Am I the only one who is pissed with this "Head off" thing?
What kind of bullshit is this description of choices? Head off Bane or Head off Harley? I don't speak english but I never heard this kind of grammar. It's confusing as hell.
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I figured it meant get in front of either one of them, but I didn't know it would mean leaving one or the other behind so I had to replay the whole episode to leave Bane behind and keep Harley and John.
English isn't my first language either and I'm still confused about this even though I know the outcome of this choice.. so it really meant head off as in block/intervene? Not head off as in leave with? Someone said maybe it should be 'head off with'? Am I talking nonsense? Cause both of those make sense..? Well now that I've been googling.. or frigging trying to. Or not? Can someone native english speaker confirm whatever the hell that most likely means?
Well, in the context used it basically meant getting in front of one of them to intervene with their killing. But that choice also determines who gets left behind. I guess it would've been less confusing if they just used something clear like "interfere" instead of "head off"
Even I was a little confused for a second, but figured what they meant so I decided to "head off" Bane since it seemed like he would kill more people. But like I said I had to replay anyway so Harley could leave with us because I felt bad leaving John sad, and I didn't want Harley mad at me. Bane seems like someone Batman has to deal with sooner rather than later anyway.
So your first language is english and you think it could have been said better? Doesn't that tell that they really messed up with their choice of words? For me that's worse than 'glass him' since at least I guessed that one right. I'm not really that upset but it seems like there are a lot of us who were confused by this.
Edit. Your reasoning about Bane was same as mine at first.
English is my first language, that wording was ridiculous. they simply could have used the word "help" instead.
Thank you! So I'm not making this up.
I just assumed it meant to overtake either of them to make sure no one gets killed. The only thing that annoyed me was that the way the final choice comes up makes it seem like it wasn't a big deal at all (it just looked like one of the combat choices to me). I didn't think it'd end up being such a big deal.
I find the sudden weight of that choice to be really cool. I had no idea that it would give a different ending scenario, but after noticing that it did, I was impressed.
It puts emphasis on the fact that not every decision you do will be clearly defined as "Big Impact" or "Small Impact". It shows that even the most inconsequential of things can have a bigger effect than one assumes. I like that. Now that is some true choices mattering. The "small" decision has a big impact on the story.
Welcome to Telltale territory, man. As you know, its usual around here so dont surprise so much.
Yeah that'll be neat if they continue to do this but it'd be added stress for me
Yes, there were several threads about it already, but you're the only one who's pissed. :^)
Jokes aside, I agree, the choice was definitely worded poorly, but several people seem to misunderstand what was the general idea behind the choice. Judging by the end stats screen where it said that Bruce tried to minimalize the casualties, it should've been something like "Interfere with Bane's killing" and "Interfere with Harley's killing" (as MackieMagipie2 above suggested) and leaving the other member behind was more or less meant to be an unforeseen outcome.
Luckily I managed to somehow understand the thought process behind the choice (even though I wasn't happy with the result) and "Head off" Bane, because I figured he'd kill more people otherwise.
They should have said "Stop" or something like that instead.
Yeah^^^^
Whoever made the description deserves to be fired and go back to school.
But you don't actually "stop" them, that'a the thing, and neither you actually "help" them, since you don't kill anybody.
What irks me is that I left Harley and I'm stuck with Bane, a character they've done their best to make you hate. Seriously, there's feeling punished in the game and then there's being punished entertainment-wise. I'll probably go back and change it, if I have to listen to any more of Bane's "speeches" I'll rip off my ears. Choices are better if you have a general idea of the outcome. Like instead of leaving someone as a consequence make that the actual choice with the other one being suspicious of you because you went out of your way to stop them.
I thought it was pretty clear. Head off means to get ahead of someone before they do something which in this case it was clear was murder for both Harley and Bane. Whoever Bruce chooses is who he helps prevent people being killed by. Whoever you pick getting left behind is obviously supposed to be a surprise.
Then again, I thought the 'glass him' was pretty obvious too.
I've literally never heard the term "head off" before this.
Help is more misleading though, as you're preventing them from killing people not helping them.
No. "Help" would have completely changed the meaning. "Head Off" in this case meant try to limit the damage the person was doing. It does mean block or reroute or prevent someone from getting to their destination or achieving their goal. if Bruce was "helping" them, then he would have added to the carnage. He still has his code, and is trying to protect lives. He wasn't trying to help either Bane or Harley.
Or the people who misunderstood need to improve their reading comprehension.
Exactly. Their use of language was precise, and correct.
Yeah! Your vocabulary has been expanded.
I am annoyed, but mostly because there is no rewind option. I sorta understood the choice was to stop one of them them from killing people, but I didn't want to leave Harley behind, I even had the anti-serum for Bane so it would've been perfect. I usually don't change my choices (living with the consequences is why these games are fun to play), but since this one was weird and I kinda want to keep Harley for the future Episode, I am very annoyed that I can't rewind, like in older Telltale games. I am still debating on whether I should replay the Episode or not.
I understood this choice perfectly fine and what the wording meant, but I do think that it could have been worded a bit simpler. Something like "Stop Bane/Harley" "Protect Bane's Victim/Protect Harley's Victim" or "Interfere with Harley/Bane"
You need to relax. 'To head someone off' is correct English and a fairly common term. It's a mixture of 'to get ahead of someone' and 'to cut them off'. I understood what it meant immediately. Perhaps 'Stop' or 'Intervene' would have been clearer, but 'Head off' is more specific, because it implies 'getting to the agents before Harley or Bane do, in order to save them'. As opposed to 'Stop', which could plausibly have just meant 'shoot Harley or Bane in the back to stop them, thus blowing your cover'. I grant you, it could be confusing if you're one of the few unfamiliar with the term, but it's hardly a fireable offense.
I agree. An easier term to understand should have been chosen.
I had no trouble understanding the term.
I thought that head off meant to try and prevent Bane or Harley from hurting the innocent agents so I went to stop Bane and hoped to leave him behind but the result was the opposite.
You people need to learn American slang when playing games made in America.
It's not "American slang" it's stupid wording. Head off can mean a great number of things.
I knew what head off meant What I didn't know was that the one you didn't head off would be left behind.
You weren't even supposed to know that though.
Nope ...Heading someone off is very common.
It really is very common. I understood right away what the writers intended. What surprises me is how people who are fluent English speakers (American that is) had any issues with the meaning.
English is my first language, as well and "head off" I somehow read as "fend off" which I thought meant to slow them down and hurt, not kill these people, I did that because I thought bane would kill many more than Harley, in that moment...
Not a native English speaker here and I understood it perfectly.
Honestly, no offence but I don't know how people misunderstood that. I hear the term "head off" all the time. I live in Australia, but it's DEFINITELY meant to be American slang because I usually hear it used by Americans. Also, "glass him" is a pretty well used slang term in at least the U.S. and Australia.
I knew immediately what the writers meant. I wasn't aware someone would be left behind, but you know what - I LIKE that not all of the important choices are as clear as day. Not all important choices are clear in real life. That's the POINT of Telltale. You don't always know what the consequences of your actions might be. Deal with it.
I mean, the term IS usually phrased "I'm going to head them off" rather than just "head off", but I would think any native English speaker should be able to figure that out if they've heard the normal version anyway. And I don't see how this many people HAVEN'T heard it.
Non-native speakers get an exception, because you can't be expected to know all our regional slang. English is a confusing language as is; i.e. "there", "they're" and "their" all being pronounced the same way but meaning different things. And I'm sure there are some people out there who genuinely just haven't heard the term. But come on; it's U.S. slang, I live in AUSTRALIA and I know it. It must be pretty commonly used.
I'm born and raised in America and have never heard this term used in that way or at all for that matter. "Glass him" was the most startlingly misleading dialogue option I've ever encountered.