((extremely late response .)) Couldnt telltale have atleast made 2 characters be guaranteed to make it to Howe s instead of just Bonnie so that they could incorporate them into the story? Also i might be wrong but wasnt Eddie supposed to shown up at some point?
For the new year, ever since last year upon A New Frontier's revelation of the gut punch of the choices made in the end of Season 2, while still recovering from the shock (Jane) and hurt by disappointment, I decided the only alternative was to continue the story in my own way. I've come up with some concepts and scenarios and I've posted in some early posts and if it's all the same, I'm posting them again:
I want Clementine, Jane and the family to start off unsure of each other, but Clementine tells the truth of what happened and the history of the hardware store. Then the story will fast forward to Day 1000, Clementine awakens from a nightmare of the people she failed to protect. Jane and Clementine make supply runs while Randy and his family guard the store. And that's just Episode 1 Expect returns of determinant characters and a OC of mine whom I homage Burt Gummer from Tremors. Also, rival group wanting Howe's for their own. And a secret location somewhere in the region called Quivira (named after an ancient lost city of gold) where stored is a bountiful stash of weapons and food that can last many years. Quivira was established by a band of survivalists of many communities in case a situation when society collapses. All are dead and the stash became a legend. But my OC learns of it before he meets Clementine.
Also, I'm thinking of including the Fairbanks clan, my OC Eldon will find them on the run from Oceanside, by a group called the Ravagers. Eldon helps out this group consisting of four OC s, the Fairbanks family plus Paige, and Christa, whom Clementine and her have a tearful reunion. Also, I'm planning on the Ravagers attacking and nearly destroying Howes. They have access to military grade hardware. I'm careful with weapons from below 2003. And then, comes a thing I've wanted for a long while...Lilly's return and a redemption arc. Still alive and surviving but broken and haunted by the demons of Season 1 AKA her guilt in the form of a hallucination of the one she killed "Carley"
Ravagers are a group of ruthless survivors like the New Frontier, Saviors or Monroe. Lead by a man named Aurelio. Still working on him.
Skill set for the family (thanking Lilacsbloom for opinion) Gill could be good at sneaking around and fitting into small spaces, Randy could know first aid, Patricia archery.
Also, I hope I'm not making the Ravagers too much by giving them military weaponry (you know M16 variant rifles, submachine guns and even Milkor MGL grenade launchers. I try and keep the weapons within before 2003 since that's when the outbreak occurred. ) And thoughts on Howe's destruction and plan for Lilly's arc.
Also here's the locations: In the past, it was driving me crazy pinpointing Howe's real world location but after much research I placed it at a Lowe's (since Howe's you know) in Bristol, Tennessee. Weber City, VA - at the elementary school, the rendezvous of Eldon's group after Howe's decimation. Middlesboro, KY - the mall is a location of a settlement. Clem's group stays there for a while after being chased by a herd of lurkers and the Ravagers. Also, Lilly is second in command plus one of the advanced scouts while searching for supplies.
Huntington, WV - The location of the massive large industrial warehouse of Quivira. Still working on figuring out how the group will find it if it's faded into obscurity.
Then upon finding it, returning to Lochmere (Middlesboro settlement) and learn that the Ravagers do something drastic that will be a prelude to war for the next season.
Was gonna bump this for convenience, but I see someone already did while I was procrastinating again. Ah well.
Anyway, what I was gonna use to justify doing so was a link to my "Realistic" writing of a Season/installment, specifically ANF!
It's not really canon to what I actually planned on doing with my rewrite(if I ever got around to finally posting the damn thing), but I think it's some neat insight to how I would've written/directed the story if I had been hired instead of the professionals, for some random ass reason.
Okay people, it's been long enough--the wait is over! My rewrite of A New Frontier kicks off with Ties That Bind Part 1!:
Chapter 1 Family Road Trip
The first few scenes play out more or less the same.
Chapter 2 Unexpected Guests
In the junkyard hub, you can talk with Kate and Marianna a little more in the first area. And you can talk with Gabe a little more in the second area.
Depending on your dialogue, it's possible to get Mariana to tag along for a bit in the second area alongside Gabe. This will cause the two to chatter with each other a bit.
If Mariana does not tag along, Gabe will be available to talk to(unlike the game proper), where he replies to whatever Javier said to him in the previous area and can be questioned about how , whatever's going on with him and Kate this time, and ask him if there's anything in particular he's looking for. If he was ignored in the previous area, he will claim to be alright and there will be an extra dialogue option where he may admit to an abridged version of his problems.
It is possible to get Gabe to crawl under the trailer and unlock the hatch to the trailer.
If Mariana tags along with the other two, she is a little more vocal about staying the night when Kate comes in. Also, as you'll see much further down the line, there is a small window in which Javier can retrieve the batteries, which has the choice to keep them pop up sooner than normal.
If you chose to leave the trailer, it becomes a hub area to interact with the family. Your interactions. The hub will end with Kate suggesting Javier take a nap while she keeps watch--he hasn't slept for 18 hours. Javier will wake up a while later to see Kate walking back in to check on them and move towards him. She apologizes for waking him up and that she considered moving the van to load up the jugs since they should be finished--if her timing on the collecting rate was right, anyway--but he still has the keys. Gabe and Mariana are playing Euchre at the table. Javier gets up to do the collecting himself while Kate gets the kids in order.
If you chose to stay the night, You are in the trailer with family, when you see guys w/ flashlights thru the window. You get Kate and the kids into the floorboards to hide, but there's no time for you to go in so you/they close the hatch, leaving you up there alone.
Max enters the trailer. He begins questioning you. Where are your people? How many of you are there?
Max will only gutpunch Javier if you mouth off at or flat out insult him. Notably, this includes the "fuckin pudding" line, which will earn a concerned look from Lonnie(!).
Lonnie is determinate here as originally intended: depending on how you do in the QTE, Javier can either fire into the air before manually knocking him out(like in the released version, only this time he breaks his nose in the process), graze Lonnie's left ear(ala Mike), or outright shoot him in the neck during the struggle. Max will react accordingly:
If Lonnie is knocked out, Max will examine him.
If Lonnie is injured, Max will come in yelling at Javier, causing Coon will rush in and draw his pistol alongside Badger. Max will however interject after a few seconds by saying they need to help Lonnie, telling Coon to tie Javier up while they figure out what to do with him. Coon moves to do so as Max and Badger begin deliberating.
If Lonnie is wounded, he'll immediately drop to the floor gagging. Max, Badger, and Coon rush into the trauker. Max will put Lonnie out of his misery with "Shit, I'm sorry, brother." Max will then pistol whip Javier as in the game proper.
Alternatively, it's also possible to get Lonnie to not reveal Kate, Gabe, and Mariana's presence by cooperating the entire time he's present and not hitting the now present prompt to charge him. If this happens, Max will come back with Badger and mention that while they couldn't find any other hard evidence that Javier had any present company, he's also not sure if releasing Javier to be out there on his own(or if you smart talked him, where he can lead any buddies back to them) is a good idea. This re-implements the scenario where Rufus willingly takes Javier as an escort back to "base" while they finish up there. Humorously, Kate coughs/gasps as they're on their way out, to which Badger remarks "Smokin on the fuckin job again, Lonnie? Keh, friggin smuggler."
Chapter 3 In Her Charge
Javier gets an extra flashback after being taken away by Rufus: It shows his relationship with Kate.
If you cooperated with Max's Detail, you can engage in some minor conversation with Rufus while you ride for a few minutes. Notably, you can ask him if he has any family left, to which he cites Fern, his brother, and Ida, even showing a picture of her from his truck-pocket. Javier can give a half-hearted/sardonic reply about how she's "beautiful" or definitely takes after him, which flies over Rufus's head. Rufus may also ask the same from Javier, in which Javier can tell a half truth(that he got separated from them recently), claim that they didn't make it, or even reveal that he was with them before he ran into Max. It is at this point that the conversation is interrupted by Clementine's trap.
Clementine can actually eat half of Marianna's choco stick, as was originally possible. She will almost always do this if Javier isn't bound.
Chapter 4 Deal Gone Bad
After Javier disarms Eli, Conrad can be heard shouting "Ey, what did'I tell you?"
Clementine doesn't shoot Eli like a dumbitchnik if a.you didn't give the batteries to Mariana and/or b. Javier convinces her to back off. Tripp will eventually enter the bar looking for Javier and noticing the slash above his eye, asks what happened. When Clementine/Javier claims that Eli sold her bad merchandise, he responds that while Eli definitely needs serious work on his people skills, he finds it a little hard to believe since he prides himself on dealing with good product. However, given that Javier has a clean slate and was kinda caught in the crossfire, he'll take his word for it. He then sends them off to Eleanor's tent along with Eli's sister("Huh-Chick", who came down after seeing Clementine leave Eli's tent and has determinately started examining Eli's eye if Javier punched him) while he goes to have a little talk with the drunk son of a bitch.
Chapter 5 A Hard Goodbye
Being on good terms with Tripp will allow you extra time to hang around Prescott before going to sleep with Clementine. Clem asks you to find a place to sleep for the night. There would be a hub section here and you could look at the helicopter, medical station, wind turbines, townspeople talking about the noose zombies and people fleeing from the storm(?). It is during this sequence that you can get to know Francine, Conrad, and determinately Eli a little more.
Conrad and Francine have a similar divergence to Tripp and Eleanor in that while they both sympathize with Javier wanting to get back with his family, Conrad begrudgingly concedes that following Tripp's plan is for the best.
If Eli is still alive, he may:
Give a half-hearted apology if he mainly tried to keep things calm .
Straight up tell Javier to go fuck himself if he didn't. Huh-Chick will take issue with him doing so.
Refuse to speak with Javier if he claimed to be Clementine's bodyguard and punched him.
If Clementine murdered Eli, Huh-Chick is mourning next to his body, with Francine briefly attempting to comfort her. Looking at her has Javier that he dreads the day Kate and/or the kids are doing the same. Attempting to apologize for her loss has her glance back at him before responding.
If Javier tried to keep things calm, she'll thank him for his kindness.
If Javier punched Eli, she'll quietly ask him to leave her in peace.
If Javier egged on Clementine, she'll outright yell at him to leave her alone.
Sneaking out with Eleanor will have an extra scene where Javier and Clementine sneak towards the back gates past Conrad's bar with Eleanor, learning she took the time to borrow horses courtesy of Francine. She has extra dialogue here if you didn't speak with her in the optional HUB.
Chapter 6 To the Rescue
Kenny and Jane's episode 4 flashbacks would be re-adapted here, while . The only notable changes are:
Kenny can be heard coughing a few times in the background and right before the flashback ends
Jane's determinately opens with either her and Patricia putting one last body onto the wheelbarrow or her and Clementine already on the move, with their middle name talk happening on the way to the ditch.
There is an extra Wellington flashback where we get to know Edith a little more, see when some of the family members first came to Wellington, and get an indication that they're running out of food and other supplies to give out, with Edith half-heartedly claiming their public survival strategy will do them well in the end.
After saving getting everyone back together, Gabe/Mariana will comment on letting Javier be taken depending on your interactions.
Favoring Mariana has her sadly state that she kept Gabe from shooting the bald guy when he dragged/led Javier out of the trailer before the truck showed up, to which the latter assures her that she had the right idea after all.
Throwing Gabe bones will have him apologize for not helping Javier, with Mariana admitting that it's her fault for stopping him.
If you didn't give her the batteries and brought along Eleanor, Mariana is wounded by Badger(who doesn't have a stationary target here due to Mariana having no reason to just stand out there over something she knows isn't working), rather than outright killed. Kate will cover Gabe when he runs to save Mariana(notably alternating between the ground troops and those in the higher lush to keep them distracted rather than meticulously kill them).
If you sided with Kate/Gabe on the trailer choice and Mariana is still alive, she/he will be more accepting of Javier's choice to stay/leave at the end.
Cue Ending Song: (Associated with Mariana and/or the Garcia's in general(Nothing too upbeat, but definitely nothing depressing either))
Already sounds ten times better than what we got. All those extra decisions and hub opportunities making it sound so much like S1's gameplay. The NPC interactions during hubs also making me feel nostalgic of the first seasons. There might be a few places I wanna nitpick, but considering what the original was, I'll gladly overlook it. This is pretty sweet.
Okay people, it's been long enough--the wait is over! My rewrite of A New Frontier kicks off with Ties That Bind Part 1!:
Chapter 1 Famil… morey Road Trip
The first few scenes play out more or less the same.
Chapter 2 Unexpected Guests
In the junkyard hub, you can talk with Kate and Marianna a little more in the first area. And you can talk with Gabe a little more in the second area.
Depending on your dialogue, it's possible to get Mariana to tag along for a bit in the second area alongside Gabe. This will cause the two to chatter with each other a bit.
If Mariana does not tag along, Gabe will be available to talk to(unlike the game proper), where he replies to whatever Javier said to him in the previous area and can be questioned about how , whatever's going on with him and Kate this time, and ask him if there's anything in particular he's looking for. If he was ignored in the previous area, he will claim to be alright and there wil… [view original content]
Already sounds ten times better than what we got. All those extra decisions and hub opportunities making it sound so much like S1's gamepla… morey. The NPC interactions during hubs also making me feel nostalgic of the first seasons. There might be a few places I wanna nitpick, but considering what the original was, I'll gladly overlook it. This is pretty sweet.
Thanks!
I can't say I was explicitly doing it with Season 1 in mind, but I suppose that's kinda hard to not do, amiright?
Mmhmm.
I'm open to your specific opinions and criticisms, dude. Look right at it!
Oh, okay. I'll read over it again and try to remember what I was talking about. I became distracted by what I was reading and forgot about those small thoughts.
Thanks!
I can't say I was explicitly doing it with Season 1 in mind, but I suppose that's kinda hard to not do, amiright?
There migh… moret be a few places I wanna nitpick, but considering what the original was, I'll gladly overlook it.
I'm open to your specific opinions and criticisms, dude. Look right at it!
Okay people, it's been long enough--the wait is over! My rewrite of A New Frontier kicks off with Ties That Bind Part 1!:
Chapter 1 Famil… morey Road Trip
The first few scenes play out more or less the same.
Chapter 2 Unexpected Guests
In the junkyard hub, you can talk with Kate and Marianna a little more in the first area. And you can talk with Gabe a little more in the second area.
Depending on your dialogue, it's possible to get Mariana to tag along for a bit in the second area alongside Gabe. This will cause the two to chatter with each other a bit.
If Mariana does not tag along, Gabe will be available to talk to(unlike the game proper), where he replies to whatever Javier said to him in the previous area and can be questioned about how , whatever's going on with him and Kate this time, and ask him if there's anything in particular he's looking for. If he was ignored in the previous area, he will claim to be alright and there wil… [view original content]
@IronWoodLover Ummmm, mind if I steal this post style if I ever feel like rewriting my old rewrites (lol) in this more compact and concise manner?
Sure. Though admittedly, the main reason my post there looks that way (and has a number of errors and cutoffs) is because I did all of that in ColorNotes on my phone.
The Amid the Ruins keyart (is that the right word for it?) has Clementine smearing blood/war paint on her face while silhouettes of Eddie, Vince, and Kenny are behind her. A lot of people theorized that the 400 Days characters that stayed in the camp were originally going to be part of a rebel group that lived in the woods and fought against Carver's group.
...The what now?
@IronWoodLover Ummmm, mind if I steal this post style if I ever feel like rewriting my old rewrites (lol) in this mor… moree compact and concise manner?
Sure. Though admittedly, the main reason my post there looks that way (and has a number of errors and cutoffs) is because I did all of that in ColorNotes on my phone.
The Amid the Ruins keyart (is that the right word for it?) has Clementine smearing blood/war paint on her face while silhouettes of Eddie, V… moreince, and Kenny are behind her. A lot of people theorized that the 400 Days characters that stayed in the camp were originally going to be part of a rebel group that lived in the woods and fought against Carver's group.
Oh yeah, that. Deltino said it was likely just a placeholder for the Cabin Group and Mike/Ralph that they never got around to swapping out, hence why Vince had a different hairstyle and why Eddie was wearing the hood.
With that said, that would've been a cool little side thing if it was at all remotely viable.
The Amid the Ruins keyart (is that the right word for it?) has Clementine smearing blood/war paint on her face while silhouettes of Eddie, V… moreince, and Kenny are behind her. A lot of people theorized that the 400 Days characters that stayed in the camp were originally going to be part of a rebel group that lived in the woods and fought against Carver's group.
The other silhouettes seem like placeholders except for Eddie. If you brighten the screen it is very clearly 100% Eddie. Shame they never put him back in the game
Oh yeah, that. Deltino said it was likely just a placeholder for the Cabin Group and Mike/Ralph that they never got around to swapping out, … morehence why Vince had a different hairstyle and why Eddie was wearing the hood.
With that said, that would've been a cool little side thing if it was at all remotely viable.
I know that. Hell, I don't think you even need to brighten it since he's closer to the screen than the others, enough that you can make out that there's a face within the hood.
What I mean is that if the Cabin Group weren't finished at the time, why would Mike be?
The other silhouettes seem like placeholders except for Eddie. If you brighten the screen it is very clearly 100% Eddie. Shame they never put him back in the game
I personally don't believe in that placeholder BS. If that was the case, then why is Rebecca in all the different slides for episode 3? Even the one before season 2 came out?
I'm "Don't fuck with Tiny Carlos" sure that Eddie was suppose to make an appearance in Amid the Ruins. Personally, I believe his role was taken by Arvo.
The gun that Eddie carries, has the exact same model as the one that Arvo has, that Jane steals from him.
Jane also refers to Arvo as a, "junkie" which is more of a name better suited for Eddie. 400 Days music also plays during the choice to steal the medicine or not.
Speaking of the 400 Days, they were clearly building up to something regarding those characters in the earlier episodes.
Roman's corpse, near the end of episode 1.
Bonnie appearing in episode 2.
Then episode 3 rolls around (when Telltale began to give up on Season 2) and the rest of the characters are reduced to small cameos, just to show that "your choices matter".
Even Telltale said that the Russian group wasn't originally planned for episode 4. Had they stuck to whatever it was they were originally planning, I'm sure it would've been a stand off between the S2 group & the 400 Days characters.
I know that. Hell, I don't think you even need to brighten it since he's closer to the screen than the others, enough that you can make out … morethat there's a face within the hood.
What I mean is that if the Cabin Group weren't finished at the time, why would Mike be?
Huh. I forgot someone mentioned all that about the pothead. I suppose they did intend to do something with at least him in addition to Tavia and Bonnie at one point.
400 Days music also plays during the choice to steal the medicine or not.
That I wouldn't know.
Even Telltale said that the Russian group wasn't originally planned for episode 4.
Uh, do you remember where this was said?
I'm not doubting what you said at all, given that Nick Breckon and [whatever that guy's name was] mentioned quite a bit about the design and original concepts for Arvo when they got to Amid the Ruins during the Telltale Stream.
Had they stuck to whatever it was they were originally planning, I'm sure it would've been a stand off between the S2 group & the 400 Days characters.
Eh, I guess that's fair. Old man dan included that in his personal Changes thread, for one.
Personally, I didn't mind the Russians being a thing, especially Arvo; I just wish they went with the Pilgrims and Indians setup they could've done with either group.
I personally don't believe in that placeholder BS. If that was the case, then why is Rebecca in all the different slides for episode 3? Even… more the one before season 2 came out?
I'm "Don't fuck with Tiny Carlos" sure that Eddie was suppose to make an appearance in Amid the Ruins. Personally, I believe his role was taken by Arvo.
The gun that Eddie carries, has the exact same model as the one that Arvo has, that Jane steals from him.
Jane also refers to Arvo as a, "junkie" which is more of a name better suited for Eddie. 400 Days music also plays during the choice to steal the medicine or not.
Speaking of the 400 Days, they were clearly building up to something regarding those characters in the earlier episodes.
Roman's corpse, near the end of episode 1.
Bonnie appearing in episode 2.
Then episode 3 rolls around (when Telltale began to give up on Season 2) and the rest of the characters are reduced to small cameos, just t… [view original content]
Just a quick update here, people: Part 2 was 70% of the way done last time I touched it(a.i. not too long after I posted Part 1), so hopefully I won't take anywhere near as long posting it as I did with Part 1. Just need to iron out a few things, review the episode proper again to take any extra notes, and further take what I already did in Part 1 into account.
Btw, I can't believe I forgot to do this as soon as I thought about it: Shoutouts to Bossman @Deltino, @Graysonn, @Fangirl101, @Kennyshouladiedins1 , @GohanFGC, @Nikolaj-11, and @cutupuss- for your insight and suggestions. It served as inspiration and preemptive criticisms while revising this--whether it all actually made/makes it into the rewrite or not.
EDIT:Apologies if this post spams your notifications.
Just a quick update here, people: Part 2 was 70% of the way done last time I touched it(a.i. not too long after I posted Part 1), so hopeful… morely I won't take anywhere near as long posting it as I did with Part 1. Just need to iron out a few things, review the episode proper again to take any extra notes, and further take what I already did in Part 1 into account.
Btw, I can't believe I forgot to do this as soon as I thought about it: Shoutouts to Bossman @Deltino, @Graysonn, @Fangirl101, @Kennyshouladiedins1 , @GohanFGC, @Nikolaj-11, and @cutupuss- for your insight and suggestions. It served as inspiration and preemptive criticisms while revising this--whether it all actually made/makes it into the rewrite or not.
EDIT:Apologies if this post spams your notifications.
Just a quick update here, people: Part 2 was 70% of the way done last time I touched it(a.i. not too long after I posted Part 1), so hopeful… morely I won't take anywhere near as long posting it as I did with Part 1. Just need to iron out a few things, review the episode proper again to take any extra notes, and further take what I already did in Part 1 into account.
Btw, I can't believe I forgot to do this as soon as I thought about it: Shoutouts to Bossman @Deltino, @Graysonn, @Fangirl101, @Kennyshouladiedins1 , @GohanFGC, @Nikolaj-11, and @cutupuss- for your insight and suggestions. It served as inspiration and preemptive criticisms while revising this--whether it all actually made/makes it into the rewrite or not.
EDIT:Apologies if this post spams your notifications.
Would it be interesting if that first interaction with Gabe in the first flashback in Episode 1 actually had a a major impact in Episode 5? Like if you tell Gabe his Dad is an asshole, he'll remember that and the "You're a killer" piece he does at the beginning of it gets extended. Telling David "I should've known when we first walked into Richmond. You cannot be Trusted!" Also, when they're all trying to decide whether to leave or Help Richmond, Gabe will NOT volunteer to go with him, and instead gives him the Middle Finger. But David Kidnaps him and takes him anyway.
Yes, it would have been interesting!
Gabe should have been affected by the way we treat him, the choices we make, by the advice we give him.
I do wish that he really remembered what we first say about David in the beginning.
Gabe will NOT volunteer to go with him, and instead gives him the Middle Finger.
That would be priceless.
I love me some anti!David Gabe.
Would it be interesting if that first interaction with Gabe in the first flashback in Episode 1 actually had a a major impact in Episode 5? … moreLike if you tell Gabe his Dad is an asshole, he'll remember that and the "You're a killer" piece he does at the beginning of it gets extended. Telling David "I should've known when we first walked into Richmond. You cannot be Trusted!" Also, when they're all trying to decide whether to leave or Help Richmond, Gabe will NOT volunteer to go with him, and instead gives him the Middle Finger. But David Kidnaps him and takes him anyway.
They should have put all the flashbacks in s3 e1 and have them actually affect the way the characters act throughout the rest of the season. It would give the players an opportunity to get to know the Garcia's backstory and it could also have a big impact on the way Clementine acts. The flashback with Ava after AJ was taken could have had a significant impact if it was not so late on in the season, it was discussing Clem's mindset approaching life after having AJ taken. But of course they couldn't implement it since it was so late in the season.
Would it be interesting if that first interaction with Gabe in the first flashback in Episode 1 actually had a a major impact in Episode 5? … moreLike if you tell Gabe his Dad is an asshole, he'll remember that and the "You're a killer" piece he does at the beginning of it gets extended. Telling David "I should've known when we first walked into Richmond. You cannot be Trusted!" Also, when they're all trying to decide whether to leave or Help Richmond, Gabe will NOT volunteer to go with him, and instead gives him the Middle Finger. But David Kidnaps him and takes him anyway.
Update Time Z: Okay, so you know how I said Part 2 was 70% of the way done not too long after I posted Part 1? Yeah, well, while won't take anywhere near as long posting it as I did with Part 1(which doesn't really count for much anyway considering I originally only posted a short list of vague ideas that I had since before June), it has been taking much longer to really get down with wrapping it up properly. Rest assured that I did in fact plan on posting it before the end of last month(aka a few days ago), but there were a number of details that I needed to properly weave in and a few key ones that I honestly forgot to go into that I'm currently addressing. I did actually start rewatching Part 2 for notes and intricacies as well, so hopefully I'll have it up before this time next week at the optimistic latest.
Season 1 episode 4 or 5. I would not have Lee get bit or at least change how he got bit. The way he got bit was dumb. I would have the stranger attack the group for revenge rather than take Clementine. That's a lot better story than him taking Clementine thinking she wasn't safe.
Update Time GT: So, funny thing--I somehow let Midterms, Spring Break, and FighterZ distract me from the fact that it will have been two whole weeks since I last editted my Part 2 rewrite in the next two days, fittingly enough. Sorry that I have to keep updating this thing because I'm too dedicated to either hyper-focusing or procrastinating on things. So I'l go aheadl review what I have and add more in bed tonight to make up for some of that lost time. I will have this damn episode up before the end of this month, dammit!
So finally, a whole two months after I originally intended to post it, here is Divided We Fall!
Ties That Bind Part 2
Chapter 1 Bloody Business
The flashback is
If you stayed with Clementine and Mariana was killed, the beginning is mostly the same.
Additionally, if you did nothing at the end of the previous episode(forcing Clementine to throw the bomb), the episode begins with a Tinnitus sound fading in as both are shown get knocked back with visible smoke in the air. One of the New Frontier members faintly shouts "Bullseye!"and after a few seconds Javier opens his eyes and tilts his head to see Clementine lying on her back. He calls to her, but she doesn't move. A prompt for Javier to pull her behind cover or call to her again appears as he sits up.
Pulling her over has Javier call her again and rub her face to get a reaction--a brief twitch of her hand(one of Badger's crew can be heard saying that he thinks he saw someone else throw the bomb back)--and you have a choice to either press a tip against her neck to check her pulse or lightly smack her face, which he will do after calling a third time as a bullet whizzes by and barely misses the general area where she was lying.
Calling her again will have no response and once again, he'll have a choice to either reach for her or instead return fire: doing the former will skip the pulse step in favor of lightly smacking her, while the latter has him take out a few New Frontier members as walkers start showing up.
Either way, Clementine will awaken (after a little bit in the latter case) and the last few straggling enemies are dealt with. She acknowledges whatever Javier did to her with varying degrees of annoyance. She then thanks him for staying behind, to which he can either say that he couldn't just leave her, make a crack about him/her getting knocked out, or maintain that he shouldn't have let his family run away without him. She'll respond by pointing out how his freezing up caused the situation in the first place, with a differing tone and follow up for each.
If you stayed with Clementine and Mariana lived, Javier still questions her whereabouts after waking up, only for Clementine to point out that Eleanor/Tripp got them out of there. She then thanks him for staying behind, to which he can either say that he couldn't just leave her, make a crack about him getting knocked out, or maintain that he shouldn't have let his family run away without him.
There is a little more time to speak with Clementine as the two wander the area, collecting what supplies they can from the battlefield. It is during this time that Clementine can mention Badger's name, claiming that he had connections to the specific crew that "held her captive." If she was a habitual liar in previous saves and/or Javier chose against her twice, she will instead say she heard them say his name.
Eventually, the turned New Frontier member will interrupt them and the scene plays out as usual.
If you left with your family, the episode actually starts out with a Clementine section as she fights off the remaining New Frontier members of Badger's crew. As you spend about a minute at most shooting and dodging 8 them (and optionally a few walkers, depending on both their preference and RNG regarding who is being targeted), Coon can be heard yelling at Clementine for constantly screwing them over, acknowledges whatever happened to Rufus, and then he and Roxanne give occasional urgings to Badger's men, with the latter eventually questioning what happened to Badger.
This then triggers a cutscene in which Coon notices more of the walkers closing in on them, causing Roxanne to hastily alert the remaining men to retreat as at least two soldiers are grabbed by one of the walkers with two more approaching. Clementine has 5 &12 second free-aim choices to respectively save (two of) these guys while dealing with the remaining walkers(there are about 15 total). She can choose to either keep shooting(downing 7 with best aim) and/or simply handle things manually, which will only allow you to save one if chosen as soon as possible.
If you managed to save both, it is revealed [the first one] was once a friend of Clementine's who slightly approaches her to say thanks before moving on, with the other briefly glancing back before following.
If you only managed to save one, [the first one] will stick around for a bit, wanting say goodbye to his brothers and put down his counterpart. Alternatively, [the second one] only gives her a confused look before clenching her hand and running off.
You then have a brief hub where you can check the immediately in the clear soldiers for supplies. If [the first straggler] is still present, she can ask/order him to toss her some of the weapons in the grass, to which he will oblige either shortly or after being told again.
If Mariana was killed, Clementine will instead glance to where Javier/Gabe left the body. Approaching her will have Clementine apologize for determinately eating her chocolate bar or simply mutter "not another one...". If this is the first thing she did, she can choose to completely bury Mariana 3 ft under.
This section and whatever she was determinately in the middle of doing ends with her hearing the recently turned member behind the canisters/tires, moving into his direction. Seeing Clementine round the corner, he reaches for her as she points the gun at him. After dealing with him, Clementine glances around listening for any other sign of activity before letting out a breath and relaxing.
Staring down at the Capricorn symbol on his neck, she grabs and holds her arm (like she used to). She inhales, closes her eyes, and tilts her head as she slowly starts to move her arm upward...when she hears something faintly out in the distance. Realizing what it is, she slowly moves backwards before eventually making a dash towards the car, and drives off, glance through her rearview to see smoke....
If Mariana was killed in Part 1, Kate's surgery will proceed as given.
If the latter survived Part 1, Kate will help with Mariana's surgery instead of Gabe, the latter angrily leaving after Kate bars him from having to see Mariana in this state. She is visibly more grossed out about having to do so, but gets through it without many problems. Talking to her afterwards has her weakly joke about not having eaten. She will then offer Javier her water bottle from her hip strap to get Mariana something to drink when she's able to.
Getting the second water bottle from behind the Hospital(?) gives Javier the option to offer it to Kate as well.
Kate is available to talk to here while she waits on the water. She'll proclaim how she feels like this is a new low for her as a parent--letting Mariana get shot and letting Gabe/Javier risk themselves; Javier can reassure her and point out that she did what she could using the gun. Javier can tell her about his time in Prescott.
Mirroring the choice with the candy bar, you have the choice to allow Kate to be the one to go check on Gabe. When she guiltily expresses doubt about whether he'd even wanna fight after she yelled at him, Javier can respond that he really does need her right now--needs his stepmom right now. This allows Javi to walk around Prescott some more and he can even poke his head out of the gates to check on Kate and Gabe for a few seconds.
If he wasn't shot by Clementine, Eli will be hanging outside the bar working on some weaponry, with his sister being not too far off.
If Javier mainly tried to keep things calm/fair, Eli will apologize for his behavior, citing having one too many and trying too hard not to let "Tangerine" intimidate him. He will then ask Javier if he seriously managed to be pals with her:
if you say yes, he gives Javier a skeptical look and wonders how the hell he got on her good side;
saying that you were just tagging along out of convenience, he tells Javier to watch his back and his mouth if he's ever so unlucky to see her again;
if you say you're her bodyguard, he looks shocked for a second before saying that that explains the punch(if you hit him) and/or Javier was just another honest Joe trying to get by.
If Javier sided against Clementine on the matter, Eli will offer Javier a gun on the house, albeit with the addition of a box of functional ammo if he has something worth trading.
If you claimed to be Clementine's bodyguard earlier, Eli won't ask your connection to her. Instead, he'll give Javi small box of ammo as a "gift" for protection.
If he punched Eli and lied about what happened, 'Huh-Chick' will block Javier when he tries to come near him. She'll claim that she's not afraid of him and will call Tripp if Javier doesn't stay away from her brother. If you're convincing enough(), she'll apologize on his behalf and has Eli hand her a gun similar to Clementine's with a small box of ammo. She'll hand it off to Javier as either reparation or as a "gift" for protection if he claimed to be Clementine's bodyguard.
If Eli was shot by Clementine, Huh-Chick will be attempting to run his business in his place. It somewhat apparent that she had caught a cold a day or two beforehand due to the occasional cough.
If Javier sided with Clementine consistently, she won't be happy to see him, to say the least.
If you let Kate go after Gabe, checking on Mariana again after walking away to interact with Prescott will have her wake up, saying that she was only pretending to be asleep, albeit with a faint grogginess in her delivery. . You can ask her how she's feeling, give her the water from Kate's personal bottle, let her know that they've been worried about her, and present her with the chocolate bar(if Clementine didn't take it) here.
Asking her how she feels has her respond that she thinks she's fine...aside from the left over [tenderness] and apologize for getting shot & putting everyone through that, respectively.
Telling her that they've been worried about her will have her apologize for getting shot and putting everyone through this.
If you tell her that Clementine determinately ate the chocolate bar, she'll visibly become somewhat saddened but claim that that's okay.
Exhausting three of the options or offering her the candy subsequently will have Eleanor come out afterwards and say something about her feeling better already.
If you still have the candy bar, Eleanor will warn her that too much chocolate isn't good for her, much less in her condition--but she'll allow it.
If you don't, the camera will shift as Javier is explaining what happened to reveal Eleanor approaching but stopping when she hears Clementine's name; after showing Mari's reaction, it shifts back to Eleanor, who glances down with a sad expression for a few seconds before carrying on. She will then sit down on the opposite side of Mari and use a minilight to examine her pupils as Javier asks the final/remaining prompt(s).
Eleanor will eventually tell Javier that it'd be best if Marianna gets more rest soon.
If Javier sent Kate after Gabe, Tripp will eventually be heard shouting to whoever's outside the gates to get inside. Gabe will come running up, telling Javier that Clementine is back and that there's trouble not too far after her. Javier tells him to let Eleanor know that they may have be ready to move Mariana, urging Gabe to just do it when he expresses an objecting exclamation. He then heads off towards the gate, where Kate can be seen talking to Clementine.
Chapter 2 Enemy at the Gates
If Kate was outside of the gates, there is a brief exchange going on where Kate asks Javier what he intends to do, gives her opinion on it(that getting Mariana and Eleanor to safety is the best course of action), and says thanks before heading over to Eleanor's area.
If you left with your family, Badger will specifically ask for Clementine rather than Javier. This tweaks the choice to be about whether to agree with sending her down in order to save Francine or not. Conrad will naturally want to go through with it, while Trip will simultaneously point out that they can use her and they stand their ground, essentially taking a middle ground.
Trying to abstain will have Conrad/ call Javi out.
If Javier avoided provoking The New Frontier, Max will say that regardless of who started it, it doesn't change the fact that Javier/Clementine needs to come with them so that "The Process" can do it's job.
If you bring up what happened to Mariana when Max and Badger's crews show up, Max may raise his brow with his eyes darting in consideration and briefly glance in Badger's direction with subtle scrutiny during the explanation. Badger will get angry and claim that Javier's niece only got caught in the crossfire of a fight Javier picked with them--it's his people's fault. Max will say that he's sorry to hear that--he really is, ...but he can't just let the matter go.
Depending on how much Javier combatted the New Frontier, Max will make Badger simmer down with an angry/pacifying expression and answer Tripp by saying that Javier needs to come with them--they can resolve the matter properly and as civily as possible/hope that Justice will take that into serious consideration.
This will change Max's reactions to the hostage situation to be more agitated with Badger regardless.
If Mariana is still alive, Kate will take out the Walker that's approaching Gabe and/or the NF member that drives up in Eleanor's new car if Javier doesn't react by the halfway point of the time allotted.
Once the car is secured, Kate will choose to hitch a ride with Tripp and order Javier to just get the kids to safety.
Chapter 3 On the Road Again
The two cars stop on opposite sides of the road, with Eleanor's new car on the right and Tripp's van on the left.
When the two cars stop, Kate will get out on the same side as Conrad at the same time as Clementine and ask if everyone's alright after Tripp and Eleanor hug. Everyone gives an answer of assurance...everyone but Conrad that is.
Conrad will only directly blame Javier if he opened fire or called Badger's bluff. He instead directs his rage towards Clementine if the surrender option was chosen, saying Javier's right...it should've been Clem/he appreciates it...but Javier's not the one who's gonna be sorry/we will...but first, we need to handle this little yardbird. His and Tripp's lines are tweaked to reflect this, with Conrad determinantly including Eli on the list of losses, referring to Clem as a trouble-making PUNK, and claiming that he's known it since the day she got into a scrap in his bar...the only thing/person she cares about is [instigatin shit]/herself.
Javier can choose to defend her here and can even claim that Conrad should hurt him instead of the girl/will have to go through him.
Alternatively, Javier can choose to agree with Conrad, either on the grounds that Clementine was just trying to protect him/defending herself or that she simply made the wrong call(which will see Clementine briefly be taken aback during the explanation). The latter in particular will notably have Gabe interject and take Clementine's side, stating and reminding Javier that she [helped] saved them in the junkyard.
Regardless of anything barring Javier offering to take her lumps for her, Clementine ends up drawing her gun on Conrad when he comes at her again and orders him to "Back. Off." After a few moments of everyone besides Gabe(who is simply look between the two and Clementine's gun with an astonished look) asking Clementine to stay calm and just let things cool down, she finally lowers her gun with a determinate timing and starts to walk off towards Eleanor's new car with a determinate expression as Conrad starts to sob.
If Mariana wasn't killed, Javier can instead say that "I only wanted to keep our loved ones safe and alive, but it just wasn't enough. I'm sorry."
If Conrad tried to fight Clementine, the camera switches to have her stop halfway after a moment of silence following Eleanor's line to suggest Richmond as their destination. She starts again after Conrad states his only desire is to find The New Frontier.
If up and about after Richmond set as the destination at Clementine's suggestion, Kate oneballs Conrad and asks Tripp to step aside with her for a second.
Gabe will approach Clementine instead of the other way around if Conrad tried to fight her, asking her if she's okay. She will comment on Javier/him/both trying to protect her; this will include the "impressive" line, which will have her joke about Gabe being willing to get smacked down for her. He will also eventually comment on Javier determinately turning on her, which will have her either claim she understands or agree that that was a dick move, asking if he's done that type of thing before(not that the player can hear them at this point ).
During the ride with Eleanor, if Mariana is alive, Kate sits in the front while allowing Javier to sit in the back with Mariana. Like Kate, Mariana shows signs of sepsis through thirst by remarking about the station wagon having a heating system or if it's just her "pillow"; the extra water bottle option is still here, but Kate will also offer her personal flask just in case. Unlike Kate in the other scenario, she will try to save face by trying to smile on occasion and downplay the fact that she's in pain.
"Need a pity party" is replaced with "Her smiles is like Chocolate(as in, they're not always good for you, but they're such a sweet site)," to which Mariana snickers and cringes before saying that it must be true because it hurts more when she laughs.
If Clementine didn't eat her candy bar, you can offer it to her. Of course, Eleanor will point out that this might not be the best time.
Mari will then casually ask about Richmond or, depending on certain factors, acknowledge that she's still bleeding inside. This prompts Kate/Eleanor to give a quick glance back with a surprised expression that changes to sadness/guilt before turning forward. Javier can choose to assure her that everything is gonna work out.
If Mariana brought up that she may die, Javier can pick three reasons for her to get better. The subjects of these reasons include Life, Kate, Gabe, and Chocolate.
Chapter 4 Breaking Through
The episode 1 part 1 Clementine flashbacks are different in addition to being moved to part 2 after her brief exchange with Gabe in the car:
Kenny's has him on his [eventual] deathbed due to a combination of things and would have already come to grips with it, telling Clementine that she has to be the boss of her and AJ's survival when he's gone.
Jane's has her and Clementine on the road after Howe's became uninhabitable(again) with Jane having her ghost talk here before they become under a huge walker attack, which leads to the flashback ending with her willingly uses herself as bait when it's apparent there's not many places to run by vocally echoing her old ways to get Clementine and the 1.5/1.75yo AJ to leave her;
The Wellington Flashback is more fleshed out as originally intended with the other Gate Guard trying and slowly failing to get the pissed off families to back off. Clementine is shown a new drawing by AJ and decides to place it on a wall. There are a 2 gaps in the already dense cluster of artwork with pips available to select; she picks a spot to hang the picture. Edith comes in and nervous tells Clementine about what's going on outside, ordering her gather some things and pack a bag just in case. As Clementine gets up to look for her bag, the second Gate Guard can be heard trying to get the families to leave. She leans down to look through the shelves for things to pack. After the second object grab, we hear the sound of gunfire start outside and AJ will begin to cry again. She can choose to select AJ to comfort, but this will eat up valuable time, presenting a choice-- either gather your shit and let AJ cry or handle AJ and abandon your shit. Eventually, the argument outside ends with a countdown that is followed by the families opening fire, the Gate Guard calling for backup, and Edith coming to get Clementine and AJ out of there. The flashback goes more or less the same after this point.
If Mariana survived, Kate and gets out of passenger side. She tells Eleanor to let her know if Mariana needs anything after Javier points out the car they need to move.
There is more hub dialogue here. This includes, but is not limited to:
Gabe
checking up on Gabe the morning after his moments of intensity,
showing disapproval/approval towards Gabe hanging with Clementine,
the option to ask Gabe if its Mariana,
Clementine
asking Clementine what's up with her and Badger/Conrad,
asking Clementine if she still wants a car,
,
Tripp
asking Tripp about himself after he deflects to talking about Conrad,
asking Tripp how long he's been in charge,
asking Tripp what kind of job did he work,
Conrad
trying to talk to Conrad about Francine,
asking Conrad what did he do back in the day,
talking to Conrad about the New Frontier,
Eleanor
asking Eleanor how we holding up,
asking Eleanor when did she lose her family,
and asking Eleanor how long was she in Prescott.
Kate
If Mariana was injured, Kate will stand by the shed , not too far away from Eleanor's car. Talking to her here comes with extra conversations:
what's got cookin good lookin,
Mariana's condition,
Gabe's future,
the Prescott Trio losing everything,
and, after initially asking her something, what she talked to Tripp about.
If Javier hesitates to shove the walker inside the garage, Kate may run up and sling it into the wall by it's collar/humerus. Javier will still have to stomp it's head or else. She will either or scold him for freezing up.
Once Javier has the jumper cables and opened the garage, Eleanor will call Kate about Mariana waking up. Kate will tell "Chispeante" she's got this.
If still alive, the herd showing up after the car is moved and a walker reaching into Eleanor's window will cause Mariana to shriek and cling onto Kate, who calls for Javi. Once the QTE is over, Javi will tell Eleanor go, prompting a "What?" and "What about you?' from Kate and Mariana. He of course tells Eleanor to just drive, with Mariana calling to him and shifting to look back at him as they speed off.
Chapter 5 Rough Justice
This chapter plays out more or less how it does in the game proper.
If you were very favorable and just in Gabe's eyes, Gabe will instead ask "How could you?."
Pointing out that saving Mariana is far more important will cause him to take a few seconds to reconsider his priorities and redact into a simple "okay."
Alternatively, pointing out that saving Kate is far more important may have him say nothing if you stayed with Clementine.
Chapter 6 In the City
If alive, Kate will slowly come out of hiding on the group's side of the street after the two guards leave, and start to creep her way back to the car. Gabe will call out to her, causing her to spin around with her weapon in hand before saying "Gabe...?," who comes up to hug her. Upon Tripp asking what happened and where's Eleanor, she explains that it was a pretty safe shot after they charged through the herd. When it occurred to her that Eleanor had left to get help quite a while ago, she got suspicious and decided to scout ahead for just a bit. She noticed the two guards heading in the direction of the car and moved to convene with them. And that's when she saw a Capricorn mark. She made her way back to the car with the intention of ...* glaring before making a quick glance at Gabe *...protecting Mariana if they made one false move near her.
Javier halts, "Mariana?," to which Kate glances over her shoulder to the backseat of the car. Javier runs over to the driver's window to peer in at the unconscious and slightly faded(except for the faint trail from her eyes) girl, asking if she can hear him after calling her nickname twice. When she doesn't answer, he opens the back door and crawls in, asking her to answer in increasingly desperate tone. Still no answer from her. The others show visible concern that something went wrong (except for the glancing-between their-positions Paul, who starts to squint before the camera switches back). Javi stares with shaking eyes for a few seconds before eventually closing them and hanging his head, quietly pleading to himself once as the camera drifts towards his face....
"...Javi?" Javier's eyes and lips open and the camera shifts behind him as he looks up to see Marianna adjusting herself a bit before blinking awake a few times and looking at her uncle. Javi can respond to the awakened girl by: wistfully claiming it's time for school, stating that she scared him, or weakly asking "Just pretending?"in an unsurprised voice.
Asking if she was just pretending will have her ask how many times d'he call her.
Regardless of what you said or didn't say, Javier draws her in for a close hug, which the girl languidly shows visible surprise that she loses in favor of accepting it. The others look on with a mix of heart-warmth(Kate and Gabe), relief(Tripp and jesus), and determinately, subtle resonance(Clementine and Conrad).
Javier let's go of Mariana to give her some room to sluggishly sit up. She glances around the door frame at everyone present before settling on "Gabey," to whom she asks if he wants one too. As the boy steps forward to oblige his sister with no complaints, Javier's attention is turned to Tripp lately responding with a sign to realizing that the New Frontier must've got Eleanor. Javier asks jesus how far the compound and after musing over hearing it's a couple blocks at most, ask Gabe to help him get Mari out.
The rest of the dialogue is the same barring applying to Mariana.
As the group head down the road and the girl survived, Mariana mumbles in her sleep about possibly seeing Hector,...Yaya, Pipo...Mom...and Dad. Javier can respond by asking her to please hold--we're almost there, saying she needs to focus on getting well soon, maybe someday...,.
The first option can have Javier attempt to convince her by pointing out the three reasons to live from the night before(that she still has so much more life, that Kate did what she could to look out for her, that she might break Gabe's heart completely, that there's bound to be more Chocolate just waiting for her to eat,) before ending by admitting that he doesn't want to lose her.
If you cooperated in the trailer, Lonnie will be alongside Max and the 'dana-mask guy instead of the cornrow dude.
If you ask Max for help with Mariana alive, he'll either say hesitantly say nobody wants that ["...she'll die"], or try to claim that he's not stupid enough to fall for that or won't say anything, depending on your discourse with the New Frontier.
Javier will respond to the former by telling Max to help her then, which cause him to look down for a bit but remain silent.
The second row of lines are the same barring saying that Mariana has a brother and a stepmom.
Saying that you'll hold him responsible may cause him to stand his ground after a pause, depending on how much conflict you had with the New Frontier. Otherwise, this will cause him to agree to let them in after a resonating pause and guiltily muttering to himself about breaking protocol.
Additionally, if you brought up what happened to Mariana when Badger's crew ambushed the family at Prescott, Max will be a little easier to reason with.
If you have Clementine and Conrad present, that is now an option to bring Max's attention to:
If you offer him Clementine, he'll point out how desperate(...or lucky) Javier must be to capture her if he was seen as being significantly allied with her().
If you don't offer him Clementine and you did anything to wrong the New Frontier(beyond the pudding), he'll still request that everyone else drop their weapons and hold up their hands--just because Javier cares enough to cooperate doesn't mean the others do. Conrad will repeatedly refuse to capitulate and will only do so when asked depending on a sum of your relationship with him and your actions regarding Francine.
If you convinced Max to let them in, he'll tell David that he's sorry--had to let them in or there's a chance that she'd--.
Cue Ending Song: (Associated with Conrad and maybe Gabe(Something indicating internal conflict))
Okay, so I'd like to comment on a few things now that the Premiere episodes are up:
Sorry it took me so long to finish those two episodes or even get started on this collective project. Simply put, Life alloweth, Life gets in the way. Often times, the former meant doing any variety of something else with my me time. And as you can tell by skimming Part 2(and in edits, Part 1), I put a lot of research, effort, and detailing into making the story and gameplay feel as authentic(poor choice of words?) as possible.
While gradually edging toward the final stages of Part 2, I decided to do a "Fun Facts/Cutting Room Floor" type of thing regarding some of the cuts/changes I did while rewriting them. Just for the sake of appealing to any curiosity, sharing some insight as to what type of ideas flow through me brain, and because it'll be some flagrant fun. I know there's at least two scenes in particular that [had a scenario or two that] were considered, but ultimately left out.
Not gonna bother setting a deadline for the next episode the right now. Unlike with Part 2, I wasn't actually writing much of anything while working on the preceding episode and thus there's little beyond some general ideas to tweaks and additions in mind. Granted, Above the Law is actually my favorite episode of the installment, some of the changes/tweaks I've shared ahead of time are more expanded than outright replaced, and it is almost certainly the episode that had the most positive rewriting done already, so I suppose one could be forgiven for thinking that wouldn't take too long to do.
I also intend to get back to reviewing the scribings of other members again, among other things. Also, here's an idea to those who do multiple posts of a personal series: consider doing a post linking everything. This isn't any sort of mandate so much as an optional suggestion that would be nice for those who visit this thread and want to get invested.
A reminder of this thread's standard formatting: despite the straightforward title and the trap I've willingly placed myself into for ANF, you don't have to rewrite an entire episode for your contributing posts. Basic character/story arc notes within an episode or even just random ideas are more than welcome. Just remember that the only real rule is that you should try to refrain from posting multiple episodes in a single post unless it's a fairly quick overview of the Episodes or Season/Installment.
Feel free to ask questions and make suggestions regarding anything here!
Have yourselves a good night/day and take care!
Wasn't this an idea you came up with during one of our conversations about how could she get more screentime? About her staying with us and Tripp driving Kate to safety.
Anyway, I would like to say I loved both episodes - Ties That Bind and Divided We Fall. They are fantastic!
It feels like the dream game where our choices truly matter. It's obvious that you put a lot of thought, effort and research into this. The gameplay is great. I love the extra scenes and all of the determinate thingies you did. Gabe crawling under the trailer is the best thing ever, hehe! The Eli situation was handled very well. I love how he appears in Episode 2, as well. Kate being more badass, I like it.
I wish the hubs were canon, not optional/determinant.
That ending, tho!
Okay, here is a few things I considered and/or cut doing in Ties That Bind:
Part 1
* Mariana being Kate's daughter rather than David o… morer Hector
* Mariana determinately crawling under the trailer
* An action scene for Kate
* The dummied out option to stab(?) Max
* Rufus being present after Javier's encounter with Lonnie
* The Slaughterhouse sequence
* Tripp's history of hanging troublemakers
* Clementine being put on trial for what she did to Eli
* Eli's Sister's name (which would've been revealed through the cursor) *
* Another major scene or two featuring Francine
Part 2:/Divided We Fall
* Kate contributing to the negotiation with Max and Badger
* Edith being among the Prescottites
* A sequence involving Mariana's Walker
* Tripp revealing that he wasn't the Leader of Prescott *
* Eleanor determinately staying with Javier instead of Tripp(Credit to @Fangirl101)
* Gabe determinately dodging and considering shooting Conrad for real *
* Fern and Ida being Max's family *
Now I still liked how they handled the original confrontation. To get everything more dramatic. Have Arvo turn it into a gunfight, shooting and killing Bonnie and shooting Jane in the neck. Luke goes into rage mode and kills Arvo with his bare hands. Kenny tells Luke after they have to get a move on, but Luke wants to save Jane, Kenny tells them a bunch of walkers will be heading after them soon and as he says that. There are Walkers showing up, with AJ in the house. Clem makes a choice whether to leave AJ in the house for the walkers or tell Kenny to start to get the car moving.
If you go with the car Kenny starts it, but it (Cliche) won't start and needs to push it to get it moving. Luke is still torn up about Jane but helps with the Car as it starts Luke gets a dying Jane in the car, Clem looks back and hears the crying AJ being devoured. As she goes in the car with Luke and Kenny.
If you get AJ you have to fight through a few Zombies to get out and they all chase after you. Kenny still hasn't got the car started and Luke is still trying to comfort Jane as she slowly dies. Kenny and Clem yell for Luke to help push the car. Luke snaps out of it and starts pushing the car as the Walkers start devouring the body of Bonnie and then a still conscious Jane. Luke yells in horror, but the car is started and Clem drags Luke into the car.
Cue the whole original story with them driving into Snow. Everything happens like in the episode with Jane and Kenny. But this time
If AJ died. Kenny blames a near dead Jane aggressively and Luke in a violent rage punches Kenny, causing them to crash. You wake up still in the car with Jane almost dead clutching after you telling you the same things she told you before. (Based on your decisions with her) She either slowly passes away while saying her sister's name. Or passes out. You then tell him what happened to Jane, you grab Arvo's gun. Kenny shows up at the Car and Kenny tells Clem they will get out of here as Luke has gone crazy. If Jane is dead he then forces Clem to comes with him (Based on your decisions with him) Kenny will either tugs Clem along with him or he simply lets her walk with him. They arrive at the school and find Luke weeping. Kenny will upset Luke by telling him of Jane's condition in very cursing ways and even laughs at the sad state he's in and says he should kill himself so he wouldn't have to worry about another mouth to feed. Kenny then approaches Luke and Luke in fear trying to run away but Kenny beats him and keeps beating him, cue what happens in the original decision.
If Jane died. Kenny still blames Luke for his ignorance in not paying attention to Arvo and Luke taking no shit pulls out the gun Arvo had and tries to shoot Kenny (Failing on your actions) but the bullet causes Kenny to swerve and crash the car. Clem awakes with AJ still alive in Clem's arms, you place AJ down and you get out of the car and try to find Kenny or Luke amidst a snowstorm and you happen upon Luke calling out for Kenny while holding a gun in his hand he spots you and you can try and calm him down and he goes super psycho lashing out at you for bringing Kenny back into there lives and for a second it looks like he'll kill Clem and (Based on your decisions with him) he'll shoot Clem in the gut leaving her bleeding out. But he'll regret his decision or feeling and brings Clem to the school (To either try and find a med-kit or try and find Kenny) Kenny will show up and beat the shit out of Luke until he is almost dead, the gun slips out of Luke's pocket during the confrontation cue what happens in the original decision.
To add something a little more weird for ANF if you went with Luke, you could romance him in the flashbacks and Clem might even be Pregnant.
Now I know this is really bad, but I suppose this is the most I could come up with in today's response.
I think the main reason Kenny vs Luke didn't happen is because Luke was just way too morally 'good' (in the masses perception of 'good') to … moreactually ever try to actively kill Kenny. Though, it's not entirely impossible to set up a scenario where it could actually play out without ooc behavior.
Let's say Luke can be saved from the ice lake. Clem, Bonnie and Luke all need a fire and Kenny as usual goes onto violent rant mode. Instead of blaming Arvo for getting Luke killed, he'll blame him from almost getting three people killed. As in the original game, the situation escalates once Arvo sticks up to Kenny and Kenny starts beating. Mike (because of the weird obsession he had for Arvo in the original game) tries to help Arvo and free him from Kenny. Kenny ends up pulling him away making him trip which results in Mike hitting his head on the fireplace and breaking his neck (or maybe even have his head hit the corner of the fireplace resulting … [view original content]
I'd rewrite A LOT of the entire series but I'd start with Episode 5 of Season 1. I'd have Kenny die on screen like he should have. Everything else in the episode can be the same but Kenny would die on screen and be definitely dead and not able to come back in Season 2 because that was some ridiculously unlikely bullshit.
Okay, I think it's time to decide that social experiment is over now and deem it a success.
And it's time to review some responses! ...Or just the one[so far(?)].
@Fangirl101 You scrapped her screentime and possible bonding time?!
Yeah, that's one of the things where logic ultimately decided. I really did wanna give her more [determinant] screentime in the episode, but when it came near time for me to actually implement it, I realized that having Tripp be the one to drive Kate to Richmond and thus have to approach Max at the gates wouldn't really work in context.
Wasn't this an idea you came up with during one of our conversations about how could she get more screentime? About her staying with us and Tripp driving Kate to safety.
Did I? It's honestly been so long that I just assumed it was your idea.
Note to self: check posts of previously declared intentions for refreshment.
Anyway, I would like to say I loved both episodes - Ties That Bind and Divided We Fall. >They are fantastic!
It feels like the dream game where our choices truly matter.
The gameplay is great.
I love the extra scenes and all of the determinate thingies you did.
Gabe crawling under the trailer is the best thing ever, hehe!
Yeah, it's shame that it is essentially an ideal vision of what isn't the game proper.
It's obvious that you put a lot of thought, effort and research into this.
Ch'yeah, no kiddin.
Compared to my scattered, incomplete Season 2 rewrites, I really wanted to emulate how things would play out within the game proper by getting down some of the "quirks n bufferings" of the cutscenes, in addition to posting an entire episode at once to encourage disciplined cohesion.
It's also an important reason for why I'm not promising a release date for the later episodes any time soon.
The Eli situation was handled very well. I love how he appears in Episode 2, as well.
That scene was easily one of the worst ones in the game, so I eventually decided to incorporate some musings and thoughts I had about his place in Prescott in as well as further emphasizing that "Your choices matter."
There's a fair number of detailing behind those specific choices, as you can see, but it's not really worth going too much into right now.
Kate being more badass, I like it.
For better or worse, the reception of these game's/stories' key element kinda require some displays of action, something Kate had a deficiency of given her supposed importance in-universe.
To that end, I really wanted to give her a chance to show what she can do onscreen before the conflicts with David's Lieutenants disables and/or kills a girl so as to display what's been lost and/or put at risk. Similar idea applies to Mariana as well, hence her determinant tag along.
Of course, there wasn't really an opportunity to truly show Kate's skills off in an appropriate way, so I just had to leave it be and later decided to have her leave the car for a bit along with Javier to compensate for that.
I wish the hubs were canon, not optional/determinant.
Again, that's me taking advantage of the setting that chapter takes place in, the characters that reside there, the choices Javier can make, and especially the determinant consequences to said choices.
Also, it's only Prescott that's determinant in Part 1, iirc.
I'd rewrite A LOT of the entire series but I'd start with Episode 5 of Season 1. I'd have Kenny die on screen like he should have. Everythin… moreg else in the episode can be the same but Kenny would die on screen and be definitely dead and not able to come back in Season 2 because that was some ridiculously unlikely bullshit.
Comments
i would much rather have that than Jane vs Kenny since Luke was a much better character than Jane.
Some might debate that, but I agree.
you mean in a they re still at Howe s until episode 4 or in a Carver s still alive and wants payback for the herd getting into Howe s way?
((extremely late response .)) Couldnt telltale have atleast made 2 characters be guaranteed to make it to Howe s instead of just Bonnie so that they could incorporate them into the story? Also i might be wrong but wasnt Eddie supposed to shown up at some point?
For the new year, ever since last year upon A New Frontier's revelation of the gut punch of the choices made in the end of Season 2, while still recovering from the shock (Jane) and hurt by disappointment, I decided the only alternative was to continue the story in my own way. I've come up with some concepts and scenarios and I've posted in some early posts and if it's all the same, I'm posting them again:
I want Clementine, Jane and the family to start off unsure of each other, but Clementine tells the truth of what happened and the history of the hardware store. Then the story will fast forward to Day 1000, Clementine awakens from a nightmare of the people she failed to protect. Jane and Clementine make supply runs while Randy and his family guard the store. And that's just Episode 1 Expect returns of determinant characters and a OC of mine whom I homage Burt Gummer from Tremors. Also, rival group wanting Howe's for their own. And a secret location somewhere in the region called Quivira (named after an ancient lost city of gold) where stored is a bountiful stash of weapons and food that can last many years. Quivira was established by a band of survivalists of many communities in case a situation when society collapses. All are dead and the stash became a legend. But my OC learns of it before he meets Clementine.
Also, I'm thinking of including the Fairbanks clan, my OC Eldon will find them on the run from Oceanside, by a group called the Ravagers. Eldon helps out this group consisting of four OC s, the Fairbanks family plus Paige, and Christa, whom Clementine and her have a tearful reunion. Also, I'm planning on the Ravagers attacking and nearly destroying Howes. They have access to military grade hardware. I'm careful with weapons from below 2003. And then, comes a thing I've wanted for a long while...Lilly's return and a redemption arc. Still alive and surviving but broken and haunted by the demons of Season 1 AKA her guilt in the form of a hallucination of the one she killed "Carley"
Ravagers are a group of ruthless survivors like the New Frontier, Saviors or Monroe. Lead by a man named Aurelio. Still working on him.
Skill set for the family (thanking Lilacsbloom for opinion) Gill could be good at sneaking around and fitting into small spaces, Randy could know first aid, Patricia archery.
Also, I hope I'm not making the Ravagers too much by giving them military weaponry (you know M16 variant rifles, submachine guns and even Milkor MGL grenade launchers. I try and keep the weapons within before 2003 since that's when the outbreak occurred. ) And thoughts on Howe's destruction and plan for Lilly's arc.
Also here's the locations: In the past, it was driving me crazy pinpointing Howe's real world location but after much research I placed it at a Lowe's (since Howe's you know) in Bristol, Tennessee. Weber City, VA - at the elementary school, the rendezvous of Eldon's group after Howe's decimation. Middlesboro, KY - the mall is a location of a settlement. Clem's group stays there for a while after being chased by a herd of lurkers and the Ravagers. Also, Lilly is second in command plus one of the advanced scouts while searching for supplies.
Huntington, WV - The location of the massive large industrial warehouse of Quivira. Still working on figuring out how the group will find it if it's faded into obscurity.
Then upon finding it, returning to Lochmere (Middlesboro settlement) and learn that the Ravagers do something drastic that will be a prelude to war for the next season.
Was gonna bump this for convenience, but I see someone already did while I was procrastinating again. Ah well.
Anyway, what I was gonna use to justify doing so was a link to my "Realistic" writing of a Season/installment, specifically ANF!
It's not really canon to what I actually planned on doing with my rewrite(if I ever got around to finally posting the damn thing), but I think it's some neat insight to how I would've written/directed the story if I had been hired instead of the professionals, for some random ass reason.
Happy New Years, everyone! 2018 for the Fortune!
Is there any one in particular that you think needs the most revising?
Okay people, it's been long enough--the wait is over! My rewrite of A New Frontier kicks off with Ties That Bind Part 1!:
Chapter 1 Family Road Trip
The first few scenes play out more or less the same.
Chapter 2 Unexpected Guests
In the junkyard hub, you can talk with Kate and Marianna a little more in the first area. And you can talk with Gabe a little more in the second area.
Depending on your dialogue, it's possible to get Mariana to tag along for a bit in the second area alongside Gabe. This will cause the two to chatter with each other a bit.
If Mariana does not tag along, Gabe will be available to talk to(unlike the game proper), where he replies to whatever Javier said to him in the previous area and can be questioned about how , whatever's going on with him and Kate this time, and ask him if there's anything in particular he's looking for. If he was ignored in the previous area, he will claim to be alright and there will be an extra dialogue option where he may admit to an abridged version of his problems.
It is possible to get Gabe to crawl under the trailer and unlock the hatch to the trailer.
If Mariana tags along with the other two, she is a little more vocal about staying the night when Kate comes in. Also, as you'll see much further down the line, there is a small window in which Javier can retrieve the batteries, which has the choice to keep them pop up sooner than normal.
If you chose to leave the trailer, it becomes a hub area to interact with the family. Your interactions. The hub will end with Kate suggesting Javier take a nap while she keeps watch--he hasn't slept for 18 hours. Javier will wake up a while later to see Kate walking back in to check on them and move towards him. She apologizes for waking him up and that she considered moving the van to load up the jugs since they should be finished--if her timing on the collecting rate was right, anyway--but he still has the keys. Gabe and Mariana are playing Euchre at the table. Javier gets up to do the collecting himself while Kate gets the kids in order.
If you chose to stay the night, You are in the trailer with family, when you see guys w/ flashlights thru the window. You get Kate and the kids into the floorboards to hide, but there's no time for you to go in so you/they close the hatch, leaving you up there alone.
Max enters the trailer. He begins questioning you. Where are your people? How many of you are there?
Max will only gutpunch Javier if you mouth off at or flat out insult him. Notably, this includes the "fuckin pudding" line, which will earn a concerned look from Lonnie(!).
Lonnie is determinate here as originally intended: depending on how you do in the QTE, Javier can either fire into the air before manually knocking him out(like in the released version, only this time he breaks his nose in the process), graze Lonnie's left ear(ala Mike), or outright shoot him in the neck during the struggle. Max will react accordingly:
Chapter 3 In Her Charge
Javier gets an extra flashback after being taken away by Rufus: It shows his relationship with Kate.
If you cooperated with Max's Detail, you can engage in some minor conversation with Rufus while you ride for a few minutes. Notably, you can ask him if he has any family left, to which he cites Fern, his brother, and Ida, even showing a picture of her from his truck-pocket. Javier can give a half-hearted/sardonic reply about how she's "beautiful" or definitely takes after him, which flies over Rufus's head. Rufus may also ask the same from Javier, in which Javier can tell a half truth(that he got separated from them recently), claim that they didn't make it, or even reveal that he was with them before he ran into Max. It is at this point that the conversation is interrupted by Clementine's trap.
Clementine can actually eat half of Marianna's choco stick, as was originally possible. She will almost always do this if Javier isn't bound.
Chapter 4 Deal Gone Bad
After Javier disarms Eli, Conrad can be heard shouting "Ey, what did'I tell you?"
Clementine doesn't shoot Eli like a dumbitchnik if a.you didn't give the batteries to Mariana and/or b. Javier convinces her to back off. Tripp will eventually enter the bar looking for Javier and noticing the slash above his eye, asks what happened. When Clementine/Javier claims that Eli sold her bad merchandise, he responds that while Eli definitely needs serious work on his people skills, he finds it a little hard to believe since he prides himself on dealing with good product. However, given that Javier has a clean slate and was kinda caught in the crossfire, he'll take his word for it. He then sends them off to Eleanor's tent along with Eli's sister("Huh-Chick", who came down after seeing Clementine leave Eli's tent and has determinately started examining Eli's eye if Javier punched him) while he goes to have a little talk with the drunk son of a bitch.
Chapter 5 A Hard Goodbye
Being on good terms with Tripp will allow you extra time to hang around Prescott before going to sleep with Clementine. Clem asks you to find a place to sleep for the night. There would be a hub section here and you could look at the helicopter, medical station, wind turbines, townspeople talking about the noose zombies and people fleeing from the storm(?). It is during this sequence that you can get to know Francine, Conrad, and determinately Eli a little more.
Conrad and Francine have a similar divergence to Tripp and Eleanor in that while they both sympathize with Javier wanting to get back with his family, Conrad begrudgingly concedes that following Tripp's plan is for the best.
If Eli is still alive, he may:
Refuse to speak with Javier if he claimed to be Clementine's bodyguard and punched him.
If Clementine murdered Eli, Huh-Chick is mourning next to his body, with Francine briefly attempting to comfort her. Looking at her has Javier that he dreads the day Kate and/or the kids are doing the same. Attempting to apologize for her loss has her glance back at him before responding.
If Javier tried to keep things calm, she'll thank him for his kindness.
Sneaking out with Eleanor will have an extra scene where Javier and Clementine sneak towards the back gates past Conrad's bar with Eleanor, learning she took the time to borrow horses courtesy of Francine. She has extra dialogue here if you didn't speak with her in the optional HUB.
Chapter 6 To the Rescue
Kenny and Jane's episode 4 flashbacks would be re-adapted here, while . The only notable changes are:
After saving getting everyone back together, Gabe/Mariana will comment on letting Javier be taken depending on your interactions.
If you didn't give her the batteries and brought along Eleanor, Mariana is wounded by Badger(who doesn't have a stationary target here due to Mariana having no reason to just stand out there over something she knows isn't working), rather than outright killed. Kate will cover Gabe when he runs to save Mariana(notably alternating between the ground troops and those in the higher lush to keep them distracted rather than meticulously kill them).
If you sided with Kate/Gabe on the trailer choice and Mariana is still alive, she/he will be more accepting of Javier's choice to stay/leave at the end.
Cue Ending Song: (Associated with Mariana and/or the Garcia's in general(Nothing too upbeat, but definitely nothing depressing either))
Already sounds ten times better than what we got. All those extra decisions and hub opportunities making it sound so much like S1's gameplay. The NPC interactions during hubs also making me feel nostalgic of the first seasons. There might be a few places I wanna nitpick, but considering what the original was, I'll gladly overlook it. This is pretty sweet.
Thanks!
I can't say I was explicitly doing it with Season 1 in mind, but I suppose that's kinda hard to not do, amiright?
I'm open to your specific opinions and criticisms, dude. Look right at it!
Sorry for the delay, I got tired.
Mmhmm.
Oh, okay. I'll read over it again and try to remember what I was talking about. I became distracted by what I was reading and forgot about those small thoughts.
Rewrite s2e4 to include Eddie and the rebel group that smears blood on their faces.
Ummmm, mind if I steal this post style if I ever feel like rewriting my old rewrites (lol) in this more compact and concise manner?
...The what now?
Sure. Though admittedly, the main reason my post there looks that way (and has a number of errors and cutoffs) is because I did all of that in ColorNotes on my phone.
The Amid the Ruins keyart (is that the right word for it?) has Clementine smearing blood/war paint on her face while silhouettes of Eddie, Vince, and Kenny are behind her. A lot of people theorized that the 400 Days characters that stayed in the camp were originally going to be part of a rebel group that lived in the woods and fought against Carver's group.
Ooh.
Oh yeah, that. Deltino said it was likely just a placeholder for the Cabin Group and Mike/Ralph that they never got around to swapping out, hence why Vince had a different hairstyle and why Eddie was wearing the hood.
With that said, that would've been a cool little side thing if it was at all remotely viable.
The other silhouettes seem like placeholders except for Eddie. If you brighten the screen it is very clearly 100% Eddie. Shame they never put him back in the game
I know that. Hell, I don't think you even need to brighten it since he's closer to the screen than the others, enough that you can make out that there's a face within the hood.
What I mean is that if the Cabin Group weren't finished at the time, why would Mike be?
I personally don't believe in that placeholder BS. If that was the case, then why is Rebecca in all the different slides for episode 3? Even the one before season 2 came out?
I'm "Don't fuck with Tiny Carlos" sure that Eddie was suppose to make an appearance in Amid the Ruins. Personally, I believe his role was taken by Arvo.
The gun that Eddie carries, has the exact same model as the one that Arvo has, that Jane steals from him.
Jane also refers to Arvo as a, "junkie" which is more of a name better suited for Eddie. 400 Days music also plays during the choice to steal the medicine or not.
Speaking of the 400 Days, they were clearly building up to something regarding those characters in the earlier episodes.
Roman's corpse, near the end of episode 1.
Bonnie appearing in episode 2.
Then episode 3 rolls around (when Telltale began to give up on Season 2) and the rest of the characters are reduced to small cameos, just to show that "your choices matter".
Even Telltale said that the Russian group wasn't originally planned for episode 4. Had they stuck to whatever it was they were originally planning, I'm sure it would've been a stand off between the S2 group & the 400 Days characters.
Huh. I forgot someone mentioned all that about the pothead. I suppose they did intend to do something with at least him in addition to Tavia and Bonnie at one point.
That I wouldn't know.
Uh, do you remember where this was said?
I'm not doubting what you said at all, given that Nick Breckon and [whatever that guy's name was] mentioned quite a bit about the design and original concepts for Arvo when they got to Amid the Ruins during the Telltale Stream.
Eh, I guess that's fair. Old man dan included that in his personal Changes thread, for one.
Personally, I didn't mind the Russians being a thing, especially Arvo; I just wish they went with the Pilgrims and Indians setup they could've done with either group.
Just a quick update here, people: Part 2 was 70% of the way done last time I touched it(a.i. not too long after I posted Part 1), so hopefully I won't take anywhere near as long posting it as I did with Part 1. Just need to iron out a few things, review the episode proper again to take any extra notes, and further take what I already did in Part 1 into account.
Btw, I can't believe I forgot to do this as soon as I thought about it: Shoutouts to Bossman @Deltino, @Graysonn, @Fangirl101, @Kennyshouladiedins1 , @GohanFGC, @Nikolaj-11, and @cutupuss- for your insight and suggestions. It served as inspiration and preemptive criticisms while revising this--whether it all actually made/makes it into the rewrite or not.
EDIT:Apologies if this post spams your notifications.
Thank you for the Shoutout.
And thank you for the Gabe option with the trailer!
Not quite sure what I did that inspired you, but thank you for the shoutout.
Would it be interesting if that first interaction with Gabe in the first flashback in Episode 1 actually had a a major impact in Episode 5? Like if you tell Gabe his Dad is an asshole, he'll remember that and the "You're a killer" piece he does at the beginning of it gets extended. Telling David "I should've known when we first walked into Richmond. You cannot be Trusted!" Also, when they're all trying to decide whether to leave or Help Richmond, Gabe will NOT volunteer to go with him, and instead gives him the Middle Finger. But David Kidnaps him and takes him anyway.
Yes, it would have been interesting!
Gabe should have been affected by the way we treat him, the choices we make, by the advice we give him.
I do wish that he really remembered what we first say about David in the beginning.
That would be priceless.
I love me some anti!David Gabe.
They should have put all the flashbacks in s3 e1 and have them actually affect the way the characters act throughout the rest of the season. It would give the players an opportunity to get to know the Garcia's backstory and it could also have a big impact on the way Clementine acts. The flashback with Ava after AJ was taken could have had a significant impact if it was not so late on in the season, it was discussing Clem's mindset approaching life after having AJ taken. But of course they couldn't implement it since it was so late in the season.
Hm...that does sound interesting.
We'll see what kind of isssues the finale brings eventually.
Update Time Z: Okay, so you know how I said Part 2 was 70% of the way done not too long after I posted Part 1? Yeah, well, while won't take anywhere near as long posting it as I did with Part 1(which doesn't really count for much anyway considering I originally only posted a short list of vague ideas that I had since before June), it has been taking much longer to really get down with wrapping it up properly. Rest assured that I did in fact plan on posting it before the end of last month(aka a few days ago), but there were a number of details that I needed to properly weave in and a few key ones that I honestly forgot to go into that I'm currently addressing. I did actually start rewatching Part 2 for notes and intricacies as well, so hopefully I'll have it up before this time next week at the optimistic latest.
Season 1 episode 4 or 5. I would not have Lee get bit or at least change how he got bit. The way he got bit was dumb. I would have the stranger attack the group for revenge rather than take Clementine. That's a lot better story than him taking Clementine thinking she wasn't safe.
Update Time GT: So, funny thing--I somehow let Midterms, Spring Break, and FighterZ distract me from the fact that it will have been two whole weeks since I last editted my Part 2 rewrite in the next two days, fittingly enough. Sorry that I have to keep updating this thing because I'm too dedicated to either hyper-focusing or procrastinating on things. So I'l go aheadl review what I have and add more in bed tonight to make up for some of that lost time. I will have this damn episode up before the end of this month, dammit!
So finally, a whole two months after I originally intended to post it, here is Divided We Fall!
Ties That Bind Part 2
Chapter 1 Bloody Business
The flashback is
If you stayed with Clementine and Mariana was killed, the beginning is mostly the same.
Additionally, if you did nothing at the end of the previous episode(forcing Clementine to throw the bomb), the episode begins with a Tinnitus sound fading in as both are shown get knocked back with visible smoke in the air. One of the New Frontier members faintly shouts "Bullseye!"and after a few seconds Javier opens his eyes and tilts his head to see Clementine lying on her back. He calls to her, but she doesn't move. A prompt for Javier to pull her behind cover or call to her again appears as he sits up.
Either way, Clementine will awaken (after a little bit in the latter case) and the last few straggling enemies are dealt with. She acknowledges whatever Javier did to her with varying degrees of annoyance. She then thanks him for staying behind, to which he can either say that he couldn't just leave her, make a crack about him/her getting knocked out, or maintain that he shouldn't have let his family run away without him. She'll respond by pointing out how his freezing up caused the situation in the first place, with a differing tone and follow up for each.
If you stayed with Clementine and Mariana lived, Javier still questions her whereabouts after waking up, only for Clementine to point out that Eleanor/Tripp got them out of there. She then thanks him for staying behind, to which he can either say that he couldn't just leave her, make a crack about him getting knocked out, or maintain that he shouldn't have let his family run away without him.
There is a little more time to speak with Clementine as the two wander the area, collecting what supplies they can from the battlefield. It is during this time that Clementine can mention Badger's name, claiming that he had connections to the specific crew that "held her captive." If she was a habitual liar in previous saves and/or Javier chose against her twice, she will instead say she heard them say his name.
Eventually, the turned New Frontier member will interrupt them and the scene plays out as usual.
If you left with your family, the episode actually starts out with a Clementine section as she fights off the remaining New Frontier members of Badger's crew. As you spend about a minute at most shooting and dodging 8 them (and optionally a few walkers, depending on both their preference and RNG regarding who is being targeted), Coon can be heard yelling at Clementine for constantly screwing them over, acknowledges whatever happened to Rufus, and then he and Roxanne give occasional urgings to Badger's men, with the latter eventually questioning what happened to Badger.
This then triggers a cutscene in which Coon notices more of the walkers closing in on them, causing Roxanne to hastily alert the remaining men to retreat as at least two soldiers are grabbed by one of the walkers with two more approaching. Clementine has 5 &12 second free-aim choices to respectively save (two of) these guys while dealing with the remaining walkers(there are about 15 total). She can choose to either keep shooting(downing 7 with best aim) and/or simply handle things manually, which will only allow you to save one if chosen as soon as possible.
You then have a brief hub where you can check the immediately in the clear soldiers for supplies. If [the first straggler] is still present, she can ask/order him to toss her some of the weapons in the grass, to which he will oblige either shortly or after being told again.
If Mariana was killed, Clementine will instead glance to where Javier/Gabe left the body. Approaching her will have Clementine apologize for determinately eating her chocolate bar or simply mutter "not another one...". If this is the first thing she did, she can choose to completely bury Mariana 3 ft under.
This section and whatever she was determinately in the middle of doing ends with her hearing the recently turned member behind the canisters/tires, moving into his direction. Seeing Clementine round the corner, he reaches for her as she points the gun at him. After dealing with him, Clementine glances around listening for any other sign of activity before letting out a breath and relaxing.
Staring down at the Capricorn symbol on his neck, she grabs and holds her arm (like she used to). She inhales, closes her eyes, and tilts her head as she slowly starts to move her arm upward...when she hears something faintly out in the distance. Realizing what it is, she slowly moves backwards before eventually making a dash towards the car, and drives off, glance through her rearview to see smoke....
If Mariana was killed in Part 1, Kate's surgery will proceed as given.
If the latter survived Part 1, Kate will help with Mariana's surgery instead of Gabe, the latter angrily leaving after Kate bars him from having to see Mariana in this state. She is visibly more grossed out about having to do so, but gets through it without many problems. Talking to her afterwards has her weakly joke about not having eaten. She will then offer Javier her water bottle from her hip strap to get Mariana something to drink when she's able to.
Getting the second water bottle from behind the Hospital(?) gives Javier the option to offer it to Kate as well.
Kate is available to talk to here while she waits on the water. She'll proclaim how she feels like this is a new low for her as a parent--letting Mariana get shot and letting Gabe/Javier risk themselves; Javier can reassure her and point out that she did what she could using the gun. Javier can tell her about his time in Prescott.
Mirroring the choice with the candy bar, you have the choice to allow Kate to be the one to go check on Gabe. When she guiltily expresses doubt about whether he'd even wanna fight after she yelled at him, Javier can respond that he really does need her right now--needs his stepmom right now. This allows Javi to walk around Prescott some more and he can even poke his head out of the gates to check on Kate and Gabe for a few seconds.
If he wasn't shot by Clementine, Eli will be hanging outside the bar working on some weaponry, with his sister being not too far off.
If Javier mainly tried to keep things calm/fair, Eli will apologize for his behavior, citing having one too many and trying too hard not to let "Tangerine" intimidate him. He will then ask Javier if he seriously managed to be pals with her:
If Javier sided against Clementine on the matter, Eli will offer Javier a gun on the house, albeit with the addition of a box of functional ammo if he has something worth trading.
If you claimed to be Clementine's bodyguard earlier, Eli won't ask your connection to her. Instead, he'll give Javi small box of ammo as a "gift" for protection.
If he punched Eli and lied about what happened, 'Huh-Chick' will block Javier when he tries to come near him. She'll claim that she's not afraid of him and will call Tripp if Javier doesn't stay away from her brother. If you're convincing enough(), she'll apologize on his behalf and has Eli hand her a gun similar to Clementine's with a small box of ammo. She'll hand it off to Javier as either reparation or as a "gift" for protection if he claimed to be Clementine's bodyguard.
If Eli was shot by Clementine, Huh-Chick will be attempting to run his business in his place. It somewhat apparent that she had caught a cold a day or two beforehand due to the occasional cough.
If Javier sided with Clementine consistently, she won't be happy to see him, to say the least.
If you let Kate go after Gabe, checking on Mariana again after walking away to interact with Prescott will have her wake up, saying that she was only pretending to be asleep, albeit with a faint grogginess in her delivery. . You can ask her how she's feeling, give her the water from Kate's personal bottle, let her know that they've been worried about her, and present her with the chocolate bar(if Clementine didn't take it) here.
If you tell her that Clementine determinately ate the chocolate bar, she'll visibly become somewhat saddened but claim that that's okay.
Exhausting three of the options or offering her the candy subsequently will have Eleanor come out afterwards and say something about her feeling better already.
If you still have the candy bar, Eleanor will warn her that too much chocolate isn't good for her, much less in her condition--but she'll allow it.
Eleanor will eventually tell Javier that it'd be best if Marianna gets more rest soon.
If Javier sent Kate after Gabe, Tripp will eventually be heard shouting to whoever's outside the gates to get inside. Gabe will come running up, telling Javier that Clementine is back and that there's trouble not too far after her. Javier tells him to let Eleanor know that they may have be ready to move Mariana, urging Gabe to just do it when he expresses an objecting exclamation. He then heads off towards the gate, where Kate can be seen talking to Clementine.
Chapter 2 Enemy at the Gates
If Kate was outside of the gates, there is a brief exchange going on where Kate asks Javier what he intends to do, gives her opinion on it(that getting Mariana and Eleanor to safety is the best course of action), and says thanks before heading over to Eleanor's area.
If you left with your family, Badger will specifically ask for Clementine rather than Javier. This tweaks the choice to be about whether to agree with sending her down in order to save Francine or not. Conrad will naturally want to go through with it, while Trip will simultaneously point out that they can use her and they stand their ground, essentially taking a middle ground.
If Javier avoided provoking The New Frontier, Max will say that regardless of who started it, it doesn't change the fact that Javier/Clementine needs to come with them so that "The Process" can do it's job.
If you bring up what happened to Mariana when Max and Badger's crews show up, Max may raise his brow with his eyes darting in consideration and briefly glance in Badger's direction with subtle scrutiny during the explanation. Badger will get angry and claim that Javier's niece only got caught in the crossfire of a fight Javier picked with them--it's his people's fault. Max will say that he's sorry to hear that--he really is, ...but he can't just let the matter go.
Depending on how much Javier combatted the New Frontier, Max will make Badger simmer down with an angry/pacifying expression and answer Tripp by saying that Javier needs to come with them--they can resolve the matter properly and as civily as possible/hope that Justice will take that into serious consideration.
This will change Max's reactions to the hostage situation to be more agitated with Badger regardless.
If Mariana is still alive, Kate will take out the Walker that's approaching Gabe and/or the NF member that drives up in Eleanor's new car if Javier doesn't react by the halfway point of the time allotted.
Once the car is secured, Kate will choose to hitch a ride with Tripp and order Javier to just get the kids to safety.
Chapter 3 On the Road Again
The two cars stop on opposite sides of the road, with Eleanor's new car on the right and Tripp's van on the left.
When the two cars stop, Kate will get out on the same side as Conrad at the same time as Clementine and ask if everyone's alright after Tripp and Eleanor hug. Everyone gives an answer of assurance...everyone but Conrad that is.
Conrad will only directly blame Javier if he opened fire or called Badger's bluff. He instead directs his rage towards Clementine if the surrender option was chosen, saying Javier's right...it should've been Clem/he appreciates it...but Javier's not the one who's gonna be sorry/we will...but first, we need to handle this little yardbird. His and Tripp's lines are tweaked to reflect this, with Conrad determinantly including Eli on the list of losses, referring to Clem as a trouble-making PUNK, and claiming that he's known it since the day she got into a scrap in his bar...the only thing/person she cares about is [instigatin shit]/herself.
Regardless of anything barring Javier offering to take her lumps for her, Clementine ends up drawing her gun on Conrad when he comes at her again and orders him to "Back. Off." After a few moments of everyone besides Gabe(who is simply look between the two and Clementine's gun with an astonished look) asking Clementine to stay calm and just let things cool down, she finally lowers her gun with a determinate timing and starts to walk off towards Eleanor's new car with a determinate expression as Conrad starts to sob.
If Mariana wasn't killed, Javier can instead say that "I only wanted to keep our loved ones safe and alive, but it just wasn't enough. I'm sorry."
If Conrad tried to fight Clementine, the camera switches to have her stop halfway after a moment of silence following Eleanor's line to suggest Richmond as their destination. She starts again after Conrad states his only desire is to find The New Frontier.
If up and about after Richmond set as the destination at Clementine's suggestion, Kate oneballs Conrad and asks Tripp to step aside with her for a second.
Gabe will approach Clementine instead of the other way around if Conrad tried to fight her, asking her if she's okay. She will comment on Javier/him/both trying to protect her; this will include the "impressive" line, which will have her joke about Gabe being willing to get smacked down for her. He will also eventually comment on Javier determinately turning on her, which will have her either claim she understands or agree that that was a dick move, asking if he's done that type of thing before(not that the player can hear them at this point
).
During the ride with Eleanor, if Mariana is alive, Kate sits in the front while allowing Javier to sit in the back with Mariana. Like Kate, Mariana shows signs of sepsis through thirst by remarking about the station wagon having a heating system or if it's just her "pillow"; the extra water bottle option is still here, but Kate will also offer her personal flask just in case. Unlike Kate in the other scenario, she will try to save face by trying to smile on occasion and downplay the fact that she's in pain.
If Clementine didn't eat her candy bar, you can offer it to her. Of course, Eleanor will point out that this might not be the best time.
Mari will then casually ask about Richmond or, depending on certain factors, acknowledge that she's still bleeding inside. This prompts Kate/Eleanor to give a quick glance back with a surprised expression that changes to sadness/guilt before turning forward. Javier can choose to assure her that everything is gonna work out.
If Mariana brought up that she may die, Javier can pick three reasons for her to get better. The subjects of these reasons include Life, Kate, Gabe, and Chocolate.
Chapter 4 Breaking Through
The episode 1 part 1 Clementine flashbacks are different in addition to being moved to part 2 after her brief exchange with Gabe in the car:
If Mariana survived, Kate and gets out of passenger side. She tells Eleanor to let her know if Mariana needs anything after Javier points out the car they need to move.
There is more hub dialogue here. This includes, but is not limited to:
Gabe
Clementine
Tripp
Conrad
Eleanor
Kate
If Mariana was injured, Kate will stand by the shed , not too far away from Eleanor's car. Talking to her here comes with extra conversations:
If Javier hesitates to shove the walker inside the garage, Kate may run up and sling it into the wall by it's collar/humerus. Javier will still have to stomp it's head or else. She will either or scold him for freezing up.
Once Javier has the jumper cables and opened the garage, Eleanor will call Kate about Mariana waking up. Kate will tell "Chispeante" she's got this.
If still alive, the herd showing up after the car is moved and a walker reaching into Eleanor's window will cause Mariana to shriek and cling onto Kate, who calls for Javi. Once the QTE is over, Javi will tell Eleanor go, prompting a "What?" and "What about you?' from Kate and Mariana. He of course tells Eleanor to just drive, with Mariana calling to him and shifting to look back at him as they speed off.
Chapter 5 Rough Justice
This chapter plays out more or less how it does in the game proper.
If you were very favorable and just in Gabe's eyes, Gabe will instead ask "How could you?."
Chapter 6 In the City
If alive, Kate will slowly come out of hiding on the group's side of the street after the two guards leave, and start to creep her way back to the car. Gabe will call out to her, causing her to spin around with her weapon in hand before saying "Gabe...?," who comes up to hug her. Upon Tripp asking what happened and where's Eleanor, she explains that it was a pretty safe shot after they charged through the herd. When it occurred to her that Eleanor had left to get help quite a while ago, she got suspicious and decided to scout ahead for just a bit. She noticed the two guards heading in the direction of the car and moved to convene with them. And that's when she saw a Capricorn mark. She made her way back to the car with the intention of ...* glaring before making a quick glance at Gabe *...protecting Mariana if they made one false move near her.
Javier halts, "Mariana?," to which Kate glances over her shoulder to the backseat of the car. Javier runs over to the driver's window to peer in at the unconscious and slightly faded(except for the faint trail from her eyes) girl, asking if she can hear him after calling her nickname twice. When she doesn't answer, he opens the back door and crawls in, asking her to answer in increasingly desperate tone. Still no answer from her. The others show visible concern that something went wrong (except for the glancing-between their-positions Paul, who starts to squint before the camera switches back). Javi stares with shaking eyes for a few seconds before eventually closing them and hanging his head, quietly pleading to himself once as the camera drifts towards his face....
"...Javi?" Javier's eyes and lips open and the camera shifts behind him as he looks up to see Marianna adjusting herself a bit before blinking awake a few times and looking at her uncle. Javi can respond to the awakened girl by: wistfully claiming it's time for school, stating that she scared him, or weakly asking "Just pretending?"in an unsurprised voice.
Regardless of what you said or didn't say, Javier draws her in for a close hug, which the girl languidly shows visible surprise that she loses in favor of accepting it. The others look on with a mix of heart-warmth(Kate and Gabe), relief(Tripp and jesus), and determinately, subtle resonance(Clementine and Conrad).
Javier let's go of Mariana to give her some room to sluggishly sit up. She glances around the door frame at everyone present before settling on "Gabey," to whom she asks if he wants one too. As the boy steps forward to oblige his sister with no complaints, Javier's attention is turned to Tripp lately responding with a sign to realizing that the New Frontier must've got Eleanor. Javier asks jesus how far the compound and after musing over hearing it's a couple blocks at most, ask Gabe to help him get Mari out.
The rest of the dialogue is the same barring applying to Mariana.
As the group head down the road and the girl survived, Mariana mumbles in her sleep about possibly seeing Hector,...Yaya, Pipo...Mom...and Dad. Javier can respond by asking her to please hold--we're almost there, saying she needs to focus on getting well soon, maybe someday...,.
If you cooperated in the trailer, Lonnie will be alongside Max and the 'dana-mask guy instead of the cornrow dude.
If you ask Max for help with Mariana alive, he'll either say hesitantly say nobody wants that ["...she'll die"], or try to claim that he's not stupid enough to fall for that or won't say anything, depending on your discourse with the New Frontier.
Javier will respond to the former by telling Max to help her then, which cause him to look down for a bit but remain silent.
The second row of lines are the same barring saying that Mariana has a brother and a stepmom.
Saying that you'll hold him responsible may cause him to stand his ground after a pause, depending on how much conflict you had with the New Frontier. Otherwise, this will cause him to agree to let them in after a resonating pause and guiltily muttering to himself about breaking protocol.
Additionally, if you brought up what happened to Mariana when Badger's crew ambushed the family at Prescott, Max will be a little easier to reason with.
If you have Clementine and Conrad present, that is now an option to bring Max's attention to:
If you offer him Clementine, he'll point out how desperate(...or lucky) Javier must be to capture her if he was seen as being significantly allied with her().
If you convinced Max to let them in, he'll tell David that he's sorry--had to let them in or there's a chance that she'd--.
Cue Ending Song: (Associated with Conrad and maybe Gabe(Something indicating internal conflict))
Okay, so I'd like to comment on a few things now that the Premiere episodes are up:
Sorry it took me so long to finish those two episodes or even get started on this collective project. Simply put, Life alloweth, Life gets in the way. Often times, the former meant doing any variety of something else with my me time. And as you can tell by skimming Part 2(and in edits, Part 1), I put a lot of research, effort, and detailing into making the story and gameplay feel as authentic(poor choice of words?) as possible.
While gradually edging toward the final stages of Part 2, I decided to do a "Fun Facts/Cutting Room Floor" type of thing regarding some of the cuts/changes I did while rewriting them. Just for the sake of appealing to any curiosity, sharing some insight as to what type of ideas flow through me brain, and because it'll be some flagrant fun. I know there's at least two scenes in particular that [had a scenario or two that] were considered, but ultimately left out.
Not gonna bother setting a deadline for the next episode the right now. Unlike with Part 2, I wasn't actually writing much of anything while working on the preceding episode and thus there's little beyond some general ideas to tweaks and additions in mind. Granted, Above the Law is actually my favorite episode of the installment, some of the changes/tweaks I've shared ahead of time are more expanded than outright replaced, and it is almost certainly the episode that had the most positive rewriting done already, so I suppose one could be forgiven for thinking that wouldn't take too long to do.
I also intend to get back to reviewing the scribings of other members again, among other things. Also, here's an idea to those who do multiple posts of a personal series: consider doing a post linking everything. This isn't any sort of mandate so much as an optional suggestion that would be nice for those who visit this thread and want to get invested.
A reminder of this thread's standard formatting: despite the straightforward title and the trap I've willingly placed myself into for ANF, you don't have to rewrite an entire episode for your contributing posts. Basic character/story arc notes within an episode or even just random ideas are more than welcome. Just remember that the only real rule is that you should try to refrain from posting multiple episodes in a single post unless it's a fairly quick overview of the Episodes or Season/Installment.
Feel free to ask questions and make suggestions regarding anything here!
Have yourselves a good night/day and take care!
Okay, here is a few things I considered and/or cut doing in Ties That Bind:
Part 1
Part 2:/Divided We Fall
You scrapped her screentime and possible bonding time?!
Wasn't this an idea you came up with during one of our conversations about how could she get more screentime? About her staying with us and Tripp driving Kate to safety.
Anyway, I would like to say I loved both episodes - Ties That Bind and Divided We Fall. They are fantastic!
It feels like the dream game where our choices truly matter. It's obvious that you put a lot of thought, effort and research into this. The gameplay is great. I love the extra scenes and all of the determinate thingies you did. Gabe crawling under the trailer is the best thing ever, hehe! The Eli situation was handled very well. I love how he appears in Episode 2, as well. Kate being more badass, I like it.
I wish the hubs were canon, not optional/determinant.
That ending, tho!
I hope you do more with Max, Eleanor, and Conrad.
Now I still liked how they handled the original confrontation. To get everything more dramatic. Have Arvo turn it into a gunfight, shooting and killing Bonnie and shooting Jane in the neck. Luke goes into rage mode and kills Arvo with his bare hands. Kenny tells Luke after they have to get a move on, but Luke wants to save Jane, Kenny tells them a bunch of walkers will be heading after them soon and as he says that. There are Walkers showing up, with AJ in the house. Clem makes a choice whether to leave AJ in the house for the walkers or tell Kenny to start to get the car moving.
If you go with the car Kenny starts it, but it (Cliche) won't start and needs to push it to get it moving. Luke is still torn up about Jane but helps with the Car as it starts Luke gets a dying Jane in the car, Clem looks back and hears the crying AJ being devoured. As she goes in the car with Luke and Kenny.
If you get AJ you have to fight through a few Zombies to get out and they all chase after you. Kenny still hasn't got the car started and Luke is still trying to comfort Jane as she slowly dies. Kenny and Clem yell for Luke to help push the car. Luke snaps out of it and starts pushing the car as the Walkers start devouring the body of Bonnie and then a still conscious Jane. Luke yells in horror, but the car is started and Clem drags Luke into the car.
Cue the whole original story with them driving into Snow. Everything happens like in the episode with Jane and Kenny. But this time
If AJ died. Kenny blames a near dead Jane aggressively and Luke in a violent rage punches Kenny, causing them to crash. You wake up still in the car with Jane almost dead clutching after you telling you the same things she told you before. (Based on your decisions with her) She either slowly passes away while saying her sister's name. Or passes out. You then tell him what happened to Jane, you grab Arvo's gun. Kenny shows up at the Car and Kenny tells Clem they will get out of here as Luke has gone crazy. If Jane is dead he then forces Clem to comes with him (Based on your decisions with him) Kenny will either tugs Clem along with him or he simply lets her walk with him. They arrive at the school and find Luke weeping. Kenny will upset Luke by telling him of Jane's condition in very cursing ways and even laughs at the sad state he's in and says he should kill himself so he wouldn't have to worry about another mouth to feed. Kenny then approaches Luke and Luke in fear trying to run away but Kenny beats him and keeps beating him, cue what happens in the original decision.
If Jane died. Kenny still blames Luke for his ignorance in not paying attention to Arvo and Luke taking no shit pulls out the gun Arvo had and tries to shoot Kenny (Failing on your actions) but the bullet causes Kenny to swerve and crash the car. Clem awakes with AJ still alive in Clem's arms, you place AJ down and you get out of the car and try to find Kenny or Luke amidst a snowstorm and you happen upon Luke calling out for Kenny while holding a gun in his hand he spots you and you can try and calm him down and he goes super psycho lashing out at you for bringing Kenny back into there lives and for a second it looks like he'll kill Clem and (Based on your decisions with him) he'll shoot Clem in the gut leaving her bleeding out. But he'll regret his decision or feeling and brings Clem to the school (To either try and find a med-kit or try and find Kenny) Kenny will show up and beat the shit out of Luke until he is almost dead, the gun slips out of Luke's pocket during the confrontation cue what happens in the original decision.
To add something a little more weird for ANF if you went with Luke, you could romance him in the flashbacks and Clem might even be Pregnant.
Now I know this is really bad, but I suppose this is the most I could come up with in today's response.
I'd rewrite A LOT of the entire series but I'd start with Episode 5 of Season 1. I'd have Kenny die on screen like he should have. Everything else in the episode can be the same but Kenny would die on screen and be definitely dead and not able to come back in Season 2 because that was some ridiculously unlikely bullshit.
Okay, I think it's time to decide that social experiment is over now and deem it a success.
And it's time to review some responses!
...Or just the one[so far(?)].
Yeah, that's one of the things where logic ultimately decided. I really did wanna give her more [determinant] screentime in the episode, but when it came near time for me to actually implement it, I realized that having Tripp be the one to drive Kate to Richmond and thus have to approach Max at the gates wouldn't really work in context.
Did I? It's honestly been so long that I just assumed it was your idea.
Note to self: check posts of previously declared intentions for refreshment.
Yeah, it's shame that it is essentially an ideal vision of what isn't the game proper.
Ch'yeah, no kiddin.
Compared to my scattered, incomplete Season 2 rewrites, I really wanted to emulate how things would play out within the game proper by getting down some of the "quirks n bufferings" of the cutscenes, in addition to posting an entire episode at once to encourage disciplined cohesion.
It's also an important reason for why I'm not promising a release date for the later episodes any time soon.
That scene was easily one of the worst ones in the game, so I eventually decided to incorporate some musings and thoughts I had about his place in Prescott in as well as further emphasizing that "Your choices matter."
There's a fair number of detailing behind those specific choices, as you can see, but it's not really worth going too much into right now.
For better or worse, the reception of these game's/stories' key element kinda require some displays of action, something Kate had a deficiency of given her supposed importance in-universe.
To that end, I really wanted to give her a chance to show what she can do onscreen before the conflicts with David's Lieutenants disables and/or kills a girl so as to display what's been lost and/or put at risk. Similar idea applies to Mariana as well, hence her determinant tag along.
Of course, there wasn't really an opportunity to truly show Kate's skills off in an appropriate way, so I just had to leave it be and later decided to have her leave the car for a bit along with Javier to compensate for that.
Again, that's me taking advantage of the setting that chapter takes place in, the characters that reside there, the choices Javier can make, and especially the determinant consequences to said choices.
Also, it's only Prescott that's determinant in Part 1, iirc.
Uh, which one?
Oh, you know it!
Interesting. I'm curious to see how you'll handle Season 2 at some point.