Is Telltale "milking" their engine?
bigbaadwolf
Banned
This is the fifth game in 3 years that uses the EXACT SAME SYSTEM. I'm not buying this mostly cause I have zero interest in the GoT universe, and also because while playing Tales from the Borderlands, I feel they have not innovated since the days of The Walking Dead.
So yeah, do you think it is about time Telltale progresses? Have more impactful decisions, a better graphics engine that has sharper close-up textures, and also an engine with action scenes that are not brain dead and as insultrous to the human intelligence as they now are?
Or you seriously have no issues with them sticking to this same engine, formula and format for many more years to come?
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I think what Telltale does is different to most games. They're making interactive stories so for me the systems (engine, formula and format) come way behind the importance of the storytelling.
It's a little like complaining about a book because they've been using words on pages for hundreds of years. Dickens' quality isn't linked to the format, it's linked to the quality of the storytelling.
I'd like to see an engine that runs stutter free (unlike Walking Dead Season 2 on PS3) because this impacts my engagement with the story and sure, I'd welcome better graphics but this doesn't stop my enjoyment of their franchises. As long as they tell a good story, that's enough for me.
I don't really care about the impact of my decisions, I'm taking part in a story and the fact that the storytellers know where it's going, doesn't really make a difference. If it had been possible to change the end of the Walking Dead Season 1 then I think it would have been to the detriment of the impact of the game. For me, they give the pretence of choice and that's enough.
They've used the same engine since 2005. They make minor improvements and add features here and there but it's still the same engine underneath. It's kind of the key to their business.
The games play like interactive books there is no point in making a new engine all the time. I'd rather resources were spent on developing and telling the story instead of throwing cash at minor graphical improvements when that's almost completely irrelevant to the experience.
If Dragon Age 2 had just blatantly recycled the engine from the first one with a new story I'd have been fine with that. Even more so with a Teltalle Game; the money that would need to be invested in changing those basic things would be disproportional to how much better the game really would be.
If it works, don't change it. Telltale's engine is meant to create interactive stories.
Insultrous?
I agree with DaveTheArakin. People buy these games because they like these games the way they are. If they want something different they can play something from another company.
don't care about graphics at all
as long as Telltale delivers in story and characters (their trademark) I will keep buying everything from them
your loss I suppose you won't get much support here for your anti-telltale shit and cut the arrogant crap
I think it's unique for Telltale to be having their own engine that works great for what they're doing. The minor improvements they do get better and better each game.
I think the engine is fine, not very pretty but does it job mostly. People don't buy these games for graphical fidelity, period.
Although I would like seeing some major improvements in terms of Animationquality. Better lipsynching and facial animations are needed soon in such a dialog heavy driven game.
I'd agree that the engine and graphics are secondary to the emotional experience. Telltale does storytelling in a way few can currently match.
That said, if we are going to continue to accept the style they have chosen, I think it's extremely important to at least make said experience a flawless one. That, to me, means improved audio quality, no frame-rate dropouts, and overall smoother gameplay.
it doesnt bother me :
telltale market themselves as STORY TELLERS. not look at how my game with no substance and the fantastic graphic looks. so my critique will be at HOW they told the story? and is it original and not repetitive. thats why you see all their games reviews talking about the story and how interesting the universe is, not at how telltale havent updated their engine.
please when you judge a hard working people, be FAIR when you judge and give credits.
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(( you CANT deny that they HAVE improved since TWDS1. and they got more flexible with TFTBL and GOT. they now have us to play as many characters as we want. also GOT having 6 episodes. please be fair when you judge and you cant say that they arent trying. they are improving and its only getting better. so be patient and i lnow they listen to their fans and they will update their engine with the right game. its only the beginning. and give credits when its due, they are tying and not giving us the same ideas, atleast they mix it up, playing with more characters in both GOT and TFTB, also more action scenes thats enjoyable in TFTB. so they are trying and they will get better.
who cares about the graphics no one buys telltale games expecting amazing graphics if you want those you go buy a game from a AAA developer btw twd s2, twau, tftbl and got use a completely revamped version of the engine so while it is the same engine they have used since 2005 you can tell the difference
Its a story game the engine doesn't have to be great. But one improvement I'd like to see in the future is better loading time on consoles, and less lag.
If it aint broke dont fix it?
They have actually continually improved their engine, although the concept of 'milking their engine' did cross my mind awhile back. I don't think that's the case but rather the re-use of art assets and exact same animations. I think they are cutting down on that and making it more subtle, but it is jarring if you happen to see say, a bottle of wine that was in another series and for it to show up in a completely different series. So in that respect, that's the only criticism I can lay down at their feet. But again, it isn't as obvious now and I do believe its not as common as it was back then.
Eventually however, like all good engines, they will need to update and expand to a new engine or a heavily more upgraded one to keep up with the times. I think they're golden for another four years at most. It is good business to keep your options open and to stay ahead, or at least in Telltales case, not too far behind current tech.
Eh, I think they're doing fine for now.
Using the same engine for three years?
This engine has been in use for nearly ten years, ever since 2005.
The engine is far improved than what it used to be, just look at Season 1 of TWDG and you can already see a big difference.
Either way, I'd much rather they put their money into telling a good story, not the graphics.
I think graphics should be the last thing Telltale should think about when they make their games.
Not at all. As people have said, the characters and story are more important than graphics.
I'm fine with their engine. Like others have said, their games are meant to basically be interactive stories. That said, I do wish they'd just leave the QTE "combat" out of the game. They feel pretty tedious to me. Having to press X or move the stick left doesn't exactly make for exciting gameplay, so just leave it out. Make a cool combat scene and let us watch it imo. It'd be better than the "combat" in their games currently. No one plays their games for the combat, so I'm not sure why they try to put it in all of their games these days. It doesn't make the game more exciting, at least for me.
I'm not really complaining here. I love the games. I just find that the quick time event fight scenes take me out of the game rather than allowing me to become more immersed in the story.
Just because something isn't broken, doesn't mean it can't be improved.
I mean, I wouldn't mind a little advancement in mesh quality. The colors and art direction are pretty solid at this point.
Story is more important than graphics.
Wanted to comment on this earlier. I don't have a problem with them using the same engine at all. What I do have a problem with is them not getting it to run smoothly despite how many games they've made with it by now. It's pretty pathetic to be honest.
I dont really think milking applies....or applies as much to story driven content.
All of their games so far have been highly entertaining....that being said....I really have no issue with this. As well as the fact that if they have a good team of writers....the timeline we have gotten so far is WAY more quality for time taken when compared to a triple AAA franchise like Assassins Creed that releases games every year.
Telltalle had a good idea.....I wont get tired of playing these games anytime soon. They are basically interactive books....if an author can write several good stories a year...I will read them.
Why the hell do they have to update their engine?
If it works, it works.
It works, but it's very iffy. It suffers from slowdowns, stuttering and other issues. All I would ask is they get it running smoothly. Technically speaking, what they're doing isn't taxing compared to other small or big studios. They manage it fine, so why can't Telltale.
As someone stated, we're talking about having a good story AND good visuals. It's not or/or.
The TT engine is now ridiculously old. Even TT know that and try to hide the flaws with cel-shading or art-style. With TWAU they almost succeeded in that, but GoT is unforgivable.
If you first played Assassin's Creed Unity and then Game of Thrones... well, it's embarrassing.
Its also 5 dollars.
yea but game of thrones doesn't have this
telltale wins there
More detailed graphics means that it would take more time and people to develop each episode. TTG shouldn't make this jump unless they are sure they can afford to expand their studio.
Precisely. As big a name Telltale have become, they're still a small independent studio at the core. Expanding wouldn't necessarily be a good thing either. Many have tried and the hit back down to earth has finished or heavily crippled many studios.
The only different I would like to see with the engine, is the graphic style, a bit more prettier please.
Really?
that only happens when you mod the game i know that for a fact because i do it and we are talking about game of thrones not twau
I would pay 10.
And is 5$ per episode, full game is 25$. Same price as Assassin's creed Black Flag.
What is the point of making a misleading comment like this?
Black Flag was 25 dollars at launch? Real cool of Ubisoft to do that.
Not really. I had to replay Ep.5 of TWAU because of a bug. "choice is empty".
GoT got bugs too : it was saying Coming soon when launching ep.1; If I pause the game the audio got problems; mouse is sluggish, I had to play with a pad; during a fight the "press A" button was blocked and I died. These are the first I remember.
I must say that, despite being old, the new “oil painting” approach did a good job. The biggest problem is with the glitches, synchronizations and other animation problems. TT should be more careful with these things.
A part of that seems to be a deliberate attempt from Telltale to make their games appeal to a broader casual audience. I get what they are going for from an accessibility standpoint, but I agree that the games could use some more interaction. In my opinion, I think the problem isn't so much that Telltale needs to "remove" QTEs, but rather they could either try to find a way to either make QTEs more engaging from a technical standpoint or they could try to make more QTEs that incorporate player choice and tailor their story instead of just advancing all the players down the exact same variant of a cut scene.
Even though Telltale's newer titles are story first - which I am entirely fine with - I think that the QTEs are kind of a basic way to interact with a story, and I'd love to see Telltale find more expressive ways to immerse players in their narratives instead of just assuming that casual players will get confused with gameplay beyond dialogue selection and purposefully simple QTEs. By "more expressive," I don't mean it has to arbitrarily feel like a video game just because the player is interacting with it. Dialogue selection is also a simple mechanic to interact with, but it still manages to immerse players in the story. I feel like Telltale could likewise try to push action scenes further beyond just mashing Q for a few seconds and pressing E that is still immersive from a story perspective and friendly to casual players.
I thought the fight scenes in Wolf Among Us Episode 1 were a good example of QTEs that engaged the player by presenting them with multiple choices as to how you could fight a character - and sometimes, even make a story altering choice. I think that if QTEs just take all players straight down the same path and stick to simple gameplay (such as mashing Q), it doesn't really offer much from an interactive standpoint and I can see how players would state that they don't think QTEs are important.
Ya, I feel the art style is fun something different. Why go for breath taking graphics all the time there are other games for that, right. Tell tale team gives importance to smooth point n click gameplay and story telling and I do like our choices changing the story thats a good thing, it makes us feel more involved in the game. Wolf amoung us was fun the gameplay was smooth n responsive for some reason i did'nt find that in game of thrones. Who else felt that!?