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.
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.
- 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.