Telltale Games

04/24/2006, 11:12 pm

I am really enjoying The Great Cow Race (I haven't finished it yet).

However, I am finding that a lot of the time, when gearing up for a good puzzle solving, the cut scenes keep doing the job for me.

##### S-P-O-I-L-E-R-S #####

As an example, I was assuming that I would have to distract the Strong Man myself in order to alter the Strength Machine, but the cut scene occured and completed the task for me, leaving me with little else to do for this puzzle.

I think there are too many cut scenes and too much storytelling that could have actually been played as part of the game, also too much dialogue and not enough 'gameplay' / puzzle solving / item finding-using-combining / item interaction and even red herrings.

I suppose I am just looking for another Monkey Island or Grim Fandango and should be happy with the great game that you have produced, but it would be nice if you could consider these points for future releases.

Emily · 04/26/2006, 12:17 am

Thanks for the feedback.

04/26/2006, 05:52 am

Yes, episode 2 is actually pretty good.

Even though I still think there is room for improvement, I think it's a brave thing Telltale is doing by focusing on adventure games.
I've been thinking a little about that and if their main objective was money, they would've made games in other genres that more people would buy.
So I really do appreciate that they chose to make adventure games and I hope they're doing well! I don't want to see another adventure game company go bankrupt, that would seriously suck!

04/27/2006, 12:07 pm

I do completely agree with Rubber John. The Great Cow Race is way better than the previous installement: Cheaper, Longer (well I haven't finished it yet, but I used the "save" option this time) and harder.

But I also think that some of the cut scenes should have been turned into gameplay. Regarding the example that Rubber John gave, I had exactly the same thought.

It is a real pleasure to play this game!

05/12/2006, 03:07 am

Also agree with Rubber John.. too many times the story over rides the gameplay..we keep getting taken out of playing a game and taken into playing the story..when that happens so often you start to question how much involvement you as the gamer is having on this experience.. Plenty more of the cut scenes could have been progressed and moved along through gameplay.. Still don't think they've found the right balance between story/game.. I'm enjoyin it so far tho..

05/18/2006, 04:54 pm

I'm also now thinking (now that I've finished it) that there could be more items / objects to pick up and use.
For example, in Smiley Bone's kitchen -

This area had potential for lots of objects and ingredients to be collected, mixed and used.

*****SPOILER******

I couldn't help thinking that when it was Phoney Bone's task to make Grandma Ben appear ill in front of the burly man, it would have been much more enjoyable if, for example, Smiley Bone had to create an appropriate concoction from various ingredients out of a selection of genuine ingredients and red herrings in the kitchen, pass it to Phoney Bone and ultimately serve it to Grandma, making her temporarily ill. (Perhaps she suggests that she is slighly allergic to something, and so could be mixed with her food order that she places).

But the problem was solved simply by exhausting the available dialogue.

I also think that the games are missing the element of 'object combining / mixing'.

Again though, I really am enjoying playing the games and am so thankful to Telltale for giving them to us and keeping the genre alive.

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04/24/2006, 11:12 pm	#1
RubberJohn Guest Posts: n/a	I am really enjoying The Great Cow Race (I haven't finished it yet). However, I am finding that a lot of the time, when gearing up for a good puzzle solving, the cut scenes keep doing the job for me. ##### S-P-O-I-L-E-R-S ##### As an example, I was assuming that I would have to distract the Strong Man myself in order to alter the Strength Machine, but the cut scene occured and completed the task for me, leaving me with little else to do for this puzzle. I think there are too many cut scenes and too much storytelling that could have actually been played as part of the game, also too much dialogue and not enough 'gameplay' / puzzle solving / item finding-using-combining / item interaction and even red herrings. I suppose I am just looking for another Monkey Island or Grim Fandango and should be happy with the great game that you have produced, but it would be nice if you could consider these points for future releases.

04/26/2006, 12:17 am	#2
Emily Formerly of the Telltale Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Francisco Posts: 4,549	Thanks for the feedback.

04/26/2006, 05:52 am	#3
laffer Guest Posts: n/a	Yes, episode 2 is actually pretty good. Even though I still think there is room for improvement, I think it's a brave thing Telltale is doing by focusing on adventure games. I've been thinking a little about that and if their main objective was money, they would've made games in other genres that more people would buy. So I really do appreciate that they chose to make adventure games and I hope they're doing well! I don't want to see another adventure game company go bankrupt, that would seriously suck!

04/27/2006, 12:07 pm	#4
SCUMM_master Guest Posts: n/a	I do completely agree with Rubber John. The Great Cow Race is way better than the previous installement: Cheaper, Longer (well I haven't finished it yet, but I used the "save" option this time) and harder. But I also think that some of the cut scenes should have been turned into gameplay. Regarding the example that Rubber John gave, I had exactly the same thought. It is a real pleasure to play this game!

05/12/2006, 03:07 am	#5
HieroHero Guest Posts: n/a	Also agree with Rubber John.. too many times the story over rides the gameplay..we keep getting taken out of playing a game and taken into playing the story..when that happens so often you start to question how much involvement you as the gamer is having on this experience.. Plenty more of the cut scenes could have been progressed and moved along through gameplay.. Still don't think they've found the right balance between story/game.. I'm enjoyin it so far tho..

05/18/2006, 04:54 pm	#6
RubberJohn Guest Posts: n/a	I'm also now thinking (now that I've finished it) that there could be more items / objects to pick up and use. For example, in Smiley Bone's kitchen - This area had potential for lots of objects and ingredients to be collected, mixed and used. ***SPOILER**** I couldn't help thinking that when it was Phoney Bone's task to make Grandma Ben appear ill in front of the burly man, it would have been much more enjoyable if, for example, Smiley Bone had to create an appropriate concoction from various ingredients out of a selection of genuine ingredients and red herrings in the kitchen, pass it to Phoney Bone and ultimately serve it to Grandma, making her temporarily ill. (Perhaps she suggests that she is slighly allergic to something, and so could be mixed with her food order that she places). But the problem was solved simply by exhausting the available dialogue. I also think that the games are missing the element of 'object combining / mixing'. Again though, I really am enjoying playing the games and am so thankful to Telltale for giving them to us and keeping the genre alive.