The Reason the Hide/Show Bite ratio is skewed.

edited November 2012 in The Walking Dead
Telltale's aim for the Walking Dead was to allow players of varying personalities, or even those with personality disorders to make hard decisions based on their own moral compass. In some situations this succeeds, in others it falls apart. The areas where it would fall apart is mostly due to the writing being sub-par in some areas.

For instance the reason the most players show the bite to the group, is because in the narrative and thematically we have no one in the group that we fear or out right dislikes due to their personality inducing strong feelings of hate. Behind hate is sometimes fear.

When you are young and you do something you know you weren't supposed to, or break something. As a child you fear the repercussions of your actions in that given situation.

For instance you may try to hide the broken glass. Or outright lie.

If there was one or more personality in the group that made the player wholly distrustful, these individuals were borderline despicable human beings that they could sway the "in-group" opinion to violence. To "out-group" Lee/The Player.

Ones you know that would threaten with bodily harm, cast Lee outward callously and that person or person(s) holds some power with the others within the group; by that very dynamic it could change politics and seeing as most people fear being on the "out-group" of tribalism the player would hide the bite if the threat seemed tangible.

If the writers want to know why that statistic is puzzling they need to look at each other and realise where the writing failed them, understand and aim for more.

I chose and many other players showed the bite, because the group of people were decent and there was no threat to Lee. Psychologically that is what triggered such a monumental shift into being honest.

Comments

  • edited October 2012
    I thought Kenny might go and find something to bash my head in. Though I told them anyway, because it would be unfair if they were travelling with someone who could go to sleep, and wake them up by munching on their leg or something.
  • edited October 2012
    If Larry was there...

    oooo Boy :D
  • edited October 2012
    Yea, that was well written. Larry would be a perfect character for you to fear. It's a shame they never really used the fear of Larry to make the player think twice or thrice about a decision.

    The only reason i thought about not showing it was because i didn't want it to become their problem. I like Omid and Christa and i did not want them to feel sorry for me. Also, they might get the chance to tell Clem before i do, and the news about my bite should come from me.
  • edited October 2012
    theres just no reason to show the bite, its just going to be distracting to the group when they need all their wits about them to find Clem
    once Clem is safe, thats the time to tell them

    if you were planning to go alone, even before you knew if that would be an option (like me), then theres no point in worrying anyone about it
  • edited October 2012
    It has nothing to do with fear and there is every reason to show the bite as it potentially puts the others at risk and they have a right to know. Whether they came with Lee or not was entirely their choice.
  • edited October 2012
    But think that if you die it´s game over, so you can try again and everybody will choose the show bite thing (if you are fear of something, it´s of die, isn´t it?)
  • edited October 2012
    They have to know:
    it's like you're searching for clem (not showing bite example)with everyone in the group
    Then all the sudden you're biting Kenny's neck off.
    its better so they know and not think you're okay.
  • edited October 2012
    Wow. People really are incapable of thinking and writing with proper grammar here. For fuck sake.
  • edited October 2012
    Oh, the irony.
  • edited October 2012
    Wow. People really are incapable of thinking and writing with proper grammar here. For fuck sake.

    LOL
    Gimme a fortune
  • edited October 2012
    I showed the bite because I hate the zombie story cliche of the character who doesn't show the bite then turns and kills a bunch of the group. I didn't want to be 'that guy'.

    As for someone you wouldn't want to show, I'd vote for Kenny if you sided against him. At the very least I'd want to be wary of flying salt licks. In a pinch I don't wholly trust Ben not to try something aswell.
  • edited October 2012
    I hid the bite cuz I wanted everyone to come along to help without question. but christa/bitch stayed behind anyways even tho i was super nice to them. anyway i thought it was an ok choice...specially if u hate christa...too bad her gimpy b/f didnt come along despite his woman saying no
  • edited October 2012
    cormoran wrote: »
    I showed the bite because I hate the zombie story cliche of the character who doesn't show the bite then turns and kills a bunch of the group. I didn't want to be 'that guy'.

    As for someone you wouldn't want to show, I'd vote for Kenny if you sided against him. At the very least I'd want to be wary of flying salt licks. In a pinch I don't wholly trust Ben not to try something aswell.

    Well, usually "that guy" who hides his bite does it because he wants to believe he's ok, right?If you hide the bite because you don't want them to kill you BEFORE finding Clem, I'd see that as acceptable as long as you go ALONE.

    And I sided with Kenny the whole way through, and I was scared he'd try something too. Glad I showed the bite in the end though, and got his awesome "bros 4 life" speech.
  • edited October 2012
    Wow. People really are incapable of thinking and writing with proper grammar here. For fuck sake.

    mmm maybe many people who doesn´t have english as primary language and didn´t learn very well yet, just like me? You think all is about proper english? In my primary language I have perfect grammar, I do my best with english with my current knowledge...

    grammar-nazi2.jpg
  • edited October 2012
    christa was complaining that being in a group will get you killed (omid would have no say ;) but he just recovered so may not be up for action) Kenny had to just kill his son (or who ever did it) and ben is afraid all the time all of these were things i thought may make them abandon me when they saw my bite, plus the bite was lower on my priority list than finding Clementine, it would be obvious soon but i wanted to focus on clementine so i hid my bite
  • edited October 2012
    Wow. People really are incapable of thinking and writing with proper grammar here. For fuck sake.

    Nice try, french fry.

    Not sure what you're trying to prove, but I think you've failed.
  • edited October 2012
    Wow. People really are incapable of thinking and writing with proper grammar here. For fuck sake.

    Thanks for sharing.
  • edited October 2012
    I agree with the OP. If people wanted to come up with a reason to not show the bite, they had to make up their own, because the writers didn't provide one. The game has shown time and again that secrets kill, and has shown the rewards of being truthful.

    People could be reasonably afraid that if they showed Kenny the bite, he would bash in Lee's skull with the nearest heavy object ... but Kenny wasn't aggressive in that scene. Imagine the scene differently. Lee is lying on the ground after fighting the zombie. Kenny walks over, maybe with a brick in his hand, and stands over Lee. He asks, "Everything ok, Lee?" ... and the camera focus on the brick. People, even Kenny bros, might wonder if he's going to bash in their head, just like Larry, so maybe they lie. (Of course, bro Kenny was just asking about whether there's a zombie that needs its skull bashed, so the player is just being paranoid ... right?)

    Christa's and Omid's characters were messed up in Episode 4. In 3, they didn't trust anyone and survived so long by being on their own. In 4, they're just part of the group, and Christa is happy as long as someone is getting meds. They both like Clem, so they're not going to freak out and refuse to help Clem if Lee shows them the bite. It would have been better if those two had more tension with the group and abandoned the group if Lee reveals the bite. Even worse, maybe they would steal the boat, so suddenly there's the question of what to do with people who won't come to look with Clem.

    On the other hand, maybe that scene wasn't so bad. Showing the bite to people shows how people have come to grips with how terrible the world is. Seeing a death sentence on Lee barely registered with people. They either decided to help find Clem or not, as there's really no point worrying about Lee's bite until it becomes a problem.
  • edited October 2012
    Great post Indigo.
  • edited October 2012
    I wanted someone to come with me to find Clem, but I thought if I showed them the bite that they would decide not to come because of that, but now I realised that I should of chose to show them. I also didn't want to be a burden on the group and show the bite, because then if they didn't come with me they might be worried about Clem being bitten when Lee turns so they might not have their wits about them, so they could get killed.

    Looking back on it now, I wish that I had of showed the bite :\
  • edited October 2012
    But I do agree with the original poster that we have no one to fear. However I was worried Kenny might of said something like 'I'm sorry Lee' and shot him in the head, because Clem wasn't there to watch and Christa and Omid might be a little bit annoyed but after all, they want to get away from Savannah and Kenny can work the boat, but I have to agree with the original poster, there was no character like Larry that would of instantly killed you (although I had my suspicions about Kenny XD, so most people would proberly of shown the bite)
  • edited October 2012
    Garry whitta thought it may be skewed because they gave you a second chance to show the group, and if games give you a second chance the thought may be that its telling you what you should do, he thought the stats would be different if they tracked the first choice to hide it rather than the ultimate choice.

    i sort of agree i almost changed my mind and showed them because the tension of the decision was gone after i choose the first time, but i don't like to change my mind so i didn't.

    who here did hide the bite then changed their minds after they gave you a second chance to show it?
  • edited October 2012
    I let them know. In the moment I felt Clem missing was the greater problem as opposed to my being bitten.
    In my main save, Ben is gone, I dont think Omid is up for the stress yet & Christa is too unpredictable to trust on this one. And since the boat isnt in the water yet & Kenny seems to havr my back totally, & shares my mindset insofar as Clem goes, I think I made the right call. It remains to be seen though.

    For the grammar police, I dont grammar & spellcheck from my phone so go have a doughnut and can it.
  • edited October 2012
    I know Kenny will kill both the dead and the living if need be. Not sure about Christa and Omid there.
    Also, after returning to the morgue and seeing that that crew had moved out I felt better about leaving Omid and Christa behind. I think they'll protect the boat, and I also think Christa wont leave without Clem if she thinks Clem's still alive.
  • edited November 2012
    I had to show them the bite, because they had to know that I can't find Clem on my own..what if I don't make it there? Then Clem's gone for good. If I kept it hidden they would be upset and caught off-guard. It wouldn't be fair to them, I may be doomed but I don't want them to get screwed over.
This discussion has been closed.