The Walking Dead is revolutionary.

ODRebel

The characters.
The storyline.
The voice acting & the writing are amazing.

Not just by video game standards but for any entertainment medium and if there was any justice in this world the Oscars and Grammy's would introduce separate categories for Video Games so that people would start recognizing them as legitimate art form. Sure, there are minor technical hiccups, here and there, and other elements of the game that could have been expanded upon but nothing that takes away from how powerful and indelible this entire season has been in terms of storytelling.

People will look back at this game, many years from now and remember it as the Video Game that set the benchmark for writing in the video game industry. That players are so invested in not only specific characters but even moved to tears by this product is a testament to all the talent involved. Don't get me wrong, there have been other video games with superb writing, but that was on the basis that most video games have horrible writers and voice actors -- The bar has been raised and the writers, director(s) and producers deserve endless praise for creating a game that will undoubtedly be remembered for many years to come.

It's the first video game experience that I could not shake days after playing.

Discuss.

DatDude

I have to agree.

Honestly what they did with the walking dead is basically take a giant ass dump on all these AAA big budget studios who have been years neglecting the aspect of story telling simply because they want there audience to kill stuff and be satisfied killing there friends online.

Telltale has basically told the industry: WAKE THE FUCK UP PEOPLE!

Your characters don't have to be sexist, one dimensional pigs. Your writing shouldn't be as if it was written by a 6th grader. As people who love video games with a passion, and pay upwards of 110$ for the game and dlc I WANT AND EXPECT MORE.

If telltale can make a brilliant story, with brilliant characters, and brilliant writing while having a shoe string budget, and no major backing/funding from Microsoft, Sony, or some major publisher than I FUCKING EXPECT YOU EA/UBISOFT/THQ/MICROSOFT/SONY TO STEP UP YOUR FUCKING GAME.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

John W.

I absolutely agree with your assessment of the game. I feel that this is the kind of example that needs to be set, from the perspective of writing and character development, specifically, for the industry. Too many gamers these days are placated by games that completely lack any form of story and focus entirely on gameplay - and, frankly, it disgusts me. Don't get me wrong, I can get into a game that's just mindless, visceral action, but eventually I get tired of it and I quit playing... and then I forget about it.

I will always remember this game. Why? Because of its clear cut attention to storytelling; it was less a video game and more an experience, frankly. It captured my attention and invested me in itself far more than any other game ever has - like a good novel does. I found myself briefly grieving for characters who lost their lives throughout the game - I found myself completely overcome with emotion over the sheer humanity of the situations that came up. I was Lee, whenever I played, completely.

Few video games sell their genre as a medium of storytelling and artwork; most games - the Call of Duty/Battlefield series, Halo, etc. - continue to spread the slanderous image of gamers as either normal people killing time, losers with nothing better to do, or juvenile children with well-off parents. TTG's take on The Walking Dead was the complete opposite; if ever a game has truly made an effort to evolve the gaming industry into a platform for shared experiences and storytelling on par with great works of literature or theater, this is it.

The complexity and intelligence of the writing and character design shines throughout every moment of the series, and is supplemented by a fantastic cast of voice actors. The game itself is generally enjoyable to play because of a handful of dedicated crew members slaving away at their desks in the TTG office. Maybe they were late on pushing out each episode; maybe there were some glitches along the way (none that I ever experienced, for the record); maybe our choices didn't completely alter the story; maybe the game isn't perfect, but it's damn close, for me.

I applaud the entire TTG cast & crew, I thank you for this experience you've allowed all of us to share, I insist on buying anything similar you put out for the rest of my life, and I assure you that this story and this game will always be among my top ten.

ODRebel

John W. wrote: »

I absolutely agree with your assessment of the game. I feel that this is the kind of example that needs to be set, from the perspective of writing and character development, specifically, for the industry. Too many gamers these days are placated by games that completely lack any form of story and focus entirely on gameplay - and, frankly, it disgusts me. Don't get me wrong, I can get into a game that's just mindless, visceral action, but eventually I get tired of it and I quit playing... and then I forget about it.

I will always remember this game. Why? Because of its clear cut attention to storytelling; it was less a video game and more an experience, frankly. It captured my attention and invested me in itself far more than any other game ever has - like a good novel does. I found myself briefly grieving for characters who lost their lives throughout the game - I found myself completely overcome with emotion over the sheer humanity of the situations that came up. I was Lee, whenever I played, completely.

Few video games sell their genre as a medium of storytelling and artwork; most games - the Call of Duty/Battlefield series, Halo, etc. - continue to spread the slanderous image of gamers as either normal people killing time, losers with nothing better to do, or juvenile children with well-off parents. TTG's take on The Walking Dead was the complete opposite; if ever a game has truly made an effort to evolve the gaming industry into a platform for shared experiences and storytelling on par with great works of literature or theater, this is it.

The complexity and intelligence of the writing and character design shines throughout every moment of the series, and is supplemented by a fantastic cast of voice actors. The game itself is generally enjoyable to play because of a handful of dedicated crew members slaving away at their desks in the TTG office. Maybe they were late on pushing out each episode; maybe there were some glitches along the way (none that I ever experienced, for the record); maybe our choices didn't completely alter the story; maybe the game isn't perfect, but it's damn close, for me.

I applaud the entire TTG cast & crew, I thank you for this experience you've allowed all of us to share, I insist on buying anything similar you put out for the rest of my life, and I assure you that this story and this game will always be among my top ten.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the post, it was a great read.
There's nothing else to compare this game too. It really is the first of its kind to tie in every aspect of its characters and stories together perfectly.

I know there has been some disappointment from some fans on here who wanted the final chapter to be longer or they wished some storyline pieces weren't so vague and more fleshed out, but their complaints are the very things that made me love the finale so much. Realistically, there wouldn't be time to cover everything

You felt like you were stuck in a situation where not everything was going to be resolved and wishes were NOT going to be fulfilled. And thank god TTG didn't tie up every loose string to suit some big budget studio horror/thriller flick commercial mentality. The ending was pitch perfect. It made you feel everything LEE was feeling: rushed, desperate and unsure.

This game will is on my top ten video games of all time too.

DatDude

John W. wrote: »

I absolutely agree with your assessment of the game. I feel that this is the kind of example that needs to be set, from the perspective of writing and character development, specifically, for the industry. Too many gamers these days are placated by games that completely lack any form of story and focus entirely on gameplay - and, frankly, it disgusts me. Don't get me wrong, I can get into a game that's just mindless, visceral action, but eventually I get tired of it and I quit playing... and then I forget about it.

I will always remember this game. Why? Because of its clear cut attention to storytelling; it was less a video game and more an experience, frankly. It captured my attention and invested me in itself far more than any other game ever has - like a good novel does. I found myself briefly grieving for characters who lost their lives throughout the game - I found myself completely overcome with emotion over the sheer humanity of the situations that came up. I was Lee, whenever I played, completely.

Few video games sell their genre as a medium of storytelling and artwork; most games - the Call of Duty/Battlefield series, Halo, etc. - continue to spread the slanderous image of gamers as either normal people killing time, losers with nothing better to do, or juvenile children with well-off parents. TTG's take on The Walking Dead was the complete opposite; if ever a game has truly made an effort to evolve the gaming industry into a platform for shared experiences and storytelling on par with great works of literature or theater, this is it.

The complexity and intelligence of the writing and character design shines throughout every moment of the series, and is supplemented by a fantastic cast of voice actors. The game itself is generally enjoyable to play because of a handful of dedicated crew members slaving away at their desks in the TTG office. Maybe they were late on pushing out each episode; maybe there were some glitches along the way (none that I ever experienced, for the record); maybe our choices didn't completely alter the story; maybe the game isn't perfect, but it's damn close, for me.

I applaud the entire TTG cast & crew, I thank you for this experience you've allowed all of us to share, I insist on buying anything similar you put out for the rest of my life, and I assure you that this story and this game will always be among my top ten.

my sentiments exactly.

plaqueconspiracy

Yup. It was pretty good, wasn't it?

Araron

John W. wrote: »

I absolutely agree with your assessment of the game. I feel that this is the kind of example that needs to be set, from the perspective of writing and character development, specifically, for the industry. Too many gamers these days are placated by games that completely lack any form of story and focus entirely on gameplay - and, frankly, it disgusts me. Don't get me wrong, I can get into a game that's just mindless, visceral action, but eventually I get tired of it and I quit playing... and then I forget about it.

I will always remember this game. Why? Because of its clear cut attention to storytelling; it was less a video game and more an experience, frankly. It captured my attention and invested me in itself far more than any other game ever has - like a good novel does. I found myself briefly grieving for characters who lost their lives throughout the game - I found myself completely overcome with emotion over the sheer humanity of the situations that came up. I was Lee, whenever I played, completely.

Few video games sell their genre as a medium of storytelling and artwork; most games - the Call of Duty/Battlefield series, Halo, etc. - continue to spread the slanderous image of gamers as either normal people killing time, losers with nothing better to do, or juvenile children with well-off parents. TTG's take on The Walking Dead was the complete opposite; if ever a game has truly made an effort to evolve the gaming industry into a platform for shared experiences and storytelling on par with great works of literature or theater, this is it.

The complexity and intelligence of the writing and character design shines throughout every moment of the series, and is supplemented by a fantastic cast of voice actors. The game itself is generally enjoyable to play because of a handful of dedicated crew members slaving away at their desks in the TTG office. Maybe they were late on pushing out each episode; maybe there were some glitches along the way (none that I ever experienced, for the record); maybe our choices didn't completely alter the story; maybe the game isn't perfect, but it's damn close, for me.

I applaud the entire TTG cast & crew, I thank you for this experience you've allowed all of us to share, I insist on buying anything similar you put out for the rest of my life, and I assure you that this story and this game will always be among my top ten.

Amen.

HooblaDGN

I don't think that revolutionary is the right word.

That said, it's the best interactive linear narrative of the year, hands down.

I would give X-COM the top spot for emergent story out of gameplay mechanics.

But for straight telling you a story, this def tops the year.

DatDude

HooblaDGN wrote: »

I don't think that revolutionary is the right word.

That said, it's the best interactive linear narrative of the year, hands down.

I would give X-COM the top spot for emergent story out of gameplay mechanics.

But for straight telling you a story, this def tops the year.

Revolutionary in that TellTale is a small budget studio able to create better characters and narratives than big budget studios.

Basically telling the industry if we can make great narratives on a small budget, you can make a hell of a lot better one with your guys budget.

HooblaDGN

DatDude wrote: »

Revolutionary in that TellTale is a small budget studio able to create better characters and narratives than big budget studios.

Basically telling the industry if we can make great narratives on a small budget, you can make a hell of a lot better one with your guys budget.

This has happened for long years, though. Smaller studios have been producing better content for a while now, and thank goodness for that, because the bigger fellows are putting out crap comparatively. Good examples: Witcher 2, Botanicula, FTL, Amnesia, Torchlight II, Crusader Kings II, Space Pirates and Zombies, the entire Geneforge series and Avernum series, etc. Hell, even XCOM and Civ series seem like relatively small potatoes compared to the big budget games and they're phenomenal. Most of my favorite games of the last several years have been small, and The Walking Dead certainly maintains that.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, though ^_^. It's a fantastic and refreshing experience after... Jurassic Park... *shudder*. I hope that TTG can maintain the awesomeness for at least one more solid season.

EDIT: I should note that I'm a dedicated PC gamer and have thus had access to such smaller awesome titles for a long while now, if you're coming from a console perspective I absolutely understand it as a revelation/revolution!