"Spider-Man: The (Unofficial) Telltale Series" Text Adventure
(I debated putting this in the GOTG section but since that's more a specific section of Marvel I figured here would be better fit. The name might also change, assuming I can think of a decent sub title.)
So having juggled some ideas around for a while now about wanting to create a possible interactive fan game with Marvel characters in the same vein as SivD1's awesome text adventures with the Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, I've decided I would like to try my hand at doing a Telltale style game for Spider-Man! Previously I had thought about doing one based around the Civil War comic event (and I might still use that someday) but the more I've thought about it the more I wanted to try and do something original than a straight interactive adaption. In the last couple of days I've hit upon a possible plot line I can use. Assuming things ok I will try and create a demo and then opening episode on a suitable interactive fiction creator, most likely Twine. (This will mean it's all text based, no visuals.)
I'm mainly been inspired by Telltale's take on Batman, in the sense that:
a. They focus as much on Bruce Wayne as they do Batman, and his influence on the world. I want to do this with Peter Parker and show the decisions he makes matters as much as he is as Spider-Man. They also often let the player choose whether to go into a situation as Bruce or Batman, which I might do too with Peter and Spidey where suited.
b. They are not afraid of mixing things up and doing some unique and interesting things with the Batman mythos as it is set within its own continuity. In a similar vein I want to make my own take on Spider-Man to be distinctive and have some different things to established canon, all whilst keeping the spirit of Spider-Man and his connected allies and rogues intact.
So currently I am in the process of mentally mapping out a season of this idea, tooling the story I have in mind to run about five to six episodes, selecting the characters who will appear, thinking of strong and interesting major choices for Peter to make which shape the story significantly (I have three really interesting ones so far) alongside smaller but still important choices. But I am going to need some additional suggestions from fans as to the kind of game and choices they would be interested in seeing! So, I am opening the floor to suggestions. To tool things slightly I will ask the following...
Setting! Currently my idea involves a Peter at the age of 18 years old, recently started at his first year as a Joint BA in Biological Sciences and Photography at Empire State University, which will be a core setting of the story. So I want to know if that core setting seems ideal or if people would prefer an older or younger Peter Parker. I felt the age I selected seems about right since I wanted a young but not just started as Spidey Peter (he was bitten by the Spider about two years ago in the canon I have in mind), but I'm open to other ideas.
Characters! I don't want to say exactly who I have initially in mind yet for a supporting cast, but I'm looking for favorites within Peter's core friends and allies especially, both classic and modern. Who would you want to see included? In the case of villains I would prefer to hold off on suggestions now, I have several in mind and I think it wise to not overwhelm the game with them until I have a sensible number (maybe between six and eight) for the course of the season. Also as I mentioned changes from canon above, would you be open to new original characters in the supporting cast? I have one in mind currently.
Choices! In a general sense only, although in the context of the suggested setting made above would be nice, what kinds of choices would you want your Spider-Man to be able to make? Or your Peter Parker? Anything you suggest in that line would be awesome.
Since this might be a part of the overall season and a traditional part of Spidey's hectic life in the comics, what's you take on romance in this sort of story? Do you want to have the chance to have Peter date a fellow female character? Would you like to be able to chose between several? Would you prefer those non powered ladies or include girls traditionally with powers as well? Feel free to throw out names of established characters. Rest assured I have considered the logical ones (one might be red haired and another blonde haired, heh).
That's what I have for now. Any feedback I can get would be great, but if there are any updates on this project I will let you know! I don't want to put a pin in a date for a demo or first episode anytime soon, though.
Comments
I actually had a similar idea to this, but with some differences. Like with Peter working as a scientist instead of the Bugle
I was actually thinking that this would be a choice as part of Peter's degree that he'd be able to get an internship at either OSCORP or the Daily Bugle, thus affecting his role in the overall story when he's Peter.
I'm really into this! I love text adventures and it's been a while since I played a good one. I love that you want to do original twists on the characters and I highly encourage you to do so! I also encourage you to create some completely new characters. In terms of friends I'd love people like Harry Osborn, Eddie Brock, etc... Maybe even Flash? Could do something interesting with him, even though he's typically not a friend.
In terms of choices... maybe since Peter is still so young you could have some choices that could have him be a little selfish and irresponsible? Just an idea though, it's your call. I don't actually have many ideas.
Oh I love them Spidey love interests. Like I adore Black Cat. It'd be nice for several options, but whatever works best for what you have planned.
Can't wait to see what you do! Definitely bookmarking this discussion.
EDIT: Only just realized how old the thread was. Sorry if I jumped the gun. Are you still doing this?
Thanks for your interest. I don't think it'll actually be writing it out since the idea proved more complex than I was expecting since I started outlining it last year, but I still would like to create a template or plan of how the various choices would go or lead, and maybe a selection of ideas on how your relationships with characters - friends, possible lovers and would be villains - would affect the game.
In regards to new characters the one I mentioned having in mind is Alice Octavius, the teen daughter of Otto Octavius. I've thought giving Otto a daughter who can be a voice of reasoning but also as a tool for others to threaten him with out of his traditional arrogance and distance from people makes for an engaging way of fleshing him out. Doctor Octopus is my favorite Spider-Man villain and I have had lots of ideas over the year in how to reinterpret him, both as the more traditional villain (possibly in two variations) and another as more of an would be anti-hero (think Superior Spider-Man). The idea I currently have is like Enemy Within, the game's final episodes would branch into two distinct storylines, dealing with the fallout from the first, resolving around your balancing of relationship with a set of villains and ultimately leading to who is on your side and who is opposed to you.
Harry Osborn, Flash Thompson, Ned Leeds and Eddie Brock have all been supporting cast of friends I have considered, so good idea! I like Flash more as a friend since he's quite different from Peter's other buddies and has the fun characterization of being a massive Spidey fan without actually knowing Peter is Spider-Man! As for female love interests I have four in mind - Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy, Cindy Moon and Alice Octavius. I did consider Felicia too but she doesn't really fit the story I had in mind. I have a concept of introducing a second Spider-empowered character though, which might be up to you who that is...
As far as choices go I wanna have moments where Peter has to balance out his lives! I was struck by the concept in the comics of Peter's 'Parker Luck', the ideal that anytime something good or bad happens in his life, something opposite comes to counter that. It's something which could make an engaging game mechanic. I also choose the age of 18 for Peter because it puts him into a demanding time in a person's life, the cusp of manhood, when one has to make truly big decisions even if one isn't a super hero. So making choices as a student as much as a hero is important - does Peter want to focus more on his photography/media background or his science one, for example. What happens if Peter gets an internship at OSCORP? Would his involvement in picking whether a project focuses on technology or biology affect the chance of a certain villain being either more a madman or a monster?
Anyway, thanks for your interest! I also have some ideas about Telltale games for Star Wars and James Bond which i might have mentioned elsewhere, but this is the idea I have worked on most, mentally if not physically, heh.
Spider-Man + Telltale = Total Awesomeness. Batman's Telltale game was really good but if Telltale made a Spider-Man game it would probably be even more interesting because Spider-Man is a kid who wants to do some good for the city but there is always those citizens and J.Jonah Jameson who are trying to put him down and prove him to be a menace, you could either prove them to be right and act like a total menace or you could keep being the good hero that you are and not worry about what people think of you. Balancing out both Peter Parker's life and Spider-Man's would be a tough job, Insomniac games seems to be nailing it at the moment with that formula but I think that if Telltale were to incorporate that formula into their Spider-Man game then they could also make a great one!
Thanks, I purposely picked a time and theme with my ideas different to what Insomniac was doing because I didn't want it to feel too similar, but I am definitely interested to see how that game plays, and Telltale could do a good job of stepping into the shoes of Peter Parker as much as Spider-Man. Aunt May would likely be the equal to Alfred in Telltale's Batman, acting as the kind ally and mentor, with the player having the option of revealing their secret to her.
What about moments involving criminals that escape were you have the option to take money or return it. There will be both a positive or negative depending on who you steal the money from and what you are using it for. Same involving tech
Peter doesn't really strike me as the type to outright steal money, though it might depend on the context. Criminals escaping is something I have in mind though. There's a big set piece in the first episode I imagined with a bank robbery involving three very iconic Spider-Man villains, at least two of which Peter has had dealing with before prior to the story. The idea being that Peter ends up capturing one and another is captured by another group, whilst the third one escapes to be a problem in another situation.
I get that, but you're playing as a young teen Peter that hasn't learned much. Would kinda shape him if you did decide to steal from bad guys. What you get out of it though is what happens if you do?
The Peter I suggesting though has been Spider-Man for two years already, and in the midst of his first year at university, so there's probably other things on his mind, and besides I'm fairly certain stealing eat him up from within.
What about new love interest? Besides the main one how about new ones?
There wouldn't be a 'main love interest' since Peter would be able to decide which of the women he knows as part of his course and as Spider-Man to go from being friends to something more. These would be Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy, Cindy Moon and one original character - Alice Octavius, the daughter of Otto Octavius. I have also toyed with the possibility of adding Felicia Hardy, Jessica Drew and Carol Danvers (the latter two in the game world being agents of SHIELD under Nick Fury) but that would likely be too many - four possible love interests in a Telltale game is probably just about doable.
HOW ARE YOU NOT BANNED YET, RETARDED HUMAN???!!!
Ooh! I like that Alice Octavius idea.
Thanks! Alice really stemmed out of the idea in my mind of what Otto would be like if he was a father - I very much see a lot of Alfred Molina’s take on Otto in the version I have in mind. Kind to those he respects and trusts, but also prone to being distant and somewhat arrogant, especially when a project overtakes him. Alice represents the best of him, and she is keen to follow in his footsteps, but uncertain whether to follow him into OSCORP or pursue her own path. So she is his best connection to humanity, but also a tool more villainous types might use to keep him in line.
Otto in theory is one of the characters who can change more than any other in the story - he might be destined to gain some extra arms, but on what side? And what would his decisions - impacted by some of Peter’s - mean for Alice, or her relationship with Peter? Can she fight by his side or turn against him? And the type of Doctor Octopus Otto might be as a villain - a cold and clinical scientist aligned with Norman in a spotless lab coat, or a vengeful broken man in a trench coat assisting the Tinkerer and his forces to bring down OSCORP - might also occur as a result of Peter’s choices.
Could go a tragic route of having Alice go a villain path.
I have debated that as a possibility, though it might be possible for Alice, along with all the girls mentioned, to become heroes in their own right, since one of the sub-plots I had in mind in the game's story was the reveal of a second radioactive spider from the same batch as Peter's.
I have just been looking into Twine and it looks pretty interesting, I am just unsure about how to play other people's games. I think you should include Liz Allen as the love interest because she is Peter's first girlfriend during his high school days and you stated that the text adventure is set in Peter's high school days so I would recommend her for you.
That could be just as interesting! Or maybe in Alice's case something could happen to Octavius and she comes across his tech after his death.
What about a new love interest from a different school? Like Kate Bishop? She's my favourite
Or in a fun twist, Jesse Thompson. The younger sister of Flash Thompson
Yeah Twine is a good program for making basic interactive stories or games,though I have still got a lot of need to figure out exactly how it works.
I did consider Liz actually, alongside Betty Brant (who was Peter’s first girlfriend in the comics, just to correct you - Liz only had a crush on Peter in the comics and since he was dating Betty at the time Peter wasn’t sure what to do with her crush) but I elected to focus on a selection of his more iconic love interests, a more recent one with Cindy Moon/Silk and an original one with Alice. Also Peter is in his first year at Empire State University at 18, not Midtown High School, though characters connected to his time there like Flash and Cindy are with him.
Well, you could really mix it up and make Alice the one that gains the extra arms and becomes a villain, instead of her father.
That might be interesting. Just puttin' it out there.
I have toyed with the idea of letting her become 'Lady Octopus', whether that's as a hero or villain and by her father's side or against him. Alice in some respects could parallel Tiffany in TT's Batman that way. So we'll see.