Quality vs Quantity
I was just thinking about this. How would you feel if Telltale did more than 5 episodes per season? Would you prefer that or five long episodes?
I personally hope they don't do more than five and just make the episodes longer.
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Quality always over quantity. If there were more than 5 episodes, all you'll get Telltale doing is several rushed episodes to keep to their schedules and shit. Long episodes gives us time to grow attached to the characters and feel like we are getting our money's worth its as simple as that. It just fucking baffles me why this company i once really liked has just become so awful in my opinion before i get attacked. I always use TWD Season 1 as the marker point but it deeply saddens me that since 2012 they have failed to make any of their other games as good as that in terms of the effort put into it, the 2 hour+ eps, the lengthy gameplay, the character interaction and development as wel as several hubs, optional puzzles/side quests to do like feeding candy bars to members of the group or fixing the swing at the St John's. Why couldn't Telltale replicate what they did that season? Also working on multiple games has been a reason for a serious lack in quality.
I will continue repeating this until my voice is heard by Telltale. I would like just one person of importance from their company to tell me outright why they can't see how poor their direction is in their games these days and why they won't do what i know they are capable of doing again?
I'd prefer quality over quantity, however telltale can have both if they put the hardwork and effort into it.
Even for these short episodes we got in anf....there was no quality so it doesn't matter this season
Seriously... is it too much to ask for both? Have we really set the bar so low? I remember back in the day when companies released games with both quality and quantity.
Where is the fun in playing a long game if it's a bad game? So yes, I would of course say quality over quantity.
Regarding the Walking Dead games, Telltale showed us they can do both. Season 1 was a masterpiece, good 2h+ long episodes and with 5 episodes it was well enough to create a magnifient story, we had also the time to think about characters, grow an attachement to them. So we had quality and good quantity.
Meanwhile with the New Frontier, we had neither a good story neither a good quantity of material. The episodes were barely over 1h long. To keep up with season 1, ANF would need 3-4 episodes more than we have now. So it feels like there must be a good balance between both sides, if there isn't enough gameplay the story will be affected as well.
I would have no issue with buying extra episodes if they were all good and engaging. That said, I wouldn't buy another New Frontier episode.
I think we got neither this season.
ANF: Ep1: 80 Min Ep2: 70 Min Ep3: 90 Min Ep4: 90 Min Ep5: 80 Mins Total: 410 Min or a little bit under 7 hours of gameplay
S1: Ep1: 140 Min Ep2: 150 Min Ep3: 150 Min Ep4: 160 Min Ep5: 90 Min Total: 690 Min or 11 and a half hours of gameplay
S1 has more gameplay in 3 episodes than ANF. ANF is literally a extra content/DLC compared to S1 and of course ANF is nowhere close to S1 in quality.
I think that Quality and Quantity correlates with each other and if TT want to make a good game it should be bigger and there should be solid effort put into it.
I want Telltale to remain to it's 5 episodes per season/series as adding more episodes would only make things worse imo.
While I didn't think this season was worse than S2, the short length of each episode was particularly heavy. I don't understand why they thought we'd care so much about these brand new characters, especially when they died when we've had so little time with them. Had they actually made the episodes more lengthy then perhaps I would have cared more when our niece and nephew died instead of me going, oh well.
To really get a good idea of this, we can look at episode 5. At the beginning we're playing a game with our David and padre. When Javi discovers the cancer paper, can anyone really say they cared? He dies/turns in the first episode so way too late to try and make us care for this character, especially when his personality is about as exciting as an acorn. Had Telltale done a better job with these flashbacks and when they happened in what episode, we could have cared more, episode 1 really should have been an entire episode dedicated to those flashbacks so we could get to know the characters better and genuinely get attached.
In general I've been feeling that Telltale has been slipping from quality in order to make more quantity which has effectively turned me away from them. S3 here was pretty much my last try for them, Tales was the only other thing that refueled my hope for them. I'm just not okay any longer giving them money for shorter, and less fleshed-out experiences when they have shown they can really go above and beyond with things like S1 and Tales from the Borderlands. Not saying either is perfect, but both actually made me care for it's characters in a real and natural way and even had me laughing too instead of what we've recently been getting which has had me shaking my head and calling BS in certain situations.
So in summary, yes I'd like to see more quality in their games, and until I see that, they won't be getting anything more from this customer.
I want quality not more shit. ANF has completely disappointed me and I was hoping that it would be better. If this next season isn't at least decent I'm done with this studio.
Ideally, both quality and quantity should exist. Those are not by any means mutually exclusive. It's not easy to have both, sure, but perhaps if Telltale focused their whole team solely on one title at a time instead of spewing 3-4 mediocre games a year, that could easily be achieved, no?
What will take for Telltale to realize that one masterpiece every two years would've made them more money and reputation than 10 half baked games every 2 years which have exhausted their once amazing formula to the point no one really cares about them anymore?
Could possibly be Cheapness, laziness, and greed
With more hubs, dialogue areas to explore (ex.Wellington) you have to pay more for the time and efforts of voice actors animators, sound FX squad, writers etc....
Bottom line is why put in the same or more amount of effort and funds from season 1? When you could possibly rake in the same in sales with each game for less of everything when you know most would just buy for Clementine and because it has The Walking Dead labeled across it? With several other games to work on there might not even be a need to pay to put in credits music until the finale credits. Not sure if it's the case but some games do seem to get more care and attention into how it's developed. Maybe because of the uncertainty in how successful it will be at the moment. I'll be interested in seeing if more or less effort is put into their next Game of Thrones game though.
They've improved the graphics in ANF quite a bit and that's about it. Maybe they figured they'd save on everything else otherwise since that little upgrade might of been a pretty penny or rather a pretty million.
Just one of a few theories.
The way I see it. If they took nearly 3 years to make A New Frontier and this all they've got. Then there is very little hope of returning back to the season 1 quality assured game. Even if Clementine returns front and center like with the second game. Or just give up and sell the game rights to another entity whom could be equally or more capable of great story games like Naughty Dog and Quantic Dream. Maybe even the folks that made Life is Strange.
actually, anf was a little over six hours. ep 1 was about 70, ep 2 was a little over 60, ep 3 was 80-90, ep 4 was 85-90, and ep 5 was 70-75.
Oh i know the reason why they haven't made the effort. It is exactly the reason you said. They are milking it for ever penny from the first game's success. And of everything you said yes, you would think they would at least care about their series and it's fans but it seems like they don't
I completed every episode in just over an hour so I don't know where this 90mins comes from?
Will maybe it didn't take 90mins for everyone.
Some must take their sweet time then lol
I took averages from HowLongToBeat website. They might be slightly off, but walkthroughs of Ep3 and Ep4 on youtube are usually 80-90 mins.
Anyway, it doesn't change the fact that ANF is shorter than 3 episodes of S1.
The right is what you said, balance between these two is important for a game to be successful.
Well comparing ANF to the earlier seasons from a matter of gameplay and storyline that was clearly shading on Clementine's story, it does feel like a DLC season or side story in the same world of TWD and I like to think of it that way instead of shitting on it.
The Walking Dead put them on the map though. Nothing before that they made captured the world's attention as with the first game. It's highly irrational to not make your best known game top priority each time it becomes time to work on the next installment. Gather every worker in the house if that's what it takes. Beg Sean Vanaman, Gary Whitta, Robert Kirkman himself to help out with the plot and offer 2 months paid vacation if that's what it takes. In mean Jesus Paul Monroe come with it next time guys or just drop it off to someone who can.
Good for you, but what does that have anything to do with that post?
QUANTITY = QUALITY
The low quality of the seasons are DUE TO the LOW QUANTITY.
Simple.
It has nothing to do with the main post. I'm just pointing out how I feel about ANF and how I think we shouldn't take it as an example of a low quantity&quality game.
How does that make any sense? You're trying to say that the quality of the products is low due to Telltale's low output of items? Because one way or another that makes no sense. If you're talking about TWD primarily, we have S1/2/3, the Michonne one, and the other I can't remember that was supposed to tie into S2. And your point makes even less sense if we're talking about all the products the company has put out.
This has been proving more to be the case that as Telltale has pumped out more products, whether TWD solely related or not, that their overall quality has been drastically dropping in several areas. Episodes are getting shorter, writing is getting worse, the formula is beyond beaten to death, and the fans are only getting more angry and disappointed.
I think you simply misunderstood something here. By quantity is meant the length of the game and not amount of games.
Lemme try to paraphrase it:
Quality suffers from not enough length in the games, because characters are not getting developed enough and whole story feels rushed.
Does that make more sense for you?
No no no no, you have got me wrong. When I say quantity I mean the episode length, not the amount of games produced. TRUST ME, I am ALL FOR telltale slowing down and working on one game at a time as that would make the quality better, which correlates with them having time to give us more quantity (episode length).
Here is the problem. Many have left Telltale. Starting with Dan Conners. So many that worked on s1 and s2 are gone. I'm afraid the magic that was in s1 and s2 will never come back. Sean Ainsworth, who had a big hand in both games and directed 400 days, does not have a credit in S3. Don't know why.
Alright, gotcha now bud, my bad!
Yup, misunderstanding it was on my part but we're all good now.
Actually it is a good idea. It will be more like TV series which will be good for me. I am fine with it. If Telltale will do that, it could be mean that story will has more details. But their best is 6 episodes for one season so this wont happen.