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Tell Me Why - X019 - Announce Trailer (DONTNOD - summer 2020)

Typhares

Member


Tell Me Why is the latest narrative adventure game from DONTNOD Entertainment, the studio behind the beloved franchise, Life is Strange. In this intimate thriller, twins Tyler and Alyson use their special bond to unravel mysteries of their loving but troubled childhood. Set in beautiful small-town Alaska, Tell Me Why features true-to-life characters, mature themes and gripping choices.
 

Kadayi

Banned
I know some people have been a little down on Dontnod after LIS2, but this looks pretty compelling and I like the Twin idea.
 

dottme

Member
DontNod get a great Life is Strange. There was a really good follow up with Before the Storm.
But after that, I didn’t care about anything from them. It feels like LiS was a surprise success and done.
 

-Arcadia-

Banned
Separate team from the LiS2 team to be coming so soon? Or maybe this is what they’ve been doing instead of finishing that. :messenger_tears_of_joy:

I would think separate team. Either way, it definitely looks like it delivers on part of what people have come to love from the studio, with the personal stories and character interaction. Frankly, it looks more compelling than LiS2 at this point.
 
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From this Gematsu article:
Set in small-town Alaska, Tell Me Why places you at the heart of a mystery in an intimate, true-to-life story where twins Tyler and Alyson Ronan use their extraordinary bond to unravel memories of a loving but troubled childhood.
“The core mechanic of the game is the special bond Tyler and Alyson share and is also a theme strongly anchored into the Dontnod storytelling approach,” explained Florent Guillaume, Tell Me Why‘s Game Director. “Over the course of the story, players will explore the identical twins’ different memories of key events and choose which memory to believe. Ultimately, the choices players make determine the strength of the twins’ bond—and the future course of their lives.”
Tyler and Alyson are both playable characters and equal heroes in the story. “We love them both,” continued Guillaume, “And we are especially grateful to Microsoft for its full support, openness and help regarding Tyler’s identity and character, as a transgender man.”
Dontnod has worked closely alongside Microsoft and the LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD in shaping Tyler as an authentic representation of the trans experience, as well as a genuine, multidimensional character. Tyler is also the first playable videogame hero from a major studio and publisher who is also transgender. “Microsoft and Dontnod have approached Tyler with a real commitment to authenticity,” explains Nick Adams, Director of Transgender Representation at GLAAD. “Tyler is a fully-realized, endearing character, whose story is not reduced to simplistic trans tropes. Creating a playable lead trans character – and taking such care to get it right – raises the bar for future LGBTQ inclusion in gaming.”
The story of Tell Me Why is comprised of three chapters that will release on a clear and predictable schedule. Dontnod are passionate about the opportunities for community-building and audience engagement that come with episodic storytelling, but they are also dedicated to innovation and improvement.
“We listened closely to fans of narrative adventure games, and we heard loud and clear how painful unpredictable gaps between episodes can be,” said Peter Wyse, General Manager for Xbox Games Studios Publishing. “We’re thrilled to announce that the entire Tell Me Why story will release in the Summer 2020.”

The shared memory thing seems like it could be cool but I'd really like to hear more about it. The trailer itself didn't do much for me. Comes off like it's trying too hard to be deep. Twin Mirror is still the game I'm looking forward to most from DontNod. I hope their research pays off, because the lesbian stuff in LiS 1 was background to the main mystery and if LiS 2 is any indication of what it's like when they put minority issues front and center then yeeesh.

Keeping an open mind, though. DontNod is basically the only consistent adventure developer in the AA space so I'm rooting for them.
 
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Can someone tell me why Microsoft is publishing an agenda game that all 10 people will play to score SJW points that don't matter to their primary base?

Can someone tell me why we are making games with quota diversity checklists in mind instead of just making games for fun regardless of content?
 

Dane

Member
Can someone tell me why Microsoft is publishing an agenda game that all 10 people will play to score SJW points that don't matter to their primary base?

Can someone tell me why we are making games with quota diversity checklists in mind instead of just making games for fun regardless of content?

Ask DONTNOD, isn't their stuff from previous games?
 

nikolino840

Member
Can someone tell me why Microsoft is publishing an agenda game that all 10 people will play to score SJW points that don't matter to their primary base?

Can someone tell me why we are making games with quota diversity checklists in mind instead of just making games for fun regardless of content?
Well you are saying that nobody have the rights to publish a game about a transgeder?

There's movies and books why not games?
 

GHG

Member
Can someone tell me why Microsoft is publishing an agenda game that all 10 people will play to score SJW points that don't matter to their primary base?

Can someone tell me why we are making games with quota diversity checklists in mind instead of just making games for fun regardless of content?

They pretty much sponsor resetera these days so it shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone.
 

CatLady

Selfishly plays on Xbox Purr-ies X
Or maybe it is the "cinematic interactive story games" Xbox fans seem to shit on (at least on this forum)?

As a hardcore Xbox fangirl, this is absolutely the case for me. I have way less than zero interest in another DontNod emo walking sim.

Edit: I see now it gets extra points for being woke - even less interested now.
 
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MrRogers

Member
I wont it play it because its themes and agenda dont interest me. Im curious how inflated its reviews will be and how much it will sell in the end tho. I dont think the market will be that big for it, although the cheers from the snakeoil salesmen at resetera and the mainstream prog press will push it with everything they got.
 
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Well you are saying that nobody have the rights to publish a game about a transgeder?

I suppose if you have the intelligence of a paper clip you could make up this statement and falsely claim that's what I meant. Sadly, I didn't actually say this so no...

Also I knew a guy named Geder. Jeff Geder, was arrested for DUI after work. Nice guy though.
 

mortal

Gold Member
more SJW bullshit
Can someone tell me why Microsoft is publishing an agenda game that all 10 people will play to score SJW points that don't matter to their primary base?

Can someone tell me why we are making games with quota diversity checklists in mind instead of just making games for fun regardless of content?

Aren't DONTNOD made up of mostly left leaning people if not entirely? If that's the case then they're just making the games they want to for the audiences they want to play them.
There's no point in complaining about a DONTNOD game of all things being SJW.

It's one thing to ciritizise forced diversity or whatever when it comes to changing well established IPs to pander, but this just seems like crying wolf when they're making their own IPs.
It's equivalent to SJWs complaining when games have white male protagonists or sexy females characters.
 
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It's equivalent to SJWs complaining when games have white male protagonists or sexy females characters.

Not really because I don't see anyone making a moral argument, advocating for censorship, demanding dontnod change or suggesting fans of this game are bigots. They're just sounding off on a trailer they think looks bad. So it's really not the same at all.

Also with the track record DontNod's established over 4 episodes of Life Is Strange 2 I'm, frankly, surprised with myself for still giving them the benefit of the doubt.
 
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mortal

Gold Member
Not really because I don't see anyone making a moral argument, advocating for censorship, demanding dontnod change or suggesting fans of this game are bigots. They're just sounding off on a trailer they think looks bad. So it's really not the same at all.
I didn't say any of that you did. I specifically said it's equivalent to SJWs complaining about white protagonists and sexy characters. Key word complaining.
And yes really, it's more or less the same.

The posters I quoted weren't stating the trailer looked bad, but the reasons they dislike it was due to SJW pandering. It's literally right there in their posts wth lol.
Also with the track record DontNod's established over 4 episodes of Life Is Strange 2 I'm, frankly, surprised with myself for still giving them the benefit of the doubt.
That was pretty much my point. As a studio they've been making these types of young adult light novels with some SJW tones to them since day one.
How the hell can you even be surprised? I see zero point in complaining about a studio like them making their own IPs with inclusion in mind. The only other altervative would be for games like this to never ever get made by anyone. As much as I find the SJW ideology annoying, that would be absurd stance and verges on gatekeeping. In the gaming industry, there's pretty much an audience for any type of game if people are willing and capable of making it.
 
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I didn't say any of that you did. I specifically said it's equivalent to SJWs complaining about white protagonists and sexy characters. Key word complaining.
And yes really, it's more or less the same.

when sjws complain about white protagonists or sexy characters the criticism is always that failure to include minority representation and sexualizing women in games are harming society. it's a moral argument. "these games are reinforcing toxic behaviors that oppress marginalized people." that is literally THE criticism you can't separate their complaining from that.

The posters I quoted weren't stating the trailer looked bad, but the reasons they dislike it was due to SJW pandering. It's literally right there in their posts wth lol

that's why they think it looks bad.
 
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mortal

Gold Member
when sjws complain about white protagonists or sexy characters the criticism is always that failure to include minority representation and sexualizing women in games are harming society. it's a moral argument. "these games are reinforcing toxic behaviors that oppress marginalized people." that is literally THE criticism you can't separate their complaining from that.



that's why they think it looks bad.
It's their IP. Don't. Fucking. Buy it. It's as simple as that. They're clearly NOT the audience in mind for the types of games.
It's a fucking indie game made for these types of audiences. There's thousands upon thousands upon thousands of games not like this one.
The one thing I cannot fucking stand about SJWs, and this applies to anyone as well, is playing gatekeeper to creators. Whether it's from the left, center, or right.

If DONTNOD want to make games for SJWs, then more power to them. The conflict of interests for me arises if they were to take something well established and beloved for certain things and try to turn them into something else just to pander at the expense of that thing or the dedicated fans. If they want to invest their money and time to create these types of game and tell these types stories within their own IPs, more power to them. At that point I realize it's not for me maybe, so I'll pass on to something more suiting to my tastes. That's how the free market works.

Sure I can complain about it, but I don't see the point to it in this case. Not when there are so many other more interesting options at my selection.
 
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It's their IP. Don't. Fucking. Buy it. It's as simple as that. They're clearly NOT the audience in mind for the types of games.
It's a fucking indie game made for these types of audiences. There's thousands upon thousands upon thousands of games not like this one.
The one thing I cannot fucking stand about SJWs, and this applies to anyone ask ell, is playing gatekeeper to creators. Whether it's from the left or right.

I'm sure they won't buy it. Whats wrong with commenting on a game you probably wont buy? Nobody is "gatekeeping" by watching a trailer for a newly announced exclusive and saying "this looks like pandering crap to me, not interested." They're saying how they feel about a video game on a forum where people say how they feel about video games.

If they were making the claim that it's morally wrong to make or enjoy this game you might have a point. Otherwise, you're just getting upset over nothing.

If SJWs want to make games for SJWs, then more power to them.

Yes and if people want to say they're not interested in those games without advocating for censorship of any kind... then more power to them too.
 

mortal

Gold Member
I'm sure they won't buy it. Whats wrong with commenting on a game you probably wont buy? Nobody is "gatekeeping" by watching a trailer for a newly announced exclusive and saying "this looks like pandering crap to me, not interested." They're saying how they feel about a video game on a forum where people say how they feel about video games.
Jesus Christ. No shit they can comment on it. They've been doing that already. And I responded to their posts critically. I'm not the state with a gun to their heads saying they're not allowed do it. They're not asking me for my permission to do it, so obviously that goes without saying. Thank you for explaining how forums work.

I responded to their criticism of it being SJW pandering and amounted it complaining, because it's just complaining for the sake of complaining imo. If a studio is making their own IPs for those audiences, nothing is being forced in that situation. No long standing series is being changed beyond recognition. No designer is being forced make a game they don't want to make. No consumer is being forced to buy something they're not interested in. Microsoft as company wants to expand their potential install base to sell more games and consoles to more people, They're acting a a publisher in that dynamic. A 3rd party developer makes their own IP, Microsoft sees a potential audience for these games and agreed to help publish their game, boom. This doesn't mean other games will not continue to be supported. It's pretty much just Microsoft expanding their publishing catalog. No one is losing anything to the SJWs here.
Yes and if people want to say they're not interested in those games without advocating for censorship of any kind... then more power to them too.
What the hell are you even talking about? No one is advocating for censorship in this thread.
 
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I responded to their criticism of it being SJW pandering and amounted it complaining, because it's just complaining for the sake of complaining imo.

That's not true you didn't just say their posts "amounted to complaining for the sake of complaining" you suggested that they elevated beyond merely that and rose to some kind of gatekeeping.

What the hell are you even talking about? No one is advocating for censorship in this thread.

You're not reading my post correctly.
 
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mortal

Gold Member
That's not true you didn't just say "it amounted to complaining" you suggested that their comments elevated beyond merely that and rose to some kind of gatekeeping.
I said that in response to your points.

Here's what I said verbatim:
I see zero point in complaining about a studio like them making their own IPs with inclusion in mind. The only other altervative would be for games like this to never ever get made by anyone. As much as I find the SJW ideology annoying, that would be absurd stance and verges on gatekeeping

The one thing I cannot fucking stand about SJWs, and this applies to anyone as well, is playing gatekeeper to creators. Whether it's from the left, center, or right.

I didn't suggest they're "elevating beyond" anything. It's an attitude I find annoying when it pertains to creators making what they want to make, especially on their own terms.
Freedom of speech ensures them that, and that coincides with freedom of expression. I see no point complaining about what they're expressing just because their focus is inclusiveness or whatever. It's their own IP, and there's clearly an audience for these games. Why complain about it being "SJW bullshit" if you never plan on playing it yourself in a million years? If you're going to complain about them making their own games, then what is the alternative at that point? Not wanting them to makes any games at all?
That's what I mean when I say "playing gatekeeper". It's pretty much the attitude that it's not considered a real game or a "fun game" because of the apparent SJW themes. These things are subjective.


You're not reading my post correctly.
No, I am. You're not, apparently.
 

Kadayi

Banned
I despair at a lot of the BS going on in the real world with woke culture as much as anyone ( MtF transitions in women's sports is completely wrong), but if DontNod wants to make a game featuring a Transgender individual then I see no problem with that. I like their games, I'll probably play this. People have made games about Cancer, Alcoholic fathers or grief. I don't see why this is apparently verboten or objectionable.
 

xrnzaaas

Member
Looks like Dontnod is doubling down with their agenda, I thought they would stop after LiS2 bombing in sales compared to the first game. Or who knows, maybe Microsoft is paying them a lot of money for the Game Pass inclusion.
 

ksdixon

Member
You know... It was the time travel stuff and mystery of the killer that I liked in LIS 1. LIS BTS made Rachel too perfect considering what we know about her from LIS1. Haven't really sunk my teeth into LIS2, but this SJW game is getting a hard pass.

It seems like every subsequent LIS style game has gone further and further from what I liked.
 

Clarissa

Banned
Tell me why
Ain't nothin' but a heartache
Tell me why
Ain't nothin' but a mistake
Tell me why
I never want to hear you say
I want it that way.

 
I
its first game where u play a Transgender protagonist
It's not, but it may be the first one where it's marketed as a selling point. There was one last year that kept the trans twist close to its chest, and once people started to get to that point, it suddenly started to gain some traction among the usual suspects in gaming 'journalism'. So stunning! So brave! :messenger_tears_of_joy:

Regardless, it is 100% going to bomb.
 
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