STEAM!

[AwesomeOcelot]

It has gameplay, it's just terrible gameplay. Has a lot of non-iteractivity as well, a large part of it isn't a game.

[Hassat Hunter]

Under normal circumstances, I would agree with alanschu.

However, here we're talking about Telltale, and their lack of gameplay and average stories (there, I said it. Not quite sure why TWD got all that praise, since even as story, it's rather avarage) make it harder and harder to talk about "gaming".

Pretty dissapointed with them. And they started out so well... :/ Used to be a big fan, now... I only try their games if they're really cheap on Steam. Paid too much for TWD as it is, expecting it was better with all the praise it was given.

Sadly, it was not.

[NOK222]

 

 

Pretty dissapointed with them. And they started out so well..

 

Those CSI games were the epitome of videogames?

[melkathi]

I'd argue you broke it.

 

You may not like the gameplay, but it's still a game.  Just a rant as I grow weary of seeing this crop up all the time (for more than just The Walking Dead) as what constitutes a game is somewhere rigidly defined.

 

If finding terrible QTEs to not qualify as proper gameplay makes me rigid, then call me Mr. Rigid

I enjoyed choose your own adventure books. I never labeled them as games though. Just a different, interactive book experience. Same goes for these telltale products. I feel that they chose the closest label they could and called it games, but without it completly fitting the label - they could hardly tell people to buy their interactive-media-experience-thingie though.

[melkathi]

On another note:

 

Full Mojo Rampage on Steam: 50% off -> From 18.99 € down to 9.49€

Full Mojo Rampage (steam key) on the Humble Store: 50% off -> From $12.99 down to $6.49 = 4.76€ and 10% off that to charity...

 

Something is wrong here.

[babaganoosh13]

 

 

 

Pretty dissapointed with them. And they started out so well..

 

Those CSI games were the epitome of videogames?

 

(Even though I didn't originally post that) In a long era lacking of good detective/cop games, I think those CSI games are fantastic. And Sam & Max.

[SadExchange]

On another note:

 

Full Mojo Rampage on Steam: 50% off -> From 18.99 € down to 9.49€

Full Mojo Rampage (steam key) on the Humble Store: 50% off -> From $12.99 down to $6.49 = 4.76€ and 10% off that to charity...

 

Something is wrong here.

I have never heard of this game, however looks decent.  Anyone else looking into getting it for some MP sometime?

[Keyrock]

Wait, The Walking Dead games are laden with QTEs?  Crap.  I had no interest in playing them anyway (because **** zombies), but I figure this means that The Wolf Among Us, which I am interested in, or was, is laden with QTEs too.  There's a good chance that if and when they ever make another Sam & Max game they'll also load it up with QTEs. *sigh*  I was hoping they were just straight point n clicks like what Telltale made before.

[melkathi]

 

On another note:

 

Full Mojo Rampage on Steam: 50% off -> From 18.99 € down to 9.49€

Full Mojo Rampage (steam key) on the Humble Store: 50% off -> From $12.99 down to $6.49 = 4.76€ and 10% off that to charity...

 

Something is wrong here.

I have never heard of this game, however looks decent.  Anyone else looking into getting it for some MP sometime?

 

 

I have been playing a bit. Will write something about it in the What are you playing thread later.

It seems it could be good for some casual multiplayer fun.

[Humanoid]

That is odd, even on the US Steam store it's simply $20 down to $10 on sale. But odd in a good way. I've extended my shunning of Steam to never again buy directly from the Steam storefront: even if it involves a price premium I will go through a third party, be it Amazon, the Humble Store, GreenManGaming, Gamersgate or whoever.

[sorophx]

Wait, The Walking Dead games are laden with QTEs?

judging by YouTube videos those game are just a string of QTEs. with clicking on icons on your screen in-between (not even pixel hunting, what has the genre come to?!). I watched the first hour of gameplay from the first TWD game, and it was the most boring adventure game I'd seen. that Wolf game is pretty much the same, it's an interactive story (I'm not sure if you consider those "games")

[SadExchange]

 

 

On another note:

 

Full Mojo Rampage on Steam: 50% off -> From 18.99 € down to 9.49€

Full Mojo Rampage (steam key) on the Humble Store: 50% off -> From $12.99 down to $6.49 = 4.76€ and 10% off that to charity...

 

Something is wrong here.

I have never heard of this game, however looks decent.  Anyone else looking into getting it for some MP sometime?

 

 

I have been playing a bit. Will write something about it in the What are you playing thread later.

It seems it could be good for some casual multiplayer fun.

 

I ended up picking it and played through the first level.  So can't say much about it, but look me up on Steam sometime and maybe we can do some MP as I learn more about it and can invest more time into it.

[Serrano]

Wait, The Walking Dead games are laden with QTEs?  

 

Yes, kind of. The QTEs are so easy though you have to deliberately fail them. I think the idea is to make you feel like you're struggling a little more than if you were just watching it happen, rather than to challenge or risk frustrating the player. 

Edited January 17, 2014 by Serrano

[SadExchange]

Divinity: Original Sin no available on Steam as Early Access for those who did not kickstart it.  I will be picking this one up for sure and trying to hold back excitement for the full release!

[alanschu]

 

I'd argue you broke it.

 

You may not like the gameplay, but it's still a game.  Just a rant as I grow weary of seeing this crop up all the time (for more than just The Walking Dead) as what constitutes a game is somewhere rigidly defined.

 

If finding terrible QTEs to not qualify as proper gameplay makes me rigid, then call me Mr. Rigid

I enjoyed choose your own adventure books. I never labeled them as games though. Just a different, interactive book experience. Same goes for these telltale products. I feel that they chose the closest label they could and called it games, but without it completly fitting the label - they could hardly tell people to buy their interactive-media-experience-thingie though.

 

 

I guess my point of contention is more: "Do you feel threatened by the fact that other people call them games even if you don't like those particular games?"

 

There are types of games that I don't like either because their gameplay doesn't appeal to me.

 

 

The point is less "does Melkathi like them" and more "why does Melkathi care if other people still refer to them as games?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, kind of. The QTEs are so easy though you have to deliberately fail them. I think the idea is to make you feel like you're struggling a little more than if you were just watching it happen, rather than to challenge or risk frustrating the player.

 

The games certainly aren't overly challenging.  Though that's pretty much the point of QTEs, because the alternative would be to simply have the player passively watch what is going to happen (to be honest, I never understood the general disdain for QTEs a lot of the time.  Sometimes they are done just awfully, but other times it's done simply to make the player more responsible for what is happening on the screen as opposed to just watching).

 

It really depends on what the game is trying to do.  Creating fully fleshed out game mechanics for the variety of different types of events that come up during the game may not be appropriate for what the game's intending on doing.

[Oner]

To be honest I think people have an unhealthy obsession with QTEs.
There's a difference between cutscenecutscenecutscenePRESSARANDOMBUTTONIN1,5SECONDcutscenecutscene
And
Cutscenecutscene-slowmo buildup-press the attack button to *gasp* attack in 5 seconds-cutscenecutscene

[AwesomeOcelot]

Sometimes they are done just awfully, but other times it's done simply to make the player more responsible for what is happening on the screen as opposed to just watching)

 

And by their very nature that's not what's happening, you're not responsible in the same way as control interaction in gameplay, you're just unlocking gates in a cutscene through prompts. It's completely boring to me, I'd rather just watch a cutscene, because if it's a cutscene I actually want to watch then I want to pay attention to it. I can't imagine anything worse than adding QTE to good cutscenes in games, but I also find that cutscenes are sucking as a result of QTE. It's "just watching" plus pressing buttons/performing gestures to explicit prompts. If a game is simple and telegraphed, we used to call it boring, shallow, and repetitive, well QTE is what happens when you make it as simple and telegraphed as you can get.

 

Creating fully fleshed out game mechanics for the variety of different types of events that come up during the game may not be appropriate for what the game's intending on doing.

Apparantly intending to suck.

Edited January 17, 2014 by AwesomeOcelot

[Tale]

It really depends on what the game is trying to do.  Creating fully fleshed out game mechanics for the variety of different types of events that come up during the game may not be appropriate for what the game's intending on doing.

My philosophy here is that what the game is "trying" to do should be its core mechanics. Trying to do something completely different for a moment doesn't sit well with me, especially not when that something else is a game of Simon Says.

 

It's like we have these potentially deep and engaging game mechanics that are exciting and tactical... and then we have this child's game that you can constantly find a variation of on the clearance isle of Target's toy department. And for some reason, someone thought what this $60 game really needed in the middle of it was some of the latter.

[alanschu]

On another note:

 

Full Mojo Rampage on Steam: 50% off -> From 18.99 € down to 9.49€

Full Mojo Rampage (steam key) on the Humble Store: 50% off -> From $12.99 down to $6.49 = 4.76€ and 10% off that to charity...

 

Something is wrong here.

 

Does the Humble bundle eventually expire?

[alanschu]

 

It really depends on what the game is trying to do.  Creating fully fleshed out game mechanics for the variety of different types of events that come up during the game may not be appropriate for what the game's intending on doing.

My philosophy here is that what the game is "trying" to do should be its core mechanics. Trying to do something completely different for a moment doesn't sit well with me, especially not when that something else is a game of Simon Says.

 

It's like we have these potentially deep and engaging game mechanics that are exciting and tactical... and then we have this child's game that you can constantly find a variation of on the clearance isle of Target's toy department. And for some reason, someone thought what this $60 game really needed in the middle of it was some of the latter.

 

 

I think that's fair.  I dislike the sudden "Pass this quicktime or die" in a game like Resident Evil (especially when I was oblivious to them even existing before hand).

 

With The Walking Dead, I'd argue that those sequences are the bulk of its core mechanic.

 

There can be exceptions though.  The co-op of Battlefield 3 had a QTE for the person diffusing the bomb (which often lead to hilarity as the other guy would sass the diffuser) and the game had established early that the possibility of the odd quicktime event coming up wasn't a big surprise, so it didn't bother me as much there.  I suppose YMMV.  Though if it's supposed to be this super intense bomb diffuse scene where you have to be quick and accurate, I am skeptical that it'd work better if it was purely passive.

[melkathi]

 

On another note:

 

Full Mojo Rampage on Steam: 50% off -> From 18.99 € down to 9.49€

Full Mojo Rampage (steam key) on the Humble Store: 50% off -> From $12.99 down to $6.49 = 4.76€ and 10% off that to charity...

 

Something is wrong here.

 

Does the Humble bundle eventually expire?

 

 

Humble now has a store on top of the bundles. They do daily and weekly deals just like other stores. Only that 10% off what you pay goes to charity.

For the specific game they noticed how their 50% was 50% of the 50% on Steam though so they adjusted it tot he same price. In dollars. So for EU customers humble is still cheaper.

[melkathi]

 

 

The point is less "does Melkathi like them" and more "why does Melkathi care if other people still refer to them as games?"

 

 

 

You do have a  small misconception there: I don't dislike them. I think they are a great experience. Though I believe shortcuts have been made in the Walking Dead to force choice situations on the player that are ... forced. At least in episode 1. I couldn't decide who to give food to in episode 2 so am stuck there

 

I love The Wolf Among Us. It helps that I am a Fables fan of course, but I believe that story is far better suited to their storytelling style and the QTEs are slightly improved to make them less intrusive. They have improved their formula with it.

 

But just because I love it, doesn't make me consider it a game.

[melkathi]

To be honest I think people have an unhealthy obsession with QTEs.

There's a difference between cutscenecutscenecutscenePRESSARANDOMBUTTONIN1,5SECONDcutscenecutscene

And

Cutscenecutscene-slowmo buildup-press the attack button to *gasp* attack in 5 seconds-cutscenecutscene

 

You forgot mashbuttonrepeatedly

[Keyrock]

 

To be honest I think people have an unhealthy obsession with QTEs.

There's a difference between cutscenecutscenecutscenePRESSARANDOMBUTTONIN1,5SECONDcutscenecutscene

And

Cutscenecutscene-slowmo buildup-press the attack button to *gasp* attack in 5 seconds-cutscenecutscene

 

You forgot mashbuttonrepeatedly

 

Those are the worst.  That's what made me stop playing Castlevania: Lords of Shadow for the time being because I got a blister on my thumb (needed to give it time to heal).  I'm baffled as to how causing me to get blisters is supposed to enhance my gaming experience.

 

QTEs can be used well in games.  The Last Remnant is probably the best example of QTEs used well in a game that I can think of.  I also don't mind in the least bit if they're used for completely optional mini-games.  It's just that QTEs being used in a manner that enhances a game, or at least doesn't detract from it, is very much the exception rather than the rule.  

[HoonDing]