Most of what I want to say has already been said. To be clear, I am enjoying this season so far - it's been very entertaining - but I feel … morelike I'm watching a good movie, not playing a great game. I'm on the edge of my seat, I'm wishing that there was more, and I'm enjoying what I'm seeing, but I'm not at all as gripped as I was in s1.
I find the whole 400 Days stuff to be a non-starter. I played that to just tide me over from s1 to s2 - I didn't expect there to be any meaningful impact on the game. Bonnie's story from 400 days was by far the best-written of the group, so I'm glad she has more presence in s2.
The problem for me is the NPCs. The relationships with them aren't at all fleshed out, so these characters just sort of exist in the background. Maybe it's a narrative decision, that Clem is mature and distant, and as a result, she doesn't form any meaningful relationships anymore, and that's fine, but the writers need … [view original content]
Yes, this did not begin with episode three. I see *In Harm's Way* as the milestone that made even more people rise up to express their dissatisfaction.
There have been numerous complaints about season two since the beginning. It didn't just start with episode three, and many of the sudden ch… moreanges in episode three seem to be the result of telltale trying to fix problems that a lot of players were already having with the game. A lot of those problems have already been talked about here, and it seems that a good portion of players agree that these problems exist and are hurting the game to different extents for different players.
I call bullshit, there's been no real info released about TFTB aside from a few screenshots, and the fact that the release window for it is fall 2014 >.>
Great topic and I largely agree with the OP. This is something I had been worried about even before season two started, what with the reveal of Borderlands and GOT to the mix I naturally started wondering about the end product we'd be getting when season two arrived. Episode one I already started to feel a shift in pacing, when Clem arrived at the cabin I thought that like season one we would get to wander around the place and get to know the new group more, flesh them out a little, get to roleplay that little bit more...but we didn't and I felt the seeds were sown with what I had already feared.
Anyway cut to now and I have to say that for me, the complete lack of depth to the current group we're with is startling with the exception of Kenny. Sarah is annoying to me, yes I know she's been sheltered, but I know nothing more about her other than her naivety, Carlos is over bearing and condescending to Clem at times because she's a child, Luke as of the last episode to me was an idiot, he wants to be such a pal to Clem but I know next to nothing else about him. Anyway the point I'm making is that despite these character issues I have, I could embrace them scars and all if I knew more about them, but I don't, they have paper thin depth because I don't get to talk to them, when I try it's usually one sentence I get and Clem automatically walks away.
They feel like walking plot devices to me to merely push the narrative at a breakneck pace and as a consequence the so called hard choices I've to make are not hard. I don't care that Alvin tried to hold them off in a last hurrah, I don't care that Carlos got took down in the herd, I don't care that Reggie got killed that quickly, I didn't really care that Pete stayed behind, and all because I just don't get to know them, to get their views on things, to empathize with where they came from and how they feel, to bond with them on anything, they're like strangers to me even going into episode four.
As a result I've played Clem as what some would consider cold and abrasive, but why wouldn't I? Why would I sit with Luke instead of Kenny? Why would I hug Luke? Why would I say these people were my friends when they aren't? Season one succeeded so well because we had these moments to talk over things with each character, we had a little down time per episode to get their slant on things and build our own relationship with them, the plot didn't always have to move at a hundred miles per hour and it created a palpable tension when the shit did hit the fan, it made it tougher, it made it more personal.
There was one sequence in episode three that summed up the complete linearity of season two for me, it's when Clem had to carry a bucket down to Kenny and Mike I think, I had control of Clem and I realized all I could do was walk in a straight line down towards the camera for about ten seconds before it took control again and I remember saying to myself " wow I suppose that was the gameplay quota filled, thanks" or the time when the group was looking for Pete's body, the player is made to walk in a straight line to find it rather than letting the player search more thoroughly throughout the wooded area, maybe talk to the others while doing so.
I could go on and on with such examples but ultimately the end product does feel like it lacks substance, are we enjoying it while we can? yes, I love playing as Clem, but the utter lack of depth to a lot of it is becoming more glaringly obvious per episode. Give us hubs Telltale, let us get to know these characters you've created, and maybe next time one them dies I'll actually care, because as of now my Clem is going to be a loner, not out of choice, but for the complete lack of anyone to care about. Oh and for the record of course I enjoyed watching Carver get his face caved in, he was a one dimensional psychopath...again, zero depth.
Yeah, I agree. Would you mind dividing your text into paragraphs? Wall of texts are more digestible that way, and people will better understand what you are saying. :)
Now I...
> I didn't really care that Pete stayed behind
...dayum, that's cold.
I'll say it once and I'll say it again: "Connecting with people is so important"- Walter
There is wisdom in those words. Not everyone will like you, and you will not like everyone, but at least you got to know them and feel strongly about them one way or the other.
Great topic and I largely agree with the OP. This is something I had been worried about even before season two started, what with the reveal… more of Borderlands and GOT to the mix I naturally started wondering about the end product we'd be getting when season two arrived. Episode one I already started to feel a shift in pacing, when Clem arrived at the cabin I thought that like season one we would get to wander around the place and get to know the new group more, flesh them out a little, get to roleplay that little bit more...but we didn't and I felt the seeds were sown with what I had already feared.
Anyway cut to now and I have to say that for me, the complete lack of depth to the current group we're with is startling with the exception of Ken… [view original content]
Looks like you are new here, Sykopatik. Welcome to the forum.
Phew, that was a long post, but, very well thought out. I agree with you. This season has been lacking a lot in character depth compared to season 1, which is a shame. I hope they can at least make up for it in the last 2 episodes and into season 3 (if there will be one).
Great topic and I largely agree with the OP. This is something I had been worried about even before season two started, what with the reveal… more of Borderlands and GOT to the mix I naturally started wondering about the end product we'd be getting when season two arrived. Episode one I already started to feel a shift in pacing, when Clem arrived at the cabin I thought that like season one we would get to wander around the place and get to know the new group more, flesh them out a little, get to roleplay that little bit more...but we didn't and I felt the seeds were sown with what I had already feared.
Anyway cut to now and I have to say that for me, the complete lack of depth to the current group we're with is startling with the exception of Ken… [view original content]
Thanks guys, yeah sorry about the lack of paragraphs but I'm typing from a chatpad and I couldn't space it up on this. I'll edit it on pc tomorrow. Yeah my Pete thing is cold I know but again, didn't know him that well, I knew he wouldn't make it anyway even before he said it. I did like him in the short time he was around though, guess I'm roleplaying Clem to just be a survivor haha. I think many fans on the forum here think we're shitting on the season for the sake of it, but we're not, I see great points here, and we're only pointing out it's flaws because we love this series so much. Hopefully even if not this season, they take on board some of these points for the future.
Looks like you are new here, Sykopatik. Welcome to the forum.
Phew, that was a long post, but, very well thought out. I agree with you.… more This season has been lacking a lot in character depth compared to season 1, which is a shame. I hope they can at least make up for it in the last 2 episodes and into season 3 (if there will be one).
Thanks guys, yeah sorry about the lack of paragraphs but I'm typing from a chatpad and I couldn't space it up on this. I'll edit it on pc to… moremorrow. Yeah my Pete thing is cold I know but again, didn't know him that well, I knew he wouldn't make it anyway even before he said it. I did like him in the short time he was around though, guess I'm roleplaying Clem to just be a survivor haha. I think many fans on the forum here think we're shitting on the season for the sake of it, but we're not, I see great points here, and we're only pointing out it's flaws because we love this series so much. Hopefully even if not this season, they take on board some of these points for the future.
It needed to be raised as a valid issue for debate, thanks for presenting the argument so we could all flesh it out. I actually thought I was the only one thinking this for a long time ha. These flaws are astoundingly obvious, and I hope this thread can in some way help to remedy them in future, I do say hopefully though. As someone said earlier in the thread it would be such a pity if this series became known as a one trick pony.
Just think about the fact that Clem knows the cabin group for only 7 - 9 days now. That's 1 WEEK. And we, the gamer, know them for only like 2-4 days of play time, since the 5 day long trip to the bridge was skipped. The only character we really had time to build up some kind of empathy for was Rebecca, and maybe Sarah in EP 3. It's a shame Alvin and Carlos are dead, I feel like I knew nothing about them other than that Carlos was overprotective and Alvin killed some guy called George. I saved Alvin in EP 2, so at least he went out like a badass for me, but Carlos? All I could say was "Oh... so that's why Sarah screamed in the Trailer...".
Saving Nick feels like a joke. I agree that he has 2 good lines in EP 3, but the only thing he did after that was repeating what Luke said.
And if Nick dies in EP 2 Luke says NOTHING about it. Seriously? Best friendship ever. Being able to move on is one thing, but this is a bit too extreme, man. "Please keep an eye out for Nick, I'm worried about him ..." Yeah, sure.
Nonetheless I liked the episode. I like the story, but it's completely rushed. There is so much more TTG could do with this game, especially with its new characters! The character development feels blunt at some points and especially Rebecca did a 180° turn that you can't even justify with her pregnancy.
If only they would invest more time in Season 2. :(
and yet we will keep playing it. I dont understand it either, i wished they would have stopped after season 1 and took a break from TWD to finish their other projects first, but this is just fucked. Im still hoping that the 400days characters will appear in future episodes. I dont think its that unlikely, considering the camp probably being overrun so that they had to ecape aswell. But the fuck do i know, i also thought they actually had a well written villain with carver.
I would guess that the only 400 days character we'll see will obviously be Bonnie, which makes sense as she's the only one that always goes with Octavia in 400 days, should have seen it coming I suppose.
and yet we will keep playing it. I dont understand it either, i wished they would have stopped after season 1 and took a break from TWD to f… moreinish their other projects first, but this is just fucked. Im still hoping that the 400days characters will appear in future episodes. I dont think its that unlikely, considering the camp probably being overrun so that they had to ecape aswell. But the fuck do i know, i also thought they actually had a well written villain with carver.
The main problem is that it's extremely obvious that Telltale is understaffed and that's probably an understatement. You would think that with the massive success of season 1 that they would some extra funds to hire some more staff dedicated exclusively to TWD. Seriously, how many people, relative to TWD players, actually play Telltale's other games? I would wager a very small percentage. Personally, I have no interest in playing any of their other games and I'd bet most other TWD players feel the same way. TWD is their cash cow. The second major problem is that they aren't forthright about release dates. I would prefer to wait a few extra weeks to play a better game, but I'd also like some honesty about the release dates for a product I've already paid for in advance. I'd also appreciate if they came out and said something like, "look we were wrong. These game will take more like 2-3 months instead of the 4-6 weeks we promised." I think the writing is still pretty good, because I'm still experiencing the strong emotional responses I experience through almost every other episode. The OP is right though, the idea behind 400 days seems to have gotten scrapped because they just don't have the resources to pull off these episodes in a timely manner. 400 Days was actually a cool concept, but it didn't have the follow-through most people were expecting.
I completely agree !
The last episode was amazing, but it felt way too compressed.
Resolving the entire camp and Carver storyarc in a single episode was a bit disappointing.
There is no doubt that losing Sean Vanaman as lead writer had a huge impact on the direction of season two of the walking dead. I've seen a … morelot of people play down the affect this has had on this season a lot on this forum. Vanaman developed a great story with great themes that were well thought out from start to finish. Season two completely abandons these things and immediately turned off a large portion of season one fans. Having a preteen Clementine interact with adults was as if they were the same age was just embarrassing. It was so weird and it's the reason people started talking about Clem having a romantic relationship with Luke. The way adults talked to her was strange and felt inappropriate because that's not how adults talk to little kids. There is no way Vanaman would have written that kind of shit. Telltale should have done whatever they could to keep Vanaman on for season two and he should have been in the same position he was … [view original content]
Adults still don't interact with 11 year olds as if they are adults. There was a lot of middle ground between having Clem completely sheltered and basically just turning her into an adult the way they did for season two. I think most players liked seeing her as a child, but also liked seeing her learn things and mature in a slower and more realistic way. Instead of continuing that from season one they just suddenly turn Clem into a preteen adult and made adult characters treat her as if there wasn't any difference in them at all.
I already feel like I wasted 5 bones on 400 days. When the tweet came out that "if you havent yet you might want to play 400 days, it plays … morea big role in the story, etc". I already was done with the first episode of season 2 when that tweet was posted which made me want to get 400 days for the choices. and woopty-doo none of the choices I made in 400 days transferred over... So rather than just bonnie being at Carver's everyone in 400 days was at Carvers except Russel and for all I know because of the random generation Russel could of went with Nate... DAMN YOU TTG!
Looking over everything that has happened so far, it seems pretty obvious that this season has definitely been streamlined. After making over 25 million dollars off Season 1, you would think that Telltale would've used some of that money to make their games better. Instead it really feels like these games are regressing in quality.
The disappearance of hubs, character development, puzzles, and the overall ability to interact with other characters and the environment as a whole are really hurting the quality of this season. Everything just feels so rushed that its almost forced. Clem moves from location to location without ever really building as a character or forming any kind of attachment to members of the group. When characters like Carlos or Alvin died, it honestly felt flat. The deaths in this season just aren't nearly as dramatic as the one's in Season 1. Honestly, it is hard to get attached to these people when we have barely had any time to interact or learn anything about any of these guys.
I still enjoy Season 2 and find it entertaining, but I'm disappointed with the direction Telltale is headed in. As one reviewer put it, "In comparison to Season 1, Season 2 feels like a B movie knock-off riding off its predecessors success". As a whole, the series is feeling more and more like a movie and less and less like an actual game.
Comments
Well said. Some may call those "pace breaking", I disagree. If anything, they balanced it out and added those two elements mentioned above.
Anyway cut to now and I have to say that for me, the complete lack of depth to the current group we're with is startling with the exception of Kenny. Sarah is annoying to me, yes I know she's been sheltered, but I know nothing more about her other than her naivety, Carlos is over bearing and condescending to Clem at times because she's a child, Luke as of the last episode to me was an idiot, he wants to be such a pal to Clem but I know next to nothing else about him. Anyway the point I'm making is that despite these character issues I have, I could embrace them scars and all if I knew more about them, but I don't, they have paper thin depth because I don't get to talk to them, when I try it's usually one sentence I get and Clem automatically walks away.
They feel like walking plot devices to me to merely push the narrative at a breakneck pace and as a consequence the so called hard choices I've to make are not hard. I don't care that Alvin tried to hold them off in a last hurrah, I don't care that Carlos got took down in the herd, I don't care that Reggie got killed that quickly, I didn't really care that Pete stayed behind, and all because I just don't get to know them, to get their views on things, to empathize with where they came from and how they feel, to bond with them on anything, they're like strangers to me even going into episode four.
As a result I've played Clem as what some would consider cold and abrasive, but why wouldn't I? Why would I sit with Luke instead of Kenny? Why would I hug Luke? Why would I say these people were my friends when they aren't? Season one succeeded so well because we had these moments to talk over things with each character, we had a little down time per episode to get their slant on things and build our own relationship with them, the plot didn't always have to move at a hundred miles per hour and it created a palpable tension when the shit did hit the fan, it made it tougher, it made it more personal.
There was one sequence in episode three that summed up the complete linearity of season two for me, it's when Clem had to carry a bucket down to Kenny and Mike I think, I had control of Clem and I realized all I could do was walk in a straight line down towards the camera for about ten seconds before it took control again and I remember saying to myself " wow I suppose that was the gameplay quota filled, thanks" or the time when the group was looking for Pete's body, the player is made to walk in a straight line to find it rather than letting the player search more thoroughly throughout the wooded area, maybe talk to the others while doing so.
I could go on and on with such examples but ultimately the end product does feel like it lacks substance, are we enjoying it while we can? yes, I love playing as Clem, but the utter lack of depth to a lot of it is becoming more glaringly obvious per episode. Give us hubs Telltale, let us get to know these characters you've created, and maybe next time one them dies I'll actually care, because as of now my Clem is going to be a loner, not out of choice, but for the complete lack of anyone to care about. Oh and for the record of course I enjoyed watching Carver get his face caved in, he was a one dimensional psychopath...again, zero depth.
Now I...
> I didn't really care that Pete stayed behind
...dayum, that's cold.
I'll say it once and I'll say it again: "Connecting with people is so important"- Walter
There is wisdom in those words. Not everyone will like you, and you will not like everyone, but at least you got to know them and feel strongly about them one way or the other.
Phew, that was a long post, but, very well thought out. I agree with you. This season has been lacking a lot in character depth compared to season 1, which is a shame. I hope they can at least make up for it in the last 2 episodes and into season 3 (if there will be one).
Thanks for making this thread.
Just think about the fact that Clem knows the cabin group for only 7 - 9 days now. That's 1 WEEK. And we, the gamer, know them for only like 2-4 days of play time, since the 5 day long trip to the bridge was skipped. The only character we really had time to build up some kind of empathy for was Rebecca, and maybe Sarah in EP 3. It's a shame Alvin and Carlos are dead, I feel like I knew nothing about them other than that Carlos was overprotective and Alvin killed some guy called George. I saved Alvin in EP 2, so at least he went out like a badass for me, but Carlos? All I could say was "Oh... so that's why Sarah screamed in the Trailer...".
Saving Nick feels like a joke. I agree that he has 2 good lines in EP 3, but the only thing he did after that was repeating what Luke said.
And if Nick dies in EP 2 Luke says NOTHING about it. Seriously? Best friendship ever. Being able to move on is one thing, but this is a bit too extreme, man. "Please keep an eye out for Nick, I'm worried about him ..." Yeah, sure.
Nonetheless I liked the episode. I like the story, but it's completely rushed. There is so much more TTG could do with this game, especially with its new characters! The character development feels blunt at some points and especially Rebecca did a 180° turn that you can't even justify with her pregnancy.
If only they would invest more time in Season 2. :(
The disappearance of hubs, character development, puzzles, and the overall ability to interact with other characters and the environment as a whole are really hurting the quality of this season. Everything just feels so rushed that its almost forced. Clem moves from location to location without ever really building as a character or forming any kind of attachment to members of the group. When characters like Carlos or Alvin died, it honestly felt flat. The deaths in this season just aren't nearly as dramatic as the one's in Season 1. Honestly, it is hard to get attached to these people when we have barely had any time to interact or learn anything about any of these guys.
I still enjoy Season 2 and find it entertaining, but I'm disappointed with the direction Telltale is headed in. As one reviewer put it, "In comparison to Season 1, Season 2 feels like a B movie knock-off riding off its predecessors success". As a whole, the series is feeling more and more like a movie and less and less like an actual game.