If you would have taken the time to read the other posts on the game you'd see that most people felt the game was too short. I'm pretty sure that telltale has gotten the message by now about the length of the game. By the sounds of it the next episode will be out spring 2006 so they have plenty of time to make something longer.
Uh, Bone 1 had a 7 month schedule, so this game will have a similar one . Less really, but you have to figure re-using models and stuff will save some time. I'd say they definitely got the message about the length complaints, though, and episode two will be longer. It will still be a short game, of course. I mean, you can only do so much in 5-6 months. But getting frequent episodes is, after all, the beauty of the company's business model.
Is the key from the first episode valid for all of them or will they be sold separately? I don't mind if each episode is short if I only have to pay once to play them all.
Playing the demo download I thought this was a very well done game. After a few starts, I got up to the point where Phone meets Thorn at the river. Paid my $20 and continued to play. Well, I got another hour and fifteen minutes before the credits rolled. (and that included one game crash). To be honest, I felt ripped off.
If I go to the store and buy a new game with cd, box and manual for $60, I can get many hours of game play. I can then sell it on Ebay for possibly $40.
Is there even any way to put this game on a cd?
I think TellTale should give us a credit on the next episode!!
Looking through the Bone comic anthology, if you divide up the chapters about equal to the first chapter of the game, there is six total. If Telltale charges $20 for each chapter, thats a $120 video game all together, even though it'll probably end up about as long lasting as any other regular $40-$50 adventure game. Is the $20 chapter trend going to continue? I think I'll wait around for the whole game to be complete, and hope for a hard copy CD with a price reduction.
Well, it kind of is one game, since the second chapter isn't a seperate game, its a chapter. I really enjoyed the first chapter, but I would just like to know if there are any plans to someday compile it all into one CD or one download, and sell it for less than $120. Because that seems a little ridiculous.
Hahaha. But no, $120 is ridiculous for a game. The problem is that you don't view other games with sequels like that. You don't argue that four Zelda games are really one $200 game because they are chapters that continue the story. The fact that the Bone episodes are short and more story-driven doesn't change the fact that they all have individual productions and budgets and are meant to stand alone like any other video game. Each of these games is going through its own design and creation one at a time. They're not making a twenty hour game and then cutting them up into six twenty dollar fragments. They're attempting to make small, but complete, games that happen to tell a part of a larger story. The question should be whether or not you feel The Great Cow Race or whatever chapter in question to be worth $20.
But honestly.. if you see episode 1 as a full game and only buy that one, it's not a good game.
If you only buy episode 1 and view that as a full game, it's a very unsatisfying game with a bad story.
So I prefer to look at it as the first part of a bigger game.
I hate to say it, but I agree. For the $25 for the two chapters, I could have bought a game like Kingdom Hearts 1, Halo PC, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas PC, and a lot of others. Even though they are all older games, those have at least 30 hours of gameplay.
I hate to say it, but I agree. For the $25 for the two chapters, I could have bought a game like Kingdom Hearts 1, Halo PC, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas PC, and a lot of others. Even though they are all older games, those have at least 30 hours of gameplay.
But I guess that’s what’s interesting about being involved with this now - A lot of companies will be looking to see how Tell-Tale (& the guys who distribute using Steam) do with their episodic game business structure - What they think works, what doesn’t, why they think it succeeds or fails, etc...
Tell-Tale must be as much in the dark about this as anyone, trying to figure out what people expect for their money - It may turn out that people expectations are too high for the available production values - that they expect more than can be delivered (& still make a profit)?
But hopefully after a little fine tuning everything will start falling into place; customers will get used to the format, their expectations will change with familiarity, companies will know what levels customers are willing to stick around for and what drives them away (since it’s episodic, they HAVE to sell each episode to you over and over again – If you didn’t like the last one why would you buy the next?)
From my perspective, I enjoy the idea that the designers are taking notes of customers input, that the people who are buying and talking about the game now (as opposed to waiting until the compilation pack is released) will be having a direct affect on how the series develops.
They’ve already dropped the price (which had stopped be buying up until then), they dropped the annoying mini-games, Bone 2 is noticeably longer than Bone 1, etc...
But at the end of the day, I guess gaming is a very personally thing, if the episodic model doesn’t work for you, that’s cool - If you like the idea but not the implementation then stick around & make yourself heard!
Comments
If I go to the store and buy a new game with cd, box and manual for $60, I can get many hours of game play. I can then sell it on Ebay for possibly $40.
Is there even any way to put this game on a cd?
I think TellTale should give us a credit on the next episode!!
~10
If you only buy episode 1 and view that as a full game, it's a very unsatisfying game with a bad story.
So I prefer to look at it as the first part of a bigger game.
But I guess that’s what’s interesting about being involved with this now - A lot of companies will be looking to see how Tell-Tale (& the guys who distribute using Steam) do with their episodic game business structure - What they think works, what doesn’t, why they think it succeeds or fails, etc...
Tell-Tale must be as much in the dark about this as anyone, trying to figure out what people expect for their money - It may turn out that people expectations are too high for the available production values - that they expect more than can be delivered (& still make a profit)?
But hopefully after a little fine tuning everything will start falling into place; customers will get used to the format, their expectations will change with familiarity, companies will know what levels customers are willing to stick around for and what drives them away (since it’s episodic, they HAVE to sell each episode to you over and over again – If you didn’t like the last one why would you buy the next?)
From my perspective, I enjoy the idea that the designers are taking notes of customers input, that the people who are buying and talking about the game now (as opposed to waiting until the compilation pack is released) will be having a direct affect on how the series develops.
They’ve already dropped the price (which had stopped be buying up until then), they dropped the annoying mini-games, Bone 2 is noticeably longer than Bone 1, etc...
But at the end of the day, I guess gaming is a very personally thing, if the episodic model doesn’t work for you, that’s cool - If you like the idea but not the implementation then stick around & make yourself heard!
B-)