Batman: The Telltale Series

Wow. They're doing the one episode per month thing again. I hope that the devs aren't being overworked to meet deadlines (they probably are though, since the game dev industry's labor practices are terrible.)

edited 22nd Aug '17 10:38:16 AM by lrrose

Here's the aforementioned pic of Harley.

I like how that Twitter post has people complaining about spoilers. Were they oblivious to the fact that Telltale did the same thing for Riddler?

September 22nd? That's a little later than I expected, but I'm still glad they're doing monthly releases again.

Also, this is a cool little detail, but if you return to the Batcave after beating episode one, you can see the Riddler's cane added to the trophy room.

I know that things with "John" are inevitably going to end very badly and very violently, but I can't help but feel for the guy. This game made me want the Joker to be my Robin. That is what Telltale has done to me.

Damn it, you too? First TFS and now you?

What's so likable about him, anyway?

edited 22nd Aug '17 7:30:36 PM by fredhot16

He is seemingly sincere and more vulnerable than usual in this game. Makes me think that the usual abusive Joker/Harley relationship will be reversed in the Telltale universe. Maybe Harley takes advantage of John's desire to fit in.

This is the same guy who made Zsasz go on a murderous rage just to test you.

Was that a test? I just saw it as him being helpful but too f*cked in the head to realize his particular idea for doing so wasn't any good. I went for the phone because with Bruce drugged out of his gourd, I didn't trust him to intervene without actually making it worse.

For the first time, I actually believe the Joker is mentally ill. This character is specifically my talking point when I talk about how writers do not understand mental illness. Nearly all Joker depictions don't come off as legitimately insane; they're just assholes. They're incurable because being an asshole is not a condition that can be cured with medication and therapy.

This Joker's different. He's not going, "HAHAHA BURN THE WORLD RAPE THE SYSTEM I'M SO WACKY!!!" He's actually struggling. He's afflicted with something he doesn't understand and it's shaped the way he interacts with the world. It broke my heart when he said he actually wanted to go back to Arkham because he's terrified of all the freedom out here.

Full disclosure, one of my closest and dearest friends is a paranoid schizophrenic. When the Joker does something so utterly divorced from good taste and respect as handing Bruce a Get Well Soon card at a funeral and then has that look like his entire self-image depends on whether Bruce likes it, that tugs at my heartstrings because I know people like that. I know this behavior.

I'm sure that by the end of it, there's going to have to be a big fight between Batman and the Joker and it's going to be super sad and I'm probably going to cry, but goddamn it if I don't want there to be. I desperately don't want to fight John. It's too personal for me. I want to help him.

From all indication, he has a very skewed idea of being helpful/friendly. He does seem to be legitimately mentally unsound rather than just an evil guy.

Please don't Draco in Leather Pants The Joker.

It's called nuance, and it's Telltale's bread and butter.

I mean, sure, it's entirely possible that the Joker will at some point rip off his mask and go, "HAHAHA, I was a shitty one-dimensional villain only pretending to have interesting characterization this whole time!" But that's not typically Telltale's style.

I felt like such an asshole when I realized this version of the Joker isn't acting this way on purpose. This being the Joker, I thought he was intentionally being an asshole at a funeral and trying to manipulate Bruce.

edited 23rd Aug '17 1:39:44 PM by SilentColossus

I do like seeing Harley act more like a villain in this game rather than be more of an Anti-Hero like in the comics.

As an aside, Waller's attempt at intimidating Bruce by revealing she knows his secret identity fell a bit flat for me, because I've always felt secret identities are dumb anyway. I would totally have gone public as Batman back in season 1 if that had been an option. So far I've played the game mostly as Bruce Wayne with a little bit of Batman, and I've never worried overmuch about Bruce's identity being found out. Secret identity drama just falls flat with me.

That's going to make it a lot harder for Waller to intimidate me in the coming chapters, I think. I'm sure she's going to try to hang Batman's identity over his head, and I'm just like, "Pfft. Go ahead. I'm practically deputized by the GCPD anyway; I'm not actually sure what I'm doing is even legally considered vigilantism anymore. Also my home is fortress full of mazelike secret passages and I don't have any loved ones to threaten so I'm not exactly panicking that the Kingpin will put a hit out on Aunt May."

Go on. Do me the favor. Bruce Wayne and Batman are so popular at this point that publicly connecting the personas would just be a big PR boost to both.

edited 23rd Aug '17 2:05:44 PM by TobiasDrake

As he's been presented thus far, John hasn't done anything outright evil, the closest thing being cutting Zsasz to create a distraction. He doesn't seem torn up about an orderly dying, but that's about the most negative thing you can say about him. Otherwise, he seems to just be a bit of a troll (the key thing, brushing past Bruce at the funeral, etc.) with a self-admitted lack of understanding how to fit into society.

Now yes, chances are that he'll wind up doing something evil or killing people. We're just talking about how he's been conveyed thus far. And thus far, John hasn't done anything nearly as extreme as mainstream Joker.

As we all know, no one gets seriously hurt in prison or asylum riots.

He knew Zsasz was going to try to murder someone. That was the whole point of the distraction. He slashed a "tally" into Zsasz's cheek and then goaded him about not having a kill to go with it. He is directly responsible for the death of that orderly.

But at the same time, it doesn't feel malicious. The impression I get from John is that he is so thoroughly deficient in his ability to comprehend social norms that he legitimately doesn't grasp basic concepts like "Killing people is a bad thing". Consequentially, he probably shouldn't be out of Arkham. Even John agrees with that.

He's dangerous, unstable, and he already has blood on his hands. And yet, I find myself emotionally invested in what happens to him. I can't hold the death of the orderly against him because I'm not convinced he is at this time capable of understanding that what he did was wrong. He's like a child.

Hobgoblin commented on the potential for Harley to be abusing John. Considering she is a psychiatrist, and this version of the Joker appears to be legitimately mentally ill, it would make sense for the roles to be reversed. My theory is that Harley's persona is "inspired" by John's, and that she will comment that he did this to her, but in the end she held a position of power over him.

I'm curious where they're going with this big time. I second the commentary that this Joker seems legitimately insane as opposed to just an asshole. I've held for some time that I think The Joker is just a dick who uses insanity as an excuse and consciously aware of what he's doing. This one? He truly feels off to me. I legitimately want to help this guy and I'm worried just where he's going to end up. I'm shocked this made me feel any empathy for The Joker of all characters.

I feel strange now, because I treated the Joker like he was actually the Joker.

I mean, in the past, it gave Bruce's parents criminal pasts and turned a usual love interest into the Big Bad, so some experimentation in the villains getting the adaptational heroism business should be expected in some capacity.

Ep 1 is free on iOS now.

Preview of Episode 2 featuring Harley Quinn.

Also, Episode 2 has been delayed by a week to October 3rd.

John confirmed to be in deep, deep denial about his undying love for Bruce.