The "Annoying In-jokes" option

I just tested the new mode. It may be less nostalgic without the in-jokes, but, on the other hand, it feels more independent and maybe also a little bit more streamlined.

2 Likes

What I said was ā€œgoing forward, the majority of players may not have played our old gamesā€. Clarifying, Iā€™m just guessing that many of the people who already bought/played Thimbleweed Park did so because they know our old games. In the future, people who buy/play our game over the next few years may not have played our old games. This is my personal guess. I donā€™t have any data.

4 Likes

Got it, and I agree. Moreover, I am hoping for the best that Thimbleweed Park catches on to the mainstream. It is a very good game. :slight_smile:

 -dZ.
1 Like

Soā€¦ Everyone who played the old games was probably playing the first days after release. So this change will only make new players focus more on the story and donā€™t get sidetracked or confused. Sounds like a good decision then.

Please DONā€™T make this option kind of mandatory. I consider myself as a hardcore fan who relishes each and every in-joke and havenā€™t finished the game yet!

Not sure what you mean by ā€œmandatory.ā€ You can optionally play it with in-jokes on or off. It is mandatory that you click on the check box if you want them back on again.

3 Likes

You could put an explanation note on the option ā€¦ So you do not understand what it is! And players lose part of the game without realizing it :cry:

Wow, itā€™s a real optionā€¦ I skipped reading the list since Iā€™ve yet to finish the game, but I would have expected it to be a noop (because none of the in-jokes are annoying).

1 Like

It drove me a little crazy actually.

I overlooked the NavigatorĀ“s head in the first playthrough, and went searching for it in the next.

It didnĀ“t do anything in the woods, and I had no beeeping idea why. Until I happened to find this new option, that wasĀ“nt there earlier, and deactivated it. No idea why it was activated in the first place (should be non standard I would say).

I was surprised that people find them annoying. Even more surprised to hear about this option being added. I figured anybody who doesnā€™t know what the in-jokes refer to wonā€™t notice them anyway. And the people who do know would probably find them funny, not annoying, even if there are a lot of them ā€“ but hey, thatā€™s the audience, right? I guess I was wrong. I wonder whether any of those people who found them annoying were also annoyed by easter eggs in the older games, such as a parody of the Sierra Save/Restore/Quit box popping up in MI1, Guybrush saying he was selling ā€œfine leather jacketsā€, Sam and Max being in quite a few backgrounds, etc.

I donā€™t think people objected to having any in-jokes in the game. They just thought we had too many. Now there are fewer unless you click on the box to turn them all back on again.

1 Like

Iā€™m scouring the game for missing stuff and Iā€™ve found that the ā€œGā™”Eā€ in the lift is still there. Maybe you want to add that to your list @LogicDeLuxe

David is right, it was the sheer amount that annoyed me. I understood pretty much all of the in-jokes and I canā€™t say that I didnā€™t find them funny, but there was a big problem: It was hard for me to get immersed in the game because it kept ramming its elbow in my side, winking heavily and yelling ā€œgot it? got it?ā€
In the older games the in-jokes and easter eggs were more like a bit of spicyness added to give the game some extra flavor, but with TP I had the impression they became more of a main ingredient. Itā€™s still a very good game (although I am not really happy with the ending), but that was a point (especially in the dialogues) where I felt it became overpowering and too distracting.

Personally, I initially was on the ā€œmaybe there are a little too many in-jokesā€ side at first, but then it completely made sense when I saw the ending, as I realized that TWP could be a point and click adventure game about point and click adventure games. Something that was very pleasant for me to experience.

I have not played it without the in-jokes yet, but as far as Iā€™ve read in this thread Iā€™m okay with them leaving something there nonetheless, considering my conclusions (that I have blurred for spoilers).

Of course, these are just my two cents. Maybe itā€™s just how I want it to be rather than how it actually is. Or, you knowā€¦ It could be the signals!

About not everybody getting them, Iā€™d like to hear actual feedback from people who have played TWP as their first Gilbert\Winnick\Fox\et al. point and click adventure.
Even better if TWP is their first point and click adventure at all!

2 Likes

Does the dude at the convenience store still talk about his cousin? I assumed the cousin was Bernard from Maniac Mansion.

I missed the navigator the first time through. I guess I have to find him now. Is there anything that would trigger him not being available any longer? I donā€™t have many of my early save states any more and I donā€™t have time to start from the beginning.

Well, as such a person, I have to say I didnā€™t really notice the in-jokes, so I wasnā€™t bothered by them. Iā€™m sure there were instances (though I canā€™t think of any right now) in which I realized a line was referencing something that I didnā€™t understand, but I wasnā€™t bothered by it. Overall, I thought the dialogue was simply very funny and enjoyable, in-joke or not.

4 Likes

I donā€™t see a reason the head not being available later on. But if you really have only savegames late into the game you may not be able to use it.

1 Like

I think itā€™s OK to have it default to no in-jokes since itā€™s more likely those people complaining about them wouldnā€™t have found/searched the option in the first place.

But IMHO it would be much better to have the player decide at the beginning when playing the game the first time, a little bit similar to the game difficulty option. Otherwise many people wonā€™t realise they are missing content in the first place.

2 Likes

Oh, and I read the option backwards thenā€¦ Iā€™ve been playing with the default (off), Iā€™ll restart with it on and report back :-).

1 Like

This is a good point!