A Theory As To Why "In Harm's Way" Was The Way It Was
I've got some work to do, but I wanted to leave this here for everyone to chew on. Here is my take on some questions that have been raised in regards to Episode 3. This is kind of lengthy so beware. I put the spoiler tag on it just in case.
1) No Hubs/Felt Like A Long Cut Scene:
After watching the episode and thinking about everything that lead to it, I'm not surprised at all that there was little exploration or hubs in the game. Carver's camp was completely different from anything Clementine had seen or been through before. She was essentially a prisoner. Last I check, prisoners can't just explore their compound all willy-nilly. The atmosphere of the compound was that of a sense that every step you take can determine whether or not you lived or died, more so that we already have to be just to survive around walkers. Carver proved that 3 minutes into the game when your Sassy Clem option got you slapped. You knew from then on that you couldn't act the way you always have with adults towards Carver. The achievements also gave a sense of that kind of restricted feeling. Not one of the achievements seemed like a hub spot. Episode 3 was purely about getting out of Carver's camp. Episode 4 looks more promising in terms of having hub oriented areas.
2) Carver Dying Too Soon/Want To Learn More About Carver:
I honestly believe that we will learn more about Carver from other people than from the man himself. Considering that his nature is to try and win or defeat you mentally (and physically), I'm sure he would have lied to Clementine about himself just to get her to trust/fear/respect him. I'm sure Luke, Bonnie, and Rebecca can divulge all the information we need to know. I also believe that having this presence or atmosphere of "Carver is after us" will prevent us from having time to explore hub (going back to topic 1) because of the need to get away far and fast. I will say that I think it would have been cool to have seen a flashback scene of the camp back during it's peaceful days with a more caring and approachable Carver for compare and contrast purposes.
3) The Episode Was Too Short/Rushed:
I don't think it was too short. I personally would have liked an extra day at the camp, but I wonder would the episode have had too many time skips to the next day. I would rather have the episode flow with less days than be choppy because we have to cover 5 days and when occurred during those days in the course of 90 to 120 minutes. That seems a bit too much even for an episodic game. Again, the episode's main focus was to get out of Carver's camp, not hang around or get on Carver's good side so you can start an uprising within. Though that would be cool, that would take 2 to 3 episodes on it's own plus a time skip in order to execute it perfectly. I believe Luke's urgency with Clem helped give the story's itself a sense of urgency. If the story's goal was to start an uprising inside Carver's camp, then yes, the episode would feel a bit too short. Since the goal was to get out ASAP, it's length seems perfect.
4) The Dissatisfaction With The Episode
I have seen people on this forum say that they we not satisfied with "In Harm's Way" or that they loved it but were expecting more. I just discovered and became a fan of TellTale's The Walking Dead back in January of this year (I'm not a huge gamer, but I try to follow what is popular). As someone new to all of this, I find this season and the previous season to be amazing. Everything has exceeded my expectations, and I think TellTale's has a winning formula for episodic game play. However, I believe that the people who are dissatisfied or not fully satisfied with this season are like that because they were here back when Season 1 was launched and are comparing their experiences now with what they experienced during Season 1. I imagine that during Season 1 you didn't know what to expect, so everything was knew and exciting. With Season 2, you know are expecting so much more. You also have had a good bit of hype before Season 2 launched. The ~10 week waits have also increased everyone's expectations. You're bound to expect more from a 10 week wait than a 4-6 week wait. This is no one's fault. It just seems like a natural thing when it come to sequels of anything. You expect to be blown away like before and are unhappy if you are not. There will be people who will say that the last one is better, not matter how successful the new one is. I'm sure TellTale is upset that couldn't meet their 4-6 week deadline. I'm sure that there are things the writers and designers wish they could have included but have had to cut or abandon. I believe overall that this season is a success. For the people wanting more, I sure TellTale is listening an taking notes. I'm sure the staff all have in the back of their heads that if they do a Season 3, they are going to knock it so far out of the park that know one will find the ball.
Ok, if you read all of this wow. (?) eRock92 will remember that. Tell me if you agree or disagree. Upvote, downvote, I don't care. I just thought I'd give my take and opinion and see how it compares to other withing the community. Peace.
1) No Hubs/Felt Like A Long Cut Scene:
After watching the episode and thinking about everything that lead to it, I'm not surprised at all that there was little exploration or hubs in the game. Carver's camp was completely different from anything Clementine had seen or been through before. She was essentially a prisoner. Last I check, prisoners can't just explore their compound all willy-nilly. The atmosphere of the compound was that of a sense that every step you take can determine whether or not you lived or died, more so that we already have to be just to survive around walkers. Carver proved that 3 minutes into the game when your Sassy Clem option got you slapped. You knew from then on that you couldn't act the way you always have with adults towards Carver. The achievements also gave a sense of that kind of restricted feeling. Not one of the achievements seemed like a hub spot. Episode 3 was purely about getting out of Carver's camp. Episode 4 looks more promising in terms of having hub oriented areas.
2) Carver Dying Too Soon/Want To Learn More About Carver:
I honestly believe that we will learn more about Carver from other people than from the man himself. Considering that his nature is to try and win or defeat you mentally (and physically), I'm sure he would have lied to Clementine about himself just to get her to trust/fear/respect him. I'm sure Luke, Bonnie, and Rebecca can divulge all the information we need to know. I also believe that having this presence or atmosphere of "Carver is after us" will prevent us from having time to explore hub (going back to topic 1) because of the need to get away far and fast. I will say that I think it would have been cool to have seen a flashback scene of the camp back during it's peaceful days with a more caring and approachable Carver for compare and contrast purposes.
3) The Episode Was Too Short/Rushed:
I don't think it was too short. I personally would have liked an extra day at the camp, but I wonder would the episode have had too many time skips to the next day. I would rather have the episode flow with less days than be choppy because we have to cover 5 days and when occurred during those days in the course of 90 to 120 minutes. That seems a bit too much even for an episodic game. Again, the episode's main focus was to get out of Carver's camp, not hang around or get on Carver's good side so you can start an uprising within. Though that would be cool, that would take 2 to 3 episodes on it's own plus a time skip in order to execute it perfectly. I believe Luke's urgency with Clem helped give the story's itself a sense of urgency. If the story's goal was to start an uprising inside Carver's camp, then yes, the episode would feel a bit too short. Since the goal was to get out ASAP, it's length seems perfect.
4) The Dissatisfaction With The Episode
I have seen people on this forum say that they we not satisfied with "In Harm's Way" or that they loved it but were expecting more. I just discovered and became a fan of TellTale's The Walking Dead back in January of this year (I'm not a huge gamer, but I try to follow what is popular). As someone new to all of this, I find this season and the previous season to be amazing. Everything has exceeded my expectations, and I think TellTale's has a winning formula for episodic game play. However, I believe that the people who are dissatisfied or not fully satisfied with this season are like that because they were here back when Season 1 was launched and are comparing their experiences now with what they experienced during Season 1. I imagine that during Season 1 you didn't know what to expect, so everything was knew and exciting. With Season 2, you know are expecting so much more. You also have had a good bit of hype before Season 2 launched. The ~10 week waits have also increased everyone's expectations. You're bound to expect more from a 10 week wait than a 4-6 week wait. This is no one's fault. It just seems like a natural thing when it come to sequels of anything. You expect to be blown away like before and are unhappy if you are not. There will be people who will say that the last one is better, not matter how successful the new one is. I'm sure TellTale is upset that couldn't meet their 4-6 week deadline. I'm sure that there are things the writers and designers wish they could have included but have had to cut or abandon. I believe overall that this season is a success. For the people wanting more, I sure TellTale is listening an taking notes. I'm sure the staff all have in the back of their heads that if they do a Season 3, they are going to knock it so far out of the park that know one will find the ball.
Ok, if you read all of this wow. (?) eRock92 will remember that. Tell me if you agree or disagree. Upvote, downvote, I don't care. I just thought I'd give my take and opinion and see how it compares to other withing the community. Peace.
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