I wish Telltale would make games I'm interested in again.

edited March 2012 in General Chat
Until a few years ago, I had bought everything Telltale made. Sam&Max, TOMI, Homestar, Poker, Bone, Hector, etc.

But I didn't buy more than the first episode of Back to the Future.

I didn't buy Jurassic Park. I'm not buying the new Law&Order. I can't say for certain, but it seems very unlikely that I'll be buying The Walking Dead.

I'm assuming Telltale is making good money in their new market or they wouldn't continue to put out the Licensed Drama games. But I'd imagine there's a lot of people like me that want to give them my money, but aren't.
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Comments

  • edited February 2012
    I notice, for example, there's always tremendously more people in the TOMI and Sam&Max forums, despite no game coming out in some years. That seems like it'd be an indicator of demand, but it may just be that those games are just more likely to attract the kind of people that hang out in forums :)
  • JenniferJennifer Moderator
    edited February 2012
    There's definitely demand for a new Monkey Island game, but unfortunately it's up to LucasArts, not Telltale, if there will be a new one since Telltale doesn't have a license to make more Monkey Island games.

    It was LucasArts' last president who was open to licensing Monkey Island, but he left the company. The new president "is focused on building AAA titles internally" (based on the Lucasfilm movies) and isn't interested in licensing out their game properties.
  • edited February 2012
    There's never going to be a Monkey Island 6. It sucks, but that's how it is. LucasArts just doesn't care about Monkey Island, or any of its other adventure games. Really, the fact that we even got Tales is pretty amazing.

    Anyway, I sort of both agree and disagree with you, if that makes sense. On one hand, yes, I miss Telltale's older, more humor-driven games. A big reason why I stuck as a Telltale fan was because they could make me laugh, and so it's harder to get into these more dramatic games.

    At the same time, though, while I prefer my adventure games funny, I'm willing to enjoy a more serious game too so long as it's done well. Emphasis on that last part. Telltale's downhill slide isn't because their games are shifting away from comedy, it's because their games haven't been very good. I'd rather have a dramatic adventure game with well thought-out puzzles and exploration than a Sam and Max Season 4 that plays like Jurassic Park.

    Also, maybe it's just because the games are newer and thus their forums are more active, but I do see a whole lot more people in the BttF and JP forums (quite a few of them new accounts that apparently haven't played any other Telltale games) than the Sam and Max and Tales ones. I'm not sure just how many fans Telltale's "casual adventure" plan is bringing in, but I don't think the demand for more Sam and Max is as strong as we think. :(
  • puzzleboxpuzzlebox Telltale Alumni
    edited February 2012
    Since this is a whole lot broader than The Walking Dead, I'm moving it to General Chat.
  • edited February 2012
    I think the only traditional adventure game they have easy access to is Sam and Max and, to be honest, I felt they needed to let that series rest for a bit.
  • edited February 2012
    DAISHI wrote: »
    I think the only traditional adventure game they have easy access to is Sam and Max and, to be honest, I felt they needed to let that series rest for a bit.

    They are doing a new King's Quest game, you know.

    But you don't have to revive an old IP to make a traditional adventure game. You can, you know...make something new and original that happens to play like a traditional adventure game. That's what Double Fine is doing, although for some reason Telltale flat-out refuses to do anything that's not a licensed game.

    Even then, though, just because you have to work within a particular license doesn't mean you need to compromise the gameplay. In the Back to the Future movies, Doc and Marty always had to think their way out of their problems. You think that would've lent itself great to an adventure game, yet somehow, it didn't. Meanwhile, Indiana Jones is all about action, with a lot more fighting than thinking. It fits the adventure game concept a hell of a lot less than BttF does, yet LucasArts was able to make two classic adventure games out of it.

    Hell, even Jurassic Park had a decent point-and-click adventure on the Sega CD. I mean, I admire how Telltale always treats the licenses they use with respect, but that shouldn't come before making a good game. They wanted the Jurassic Park game to "be like Jurassic Park," so they made a movie.
  • edited February 2012
    Problem is that they aren't good at making movies as well, otherwise Ridley Scott, Woody Allen, Werner Herzog, the Cohen brothers, ... all would be in serious trouble. They also lack a little bit on the special effects side, comparing ILM to the render quality of TTG's JP.
  • edited February 2012
    They are doing a new King's Quest game, you know.

    But you don't have to revive an old IP to make a traditional adventure game. You can, you know...make something new and original that happens to play like a traditional adventure game. That's what Double Fine is doing, although for some reason Telltale flat-out refuses to do anything that's not a licensed game.

    Even then, though, just because you have to work within a particular license doesn't mean you need to compromise the gameplay. In the Back to the Future movies, Doc and Marty always had to think their way out of their problems. You think that would've lent itself great to an adventure game, yet somehow, it didn't. Meanwhile, Indiana Jones is all about action, with a lot more fighting than thinking. It fits the adventure game concept a hell of a lot less than BttF does, yet LucasArts was able to make two classic adventure games out of it.

    Hell, even Jurassic Park had a decent point-and-click adventure on the Sega CD. I mean, I admire how Telltale always treats the licenses they use with respect, but that shouldn't come before making a good game. They wanted the Jurassic Park game to "be like Jurassic Park," so they made a movie.

    You do if the movie studio makes requests of the production.
  • edited February 2012
    Hey Telltale, fund my game, I'll help you kick ass.

    ;)
  • edited February 2012
    The Walking Dead could be interesting, but it's really King's Quest that I'm excited about :)
  • edited February 2012
    Agree OP. I thought Sam&Max, Monkey Island, and Wallace&Gromit were all pretty damn good. There seems to be slightly less innovation with time though, and, most disappointingly, less real gameplay.
  • edited February 2012
    Telltale could make a good, original game that would thrill all of the hard-core adventure gamers here. They're just too afraid to do it, thinking that if they don't have a good draw from using a well-known license, they won't recoup the cost of making the game. And if they use well-known non-adventure-game licenses, they're afraid that the non-adventure-game masses will be turned off if they make the puzzles too hard.

    So King's Quest will be worth watching, as they may make it more adventure-game-like, considering the type of players it will attract. Also keep an eye out if they announce any more Hector-like releases, where someone else assumes most of the risk of whether it will be popular or not, and Telltale just touches it up a little and distributes it.

    If Double Fine comes up with something truly groundbreaking, leading to a resurgence in interest in adventure games, maybe Telltale will get a little more brave and come up with something original. We'll see.
  • edited February 2012
    Is it sacrilege for me to say I think the Double Fine game will make more money from the kickstarter drive than from actual sales?
  • edited February 2012
    Still have high hopes about Kings Quest. Only time will tell :)
    Prematurely bought all of BTTF. Regretted it. Haven't preordered anything from Telltale since, and probably wont til my faith has been restored.
  • edited February 2012
    Yeah I'm gonna be honest I don't think were gonna see something that isn't basically a bunch of cutscenes from Telltale for quite a while and until I learn anything about King Quest I remain skeptical at best and it doesn't seem like that project is making any progress, but what do I know maybe The Walking Dead game will surprise me.
  • edited February 2012
    DAISHI wrote: »
    Is it sacrilege for me to say I think the Double Fine game will make more money from the kickstarter drive than from actual sales?

    Considering most of the people interested in the game have already pledged the $15 that lets them get the game for free (well, not for free, but you know what I mean), most likely.
  • edited February 2012
    Luckily for me TTG has picked franchises I am interested in... Fables and L&O are sort of unknowns for me though... But I look forward to seeing what they do with Fables anyway.
  • edited February 2012
    SOOO Telltale. Let me propose you on this epic adventure game with traditional point and click action. It's set in a medieval fantasy world that has elements of steam punk, has crazy nemesis like the Black Lich and the master sorcerer Azazel, fantastical spirits like the Dragon God Valence and Wind Spirit Sylph, utilizes lovingly crafted hand drawn backgrounds, and combines puzzle solving and humor with a bit of drama. Put me in that pilot program thing you once talked about guys. You know you wanna ;)
  • edited February 2012
    I think that Telltale should adopt one of my horror mystery ideas and make a creepy game where the player is gaslighted through the entire thing.
  • edited March 2012
    Memoil wrote: »
    I'll definitely will go and get Back to the Future!!! EPIC!

    Do yourself a favor and get one of the Sam and Max games instead.
  • edited March 2012
    Haha! If Telltale ever went with one of my crazy ideas, they might end up commiting Corporate Suicide!! XD
  • edited March 2012
    i wish tellteal wud make more easyer games bttf was to hard
  • edited March 2012
    Maybe TTG should watch this video too and think about it.
  • edited March 2012
    taumel wrote: »
    Maybe TTG should watch this video too and think about it.
    I agree. Joy of discovery is especially important in adventure games.
  • nikasaurnikasaur Telltale Alumni
    edited March 2012
    taumel wrote: »
    Maybe TTG should watch this video too and think about it.


    I think Jonathan does not recognize the relative nature of the word "fun." Its connotation could be lighthearted, happy, simplistic... but it is different for each person, very much so. I consider challenging, serious games "fun". Others might not.

    Personally, I am very much looking forward to The Walking Dead. I think the folks workin' on it are gonna give it everything they got, and I'm excited to see what they come up with. I can definitely relate with the quirky, cartoony feel of the TTG repertoire that is shifting in a more serious, dramatic direction, but if you were offered Fable and Walking Dead as IPs to work with, would you turn them down?

    Oh. Hell. No. Thems be some stuff to WORK ON!

    It may be a departure, but I think it will be a well-executed one, and we can always cross our fingers that the silly TTG style comes back too!
  • edited March 2012
    If i remember the video correctly, he gave his opinion about what he's interested in games as well as he relativised fun and the fact that others might be looking for something different than him.

    Personally i'm looking forward to games which treat me like a intelligent human being with some life experience, feelings and curiosity. This might be in a humorous adventure as well as in a serious one. Obviously you prefer some nice changes throughout the years but the category isn't as important as how it is done. Being a bigger fan of The DIG than of Monkey island, i have zero problems with more serious adventures which treat me like an mature adult and get me emotionally involved like for instance Quantic Dreams is able to.

    But what is the mature level TTG will be able to offer? Will it really be for adults or will it just try to be adult like or for younger adults? I have my problems with too young designers trying to write mature stories because it involves life experience of the designers/writers or a lot of imagination/talent. Can a young normal to good talented writer for instance describe in a convincing way how it feels like loosing a child if he never had one on his own? The number of so called adult like games which don't feel like a bad joke actually is very small. And this is something Blow was talking about again, it's about how a game treats you and takes you serious and less about the type of game.

    I also remember that Jake once wrote here on the forum that he prefers easy games. Now i don't know how relevant this rather old statement is for TWD but i definately had enough of easy games from TTG. Secondly, and this isn't TTG's fault, i'm not into the comics and the few episodes i once gave a try were rather horrible and boring.

    I won't ditch the game until it's done and maybe it will be a good one again but i doubt it will be something i'm really after. So if you ask me, i'm into different licences or into something new, new IP done by TTG or someone they work together with and who is capable. But whatever it is, i want it to be more challenging (and challenge can be interpreted in a number of ways), on a high quality level (which i'm also willing to pay for) and treating me in a reasonable way and not dealing with me like a fool, like the last couple of games from TTG tried, that's a different audience i do not belong to.

    Btw. your name rings some bells. You are this beautiful woman, who looked very familiar to someone famous here in germany, once working for TTG, right?
  • edited March 2012
    nikasaur wrote:
    I think Jonathan does not recognize the relative nature of the word "fun." Its connotation could be lighthearted, happy, simplistic... but it is different for each person, very much so. I consider challenging, serious games "fun". Others might not.

    Well, here I'm more on Jonathan's side. Are horror games 'fun'? No, they're scary as shit, but they're engaging. In a sense that it sucks you in, you know. And when somebody says that a game is fun, that person usually means that the game is engaging.

    But you might say, 'well, you understand when I say fun that I do mean engaging because you said so yourself', and, yeah, that may be true... But... and now I'm starting to forget where I was going with that... basically, I think that because of the very confusing nature of the word 'fun', developers should not try to make games 'fun', they should try to make them 'engaging'..
  • edited March 2012
    I basically feel the same as the OP. Moving away from comedy and moving away from the point and click interface are both huge steps away from what I'm interested in playing. If it was only one or the other I'd probably remain interested, but eh.
    DAISHI wrote: »
    Is it sacrilege for me to say I think the Double Fine game will make more money from the kickstarter drive than from actual sales?

    k9K4

    Assume away.
  • edited March 2012
    I really am looking forward to the announced games.. and beyond... I welcome something different and look forward to a return to more familiar territory...

    I probably am in TTG's most ideal target audience.
  • edited March 2012
    nikasaur wrote: »
    I think Jonathan does not recognize the relative nature of the word "fun." Its connotation could be lighthearted, happy, simplistic... but it is different for each person, very much so. I consider challenging, serious games "fun". Others might not.

    Personally, I am very much looking forward to The Walking Dead. I think the folks workin' on it are gonna give it everything they got, and I'm excited to see what they come up with.

    [...]

    It may be a departure, but I think it will be a well-executed one, and we can always cross our fingers that the silly TTG style comes back too!

    I don't think you understand the major complaint we gamers have about Telltale as it relates to that video. We want challenge and also the freedom of choice regarding interaction.

    Walking Dead is a QTE game, as was Jurassic Park. BTTF was closer to an actual adventure game, but it was insultingly easy and extremely light on available hotspots.

    With Telltale, this is also compounded by the increasing presence of obvious bugs and glitches, but that speaks more to quality control problems than to design flaws.
  • edited March 2012
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    i wish tellteal wud make more easyer games bttf was to hard

    As hard as writing.
  • edited March 2012
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    Walking Dead is a QTE game

    Has that been confirmed? I'm going to be upset if it is.

    The thing is, from what little Telltale's said about The Walking Dead (and I can't help but notice they've been dancing around the question for a year and never straight-up explaining how it'll play), it does sound like another "interactive movie." I mean, it seems like it'll be better than Jurassic Park, at least, but that's because you'd have a hard time making it worse.
  • Macfly77Macfly77 Moderator
    edited March 2012
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    Walking Dead is a QTE game, as was Jurassic Park
    Has that been confirmed? I'm going to be upset if it is.

    From the Walking Dead FAQ thread:
    Does this game use Quick Time Events as the major game-play dynamic and does it prevent the player from taking direct control of the player-character like Telltale’s Jurassic Park: The Game?

    No. The Walking Dead offers a completely different game-play experience to Jurassic Park. QTEs do not form a major part of game-play and you will have full control over your character as you move through the game’s environments.
  • edited March 2012
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX7QEACjj9E&t=2m50s
    -"As far as [The Walking Dead's] gameplay, can you talk about that yet?" [...]

    -- [...] "You guys have been looking at Jurassic Park, too. [...] Jurassic Park's kind of an evolution for us as a game, and you're going to see those continuing steps in the Walking Dead as well. So, we'll keep moving forward in a very new and interesting direction for Telltale."

    - "So very like a Heavy Rain style of Quicktime events."

    -- "That's an excellent example, yeah."
  • edited March 2012
    Chyron8472 wrote: »

    Ah, the quote that is notably older then the far more specific, recent quote.
  • edited March 2012
    So, you're saying that they were making it with QTEs and then changed their minds?


    While I would hope for this (that TTG stops making QTE games), my expectations are not high. Besides that, I'm not really into the whole zombie thing so I wouldn't buy The Walking Dead anyway, no matter the gameplay choice.

    edit: by "not into the whole zombie thing," I mean there has been a whole slew of zombie games in recent years and it's getting rather old.
  • edited March 2012
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    So, you're saying that they were making it with QTEs and then changed their minds?


    While I would hope for this (that TTG stops making QTE games), my expectations are not high. Besides that, I'm not really into the whole zombie thing so I wouldn't buy The Walking Dead anyway, no matter the gameplay choice.

    edit: by "not into the whole zombie thing," I mean there has been a whole slew of zombie games in recent years and it's getting rather old.

    Yes. That's what I'm saying. That's why it's slipped from Fall to Winter to 'soon', they've needed to change the gameplay to make sure they don't get the same reaction they recieved when Jurassic Park released.
  • edited March 2012
    Sounds a little bit weird to me because also if you tend to ignore your user base you normally start one test ballon and wait for reactions instead of doing two in a row without evaluating some feedback first.
  • SydSyd
    edited March 2012
    I also haven't had much interest in their licensed games as of late, though I'd love to see another season of Sam and Max, as well as some more Monkey Island (Though I'm not holding my breath on that one, since LucasArts would have to give them the go-ahead first).

    King's Quest is pretty much the only upcoming title I'm keeping an eye on, though hopefully Telltale really learned from the Jurassic Park fiasco and makes some decent games out of their other licenses.
  • edited March 2012
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    So, you're saying that they were making it with QTEs and then changed their minds?


    While I would hope for this (that TTG stops making QTE games), my expectations are not high. Besides that, I'm not really into the whole zombie thing so I wouldn't buy The Walking Dead anyway, no matter the gameplay choice.

    edit: by "not into the whole zombie thing," I mean there has been a whole slew of zombie games in recent years and it's getting rather old.

    Very few of those zombie games have been good though, and Walking Dead is pretty good source material.

    I don't want Telltale to stop using QTE. I just want them to integrate them naturally rather than make whole games out of them. I don't think they're as good at doing that as the makers of Heavy Rain, obviously.
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