How Telltale could continue the series
So, I've been thinking about this, and I think there are ways they could continue the series without having to carry the branches the whole way through, but also without having them merge in a disappointing way like A New Frontier.
The most obvious thing, giving up Batman or Alfred, I feel is a relatively easy fix. They could justify Bruce coming out of retirement by simply having a dangerous enough threat come to Gotham that he needs to. Really, outside of maybe a few dialogue branches to refer back to the choice, this wouldn't be that hard. Harder would be the situation with Alfred. The way I see it, either Alfred comes back because he's worried for Bruce, so both paths have Alfred, or Alfred is killed in Episode One, so neither paths have Alfred. While I think killing Alfred if he stayed would be a really big emotional moment, I struggle to find an equivalent in that scenario for the path with no Alfred.
They could also just say that between Season Two and Three Bruce broke his promise and Alfred left regardless. That'd be a little more disappointing, but I personally would mind that much.
Joker is an even easier fix, I think. Just have a Vigilante Joker cameo - either Bruce visiting him in Arkham or even a phone call would be enough - if Bruce said they were friends. In any other path, I don't think a cameo is necessary. Maybe have Bruce visit Joker in Arkham for some reason regardless later in the story and then just change his dialogue based on any of the five endings with him? Basically, don't give John a huge role in the story, just give him a cameo, which shouldn't be hard to pull off.
Selina will probably show up regardless of choices. Maybe she escapes the Suicide Squad, so the lasting effect is that if we got her free, she likes Bruce still, but if we didn't, then she's enemies with him?
I personally would like to see Iman return, especially since her arc didn't feel like it really concluded this season. So, maybe the Agency returns, so we've either got Agency Avesta or COO Avesta. Either way, she could play a similar role in the story with just minor differences.
Gordon is maybe a little harder. I feel like the only difference you have to have between Villain and Vigilante is he has a cane continuing from the Villain Path, which I can't imagine would be that hard. Keep Commissioner, Retired, and Partner Gordon all three separate paths seems like it wouldn't be worth it, so maybe just merge Partner and Commissioner Gordon paths by explaining that if he was Batman's partner as a civilian he decided to fight for his old job back between Season Two and Three. If Gordon is retired, then maybe Montoya is Commissioner. Either way, they could serve a very similar role in the story to make it easier to keep both paths going. Maybe if Gordon's retired he has a cameo or something. Also, if Montoya is Commissioner then you could have Bullock take on the role of the "Detective" character, but otherwise only not have him show up or give him a small cameo. Basically, reduce it to a "Commissioner" and a "Detective" role, and then Gordon, Montoya, and Bullock would fit into those different roles based on the player's choices, but otherwise, nothing else changes.
The hardest thing would be the final choice with Tiffany. I feel like there's not much purpose in keeping Protegee Tiffany and Vigilante Tiffany separate, so maybe just briefly explain that between Season Two and Three Batman did eventually decide to take Tiffany under his wing. Agent Fox and Protegee Tiffany could serve similar roles in the story, just removing Tiffany from certain scenes in Batcave or Wayne Manor, replacing "Bruce" with "Batman" in certain dialogues, and having some extra dialogue to make the relationship between Agent Fox and Batman more hostile. I feel like that should be manageable for Telltale, right? The hardest things here are Prison Tiffany and Villain Tiffany. Maybe with Prison Tiffany, you could just explain that she was found innocent and then Amanda Waller decided to recruit her into the Agency, so Prison Tiffany and Agent Fox are the same, but just with an added line or two of dialogue that has Tiffany extra mad at Bruce/Batman. Then Villain Tiffany... Well, I guess first off with Villain Tiffany they'd need to replace the sidekick role with someone else. Either that, or maybe have a little Batcomputer AI running the Drone in that scenario. Then, I guess add a few unique scenes with Villain Tiffany and add a subplot to conclude her storyline, ending with her in prison. Or, maybe she ends up working with the Agency as part of the Suicide Squad? I don't know, Tiffany is definitely the element here that would require the most work, but I feel like with enough time and resources, Telltale could make her work.
Basically, I trust that, with the Studio now hopefully in a more stable position, we can avoid a ANF type situation where the whole thing was blown up and then poorly stitched back together a month before the premiere. If we can avoid that, I do think that with enough time and resources, Telltale could make a really great Season Three of this series that manages to handle all of the different branching paths in satisfactory ways.
(Final Note: My personal pick for a Big Bad for Season Three would be Ra's Al Ghul. I think there's a lot of really interesting things Telltale could do with that character)
Comments
I like your ideas and I truly hope we get a season 3, it could even show people how Telltale is willing to improve their games by having the journey affected by their past decisions, it would be pretty cool to see!