|
Deck Nine pitched their own narrative adventure project to Square and they told them to flip out a Life is Strange game first. Chances are they didn't get to decide much on the scope and budget for the project and could only afford to do three episodes. Chances are this new Life is Strange more closely resembles their original pitch. I think somebody used twitter CSI to suss out that this would be a 5 episode arc.
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 23:11
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 4, 2024 20:22 |
|
|
Just asking because of the aforementioned weird pacing where essentially the entire plot is shoved into the third episode after the relatively leisurely 1 and 2.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 23:15
|
|
|
Paul Zuvella posted:I had my issues with before the storm, but they were almost entirely do to pacing and forcing what they were trying to do into 3 episodes. Episode 3 was basically a trainwreck start to finish, but they had to cram almost the entire story into it so its not like it could have ever been good. Yeah Episode 3 felt like they were forced to have some kind of a villain when they didn't need one. The impending doom of what was going to happen with Mr Jefferson I think is villain enough (and even though I did not like the after credits bit). On top of that Chloe and Rachel's dynamic together is SO incredibly strong in the first two episodes, taking Rachel away for most of the episode just didn't work. I have no idea how to change the big confrontation, but I think Rachel needed to be a part of it. It's extra sad because both of the previous episodes had amazing scenes between Rachel and Chloe. In the first one I adore the scene on the train, and the second there's obviously the play and the walk home afterwards. I think in episode 3 the scene of them in Rachel's room is really nice, but then the rest of the episode kind of ruins it by just being not... great. I liked the idea of the scene where the creep who is in love with Chloe barges in and you have to do something to get out of it, but the way they tried to force into Chloe breaking into Rachel's dad's room didn't work at all. I had a really had time believing that. Really I just wanted more cute scenes between Rachel and Chloe, and I'm kind of bitter that the third episode takes that away halfway through edit: Before the Storm was also a step up in terms of animation. I love the first LiS but the facial animations were very static and not super emotive. BtS gave the characters all very expressive faces which I appreciated.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 23:25
|
|
|
gently caress the plot and just give me a lesbian D&D simulator
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 23:37
|
|
|
Well good news, Steph is rumored to be a returning character.
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 23:41
|
|
|
Indeed, I'm curious what her role is going to be if this is true (and if it'll be bigger than it was in BTS) LiS 2 was a bit of a step up in terms of facial animations as well though not to the extent BTS was, so if Deck Nine's behind this one as well I kind of hope it has at least the same level of animation quality. The new power (supposedly) being mind reading sounds interesting as well, gameplay wise I imagine it would have the same benefit as Rewinding (that is, using prior knowledge to call people out or tell them what they want to hear) without actually having to play back the entire conversation to do so. But yeah, while we'll know more on the 18th I'm pretty optimistic about this so far (and it would be nice to see what Deck Nine could do with a complete blank slate rather than being forced to work within the lines of an established continuity like last time).
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 23:42
|
|
|
I imagine there's gonna be some kind of thing where you have to hold a button or play a mini game or do something to focus in on one specific person's thoughts if you're in a crowd and all thoughts are being bombarded at you
|
|
#
?
Mar 12, 2021 23:51
|
|
|
I think mind reading is going to be used far more as a "gently caress what is going on around me" rather then a big puzzle solving thing like the time powers. The trailer is going to have to put in a ton of work because 1 and 2 were so radically different people are going to really want to know what the direction is. Also, bringing back Steph, are they doing the game set in the late 2010s? Canonically the LiS cast would be in their late 20s by now. The setting for LiS2 was 2016/17 so when you meet David in the desert his phone call reflects the time difference since the original game set in 2013. I think the fantasy of an After the Storm or Rachel Amber prequel is pretty much dead at this point, so I'm not really seeing the benefit to dragging up old side characters just for the sake of "continuity". One of the best things about LiS2 was the Capt Spirit because it managed to make the new cast feel so much more real. LiS 3 doesn't need previous characters returning they need a game that manages to make people care about the current cast in the same way people connected with the original. pentyne fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Mar 13, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2021 00:22
|
|
|
Got around to beating it, finally. Why would anyone ever surrender? gently caress all those cops, and the idea of making the whole lovely journey be for nothing.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2021 12:43
|
|
|
Flesnolk posted:Got around to beating it, finally. Why would anyone ever surrender? gently caress all those cops, and the idea of making the whole lovely journey be for nothing. Congrats on feeling anything at all by the end, I suppose.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 00:57
|
|
|
I still don't understand why he just didn't use his brain mind powers to lift them over the wall.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 01:01
|
|
|
The surrender option makes the most sense narratively because it’s the older brother finally righting the wrong of taking the younger brother with him on the lam. It’s absurd how many chances he has to leave his brother in good hands with family but selfishly continues dragging him along.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 01:05
|
|
|
I would honestly question any of the endings being good. At best the one where Sean is living in Puerto Lobos with the romance interest and Daniel was raised by the grandparents is the only one that is best for everyone. Its funny that a game deciding to go hard into race and justice issues in America though that turning yourself in and trusting the integrity of the police was a good thing.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 01:42
|
|
|
I don’t think they really do, Sean looks super damaged in the Surrender ending.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 02:02
|
|
|
Honestly I don't feel like Sean has any reason to believe they won't just kill him, and he was clearly afraid for what they might do to Daniel if they got their hands on him and discovered his powers, wasn't that part of the whole point of the long trek south? At least Daniel going full Akira on a bunch of cops was satisfying to watch. Flesnolk fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Mar 18, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 02:10
|
|
|
exquisite tea posted:I don’t think they really do, Sean looks super damaged in the Surrender ending. And in the low morality version of that ending he literally winds up dead. Personally I’ve always felt that Cross The Border was the better choice, in the good version the brothers are separated but each gets what they really wanted all along: Sean starts a new life in Mexico (alongside Cassidy/Finn depending on if you romanced one of them back in episode 3) while Daniel gets to start over in Beaver Creek with his grandparents and Chris. Meanwhile in the bad version the boys wind up becoming criminals of sorts but also own their own business and it’s the only ending where both of them make it to Puerto Lobos alive (also Daniel going full Magneto on the cops was a cool scene). Larryb fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Mar 18, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 02:13
|
|
|
Larryb posted:Daniel going full Magneto Flesnolk posted:Daniel going full Akira lol nice
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 02:16
|
|
|
Either way it’s one of the best scenes in the game
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 02:19
|
|
|
Oh I'm not disagreeing or saying anything bad about your post, I just kinda loved us both saying the exact same thing back to back.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 02:21
|
|
|
The only person of authority that is presented as a somewhat rational human being, and even then she's assuming Sean is lying, is the FBI agent they shoehorned into episode 4. There's no possible perceived outcome where Sean doesn't do 15-20 for "killing a cop". If they hadn't started the game with the dash cam video of the force explosion, plus all the other extremely obvious and visible uses of Daniels powers, like ripping apart a loving police station, then it could be believable that no one had proof of the weirdness and they "plausibly" thought Sean hulked out and threw a cop so hard he died. Like even the y'all queda who shoot them at the border, "oh you blew up the wall" like god drat how inbred dumb are these people to have not seen a massive explosion cloud and then seeing the fence bent like tinfoil and think "must've been a bomb" They either needed to go with tons of power use but no hard proof, or really hammer home that the people coming after them know some insane poo poo went down and want to get them into custody for safety/observation/control and turning themselves in meant being separated for 100% certainty.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 02:29
|
|
|
pentyne posted:The only person of authority that is presented as a somewhat rational human being If I want to be a little fair, Campbell is reasonable-ish and treats Sean about as decently as can be expected under the circumstances. And the y'all qaeda guys explicitly just want an excuse to shoot brown people. I hit that "take revenge" prompt like the microsecond it appeared. :V Honestly the only in universe argument I can see, even a little, for giving up is Daniel starts straight up telling Sean he's changed his mind and doesn't want to go to Mexico, and even that felt a little like DontNod putting its thumb on the scales, like how Warren suddenly comes out with "oh yeah the storm is because of your powers."
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 02:33
|
|
|
The narrative of controling the brother who's actions have a knock on effect on the developing superhero/villain was a great idea to make it more about have to lead by example and be willing to take the hit to keep Daniel safe, weighing the consequences of your actions with how a kid sees it. What Daniel later wants is kind of not the issue, because if he's been lying and doing whatever he wants you've got a ticking time bomb. Maybe if you played it super 'moral' and he picked up on it but that's more like metagaming knowing what's going to happen, even then Daniel doesn't understand context, so seeing you kick the poo poo out of a racist who kidnapped and beat you. then steal a tent from him for survival makes Daniel think stealing from a good Samaritan is okay. You can't take the word of an 8 year old who has tantrums and kills people by accident with any seriousness because someone has to be the adult and both keep him safe, and keep people safe from him. Also, episode 4 kind of put to rest the idea that Daniel can make his own decisions, because it makes it seem like he'll listen to literally any adult who tells him want he wants to hear and then do what they say.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 02:47
|
|
|
Yeah, like I said, it's a flimsy "argument" and it's basically the only one that seems to exist for just passively turning yourself over to the people who, for all you know, will murder you on sight and then vivisect your brother or something. As much as I liked the idea of raising Daniel and having an effect on the development of this budding superhero/supervillain it's really annoying how if you do even one thing wrong, however justifiable in the circumstances, you basically lock him onto the bad path. Also killing that cougar should be okay and not turn him evil. 
Flesnolk fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Mar 18, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 02:50
|
|
|
I forget, does letting Daniel kill the cougar in Episode 2 basically lock you into the bad path or can you recover if you did everything else right? I believe the end of Episode 3 is the point of no return in that regard at least.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 02:58
|
|
|
I mean, Daniel let me talk him down from killing the cult lady, so maybe it doesn't? It sure feels like it though. And beating up the racist who kidnaps you and stealing his tent (AFTER I'd done the whole gas station thing to that point being nice and buying stuff with money) seems to lock him into generally being an rear end in a top hat and blowing you off if you tell him not to be.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 03:00
|
|
|
Ah ok, I know in the low morality path you get a completely different choice at the end of episode 4 (basically either let Daniel kill Lisbeth or kill her yourself). So if you still got the one you’re talking about then you’re fine The cougar definitely bumps you up a few points on the bad scale though (as does stealing the tent/from the store beforehand like you mentioned and joining Finn on the heist in Episode 3) Larryb fucked around with this message at 03:13 on Mar 18, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 03:09
|
|
|
Clearly I wasn't, because I got the bad cross the border ending. :V To be fair, like you said it's the only one where they actually make it to Puerto Lobos together, and I don't like that the game frames giving up as the right choice - I read up on the other endings and it definitely feels like high morality surrender is portrayed as the "best" ending. To be fairer, maybe I would've gotten one of those better endings if I didn't let Daniel paint the police station walls red. Also, him slamming Campbell so hard into the wall the bricks broke and just being like "dude, who cares?!" when you check on him is pretty funny. :V The heist is an unfair one to bump you up on, though, because well, you end up there no matter what. My choices were basically play nice in the gas station until the guy kidnapped me, then beat him up and steal his tent -> kill the gently caress out of that worthless cougar -> join heist (I tried to play episode 3 in a very pro-Daniel way to make a closer relationship, thinking it'd turn the morality more towards good; also you end up doing the heist either way so this feels like it shouldn't matter) -> generally tell Daniel off when he abuses his power -> spare Lisbeth -> murder the cops in the police station (whoops) and take revenge on the vigilantes (not whoops, why the gently caress would you free them) -> cross the border. In general, I noticed a trend of the game saying the options where you stand up for yourself and get back at the people mistreating you and usually outright attacking you are the "bad" options and frankly I think that's bullshit. If being moral means being a helpless doormat, I'm Team Magneto all the way. Flesnolk fucked around with this message at 03:19 on Mar 18, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 03:13
|
|
|
The game design comes off as having a lot of flexibility in letting you make mistakes that had unforeseen consequences, like letting Sean get romantically involved in ep 3, that Daniel would react badly to as he perceives it as being left behind and would rebel and do his own thing. However, it's doesn't actually matter at all because the major set-piece power events were more or less set in stone. I had 0 hesitation in letting the scruffy hippy dude die because he risked the life of a child for a quick payday. Same thing with Lisbeth, kill her to keep Daniel from having to do it; she's an insane religious fanatic who is killing people by denying them medication and has goons willing to kill for her. Flesnolk posted:If being moral means being a helpless doormat, I'm Team Magneto all the way. Speaking of doormat, I also felt like suddenly meeting the mom and all those "I want to tell you why I left" was some weird attempt to encourage people to forgive her. I shut that poo poo down asap during the game and let it reach a point of terse respect by the end but absolutely not picking any of the "you can be our mom again" options The woman was apparently "suffocating creatively" and just had to abandon her family and move to New York to pursue her artistic dreams, even though she lost out on a huge payday for not following the required rules/format for a poetry submission she was paid for, and I don't care how the game frames it she was the most selfish, narcissistic person imaginable for nearly a decade and then comes onto the scene as this serious, recalcitrant person who just decided to ignore her children the entire time she was off living a bohemian life and now wants to be a supportive mom. Almost nothing in the game got me as angry as the constant attempts to push you to reconcile/forgive the boys' mother, especially as you piece together the details of her leaving. She was a huge piece of poo poo who put herself before her kids and dropped them like a casual hobby when she got bored/stifled by domestic life.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 03:58
|
|
|
the more you guys talking about LiS2 and the more I remember it as a result, the more I wish the game had never been made at all it's garbage.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 04:01
|
|
|
Almost every character in the game is either unbelievably stupid or unbelievably stupid and cruel. Even grading Sean on the curve of being a traumatized teenager in a no-win situation, he railroads the player into inexplicable decisions several times per episode in a way that makes him pretty hard to invest in or empathize with. General Dog fucked around with this message at 04:08 on Mar 18, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 04:05
|
|
|
Man I feel bad for players that shut the mom down completely cause the talk between her and Sean at the motel is one of the best scenes in all of the LiS games imo
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 04:06
|
|
|
Macaluso posted:Man I feel bad for players that shut the mom down completely cause the talk between her and Sean at the motel is one of the best scenes in all of the LiS games imo I don't care and I never will. Walking away from your family because you want to live in a lovely dive apartment, paint, and be big in the local hipster arts scene is the mark of a trash human being and there's is nothing they could say about it that is worth hearing.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 04:14
|
|
|
pentyne posted:[lots of stuff] I hated Finn, him being so in love with hearing himself talk and the story seeming to want me to think he's so cool and charming was part of why episode 3 was such a slog for me. I had a weird reaction to episode 2 in that Mushroom dying turned me off the game entirely, and I only kept going because I didn't want to waste the money I'd spent, but I think even without that I would've been sick of him two seconds after meeting him. And yeah, the story gives you no reason to want anything to do with Karen at all beyond the barest pragmatic "we need this person's help" level, and yet turns around and calls you an awful person if you act accordingly. I have to admit to being just plain confused about the fact the game seems to argue that not letting yourself be walked all over is bad.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 04:29
|
|
|
I’ll be making a new thread this afternoon if:when the next game is officially announced.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 14:53
|
|
|
exquisite tea posted:I’ll be making a new thread this afternoon if:when the next game is officially announced. According to the official Twitter the trailer is supposed to drop some time today: https://twitter.com/LifeIsStrange/status/1372254334403153923 Current (fairly credible) rumors: -The main character is an Asian-American girl named Alex who can read minds (she might have a brother as well, I forget) -Steph might be coming back in some capacity -The working title of the game was “True Colors” (kind of like how the first game was “What If?”, BTS was “Dawn” and LiS 2 was “Promenade”) Larryb fucked around with this message at 15:16 on Mar 18, 2021 |
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 14:56
|
|
|
Flesnolk posted:Mushroom dying turned me off the game entirely DontNod realizing too late that they might have to account for a dog being present or not throughout the rest of the game and figuring the best course of action would be to kill him asap speaks volumes as to how far they plan this poo poo out.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 15:18
|
|
|
Necrothatcher posted:DontNod realizing too late that they might have to account for a dog being present or not throughout the rest of the game and figuring the best course of action would be to kill him asap speaks volumes as to how far they plan this poo poo out. I think it might have been a last minute decision too (there’s some official art out there of Mushroom at the Reynolds’ house and playing with Chris)
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 15:20
|
|
|
Larryb posted:I think it might have been a last minute decision too (there’s some official art out there of Mushroom at the Reynolds’ house and playing with Chris) I like to imagine the animation director's face when they realised the writers may have committed them to 4 episodes of animating a dog that may or not be present at all times.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 15:26
|
|
|
To be fair, I’m not even sure how Mushroom could have fit in/contributed to the plot of Episodes 3-5 anyway (plus having a puppy with you when you’re on the run from the law sounds like a massive liability in my opinion) so ripping off that particular bandaid right away was probably a smart decision on the developers part.
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 15:31
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 4, 2024 20:22 |
|
|
We're on the run from the cops for murdering a cop, I know let's bring this untrained puppy with us! Oh wait no let's absolutely not do that
|
|
#
?
Mar 18, 2021 16:01
|
|