PREVIEW
So before I even start discussing what has recently emerged from Minecon 2015, let me just say that I really dislike Minecraft down to my personal taste in games. I can see why people like it, but I personally dont get it, and I really have tried.
Now that I have got that off of my chest, let me tell you what I think of something in particular that was shown at the minecraft dedicated convention, which I didn't even know was a thing, until very recently.
In case you haven't guessed already, it is regarding the new Telltale game based on the hugely narrative driven world of Minecraft.
Yep.
Telltale games who pride themselves on their hugely tense and dramatic choice driven games are now creating an episodic game about minecraft.
When I first heard about this, I didnt really care for it, or pay any attention to it at all. That was until I saw the absolutely horrific trailer showcasing the game in all of its glory.
Now here is my problem with this idea, and one reason why I think that it is going to be an absolute car crash.
All episoidic games are driven by tension.
Whether it be the telltale games (The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Game of Thrones), or even Resident Evil Revelations 2.
All of these games are popular as they share the same format as a TV Series, not only in terms of the episodes, but also because of those rage inducing cliff hangers and favourite character deaths (I'm looking at you Walking Dead and Game of Thrones), which are perfectly delivered because of the wait in between episodes.
 |
| This cannot be real. Please. |
What I am getting at is, HOW is a game based on Minecraft going to create the same tension that will be benefited by being split up by episodes? I simply cannot see a game set in this type of world, with these types of characters creating a narrative that will pull me in, and make me want to play on after each episode.
Sure you can say "But it will be fun, the characters will be cute, games dont have to be narrative driven blahblah", all of that is completely right, BUT, we are talking about a solely narrative driven game here. Telltale do not offer fun and cute gameplay, they offer games where you must make huge story changing choices and deal with the consequences of everything you choose to do.
"Do you choose to take the pick-axe and mine eastwards away from the creepers, or take the sword and fight them - eventhough this is a family friendly world so both choices will probably have the same outcome, which one hmm?". No! There is just no way that this will work.
The whole choice system replacing any real gameplay will be too boring for kids, and the story and lack of tension will be too boring for adults.
Obviously I could be absolutely wrong (I wont be), but hey - watch the trailer for yourself and just look at how laughably bad it looks.
