Optional Dialogue will solve all of our problems.
I loved episode 3. When the credits rolled I sat through them and could say nothing other than "wow" - it was extremely intense and I loved every second of it. But it wasn't as good as it could have been. Telltale, you have the talent, and the direction you're going in is, for the most part, good. But there are some things that you need to remember about Season 1 - the game that arguably put you on the map in the game industry - and start reimplementing them ASAP.
More optional dialogue with characters will do only good. This would create more character development, in turn making major plot events more emotionally satisfying. Reggie's death meant absolutely nothing to me because I hadn't really talked to him much. I felt bad for the guy and the writing that was there was really strong, but it wasn't good enough to make me feel anything other than disappointed at the wasted potential.
This connects to another major complaint, one that many people have expressed these past few months. 90 minute episodes. I understand the idea of 'single sitting entertainment' - but let's be honest here, 2 hours long is still something that most people will complete in one sitting. Wolf Among Us Episode 1 was absolutely perfect in this regard. It was long enough to make me feel satisfied, like I was told a complete story even with that major cliffhanger - but also short enough that I didn't want to take a break in between.
If you start adding more OPTIONAL dialogue, you can solve all of the problems the community has right now. Think of it like talking to the Normandy crew after each mission in the Mass Effect games. We didn't have to talk to them, but if we wanted to after every major plot point we could go talk to them and hear their opinions about the current mission, hear some things about their past, and overall build a relationship with them that enhanced arguably every aspect of gameplay.
Things like Virmire and the Suicide Mission in the ME series will not be as impactful for people that aren't attached to the characters. I would have cared more about Reggie dying, would I have had an opportunity to talk to him that first night. He seemed like a cool guy. But I didn't know him enough to care.
Adding more optional dialogue will also add to the length of the episodes. The 'plot' itself is still 90 minutes - and I would argue that every S1 episode of TWD is roughly 90 minutes as well when you take out the optional dialogue and puzzle sequences. I'm fine without the puzzles - in fact I prefer it without the puzzles. They just got in the way of the story. But one thing that doesn't get in the way of the story is character development. It just adds to it.
More optional dialogue = Longer episode length and more character development, without effecting the 'single sitting entertainment' that will please the casuals.
Now for the next major complaint - determinant characters. What exactly was the point of allowing us to save Nick in Episode 2? He has practically no screen time in this episode, and I forgot he was even there for most of it.
What about the 400 Days cast? The people that went with Tavia each have cameos and a single line of dialogue. These cameos are so quick you will literally miss them if you turn away from the screen for a few seconds.
It would be great if the determinant characters from 400 Days and A House Divided could majorly impact the plot. I would love it if Telltale made that happen. But I don't expect there to be major branching. At the very least though I should be rewarded for the characters I kept alive and managed to convince to bring with me in the DLC.
Give me some optional dialogue with Nick! Let me talk to this guy, get to know him better, build my relationship with him. I didn't keep him alive so he could spend the entire episode sleeping and whining about Luke for his full 2 minutes of screentime.
The same could go for the 400 Days characters. I am not a Telltale writer - but I imagine that they can be creative enough to come up with reasons for them to be able to talk to Clem if she pleases.
See what I'm saying here? Optional dialogue would increase the playtime, add to character development, and help to make us feel like the determinants actually matter. All without compromising the "single sitting entertainment" rule for the casuals.
More optional dialogue with characters will do only good. This would create more character development, in turn making major plot events more emotionally satisfying. Reggie's death meant absolutely nothing to me because I hadn't really talked to him much. I felt bad for the guy and the writing that was there was really strong, but it wasn't good enough to make me feel anything other than disappointed at the wasted potential.
This connects to another major complaint, one that many people have expressed these past few months. 90 minute episodes. I understand the idea of 'single sitting entertainment' - but let's be honest here, 2 hours long is still something that most people will complete in one sitting. Wolf Among Us Episode 1 was absolutely perfect in this regard. It was long enough to make me feel satisfied, like I was told a complete story even with that major cliffhanger - but also short enough that I didn't want to take a break in between.
If you start adding more OPTIONAL dialogue, you can solve all of the problems the community has right now. Think of it like talking to the Normandy crew after each mission in the Mass Effect games. We didn't have to talk to them, but if we wanted to after every major plot point we could go talk to them and hear their opinions about the current mission, hear some things about their past, and overall build a relationship with them that enhanced arguably every aspect of gameplay.
Things like Virmire and the Suicide Mission in the ME series will not be as impactful for people that aren't attached to the characters. I would have cared more about Reggie dying, would I have had an opportunity to talk to him that first night. He seemed like a cool guy. But I didn't know him enough to care.
Adding more optional dialogue will also add to the length of the episodes. The 'plot' itself is still 90 minutes - and I would argue that every S1 episode of TWD is roughly 90 minutes as well when you take out the optional dialogue and puzzle sequences. I'm fine without the puzzles - in fact I prefer it without the puzzles. They just got in the way of the story. But one thing that doesn't get in the way of the story is character development. It just adds to it.
More optional dialogue = Longer episode length and more character development, without effecting the 'single sitting entertainment' that will please the casuals.
Now for the next major complaint - determinant characters. What exactly was the point of allowing us to save Nick in Episode 2? He has practically no screen time in this episode, and I forgot he was even there for most of it.
What about the 400 Days cast? The people that went with Tavia each have cameos and a single line of dialogue. These cameos are so quick you will literally miss them if you turn away from the screen for a few seconds.
It would be great if the determinant characters from 400 Days and A House Divided could majorly impact the plot. I would love it if Telltale made that happen. But I don't expect there to be major branching. At the very least though I should be rewarded for the characters I kept alive and managed to convince to bring with me in the DLC.
Give me some optional dialogue with Nick! Let me talk to this guy, get to know him better, build my relationship with him. I didn't keep him alive so he could spend the entire episode sleeping and whining about Luke for his full 2 minutes of screentime.
The same could go for the 400 Days characters. I am not a Telltale writer - but I imagine that they can be creative enough to come up with reasons for them to be able to talk to Clem if she pleases.
See what I'm saying here? Optional dialogue would increase the playtime, add to character development, and help to make us feel like the determinants actually matter. All without compromising the "single sitting entertainment" rule for the casuals.
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Besides all of this, I really liked the episode- but Telltale definitely has some room for improvement.