Who would you choose to save?
Hello. New member here. After playing TWD season 2 twice I noticed that none of the deaths had much impact on the remaining characters or the story itself. There also wasn't much choice in who lived and who died. What if you were given the opportunity to save certain characters, at least for a few more episodes? Here are some changes I think would have improved game play while preserving most of the plot points. What do you think and would YOU do?
Go with Nick or Go with Pete: In my version Pete wouldn't get bit. They run in different directions and you have to choose who to follow. After you and Nick or Pete escape the walkers surrounding either the moonshine still or the box truck, you find your way back to the cabin. Nick or Pete turns up later BIT. There is an emotional scene with the group deciding what to do about it. If Nick is bit he bitterly references the group's policy of putting down the bitten in an ironic sense as suspecting a walker bite, he had tried to shoot Clementine. Nick or Pete is shot by Alvin after a tearful Rebecca finds she can't do it. This triggers Rebecca's change of heart with Clem.
Alvin or Walter: The resulting death is a direct correlation to your preceding choices in the game, not a choice itself. If Nick survived, he shoots Matthew as usual. If you lie to Walter about it or tell him Nick is "just like everyone else", Walter will not intervene when Carver grabs Alvin after Kenny shoots Johnny. BAM! Alvin dies. Kenny will not shoot a second time. If you were honest and stood up for Nick, Walter will take the bullet himself, sparing Alvin. If Pete survived, Matthew greets the group and leads them to the ski lodge as either your host or your hostage. When Kenny shoots Johnny, Carver grabs Alvin as in the other scenario and Walter will save him or not depending on whether you trusted Matthew or brought him back as a hostage. If Walter is shot, Matthew will charge Carver and be brought down by Troy. If Alvin dies, Kenny will fire again, prompting Carver to kill Matthew.
In Harm's Way: There would be minimal differences in this episode, probably just dialogue, until the end. However, Kenny does not lose his eye if Walter is with the group. His tone is more calm in general. The escape takes place in the usual way, except no one gets to kill Carver. Carver is overwhelmed by walkers while pursuing the group out of the loading dock. He does get one shot off, taking either Alvin or Walter out. Carlos is clipped by Tavia's bullet and devoured on the spot. SORRY! I think his death was necessary to Sarah's development. Sarah panics and bolts with Luke and Nick or Pete hot on her heels. The scene with Sarita does not occur. Neither does the scene of Jane shooting Troy. Sarita survives the herd along with the rest of the group.
Nick/Pete or Sarah: After arriving at the meeting place, you leave a grieving Rebecca to be comforted by Kenny and Sarita, while you and Jane and Bonnie and Mike split up to look for the remaining group members. You and Jane arrive at the trailer park to find the three holed up in a trailer. The story progresses as normal. After a brief struggle, the walkers break in and everyone retreats to the bedroom and locks the door. Sarah is unresponsive to your pleas to leave. Luke and Jane are up top and you have to choose between giving up on convincing Sarah or trying harder. If you select the latter, Nick or Pete will hold the door shut since the walkers have broke the lock. You and Sarah will escape as Nick or Pete is overwhelmed by the walkers. If you choose to leave Sarah, Nick or Pete will follow you out of the trailer. AJ's birth and the battle at the observation deck will happen as usual with the only difference being Sarah, if saved, does not fall. Jane still leaves.
Shootout with Arvo's Gang: The setup for episode 5 is the same with Rebecca passing away and reanimating, triggering the shootout. In episode 5, we see that Mike and Sarita and Nick or Pete, if saved, were killed in the opening fire, along with with Natasha and Arvo. SURPRISE! No more Arvo. Sarah, if saved at the trailer, will survive the rest of the game. You will see A.J. lying on the ground and be prompted to rescue him by an action command appearing on screen. If Sarah is alive, you will be prompted to make a choice. You will see A.J. to one side and Sarah to the other, frozen in fear with Buricko sneaking up. If you choose to warn Sarah, Luke will break cover and rescue the baby but will be shot in the leg by Vitali. Kenny will then kill Buricko. If you choose to rescue the baby yourself, Bonnie will break cover and pull Sarah back but will be shot in the shoulder by Vitali. Kenny will then kill Buricko. Jane then returns in time to kill Vitali, thereby ending the standoff. If Sarah is alive, this will be the turning point for her character.
End of Episode 5 and final decisions: The group continues until they come across the power station. Kenny is despondent in the aftermath of Sarita's death and you are encouraged by Bonnie to reach out to him. If you succeed in getting him to sit by the fire, he will be slightly more tractable through the remainder of the game. You also have opportunities to speak with Jane and with Sarah, if alive. Sarah's condition will be notably improved. The next day the group sees the unfinished house and makes their way toward it. They lake incident occurs and everyone covers Luke. If injured, he will perish in the lake. If not, he is able to pull himself to safety. The episode continues with Kenny fixing the pickup truck and the group arguing about their destination. You wake in the night to a sound outside and find Bonnie leaving with SOME of the supplies. This action is either triggered by Luke's death or his having grown close to Jane. You can either shoot Bonnie or let her go. The next morning, Kenny is angered over the desertion and loss of supplies and again butts heads with Jane and determinately Luke. You must choose between going with Kenny and A.J. in the pickup to Wellington or back to Howe's Hardware on foot with Jane and Luke. Sarah, if alive, will abide by your decision. If you choose to return to Howe's and Bonnie was injured, you will see her corpse on the roadside, harking back to Carley or Doug in 400 Days. The closing scenes will be the same. You will choose to stay at Wellington with A.J. and determinately Sarah or stay with Kenny. If you chose Jane, you must decide whether or not to admit the family into Howe's.
There would also be more opportunities to talk with most of the characters, especially those of the cabin group and also Sarita. You may also notice I made Kenny, Jane, and Bonnie less like jerks so the decisions would be more difficult. There would be much more time to develop a relationship with Pete, Nick, and Sarah depending on your choices.
Comments
Hey there. I'd have to read through your header thoroughly before I can answer.
However, since this basically looks like how you'd have written the choices, I'll link my episode rewrite thread.
I didn't have any issues with the episodes or the story. This is about applying appropriate pacing and integrating the player's choices WITHOUT altering the plot line much. With the exception of Luke and Sarah being able to survive the game, the same characters die in my version, just at a later time. I was attempting to correct a lot of deaths that weren't sensible in my opinion.
Oh,okay. Still works within the [admittedly huge] constraints I've provided, but good job anway!
Review time!
Oh my goodness-I love this change! This is an example of bending the official story for a great payoff! Especially since it gives Alvin a chance to prove he's "not nice," even if it is basically mercy. I assume Pete has the same basic reaction he has in the actual game?
A bit dickish of Walter to let Alvin die for what Nick did, but okay.
Yeah, Carlos is among the characters whose deaths I'd leave in since it kinda held up a few other story developments. I await what you have planned for Sarita and Troy....
Neat. Nothing else to say, unfortunately.
...How odd. I'd never think to get rid of Arvo himself since he kinda drove half of the final episode's plot. Or Mike for that matter.
Wow. I like that you gave Bonnie a little more prominence in her actions here and I love that Sarah determinately parts ways with Clementine, with AJ being left in her custody--got me a little just thinking about it.
Really would've been a great sendoff for her without dying. I also see you either let Kenny and Jane both live or you just removed the fight altogether.
Okay, question: Does Bonnie wander off after getting shot/being let go by Clementine or something cause her corpse showing up on the the side of the road was a little random?
Awesome.
If you let Bonnie leave with the supplies but she was injured during the shootout, I'm assuming she dies of her injuries (the question is if Bonnie or someone else made sure she wouldn't turn). Either way, if a character's fate is determinate, their days are numbered. So I suppose it is just to show that Bonnie got what was coming to her in the end, whether you stopped her or not.
Okay, but how about if Luke got shot and you let Bonnie go?
Then you don't find her corpse on the side of the road? :P
What Mark$man said. Poetic justice. If injured, she succumbs to her injuries. If Luke is dead and you didn't kill her, her status would be left unknown.