The Walking Dead (from Telltale Games) - Catch All

SpacePPoliceman wrote:

Forgive me for asking something no doubt ignorant, and possibly covered, but my Google Fu has proven inferior, and I'm avoiding spoilers: Anyone know of an outlet that will let me gift the Mac version to someone without Steam? Amazon specifically says I can't, but surely I can game the system somehow, right?

You could try to do it from the Telltale Games store, but I don't think they actually support gifting. There's a thread here in their support forum that suggests it could be done with the intervention of customer support, but it looks like a pain.

Alternately, is there any actual barrier to the recipient using Steam? You could either buy from Amazon and send the resulting registration key to the recipient (with instructions on setting up a Steam account), or gift it directly through Steam, which will send them an email explaining how to get set up with Steam.

I jumped on the $10 deal at Gamefly and just finished episode 1. Overall, I really like the experience thus far, but several of the cutscenes are really buggy, specifically large gaps of dropped/missing frames. It's quite jarring and frustrating, and often breaks any immersion I have. For perspective, I can run Far Cry 3 at high settings with no problem, so there's definitely something wrong with the game. I hope this doesn't persist in the other episodes.

The £10.49 deal secured my purchase as well. Downloading now. In and around 7.5MB/S is going to complete the install in no time at all! I may need to wait until tomorrow to play it, though. Up for work in 6 hours.

I dunno if it's relevant, but I've had framerate and stability problems with a number of games recently that were fixed by switching from fullscreen to borderless windowed mode. Might be worth a shot.

complexmath wrote:

I dunno if it's relevant, but I've had framerate and stability problems with a number of games recently that were fixed by switching from fullscreen to borderless windowed mode. Might be worth a shot.

Borderless windowed mode is not available, unfortunately.

MeatMan wrote:

I jumped on the $10 deal at Gamefly and just finished episode 1. Overall, I really like the experience thus far, but several of the cutscenes are really buggy, specifically large gaps of dropped/missing frames. It's quite jarring and frustrating, and often breaks any immersion I have. For perspective, I can run Far Cry 3 at high settings with no problem, so there's definitely something wrong with the game. I hope this doesn't persist in the other episodes.

That experience persisted throughout the season for me; occasional audio drop-outs, stuttering, freezing, etc., on a system that should have been more than a match for the game. However, I will say that the performance problems significantly lessened as the series went on; the first episode was definitely the worst for me, and it improved from there.

That's weird... I never had any problems like that. I wonder if it was a hardware or software incompatibility?

Duoae wrote:

That's weird... I never had any problems like that. I wonder if it was a hardware or software incompatibility?

That would be my guess; probably some codec/driver soup issue that plagues the "glorious PC master race" from time to time.

I just finished episode 1 with my roommate! It's a great game. There are so many "Oh, sh*t!" moments.

I've gone through three episodes together with my sister and while I'm enjoying it I don't think all the hyperbole is warranted. For a game that's essentially all about interactive narrative I think the branching is unimpressive to the point where it's struggling to maintain even the illusion of choice. The writing is good but the game supporting that writing isn't breaking new ground. It doesn't have to, I still like it loads, it's just that the people having a contest about who can praise it the most should maybe tone it down.

Slacker1913 wrote:

Yeah, they specifically mentioned that moment in episode 3 is meant to

Spoiler:

hammer home the fact that sometimes, no matter what you do and how well you handle the situation, things will go to hell and somebody will die.

Spoiler:

Well that's a convenient excuse for killing the character who could already be dead so you don't have to support as many branching paths. They relegated her to the sidelines after she could've died anyway.

kyrieee wrote:

I've gone through three episodes together with my sister and while I'm enjoying it I don't think all the hyperbole is warranted. For a game that's essentially all about interactive narrative I think the branching is unimpressive to the point where it's struggling to maintain even the illusion of choice. The writing is good but the game supporting that writing isn't breaking new ground. It doesn't have to, I still like it loads, it's just that the people having a contest about who can praise it the most should maybe tone it down.

Slacker1913 wrote:

Yeah, they specifically mentioned that moment in episode 3 is meant to

Spoiler:

hammer home the fact that sometimes, no matter what you do and how well you handle the situation, things will go to hell and somebody will die.

Spoiler:

Well that's a convenient excuse for killing the character who could already be dead so you don't have to support as many branching paths. They relegated her to the sidelines after she could've died anyway.

Eh, you can peek behind the curtains and cynically explain everything, and you'd be right. But you can also just not do that and enjoy the ride.

I played episode 2 last night. The buggy cutscenes were still there, but slightly less frequently, thankfully.

I'm still enjoying the experience for the most part. The writing and voice acting is very good, although I feel that writing so much extreme profanity into the dialog of scenes where children are present is poor taste. Also, I really dislike QTEs and wish there were fewer of them.

Spoiler:

The part where farm dude tries to push Lee into the electric fence was especially sigh-worthy, as it had multiple, consecutive QTEs.

SixteenBlue wrote:

Eh, you can peek behind the curtains and cynically explain everything, and you'd be right. But you can also just not do that and enjoy the ride.

I'm not trying to peek behind the curtains, that stuff was peeking out on its own and that was my problem with it.

Just finished episode 5, it was a good story, but I think the part where you interact with it needs some work. Some of it is good, but a lot of it is bad and more of it is wasted potential.

Got the on-disc release for the 360 and ripped through all 5 episodes in 24 hours, which ended up being a tremendously emotional and involving experience. Not sure if I want to play it again myself but my wife very much likes the TV show, so I'm hoping to watch her give it a shot eventually.

kyrieee wrote:

I'm not trying to peek behind the curtains, that stuff was peeking out on its own and that was my problem with it.

Just finished episode 5, it was a good story, but I think the part where you interact with it needs some work. Some of it is good, but a lot of it is bad and more of it is wasted potential.

I just don't understand that. Even though I knew better I still always felt like all the choices were meaningful, more so than any similar game, for example Mass Effect. I think the design of those elements was just right. They don't lead to ultimately different outcomes but they do drastically change the context and personalize the story. The fact that people do make wildly different choices speaks to that.

Expecting a truly branching narrative from a game that has some level of production value is an unrealistic expectation. You're literally talking about exponentially more content than any given player will experience. Also I feel like when it has been done experimentally in simpler text based games that it doesn't really enhance the experience overall and can be a detriment if you're expected to replay it to see the alternate branches.

I understand if the game just didn't work for you for whatever reason, but it worked for other people and we feel justified in our praise of that experience.

Episode 1 is free for today only (12/25) on XBLA:

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Pr...

It went live a bit early as I just downloaded it now (11:30pm EST). Just in time to get the rest of the series discounted as part of the Countdown to 2013 sale.

Sweet, I bought the full thing way back when it was on sale at some point on PC. I was playing it on the PS3 (those 2 free episodes for PS+ members) not recalling that I had all the episodes. I thought I only had 3 or so. I will have to switch to the PC for the remainder. Mouse works better anyways.

Forgive me if this isn't the correct thread (I'm trying to avoid spoilers so I just skimmed) but if anyone has a game where they

Spoiler:

Saved Duck, Carly, and sided with Kenny all the way in episode one and chopped off the guys leg in episode 2

I would be forever grateful you if you would PM me and send me your pref.prop file. I believe it can be a save file of an already completed game and I'll just rewind to the part I'm at. My save deleted and I'm really not excited about playing the first episode for a third time.

Thanks all!

FridgeGremlin! wrote:

Forgive me if this isn't the correct thread (I'm trying to avoid spoilers so I just skimmed) but if anyone has a game where they

Spoiler:

Saved Duck, Carly, and sided with Kenny all the way in episode one and chopped off the guys leg in episode 2

I would be forever grateful you if you would PM me and send me your pref.prop file. I believe it can be a save file of an already completed game and I'll just rewind to the part I'm at. My save deleted and I'm really not excited about playing the first episode for a third time.
Thanks all!

I might have what you're looking for, digging through my files right now. Do you want it e-mailed or should I upload it somewhere?
Edit: Done! Sent you a PM! :)

Blasted through this thing over the past few days. Exceptional work by Telltale, arguably the best they've ever done.

I noticed while playing through that I seldom felt the urge to skim through dialog the way I tend to in games like Mass Effect. I think this is because it simulates conversations in 'real-time', which has two relevant effects:

1) I'm paying close attention to what the other person says because I'm looking for opportunities to contribute
2) I have to balance my attention between listening to what they're saying and formulating a response

Both of these seem like things that happen in real life/face to face, and it seems to me they have a pretty significant effect on the aesthetics of conversation. Under the traditional model my goal is to absorb the information being delivered to me in full, then take my time selecting a response; perhaps this structure predisposes me towards optimizing by skimming through dialog as fast as possible and then reviewing once I know my options, whereas the Walking Dead approach makes for more of a performative experience wherein pacing and rhythm become important (and may significantly change the way we process and act on information). I've felt similarly about games like Alpha Protocol. Very cool stuff.

There is so much about this game to like. Right off the bat, it handles social issues like race and gender in a way that is so far above the current standard in games (in some ways even in TV/movies) it's kind of embarrassing. We got to see a few different ethnicities, a handful of different shapes and sizes, and a whole slew of reasonably-rendered female characters (maybe more than we've seen in all of AAA over the past few years combined?). Aside from a handful of questionable exploit-ey moments, no one was over-sexualized or implicitly objectified in the way that other games do pretty much by default. This struck me as a game that was written for adults and actually treats the player like an adult, which is neat.

I thought the branching narrative stuff was smartly-handled, especially the technique of prioritizing the internal effects on important characters over external effects on the larger world (a technique I have long championed as THE way to do interactive narrative). I tend to reject the criticism that 'it's all an illusion!' out of hand; I may return to that soon in depth. As for the notion that it may or may not be a game, here's my two cents: If someone somewhere is having a GOTY conversation in which Walking Dead is exempt for reasons of not being gamey enough, I personally have no interest whatsoever in that conversation.

Eleima wrote:
FridgeGremlin! wrote:

Forgive me if this isn't the correct thread (I'm trying to avoid spoilers so I just skimmed) but if anyone has a game where they

Spoiler:

Saved Duck, Carly, and sided with Kenny all the way in episode one and chopped off the guys leg in episode 2

I would be forever grateful you if you would PM me and send me your pref.prop file. I believe it can be a save file of an already completed game and I'll just rewind to the part I'm at. My save deleted and I'm really not excited about playing the first episode for a third time.
Thanks all!

I might have what you're looking for, digging through my files right now. Do you want it e-mailed or should I upload it somewhere?
Edit: Done! Sent you a PM! :)

Wow, Eleima with the save! I'm going to try it tonight. Thank you!

4xis.black, I think another important thing to note is the body language of the characters themselves. Take Mass Effect for example. I know I've frequently trailed off during long dialogues and came back to a response where I was all "Wait, what am I answering?" Most of the time people are talking in Mass Effect, though (and similarly, Dragon Age), they're standing still with nothing more than shifting their weight or waving their arms ever so slightly.

The Walking Dead usually tries to have characters doing something. Typically the more intense moments have a variety of things going on, for example:

Episode 1

Spoiler:

Larry thinks Duck has been bitten and is arguing about killing the kid. Meanwhile, Clementine has to pee.

Episode 3

Spoiler:

Lilly is certain that Ben (or Carly) was taking supplies. Meanwhile, Kenny is trying to drive the vehicle and keep things calm.

This is nothing short of how many times in Episode 2 characters talk to one another while walking, which television and film have learned is a great way to give the audience a sense of the plot moving forward.

Most games deliver dialogue in a horrible way that abruptly stops gameplay. I like the idea of even linear games having dialogue options as it helps keep the player involved during cut-scenes. However, I like how The Walking Dead treats a lot of these moments. It's a very character-driven story so it benefits from it, but how often do characters talk about stuff that is not germane to the plot? Quite often. They may talk about each other or things you've done, but on the whole there's a lot of conversation that's had for the sake of developing character.

As opposed to most games, where it's a bunch of gameplay, a dump of exposition with maybe a generic and gratuitous character moment, and then off to more gameplay.

FridgeGremlin! wrote:

Wow, Eleima with the save! I'm going to try it tonight. Thank you! :D

I'm guessing it worked, then? :p

CCesarano, I think you really hit the nail on the head, I hadn't picked up on that. But now that you mention it, it's very true. There are always a lot of things going on, which really give it a feeling of intensity. There's definitely no multitasking with this game!

nel e nel wrote:

Episode 1 is free for today only (12/25) on XBLA:

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Pr...

It went live a bit early as I just downloaded it now (11:30pm EST). Just in time to get the rest of the series discounted as part of the Countdown to 2013 sale.

So it looks like they have extended the period to get Episode 1 to December 31st, and today only, the remaining 4 episodes are 50% off on XBLA, coming in at a cool 800 points for all of them. That's $10 for the entire season!

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Pr...

Dejanzie was wonderfully kind enough to gift me a copy for Xmas. Blew through three episodes tonight while I was snowed in.

Holy hell. I'm tempted to call in sick just to get a chance to finish off Eps 4 and 5.

Also, EP 3? ALL THE FEELS. This is the first time in a long time that I've been hugely invested in not having a game spoiled for me, so I probably won't check this thread again until I finish. I don't even want to sniff how it all turns out.

Episode 3: Chapter 4 -

Spoiler:

f*ck Lilly!

Sorry. Was just caught off guard. I'm a couple chapters past that now, and I still can't get over it.

Tkyl wrote:

Episode 3: Chapter 4 -

Spoiler:

f*ck Lilly!
Sorry. Was just caught off guard. I'm a couple chapters past that now, and I still can't get over it.

Yeah, I know!!! Me too! I genuinely gasped and was totally caught off guard as well. Gosh, but this game really hits you where it hurts...

Totally skipped the rest of the thread because I want to avoid spoilers so apologies if this has already been asked;

I loaded up the game on PC to play Episode 2 today and I had an issue with starting it up on Windows 8 with a controller plugged in that wiped my save directory. I started Episode 2 anyway and let it 'generate choices' or something to that effect and it seemed like it picked all the same things I did in my playthrough

Spoiler:

At least the main one, saving Carly over Doug. Hard to tell re: the rest.

FWIW so far I'm:

Episode 1:
Lied to Hershel (36%)
Saved Shawn over Duck (47%)
Sided with Kenny (48%)
Refused Irene the gun (55%)
Saved Carly over Doug (76%)

Episode 2:
Chopped David's leg off (84%)
Let Danny shoot Jolene (87%)
Didn't help kill Larry (68%)
Didn't kill both brothers (82%)
Stole food from the car (55%)

Is this going to come back and bite me in the ass in the end? I've seen there's a lot of 'Clementine noticed you did x' that isn't always specific to the narrative of that episode - am I going to get some overall 'Clementine Character Approval Rating' at the end of the 5th episode that'll be screwed up now because it forgot all the cool stuff I did in Episode 1 or can I go ahead without worrying too much?

Crhis wrote:

Is this going to come back and bite me in the ass in the end? I've seen there's a lot of 'Clementine noticed you did x' that isn't always specific to the narrative of that episode - am I going to get some overall 'Clementine Character Approval Rating' at the end of the 5th episode that'll be screwed up now because it forgot all the cool stuff I did in Episode 1 or can I go ahead without worrying too much?

Don't sweat it.

Crhis wrote:

I loaded up the game on PC to play Episode 2 today and I had an issue with starting it up on Windows 8 with a controller plugged in that wiped my save directory.

There is an issue where the game does not properly sync your saves. The issue is caused because there are actually 2 places in which the game saves meta data. Unfortunately, it doesn't update both of them all the time. So what happens is that it saves your data in one location but then tries to read from the other. If you look in "C:\Users\...\Documents\Telltale Games\The Walking Dead" you will see a "prefs.prop" file. You will also find the same file in the installation directory. You'll want to copy the larger file over the smaller file. (Make backups of these in case you copy the wrong one.) That should "resync" your data and allow you to load your saves.