Telltale Games Batman

Penn

Robert ninja wrote: »

Yeah I'm used to that. There's two kinds of gamers. Those who give a hoot about the Borderland's story and those that don't. Borderland's story is based around its ability to help in telling a bunch of jokes and memes... which in its self does not mean its not entertaining... Wayne's World of example is the exact same thing... except I'd watch it any day of the week but you'd probably need to pay me to play a borderlands story-only game.

Tales From The Borderlands made me laugh harder than I've laughed at a game since South Park Stick of Truth. Yeah, the overall story was nothing special, but it was executed brilliantly with great humour and characters throughout.

And there were parts of Borderlands 2, particularly Tiny Tina's DLC, where the story was absolutely magnificent, in between the jokes & memes.

It doesn't have to be story vs gameplay. Games can have both or favour one over the other, while still delivering an enjoyable experience.

I'd be absolutely up for another Telltale game, but they absolutely need to fix their release procedures. Think most would be willing to wait an extra few months or a year, if we get a full release or episodes a week to a month apart. Tales from the Borderlands took over a year for a 5 episode game. A year.

TetraxShard

Deleted User wrote: »

I'd be absolutely up for another Telltale game, but they absolutely need to fix their release procedures. Think most would be willing to wait an extra few months or a year, if we get a full release or episodes a week to a month apart. Tales from the Borderlands took over a year for a 5 episode game. A year.

Maybe they are, we've already had three episodes of Minecraft and that game's less than two months old.

I'm really excited for this. It's a game I never knew I wanted, but now need badly.

TetraxShard

TetraxShard wrote: »

Maybe they are, we've already had three episodes of Minecraft and that game's less than two months old.

I'm really excited for this. It's a game I never knew I wanted, but now need badly.

Oh really? That's fantastic. Have no interest in the Minecraft one so wasn't paying attention.

Generic Dreadhead

Deleted User wrote: »

I'd be absolutely up for another Telltale game, but they absolutely need to fix their release procedures. Think most would be willing to wait an extra few months or a year, if we get a full release or episodes a week to a month apart. Tales from the Borderlands took over a year for a 5 episode game. A year.

I might be losing my mind here but looking at the install dates for Game of Thrones, it seems like there was about 4 months between episode 5 and 6

Penn

Cormac... wrote: »

I might be losing my mind here but looking at the install dates for Game of Thrones, it seems like there was about 4 months between episode 5 and 6

Felt like it anyway. Same with TFTB. They were alternating releases, so every 4-6 weeks they'd release one episode from one of them.

Star Lord

If this is executed anywhere near as well as The Wolf Among Us, then I'd be well pleased with it. (Speaking of TWAU, we need a second season!!!)

BlitzKrieg

steve_r

Interesting to see where they go with this. Got a Telltale humble bundle ages ago (great value tbf) and the fatigue is strong with this one!

I really enjoyed TWAO and TWD but sometimes you feel like you aren't playing a game at all - just clicking buttons to hear different dialogue.

TWAO is a great story well told - but there's zero challenge. Look at thread on here for it and it's like a thread for people watching a show.

If there is a Batman game, I want the challenges to be hard, and the consequences real. The difficulty level shouldn't be stupid high, but it still shouldn't feel as if we're on rails for the whole experience.

steve_r

Also would recommend Hector: Badge of Courage as a fun little game I got with the Telltale bundle. Make by a different studio (Nordies I think) who were subsequently bought by Telltale.

Kirby

The Wolf among us was brilliant. If they can reach those heights again with Batman, they will have another hit.

Batman is a huge seller as well so it will get the mainstream into point and click games which can only be good for the genre.

Rorok

I don't like the story games, for example

in TWD episode save Carley/Doug, you get one conversation at the end of episode 1, 2/3 in episode 2 cause they stay at the motor in, then episode 3 another 2 conversations and either die anyway

Somnus

I enjoyed TWD 1&2 and The Wolf Among Us, but one thing I notice the more I play, is that there are a lot of choices that don't affect the game at all. For example you might choose to do one thing, and the opposite will happen anyway. And I know that's true to life in a way, but I think they give the allusion of more choice than there actually is.

That said I'm kinda excited by this. I think they could do a really good job with the atmosphere and story. I just hope they don't spread themselves too thin over other projects and have ridiculous waits between episodes.

MiskyBoyy

It’s still too soon to show any scenes from the game, but the team was happy to confirm that players can expect to see it closer to its upcoming premiere which is slated for THIS SUMMER! Additional details gathered from the panel were as follows:

- Batman is the perfect character for the studio to explore in a Telltale series, giving the team the opportunity to dive deeper into the mind of the man behind the mask. Each night, Bruce Wayne chooses to change Gotham for the better. The team wants to explore what the consequences are of the player’s actions when decisions made as Bruce have a critical impact on his nightly crusade as Batman, and vice versa. Certain key situations will give the player the decision to approach a scene as Bruce or Batman, with consequences for both sides.

- Fresh interpretation of the universe set in current times, not tied to any existing iteration of Batman in games, film, or comics. Story will focus on Bruce and Batman, not an examination of the extended 'Bat-family,' (Robin, Nightwing, etc.) Fans can expect certain series staples such as Alfred Pennyworth, Vicki Vale, James Gordon, and Renee Montoya. Telltale is looking to keep the villains more tightly under wraps until closer to the premiere.

- Certain characters will have a deeply personal relationship with Bruce in his private life, and decisions made as Bruce or Batman will affect their paths towards corruption or redemption.

- The player's actions will help shape the Gotham that Bruce deals with during the day, as well as the criminals that Batman faces at night.

- Team is committing to a non-photorealistic interpretation of the universe, enhancing engine and technology to deliver a more seamless living comic book art direction. Taking inspiration from the works of over 75 years of artists such as Jim Lee, Greg Capullo, and Neal Adams.

- Like some other Telltale series, the game will be landing at M (Mature 17+) rating, and the cinematic approach will feel more akin to an R-rated film.

First Details on Telltale's Batman Series Discussed

MiskyBoyy

Info on Batman:

Why make a Batman game? There are plenty of games where you feel like Batman - this gives you insight on Bruce.

What is the split between Bruce and Batman in the story? They are pushing for more Bruce than typical games (compared to movies; fair share of both)

How will the game handle playing as Bruce/Batman? Sometimes, you get to directly choose playing as either Bruce or Batman in a scene.

When does the game release? This Summer

What choices do you make? As Batman, you can decide between violence or mercy when confronting someone. As both Bruce/Batman, you have lots of power in being able to shape what the city looks like, your friendships, etc.

What will the style of the game be like? Telltale will embrace their own style/identity. They are aiming for an M rating. It won't be photorealistic - it will use a comic art style. Expect something similar to Wolf.

How will the Telltale engine be? "Very upgraded" from past Telltale games. More significant step up from past games on a technical/creative level than previous ttg games. Premiering lots of "new" TTG stuff in Batman.

What villains are in the game? No comment from Telltale for now.

How Telltale responds to criticisms from lots of work: They have grown a lot, currently have 350 people. Had 70 people around Season 1. Built to have four full projects at once, growing quick is hard but they reached end goal, you will see Telltale settling in this year. You will see "episodes coming out on time," new technology will "finally blossom." They aim to make Telltale feel more like a movie studio than a game company - they look to Netflix, HBO, etc

How many episodes? Typical five episode series.

J. Marston

Focusing more on the Bruce side of things is an interesting angle to approach it from but I'm struggling to get excited about it.

I am a huge fan of all things Game Of Thrones/A Song of Ice & Fire-related and Telltale's take on that was a bit crap and barely held my interest, to be honest. I have a similar love for all things Batman, so I'm hoping they get it right this time.

Hopefully new engine means no more stuttering etc.

MiskyBoyy

New info posted ahead of E3 for Telltale's Batman: https://www.telltalegames.com/blog/106859/batman-the-telltale-series-unveiled-in-first-look-ahead-of-summer-2016-premiere

"Our CEO and Co-Founder Kevin Bruner had this to say about the upcoming series: "We've been hard at work at Telltale creating an all-new iteration of the iconic Batman story that puts players in the suit of billionaire Bruce Wayne, just as much as it will put them behind the mask, deciding how to carefully navigate a complex drama, rich with action, crime, corruption, and villainy lurking around every corner of Gotham City. The complex life and fractured psyche of Bruce Wayne has lent itself to becoming a bold evolution of the signature 'Telltale' role-playing experience, and we couldn't be more excited as we prepare to debut the series to players across the world this summer."

Cast:

Rendered to look like a living, breathing comic book, Telltale's vision of Batman will feature an award-winning cast of talent, including Troy Baker in the role of Bruce Wayne, Travis Willingham as Harvey Dent, Erin Yvette as Vicki Vale, Enn Reitel as Alfred Pennyworth, Murphy Guyer as Lieutenant James Gordon, Richard McGonagle as Carmine Falcone, and Laura Bailey as Selina Kyle. We'll be able to reveal additional cast and characters as the season progresses.

Sephiroth_dude

Meh...walking dead and the wolf among us was great but everything was rubbish imo.

ERG89

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Meh...walking dead and the wolf among us was great but everything was rubbish imo.

Tales from the Borderlands was great. Far from rubbish.

Sephiroth_dude

ERG89 wrote: »

Tales from the Borderlands was great. Far from rubbish.

I didnt enjoy it all that much.

Shiminay

They've got a pretty good formula that doesn't always appeal to everyone, but I think there's a lot of people (myself included) who think (or at the very least hope) they'll do Batman justice

Zero-Cool

I'm really liking the graphics but hope Troy isn't too recognisable. Some of his characters you can tell it's him straight away.

johnny_ultimate

I have recently discovered the superb 'Game Maker's Toolkit' series on YouTube, which offer accessible but deep analysis of the how games are made and how they tick. The video on the Arkham series particularly nailed IMO what made the series progressively less interesting as it went along:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvbnc-7Y0fE

He points out the sequence in The Dark Knight where the Joker forces Batman to choose between Harvey and Rachel, and contrasts it to how a similar situation becomes effectively two subquests in Arkham Knight that lack any real urgency. You see it in a couple of cases in TDK, actually, and how the Joker is constantly pushing Batman into extreme, tense decisions to try and break him.

In a way, capturing something along those lines could theoretically make Batman a really suitable fit for the whole Telltale 'choice' driven storytelling. If they manage to portray one of the rogue's gallery constantly testing and challenging the caped crusader philosophically and emotionally there's the guts of a really great Batman story in there to compete with film & comics, and potentially more satisfying than the vast majority of the franchises they've tackled before (shoehorning Back to the Future, Jurassic Park etc... into their formula).

The real issue is whether the new engine and indeed Telltale themselves will be able to pull it off without the somewhat clunky manner they've delivered before (which is, of course, partially a result of them experimenting and building on their own formula). IMO the ideal for a single-player, story-led Batman game would be something with the sort of production values you get in an Uncharted game - strong scripting, even stronger art direction, and performances, music and just general game/narrative design. For all the guff - sometimes deserved - Naughty Dog gets no other studio is making games with the sort of compelling production values they're making. I think something on that sort of expensive scale is probably well out of the question given Telltale's reputation for economy and (reasonably) timely delivery, but hopefully they'll get closer than some of their previous games have managed

SeantheMan

Started watching the video....and was enjoying it...except for the incessant 8bit music that plays over the whole thing.
No need for it whatsoever

MiskyBoyy

Couple of screens...

Links234

MiskyBoyy wrote: »

Troy Baker in the role of Bruce Wayne

Ugh... :mad: Literally unplayable now!

J. Marston

He's in everything. Obviously very good at his job but you'd get tired of hearing his voice in nearly every game.

Kobe248

J. Marston wrote: »

He's in everything. Obviously very good at his job but you'd get tired of hearing his voice in nearly every game.

He was the main character in Borderlands right???

Kobe248

Kobe248 wrote: »

He was the main character in Borderlands right???

Yes, he played Rhys.