Batman: The Telltale Series

Marty Stus are rare in point and click adventure games, as the characters are nearly always under the control of the player and their insights are the players' insights, so I doubt it will be a problem for this series.

edited 5th Jan '16 7:56:20 PM by KnownUnknown

Hence my comment on how Mary Sues are harder to pin down in Video Games, particularly with the player characters.

One person may feel 'God, they're taking down all these bosses with NO effort' while another player might spend a couple of hours trying to take down a boss and thus really had to work in order to overcome the obstacle.

No, they're pretty easy to pick out. It's called bad writing.

Well, yes, if its a Mary sue through virtute of cutscenes and how the narrative treats them, sure. But if its a Mary Sue through virtue of 'They solve every (gameplay) problem easily', then that becomes far more subjective.

In fact, RPG protagonists are really hard to convincingly write in a 3D non-Mary Sue/Power Fantasy way specifically because the Player constantly chooses their actions and, with proper planning and forethought, they can solve most problems with relative ease.

Batman can become a Marty Stu when a lazy writer doesn't go through the effort of showing exactly WHAT it was that lead to Batman figuring out the villains plan or weakness, HOW he escaped from certain doom, or exactly WHY he had exactly the right gadget on his utility belt. Batman's superpower might be Crazy-Prepared and he might do a lot of things "just in case", but there is a limit. Alternatively, when a writer wants to subvert Batman's Marty Stu status, many fans are quick to poke holes in the story.

That's the problem with writing for a super intelligent character. The character can only be as smart as the writer (or as smart as the writer's sources and research)

His being able to defeat the entire justice league is do to studying them for years and keeping track of their weaknesses. Not exactly without lifting a finger, but then that is a tired storyline that DC loves to repeat but often fails to do properly (similar to his fighting Superman or losing a sidekick).

However, in a video game format, the character is typically not supposed to lose, except for when Failure is the Only Option (inFamous is a serious offender here). There certainly needs to be a challenge, but with the Riddler Batman is obviously supposed to solve the puzzle eventually or win the rematch with Bane, etc

But even Bat's intelligence is Up To Eleven these days. He's gone beyond Sherlock Scan and into psychic powers.

Again, that wouldn't be a problem, as point and click adventure hinge on the player making deductions rather than the characters inventing conclusions. The only times I've ever known Telltale to avert this in gameplay is for the sake of humor, but even so they know to downplay it as it can cause significant gameplay issues.

edited 8th Jan '16 6:45:54 PM by KnownUnknown

Blade Runner avoided that.

We will be getting details on the 18th

I'm still fucking sick of Batman. First Gotham, then the Arkham finale, then Batman v Superman, now this.

Batman: Alfred I'm cutting your pay

Alfred will remember that

edited 10th Mar '16 8:42:58 AM by DarthSion

Yeah, why can't people obsess over Superman for a while?

(remembers that Batman v Superman is gonna be a thing in literally 15 days.)

...Why can't people obsess over Wonder Woman?

(remembers that the Wonder Woman movie is gonna be a thing next year.)

...why can't people obsess over someone who isn't Batman?!

Really though, the idea is that people shouldn't be like Batman, right?

I still wish they went with the original plan of making Man of Steel a contained trilogy.

Telltale's SXSW conference is in 33 minutes on SXSW's Twitch channel.

edited 18th Mar '16 4:03:22 PM by Halberdier17

The conference is starting in 1 minute.

Edit* Ted Price is talking about Indie games instead.

edited 18th Mar '16 4:36:02 PM by Halberdier17

The people in the chat said the Batman conference was 2 hours ago.

IGN has the deets.

Basically:

• The new series will take place in modern-day Gotham, but will not be tied to any existing adaptation of Batman in comics, films, or games. The story will focus on both Bruce Wayne and Batman, with player decisions shaping the city Bruce encounters in daylight, and the criminals Batman encounters at night.

• "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."

• No to Robin or Nightwing.

• But yes to Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, Vicki Vale, and Renee Montoya.

• Characters will be affected by the player's choices made as Bruce or Batman which will alter "their paths towards corruption or redemption."

• Telltale's lips are sealed when it comes to the villains.

• The script they made for this game is HUGE.

• The production team has been focusing on story and script over the last year, so no visuals accompanied the announcement, but the series will feature a "non-photorealistic interpretation of the universe...to deliver a more seamless living comic book art direction."

• Batman will be rated M (Mature 17+) (so it's the second along with Batman: Arkham Knight to have that rating), with the cinematic approach reportedly feeling more akin to an R-rated film.

Sounds like Batman is never going to get any sleep.

First screens and VA cast.

You know, I heard a wild rumor that sometime next year there's going to be a video game that doesn't have Troy Baker in it.

Jokes aside...eh, looks all right. Looks like another Telltale game, so we know it'll at least be decent. I've never liked Catwoman, so I'm not too thrilled about her involvement.

Am I the only one who kinda wishes we were playing someone other than Batman? My personal first choice would be Renee Montoya - I would love to see Telltale's Gotham Central.

Yeah Catwoman never really goes anywhere with her relationship with Batman. I hardly feel like she's changed much over the years.

So, to recap, this is earlier in Batman's career, and the villains seem to be the mob, Anarky, and Catwoman.

It LOOKS like they've finally upgraded their graphics engine, but its possible its just clever editing.

Wait Anarky?