How Future Choices Get in the Way of Endings Mattering
Assuming that we all want our past choices and subsequent endings to affect the course of Season 3, Telltale Games has the pressure to please us, us being vocal members of their official forum—and you know we can be pretty demanding at times. I attempt to bring to light an issue that can potentially screw our endings over, and that is…
…the choices that will be in Season 3, "Episode One."
You might be saying, what? And that would be understandable. However, I believe that we are overlooking the fact that, despite the variations that the actual game presents, the choices we face are always linear in The Walking Dead series. And I mean always. How is the game supposed to mantain five different branches if we are meant to face the same choices despite our past decisions?
Season 1 and Season 2 used to have a trend of containing virtually all major choices in the back two thirds of an episode, I say off the top of my head. But that trend seems to be gone. In episodes one, two and three of Michonne, in addition to "No Going Back," we face a linear decision within the first fifteen minutes of gameplay. This could mean that our endings are not going to affect what we experience, since they can't place a random choice there, and at the same time, place it in all four other endings. This is assuming that the story will be told chronologically.
So what do you think? Could Telltale possibly manage to make our endings matter and at the same time, somehow include choices that are universal to all endings?
How does Javier, our second playable character, affect all of this?
Comments
I really don't know. Honestly, I have no idea. None of us know how Telltale is going to be doing this, they've just been saying that somehow the endings will matter. I mean, you could argue that the endings could pre-determine some of Clementine's actions, attitudes, and what she says/acts when we're Javier but really I have no idea. I'm just hoping Telltale surprise us out of the blue - really.
Uh... Lilly returning? Christa actually making it? I mean it depends tbh. If Christa wasn't stabbed, I'd say she has a better chance if they actually use these choices for Season 3.
I've already posted this elsewhere, but I'll say it again. I think whoever you ended up with, be it Kenny, Jane or Jane and the family, died. I think Telltale's idea of making our Season 2 choices matter will be by showing the death(s) in flashbacks and maybe having subsequent flashbacks that show how Clementine's story progressed during the time gap between Seasons 2 and 3. Or there could be a scene with Kenny or Jane in the first episode +flashbacks. They could do the same thing with the alone ending. I also think there may be subtle differences in Clementines' attitude and dialogue when you are playing as Javier and determinant deaths that don't affect the main plot, depending on the Season 2 ending you chose.
I didn't even mention Lilly nor Christa?
I will disguise it as a question and back away slowly?
That is a clever idea, and it would work hand-in-hand with all the players being faced against the same choices. Besides, I like when characters act differently based-off your choices, and if done right, Telltale could pull-off powerful flashbacks.
I applaud you!
While those five major decisions have stayed the same in TWD series so far, it might be worth noting that there are instances where they change in some of Telltale's other games.
In TFTB, one of the choices from the finale can be completely skipped depending on the player's decisions, and never shows up at the end
TWAU has a choice in episode 3 that can change completely depending on player choices.
Now that doesn't mean they'll definitely do that in S3, but there's a possibility that they might do something like that again.
That is awesome, and it would certainly solve this conflict in Season 3! Honestly, I suppose that this is the option that would ace at making our endings matter.
Although I played The Wolf Among Us, I never really looked much into it—not as much as The Walking Dead, anyway. What is the determinant decision? I have a feeling that it has to do with going to the Lucky Pawn or the Pudding N' Pie.
I was actually using them as examples of choices lol
My bad if it got awkward.
The choice to give Flycatcher a job is determinant. If in Episode 3 you choose to go to Crane's apartment and then to the Trip Trap, you don't even meet him in that episode.
There are actually a couple in TWAU, one in episode 3 and another in episode 5.
Well, whether an ending matters would be up to the player, whether it has an effect is up to the developers.
Oh, that's right! Thank you.
Another one in "Cry Wolf?" I'm all ears, Dojo!
It depends on whether or not you kill the Crooked Man before the trial, if you don't kill him you get the regularly seen "what did you do with the Crooked Man" (imprison him, throw him down the well, rip his head off) if you kill him the trial is different since they're all more angry at Bigby, since he killed someone without giving them a fair trial and you get the choice of whether or not you left the trial.
Oh, that refreshed my mind for sure. Thanks!
I'm really excited for Season 3, since I believe that determinant choices could be implemented in the different outcomes of the endings. The overall idea of having some choices appear depending on past choices is very interesting to me.
I'm still waiting for a choice from an episode or two ago to change a choice in a later episode, that'd be neat.
I wouldn't trust them with this promise of having a Clem that acts differently based on our last season choices, before Season 2 came out they made all sorts of promises about how playing a child character would make sense and how there would be points in the story where despite being in the apocalypse Clem would get to act like a kid again.
"Part of the fun in creating season two is finding the small, poignant moments where Clementine gets to act like a kid again."
total bs
Since they confirmed Clem would be going down to Alexandria in Season 3 then that confirms they had no clue about what the hell they were doing in Season 2, so caring that much about decisions made in that game is just a waste of time.
This is total BS. Dennis Lenart and his dirty commercial misleading!
Although, to be fair, I believe that Michonne aced at creating little character variations depending on your decisions—more than Season Two at least. This is seen in all Samantha, Norma and Paige, though Pete and Randall didn't really express this from what I remember.
To be fair, this article mainly pertained to episode 1, so they were mostly telling the truth there. Clementine was handled pretty well in the first episode, if you ask me; she had moments of vulnerability, like with the shed walker or Winston, had those opportunities to try to manipulate the adults (Sad eyes, etc), had a few small moments where you could have her act like a kid, even if they were small and subtle...
I mean, it's sort of like when they said trust was going to be a major theme in S2, which was more or less true for the first two episodes... until they lost sight of that with episode 3 and onwards
The quote clearly says "Part of the fun in creating SEASON TWO" but the telltale shilling made you ignore that one.
Huh, I figured it would've taken you at least two posts before resorting to this shit
but okay, let's just go with that
look at me i'm a shill
S2 was the best
Telltale is the best
you're just a hater
lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!