I thank god that Brown's offsprings are mentioned nowhere in the survey, and hopefully, they're mentioned only once in the game, in a very, very elusive moment. To be seen or heard nowhere.
They were in the survey. They were in the list of potential player characters.
While I am really excited about a new BTTF game, I'm not that excited by the potential plot lines. I saw positives and negatives with each one, and to me, only one really seemed to fit with the BTTF mythos.
1930's - I definitely want to visit this timeline in the game, but the story doesn't make sense. A golddigger that makes Doc lose interest in science? Totally out of character and frankly not that exciting. Now, having a gangster Tannen steal the time machine leaving Marty, Doc, or other characters stuck in that time period? That sounds like fun.
1960's - This storyline makes sense the most to me. Great decade, and having Marty run into his mom the day before he is born sounds interesting. Hunting for objects? Not so much. If you're going to go this route, I'd rather have puzzles to solve ala Uncharted rather than hunting for parts of the time machine. Plus, why would part of the flux capacitor be a necklace for Lorraine?
1980's - I like the idea of visiting the 80's, but Biff Jr. and Marty's temporally displaced children? Seems a little too animated series for me. While the game may not be considered canon, I'd rather leave the animated series out of it.
2010 - I like the idea of bringing a new element (time police) into the mix, but why is a Tannen a police officer? They've always been troublemakers and well, not all that intelligent. Why would they be involved in something as complicated as enforcing justice across the space time continuum.
For me, the perfect game would be simliar to what they did with Ghostbusters. Make it a fourth movie. It should be well written and seem to connect to the universe we experienced in the 3 movies. Visit the far future perhaps, like 2100? Medieval times maybe? Maybe a bonus level where you play out the clocktower scene?
Good luck making the game. I'll be pre-ordering a copy as soon as it's available.
I disagree 100%. I'm willing to bet that a game-of-the-movie is not what most people want to play.
No, but that's what'd *sell*. That's why the movie industry spends so little effort in making the tie-in games. Fortunately, Telltale aim at a smaller and bespoker market rather than the hoi polloi and casual purchaser.
And I still want the 1938 scenario. I seriously can't understand why everybody thinks young Doc must have the same feelings and views as old Doc. People change! And sometimes it's because they've read a Jules Vene novel.....
I wouldn't want to play a game of the movie (but I would), but I would love to play a game that continued the story past Part III. As for 1938, Doc's views, etc... his views could have changed, but we know from Part III that Doc has been interested in science every since he was a small boy and read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. We also know that he does not believe in love at first site based on his reaction to having a "beloved Clara" as seen on his tombstone. To me, Clara has to be his first love interest. It is clear since we see Doc in 1955 totally dedicated to science as he was as a kid, that nothing happened in the 30's to make him lose interest resulting in him never inventing the time machine. The only way this storyline would work would be if some evil time traveler went back in time to ruin Doc Brown's career and steal his money. If Doc Brown is the one that invents time travel, this would create a paradox because how would the evil time traveler travel back in time if Doc never invents time travel. The reason I say it has to be a time traveler is that we know based on the events of Part I that Doc does NOT lose interest in science meaning the gold digger in the 30's has to be an element foreign to that decade and Doc's past. Not sure if that makes sense. I think I've confused myself.
Ya, I'm not interested in the whole story of Doc being led astray, but the 1930-40's time period is definitely one I'd love to see explored. Someone earlier mentioned a Tannen mobster/mob boss, I think that's a great idea and perfectly in line with the movies.
I'd also agree that I'd like to see the games stay far FAR away from Jules and Verne as playable characters. In fact, I'd rather the game just stick to the core characters of Doc, Marty and Biff (or the Tannen family). It doesn't hurt to have the other movie characters in the game or mentioned, but those 3 should always be the main protagonists the story revolves around. It just won't feel like a BttF story any other way.
And ya, I can't stress this enough, draw heavy inspiration from Day of the Tentacle. I was just thinking back on some of the puzzles from that game and how perfect they'd fit into a Back to the Future style game.
At first i got that too, but i knew it was because instead of being a "fan" i put "neutral".
Just go back in time and turn to the fan side. Then you can be normal again.
Yeah...I can't really honestly consider myself a fan hehe. Sure I enjoyed the movies, but a 'fan' is probably stretching the truth.
I wouldn't want to play a game of the movie (but I would), but I would love to play a game that continued the story past Part III. As for 1938, Doc's views, etc... his views could have changed, but we know from Part III that Doc has been interested in science every since he was a small boy and read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. We also know that he does not believe in love at first site based on his reaction to having a "beloved Clara" as seen on his tombstone. To me, Clara has to be his first love interest. It is clear since we see Doc in 1955 totally dedicated to science as he was as a kid, that nothing happened in the 30's to make him lose interest resulting in him never inventing the time machine. The only way this storyline would work would be if some evil time traveler went back in time to ruin Doc Brown's career and steal his money. If Doc Brown is the one that invents time travel, this would create a paradox because how would the evil time traveler travel back in time if Doc never invents time travel. The reason I say it has to be a time traveler is that we know based on the events of Part I that Doc does NOT lose interest in science meaning the gold digger in the 30's has to be an element foreign to that decade and Doc's past. Not sure if that makes sense. I think I've confused myself.
I think it's possible that the reason he denies the existence of love at first sight in the third movie is that he was hurt by someone in the past. He fell in love with this woman when he was a young man, but when he found out that she didn't love him back and was only interested in his family fortune, his heart was broken and he became bitter and cynical about love.
Here's how I think the scenario could make sense:
In the original timeline, Doc grew up with a passion for science and an affinity for the works of Jules Verne. There was one particular novel, however, that definitively convinced him he wanted to become an inventor. As a young man, he fell in love with this woman who was only interested in his money and who wanted him to stay with his family's business rather than spend all of his inheritance creating ridiculous contraptions that didn't even work (such as the mind-reading helmet from the first movie). This conflict eventually culminated into a huge argument that revealed her true intentions. They broke up, and Doc devoted his life to science and swore never to fall in love again.
Somehow Doc and Marty muck up the timeline so that that one critical novel was never translated and published in the United States and that Doc never read it as a child. He grows up, and though he still has an interest in science, he hasn't devoted his life to becoming an inventor, and so he goes into the family business. He falls in love with the woman, they get married, she divorces him and takes his family fortune, and rest of Doc's life is miserable, purposeless, and uneventful, and the time machine is never invented.
It's up to Doc and Marty to make sure young Doc reads the novel and is inspired to become an inventor before he can propose so that the argument can take place and the timeline is restored.
For me the 1930s its not such an appealing decade, and i have played some adventure games in that time zone and theyre quite the same... kind of classic, city, etc etc...
the 1960s is a better decade, hippies, rock and roll, etc...but i preffer the 50s for the movies sake...but 60s its cool
the 1980s for me they MUST be in the game...like i said before, this is the coolest decade to explore, and more so...because its like in BTTF1 the present was the 1980s and they went to the 50s, it sounds so good now the present is the 2010s... and we go to the 80s, makes all sense, and i have a soft spot for the decade, videogames, headbangers, long hair, spandex, etc etc
the present and future 2010 and beyond have great creative oportunities...they must be there...
I think out of them all that the 80s plot line sounded best, But I would like to see it follow the movie and have the town of hill valley and The twin pines mall along with the chase, In the game! It would be nice to play and run around in hill valley and see the clock tower!
I liked the idea of the 2010 plot line, that one seemed most like a proper BttF 4 to me. Have it set in the present day with an older Marty with the DeLorean destroyed and the time train being used instead, but going back to see the younger, movie era Marty presumably with the DeLorean still intact.
Not so sure about the time police element, but the rest of it sounded great.
For time lines, 2010 (being the present), the 1980's and sometime in the future are definitely the most appealing to me.
I think it's possible that the reason he denies the existence of love at first sight in the third movie is that he was hurt by someone in the past. He fell in love with this woman when he was a young man, but when he found out that she didn't love him back and was only interested in his family fortune, his heart was broken and he became bitter and cynical about love.
Here's how I think the scenario could make sense:
In the original timeline, Doc grew up with a passion for science and an affinity for the works of Jules Verne. There was one particular novel, however, that definitively convinced him he wanted to become an inventor. As a young man, he fell in love with this woman who was only interested in his money and who wanted him to stay with his family's business rather than spend all of his inheritance creating ridiculous contraptions that didn't even work (such as the mind-reading helmet from the first movie). This conflict eventually culminated into a huge argument that revealed her true intentions. They broke up, and Doc devoted his life to science and swore never to fall in love again.
Somehow Doc and Marty muck up the timeline so that that one critical novel was never translated and published in the United States and that Doc never read it as a child. He grows up, and though he still has an interest in science, he hasn't devoted his life to becoming an inventor, and so he goes into the family business. He falls in love with the woman, they get married, she divorces him and takes his family fortune, and rest of Doc's life is miserable, purposeless, and uneventful, and the time machine is never invented.
It's up to Doc and Marty to make sure young Doc reads the novel and is inspired to become an inventor before he can propose so that the argument can take place and the timeline is restored.
That was just how I saw that plot working! And I'm surprised the amount of people saying they don't see any of the Tannens as cops because they are bullies etc... I immediately thought of a crooked/corrupt cop that'll get them locked up for no good reason...
Now I'm off to watch BTTF 1 with my Dad...
Oh, also 32 here, and survey went without a problem...
By the way: I think it would be pretty damn awesome if you guys could wrangle Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox.
I think that even if you can't get them, I think that just about EVERYONE here would like to see some profit donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. (I'd pay an extra $1 per ep, if it was donated to MJF's group) Anyone else?
"What Do You Want to See in a Back to the Future Game? Tell Us!"
Oh..what's that in the background. It's..it's like an omen. Saying you should cast Mark Hamill in a voice role in BTTF. And you know...he did do one in Full Throttle. So yeah...not a stranger to adventure games. Oh and he was cast alongside Tim Curry in...Gabriel Knight? This can't merely be coincidence!
:winslow: Tim Curry for Jurassic Park! Mark Hamill for Back to the Future! :winslow:
The 1930's - While I like the idea of exploring Doc Brown's past, the whole him giving up science for love just strikes me as completely contrary to what has been established as his character. One of the whole reasons Doc fell for Clara is she had the same sort of interests he did.
I also think it either sets up a paradox or it establishes someone else screwing with the timeline and apparently targeting Doc Brown, neither of which appeals or me or says good storytelling.
The 1980s - I liked the one the least. As I said in the survey, it'd be like if John Hughes directed one of the Back to the Future movies. The whole idea of rounding up some rambunctious teenagers would make the game look like it was trying to appeal to the wrong demographic.
The 2010s - I don't like the idea of a timecop for many of the reasons already mentioned. I liked how BttF had more of a unique feel in that Doc and Marty were the only ones with a time machine. It's what gave the movie a Jules Verne feeling. Having someone protecting the timeline ruins that and, if I may say so, is an extremely overused idea.
The 1960s - This is the only one I really liked. I think having to collect parts of the time machine might sufficiently tie things with the movies, and potentially allow for a lot of time traveling. I am a little afraid it'd just become a giant scavenger hunt though.
Doc Brown, still living in the 19th century, still tinkers around with science and inventions. Word of some of his work gets out, and it dazzles a young author who is inspired to write about it. This disrupts the timeline, as writing about this will prevent the author from ever writing one of his most well-known works, one that had a very profound impact on Doc Brown: The Time Machine.
Now, Doc Brown must enlist the help of Marty and Clara to inspire H. G. Wells on the idea of time-travel so he'll write his sci-fi classic. If they don't, Doc Brown never would've been interested in researching time travel, he and Clara never would've met, and their children would cease to exist.
The plotline of 2010 sounds fun, but the existance of a time-travelling authority kinda takes the fun out of it. The great thing in BttF time-travel is the "no rules, you can do anything you want" moto. Only to realize you messed up and it's you that has to be aware and restrain yourself, you're conscience is your authority.
Her is my opinion to the four plotlines. Two were bad (2010, 1938) and two were good (1968 and 1986), but the more I think about it, I can't decide which of thesse two I liked better. First impression was 1986 since it is a better setup for a game.
2010: A Tannen in any kind of Law Enforcement is very much out of charackter. No Chance in Hell, unless his position is made up by him to mess with Marty and Doc Brown. I don't like it, and I think its the worst of the four.
1938: I don't like this one Either, but it is slightly better. This could only work if this scenario is a way to reverse a Change that was made before but giving him book to make him change his plans? It takes time to read a book, and therefore I don't think this would work. It just doesn't feel right.
1968: I'm not sure it would be a good Idea to have Marty meet his parents again in the past, but perhaps this can/must be avoided by the player). Repairing a broken time machine on the other hand fits very nicely with the movies.
1986: It would be a more or less direct continuation (ok, 1 year has passed) and could be a great way to set up a season. First: deal with the time travellers (Episode 1) , then time travel yourself to fix the problems they caused or will cause (Episode 1 Finale to end of season).
Also, exactly this was already a "Quantum Leap" episode (fifth season). And it really didn't work out as a storyline.
I respectfully disagree with you on that one. I thought "Lee Harvey Oswald" was one of the best episodes of the series. And how they turn it at the end:
He "changed history" by saving Jackie
was a great way to do it.
That being said - I do agree with you that since it's been done in multiple ways (hadn't heard of the Red Dwarf one - but it does sound really interesting), I don't see a reason for a BTTF game to revisit it.
Doc Brown, still living in the 19th century, still tinkers around with science and inventions. Word of some of his work gets out, and it dazzles a young author who is inspired to write about it. This disrupts the timeline, as writing about this will prevent the author from ever writing one of his most well-known works, one that had a very profound impact on Doc Brown: The Time Machine.
Now, Doc Brown must enlist the help of Marty and Clara to inspire H. G. Wells on the idea of time-travel so he'll write his sci-fi classic. If they don't, Doc Brown never would've been interested in researching time travel, he and Clara never would've met, and their children would cease to exist.
We'd been tossing around some ideas in this vein-- one problem is that Doc states that it was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that got him involved in science-- but yeah, maybe the later story of the Time Machine is what really kicked him into gear. I particularly like this idea as well.
2010: A Tannen in any kind of Law Enforcement is very much out of charackter. No Chance in Hell, unless his position is made up by him to mess with Marty and Doc Brown. I don't like it, and I think its the worst of the four.
Well, obviously, if we were to create a law-enforcement Tannen, he would be a bullying cop-- not an upstanding, polite neighborhood constable. Ultimately though, a time-cop character would have to be an antagonist to Marty and Doc, and therefore, a Tannen is the typical nemesis to them.
Don't forget that these are very raw ideas that we've tossed around and the survey itself is based on ideas that are already weeks behind our creative process-- we brainstorm daily, and every day we come up with a plethora of great ideas and equally many lame ideas. We toss the lame ideas-- or sometimes we refine them into something exciting. Sometimes really great ideas are great, but not right for a game. It goes every which way in a very organic process.
Think about potential... we, ourselves, are aware of when we come up with lame ideas, but the brilliant alternatives don't necessarily jump out at us in the same meeting.
Well, obviously, if we were to create a law-enforcement Tannen, he would be a bullying cop-- not an upstanding, polite neighborhood constable. Ultimately though, a time-cop character would have to be an antagonist to Marty and Doc, and therefore, a Tannen is the typical nemesis to them.
Maybe my judgement was a bit too harsh (i'm sorry if that was the case), but as I already said, I simply don't like this idea. It was the first one presented to me and was really disappointed. Of course the bad guy must be a tannen, but even if he is a bad cop it don't think it fits. And a time police somehow is also not sounding that good to me. But I'm sure you will suprise me and do something good :-)
Maybe my judgement was a bit too harsh (i'm sorry if that was the case), but as I already said, I simply don't like this idea. It was the first one presented to me and was really disappointed. Of course the bad guy must be a tannen, but even if he is a bad cop it don't think it fits. And a time police somehow is also not sounding that good to me. But I'm sure you will suprise me and do something good :-)
I wasn't trying to convey that your criticism was too harsh-- you are entitled to your opinion, and believe me, we know about the fan passion. Many of us are passionate fans, too.
I think the point I should have made is that we had to summarize some initial concepts or directions in just a few lines, and we just couldn't convey every detail.
So, like, with a cop Tannen, we just sort of assumed that the survey taker would give us the benefit of the doubt about whether he'd be characterized correctly.
Don't forget that these are very raw ideas that we've tossed around and the survey itself is based on ideas that are already weeks behind our creative process-- we brainstorm daily, and every day we come up with a plethora of great ideas and equally many lame ideas. We toss the lame ideas-- or sometimes we refine them into something exciting. Sometimes really great ideas are great, but not right for a game. It goes every which way in a very organic process.
Think about potential... we, ourselves, are aware of when we come up with lame ideas, but the brilliant alternatives don't necessarily jump out at us in the same meeting.
What he said. The survey is a snapshot of a couple of ideas we've kicking around (as well as a couple that were created whole cloth for the survey... see if you can guess which ones!) Since then we've been slowly stalking our overall plotline like a pack of patient, pale, balding*, lions, waiting for the right moment to pounce.
Mike "We Know When We're Being Lame" Stemmle
* Except Andy... he's curiously managed to keep his hair. We suspect the involvement of infernal contracts.
I don't see what's so hard to see him as a cop. The cops I've had run ins with are complete dicks who finally got some power. Doesn't seem out of character for Biff at all, and I really don't see how portraying him as a cop could ruin a storyline for somebody, but to each their own. I was too late to even see the survey and its storyline ideas
The reason I say it has to be a time traveler is that we know based on the events of Part I that Doc does NOT lose interest in science meaning the gold digger in the 30's has to be an element foreign to that decade and Doc's past. Not sure if that makes sense. I think I've confused myself.
That seemed obvious to me. (That this would have been caused by an time traveler interfering somehow, not that the gold digger herself would necessarily be that time traveler.)
I mean, when I read the question on the survey, I just assumed that that was what it was talking about, because it wouldn't have made any sense otherwise. It didn't even occur to me to think it might mean anything else until I read other people complaining about it.
I also think it either sets up a paradox or it establishes someone else screwing with the timeline and apparently targeting Doc Brown, neither of which appeals or me or says good storytelling.
The original movie was all about setting up a paradox and then trying to fix it. But in this case, instead of Marty fading away, it would be the DeLorean itself that disappears (thus stranding Marty and Doc in the 30's until they repair the timeline).
The plotline of 2010 sounds fun, but the existance of a time-travelling authority kinda takes the fun out of it. The great thing in BttF time-travel is the "no rules, you can do anything you want" moto. Only to realize you messed up and it's you that has to be aware and restrain yourself, you're conscience is your authority.
Since this was a consequence of someone stealing the time train and going joyriding in it, I assumed that once Marty and Doc fix whatever parts of history were messed up, that would repair the timeline so that the time cops didn't exist anymore. Time Cop Biff (and the whole timeline that causes the time cops to exist in the first place) are no different from Rich And Powerful Biff (and his version of Hill Valley) in the second movie.
I just want to take a moment to say that I am strongly opposed to the games featuring anything related to the year 2010. As far as Back to the Future is concerned, the present day is the mid-80's.
(And I note that this is why I said in the survey that the 80's absolutely had to appear in the game: it's not because I want plots that are related to the 80's. It's because that's where Present Day Marty and Present Day Doc come from. They don't need to play any bigger role in the game than the did in the original film, but it's where things should begin (for Marty, anyway) and (barring cliffhangers or plot twists) end.)
Other random thoughts:
- If one DeLorean can be built, so can a second one. (Especially if some of the time circuits survived the crash.) But steampunk locomotive-based time machines are also cool. There is no obligation for the game's designers to choose just one.
- I wonder what Jules and/or Verne will look and act like at age 50. Unkempt white hair, a crazed expression, a tendency for alarmed outbursts? Perhaps.
- It would greatly please me if you could find some excuse to have Doc refer to "jiggabytes" of data.
- You can get away with almost any kind of crazy changes to Hill Valley if you can justify it as the result of someone tampering with the timeline, as long as our heroes fix it before the end of the story.
- Showing alternate versions of places (whether they're from different time periods or from alternate timelines (or both)) is really fun and cool. It worked well in Sam & Max, and it would work even better here.
I just want to take a moment to say that I am strongly opposed to the games featuring anything related to the year 2010. As far as Back to the Future is concerned, the present day is the mid-80's.
(And I note that this is why I said in the survey that the 80's absolutely had to appear in the game: it's not because I want plots that are related to the 80's. It's because that's where Present Day Marty and Present Day Doc come from. They don't need to play any bigger role in the game than the did in the original film, but it's where things should begin (for Marty, anyway) and (barring cliffhangers or plot twists) end.)
Other random thoughts:
- If one DeLorean can be built, so can a second one. (Especially if some of the time circuits survived the crash.) But steampunk locomotive-based time machines are also cool. There is no obligation for the game's designers to choose just one.
- I wonder what Jules and/or Verne will look and act like at age 50. Unkempt white hair, a crazed expression, a tendency for alarmed outbursts? Perhaps.
- It would greatly please me if you could find some excuse to have Doc refer to "jiggabytes" of data.
- You can get away with almost any kind of crazy changes to Hill Valley if you can justify it as the result of someone tampering with the timeline, as long as our heroes fix it before the end of the story.
- Showing alternate versions of places (whether they're from different time periods or from alternate timelines (or both)) is really fun and cool. It worked well in Sam & Max, and it would work even better here.
Without divulging anything sensitive, I just want to say that I agree with a lot of the things you say here.
A key rule I've been preaching whenever we ideate over time travelling plot lines is that when Marty and Doc realize they've messed something up, they can't go back and simply prevent the inciting action-- instead they have to go back to just after and try to recover from the mess-up.
So like, in BttF2, they can't just go back and slap Marty's hand as he goes into the store to buy the almanac-- they instead have to go to 1955 and steal it back from Biff. Not only does it allow us more drama and gamey stuff to do, but it also avoids hard paradoxes... paradoxi... paradices??? I don't know.
Here's a question for you though-- in what year would we encounter 50 year old Jules and Verne? Something we haven't even agreed on yet is whether or not Doc and Clara have a "home base" in time.
Have you ever considered that when we see Doc at the very end of BttF3, he is at least 10 years older than when we last saw him, considering he and Clara had to have time to have two kids and raise them? It's trippy. Doc could have had other adventures previous to his 10 year lapse in time with Marty in the future-- another mind bending concept.
Anyway, that's all I'm saying for now. None of that last paragraph has any direct bearing on the stories we are writing. :cool:
It would be funny if Doc catches Jules and Verne being bad, so as punishment he makes them write 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea word for word. Meanwhile, something happens that causes the real Jules Verne in the past not to write 20,000 Leagues. To set things right, Doc uses Jules and Verne's recreation of the book to get it published. This creates a time loop. Was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ever written by the actual Jules Verne or was it always Doc's boys? That also means Doc's sons were the ones to get him interested science, which leads him to create the time machine, which allows him to meet Clara and have his sons, who in turn end up writing the original manuscript for 20,00 Leagues Under the Sea, which...... :eek:
Any thoughts within the company about possible donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation? Is this something that's even a remote possibility? We certainly don't want to cut into your company's profits (as you need them to keep making rad games) and I'm sure Universal needs a cut too, however, the extra $1 per episode option could be appealing (even if it was just an option at check out) I think that this would be a great way for fans to help give back to MJF for his part in the series, as well as be some great PR for you guys. (and maybe even a tax write-off... am I right?;) )
edit: Need a coordinator? I've got a master's degree and nothing to do.
Any thoughts within the company about possible donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation? Is this something that's even a remote possibility? We certainly don't want to cut into your company's profits (as you need them to keep making rad games) and I'm sure Universal needs a cut too, however, the extra $1 per episode option could be appealing (even if it was just an option at check out) I think that this would be a great way for fans to help give back to MJF for his part in the series, as well as be some great PR for you guys. (and maybe even a tax write-off... am I right?;) )
edit: Need a coordinator? I've got a master's degree and nothing to do.
Nobody has brought anything up, but I suppose I could see what our take on that would be. We are not strangers to donating to good causes-- I'm pretty new here, but it seems the way we normally do it is to take a few copies of the game, sign them, and ebay them-- proceeds go to charity.
I'll look into it, but either way, it seems like something we don't have to prioritize until closer to release.
Any thoughts within the company about possible donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation? Is this something that's even a remote possibility? We certainly don't want to cut into your company's profits (as you need them to keep making rad games) and I'm sure Universal needs a cut too, however, the extra $1 per episode option could be appealing (even if it was just an option at check out) I think that this would be a great way for fans to help give back to MJF for his part in the series, as well as be some great PR for you guys. (and maybe even a tax write-off... am I right?;) )
edit: Need a coordinator? I've got a master's degree and nothing to do.
That sounds like a fantastic idea. The option to add money at the checkout seems like the best way. Some people would add more than $1 and hopefully make up for the people who don't donate.
When would we see a 50 year old Jules and Verne? Good question. I think that Doc and Clara have to have some kind of home base. You can't raise a family constantly changing time periods. It would be like a childhood in the military family from hell. "Dad, I have all my friends here in 1978! I'm supposed to start in the football game on Saturday!" "Quiet you little brat! Your mother wants to move to 1923, and that's that! Now go shovel some coal into the boiler so we can get this show on the road!"
While I'm against playing a game that is a simple rehash of the movies, I do think it would interesting to visit a scene from the first movie as an observer. Let's say for example that the story starts out as so...
The year is 1987. It's been 2 years since Marty last saw Doc. Suddenly, we see three flashes of light outside the Mcfly home. Out of a delorean time vehicle (don't know how you explain it, it's just there) exits Verne, much older than the last time we saw him, looking like Doc from 1955, in face at first, Marty thinks it is Doc. Verne rushes to explain to Marty that something terrible has happened. Suddenly the ripple effect comes like a madman with 1985 transforming around Verne and Marty and Verne disappearing before Marty's eyes. Marty's hand is suddenly horribly disabled from his accident with the rolls royce that was never prevented. It turns out that Jules was doing some research into their father's past when he messed something up (not sure what). Jules gets back to tell Verne who watches his brother disappear. That's when Verne rushes off to tell Marty what happened. Now Marty must fix this paradox that has left 1987 in a mess (not sure what kind of mess) and left Jules and Verne erased from existence.
I realize that idea is missing a lot of details, but I'm not a writer or game developer. The way I see it, you get Jules and Verne in the game, but have them immediately disappear (like Taylor in the beginning of Beneath the Planet of the Apes). Whatever Jules screwed up caused his father never to get sent back to 1885, and for that matter, it may have caused his father never to have tested the time vehicle at all which causes 1987 to be messed up from what we saw at the end of Part I in 1985. Maybe Jules had a conversation with his father explaining all that had happened to them, and Doc decided to cancel his time travel experiment. No clue. Time travel is still possible because if you remember from Part II, even though Biff had had Doc committed, the Marty and Doc that we all saw travel back to 1985A from 2015 still had a time machine even though Doc had been committed.
Total train of thought typing there, but it's an idea. Thought I'd throw it out there.
Comments
Monkey Island and Pirates of the Caribbean anyone?
They were in the survey. They were in the list of potential player characters.
1930's - I definitely want to visit this timeline in the game, but the story doesn't make sense. A golddigger that makes Doc lose interest in science? Totally out of character and frankly not that exciting. Now, having a gangster Tannen steal the time machine leaving Marty, Doc, or other characters stuck in that time period? That sounds like fun.
1960's - This storyline makes sense the most to me. Great decade, and having Marty run into his mom the day before he is born sounds interesting. Hunting for objects? Not so much. If you're going to go this route, I'd rather have puzzles to solve ala Uncharted rather than hunting for parts of the time machine. Plus, why would part of the flux capacitor be a necklace for Lorraine?
1980's - I like the idea of visiting the 80's, but Biff Jr. and Marty's temporally displaced children? Seems a little too animated series for me. While the game may not be considered canon, I'd rather leave the animated series out of it.
2010 - I like the idea of bringing a new element (time police) into the mix, but why is a Tannen a police officer? They've always been troublemakers and well, not all that intelligent. Why would they be involved in something as complicated as enforcing justice across the space time continuum.
For me, the perfect game would be simliar to what they did with Ghostbusters. Make it a fourth movie. It should be well written and seem to connect to the universe we experienced in the 3 movies. Visit the far future perhaps, like 2100? Medieval times maybe? Maybe a bonus level where you play out the clocktower scene?
Good luck making the game. I'll be pre-ordering a copy as soon as it's available.
No, but that's what'd *sell*. That's why the movie industry spends so little effort in making the tie-in games. Fortunately, Telltale aim at a smaller and bespoker market rather than the hoi polloi and casual purchaser.
And I still want the 1938 scenario. I seriously can't understand why everybody thinks young Doc must have the same feelings and views as old Doc. People change! And sometimes it's because they've read a Jules Vene novel.....
AJB
I'd also agree that I'd like to see the games stay far FAR away from Jules and Verne as playable characters. In fact, I'd rather the game just stick to the core characters of Doc, Marty and Biff (or the Tannen family). It doesn't hurt to have the other movie characters in the game or mentioned, but those 3 should always be the main protagonists the story revolves around. It just won't feel like a BttF story any other way.
Yeah...I can't really honestly consider myself a fan hehe. Sure I enjoyed the movies, but a 'fan' is probably stretching the truth.
I would consider myself a fan of TTG though. ^ ^
I think it's possible that the reason he denies the existence of love at first sight in the third movie is that he was hurt by someone in the past. He fell in love with this woman when he was a young man, but when he found out that she didn't love him back and was only interested in his family fortune, his heart was broken and he became bitter and cynical about love.
Here's how I think the scenario could make sense:
In the original timeline, Doc grew up with a passion for science and an affinity for the works of Jules Verne. There was one particular novel, however, that definitively convinced him he wanted to become an inventor. As a young man, he fell in love with this woman who was only interested in his money and who wanted him to stay with his family's business rather than spend all of his inheritance creating ridiculous contraptions that didn't even work (such as the mind-reading helmet from the first movie). This conflict eventually culminated into a huge argument that revealed her true intentions. They broke up, and Doc devoted his life to science and swore never to fall in love again.
Somehow Doc and Marty muck up the timeline so that that one critical novel was never translated and published in the United States and that Doc never read it as a child. He grows up, and though he still has an interest in science, he hasn't devoted his life to becoming an inventor, and so he goes into the family business. He falls in love with the woman, they get married, she divorces him and takes his family fortune, and rest of Doc's life is miserable, purposeless, and uneventful, and the time machine is never invented.
It's up to Doc and Marty to make sure young Doc reads the novel and is inspired to become an inventor before he can propose so that the argument can take place and the timeline is restored.
the 1960s is a better decade, hippies, rock and roll, etc...but i preffer the 50s for the movies sake...but 60s its cool
the 1980s for me they MUST be in the game...like i said before, this is the coolest decade to explore, and more so...because its like in BTTF1 the present was the 1980s and they went to the 50s, it sounds so good now the present is the 2010s... and we go to the 80s, makes all sense, and i have a soft spot for the decade, videogames, headbangers, long hair, spandex, etc etc
the present and future 2010 and beyond have great creative oportunities...they must be there...
Not so sure about the time police element, but the rest of it sounded great.
For time lines, 2010 (being the present), the 1980's and sometime in the future are definitely the most appealing to me.
That was just how I saw that plot working! And I'm surprised the amount of people saying they don't see any of the Tannens as cops because they are bullies etc... I immediately thought of a crooked/corrupt cop that'll get them locked up for no good reason...
Now I'm off to watch BTTF 1 with my Dad...
Oh, also 32 here, and survey went without a problem...
Love the idea!:)
Oh..what's that in the background. It's..it's like an omen. Saying you should cast Mark Hamill in a voice role in BTTF. And you know...he did do one in Full Throttle. So yeah...not a stranger to adventure games. Oh and he was cast alongside Tim Curry in...Gabriel Knight? This can't merely be coincidence!
:winslow: Tim Curry for Jurassic Park! Mark Hamill for Back to the Future! :winslow:
The 1930's - While I like the idea of exploring Doc Brown's past, the whole him giving up science for love just strikes me as completely contrary to what has been established as his character. One of the whole reasons Doc fell for Clara is she had the same sort of interests he did.
I also think it either sets up a paradox or it establishes someone else screwing with the timeline and apparently targeting Doc Brown, neither of which appeals or me or says good storytelling.
The 1980s - I liked the one the least. As I said in the survey, it'd be like if John Hughes directed one of the Back to the Future movies. The whole idea of rounding up some rambunctious teenagers would make the game look like it was trying to appeal to the wrong demographic.
The 2010s - I don't like the idea of a timecop for many of the reasons already mentioned. I liked how BttF had more of a unique feel in that Doc and Marty were the only ones with a time machine. It's what gave the movie a Jules Verne feeling. Having someone protecting the timeline ruins that and, if I may say so, is an extremely overused idea.
The 1960s - This is the only one I really liked. I think having to collect parts of the time machine might sufficiently tie things with the movies, and potentially allow for a lot of time traveling. I am a little afraid it'd just become a giant scavenger hunt though.
Doc Brown, still living in the 19th century, still tinkers around with science and inventions. Word of some of his work gets out, and it dazzles a young author who is inspired to write about it. This disrupts the timeline, as writing about this will prevent the author from ever writing one of his most well-known works, one that had a very profound impact on Doc Brown: The Time Machine.
Now, Doc Brown must enlist the help of Marty and Clara to inspire H. G. Wells on the idea of time-travel so he'll write his sci-fi classic. If they don't, Doc Brown never would've been interested in researching time travel, he and Clara never would've met, and their children would cease to exist.
2010: A Tannen in any kind of Law Enforcement is very much out of charackter. No Chance in Hell, unless his position is made up by him to mess with Marty and Doc Brown. I don't like it, and I think its the worst of the four.
1938: I don't like this one Either, but it is slightly better. This could only work if this scenario is a way to reverse a Change that was made before but giving him book to make him change his plans? It takes time to read a book, and therefore I don't think this would work. It just doesn't feel right.
1968: I'm not sure it would be a good Idea to have Marty meet his parents again in the past, but perhaps this can/must be avoided by the player). Repairing a broken time machine on the other hand fits very nicely with the movies.
1986: It would be a more or less direct continuation (ok, 1 year has passed) and could be a great way to set up a season. First: deal with the time travellers (Episode 1) , then time travel yourself to fix the problems they caused or will cause (Episode 1 Finale to end of season).
Agreed! That's the distinctive thing about BttF.. The 80s feeling and mood. Even the future (2015) feels like 80s...
A lot of the questions seemed to be looking for the teen zeitgeist (what TV shows do you watch on a regular basis etc.).
I respectfully disagree with you on that one. I thought "Lee Harvey Oswald" was one of the best episodes of the series. And how they turn it at the end:
That being said - I do agree with you that since it's been done in multiple ways (hadn't heard of the Red Dwarf one - but it does sound really interesting), I don't see a reason for a BTTF game to revisit it.
We'd been tossing around some ideas in this vein-- one problem is that Doc states that it was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that got him involved in science-- but yeah, maybe the later story of the Time Machine is what really kicked him into gear. I particularly like this idea as well.
Well, obviously, if we were to create a law-enforcement Tannen, he would be a bullying cop-- not an upstanding, polite neighborhood constable. Ultimately though, a time-cop character would have to be an antagonist to Marty and Doc, and therefore, a Tannen is the typical nemesis to them.
Maybe my judgement was a bit too harsh (i'm sorry if that was the case), but as I already said, I simply don't like this idea. It was the first one presented to me and was really disappointed. Of course the bad guy must be a tannen, but even if he is a bad cop it don't think it fits. And a time police somehow is also not sounding that good to me. But I'm sure you will suprise me and do something good :-)
I wasn't trying to convey that your criticism was too harsh-- you are entitled to your opinion, and believe me, we know about the fan passion. Many of us are passionate fans, too.
I think the point I should have made is that we had to summarize some initial concepts or directions in just a few lines, and we just couldn't convey every detail.
So, like, with a cop Tannen, we just sort of assumed that the survey taker would give us the benefit of the doubt about whether he'd be characterized correctly.
What he said. The survey is a snapshot of a couple of ideas we've kicking around (as well as a couple that were created whole cloth for the survey... see if you can guess which ones!) Since then we've been slowly stalking our overall plotline like a pack of patient, pale, balding*, lions, waiting for the right moment to pounce.
Mike "We Know When We're Being Lame" Stemmle
* Except Andy... he's curiously managed to keep his hair. We suspect the involvement of infernal contracts.
That seemed obvious to me. (That this would have been caused by an time traveler interfering somehow, not that the gold digger herself would necessarily be that time traveler.)
I mean, when I read the question on the survey, I just assumed that that was what it was talking about, because it wouldn't have made any sense otherwise. It didn't even occur to me to think it might mean anything else until I read other people complaining about it.
The original movie was all about setting up a paradox and then trying to fix it. But in this case, instead of Marty fading away, it would be the DeLorean itself that disappears (thus stranding Marty and Doc in the 30's until they repair the timeline).
Since this was a consequence of someone stealing the time train and going joyriding in it, I assumed that once Marty and Doc fix whatever parts of history were messed up, that would repair the timeline so that the time cops didn't exist anymore. Time Cop Biff (and the whole timeline that causes the time cops to exist in the first place) are no different from Rich And Powerful Biff (and his version of Hill Valley) in the second movie.
(And I note that this is why I said in the survey that the 80's absolutely had to appear in the game: it's not because I want plots that are related to the 80's. It's because that's where Present Day Marty and Present Day Doc come from. They don't need to play any bigger role in the game than the did in the original film, but it's where things should begin (for Marty, anyway) and (barring cliffhangers or plot twists) end.)
Other random thoughts:
- If one DeLorean can be built, so can a second one. (Especially if some of the time circuits survived the crash.) But steampunk locomotive-based time machines are also cool. There is no obligation for the game's designers to choose just one.
- I wonder what Jules and/or Verne will look and act like at age 50. Unkempt white hair, a crazed expression, a tendency for alarmed outbursts? Perhaps.
- It would greatly please me if you could find some excuse to have Doc refer to "jiggabytes" of data.
- You can get away with almost any kind of crazy changes to Hill Valley if you can justify it as the result of someone tampering with the timeline, as long as our heroes fix it before the end of the story.
- Showing alternate versions of places (whether they're from different time periods or from alternate timelines (or both)) is really fun and cool. It worked well in Sam & Max, and it would work even better here.
Without divulging anything sensitive, I just want to say that I agree with a lot of the things you say here.
A key rule I've been preaching whenever we ideate over time travelling plot lines is that when Marty and Doc realize they've messed something up, they can't go back and simply prevent the inciting action-- instead they have to go back to just after and try to recover from the mess-up.
So like, in BttF2, they can't just go back and slap Marty's hand as he goes into the store to buy the almanac-- they instead have to go to 1955 and steal it back from Biff. Not only does it allow us more drama and gamey stuff to do, but it also avoids hard paradoxes... paradoxi... paradices??? I don't know.
Here's a question for you though-- in what year would we encounter 50 year old Jules and Verne? Something we haven't even agreed on yet is whether or not Doc and Clara have a "home base" in time.
Have you ever considered that when we see Doc at the very end of BttF3, he is at least 10 years older than when we last saw him, considering he and Clara had to have time to have two kids and raise them? It's trippy. Doc could have had other adventures previous to his 10 year lapse in time with Marty in the future-- another mind bending concept.
Anyway, that's all I'm saying for now. None of that last paragraph has any direct bearing on the stories we are writing. :cool:
Any thoughts within the company about possible donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation? Is this something that's even a remote possibility? We certainly don't want to cut into your company's profits (as you need them to keep making rad games) and I'm sure Universal needs a cut too, however, the extra $1 per episode option could be appealing (even if it was just an option at check out) I think that this would be a great way for fans to help give back to MJF for his part in the series, as well as be some great PR for you guys. (and maybe even a tax write-off... am I right?;) )
edit: Need a coordinator? I've got a master's degree and nothing to do.
Nobody has brought anything up, but I suppose I could see what our take on that would be. We are not strangers to donating to good causes-- I'm pretty new here, but it seems the way we normally do it is to take a few copies of the game, sign them, and ebay them-- proceeds go to charity.
I'll look into it, but either way, it seems like something we don't have to prioritize until closer to release.
That sounds like a fantastic idea. The option to add money at the checkout seems like the best way. Some people would add more than $1 and hopefully make up for the people who don't donate.
While I'm against playing a game that is a simple rehash of the movies, I do think it would interesting to visit a scene from the first movie as an observer. Let's say for example that the story starts out as so...
The year is 1987. It's been 2 years since Marty last saw Doc. Suddenly, we see three flashes of light outside the Mcfly home. Out of a delorean time vehicle (don't know how you explain it, it's just there) exits Verne, much older than the last time we saw him, looking like Doc from 1955, in face at first, Marty thinks it is Doc. Verne rushes to explain to Marty that something terrible has happened. Suddenly the ripple effect comes like a madman with 1985 transforming around Verne and Marty and Verne disappearing before Marty's eyes. Marty's hand is suddenly horribly disabled from his accident with the rolls royce that was never prevented. It turns out that Jules was doing some research into their father's past when he messed something up (not sure what). Jules gets back to tell Verne who watches his brother disappear. That's when Verne rushes off to tell Marty what happened. Now Marty must fix this paradox that has left 1987 in a mess (not sure what kind of mess) and left Jules and Verne erased from existence.
I realize that idea is missing a lot of details, but I'm not a writer or game developer. The way I see it, you get Jules and Verne in the game, but have them immediately disappear (like Taylor in the beginning of Beneath the Planet of the Apes). Whatever Jules screwed up caused his father never to get sent back to 1885, and for that matter, it may have caused his father never to have tested the time vehicle at all which causes 1987 to be messed up from what we saw at the end of Part I in 1985. Maybe Jules had a conversation with his father explaining all that had happened to them, and Doc decided to cancel his time travel experiment. No clue. Time travel is still possible because if you remember from Part II, even though Biff had had Doc committed, the Marty and Doc that we all saw travel back to 1985A from 2015 still had a time machine even though Doc had been committed.
Total train of thought typing there, but it's an idea. Thought I'd throw it out there.