Anticipation/Doubt

[Chyron8472]

Can we at least not have any bugs?

I dislike playing a game and, for example, telling Sam to shoot at something but his gun points in the wrong direction from his hand; or having a potentially funny moment with a pyrite parrot be ruined when its mouth moves but no sound comes out; or having enough bugs to correct in Poker Night that they felt obligated to add bonus content to go with the update. I haven't played BTTF ep 2 yet, but from what I hear it's rather buggy indeed.

also, now that I think about it, they still haven't released the Earl Boen PC download of TOMI.


@Irishmile
Your words may slowly be winning me back toward giving Telltale the benefit of the doubt, but there are still things that get me hung up on the issue. I don't want bugs. I don't want hand holding. I don't want a game made for the masses at the expense of hardcore fans.

Call me skeptical. Call me unsure. All I know is that Telltale has a lot riding on this one- a whole lot. And I'm not sure they're up to the task.

[SHODANFreeman]

Lack of an iPad giveaway that was promised, no Wallace and Gromit and S&M Season 1 for Mac, no Nutrispecs, no WiiWare Puzzle Agent, TDP being discontinued on iPad after a single episode, and I know there were other things that it's too early for me to remember off the top of my head.

Empty promises have been a recurring trend in the past year.

[Irishmile]

Originally Posted by Chyron8472

Call me skeptical. Call me unsure. All I know is that Telltale has a lot riding on this one- a whole lot. And I'm not sure they're up to the task.

Oh I would be willing to bet that everyone working on KQ is fully aware of how big of a deal it is... I imagine there will be a couple of nights they may not be able to sleep... but when they say they are fans of the games themselves I believe them.. and I have really enjoyed their past games so I think they have it in them to make a really enjoyable KQ game... I wish them and all of us the best come release day...

I hope they release a trailer as soon as they can (I know that is a long way off) so hopefully some of the doubters can rest at ease.

[Lambonius]

Originally Posted by MusicallyInspired

Nah, they don't hold a candle to the classics in my opinion. TMI comes close. I was always waiting for S&M to get better, though, and it just never did. When I heard that everyone thought Season 2 was a big improvement on the first season I was excited to play it, but I guess my hopes were too high because it never really impressed me any more than Season 1 did.

I think I agree with this completely. ToMI is the best thing Telltale has done so far. It captures the feel of the old games almost perfectly, but still doesn't quite reach their brilliance, and certainly doesn't surpass them.

Every Sam and Max game so far has fallen tragically short in my opinion. The first two seasons are just too damn random, and don't feel at all like Hit the Road did. The characterization of the characters has always felt a bit off to me, too, especially Max, who in my opinion is far too manic in Telltale's games. I used to really dislike their Sam, but he's grown on me, and now my position is pretty much reversed. Either way though, they don't hold a candle to Hit the Road. Season 3 was better, story-wise, but was just a little too easy. I don't really know how to describe the problem with those games, they just bore the shit out of me. I don't know. Something is missing but I can't put my finger on it. I also don't think they are anywhere near as FUNNY as the original game (or comics) which is probably a big part of it. Almost all of Telltale's original characters are terrible and cliche. Bosco is probably the worst (I know Bosco is from the comics, but he didn't become a physical character until Telltale's games--which actually I think was a mistake, it ruins the humor of all those scenes revolving around his store in the comics and Hit the Road.)

[SHODANFreeman]

Originally Posted by Lambonius

Max is far too manic

This is where you lost me.

[Chyron8472]

Originally Posted by Lambonius

The first two seasons are just too damn random, and don't feel at all like Hit the Road did.

Hit the Road isn't random? I'd say a game wherein you have to complete nonsensical puzzles, such as riding a ceramic fish to the top of a large ball of twine, in order to eventually save a bigfoot from an evil country singer while befriending the bigfoot race by not-helping-them-in-any-discernible-way through destroying the western US with a sudden growth of redwood forest is rather random indeed.

Bosco is probably the worst

But Bosco is one of my favorite characters!

[Lambonius]

Maybe it's just the episodic nature that makes the story feel disjointed and random to me. Hit the Road always felt so cohesive by contrast, whereas the episodic Sam and Max seasons (1&2 in particular) don't feel linked together nearly the same way.

As for Max's characterization--he is distinctly different in Telltale's games than he was in Hit the Road. In Hit the Road there was a sense of him being crazy yes, but also streetwise and even kind of a badass--I mean, he fucking rips a guy's head off in the INTRO CUTSCENE! Then a short way into the actual game, he pulls a kitten's insides out through his mouth.

In Telltale's games, by contrast, the writers tend to play on the idea that he's all talk--so they exaggerate the types of things he says into the realm of sheer ludicrousness, while also never allowing him to really deliver on any of his crazy tendencies.

In the games and comics, Max kicked serious ass. He is whiny and annoying in Telltale's games.

[SHODANFreeman]

Steve Purcell disagrees with you.

[Lambonius]

Originally Posted by SHODANFreeman

Steve Purcell disagrees with you.

I realize now why your post count is so high. It's all the worthless one-liners.

[MusicallyInspired]

Originally Posted by SHODANFreeman

Lack of an iPad giveaway that was promised, no Wallace and Gromit and S&M Season 1 for Mac, no Nutrispecs, no WiiWare Puzzle Agent, TDP being discontinued on iPad after a single episode, and I know there were other things that it's too early for me to remember off the top of my head.

Empty promises have been a recurring trend in the past year.

Don't forget the Earl Boen voice for the downloadable TMI Chapter 1.

Originally Posted by Irishmile

Oh I would be willing to bet that everyone working on KQ is fully aware of how big of a deal it is... I imagine there will be a couple of nights they may not be able to sleep... but when they say they are fans of the games themselves I believe them.. and I have really enjoyed their past games so I think they have it in them to make a really enjoyable KQ game... I wish them and all of us the best come release day...

I hope they release a trailer as soon as they can (I know that is a long way off) so hopefully some of the doubters can rest at ease.

Hopefully. And all you say is probably true. But they're going to have to prove it for me. I'm not jumping on the bandwagon anymore until after I've seen it in action.

[Giant Tope]

Originally Posted by Irishmile

Oh I would be willing to bet that everyone working on KQ is fully aware of how big of a deal it is... I imagine there will be a couple of nights they may not be able to sleep... but when they say they are fans of the games themselves I believe them.. and I have really enjoyed their past games so I think they have it in them to make a really enjoyable KQ game... I wish them and all of us the best come release day...

I'm not saying this as a negative thing, but you make the big mistake of assuming Telltale is a hivemind. I can't entirely guess, but I bet you anything that some folks do not give a flying shit about this game and are just doing what they're told to add a listing to their resumes so they can move on to what they may view as greener pastures. Some might even hate this game in private.

Not to say there aren't any fans of King's Quest, as we've heard testimonies already from several employees. I'm just saying that you shouldn't assume these sorta things about people you don't know. I apologize for the nit-picking, but overarching generalizations like this just bug me.

Also, from what I hear, as game dev, you're inevitably going to have to pull an overnighter even if the game you're developing is My Little Pony: Pinky Pie's Party. Which personally I find as potentially encroaching on worker's rights territory, but I digress.

[Irishmile]

Im sure you are right that there may be some people like that... but I do not see them as the project leads.

Also you take back what you said about My Little Pony: Pinkie Pie's Party..... its the best thing ever created...

[SHODANFreeman]

Originally Posted by MusicallyInspired

Don't forget the Earl Boen voice for the downloadable TMI Chapter 1.

Chyron had mentioned that in the post above mine already.

Originally Posted by Lambonius

I realize now why your post count is so high. It's all the worthless one-liners.

Do I need to go on a three page rant for my point of view to be valid? Because I most certainly don't have the time or the motivation to post on this forum anymore if that is what is required of me.