I really like Telltale's The Walking Dead series. I'm not here to just bash it, or claim that it's not a game, but I've got some grievances.
I enjoy each episode of the series they put out, but could we please have a little more interaction?
When I say "interaction", I mean to say I desire to have just a little more control of things. I want to be able to walk around more, and have more opportunity to interact with the world. I also want the game to challenge me just a little more, either through puzzles or through more tense action scenes that don't always rely on quick time events or pushing the right button on your cursor.
Let's look at Episode 3 for example. I won't go too far into spoilers, but you've been warned.
In the episode, Clem does a lot of things. You don't.
Why can't I pick the berries when I'm sent to cut berries? Why can't I can't I load the bullets into the magazines? The best way to immerse someone in a video game, be it for the purposes of getting a theme across, is to actually have the player play through the scenario. Clem is being sent all around to do work against her will, but you don't feel that. All you do is choose dialog options, which are well done and do immerse you in the story. But that's all they immerse you in. It gets to a point where it does make you feel as if you're playing more of an interactive movie then a game.
Telltale is great at making you feel like you're entering a tense situation, but is poor at making it follow through. There are moments where Clem must sneak around, yet there is zero actual risk of being caught. Unless, of course, the game wants you to be caught. There is even a moment later in the game where your group stresses the importance that you do a certain thing in a very specific way, and they even offer to tell you the steps again. But is this an actual puzzle? Will people die if I mess up? No, because the entire scene is either done through cutscenes or through very linear design.
People bashed Season 1 for its somewhat simplistic puzzles, but at least it had puzzles. After going through dialog, and getting yourself immersed in the characters, you were now expected to use your wits to make it through a situation. This usually is not the case in Season 2. The game tells you exactly what to do for each challenge, and most action scenes are easy to think through too, killing immersion.
But that's just my view. I still love the series, I just really wish Telltale would give the player a little more control, a little more trust that they can make it through a harder moment.
What do you all think?
I enjoy each episode of the series they put out, but could we please have a little more interaction?
When I say "interaction", I mean to say I desire to have just a little more control of things. I want to be able to walk around more, and have more opportunity to interact with the world. I also want the game to challenge me just a little more, either through puzzles or through more tense action scenes that don't always rely on quick time events or pushing the right button on your cursor.
Let's look at Episode 3 for example. I won't go too far into spoilers, but you've been warned.
In the episode, Clem does a lot of things. You don't.
Why can't I pick the berries when I'm sent to cut berries? Why can't I can't I load the bullets into the magazines? The best way to immerse someone in a video game, be it for the purposes of getting a theme across, is to actually have the player play through the scenario. Clem is being sent all around to do work against her will, but you don't feel that. All you do is choose dialog options, which are well done and do immerse you in the story. But that's all they immerse you in. It gets to a point where it does make you feel as if you're playing more of an interactive movie then a game.
Telltale is great at making you feel like you're entering a tense situation, but is poor at making it follow through. There are moments where Clem must sneak around, yet there is zero actual risk of being caught. Unless, of course, the game wants you to be caught. There is even a moment later in the game where your group stresses the importance that you do a certain thing in a very specific way, and they even offer to tell you the steps again. But is this an actual puzzle? Will people die if I mess up? No, because the entire scene is either done through cutscenes or through very linear design.
People bashed Season 1 for its somewhat simplistic puzzles, but at least it had puzzles. After going through dialog, and getting yourself immersed in the characters, you were now expected to use your wits to make it through a situation. This usually is not the case in Season 2. The game tells you exactly what to do for each challenge, and most action scenes are easy to think through too, killing immersion.
But that's just my view. I still love the series, I just really wish Telltale would give the player a little more control, a little more trust that they can make it through a harder moment.
What do you all think?
