STACK Magazine November Issue 121

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GAMES
NOVEMBER 2014 JB Hi-Fi
FEATURE
048
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Unlike its contemporaries,Telltale’s
works don’t allow for the notions of safety
or guarantee. In the Mass Effect series for
example, interactions are mostly by the
numbers, predictable with foreseeable
consequences (and therefore avoidable).
There is control in the proceedings, so there
is little reason to fear or actively worry about
your crew. In contrast, not knowing direction
or possible outcomes makes events more
immediate and unsafe; the concerns for your
party becomes a reality. In a way,Telltale
games have a stronger focus on the supporting
characters than they do on the protagonist.
This commitment extends to characters that
players know are all but guaranteed to survive,
as your choices affect their
quality of life. Clementine, your
ward from TheWalking Dead:
Season One , is constantly
exposed to the horrors of the
new world of the dead, and
your interactions with her
character come down to how you want to prepare
her for the future. Going easy when Clem made a
mistake might mean she won’t take your warnings
seriously, whereas being harsh might mean she is
too afraid to tell you vital information at a later point.
While the choice mechanic inTelltale games
is what make them the leaders in this unique
genre, a special mention must also go out to the
scriptwriters and the voice actors for developing
an enthralling narrative and bringing the characters
to life, respectively.
Telltale’s games are almost the antithesis of
triple-A titles.There’s no ‘real’ gameplay to speak
of, no mechanics to master, yet their big moments
feel more epic (and personal) than Halo or CoD
have ever managed to deliver.There’s a certain
kind of energy and concentration demanded of
players when they’re forced to react quickly to
a decision about their use of torture in TheWolf
Among Us; it’s not mashing buttons to clear
away enemies, it’s making a single click that’s
completely focused on you, the player.That’s why
an explosion has less impact than the fear and
adrenaline experienced observing Clementine
crawl away from the hands of a single
zombie: it’s personal.
And ultimately, that’s what makesTelltale’s
games fun. A sense of personal involvement
based on the decisions that you yourself make,
surrounded by the friends you’ve won over and
the people that you’ve wracked your brains and
morals to help. For the first time in a long time,
the ending screen feels less like you’ve finished
a game, and more like you’ve gently closed a
chapter on a part of your life.
T he idea of ‘choice’ in
games has changed
dramatically over the
course of the medium’s
history. Presently, choice in
games normally translates to
the ability to make decisions
that will define your character as good or evil.
More often than not, this leads to a simple
altering of appearance or slight delineation in
the narrative. It’s strange that choice has
become such a narrow ideal, considering the
first real taste of exploration in gaming was
experienced through the text-based adventures
of the 1970s with games like Colossal Cave
Adventure and Zork.
In a way, choice made a step backwards
from being an integral part of expression of
play, to an off-handed decision on whether
to have a halo or horns.
Then along cameTelltale.
Telltale have been incredibly successful
in a field that gaming hasn’t traditionally been
very good at – the ability to tell a compelling
story. Moreover, when you consider
that ‘losing’ in games has almost no real
consequence (aside from restarting), there’s
been scarce motivation to truly care about the
events that are taking place. At least, not until
the finale or whenever your heartstrings are
being manipulated by hackneyed events.
Series like TheWalking Dead and TheWolf
Among Us have revitalised the idea of choice
and empathetic storytelling by masterfully
merging the two with one simple move: Choice
as the main gameplay mechanic. Your choices
matter in every meaningful sense; affecting
the course of events and actions taken during
the series, as well as having a direct impact
on characters you have become emotionally
attached to. Not necessarily love or even
like, but feel for.
ChoiceandEmpathy:
ATelltale Masterclass
byMarkAnkucic