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Larryb posted:Huh, must have forgotten those somehow (don't really remember all the side characters from LiS that well). Which three were they? Ms. Gloria, Dana, and Evan.
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Sep 8, 2017 03:42
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precision posted:Ms. Gloria, Dana, and Evan. Dana sounds familiar but I don't remember the other two at all. I think Evan was the weird kid with the portfolio but who's Ms. Gloria? Larryb fucked around with this message at 03:50 on Sep 8, 2017 |
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Sep 8, 2017 03:46
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Larryb posted:Dana sounds familiar but I don't remember the other two at all. I think Evan was the weird kid with the portfolio but who's Ms. Gloria? Hayden, whom you also missed, was a mostly forgettable but perpetually stoned Vortex Club member. He is now Dana's scene partner who can't remember his lines. Evan was indeed the kid with the portfolio in episode 1 who gets his head smashed in with a piece of sheet metal in episode 5. He now wants to talk about forest fires because, yeah, this guy was always self-important Ms. Grant is the science teacher who circulated a petition to keep security cameras off the campus. She makes a sarcastic remark about the hypothesis of whether Chloe will be in class on time. Double spoiler: Of course she isn't. Nameless Pete fucked around with this message at 06:24 on Sep 8, 2017 |
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Sep 8, 2017 06:21
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I was debating waiting until all of the episodes were out to grab this, then went to hell with it and got the season pass. Worth it entirely already for Chloe D&D. "I punch the minotaur in the dick!"
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Sep 8, 2017 06:44
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Nameless Pete posted:Dana is the friendly cheerleader who accidentally leaves evidence she had an abortion (or possibly a miscarriage, they left it vague enough to potentially go that direction) just lying around her room. In BTS, she's playing Miranda in the Tempest Ah, like I said I don't remember all the one-note side characters from Life is Strange (though Dana had a bit more presence than the others you mentioned), the ones I listed are the returning cast members who played an at least somewhat major role in the first game at any rate. I'm sure we'll see more familiar faces as things progress (Kate's a possibility as is Jefferson though I believe Chloe never actually meets him in person until later in the first one. If Victoria gets a larger role in future episodes I'm guessing Taylor and Courtney will show up eventually too). Assuming we jump ahead a bit in time at some point I wonder if there will be some sections where we shift control over to Rachel (there are a few major events between now and the first game that Chloe wasn't around for after all), plus it's pretty obvious that she's going to be a major driving force in the plot the same way Chloe was in the original (though to be fair, as far as protagonists go Chloe has a lot more presence to her than Max did).
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Sep 8, 2017 15:03
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Me, personally, I think it is a weird as heck story to say that Max shouldn't have used her powers to save Chloe and she should have let her die and live with the trauma of that whole situation. I also think the ending is obviously a case of the creators running out of time/money because there's like a billion dropped plot threads and it doesn't make sense!! BAE BEFORE BAY
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Sep 9, 2017 03:30
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It would be funny and kind of great if this entire prequel is like episode 1 and the whole thing is just Date My Lesbian Waifu Sim 2017 Considering the images during the ending, that's not gonna happen, but still. Does the game want us to think that the woman Rachel's dad is cheating with is a supernatural fire spirit villain?
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Sep 9, 2017 03:40
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precision posted:It would be funny and kind of great if this entire prequel is like episode 1 and the whole thing is just Date My Lesbian Waifu Sim 2017 I doubt that, but she was just calmly sitting there smoking while things burned around her so maybe she'll end up being a bit more important in the grand scheme of things. There's also the raven that keeps following Chloe around (even in her dreams), I'm guessing it's her equivalent of Max's doe but so far it's only seemed to show up when something bad is about to happen. While there aren't as many plot hooks dropped as there were during the first episode of the original (in fact, this game kind of seemed to drop everything in our laps within the last few minutes of the first episode) there are still enough to keep me intrigued. The fact that they only have 3 episodes to work with rather than 5 has me a bit worried but hopefully things will start ramping up pretty early into the next episode to make up for it. Larryb fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Sep 9, 2017 |
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Sep 9, 2017 04:02
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Talking of choice, the game seems to allow you to blow off everyone and screw up everything, I'm hoping a "fail run" of this one is more rewarding than it was in LIS. e: I didn't fail a single Backtalk challenge and I'm pretty sure I did them all, but how in the world do you get the Grafitti in the Junkyard?
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Sep 9, 2017 04:11
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precision posted:e: I didn't fail a single Backtalk challenge and I'm pretty sure I did them all, but how in the world do you get the Grafitti in the Junkyard? Smash the sign before anything else, then the paint cans, then graffiti the sign with the splatter.
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Sep 9, 2017 04:16
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precision posted:Talking of choice, the game seems to allow you to blow off everyone and screw up everything, I'm hoping a "fail run" of this one is more rewarding than it was in LIS. I think the ending at least still more or less plays out the same regardless of your choice but I could be wrong on that.
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Sep 9, 2017 04:21
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Nameless Pete posted:Smash the sign before anything else, then the paint cans, then graffiti the sign with the splatter. That's exactly what I was thinking and I could have sworn I tried it but I was about half a liter of wine deep at that point. Thanks! Interesting that they decided not to give you cheevos for anything other than the grafitti. It would encourage replay to have cheevos for certain things, especially the "fail once and you're done" Backtalks.
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Sep 9, 2017 04:34
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PunkBoy posted:It just bothers me how pessimistic and nihlistic the ending seems to be. No matter what you do, life is just poo poo and people around you are going to die. There's no sense of moving on or coming to some sort of peace or understanding. You either watch your friend die or you run away knowing everyone else you've ever known (and reconnected with) died horribly and it may or may not be your fault. Considering how many people have said "Wow, I can really relate to the themes and topics that are brought up," basically going "It doesn't get better" is just depressing. Don't want to dig it up off of the old thread, but I don't agree with this at all. The Bay ending? Yeah, that is depressing as gently caress. The music choice is Spanish Sahara, a song where a nightmarish place represents the attempt and failure to deal with trauma. Despite being surrounded by everyone she cares about, Max is miserable and defeated in the end, able to conjure a smile only at the sight of a blue butterfly that reminds her of what she's lost. The Bae ending, by contrast, is uplifting despite the devastation. A lot of people complain about the fact that they don't go through town looking for survivors, but that is sort of the point of the ending, which is dealing with acceptance and moving forward. The music choice (part of what makes me think it is the developer's intended ending) is Obstacles, a song used at the end of Episode 1 and in the game's trailer. Obstacles, by contrast to Spanish Sahara, is a song about nostalgia, about how things were simpler in youth and grew more difficult in time, and that despite that there is still the need to push forward, to look for a better place even if it won't necessarily last. It is, in a lot of ways, the quintessential song of the game's themes as a whole and it plays out. Owing to the game's original name, Life is Strange is a tale of "What if's". What if Max could save Chloe's dad, What if she could stop the storm and so on. Yet in every instance where you jump through time and make a big, substantive change, things are not better. The game gives you the power to change things, but at the same time it urges you not to. There is an urge to fight, to change things and make them better, but despite giving Max superpowers the lesson of the game is more or less 'in real life, bad poo poo happens', you can't change it and if you did you wouldn't like what you'd fine. The game leads players into accepting the things they cannot change by cleverly giving them the option to try. Which is why the end of the game is so important. The option isn't saving the bay or saving your bae, it is accepting things as they are or trying to change them again. It is almost a test, to see if you've learned enough through gameplay to understand that sometimes poo poo happens, but that doesn't mean that life doesn't go on. In Max's original timeline, Chloe's dad dies. Her rear end in a top hat teacher murders people. And she saves Chloe. Unlike every other instance of Max's power in the story, the first use is instinctual. and it is the first 'loop' if you will. She rewinds time, and that was meant to happen, that was fated to happen, Just like William's death was meant to happen. At the end of the game you're given the option. Use your time gently caress powers to go back in time and 'fix' what originally happened, keeping in mind that every single time you have done this has not helped, or accept that the storm was meant to happen and stop trying to live in what ifs. This is why the Bae ending is a clash of despair and optimism. The Bay ending forces you to sit and watch a brutal murder, watch Max alone with her thoughts, and ends with a funeral. The bae ending is grief and acceptance. The bad thing happens, but is a shared burden. Afterwards, the two of them drive through town as wildlife frolic. Both of them are silent, and Max looks ready to break. Then a hand from Chloe brings her out of her own head. She smiles, leans forward into the sunshine, and the two of them drive off into the literal sunset together. The only nihilism in the Bae ending is the acknowledgement that yeah, bad things happen. Edit: Damnit, I ranted again. Sorry.
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Sep 9, 2017 04:58
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I feel like people have this thing where they *really* want their dreary-rear end Cormac McCarthy ending where nothing matters and hope is dead. A happy resolution isn't 'art', or something
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Sep 9, 2017 05:05
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the bae ending is bad because chloe lived
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Sep 9, 2017 05:12
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It falls apart hard in the last couple episodes, but I definitely think Save Chloe is the ending that makes the most sense with what I got out of the themes they were going for.
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Sep 9, 2017 05:13
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I thought this was a much stronger first episode than the original LiS. With the benefit of hindsight the first LiS episode set things up well, but playing it when it came out I remember it feeling very clunky and wooden — the dialogue was at its weakest too. While BiS had some pacing issues I think overall it felt better realised and written off the bat (even if the concert scene was a bit of a mess). Pretty happy with this one, enjoyed the angst and interactions, Rachel seems different enough from what we've had prior that her character is worth exploring. The voice actor change bothered me less than I thought it would too, think the new actor for Chloe worked her way into the role well as the episode progressed.
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Sep 9, 2017 06:18
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This seems like a particularly bad time to talk about how uplifting the ending where the massive storm kills everyone is.
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Sep 9, 2017 09:28
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DeathChicken posted:I feel like people have this thing where they *really* want their dreary-rear end Cormac McCarthy ending where nothing matters and hope is dead. A happy resolution isn't 'art', or something I've never seen anyone agitating for more "sad" endings, but there always seems to be some mopey manchild whining that a given story wasn't "happy" enough for them. The entire concept of "sad/happy" is nonsense.
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Sep 9, 2017 09:37
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some people don't like stories that have endings that give them depression, yeah
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Sep 9, 2017 09:44
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Sounds like these people need to go on an adventure to save their hometown from a magical storm with their estranged best friend
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Sep 9, 2017 09:51
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I wonder whatever happened to the dude who went absolutely insane because he was 100% convinced that the ghost deer was the spirit of Rachel Amber trying to communicate with Max and that didn't end up happening.
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Sep 9, 2017 10:16
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The Memory Of Chloe Lives On In Our Hearts
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Sep 9, 2017 15:07
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exquisite tea posted:I wonder whatever happened to the dude who went absolutely insane because he was 100% convinced that the ghost deer was the spirit of Rachel Amber trying to communicate with Max and that didn't end up happening. I always thought that the doe was Rachel's spirit. When you see her in the junk yard, she's standing on the spot where Max and Chloe will later discover Rachel buried. When that happens and Chloe is crying in Max's arms, the doe is shown watching them sadly from a distance. Up until that point, Max and Chloe have both made remarks about how it feels as though Rachel is guiding them somehow, that she wants them to find out the truth. Of course, the relationship between the ghostly doe and Rachel is never spelled out but I can see why people read it that way. Out of curiosity though, who's the guy you're talking about? Did he really go bonkers because the game never confirmed it either way or do you mean that he was huffy about it? Eshettar fucked around with this message at 21:30 on Sep 9, 2017 |
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Sep 9, 2017 21:13
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I remember being sure that Evan was the killer in LIS. I wish he had been. Pretentious Morrissey lookin' fool. In retrospect, the last episode of LIS was kind of bad.
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Sep 9, 2017 21:24
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exquisite tea posted:I wonder whatever happened to the dude who went absolutely insane because he was 100% convinced that the ghost deer was the spirit of Rachel Amber trying to communicate with Max and that didn't end up happening. "Life Is Strange Co-Director Michel Koch posted:Since we are really playing the game from the point of view of Max, for her, not everything is clear, so it shouldn't be clear for the player, but there are really a lot of hints that should really guide the players to understand what's happening. We have a lot of symbolism with totem spirit animals. We have the doe and you can clearly see in Episode 4, that the Doe is clearly linked to Rachel and it's basically somehow a presence of Rachel that's guiding Max at moments. I'm not sure that many players noticed, but in Episode 2 actually, when you see the doe in the junkyard, it's precisely where Rachel is buried. There is this mystic feeling around the town and since we didn't want to clearly explain everything, it's part of what makes Arcadia Bay a bit different and a bit special. On the subject of possibly reading too much into things, after Chloe finds William's car at the junkyard, she collapses into almost exactly the same pose as when Nathan kills her. Probably a coincidence. I'd call it deliberate if they recreated the camera angle, but it was a wide shot as opposed to an overhead closeup. Still thought it was interesting.
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Sep 9, 2017 22:42
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The more I hear of it the less of a problem I have with Chloe's new VA. She sounds a bit wooden at times but there are other parts where she absolutely nails it, like when she's in the car with William during the dream sequence ("Why are you crying sweetie?" "Because you're not real"). She's pretty on point during the D&D segment as well. Not quite Ashly Burch quality (though Burch was apparently this game's only writer) but decent enough overall and I assume her performance will only get better as the game goes on and she settles more into the role. Also checking the credits again I can confirm that Frank's original actor did not return to reprise his role in this game either The dialogue as a whole feels a lot more natural this time (probably because it wasn't written by a Frenchman trying to emulate American teenagers). There's only one spoken instance of "hella" in the entire first episode and it's from Rachel (whether you count that as a good thing or not is a matter of opinion though). Larryb fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Sep 10, 2017 |
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Sep 9, 2017 23:53
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So that wasn't bad at all. It was nice to visit Arcadia Bay again, and they managed to make Rachel a character beyond the mystery of the first game. As for others in this thread, the D&D game was the absolute highlight for me. I did wish for a bit more mystery and general things-happening, but it had a nice atmosphere. At the end, the woman smoking and smiling through the forest fire was definitely intriguing and makes me wonder what her game is and how expansive it is. Is she simply a cold person who's chill with disaster, or did she set Rachel off deliberately, perhaps set off her powers should she have them, and with what intent, etc.? I'm not sure it will be answered; the first game never gave an answer about the Prescotts, the storm and the Vortex Club either. But I do hope they manage to do something interesting with only 2 episodes remaining.
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Sep 10, 2017 07:40
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Sunsetaware posted:the first game never gave an answer about the Prescotts, the storm and the Vortex Club either. But I do hope they manage to do something interesting with only 2 episodes remaining. Because the first game suffered from some serious development issues. Let's not act like those things are nothing but plot threads they had to drop all of a sudden.
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Sep 10, 2017 07:50
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Milky Moor posted:Because the first game suffered from some serious development issues. Let's not act like those things are nothing but plot threads they had to drop all of a sudden. You know how Life Is Strange feels to me up until Episode 5? Like the first season of a TV show that got cancelled prematurely. As in, Season One is supposed to introduce you to the characters with Max and Chloe's search for Rachel and Mr Jefferson would be revealed to be on Sean Prescott's payroll, helping to keep Nathan out of trouble while secretly using the resources provided by the Prescott patriarch to indulge in his sick hobby. (Remember the suspicious phone call Jefferson has with someone in Episode Two? Some people have theorized that the person he was talking to had to have been Nathan. But that can't be the answer. At the time of the call, Nathan is in the photography class with Victoria as they wait to ambush Max. Since it couldn't have been Nathan, could the other person have been his father? Pay close attention to Jefferson's voice as he talks. It sounds as though this is a conversation he really doesn't want to be having in a school hallway but that the other person involved is someone he can't simply blow off. As in someone who's paying him to do a very shady job of some kind.) Once Rachel's fate was revealed and Jefferson defeated, Season Two would get into Max learning why she was given the powers: so she can stop the Prescotts who are slowly but surely destroying Arcadia Bay. You'd also find out why Sean seemed to know about the storm, his motive for keeping the Vortex Club going at all costs and just what 'destiny' he had in mind for his son. Yeah, this stuff could simply be red herrings intended to make you think Sean was the bad guy whereas it was actually Jefferson all along but Samuel makes so many cryptic remarks about how Mother Earth is 'sick of our poo poo' that it honestly feels as though nature itself has empowered Max to do something about the threat to the land on which her hometown stands. That's honestly a vibe I still get even when I'm replaying it, like the writers were setting up something much more complex which was then abruptly abandoned. Seriously, the events of Episode 5 still feel so jarring to me to this day. (Remember the threatening text message Max gets from Sean in Episode Two? The one in which he accuses her of trying to blackmail Nathan and delivers a dark warning of legal repercussions unless she backs off? Was that really from Sean or can we take it that Jefferson was posing as him in an effort to make Max shut her mouth about the incident in the bathroom? I ask because that particular text is sent from a burner phone like the one Nathan uses but unlike the many texts he sends Max, the spelling and grammar are correct. Since Nathan was given the burner phone by Jefferson, I figure it's worth asking if the text from someone claiming to be Sean actually was Sean or an impostor.) Eshettar fucked around with this message at 11:52 on Sep 10, 2017 |
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Sep 10, 2017 10:32
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Speaking of the D&D game, they did a play-along of that sequence on their twitter with votes from the followers. The 'reward' image they shared to mark the win is art. 
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Sep 10, 2017 13:40
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I must confess I had a moment of weakness this morning and bought the game. I played the episode straight through and... it wasn't bad. In fact, after a bit of an awkward start, it was better than not bad. It was quite good. Despite all my reservations, I feel like Deck Nine was respectful and purposeful in trying to recapture the vibe Dontnod created with the first Life is Strange. It didn't feel like a cheap imitation, as I worried it might. I accept that they had to retcon a couple things in order to make the setting work, such as turning Blackwell Academy into a four-year high school instead of a one-year finishing school as it appeared to be in the first game. A few thoughts... 1. Ashly Burch is super missed here, but Chloe's new VA seemed to grow into the part as the episode wore on. 2. The backtalk feature in the place of time travel was cool, but not as well-integrated thematically for obvious reasons. 3. I can't believe so many people (87%!) chose to help Nathan. 4. I can't believe so many people (24%!) said they were just friends to Rachel! Do they even know what Life is Strange is about? 5. I'm with Paul Zuvella on this one, I don't think there's anything supernatural going on with Rachel. I just took it as symbolism. 6. On the other hand, I do think there's something to the raven imagery. In many cultures, ravens are commonly associated with wisdom and prophecy. 7. The next couple episodes are going to have to time skip pretty liberally if this prequel ends where I think it's going to end. So yeah, I feel a little bad for going against my principles here but I don't regret buying it. I believe that Deck Nine can do a good job now, even though the next two episodes are going to be much harder to get right from here on out.
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Sep 10, 2017 16:54
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exquisite tea posted:3. I can't believe so many people (87%!) chose to help Nathan. Those who agreed to go to the play with Eliot (I think it was the majority, even) have no excuse, though. 
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Sep 10, 2017 17:04
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Yeah, I didn't feel any need to help out my future murderer either. I do kind of like what they're doing with Rachel's character overall though (and apparently Chloe wound up inheriting a lot of her personality quirks as well). As for her having some kind of power I feel it could go either way at this point, Chloe did seem a little shocked when it happened though.. There is still a little bit of the supernatural present here (the raven for example), it's just been downplayed. I'm fine if they end up keeping those elements purely symbolic this time around though. I feel like there could be a bit more to the woman in white than meets the eye (granted, Rachel's dad could just be an rear end in a top hat but she looked like she was enjoying herself a bit too much during the ending montage) . But yeah, overall I'm liking this game a lot more than I expected to. I'm just a little worried that with only two episodes left to go they won't have a lot of time to tell the story they want without rushing things. Larryb fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Sep 10, 2017 |
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Sep 10, 2017 17:18
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exquisite tea posted:4. I can't believe so many people (24%!) said they were just friends to Rachel! Do they even know what Life is Strange is about? I figure the retcon makes a lot more sense, frankly, it kind of made no sense for it to be a finishing school considering the past history (after all, Chloe & Rachel apparently previously attended Blackwell concurrently with a bunch of other students, as established in the first game, but Season 1 took place right at the start of the school year. So unless they all went to the crabby local school, it didn't make much sense.
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Sep 10, 2017 18:21
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Larryb posted:I do kind of like what they're doing with Rachel's character overall though (and apparently Chloe wound up inheriting a lot of her personality quirks as well). If they are taking a more supernatural direction then its foreshadowing won't have been subtle with casting Rachel as Prospero in The Tempest.
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Sep 10, 2017 19:01
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exquisite tea posted:If they are taking a more supernatural direction then its foreshadowing won't have been subtle with casting Rachel as Prospero in The Tempest. I never said they were being subtle about it (the play is definitely intended to be symbolic to the story though as if you look on the right side of the car during the dream sequences there's a poster for it featuring Rachel, Nathan and Chloe wearing a raven helmet). It's been a while since I actually read or saw The Tempest but I'd imagine there are a few parallels to the general story of Life is Strange in there as well. And once again this game seems to be drawing influence from Twin Peaks (specifically Fire Walk With Me in this case, which is also where the name of the band at the beginning comes from). Larryb fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Sep 10, 2017 |
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Sep 10, 2017 19:17
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Doc Morbid posted:I just wanted to see the backtalk dialog because I thought it'd be entertaining! Honest! Same but I regretted it almost immediately Yvonmukluk posted:I was one of the 24%. I felt that it was moving a bit too fast for Chloe to immediately go to 'I might be in love with this person', even if she finds Rachel attractive. I will, should the option appear in later episodes, play Chloe as Hella Gay, but I figured literally the first day was a bit much. Yea that seemed way too fast and also potentially a huge turn off the_american_dream fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Sep 10, 2017 |
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Sep 10, 2017 19:59
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I didn't have trouble with any of the major decision points since Chloe's character is so well-established by now that it always seemed more natural to just do the most impulsive and reckless thing.
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Sep 10, 2017 20:16
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Sorry if this has been addressed in spoilers, but did any of the Native American themes from the first game made it to this one?
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Sep 10, 2017 20:41
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