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Telltales The Walking Dead & The Use of Non-Playable Characters

After playing the first three episodes of the walking dead, I can comfortably say that the story is enticing, the character development is great, and the action scenes keep me engaged; however, the game-play engine used throughout is not the best. Walking around can be confusing at times and knowing exactly who to speak with to progress the story can also seem like a waste of time. Constant button mashing, asking the same question multiple times, and lacking full control of the character becomes tedious and annoying. But overall, I think the game succeeds at what it sought out to do, and that is to tell an exciting story, while considering game-play mechanics less important.

In this game, non-playable characters are vitally important because, as the game disclaims, each decision you make with all other characters will affect the outcome of the story. Your decisions based on conversations with NPC's are what leads to certain people living or dying, how relationships develop, and ultimately determine the path you are taking to try and survive. Without the NPC interaction in this game, the story would seem shallow and uninteresting. The excitement in this game is largely due to "spending hours journeying alongside [NPCs], struggling to rescue them [and] sometimes experiencing betrayal by them." The relationships with Kenny and Lilly are completely determined by the other, and every decision you make for one side, weakens the relationship with the other. This type of dynamic instantaneously displays the effect your decisions have, most of which are captioned at the top of the screen when a specific dialogue is chosen.

While some NPC's come and go through different decisions, the main NPC who appears to be sticking with you throughout the game is Clementine. Her character basically becomes your daughter which, on numerous occasions, completely alters the story or the decisions you can make. For example, when the group finds the abandoned car with all the supplies and you have to choose to agree or disagree with Clementine. In this situation, as the player, you have grown to value what she thinks of you and fear for what would happen if you left her feeling alone in that decision. With the personal attachment, I would assume that most people would decide to agree with her to ensure that the bond between you two continues to grow. When examining this situation, these game developers do an effective job incorporating a tactic that Katherine Isbister explains, claiming that "[a]ccomplished game designers use a range of subtle social cues from NPCs to produce feelings in players, putting NPCs into powerful and consequent social relationships with the player/avatar."

I love the impact NPCs have in this game, and I look forward to continuing my journey and experiencing different avenues of each relationship.

Coming soon will be a post on the conclusion of The Walking Dead season 1. Talk soon.

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