Things that should be in S3, that would greatly enhance the experience. Hopefully TellTale sees this
The TL;DR version (w/o the details) is at the bottom XD.
(!) = Doesn't need to be implemented, but would be cool if it was.
1) Max Payne-esque Inner monologues - Normally, in a game where the player makes dialogue decisions, I wouldn't care about this, but usually in games that allow this 1) the "character" we're playing as is usually a blank slate/avatar, with no voice, or real personality, and/or 2) the NPCs we talk to don't usually spend so much time with the player character, or have a hand in whether he/she lives, or dies, and/or 3) those personality traits don't really have long lasting impact in how the NPCs really view the player. Here, with TWD, Clementine is practically a living, breathing person to us at this point. The choices we make aren't just nonchalant decisions like in other games; they have a lot of emotion in them, from the character, that define the Clem we decide to play as. So I'd like to "hear" what Clementine really thinks about her actions/decisions, or those of the people around her, the way her personality is and those around her, and how she feels she's doing raising AJ. This plays into my next point.
2) Relationships/Friendships - Since this a game that heavily leans on decisions that deal with the group, I think that the next game should incorporate a system that actively allows us to spend time with NPCs of our choosing and as a result of who we spend time with, that determines who's in Clem's inner circle, as well as increasing/decreasing group moral. you can pursue romance (if you want), but the person (he/she; it's not like we know Clem's preference anyway) that Clem is romantically involved with puts Clem above everyone else; limiting his/her decision making to only about Clem's survival, or Clem's decisions. You may find yourself having to stop the relationship if you see that the being with that person is causing too much trouble for you/Clem, and even that can sour your relationship with person permanently; depending on what they done for you/Clem, and vice versa. If you screwed somebody over (like say...cheating on your current lover)/openly disagree with someone/simply do (what they think/see as) egregious things that they don't agree with, and don't find enough time to make nice with them, then they can break group chemistry, actively, secretly sabotage you/Clem to either make her look worse, or kill her. If you "displease" too many people, then your group can actually split/mutiny at anytime within the story that we're building. Someone that other people in the group like dying, also doesn't help in the moral department. This should also play a role in how AJ is raised; if you don't spend enough time with him, then he starts to trust you/Clem less, and less. He potentially spend more time with other members of the group, and take on personality traits from them that you/Clem wouldn't approve; learn/not learn skills, become more heartless, or become coddled, weak and naive. If you spend a lot of time with him, he learns from you; meaning while he could gain your pros, he can also emulate your cons.
3) Rationing and Jobs - The rationing mini game with Lilly was a start, and I believe it should be implemented more to constantly hit the player that this is hell; not only do people die, but food, and other resources, are scarce. We should decide who gets what weapon, who gets X amount of ammo, batteries, who eats, and who does what job (hunting, takes watch, fortifying whatever area we've gotten control over, who watches the kids (if there are any...), knitting, healing, etc). This would (of course) also affect relationships, but also the strength/reliability/potential when in danger. If a certain character doesn't get enough sleep, because he/she is frequently on watch at night, then they get sloppy....and a sloppy person that's put on hunting duty either gets little prey, or dies in the field. This includes Clem; self-sacrificing her own food/weapons/ammo to others to keep the characters you like alive and/or on your side, is a double-edged sword.
4) Skills - Older characters (like 16/17 and up) should come in (or out) of your/Clem's group with established skills that tell us what each character is best at, which helps in what jobs to give them. Stuff like stamina, strength, speed, medical skill, intelligence, gun skills, weapon/fighting skills, sight, alignment ("moral", "immoral", etc) and finally how they feel towards Clem herself. Clem's skill levels in certain area's could depend on who she spends the most time with, and what jobs you/she gives herself; doing a job, in which she lacks the required skills, adds great risk, but doing them successfully yields great stat increases. What you want Clem to be good at depends on the group you build, what you want, the situation the group is currently in (on the road, or in a "safe", closed location) or just simply what you need. If characters with certain skills leave, then you have to make up the difference somehow in what jobs people do. Try not to lose the guys with medical, or hunting skills.
5) Clothes/Weapon stats (!) - The clothes that we put on Clem would increase/decrease warmth (does it protect against the cold?), speed (does it had too much weight?), the amount of weapons we can carry (does it have enough room?), noise (does it make too much noise? This plays a role in sneaking about), durability (how many physical and/or gun, hits can you take?). Stuff like that. It shouldn't be made simple: bulletproof vests can prove to be very useful during a fire fight, but, if Clem is too weak, the weight slows her down, making close combat, hunting fast prey, and/or escaping a chore.
6) Wider/Open Spaces, with Activities to do (!) - This is simply because we know S3 is gonna be next gen, and I feel that this game should go Day Z/Survival Instincts route with this (ONLY in terms of space, and areas to explore, not story/gameplay). I'm not asking for a new graphics style, just bigger fields. Activities (different from jobs) would also help with building group moral and relationships.
7) Alignment - Is the Clem we're raising immoral, and not beyond betraying a friend, brutally maiming a surrendered enemy and willing to do absolutely anything to keep those close to her alive? Or does she still cling to her humanity, in that she's willing to help those who are in need, willing to go beyond the pale to keep those who don't want to go on upright and willing to instill these values to AJ? Or is she someone who toes the line, and does whatever depending on the situation? We'd get to decide that, and this also affects group moral and relationships, depending who's (still, or yet to become) a part the group.
8) Break Canon, and have time skips within the story - What I mean is, I'd like Clementine to final become an undisputed (well that depends on group moral and/or relationships) leader of a group....but it doesn't make sense for an 11-14 year old to be in that position. Before y'all shot me, that doesn't mean I want an adult Clem, with 10 year old AJ, whose life we've missed mostly (I too hated the 16 month timeskip). I think it's be cool for time to periodically skip forward days to weeks to months to years as the story chugs along, so that we get to keep making decisions that shape Clem's character, how others see her, and get to see how well we raise a growing AJ throughout the years. Also, I think it would be impactful if everyone, INCLUDING AJ, could die at any point in the story; that way, seeing AJ grow up, and live past the end of the season can truly feel like an accomplishment. The emotions would be high for this kid.
This would mean breaking canon, as the comic has yet to go on for several years in-canon; we don't know when, or if, Kirkman will end the epidemic. However, this should've be a problem at all as 1) the tv show isn't canon, and that's not hurting it at all (viewership-wise) and 2) After episode 3 in S1, the characters in the games don't interact with in-canon characters anymore. The comic/show (for the moment) is Rick Grimes show (for the most part anyway, as there's major emphasis on other characters still), while Clementine is the star of TellTale's TWD game; they shouldn't let the canon limit their storytelling potential. However, I'm sure that they're going to break canon in some fashion in the next season; it only makes sense. Playing as kid Clem is fun, but it isn't realistic for a kid to be making big decisions for a group in this situation. Clem should grow into a leadership position as time passes; when she's an adult/young adult is when she should hit that stage of her life, and when she can start deciding rations, and jobs.
TL:DR - S3 should have 1) inner monologues, 2) relationships/friendships/enemies within the group, 3) rationing and job assigning, 4) skills stats for NPCs, and learnable skills for Clem 5) clothing stats (!), 6) wider/more open areas, with activities (!), 7) alignments (moral, immoral, etc), and 8) break canon, which means timeskips, which means Clem growing up slowly, which means in the game zombie epidemic is still going on 10+ years later.
Opinion/Thoughts?
Comments
TL:DR is also TL
1) Sounds very cliche, but might work if pulled off well.
2) It's already in the game, but all the specific scenarios and far-branching stories you mentioned are almost, if not impossible to pull off in a linear game and a small company like telltale.
3, 4, 5) Sounds way too FPS-y. All the clothes/weapon stats, upgrades, etc. would not affect the game in any (positive) way as it is meant to be a story-based game, not Call of Duty where you have to 'survive and kill'.
6) The Walking Dead isn't an open-world game.
7) The great thing about choices in TWD is that there is no 'right' or 'wrong' decision.
8) Eh... Could work, but playing as a new character who meets Clem would work a lot better imo.
How 'bout more of a focus on inner conflict? Not shoving cartoon villains down our throats like we're in Scooby Doo and giving us no time for reflection or growth.
And, for the love of Buddha, give our actions some consequence. Short and long term, so that it doesn't feel like we're playing the narrative equivalent of Call of Duty.
I want substance.
^^^^
So basically you agree with me?
Basically.
The "things" that you listed suspiciously sounds an awful like the video game D4 for the xbox one. Hate to break it to you MichaelAngel0, but Telltale have their own way of doing things that suits them just fine (Although it does not hurt to learn a thing or two from other games to see what works.)
1) Sounds very cliche? In what way? Western stories, that aren't books, hardly ever have inner turmoil, and monologues.
2) You probably have a point, but if feel that TellTales would go all out with what could be the last sequel to this series. Also, how else would they expand on what's already there.
3/4/5) What's with all the CoD comparisons? Have you not played any other games? Any RPGs? Games like the Persona series, the Witcher series, and the MGS franchise do these things while still having great character driven stories.
6) I said open spaces, not open world; think The Last of Us
7) I never said that moral, or immoral, meant "right", or "wrong", as either can be appropriate given the situation, or the type of player playing. However, characters/NPCs clearly have values (separate from what needs to be done) that may, or may not, be in line with ours, so an "alignment system" would makes sense regarding relationships.
8) Playing as a new character after being with Clem all this time will make the new protagonist seem shallow in comparison, imo. I think a compromise would be that there could be other playable protagonists besides Clem; similar to what TellTale is doing with GoT and TotB.