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[Boem]

Edit: Just to be clear, as there seems to be some confusion:
- classic single player mode is still supported.
- this is aimed at groups of friends playing at home, together. It's focused on people 'voting' on the choices you make during the game.
- this is not aimed at streamers. Not yet, anyway. The timed choice mechanic and latency problems of current streaming services make it impossible at the moment, but support for people streaming games online could be developed in the future. Right now, it's just for people at home, looking at the same tv/screen, making choices together.

The feature, which was revealed at San Diego Comic Con, but has not been formally announced, is a culmination of something Telltale has observed over the years with its games, where people crowd around a screen and make suggestions on what the player should do or how they should respond to a question. "We wanted a better way to integrate that audience," Job Stauffer, head of creative communications at Telltale, told us. "Now, from two to 2,000-plus people can help the player make decisions."
"We are now turning all of Telltale's games into a live interactive multiplayer experience," he said.

At the beginning of each game, starting with the upcoming Batman title on August 2, players will have an option to turn on Crowd Play. Saying yes generates a URL that can be shared with people in the room. They then go to that URL on their phone or other device and log in, essentially adding them to the game. Unlike joining games via a server browser, only those with the specific URL can get into the game.

Crowd Play will offer two modes: one allows the crowd's decision to be the final say, the other allows the player to override the will of the masses. Crowd players will be able to choose one of the four dialogue options, which will then be tallied live in the form of percentages on the player's screen, letting the player know immediately what everyone thinks should be done. Crowd players will also be able to give thumbs up or thumbs down responses to various actions the player is taking, again offering more feedback to the player who wants to keep everyone happy.
As with previous games, players will also get a recap at the end of the game on how others have played and the decisions they made, but now with the addition of how the voting went in Crowd Play games.

http://www.shacknews.com/article/95...-batman?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

So this essentially works the same as Jackbox Party Pack - and now it also makes more sense why Telltale decided to publish the pc version of that game. I've actually been playing a lot of Jackbox with groups of friends the last few months, and the phone connectivity is easy, quick, reliable and tons of fun. I can see this working, although personally I think these games are a bit more of a solitary experience for me. I'll try it out with Batman though, should be fun. Anyone who knows how fun Jackbox is using that system (and how easy it is for people who never touched a game before to join in) will understand exactly how smart this move is for Telltale.

This also sounds like something that, just like Jackbox, requires a group of players rather than just 2 to get the most out of the multiplayer mode. Playing a Batman episode with say, 5 friends, sounds like a ton of fun.

 

[disappeared]

edit: eh

 

[BananasWithGuns]

Sounds like a pretty nice feature for streamers.

 

[SenkiDala]

Well, as long as I can play them in single mode...

 

[Salsa]

I think the title could have been worded a bit better

this is kinda neat tho i'll just ignore it

 

[Rocketz]

This will have no effect on me so sure whatever

 

[Abilidebob]

So basically their games are all going to be Twitchbait?

 

[Ushay]

Wut ?...


How did Telltale decide their games needed this feature. Keep it post game guys.

 

[Fix-It Felix. Jr.]

Sounds like a pretty nice feature for streamers.

That was my first thought. I can't imagine this being used in any other setting, really.

 

[Grenchel]

This is a really smart feature. I'm never going to use it tho lol

 

[Salsa]

Wut ?...


How did Telltale decide their games needed this feature. Keep it post game guys.

what's so hard to understand?

these are some of the most "my girlfriend / boyfriend / friend loves watching me play it" games out there

now they can somewhat be a more active part of it

if there's anything this makes is sense

 

[Kyari]

But how is that going to work on timed choices? Since basically nowhere offers realtime streaming. :/

 

[Omikaru]

what's so hard to understand?

this is the most "my girlfriend / boyfriend / friend loves watching me play it"

now they can somewhat be a more active part of it

if there's anything this makes is sense

Yup. My girlfriend is gonna love this!

 

[Boem]

title could have been worded better

this is kinda neat tho i'll just ignore it

How should I have worded it? It's an extra mode that gives people the opportunity to play with multiple players. I guess it's not your usual multiplayer mode, but anyone familiar with Telltale knows this is the only real way to make multiplayer work in a game like this.

Like I said, this is using the Jackbox tech, and you'll essentially be doing the same thing here. It's a multiplayer experience in a storybased game.

But how is that going to work on timed choices? Since basically nowhere offers realtime streaming. :/

Jackbox also works with timed choices. In a room with people it works perfectly fine. They mention in the article that the tech isn't quite there yet to make it work with online streamers and people all over the world joining into the same game (specifically with the timing for those choices), and that they can just do the thumbs-up/thumbs-down mechanic there at this point. Local should be fine.

 

[IgotElbows]

This will let popular twitch streamers let the audience play the game for them lol.


I don't really see the point of this. I feel like other than popular twitch users, I don't think it'd be used much.
Maybe for people who don't own the game they can let their friends 'play' it like this.

 

[odhiex]

Interesting, but I'm not sure I will use the feature though.

 

[Lord Frieza]

Sounds like a pretty nice feature for streamers.

Yeah, pretty obviously it's geared to that crowd. I can imagine a lot of people will have fun participating in a live stream and actually voting for what to do and say. Not for me, but that audience will get a kick out of it.

 

[tiebreaker]

Pretty much what everyone one wanted after Until Dawn's demo. Neat.

 

[Permanently A]

Very interesting. I played TWD S1 with a group of friends and it was a pain to quickly read the options, pause, and deliberate before choosing each time.

 

[Salsa]

How should I have worded it? It's an extra mode that gives people the opportunity to play with multiple players. I guess it's not your usual multiplayer mode, but anyone familiar with Telltale knows this is the only real way to make multiplayer work in a game like this.

Like I said, this is using the Jackbox tech, and you'll essentially be doing the same thing here. It's a multiplayer experience in a storybased game.

I dont know, something like will allow people watching to be a more active part of it? you're right tho in practice it's just too long

just that reading it and the unedited first post interpreted it as a more traditional multiplayer mode, but that's hardly on you

 

[Fix-It Felix. Jr.]

what's so hard to understand?

these are some of the most "my girlfriend / boyfriend / friend loves watching me play it" games out there

now they can somewhat be a more active part of it

if there's anything this makes is sense

Going through the hassle of starting a new game to generate a URL for interactive play to allow your friend, who is sitting right beside you, to cast one of two votes seems a little extra.

 

[Falchion]

That's kind of cool, especially since you don't have to do it.

 

[MadLaughter]

I always play these games with a friend or few in the room and though I encourage them to have input this would probably make it easier.

 

[skynidas]

Bad title. Not really multiplayer. This is for streamers.

 

[jon bones]

this could make these games a great local co op experience

great!

 

[Magnet_Man]

Everyone's getting glass'd.

 

[Salsa]

Going through the hassle of starting a new game to generate a URL for interactive play to allow your friend, who is sitting right beside you, to cast one of two votes seems a little extra. If anything it takes away from the couch experience these games offer.

the implementation is a bit weird

but these are a type of game that tends to be enjoyed even by people who rarely play games

so going the phone route is smart in that way. the more general target audience these games tend to reach (considering they're most often based around shows or IPs people like, and require little action input) wont have more than 1 or 2 xbox controllers around

 

[BibiMaghoo]

Smart idea, and better than a lets play, which may be the point.

 

[SomTervo]

Curious. Probably a lot of fun.

Just hope it doesn't detract from the core experience too much.

 

[Fat4all]

Sounds like the kind of thing You Don't Know Jack does with their JackBox games.

 

[Maximo]

So basically their games are all going to be Twitchbait?

This or another way to stop pirates copies?

 

[SpotAnime]

So basically their games are all going to be Twitchbait?

Sounds like a pretty nice feature for streamers.

Yeah. I don't really want the public forcing decisions when I play a game. Because that's not, like, playing at all.

If I was playing couch co-op with friends, they can just shout out the decisions the want. So thia is definitely for streamers, not for the casual local gaming group of friends.

 

[kurahador]

Good for people who love going against popular choice I guess. Not for me.

 

[oti]

So TT thinks just talking to each other to make a decision is too difficult and instead wants us to use our cell phones?

Spoiler

It's for all the PewDiePies.

 

[Pakkidis]

Essentially its ask the audience in who wants to be a millionaire . A pretty good feature given the gameplay mechanics. Didn't LA noire have something similar?

 

[FireBeaver]

Sounds pretty fun, too bad I don't have any friends to play it with.

 

[xevis]

Yup. My girlfriend is gonna love this!

You think so? Wouldn't she rather be in the room talking to you as you play? At least, that's my experience with adventure games. It's the meta discussion that makes things fun.

 

[Salsa]

So basically their games are all going to be Twitchbait?

Im not even sure what this means

how is this gonna affect the way they make their games in any way?

it's smart. It's something a lot of people want, is gonna be good for them, and solves issues like people flooding twitch chats anyway

maybe you werent trying to be condescending but I dont quite get how someone would be against this



I read someone here saying something about twitch bait in a similar fashion refering to the sudden popularity of roguelites like Spelunky, Enter The Gungeon, Nuclear Throne...

guess what? all those games are fucking great. Go Twitch for all I care

 

[Lord Frieza]

Essentially its ask the audience in who wants to be a millionaire . A pretty good feature given the gameplay mechanics. Didn't LA noire have something similar?

No? Unless they patched it in at some point, LA Noire didn't have that.

 

[Fat4all]

You think so? Wouldn't she rather be in the room talking to you as you play? At least, that's my experience with adventure games. It's the meta discussion that makes things fun.

this doesn't exactly stop her from being in the room with him

 

[Boem]

Bad title. Not really multiplayer. This is for streamers.

It's not for streamers yet though. The timed nature of the choices and the latency problems inherent with streaming at this point in time means that it won't work for streaming yet, as is mentioned in the article. Right now it's for groups of people playing together at home.

You think so? Wouldn't she rather be in the room talking to you as you play? At least, that's my experience with adventure games. It's the meta discussion that makes things fun.

She would still need to be in the same room, as she needs to see the screen. Otherwise she would have no idea what was going on. The phone screen just shows the available choices, nothing else.

For people confused by how this would work - look into Jackbox Party Pack. It's definitely the best party game on Steam right now. We play it with our group of friends all the time and most of them never play 'regular' games at all.

 

[firehawk12]

So this is basically what SW:TOR did isn't it? It sounds incredibly frustrating, and outside of Twitch streamers wanting to get trolled by their viewers, I'm not sure who would want to play a game like that.

No? Unless they patched it in at some point, LA Noire didn't have that.

It sort of had it - you could see what decision players made before you made your choice. Eventually it just became a walkthrough because everyone always picked the right answers.

 

[Salsa]

title could just be changed to "All Telltale games to have optional choice making multiplayer feature" I... guess? didnt mean to derail boem

 

[spazchicken]

 

[oti]

We could make a "GAF Plays" or something.

 

[Haunted]

Sounds like a pretty nice feature for streamers.

Yup, basically made for Twitch.

 

[Salsa]

for all the reasons

 

[Abilidebob]

Im not even sure what this means

how is this gonna affect the way they make their games in any way?

it's smart. It's something a lot of people want, is gonna be good for them, and solves issues like people flooding twitch chats anyway

maybe you werent trying to be condescending but I dont quite get how someone would be against this



I read someone here saying something about twitch bait in a similar fashion refering to the sudden popularity of roguelites like Spelunky, Enter The Gungeon, Nuclear Throne...

guess what? all those games are fucking great. Go Twitch for all I care

I don't really have anything against Twitchbait games though?

 

[UberLevi]

Twitch Plays Telltale Batman

 

[Fix-It Felix. Jr.]

the implementation is a bit weird

but these are a type of game that tends to be enjoyed even by people who rarely play games

so going the phone route is smart in that way. the more general target audience these games tend to reach (considering they're most often based around shows or IPs people like, and require little action input) wont have more than 1 or 2 xbox controllers around

There's definitely some benefits to this, especially when you are with a larger crowd. Even though Telltale's games still require the player to move around, we all know that what makes these games so wonderful is the storytelling and our ability to direct how that story plays out. For a group of friends, it would essentially be like a choose your own adventure film, which is cool. Still, I don't think this will really benefit anyone that's not playing with at least four viewers. If there is only two people voting, and the person with the controller is able to override the other vote, then this mode seems rather pointless.

Then again, there isn't any other way that Telltale games could really go with a multiplayer mode. Having someone else physically in the game with you could progress the game without your knowledge or without you being able to fully explore areas, which removes a large portion of what makes these games so great. It's nice that they at least tried to implement a way to make this game multiplayer, even if the method seems extremely limited.