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ajoraverse · 6 years

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Another thing that, well, I’ll probably have to either retool or ditch. Beta AU side-story draft, taking place pretty much immediately after the last published one.

The Rose Quartz Project

The threat of red supergiant expansion and the ensuing shockwaves had chased gems off the first colony nearly eight hundred thousand years ago, for not even the sturdiest gem or their technology could survive it. The threat triggered the search for what would eventually become Homeworld, and only Homeworld's rejects returned to the first colony when it was safe to do so. They returned to a broken, burnt-out world and did their best to rebuild. Save for a few determined souls, no gem of means or worth to Homeworld would bother with it.

The temple in which representatives from the unsung pillars of gem civilization gathered was one of the few rebuilt and still well-maintained on the first colony, though much of its masonry retained scorch marks and low levels of background radiation from the sun's red giant phase. Nullification shields protected the interior from radiation flare-ups from the white dwarf remnant of the sun, making it more or less safe for occupancy.

On the way to the temple, each ancient visitor stopped at the mausoleum that housed the remains of the Great Maker and the entombed shards of the first few gems to pay their respects. The foundation stones, footings, and all wall stones cracked or shattered by the tidal forces generated by the sun's expansion had been replaced with similar masonry long ago by some unknown bismuth, and the only evidence that anything had happened was an inscription on a nearby plaque. Supposedly the interior was entirely reconstructed with materials from the new colonies, but Peridot felt too undeserving to enter the mausoleum and see for herself.

It had been tens of thousands of years since Kindergarteners last gathered like this. Peridot Facet-1F2 Cut-2AA had only been to a meeting once before, and that had been when she was newly minted as a Kindergartener and her mentor introduced her as her successor. Supervisors pretended not to notice when they traveled en masse to the first colony, and no one questioned what happened at the gatherings. Half of that was out of respect for arcane professions, half of it was out of a habit with origins long forgotten by most gems.

Peridot had gone alone and politely declined or redirected any questions regarding her new pearl's whereabouts. After all, the pearl would have been a novelty and distracted from the research issues at hand. They were here for business, not gossip.

Four peridots gathered around the small table set in the center of one of the four rooms of the temple. Four groups of gems for the four pillars of Homeworld society: peridots produced gems and maintained mechanical systems, bismuths built structures, anorthites provided physical labor for jobs no other gems would take willingly, idocrases wrote the programming that kept their technology functioning. Sixteen gems in all. There had always been sixteen, for the number was tradition. It represented the double magic number of oxygen-16. Eight neutrons and eight protons in the nucleus. Exceptionally stable. Oxygen-16 was a primary product of stellar evolution, formed by stars exclusively from hydrogen. Peridot thought the reasoning was a bit esoteric, maybe a bit pretentious, but she was hardly going to make an issue of it. She was the youngest and least respected of the sixteen gems, well aware that she had her position only because her mentor liked her and saw some potential in her that she never understood, and she certainly had no business questioning anything.

The eldest peridot--not the first, for the first had been shattered by White Diamond eons ago for too many instances of challenging her--spoke in the slow, sonorous tones of epochs as she discussed the new injector models, their improvements and problems compared to older models, recommended practices, and so on. As if she was reading strata and had hit a unconformity, she switched topics abruptly to orders from the Diamonds: larimars would be discontinued until further notice. They were finally deemed obsolete and production on them halted until a better use could be found for them.

Peridot said nothing, though she did do her best to ignore the regret starting to swell within her. She had enjoyed the process of making larimars. They were tricky, requiring cooled lava beds or igneous intrusions into limestone injected into just so and at a slower rate than typical, but lovely all the same. She had taken pride in the fact that all the larimars she made were perfect.

Still, it was not her place to speak up.

The eldest peridot opened the floor for discussion over some little detail of pressure requirements for beryls. Peridot remained silent, because ultimately the scales over which they were arguing were inconsequential in light of the fact that they could not control the native matrix to the extent their thought experiment required. There was only so much a Kindergartener could do with the geology of a given site.

Finally, after what seemed like entirely too long spent dithering over the tiniest of details, the discussion turned to the fact that Pink Diamond was expressing interest in starting a colony. Again. Peridot almost disregarded this, but Yellow Diamond's peridot seemed more certain that something was going to happen this time around. Yellow Diamond was hardly one for futile gestures, and certainly not one to order an exoplanet survey in another galaxy entirely without first having a plan for the results. The younger of the two White Diamond peridots mentioned that Pink Diamond would probably want a properly themed court, and euhedral pink quartzes were such a pain to produce well while still maintaining a degree of quartz sturdiness. Their colors were too prone to fading in sunlight, they did not handle extreme heat well, and an amethyst was more useful. And wasn't it a shame that the fibrous rose quartzes had been discontinued hundreds of thousands of years ago?

That brought Peridot up short. The issue with fibrous rose quartzes was that the dumortierite-like borosilicate fibers that gave rose quartzes their color also had the unintended side-effect of instilling a degree of independent thought and capriciousness that was unwelcome in quartzes. It was for similar reasons that blue quartzes had also been discontinued before Peridot's time: their coloration was caused by the same ilmenite inclusions that made Peridot off-color, but at concentrations so high that they could barely function in their assigned roles. But if they could tame those fibers...

"Why can't we file a proposal to reinstate rose quartz production for Pink Diamond?" Peridot asked at last, once she managed to find an opening.

"My Diamond discontinued rose quartzes because they started getting ideas," the younger White Diamond peridot, Peridot Facet-3C Cut-416, said in that superior air of hers. Peridot 416 certainly didn't like her and took every opportunity to needle her. "Those inclusions only ruin what might be a perfectly fine gem."

Peridot recognized the jab, for her own inclusions were no secret to them, and spoke before she could fully process it. "All the studies suggest that the problem with the inclusions was that the Mark was never programmed to take them into account. If we can establish pre-defined parameters for the Mark to build along those inclusions, we give them a purpose beyond simply getting in the way of Mark pathways developed in the crystal lattices. We can use those inclusions to program additional skillsets, or--"

"It doesn't matter." Peridot 416 sneered, making her wish she'd never spoken up. "They'll still be off-color."

The eldest peridot lifted a hand to stifle the argument. Peridot 416, who looked as if she wanted to continue, bit back whatever was on the tip of her tongue and settled back onto her stool. Peridot 2AA tried not to wring her hands under the table. Speaking up had been a mistake.

"There is no mineral that is completely free of impurities. It is the same with gems." The eldest peridot turned her attention to Peridot 2AA, who felt as if she was being examined. "We used to be more accepting of off-colors than we are now. For this reason, I agreed to allow Peridot 4DF's apprentice to take her place among us. Now then. You were talking about skillsets?"

Peridot started with a stammer that was so bad that she bit the side of her tongue. She took a breath and tried again. "I--I tested a hypothesis with the help of Idocrase Facet-9Z Cut-3GN: that the Maker's Mark can be reprogrammed to repair minor fractures in gems with the assistance of a mineral-rich liquid medium. The documentation is on the research network under the Gem Development Studies heading. The first few attempts on dud gems worked well, so I repaired my pearl with it. My pearl reports no lingering pain from the fractures, so I am confident in concluding that the experiment was a success. I thought, perhaps we can program the Mark to build repair nanobot factories within those inclusions. It's a simple adjustment in the programming--"

"Why go through all that effort when it's just easier to inject a new gem?" Peridot 416 asked, her expression almost bored and dismissive. "We already have suitable injection formulas and materials, we don't need to play around with the software just because we can."

Yellow Diamond's peridot leaned over the table towards Peridot 2AA. "Fascinating. Does the alteration of the gem's chemical makeup with new mineral latticework change the pearl's behavior any?"

"I... I really wouldn't know. The fractures were small enough not to be immediately noticeable." Peridot hadn't really thought on what side-effects might occur from replacing missing minerals. "I doubt it would be much different than having a few small inclusions."

[annnd this was supposed to go on to the elder WD peridot taking the idea to WD because Peridot 2AA has little real standing, having the project eventually passed to PD and approved despite WD's disagreement, and eventually result in the entire cut of rose quartzes having some ability to heal.

Buuuut, lol, PD = RQ so oh well]

#SU: Beta AU

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destiny-smasher · 7 years

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So! Episode 2 of Before the Storm! It was very good! If you haven't read my thoughts on Episode 1, here those are.

If you want an audio discussion about either episode, I've recorded podcasts with my girlfriend, @mollifiable, as well as musicians Riley Hawke and Koethe. Here’s what we discussed on Ep1, and here’s the podcast on Ep2. BEAR IN MIND I will be discussing a number of things from EPISODE 2, so you probably shouldn’t read this if you haven’t experienced it yet. There are some inherent problems I still have with this projects conception (which I got into in that first post back in September), but Epsiode 2 has gone a long way toward giving me faith in why this story is being made. Or, at the least, that it's being made with a lot of thought and care. I've played a LOT of story-focused, episode games, and honestly, I think this episode is one of the best I've ever experienced, overall. I still struggle with some elements of the story (ex. I just don't like Rachel as much as I think I'm 'meant to,' BUT I think that ties into what the overall story may be about), and I still feel frustrated that your team is being limited by the nature of the setup (why is this all happening over three days when it could’ve been over three years, for example), but Episode 2 just has so much good going for it and I felt like it really showed what can be done with a project like this. Like last time, I want to address this to Madeleine, Felice, and the entire team at Deck Nine directly – and point out how much it means to us that you guys actually reach back and communicate with us, even encouraging criticism. I'm proud of what your team has been able to accomplish with this episode and think it stands out in the genre in a lot of ways.

Let’s get to it.

That being said, I do want to offer my criticisms, so let's just get those out of the way first. First off, Samuel – yeesh. Sorry, I just really didn't like the scene with Samuel. Part of it is his new voice actor just sounding more...creepy? I guess I'd say? But also, his manner of speech and the things he said felt out of place. Not just for his character but with the story in general. In LiS1, Samuel comes across as mentally different than those around him, almost like a sort of sage in a way, engaging with the world in a different way than those around him (there's a similar character in Supergiant's brilliant Pyre who comes to mind). But here, Samuel felt like a cross between a psychiatrist and a guy taking too many drugs? That's perhaps harsh, but especially given that his character model/rigging didn't seem to carry over properly, I was just rubbed the wrong way by his presence in this episode in a way that hasn't happened with any other recurring characters. I appreciate the intent I picked up from his scene – to remind us that there's more going on than just what we can see on the surface – but I felt like it missed the mark of who Samuel was as a character without really establishing why he would be different in this way three years in the past. On a related subject – the adult characters in this episode, or at least some of them, felt weird. MOST of them felt more like caricatures than actual characters. Wells felt fine, and I actually kind of PREFER this take on Wells because he feels LESS like a caricature and more like an actual principle. I can even kind of see a headcanon link between this interpretation of him and the version of him three years having just kind of shed away his decorum from the stress of managing a school undergoing so many changes and financial problems. I really felt for Joyce, and I felt that David's character was finally presented in a way that lacked the cliché “military” skew that LiS1 forced too hard while simultaneously giving the audience an understanding of precisely why his presence in the household would push Chloe so far away (though I still find much of the Joyce/David stuff odd here because we already know where this all leads and nothing here really seems to build anything new from that). Characters like Rachel's dad, the theater teacher, Samuel, Skip, Damon, and Sean Prescott all felt...a bit too cartoony in ways. Damon maybe least of all due to the intensity of that scene and the nice subtext we can pick up (after all, money is a realistic and pragmatic motive to drive one to aggression) In general, the adults felt flatter and more cartoony than I think works for this setting. Not to say they should NEVER be funny or anything, just that I was repeatedly taken out of the story by how jarringly one-dimensional a line was, or how flat a voice delivery was, etc. Fortunately, this problem doesn't really carry over to the teens, who are, of course, the focus of the narrative. I also noticed more moments in this episode where characters' eyes were uncanny, staring straight ahead in unnatural ways – or mouth movements being weird (Samuel being the biggest example, to the point that it jarred me out of the story and distracted from his dialogue). Minor complaint, all things considered, but worth pointing out as I didn't really notice this happen in episode 1, which makes me worry that maybe things got rushed a bit too much? (you guys did release this episode weeks earlier than expected) On the upside, though, this problem did NOT exist when it mattered the most, so at least that detail was put into the important moments. All right, last nitpick – I found the whole “drugging” thing re: the pre-play scene to be in bad taste. On the one hand, I LIKE the premise, and how it really does a fascinating thing with developing/contrasting/comparing Rachel and Victoria (in a way that requires knowledge of alternate events, something only a video game could do), but on the other hand...ya'll made drugging teen girls in an active, malicious way this...joke. While I do love that BtS has more comedy in its tone, I found turning Victoria's drug-induced passing out into a JOKE to be kind of offensive, especially given that she can get drugged and murdered in LiS1 (and Rachel AND Chloe both get drugged and/or murdered?), and just...yea. All in all, I think the concept of this scene works, it's the execution that makes it feel insensitive and kind of worrying. (ex. Victoria passes out and fucking NO ONE calls a doctor or tries to help her, the camera fucking PANS on her unconscious body like it's this joke and the way the whole thing is framed just invites laughter on something that kinda sorta shouldn't be funny given the full context of this story) Anyway, it's kind of like the wine scene in the first episode, but worse in terms of implications, I guess? I'm not THAT torn up over it since it's brief, and everyone's OK in the end, I presume, but it just feels a bit tone deaf when SO MUCH of this episode is SO GOOD. It really took me out of the experience – but the layered nature of it (how Rachel gets her way no matter what, how Rachel AND Victoria are both willing to drug each other, how Vic can be manipulated while Rachel can't) makes it really intriguing. I think the concept here was intriguing, but the execution on stuff like this could be handled more thoughtfully. I could get into pacing issues, I suppose, but honestly, I've already critiqued enough, and I think this episode was really good, so I don't want to get too down on the details when I'm sure others will get into this topic. (like the canon inconsistencies, they’re there, but aren’t really detracting from the good stuff)

OK! With all of that out of the way, let me get into what I loved about this episode, which was most of it. Episode 1 was unclear and uncertain in what it was trying to convey, which makes more sense now that we have Episode 2, which dives right into what this story seems to be about – passion, and the good and bad that comes from it. Passion, to be clear, being different from love. Love is steady, consistent, like a stream of water, while passion is fast and bright and sudden, like fire. I could get into the elemental symbolism you could correlate between wind, water, fire and Chloe, Max, and Rachel, but I'm sure folks have done this already. I do think it's still worth pointing out just how great a job you've done so far using fire as a metaphor for Rachel and Chloe's relationship, both within the story presented here and overarching into LiS as a whole. You managed to work it into the actual plot, as well, in a way that doesn't feel forced or thoughtless – an entire episode later and there are still consequences from it. Having just experienced the CA wildfires a half hour away from my home, I can appreciate a certain level of fear and awe at how much can be affected by fire, even the air itself, and just how quickly it can spread and how much damage it can do in a short time. The fact that the title screen itself it an analogy about passion makes me super excited at the potential for episode 3. Absolutely love that the title screen doubles as atmosphere AND symbolism. Specifically, I have to call out the dream sequence here as being quite awesome. From the moment I saw the burning car with a shadowed figure, I already knew what the visual reveal at the end of the scene was going to be, and was still thoroughly satisfied. I absolutely love LOVE the metaphor William presents about comparing/contrasting light and dark in terms of how both can cause us to lose ourselves, lose our ways, and be blinded. The way this correlates to Chloe's loss of William, Max, and Rachel (darkness) to how she can be blinded by light (passion for Rachel, even excitement about Max's power later on) is all encapsulated in a single bit of dialogue that communicates such an underexplored theme in the medium, and one that makes telling this story from a teenage perspective suddenly feel 100% sensible instead of just a coincidence. Telling a story diving into the theme of passion just wouldn't work the same from a character too young or too old, because it's this part of the human condition that we experience passion the deepest and the hottest. Which brings us to the fantastic play aspect, which is one of my favorite moments in all of LiS at this point. The layers of meaning at work here were genius. First off, it's all a play – an act. And Chloe is trying to keep up, while Rachel is clearly experienced with this. Secondly, the connections between relationships in The Tempest to the protagonists is great use of intertextual storytelling. Thirdly, highlighting a Shakespearean play, which highlights passion from teenage youths, yet another layer. Fourth, they go off script, which itself has really interesting connotations in terms of this game itself existing in the first place as an “off script” piece of the story, as well as how the content of their moment carries an unrealistic, impractical hopefulness to it that is inspiring, but still an act in a play, involving magic and fantasy. Fifth, concluding the scene with the way the play ends adds this really awesome extra layer of meta expression – Rachel as a character gets to be expressed and represented in a way she originally was not, with the help of fans of the LiS developing this prequel, but also fans of LiS breathing life into Rachel before this prequel existed; PLUS the prequel itself is a performance that you, the development team, are putting on for us, the audience. There's just so much going on here, and the musical choices helped seal the moment's emotional impact. Even as myself, coming from the perspective of not trusting Rachel's judgment/actions, I felt as if I finally had a 'moment' where I truly understood why Chloe was so swiftly enamored with Rachel. It reminded me of moments I've experienced in my own past, though nothing as 'magical' as this. It also just highlighted how Rachel's character has power and influence over those around her despite being so young. All in all, bravo. This scene came together fantastically, and I think it's one of the most thoughtfully put together scripted scenes I've ever seen in a video game. This was the moment I fell in love with this story – not because of AmberPrice but because it was so well put together by everyone involved. I think this will probably go down as the highlight of this game when all is said and done. To back things up a bit, I did enjoy the premise of the junkyard stuff. I really liked giving Chloe's character a bit of breathing room on her own – the kinds of things she thinks to herself while exploring the environment showed a bit of Max's influence on her still being present even as she's trying to forget Max. I liked that we could pick different objects to help decorate/fix the van, as well, but the flow of the scene would work better if we could do it all in one trip rather than taking two trips – I found myself disoriented after placing the battery into the car, and by that point had lost track of where specific objects were, whereas it would've been more fitting to maybe have Chloe make note of the items first, or even gather them all up into a pile and let the player choose from there. I predicted and felt satisfied by how the truck was utilized as an analogy for Chloe as a person – broken, banged up, abandoned, lost, but if given enough attention and care, could be back up and running. The therapy session Rachel and Chloe have was also nice at building their relationship further.

Something that wasn't as apparent in episode 1 because it simply needed time to grow was the whole way that Rachel is presented as someone who is flawed. Because the story is from Chloe's perspective, there's maybe too many limits on how this can be developed, though we'll see how the finale handles things, but I really liked that all of the flaws we already know about her character from stuff in LiS1 felt contextualized in this episode. She can be manipulative, short-sighted, impulsive, and even self-absorbed, but it's not malicious or even intentional all of the time. Rachel herself is in a similar position as Chloe – they're teenagers – she is still figuring herself out, what she really wants, who she really wants to be, and how she can achieve those things. All of my doubts, concerns, and fears about this relationship between them all feel validated by their dynamics, by the theming and foreshadowing, and yet it simultaneously makes sense why and how they'd end up together – out of teenage passion, and a shared sense of longing to feel both needed by someone else and taken care of by someone else. The scene after the play, in the street, had a great sense of aesthetic to it, which felt like it was from a teen romance film from the 80's or something. The imagery of the scene highlights the nature of this whole story – a splash of light along a dark road that is Chloe's teenage years. The multiple ways this scene can play out depending on previous choices was neat, too. I was especially intrigued by the possibility of making the “Friendship” choice in Ep1, then asking for a kiss here in this scene – there's this amazing bit of animation in Rachel's face that really shows her thought processes clicking together in an ambiguous way that really fits her character. I'm also super curious as to what will come of the bracelet bit, since Rachel surprisingly gives it to Chloe if you ask for it, despite the fact that we know she ultimately gives it to Frank. There's multiple possibilities of what that could entail, and I'm really interested in seeing how that plays out. This actually reminds me of how much I liked the way decisions from episode 1 have branched out here. Rather than decisions having a single static meaning later on, you have aspects from Episode 1 lead to different branching possibilities of how scenes play out. The outcomes are usually the same, but still, it makes the story feel more dynamic, and I like how these aren't always super obvious. There's a lot of examples of this, from telling Rachel that Chloe feels romantically or not, to stealing the money, to what you do WITH the money, and some other smaller things, too. Great work with this stuff, it helps us see different angles to the characters when we have these options, and highlights what LiS was originally about re: characters – perspective is everything. And yet, Rachel seems almost immune to things in a sense, which is appropriate given how her character works and how she influences those around her. I liked the scene with Frank in the RV and the way it contrasts and compares his future self to his past self. Which reminds me, this episode had a bit more interesting 'character development through environment,' which was a highlight of LiS1 that felt missing from Ep1 of Before the Storm. Whether it was Frank's RV, Elliot's dorm room, the Amber household, or, most poignantly, Drew's dorm room, you guys did a great job letting us learn more about the characters through the environments. While you could argue that it doesn't quite match Chloe's character the way it does Max (and I'd argue that the whole nature of trying to socialize and make friends itself already is kind of against Chloe's character in Ep1), I think it works well enough and just makes sense from a game design standpoint. I liked that we got more opportunities for graffiti in ways that weren't just straight up wall graffiti (ex. Crossword, drawing on the newspaper photo). I glossed over this last time, but part of what I've been frustrated by with Before the Storm is the way Chloe at 16 years old...already feels like Chloe at 19, but slightly more awkward. Episode 2 helped resolve some of this by putting her outside of her comfort zone more and highlighting her vulnerability, cynicism, and uncertainty (whereas Chloe at 19 kind of doesn't give a shit and dives head first into everything and doesn't care what anyone thinks). I also really love the multiple ways you've referenced that Chloe was originally a “nerd” like Max, and has gradually been straying away from that – and yet, it's still part of who she is (and ends up showing itself later on in LiS1, like how she seems to know more about time travel theory than Warren does). In particular, I loved how she pulls up different characters' web search histories – something that doesn't specifically take much effort, but that most people wouldn't think to do. This in and of itself was a really clever way of adding more to character development for those involved. (“why won't puppy eat steak” is hilarious to me and I can't get over it for some reason) The entire scene with Mikey, Drew, and Damon was wonderful. I loved the multiple outcomes and how none of them are specifically good, and any of them can feel in character for Chloe. I think Damon's character feels a little one dimensional here, BUT the context makes sense – he wants his fucking money. He's collecting debts after suffering a huge monetary loss. Of course he's going to be single-minded. As a side note, I loved the small but significant bit re: Damon's e-mail to Frank. Props to whoever came up with that. What a brilliantly subtle way of telling us so much about Damon's true character and his relationship with Frank. Going back to the conflict at the dorm, I loved that you took a bully character who appeared simple and effortlessly fleshed him out enough to feel legitimately believable with real motives. I loved how I was able to figure out the passcode to his lock organically given everything I had seen, and how I then used that knowledge to express what I felt would be in his best interests in the conflict – even though, as my girlfriend pointed out, it might not have been the best long-term outcome. I wish we'd seen more of Mikey and Steph, but what was there was still good. Steph's brief convo with Chloe I saw coming in a good way, and I really liked how you presented it. I liked the bits we got with Samantha and Skip, as well, thought I'm wondering where you're going with Samantha and Nathan. I was actually really frustrated with the Backtalk sequence with Skip, but then, I think that was the whole point. Speaking of, I really didn't like Backtalk in Ep1, but it was overall much better here. In Ep1, Backtalk was like some weird 'Be an Asshole' thing, and it felt weird how the game inherently encouraged you to do this. In Ep2, there were multiple times where I felt unsure if Backtalk was 'the best' way to go, and even then, most of its uses felt much more organic. It wasn't just about being a jerk to make someone feel bad, there was often some organic purpose to it – talking Victoria out of being in the play in a way that made her feel like it was her own decision; trying to get info out of Frank; trying to get into a dorm you weren't supposed to be in; trying to stick up for Rachel in the face of discipline, or trying to help her confront her father. In every case, there was an interpersonal motivation – Chloe wasn't doing it for something she specifically wanted, or just to make someone feel bad, but to try and do something for someone else. Also, they felt more like arguments, or ways of manipulating someone, rather than straight up insults. In some ways, it reminded me of things in TellTale's The Walking Dead Season 2, using more manipulative dialogue to resolve a situation rather than just brute-forcing things. This also contributes toward the theme of 'influence' regarding Chloe being influenced by Rachel so quickly and easily that she's even picking up some of Rachel's tactics (which, one could argue, she uses later on when she's older). This being said, I'm hoping that in Episode 3 we're given a more high-stakes situation that can be resolved using those more manipulative mannerisms, which gives the Backtalk mechanic a “climax” of sorts.

I like the way that you've been able to build this sense of supernatural occurrences without actually showing anything supernatural. The All-Seeing-Eye, the recurring Raven imagery, the weird shit going on with Chloe and others seeming to be having mysterious, prophetic dreams (even Elliot and Frank seem to be having them), the way the ash fall at the end of the episode foils the snowfall at the end of Ep1 of Life is Strange. This builds to a fascinating moment at the end of the episode where, for the first time, perspective SHIFTS from Chloe to Rachel, only for a few seconds, but in a really neat way that leads you to FEEL like something supernatural is about to happen, only for it not to. In a way, this feels like what your overall story could be about in a sense, though it'd be downright odd at this point to have NO answers or resolution regarding what I described above. One of the original game's biggest flaws was how it drummed up mystery only to leave things unexplained or unresolved in ways that damaged the actual plot. Dream sequences don't necessarily do this, but with how much emphasis you've put on them and the Raven/Eye imagery, I feel like there must be a purpose you have here – especially if members of your staff are getting ravens tattooed on their bodies. Naturally, Rachel's mom seems tied to all of this, if not the origin point of it. And I can't help but wonder if we'll even get a perspective shift near the end of the story from Rachel's point of view, if only to help imply or insinuate some things that tie into unanswered elements of Max's story. Speaking of Max, I was much more happy with the 'letters' in this episode, as they spend very little time needlessly bashing a character who wasn't even present, and more time on Chloe quickly becoming obsessed with Rachel – which all makes sense with the arc you seem to be going for. I liked the extra allusions to Chloe's future with Max, such as the maze and William's remark about a “beauty” to come in the future. It's such a complicated thing to tackle – and trust me, I've spent two years and hundreds of thousands of words trying to tackle it myself with these same characters – but I finally have come to a place where I can appreciate the balance you've managed to find between supporting the good elements Chloe and Rachel had going for them, while also implying the bad elements and the reasons why Chloe would develop feelings for Max later on. On a personal level, I relate with Chloe a lot in regards to her relationships (I relate with Max in a lot of ways, too, but that's a separate matter). I have lived through both long term and short term experiences of passion, romantically and platonically. And I have been romantically involved with people who remind me of Rachel. And I think that's part of why I just...don't like her, personally. BUT I am at a place now, after this episode, where I like her as a CHARACTER, even if I don't like her as a fictional person. I never can fully let my guard down around her, but can totally understand why Chloe would (and did), and have been there. And now that I have the context of this episode, I can finally start to see what 'the point' of this story seems to be, which makes me very curious to see how it is resolved. Lastly, again, great job using mocap and facial animation to heighten realism for a lot of scenes. While I noticed more “flat” moments than before, it never detracted from the important moments having that level of detail to make them bring out an extra layer of inevitability. From Chloe knocking at a dartboard to finger-gun gestures, to subtle but complex expressions, just a lot of great expressive details going on here. On that note, I noticed a real improvement in Rhianna’s performance. She felt like she wasn’t trying to mimic Ashly Burch or Ellen Page and was instead just finding her own interpretation of the role, and it works MUCH better. In a way, I still feel a constant sense of ‘this isn’t exactly Chloe’ but not in a bad way, just a...different way. Instead of feeling distracted by her actress being different, I felt instead like I was being more absorbed into this alternate interpretation of the character. Both Hannah and Ashly needed some time to fill into their roles before ‘the good stuff’ really came out in their performances, so I’m really looking forward to what Rhianna might pull off in Episode 3, and what she can do in the future after this role, when she isn’t burdened by the complexities of this kind of situation. I could go on, but I've ranted stream-of-conscious style long enough. I still have some more broad strokes issues with this game’s narrative, but then again, I have issues with the original game’s, as well -- and this story isn’t done yet, so I want to wait until I have the full context before I comment on those broad-scope design elements. I hope at least some of what I've written here is helpful to your team, and that my critical comments highlight just how good a job you guys did with this second entry. Regardless of how I end up feeling about Episode 3 of Before the Storm, I am really happy for your team and what they've pulled off here, and am very supportive of what you seem to be trying to do, as delicate a balancing act as it surely is.

#Life is Strange #Before the Storm #LiS BtS #Life is Strange Before the Storm

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caredogstips · 7 years

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Beyond Lara Croft: 30 absolutely fascinating female tournament characters- part 1

From mad researchers to stealthy bravoes, we celebrate the video game women who get situations done

Over the years, there has been no shortage of articles about the best female characters in video games. The difficulty is, what theyve usually represent is the sexiest female attributes in video games, which has drawn for some very repetition and occasionally rather creepy-crawly reading.

For this alternative pick, three women recreations writers have chosen 30 interesting and complex samples, who have more to offering than either looking good in an armored bikini or fulfilling the strong female reputation archetype. And as Tomb Raiders Lara Croft has predominated every talk about women around games for the last 20 times, shes been respectfully jettisoned more.

There will, of course, be other omissions, but our aim is to generate dialogue and get readers to propose their own favourites. Who have we missed? Who has inspired you? We want to know.

Anyway, here we go with part one. Oh, and spoilers. Obviously.

Midna( The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, 2006 )

Midna Photograph: Nintendo

Twilight Princess is Midnas story. Yes, Link is a necessary component, but its truly all about this insolent gremlin, whose creepy gibberish usage( actually scrambled English words voiced by Japanese performer Akiko Kmoto) and desperation to save her macrocosm make her one of the most memorable comrades in any Zelda game. The conclusion to her legend will leave many devotees with a single dramatic weeping wheeling down their cheek.

Wynne( Dragon Age: Beginnings, 2009 )

Wynne Photograph: Bioware

Wynne is a very rare example of an elderly lady who is neither a powerless nurturing grandmothers nor a scary wizened old-time crone. She is older, knowing and compassionate, but “shes been” refuses to stand idly by although the world crumbles around her. Behind the gumption lies a past that involves illicit fantasy and a child taken away from her at birth. She also has an in depth knowledge of fine ales. Would make a fascinating addition to being able to any dinner party guest list.

Amaterasu( Okami, 2006 )

Amaterasu, Okami Photograph: Capcom

Sun goddess, primal father and parentage of all that is good, Amaterasu( or Ammy to her friends) is an unforgettable booster. Taking the form of a wolf, she reveals her personality through a variety of lupine looks, tilted heading, wagging posterior, returning her heading away in dislike. Despite being a lady, when she acts the move Golden Fury, she urinates with her leg conjured, a mode more commonly associated with male hounds. Amaterasu then: cracking gender norms since 2006.

Jade( Beyond Good and Evil, 2003 )

Jade, Beyond Good and Evil Photograph: Ubisoft

An inquisitive photojournalist, Jade is competent, courageous and driven by a desire to help those around her. Through the long process of designing the specific characteristics( if you look at the photographs on the ceiling of Jades room you will see they evidence her in the early development stages ), the games chairman Michel Ancel was determined to create a rounded hero. When we are beginning[ Beyond Good and Evil] the first thing we enunciated was, if such projects is different its because its a female attribute who is driving the storey, he said. Shes not like other reputations who look like girls but act like guys … Most women around competitions are cliches.

Ada Wong( Resident Evil series, 1996 – )

AdaWong, Resident Evil Photograph: Capcom

A mysterious snoop working for an unknown busines, Ada Wong appears at random levels throughout the survival fright escapade, sometimes helping the exponent but always seeming out for her own interests first. Highly smart and often numerous steps ahead of everyone else, she is never short of a sarcastic remark at the expense of slower characters. Although she officially first shall be published in Resident Evil 2, eagle-eyed participates will notice that Ada is mentioned in the Researchers Letter file in the original recreation and her reputation is the password to a crucial computer terminal. From the very beginning she has lurked in the backdrop of this serial, with her own amusing agenda.

Bonnie MacFarlane( Red Dead Redemption, 2010 )

Bonnie MacFarlane, Red Dead Redemption Photograph: Rockstar

A rancher trying to hold their own families business together in a predominantly male situation, Bonnie is tough but attending, helping the booster John Marston on a number of opportunities. If you want to know how hard their own lives been, going to see Coots Chapel where youll find the tombs of her five friends. The headstone for one of them speaks: Never milk a bullshit. Wise terms we can all live by.

Tetra( The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, 2002; Phantom Hourglass, 2007 )

Tetra, Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker Photograph: Nintendo

Leader of a gang of raiders, despite her young age, Tetra challenges respect and gets it. There are numerous ideologies about the inspiration behind her call. It could allude to the tropical fish of the same name; it could be a tongue-in-cheek including references to terra, the Latin word for district, or perhaps its short for tetrahedron, in reference to the famous Triforce. Whatever it makes, with crossed forearms and a winking, she cuts a sassy figure.

Cass( Fallout: New Vegas, 2010 )

Cass, Fallout: New Vegas Photograph: Fallout: New Vegas game

Tough, smart, but down on her luck, Cass drinks what she requires, sleeps with who she craves and generally does what she requires hence her hate for slave owners and those who take away impunity. Devotees of Fallout 2 acknowledged in her as the daughter of John Cassidy, a potential companion. Both Cass and John suffer from the same hereditary center surrounding, making they shun chems even though it is doesnt applied them off the booze. New Vegas chairman Josh Sawyer originally planned a string in which video games supporter could get drunk with Cass, the two subsequently waking up to discover theyve been married by an Elvis impersonator. Thats our kind of video game romance.

Red( Transistor, 2014 )

Red, Transistor Photograph: Supergiant Games

A young vocalist trapped in a decompose digital world-wide, Red has lost her voice this is why we suffer video games through the mysterious Transistor who acts as a narrator and guidebook. Red often travels against his hopes, though, putting her own safety at risk for what she believes is the best course of action. Reading about this reference almost entirely through her acts is a mesmerizing road to experience a exponent.

Brigid Tenenbaum( Bioshock, 2007 )

Brigid Tenenbaum, Bioshock Photograph: 2K Activity

A vexing examine in motherhood, invention and amorality, Brigid is the technical genius responsible for Bioshocks eerie, genetically modified Little Sisters. Diagnosed with high-functioning autism, she was raised by a Jewish lineage, then interned at Auschwitz where she helped Josef Mengele with his experiments, deeming the Holocaust with callousnes. During the game, however, she realises the extent of her misery, simultaneously attending for the Little Sisters and regretting her part in their genesis.

Aveline de Grandpre( Assassins Creed III: Liberation, 2012 )

Aveline brightnes, Assassins Creed III Liberation Photograph: Ubisoft

Born to an African slave mom in 18 th-century New Orleans, Aveline is motivated by the sin of slavery, despite being raised by her prosperous French papa and stepmother. While tracking the templars across America, her ability to change her look, thereby altering how others plow her, is apt for the sequence first dame protagonist. Ubisoft may have run into fus for its posture to female attributes, but at least it didnt become Aveline a mere adore fascinate to Assassins Creed III make, Connor.

Ellie( The Last of Us, 2013 )

Ellie, The Last of Us Photograph: Sony

For most of Naughty Dogs apocalyptic escapade, Ellie is understood through the eyes of Joel, the father figure gradually growing to love her. Thats why the Winter assembly( which is something we gain control over her as she saves his life) is so effective, the ending so grating, and the DLC prequel so welcome. But shes very much her own person throughout: a believably stubborn teenage daughter who fluctuates between foolish comedy and adult decisions, swears like a sailor, and has a crush on her best friend.

Clementine( The Walking Dead, 2012 )

Clementine, The Walking Dead Photograph: Unmistakable Games

Notable for the vast number of survivors she manages to outlive, Clementine is an unbelievably capable young girl, evolving amid the madness of the zombie armageddon. At first shes another daughter representation who needs armour; the developers even adjusted her hasten so that she could be mistaken for lead character Lees biological daughter. But by season two she can and importantly when to usage a gun, how to stitch up a wrap, and how to deal with both the life and the undead.

Vella Tartine( Broken Age, 2014 )

Vella Tartine, Broken Age Photograph: Double Fine

Selected as a human sacrifice to save her village from a being, Vella exists among that class of supporters who provision the only appreciation in a world-wide of amiable gulls. She supports prodigious fortitude and resilience in the seek to escape her determined capacity and save others in the process. Surely more interesting than her sheltered companion Shay Volta.

Faith Connors( Mirrors Edge, 2008 )

Faith Connors, Mirrors Edge Photograph: Electronic Prowess

Well get a new look at sci-fi city courier Faith in the upcoming Mirrors Edge: Catalyst, but we already know that shes a survivor who, despite losing her mom in a rioting and running away from home, still gambles their own lives saving her sister. The attribute was apparently designed to express the elegant minimalism of video games, mixing mode and practicality into an iconic looking that is also perfectly in tune with both narrative and environmental issues. Her reliance on deception and melee combat rather than guns scatters her from a mass of first-person heroes.

Part two tomorrow !