Gameplay Analysis: Episode 3 (Spoilers!)

[Strayth]

Also, he payed for the game, so he's just getting his money worth it.

[Sinaz20]

I read it... it stung... but aside from the glibness and sarcasm, it's all good criticism that will definitely go towards future games.

Let's consider the idea that BttF is an attempt to rope in a bunch of new non-gamer fans... and in up and coming games we will be taking what we learned from BttF and building concepts that cater to both breeds of gamer/non-gamer in a more seamless and balanced manner.

Also... I wrote the "Stemmle Staycations" bit. Just want the harsh finger pointed at the writer responsible for it.

Originally Posted by Lambonius

I think this thread really says it all. If the developers want to know why people are pissed about this game, they need look no further than this analysis.

I've only read two really harsh reviews from Dashing and you... and a couple other bitter sweet reviews. A majority of the responses has been positive. I just hope that our true believer fans that are disappointed with the direction of BttF will stick around for other ventures, as this has been a real experiment for us. Jurassic Park is going to be a major experiment for us as well. It's growing pains in our effort to figure out where adventure games can go in the 21st century. Though there may be missteps and shortcomings, we are proud of the games that come out of it.

This kind of feedback is invaluable, though, towards perfecting our craft.

Thanks for the honesty.

[Strayth]

I've only read two really harsh reviews from Dashing and you... and a couple other bitter sweet reviews. A majority of the responses has been positive. I just hope that our true believer fans that are disappointed with the direction of BttF will stick around for other ventures, as this has been a real experiment for us. Jurassic Park is going to be a major experiment for us as well. It's growing pains in our effort to figure out where adventure games can go in the 21st century. Though there may be missteps and shortcomings, we are proud of the games that come out of it.

http://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/00...brown-test.htm

Biggest french website about videogames, generates millions of viewers a day. I'm just gonna read the part about the gameplay :

On ne revient pas une fois de plus sur l'inventaire toujours mal pensé, de toutes façons il sert 3 fois dans cet épisode dont le gameplay est réduit à sa plus simple expression, les puzzles étant pratiquement inexistants

It says actual puzzles almost don't exist within the game, and that the inventory is close to useless (while being also non intuitive).

Only thing that saves it is the story. (and let's say somebody doesn't like focusing on a time era where only one guy from the movie is alive, and that can go away pretty fast)

On other forums, there are pretty negative reviews (some unjustified, like only focusing on the looks of the game, but some are legitimate) too.

I'm glad a lot of people enjoyed it, but let's see this as an encouragement, to make things better. Let's not see this as a "so we're cool, people dig our stuff, let's keep everything this way". I think most people are just so happy with a BTTF "continuation". As a game, it has flaws that even you can recognize, if properly exposed.

[Guinea]

Originally Posted by Sinaz20

Let's consider the idea that BttF is an attempt to rope in a bunch of new non-gamer fans...

The feeling I get from playing this is that your gameplay designers consider non-gamers not interested in using their brains at all, while at the same time throwing at them:

- confusing "cinematic camera angles", not showing the whole scene, not showing every place you can go to, not showing every item there is.
- a not very intuitive inventory screen which can't even display all the items at once, or alternatively the "item combination system" that TMI used
- the controls which are definitely not as intuitive as simple "point and click" would be (yea I know cinematic camera angles~)
- invisible key items (spray can), pixel hunts (panic button)
- invisible walls and barriers
- solutions before problems, to make sure nobody needs to think a bit (which kinda fits the 1984 theme I guess, so if that is meant to be symbolic to fit the context of this timeline, very well done.)

I find it kind of sad that the people with so much experience in the adventure game genre can't come up with more intuitive gameplay design and have to dumb down the puzzles to compensate for that.

[Sinaz20]

We certainly recognize the flaws. And we are striving to improve future experiences.

[JDStops]

My biggest complaint is the linear fashion of the game. I did everything I could to disable hints and explore right from the get go, and just explore and try to do everything possible before taking any story moving actions. A good example is the area with the guitar battle. I'm not sure why that was locked right at the beginning. Another is the invisible walls. I would have loved to zoom in the posters mentioned in the review.

Overall I loved the games, but those did stick out to me on my first play-through.

[oberlerchner123]

Originally Posted by Guinea

- solutions before problems, to make sure nobody needs to think a bit

Although i really like this game just because of the great story, i have to admit the game isnt really good when it comes to this one point.
Most of the time i dont find myself thinking what to do, but just pressing the only button that there is and then afterwards wondering how i was expected to realise what to do.

[Gman5852]

All hail Dashing. The Yahtzee of telltale.
And FYI I like the game, for the story of course, you guys sadly failed in the gameplay department here. Hoping this is a one season thing and that other games like Jurastic Park will be much more difficult.

[ATMachine]

Has Dashing been banned (as his user title suggests)? I would hope not. I'd hate to think this thread was responsible for him getting the boot.

[puzzlebox]

Originally Posted by ATMachine

Has Dashing been banned (as his user title suggests)? I would hope not. I'd hate to think this thread was responsible for him getting the boot.

Dashing's account is alive and well - the "Banned" thing was an April Fool's on his part. Don't worry, the forum hasn't quite gone the way of Citizen Brown's Hill Valley.

[Falanca]

Dashing does a good job so far. He gives enough consideration to his criticism and in the end he lets the developers know that they aren't satisfying a big portion of their fanbase. Even though, apparently, they're not seeing him as a valuable source of criticism as known reviewers/reviewing websites/reviewing magazines.

It's true that MANY highly honored reviewers around here are praising the game, but I'm pretty sure it's also caused by Telltale's new goal of attracting newcomer gamers to the genre. In a site dedicated on reviewing games, there are many people doing their job; but in the end one guy/gal reviews one game. Normally, there are divisions in the reviewing staff such as "you're good at FPS, you play Crysis 2" or "you're good at tycoons I guess, plus noone else wants it, so you get that latest railroad thingie". When it comes to BTTF:tG, I don't know, it feels like no paid reviewer reviewing this game has played an adventure game save for games like Heavy Rain or Fahrenheit -if they count-, but STILL they think they're worthy to review the game because they're fans of the trilogy. And mostly they just praise it because the game gives them a great amount of fangasm because of the voice acting and gags we remember from the movies. The whole game, is a fanservice fest, and they buy it. The most read gaming magazine in my country reviewed the first episode and gave it 9.3 out of 10, only making bad remarks at graphics (which are actually quite impressive if you ask me; what's making them look bad are the poor animations). The same guy also reviewed Poker Night at the Inventory, and says something like "[...]You can play the game against Sam from Sam and Max[...]". They especially choose that guy to review adventure games/related games, meaning it's the best that they have, and that guy fails at informing the readers correctly about the most basic facts. When you aimed to awaken the genre of adventure, you knew the whole industry, (including the reviewers) wasn't prepared to the genre and only that your success as a game developing company can prove itself to be enough of a force to improve the industry along with your own improvement. Until that time, your real, informative feedback source were the diehard adventure fans. You also knew reviewing sites weren't giving you constructive criticism, they were just all like "well, they're doing what they WANT I guess, and some guys like it, so w/e, here's your 90/100 grade". You were aware of that. That is why you were so active on your own forums, because freelance reviewers that are dedicated to the genre who can give quality criticism (AKA, Adventure gamers theirselves) can only be found in your forums. This NEVER works in any other genre of gaming, so no other company takes their own forums seriously. They just use it as an illusion of "we care our customers" or a news bullettin. You guys were different. And now you care paid reviewers more than your fans. What made you turn so... mainstream? I thought you guys were making a difference. I mean, look at this;

Originally Posted by Sinaz20

I've only read two really harsh reviews from Dashing and you... and a couple other bitter sweet reviews. A majority of the responses has been positive.

By saying "only you and some other guy said the game was bad, others dig it a lot", you're pointing out Dashing is in a minority. I believe what Dashing says must build your priorities within this game by now. And third episode is out. Let me remind you that Dashing does the same thing for EVERY episode, meaning you had 2 months to listen to him. I'm really sorry for generalizing what you just sincerely said there and using it as a proof, but as a fan I'm saddened for months already.

Originally Posted by Sinaz20

Let's consider the idea that BttF is an attempt to rope in a bunch of new non-gamer fans... and in up and coming games we will be taking what we learned from BttF and building concepts that cater to both breeds of gamer/non-gamer in a more seamless and balanced manner.

"Attracting new people to the genre". Which of the following you think that can do the attraction the best? A prime example of this genre that's close enough to the true potential of it, or a self-entitled "a single step of a step-by-step programme named Introduction to Adventure Games 101" that's easy, lineer, predictable and only be driven by its own "other" qualities that aren't even remotely related to the basic aspects of adventure gaming? What got most people into adventure gaming is that they played Monkey Island, or Sierra's series, or maybe even Hit the Road. And they're damn hard, without walkthroughs they can take weeks to solve. But it was the purpose of it. Once you get SOMETHING right in those games, it gave you a tremendous amount of satisfaction. In this series, ESPECIALLY this series, even if you beat the entirety of the game the satisfaction you get is limited by how many times you reference to the movies' inside gags. I have a friend who's far more interested in BTTF franchise and even he had to facepalm when he got to see the second manure truck in the second episode. Meaning it's apparent (and maybe even blatant) that you resort to fanservice more than needed, and there is a reason for that.

I've never seen any company developing an FPS game where no enemies shoot you back or even try to shield theirselves from your fire, and then staff coming up and say "oh, we did this to train newcomers so that they can also play Modern Warfare 2 with you guys in a month or two". Most newcomers who wanted to play MW2 effectively, perfected theirselves in MW2. And that's another question. You're saying you're trying to attract newcomers and make them enjoy your games, meaning you're building up to something. Are you really building up to offering true adventure experiences? With Jurassic Park, I don't think so. Don't get me wrong, it'll most likely be a good game, just not an adventure game. You said it yourselves, you want that game to play like Heavy Rain. With King's Quest or Walking Dead? Perhaps, but if you fail at those that'll also mean you'll entirely fail at your only excuse at making BTTF easy. It may be an even major blow to your fanbase.

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by Falanca

I've never seen any company developing an FPS game where no enemies shoot you back or even try to shield theirselves from your fire

I have.

But seriously, I agree with all of this.

[The-J23]

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

I have.

But seriously, I agree with all of this.

"B-B-B-B-BLOODY SCREEN! So real."

On topic: this game doesn't even compare with previous TTG titles. I still like it though, but the story is the only thing that makes me come back every month. I'm not going to go into detail about it because Dashing and Falanca have already said everything there is to say. I think you should listen to them Telltale.

[thesporkman]

Actually, modern first person shooters are increasingly guilty of the same things Telltale is accused of: being too easy, too on rails, and breaking if you try to go against the linear level design and the predetermined actions required to advance the story.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...-shooting.aspx

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/03/03/ed...-its-my-fault/

[Avistew]

I've been told something about food that I think applies here. If you want to make someone try new food for the first time, make sure it's the best example ever of that food. Go to the restaurant that cooks it best. Do not buy a cheap version of it.
Because if the person doesn't like it, they're not going to come back for seconds.

For people playing adventure games for the first time, I wouldn't want them to go "so THAT's adventure games?" I think to attract them, you need to make the finest example of an adventure game you can, and let them be attracted by the fact that it's BTTF. It's not like they're going to play it before they buy it anyways. So this game is basically supposed to be an ad for future adventure games. Is it really doing that? Is it showing off the best things about adventure games? That's what an ad is supposed to be about. That's what a trailer is supposed to be about. If you want people who play BTTF to move on to other games, shouldn't you give them a reason to?

I mean, honestly, if you give someone fish for the first time (for instance), I don't think you should make it taste like beef because the person likes beef. Otherwise, they can just keep eating beef. You should play up fish's personal strengths, what makes it different from beef.

[StarEye]

I never understood this idea of "waking up the genre" again, and that the industry is suddenly completely new to it. The thing is, that the genre just declined in quality, the games just weren't as good anymore. When the big companies turned their back on the genre, newcomes had to pick up the ball, and unfortunately, very few could fill the shoes that were left by those before them. Like in a football team, if all of the best players leave, and only the b-team players are left, the team will not be as good as it once was.

So I don't think braindead difficulty, lack of interactivity and complete linearity is what the market wants. They want top quality, which we've rarely seen since the days of LucasArts and Sierra. Machinarium is my favourite adventure game in the last ten years or so, and that's not a particularly easy game.

[thom-22]

Originally Posted by Avistew

If you want to make someone try new food for the first time, make sure it's the best example ever of that food. Go to the restaurant that cooks it best. Do not buy a cheap version of it. Because if the person doesn't like it, they're not going to come back for seconds.

Originally Posted by StarEye

So I don't think braindead difficulty, lack of interactivity and complete linearity is what the market wants. They want top quality, which we've rarely seen since the days of LucasArts and Sierra. Machinarium is my favourite adventure game in the last ten years or so, and that's not a particularly easy game.

I can't resist following up these last two posts: I had been trying to get my 50+-year-old aunt to play an adventure game because I thought she'd really like them. I finally succeeded with Machinarium -- which is also my favorite game of the past few years -- thanks to the online demo. She absolutely loved it! There was a free hint per scene, which she needed on occasion along with hints from me a couple other times. But it was the challenge of the game, backed up by beautiful artwork and the novelty of playing a cute little robot, that really engaged her.

Originally Posted by thesporkman

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/03/03/ed...-its-my-fault/

That's a very interesting editorial, especially the follow-up between the writer and the game designer. As is often the assumption here, the game designer brings it back to the necessity of hand-holding for new players. But I've never seen it demonstrated that hand-holding throughout the entire game is either necessary or desirable. And then the only example he gave had nothing to do with gameplay but rather with a player who failed to find an option in the game settings.

[Rather Dashing]

First, for everyone else's benefit:

Originally Posted by JD "Sinaz20" Straw

I read it... it stung... but aside from the glibness and sarcasm, it's all good criticism that will definitely go towards future games.

I want to thank you for reading this thread(it seems the whole behemoth of a thing), and even more for responding to it. It must not have been easy to read suck a through dissection of your work, especially when the impression was such a negative one.

Please note that the sarcastic humor was mostly for my benefit, and the benefit of any non-developer readers. The jabs...weren't "for" you, specifically. I ask that you try not to read them in mean spirit and to try and not take them personally.

Originally Posted by JD Straw

Let's consider the idea that BttF is an attempt to rope in a bunch of new non-gamer fans... and in up and coming games we will be taking what we learned from BttF and building concepts that cater to both breeds of gamer/non-gamer in a more seamless and balanced manner.

I don't buy this strategy. What was your first adventure game, Straw? I started on a healthy diet of Maniac Mansion, Secret of Monkey Island, and King's Quest. When I was four. I gave Secret of Monkey Island to a ten year-old relatively recently, and his biggest hurdle was not knowing the term "red herring".

So I don't buy the idea that an entire title has to be dedicated to tutorial material, especially when that tutorial material is consistently repeated, giving the overall title a flat difficulty curve. Even other popular casual games, like "Angry Birds" and "Fruit Ninja", have a rising difficulty curve.

Making an entire title extremely simple and overbearingly easy for the end-user is the easiest and laziest means by which a person can achieve accessibility. Doing it right is far more difficult, but far more rewarding for everyone involved. Let's look at Super Mario Bros, for instance. No person would consider it unsuccessful, inaccessible, or overbearingly easy as a whole, but world 1-1 acts as the perfect tutorial. I believe that dissecting and truly understanding what makes it work shows why this title was so popular. Miyamoto and Iwata did a lot of the work for us in a recent "Iwata Asks" feature:

Originally Posted by Iwata Asks

Iwata
The mushrooms don't just sit there, but actually move. What gave you that idea?
Miyamoto
Well, in games you can either have objects following you that move at the same speed as you, objects that follow you but are a little slower than you, or objects following you that are a little faster than you. That speed makes all the difference in terms of how fun it is. We repeatedly did trials and saw the results, and I was adamant that something that you really want is escaping you at a bit slower speed than you would be really fun.
Iwata
You can experience the enjoyment of chasing something.
Miyamoto
Right. There was one problem, however. When you play, you encounter a Goomba right at the start and it's shaped like a mushroom.
Iwata
It does look very similar.
Miyamoto
So when you hit a box and something that looks like a Goomba pops out…
Iwata
You run away.
Miyamoto
Right, you run away. This gave us a real headache. We needed somehow to make sure the player understood that this was something really good. That's why we made the mushroom approach you.
Iwata
Yes, that's right. If you play the game for the first time with no prior knowledge, you're going to run into the first Goomba and lose a turn.
Miyamoto
Right, which is why you have to teach the player in a natural way that they need to avoid them by jumping over them.
Iwata
Then when the player tries to jump and avoid them, there are going to be times when they get it wrong and end up stamping on the Goomba. By doing that, they learn in a natural way that by stamping on them, you can defeat them.
Miyamoto
As long as you stamp on them, you have nothing to fear from Goombas.
Iwata
But if you avoid the first Goomba and then jump and hit a block above you, a mushroom will spring out and you'll get a shock. But then you'll see that it's going to the right so you'll think: "I'm safe! Something strange appeared but I'm okay!" But of course when it goes against a pipe up ahead, the mushroom will come back! (laughs)
Miyamoto
Right! (laughs)
Iwata
At that point, even if you panic and try to jump out of the way, you'll hit the block above you. Then just at the instant where you accept that you're done for, Mario will suddenly shake and grow bigger! You might not really know what's just happened, but at the very least, you'll realize that you haven't lost the turn.
Miyamoto
But you'll wonder why Mario suddenly got larger.
Iwata
You'll try jumping and see that you can jump to higher places and smash through the ceiling, so it'll be clear that you've become more powerful.
Miyamoto
It's at that moment that you first realize that the mushroom is a good item.
Iwata
That's the reason why it's designed so that whatever you do, you'll get the mushroom.
Miyamoto
Of course it's because we wanted the player to realize that this item was different from a Goomba.
Iwata
When I first realized that this had all been designed with that purpose in mind, I was really taken aback. When you tell people who weren't aware of it that the start of Super Mario Bros. was designed with this intention, it's rare that they won't be impressed.
The mushrooms don't just sit there, but actually move. What gave you that idea?
Miyamoto
Well, in games you can either have objects following you that move at the same speed as you, objects that follow you but are a little slower than you, or objects following you that are a little faster than you. That speed makes all the difference in terms of how fun it is. We repeatedly did trials and saw the results, and I was adamant that something that you really want is escaping you at a bit slower speed than you would be really fun.
Iwata
You can experience the enjoyment of chasing something.
Miyamoto
Right. There was one problem, however. When you play, you encounter a Goomba right at the start and it's shaped like a mushroom.
Iwata
It does look very similar.
Miyamoto
So when you hit a box and something that looks like a Goomba pops out…
Iwata
You run away.
Miyamoto
Right, you run away. This gave us a real headache. We needed somehow to make sure the player understood that this was something really good. That's why we made the mushroom approach you.
Iwata
Yes, that's right. If you play the game for the first time with no prior knowledge, you're going to run into the first Goomba and lose a turn.
Miyamoto
Right, which is why you have to teach the player in a natural way that they need to avoid them by jumping over them.
Iwata
Then when the player tries to jump and avoid them, there are going to be times when they get it wrong and end up stamping on the Goomba. By doing that, they learn in a natural way that by stamping on them, you can defeat them.
Miyamoto
As long as you stamp on them, you have nothing to fear from Goombas.
Iwata
But if you avoid the first Goomba and then jump and hit a block above you, a mushroom will spring out and you'll get a shock. But then you'll see that it's going to the right so you'll think: "I'm safe! Something strange appeared but I'm okay!" But of course when it goes against a pipe up ahead, the mushroom will come back! (laughs)
Miyamoto
Right! (laughs)
Iwata
At that point, even if you panic and try to jump out of the way, you'll hit the block above you. Then just at the instant where you accept that you're done for, Mario will suddenly shake and grow bigger! You might not really know what's just happened, but at the very least, you'll realize that you haven't lost the turn.
Miyamoto
But you'll wonder why Mario suddenly got larger.
Iwata
You'll try jumping and see that you can jump to higher places and smash through the ceiling, so it'll be clear that you've become more powerful.
Miyamoto
It's at that moment that you first realize that the mushroom is a good item.
Iwata
That's the reason why it's designed so that whatever you do, you'll get the mushroom.
Miyamoto
Of course it's because we wanted the player to realize that this item was different from a Goomba.
Iwata
When I first realized that this had all been designed with that purpose in mind, I was really taken aback. When you tell people who weren't aware of it that the start of Super Mario Bros. was designed with this intention, it's rare that they won't be impressed.

-Source

The whole article is worth a read, of course, but this is a good segment to show what I'm talking about.

To break it down:

What Back to the Future doesn't do, and what games need to do to be truly excellent while also being accessible, is to TEACH the player. After all, accessibility is meant to make your existing content something that the new players can handle, not to water down and hurt your end product! If done well, a great tutorial should do exactly what 1-1 does, impress people when they are told it was designed as a teaching tool. It should also prepare them for content down the road, content that actually makes steps to be stronger and more difficult than the content before it. If the users stay on the same level, all the time, and are never even brought up to the point that the in-game difficulty at least matches that of the first puzzle of Sam and Max Season One, then they will never be truly introduced to the genre. They'll be introduced to a weakened, watered-down version of the genre that will fail to truly astound anyone in the same way that you were likely amazed by games like "King's Quest" as a child.

Originally Posted by JD Straw

Also... I wrote the "Stemmle Staycations" bit. Just want the harsh finger pointed at the writer responsible for it.

In this case, the finger was meant to doing less "harsh pointing" and more "light-hearted jabbing". Now, for the rest of the post...

Originally Posted by JD Straw

I've only read two really harsh reviews from Dashing and you... and a couple other bitter sweet reviews. A majority of the responses has been positive.

I'm somewhat worried by this segment, and I'm not sure if I am misguided in that. But it does seem somewhat like a backpedaling, essentially saying that things are perfectly fine because "We only upset, like, TWO people!". Perhaps I'm misreading this part though, and I won't dwell on it. Know that more than two people care, though. And while it may be a minority, I think that you should consider that this criticism has some logic and weight behind it that pretty quantifiably shows major weaknesses in, at the very least, attracting a hardcore adventure audience. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the quietest and most dangerous of this game's detractors would be those that are simply bored by it. Obviously I have no access to numbers. Still, I do know that if I had no experience with this company beforehand, if I hadn't played "Chariots of the Dogs" and said to myself "Wow. That is the best video game experience I've had in the past five years, easily.", then I wouldn't be here. I would have put down the game and walked away from it, apathy fueled by sheer boredom from a bland experience that lacks any sort of spice or unique flavor to it. I'm only here because I know this company can and has done better.

Again, I have no solid numbers nor any means of obtaining solid numbers. You, or someone who works with you, probably has a far greater chance of having BETTER numbers than I do(sales, sales over time, net cost/gross/profit), though hardly the best way to gauge customer satisfaction, it is a good way to gauge success for a profit-seeking company. Perhaps sales and customer satisfaction are at all-time highs in the wake of the most calculated mediocrity I've ever seen in an entertainment product. As I said, I simply don't know.

Originally Posted by JD Straw

I just hope that our true believer fans that are disappointed with the direction of BttF will stick around for other ventures, as this has been a real experiment for us. Jurassic Park is going to be a major experiment for us as well. It's growing pains in our effort to figure out where adventure games can go in the 21st century. Though there may be missteps and shortcomings, we are proud of the games that come out of it.

I won't be "sticking around" for Jurassic Park, at least. Joe Pinney has taken great pains to warn me about that particular title in the recent "gameplay" preview. Now, if you have something to say in that game's defense, from the perspective of a long-term fan of the genre, then I'm all-ears. It would serve as a nice counterpoint to Joe Pinney's direct insults to the genre, spitting on the "unintuitive" "Rube Goldberg" experiences for "Super Brainiacs" that make up the classic run, which are plauged by "not the most fun" aspects like "walking" and "thinking".

If anyone wants to give it to me because they either think I'll enjoy it or they'd find it amusing or valuable to see me review the title, then I'll accept. But I can't justify spending my leisure money on a product that couldn't have scared me away more if I was told it would bite me.

Originally Posted by JD Straw

This kind of feedback is invaluable, though, towards perfecting our craft.

I appreciate that you find value in this commentary, though if I may indulge in sarcasm again, I'm not sure "remembering to add the game part" could be called "perfecting"!

Originally Posted by JD Straw

Thanks for the honesty.

You're welcome, and you can expect more honesty from me in the future!

[Mirko]

Originally Posted by Sinaz20

We certainly recognize the flaws. And we are striving to improve future experiences.

That is a good to hear, and I hope this works out. While I also really enjoyed the Episodes so far, I somehow lost this "I must play this on day one" feeling I had with your earlier Products, and I agree with many things from Rather Dashings analysis of the gameplay (although most problems were not that obvious to me, but I only played it once).

I will also add some other thing, that hopefully get changed in the future:

1. More Beta-Testing. There are many obvious Bugs in the recent Episodes. Maybe it would be better to add let's say one or two weeks of testing before the release. Examples of those Bugs are for example:
- the missing Spray can from Ep. 3,
- inconsistent use of the chosen Pseudonym (mainly in Ep. 2. I chose "Sonny Crocket" and that was used sometimes, but sometimes (even in the same dialogue) I was called by the default name of "Michael Corleone".
- missing voice for Kid Tannen in Episode one during the chase scene in Ep 1.
- Sometimes Characters seem to teleport to you if you do something. (for example in Ep. 2, when you click on Emmett's Controls, while he is not there, he will be there for the cut scene)
- Not sure if this is actually a bug or some driver thing: if i set shadows to the highest settings I get black square outlines around characters.
2. Please, could you store the settings between Epsodes again? This already worked in Sam and Max Season 2. It is a bit anoying that I always have to adjust the resolution and most importantly the hint Settings (see next Point) for each new game
3. Why are the hints on by default? I don't want hints, and if I forget to disable them, I will get them by default. Obviously the game is easy enogh as it is, so it should not be set to destroy the fun of figuring it out for yourself even more by giving out hints by default
4. BTTF Specific: The interface could be a bit more elegant, but that was probably also mentioned a lot before. Why has the Inventory to be a whole screen? Why have those big Buttons to be there all the time?
5. The Launcher might be a good Idea, but it also has it's problems. Sometimes It doesn't show everything and I can not start the games, and it seems like I have three Launchers now, because every Episode brings it's own (but this may be the best way to do it).

[gamer247]

I couldn't agree more with this thread but one has to admit that Telltale is handling this issue much better than Bioware has with Dragon Age 2 who are also going through a similar controversy of abandoning it's core audience to bring in mindless COD drones or in Telltale's case bringing in "casual gamers".Though Bioware being a much larger company might have something to do with it.