ANF (Season 3) Lacked Emotion - Here's Why
Since the release of "From The Gallows" for Season 3 I have seen many threads regarding Season 3 and the disappointment it caused among fans of The Walking Dead. ANF was emotionless in so many aspects from the characters, to the decisions, to the story. Personally for me, it felt like a filler season for The Walking Dead and a way to simply eradicate the Season 2 endings so that Telltale could have a blank canvas to work with in Season 4 instead of dealing with Season 2 endings.
So, below are the reasons why ANF, Season 3 whatever you want to call it, was emotionless:
• Characters
Throughout Season 3, the characters to me felt subpar compared to the characters that were created and developed during Season 1 and Season 2. Season 2 had its flaws in regards to character development, but Season 3 for the most part didn't develop the characters enough to the point where I cared about what they did or said. Characters such as; Kate and David changed their mindsets for "From The Gallows", for example Kate went from wanting to leave Richmond in Episode 4, however in Episode 5 she wanted to save Richmond because it was the right thing to do. Why would Kate want to do that, it just seemed odd, instead it would of made more sense for David to want to save Richmond because he helped build that community, whereas Kate had arrived their days prior and then decided to blow a massive hole into the wall. David's character is just as bad, he is simply there in Season 3 to help add to the supposed 'tension' within the group due to the relationship which is determined on the ‘players’ relationship with Kate. Even if you the 'player' chooses not have a relationship/express their feelings with Kate you will still be forced into a confrontation with David in Episode 5, which is silly and links to my next point. Overall, in my opinion, the characters in Season 3, regardless of their role were just there to serve a purpose rather than have their characters develop and have meaning. Instead the majority of characters were given little development, which in turn meant that we the 'player' did not have an emotional attachment to the characters, and characters did die (Ava) we did not care, and this was made worse because the characters in the game itself didn't care either and glossed over many deaths cough Ava cough.
• Choices
Are Telltale games really "tailored to your (our) choices". At this point I think it's pretty obvious that they don't. You might get the odd reference to a choice you the 'player' made in season 2 when playing as Clementine, for example having specific injuries or lines of dialogue dependant on what ending you got in Season 2, but your choices don't matter. Conrad can determinately survive in Season 3 which is by far the best thing Telltale did in this season. But apart from that what else mattered, the Season 3 different endings may have an impact on Season 4 but we will have to wait and see, but judging by what we got in Season 3 with our Season 2 choices I highly doubt it. Other than that, the rest of the choices in this season felt emotionless and didn't matter, what was the result of saving Ava or Tripp? Their deaths 20 minutes into "From The Gallows", what was the result of sparing Max and taking Max with you to confront the leaders of Richmond? Simple, Joan manages to convince Clint, Lingard among others that she was in the right showing that your choices still don't matter. Again, emotionless choices that are put into the game to make you the 'player' feel like you are in control but you’re not, this makes the game overall just feel dull and uninspiring. Granted, Season 1 and Season 2 had choices that didn't matter, however maybe Telltale did a better job of tricking you the 'player' into thinking that your choices mattered.
• Story
The story for Season 3 was different compared to Season 1 and Season 2 because it centred on a partly functional, real family in the form of the Garcia's. But, this doesn't make it a good, standalone season. According to Telltale this was going to be the 'biggest season yet' and was designed to appeal to both new and old fans. This season was the smallest season they have done in terms of the length of episodes. Compare Season 1's Episode 3 to Season 3's Episode 3, the difference is bitter sweet from the length, to the choices, to the story, even to the emotional attachment I had during Season 1 Episode 3 with the whole 'Duck being bitten' situation. The story just felt off in many regards, at times I felt like the story was picking up just for it to get dropped right down again back to the cliché zombie story. The love triangle that plagued this season also felt forced, as I mentioned even if you try and disregard Kate's emotions it still doesn't matter or have any effect on the story. This meant that if you the 'player' opted to be in the minority of going against what the story wanted which was clearly for Javier to express his love for Kate, you were still pushed into situations which didn't make sense, David vs Javier in Episode 5. Now you can choose to not go against David by choosing the 'I love you' option, but still it offers little to no change on the future events. Finally, the ending of Season 3 and the current closure of ANF also lacked emotion. Telltale may wish to go back to Season 3's story, but I doubt it will be successful due to the abundant of poor storytelling and plot holes that made the majority of this season feel emotionless, for example why does Tripp forgive Javier if you kill Conrad (links back to the idea that this season had flip floppy characters who changed motives or emotions regularly, back in Season 1 the second you disagreed with Kenny it would come back to bite you on the arse), i'll tell you why, because Telltale wanted Tripp to, that's why.
• Final Thoughts
Sorry for the long post, but this was difficult to convey in a short, snappy post. I feel that ANF was a major disappointment and I wanted this season to be good for the sake of Telltale. It's clear from the poor sales that ANF has had that Telltale got this season all wrong. Not only did this season become emotionless, it became a tiresome, chore to sit there and play an episode. The constant action sequences with QTE really took away from the story. The deaths of many characters felt emotionless and the majority of the fan backclash from this season came from the treatment of the Season 2 endings (Kenny, Jane etc). Telltale simply needs to go back to what worked in Season 1, and even in Season 2. Season 2 had moments that made you the 'player' feel happy, sad, angry, and shocked. Case in point with the death of Sarah in episode 4 'Amid the Ruins', people were angry because they didn't like how they treated the death of Sarah, but in many regards the passion that I had in Season 2 with the mistreatments of characters has since gone when it comes down to Season 3. I didn’t get angry when Ava died; I simply saw it as a disappointment. I wasn't angry when David fights Javier without question; I was simply disappointed with the product that I was given. In terms of constructive feedback which I think is strongly needed for Season 4, its simple, don't lie about choices or market the season around a 'playable character' that doesn't end up being a 'playable character' for the most part (CLEMENTINE IN SEASON 3, she got shafted). Be honest with the fans and make sure that the seasons plans are laid out before you start releasing teasers or episodes (look what happened to the slaughterhouse), please have an idea of what you want to do and execute it. If Telltale can make games like Season 1 and even Season 2 to some extent (and The Wolf Among Us), then surely they can make season 4 a great, successful season.
Thanks for reading; I am up for discussion regarding this topic.
Comments
I completely agree with everything you said in this post. Very detailed explenation of why this season didn't work, let's just hope that Telltale realizes their mistakes and makes a better season.