ANF was a one-night-stand game and TT knows it very well.
I was hella skeptical when TT first revealed Clementine wasn't going to be the main protagonist of the game. They had their reasons to seek new ways to tell their story - fair group of people was tired of Clem and wanted to move on: TWD universe was so huge and broad it was full of opportunities.
Nonetheless, they kept Clementine in the game. Why? Because this "girl" is what The Walking Dead Games are all about. TT knew it all along, they knew they wouldn't sell their game without Clem, so they grabbed the bull by its horns and decided to play fool with their "illusion of choice" and advertise ANF as a game featuring 42 versions of Clementine. How exciting am I right. However in the final version of the game, Clem goes from 'ya old badass teen' through cold-blooded survivor to regular insignificant NPC. Once the hate is becoming easy to encounter, TT senses that something might be wrong and tries to fix it mid-season, desperately trying to show us they have full control of the situation and Clementine's POV will be developed later on.
Conclusions? Telltale tried to prove to us (and themselves) they could make a good game without Clementine and they failed miserably. They insisted on telling Garcias story, yet they kept using Clem as a bait and were trying really hard to squeeze her into the story she doesn't fit at all, making this game a chaotic amalgamation deprived of final destination, climax or atmosphere; where everything tumbling down on each other making a big mess.
In all of this Clementine was robbed of her character and relegated to the position of plain stupid badass or martyr mother raising a sick child in the middle of the apocalypse. It felt very odd and forced to have Javier care about that at all, not to mention their relationship which clearly built too quick and lacked all logic. They suddenly were best buds despite knowing each other a few hours. Clementine's arch wasn't even completed. She was forced into the game with a random purpose of finding AJ - she just happened to lose him before she met Javi - and the season ends without her finding him, instead she casually heads out to take her Buddhist route and devote herself to her mission.
ANF was a one-night-stand game and TT knows it very well. They had lied to themselves by thinking they could make a game entirely devoted to a fresh group of people, while they couldn't even handle the continuation of the previous game. They couldn't bring themselves to leave Clem outta this, as they knew very well Clementine is a very heart of this series. They realized it at the end, with that kitschy Bollywood-drama announcement: "Clementine's story will continue...", just to desperately keep us around for their next game.
It's plainly obvious that most people care about "the girl" more than any new protagonist - TT made us like this, they made us watch Lee die, they made us mobilized and eager to lead Clem and assist her, to help her distinguish good from evil, to care with all our hearts what will she become.They let us chose it, gave us multiple endings. And for what? No one remembers Christa or Edith, Kenny and Jane died ridiculously in the flashbacks and Lee is just a "someone". Constant, trite action has replaced perfectly balanced story TT used to tell us. There's no rest, no peace.
TT acts like they don't care about the past and most importantly, they don't appreciate their own story. All the build-up from previous games went to waste in such a disappointing way. Because TWD used to be more than a game, it was an adventure of the lifetime, this powerful memorable story which would remain in our memory for quite some time. Now it's a forgettable wannabe action movie and I can't stand that, because I love the series with all my heart and this is just painful to watch.
This girl is everything and so many people died to guarantee her safety. Do not forget that, Telltale. Don't make them die in vain.
Comments
Amen.
They will take a lesson from this season... they have to or they'll bury themselves.
k
I mean what do I know? But when finishing Ep5, I picked up my game case and just stared at it. Looked at the back, looked at the images. Remembering the very first scene in the game, contrasted to the final scene of the game. All of these make me conclude that I had played a completely different game than I initially set out to. Multiple and multiple changes throughout due to rewrites etc., had made me ponder what could have been. It strangely reminds me of a group project I would do that involved me making promises in the brief that by the finished product, was a shadow of what I intended it to be. I've said this multiple times, but these criticisms will be heard, and the next instalment ultimately makes or breaks the path this series is going.
Episode 3/4/5 were better than 1&2, so I don't think the original story would've been any better.. But that's just speculation.
l m n
The original E3 (E3, not Episode 3) story seemed like it was going to be 5000 times better than this shit we have gotten now.
I think slaughterhouse would've been way better if it was handled correctly.
You win some, you lose some. This is the only Telltale game I've played that has actually made me disappointed, well other than Michonne, but I really didn't expect anything from that.
I genuinely think Michonne was better, if only there was a way to get rid of those anti-climatic ghosts.
You've expressed my disappointment with Telltale and ANF much better than I could.
This quote sums up everything that I feel is wrong with Telltale's approach with the once acclaimed Walking Dead series, and how ANF had turned out to be a utter letdown from beginning to end.
ANF lacks charm, consistency, originality, and most of all, passion. The game, story, and characters are hollow and uninspired. It's only saving grace is how the character Conrad is the first determinant character who can survive the TWD series, and even then the execution was rather messy.
Unless the creators for the next game start taking serious notes from their long-term fans' feedback, learn from the mistakes that ANF had made, and actually express more enthusiasm and diligence in their work, I honestly see little to no reason for Telltale's Walking Dead series to be reduced to a cash-cow franchise, if it hasn't already.
They were better off announcing New Frontier as a spin-off without Clementine. That'll at least make me try it out and my expectations being low since she wasn't going to be in it. If the fans loved it, continue it as its own side series.
Seriously, I've been saying it for ages.
Telltale needs to pre-plan as many things in the season as they possibly can, or just never switch writers for the season. One person's beginning can lead to a much more different ending than previously thought. If they plan it all out, start working (by "working" I mean, the script is done, the story is finished, and now the animating begins) on it at least a year before it comes out. If that can happen, things may go pretty smoothly. Hopefully.
And I also think that Telltale should probably take a long break from TWD [after this Clem DLC, I don't think the entirety of Season 4 will be about finding AJ.] and when it does come back, they need to give us a fresh character, new group, new location, because currently, Clem has too much baggage from the previous 3 seasons and there is no way Telltale can live up to that. Make her leave, give her an open ending, and never resolve it. Because we all know how Telltale resolves loose threads... They cut 'em loose!
Pre-plan your choices and subsequent consequences, Telltale!!. You can do that If you start anew!
I know this is unrelated but im just curious, aint that guy in the OP's gif the dude who voiced Lee?
Yeah, the one and only Dave Fennoy
I just hope they consider all the reactions from the fans when they will make the next season, it seems as if they saw all the criticism posted here and they tried to solve some small problems reported by fans (Kenny / Jane looks, Clem being not the girl we knew - In episode 4 they kinda showed a more "Season 2-ish" Clem, having choices that impact the game in a bigger way).
Even big YouTubers said their issues with the game so I hope they take that in consideration as well and build a Season 4 (If that's the name) around the fans criticism and learn from their mistakes.
Season 1 was so good even Mr.Fennoy himself cried when Lee and Clem said their goodbyes.
Oh yeah, I remember that video! It was pretty powerful and kind of tough to watch, if I remember correctly. You could tell that he'd really come to care for the both of them.
Thanks for the support, I'm glad people can reasonably criticize rather than just spam comment and hate.
It's definitely a step in the right direction, however if that means the other aspects of the game are neglected, flattened or straight up bad-written, I would much rather have Conrad dead, if that triggered TT to focus on keeping rest of the characters "in character" and develop other deteminates, because it looks like all devotion and effort was put in Conrad, and Kenny, Jane, Edith, Ava, Tripp, Joan, Max, Lonnie and Rufus were just insignificant names.
The open ending would be the best for Clementine, that's why I wish TWD ended with S2.
Even though I love Clem and I want to see her growing up, I'm afraid that money-making company TT has evolved into would use her once again, but this time it will end with Clementine dying; just to squeeze as much juice as they possibly can out of our beloved fruit.
I mean S2 wasn't that good as well (still better than S3 though) and it had Clem as the protagonist...I remember it getting a lot of hate here.
They just need better writers and if they want to keep Clem they need to make her the main character. No half assed bs
S1 is one of my favourite games ever, doubt any TWD season will be as good. S2 was pretty medicore in comparison as well
I only watched Jacksepticeye talking about this, and he is quite right. Even the people earning their keep by playing games say the game needs improvement. When that happens you can definitely see that something's wrong. I hope TT won't ignore it.
When Telltalle announced that they were creating a totally new protagonist and storyline, I was skeptical. ANF wasn't all bad, but it was very disappointing and frustrating not being able to play with Clem. I worried that they would kill her off in Episode 5, or shove her aside after she found AJ.
However, I enjoyed seeing Clem all grown up, and receiving some much-needed Season 2 closure. I'm also really excited to see that they have chosen to turn the focus back to Clem's journey.
That two minute after credits scene pretty much made the episode.
Michonne was awesome. Even though it was a side story, it was much better than ANF.
I think that fans are willing to give Telltalle another chance. Season 4 (Season 3 technically?) might get The Walking Dead games back on track.
Which interview is this .gif from?
Sorry I don't know, I had this pic saved on my laptop along with other TWD shit I've collected throughout the years.
It was more like 40 seconds though. Anyway, it's pretty bad if one after-credits scene has to make up for the whole episode.
i honestly used to not really care about anything in order to enjoy the game. i thought it was alright for a little while, but now i truly realize that it could've been immensely improved. i thought that the finale could really improve the entire season and correct their mistakes. i can sometimes be easy to impress but this episode was extremely lackluster. i used to think that clementine wasn't just put in as a cash grab because the story wasn't over, but she really was. they gave her an arc to fulfill, but she was never able to fulfill it. choices mattered in some cases, but it didn't really control your relationships with certain characters. i hope that if they continue with another SEASON, rather than dlc, that they review what made season 1 such an amazing game. they need to include more hubs, more unique characters, etc. i hope that telltale can bounce back.
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You're the prick, rick.
You know what? Yeah you're right.
no, i have to use all lower case for that a e s t h e t i c. thanks, i'm an ugly ass thot.
Ok bullshit but ok
Or derail it completely.