[diego]

Telltale has done much to keep the focus on the adventure genre. Anyone who hasn't been delighted to see LucasArts' veterans working on new games, or thrilled to see resurgence of loving franchises like Sam & Max, Monkey Island... is either not an adventure fan or simply unjust.

Even the much-criticized episodic format proved to be of big influence, especially on the indie scene, where it's easier for authors to come up with smaller portions of the game, which is in any case, better than no games at all.


However, with recent exploits concerning movie franchises things doesn't seem so great. Now, I can only agree with everything David Grossman said in "Mother-in-Law and games" article. Today almost anyone has a computer, and it's quite natural in a company's business cycle to think about expanding, acquiring even more fans etc.

But, it seems to me they've stepped a little bit in what you can call - commercial waters. Seems to me they've played a little bit too much on the "safe side" with recent titles. I'd rather see Telltale live and kickin' than going bankrupt, but i would think in the light of many announced titles, it's time for Telltale to find that "perfect balance" between "doing business" and making more quality games.


What was the real problem with Back to the Future (haven't played JP)? Lack of puzzles? Lack of GOOD and thought-provoking puzzles? Yes, but it's not of the main concern. AGs can work without them. In lack of the better words, it's been - average. Much of the work has been put into it, but it's just - OK. And that worries me, being OK when i know what are these people capable of. I'm worried of seeing plenty of new games which are - OK. Problem also lies in part even before BTTF. TTG hit jackpot with S&M formula (something M. Stemmle and others had in mind even during the Freelance Police production) but since it, there's been little diversity of that formula in their other games. Wallace & Grommit managed to work nice, but even Tales of Monkey Island suffered in parts of slight resemblance to S&M, since it's suited for a slightly different experience. I'm also sure there's been much pressure on TTG 'cause of the loving film franchises, and hope they'll bring more goodness in days to come.

[zane]

Theres no question telltale has been acquiring these big names for the purpose of reaching a broader audience. Its the same strategy theyv been using all along, from wallace and grommit to strongbad: tap into existing fan bases to expose more people to the genre. While the movies are bigger names, its not so different, nor is it different for them to keep trying different things mechanically to make more people happy.
I dont have many problems with BTTF. Is it a fantastic game? No. Is it a fun adventure? It sure is. One of the things i really like about telltale is they always pay great love and care to the source material. Strongbad's game might not have appealed to veteran adventure gamers, but it really appealed to fans of strongbad, and i think the same can be said for BTTF. Some episodes are better than others, and non-episodic games have chapters that are better than others too.

[Oscar]

I always find it hard to tell whether situations like Telltale's falls into the category of company decline or my own boredom with their output. I don't think BTTF is all that different from Wallace & Gromit or TOMI except for it being a different franchise, but my enjoyment of it was far less than those games. I don't really have an analysis for that, except for an ominous feeling while playing it that - like diego said - they were pandering to a more mainstream audience.

[CoyoteAG]

I very much enjoyed Telltale games up through ToMI (which I really liked). BTTF was fun to play because of the movies and the games were okay. Where they fell off for me was with Jurassic Park. And it wasn't even the modifed game play that I didn't like. I could live with the Heavy Rain type controls if it was executed well but they did it so poorly it wasn't even fun.
But that is neither here nor there.

I don't mind that Telltale keeps making these mainstream games based on franchises or whatever as long as they are well thought out and clever games (which I though S&M, W&G and ToMI were).

[TheH2s]

I really enjoyed BTTF but that was purely from a nostalgia point of view. I for the most part like Telltale and will continue to buy from them but they have watered down their product for the masses. Thing is as long time AG's we see the problems. Honestly if you had never played Telltale games before and picked up BTTF on a whim for instance would you care about the gameplay?

Is Telltale less of an adventure game company than they once were? Is this new strategy status quo for Telltale and us AG's were the last to figure that out?

[fov]

It's kind of funny to see people saying Telltale has "watered down" their games and become "more commercial" and "less of an adventure game company" since their strategy (and their gameplay) really hasn't really changed since their early days. Telltale has always delivered a more casual experience than adventure gamers want, and adventure game fans have been complaining about difficulty level and so-called pandering to a casual audience since the first Bone game.

From the beginning, Telltale's mission has been to create short, downloadable, episodic games based on well-known licenses. They've built the company around it. A couple of those happened to be beloved adventure game franchises, and those were (understandably) skewed to an adventure gamey crowd. But that seems to have morphed into "they used to make *real* adventure games and now they don't" in some people's minds, and it's just not true.

They've also managed to build a successful business, in a terrible economy, making what would otherwise be considered "niche" games (both because they're adventure games and because they're episodic, which was considered the kiss of death not too long ago). It's fine to wish the games they made were different or more suited to your personal tastes, but you can't really say the company has abruptly changed course or sold out when they're doing what they set out to do all along.

(Of course, my opinion doesn't come solely from a gamer's perspective, since I worked for Telltale for several years and know a lot about how and why they do things. That being said, I think I'm just as qualified to give an "honest analysis" as the next guy. )

Btw, those who weren't necessarily following Telltale way back in 2004 when the company got started might find this article interesting... in particular:

Telltale speaks of a fundamental change in the approach to game mechanics—how they should be dictated by the needs of the story, and should be set up to respond dynamically to the characters. They would like to eliminate the large line drawn between the normal game portion "where you're just walking around waiting for something to happen" and the big, eventful cutscenes; ideally for Telltale, their entire game will feel like one large playable cutscene.

Hmm, sounds sort of like Jurassic Park...

[Frogacuda]

Originally Posted by diego

But, it seems to me they've stepped a little bit in what you can call - commercial waters.

Or rather, they've attempted to and failed miserably. It's one thing to think about ways to help less experienced players from getting frustrated, but if you gut the game's challenge altogether, they're just going to be disinterested.

Portal 2 (while not an adventure game) is proof positive that people can enjoy the mechanic of being given a scenario that seems impossible, and through experimentation overcoming it. This is a VERY DIFFICULT kind of game to design, however, because if you make it too easy, you rob the player of the reward of figuring it out.

Streamlining an adventure is one thing, but turning it into a visual novel is another, and I think Telltale is struggling to find the right way to bring adventure games to a wider audience.

In fairness, many others have failed before them. I'm convinced it's a doable thing, but I'm not sure it has been done right yet.

[RockNFknRoll]

Originally Posted by Frogacuda

Portal 2 (while not an adventure game) is proof positive that people can enjoy the mechanic of being given a scenario that seems impossible, and through experimentation overcoming it. This is a VERY DIFFICULT kind of game to design, however, because if you make it too easy, you rob the player of the reward of figuring it out.

AGREED!

My two biggest gripes with Telltale are

1) Puzzle design and challenge. This goes for many mainstream adventures these days. As someone who was actively playing the classics I can tell you the whole draw of them was just what you said: getting yourself out of impossible situations by really pushing your brain in all directions. That was the fun, the companies back then DARED you to try and solve their newest puzzles. The frustration is what made them take a long time, and made the reward that much better.

2) The graphic design. There's no eye candy to it, each scene seems like a small diorama made of plastic and reused character models. I want to feel like I'm in a huge, expansive, living world in an AG, not a little set.

Other than that Telltale are very talented storytellers and I thank them for focusing on AGs.

[diego]

Emily, thanx for the insight! I wasn't really suggesting at Telltale "selling out", it's just that the overall quality of games has somehow dropped with their last efforts.

I agree on the "vision" thing, and of course - people were complaining ALWAYS - Graphic adventures "watered down" text adventures, Hints and "Show all hotspots" watered down puzzles... But even if Telltale is sticking to the formula which helped them survive in the risky territory of adventure genre "post-golden years", that still doesn't explain why company on a rise produces slightly "more average" games compared to the previous titles. You know, i've heard people saying Sam&Max episodes are some of their favourite games ever, and somehow i doubt i'll hear that for JP, no matter how love, work... to satisfy players has been put into it.

Of course, i'm sure things will be slightly different with franchises like King's Quest, especially puzzle-wise, but as i said - i wish they can again come up with something where someone will say it's his/her fav game, and not just - well, it's ok.

[xxax]

I know this won't be a popular opinion but I was never a fan. I was happy to see Sam&Max return, but to be honest it didn't even scratch the surface of Hit the Road.

Its the same with Monkey Island. I was so happy to see it back that for 3 episodes i was totally hooked. But truth be told, everything was lackluster compared to the original (especially the first 3). I don't like episodes, i hate the rehashed models, the scenery looks plastic and totally lifeless and the story is feeble. The puzzles were nothing special...

It's nice they are doing adventure games, but i don't like them. The fact is if these weren't adventure games, but were lets say FPS, everyone would be saying it was crap. Its only because adventure games are so scarce I'm happy with whatever i get.

[Monolith]

When I play Tell-tale games, I always have an impression related to the game and not the game mechanics. For a lot of adventure games, the real impression I get is 'good or pretty awesome point and click'.

For tell-tale games I get the impression 'Dude, that was a pretty good game. I liked the part (scene) where they did (action) and now we don't know if (mystery)'.