Community Census: Whatcha Want?

[nikasaur]

We've been trying out a few new activities here like Telltale Tuesdays and the Yet To Be Named Art Contest, and I wanted to know your thoughts. What do you like? What doesn't do it for you? Any opinions, improvements, or other community-related ideas that you'd like to see from here? What are some things about other communities that really rock you?

Some things we've been toying with is extending the submission period for the art contest to get more participation, and maybe having a different sort of gift than a free episode for Tuesdays winners.

Critiques great and small, ideas aplenty, sock it to me.

[OzzieMonkey]

Maybe do something like a quiz, or a 'which (insert game here) character are you?' thing.

[Icedhope]

I don't know what the bandwith for the site, is but I think a nice community chat would be nice some forums have an IRC chat, wich I think would be pretty cool.

I think they're should be some more comunity contests and such like telltale tuesdays.

[Giant Tope]

Monthly webcam/chat like the "my telltale heart" thing back in december?

[patters]

I already participate in a fair few of the TF2 games, which are rad.

One idea which was thrown around a few times in the past was a podcast, though of course a regular podcast may be too much work, an infrequent one would be cool, failing this video features would be pretty cool too.

[Tjibbbe]

Another vote for some kind of audio/video podcast. I'm not nearly talented enough to win any of contests, but I rather liked that Telltale Heart thing you did. Maybe a podcast one week after every new Sam & Max-episode, where the developers talk about the game and discuss the theories and answer the questions of the fans, like what Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse do for Lost every week?

[nikasaur]

We've had some thought of reviving the lost Telltale Podcast initiative, but it seems like our favorite podcasters are busy doing things like Idle Thumbs...
Webcasts are an idea, and we've toyed with doing videos in the same vein, but it's very time consuming. I do like that these ideas were so popular!

[RobD]

I think mixing up the prizes for Telltale Tuesdays is a great idea, and it'll encourage the ones with all of Telltale's games to take more interest. :)

Maybe something like a Fanart of the Month or something too?

[Tjibbbe]

We've had some thought of reviving the lost Telltale Podcast initiative, but it seems like our favorite podcasters are busy doing things like Idle Thumbs...
Webcasts are an idea, and we've toyed with doing videos in the same vein, but it's very time consuming. I do like that these ideas were so popular!

The last Thumbs was 50% Telltale anyway. Just get rid of Boost and Hot Scoops, and you're done!

[patters]

The last Thumbs was 50% Telltale anyway. Just get rid of Boost and Hot Scoops, and you're done!

No.

[JedExodus]

The Telltale Tuesday's are cool, but i'm not a social networker at all so I just can't be involved. So yeah...

[nikasaur]

Jed, you can comment right on the blog!

[Remolay]

I vote for Podcasts, but what about a Write your own Telltale episode type contest? submit your idea for a story thing

[JedExodus]

Jed, you can comment right on the blog!

That...would make sense :o, cheers Nick!

I'm retreating back to my skulking hole if you need me folks

[Silverwolfpet]

From a personal point of view... and extremely selfish... I find podcasts to be boring. Really... People talking. It's not very interactive for the community.

People like short, funny stuff. Telltale Tuesdays was and is a brilliant idea! Also, everybody seemed to enjoy the "share an idea and we might add it in the game"-thing. I suppose it's not difficult for you guys to add something like that with each episode for the new Sam n Max Season. Like you did with "Books from the Voodoo Lady's Bookcase". That was awesome!

Hmmm... during the time spent between games, we could always have a thematic art contest or video contests, musical contests etc. A free weekly episode for Telltale Tuesdays is good! Personally I don't think you should add more to that, but if you think it is necesary, you can always give the classical T-Shirt. "Do funny stuff, win a T-Shirt with our Logo!". :p

Other than that... between games you are already doing plenty of stuff. For the new Sam n max Season, you could do something really nice... and unique. Cameos. Everybody loves cameos. Voice cameos are the easiest. Just make a contest and the winner gets to record a line that can be heard through a radio in the game. The actual radio could be a cover for the low-microphone quality. Who wouldn't like that?

Cameos can also represent drawings made by the winner that can appear in the game. We can go in various directions from here.

If I can think of better ideas, I'll post here later. Even if they sound riddiculous, good things can be "extracted" out of crazy stuff :)

EDIT: I have a question...kind of silly, but still buzzing around my head: If someone would like to seriously propose/present a unique IP in the form of a game to Telltale, who should he talk to? By "seriously" I mean an entire project, with finished script and suggestions for voice actors, music composers and design leaders.

[JedExodus]

Developer Ultimate Fighting tournament. Do this, become gods.

I'm putting my money on Grossman, he's short but I bet he fights dirty

[Rather Dashing]

I miss Interim Theater. :(

[thatdude98]

Eh, Telltale Tuesdays are alright, but I never win. I'm just not that creative.

[Remolay]

EDIT: I have a question...kind of silly, but still buzzing around my head: If someone would like to seriously propose/present a unique IP in the form of a game to Telltale, who should he talk to? By "seriously" I mean an entire project, with finished script and suggestions for voice actors, music composers and design leaders.

Please let there be a way, that would be pretty cool to have an IP from a Telltale fan would be awesome

[nikasaur]

EDIT: I have a question...kind of silly, but still buzzing around my head: If someone would like to seriously propose/present a unique IP in the form of a game to Telltale, who should he talk to? By "seriously" I mean an entire project, with finished script and suggestions for voice actors, music composers and design leaders.

As far as I know, we are not legally allowed to hear these. I would highly suggest you find a way to make your own company to do it! Start small and such, but it's obvious you're a really creative and driven person.

[Giant Tope]

1)Have company fizzball game.
2)Record.
3)Post on website.
4)????
5)PROFIT!!!

[Tjibbbe]

I have to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of too much fan-input in the actual games. Take the Guybrush Trial-contest. The actual winner was all right, but pretty much all of the submissions were terrible. As in horrible. And I'm not saying that I could do better, because I can't, but I just want my games to be made by professionals. Stuff like the Wallace & Gromit-painting is really cool, and I have absolutely no problems with that, but I don't think it's a good idea to do too much of that stuff. If you want to do something like this in the future, I'd rather have it be something small (like the book titles or the W&G-painting) and not something related to the actual story (like in Trial & Execution).

Edit: For the record, I was joking about getting rid of Remo. But don't tell Famous that. ;)

[Thespis]

Webcasts are an idea, and we've toyed with doing videos in the same vein, but it's very time consuming. I do like that these ideas were so popular!

Aw, come on, what better things do you have to do, really?

[corruptbiggins]

Good times and free grog!

[guitarsareboring]

You should do a 'worst fan-art of the month' competition for people like me who can't draw well.

[Remolay]

You should do a 'worst fan-art of the month' competition for people like me who can't draw well.

I second that motion

[Hassat Hunter]

I suppose I would win for not knowing of Telltale Tuesdays till a month ago, and then missing each and every one of them. Oh well.

And nope; no ideas here :(.

[Silverwolfpet]

As far as I know, we are not legally allowed to hear these. I would highly suggest you find a way to make your own company to do it! Start small and such, but it's obvious you're a really creative and driven person.

Okay, I'm on it! Thanks :)

[dentbuds]

How about a "Design a Backround Character" contest, where we draw a character and explains his/her personality, and the winner gets that character put in a future game.

[Molokov]

The little contests are quite fun, but I don't really have the incentive to enter - mainly due to lack of creativity on my part :p, but also because the prizes are a "free episode'. I already have everything Telltale has to offer so far, (I just used two free episode coupons to get the Bone episodes) so if I won one of these competitions, I'd just have to give the prize away...

Any chance of some future contests having the prize be a $5 voucher for the store? Then I could get some merch like the Monkey Island badges and just pay the difference/shipping costs if I wanted to :)

[GuruGuru214]

I suppose I would win for not knowing of Telltale Tuesdays till a month ago, and then missing each and every one of them. Oh well.

And nope; no ideas here :(.

I'm with you. This sounds awesome and I wish I had an opinion on it, but I usually come straight to the forums and rarely think to look at the blogs. Hence why I didn't find out about Majus and Suro until this week.

I do like the worst fanart contest idea, but there would absolutely have to be some qualifiers on it. It'd have to be judged by merit of the idea, and it'd have to be bad while still being identifiable. If the guidelines were worked out properly, it could be awesome.

Or...you could do something similar to the game (http://www.telltalegames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=253700#post253700) we were playing in the Crap Fan Art Thread (http://www.telltalegames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13611): who can come up with the best story for what they think is happening in the crappy drawing.

Which then gives me the idea of maybe having the occasional short story contest?

[Avistew]

I like the Telltale Tuesdays but I always seem to learn of them once they're over.
Not that I'd have great ideas to contribute, though.

A while back, someone commented that next time we see Stan he might be richer thanks to all the merch we'll have bought. I'de like something like that. that is, I don't mean this specific idea, but the fact that something we do have an influence on the game, in this case Stan doing good or bad depending on how well the merchandise sold.
But it would have to be small things of course. Just references to things that have happened in real life with the community, or on the forums or something, as though they had happened in the game's universe.

I also like the idea of some people influencing the game voluntarily (the difference with the previous one is that in the previous idea you'd refer to stuff that wasn't necessarily meant by the fans to appear in the games, and in this one you'd have some kind of context and all the entries would be made with that in mind.)

... I guess as far as I know, you're already doing all that to some extent. Not being very helpful am I? :P

Oh, and I like the postcast/chat/livefeed idea. I guess chat would be the least constraining for you guys.

[EricP]

Developer Ultimate Fighting tournament. Do this, become gods.

I'm putting my money on Grossman, he's short but I bet he fights dirty

He does. The rules clearly state, "no hitting the face", Dave.

[Thriftweed Fancy Pants]

^LOL

What do you like? What doesn't do it for you? Any opinions, improvements, or other community-related ideas that you'd like to see from here? What are some things about other communities that really rock you?

There really area a lot of opportunities for the fans to become a part of the community here and interact with the crew at TTG. I mean, the only thing you could do is get more people to come here (the website) and join the forums.

I already participate in Telltale Tuesdays, I play Team Fortress 2 after work, plus the staff posts quite frequently in these forums. It seems like there are always prizes being given out and sweet deals on merchandise, the blog has a lot of great content to offer, and I haven't even mentioned the awesome GAMES you guys make. Trust me, you're doing a great job.

Unfortunately, I don't participate in the art contest because I don't have the right stuff to compete against the talent here. But I do think the chat or live feed sounds fun, especially if it's similar to the Q&A we had with Dominic Armato a while back.

[GuruGuru214]

You know, I hear about TF2 goings on all the time around here, but I never hear much in the way of detail, like how to get in on it.

[SHODANFreeman]

You know, I hear about TF2 goings on all the time around here, but I never hear much in the way of detail, like how to get in on it.

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/TTGTF2

[GuruGuru214]

Huh. Despite having no memory of joining, I'm apparently a member of the group already. Well, maybe this'll get me playing TF2 again.

[Hayden]

I say we make apenpaap's caption contests official.

[JedExodus]

He does. The rules clearly state, "no hitting the face", Dave.

Totally called it, now I can't get the image of him charging towards someone with a steel chair out of my mind

Well, maybe this'll get me playing TF2 again.

That and the latest update (http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=3618&p=1) which made me excite something diabolical

[GinnyN]

My only suggestion is make another contest so I can win another =P. I mean, you already gift me Tales of Monkey Island! Why no continue?

Now seriously: No idea. I like lurking in the forums and read community based silliness, so, whathever it's make us throw silly stuff at random whould be awesome. Even the webcast, but only if it's live, because half of the fun is read the chat and us complaining about you don't read the questions (Still remember Majus had a question, which you never answered)

[The Highway]

I miss Interim Theater. :(

Haha, remember the one with the sea monkey? Aaah, good times, good times...

[The Highway]

As far as I know, we are not legally allowed to hear these. I would highly suggest you find a way to make your own company to do it! Start small and such, but it's obvious you're a really creative and driven person.

But just imagine the great business you'd be turning down! Basically, if it's made by Telltale, it sells to whoever has ever played one of your demos at least.

[Lena_P]

Telltale Heart. Getting to see some of the "behind-the-scenes" Telltales (i.e. people who aren't usually interviewed) was interesting, and chatting with the other fans at the same time was fun.

The Telltale Tuesday contests are interesting, too, if only because I want to see how many different contest ideas you guys can come up with :p

[flipperthepriest]

Personally my choice of how TTG should aid the community is to make games. wow you already do that, great work guys!
Really though the thing that amazes me the most is all the people forgetting Tuesday. It's Tuesday...

[nikasaur]

Really though the thing that amazes me the most is all the people forgetting Tuesday. It's Tuesday...

I read this and actually snorted at myself because I forgot tomorrow is Tuesday, and I don't have a prompt yet. Aieeeee!

[Avistew]

Really though the thing that amazes me the most is all the people forgetting Tuesday. It's Tuesday...

Well, I don't have a regular schedule. I don't usually know which day of the week it is. Add to that that I'm never up at the same time and by the time I realise it's Tuesday it might have already turned Wednesday.

[Hayden]

Look, this may be a little unrelated (or completely unrelated), but what's with all the eyevatars?

[GuruGuru214]

It started over in this thread (http://www.telltalegames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15629):

exactly how are the ladies supposed to lose themselves in my sparkling blue eyes when I am only allowed a 50x50 pixel AV..

You can always have like, one eye as an avatar.

And it all went horribly downhill from there.

[Hayden]

Yeah, I just saw the thread then. I think that half of the forums members now have eyevatars. I wonder how long the trend will last.

[Brainiac]

I expect Lena_P to eventually mention her avatar was doing the eye focus thing back before it was cool. As for me, I'll stick with my non-eye avatar.

[dentbuds]

Eye avatar trend? Must.... join....

Who started this anyways?

[Lena_P]

I expect Lena_P to eventually mention her avatar was doing the eye focus thing back before it was cool. As for me, I'll stick with my non-eye avatar.

Funny, I didn't realize that it is obviously eye-centric. I just centered it on one eye because a few years ago I read that many portraits (http://www.ski.org/CWTyler_lab/CWTyler/Art%20Investigations/ART%20PDFs/TylerSymmetryICUS.pdf) of single sitters have one eye centered on the vertical axis.

Then I just cropped the heck out of my picture to help hide the fact that I'm terrible at drawing :p

[Chyron8472]

Eye avatar trend? Must.... join....

Who started this anyways?

the "best male and female user on this site" thread did.






This morning I started browsing the forums and was all... what the crap? What's with all these damn eyes everywhere? Hey Nik, what's with all the eyes?

Nik: ...eyes?

Me: yeah, I dunno.



I'll explain...


exactly how are the ladies supposed to lose themselves in my sparkling blue eyes when I am only allowed a 50x50 pixel AV..

50x50 is not enough, you need a 1000x1000 high-res pic, yo.

You can always have like, one eye as an avatar.

Hey, that's a great idea!

And so it began.

[nikasaur]

As an aside, I still don't have a name for the Art contest... I guess I'm just tapped out creatively. Any thoughts?

[pwblaine]

Strong Bad's Awesome Art Contenst For Not As Attractive People!

[pwblaine]

As far as I know, we are not legally allowed to hear these. I would highly suggest you find a way to make your own company to do it! Start small and such, but it's obvious you're a really creative and driven person.


:( heartbreaker! j/k that's good to know, seems alot harder than selling an idea, but i guess we gotsta earn our mutton chops

[Klatuu]

As an aside, I still don't have a name for the Art contest... I guess I'm just tapped out creatively. Any thoughts?

How about something like: "Our Telltale Art"?

Or, I like the tagline: "What's sharper? Your pencil or your wit?"

[Wapcaplet]

"Thousand Words"

Seeing as you guys tell tales and all...

[GaryCXJk]

We've had some thought of reviving the lost Telltale Podcast initiative, but it seems like our favorite podcasters are busy doing things like Idle Thumbs...


Wait, you're referring to yourself in the third person now?

[Avistew]

Wait, you're referring to yourself in the third person now?

"We" is first person, plural. "He/she/it" in singular or "they" in plural is third person ("you" is second person).

[Remolay]

"What's sharper? Your pencil or your wit?"

sounds more like a writing contest

[Chyron8472]

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

[Secret Fawful]

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

I have no idea.

[puzzlebox]

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

"Because it can produce a few notes, tho they are very flat; and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front!"

- Charles Dodgson (http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/alice9.html), aka Lewis Carroll

[GaryCXJk]

"We" is first person, plural. "He/she/it" in singular or "they" in plural is third person ("you" is second person).

"Our favorite podcasters" is still third person though.

[Chyron8472]

I wanted to know your thoughts.


I want to know why Nikasaur doesn't have Trogdor as her avatar.


EDIT:

On a serious note, I would like for TTG to have a Developer Diary for individual projects they're working on. I know we have the Blog, but that's different from having a diary of project-specific updates on what is going on, what is/isn't going to be put into a game at the time, which departments might be working on what... that sort of thing.

Basically, I remember at least one thread (http://www.telltalegames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14547) being posted on the forums where we asked each other what we might want on the ToMI DVD. Though I'm certain TTG reads the forums and takes our suggestions into account (when appropriate), I would have liked it if TTG could have talked about what any given department was working on when creating the DVD and why, and what they wanted to put into it but couldn't and why not.

In this way, I/we wouldn't have to hunt down posts on the forums to find out if and why not there won't be hybrid DVD content (playable in a standard DVD player) on the ToMI disc; if there is going to be disc-based DRM and how long it takes to decide what kind of DRM to use; whether Dominic Armato is going to participate in cutscene commentary; and if/when Earl Boen's voice will be updated on Chapter 1 downloads for ToMI for PC. One might say that you'd want to leave surprises, but to that I would say if I wanted to be surprised I wouldn't be searching the forums for such info.

[puzzlebox]

I want to know why Nikasaur doesn't have Trogdor as her avatar.

Because he's a dragon, not a dinosaur? :)

[GaryCXJk]

I want the TTG staff to perform a musical number.

And seriously, I am not kidding. As in, not some April Fools suggestion or something. I'm very serious about this one.

Oh, and they should definitely contact Media Molecule to make sackboys of the employees.

[Harald B]

Why is a raven like a writing desk?Edgar Allen Poe wrote on both.

[nikasaur]

Wait, you're referring to yourself in the third person now?

"We" referring to the vast amount of creative minds here to make Telltale amazing. There's a lot of people here who contribute, participate, and light a fire under my ass for community projects.

[GaryCXJk]

"Our favorite podcasters" is still third person though.

This is what I was referring to.

Again.

[nikasaur]

This is what I was referring to.

Again.

Jake and Vanaman are Idly Thumbing a lot.

[SHODANFreeman]

Wouldn't "Community Consensus" make more sense? I'm pretty sure a census primarily involves counting people.

[Irishmile]

I think the obvious thing that everyone wants is poorly acted infomercials where the TTG staff act overly frustrated playing other peoples games and then instantly happy playing the new S&M:TDP there could even be some snuggies style raising of the roof (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeM4GMGWInY)... if it feels right guys no showboating.

[Molokov]

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

They both have inky quills.

Edgar Allan Poe wrote on them.

[puzzlebox]

All the graffiti in the new Sam & Max looks awesome... it really adds to the dirtiness and contributes a rich "texture" to the city.

A cool competition prize would be to have your username (or initials, or whatever) placed as a graffiti tag somewhere in one of the episodes. It wouldn't look out of the ordinary or be particularly conspicuous, but it's a unique thing that you can't just buy - for that reason I think it would be quite special and make a really nice prize.