How much does our feedback influence later episodes?
This is something I've always been a little unclear about. I remember reading somewhere that the reactions of fans to characters and events from previous chapters were taken into account by Telltale and used to refine the following episodes, but I can't recall the source.
I'm assuming the rough plot of the entire season has already been mapped out, but does the input of the fans modify/tailor other story details that might otherwise have been set in stone? It would be nice to know if our countless posts within this forum amount to something in the game, however insignificant. Can a moderator or a member of the Telltale staff clarify this? It'd be greatly appreciated.
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The feedback has a very small influence to the actual season, but can influence the next seasons. This happens because as we speak Telltale is currently working on Episodes 3 and 4. Episode 2 is now in the tasting phaze. This is how they have done with The Wolf Among Us.
But the feedback is important for the future seasons and games. For example in The Walking Dead Season 1, lots of people said that the puzzles in the game were useless, so TWD S2 and TWAU have very few puzzles because of the feedback.
Coming from someone who isn't big on puzzles, I like S1's puzzles. They weren't the hardest but they added to the realism and padded things out too
I think it affects it in small ways, I mean the major plot points have all been decided but subtle things can be added, for instance in season 1 I believe they added the Carley romanceish thing in episode 3 after they seen feedback from episode 1
I hard Telltale saying they want Season 2 to take in to account Season 1 choices. Hopefully they do make a difference during this season.
"What's that? People don't seem to like [insert character name here]? Well, let's make them really likable in the next episode...so that it'll be super sad when we inevitably kill them off."
OR
"What's that? People really seem to like [insert character name here]? Well, let's make them even more likable in the next episode...so that it'll be super sad when we inevitably kill them off."
Eh, very small influence, but as DomeWing333 stated, they do tend to craft some character's story arcs based on likability. Here are the things I know that changed based on influence from players in season 1:
-Added the battery line with Lee and Carley at the end of episode 2
-Everyone hated Larry, so Telltale deliberately gave him a death scene in episode 2
-Everyone hated Duck, so Telltale made him say a Batman reference in order to get players to like him
-Many people were sad about the deaths in episode three, so Molly was shown as a 'badass' character in order for the players to 'let loose' and have someone 'cool' to talk to.
Well said, I couldn't agree more. This is the reason why most Telltale games are episodic
That makes sense. I guess it's about as much as we can ask for. If that's how Telltale works, let's hope they take some of the criticism about episode 1's excessively dark tone and introduce a little more levity in part 2, before killing off another major character in some gruesome and harrowing fashion again.
Yes, I hope they make a difference not only in some dialogue options or memories cutscenes but in situations.
I wouldn't say Episode 2 is on testing just yet, probably finishing up on dialogue and animations. Possibly any missing textures or set pieces.
about episode 1's excessively dark tone ??? oO
Are you kidding ? That fits perfectly with The Walking Dead universe, it IS the Walking Dead.
Actually consider yourself lucky we didn't have to deal directly with Christa's baby's death, which we can only imagine. But perhaps we will after all, through cutscenes revealing this past situation.
The most valid criticisms so far that I would like to be adressed are the impression of Clementine being way too capable, making us feel it would not be that bad if we were on our own rather than in a group (which is crazy, it should be our main concern, we should be terrified to be rejected) ; the new characters being somewhat dull (which also explains the previous feeling) ; and the episode being shorter than usual, but I think new episodes will definitely be longer.
That said, people loved Carley.
This is an interesting point and it brings up a bit of a dilemma for Clem. On one hand, there is certainly safety in numbers, especially when they have medical supplies and a sustainable food source. On the other hand, we've seen that any reasonably-sized group that settles down in one area is bound to get overrun at one time or another. This one seems especially risky, considering how everyone talks about this "Carver" figure. So there's reason to be apprehensive about either staying or going at the moment. If Clem were to get a chance to heal up and the game were to give us the option of whether to go or to stay, I'd be interested to see which side people lean towards.
Too capable? She barely survived until the group found her
Story wise it doesn't, gameplay wise it might.
Factually you're right, but on the level of impressions I didn't feel that she was especially vulnerable.
And by the numbers of people who call her a "badass" and actually write down that she can face anything and "survive on her own" (when nobody can on the long term in this world... Even the overpowered characters like Michonne end up being part of a group sooner or later), most players didn't feel that either.
We should practically desperately beg this new group to take us in, but lots of players go confidently with the sassiest dialogue options not too concerned with the risk of being rejected, I went for a less defiant behaviour but I can't blame them since I never felt being in their good graces was a matter of life and death...
I think what we need at some point is a choice between trying to take a zombie on our own and running for help, and the first choice would lead to a fierce action sequence... That would always end in Clementine's death and take us back at the instant we can still run for help.
That way we would start looking at other people as a necessity for our survival, and think less of Clementine as a "badass" who can survive on her own.
Well, she was pretty heavily injured. But based on how she handled the zombie in that shed, it still seemed like she might actually be alright at fending for herself if it comes to it (so long as no more faux-friendly dogs show up and and bite her out of nowhere).
I do find it a bit funny, though, that after the first episode of playing as an 11 year old little girl, the major complaint is that the protagonist is way too strong and capable. Only at Telltale.
This is exactly why I hope they take little to no feedback at all. This sort of thing is what ruined the ME series, fan feedback. Instead of fixing what players may not like, devs will take it out all together.
The previous chapters in season 1 were better at striking that balance between pessimism and optimism. If you want to write a novel that's just wall-to-wall misery from beginning to end, that's your right as a storyteller, but you have to keep your audience in mind even when you're pulling out all the stops. Otherwise, they simply get sick of the one-sided outcomes to every situation, and bail.
That's why I'm sceptical of Kirkman's mantra about the franchise: "This is THE WALKING DEAD. Things are only going to get worse." Even Cormac McCarthy, the supreme overlord of nihilism, would tell Kirkman this a bad approach to writing a book, let alone a television show or video game.
One of my favourite films is THREADS, a BBC docudrama about the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. As you might expect, it's relentlessly hopeless, but only because it's based on what would actually go down if the world powers were to ever pull the trigger. It isn't so much a movie, as a warning. THE WALKING DEAD, for all of Kirkman's attempts to make the title a witty metaphor, is about zombies, and zombies are patently silly. That's just the way they are. Even George Romero's films - which, I should add, ALSO happened in a universe where the dead reanimate even if they were never bitten - allowed some leeway in regards to the fate of some of the characters, and the world, by the time they were over. Kirkman's universe, on the other hand, is more like the writings of a fanboy who's infatuated with the gore and "survivor machismo" of the zombie genre than the scripts or atmosphere that helped to make it so fascinating.
Agreed. The problem with this is we don't ever expect any protagonist to be killed in the intro though. I didn't fear much for Lee in S1 because he's the protagonist. I feared for the other characters. Around Ep3 and 4 is when I began to fear for Lee because it's more likely than him being killed in Ep1 and 2. Same now with Clem. I call Clem badass too though not in the sense that she can overcome anything. I just really respect how much she's learned. She's part little girl, vulnerable and scared, flawed, yet badass because of her knowledge and how she uses it. The time to be worried about Clem will be Eps3, 4 and 5. Right now I'm more worried for the other group members
read somewhere that TellTale analyse the choices of players and then make small changes to plot e.g. they found out everyone hated Larry so they made Lily kind of justify him and make us feel less aggrieved by him.
I thought about this too. last season I was all over these forums and it seemed when episode 4 came out it seemed they used a LOT of what we said on here and the only thing that was their idea was the cancer survivors and Crawford.
Episode 4 so far seems to be the only one that has done this so far but I started thinking about this again when s2 came out and had the dog. Just a few months back someone had a thread titled something like Should clem have a dog? and when we first see the dog we're treating it like a pet.
But yeah I think popular ideas get from here and Telltale finds a way to add their own little spin to some of our ideas. Its cool just don't write another episode strait from the forums like episode 4 last year.
A large part of that has to do with the constraints of the game itself. Players are aware that the linear structure of the story will make it so that none of their dialogue choices are going to determine whether or not they get to stay with the group. It's clear from the outset that this is going to be the group that Clem rolls with for the immediate future, so there's not really a threat of them kicking her out.
As far as players can tell, all being "sassy" will do is make that a certain member of the group less trusting of Clem. And since the person she can sass the most is already pretty abrasive towards Clem, it doesn't surprise me that a lot of people just thought "Fuck it, you want to be a bitch to me? I'll be a bitch right back."What's more, there aren't really any dialogue choices that make you fall out of favor with either Luke or Pete, so even if you pick all the worst options, you'll still have those two in your corner for you.