Riona (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rionaleonhart) wrote2016-07-25 02:11 pm
rionaleonhart) wrote2016-07-25 02:11 pm
Entry tags:
I Know Exactly How It Exfoliates.
The first episode of Life Is Strange is now free on PS3 and PS4! I thought I'd check it out, as timydamonkey recommended it to me a while ago. And then I bought the rest of the episodes. Whoops. It's fundamentally a 'looking at things and having awkward conversations' simulator, but it's strangely compelling.
Here's a miserable fact for you: the developers brought this game to several publishers before eventually settling on Square Enix. They chose Square Enix because all the other publishers said 'nope, can't have a female protagonist, you're going to have to change her into a boy.' Fortunately, Life Is Strange sold well and received good reviews despite being about one of those non-male things nobody cares about.
I'm currently two episodes in. I have some specific things to say about actual plot events, but I'll save those for a spoilery post once I've finished the entire game. For now, I'm going to keep things as spoiler-free as possible.
There's something about Life Is Strange that resonates oddly strongly with me. I think it's the depiction of a particular type of friendship between kids that I know from my own childhood. You're pretty quiet and insulated, and she's much cooler than you, and she can get you into trouble or be manipulative sometimes, but you endure all that because you're just so awed that this cool person is willing to spend time with you. (It's a type of relationship that sometimes appears in Jacqueline Wilson novels, actually.) I didn't realise until I suddenly thought 'hang on, I'm making a lot of groundless assumptions about Chloe's character' and then realised it was because I felt like I'd known her when I was a child. She's a very interesting character, even if in some respects she's difficult to like.
It's perhaps no surprise that this game gives me a very strong feeling of nostalgia. I really like the strange, quiet atmosphere of it, too, and Max's internal observations are often endearing.
There are, of course, a few things that don't entirely match up with my own experiences. For example, I went to school in a different country, and I've never been any good at photography, and I can't reverse time. I also don't have the speech patterns of EZboard fandom circa 2002. There's some very odd dialogue in this game. It feels very much like a game about teenagers written by adults, although of course I'm an adult, so it's possible that in fact it's an entirely accurate representation of modern teenage speech patterns and I'm the one who's out of touch.
Sorry, did I say 'in fact'? I meant 'for realsies'.
I clocked almost immediately, from his LOADS OF TEXT MESSAGES, that Warren had a huge crush on Max. This means that every conversation with him is a bit of a minefield, as I don't feel Max thinks of him that way at all. I'm constantly caught in a state of 'I want to be nice to you, because you're my friend, but I definitely don't want to give you the impression that I'm romantically interested in you.' I felt a bit bad about turning down his invitation to see a film. Sorry, Warren! I didn't want you to think of it as a date!
I find the occasional 'THIS ACTION WILL HAVE CONSEQUENCES' butterfly very stressful. I don't need consequences in my videogames! I get quite enough of those in real life! (Now, in real life, whenever something minor happens as a result of something I unthinkingly did a while ago, I think back to that moment and I see 'THIS ACTION WILL HAVE CONSEQUENCES' in the corner of it. You put a glass in the dishwasher! That glass was still in use and later your housemate will be trying to find it. This action will have consequences.)
The statistics at the end of each episode are sometimes a bit distressing. 'You didn't help Alyssa,' I was informed at the end of the second episode. I'm sorry, Alyssa! I didn't realise you needed help! 'You didn't water your plant.' I DIDN'T KNOW MY PLANT EXISTED.
Here's a miserable fact for you: the developers brought this game to several publishers before eventually settling on Square Enix. They chose Square Enix because all the other publishers said 'nope, can't have a female protagonist, you're going to have to change her into a boy.' Fortunately, Life Is Strange sold well and received good reviews despite being about one of those non-male things nobody cares about.
I'm currently two episodes in. I have some specific things to say about actual plot events, but I'll save those for a spoilery post once I've finished the entire game. For now, I'm going to keep things as spoiler-free as possible.
There's something about Life Is Strange that resonates oddly strongly with me. I think it's the depiction of a particular type of friendship between kids that I know from my own childhood. You're pretty quiet and insulated, and she's much cooler than you, and she can get you into trouble or be manipulative sometimes, but you endure all that because you're just so awed that this cool person is willing to spend time with you. (It's a type of relationship that sometimes appears in Jacqueline Wilson novels, actually.) I didn't realise until I suddenly thought 'hang on, I'm making a lot of groundless assumptions about Chloe's character' and then realised it was because I felt like I'd known her when I was a child. She's a very interesting character, even if in some respects she's difficult to like.
It's perhaps no surprise that this game gives me a very strong feeling of nostalgia. I really like the strange, quiet atmosphere of it, too, and Max's internal observations are often endearing.
There are, of course, a few things that don't entirely match up with my own experiences. For example, I went to school in a different country, and I've never been any good at photography, and I can't reverse time. I also don't have the speech patterns of EZboard fandom circa 2002. There's some very odd dialogue in this game. It feels very much like a game about teenagers written by adults, although of course I'm an adult, so it's possible that in fact it's an entirely accurate representation of modern teenage speech patterns and I'm the one who's out of touch.
Sorry, did I say 'in fact'? I meant 'for realsies'.
I clocked almost immediately, from his LOADS OF TEXT MESSAGES, that Warren had a huge crush on Max. This means that every conversation with him is a bit of a minefield, as I don't feel Max thinks of him that way at all. I'm constantly caught in a state of 'I want to be nice to you, because you're my friend, but I definitely don't want to give you the impression that I'm romantically interested in you.' I felt a bit bad about turning down his invitation to see a film. Sorry, Warren! I didn't want you to think of it as a date!
I find the occasional 'THIS ACTION WILL HAVE CONSEQUENCES' butterfly very stressful. I don't need consequences in my videogames! I get quite enough of those in real life! (Now, in real life, whenever something minor happens as a result of something I unthinkingly did a while ago, I think back to that moment and I see 'THIS ACTION WILL HAVE CONSEQUENCES' in the corner of it. You put a glass in the dishwasher! That glass was still in use and later your housemate will be trying to find it. This action will have consequences.)
The statistics at the end of each episode are sometimes a bit distressing. 'You didn't help Alyssa,' I was informed at the end of the second episode. I'm sorry, Alyssa! I didn't realise you needed help! 'You didn't water your plant.' I DIDN'T KNOW MY PLANT EXISTED.
no subject
(Anonymous) 2016-07-25 07:06 pm (UTC)(link)I can imagine that conversation, too. "YOUR PROTAGONIST IS CALLED MAX. THIS CHARACTER IS DETERMINED BY THE NAME TO BE A BOY. STOP MAKING IT A GIRL."
Look forward to your plot talk!
I like Chloe as a character, but not lots as a person although she seems to be very popular. I understand why she's the way she is, and I think she's pretty well written mind odd 'teen dialogue' aside (and she has some very good voice acting, which you've not seen the best of yet). I think episode 2 was my most "CHLOE, STOP BEING SELFISH" episode, though. That's safe to say even if you've not finished the episode as it's about -just about everything in episode two-.
I missed helping Alyssa in episode 2, as well. LOOK, I WASN'T LOOKING IN THAT DIRECTION WHEN IT HAPPENED, OKAY? I DIDN'T REALISE THE GAME WAS TRYING TO IMPLY THAT I SHOULD REWIND TIME AND FIX SOMETHING THAT I -DIDN'T KNOW HAD HAPPENED-.
One of my favourite things about this series, and I don't know why, are the music montages (mostly the ones that close the episodes, though there are some nice ones that open them too, and there's one I absolutely love mid game in one of the later episodes and I want to say more about that but I can't). I just really enjoy them.
-timydamonkey
no subject
(Anonymous) 2016-07-25 07:20 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
Chloe feels like a very real person to me, if you set the occasionally awkward dialogue aside. She's certainly intriguing. I can't decide how much I can say I like her, but I'm looking forward to seeing more of her.
I'm glad to know I'm not the only person who let Alyssa down! I was wondering why she was so grumpy in the classroom later. Whoops.
no subject
(Anonymous) 2016-07-25 08:10 pm (UTC)(link)Good thing with me having this on PC is I can do this: Here are my major and minor choices pages from episode 1 and 2 (I haven't replayed anything, so these are all how I left them from my first playthrough) - people, don't look at these unless you've completed episodes 1 and 2.
Episode 1 - Major Choices - https://postimg.org/image/5zmejgp69/
Episode 1 - Minor Choices - https://postimg.org/image/lz5230l81/
Episode 2 - Major Choices - https://postimg.org/image/kwzxhl8q9/
Episode 2 - Minor Choices - https://postimg.org/image/o54eumv01/
You can compare. :D
no subject
- You stayed hidden (ep 1, major): this was 'You took the blame for Chloe' for me. I couldn't find a hiding place in time, and her stepdad burst in and went 'WHO'S SHE, ALSO HAVE YOU BEEN SMOKING POT' and Chloe went 'no, it's Max's pot!' and I was frankly outraged but went along with her story.
- You watered your plant (ep 1, minor): I'M SORRY, LISA, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE THERE.
- Housemate C was watching me play and talked me into signing Mrs Grant's petition. I was going '...well, security cameras might be useful if people are running around with guns' and Housemate C just said, 'Cameras in the dorm rooms.'
- I left Victoria's photos alone.
- I didn't see the option to write on a dirty RV! I'd probably have taken it if I had.
- I didn't read David's files. Are those the things you accidentally knock into oil or something? I think I freaked out and rewound immediately without taking a moment to go 'hey, maybe I could look at these and then rewind'.
- I told Kate to go to the police. I really wasn't sure about that choice, but I ended up going with the option that would make it clear to her that I believed her.
- As mentioned, I rejected Warren's invitation because I was concerned that he had an unrequited crush on me and I was trying to keep him at arm's length.
- I tried to help Warren but got 'You didn't help Warren', possibly because I may have slightly made the beaker blow up in his face.
- I didn't write a message under 'Chloe was here'/'Rachel was here'; it felt weirdly intrusive.
- That Big Thing in episode 2: I screwed it up and then cheated and reloaded from the last checkpoint. I'm sorry, Life Is Strange. You tried so hard to make me accept the consequences of my actions.
I find the percentages for Dana's pregnancy test really interesting. (I didn't look at it.) So few people touched it! Apparently this is an area where people really respect even virtual people's privacy.
no subject
(Anonymous) 2016-07-25 11:47 pm (UTC)(link)The plant is a cruel, cruel thing. Mine died because I overwatered it. I ONLY WATERED IT TWO TIMES. YOU ARE THE WORST PLANT EVER.
Re: the petition, I didn't sign it precisely for that reason. IF WE HAD CAMERAS, MAYBE HE COULDN'T SMUGGLE IN A GUN IN THE FIRST PLACE.
I saw a photo op with Victoria's photos, but I didn't rewind either. Why did I not rewind, past self? I'd remembered to do it in a bunch of different circumstances!
That's the ones - you read them then rewind, or at least I did.
I wanted to tell Kate to go to the police, but I feared she'd be ridiculed or not believed and it would destroy her even more. Sorry, Kate!
I think I thought Max might have been interested in Warren, though I'm not sure why because the texts at the beginning where she -blatantly ignores him 90% of the time- should probably be a clue. To be fair, I quite liked Warren, so that might be why.
Yeah, you didn't manage to help him right. :P
I wrote, but I agree about it being intrusive. I saw it as Max feeling a bit jealous that Chloe has all this shared history with Rachel that she now feels left out of, so she puts herself back in the frame because she wants to be part of it so she isn't as threatened by Rachel's presence. Max is insecure, and I thought it might be the sort of thing she'd do.
Re: the pregnancy test. I did actually look at it, although to be fair I didn't have much of a clue what it was before I looked at it. I play lots of adventure games where the idea is to literally examine everything, and it's hard to get out of that mindset. I rewound after though, so it may have skewed that statistic a bit. (Dana, quite rightly, rips into you if you look at it.)
About That Big Thing: I'm pretty sure that's what the majority of people did. I went through this game really slow and paid massive attention to detail and mucked it up, no way that many people got it right on the first try - plus I've seen lots of tales of people reloading etc. I spent TEN MINUTES SEARCHING THROUGH THE NOTES FOR THOSE BIBLE VERSES. HOW WAS I TO KNOW THAT THE OPTION THAT SOUNDS LIKE "LOL KILL YOURSELF" WAS THE RIGHT ANSWER, GAME?
It's funny because while I'm obviously sad about my "choice", I think the version I got plays more naturally than the happier version. I'd say more but it'd be later episode spoilers, so will leave that for later.
no subject
...In all seriousness, I really would like to try this game sometime. I keep meaning to, but I never quite manage to get around to it. (Video game backlogs! The most terrifying of backlogs!)
I remember a lot of jokes about the game's dialogue on my dash back when the episodes were being released. Even without context of the game, a lot of them made me chuckle. There's something about Hip Teen Dialogue that I always find funny.
no subject