I'm just honestly puzzled. What in god's name does it gain them to say nothing, absolutely nothing, for so long? Even if they're prohibited by NDAs or some such from going into details, they can't say anything at all? Not even an apology about the delay...not even acknowledgement that it is, in fact, a delay? Zero communication with the fan base or they get a call from the lawyers?
What could that possibly do except to take fan anticipation and curdle it into fan resentment? It just makes no sense.
Anyone else think that they're trying to spread their current projects as thin as possible in order to get ahead of the game on their newly announced projects?
Specific updates are just not possible under the current contracts.
Unless you have their contract and actually read it, your statement is invalid and actually quite beside the point as well. We just want a heads up about what is happening and more importantly why the staff is dead silent about the matter, I mean it is HARD to overlook the biggest thread on their forum. And I seriously doubt their contract changed since december, point in case, puzzlebox was commenting in this very thread and there is a blog post as well, so most probably they are free to talk to their fans more or less about anything they WANT.
(9) Why doesn't Telltale give more specific updates on their progress on developing episodes?
Telltale's early days of open transparency are … morejust not possible anymore. Before they only released games on their online store and GameTap, and had much lower profile licenses. Now that they are working with large corporations such as Warner Bros (which owns Vertigo, which is an imprint of DC Comics) for Fables, and with big name licenses like The Walking Dead, and have to deal with distribution deals with large console manufacturers like Sony and Microsoft, there's a lot of non-disclosure agreements and other legal red tape that they have to deal with. That's the reason that they can only give release dates when they have them, and can only give vague statements such as that they're still working on the game when they don't have them. Specific updates are just not possible under the current contracts. Telltale has always been a company that's apprecia… [view original content]
I expect telltale to be respectful to their customers that already bought the product they are working on. by not given any information on why it's taking over 3 mouths for ep2 they are not showing us respect. Why should we show respect for those that don't respect us?
Touche' sir, but i'd rather not release jack if our fanbase/customers, are going to be a bunch of impatient and disrespectful assholes about t… morehe wait. We also need to consider that Holiday season has just passed, and that the Telltale staff consists of people with lives, and families. They can't spend every second working on these games ya know?
That sounds like a most reasonable theory to me. I understand they're a small company. I'm all for supporting them with my money as they grow. Unfortunately I'm also thinking that they could possibly be spreading themselves thin. If they'd just announced TftB or GoT as coming titles in the future that would be great. Instead they announce that they're both going to be released this year and that push to have four titles out in a year has to be felt somewhere. I have no doubt that their deal with HBO is a lot tighter in its release schedule than WAU or WD are. Four titles in production might just be too much for them.
Wouldn't be shocked if TftB gets pushed back. GoT is going to take priority over it, like WD will take priority over WAU.
Anyone else think that they're trying to spread their current projects as thin as possible in order to get ahead of the game on their newly announced projects?
A little transparency would go a long way towards public relations. But it's TTG's fault for accepting to make so many games if they just weren't ready.
That sounds like a most reasonable theory to me. I understand they're a small company. I'm all for supporting them with my money as they grow.… more Unfortunately I'm also thinking that they could possibly be spreading themselves thin. If they'd just announced TftB or GoT as coming titles in the future that would be great. Instead they announce that they're both going to be released this year and that push to have four titles out in a year has to be felt somewhere. I have no doubt that their deal with HBO is a lot tighter in its release schedule than WAU or WD are. Four titles in production might just be too much for them.
Wouldn't be shocked if TftB gets pushed back. GoT is going to take priority over it, like WD will take priority over WAU.
Complete agreement. Of course maybe they are ready and this is all way off base theorizing. Maybe they hired a team just for GoT, which would be perfectly reasonable to me given the number of titles they have coming this year (and whatever deal they have with HBO). I doubt it but who knows, it's possible...
A little transparency would go a long way towards public relations. But it's TTG's fault for accepting to make so many games if they just weren't ready.
Thats possible. They're now releasing content across all major platforms simultaneously. Albeit, with mixed success. Complaints of lag and other bugs and failures are common, especially with the iOS ports. My friend cant get the game to work at all on his phone.
But TTG had serious quality control issues with their games while only doing one IP across a couple platforms at a time. Now they are multiplying that. Yikes. It may have just gotten the best of them.
Anyone else think that they're trying to spread their current projects as thin as possible in order to get ahead of the game on their newly announced projects?
Game development is a lengthy process: stories have to be written and revised, actors have to be cast, characters have to be designed, and so on.
We just heard of GoT and "Tales from Borderlands" since the announcement. But they are surley working on 4 titles for a long time now. And they surley have their team scaled properly since the beginning of the development.
That said I don't think that the work on 4 titles at the same time, is the main problem here.
Complete agreement. Of course maybe they are ready and this is all way off base theorizing. Maybe they hired a team just for GoT, which would … morebe perfectly reasonable to me given the number of titles they have coming this year (and whatever deal they have with HBO). I doubt it but who knows, it's possible...
Yep, that's a significant difference, alright. While I wish to stress that I appreciate all of Jennifer's efforts here, I don't think the "TV show" analogy is apt.
The difference is that TV shows are all filmed and edited in advance so it is easier to grantee a release date for every episode in a season, … moreThe game will take longer to develop as they need to record voices, do animation, test for bugs and other technical things so there could be unforeseen delays which are beyond their control. But i do think the silent treatment is wrong and they should be honest if there is a problem which they need to fix so that people waiting for the game know whats up.
So, are we talking about a situation where they have three episodes in the can, and release #1 while working on #4, then release #2 halfway through working on #4, then release #3 as #5 starts work, then #4, then #5? Something along those lines, if not exactly like I wrote? While the PR angle would be much better, that's keeping finished episodes out of my hands for no good reason. Can't have that. If we're going that way, they might as well just release a finished game and skip the episodic format entirely. I'm actually quite willing to consider that. If we simply can't hit a six-week interval between episodes, then I'm not sure I want episodes.
Well, TTG has had release date issues in the past, though not nearly as bad as this. Back when they released Back to the Future, and they were… more having issues with release dates, they should have turned around, and said "Hey, maybe we need to have the first two or three episodes out before taking orders".
Episodes still have deadlines and some shows, like South Park, only start work on a new episode a week before it releases (See the show "7 days to south park" at http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/episodes/s12e07-super-fun-time/sixdays)
I was unaware of the extra delay between BTTF because I didn't play the second episode until the fourth was released due to being real busy with life in general. Well if that is what is happening I can live with that. I didn't realize we could get updates from somewhere. Thank you for sharing that with me and thank you for your response Jennifer.
I doubt this will be a situation like Jurassic Park: The Game. A longer than usual development period between the first and second episodes i… moresn't uncommon with Telltale's games (it's actually been their modus operandi since Back to the Future: The Game). They took an extra month to develop the second episode Back to the Future: The Game, and upped the projected development time for The Walking Dead: Season One to two months instead of one (and they've been making longer than usual development periods between the first and second season since all the way back to their first episodic series, Bone). They're taking an extra month of development time for the second episode of The Wolf Among Us as well. The reason they do this is to incorporate fan and critic feedback into the game in order to improve the game based on fan desires for the rest of the season (they refined the gameplay of The Walking Dead, adding direct controlled action sequences, a… [view original content]
They're ramping up their operation a little, getting more popular and lucrative IPs. I get that. Gotta grow. But it's not fair to us to ask us to wait this long without any news, and those IPs and/or console agreements limit what they're legally allowed to tell us. I think they should do the big projects as monolithic releases, and only do episodic projects where they can either meet interval expectations of 4-6 weeks, or explain why not.
I agree it does feel that way. I bought the season pass for the same reason it seems like you did. I've tried to get my money back through Tel… moreltale and Xbox Live but was met with nothing but corporate babble and non-awnsers. Ive given up on the series and im just going to wait for the whole thing to be released before i care about it again. But the end result is that i'm probably never going to buy anything from this publisher again. Most certainly not season passes.
Day 182:Still no word on that update the rest of the community is slowly going insane i will continue too wait but if i don't make it tell my wife i love her.
TT absolutely does deserve points for that. Too many companies clamp down on anything and everything they think they can restrict or monetize. It speaks very well of TT's attitude and vision that they let players share the experiences they've had without a lot of terms and conditions.
Day 182:Still no word on that update the rest of the community is slowly going insane i will continue too wait but if i don't make it tell my wife i love her.
They're contractually prohibited from telling us anything. They painted themselves into a corner with all the nondisclosure agreements they had to sign to get this thing going in the first place. I wish it weren't so, and I need to see that problem addressed before I can pre-purchase a season pass again.
It wouldn't matter, if they'd released something a month or two ago. Kind of like how stealing a car doesn't matter if you can get across the border before the cops catch you, or gambling with money you don't have doesn't matter if you win. When bad ideas meet excessive confidence, things can go sideways in a hurry.
I'm just honestly puzzled. What in god's name does it gain them to say nothing, absolutely nothing, for so long? Even if they're prohibited by… more NDAs or some such from going into details, they can't say anything at all? Not even an apology about the delay...not even acknowledgement that it is, in fact, a delay? Zero communication with the fan base or they get a call from the lawyers?
What could that possibly do except to take fan anticipation and curdle it into fan resentment? It just makes no sense.
Comments
I've had enough time to
1. Complete Mass effect 1-3
2. Play through the first episode twice.
3. Play Half-life 3
4. Play Half-life 4
uh, no spoilers please about hl3-4
I'm gonna assume everyone working for telltale had died
According to Valve, HL3 will come out VERY SOON after TWAU Ep.2
I send this case to European Office of Consumer Protection. My fundamental right is full information about product which i bought.
I completed saints row 4 on hard mode , working my way through remember me
Please share the results.
Why would i even bother checking today, sorta knew the answer.
there's still time!
I'm just honestly puzzled. What in god's name does it gain them to say nothing, absolutely nothing, for so long? Even if they're prohibited by NDAs or some such from going into details, they can't say anything at all? Not even an apology about the delay...not even acknowledgement that it is, in fact, a delay? Zero communication with the fan base or they get a call from the lawyers?
What could that possibly do except to take fan anticipation and curdle it into fan resentment? It just makes no sense.
Anyone else think that they're trying to spread their current projects as thin as possible in order to get ahead of the game on their newly announced projects?
Unless you have their contract and actually read it, your statement is invalid and actually quite beside the point as well. We just want a heads up about what is happening and more importantly why the staff is dead silent about the matter, I mean it is HARD to overlook the biggest thread on their forum. And I seriously doubt their contract changed since december, point in case, puzzlebox was commenting in this very thread and there is a blog post as well, so most probably they are free to talk to their fans more or less about anything they WANT.
I expect telltale to be respectful to their customers that already bought the product they are working on. by not given any information on why it's taking over 3 mouths for ep2 they are not showing us respect. Why should we show respect for those that don't respect us?
That sounds like a most reasonable theory to me. I understand they're a small company. I'm all for supporting them with my money as they grow. Unfortunately I'm also thinking that they could possibly be spreading themselves thin. If they'd just announced TftB or GoT as coming titles in the future that would be great. Instead they announce that they're both going to be released this year and that push to have four titles out in a year has to be felt somewhere. I have no doubt that their deal with HBO is a lot tighter in its release schedule than WAU or WD are. Four titles in production might just be too much for them.
Wouldn't be shocked if TftB gets pushed back. GoT is going to take priority over it, like WD will take priority over WAU.
A little transparency would go a long way towards public relations. But it's TTG's fault for accepting to make so many games if they just weren't ready.
Complete agreement. Of course maybe they are ready and this is all way off base theorizing. Maybe they hired a team just for GoT, which would be perfectly reasonable to me given the number of titles they have coming this year (and whatever deal they have with HBO). I doubt it but who knows, it's possible...
Thats possible. They're now releasing content across all major platforms simultaneously. Albeit, with mixed success. Complaints of lag and other bugs and failures are common, especially with the iOS ports. My friend cant get the game to work at all on his phone.
But TTG had serious quality control issues with their games while only doing one IP across a couple platforms at a time. Now they are multiplying that. Yikes. It may have just gotten the best of them.
Game development is a lengthy process: stories have to be written and revised, actors have to be cast, characters have to be designed, and so on.
We just heard of GoT and "Tales from Borderlands" since the announcement. But they are surley working on 4 titles for a long time now. And they surley have their team scaled properly since the beginning of the development.
That said I don't think that the work on 4 titles at the same time, is the main problem here.
[removed]
Ah... why so agressive. This is a game forum.
By the way, you won against the Nazis even earlier, i.e. in the Second World War.
Yep, that's a significant difference, alright. While I wish to stress that I appreciate all of Jennifer's efforts here, I don't think the "TV show" analogy is apt.
Just found this on youtube, hilarious!
I've already posted this:D
(page 55)
So, are we talking about a situation where they have three episodes in the can, and release #1 while working on #4, then release #2 halfway through working on #4, then release #3 as #5 starts work, then #4, then #5? Something along those lines, if not exactly like I wrote? While the PR angle would be much better, that's keeping finished episodes out of my hands for no good reason. Can't have that. If we're going that way, they might as well just release a finished game and skip the episodic format entirely. I'm actually quite willing to consider that. If we simply can't hit a six-week interval between episodes, then I'm not sure I want episodes.
I was unaware of the extra delay between BTTF because I didn't play the second episode until the fourth was released due to being real busy with life in general. Well if that is what is happening I can live with that. I didn't realize we could get updates from somewhere. Thank you for sharing that with me and thank you for your response Jennifer.
They're ramping up their operation a little, getting more popular and lucrative IPs. I get that. Gotta grow. But it's not fair to us to ask us to wait this long without any news, and those IPs and/or console agreements limit what they're legally allowed to tell us. I think they should do the big projects as monolithic releases, and only do episodic projects where they can either meet interval expectations of 4-6 weeks, or explain why not.
any news on that update ?
Non.
Day 182:Still no word on that update the rest of the community is slowly going insane i will continue too wait but if i don't make it tell my wife i love her.
TT absolutely does deserve points for that. Too many companies clamp down on anything and everything they think they can restrict or monetize. It speaks very well of TT's attitude and vision that they let players share the experiences they've had without a lot of terms and conditions.
BREAKING NEWS FROM TELLTALE:
"Expect some exciting updates on The Wolf Among Us April 1st.
but it's only 94th day) there's still hope!
"Telltale" - The most ironic name ever.
It's funny 'cause it's true, and it hurts 'cause it's true. ;_;
I remember when I used to genuinely believe that Episode 2 would eventually come out. Oh, what a foolish youth I was.
They're contractually prohibited from telling us anything. They painted themselves into a corner with all the nondisclosure agreements they had to sign to get this thing going in the first place. I wish it weren't so, and I need to see that problem addressed before I can pre-purchase a season pass again.
It wouldn't matter, if they'd released something a month or two ago. Kind of like how stealing a car doesn't matter if you can get across the border before the cops catch you, or gambling with money you don't have doesn't matter if you win. When bad ideas meet excessive confidence, things can go sideways in a hurry.
Expect some exciting updates on The Walking Dead.
convince yourselves that the release date is March 31 and set your minds at ease.
Yea but If I did that I'd want my money back, I understand your point though.