Reactions to Badass Clementine
So after playing the walking dead season 2. I have to say I grew an huge attachment to Clementine. I loved how she grew up. In the first season she was a just another little girl but in this season she was practically an adult in a 11 year old body. In my first play through I chose to stick around and watch Kenny kill carver. And seriously look at her expression! Shes a firken bad ass
If I had a little sister I would want her to be clem. Hell you could even have her choose to smoke and drink. (lol)
So my topic is how did you react when you first found out Clementine was actually going to be the playable character. What did you think of her as a character? For me I loved her just due to the fact shes a firken 11 year old handling things like a champ. Taking the initiative and getting things done. If shes not a playable character in season 3 - or at least a supporting character - I'm going to be very disappointed.
Comments
As much as I love Clementine, I think it's kinda hard playing as her. Mainly because, most of the things I would do in the zombie apocalypse, are not things I would want an 11 year old girl doing. Like, I'm playing as myself, but I'm controlling an 11 year old girl, obviously some of the things I want her to do, don't match up with what I would do. Like with Lee, he was much more of a avatar for us to play through. He could be anybody, but Clementine, she's an 11 year old girl, we can't just play with the mentality of the age that we are, it doesn't make much sense because we have to make our Clementine harsher/crueler if we want to stay true to who we are, not so much to who this 11 year old girl is.
Like... cutting Sarita's arm off. I would try it and did but its still such a horrible thing to make an 11 year old do.
Watching Kenny kill Carver. I would stick around because I wouldn't want something like that to be solely witnessed by Kenny, in a way, its something that changes you as a person, be it making you harsher or making you more understanding of just how crazy things can get and making a conscious decision not to go that far.
Also, the whole fight between Kenny and Jane was a forced scenario. I mean, as Clementine, we could do anything to stop it, we had to watch it play out. As an adult or older person that some of us are, we could've stopped it. But then again, such it what we have to deal with playing as an 11 year old girl.
I saw someone say it before, I don't exactly want my Clementine to be a bad ass, I just want her to be tough. Being tough in my opinion garners more respect than having a reputation as a badass, as that sort of label is broad to a lot of things.
I have to agree with you there. It's hard for people much older than a child to make decisions as Clem. It sort of puts her out of character. It seemed focused more on Clem's story more than our(the player) story. Even so, you come to look back and reflect if the decisions you made were right or wrong. I still love Clem as the protagonist and would like continue her story growing up in the apocalypse.
This i why I now and then stay silent during some decisions, because I wasn't sure how I'd react in her place. One example is when you leave to lookout; wait or go the day after. You can choose either, but if the timer runs out Rebecca chooses leaving sooner, which made a bit happy as it seemed like Rebecca's will was what was important then.
Even if it didn't make a difference in the end.
I have no reaction to "badass clementine" because I don't consider her to be badass. That doesn't mean she isn't one of my favorites however.
I ADORE "badass" Clem. It was a bold move that could've been handled with (as Craticus put it to me) a defter touch, writing-wise. It could've been a little more organic. But overall I think it worked quite well.
I've been doing tabeletop since I was 6 (I'm 31) and my dad is a high immersion GM, so I have little to no trouble with an avatar that is fundamentally different from me. At some point along the way I got bored with "fundamentally me." I honestly can't remember the last time I made a character whose personality wasn't, in one way or another, strikingly different from my own.
I had a wonderful time being Clem this season, and some of what I loved were some of the other posters objections. Trying to stay in Clem's shoes through some of the grittiness was a great role-playing challenge.
I mentioned my dad. My situation with mom was... not quite so positive. I don't want to tell my life story, nor am I trying to garner sympathy. She and I both turned out just fine in the end and plenty of kids have it far far worse. Its just that this also has bearing on why I love S2 Clem.
They were divorced since I can remember, so the two environments were very separate. I don't need to get into gory details, suffice to say, I remember what its like to be asked to grow up too fast. I know what it is to be responsible at that age for an adult who is not displaying basic levels of competency. I am intimately familiar with how tough that can be for a kid, and I thought the game did a pretty good job portraying some of that in Clem. I can relate to Clem now, and for that reason I care alot more about her than I did last season. It also probably helps me be a little more comfortable having her do things no 11 year old should have to do, out of necessity.
In short, am in full agreement with the OP. I'd even go as far as to say that Niko Bellic has lost the throne. After this season Clementine is my favorite video game character ever.
Personally, my trouble is not that I can't immerse myself with uncommon avatars but rather what I think a 11 year old girl, in a semi-realistic world, should be doing.
But the way I play RPG and RPG-like games is always that of a "watcher;" if that makes sense. I never see myself as the avatar, but rather I try to play the avatar as its own person.
bump
Everytime I see 'badass' or 'edgy' Clem, the less I want to play season three.
Eh, I liked her in season one.
But she was a whiny little brat in season one!
I find it unrealistic. It's also weird how everyone relies on her like she is a adult. And then that bitch bonnie has the nerve to say she doesn't do anything...
I love the new Clementine and I love that you can make her cold. Maybe I´m in a minority, but I don´t really care. I feel like it´s fitting for the world she has been growing up in and gives me freedom to make her who I want. I love playing as her. And I want to keep doing so.
Tyler, you might want to stop there, Season 1 Clementine is a force to be reckoned with here on the forums as most people adored her character. In fact I liked Clem a lot more in season 1 because she wasn't being whiny or a brat.
Some of the most cringeworthy shit i've seen in my life. I don't think the amount of forced memes in Tales from the Borderlands will be able to top Badass Clem
She needs to twist the gun sideways, and her hat.
Call her Clem.W.A.
Clementine? Brat?
She was one of the cutest little girls that ever existed.
EDIT: She still is.
Well to answer your first question, my initial reaction to finding out Clementine was S2's player character was to think it was a terrible idea, reeking both of nepotism and a lack of vision. They took a major chance in S1 creating their own cast of character instead of banking on the popularity of established ones from other Walking Dead works but with S2 putting Clem as the main character just seemed like they were cashing in on their own previous success. (And that was before I found out Kenny steals the show.)
And playing Season 2 mostly cemented those feelings. The story isn't about Clem growing as a character or figuring out how to overcome obstacles unique to someone her age and size or coping with her vulnerabilities. It's just a series of excuses to have her do "badass" things, which makes her like most video game protagonists, which truthfully, makes her pretty boring to me. Sometimes there's more legwork required for her action scenes, but on a whole S2 is just contriving things to justify sticking Clem into the stereotypical action survivor role.
Once Luke insists she goes with him to clear a bridge for no good reason I just gave up because I knew as the player character Clem was basically invulnerable and the story never did anything to make me think about how messed up it is for an eleven-year girl to be doing these things because no one really treats her like that it anymore. Her age is mostly used as a novelty in S2. You're doing the same shit you normally do in these kinds of games but now as an eleven-year old!
Meh, I was more invested in Sarah's story, which has no proper resolution because she didn't fit into this overused mold of grizzled survivors doing badass things...
Yeah, I've always loved the characters who don't seem to have much of a chance than the ones who seem prepared for it, which is why I liked Ben, Nick, Sarah and Arvo quite a lot, because they all had something holding them back and preventing them from being some kind of bad-A. They were much more interesting than even the protagonists for me.
you're not serious right?
you know that's pretty racist right?
I never really liked badass Clementine. I tried to keep her humane.
I was worried about playing as Clem a little girl in the zombie apocalypse at first. First off kids in video games usually suck and they just seem to act weird especially if they are surrounded by so much horrible shit and they still act like some innocent kid that has all the hope in the world (I played too many JRPGs). Also since this was Clem I have grown attached to the munchkin and didn't want to see her get hurt, but if she was a main character I knew she had to for drama. After playing this game I never really saw Clementine as a total badass, but more like what needs to be done in order to survive kind of person.
You're not alone pal!
I always love when main characters are cold and dark because I think it makes the story and character way more interesting (to me).
Well that was actually one of the things that made S1 Clem interesting was trying to give her a fighting chance after Duck dies, and the kind of paradoxical nature of her grasping the gravity of the situations she was in but still maintaining a child-like optimistic outlook that people were capable of good. Like if you bring her to Crawford, she expresses doubt with Ben taking care of her (which Lee covers by saying she's taking care of him) and she hears his confession. She's knows he's a screw-up, she watched him run away and leave her when he panicked earlier in the episode, and yet she still doesn't hesitant to vote to keep him.
Was it a naiveté and she doesn't fully grasp the danger, or is it bravery in knowing the risks and taking the chance to help others anyway? I felt it gave Clem a kind of interesting duality in S1. In S2 you get wisecracking badass Clem and somewhat compassionate badass Clem with her dialogue choices. Which really doesn't carry the same weight for me.
I like that we have an option to make her pragmatic and cold. I think it´s fitting that we can mold her into what we want her to be. Will we let the world´s shit get to her? Or will she keep her humanity? We all see things differently. Having this option is great to me.
Same here in the beginning I tried to keep her humane but after episode 3 she took a dark turn and loved the story more for it. S3 needs more cold clem!
I started to make her colder from that episode on as well. I couldn´t resist watching Kenny kill Carver. From her facial expressions I thought something turned inside her and decided to play her that way for the rest of the episodes.
Is it the world that's changing her or is it changing you (the player) bum...bum...bummm!
Guess I should have done that as well. Damn.
If season 3 has Clem I will definitely be keeping Clem very cold to everyone!
Both.
Season 3 Clem will be useful for her group but basically unforgiving to anyone who wrongs her/the group. Gotta be the leader figure!
I would replay season 3 many many times like that XD Clem will be like the little girl and Kenny the Father from Mad Father and Saltlick and crow bar everyone who wrongs her just as Kenny did
Does anyone even notice Jane's expression during this scene? She was pissed at what's his face for saying "what if we're dangerous", and then she is shocked when Clem pulls her gun and says "what if I am?"
You're definitely not in the minority. The minority is just very vocal.
I don't think either Jane or Kenny are gonna last very long though...determinant status...which is a shame, I'm comfortable with my ending.
That's good to hear, I really appreciate Clem's character development.
I don't have either of them so I don't have to worry about that
I have Jane...sucks for me I guess. :'D
Lol I guess! Depends on how you look at it I guess you also have a Survivalist with you all I have is a baby in a huge horde of geeks! How Clem gets out of that one I'll have no idea XD
I guess I do...here´s to hoping she lasts more than 10 minutes into next season, haha.
I have faith in Clem´s abilities!
well fuck you too godzilla.
She was lame.
Somone else on this forum did a really good job at dissecting how shitty the new Clem is.
Not at all a fan.