Did anyone feel that TWD was starting to cross moral lines for media in general?

[DatDude]

Talk about dark.

Killing a child..Duck...I don't think I've ever seen a survivial horror movie akin to the walking dead where someone had to kill a little boy, like that..

Or how about killing that starved little boy in the attic of Episode 4, and later having to bury him...

IOr having Clementine basically having to kill her dad in some respects...

I mean christ, tell tale was basically pushing some moral lines no? I'm surprised that they weren't criticized by fox news or cnn.

I guess it's sort of a blessing to be under the radar.

[RobtMyers]

Originally Posted by DatDude

I mean christ, tell tale was basically pushing some moral lines no?

No. It's horror fiction. Episode one of the show featured a zombified child.

It's a grim setting, and the game had no more death, dismemberment or despair than the show or the comic.

[thestalkinghead]

i think its good that i couldn't call TWD game a cop-out, if you are gonna make a mature game be mature about it, and that is what telltale did

[DatDude]

Originally Posted by RobtMyers

No. It's horror fiction. Episode one of the show featured a zombified child.

It's a grim setting, and the game had no more death, dismemberment or despair than the show or the comic.

I understand it's a grim setting and what not.

But having..the player...actually kill a child..not just once, but twice...and actually bury the 2nd child..I mean, it's just f-ed up. An not alot of movies or books have crossed that plateau towards the same level that tell tales walking dead did...mainly because it was interactive, you the player..in control of the decisions..actually partaking in the actual interaction of killing and burying a child..even besides the fact it's just a virtual reality/


I mean, I don't mind personally. Hell, make it even more messed up. The dark narrative and scenarios is what MADE the game the awesome game that it was.

[dubesor]

Absolutely not. And the player didn't "kill" any child. Duck is already dieing, his death in inevitable. Shooting him is optional, you can let kenny do it if you don't want to. And I saw it more as putting him out of his misery.
The boy in the attic wasn't killed either. He was already zombified, thus he wasn't human anymore.

I could see your concerns if they showed children dieing like Brie... then I would say yea that goes a bit too far. But the way they handled it was perfectly fine and I see absolutely nothing wrong with it.

[DatDude]

Originally Posted by dubesor

Absolutely not. And the player didn't "kill" any child. Duck is already dieing, his death in inevitable. Shooting him is optional, you can let kenny do it if you don't want to. And I saw it more as putting him out of his misery.
The boy in the attic wasn't killed either. He was already zombified, thus he wasn't human anymore.

I could see your concerns if they showed children dieing like Brie... then I would say yea that goes a bit too far. But the way they handled it was perfectly fine and I see absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Yeah, they were already dying. But lest my memory fails me, wasn't Duck still human? He didn't fully turn yet..he was at that..twilight stage, I guess...but he was definitely still human.

An what about the fact that they had Clementine in the same rooms during those particular situations (ie larry head getting smashed in by kenny, lee killing those 2 farm canibal dudes.) I mean, she's just a girl.

An having, Clementine, whose basically a daughter to Lee..having her kill him point blank in the head...

I mean, point me in the direction where you have seen a movie that is THAT dark and gruesome. I've watched alot of movies, and none have come to mind (except some fucked up european movies that are banned in america).

Hell, compared to the tv show, the game takes a giant dump in terms of expressing survial in a dark brutal sense.

[Ctn04132]

Originally Posted by DatDude

Yeah, they were already dying. But lest my memory fails me, wasn't Duck still human? He didn't fully turn yet..he was at that..twilight stage, I guess...but he was definitely still human.

An what about the fact that they had Clementine in the same rooms during those particular situations (ie larry head getting smashed in by kenny, lee killing those 2 farm canibal dudes.) I mean, she's just a girl.

An having, Clementine, whose basically a daughter to Lee..having her kill him point blank in the head...

I mean, point me in the direction where you have seen a movie that is THAT dark and gruesome. I've watched alot of movies, and none have come to mind (e[B]xcept some fucked up european movies that are banned in america[/B]).

Hell, compared to the tv show, the game takes a giant dump in terms of expressing survial in a dark brutal sense.

care to share the titles of those F***ed up movies?

[Rommel49]

Originally Posted by DatDude

I understand it's a grim setting and what not.

But having..the player...actually kill a child..not just once, but twice...and actually bury the 2nd child..I mean, it's just f-ed up. An not alot of movies or books have crossed that plateau towards the same level that tell tales walking dead did...mainly because it was interactive, you the player..in control of the decisions..actually partaking in the actual interaction of killing and burying a child..even besides the fact it's just a virtual reality/


I mean, I don't mind personally. Hell, make it even more messed up. The dark narrative and scenarios is what MADE the game the awesome game that it was.

Telltale didn't really cross any lines in that regard; atleast none that haven't already been crossed. Hell, Bioshock 1&2 gave the protagonist the option of murdering little girls.

[DatDude]

Originally Posted by Rommel49

Telltale didn't really cross any lines in that regard; atleast none that haven't already been crossed. Hell, Bioshock 1&2 gave the protagonist the option of murdering little girls.

But they also gave the player the option of "saving" the little sisters.

You were never given that option with Duck, or the little starved boy in the attic. Just kill...and besides in Bioshock you don't actually see the act of you murdering a little child..with tell tales walking dead you do.

[DatDude]

Originally Posted by Ctn04132

care to share the titles of those F***ed up movies?

I can't remember the title of it...but one of the films was about this guy who dwells into porn in order to pay some overdue debts. He enters this shady porn company where it's almost like a reality tv show, and fans send in requests as to what they want to see...anyway it get's to the point where it's so fucked up that he's having sex with this little baby that just came out of the womb..they called it newborn porn i believe...messed up.

I believe it was some Czech movie, and was released last year I believe.... if that ring any bells.

[HiggsBoson2142]

It may be rare to show the death of a child on screen, but there are plenty of films of the death of a child. A notable one being the original Night of the Living Dead. That showed a girl come back a a walker (Term not used in movie) and kill both her parents. For the Happy-Go-Lucky 60's, pretty dark.

[HiggsBoson2142]

Originally Posted by DatDude

But they also gave the player the option of "saving" the little sisters.

You were never given that option with Duck, or the little starved boy in the attic. Just kill...and besides in Bioshock you don't actually see the act of you murdering a little child..with tell tales walking dead you do.

You know you can leave Duck AND Fivel. Right?

[Zeruis]

Nah. As far as I know, it hasn't been harshly criticized because of darker tones of elements. The comics include much worse things, and it hasn't been considered to "cross" moral lines.

[watertommyz]

Originally Posted by DatDude

mainly because it was interactive, you the player..in control of the decisions..actually partaking in the actual interaction of killing and burying a child..even besides the fact it's just a virtual reality

If you never felt like you were the one making decisions in a story, then you have read some rather dull books. As for the topic itself, there are actually stories that get much darker and go places movies and television simply will not go, and subjects they won't touch. It all has to do with freedom of speech...you see, people who write are not bound by money and seldom do it to make cash (unless you're already well known and or have some sort of deal) and they do not feel the need to safeguard you from reality.

There would be zombie kids in Resident Evil and Dead Rising, and all of those games prior to Telltale's TWD if it were to really happen. This is the truth, and I'm sure the writers wanted you to feel completely immersed in this tale of this man and little girl he adopts in the zombie apocalypse. It's no coincidence that Duck is bitten, and the boy in the attic are used the way they are in the narrative structure as it all goes back to the relationship between you the player (as Lee) and Clementine. It forces you to really see what kind of danger she's in, and to relate to the situation.

It's rather genius really. While it may not have set any standards for gameplay, it is most defiantly a new way for video games to not only mature but to tell stories that rival any film, book, or any narrative form. We're well past the point of kidnapped princesses and Roboticized woodland creatures.

This is the beginning of a contemporary renaissance.

[Typicaldavid]

Like previously said, this is an M-rated game. For mature audiences who can handle that stuff despite the horrors it shows.

also: if you wait a little a while before putting Duck out of his misery, he actually dies. He stops having labored breaths.

Have you ever read The Road? its got some pretty messed up shit in it too

[Nick-mas]

The game is suppose to be realistic. It's the the world of The Walking Dead, there is no mercy. Nothing is sugar coated and made to be okay. Its a cruel, cruel world which forces people to be in situations that they do not want to be in. Right and wrong along with morals becomes blurred.

[Wynne]

The story is about extreme situations. Terrible situations. Tragic situations. It's not for the kiddies. And I didn't make Clementine kill her dad, I told her to save the bullet for something that can harm her.

Give me a game like this that makes me sob for like three minutes before I can pull the trigger on a zombie child any day. It's got a lot more humanity than most of the games I've ever played. The entire point was that it's horrible, but if you hadn't done it, you would've doomed poor little Duck to a fate worse than death.

TWD deals with some harsh themes and storylines, entirely fitting for the brand "THE WALKING DEAD." It's not "THE HAPPY KITTENS AND PUPPIES FROLIC IN SUNSHINE", it's "THE WALKING DEAD." Maybe they risk Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy if they keep going like this, but they didn't "cross moral lines." They presented situations and let the player deal with them. If it felt frighteningly real, that's because it's a well-told story. It causes no actual harm to anyone. If it disturbed you, GOOD. That means it brought out your humanity and made you realize that killing is hard even in the most necessary of circumstances, something Halo and God of War will never do.

Life is hard. The game doesn't pretend it isn't. It's authentic about its storylines. I like that. This game makes me happy to live in the real world where I don't have to handle such terrible situations.

[aaron1290]

Originally Posted by Wynne

The story is about extreme situations. Terrible situations. Tragic situations. It's not for the kiddies. And I didn't make Clementine kill her dad, I told her to save the bullet for something that can harm her.

Give me a game like this that makes me sob for like three minutes before I can pull the trigger on a zombie child any day. It's got a lot more humanity than most of the games I've ever played. The entire point was that it's horrible, but if you hadn't done it, you would've doomed poor little Duck to a fate worse than death.

TWD deals with some harsh themes and storylines, entirely fitting for the brand "THE WALKING DEAD." It's not "THE HAPPY KITTENS AND PUPPIES FROLIC IN SUNSHINE", it's "THE WALKING DEAD." Maybe they risk Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy if they keep going like this, but they didn't "cross moral lines." They presented situations and let the player deal with them. If it felt frighteningly real, that's because it's a well-told story. It causes no actual harm to anyone. If it disturbed you, GOOD. That means it brought out your humanity and made you realize that killing is hard even in the most necessary of circumstances, something Halo and God of War will never do.

Life is hard. The game doesn't pretend it isn't. It's authentic about its storylines. I like that. This game makes me happy to live in the real world where I don't have to handle such terrible situations.

Wut. But in my opinion i think that in a ZA if you had a kid... zombies dont become de attracted to them... Only if u put zombie stink on them! if the ZA outbreak happens its more than impossible that your son, lil' girl, parents, Gran and grandad and your pet - fido are going to make it onto a boat all alive and go into a magical sunset field of ponys. Im sorry but its the truth :/ if i upset you about saying in the ZA your loved ones are going to die im sorry

i didnt mean to be insulting at all. but its the truth

[trd84]

I think the head shots to the zombie girls in the show is much worse than anything in the game. Carl kills his mom in the show as well.

And the game didn't show Duck's death. The game always pulled away when it involved a child death. Clem died multiple times throughout the game if you failed to do something but the camera always switched or pulled away.

[SuperMeatBoy]

I honestly think it did a few times! It didn't affect me at all, though it surprised the fuck out of me when you had to shoot Duck. That's when I realized the game had some tough balls!