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A pre-emptive assurance.

  • NewBlack
  • 08/27/2011 12:13 AM
  • 1952 views
So the other night I asked my friend to play through what I had done of this game so far and all that and to cut a not-very-long story short: He didn't "get" what things meant. Not without me giving some initial explanation anyway (and my friend's a pretty sharp guy).

So once again it's that matter of the creator not having any good way of knowing if what they're trying to convey is at all decipherable by somebody else. I'm not going to change anything that I have planned for this project. For one, there's not enough time and secondly this is how I want it do be.

Anyway, I was reminded of a particular review of The Mirror Lied where it was criticized for being too abstract and required too much analysis to get anything out of; without even being 100% sure if there was a particular message to be deciphered from the game's events or not - a concern I can completely understand with games that are very weird and abstract.

So I will make this assurance here now so that anyone who decides to play this when it's done will know that I'm not just subjecting them to a random series of events without any point or meaning to them:

I 100% promise that this game has a fully-consistent single narrative running throughout it which may or may not be obvious (I have no idea now, based on my friend's playthrough) and lots of layers of stuff to interpret in order to fully understand the whole story. In fact, almost every thing you see or that happens in this game is completely intentional in regards to its meaning. I'm not making something that's "weird for the sake of being weird", I promise :>

In fact if you're a fan of literary analysis then you'll probably enjoy this game.

I just felt the need to get that out of the way now. Also this eventing is killing me right now.

Posts

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InfectionFiles
the world ends in whatever my makerscore currently is
4622
08/27/2011 02:57 AM
I'm taking a literary analysis class in college right now. :o
So, hopefully I might be able to decipher these layers of intrigue and mystery!

As if I wasn't excited already, every update is like "yessss"

:)
NewBlack
doom
4592
08/27/2011 03:01 AM
author=InfectionFiles
I'm taking a literary analysis class in college right now. :o
So, hopefully I might be able to decipher these layers of intrigue and mystery!

As if I wasn't excited already, every update is like "yessss"

:)

Whoa that's cool :> I didn't even know you could do it as a subject in its own right. - Derp, I misread - so you're doing English/writing or something like that?

What I didn't mention in this blog is that I'm really worried about being able to finish this on time. I'm working pretty flat-out and I'm holding on to the hope that I can actually manage to do it :<

But yeah, I'd be really pleased if even one person understood what most stuff meant and got the general story so I look forward to your thoughts :)
Scourge
I used to make games. I still do, but I used to too.
1605
08/27/2011 05:07 AM
Ahh, yes! I'm a huge literature nerd, so I'm looking forward to this game much more now. *subscribes*
InfectionFiles
the world ends in whatever my makerscore currently is
4622
08/27/2011 05:22 AM
author=NewBlack
Whoa that's cool :> I didn't even know you could do it as a subject in its own right. - Derp, I misread - so you're doing English/writing or something like that?

What I didn't mention in this blog is that I'm really worried about being able to finish this on time. I'm working pretty flat-out and I'm holding on to the hope that I can actually manage to do it :<

But yeah, I'd be really pleased if even one person understood what most stuff meant and got the general story so I look forward to your thoughts :)
Haha, I guess I could have been more clear too. :P
But yes, taking a writing class and one of the first things we are doing is literary analysis, so hopefully I can give some insightful comments. (but probably not, haha)

Well you have my confidence that you can do it in time! :D
How much do you have to go? Is this game going to be semi-long?

EDIT: Of course, you don't have to disclose the above information. :o
chana
(Socrates would certainly not contadict me!)
1584
08/27/2011 05:43 AM
What to say, with this blog you are making my expectations concerning your game, which were already high, grow to the top levels, and I imagine I'm not the only one! (Hope that doesn't make you too nervous!)(It's not yet time, but when it is, I'd be weary of the feedbacks...... exceptionally good games....) But D'ONT CHANGE A THING!
calunio
Shamed
10447
08/27/2011 07:20 PM
I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I understand it.

Newblack
I promise this game makes sense, but you're very likely not to understand a thing.

everyone
OMG YES!

Being the person who wrote The Mirror Lied review you're talking about (I think), all I can say is I'm happy the symbolism in your game is intentional, and if people try to go too wild with interpretations, they might just be wrong instead of "all points of view are correct".

Actually, to be honest, you shouldn't have made this blog post. If there's intentional meaning behind everything, all players can hope to do is decipher, not interpret. Maybe you should have just left a "think what you will" note.
InfectionFiles
the world ends in whatever my makerscore currently is
4622
08/27/2011 07:55 PM
(sorry to flood your Notices with my posts :P)
But I think of it more as a challenge he is presenting by saying "this game actually has a point, so maybe you can try to decipher it and enjoy the full story, ooor not." It's up to the player to really think hard and pay attention to what's going on.

That's just my take on it anyways.
NewBlack
doom
4592
08/28/2011 03:02 PM
author=InfectionFiles
(sorry to flood your Notices with my posts :P)
But I think of it more as a challenge he is presenting by saying "this game actually has a point, so maybe you can try to decipher it and enjoy the full story, ooor not." It's up to the player to really think hard and pay attention to what's going on.

That's just my take on it anyways.


Yeah, pretty much that. My point was that, as the developer, even with non-weird games you're in a position where you can never be 100% sure that the player is going to have the experience you're expecting them to. With this it's even harder to know if a player will "get" why things are meaningful (in the literal sense of the word, not the more dramatic sense) rather than completely arbitrary and weird for the sake of being weird.
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