This is what I originally expected when I got my first DVD from them.
I've joined the long petition for ToMI to have this done, but sadly enough... not technically possible .
And neither for S&M3. Let's hope it's there for BTTF.
Oh i thought he was mainly after skipping the credits in each episode until the final one. If i remember things correctly you couldn't even skip them on your own beside of killing the task and such things so if it's just that i'm sure they could do something about it.
Obviously having all episodes just in one exe is a completely different story again and then i understand their response. I guess you could still kind of batch them, force exit and autostart again but i'm pretty sure some would complain that they aren't able to see the credits in each episode then, so you have to memorize a selection...
I think best would be just to allow the user to exit the credits by some input like pressing esc/lmb/rmb/whatever if he wants to, quick and easy. At least until they find a more elegant solution in the longrun were they can bundle the data for a season.
I think they might implement a full-length playthrough option for BTTF, just because
A) They heard the requests for ToMI, but weren't able to patch it in, and BTTF was presumably started well after that BTTF episode 1 ends abruptly and has a pretty nondescript end credit sequence, as opposed to ToMI which tended to have fairly unique credit sequences that some people might not want to skip
Personally, I wish more games were episodic--or at least have more fully realized side-stories. Just look at what's being done with Dead Rising 2, Borderlands (well, Claptrap and General Knoxx, anyways) or the new Enslaved DLC. They (hopefully) give the devs time to gauge fan reaction, iron out tech/storytelling shortcomings and progressively roll out new mechanics. Adventures short and tight enough for one to pick up and enjoy without playing through endless filler (HL2, I'm looking at you; the eps were right on the money) or having the dreaded "wait...wtf is going on and where am I going" that can arise when you step away from a game for a while.
They're kind of a relief in light of the trend of busted-ass $60 games getting shoved out the door. Of course, the format wouldn't suit many games, or stories for that matter.
For me, episodic formats are just different. It's neither better nor worse, it's just different. There are advantages and disadvantages on it compared to normal adventure games.
That said, I do think that Deathspank benefited from being divided to only 2 parts instead of more.
I'm glad that i was able to experience games like Ultima in a non episodic format.
Theoretically both concepts are able to deliver great games but in reality, and as five years TTG have proofen, it mostly just doesn't work out this way and episodic games lack in several aspects like the smaller instead of epic stories/puzzles, corridor worlds, limited game design due to the corridor/asset limitations, ... i guess i've written often enough about it.
Deep in my heart i feel that one big nice picture is better than a handful of smaller nice ones. Of course theoretically with enough work before the first episode you could cut it into five pieces which then feel like one big game but again in reality it almost never happened.
I don't want to enter the bar in Monkey Island not until episode 3, 4 or whatever because it wasn't finished before. Also if i can't progress in the scene at this point, i want to enter it instantly once i'm in town. Anything else feels artificial and limiting and that's the way often the games were done.
Really good episodic content would be like a Star Trek (TOS) episode or a ongoing road movie cut into smaller pieces but again if it's that simple what are they waiting for and why have we seen the same lame do it for three times riddle design over and over again? I think for a certain level of complexity, which you don't always need but sometimes is very important to have, you also need more time&space, more than you are able to deliver in an
typical TTG episode. And that's one of the aspects episodic gaming suffers from. Do you remember how good the Star Trek episode with Commander Pike was when they were able to tell a longer story over two episodes?
Maybe the episodic concept worked the best in Strong Bad and Wallace&Gromit.
I usually wait until the end of a season to play the game all at once. Has always worked out pretty well for me. I enjoy the length.
But you miss the excitement of waiting between episodes! Believe be, it makes the episodic experience so much better. The opening scenes of the second episode are so much more fulfilling when you've had to wait an entire month since episode 1.
But you miss the excitement of waiting between episodes! Believe be, it makes the episodic experience so much better. The opening scenes of the second episode are so much more fulfilling when you've had to wait an entire month since episode 1.
I agree the wait can make things like that better. For instance, when the Harry Potter books would come out, most people rushed to be the first one to finish them. Me? Nah. Only one chapter per day. Having to wait a day between each chapter made them all more enjoyable, and also allowed me to remember details more and understand how the story progressed better. I've used that trick with other books, too.
Some not voluntarily. For instance, some books are too heavy for me to read without stopping, I'm thinking for instance about non-fiction about wars and the like.
However, as far as telltale's games go, I think I would like it to be different. Either one big story, in which case you really need to play all the episodes in order and you can't get them separately, they just aren't released all at once (that would be the equivalent of most adventure games anyways, which are divided into parts, but can't be taken apart) or episodes which are completely and totally independent from one another and can be played in any order and bought separately.
The way telltale does it (mostly different stories but tied together, can be bought separately and played in any order even if it makes them harder to follow) isn't something I like too much, to be honest.
Comments
And neither for S&M3. Let's hope it's there for BTTF.
if (distributionMethod=="dvd" && !finalEpisode)
//skip credits, jump to an appropriate position at the end of the credits, scrollSpeed=999999, ...
Seeing how THIS (BttF) is a single .exe it could potentially work now though, we shall see.
Obviously having all episodes just in one exe is a completely different story again and then i understand their response. I guess you could still kind of batch them, force exit and autostart again but i'm pretty sure some would complain that they aren't able to see the credits in each episode then, so you have to memorize a selection...
I think best would be just to allow the user to exit the credits by some input like pressing esc/lmb/rmb/whatever if he wants to, quick and easy. At least until they find a more elegant solution in the longrun were they can bundle the data for a season.
A) They heard the requests for ToMI, but weren't able to patch it in, and BTTF was presumably started well after that
But who knows
They're kind of a relief in light of the trend of busted-ass $60 games getting shoved out the door. Of course, the format wouldn't suit many games, or stories for that matter.
That said, I do think that Deathspank benefited from being divided to only 2 parts instead of more.
Theoretically both concepts are able to deliver great games but in reality, and as five years TTG have proofen, it mostly just doesn't work out this way and episodic games lack in several aspects like the smaller instead of epic stories/puzzles, corridor worlds, limited game design due to the corridor/asset limitations, ... i guess i've written often enough about it.
Deep in my heart i feel that one big nice picture is better than a handful of smaller nice ones. Of course theoretically with enough work before the first episode you could cut it into five pieces which then feel like one big game but again in reality it almost never happened.
I don't want to enter the bar in Monkey Island not until episode 3, 4 or whatever because it wasn't finished before. Also if i can't progress in the scene at this point, i want to enter it instantly once i'm in town. Anything else feels artificial and limiting and that's the way often the games were done.
Really good episodic content would be like a Star Trek (TOS) episode or a ongoing road movie cut into smaller pieces but again if it's that simple what are they waiting for and why have we seen the same lame do it for three times riddle design over and over again? I think for a certain level of complexity, which you don't always need but sometimes is very important to have, you also need more time&space, more than you are able to deliver in an
typical TTG episode. And that's one of the aspects episodic gaming suffers from. Do you remember how good the Star Trek episode with Commander Pike was when they were able to tell a longer story over two episodes?
Maybe the episodic concept worked the best in Strong Bad and Wallace&Gromit.
But you miss the excitement of waiting between episodes! Believe be, it makes the episodic experience so much better. The opening scenes of the second episode are so much more fulfilling when you've had to wait an entire month since episode 1.
I agree the wait can make things like that better. For instance, when the Harry Potter books would come out, most people rushed to be the first one to finish them. Me? Nah. Only one chapter per day. Having to wait a day between each chapter made them all more enjoyable, and also allowed me to remember details more and understand how the story progressed better. I've used that trick with other books, too.
Some not voluntarily. For instance, some books are too heavy for me to read without stopping, I'm thinking for instance about non-fiction about wars and the like.
However, as far as telltale's games go, I think I would like it to be different. Either one big story, in which case you really need to play all the episodes in order and you can't get them separately, they just aren't released all at once (that would be the equivalent of most adventure games anyways, which are divided into parts, but can't be taken apart) or episodes which are completely and totally independent from one another and can be played in any order and bought separately.
The way telltale does it (mostly different stories but tied together, can be bought separately and played in any order even if it makes them harder to follow) isn't something I like too much, to be honest.