Wow lots of questions since yesterday. I will try to answer a couple a day from today on and not just the easy ones. Maybe I can convince Kevin to jump in and answer a few too.
My advice for anyone that wants to get into the industry is build something. Get assets of the web, grab images, write your own music, get your friends to do voices and build a piece of content that people can actually experience. Then get your brain around how you did it and what it took and be able to explain that in an interview. At Telltale we really look for people that are interested in building out the entertainment experience as much as building systems though we need those too..
Good luck and Submit a resume with a good cover letter.
Just one question.
Jurassic Park is pretty much an interactive movie (not bad, I liked it), but King's Quest is a different beast and a different franchise. We'll find a layered puzzle design and a deep interaction in it, won't we?
Just a friendly suggestion for Sam & Max's anniversary.
Why not have a competition, getting people to write short, 5-minute sketches featuring the Sam & Max cast (much like the ones you made during the first season)? Then you get Steve Purcell and the game writers to judge which are the five best. Then you make them using the TT engine and show them on the site.
Of course, a new game would be fantastic, but this'd be nice too.
I know I haven't been active in the forums in quite some time, but given this chance, I'd like to pose a few questions, if you'd indulge me, please:
1) Suppose this certain person has been sitting on a whole universe of humorous characters, and, in his own free time, has created music albums (well, one and many tracks for the second one), cartoons and comic strips based on those characters, started working on a book at one point, and generally has been sitting on said characters for about 7 years but hasn't tried promoting them in any way. And suppose this person would love to see said characters in an adventure game from TTG. Supposing you've supposed the above, how would this certain person go about pitching said idea to TTG? Or would that be wasting both TTG & this person's time?
2) Suppose I get rid of the whole "suppose" thing and ask straight out: will Puzzle Agent, Hector and the poker games be released on DVD?
3) I forgot what the third thing I wanted to ask was, what with all the supposing. I suppose it'll come back to me.
Thanks!
Edit: It's come back to me: will there be a Jurassic Park demo?
First of all, huge thanks for doing the Q&A. I've been bitching a lot about JP lately (which I feel kind of bad about), so it's good having a reminder of why I became a Telltale fan in the first place. Anyway, questions. This is kind of a lot, so don't feel like you have to answer them...
1. Are there any plans to do a full-length, non-episodic game? I can understand why Telltale sticks to the episodic format, and I'm not saying they should abandon it, but at the same time the format has its flaws, and I think it'd be interesting to see what Telltale is capable of without it.
2. Are there any plans to publicly release the Telltale Tool and/or license it to other developers? (Though you've sort of done the latter already with Hector.) I remember a while ago in a thread on the subject Jake said it was possible to do SCUMM-style adventure games now without touching code. I think a lot of amateur designers would be able to do some awesome stuff with the Tool.
3. I loved how in Poker Night Telltale managed to take four different styles of humor and make them work together. I'd love to see another Inventory game (provided it was an adventure game, or at least something more gameplay-intensive than poker). It was nice of you to ask what characters we'd like to see in a potential sequel, but I want to know who you (or anyone else on the Telltale Team) would want to see. You can answer realistically and stick to characters you could feasibly get the rights to, or go sky's the limit and say absolutely anyone. Your choice.
4. Speaking of Poker Night, I really liked the Heavy's appearance in there. I'm a big TF2 junkie, and I know a lot of the Telltale Team is too. I'd hate to be another one of the guys asking "MAKE THIS GAME PLEASE," but has the idea of working with Valve on a TF2 adventure game been tossed around? The sheer lunacy of the TF2 universe would lend itself well to the adventure game (like a more violent Sam and Max), and it'd give a chance for fans to see some more of the classes' personalities and the game's incredibly bizarre backstory. And best of all, you could get HATS!
5. On a more serious note, I'd like to ask about Telltale's future. BttF and JP were both noticeably easier than their predecessors, which has brought on a lot of criticism. While I'm unhappy with the change myself, I can at least see why it happened. Telltale is growing as a company and wants to grow even further, and that means attracting new consumers. Consumers who may not even know what an adventure game is, much less have played one before. Anyway, my question is, what is Telltale's overall plan for the future? I was thinking that because BttF and JP were so easy to cater to newcomers, every Telltale game from now on would be just as easy. But maybe I'm being pessimistic. Maybe you intended for BttF to be a way for adventure newbies to dip their toes into the genre, so they'd be better prepared when Telltale releases a more complex game later down the line. If you could tell us a little bit about Telltale's long-term plans (I don't mean specific games, of course, just overall game design/business philosophy), I think it'd be pretty insightful.
6. After a question like that, I'd better finish with something light. If Bosco, Bubs, and Stan held a contest to see who could run the worst store, who would win?
First of all, huge thanks for doing the Q&A. I've been bitching a lot about JP lately (which I feel kind of bad about), so it's good having a reminder of why I became a Telltale fan in the first place. Anyway, questions. This is kind of a lot, so don't feel like you have to answer them...
1. Are there any plans to do a full-length, non-episodic game? I can understand why Telltale sticks to the episodic format, and I'm not saying they should abandon it, but at the same time the format has its flaws, and I think it'd be interesting to see what Telltale is capable of without it.
2. Are there any plans to publicly release the Telltale Tool and/or license it to other developers? (Though you've sort of done the latter already with Hector.) I remember a while ago in a thread on the subject Jake said it was possible to do SCUMM-style adventure games now without touching code. I think a lot of amateur designers would be able to do some awesome stuff with the Tool.
3. I loved how in Poker Night Telltale managed to take four different styles of humor and make them work together. I'd love to see another Inventory game (provided it was an adventure game, or at least something more gameplay-intensive than poker). It was nice of you to ask what characters we'd like to see in a potential sequel, but I want to know who you (or anyone else on the Telltale Team) would want to see. You can answer realistically and stick to characters you could feasibly get the rights to, or go sky's the limit and say absolutely anyone. Your choice.
4. Speaking of Poker Night, I really liked the Heavy's appearance in there. I'm a big TF2 junkie, and I know a lot of the Telltale Team is too. I'd hate to be another one of the guys asking "MAKE THIS GAME PLEASE," but has the idea of working with Valve on a TF2 adventure game been tossed around? The sheer lunacy of the TF2 universe would lend itself well to the adventure game (like a more violent Sam and Max), and it'd give a chance for fans to see some more of the classes' personalities and the game's incredibly bizarre backstory. And best of all, you could get HATS!
5. On a more serious note, I'd like to ask about Telltale's future. BttF and JP were both noticeably easier than their predecessors, which has brought on a lot of criticism. While I'm unhappy with the change myself, I can at least see why it happened. Telltale is growing as a company and wants to grow even further, and that means attracting new consumers. Consumers who may not even know what an adventure game is, much less have played one before. Anyway, my question is, what is Telltale's overall plan for the future? I was thinking that because BttF and JP were so easy to cater to newcomers, every Telltale game from now on would be just as easy. But maybe I'm being pessimistic. Maybe you intended for BttF to be a way for adventure newbies to dip their toes into the genre, so they'd be better prepared when Telltale releases a more complex game later down the line. If you could tell us a little bit about Telltale's long-term plans (I don't mean specific games, of course, just overall game design/business philosophy), I think it'd be pretty insightful.
6. After a question like that, I'd better finish with something light. If Bosco, Bubs, and Stan held a contest to see who could run the worst store, who would win?
Valve will lend the characters possibly, but why just make a TF2 story? Valve does that. Instead, let's make a sequel to Poker Night involving the hinted murder mystery. Instead though, make the inventory bigger than we thought. Everyone saw Trixie go into that secret room. Think Clue and keep expanding upon that, seeing as how TTG just made an incredible story with Jurassic Park, I'm sure they could do the series justice with a crossover game more in their style!
Woodseyblue you make a good observation we have mapped the gameplay experience to the franchise. With more traditional adventure game licenses the design is more puzzle focused because we know the fans of those franchises will expect that. That being said its a shame that The work we did on Monkey and Sam and Max is less accessible to people who should enjoy the content. I may be biased but I feel like Sam and Max has some of the most creative storylines and characters in the entire games industry, I also think we do the best gags in the business. I think the relationship between Guybrush, Elaine, Le Chuck and Morgan is some of the best character development and are great representations of female characters but it isnt experienced by most people because if they aren't experienced adventure gamers they can't get into it.
So that is the challenge and we are going to try all kinds of things to get to the right place but well integrated puzzles are a huge piece of the mechanic for us. JP still has puzzles in it. If you guys can think of well integrated puzzles that you liked we would love to hear it. I personally love the Dating Game Puzzle From TOMI EP 3 what puzzles did you guys like and why
I get that people who love Sam and Max and Monkey might not like what we did with BTTF or JP but we need the space to expirement and evolve. I don't think most of you want us to build games based on the same formula over and over again. Woodsey this isn't directed at you but I do need to say if people don't like BTTF or JP thats okay, feel free to let us know we value what you have to say. But Please Please Please don't attack people who are coming to the forum to talk about how they enjoyed it, that really hurts us and is just mean spirited.
If you guys can think of well integrated puzzles that you liked we would love to hear it. I personally love the Dating Game Puzzle From TOMI EP 3 what puzzles did you guys like and why.
I think that two of Telltale's greatest puzzles came in 'Launch of the Screaming Narwhal'. The first was the use of the clothes-line in knocking Winslow off the ship, and the second was the escape from DeSinge's lab. They were inventive, they were interesting and they were memorable. But, most importantly, they were challenging and they required thought.
The reason for this was that there were multiple factors involved in solving the puzzles. Usually the puzzles in most Telltale games will simply involve interacting with a series of objects and people - a task which has been made even simpler with the one-click interface you often use. In this case, there's just one factor involved in solving the puzzles: clicking on stuff. At other times, it's just selecting an (often obvious) item and using it with an environment object (and this too is simplified in games such as the 'Sam & Max' seasons, as the option of combining items within the inventory is absent). In this case, there are two factors involved in the puzzle-solving: the selection of the item, and the item with which to use it.
But in the puzzles I mentioned above, other factors were introduced. The clothes-line introduced a third factor which the player had to consider and work with during the solving of the puzzle. And in DeSinge's lab, there were a number of different levers the player had to play around with, and different seat positions that they had to use in order to progress. The process featured all of these different parameters which needed to be juggled and balanced by the player, and it was really thought-provoking and entertaining.
And the thing is, it wasn't obnoxiously hard. A puzzle like that would not scare away a new player, because the aim of the puzzle was clearly stated, the functions of each of the puzzle's elements were relatively easy to figure out, but it was the actual solving which required the brain-work. It was challenging, but it was doable, and it gave the player a great sense of satisfaction when they were able to complete it (well, it gave me a great sense of satisfaction).
So these are the sorts of puzzles I like seeing in Telltale's games - one's which introduce multiple other factors. Because, with the one-click interface system, the games really do need to have some extra things for the player to juggle when solving puzzles.
Thank you for answering my questions Dan, and I agree with many of your points. I completely agree that Sam & Max has some of the most creative storylines and characters in the entire games industry and that is one of the reasons those games are a joy to play. I would say the same of ToMI and Wallace & Gromit (I admit I haven't played SBCGFAP yet but it's on my list).
However I must inquire, you feel that by making your games too challenging you are alienating a potential player-base, however, if you make the games too easy aren't you at risk of alienating a different player-base, namely the veterans who get bored when the gameplay is too easy, or in JP's case when the player is forced to listen to hints for the puzzles before they have even started them with no option to turn said hints off? One of the things I liked about JP was the balance of different gameplays. You had the action scenes that kept you on your toes, the exploration scenes you could take at your own pace, and the puzzle scenes that got you thinking. One of my criticisms of the game, though, was that the forced hints during the puzzles, i.e. the text pop-ups, icons that drew attention to themselves when you were supposed to press them, and characters saying out-loud what they need to do next, led to the puzzle sequences being far too easy and letting the team down, so to speak.
I get that you want to make games that anyone can play, I really do. I've been playing adventure games since I was a little kid and I fully appreciate that there is nothing more frustrating than getting stuck in an adventure game. It is in many ways worse than getting stuck in any other genre of game because it's not skill based, it's just you not knowing what to do next. But at the same time there is nothing more satisfying that figuring out the answer to a puzzle that's had you stumped. It really is one of the best feelings, and that's what a lot of the old gamers here are looking for.
I personally don't think you need to make the games hard for them to be good, but it is frustrating when it feels like a game is showing the player a lack of respect. When a game is forcing hints on you when you don't even ask for them it can be flat-out insulting to your intelligence. I know that's not what you intend but some people do take it as an affront to their abilities.
I'm need to think for a while about what my favourite puzzles are and why I like them, but when I've thought it through I'll post it back here.
But Dan isn't arguing that all their games are going to be easy breeze games as far as puzzles are concerned. Some of their target demographics are not long time adventure gamers, and fair enough that they won't buy a game simply because it is made by a particular studio. Buying something just because a particular studio makes it is just bad customer sense.
I really enjoyed the DeSinge lab puzzle as well. It was fun, interesting, and had some hilarious dialogue to go along with it as well ("If I'd gone to university, I might be able to mix these chemicals together to create an acid to eat through my bonds! But, I'm a pirate, so I'll just say: Arrgh!"). Especially with to the constraint of not actually being able to walk anywhere or pick up anything, it made it different from the rest of the puzzles and made me think in a different way.
Another puzzle that I also really enjoyed was the face off puzzle from Lair of the Leviathan. While the actual face off wasn't all that difficult, it was really fun to find all the face components around the map as well as the fact that the puzzle really demonstrated what a modern adventure game could do now that couldn't really be done well in the nineties: have complex visual puzzles.
Also, pretty much all of Sam and Max 204. The time travel element and using items placed/altered in the past to change things in the future really worked well and forced the player to think about several different areas at once and how they might affect each other. And it felt so satisfying to complete any part because of this.
Am I the only one who really enjoyed the multilayered puzzles in 8 Bit is Forever? Also, maybe it is just me, but I really really like Maps and Minions from the second episode.
But, ultimately, 8 Bit's mechanism of having abilities in your inventory- in the form of party members just seemed to work. Also seemed to pave the way for Max's ability inventory in Season 3. I think having both items and abilities could be expanded on well.
I get that people who love Sam and Max and Monkey might not like what we did with BTTF or JP but we need the space to expirement and evolve. I don't think most of you want us to build games based on the same formula over and over again.
Hi Dan,
Thanks for your time on this so far.
Despite my post count I spend a bit of time on the forums but clearly reading more than contributing, however I feel the need to have a say at this point.
I think that what you say above nails it for me with regards to TellTale's evolving approach.
I'll be the first to say that I don't own all of your games - sorry, but I'm not a fan of the CSI TV show and I'm not motivated to investigate (ha!) that licence - but I have been on the whole impressed with your catalogue, and I'll exclude the Universal titles but I'll come back to them.
From the changes that I have seen in title to title I believe that TTG really does sit down at the end of each "season" and figure out what went well and what didn't. The lessons learned are evident in the following games. This is no more evident that putting Season 1 of Sam & Max next to Season 3 (my favourite TellTale offering - pitch perfect writing and I for one enjoyed the difficulty level of the puzzles).
I don't get much time to play games and most of the time I do get I will spend with a TTG title. To that end what you say about TTG's offering not being cookie cutter is important to me. The way that TTG continues to refine the adventure game genre shows deep care not only for the genre, but also for us - your fans and customers. I just want to thank you guys for this as I always look forward to news of new titles. (I remember finishing ToMI and feeling sorry for S&M3 thinking "how are they going to beat this?". Beat it? S&M3 is my favourite TTG title yet!)
On the Universal licences, I accept an earlier comment about ensuring that they are pitched at a broader audience, which would explain the "difficulty" issues with BTTF that have been expressed.
Due to the commercial nature of your business this is absolutely the right call though!
The more hardcore adventure gamer may call it selling out, but its probably fair to say that if TTG makes no money, then TTG makes no games. (on that note, until the variable difficulty level discussed earlier can be implemented I'm wondering how much the hardcore types would pay for a game that meets their desired difficulty level...)
I guess that some people need to realise that TTG isn't holding a gun to their head to buy all of your games, so if its not down their alley in the first place there is no obligation to buy. On that I'll probably hold off on titles like Law & Order, but can't wait for the pre-order for The Walking Dead!
Also I am glad that you guys made the call to delay JP (which I am about half way through and actually enjoying more than I expected - awesome story so far) to make sure that it made the grade quality wise before release. I was initially shocked, then considered it, thought it was a ballsy move and respect the decision.
Quality was a complaint that was also thrown at BTTF and I found it a bit niggling at times (when pushing the joypad stick one way to move Marty, then the camera angle changes and he's off in another direction...) but nothing overwhelming.
One thing that absolutely needs to be said is that any licence that you guys pick up is absolutely treated with the utmost respect and that the feel of the game is true every time. In that regard you have not disappointed me at all.
So to wrap up, I think the big question out of all of this is:
When can I get The Walking Dead?
Seriously though, thanks again Dan, and keep challenging yourselves. I look forward to more licence-true, story-driven, audience-appropriate titles for (hopefully) a very long time to come!
Thank you for answering. The things i like best about the Back to the Future game are the going to years the characters haven't been to before, the continuation of the story beyond Part III and Michael J Fox as future paradox versions of Marty. I hope if the game continues Michael J Fox will be involved again and the Delorean will travel to destinations unvisited before. I also think it would be pretty cool to see Telltale do some kind of Universal Studios Monsters game as well as a Star Trek game set immediately after the original series but before the first movie. Has Telltale ever looked into the Monsters or Star Trek? Oh, and are you at liberty to reveal any upcoming games, or at least disclose announcement dates?
I think we always assumed that the longer we waited between episodes the harder it would be for people to stay involved in the story. Usually we talk more about trying to move the release schedule in to every two weeks. Of course we would change the production schedule to have more episodes done before we started releasing them. In that case we would lose the building the game while people are playing it piece.
The few times we have skipped waited two months to release an episode it has felt like an eternity to us internally. You are right though we are close to the time where we could have a different episode launching every month. That will be interesting.
Always nice to hear from a lurker. As far as difficulty is concerned do you feel like the puzzles need to be the primary mechanic or can they be a mechanic amongst others? Should our other mechanices be harder to accomplish?
I'm sorry Telltale Fandom is at each others throats hopefully people can enjoy the positive things about whatwe do. One thing we did think about when starting the company was how to bring like minded bright people together who were willing to try something new. Bone, Wallace and Gromit, HSR, Sam and Max Monkey and the Amblin licenses all have very cool and smart audiences for the most part. So getting everyone together in one space has led to some exceptional discussions and fanart and creativity and hopefully people can enjoy it.
As far as the next things we are going to do is not clear right now but we are doing a lot of planning so I think we will be able to provide some clarity early next year
As far as particularly well-integrated puzzles go, the part in Muzzled! where you have to escape from Muzzle's dog-powered ride stands out to me. You're introduced to the puzzle's mechanics, which are the various traits of the dogs you're trapped with, earlier in the game through simpler puzzles. You then use that knowledge to figure your way out of a more difficult situation. It's a perfect learning curve, and it's really rewarding when it clicks in your mind just how to reuse that old mechanic in a new environment.
As far as particularly well-integrated puzzles go, the part in Muzzled! where you have to escape from Muzzle's dog-powered ride stands out to me. You're introduced to the puzzle's mechanics, which are the various traits of the dogs you're trapped with, earlier in the game through simpler puzzles. You then use that knowledge to figure your way out of a more difficult situation. It's a perfect learning curve, and it's really rewarding when it clicks in your mind just how to reuse that old mechanic in a new environment.
Agreed. The gong puzzles in Sam and Max follow the same principle. There are two kinds of portals, red and yellow. So how do you move the red portal to a new location? By making the gong red of course! You learn the portal mechanic at the start of the episode, and it gets utilized to its ultimate conclusion.
Bringing over prior knowledge like that is great. Insult sword-fighting in the original Monkey Island is another great example- you are learning new insults not for the insults themselves, but the responses. You have to use these preexisting responses to solve a puzzle with new clues later, which I find brilliant.
I would love to see these same-logic, more complex situation puzzles pulled over. Think like the game Portal. It gives a basic premise, but then starts combining puzzle elements that you've already been taught into new problems.
Always nice to hear from a lurker. As far as difficulty is concerned do you feel like the puzzles need to be the primary mechanic or can they be a mechanic amongst others? Should our other mechanices be harder to accomplish?
I'm sorry Telltale Fandom is at each others throats hopefully people can enjoy the positive things about whatwe do. One thing we did think about when starting the company was how to bring like minded bright people together who were willing to try something new. Bone, Wallace and Gromit, HSR, Sam and Max Monkey and the Amblin licenses all have very cool and smart audiences for the most part. So getting everyone together in one space has led to some exceptional discussions and fanart and creativity and hopefully people can enjoy it.
As far as the next things we are going to do is not clear right now but we are doing a lot of planning so I think we will be able to provide some clarity early next year
Hello!
To answer your first set of questions, I feel like that puzzles shoud come first gameplay wise over stuff like QtE's, which I really don't care much for. About the fandom thing, I was joking about that mostly. Occasionally, I read stuff like "This game is 1111/10, BESTEST THING EVAH!!!, and don't anyone dare even say the slightest thing bad about the game or else you're a troll!" or "-10000/10 worst game I have ever played in my life, if you even slightly like it you are obviously a fanboy!" Even then, when the two above groups clash, they usually have good arguments to back up their points but on rare occasions you have the above two occur.
For the good puzzles that have been in other games, I really liked the possessing the voodoo lady puzzle in ToMI in episode 3. I thought it was very clever and logical at the same time, yet still not too easy. The best kinds are in episodes that have a "gimmick" to them, like the gongs in "Moai Better Blues," and all of the time travel puzzles in "Chariots of the Dogs." I like episodes that have a "gimmick" to them as they are both clever and challenging. Like Hayden said, puzzles that add a third factor to them are definitely good.
For more traditonal "use inventory item on *insert environment object here*" puzzles, I liked the puzzle in Beyond the Alley of the dolls where you had to get on the center platform in the cloning room. First, you had to shoot the light out so Sal would climb on the center platform and lower the glass wall while trying to repair the lights. Then, you would have to shoot the coffee cup so Stinky would go on the center platform, and then since she brought her cell phone up with her, you could use your teleportation power to get up there. Another puzzle I liked was in Abe Lincoln must Die, which was the one where you have to make Sybil fall in love with Lincoln by using his recorded lines from his speech. These two puzzles were both great "Think outside the box" puzzles.
A couple of things I would try to avoid would be dialogue puzzles. I always feel dialogue should only be used, game-play wise, when you need to find out information from somebody, or you need to get an inventory item from that person. I honestly found the noir section in "They Stole Max's Brain" to be a bit boring, since it relied entirely on dialogue. Another thing that should be avoided is areas that have only a few things to click on and only a few inventory items to use. This is because there are only so many things you can try before you get the correct answer.
Dan, I don't think the problem is in puzzles.
If you really want my two cents, just use Sam & Max Season Two, Tales of Monkey Island or The Tomb of Sammun-Mak as reference for good, intelligent, not-in-your-face puzzles.
You'll be ok. They were marvelous experiences for me.
The real issue is: what's Telltale Games in 2011? What's your vision?
You've been establishing yourselves as premiere adventure developers from 2005 up until mid-2010 (The Devil's Playhouse). As a result, the success of your company has been made by adventure gamers.
Throughout this last year, I've seen different things from you: another poker game, a puzzle game, a really boring half-adventuregame half-visual novel (BTTF, sorry ) and - I must say - a gutsy, unexpected, weird and interesting interactive movie.
All these productions bear a common mark: they're easy, simplified, streamlined, and they aim to a new generations of audience/gamers, iPad in hand.
I guess we're on the verge on a new era, where interactive entertainment will be even more split between "gamers stuff" (which is still pretty strong) and "oh-look-I-click-something-happens-that's-incredible stuff".
I've always loved experiments, so I will be probably be following you anyway, but you must realize that putting Telltale's foot in two shoes is kind of hard. After BTTF and Jurassic Park, everyone is already worried about King's Quest. Lots of videogamers have already dismissed you as an unreliable developer.
If the casual market is stronger for Telltale, who I am to argue with that? Go on, I think there's room to experiment with interesting things in that area. You could even build on your Jurassic Park experiment, to find a more distinctive voice in the interactive movie arena.
Just face the consequence: you'll lose the vast majority of the gaming community.
OPTION 1: Do you want that? If so, puzzles are irrilevant, the challenge itself is irrilevant. As a matter of fact, the lack of traditional challenge in Jurassic Park is far better than the fake challenge in BTTF (but that's just me, I'm afraid ).
OPTION 2: Do you still think you want to address the gaming audience? Stop worrying about the risk of "people not enjoying all the content". If you're making videogames, that risk is a given.
Apart from all this, make the testing process stronger. For God's sake. :rolleyes:
the real issue is: What's telltale games in 2011? What's your vision?
[...]
option 1: Do you want that [the casual market]? If so, puzzles are irrilevant, the challenge itself is irrilevant. As a matter of fact, the lack of traditional challenge in jurassic park is far better than the fake challenge in bttf (but that's just me, i'm afraid ).
Option 2: Do you still think you want to address the gaming audience? Stop worrying about the risk of "people not enjoying all the content". If you're making videogames, that risk is a given.
Apart from all this, make the testing process stronger. For god's sake. :rolleyes:
This!
And I really hope that the answer will not be "We wanna address both audiences" - that would not even be an answer, but just an alarming lack of a vision now that something is dramatically changing for TTG.
If the gameplay is designed to suit the franchise then why not have two tiers of games running side-by-side. An 'adventurer' range and a 'storyteller' range. This way the gameplay and challenge (as well as audience!) is clear from the outset.
If the gameplay is designed to suit the franchise then why not have two tiers of games running side-by-side. An 'adventurer' range and a 'storyteller' range. This way the gameplay and challenge (as well as audience!) is clear from the outset.
It would be nice if one day this could happen. Currently, I think the company is still too small and doesn't have the resources, money and time to do it. It would make everyone happy though...having a long-way and short-way around the story. Oh well, we can dream lol
They are just going to find a happy medium it looks like. Adventure gamers want to stop, problem solve, figure out their own direction...with modern gamers it can seem scary to just stop the momentum. Where MI, S&M and even BTTF(to an extent) could fill the lulls of having to think through a puzzle with amusing dialogue, you obviously couldn't do that with JP. The dialogue was either a hint or: "I'm scared", "It'll be okay", "What's going on", or just character study. Genuine thoughts, but, personally, I became disinterested fairly quickly in the character chatter(Jerry: The A-hole few comebacks were a nice touch though). The charm of classic Telltale, the comedy and the adventure that really made you think, has felt a little estranged to me lately(I'm in NO way giving up though. I have faith that some greatness has yet to come. Experimenting is a part of growing).
It would be nice if one day this could happen. Currently, I think the company is still too small and doesn't have the resources, money and time to do it. It would make everyone happy though...having a long-way and short-way around the story. Oh well, we can dream lol
Why not? Sam and Max 'adventurer series' BTTF 'storyteller series'. It's just a naming mechanism that helps distinguish between the two breeds of games.
Not having two seperate versions exist side-by-side. That would be a crazy request, and i'm saving my crazy request up for a Mrs. Doubtfire game or something.
Why not? Sam and Max 'adventurer series' BTTF 'storyteller series'. It's just a naming mechanism that helps distinguish between the two breeds of games.
That's actually a great idea. Manage expectations right up front
Has Telltale ever thought of doing more video gamey titles moving away from puzzles/adventure stuff ?
Or going down more darker territory humour wise, an example would be Archer the animated show on FX which is one of the funniest things I've watched in a long time and premise is ripe for a game if the show runners and Telltale were to see eye to eye.
You could probably do a straight up adventure game with it but I'd love to see almost a cross between that and something like Spinter Cell.
Has Telltale ever thought of doing more video gamey titles moving away from puzzles/adventure stuff ?
Or going down more darker territory humour wise, an example would be Archer the animated show on FX which is one of the funniest things I've watched in a long time and premise is ripe for a game if the show runners and Telltale were to see eye to eye.
You could probably do a straight up adventure game with it but I'd love to see almost a cross between that and something like Spinter Cell.
I'd say Hector Badge Of Carnage is one that belongs to the darker territory.
I think that at least one episode of the next season of Sam and Max should involve fizzball. Also, I think that a Fudgie Freeze heist episode would be epicness incarnate.
I think Woodsy and Diduz nailed perfectly what's going to be Telltale's next challenge. Telltale is at a crossroad and in serious danger of losing a significant chunk of its fanbase and its reputation if it does not address the issue with difficulty and gameplay or lack thereof. From what I've seen on various forums, unless Telltale's next offering offer more interaction possibilities and is unconditionally difficult, they won't bother anymore.
And there is no magical, in-between difficulty level that would please both of your fanbases, doing so would quite simply put off both, it would be too little for one, too much for the other.
The only solution I can think of is to do what Monkey Island II did: feature two difficulty levels.
An easy difficulty where the world is not as broken, where most of the puzzles are already solved right from the start and those that aren't are spelled out loud or heavily hinted by the game, where the game holds the player's hand, tell him where to go and guide him through the game, where the player spend more time walking around and talking with other characters than solving puzzles, and where dying impossible.
And another difficulty level with more inventory, dialogues and other kind of puzzles, where you must combine items together, where the world is less linear, allowing us to tackle multiple puzzles at the same time, where you can die if you're not careful.
And it's not just a matter of difficulty, do you know why we loved LucasArts and Sierra games so much compared to the adventure games from the mid 2000s? Because half of the fun in those games was to examine, interact or use items with everything in your surrounding, even with stuff far away in the background, hoping the game would reward you with humorous lines or add extra flavor to your current situation if it didn't solve a puzzle. Bring this back. Bring back the ability to get lost in your world by interacting with everything around us.
I was the one who stuck it in the first place, and I'm the one who unstuck it now. It's been quite some time since Dan has replied, so I didn't feel the thread needed to be up there drawing to attention to itself anymore.
Sorry for leaving the post without a note I rushed home for Thanksgiving on Wednesday to meet my family who were staying with us. Cooked all day Thursday and then spent the weekend in a Turkey Coma.
Anyway I read many of the posts and its nice to hear from many of you again. I think the dominant themes are around difficulty and supporting gamers verses the casual audience. I think Diduz asked what the vision for Telltale in 2011 is.
The vision remains what it always has been for Telltale and I have said consistently since 2004 that Telltale wants to build games based on great characters and stories. The fact that Sam and Max, Monkey, Strongbad and W&G are great adventure games (IMHO) is something we are very proud of but we didn’t build Telltale to build one type of game. Our goal is to create play experiences that are new and unique, where you are interacting with characters in new ways that aren’t limited to doing an errand for them or murdering them. We want users to consider many things when making a decision in a tense environment, we want to progress storytelling in games however we can. Doing Adventure puzzles is a safe zone for us and we want to push the limits. That said challenge can come in many forms and that is definitely something we will be reviewing.
The thing I am most excited about is that the company now has three times the number of talented people here working on a diverse group of products. Every team has a critical mass off talent, passion and new ideas. We are taking everything we have learned as an organization form the Universal launches and adding that to our historical knowledge so I think it is going to be a great year in 2012.
Regarding the Tool you are right it is very flexible and has allowed us to do many things. We would love to work withtalented developers who would like to work in our tools, but we don't have people focused on doing everything it takes to make it happen. I have learned one thing in the last seven years and that is nothing is easy.
As far as making it available to the public I feel the same way. One day we might but right now I don't think we could support it in the right way. We did talk about franchise packs of characters, environments, animations and dialogs where players could create and share their scenes but when it came time to think it through there was just to much other stuff going on
Comments
Thanks Dan
Good luck and Submit a resume with a good cover letter.
Jurassic Park is pretty much an interactive movie (not bad, I liked it), but King's Quest is a different beast and a different franchise. We'll find a layered puzzle design and a deep interaction in it, won't we?
Why not have a competition, getting people to write short, 5-minute sketches featuring the Sam & Max cast (much like the ones you made during the first season)? Then you get Steve Purcell and the game writers to judge which are the five best. Then you make them using the TT engine and show them on the site.
Of course, a new game would be fantastic, but this'd be nice too.
I know I haven't been active in the forums in quite some time, but given this chance, I'd like to pose a few questions, if you'd indulge me, please:
1) Suppose this certain person has been sitting on a whole universe of humorous characters, and, in his own free time, has created music albums (well, one and many tracks for the second one), cartoons and comic strips based on those characters, started working on a book at one point, and generally has been sitting on said characters for about 7 years but hasn't tried promoting them in any way. And suppose this person would love to see said characters in an adventure game from TTG. Supposing you've supposed the above, how would this certain person go about pitching said idea to TTG? Or would that be wasting both TTG & this person's time?
2) Suppose I get rid of the whole "suppose" thing and ask straight out: will Puzzle Agent, Hector and the poker games be released on DVD?
3) I forgot what the third thing I wanted to ask was, what with all the supposing. I suppose it'll come back to me.
Thanks!
Edit: It's come back to me: will there be a Jurassic Park demo?
1. Are there any plans to do a full-length, non-episodic game? I can understand why Telltale sticks to the episodic format, and I'm not saying they should abandon it, but at the same time the format has its flaws, and I think it'd be interesting to see what Telltale is capable of without it.
2. Are there any plans to publicly release the Telltale Tool and/or license it to other developers? (Though you've sort of done the latter already with Hector.) I remember a while ago in a thread on the subject Jake said it was possible to do SCUMM-style adventure games now without touching code. I think a lot of amateur designers would be able to do some awesome stuff with the Tool.
3. I loved how in Poker Night Telltale managed to take four different styles of humor and make them work together. I'd love to see another Inventory game (provided it was an adventure game, or at least something more gameplay-intensive than poker). It was nice of you to ask what characters we'd like to see in a potential sequel, but I want to know who you (or anyone else on the Telltale Team) would want to see. You can answer realistically and stick to characters you could feasibly get the rights to, or go sky's the limit and say absolutely anyone. Your choice.
4. Speaking of Poker Night, I really liked the Heavy's appearance in there. I'm a big TF2 junkie, and I know a lot of the Telltale Team is too. I'd hate to be another one of the guys asking "MAKE THIS GAME PLEASE," but has the idea of working with Valve on a TF2 adventure game been tossed around? The sheer lunacy of the TF2 universe would lend itself well to the adventure game (like a more violent Sam and Max), and it'd give a chance for fans to see some more of the classes' personalities and the game's incredibly bizarre backstory. And best of all, you could get HATS!
5. On a more serious note, I'd like to ask about Telltale's future. BttF and JP were both noticeably easier than their predecessors, which has brought on a lot of criticism. While I'm unhappy with the change myself, I can at least see why it happened. Telltale is growing as a company and wants to grow even further, and that means attracting new consumers. Consumers who may not even know what an adventure game is, much less have played one before. Anyway, my question is, what is Telltale's overall plan for the future? I was thinking that because BttF and JP were so easy to cater to newcomers, every Telltale game from now on would be just as easy. But maybe I'm being pessimistic. Maybe you intended for BttF to be a way for adventure newbies to dip their toes into the genre, so they'd be better prepared when Telltale releases a more complex game later down the line. If you could tell us a little bit about Telltale's long-term plans (I don't mean specific games, of course, just overall game design/business philosophy), I think it'd be pretty insightful.
6. After a question like that, I'd better finish with something light. If Bosco, Bubs, and Stan held a contest to see who could run the worst store, who would win?
Valve will lend the characters possibly, but why just make a TF2 story? Valve does that. Instead, let's make a sequel to Poker Night involving the hinted murder mystery. Instead though, make the inventory bigger than we thought. Everyone saw Trixie go into that secret room. Think Clue and keep expanding upon that, seeing as how TTG just made an incredible story with Jurassic Park, I'm sure they could do the series justice with a crossover game more in their style!
So that is the challenge and we are going to try all kinds of things to get to the right place but well integrated puzzles are a huge piece of the mechanic for us. JP still has puzzles in it. If you guys can think of well integrated puzzles that you liked we would love to hear it. I personally love the Dating Game Puzzle From TOMI EP 3 what puzzles did you guys like and why
I get that people who love Sam and Max and Monkey might not like what we did with BTTF or JP but we need the space to expirement and evolve. I don't think most of you want us to build games based on the same formula over and over again. Woodsey this isn't directed at you but I do need to say if people don't like BTTF or JP thats okay, feel free to let us know we value what you have to say. But Please Please Please don't attack people who are coming to the forum to talk about how they enjoyed it, that really hurts us and is just mean spirited.
I think that two of Telltale's greatest puzzles came in 'Launch of the Screaming Narwhal'. The first was the use of the clothes-line in knocking Winslow off the ship, and the second was the escape from DeSinge's lab. They were inventive, they were interesting and they were memorable. But, most importantly, they were challenging and they required thought.
The reason for this was that there were multiple factors involved in solving the puzzles. Usually the puzzles in most Telltale games will simply involve interacting with a series of objects and people - a task which has been made even simpler with the one-click interface you often use. In this case, there's just one factor involved in solving the puzzles: clicking on stuff. At other times, it's just selecting an (often obvious) item and using it with an environment object (and this too is simplified in games such as the 'Sam & Max' seasons, as the option of combining items within the inventory is absent). In this case, there are two factors involved in the puzzle-solving: the selection of the item, and the item with which to use it.
But in the puzzles I mentioned above, other factors were introduced. The clothes-line introduced a third factor which the player had to consider and work with during the solving of the puzzle. And in DeSinge's lab, there were a number of different levers the player had to play around with, and different seat positions that they had to use in order to progress. The process featured all of these different parameters which needed to be juggled and balanced by the player, and it was really thought-provoking and entertaining.
And the thing is, it wasn't obnoxiously hard. A puzzle like that would not scare away a new player, because the aim of the puzzle was clearly stated, the functions of each of the puzzle's elements were relatively easy to figure out, but it was the actual solving which required the brain-work. It was challenging, but it was doable, and it gave the player a great sense of satisfaction when they were able to complete it (well, it gave me a great sense of satisfaction).
So these are the sorts of puzzles I like seeing in Telltale's games - one's which introduce multiple other factors. Because, with the one-click interface system, the games really do need to have some extra things for the player to juggle when solving puzzles.
However I must inquire, you feel that by making your games too challenging you are alienating a potential player-base, however, if you make the games too easy aren't you at risk of alienating a different player-base, namely the veterans who get bored when the gameplay is too easy, or in JP's case when the player is forced to listen to hints for the puzzles before they have even started them with no option to turn said hints off? One of the things I liked about JP was the balance of different gameplays. You had the action scenes that kept you on your toes, the exploration scenes you could take at your own pace, and the puzzle scenes that got you thinking. One of my criticisms of the game, though, was that the forced hints during the puzzles, i.e. the text pop-ups, icons that drew attention to themselves when you were supposed to press them, and characters saying out-loud what they need to do next, led to the puzzle sequences being far too easy and letting the team down, so to speak.
I get that you want to make games that anyone can play, I really do. I've been playing adventure games since I was a little kid and I fully appreciate that there is nothing more frustrating than getting stuck in an adventure game. It is in many ways worse than getting stuck in any other genre of game because it's not skill based, it's just you not knowing what to do next. But at the same time there is nothing more satisfying that figuring out the answer to a puzzle that's had you stumped. It really is one of the best feelings, and that's what a lot of the old gamers here are looking for.
I personally don't think you need to make the games hard for them to be good, but it is frustrating when it feels like a game is showing the player a lack of respect. When a game is forcing hints on you when you don't even ask for them it can be flat-out insulting to your intelligence. I know that's not what you intend but some people do take it as an affront to their abilities.
I'm need to think for a while about what my favourite puzzles are and why I like them, but when I've thought it through I'll post it back here.
Another puzzle that I also really enjoyed was the face off puzzle from Lair of the Leviathan. While the actual face off wasn't all that difficult, it was really fun to find all the face components around the map as well as the fact that the puzzle really demonstrated what a modern adventure game could do now that couldn't really be done well in the nineties: have complex visual puzzles.
Also, pretty much all of Sam and Max 204. The time travel element and using items placed/altered in the past to change things in the future really worked well and forced the player to think about several different areas at once and how they might affect each other. And it felt so satisfying to complete any part because of this.
But, ultimately, 8 Bit's mechanism of having abilities in your inventory- in the form of party members just seemed to work. Also seemed to pave the way for Max's ability inventory in Season 3. I think having both items and abilities could be expanded on well.
Hi Dan,
Thanks for your time on this so far.
Despite my post count I spend a bit of time on the forums but clearly reading more than contributing, however I feel the need to have a say at this point.
I think that what you say above nails it for me with regards to TellTale's evolving approach.
I'll be the first to say that I don't own all of your games - sorry, but I'm not a fan of the CSI TV show and I'm not motivated to investigate (ha!) that licence - but I have been on the whole impressed with your catalogue, and I'll exclude the Universal titles but I'll come back to them.
From the changes that I have seen in title to title I believe that TTG really does sit down at the end of each "season" and figure out what went well and what didn't. The lessons learned are evident in the following games. This is no more evident that putting Season 1 of Sam & Max next to Season 3 (my favourite TellTale offering - pitch perfect writing and I for one enjoyed the difficulty level of the puzzles).
I don't get much time to play games and most of the time I do get I will spend with a TTG title. To that end what you say about TTG's offering not being cookie cutter is important to me. The way that TTG continues to refine the adventure game genre shows deep care not only for the genre, but also for us - your fans and customers. I just want to thank you guys for this as I always look forward to news of new titles. (I remember finishing ToMI and feeling sorry for S&M3 thinking "how are they going to beat this?". Beat it? S&M3 is my favourite TTG title yet!)
On the Universal licences, I accept an earlier comment about ensuring that they are pitched at a broader audience, which would explain the "difficulty" issues with BTTF that have been expressed.
Due to the commercial nature of your business this is absolutely the right call though!
The more hardcore adventure gamer may call it selling out, but its probably fair to say that if TTG makes no money, then TTG makes no games. (on that note, until the variable difficulty level discussed earlier can be implemented I'm wondering how much the hardcore types would pay for a game that meets their desired difficulty level...)
I guess that some people need to realise that TTG isn't holding a gun to their head to buy all of your games, so if its not down their alley in the first place there is no obligation to buy. On that I'll probably hold off on titles like Law & Order, but can't wait for the pre-order for The Walking Dead!
Also I am glad that you guys made the call to delay JP (which I am about half way through and actually enjoying more than I expected - awesome story so far) to make sure that it made the grade quality wise before release. I was initially shocked, then considered it, thought it was a ballsy move and respect the decision.
Quality was a complaint that was also thrown at BTTF and I found it a bit niggling at times (when pushing the joypad stick one way to move Marty, then the camera angle changes and he's off in another direction...) but nothing overwhelming.
One thing that absolutely needs to be said is that any licence that you guys pick up is absolutely treated with the utmost respect and that the feel of the game is true every time. In that regard you have not disappointed me at all.
So to wrap up, I think the big question out of all of this is:
When can I get The Walking Dead?
Seriously though, thanks again Dan, and keep challenging yourselves. I look forward to more licence-true, story-driven, audience-appropriate titles for (hopefully) a very long time to come!
I think we always assumed that the longer we waited between episodes the harder it would be for people to stay involved in the story. Usually we talk more about trying to move the release schedule in to every two weeks. Of course we would change the production schedule to have more episodes done before we started releasing them. In that case we would lose the building the game while people are playing it piece.
The few times we have skipped waited two months to release an episode it has felt like an eternity to us internally. You are right though we are close to the time where we could have a different episode launching every month. That will be interesting.
Always nice to hear from a lurker. As far as difficulty is concerned do you feel like the puzzles need to be the primary mechanic or can they be a mechanic amongst others? Should our other mechanices be harder to accomplish?
I'm sorry Telltale Fandom is at each others throats hopefully people can enjoy the positive things about whatwe do. One thing we did think about when starting the company was how to bring like minded bright people together who were willing to try something new. Bone, Wallace and Gromit, HSR, Sam and Max Monkey and the Amblin licenses all have very cool and smart audiences for the most part. So getting everyone together in one space has led to some exceptional discussions and fanart and creativity and hopefully people can enjoy it.
As far as the next things we are going to do is not clear right now but we are doing a lot of planning so I think we will be able to provide some clarity early next year
Agreed. The gong puzzles in Sam and Max follow the same principle. There are two kinds of portals, red and yellow. So how do you move the red portal to a new location? By making the gong red of course! You learn the portal mechanic at the start of the episode, and it gets utilized to its ultimate conclusion.
Bringing over prior knowledge like that is great. Insult sword-fighting in the original Monkey Island is another great example- you are learning new insults not for the insults themselves, but the responses. You have to use these preexisting responses to solve a puzzle with new clues later, which I find brilliant.
I would love to see these same-logic, more complex situation puzzles pulled over. Think like the game Portal. It gives a basic premise, but then starts combining puzzle elements that you've already been taught into new problems.
Hello!
To answer your first set of questions, I feel like that puzzles shoud come first gameplay wise over stuff like QtE's, which I really don't care much for. About the fandom thing, I was joking about that mostly. Occasionally, I read stuff like "This game is 1111/10, BESTEST THING EVAH!!!, and don't anyone dare even say the slightest thing bad about the game or else you're a troll!" or "-10000/10 worst game I have ever played in my life, if you even slightly like it you are obviously a fanboy!" Even then, when the two above groups clash, they usually have good arguments to back up their points but on rare occasions you have the above two occur.
For the good puzzles that have been in other games, I really liked the possessing the voodoo lady puzzle in ToMI in episode 3. I thought it was very clever and logical at the same time, yet still not too easy. The best kinds are in episodes that have a "gimmick" to them, like the gongs in "Moai Better Blues," and all of the time travel puzzles in "Chariots of the Dogs." I like episodes that have a "gimmick" to them as they are both clever and challenging. Like Hayden said, puzzles that add a third factor to them are definitely good.
For more traditonal "use inventory item on *insert environment object here*" puzzles, I liked the puzzle in Beyond the Alley of the dolls where you had to get on the center platform in the cloning room. First, you had to shoot the light out so Sal would climb on the center platform and lower the glass wall while trying to repair the lights. Then, you would have to shoot the coffee cup so Stinky would go on the center platform, and then since she brought her cell phone up with her, you could use your teleportation power to get up there. Another puzzle I liked was in Abe Lincoln must Die, which was the one where you have to make Sybil fall in love with Lincoln by using his recorded lines from his speech. These two puzzles were both great "Think outside the box" puzzles.
A couple of things I would try to avoid would be dialogue puzzles. I always feel dialogue should only be used, game-play wise, when you need to find out information from somebody, or you need to get an inventory item from that person. I honestly found the noir section in "They Stole Max's Brain" to be a bit boring, since it relied entirely on dialogue. Another thing that should be avoided is areas that have only a few things to click on and only a few inventory items to use. This is because there are only so many things you can try before you get the correct answer.
And that ends my long post.
If you really want my two cents, just use Sam & Max Season Two, Tales of Monkey Island or The Tomb of Sammun-Mak as reference for good, intelligent, not-in-your-face puzzles.
You'll be ok. They were marvelous experiences for me.
The real issue is: what's Telltale Games in 2011? What's your vision?
You've been establishing yourselves as premiere adventure developers from 2005 up until mid-2010 (The Devil's Playhouse). As a result, the success of your company has been made by adventure gamers.
Throughout this last year, I've seen different things from you: another poker game, a puzzle game, a really boring half-adventuregame half-visual novel (BTTF, sorry
All these productions bear a common mark: they're easy, simplified, streamlined, and they aim to a new generations of audience/gamers, iPad in hand.
I guess we're on the verge on a new era, where interactive entertainment will be even more split between "gamers stuff" (which is still pretty strong) and "oh-look-I-click-something-happens-that's-incredible stuff".
I've always loved experiments, so I will be probably be following you anyway, but you must realize that putting Telltale's foot in two shoes is kind of hard. After BTTF and Jurassic Park, everyone is already worried about King's Quest. Lots of videogamers have already dismissed you as an unreliable developer.
If the casual market is stronger for Telltale, who I am to argue with that? Go on, I think there's room to experiment with interesting things in that area. You could even build on your Jurassic Park experiment, to find a more distinctive voice in the interactive movie arena.
Just face the consequence: you'll lose the vast majority of the gaming community.
OPTION 1: Do you want that? If so, puzzles are irrilevant, the challenge itself is irrilevant. As a matter of fact, the lack of traditional challenge in Jurassic Park is far better than the fake challenge in BTTF (but that's just me, I'm afraid
OPTION 2: Do you still think you want to address the gaming audience? Stop worrying about the risk of "people not enjoying all the content". If you're making videogames, that risk is a given.
Apart from all this, make the testing process stronger. For God's sake. :rolleyes:
This!
And I really hope that the answer will not be "We wanna address both audiences" - that would not even be an answer, but just an alarming lack of a vision now that something is dramatically changing for TTG.
It would be nice if one day this could happen. Currently, I think the company is still too small and doesn't have the resources, money and time to do it. It would make everyone happy though...having a long-way and short-way around the story. Oh well, we can dream lol
They are just going to find a happy medium it looks like. Adventure gamers want to stop, problem solve, figure out their own direction...with modern gamers it can seem scary to just stop the momentum. Where MI, S&M and even BTTF(to an extent) could fill the lulls of having to think through a puzzle with amusing dialogue, you obviously couldn't do that with JP. The dialogue was either a hint or: "I'm scared", "It'll be okay", "What's going on", or just character study. Genuine thoughts, but, personally, I became disinterested fairly quickly in the character chatter(Jerry: The A-hole few comebacks were a nice touch though). The charm of classic Telltale, the comedy and the adventure that really made you think, has felt a little estranged to me lately(I'm in NO way giving up though. I have faith that some greatness has yet to come. Experimenting is a part of growing).
Why not? Sam and Max 'adventurer series' BTTF 'storyteller series'. It's just a naming mechanism that helps distinguish between the two breeds of games.
Not having two seperate versions exist side-by-side. That would be a crazy request, and i'm saving my crazy request up for a Mrs. Doubtfire game or something.
That's actually a great idea. Manage expectations right up front
Or going down more darker territory humour wise, an example would be Archer the animated show on FX which is one of the funniest things I've watched in a long time and premise is ripe for a game if the show runners and Telltale were to see eye to eye.
You could probably do a straight up adventure game with it but I'd love to see almost a cross between that and something like Spinter Cell.
I'd say Hector Badge Of Carnage is one that belongs to the darker territory.
I think Woodsy and Diduz nailed perfectly what's going to be Telltale's next challenge. Telltale is at a crossroad and in serious danger of losing a significant chunk of its fanbase and its reputation if it does not address the issue with difficulty and gameplay or lack thereof. From what I've seen on various forums, unless Telltale's next offering offer more interaction possibilities and is unconditionally difficult, they won't bother anymore.
And there is no magical, in-between difficulty level that would please both of your fanbases, doing so would quite simply put off both, it would be too little for one, too much for the other.
The only solution I can think of is to do what Monkey Island II did: feature two difficulty levels.
An easy difficulty where the world is not as broken, where most of the puzzles are already solved right from the start and those that aren't are spelled out loud or heavily hinted by the game, where the game holds the player's hand, tell him where to go and guide him through the game, where the player spend more time walking around and talking with other characters than solving puzzles, and where dying impossible.
And another difficulty level with more inventory, dialogues and other kind of puzzles, where you must combine items together, where the world is less linear, allowing us to tackle multiple puzzles at the same time, where you can die if you're not careful.
And it's not just a matter of difficulty, do you know why we loved LucasArts and Sierra games so much compared to the adventure games from the mid 2000s? Because half of the fun in those games was to examine, interact or use items with everything in your surrounding, even with stuff far away in the background, hoping the game would reward you with humorous lines or add extra flavor to your current situation if it didn't solve a puzzle. Bring this back. Bring back the ability to get lost in your world by interacting with everything around us.
Anyway, that's all I had to say.
Dan is already giving up about answering some questions?
Sorry for leaving the post without a note I rushed home for Thanksgiving on Wednesday to meet my family who were staying with us. Cooked all day Thursday and then spent the weekend in a Turkey Coma.
Anyway I read many of the posts and its nice to hear from many of you again. I think the dominant themes are around difficulty and supporting gamers verses the casual audience. I think Diduz asked what the vision for Telltale in 2011 is.
The vision remains what it always has been for Telltale and I have said consistently since 2004 that Telltale wants to build games based on great characters and stories. The fact that Sam and Max, Monkey, Strongbad and W&G are great adventure games (IMHO) is something we are very proud of but we didn’t build Telltale to build one type of game. Our goal is to create play experiences that are new and unique, where you are interacting with characters in new ways that aren’t limited to doing an errand for them or murdering them. We want users to consider many things when making a decision in a tense environment, we want to progress storytelling in games however we can. Doing Adventure puzzles is a safe zone for us and we want to push the limits. That said challenge can come in many forms and that is definitely something we will be reviewing.
The thing I am most excited about is that the company now has three times the number of talented people here working on a diverse group of products. Every team has a critical mass off talent, passion and new ideas. We are taking everything we have learned as an organization form the Universal launches and adding that to our historical knowledge so I think it is going to be a great year in 2012.
Thanks for the kind words about Telltale.
Regarding the Tool you are right it is very flexible and has allowed us to do many things. We would love to work withtalented developers who would like to work in our tools, but we don't have people focused on doing everything it takes to make it happen. I have learned one thing in the last seven years and that is nothing is easy.
As far as making it available to the public I feel the same way. One day we might but right now I don't think we could support it in the right way. We did talk about franchise packs of characters, environments, animations and dialogs where players could create and share their scenes but when it came time to think it through there was just to much other stuff going on