An Open Letter to Telltale Games

[DeLuca]

Dearest TTG;

In the most recent months, you have been my heroes, bringing back what I believe to be the most wonderful franchise in gaming history. I love what you have done with it, and wholeheartedly approve.

However, I think Michael Lands music is one of the best part of the games. The music in Curse of Monkey Island, I think, is a HUGE part of what made it feel so epic, so polished.

So please, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT RELEASE THE NEXT SEASON ON THE WII. We want real music, we want recorded music. I want steel drums and accordions and violins and flutes. I want real samples of a ocean wave breaking, not MIDI sounding stuff. I know you're limited, and I can hear IN this music that the talent is there to do SO much more.

Even better, release it on XBOX if you must use a console, its more geared to your audience, it has the capabilities to handle full music-ed games (they are going to allow downloading of full 360 games soon).

HELL, I'll pay more! That's how much I like you guys but also how much I want real music. I'll pay $45 for a season, hell I'll pay $60 just like an XBOX 360 game.

Sincerely,
Me

PS: I know businesses, I know it's complicated, in reality I'm just hoping that you consider dropping the WII because its limits heavily outweigh its benefits.

[hplikelike]

Originally Posted by DeLuca

Dearest TTG;

In the most recent months, you have been my heroes, bringing back what I believe to be the most wonderful franchise in gaming history. I love what you have done with it, and wholeheartedly approve.

However, I think Michael Lands music is one of the best part of the games. The music in Curse of Monkey Island, I think, is a HUGE part of what made it feel so epic, so polished.

So please, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT RELEASE THE NEXT SEASON ON THE WII. We want real music, we want recorded music. I want steel drums and accordions and violins and flutes. I want real samples of a ocean wave breaking, not MIDI sounding stuff. I know you're limited, and I can hear IN this music that the talent is there to do SO much more.

Even better, release it on XBOX if you must use a console, its more geared to your audience, it has the capabilities to handle full music-ed games (they are going to allow downloading of full 360 games soon).

HELL, I'll pay more! That's how much I like you guys but also how much I want real music. I'll pay $45 for a season, hell I'll pay $60 just like an XBOX 360 game.

Sincerely,
Me

PS: I know businesses, I know it's complicated, in reality I'm just hoping that you consider dropping the WII because its limits heavily outweigh its benefits.

Why is it that open letters are never good. They're always criticizing something.

[jp-30]

Do you mean Wiiware? Because it's the download service with the limitations, the console itself ought to be able to run adventure games just fine (though I am aware of frame rate issues in Sam & Max, but hopefully Telltale have those under control by now).

[JohanShogun]

Originally Posted by DeLuca

(they are going to allow downloading of full 360 games soon).

They are already actually

[bobdevis]

This is not going to happen, ill tell you why.

It's very costly to get the setup going for making console games. Once you have everything set up and your people properly know how everything works, it's a lot easier to release more stuff on that console.

Dropping the Wii would be a huge waste of invested money. No sane company would do this just for aesthetic reasons. It's not like there is any fundamental problem with the Wii. It's powerful enough for the ToMI engine and a very popular device. Dropping it would make zero business scene.

The proof of this is that TTG didn't touch OSX or the PS3 (yet). They are hesitant to make the big initial investment.

[kjeevah]

the wii is not powerful enough to run the tomi engine.

i made the horrific mistake of buying the wii version and had to delete it in dusgust and buy it AGAIN so i could play it on a proper computer instead of a 5 year old's toy.

by 'popular' i assume you mean popular with 40-somethings playing wii-fit and 5 year olds playing 'i like to ride around on my pet pony 5'.

XNA supports dual PC/xbl development.

[Irishmile]

I predict this thread spiraling into hurt fanboy feelings territory.

[bobdevis]

I must admit I don't have a Wii. I recently discovered that I can run ToMI pretty much perfectly on some old first-gen Althlon64 (with Vista on it!). I assumed a Wii should run it at least just as good then.

Anyway, the economic argument still stands.

[Murray]

I'm hoping that Monkey Island makes it on to the xbox arcade like Sam and Max.

[TheMandingo]

I think an open letter to get your point across is fine. I don't think the OP is expecting a major change like WiiWare actually being dropped. But what are some good alternatives? PC users getting full-fledged, high-quality music and let the Wii strip it down if needed? Offering an HD-pack as a downloadable add-on, so as not to bog down the mainstream audience with larger installation files? If/when there's a second season, those kinds of ideas can probably be implemented.

[corruptbiggins]

Originally Posted by kjeevah

the wii is not powerful enough to run the tomi engine.

i made the horrific mistake of buying the wii version and had to delete it in dusgust and buy it AGAIN so i could play it on a proper computer instead of a 5 year old's toy.

by 'popular' i assume you mean popular with 40-somethings playing wii-fit and 5 year olds playing 'i like to ride around on my pet pony 5'.

XNA supports dual PC/xbl development.

The Wii has more than enough power to play more demanding games than what Telltale have made, it's just that they are not released on WiiWare which is what Telltale do currently and is a move I feel seriously limits their potential on a console that is perfectly suited to their types of game.

XNA/C# is fine for small bedroom coders but it's just too slow (compared to C++) for commercial games development.

[DeLuca]

Oh don't get me wrong, I LOVE telltale and everything that they have done, I just wish they could go to their full potential rather than being limited by wiiware.

Everyone brings up really good points though

[Geypi]

They could just release an album -_-.

[balin2k]

i dont have a wii but i wouldnt but TOMI on t even if i did. purely for the fact i prefer to play MI on a pc where i can sit at a desk.

[JedExodus]

Wii = Large audience, Large audience = Large newfound consumer base, Large newfound consumer base = Moneys and more new games

Tales will be on 360 soon enough

[Irishmile]

Minor issues aside I think the Wii is ideal for adventure gaming. An altogether smart move and fit for TTG. These games are not your typical testosterone soaked first person gore fest... it seems more suited towards the Wii crowd the type of game you could play in front of your grandmother without getting too many finger wags directed your way. Like JedExodus said its all about getting it in the hands of as many people as possible.... I think that TOMI has done wonders for adventure gaming and I think we can expect some great new games because of it.

It also has done wonders for TTG, they are no longer the little game studio that could, they are now a legitimate force to be reckoned with.... Lucasarts has hired them to make a game for them.. That puts them on the map in a pretty big way.. its no longer a little experiment to see if episodic adventure games has a market its proven and proven with critic and fan approval. Releasing this on the Wii has gone a long way to help them do just that.

[JohanShogun]

Originally Posted by corruptbiggins

XNA/C# is fine for small bedroom coders but it's just too slow (compared to C++) for commercial games development.

I don't agree with this at all, it is highly doable to write a high end game in C#. DirectX runs 98% as fast in C# as it does in C and C++ according to microsoft, of course this is to be taken with a pinch of salt, but the fact that the language cuts away a lot of the bad stuff with C++ makes it well worth using, even for major companies. There are a few C# engines out there but not to many, I'm to lazy to dig them up at the moment.

The major reason most game companies are not using C# for the games is that it's a microsoft language, it only works on windows, if you want to port your game to consoles or other OSes you pretty much screw yourself over using C# and it's relatively new compared to C or C++ which both have quite a few years behind them which means it's easy enough to find coders with the amount of expertise required to write a high end game.

[Woodsyblue]

Originally Posted by Geypi

They could just release an album -_-.

They'd better!

[guitarsareboring]

I'm surprised no one has brought up the extra cost of hiring musicians...

[Woodsyblue]

Originally Posted by guitarsareboring

I'm surprised no one has brought up the extra cost of hiring musicians...

They didn't seem to mind that cost with Sam & Max.