talk about the game. Was a really good way to build up the community. Weekly probably wouldnt have that type of feeling anymore, but I would like it a lot better than like what Dojo said; just dumped, we talk about it for a week or two and then we've already moved on.
Really I am just glad the entire game is being made before anything releases. Way healthier for the devs to work in and also means the story can be a lot more solid if you aren't writing live with the idea of "Well hope this works out." Stories get re-written all the time but most arent already half out and cant be changed when you start rewriting.
Honestly, I didn't mind waiting for each episode (unless it was for 3 months or more, hehe), because I loved reading all the discussions here during that time and I'd definitely miss it if they released the whole game in one day. But I understand how it could be frustrating for most people.
I think releasing episodes every two weeks would be the sweet spot to keep the interest in the game going while leaving enough room for discussions and theories.
I think they should at least try out no episodes at all, see how it goes. Maybe for an original IP though. As for Wolf, episodes should release every 2 weeks - basically whatever is the best for the devs and the game's quality.
I wonder how many new/returning members we're going to get when Season 2 drops. Hope they advertise the forums in-game.
I wonder if we'll ever get that long promised forum layout update. 😅
Yeah I wouldn’t mind seeing Telltale and AdHoc team up again to produce a story game similar to Firewatch. I’d really love to see another game like that and I’m surprised there really hasn’t been a Firewatch like game since then. Was thinking about In The Valley of Gods and still pretty bummed it will probably never release. Not sure why Valve decided to stop production on it when it could easily be finished and was being looked forward to. Hell Firewatch did great for Campo Santo, pretty sure releasing ITVOG with official Valve backing would drive sales even further. Would be pretty good profit for a game with an over all low budget.
Then again Valve basically has infinite money so they probably just don’t care.
As others said, the episodic model really encourages discussion over each individual episode. I think that's a positive - you get more out of the game that way. However, it seems last-minute rewrites and stuff was really problematic. I think it would be best if they only gave themselves a month or six weeks between episodes. That way, they can make a few changes, but not enough to cause a disaster. Really ought to have the whole season and setpieces set out before the season starts.
Create entire game. Release episodes monthly.
Gives them enough time to make changes (small pls, no goddamn rewrites) if needed and keeps us guessing till next episode releases.