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The Council - episodic narrative adventure with RPG elements set in the late 18th century

Zombra

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Every 2 months like clockwork so far. Looking forward to full release in November (?).
 
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Sylvain Sechi: The Council ‘IP is Broad and We Have Many Things to Tell’

Big Bad Wolf has had a busy 2018 putting its full attention and resources into The Council. The episodic RPG title arrived on the market with Episode 1: The Mad Ones back in March, following up with the release of Episode 2: Hide and Seek in May. The Council, which consists of five episodes, has reached both high and low points with fans and critics, as well as drawing comparisons with titles from Telltale Games and Dontnod Entertainment for how Big Bad’s handled the episodic format.

Unlike other episodic titles, The Council puts equal focus on its interactive storytelling and gameplay experience. From the opening moments of The Mad Ones, the title’s RPG mechanics kick into full effect as players pick one of three classes — Diplomat, Occultist or Detective — that will both support and impact their progression in different ways. It only continues to build in the second episode when players level up protagonist Louis de Richet, as well as improving and unlocking abilities in his skill tree.

Even when players explore the world around them, they are invested in the story of The Council and waiting for one of the many twists and turns to take place in an episode. Each passing moment only builds suspense in the story, as the mysteries surrounding different characters and subplots begin to thicken. With Big Bad announcing that the third episode, called ‘Ripples,’ would be coming this month, it does put some pressure on the French studio to really hit its stride going into The Council’s mid-season episode.

Hardcore Gamer recently caught up with The Council director Sylvain Sechi for an interview. We spoke to Mr. Sechi about The Council’s RPG mechanics, the historical setting and characters, whether the studio is considering a Nintendo Switch or mobile port and his thoughts about doing a sequel to the title.

[Hardcore Gamer] Episodic gaming has always placed more of an emphasis on the interactive storytelling over gameplay. With The Council, however, it threw that rulebook out of the window with Big Bad’s implementation of RPG mechanics. Considering how fans and critics have praised the gameplay features of The Council, tell us more about the studio’s decision to integrate RPG mechanics into the title and were you surprised with how well it has been received?

Our vision for this game has always been to craft a narrative RPG. Because of this, we started thinking about our entire gameplay loop through the lens of the narrative. What is a narrative character sheet? What is narrative combat? We’re extremely happy that what we made appeals to players.

Did the studio take any inspiration from other episodic titles during the development of The Council?

Our biggest inspiration was not episodic games, though we are fans of games like The Wolf Among Us or Life Is Strange. But rather we were inspired mostly by movies and TV shows like And Then There Were None and Shutter Island, as well as games like Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines and Heavy Rain.

On more than one occasion, Big Bad will tap into its historical backdrop for The Council. Historical events, of course, have played a role in all of the episodes so far, whether it’s directly related to the main story or one of the branching subplots. Was history always a central theme that the studio wanted to utilize in The Council?

We decided early on that we wanted to create a political thriller set during the time of the French Revolution. We wished to explore the ‘behind the scenes’ of major historical events that took place during this defining century.

On the point of history, The Council has an excellent mixture of real-life historical figures with those that the studio has created itself for the title. What was the research process like behind the different historical characters we’ve seen in The Council?

Our idea was to create an uchronia, a ‘what-if’ scenario. But we wanted it to be grounded within the historical events and figures of the time. In order to do that, we spent lots of time researching historical figures and crafting our characters to ensure a good mix of real and fictional characters that fit within the time frame and could plausibly have existed in real life.

Compared with other episodic titles on the market, The Council is able to outperform many of them with its branching choice system in each episode. How important was it to have The Council put a focus on choices having an impact on a certain quest or the overall story?

This was a major focus for us. Our vision for this was that ‘we make a game of consequences, not a game of choices.’ We absolutely wanted to deliver on that, and a good part of the design was to craft choices that created tangible consequences for the player without breaking the overall coherence.

Confrontations have been a fantastic introduction to The Council, with many people seeing them as mini-verbal boss fights. Would you agree with people describing Confrontations in that way? And where did the idea for this feature come from?

That’s exactly right. This was our starting point when designing this new feature. What is a narrative combat? We looked at common combat gameplay, broke it down into components and then reassembled them within a narrative context.

The Council has taken a fair bit of criticism across the first two episodes, from technical issues to dialogue and voice acting. Is the studio aware of the criticism and has it used any of the feedback it has received in the development of new episodes?

We’re listening to feedback from players and we’re fixing issues at the release of each new episode, in addition to adding some global features (more on that soon). We’re also working hard to improve the quality of dialogue and voice acting for [the] coming episodes.

With other episodic series, most people usually know the title of each episode in advance. How come the studio has kept a lid on revealing the name of each episode until a week or two before its release?

We wrote the names, then buried them on a remote island and only gave the location to marketing teams two weeks before release.

Are there any plans for getting The Council released on Nintendo Switch or iOS and Android devices?

No plans for a Switch or mobile port so far.

We know that you’ve currently ruled out a physical release for The Council, but do you think there might be any chance that could change in the long run?

There is always a chance.

It’s early days, but would the studio consider a sequel to The Council?

It’s too early to say, but we would love that. The IP is broad and we have many things to tell.

Studios such as Dontnod and Telltale have found major success with episodic gaming and continue to tap into that format going forward. Considering Big Bad’s early success with The Council, will the studio revisit episodic gaming in the future, whether it’s for a sequel or a new IP?

It will definitely depend on the next game. If it fits the format, we may [use it], but it needs to have meaning. We don’t want to make episodic games for the sake of it.

https://www.hardcoregamer.com/2018/...broad-and-we-have-many-things-to-tell/306219/
 

Rahdulan

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Definitely waiting for a full release on this one. RPG-style character building actually having an impact on what you can do in a point & click adventure game is something I didn't even know how much I missed since... Quest for Glory, I guess?
 

Barbarian

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Just finished the first part. I like it. Setting and characters remind me of the memoires of Casanova, what with all those eccentric 18th century decadent nobles and self-made men obssessed with the occult and dabbling in intrigue and secret societies. Specially the
allegedly immortal host who I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet

I'm not sure how much real C&C the game has... there is certainly an element of non-linearity, you can solve problems and discover things through different methods at different times and you can fail things if you don't have the necessary skills. However through my little tests I'm not sure how much things actually change according to your actions or if really significant paths open or close.

An example:
You can find out your mother experimented on Elizabeth if you help Washington search her room. However if you fail in helping him you can easily search her room in the next chapter and find out yourself, which made me regret wasting time helping Washington instead of invetsigating Mortimer. It made my choice irrelevant in the end.I later found out that eavesdropping Napoleon and Mortimer would also not yeld any information which you can't acquire later. So yeah, there was a choice but nothing exclusive was won or lost regardless of what I chose.

End of the first part also seems to have a large break
I let Elizabeth drug me before she killed herself and am now suspect of murdering her. If I chose to follow Emily I assume she would still die but I would be out of suspicion. Haven't tested it yet
. I hope that will have consequences, if it doesn't I will be quite disappointed.

The way skills work is certainly underdeveloped. As of the first part of the game it is better to spread wide and try to develop first level on all skills instead of specializing on your chosen "class". The amount of consumables and boosts in the game guaranteed I had all choices available as soon as I reached first level on all skills and could use them without concerns for going out of effort points. Felt cheap.

I will leave more detailed impressions after I play the second and third part. Have to admit, despite its flaws I'm still playing so I give it a 7/10 so far. It is certainly miles better than the shitty interactive fiction Telltale turns out.
 

Zombra

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The way skills work is certainly underdeveloped. As of the first part of the game it is better to spread wide and try to develop first level on all skills instead of specializing on your chosen "class". The amount of consumables and boosts in the game guaranteed I had all choices available as soon as I reached first level on all skills and could use them without concerns for going out of effort points. Felt cheap.
This is good information. When I finally play, I'll be sure to specialize to ensure I can't faceroll all challenges.
 

Barbarian

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Finished the first 3 chapters.

The bad so far: most choices didn't have any meaningful consequence so far, but I expect them to do so later(it will be quite the disappointment if they don't). There are literally 3 characters who could have lived/died depending on your choices.

I'm hoping they don't pull a "telltale" about it. I spared Elisabeth by telling her to escape the island, for instance. She disappeared and all characters speak of her as if she is dead. If she doesn't reappear in later chapters for those who didn't kill her then it is a copout. I also kept Perú from killing himself, if he spends the rest of the game locked in his room that will also be a fake choice with no consequence. Lastly, I hope they change things depending on which of the twins lives and dies.

As far as plot and characters are concerned they are interesting enough to keep me playing it to the end. It could go either way though, depending on how they develop things. Could be very cringeworthy depending on their explanations. The two plot-twists so far
The bad guys are body hopping demons and the book is the necronomicon. Yes, the necronomicon from Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos.
have the potential to be either interesting or a total cringe fest.

This is good information. When I finally play, I'll be sure to specialize to ensure I can't faceroll all challenges.

I would advise against it. You would miss out on content. It seems to me that the developers want you to have all skills available. Like I said though, it is very popamole. There are too many consumables and you will hardly run out of effort points unless you play dumb and don't figure out the npcs immunities and vulnerabilities.
 

taxalot

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Holy cow. Played the first episode tonight and I must say that I am strongly, strongly, impressed. This is way better artistically, technically, and even gameplay wise than anything that has come out of Telltale since The Devil's Playhouse. Why is nobody talking about this ? This is great !
 

taxalot

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And completed the third one. It gets a bit more puzzle-y and less Telltale-y as you progress through the story, but I can also concur that Episode 3 was a cakewalk considering you get all the items you want pretty easily ; dialog checks are still a no-brainer.

Still, it takes some balls and talent in 2018 to have a game happen only in one mansion and to keep it interesting. I love that and wish more games would try simpler things like that rather than vent on how huge their game world is.

The only thing I am worried about is the supernatural shift that the game is likely to take. I wish they are going to avoid that because the ending of Episode 3 almost felt like they pulled a Shenmue 2.

Still hoping that Mom is insane and nothing of that bullshit is actually happening ; but then again, you do have visions.
 

Barbarian

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How does it compare to Unavowed, difficulty-wise?

Hard to say because we don't still see what are the consequences of your choices. For example:

At the end of the third chapter you can have your hand amputated by a trap/puzzle. In theory this is something that could have major consequences with blocking solutions and possibilities, but we will only know when the next chapter is released. 3 characters can live/die depending on your actions but so far there is nothing in the way of consequence represented in the game.

The game is mostly telltale style interactions but with skills and a superficial rpg character system. Most choices are timed. Otherwise, puzzles are seldom and mostly very easy and shallow but there are exceptions. The final puzzle in the third chapter(the wheel thing where you have to consult and reference a bible to solve it) reminded me of Jane Jensen's stuff from better years. Not quite a "le serpent rouge", but the closest I have seem to it in many years. Quite cool and not easy at all(I assume 90% of the average consoletard population consulted a walkthrough). I hope they do more of it.

As mentioned before, there is an overabundance of consumables and as of the 3rd chapter you can pretty much have every choice at your disposal if you spread your skills wide.
 

V_K

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Hard to say
Well, from what you've written further in the post, it's really not :lol:. Unavowed plays itself, and this one sounds like it doesn't. Or did I get a wrong impression?
As mentioned before, there is an overabundance of consumables and as of the 3rd chapter you can pretty much have every choice at your disposal if you spread your skills wide.
Is it worse than in your typical RPG or about the same?
 

Barbarian

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Hard to say
Well, from what you've written further in the post, it's really not :lol:. Unavowed plays itself, and this one sounds like it doesn't. Or did I get a wrong impression?

Yeah, I guess you are right. I have not played unavowed yet but I am familiar with wadjet eye games. You can say the first chapter and a good part of the second chapter are pretty much your average telltale style gameplay but with the skill twist: there are dialogs with skill checks, timed dialogs with skill checks and "confrontations"(think of it as a QTE with skill checks). Then they begin to progressively introduce more puzzles and the game improves a lot in the adventure and gameplay department. Mostly in the third chapter.

I wouldn't really say anything very positive about the puzzles encountered so far, with the notable exception of the final puzzle in the third chapter. I mean it, it was quite good.

The puzzle for breaking into
Mortimer's secret office/laboratory
was also quite alright actually, come to think of it.

As mentioned before, there is an overabundance of consumables and as of the 3rd chapter you can pretty much have every choice at your disposal if you spread your skills wide.
Is it worse than in your typical RPG or about the same?

Yes. Even in popamole console rpgs I recently played(Witcher 3 and Vampyr) I would regularly run out of consumables and have to harvest them/hoard them. In the third chapter of the council I regularly had every consummable hoarded to the limit(you can only carry 5 of each of the 4 consummables), so much that I was using them somewhat needlessly just so I could pick up ones I found laying around.
 

V_K

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I have not played unavowed yet but I am familiar with wadjet eye games.
UW is muuuuuuuch easier than other WE games. Yes, it turns out, it's possible.
Yes. Even in popamole console rpgs I recently played(Witcher 3 and Vampyr) I would regularly run out of consumables and have to harvest them/hoard them. In the third chapter of the council I regularly had every consummable hoarded to the limit(you can only carry 5 of each of the 4 consummables), so much that I was using them somewhat needlessly just so I could pick up ones I found laying around.
Ah, that's a pity.
 

taxalot

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About the final puzzle in Episode 3, I believe they missed two opportunities

-There clearly should have been, given the context, an option NOT to try and solve the puzzle. We don't really know what's in there, we don't know if we can solve our problems without what's behind ; a real life Taxalot would probably have gone 'yeah, no thanks' if I was told I was going to risk my hand EVEN if I think I figured out the puzzle solution.

-They missed doing what could have been the best cliffhanger in episodic gaming : make the puzzle, emphasize the stakes. You will get it right, or you will lose your hand. Have the player stick his hand in the hole and.... CUT !
No I mean literally, end the episode there ! Do not give the answer ! Have it end the same way for people who got the puzzle wrong and for those who get it wrong, and let them hang there for a couple of months in the time the next episode releases. The butthurt would have been glorious and I absolutely would have loved the suspense of wondering if I got it right or wrong !
 

HoboForEternity

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So is this actually good? From the replies here seems people are enjoying it. I dont mind te format or even interactive movie genre. I loved walking dead season 1 and wolf among us, then telltale went downhill after that hard.
 

taxalot

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So is this actually good? From the replies here seems people are enjoying it. I dont mind te format or even interactive movie genre. I loved walking dead season 1 and wolf among us, then telltale went downhill after that hard.

As far as I'm concerned, it's much better than Telltale. While you appear to be locked inside the same mansion through the entirety of the series, while there is less "action-y" moments, the story is much more involving and far less popamole than your classic Telltale game. Think Agatha Christie with a hint of occult societies and possibly slight supernatural elements (so far). It's too bad they haven't given away the first episode for Free like some studios do, because it really gives you a taste of the game.

(And it looks WAY better than a Telltale game).

Mechanics are somewhat deeper than a Telltale game with RPG elements amounting to skill checks in dialogues & other actions. It's a bit simplistic, but it's better than nothing.

Possibly one of the most underrated games of the moment

 

Barbarian

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So is this actually good? From the replies here seems people are enjoying it. I dont mind te format or even interactive movie genre. I loved walking dead season 1 and wolf among us, then telltale went downhill after that hard.

I'm enjoying it so far. I can't say much about it yet, but if they handle the current plot twists well and make your choices actually matter in the last two chapters it could be a great game.

In short: A Telltale game much better than anything Telltale ever did, with skill points and a couple of nice puzzles in the third chapter(hopefully there are more on the way).
 

Zombra

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$20 is a good price but I'm waiting too.
clock.png
I don't like preordering.
 

Wirdschowerdn

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After taxalot gave me a nasty Up Yours rating, I felt a little bit sad inside so I just bought it after all. Not gonna start playing it though till next week or so. I also felt a bit Schadenfreude after the Telltale shutdown news so I thought what better way to celebrate such delightful occasion than to give money to a competitor?
 

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