Episode 2 and overexertion
With the delay of Episode 2 and all of its inconsistencies, controversies (IE the trailer showing almost nothing similar to what was actually in Episode 2), complaints, some retconning and rewriting of events and characters, and Telltale's secrecy on the delay, my thoughts on TWAU are really echoed by the above article. I don't think Episode 2 was bad. I love TWAU. I just simply feel disappointed, mainly because this is the first game we had from Telltale after the amazing-beyond-belief TWD, which is one of my favorite games of all time. However, recently, I just can't shake the feeling that TWAU is getting shoved aside because Telltale has elected to take on four simultaneous projects, and perhaps more:
- The Walking Dead: Season 2
- The Wolf Among Us
- Tales from the Borderlands
- Game of Thrones
I worry Telltale is drastically overexerting its abilities in light of TWD's success, trying to prove itself a big, powerful company who can tackle storytelling games like nobody's business. However, what I find disappointing is that Telltale's success with TWD was because of the time, effort, and care put into it. I'm not saying TTG staff don't care any more or have become "ruined" by major success, no, but I am saying I think they're trying too hard to prove themselves a quality company in a market garnered towards action and shooters and are instead dilluting their own quality whilst trying to churn four games out, three of which are based on extremely popular, extremely massive franchises. The only one that isn't based on a major franchise? The Wolf Among Us, based on a popular comics series, but nothing with nearly as much popularity as G.R.R. Martin's books, or Robert Kirkman's comics, or Borderlands' AAA-game development.
I'm honestly thinking lately, the reason for Telltale's delay was probably due to issues with technical things, maybe voice actor changes, but I'm also thinking that it wasn't fixed as fast as it should have for the purpose of putting more development into their other projects. TWAU isn't nearly as big of a seller as TWD was, or how Season 2 was; at its peak, around 7,000 people on Steam had played TWAU on Episode 2's release date. The Walking Dead Season 2's release date garnered a little over 20,000 players, and that's just on Steam according to Steam's statistics, which you can easily find via the Steam homepage. TWAU simply has a smaller audience than The Walking Dead. The Walking Dead has numerous comic fans, millions of TV fans, and millions of game fans.
The Wolf Among Us doesn't seem as big of a game, and that's fine. I just hope Telltale doesn't try to bite off more than it can chew with its many projects, and I hope TWAU, a game which I really, really enjoy, won't get sidelined because of profit margins or simple overexertion by Telltale's talented, although human and subject to stress, staff. I wish they'd take their time, focus on 1-2 games at a time. It's obviously proven successful in the past. They don't have a crippling triple-A budget that needs paying off. They can afford to put time and effort into their projects because we love them and we love their games. I hope they remember that.