The Wolf Among Us - Fables Telltale adventure game

[felipepepe]

Yeah, I just look at this and wish they would make a true animated movie or something, instead of a animated movie that I have to click on something every 30 seconds...

 

[aris]

1. Well first of all, it's not a stated fact that this is an "interactive movie". There's a very thin line between an adventure game and an interactive story, that can't be easily defined.
2. Secondly, you're speaking as if an interactive story has no merits on it's own at all. I completely disagree with you. I don't think the walking dead would be nearly as good or as engaging, if it didn't force the player to make some extremely difficult choices and to take an active part of the story. Rather than being a passive observer as it would be if it were a movie.
3. Enough with this "games without much gameplay suck by default" argument. It's a retard's argument and dulls your senses.

 

[felipepepe]

Well first of all, it's not a stated fact that this is an "interactive movie". There's a very thin line between an adventure game and an interactive story, that can't be easily defined.

ATM we have no info on the gameplay, but do you really have any doubts that this will follow the insanely successful The Walking Dead formula?

Secondly, you're speaking as if an interactive story has no merits on it's own at all. I completely disagree with you. I don't think the walking dead would be nearly as good or as engaging, if it didn't force the player to make some extremely difficult choices and to take an active part of the story. Rather than being a passive observer as it would be if it were a movie.

Interactive stories have their merit, and I do enjoy them. Some Visual Novels, like Kara no Shoujo for instance, are very good at blending both. The Walking Dead, on the other had, was just boring... I really wished it was a short movie. And I played the entire Episode 1, and I saw no "extremely difficult choices". They were all stuff like "choose NPC X or Y", and I didn't care for any of them. Even more, that shitty preview of Ep 2 at the end killed any will I had to play more of it, as it clearly stated that no matter my choices, the game had a set path that I would follow.

Enough with this "games without much gameplay suck by default" argument. It's a retard's argument and dulls your senses.

it's not a binary argument, games "without gameplay" can be good or bad, just like an other kind of game. But I don't like Telltale's approach, I feel they are making short movies and only adding some short gameplay sequences here and then due player boredom: "Hey guys, it's been 5 minute of just people talking, we need a QTE here!". Visual novels are more sincere, they don't try to hide that they are 99% reading and 1% gameplay.

 

[aris]

1. Hmm, I see now where you're coming from.
2. Although I think you must come from a strange place, seeing as you thought the story was boring, I see where you're coming from.
3. As for the walking dead formula, I fully suspect that they will follow it which I don't think is a bad thing, though hopefully with less survival mode and kill character X or Y.
4. As for walking dead, those choices were extremely tough for me, as I perceived almost all of the characters as extremely well written, multi-faceted and not following any particular character trope. They came across to me as human.
5. Lastly, I don't agree with this "But I don't like Telltale's approach, I feel they are making short movies and only adding some short gameplay sequences here and then due player boredom". You spent a WHOLE of a lot more time exploring the areas, solving (the albeit easy) puzzles and most importatnly: having conversations with people than watching cutscenes. It was from the conversations that you had with people that the game got its soul (maybe you didn't converse much), not from the cutscenes.

 

[Athelas]

As for walking dead, those choices were extremely tough for me, as I perceived almost all of the characters as extremely well written, multi-faceted and not following any particular character trope. They came across to me as human.

I thought the characters were incredibly shallow (although I only played episode 1). The worst offender is Clementine: rather than portray a realistic kid that would annoy some players, they make her a Mary Sue who in her first appearance saves your life right after you find out her parents died and she's been taking care of herself since.

More importantly, the whole story is flawed from a basic storytelling perspective. Not only are the dialogue responses very limited, but you also frequently have to answer questions about Lee's background/personality while being left in the dark about basic facts about him.

 

[catfood]

Maybe they'll remember to put some gameplay in as well this time around, eh?

Man, who am I kidding, eh? The Walking Turd sold like hotcakes. I simply cannot understand why someone would waste their time with a semi-interactive movie about zombies of all things. ZOMBIES! The most banal shit boring monster type possible.

 

[aris]

Maybe they'll remember to put some gameplay in as well this time around, eh?

Man, who am I kidding, eh? The Walking Turd sold like hotcakes. I simply cannot understand why someone would waste their time with a semi-interactive movie about zombies of all things. ZOMBIES! The most banal shit boring monster type possible.

1. You clearly have no clue what this game was about. It wasn't about zombies. It was about human survival when everything goes to hell, and you are reduced to the most basic of resources. The zombies were just a backdrop, hell most of the time, you didn't even see them.

As for walking dead, those choices were extremely tough for me, as I perceived almost all of the characters as extremely well written, multi-faceted and not following any particular character trope. They came across to me as human.

I thought the characters were incredibly shallow (although I only played episode 1). The worst offender is Clementine: rather than portray a realistic kid that would annoy some players, they make her a Mary Sue who in her first appearance saves your life right after you find out her parents died and she's been taking care of herself since.

More importantly, the whole story is flawed from a basic storytelling perspective. Not only are the dialogue responses very limited, but you also frequently have to answer questions about Lee's background/personality while being left in the dark about basic facts about him.

1. While I slightly agree with you that clementine was a little one dimensional as a mother theresa, who I can't remember ever doing something morally questionable, this certainly rings false for the other characters as well. You should have seen this already from episode 1, but then again, you only played that episode.
2. The dialogue responses are as varied as any other typical adventure game.
3. I don't agree that being asked about things the character would knew, that you don't know, is a character flaw. It makes his history your history.

 

[tuluse]

That first screenshot makes me wish someone would make a Wind in the Willows adventure game using this art.

 

[aris]

1. The first and second screenshot are very Hayao Miyazaki'esque.
2. It seems like they took the art style of old belgian comics like Tin-Tin and and Gaston and married it with the anime art style of Hayao Miyazaki with a dash of 50s DC comic style, which is fucking great!
3. Can't wait to try this out on friday! If only for the art style.

 

[kaizoku]

New game series from Telltale

feelsbadman.jpg

 

[Name]

Is this based on some sort of popular comic IP too?

 

[Jaesun]

Is this based on some sort of popular comic IP too?

Yes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fables_(comics)

 

[Name]

I see, isn't that hot on TV nowadays? Shows like Once Upon a Time? Telltale sure know how to cash in on TV trends these days. First Walking Dead, now this.

 

[DeepOcean]

They really nailed the art style this time. I don't like Walking Dead all that much because the grim storyline enters in conflict with the stylized look they chose for the characters and zombies.

 

[Jaesun]

Can't wait for that ACTSHUN combat in this. Gotta keep the console kids entertained instead of making a great adventure game that requires thinking.

Maybe the story will be decent (and I LOVE the Fable comics).

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

D1Ped this (Russian price of course) despite my bitching about the Walking Dead. I enjoyed my zambie time even though the C&C they hyped like hell was completely meaningless (And absolutely no one called them on it) and even though the game was buggy as hell and loved to eat my saves. Know absolutely nothing about the comics, I just know that I've enjoyed all non-Jurassic Park I've played by Telltale and it looks purdy.

 

[DeepOcean]

D1Ped this (Russian price of course) despite my bitching about the Walking Dead. I enjoyed my zambie time even though the C&C they hyped like hell was completely meaningless (And absolutely no one called them on it) and even though the game was buggy as hell and loved to eat my saves. Know absolutely nothing about the comics, I just know that I've enjoyed all non-Jurassic Park I've played by Telltale and it looks purdy.

"It's an adventure game." then start talking how the QTEs are going to be awesome this time... What is the problem of people calling their games for what it is... interactive fiction. Walking dead has it's qualities and issues but to call it an adventure game is to stretch the definition of the term until it loses any meaning.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Note to David Cage: This is how you can make QTE movies with only a small fraction of a Beyond budget required and still reach a larger audience.

 

[Cowboy Moment]

The Walking Dead would've made for a decent TV show (certainly better than the actual The Walking Dead TV show, though that's not a difficult feat). As it was, most of the interactive parts kinda felt extraneous. The ones where you get to explore an interesting environment that tells its own story, which was something Episodes 1 and 4 did very well, do work, but most of the interactive segments felt like boring busywork, you have to execute the blindingly obvious sequence of actions, enduring all the slow walking and unskippable cutscenes along the way, to get to the next part. It doesn't help how repetitive their basic template is, at the beginning it was interesting to hear what everyone had to say in a given situation, but it quickly started feeling like checking in with everyone just because there's nothing else to do. And it was very jarring to go around talking to people in situations with a lot of urgency and immediate danger.

The main problem with TWD, even though the story is pretty good in comparison to other video games, is that in my mind, I don't compare it to games, but to TV shows. And if it's a question of whether I should spend my time with TWD or, say, The Wire, the former is exposed as shallow and cartoony, which is all the more jarring because it tries to paint itself as gritty, realistic and mature.

In other words, if you want to be a TV show in video game form, you will be compared with actual TV shows, to your peril.

 

[aris]

1. Nah. The Walking dead wouldn't be nearly as good as a show. It excelled in the medium it was made in.

 

[Cowboy Moment]

If you say so, gaudaost!

Regardless, I still think that watching an actual good TV show provides a similar experience of superior quality. I'd also wager you could take Breaking Bad and turn it into a game using TWD's formula, and end up with a much better "game".

 

[aris]

1. If I know my publishers right, a breaking bad game will likely come. So we will see. Though I have my doubts it will not suck.
2. This argument is just as silly as "DERP PS:T should have been a book instead" and equally stupid. PS:T didn't have much gameplay going for it, true, but it excelled in its medium as an interactive story with RPG elements.

 

[tuluse]

I doubt AMC sells the rights to Breaking Bad. They're old dudes and old dudes have a disdain (and rightfully so, honestly) for video games. It's their own IP, not like Walking Dead where the guy who created the comic owned the IP and could license it out.

This argument is just as silly as "DERP PS:T should have been a book instead" and equally stupid. PS:T didn't have much gameplay going for it, true, but it excelled in its medium as an interactive story with RPG elements.

I think the interactive elements of TWD are pretty terrible and drag the experience down. I would much rather have had less fake C&C and better puzzles.

 

[Cowboy Moment]

It's actually pretty funny, because this isn't even true for visual novels, which are less interactive than even TWD, but you can't turn them into books, they're simply different structurally, and the same is even more true for PST, which is very interactive and quite open. On the other hand, it really doesn't take much imagination to envision TWD as a TV show, whether you believe it would be better or worse in that form.

Also, the experience of playing through PST is much, much different than that of reading a book. Same is not at all true for TWD and TV shows, no matter how gaudaost tries to spin it.

Why are you so upset, gaudaost? If you like then you like it, it's not bad, no shame in it. It's simply not the holy grail of video game storytelling it's hailed as, once you accept that you can move on instead of making all these silly arguments.

 

[Boleskine]

Reviews have started trickling in and the consensus is positive overall, apart from framerate and optimization issues.

http://www.destructoid.com/review-the-wolf-among-us-faith-263249.phtml

http://www.pcgamer.com/review/the-wolf-among-us-review/

http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/10/4824252/fables-the-wolf-among-us

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/10/10/the-wolf-among-us-episode-1-faith-review

http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-wolf-among-us-episode-1-faith-review/1900-6415466/