Ideas For TWD Season 3
I've been a dedicated fan of The Walking Dead for years now and have played season 1 of the game as well as read the comic and watched the tv show. While I certainly think that season 2 has been fun and not a disappointment I have noticed some flaws that I think should be corrected for the next season. After seeing the criticism that season 2 was getting (especially episode 4) I decided to go back and replay season 1 and all the released episodes of season 2 to compare them. Below are some suggestions that I think most fans like myself would love to see and that I think could improve the (already great) experience. A quick warning though, this post will be quite LONG and contain many SPOILERS in it. Thank you in advance for reading and please take these ideas into consideration.
Choices
As I'm sure both Telltale and the fans know the choices are the most important part of the game. They unfold the story in a unique way and provide impact to the hard decisions players make. As such I have noticed many things that could be better.
More Multiple Choices: Many of the non-dialog choices in season 2 are a choice between A and B with only two results. While I don't think there are too many choices like this I'd like to see more choices with several options. Case in point, episode 4 of season 1 where player has to decide who comes with them to look for Clementine. Instead of choice A or B it had several different outcomes such as everyone joining Lee, no one joining Lee and everything in between. Did it have a major impact on the overall story? No, but it gave the player the choice of choosing their friends and enemies in any combination they saw fit. Another good example would be handing out food in episode 2. You have about a dozen hungry people and 4 snacks, do you take care of the kids, save some for your buddy, feed your hated rival or selfishly hog it for yourself? The choices are endless and this a great way to build up bonds and walls between the characters you like and the ones you hate.
Random Chance Events: Like Wyatt and Eddie's game of Rock, Paper and Scissors to decide who leaves the car. The player could be asked to choose heads or tails on a random coin flip or open a randomized box of supplies. This would add a ton of reply value and force the player to adapt to unexpected situations. Say the player has to cross a bridge at one point. Half of the time its clear and half the time its broken, meaning the game could become slightly easier or harder at random. So long as these choices aren't overdone or too difficult/crippling they can help repeat playthroughs feel fresh.
More Preference Choices: That is, choices that don't really affect the story or gameplay much or at all, but allow the player to select a preference. Take the tools in the train in episode 3, the player can choose any one to keep and use in the next episode. It doesn't matter since they all work the same but it still allows the player to pick their favorite one. Maybe in season 3 the player could come to a sporting goods store with a gold club, baseball bat, and crowbar left and has to choose one to take and use as a melee weapon in all of the remaining episodes. Another good example would be if the player came to a toy store and got to select gifts for the groups children, like a choice between a doll or toy pony for the girl and a choice between a water pistol or action figure for the boy. Aside from maybe seeing the child playing with the toy you chose in the next episode this affects nothing but makes the player feel good for giving them a present they thought they would enjoy. It also gives them a more personal connection to the children since they got to decide which gift to give them personally instead of just being handed a random toy by the game itself that is the same each time.
Specific Preference Choices I Came Up With:
Clothing: Near the beginning of the season (first or second episode) the player could be given a choice between two or three different pieces of clothing to wear. Say its almost winter and their friend found two coats, a nice blue one with a snowman on it or a green camo styled one. Whatever the player chooses they get to keep. It would be kind of like how Clementine can wear the hoodie Lee finds in episode 2 or the jacket Bonnie gives her in episode 3 except the player gets to choose for themselves. This could also be done with more simple things like hats or necklaces.
Music Distraction: The player has to clear a group of walkers away from a thing they need, luckily a working CD player is nearby. In front of it are several music discs such as a heavy metal album, an electronic pop album and a rap album. No matter the choice the walkers are attracted to the sound and the player gets what they need. Maybe you could even have other characters comment on your choices.
Interrogation: You've got a scenario where you have to get information out of a bandit or prisoner so you'll have to torture them a little. In front of you could be a knife, heated iron, pliers and/or broken glass. After using two of the objects on the prisoner they crack and reveal their information, but their character model keeps the damage inflicted on them. (Say you used the heated iron and the broken glass, now the character is bleeding from the gums and has a burn on their arm. Maybe instead you used the pliers twice in a row? The character is now missing two of their teeth.) If you wanted to be especially sadistic and gruesome you could even give players a choice on where to use these items. (Do I use the hot iron to burn their arm, back or face? Do I put the broken glass in their mouth or rub it against their bare chest? You get the idea.)
Shave: If the character is a guy you should give players an option to shave once every episode or so. If they don't they slowly get stubble and then grow a beard. If the character is a woman she could cut her hair instead. A few characters could comment on this when the player makes a change. (Things like "Growing it out I see." or "You look like some kid of action movie hero.")
Snacks: Whenever there is more than one piece of food/drink for the player to have let them choose what they get. Suppose there are five food rations left and your character gets to eat. You could choose from one of two sticks of beef jerky, two packs of crackers or a snack cake. (Choosing the snack cake would upset another survivor who wanted it, though it wouldn't negatively impact your reputation with them.)
Smoke And Drink: Have several parts where the player can choose to smoke or drink, either by pulling out a flask/pack of cigarettes or being offered some by another character. Choosing to smoke/drink heavy then suddenly stop (or vise versa) would provoke a reaction. ("Oh, you quit?" or "I'm surprised you wanted one...")
Hair Dye: The characters find some hair dye and the player can choose to have their character use it. Doing so changes their hair to the color of the dye for the rest of the game. Even better, the color could be randomized each time.
The Player
The player is doubtlessly the most important character in the entire game, as such I have many ideas for the protagonist of season 3.
New Character: We all love Lee and we all love Clementine, but their story is over. Let's face it... in The Walking Dead there are NO happy endings, the conclusion to season 2 is the best we're gonna get. Why pointlessly prolong Clementine's suffering further by making her endure another season of misfortune only to end up right back where she was at the end of season 2. Telltale already pushed gamers to their limit of tolerating bleak hopelessness and meaningless choices, why kill off both Kenny and Jane just to have a continuation of season 2? The endings were all hopeful to an extent, some more than others, but they had hope that things might get better now. Why throw all that away just so Clementine can lose everything she has for the third time in a row? I'll miss her, you'll miss her, we'll all miss her but... her story is over. Let it end here, let her start a new life with Kenny or Jane or in Wellington... let her have hope so she won't suffer a worse fate somewhere down the road. My personal idea for season three is let the players start with a fresh character with a blank slate. Let them tell their own story, choose details about their past and shape their own character like Commander Shepard in Mass Effect. Ideally, have this character introduced a month or so into the apocalypse like Rick was and go from there. We know how Lee and Clementine reacted to the world around them, now let's see how much humanity the players themselves have.
Choice Of Gender: The player could be named something gender-neutral like Alex and have similar dialogue regardless of sex, but also have special reactions and choices based on the gender chosen. Maybe guy Alex could form a bond with a female character faster by complementing and flirting with her while a female Alex could sweet talk a guy from the group into giving her items. Both genders would have perks but also disadvantages as well. Male Alex could be prevented from talking to a saddened member of the group that lost her husband while female Alex would have a few dialogue choices and female Alex could be shunned by a group member that sees her as a potential romantic rival. There would be no major positives or negatives to playing one gender or the other (no one would die) but minor interactions and choices would be slightly changed.
Choice To Be Good OR Evil: One of the major themes in The Walking Dead is the inherent selfish and evil nature of the survivors when compared to the zombies. (The dead don't kill their own, they don't rape, they don't betray each other petty things and so on while the humans do.) In both season 1 and 2 the player has some nasty options, but very few outright evil ones. Both Lee and Clementine had to at least be decent people who only killed other people who deserved it and at most threatened or ignored other survivors who needed them. Season 1 was compelling because the player wanted to protect this little girl who had lost her parents, season 2 was compelling because you wanted her to survive everything that happened to her and make it through this nightmare alive. The way I see it season 3 could be a fresh start and could be compelling because the new player character is free of the restrictions placed on Lee and Clementine. Instead of looking out for everyone else and picking sides they could shun everybody and be selfish. In addition to having the options to kill surrendering enemies and abusing allies the player could get several chances to lie, steal supplies and do whatever they feel they need to. Ultimately, this would give the players themselves the chance to fully put themselves in the shoes of a person struggling to survive in the world of The Walking Dead. No railroading players to have a conscience or protecting someone... the only choice is the one they make. They can act selflessly for the good of the group or do whatever they feel they have to to survive the living hell around them. What will YOU become? A lot of fans would like an answer to that question and season 3 could provide it.
Characters
Having a diverse cast of interesting characters is very important in this type of game and while I was very satisfied with the ones Telltale created I do have a few suggestions here as well.
Character Abilities: Doug and Carley from season 1 each had special abilities and skills the other survivors didn't. Doug was a tech genius and Carley was an excellent gunslinger, yet these abilities only get a few chances to shine before they die. What I think telltale should do is give most (if not all) characters in future games special skills that help out in certain situations. Suppose a character is a mechanic and is good at fixing things and another is a doctor. In one episode the player has to go on a scouting mission with someone and has to chose between the mechanic, doctor and a character who is a soldier. On the mission they find an injured survivor near a car and have to run when zombies attack. Depending on who they brought they could open the trunk of the car for some supplies (mechanic), save the injured survivor from dying of blood loss on the way back to camp (doctor), or neither (a wasted choice) if they brought the soldier. Different bonuses for different characters, giving even choices that don't affect the story some impact by making the game easier or harder.
Character Traits: Personality flags that impact the choices players make in subtle and unexpected ways. Say a character has the Honesty trait and the player tells them a lie. If that character finds out the player loses double the relationship points than if it had been another character. Another trait could be the Hatred trait, which makes that character always hate you no matter how many favors or how much help you provide them. The best you'll get is a gruff "Thanks." or "I hate you less now." in return. Yet another could be Pariah, which makes the character hated by the others and makes you lose relationship points whenever you help them. Suppose they are nice, but like Ben are always screwing up. If you side with them against anyone else, even your friends you'll lose points and people will dislike you more. Choosing them, even if it saves their life loses reputation with someone. There could also be traits that provide special bonuses when certain actions are taken. A character with the Drunk trait will provide more help in combat if you shared a drink with them, a character with the Child Protector trait will like you more if you help children, a character with the Bully trait will like you better for picking the really mean and insulting choices... the possibilities are endless!
Don't Just kill Everyone: This is one of my more important suggestions and probably the one I most hope that you'll listen to. Basically, don't just kill off a character because they become determinant. I know this is The Walking Dead, but several survivors introduced at the beginning of the comic are still around, which keeps things interesting. What makes the comic great is that ANYONE can die, not EVERYONE will die. As of episode 5 Clementine is the only confirmed survivor of season 1 with potentially everyone else dead. What I'm saying is that to keep the story interesting you can't just kill off every character that has a scripted death. Take Chet for example, despite having a scripted death in one scenario he survives in the other and leaves the group. Instead of just killing off a character who died maybe have them get lost or leave the group, maybe even have them come back for an episode or two later before leaving with a new group they found. If everyone who can die ends up dying it becomes hard to care about them since they'll just be gone in an episode or two anyway. I can understand some choices being meaningless (like Sarah's death) to show that you can't save everyone, but when NONE of the choices feel like they accomplish anything is when the story runs into trouble.
The Environment
The world of The Walking Dead certainly feels alive (dead?) and there are many types of places contained in the various episodes. Here I've included some stuff I would love to see in the future.
- More Interactive Environments: Basically more things players can interact with in an environment. Episode 1 and 2 of season 1 were especially good about this. In Clementine's house the player could open and look through several drawers and in episode 2 examining various things around the farm alter Lee's dialog with Brenda. Some things I would specifically like to see are containers that can be searched for items (lockers, cabinets, drawers, boxes, purses, cash registers...), information items (photos, diaries, records, notes, recordings, videos, letters...), hidden secrets such as a painting covering a safe or a box of ammo hidden under a pillow, atmospheric and exploration items (music players, telescopes, windows, lights, spy holes, hidden microphones, security cameras, look outs...)
Specific Locations Ideas
Abandoned Houses: At one point the player comes to two abandoned houses and has to search for supplies. The problem is, there is only enough time to search one. To maximize the replay ability of this mission the house could be randomized each playthrough with one having mostly zombies and few items and the other only having one or two zombies with a moderate amount of items. There could also be one or two quick time events when the player does certain things like accidentally knocking over a lamp or turning on a tv. If the player fails the quick time event the zombies notice you and you have to leave with whatever you have with you. Escape routes could also be somewhat randomized as well, say house A has a backyard and house B has a collapsed tree branch broken through the second floor window. Sometimes the backyard could have a zombie or two in it and sometimes the tree branch could break, meaning players would have to be careful which they choose. If they don't have any bullets house B would be the better option, but if they suck at quick time events the house A would be the better option.
Mall: Its a cliché but I think having a mall in one episode would be cool since it would make a great survivor settlement and offer a wide assortment of potential supplies. Maybe a large number of traders are there or maybe the group tries to gain entry by completing some sort of task. At the very least I think it would have a ton of story potential.
Big Store: A large supermarket or other type of store where the player has to find supplies at similar to the first mission in season 1 episode 3. It would be cool to have to hunt for supplies in a fairly large area while zombies are trying to break in. The player wouldn't have time to search everywhere, even with time bonuses from staying quiet or leaving someone to die outside. Plus, a lot of props from Carver's settlement could be reused, including the basic design of the store itself.
Hotel: A hotel or an apartment building with lots of rooms to check and explore. Maybe the group could use it as a base or stay there for a night when they clear it of zombies. I think there is a lot that can be done with this type of building.
Small Town: We've seen big urban areas like Savannah and rural areas like Hershel's farm so I think it would be nice to see the survivors pass through a small town. It would be big enough to have places like a store or gas station but also be rural enough that there wouldn't be several massive hordes of zombies passing through it 24/7. I'd also like to see how a community of survivors would convert a place like that into a settlement. Carver did it with a store, so why couldn't it be done with a whole town?
Amusement Park: Or maybe a small carnival or circus. I think this would make a really interesting setting.
New Location: Both the comic and the game take place in the northeast and southeast parts of America so I think it would be awesome if the next season took place out in Texas, Washington, Iowa, California or someplace like that. I think its really neat that season 2 took place so close to where I live, but I'm really curious to see what other parts of America are like.
Interactivities
Things the player can do besides the main story and objects they can interact with. While season 1 was pretty good about this I found season 2 lacking and will explain how below.
Sidequests: In season 1 every episode had some small sidequest of some kind (fixing Carley's radio, fixing the St. Johns swing, getting Duck food and water, discovering Molly's past) while the second season has very few (giving Nick Pete's watch and... I think that is it actually). I think sidequests help endear the player to the characters and story more by letting them go that extra mile to help out and show support for their friends. these sidequests don't have to be super tough or complicated, just things like "find a child's missing toy" or "bring back spices to improve a survivor's cooking" are enough. The best way to do this would be to also give each character a unique sidequest that can only happen at a certain time. Say the player has to save character A or character B and now its the next episode where the player gets their sidequest from whoever survived. Saving character A could give the player a quest to find her some flowers to put in a jar and saving character B could give the player a quest to help him fix a large hole in the wall. Rewards for completing sidequests could be anything from relationships improving, learning more about the character's past or even being given a special item like a scope to make your handgun more accurate or a photo of the survivor that can be given to their loved ones when they die in a later episode.
Inventory Items: Special items that are used up when selected but can be replenished. For example, a common item could be bandages which can appear up to five times in the game. Players could give them to other survivors to treat injuries, but wouldn't have enough for everyone. Suppose a character gets slashed by a knife in episode 1 and there is a chance the wound could become infected if not treated. Do you give them a bandage or save them for an even worse injury down the road. Some survivors could die if not treated while others would be a complete waste due to their injuries being minor or by getting bitten or shot shortly after. Suppose you give your last bandage to a new guy in your group with a nasty gash on his arm. The bandage saves his life but a bandit kills him later and injures your best friend. Not only is that bandage wasted, but now your friend is hurt and you can't help them. The same could apply for other items such as food.
Do you hand over your last ration to a starving group member or save it to trade to someone else for an item you need more. This could even apply to bullets, use them all up and you're stuck with just melee attacks until you find more. Just imagine walking through an abandoned building with an empty gun, praying that you find a box of bullets in one of the rooms so you don't have to fight off a horde of zombies with just your melee weapon. Items could also be used for bribes and trades as well. Want a laser sight for your gun? A guy you met is willing to trade it to you for 2 food rations. Need medicine to treat your friend's nasty fever? A doctor can take a look at them in exchange for 5 of your bullets. This way players would need to make hard choices all the time and accept whatever the negative consequences poor item management brings.
Items I Came Up With Myself:
Bandage: Can be used to treat wounds. Serious injuries may need more than one bandage to successfully treat.
Alcohol: Can be used to bribe certain characters, such as allowing the player to bypass a guard by offering him a drink or getting a character who doesn't like them to help them by giving them a password or letting them explore their room.
Food Ration: Makes characters energized, an energized character can do special actions like lift heavy objects or run faster. If the player doesn't eat enough food themselves they grow slower and quick time events become harder until they eat a food ration.
Bullets: Allow players to instantly kill walkers with headshots. They are common but can run out if the player is reckless. Having at least one bullet in your handgun gives the player special options like mercy killing a suffering survivor or causing a distraction by shooting a glass window to attract walkers to it. If the player has no bullets they must fight with just their melee weapon.
Laser Sight: Makes the players handgun slightly more accurate. These are extremely rare and are lost if the gun they are equipped with is taken, destroyed or discarded which can happen at certain parts of the story.
Shanks: Small sharp objects that instantly kill one zombie when used but become stuck and lost right after. These can be useful for escaping ambushes, killing zombies that grab you or dealing with large hordes but are uncommon enough that the player will have to plan carefully when to use them.
Silencer: Silences the player's gun, which reduces the noise and keeps them from attracting walkers. Like the Laser Sight it is rare and lost if the player loses the gun its attached to. Certain enemies (both human and zombie) can be killed with a silenced weapon without drawing their friends.
Lighter: A rare item that gives the player special options when used. For example, using a lighter on a box of fireworks can set them off and draw walkers away from the player's goal, making it easier to reach. Another example would be threatening to used the lighter to ignite a building someone is hiding in if they don't come out and surrender.
Lockpick: Opens a single lock before breaking and is a common item. Can be used on locked doors to bypass them without having to find a key, open locked drawers filled with items or remove shackles and handcuffs from people.
Other
Various other things that I'd love to see added as well as a few ideas for rewards and goodies.
More Downtime: More breaks in the action and events where the player gets the chance to just walk around and explore and talk to people. There are only a few parts of season 2 where players got a chance to sit down and get to know the other survivors before being forced to complete some new task. Having a chance to stop and get to know more about the other characters is important for the player to become attached to them. If the player never gets a chance to know them it becomes harder to care about them when they die. It's also annoying to be brought into a huge and interesting environment (like Carver's store settlement in episode 3) and not be allowed to look around and interact with stuff a little or only being allowed to explore one tiny part like a small room or office.
More Puzzles: Season 1 had several fun and interesting puzzles like taking out the zombies at the motel and starting up the train, but season 2 is severely lacking. Most everything is a simple "click here" or "hit these buttons" prompt which instantly completes the desired action. Having a few more puzzles in season 3 would help break up the action segments and increase the overall length of the game.
Unlockable Rewards I Came Up With
Black And White Filter: Beating the game once unlocks a color filter in the options that renders the game in black and white to imitate the look of the comic its based on. In fact, I'd pay to have this option included in the previous two seasons via a patch or DLC.
Concept Art: An unlockable picture book filled with various bits of concept art. New art could be unlocked by finding and clicking on certain pictures in the game.
Improved Statistics: At the end of each episode of The Walking Dead is a screen that only shows the top five choices characters made for the episode. I'd really like to see more in-depth statistics like in The Wolf Among Us.
Character Facts: Similar to the Book Of Fables menu in The Wolf Among Us would be a character fact book that unlocks new trivia and facts based on player choices, such as likes and dislikes, fears or events from their childhood.
New Clothing: Completing certain tasks unlocks new outfits for the player to select at the beginning of a new game. they could range from serious (like a blood splattered shirt) to comical (like a pink bunny suit).
Challenges: Various bonus missions that unlock new content and rewards when completed. Some examples include finding 50% of all possible deaths unlock concept art or saving enough characters in a single game unlocking a character fact.
Thanks again for reading all that, if you have some suggestions or feedback yourself please let me know.
Comments
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My idea:
Clementine as the PC.
That's really it.
I completely agree, if we had a new protagonist I'd lose all my interest in this series.
Sadly, me too. I didn't spend so much time invested in this character for her to have such an underwhelming ending.
I tried spacing it better but it didn't work. Also I've seen some pretty big posts on this site with little to no concern for grammar and spelling so sorry if this is a bit long but it could have been worse.
Seriously? Nothing else? Surely you at least have a few ideas of what could be improved?
To be honest, the only thing I could say I'd like is longer episodes but I'm not terribly concerned about it either.
I honestly just want a good continuation of this season. If they add new things, great! If they don't that's also okay with me.
Wow, I though that after season 2 everyone would have a huge list of things to improve and expand on... guess its just me. When I play a game I really like I have a hard time not coming up with ideas for it...
I respectfully disagree, since both Kenny and Jane would probably have to die for the game to continue to focus on Clementine. I'm pretty sure that the Kenny leaving Clementine in Wellington ending is the closest we'll get to a happy ending and I can't stand the thought of slogging through another season of Clementine suffering, meeting a new group and then having them all die just to end up right back where she was last season.
I'm sure that considering the fifty complaining threads after each episode some people definitely have ideas. They just haven't posted yet, haha.
I can definitely see what you mean, to me though I want see Clementine's character to grow more. I really don't want to meet entire new cast of characters.
Yeah, I might have rushed to post my thoughts but I was getting worried that if I didn't soon I'd end up with 5 pages of requests. All my best ideas are here, but I guess its still too much for some folks to read... maybe I should have trimmed the list a bit...
Hm, try organising the main points like this?
Clementine
Kenny
Luke
It tricks the eye!
Hmm... okay. Thanks.
Yeah, but as a guy who has read up to issue 108 of the comics I can safely say we probably won't get any endings happier or more fulfilling than what we got in this season. I guess what I'm saying is that I'd rather Clementine's story end now in uncertainty with some hope of things getting better down the road than continuing on until she ends up dead inside or as a walker. I mean, just look at what happened to Glenn, Dale, Jessie and the other characters who were set up as long term survivors in the comic. Eventually, a character either ends up emotionally dead, a walker or just a corpse. I don't want to see that happen to Clementine.
'Ideas For TWD Season 3'
I have one for a little rant...could somebody please cut down all those damn trees? Walking through trees, talking surrounded by trees, going to places with lots of trees, swooping camera angles of the trees! Ah! And they're all the same respawned pine trees over and over again! In the pines, in the pines, I'm done with the stupid pines! Let me see a Burger King for Christ sakes! T_T
Okay, rant over XD
Wow. The first wall of text I've read to the end. Interesting ideas. I do think Telltale should get back into the gameplay aspect of games. They used to be pretty good at that. But, if it would take away from the story, I wouldn't stand for it. I agree with most of the stuff here. An amusement park would be an awesome camp
I don't know why I haven't thought of that before.
Seeing a Burger King would be cool they can't stay in the pines forever.
I've noticed that since the start of season two we've been moving through a lot of rural area so it makes sense we'd see lots of trees. Still, I like your idea of having a restaurant appear for a change of pace. Maybe it could be a bandit stronghold or a place for the group to set up a temporary base or something. Having another episode or two set in a city or town would be nice too.
Thank you, I tend to get carried away when I think up a bunch of ideas at once. I'd really love to have more choices that have a tangible impact aside from "this character dies one episode later" or "character who dies 5 minutes from now will remember that" and feel like most of my choices really matter. Season 2 was good, but season 1 was much better in most ways.
I still feel Clem's Season Two ending are just not that great, I really don't care if her ending is happy or not, just the endings of Season Two are just very unfulfilling.
Really? I got the Wellington ending, which was better than I had hoped for so I was pretty satisfied. Which ending did you get?
Jane's ending.
You are awesome, sir. Get my upvote! All of those ideas are very nice even though I highly doubt that at least most of them will happen. Gender choosing, multiple choices and too many preference choices will provide a lot of work for Telltale Games and we all know that fans will keep bitching about all the time they take. TTG will also probably get too lazy to bring all of this into reality, just admit it. However, I think that they really need to see this post and borrow some ideas because I heavily agree with you.
The only thing that I don't like is having another story. It would just make both previous seasons pointless and Telltale will loose a lot of players since everyone cares about Clem. I'd be happy if they bring new PC but keep Clementine as a major character and a deutaragonist. I want the new protagonist to be not too much older than Clementine (if she'll 13 in the next season, the PC could be 17-25 years old) because:
Phew, that's a lot of text! But I hope you'll read it all and tell me what you think about it.
Okay, but did you let the family in or turn them away?
Let the family in.
Thank you, it would be pretty rude of me to expect you to read that monster word wall at the top of the page and not give you feedback on your response. I think playing as an older teen would be pretty good since it wouldn't make all the adults needlessly useless and willing to endanger a kid just because they happen to be the main character. I mean, Lee was strong, smart, and a good leader so it made sense he'd take up most of the groups burdens, but it pulled me out of the story a bit just because of the sheer number of times the group looks to Clementine to do something. Playing as a sixteen (or older) character would at least make some of the heavier responsibilities more believable..
One thing I wanted to clarify about the gender and new story ideas is that they wouldn't be taken to extremes. The story would still change based on past choices, but it would impact the newer groups. (Say the player didn't kill Andy St. John by kicking him into the fence in episode 2, bam! Zombie Andy appears and eats a member of the new group a few days later when they pass by his farm.) It also wouldn't be entirely new characters, at least one episode should focus on the fate of the 400 days survivors since only Bonnie got any real focus in season 2. The first two seasons wouldn't focus on the older characters as much, but choices made as far back as episode 1 could start mattering in unexpected ways.
As for gender, the only real differences would be minor. I know this isn't Saints Row or Skyrim, but making two slightly different character models wouldn't be much of a stretch. Male player could have short hair and muscles while female player has long hair and breasts, everything else from shirt to hair color would be the same. As for the dialogue, it would be 99% the same and 1% special choices, you know, minor stuff like flirting or socializing. This would give players a deeper bond to certain characters and draw them in more for minimal effort. I mean suppose players had more romance options for Lee in season 1, he already has relationship options with Carley, just add a gay option for Doug and boom, more meaningful interactions and relationships. Just imagine if Clementine was older in season 2 (like 20 or so) and had romance choices for Luke and say, adult Sarah. Ouch, their deaths just packed one hell of a player punch for their would-be lover now! A few lines of dialogue is all it takes for fangirls and fanboys to develop a bond with their favorite character.
As for your other stuff, I think it would be cool to explore some of those things. Do you have anything else you'd like to suggest?
Oh yeah, it kinda sucks how the ending just cuts out, but I think that was intentional. The ending would have been too happy or depressing if the family turned out to be good or bad. I guess you have to hope you made the right call, cause I doubt we'll get much more than the endings to season 2 as they are. Telltale struggled with keeping track of characters who could die one or two episodes apart so I'm pretty sure having 5 different story threads would be impossible unless they shaved each episode down to ten minutes. The only option besides that would be Wellington/Carver's Settlement getting abandoned/destroyed and Clementine and AJ having to move on alone, making the all the different season 2 endings entirely pointless. Either way, cue massive fan riot.
Yeah, both of Jane's endings are extremely underwhelming. If we do follow Clem in Season 3 both endings probably won't matter, which will be disappointing.
This is a very well thought out post, and I'm having difficulty seeing any general areas that were not touched on to improve/enhance gameplay. I have a few examples of unique puzzles I think could be implemented in game.
1) There is a sudden attack on the player's group of survivors, and the player needs to grab and pack up as many supplies as possible. Supplies would be scattered about a local area. A player would need to retrieve an item, then pack it where it can fit. Storing things ineffectively could cause them to be lost or damaged. For example, trying to load too many supplies in the trunk of a car could cause items to fall out as the group is making their escape drive. Loading too much in a trunk might make it too heavy to carry. The player would also want to prioritize what items to take and face the consequences later. For example, not bringing the matches and the group can't light a fire. Forgetting a child's teddy bear would make the child upset. Alternatively, this puzzle could be untimed and just have the player figuring how to fit all the supplies in different vehicles before a group departs the next day.
2) The player has to spy on an enemy encampment. Using a combination of deductive skills and memorization, the player needs to accurately assess the enemy group's supplies and members. The player would have a limited binocular view, and would have to move the binoculars around screen to count how many people are in the camp, all while the members are moving around normally. The player could then be asked to identify key threats and items by selecting them. Didn't catch that the group had a guy in camouflage and a sniper rifle? You'll have a harder time locating him when he attacks your group later. See them using walkie talkies? Maybe you can listen into them during an attack to gain the upper hand using a walkie talkie you find.
3) A walker attack is imminent. The player is put in charge of how to best barricade the building your group occupies. However, there aren't enough barricade materials to go around. The player chooses not only which areas to block, but what to block each one with. Maybe it's better to leave one of the windows unblocked so you can secure the other side of the building. With quick thinking you can push a couch in front of one of the doors. Your barricades affect the upcoming battle with walkers.
4) The player's group is in a situation where they need to lure walkers around because they are unable to kill them. For example, the group is inside a large building. A small group of walkers burst in, causing the survivors to duck for cover in the few areas that are safe to hide or protect themselves. The walkers end up between the group members and their store of weapons. The player is stranded upstairs when this happens, and has a birds-eye view of the whole scene. By directing the other group members when to attract walkers and when to move the player is eventually able to get a group member to the weapons and is able to kill the walkers.
5) The player has to deduct which member of their group stole their last firearm. The player would look for clues in the environment, question group members, and eavesdrop.
Some stuff like all the upgrades etc seem a bit much but I agree with a lot of your points
However I really just want a few people to live even determinant alongside clementine, also I think your clothes,beard idea is pretty good and seeing as they've done this before it shouldnt be too bad
To be perfectly honest I wouldn't mind if Clementine was the star for another season, but I just can't see anyway Telltale could do it without making season 2 pointless. There are just too many story threads, they'll either have to cut them all off except for one (cue riots) or start fresh (cue minor rioting until players start falling in love with the new characters).
Thank you, those are some excellent ideas you came up with as well.
1: I really love this idea but having the items become damaged might be too complicated/frustrating for some players. Maybe instead of doing it all at once the player could collect the supplies and then get the chance to distribute them later. Some characters would be hungry, injured or thirsty and depending on how many and what items you got you could take care of them. Adding to that could be a choice similar to episode 3 of season 1, a group member gets grabbed halfway through the attack and no one else can help them. The player then has the choice of forsaking the remaining items to save them or let them be devoured as they grab more supplies.
2: This sounds like it could be hit or miss for a lot of players, but could provide a nice change of pace if used sparingly. I like the idea of the group becoming more injured or outright dying due to a poor job done observing the enemy. Maybe there could also be a sidequest to infiltrate an enemy camp and steal a valuable item. The leader would come back just in time for you to grab one thing to help out in the upcoming battle and make it out. Stealing his prized sidearm makes the fight against him easier, stealing his plans eliminates some of the enemy soldiers automatically, and so on. There is a lot you could do with this.
3: I've actually had a few ideas like this myself, it would be pretty cool to get stunk in some isolated building or house out in the woods and have to hold off a hoard of walkers while your friends come to rescue you. Bigger items would be harder to move, but last longer and seal off bigger openings while smaller items are easy to move but break almost instantly and can only be used to block small windows and holes. As the siege rages on the building gets slowly overrun as you retreat upstairs and eventually to the roof. Not holding the zombies off long enough would cause them o pin you and get a game over. This could also be affected by character choices as well, if you choose a strong character to go with out they can help you move things like vending machines and beds or if you choose someone with a gun they defend one section of the area to buy you time.
4: I think a mall with a glass ceiling or a mansion would be a great place for something like this. Maybe the player could also support the group with some covering fire or by tossing one or two grenades at the zombies. (Both ammo and explosives would be limited.) If they have a Lighter on them as well they could use it to make a couple Molotov cocktails as well.
5: This could work with other items too, but your idea of a firearm would work best. Maybe if the player accuses the wrong person we end up with a Dexter situation or the real thief kills an innocent survivor.
All in all, those are some great ideas.
There wouldn't be a lot of gun mods, just a handful per season that give slight bonuses to players who are careful about using them. One thing I really agree with you on is that Telltale needs to stop killing off 95% of the cast each season since its getting harder to care about the characters as a result. Also, I feel like a lot of the deaths are just meaningless. I mean, in season 1 choosing Carley or Doug meant that they got to survive for another three months and give a different perspective on Lily when she kills them. Carley was murdered in cold blood while Doug was hit by mistake, which can make Lily more or less sympathetic based on the person she shoots. Even though the characters die regardless their deaths still had meaning because they actually affect the story to some degree. In season 2 characters die pointlessly left and right without any additional character development or interactions if you save them, which just makes the whole situation harder to care about. I think if a character has to die no matter what, at least give their death some impact instead of just offing them in the next episode before they've spoken more than two or three lines. If they were saved by the player have them do something important to either change the story or make the gameplay easier/harder or at least give them a bit more character development before they die for real.
As for the beards and shirts idea, I know a lot of people would probably consider it meaningless because it wouldn't affect the story, but it would affect the player directly. Anything that gives people a chance to personalize their game draws them in more. Instead of just being handed items and clothing by the game itself the player gets to tailor their character towards their own tastes. We can already tell our own story with the choices we make, why not let us customize our appearance to our own preference as well?
Please read bring lily back maybe as walker or something.....AND CHRISTA im not even gonna go there
Maybe play as AJ older or clem still or just play as newcast which ever but.....please Christa!
And make dlc 4 season 2 playing as christa maybe or nick before his mom died
And i like ur idea apocolyptic but it is telltale so i dont think char customization will happen also it makes a great idea for a game tho! But not telltale i like how they make you like the completely different char and own look and story
Okay so I got a serious one...not that the pine simulator wasn't serious enough, but you know.
An idea for Season 3 to do what Season 2 forgot, which is: for Clementine to remember how important her parents were to her and to actually be seen still mourning them because you don't get over that shit easy, especially not kids. So when you're throwing in another umpteenth Lee references for Season 3, could you maybe just squeeze in a few little things about her parents to acknowledge them, if her remembering things they liked or her missing them, because that'd be greatly appreciated
This is a scene from the film Fly Away Home, one of my old favorites which I recommend to eveeeeerybody. The girl Amy loses her mother and goes to live with her father who she barely knows. She ends up finding geese eggs abandoned after some contruction business screwing up the woods nearby and raises the geese once they hatch and inevitably brings it to where she and her Dad flies these little planes down south bird sanctuary, and to copy the migration so the geese will know the way....it's really, really good basically so watch it! Anyways! This scene is one of the ones always really made me feel sad when Amy remembers her Mom...did I mention it's a really good film and you should watch it? T_T
Oh, and can you invent new backpacks, instead of using the same one retextured again and again and again ;_; slowly dying here.
Opps my hand slipped >_>