Let's try this again. Ask me ALMOST anything. ;) (Job is back. Let's try to remain calm...)
JobJStauffer_TTG
Telltale Alumni
Hey guys!
Sorry to have kept you waiting. With apologies on my radio silence last week. I had some surgery the week prior, and needed the entire weekend to relax and recover. I'm totally okay, but when you're hopped up on goofballs, it's tough to keep up with a thread like the one before. Let's be honest... in my absence... that one got a little out of hand.
I was back on Tuesday and feeling great! On a personal note, I've actually been shaving a few pounds off, and I highly recommend using VR if you've never tried it as a workout routine. I like to think that I'm living proof that it can work!
Mid-week got a little hectic. In my line of work, there's only so much time I'm actually seated at a desk, and a lot of my time was taken up in the studio working with the teams and playing some new and awesome stuff that you'll be playing next month. SPOILER ALERT: Save for our retail season pass disc of TWD:ANF, we won't be launching any new content until March. We don't have exact dates yet, but we're always working on content LIVE. In addition to working on some new things with the team, we're also a growing team ourselves! We have so much cool stuff in the pipeline that it's coming on time to finally grow our Creative Communications team yet again. Planting those seeds to bring on a larger team also took a bit of my time, but it's something that will help us in the long run.
A bigger staff will help us keep up with everyone here, especially during times when you have surgery one day... then your own baby CAT needs to go under the knife too barely a week after! The good news is that she's fine, and at well after midnight on a Friday evening... I've finally cleared up some PERSONAL time to catch up with YOU!
Here's the bad news. That last thread? WAY outta hand.
I deleted it. It was me. Hashtag #dealwithit
I want you to ask me anything, but I truly cannot answer everything.
As such, a new rule has been imposed...
Ask me almost anything... but please keep it to ONE question per post and per user. In light of the overwhelming walls of emotionally charged text and questions that we really want to try to answer, we need to slim that down.
So... think really hard... and keep it to ONE REALLY GOOD and ideally CONTENT RELATED question... and I will rock out on answers all weekend as best as I can without spoiling anything. Many of you should be reminded, we most certainly can't answer EVERYTHING about our games... and in particular with TWD: ANF, members had been asking a lot of questions that are going to sound silly by the time the series is over, as certain story moments (both backwards and forwards in time...) simply haven't happened in the series yet. Try to keep that in mind...
Also... I'm actually flying to London tomorrow/Saturday for a top secret Telltale trip to the UK. Hopefully the plane has wifi, and I can answer as much as I can!
Just as in the last thread I reminded you to be respectful of Telltale staff, I expect the same treatment as well. We truly do love you guys, but if for any reason people are slowed down you can rest assured they are either busy working their butts off to make the best interactive stories possible.... or unexpectedly out of office and tending to some deeply personal matters. As these boundaries were not respected, the last thread was deleted, but I'm willing to give this another shot!
Cool by you!?
Cool.
Also -- bonus plan!
As I'll be in London next week, I'm curious if there are any forum members (over the age of 21!) interested in hanging out! I may have an evening free, and would love to hang out at a cool pub or something with some cool fans. Maybe you'd like to pick MY brain on Telltale... but honestly I'd love to pick YOURS! Also, I've yet to see LEGO BATMAN... and if anyone else is game... maybe we can go check it out. Believe it or not, I can be cool like that. ;P
Cool by you?
Let's try this again... shall we?
Have at it!
Comments
Glad to see ya, and your kitty doing better!
One question per a user? Got it!
I haven't minded 90 minute episodes in the past, and even can enjoy a great 60-ish minute episode (if they aren't incredibly frequent), while I'm not expecting any episodes in the 2-3 hour mark like most, can I ask if you guys have been listening to this sort of feedback? For the 2 part premiere it sort of worked (episode 2 did feel quite rushed in parts tho) since we did get 2 episodes to playthrough, but going into episode 3, and future series can we hope for episodes that go beyond the 60-80 minute time frame? Batman did have some short-ish episodes, but Walking Dead since after season 2 hasn't strived for anything above 90 minutes, which has sort of been a bummer. Thanks so much
A friendly reminder from the volunteer community Moderation team
Hey guys! As we are sure you've noticed, this is a special instance of staff visiting the forums, so please be respectful towards staff members.
You are freely allowed to voice any concerns or negative feedback about the game, but please keep comments constructive and avoid any personal attacks. The same guidelines about respect towards users also applies towards all staff members (past and present) who have worked on The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, whether or not they have a forum account.
Please let your questions lead into good discussion material and please refrain from asking nonconstructive questions that are snarky or thread-derailing. Negative criticism of the game is fully allowed, but Moderators will try to flag non-constructive comments if they don't lead into constructive discussion or a genuine interest in sharing fan feedback to improve the game.
Similar to how Batman had detective sequences, can we expect more individual and special gameplay additions in future Telltale games (from a gameplay mechanic standpoint and not a story telling standpoint)?
Fans really like seeing interactive bits like hub areas, puzzles, etc (given that they do not kill story pacing as I figure you guys might point out) but I still think that some more gameplay additions for future Telltale series would be cool!
I'll answer one question as promised, and I'll choose the first one you laid out. Remember guys. Only one!
Question: While I haven't minded 90 minute episodes in the past, and even can enjoy a great 60-ish minute episode if they aren't incredibly frequent, while I'm not expecting anything well over 2-3 hours like most, can I ask if you guys have been listening to this sort of feedback?
Answer: Yes you can ask that! In general, there really is no set time for any episode we create. For the most part, lately we steer towards wanting to make each episode about feature-length. Effectively, about the length of a movie, where you might find yourself starting the game after dinner, and finished before it's time for bed. Consumable. Digestible. And easy enough to finish for you to talk about it the next day with friends. In making that content, we want to give you enough tailored story to find differences worth discussing, however subtle or obvious they may be. Sometimes we'll play an episode, and a little longer in playing/running time feels right. Sometimes it's a little shorter, but there's enough meat in it to feel just as right. We always listen to feedback, and we're listening right now! We don't think there will ever be a set running time like TV, but we like the flexibility of 'feature length' content right now to allow us to do whatever is necessary to get things feeling just right. At an average of $4.99 USD per episode, we absolutely want everyone to get their money's worth, and at less than half the cost of a feature length movie ticket... we're feeling like we're in just the right zone for how long or short our episodes might be.
Can you give us anything regarding Game of Thrones Season 2?
Also really appreciate you doing this. You're a real cool guy Job!
Damn Job you are early (From my perspective). Glad to hear you are alright.
One thing I am wondering about is why the removal of the Rewind. It is because of the UI limitations or you simply forgot to add it? And will we ever see the Rewind feature again?
We love to rewind and replay some specific portion of the game and the fact we have to restart the whole episode again to reach that point can feel exhausting.
Question: Similar to how Batman had detective sequences, can we expect more individual and special gameplay additions in future Telltale games (from a gameplay mechanic standpoint and not a story telling standpoint)?
Answer: If you liked the kind of investigation sequences you saw in BATMAN, as well as special mechanics/gameplay additions... I think you're going to be PLEASANTLY surprised by what's in store for our next series when it premieres... and that will be SOON! I can also say that it might have one of the largest environments we've really ever let a player poke around in... and that's both horizontally AND vertically....
...so to answer your question ... YES!
It's not something that will be a standard requirement for everything we do... but in at least one upcoming series that's coming FAST... I think fans of that kind of stuff in our games are going to be happy.
I feel that even when you're really upset about the video games you enjoy, it's important to remember that it takes real people with real lives and real issues going on in their lives to balance their time at work and their time taking care of themselves and their own families to make it all happen. I also think we're making positive steps towards growing our team to the point where we can continue to stay active and answer as many questions in the moment. I think this question is a little harsh... and you really need to remember that we're real people, just as you are, and we hope that you'll treat us with the same level of respect and love that we do you... even when we can't always be here to give you secret info on our games before anyone else.
Seconded.
I think puzzles can have a place in modern Telltale games. Situations where a character is supposed to stop and figure something out. I get it, the days of "hey let's go A to B"...but you can't go A to B(You have to go A,Q,X,K,J,B... and that kills pacing) are gone. Instances like a detective scenario or the character being trapped are still prime opportunities to have a more involved, immersive, accomplished experience.
Additional mechanics are appreciated. I did enjoy the detective portions of Batman(even if it didn't have Max cracking jokes when clicking incorrectly).
Thanks man! You're cool too, and I appreciate the respectful way you asked this question.
As far as GoTS2, it's true that we had let the world know the door is open for more, and that we already know what we want to do next time around. We can say that it's not something with a release date at the moment, and that the second we have news on more Game of Thrones, you'll be hearing about it from us first, right here on our site.
Thanks Dave! Feels good to be feelin' good!
As far as rewind goes, I can't say there's a clear answer other than when we looked at the data coming back from users, only a VERY TINY percentage of players were actually using rewind. There may have been some technical reason as well that pushed it to the chopping block, but in truth, we really don't hear a lot of feedback from players asking for its return. Should that ever change, that feedback will most certainly be taken into consideration. That's how we do things!
One Question: "I was wondering if you guys over at Telltale ever intend on making our choices affect Clem's personality?"
Answer: You're only two episodes into Season Three. Keep playing.. and ask us this question again after the finale. Cool? :P
Unavoidable question you will be asked again, I will ask it before anyone else on this new thread:
It's regarding The Wolf Among Us Season 2. I will ask the question a bit differently in hopes we can have a more "satisfying" answer. It's a Telltale Series that's close to my heart and many others. Regarding this, will fans of the series be very excited sometime this year? If you're catching my drift.
Glad to hear you're feeling well again
Ah I see. Thanks for answering, Job!
That is surprising, I guess the majority of players love to live with their choices, heh. Still, I think having the option open to rewind again will be nice. Whatever the players rewind or not, it is their choice.
Thanks NeonNoir!
Wolf Question: "Will fans of the series be very excited sometime this year?"
Wolf Answer: The last thing we want to do is get anyone overly excited, especially for anything this year. We also never wanna say never... and neither should you. Keep tweeting at @KevBru and @HalfBakedSteve. Tell them I sent you.
Here anyway. I might as well ask a question.
Will we have something in a similar vein(something removed from the story driven experience) as a Poker Night game(as an example) in the not-so distant future?
Hey Job,
You mentioned earlier in your answer to Blind Sniper that there will be a new series premiering "soon". Unless you mean Guardians of the Galaxy, is there anything else you can tell us about that/any upcoming events we should look out for in regards to announcements?
The thing is, wingsthepony, "You've disappeared with excuse after excuse" is 100% accurate. It happens. Life happens. We're here. We're listening. I'm here. I'm answering. We really DO love you guys. We can't be here 24/7 to answer every question, but we can always find enough love for our fans to make time, even if it means sacrificing personal time, to hop on here and try to be cool, honest, and open. If you disagree that this is a poor approach, then we'll have to respectfully agree to disagree. Here's hoping we can be cool.
I think instead of one of my original questions, I'll instead ask, whose idea was it to replace Clementine with Javier in season 3, and how early into development was the decision made? Do you know if anyone on the team objected to the idea?
Hi Job.
Sorry but I have to ask again, as I didn't see any answer for this question :
can we hope for episodes that go beyond the 60-80 minute time frame?
Or, will we have episode like season 1 that can length more than 1h30?
Answer: I sure hope so! There's some super cool smaller stuff we're working on now that maybe won't feel as full-bodied as our current series in its known format. I can't say exactly what that is or when you'll see these things... but you will see something at the very least different from the story format we've embraced over the last five years... but that doesn't mean it won't be story or character related...
Hey job I'll keep this short and simple to save time due to only being aloud one question when in actual fact I want to fire a million at you.... can we look forward to emotional scenes within season 3 (TWDG) that will most likely make us cry? Those scenes are the best by far and make the games that little more special.
Thank you.
I know everyone is all over the Wolf right now, but can we expect another season of Batman? Especially after the tease at the end, one would imagine you guys have more story to tell for us.
PS: Still have a tiny bit of hope we'll get new Batman Unmasked even though it's been cancelled. cries
Question: is there anything else you can tell us about that/any upcoming events we should look out for in regards to announcements?
Answer: Will any of you be at PAX East or SXSW?
http://east.paxsite.com/schedule/panel/telltale-games-interactive-storytelling-in-2017
We'll be at PAX East for sure... some SXSW details to be worked out. Will there be details on GotG? WHO KNOWS?!?!!
Hoping that down the line that might involve a certain dog and rabbit duo~
Question: ... can we look forward to emotional scenes within the game that will most likely make us cry?
Answer: All I can tell you is that I personally teared up during an upcoming scene in one of our series that I think a lot of people might have some difficulty getting through...
I think this was already covered. See the earlier posts in the thread! ;P
That just sounds divine sir, thank you very much for replying, p.s longer episodes pleaseeeee
It was never any one person's idea in particular, it was a team effort. We also don't think of Javi as a replacement at all. Javi is in the lead, and Clem is now a co-star in a supporting role. No one has really been replaces. We liked the idea of starting as someone new, and meeting this Clementine with a bit of a mystery to what she's been up to since Season Two. Allowing the player to learn about her through Javi, then learn her secrets by playing AS Clem in the flashbacks you've seen so far as allowed us to explore a storytelling dynamic that we remain excited about and can't wait for you to see where it all goes...
Question: I know everyone is all over the Wolf right now, but can we expect another season of Batman?
Answer: We would LOVE to continue that story... and we're INCREDIBLY proud of the way the season turned out. Will we see more? Time will tell... but there definitely seems to be a demand... and there are definitely ideas we'd like to explore further.... but nothing to announce right now!
Hi Job, glad to see you're feeling better.
Now my main question is are there any plans to implement VR in any future Telltale games or in any projects like the "super show".
Ah phooey I did ask two questions, sorry they are practically the same question though, so hopefully no harm done.
UPDATE! I think I've done ok for posting well past midnight for one night. I'll circle back on this if my LOOOOOOOOONG flight to London tomorrow has wi-fi, then if not, will check back in once I get to my Hotel Sunday UK time, and follow up whan I can. Thanks to everyone for their patience, respect, and understanding of my personal boundaries. Please feel free to continue to add some digestible questions here, and I'll try to chew it up and give you some palatable answers. I'll say this again and I do mean it - any Londoners wanna get together next week, let me know! Happy to find time to hang... and would be cool to put some faces to some handles. Be back soon, thanks ya'll!
Will Italian subtitles be included in the next Telltale games?
Some games are (i.e: Tales from the borderlands, TWD season 1, 400 days) and some games are not (i.e: Minecraft Story mode, The Wolf among us).
Bows. Hello from the UK! Firstly, congratulations on the weight loss, and I'm glad to read you're feeling better! It's really inspiring to see people achieving personal goals! Anyways, I won't waste any more of your time!
So, this question isn't related to any future titles , but I do have a question regarding your personal playthroughs of the Walking Dead. I asked a pretty specific question about Luke and Kenny last thread, but I'll broaden it a little bit as we only have one question per user. Still keeping the funny minute long video, though.
What was the choice you found the hardest to make in The Walking Dead Games?
For me, it was definitely this one. I'm really curious to see which you found hardest. Gotta know what kinda man you are, Job...
As an aside, a huge 'thank you' for doing this AMA. Really cool to see you on the forums. You seem like a pretty cool guy ^ _ ^
You said about Batman :
"Will we see more? Time will tell... but there definitely seems to be a demand... and there are definitely ideas we'd like to explore further...."
But, like GoT or Batman, the end is usually a cliffenger so I thought it meant that a next season was due.
Question : **Does it mean that Telltale can make a cliffenger like GoT and actually doesn't make a next season ? ? **
Will we play more than 1 character in the Guardians of the Galaxy game?
GoT is getting a second season. I just cant wait for it!
Hey Job!
In ANF, there were a number of dialogue options that were often misleading to the players... Most notably, the infamous [Tell him off] option which has become a meme on par with or greater than [Glass him]. There were likewise a number of options throughout the two episodes that were provided which ended up producing a response that largely opposed what players expected would be said and lead to a lot of frustration: [I'm old enough.] "I'm old enough to put a bullet in you."
I understand that for reasons, some dialogue options need to be shortened/rewritten, so of course I'm not expecting the entire conversation to be pasted out in front of me. My question is, has this been taken into account to prevent future misinterpretations on the part of the player? If this kind of thing persisted into more intense parts of the game where you have less time to think about what to choose, it could easily cause a lot of errors and irritation.
Hi Job. I have a question regarding Clementine. How come she hasnt Been given a last name? She is a major character like Rick Grimes and Lee Everret