Season 4 "Gimmick": 2 characters control

Amaterasu

*EDIT* There has been a confusing, so i'm just making it clear: I am NOT talking about MULTI-PLAYER.

I already wrote this in another topic, but I wanted to create a new topic around the idea.
Now that Season 3 is over, I guess Max wont have any Psychic Powers in the next seasons.

TT will need a new "Gimmick" to hold the season and make it more special!
And here comes my idea... Two characters control!

I'm talking about the Gobliins2 mechanism, controling Sam & Max at the same time for complicated actions.

Controlling Max like a second character (same as Winkle in Gobliins2, a little stupid, uses items differently than Fingus etc...) would be really fun!

Taken from Wikipedia:

Gobliins 2: The Prince Buffoon



[wiki]Fingus and Winkle in Gobliins 2: The Prince Buffoon.
In 1992's Gobliins 2 the player controls two characters: Fingus (who is well-mannered, intelligent and shy) and Winkle (who is dumb enough to not know how to push a button in the first screen, but who is almost terminally brave). They've been sent to rescue the King's son, the Prince Buffoon, who has been kidnapped by the evil Amoniak. Both goblins can pick up and use items, and both generally use an item in different ways. Unlike its predecessor, Gobliins 2 allows (and requires) the player to travel back and forth between rooms. Also, both goblins can be given an order simultaneously, allowing for the inclusion of timing puzzles. A significant difference between this game and its predecessor is that in Gobliins 2 neither playable character can die.
An easter egg is that Fingus, if left idle, will eventually whistle a short tune, and the tune is different in each room.[/wiki]

I see Sam as Fingus and Max as Winkle. The character types are very similar.
Also, the inventory (which is common for both characters) makes a lot of different. Usually Fingus would use "food items" in the typical "Sam" way, whilst Winkle would eat them. Also, and item such as a Crowbar would be used "smartly" by Fingus, and "Brutally" by Winkle.

This system can make new puzzles a lot more fun and genius than before, while letting us play Max as a main character for the first time!

Dialogues of course would change depending on the character in control.

Watch movie to get the idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jyTORpJKtA

*EDIT*
Some more complicated two-characters-control puzzles can be seen in the sequel: "Goblins 3".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5oAGYimD60
Which also looks a lot better, though in this game you find different partners during the levels.

Sir Pantalones

I've long been thinking about how anyone would create a multiplayer point-and-clicker. The problems would be the pace being just too slow for two players to be kept interested, and that one player might miss a lot of hilarious and / or important writing that the other one experiences.
Multiplayer puzzles have always been a hard thing to do right, and that's why most multiplayer puzzle games put some crazy-ass battles and action scenes in there just to up the pace enough for the company to be kept interested. See Zelda: Four Swords or the Lego platformers.
So if they can up the pace, include more action-puzzle sequences and make sure that all important information is delivered to both players, I don't think that multiplayer adventure gaming would be impossible.


This isn't quite what you were talking about, just some thoughts I had on the matter of using two characters at once fluidly. :P

Amaterasu

Sir Pantalones wrote: »

This isn't quite what you were talking about, just some thoughts I had on the matter of using two characters at once fluidly. :P

That's a cool idea!
But I guess that wouldn't work, playing puzzle games is something I rather play alone, for the same reasons you've mentioned.

Anyway, I wasn't talking about multi-player, so i'm glad you mentioned that.

queen_of_the_lobsters

We've already seen hints of being able to swap between characters and do different things in this season, so I wouldn't be surprised if Telltale went in this direction for season four. However, there's still the chance that Max could have psychic powers. The Narrator did say that Max was always psychic, so that would mean The Max from the elevator simply hans't developed his yet. And while the Toys of Power don't exist in the game anymore, they can work if Max remembers them, and he can if he really is part of a hive mind of all the Maxes that have ever existed.

Sausy Gibbon

Yeah as Pantalones was saying multiplayer is something more suited to action-adventure (an avenue I hope Sam and Max will someday take) than point-and-click. Theres no reason for slow pacing but it could get frustrating when your not on the same level as the other player and you may have solved your part of the puzzle but they're still lost as of what they have to do.

Amaterasu

I am not talking about multi-player in this topic guys.

I am talking about SINGLE-PLAYER, being able to switch between Sam and Max as he chooses, using the same inventory, though each character will use items differently and will have different lines to say to other characters.

Flyingman356

I had a similar idea a while ago, they're both in different locations and you have to gather information on both sides to help the other.

Kind of like the reels in 302.

Sir Pantalones

About switching between characters, I don't know how well it would work. Design-wise, it feels kinda unnecessary, since all interactions you could cause with Max could simply be done by using him as an inventory item or something.
In Day of the Tentacle, character-switching was a fast way to travel between three different points in time, which definitely served it's purpose.
But just like multiplayer, game developers should always do their best to avoid unnecessary game elements.

I dunno, really : P