Has TellTale single handidly revolutionized video game narrative's as we know it?

[DatDude]

I think yes.

This might just be our "citizen kane" in terms of video game importance and a template of how to create video game narrative and story development.

Hell, I wouldn't even be surprised if the walking dead becomes the focus towards college lectures as well.

bravo tell tale!

[MulderYuffie]

Yes I think so too I absolutely love it. Is there any other games like this and Heavy Rain?

[mkane24]

I vote no

[Kaserkin]

I vote yes but they can always improve it, like make choice more important. I know it is a common critique of the game but still...

PS: they didn't revolutionized it, but improved it.

[Fiddle Diddle]

Technically, they just raised our expectations. The industry is different, and driven by the bottom line. It's the money, Lebowski. Who knows if this will impact the way new games are made.

[klas]

I definitely believe developers will focus more on story from now on. And more mature themes. I also think we will see more shorter games. TWD is not the sole contributor to this though. Journey is a great example of a shorter game with more mature themes that broke through big time. They also handled story very well despite of any dialogue.
The episodic style of TWD is actually great for gaming. There is no place for long, filler moments while you still get the connection to characters that only a long investment gives.

I think a common problem with game storytelling is that the writers isn't as highly regarded in that medium. I've read a lot of writers being forced to tell a story through a fixed set of game mechanics, places or whatever.

Hopefully games will be a writer's medium.

[KingOfTheDead]

Kind of. Heavy rain FTW

[KabutoGodTier420]

No. This game was just an interactive story. There was nothing revolutionary about it. However, the storytelling was revolutionary and top-notch.

[Viner16]

TellTale has definitely rose the bar for itself and any other future devs.

Good job TellTale

[Hidan13]

This games story has been the best I've seen in most, if not in all games (and in my opinion, better than what some movies or even books can achieve). It certainty has raised the bar in that aspect.

[Ben_Kenobi]

You can't really give The Walking Dead game the credit. I think Heavy Rain was one of the first to emphasize player choice and emotional story telling. The Mass Effect games expanded greatly on that, and had countless choices that change the story. The Walking Dead did the same. But I definitely give TellTale credit for making such a great game. Also, looking forward to Beyond: Two Souls. It's the upcoming game made by the same studio that did Heavy Rain. Their emphasis is on emotional storytelling and player choice, so I know it'll be good.

[DatDude]

Originally Posted by Ben_Kenobi

You can't really give The Walking Dead game the credit. I think Heavy Rain was one of the first to emphasize player choice and emotional story telling. The Mass Effect games expanded greatly on that, and had countless choices that change the story. The Walking Dead did the same. But I definitely give TellTale credit for making such a great game. Also, looking forward to Beyond: Two Souls. It's the upcoming game made by the same studio that did Heavy Rain. Their emphasis is on emotional storytelling and player choice, so I know it'll be good.

If were being technical than Omikron, and Fahrenheit (david cages previous games) were first.

[Ben_Kenobi]

Originally Posted by DatDude

If were being technical than Omikron, and Fahrenheit (david cages previous games) were first.

Yeah I want to try those sometime. I love David Cage. Really love his passion for getting the gaming industry to focus on emotional storytelling.

[DatDude]

Originally Posted by Ben_Kenobi

Yeah I want to try those sometime. I love David Cage. Really love his passion for getting the gaming industry to focus on emotional storytelling.

I feel your love.

I love David Cage as well...though I think the Walking Dead had better writing, character development, and overall narrative than Heavy Rain.

Of course the production values aren't even comparable (though a big budget tell tales walking dead game could very well be the benchmark of video games in general)....

But, yeah, regardless super hyped for Beyond Two Souls. The fact that he's not afraid to take risks and try new things when it comes to narrative in the medium of video games makes me cheer. We need more guys like him imo

[Evinshir]

This really wasn't a revolution in gaming. Heavy Rain, Fahrenheit, Alpha Protocol, Dishonored, Dragon Age, Mass Effect... The list of games that have done the same thing is pretty long. And some of those games had your choices carry much more impact as well. Ultimately in The Walking Dead it all leads to the exact same ending regardless of your choices.

But what I think TTG did really well was have your choices meaningfully alter the way the story was told. It got to the same point, but the relationships and some events along the way altered based on your choices to make it feel like *your* story.

So I think it is encouraging to see more effort go into that. I would have preferred though that TTG had put more thought into having more variety in e ending than they did. Not a trite "pick one of four" kind of thing, but genuinely have a very different finish as a result of all the different decisions you made along the way. Having different characters in your group should have had more variation. Knowing that Kenny dies at the same point in the story regardless kind of lessens the impact of his death because it becomes unavoidable.

Knowing that he survives in some playthroughs makes his death in your game carry more weight, I feel. If TTG had done something like that, really made all those big decisions have real weight on the story and its outcome for Lee and Clem - then they could call it revolutionary.

As it is, it's just another game with the illusion of choice and consequence just executed really well.

[stoney79]

All this talk about games with choice no one mentions silent hill which probably did start it off

[Appelsien_BE]

Originally Posted by stoney79

All this talk about games with choice no one mentions silent hill which probably did start it off

Ever heard of Wasteland?

[Shadowhunter]

Definitely, best heavy story based game I've ever played or heard of.

[HooblaDGN]

No, not at all. Bioware games have this sort of variability as a staple, though I'm sort of over them after DAII and ME3 AND SWTOR. Interactive stories are awesome and have been around for a while.

That said, TTG DID tell the best serious narrative dramatic story I've seen told in a video game in a long while with The Walking Dead Season 1.

I'm almost worried to play Season 2, on the off chance that it might not be quite so amazing. Why not let it end there, with hope for Clem? Every good story needs to end, and it needs to end before it trips up and fails. I'll have to think about it. Maybe buy the Season 2 as support but not play? I dunno. Will have to figure it out.

[HelloCthulhu]

Originally Posted by KingOfTheDead

Kind of. Heavy rain FTW

Jay-Son! Jay-Son! Jay-Son! Jay-Son! Jay-Son! Jay-Son! Jay-Son!