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Response to Season 1 of Telltales: The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead Season 1 was a roller coaster ride that had me enticed from beginning to end. I thoroughly enjoyed playing the game, especially considering how every decision seemed to change what could potentially happen. For a story-based game, I would recommend to anyone.

When looking specifically at the ending, I was quite shocked. When you play as a protagonist and you are well aware there is another season of a game, you would never think that character would die. Most game series that have numerous sequels typically contain the same protagonist. I believe, while shocking, the conclusion of the game was exactly the ending the season needed. We got 5 episodes of Lee's story trying to protect everyone, especially Clementine, and now we get Clementine's story moving forward. Lee fulfilled his duty of moving Clementine on safely, and the fact that she was the one to kill him only seemed fitting because now she was his savior and protector, almost seeming poetic.

When looking at the most memorable moments from the season I believe the two that stood out to me both came near the end. The first event that was memorable was how Kenny dies. Throughout the entire game, people die, people are deserted, and people are forgotten about because Kenny does not seem to care about anyone but himself and his family. Even after both Duck and Katja die, all Kenny cares about is getting to the boat regardless of what happens to everyone else. Beyond the fact that Kenny appeared to have a selfish motive, Ben, the one Kenny sacrificed his life for, was the reason Duck and Katja died and was basically the reason for every bad thing that happened to the group. To me it was a complete one-eighty in character development because Kenny killed himself just so Ben would not suffer, which went against the character Kenny was throughout the entire season.

The second moment that stood out to me was the entire situation with Clementine running off with the man on the radio, and how that man was related to the story as a whole. Part of me had a gut feeling that the abandoned car would come back to haunt the group, but I did not think it would revolve around taking Clementine from Lee. Another thing that shocked me about the situation was how Clementine decided to run off, even though I was honest with her about not being able to look for her parents. I anticipated her to be upset, but after everything Lee and her go through. and the trust displayed, I did not expect her to run off. I specifically enjoyed this part of the story as well because they did a good job with the creepy guy who thought he was doing the right thing, but was actually insane; proven by the fact that he kept his wife's head in his bag. The voice they chose, the dialogue, and his actions were all perfect in terms of a last antagonist to Lee's story.

Overall, I enjoyed playing the game and would consider looking at the further seasons to see where the story goes. Up next I will be looking into the use of game mechanics to increase the narrative of a story. Talk soon.

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