I liked the demo when I tried it...I REALLY need to not procrastinate and buy it already....

Really liked this article patrick, great work. I still have to play episode 2 which I'll most likely get to tonight since the new episode is out. I kind of held off because I don't want it to end.

That picture of Duck cracked me up,

@LucVargas: Yeah, "Days Gone Bye" is also the title of the TV show's series premiere.

I saved Doug over Carly.

I need a gadget man a whole lot more than I need someone who knows how to pull the trigger on a gun, but can't figure out that a radio takes batteries, and then has no clue how to put them in. I can train Doug to fire a gun, I can't train stoopid.

Take that, statistics!

Doug's a real bro, unlike Kenny who whines all the time that I'm not behind him 100%. Can't wait to see what'll happen about that, with the way things are going he will probably stab me in my sleep.

I still feel horrible for killing the old man with the salt lick. One of the most intense video game scenes I've ever experienced. But it was the right call, and I'm sticking to it.

@ERoBB said:

I still feel horrible for killing the old man with the salt lick. One of the most intense video game scenes I've ever experienced. But it was the right call, and I'm sticking to it.

That scene is even worse if you try to revive him. They make it look like he might have started to breathe right before it happens. You don't see it coming either because they focus the camera right on his face while Lee is giving CPR.

@leinad44 said:

Ah shit I'm up to date with the comics trade paperback wise. And the spoiler was from one of the most recent issues that isn't in a trade yet......FUCK!!

I thought I had read 100, but apparently I had only read up to 99. Whoops. :(

I saved Doug over Carley. He was in intelligent guy, he's resourceful, he's noble and has a good heart, I felt I could TOTALLY trust him. Carley didn't understand how to turn on a radio... Whose hands would YOU put your life in?

I'm still a little shocked about how fucked the meat locker was. I tried to revive Larry (that fucking prick), but he got his head smashed anyway. Like... jesus.

Cool article. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's.

I do have to pause a little at the notion that the "important choices" are the ones that involve character death, though. That seems to take a little bit after that old TV notion that to get people watching you have to tease a character death. Look at a show like Mad Men, though, where they don't do that, but the characters are strong enough to carry the show on their own without the specter of ever-climbing odds hanging over them.

I guess what I'm saying is, thinking back on the second episode, the choices about whether or not somebody should die seemed less important than the ones about how Clementine sees me. Specifically, there's that one choice at the beginning of the dinner scene that really stuck with me.

@bvilleneuve said:

Cool article. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's.

I do have to pause a little at the notion that the "important choices" are the ones that involve character death, though. That seems to take a little bit after that old TV notion that to get people watching you have to tease a character death. Look at a show like Mad Men, though, where they don't do that, but the characters are strong enough to carry the show on their own without the specter of ever-climbing odds hanging over them.

I guess what I'm saying is, thinking back on the second episode, the choices about whether or not somebody should die seemed less important than the ones about how Clementine sees me. Specifically, there's that one choice at the beginning of the dinner scene that really stuck with me.

You're totally right. Unfortunately, I don't have to time dissect every decision in the game with the designers, but I'd definitely like to do a feature, when the whole season is over, talking about other ones. The choice with Clementine at dinner, specifically, stands out. We touch on that a little bit in tomorrow's feature, though. :)

@patrickklepek said:

@bvilleneuve said:

Cool article. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's.

I do have to pause a little at the notion that the "important choices" are the ones that involve character death, though. That seems to take a little bit after that old TV notion that to get people watching you have to tease a character death. Look at a show like Mad Men, though, where they don't do that, but the characters are strong enough to carry the show on their own without the specter of ever-climbing odds hanging over them.

I guess what I'm saying is, thinking back on the second episode, the choices about whether or not somebody should die seemed less important than the ones about how Clementine sees me. Specifically, there's that one choice at the beginning of the dinner scene that really stuck with me.

You're totally right. Unfortunately, I don't have to time dissect every decision in the game with the designers, but I'd definitely like to do a feature, when the whole season is over, talking about other ones. The choice with Clementine at dinner, specifically, stands out. We touch on that a little bit in tomorrow's feature, though. :)

Excellent. I could tell from this first installment that you weren't taking that view of it, anyhow. It seems like more of a necessary structuring device than anything, and the conversation looks to spill out quite a bit. Still, this seems fertile ground, and I'd love to see more features (or spoilercasts?) grow from it.

The second episode did so much right on all levels, pacing, storytelling, visuals... I'm starting to realize that I sort of revere it, and that in the future I'll probably hold it (or some future episode of the Walking Dead game that surpasses it) up as an example of a game really firing on all cylinders. Tomorrow's a big day--second installment in this feature, AND the next episode of the game itself? I'm excited.

I'm glad to see Tricky's work In the limelight.

I saved Doug because I related with him better (is that sad?). Also Carley needed more help with that radio than your average 5 year old.

Great article. I was kind of hoping they'd mention the radio battery thing, but I also figured they wouldn't.

not my type of game, but i like watching the walkthroughs, it has brilliant story.

@BoogieWithStu said:

@Olivaw said:

I saved Duck because he's like ten years old, what the fuck.

Exactly what I didn't save Duck. What's a 10 year old going to do to help me survive?

This is also exactly why I love this game, because you and I could probably discuss this topic for a while and never come to an agreement.

I had the exact same thing in mind. Who knows how long anyone is going to live with zombies walking around. I need people who can do stuff NOW, not in 10 years when they graduate from Zombie University. Fuck Duck and FUUUCK Kenny!

Great piece, Tricky

dear giantbomb:

somewhere, ANYWHERE, PLEASE, for the sake of educating your fans who might not know, PLEASE tell people the fact you can get episode 1 and 2 for free on psn+ (plus many many other free games). But please mention it. Every time you don't report on something obvious that involves ps3 I think more and more that you guys are biased towards xbox. Which makes no logical sense because they are way way less kind to their fans, but there is so much support for xbox and no one will even mention the free stuff on psn+ on this site. Is this a site about games or the games the GB staff chooses to cover and thats it. if your actual tastes mean you love xbox and hate ps3 it would be considerate if you could at least say that and potentially still provide the facts for both sides.

much love.

@jasondesante said:

dear giantbomb:

somewhere, ANYWHERE, PLEASE, for the sake of educating your fans who might not know, PLEASE tell people the fact you can get episode 1 and 2 for free on psn+ (plus many many other free games). But please mention it. Every time you don't report on something obvious that involves ps3 I think more and more that you guys are biased towards xbox. Which makes no logical sense because they are way way less kind to their fans, but there is so much support for xbox and no one will even mention the free stuff on psn+ on this site. Is this a site about games or the games the GB staff chooses to cover and thats it. if your actual tastes mean you love xbox and hate ps3 it would be considerate if you could at least say that and potentially still provide the facts for both sides.

much love.

I typed out a paragraph in response to this, but I'll just condense it into this: Jesus fucking Christ.

However, now that I think about it, if Patrick were to list deals on Worth Reading at the bottom that would be okay.

Good stuff, just the thing to get me pumped up to play Episode 3.

I honestly wonder how the gameplay choices break down among players who are/are not parents. As the father of a 3 1/2-year-old boy and 1-year-old girl, when the timer is ticking down on a choice I am always protecting the kids. Even though this is just a video game, it's instinct. I can't choose against kids anymore.

For those of you making the "Shawn would be more useful in a survival situation" call, are you parents?

@jasondesante said:

dear giantbomb:

somewhere, ANYWHERE, PLEASE, for the sake of educating your fans who might not know, PLEASE tell people the fact you can get episode 1 and 2 for free on psn+ (plus many many other free games). But please mention it. Every time you don't report on something obvious that involves ps3 I think more and more that you guys are biased towards xbox. Which makes no logical sense because they are way way less kind to their fans, but there is so much support for xbox and no one will even mention the free stuff on psn+ on this site. Is this a site about games or the games the GB staff chooses to cover and thats it. if your actual tastes mean you love xbox and hate ps3 it would be considerate if you could at least say that and potentially still provide the facts for both sides.

much love.

First off psn+ is not free, thus your whole post is based on a lie. Secondly (with your logic), you could also say that since GB did not specifically state that Steam is having a sale right now in which you get all 5 episodes for $14.99 they must hate pc gaming as well.

@PokySharpy: That makes sense. I definitely thought Shawn would be more useful and am not a parent.

@SortedeVaras said:

@jasondesante said:

dear giantbomb:

somewhere, ANYWHERE, PLEASE, for the sake of educating your fans who might not know, PLEASE tell people the fact you can get episode 1 and 2 for free on psn+ (plus many many other free games). But please mention it. Every time you don't report on something obvious that involves ps3 I think more and more that you guys are biased towards xbox. Which makes no logical sense because they are way way less kind to their fans, but there is so much support for xbox and no one will even mention the free stuff on psn+ on this site. Is this a site about games or the games the GB staff chooses to cover and thats it. if your actual tastes mean you love xbox and hate ps3 it would be considerate if you could at least say that and potentially still provide the facts for both sides.

much love.

First off psn+ is not free, thus your whole post is based on a lie. Secondly (with your logic), you could also say that since GB did not specifically state that Steam is having a sale right now in which you get all 5 episodes for $14.99 they must hate pc gaming as well.

I'm not hearing a "no".

@GS_Dan: Me too! I was really surprised to see that more people saved Carley...

@phantastik said:

Love this game

All that needs too be said.

Why would you save the person who twice couldn't put batteries in a radio over the nerdy guy who's actually really pragmatic? I really hated that people let Doug die.

Did anyone else feel that episode one was much weaker than episode two?

@michaelfossbakk said:

Did anyone else feel that episode one was much weaker than episode two?

I think it's the other way around: episode two is just that much stronger.

@PokySharpy said:

I honestly wonder how the gameplay choices break down among players who are/are not parents. As the father of a 3 1/2-year-old boy and 1-year-old girl, when the timer is ticking down on a choice I am always protecting the kids. Even though this is just a video game, it's instinct. I can't choose against kids anymore.

For those of you making the "Shawn would be more useful in a survival situation" call, are you parents?

I'm a parent of three small boys and I also chose to save Duck. But while most of my decisions do have a "protect the kids" slant, my reason for saving Duck was slightly more pragmatic. Shawn is trapped under a heavy fucking tractor. Duck is sitting in the driver's seat of said tractor. If I get Duck out of the seat (saving him) I could back the tractor off of Shawn's leg. That was my thought process and I was quite shocked when Lee didnt try to drive the tractor after Kenny grabbed Duck. I was yelling at the TV "Move the fucking tractor!". Good think the wife and kids were at Grandma's =].

As for Doug v. Carley it was the easier choice. I didnt complete the radio side-mission (only found one battery) so I didnt know she was an airhead, but I *did* know she was a crack-shot, and she had the gun. Gun or no gun was my reasoning; had nothing to do with their personalities. If Doug had had the gun, I would have saved him.

As far as the Doug/Carley choice goes, for me it came down to the gun and the ability to use it. If it was two completely different characters both male or both female or whatever, I still would pick the person with the gun and the ability to use it.

Wow, that stats trailer illustrates how incredibly moral everyone is in this game compared to me.

@hostyl1: Lol I did pretty much the exact same thing with the Duck situation. It seemed pretty clear Duck threw the tractor into gear while messing around and ran over Shawn, so I also thought the obvious thing to do would have been to put the tractor in reverse to get it off him. It really killed the mood for me sometimes how unnatural and contrived some of these situations played out (Carly and the batteries being another obvious one), kinda wish they would have tried a little harder in those spots.

@VooDooPC said:

@BoogieWithStu said:

@Olivaw said:

I saved Duck because he's like ten years old, what the fuck.

Exactly what I didn't save Duck. What's a 10 year old going to do to help me survive?

This is also exactly why I love this game, because you and I could probably discuss this topic for a while and never come to an agreement.

I had the exact same thing in mind. Who knows how long anyone is going to live with zombies walking around. I need people who can do stuff NOW, not in 10 years when they graduate from Zombie University. Fuck Duck and FUUUCK Kenny!

See, I didn't think Kenny was that bad of a guy until some of act 2. I started to side with Lilly because I thought "OK she's a cunt and her dad's an asshole. But damn they're hard people. I might need them around instead of just some guy, his wife, and their dumb kid." But then after I chose to help Lilly at the end of act 2 Kenny got PISSED and now I actually feel kind of guilty. In my head I was like "Man...I mean...you know how it is...I need to look out for Clementine and myself...I'm sorry."

It was weird but at the very last moment i felt that either one or both parents would save Duck knowing little of what i already knew about them and that Shawn was in a more precarious position with his leg being trapped so i chose him. My gut feeling told me that the kid is gonna be saved and i was right but it still sucked though that i couldnt save shawn. As for Carley and Doug, i thought Doug was in a much worse situation than Carley who was jist getting grabbed in the leg by one zombie so in a similar sense i went after the one who i felt was in more danger. I was kinda hoping that she would get out of her panicked state and stomp the zombies arm before reaching for the magazine.

Oh yeah heres a small spoiler for an upcoming episode (which episode was never specified) that i found out after playing the first episode and listening to an episode of Rebel FM (sorry no spoiler block im typing this down on a tablet.) Anthony Gallegos got a tip from one of the devs that in a future episode Doug will be able to help you out with the use of his knowledge about electronic devices that would have otherwise not have been posible if he wasnt with you. He wasnt told any specific details other than the aformentioned info. Hearing this kinda made me happy i chose Doug.

@jasondesante: they mentioned it on the bombcast. that's how i found out.

I like the game because the choices aren't a clear good or bad, black and white. It's all gray area.

I plan on only playing this series once, and not loading any saves to alter the choices I've made, good or bad (unless I die and have to restart the checkpoint). I find that by doing this, the choices I make will become more impactful and simulates the same stress level Lee undergoes.

Been tempted to load up a previous save, but then I remember that's not the point of The Walking Dead, I have to live with the decisions I made and its pretty awesome.

if only that part in the pharmacy didnt stick out like a sore thumb from the rest of the episode I would have had a great time playing this. When its like heavy rain its awesome, when it turns into a point and click adventure game the pacing almost comes to a complete halt.

Great article Patrick.

@probablytuna said:

I plan on only playing this series once, and not loading any saves to alter the choices I've made, good or bad (unless I die and have to restart the checkpoint). I find that by doing this, the choices I make will become more impactful and simulates the same stress level Lee undergoes.

Same here. I will go ahead and admit that, for the sake of 100% completion I often load save made before story choices to see every possible outcome. I am really impressed when, as in this case, a game makes me not want to do this by giving the player the feeling that his/her choices have real personal value. You don't regret what you've chosen because you really wanted to make that choice in spite of the consequences.

The Witcher games, which do have their share of problems, accomplished this point well. To prevent players from doing save/load every time, the consequences of many choices are 1) delayed and 2) have major, long-term impact throughout the game, going as far as to give you entirely disparate story routes and settings depending on what you pick. It's the kind of effort that many developers, Telltale included (mentioned in the interview) choose to avoid because of the sheer volume of work and resources needed to fulfill so many variables. Can you imagine if Mass Effect 3 didn't have the "diamond" storyline structure?

Other developers who focus on branching storylines and player choice, such as Bioware, could do well to take a lesson from Telltale and CD Projekt in this regard.

Great work Patrick, thanks :-) Looking forward to reading part 2 later today as I catch up.

Seems pretty sweet. I'd heard a little about this by-the-by but after reading the article it seems like a must for fans of the franchise.

I should really be playing this game...

The craziest thing about the Carley/Doug choice? I chose Carley... because I was hoping that, with her gun, she could help save Doug. Seriously. Oh, of course I knew it was an obvious "save one person" type of a choice, but the game somehow made me believe that I could save both of them.

Amazing.

Also: even though I've been with the game since the beginning, I've only just now read this article - fresh from Episode 3. Man, the stuff the guys allude to in the text is just crazy.

It annoys me that trying to reason with Larry is considered not siding with Kenny. I totally had his back, but I just didn't want to have to fight Larry to save Duck.