Telltale Games

Deng Ai · 07/10/2011, 04:15 pm

Hey, I'm new to the forums, and the main reason why I even registered was to talk about a couple things I was thinking about while playing this game. I played it a bit when it first came out, but I got playing a lot when the new achievement came up for the Steam Summer Sale last week.

The first thing that I wondered was why the seating wasn't random for the characters. Considering the variety of play styles the characters have, it would really change the game up and force the player to be on his or her toes if the seating was random, as opposed to having exactly the same formula each time. For instance, I find it somewhat annoying to have Max always betting directly after me, particularly when I want to do a moderately-sized continuation bet post-flop, particularly in position. His AI makes it where I have to be constantly more timid than I'd prefer, because I'm not too keen on shoving too much money into the pot with A-8.

Second, this is probably considerably harder to implement than the first idea: would it be too difficult to create an "extreme" mode that is more difficult than hard? As it stands, even on hard, the game is way too easy for me. Other than getting a bad beat to Max once in a great while with his uncanny ability to make his straight and flush draws on the river, I have to go out of my way to try to lose, even on hard. Strong Bad might as well put up a billboard on the interstate saying when he's bluffing, the Heavy consistently overbets bad cards, and Tycho almost never bluffs, making me know exactly when to fold. Max is the only one who is even kind of challenging, but you just have to wait and shove against him when you have a strong hand.

I hardly consider myself to be an incredible poker player. I'm a serious player, but I'm certainly not in the same galaxy as the pros. Still, I would just like to see a mode that presents a competent challenge to serious poker players. (That being said, if you ever do implement such a thing, make sure the game is difficult because the AI is really smart. Don't mess with the randomization process of the cards to make the other players consistently get dealt cards that are superior to yours; that would be a perfect way to ruin the mode.)

I don't know if anyone agrees with me on this. I just wanted to share my opinion on a game that I enjoy.

RAnthonyMahan · 07/10/2011, 05:23 pm

The thing to keep in mind is that Poker Night wasn't really about the poker. It's about imagining what interactions the characters from four very different (but all hilarious) works would have with each other if they ever met. The game's basically a pilot to see if people would be interested in more "At the Inventory" games. Telltale went with poker for the actual gameplay because it's easy to program, easy to understand, and allows for lots of dialogue.

As an actual poker game, yeah, Poker Night's pretty bad, I won't lie. Once you've heard all the dialogue and gotten all the TF2 items, there's not much of a reason to play it. It's important to just remember that poker wasn't really the priority.

Deng Ai · 07/10/2011, 05:32 pm

I understand that Poker Night was not intended to have some sort of grand scope on its own, but I can't see why they can't improve upon it, since they already have the game created. Obviously, Poker Night isn't going to be Telltale's top priority, but it's just something to consider.

07/10/2011, 04:15 pm	#1
Deng Ai Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 2	A couple of comments on the game Hey, I'm new to the forums, and the main reason why I even registered was to talk about a couple things I was thinking about while playing this game. I played it a bit when it first came out, but I got playing a lot when the new achievement came up for the Steam Summer Sale last week. The first thing that I wondered was why the seating wasn't random for the characters. Considering the variety of play styles the characters have, it would really change the game up and force the player to be on his or her toes if the seating was random, as opposed to having exactly the same formula each time. For instance, I find it somewhat annoying to have Max always betting directly after me, particularly when I want to do a moderately-sized continuation bet post-flop, particularly in position. His AI makes it where I have to be constantly more timid than I'd prefer, because I'm not too keen on shoving too much money into the pot with A-8. Second, this is probably considerably harder to implement than the first idea: would it be too difficult to create an "extreme" mode that is more difficult than hard? As it stands, even on hard, the game is way too easy for me. Other than getting a bad beat to Max once in a great while with his uncanny ability to make his straight and flush draws on the river, I have to go out of my way to try to lose, even on hard. Strong Bad might as well put up a billboard on the interstate saying when he's bluffing, the Heavy consistently overbets bad cards, and Tycho almost never bluffs, making me know exactly when to fold. Max is the only one who is even kind of challenging, but you just have to wait and shove against him when you have a strong hand. I hardly consider myself to be an incredible poker player. I'm a serious player, but I'm certainly not in the same galaxy as the pros. Still, I would just like to see a mode that presents a competent challenge to serious poker players. (That being said, if you ever do implement such a thing, make sure the game is difficult because the AI is really smart. Don't mess with the randomization process of the cards to make the other players consistently get dealt cards that are superior to yours; that would be a perfect way to ruin the mode.) I don't know if anyone agrees with me on this. I just wanted to share my opinion on a game that I enjoy.

07/10/2011, 05:23 pm	#2
RAnthonyMahan Hyperkinetic Humany Thing Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 1,617	The thing to keep in mind is that Poker Night wasn't really about the poker. It's about imagining what interactions the characters from four very different (but all hilarious) works would have with each other if they ever met. The game's basically a pilot to see if people would be interested in more "At the Inventory" games. Telltale went with poker for the actual gameplay because it's easy to program, easy to understand, and allows for lots of dialogue. As an actual poker game, yeah, Poker Night's pretty bad, I won't lie. Once you've heard all the dialogue and gotten all the TF2 items, there's not much of a reason to play it. It's important to just remember that poker wasn't really the priority. __________________ None of your damn business, Sam. My new book! My old book! My writing blog!

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Telltale General FAQ	divisionten	General Chat	64	04/04/2013 05:20 pm
Rayman Origins	tredlow	General Chat	30	06/10/2011 07:52 am
IWWHIIWWHITOMIROTPG: The Game!	monkey_05_06	Tales of Monkey Island General Discussion	313	10/05/2010 08:00 am
Control Scheme?	RMJ1984	Tales of Monkey Island General Discussion	535	07/06/2009 04:24 am
Sam&Max Ep2 - stops working once a save game exists	CptKlotz	Game Support - General	16	08/06/2007 11:31 am

07/10/2011, 05:32 pm	#3
Deng Ai Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 2	I understand that Poker Night was not intended to have some sort of grand scope on its own, but I can't see why they can't improve upon it, since they already have the game created. Obviously, Poker Night isn't going to be Telltale's top priority, but it's just something to consider.