The Walking Dead: The Game

As a side note, I actually have a WMG that Luke and Nick are a couple. When Nick thought he was going to die in the shed at the beginning of the episode, he wouldn't stop shutting up about Luke. And Luke seemed to be far more concerned with Nick's safety then with Pete's death. Not to mention that the two of them got a bit defensive when Kenny mistook them for a couple.

I dunno. I found Walter far more interesting than those two.

A lot of those seem like things any two straight men who are really close friends would do. But I wouldn't be opposed to it if it was true.

As for sneaking off, I'm sure Clem gets caught trying to sneak out to find those two.

She manages to find Kenny, and can offer advice on what he should do.

As for Matthew and Walter, I do wish at least one of them lasted longer. While I'm not sure it counts as Bury Your Gays, there are some Unfortunate Implications of them dying so quickly.

edited 5th Mar '14 8:22:48 PM by SilentColossus

Never mind

edited 5th Mar '14 9:04:59 PM by VeryMelon

Another Guy: I can think of a few story-based reasons Walter and Matthew were gay, actually. Forgive me if this seems a little haphazard.

A big theme of the games has been that it doesn't matter what you were before. Now, you're either living or you're dead. Lee is black, Clementine is a little girl, Omid is presumably of Persian descent, Glen delivered pizzas, Sarita is possibly Hindu (I was quite happy to see that Telltale gave her a nose piercing), Vince killed somebody, Sarah is mentally different in some currently unspecified way, Carlos is a doctor who wears plaid shirts, and Walter is gay. None of these really have any bearing on whether they survive or not.

Walter's entire character is that he's a nice, smart, reasonable guy whom the player grows to like, loses someone he loves to a horrible mistake, and overcomes the anger and sadness that causes (or not, as the case may be). The guy is taylor-made for you to like him. When tensions rise between the two groups, he doesn't talk to Luke or Carlos about it. He talks to Clementine. He marks her as having a leadership role in the group, and eases her anxiety about having to choose between Kenny and her new companions. That he's gay is basically a footnote. It doesn't really matter that he is. Matthew could have been a woman and his reaction to her death would have been the same, but sometimes people are gay, so why not? (Side note: from a storytelling perspective, it also differentiates your encounter with Matthew from your encounter with Bonnie; they would have been pretty similar if Walter was straight and Matthew a woman.) That he dies later has nothing to do with his orientation. It has everything to do with the fact that his death is the one that will hurt the player the most. It galvanizes you against Carver (a stance which Episode 3 is looking to challenge), and reminds you that sometimes you can do everything right and this world will still fuck you.

On top of that, Walter's death is the one that will leave the group at its most volatile. It's the same reason you can't keep Pete around: having a Reasonable Authority Figure gives Clementine can count on to cool a situation down when tensions rise. It makes for more difficult choices, and therefore a more interesting play experience, when Clementine has to deal with such problems herself.

Another reason is that there are just enough clues that the player might be able to put together that Matthew and the man on the bridge are the same person, but because this franchise has approximately zero gay characters it's not an option that obviously springs to mind.

Edit: Silent Colossus, this kind of addresses you, as well.

Edit 2: Anyone else kind of bothered that Telltale played up the connection to 400 Days so much, and then made the only character from it that appears in this episode the one that joined the camp no matter what you did? I mean, I'm assuming the others will show up next time, but still.

edited 5th Mar '14 9:10:30 PM by BadWolf21

Bonnie was the only one guarantied to show up, so Telltale had something to go on for plot. It's the same problem Bioware has with the save import.

But she mentions Becca if the sisters joined at the end of 400 Days, so it's not like it couldn't have been Stef if she came and Bonnie if she didn't. It just would have been cool to see 400 Days leave an actual impact on this episode, at least if they were going to talk it up like they did. If they had said nothing, Bonnie appearing would have been awesome.

Meh. I'm just happy to see continuity in any form. Sure I would love for drastic and game/story changing decisions to frequently happen, but seeing dozens of seemingly throwaway moments/dialogue showing that my actions are at least acknowledged works for me.

Unfortunetly, My choices only had Wyatt join Bonnie to go with Tavia in 400 days. Honestly though, seeing Nate appear again would make me cool with whatever. I've grown to like that psychotic son of a bitch.

And shockingly, the hardest choice this season, and perhaps in the entire series so far, was Who do I sit down with for dinner. I chose Luke, but they had me thinking for a good while.

edited 6th Mar '14 2:05:01 AM by Barrylocke

I think that's such an effective choice because as nice as it is to see Kenny again, players are probably going to want to know more about the new characters, and dinner is a good time for that. But players are probably also going to remember just how easy it is to upset Kenny, and don't want to lose him as an ally so soon after finding him again. Which is why I sat with Luke, but sided with Kenny when he came to talk to us.

I'm still really bothered by the inconstancy with Ben's death and Kenny's part there. Can anyone say Ass Pull? I may need more time with him to really know for sure, but I also sort of see hints that Kenny may have regressed on a Character Development stage here... Not bad since it has been 2 years, but still concerning.

I completely agree that Bury you gays in in effect here. Certainly not on the offensive levels of other shows where homosexuality is what kills them, but with every gay character we've met being dead and all other minorities (encountered thus far) constantly having representation (Lee dies? Here's Christa. Lost Christa in the woods? Here's Rebecca and Alvin.) while gay characters do not. I want to make it clear that I don't think its the intentional levels of some other examples, but it falls into a bit of unfortunate implications.

On a non-Spoiler area, has anyone ever noticed a consistency between the replies and the buttons used like Mass Effect and Dragon Age? Y is usually silence, as I recall. But are there any other themes between the buttons?

I could not disagree with you more.

Kenny never liked Ben. Ever. In fact, it's safe to say that he hated his guts. He went back because of Lee. Ben was dying anyway, so Kenny had a moment of sympathy for him, and shot him rather than let him be Walker food. That's not going to translate into fond memories two years down the road.

And it's incorrect to say that all minorities have had constant representation thus far. There are no Persian people in Clementine's group and Omid's been dead since the start of Episode 1. Glenn left the group in the first episode of Season 1 and there's a long gap between him and Vince, who hasn't been seen this season, yet. Walter and Matthew are the very first openly gay people in the entire franchise, and Walter just died at the end of the episode. You don't know who we're going to meet in episode three. Besides the fact that, as I pointed out earlier, it's so inconsequential to Walter's character that he's gay. The only reason it comes up at all is because Nick shot his partner before anyone knew anything about him. Saying that it's Bury Your Gays is looking for controversy where there is none.

As for the dialogue choices, I haven't noticed. Although now that you mention it, silence has moved to the top button, where it's the bottom in Season 1 and The Wolf Among Us. But I would think they try to avoid patterns as much as possible in where emotional responses are in the field so you're actually paying attention to your options rather than going "I'm going to go all snark" or "all heartfelt".

And I still sort of disagree. While I understand Kenny never liked Ben, but I always got the impression that, when Ben bit back and yelled at Kenny in episode 5, I always had the impression that Kenny, though he never liked him, gained some respect for Ben. Combine the fact that Kenny could have left Ben for dead, but instead let himself be killed to save Ben from being Live-Zombie Chow. I wouldn't say they're best friends, but I certainly would say he had respect. Season 2... Gives me less of that idea, particuarly in how he worded things. The reason I say its his character development is that Kenny's relationship to Ben is similar to Duck. However, unless Lee forces him, Kenny won't save Duck from his fate, but he finally steps forward to be a Father with Ben and saving him from his fate.

When one minority disappears, a new one comes in usually. Persian Omid replaced with Indian An...whatever her name is. Sorry. I'm a bit dead at this hour. Opening Night Tonight. Anyway, I'm not looking at it in a controversial way, but it can become such if it continues.

edited 6th Mar '14 9:52:50 AM by LanceSolous13

There is nothing about Kenny and Ben's relationship that suggests a father/son dynamic. The moment where Kenny steps up is when they find the boy in the attic.

People die in The Walking Dead. Only 5 or 6 characters manage to get out of Season 1 alive, and one of them dies in the first moments of Season 2. Out of the group of seven that Clementine joins in 2.1, it's possible for three to be dead by the end of 2.2. The series has a huge death toll. It might seem like minorities die only to be replaced by more minorities, but it happens with white people too (Doug or Carley dies in 1.1, Ben shows up in 1.2; Lilly shoots Doug or Carley in 1.3, Chuck shows up almost immediately afterwards). People die, and more people show up so it's not just you by the third episode of a season. Death is a reality of this universe, and if it seems like minorities are being cycled, the alternative is that the entire cast is made up of straight white males.

edited 6th Mar '14 10:34:12 AM by BadWolf21

A bit nitpicky, but there is a lesbian character in the TV show.

I contest the "openly gay" notion. It came off as a more nudge nudge, wink wink suggestion than outright statement.

So does anyone thing the girl on the peach cans is going to be... important... somehow?

I have no idea what they would do with that, but they took the time to have both Alvin and Walter mention it...

Just seems like a funny thing to put in and annother hint to the connection between Matthew and the rest of his group.

There was a gay couple in the comics. Aaron, the guy who recruits Rick's group into the Alexandria Safe-Zone, and his partner Eric.

Mukora: Sorry, forgot about Tara. Which is weird, because I seem to be one of the few people who actively likes her.

Spirit: He specifically refers to Matthew as his partner. That's a right hook of a nudge.

Peach Cans: I'm guessing it's just supposed to be a happy girl that reminds Clem that her life sucks.

"Pass me that can, Duck."

Saddest line, or saddest line?

It really was.

Oh God I totally fucked up the cabin, I got Walter and Alvin killed. I feel like shit.

edited 7th Mar '14 8:41:55 AM by Mullon