The Cabin Group is the 400 Days Cast
I've noticed that the characters of Season 2 are often given hard feelings for a variety of reasons. One of the most common comments that I've come across seems to be based on the assumption that the 400 Days Group would've been a better supporting cast for Clementine than the Cabin Group. While I agree that 400 Days as a DLC was wasted, aside from a follow-up on Vernon's plan and the inclusion of Bonnie as a supporting character, I don't agree with this way of thinking because you can't really say that without really stretching it and overglorifying what little separate, but equal screentime the former had over what vastly uneven and interdependent screentime the latter did.
As recommended to me by zombiebonnie, this is a counterpoint to the 400 Days cast vs. the cabin group discussion. Given the theme of that topic and the associated critiques, let's flip the script: Do you think the Cabin Group would've been better received if they were the characters you played as in 400 Days?
Comments
Depends on the writing for their 400 days episodes but I doubt it. The cabin group just wasn't very compelling. Kenny coming into the storyline and basically single handedly muscling them out as main characters was a stand out season 2 moment for me.
Who?
The 400 day characters. I was trying to find a fitting name for them and that was the best I could come up with at a moment's notice.
Well, 400 days characters is better than survivor camp group.
Meh.
Well, unfortunately, that's sounds like a problem with the writing. Reusing an old character should not come at the expense of developing a new set of relatively blank slates, especially if it causes your character focus roster to become so unbalanced in their favor that the protagonist themselves suffer for it.
Also, its comments like this that make me reconsider my stance on Kenny....
I know a lot of people would see it as a problem but this was a good thing for me. The cabin group got plenty of time to get developed and what not throughout the game, but the problem was that none of them were very interesting. Even before Kenny came into the storyline, I felt bored as fuck and that the game was crying out for something more. Jane came into the game pretty late and eventually rose above the cabin group as a character as well imo.
I already like the Cabin group more.
Oh, well that's a different story entirely. While I agree the episode was definitely on the quiet side before the bridge scene and Matthew were introduced, I personally liked that. The previous episode was so full of tense conflict that having the 1st half of the following gave time for the players to just chill out for a bit and leisurely get to know the group they're travelling with, which is one of the things this series is known for. However, if the characters just weren't resonating with some people, that is a problem in and unto itself. Again, though, one would expect for the characters to grow and endear as the episodes progress; after all Season 1 Episode 2 was similarly paced and was also a contender for the best episode of the Season.
Urrrr...okay, let's try to be congenial about this. As you've of little doubt seen me state before, Jane is a character I initially found to be very interesting, morally 'complex' and bizarrely sympathetic. However, I came to absolutely loooathe her as the game moved into its final episode for very serious ethical, personal reasons. And, unfortunately, that sentiment has only festered as the weeks went by and I joined this community.
I came into this Season relatively blind outside of a few broad expectations and vague spoilers. The general premise was that Clementine helps a group of refugees escape the tyranny of an evil settlement leader and make their way to safety. While Kenny had more prominence than I assumed, episode 3 manage to stick with this arc despite missing out on several other opportunities. And then as soon as Jane is brought into the spotlight..., it's not immediate, but the Cabin Group almost gets completely forgotten by the end of the penultimate episode. That is a serious problem.
Interesting. Mind going into your reasoning?
I like the 400 days group well enough but not as much as characters like Luke, Nick and Sarah. I don't have a real reason to be honest.
Ok. Just wasn't used to seeing that.
Fanfiction idea! Lol
An abandoned carnival
An underground community
Alexandria at the way end
Just a heads up—if "survivor camp cast" is the same as 400 Days crew, then the title of this thread means…
Wut?
I am serious, though.
Wrong thread, booboo. [Went and got my hopes up....]
It was an intentional mishmash of the names portraying the Cabin Group as the characters you play as in 400 Days, with Clementine stumbling across the Survivor Camp in Season 2.
It was totally [not] the point.
Yeah I mean the writing could have been better for the cabin group for sure if things were different but I gotta (stubbornly) maintain that the cabin group being at the forefront of the entire game would be worse than what we actually got.
Even for someone who likes the chilled out moments of the series, even I found the period from Pete's death to meeting Kenny to be pretty boring. The game actually improved for me when Kenny and Carver properly showed up.
Oh yeah, sure! I'd expect the story to give some focus on other characters like Walter, Bonnie, Mike, or maybe Arvo at certain points, but the fact remains that a great story can contain multiple ones that we don't need to see the entirety of in order to appreciate them and can remember who the real stars of the show are.
For as much shit as people give it, I thought Amid the Ruins had something going by alternating focus between the characters, with Sarah, Kenny, and [the especially egregious] Jane getting top billing, but the problem there was that there was a little too much focus on them compared to the other characters in terms of the ratio. Which is why I consider Episode 2 to be the best of Season 2: it has overworld areas to explore, the amount of interaction is tops, and the character focus is surprisingly balanced even with Nick and Kenny getting the most emphasis.
Whoops my bad
To help propagate this idea a bit for those who don't know what to think(or just don't give a foq
), here's a basic outline/homage given what vague backstory we know about them:
Nick/Pete- Admittedly, this is more fanservice for his fans than any real inspiration on my part. Carrying similar implications to Vince's story, we have Nick's mom around during some vague time frame. I guess for the sake of capturing his character, we can do a bit of time skipping like in Shel's scenario to show a strained but still loving relationship with Pete and how their travels put a bit of stress on him. Have some interaction between the two and his mom leading up to the appearance of the bitten woman at the Cabin. Whether you want to actually show how this goes down or not is up to personal opinion but I think having an aftermath of this entire event instead with Nick being noticeably withdrawn would act as a tease for his heart to heart in Season 2.
Reggie\Bonnie- What can I say, I ran out of characters. If we go with Reggie, we can focus on the days leading up to the Cabin group's escape from Howe's Hardware. Tonally a flip of Wyatt's story, Reggie's story would have a humorous presentation with numerous bursts of drama. The purpose of this is to demonstrate what a friendly yet selfless man he used to be so that when he gets introduced in Season 2, people would have a degraded comparison of just how much being left behind changed him. However, I'd actually kind of prefer we leave in Bonnie's story since I feel we kinda deserve to see an example of how often her relationships never seem to work out first hand. Otherwise, people would show a lot of spite due to the fact that you learn this in the same episode that has her turn on Clementine. Actually, I think having Reggie replace Taavia would work wonders, since it would basically end the dlc on a hope spot that the Cabin Group may be able to escape with his help.
Luke- Tbh, Luke is so at the forefront yet so basic that you have to give him an origin story. Like Russell's story, we have him hanging around Howe's Hardware alongside Nick and Bonnie. Have him show disapproval of how Carver is running things and perhaps attempt interfere with some of Carver's more extreme treatment towards the citizens. Have him get to know the other members of the community at sparse intervals and offscreen so that the ending in Nick and/or Reggie's stories helps to foreshadow his role as leader.
Rebecca/Alvin- A similar conflict to Bonnie's story: Rebecca has been touched by Carver after a tease of her job making speaker announcements(which could act to tie in with all the other stories with her tone changing as time goes on) and is beginning to notice the scarce signs of his villainy. Vaguely showcase why she was so vindictive about him that she would immediately try to take the gun from a pausing Nick and shoot a little girl herself. Maybe have George put in an appearance and hint that his abetting interference with Alvin's love life is making his days numbered.
Carlos- The same basic idea as Shel's story, he wants to make sure Sarah doesn't have to be exposed to how terrible the world is becoming. We could have an actual encounter with walkers to justify where these fears are coming from. Luke and/or Nick's family can make an appearance as well as maybe Reggie, since Sarah seemed to be slightly familiar with him.
I would choose the 400 days cast over the Cabin Group for several reasons, but it's mostly because I thought their story was better.
And killing off the entire Cabin Group was a ridiculous decision. Sarah and Nick were definitely wasted. The only one I think that was wasted from the 400 days group was Roman, who was an interesting character in of himself. Getting killed off without any explanation is kind of annoying. 400 days was kinda wasted in the fact that they barely got any cameos. And they didn't even last 20 seconds. I'd like a return of some of the 400 days characters simply because they were so good and rich in personality like Eddie and Nate.
Heck, I even made a determinate mini-series inspired by Shels Story.
NO! I CAME FIRST!
Hey there, buddy! Glad you came and contributed to the topic, and you were even generous to the side, but there's one problem: This is not the thread for that. This thread was meant to generate what-if opinions and potential ideas for if the Cabin Group were the stars of 400 Days.
If you wanted to discuss which is better, you want zombiebonnie's original thread, which inspired this one.
Also, I would love to see this mini-series of yours.
Ummmm... your meme is suspicious
Oh, don't you start, Creamy!
Ah, sorry about that. I just really like the 400 days crew.
Can you advertise here? Not sure on that... But anyway,
The mini-series is finished but the Wikia article I made on the characters is still a work in progress. You can find characters in the Mini-Series in the Wikia. Here are the consequences of your choices in the Wikia:
http://hopeless-series.wikia.com/wiki/-SPOILERS-_115_Days_Consequences
(Yes, even the name is inspired by 400 days).
Basically, I made the story using Spore Galactic Adventures expansion, this allows you to create adventures, albeit not with humans though. My series is on aliens, haha. But it's still none the less inspired by it, I decided that the Mini-Series should be determinant on the players choices while the major series of my isn't. You can find the mini-series here: http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=ssc-501038235839
Not sure either but I don't think it would hurt anything. This should be interesting.
...K.
I've always wanted to make a series similar to the Walking Dead. I'd love to start on it.
"New" 400 days characters would be better, they all had personal situations and better personalities that were diverse.Just because it's zombie apocalypse doesn't mean there's no more drug addict or relationship problems, geeks or siblings or rebels. Their stories intrigued me the most and their personality still shown through them after the zombie invasion, it was fun playing them. I liked Roman, Wyatt, & Russel. Playing rock, paper, scissors, to Russel's funny dialogue and attitude. 400 days was either relatable or just plain entertainment.
I...honestly don't know what to say to that. If you're suggesting that you like the 400 Days characters more, that's not what this thread was for. Honestly, I'm starting to think the title was misleading. Check zombiebonnie's thread in the description for your opinion on whose better.
Its okay, deary. Just cut and paste using a document as a buffer and then come back to state if the Cabin Group would have benefited from the 400 Days treatment.
and I like the guy who was with Wyatt
Eddie, the stupid, gross, but admittedly caring crackhead who ate paint when he was a kid. DuyEE!
Also, I would like someone to make an actual contribution instead of making me feel guilty about stealing zombiebonnie's thunder.