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Virginia |SPOILER THREAD| The Bison & the Bird

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Hey everyone, this is Dusk Golem aka AestheticGamer. I have posted on NeoGAF since 2011, and have decided to resign. I have enjoyed posting about horror games here for years, but I no longer wish to support the site and will be leaving for good. I will still be around the internet, I go by AestheticGamer on YouTube, I make games on Steam as Yai Gameworks, and I plan to go by Dusk Golem on other forums. I'll be joining an off-set of the GAF community leaving to try other ventures like ResetEra (Official Twitter for that here: https://twitter.com/reseteraforum ). I hope some of you who read this may consider it, and I plan to try to expose more people to horror games in the years to come. Just not here.

I hope you all are having a good day, and know I always loved the community, and in the end it's the community I'm going to stick with, not the site itself. If you want to follow me, my official Twitter is here: https://twitter.com/AestheticGamer1
 

labx

Banned
I'm trying to wrap this game in my head, but it has to much (in a good way). One thing that strike me is how the game plays with your POV. I don't know what to think about Maria, is she real? Or she is a figment of your shatter mind because of the substance abuse that it is clear that Ann has?

Now lets jump:

1. Lipstick for me is the representation of the future character, the "boss". When she toss it, is a sign that she is changing her life.
2. The broken key, is your broken psyche and you recall the moment when your mind just "broke".
3. The ring, is like a reality check of sorts, like Inception.
4. I think that the flowers and feathers are linked with different realities or "branches" that the character could take.

Still I'm lost.
 

Wok

Member
-The Ring your partner gives you

Come on, the ring is pretty simple. She removes it because she wants to find a male partner at the FBI bar. Your character puts it on her fourth finger of the left hand to say to the drunk guy that she is not available.

The story about your FBI partner revolves around the loss of her exemplary mother. By removing the ring, it is as if she were given her birth name back, instead of the name of her husband.

What I would like an analysis of is the sexual hints. I have found that there were a lot more than in usual games, and I think the sex scene tends to confirm that.

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Therefore, I believe cigarettes/candles in this game are references which should be analysed as well. The girl who has been abused smokes from the start of the game. It is either people who exert domination or are abused.


Notice how the lights in the original house are some kind of light-sabers (unlit candles?), but lights used in the cult scene are big candles. It is kind of the abuse being hidden.

 

labx

Banned
Come on, the ring is pretty simple. She removes it because she wants to find a male partner at the FBI bar. Your character puts it on her fourth finger of the left hand to say to the drunk guy that she is not available.

The story about your FBI partner revolves around the loss of her exemplary mother. By removing the ring, it is as if she were given her birth name back, instead of the name of her husband.

What I would like an analysis of is the sexual hints. I have found that there were a lot more than in usual games, and I think the sex scene tends to confirm that.



Therefore, I believe cigarettes/candles in this game are references which should be analysed as well. The girl who has been abused smokes from the start of the game. It is either people who exert domination or are abused.



Notice how the lights in the original house are some kind of light-sabers (unlit candles?), but lights used in the cult scene are big candles. It is kind of the abuse being hidden.

Agreed with the ring, but again, the ring is a reality check about the loss of innocence. Everytime the ring is shown, is to remind the player that innocence is lost. The cigarrates are a sign of corruption in this game. The characters that are smoking are the wrongdoers.
 

themandu

Member
Are we sure that the woman that smokes is a teenager? I thought she was Lucas' aunt, his father's sister-in-law, and that the teenage boys were his cousins.
 

dawid

Member
Really disappointed in the way the story in this game turned in to a pretentious mess that felt vague and diffuse just for the sake of it, and to build a reputation on imagined depth.

The first hour really felt like they had something unique going on in the way the regular story was being told. Then it turned into a car wreck.
 

nynt9

Member
Really disappointed in the way the story in this game turned in to a pretentious mess that felt vague and diffuse just for the sake of it, and to build a reputation on imagined depth.

The first hour really felt like they had something unique going on in the way the regular story was being told. Then it turned into a car wreck.

This is also kind of how I feel. Seems like they were just doing random things to be Lynchian and confusing but there was just nothing to latch onto to infer some meaning. I'm actually surprised how much people seem to be reading into it. I thought it was kind of bullshit.
 

BluWacky

Member
The game has achieved exactly what it wants to do by leaving all these ridiculous questions that are only questions. There are no answers to be found here, but by generating discussion the game is a success.

I rather think that much of it has no meaning, save repeating imagery from earlier sections in the "acid trip" at the end (although quite how Anne is allowed into a prison cell without being frisked for ALL her belongings I don't know). While I have no objection to the time I've spent with Virginia, and I'm not totally averse to abstract imagery etc., I do think it's a bit of a cop out to pull that out as an ending never to be clarified.

The smoking women, incidentally, is clearly not a teenager; not only does she not look young enough for that, but it seems pretty clear that no actual crime has taken place in the long run. Lucas's mother slaps his father a couple of times, but the FBI have no reason to keep the father locked up, hence why Anne lets him go; I think he's just had an affair and that's all. While it is suspicious that Lucas's father kept the roll of film, the insinuation of the very end of the "trip" sequence seems to my mind to suggest that Lucas simply ran away into the woods; the UFO imagery is clearly lifted from his notebook.

I could go through all the OP's bullet points with my thoughts but I will save it for others to raise discussion points rather than monopolising the thread.
 

MattyG

Banned
I think pretty much everything "weird" in the game is basically a representation of what actually happened to them, and none of it actually happened. There was no UFO, the kid ran away. There was no cult, that was just Anne putting all those who had done wrong into a box and seeing them as the same type of horrible person.

I think this falls into the same trap that 2 or 3 other walking sims I've played have where it has awesome, weird stuff happening and then it just ends up being "lol gotch, it was symbolism" or "kidding, it all was all normal stuff!"
 

ChrisDM

Member
I just finished the game about ten minutes ago and hope to edit this post at some point with some thoughts once I am done processing my emotions and reactions.

I thought it was the player character. The hair looks similar.

This is what I thought too since the point of view was being switched around a lot during the time that scene took place.
 

pronk420

Member
There were a few things I found a bit confusing:

What were the photos from the film found in the priests desk? They arrested him because of them but I never got a chance to look at the photo closely enough to figure out what it was.

How did Maria get the envelope with the acid tab in it? She never came to the player's house

Why were they both in jail? The main character threw away the internal investigation file, so I don't see why either of them were put in jail.

How did they get out of jail at the end? I got the impression there was a part of the game after the acid trip that was back to reality.

The guy in the red top carrying the guitar case(?) you drive past in the very last scene, was that the missing kid? The overall impression I got was that he caught his father and then ran away.
 

Wok

Member
The guy in the red top carrying the guitar case(?) you drive past in the very last scene, was that the missing kid? The overall impression I got was that he caught his father and then ran away.

Definitely, the missing kid.

Remember his room: there was a tripod to take photos, a secret room to publish photos, and in that room, there was an electric guitar in the corner where you take the notebook.
 

dendryte

Member
Is this game meant to be viewed as some sort of "anti-game"? The lack of traditional game play. The hints that suggest a grand conspiracy or other mystery regarding Lucas, when there aren't any -- he simply ran away from home. Ditto Maria and her mother. Even the red light at the start tricks the viewer. The game seems to want to subvert modern story expectations every chance it gets.

I'd want to say privacy is a major theme. Scenes like Maria's mother's house, or the moments of personal suffering in the LSD trip -- the game may be asking us, "do we really need to know these private details?"
 

dendryte

Member
How did Maria get the envelope with the acid tab in it? She never came to the player's house

Interesting. A complete guess, but I reckon when Maria learned that she was being investigated, she decided to dig up some dirt on Anne as insurance. As far as we can tell, she had no problem breaking into the priest's house, so I think this would be in character for her.

Why were they both in jail? The main character threw away the internal investigation file, so I don't see why either of them were put in jail.

How did they get out of jail at the end? I got the impression there was a part of the game after the acid trip that was back to reality.

These were weaker points of the story for me; I feel like a little more explanation would have helped. But if I have to guess, they were put behind bars for harassing the potential suspects, for example, breaking into the priest's house. Or maybe simply trespassing on the water tower. Then they were let go after charges were dropped and/or strings were pulled.
 

Cob32

Member
Really disappointed in the way the story in this game turned in to a pretentious mess that felt vague and diffuse just for the sake of it, and to build a reputation on imagined depth.

The first hour really felt like they had something unique going on in the way the regular story was being told. Then it turned into a car wreck.

I agree with this. I watched Jim Sterling play 30mins and immediately went to my ps4 to buy it.
 

BluWacky

Member
There were a few things I found a bit confusing:

What were the photos from the film found in the priests desk? They arrested him because of them but I never got a chance to look at the photo closely enough to figure out what it was.

They were of the priest receiving oral sex from another woman (i.e. not his wife). They arrest him because they think there's a link between that and Lucas's disappearance.

How did Maria get the envelope with the acid tab in it? She never came to the player's house

I think the suggestion is that she did. Just like Anne broke into Maria's house and snuck into her hidden investigation room, Maria used her lockpick and found the evidence that Anne had stolen.

Why were they both in jail? The main character threw away the internal investigation file, so I don't see why either of them were put in jail.

Anne destroyed FBI information by throwing away that file; I rather assumed that they were both arrested on suspicion of wrongdoing with a deal for Anne if she ratted out Maria (hence the "daydream" of what she would have to do in the future to climb the ranks).

How did they get out of jail at the end? I got the impression there was a part of the game after the acid trip that was back to reality.

My assumption was that there was no actual evidence to hold them there.

The guy in the red top carrying the guitar case(?) you drive past in the very last scene, was that the missing kid? The overall impression I got was that he caught his father and then ran away.

Yup.
 

Chev

Member
What do you guys think of the little girl that we see in the shadows behind the door? I was creeped out and could not figure who she was.
The preacher's wife.

Are we sure that the woman that smokes is a teenager? I thought she was Lucas' aunt, his father's sister-in-law, and that the teenage boys were his cousins.
She always hangs out with the teenage boys, and you can find her cigarettes in the cave. What made you think of a family link? If that's seeing all the teens in the house, remember it's during a dream sequence where most characters met so far are just put there.

found the evidence that Anne had stolen.
I don't think she stole it, I think she intended to bring it back to the office next morning for analyses (since it's in an official envelope and all) and merely forgot.
 

SomTervo

Member
Really disappointed in the way the story in this game turned in to a pretentious mess that felt vague and diffuse just for the sake of it, and to build a reputation on imagined depth.

The first hour really felt like they had something unique going on in the way the regular story was being told. Then it turned into a car wreck.

I didn't think it was pretentious, but it certainly didn't come together well.

It was admirable to try and create a narrative experience with no dialogue and a large cast of characters but it became clear it wouldn't really work later on when key character stuff didn't have a huge amount of impact and plot beats became diffuse.

The Twin Peaks comparisons are hilarious to me. Aesthetically there's a general parallel and it has the kinds of symbols Lynch/Frost would utilise, but there is literally nothing Lynchian or Peaksey about the narrative.
 

gtvdave

Member
I enjoyed the methods used to tell the story and its POV sequences. It is visually splendid and editing worked unlike anywhere else. What made it shine in certain moments was the music. Without it the whole thing would fall apart quickly attention-wise.

Storytelling was too cryptic for me and I imagine it is something you have to experience more than once to get it at all. I hope one day I can play (or develop) sequential games like this with more clear plot.
 

Bastion

Member
This game has me very confused. I really wish there was talking in this game even though I know that the developers wanted the game to be this way.
 

Humdinger

Member
Yeah, I think they were going for trying to confuse the f*ck out of people. It's not your normal artistic subtlety, where there are some symbols and themes overlaid on an otherwise coherent story, but instead just a series of ambiguous symbols and events. Given the lack of emotional attachment I felt, I don't feel motivated to try to figure it out.

I did wonder about the priest. Catholic priests don't marry. So why does he apparently have a wife? I assumed that must be his sister, but everyone is talking as if she is his wife. Minor point.
 

BluWacky

Member
I did wonder about the priest. Catholic priests don't marry. So why does he apparently have a wife? I assumed that must be his sister, but everyone is talking as if she is his wife. Minor point.

Does it say that he's Catholic? I will admit to not knowing enough about Christianity in America, but in the Anglican church vicars etc. wear collars so it didn't seem that out of place to me (and perhaps not to the developers who I think are also British?)
 

SomTervo

Member
Yeah, I think they were going for trying to confuse the f*ck out of people. It's not your normal artistic subtlety, where there are some symbols and themes overlaid on an otherwise coherent story, but instead just a series of ambiguous symbols and events. Given the lack of emotional attachment I felt, I don't feel motivated to try to figure it out.

I don't think so, I do think they wanted a pretty clear narrative to come through. I just think they failed. The emotional attachment part especially.
 

Musician

Member
It's not your normal artistic subtlety, where there are some symbols and themes overlaid on an otherwise coherent story, but instead just a series of ambiguous symbols and events. Given the lack of emotional attachment I felt, I don't feel motivated to try to figure it out.

This is how I feel as well. I was expecting some sort of traditional narrative to carry the symbology. Instead you get all symbology and hardly any narrative. It simply didn't work for me in any way and I mostly found myself rolling my eyes at what was going on. Didn't really like the music, either, but I've some mighty high standards when it comes to orchestral stuff.
 

spekkeh

Banned
So my initial reading was slightly different from some others.

Judith Ortega uncovered some shady bureau dealings and got sidelined, her daughter continues the work to the ire of the bureau, who put her away somewhere in the basement, but she keeps going. I don't think Lucas was actually missing, though he might have ran away because of the cheating. You keep seeing the Reverend with the other conspirers (somebody said these were all the corrupt people of the town which also makes sense I guess), so I think it's just a setup for you to get dirt on Maria. She was also sidetracked with nonsense to make her investigation impossible. We see Lucas walking at the end, yet the report at the end of her promotion streak still mentions him missing. We never really wanted him found.

I don't think the promotions after ratting out Maria are a dream, I think that actually happened. You have a gift of making people trust you and then stabbing them in the back and that's your way to the top in the bureau. But of course you have your conscience (the little birdie)* that nags you and you have to sacrifice the lamb (or well bison), in this case the first innocent righteous person you have to take out, Maria. Maybe your father's case was linked to Maria, maybe burning the evidence was the first step and taking her out the second, but I don't think the authors thought it was important to the story.

*At the beginning you set it free, and then you see the general or the chief nodding in the doorway. So a symbol for conscience seems to make sense here.
 

Humdinger

Member
Does it say that he's Catholic? I will admit to not knowing enough about Christianity in America, but in the Anglican church vicars etc. wear collars so it didn't seem that out of place to me (and perhaps not to the developers who I think are also British?)

Oh, ok. I assumed he was Catholic. I didn't realize priests of other denominations also wear that collar.
 

bounchfx

Member
The Twin Peaks comparisons are hilarious to me. Aesthetically there's a general parallel and it has the kinds of symbols Lynch/Frost would utilise, but there is literally nothing Lynchian or Peaksey about the narrative.

I think if you take a moment to consider the spectrum of what's actually out there, especially in games, this is a lot closer to being similar to a lynch type production/narrative than most games out there, hence the comparisons. I personally think it was a fairly accurate description of what to expect in the game, even ignoring the very obvious similarities to some of his works.
 

Humdinger

Member
I don't think so, I do think they wanted a pretty clear narrative to come through. I just think they failed. The emotional attachment part especially.

Yeah, it's hard to get invested in figuring out a confusing story if you don't really feel connected to it.

I don't think they wanted a clear narrative. There is too much intentional subversion of clarity for that to be the case. I think they wanted to f*ck with our heads. Also, in the "letter to the players" or whatever it was called, they said something to the effect that they hoped they had created a game we found confusing. They didn't use the word "confusing," but it was something akin to that.
 

joms5

Member
So I will post some thoughts I had on the game.

First a little too Twin Peaks for my liking but some parts stood out more than others. The song playing in the bar comes very close to "Falling" from Twin Peaks. Look it up if you're interested.

Second I agree with some of you who thought the game was a bit too vague. Have no clue what the hell that UFO had to do with anything.

I really liked the sacrifice scene. My interpretation follows:

We have all the major players in the story standing around the Bison/Buffalo with an unknown woman ready to kill it. The Bison/Buffalo represents nature, what is pure and untouched. A natural state if you will. By killing that natural state, you are killing your true nature and becoming something else. We see everyone there wearing masks. Signifying the masks that these people wear on a daily basis. They try to be something they are not.

The priest wears the mask of a pious man, but is really a child adulterer.

The deputy wears the mask of a man in control, an authority figure. But when his model ship has a piece snap off, he loses his temper and all the qualities that an officer of the law should have. Cool and calm he is not.

The FBI director is a strong, stern authority figure. But inside is a lonely man, who craves the attention and perhaps love of his mother.

The general. A man who is devoted to his family and loves his son. But not enough to hug him. He must wear his mask as a heterosexual male. A man's man. Not to show emotion or else risk his image of strength.

And so by you taking off the white mask to reveal your face on the other side, you then realize that you too wear a mask. You're no better than any of them in that room. You're killing the Bison/Buffalo, and in essence killing that last bit of your true self. Only to wear a mask. Your mask of lipstick. Your disguise of friendship. Only to stab people in the back to better yourself.

Some may not agree with that but that was one of the only things that stood out to me.
 
On emotional attachment, I was quite invested in Maria and Anne's friendship and it was heartbreaking when Maria finds out you've been investigating her. You've gone eating with her, got drunk at the water tower, slept in the same bed at a hotel I think. You spend a lot of time building the friendship. That betrayal cut deep.

As a person of colour, it also hit me at home with the montage (accompanied with fantastic music) of how the people of colour FBI agents were being investigated as just a way to get rid of them, part of a racist scheme? But when Anne becomes the head, diversity comes back again.
 

spekkeh

Banned
No there's also the bald white guy you're removing from the bureau during the montage and you seem to be of some indiscernible ethnic descent yourself. I think the developer just admirably created a diverse cast.
 

Oneself

Member
So I will post some thoughts I had on the game.

First a little too Twin Peaks for my liking but some parts stood out more than others. The song playing in the bar comes very close to "Falling" from Twin Peaks. Look it up if you're interested.

Second I agree with some of you who thought the game was a bit too vague. Have no clue what the hell that UFO had to do with anything.

I really liked the sacrifice scene. My interpretation follows:

We have all the major players in the story standing around the Bison/Buffalo with an unknown woman ready to kill it. The Bison/Buffalo represents nature, what is pure and untouched. A natural state if you will. By killing that natural state, you are killing your true nature and becoming something else. We see everyone there wearing masks. Signifying the masks that these people wear on a daily basis. They try to be something they are not.

The priest wears the mask of a pious man, but is really a child adulterer.

The deputy wears the mask of a man in control, an authority figure. But when his model ship has a piece snap off, he loses his temper and all the qualities that an officer of the law should have. Cool and calm he is not.

The FBI director is a strong, stern authority figure. But inside is a lonely man, who craves the attention and perhaps love of his mother.

The general. A man who is devoted to his family and loves his son. But not enough to hug him. He must wear his mask as a heterosexual male. A man's man. Not to show emotion or else risk his image of strength.

And so by you taking off the white mask to reveal your face on the other side, you then realize that you too wear a mask. You're no better than any of them in that room. You're killing the Bison/Buffalo, and in essence killing that last bit of your true self. Only to wear a mask. Your mask of lipstick. Your disguise of friendship. Only to stab people in the back to better yourself.

Some may not agree with that but that was one of the only things that stood out to me.
Definitely. Nice explanations.
 

Fisty

Member
Was a great ride, it was pretty obvious since there's no dialogue that most of the events would be symbolic of the characters emotions or actions, so that informed a lot of the "weird" bits and I found the "dream logic" a lot less dense than Lynch's work (which isn't a bad thing, really). That stuff with the UFO has got me stumped though, and the kid wasn't found right? So maybe it's just a metaphor for the unknown?

Anyway, give these guys a million bucks and send them over to Quantic Dream. I want to see what they can do with dialogue and a budget (and a decent framerate lol).

9.5/10 would buy again
 

joms5

Member
Was a great ride, it was pretty obvious since there's no dialogue that most of the events would be symbolic of the characters emotions or actions, so that informed a lot of the "weird" bits and I found the "dream logic" a lot less dense than Lynch's work (which isn't a bad thing, really). That stuff with the UFO has got me stumped though, and the kid wasn't found right? So maybe it's just a metaphor for the unknown?

Anyway, give these guys a million bucks and send them over to Quantic Dream. I want to see what they can do with dialogue and a budget (and a decent framerate lol).

9.5/10 would buy again

I thought the kid walking on the side of the road with his guitar case at the end of the game as you're leaving Virginia was Lucas. I could be wrong as he went by quickly. But I thought the guitar was obviously a sign if you missed his face.

Correct me if i'm wrong.
 

Fisty

Member
I thought the kid walking on the side of the road with his guitar case at the end of the game as you're leaving Virginia was Lucas. I could be wrong as he went by quickly. But I thought the guitar was obviously a sign if you missed his face.

Correct me if i'm wrong.

I mean I guess it could have been, I just can't really fit the UFO, the guitar part, and the kid still being missing all those years later together. Maybe he just ran away and never came back, and the UFO was just pure symbolism? And wasn't his guitar still at home when you searched it at the beginning?

Oh boy and the trophies are little riddles too, playing though a few more times should help make things a bit clearer while I grab the platinum

EDIT: Holy shit the description for the trophy you get when drinking coffee is "For closers only" haha
 

Chev

Member
And so by you taking off the white mask to reveal your face on the other side, you then realize that you too wear a mask. You're no better than any of them in that room. You're killing the Bison/Buffalo, and in essence killing that last bit of your true self.

Actually I think the realization is she'd already killed the buffalo (ie made compromises) when she burned the evidence of whatever her father did.
 
Lucas drew a picture of a UFO in his diary, maybe he believed in them, or just wished they existed as a form of escapism. You see the image when reading the diary in bed before falling asleep.

When the acid trip begins, I assumed the thought of abduction came through and you see the UFO as it was drawn. It wasn't real and Lucas never got abducted.


Edit: Did anyone else notice the schoolgirl being a reference to Donna Hayward from Twin Peaks?

maxresdefault.jpg
 

ike_

Member
I was confused by the last day and walked away from it genuinely thinking the last few scenes were presented out of order (intentionally) a la Easy Rider. So chronologically the last scene was actually the jail scene, and the remaining scenes were all just flashbacks and dream sequences.

I like what I'm reading here better though, a little less dark. Great game.
 

joms5

Member
I mean I guess it could have been, I just can't really fit the UFO, the guitar part, and the kid still being missing all those years later together. Maybe he just ran away and never came back, and the UFO was just pure symbolism? And wasn't his guitar still at home when you searched it at the beginning?

The UFO part makes zero sense to me. But I'm still of the belief that it never happen. You're right in that it must be pure symbolism. I think the idea is that after the kid saw his father having a sexual relationship with one of his friends, that he just ran away. Maybe the drawing in his book was a red herring for authorities and the town. To make people believe that he got abducted (quite far fetched).

You're right about his guitar though. It was left in his dark room when you pick up his diary.

Actually I think the realization is she'd already killed the buffalo (ie made compromises) when she burned the evidence of whatever her father did.

Interesting. I never really knew what could have been inside that box. Is there anything that gives you the impression that it was something of her fathers?

Edit: Did anyone else notice the schoolgirl being a reference to Donna Hayward from Twin Peaks?

maxresdefault.jpg

Haha. Great eye. I was going to mention this in another thread but then thought... Nobody has actually watched Twin Peaks on here.

In another thread I pointed out how the roadhouse scene is eerily similar to the bar scene in Twin Peaks when Julie Cruise is singing Falling.
 
Minor detail, but was it clear to anyone why Maria's name changed from Ortega to Halperin? Did she just get married at some point, but is now separated/divorced?

Also, what's with the delinquent kid, and why is he so hostile to Anne, to the extent that he physically attacks two FBI agents? Is he just racist? Does he think he's defending his friend (girlfriend?) who he may know or suspect is implicated in the Fairfax investigation?
 

BluWacky

Member
Minor detail, but was it clear to anyone why Maria's name changed from Ortega to Halperin? Did she just get married at some point, but is now separated/divorced?

I am probably reading too much into things, but:

i) She was clearly married - she gives you her wedding ring when you go to the bar.
ii) Her house is kitted out to care for someone either disabled or terminally ill

I suspect her husband is dead and she was his primary carer. It doesn't explain why she would keep two almost identical envelopes with different names on for so long in her glove compartment; a rather clunky way to have Anne investigate her mother (who I had previously thought was going to be the disabled/terminally ill person but not sure that makes sense.)

Incidentally, I completely missed this - who was Maria investigating in her "hidden room" with the photo on the wall? He didn't look like any characters I could think of, and I couldn't work out what she was doing in that regard that would open her up to an internal affairs investigation.
 
I am probably reading too much into things, but:

i) She was clearly married - she gives you her wedding ring when you go to the bar.
ii) Her house is kitted out to care for someone either disabled or terminally ill

I suspect her husband is dead and she was his primary carer. It doesn't explain why she would keep two almost identical envelopes with different names on for so long in her glove compartment; a rather clunky way to have Anne investigate her mother (who I had previously thought was going to be the disabled/terminally ill person but not sure that makes sense.)

Incidentally, I completely missed this - who was Maria investigating in her "hidden room" with the photo on the wall? He didn't look like any characters I could think of, and I couldn't work out what she was doing in that regard that would open her up to an internal affairs investigation.

I assumed that the elderly person Maria was caring for was indeed her mother. The name on the apartment door was Judith Ortega.

The person in the picture that Maria was investigating was Cord McCarran. He was responsible for her mother being run out of the FBI originally. Now, years later, he's gunning for her daughter.
 
I finished the game for a third time tonight to get the platinum, and each time I gain more and more appreciation for it. After my first playthrough, I had no idea what happened at the end of the game but I've picked up on a number of things and have a few interpretations.

1. The entire game consists of the dying thoughts of Anne's father. The big thing here is that the very first shot of the game is from the perspective of her father (it is clearly *his* hands), but the rest of the game is from Anne's perspective. Even when you are seeing things from the perspective of other characters towards the end (the priest, the mayor, Cord, etc.), you still see them from the perspective of Anne -- it's her hands that you see, not their's. The very first scene is the only time when the game is not clearly seen from Anne's perspective, perhaps because this is the only scene that takes place in reality.

What is even more striking from the first scene is that you see her father locking up a blue box, but when you unlock the box towards the end of the game, it's a red box. Like the red door and the red bird. I really feel like this is significant. I think her father is reflecting on his life, how he may have risen through the ranks of the FBI or whatever by means of betrayal. He may have actually, in fact, been the person who investigated Judith Ortega.

Everything that is red represents his daughter going in a different path from him. The red envelope is her escape from the prison cell, rather than ratting out Maria. The red bird and the red door are seen at times, opposing the bison. I believe the bison is the representation of Anne's father in his dream.

You hear the machines at the hospital bed at times during the game (the tape recorder at the beginning after Anne receives her FBI badge; when Anne is holding the captain's hat in Halperin's office), not because they are Anne's memories, but because her father is dying as we experience this game from his point of view.

At the very end of the game, Anne "kills" the bison as the red bird emerges from her broken mask, after the sequence when she opens the box. And in the very last scene, when leaving town, the "unsolved case" is solved. The missing boy is walking out of town wearing, you guessed it -- red. Anne's father has regrets about his own life, and is overcome with the fear of her following in his footsteps. As he dies, he is able to let go once he has acceptance that she will chart her own path in life, and not make the same mistakes he did.

2. Anne is an unreliable narrator, but it is her experience that we play. I think it's just as likely that everything above is represented symbolically into Anne's experience, which actually does take place. Anne experiences severe anxiety and stress after being presented with the assignment of investigating Maria. Her dreams and hallucinations are a representation of that as the story plays out. In this interpretation, I still hold on to the idea that the bison is her father's influence (the shape of the broken half key that Anne holds onto also kinda looks like a bison's head -- the full key is blue in the opening scene, but the half key is a dull brown). And everything red represents the path that her father didn't go in.

So then, what actually does happen? At one point, I wondered if Anne died when falling off the tree branch. Everything after that point became weirder and seemed like wish-fulfillment. For example, Maria's necklace just sitting on the rocks like that felt very fishy.

Here's what I think happens: After the "acid trip", after you walk into the light of the UFO, you're back in the field where you found the necklace. Only now, those rocks aren't there. And you see the boy running off into the woods. I think this is when Anne wakes up from the fall -- everything that happens in between was a dream. She goes down there to find the necklace (and does), but also spots the missing boy, who runs off. She patches things up with Maria, they go out searching for the boy and find him walking along the side of the highway with his guitar.


So those are my two interpretations. I'm still leaning a bit towards the first one; I really think that first scene of the game is a big hint towards what follows. But it could also very well be a combination of the two.

One thing that I noticed, but I'm not sure what it means. You see a dark shadowy figure in the doorway after the scene where the boy catches his father in the act. It looks like the shadowy figure is that of a girl. I'm pretty sure that this is the same figure that steps out of the UFO and takes the boy away. What that all means, I don't know.

I think it's a pretty brilliant, well-thought out game. I really got a lot out of it by replaying it a few times.
 

ChrisDM

Member
I finished the game for a third time tonight to get the platinum, and each time I gain more and more appreciation for it. After my first playthrough, I had no idea what happened at the end of the game but I've picked up on a number of things and have a few interpretations.

1. The entire game consists of the dying thoughts of Anne's father. The big thing here is that the very first shot of the game is from the perspective of her father (it is clearly *his* hands), but the rest of the game is from Anne's perspective. Even when you are seeing things from the perspective of other characters towards the end (the priest, the mayor, Cord, etc.), you still see them from the perspective of Anne -- it's her hands that you see, not their's. The very first scene is the only time when the game is not clearly seen from Anne's perspective, perhaps because this is the only scene that takes place in reality.

What is even more striking from the first scene is that you see her father locking up a blue box, but when you unlock the box towards the end of the game, it's a red box. Like the red door and the red bird. I really feel like this is significant. I think her father is reflecting on his life, how he may have risen through the ranks of the FBI or whatever by means of betrayal. He may have actually, in fact, been the person who investigated Judith Ortega.

Everything that is red represents his daughter going in a different path from him. The red envelope is her escape from the prison cell, rather than ratting out Maria. The red bird and the red door are seen at times, opposing the bison. I believe the bison is the representation of Anne's father in his dream.

You hear the machines at the hospital bed at times during the game (the tape recorder at the beginning after Anne receives her FBI badge; when Anne is holding the captain's hat in Halperin's office), not because they are Anne's memories, but because her father is dying as we experience this game from his point of view.

At the very end of the game, Anne "kills" the bison as the red bird emerges from her broken mask, after the sequence when she opens the box. And in the very last scene, when leaving town, the "unsolved case" is solved. The missing boy is walking out of town wearing, you guessed it -- red. Anne's father has regrets about his own life, and is overcome with the fear of her following in his footsteps. As he dies, he is able to let go once he has acceptance that she will chart her own path in life, and not make the same mistakes he did.

2. Anne is an unreliable narrator, but it is her experience that we play. I think it's just as likely that everything above is represented symbolically into Anne's experience, which actually does take place. Anne experiences severe anxiety and stress after being presented with the assignment of investigating Maria. Her dreams and hallucinations are a representation of that as the story plays out. In this interpretation, I still hold on to the idea that the bison is her father's influence (the shape of the broken half key that Anne holds onto also kinda looks like a bison's head -- the full key is blue in the opening scene, but the half key is a dull brown). And everything red represents the path that her father didn't go in.

So then, what actually does happen? At one point, I wondered if Anne died when falling off the tree branch. Everything after that point became weirder and seemed like wish-fulfillment. For example, Maria's necklace just sitting on the rocks like that felt very fishy.

Here's what I think happens: After the "acid trip", after you walk into the light of the UFO, you're back in the field where you found the necklace. Only now, those rocks aren't there. And you see the boy running off into the woods. I think this is when Anne wakes up from the fall -- everything that happens in between was a dream. She goes down there to find the necklace (and does), but also spots the missing boy, who runs off. She patches things up with Maria, they go out searching for the boy and find him walking along the side of the highway with his guitar.


So those are my two interpretations. I'm still leaning a bit towards the first one; I really think that first scene of the game is a big hint towards what follows. But it could also very well be a combination of the two.

One thing that I noticed, but I'm not sure what it means. You see a dark shadowy figure in the doorway after the scene where the boy catches his father in the act. It looks like the shadowy figure is that of a girl. I'm pretty sure that this is the same figure that steps out of the UFO and takes the boy away. What that all means, I don't know.

I think it's a pretty brilliant, well-thought out game. I really got a lot out of it by replaying it a few times.

What a fantastic and quality post. Thanks for this. Definitely makes me wanna play through a few more times too.
 
I finished the game for a third time tonight to get the platinum, and each time I gain more and more appreciation for it. After my first playthrough, I had no idea what happened at the end of the game but I've picked up on a number of things and have a few interpretations.

1. The entire game consists of the dying thoughts of Anne's father. The big thing here is that the very first shot of the game is from the perspective of her father (it is clearly *his* hands), but the rest of the game is from Anne's perspective. Even when you are seeing things from the perspective of other characters towards the end (the priest, the mayor, Cord, etc.), you still see them from the perspective of Anne -- it's her hands that you see, not their's. The very first scene is the only time when the game is not clearly seen from Anne's perspective, perhaps because this is the only scene that takes place in reality.

What is even more striking from the first scene is that you see her father locking up a blue box, but when you unlock the box towards the end of the game, it's a red box. Like the red door and the red bird. I really feel like this is significant. I think her father is reflecting on his life, how he may have risen through the ranks of the FBI or whatever by means of betrayal. He may have actually, in fact, been the person who investigated Judith Ortega.

Everything that is red represents his daughter going in a different path from him. The red envelope is her escape from the prison cell, rather than ratting out Maria. The red bird and the red door are seen at times, opposing the bison. I believe the bison is the representation of Anne's father in his dream.

You hear the machines at the hospital bed at times during the game (the tape recorder at the beginning after Anne receives her FBI badge; when Anne is holding the captain's hat in Halperin's office), not because they are Anne's memories, but because her father is dying as we experience this game from his point of view.

At the very end of the game, Anne "kills" the bison as the red bird emerges from her broken mask, after the sequence when she opens the box. And in the very last scene, when leaving town, the "unsolved case" is solved. The missing boy is walking out of town wearing, you guessed it -- red. Anne's father has regrets about his own life, and is overcome with the fear of her following in his footsteps. As he dies, he is able to let go once he has acceptance that she will chart her own path in life, and not make the same mistakes he did.

2. Anne is an unreliable narrator, but it is her experience that we play. I think it's just as likely that everything above is represented symbolically into Anne's experience, which actually does take place. Anne experiences severe anxiety and stress after being presented with the assignment of investigating Maria. Her dreams and hallucinations are a representation of that as the story plays out. In this interpretation, I still hold on to the idea that the bison is her father's influence (the shape of the broken half key that Anne holds onto also kinda looks like a bison's head -- the full key is blue in the opening scene, but the half key is a dull brown). And everything red represents the path that her father didn't go in.

So then, what actually does happen? At one point, I wondered if Anne died when falling off the tree branch. Everything after that point became weirder and seemed like wish-fulfillment. For example, Maria's necklace just sitting on the rocks like that felt very fishy.

Here's what I think happens: After the "acid trip", after you walk into the light of the UFO, you're back in the field where you found the necklace. Only now, those rocks aren't there. And you see the boy running off into the woods. I think this is when Anne wakes up from the fall -- everything that happens in between was a dream. She goes down there to find the necklace (and does), but also spots the missing boy, who runs off. She patches things up with Maria, they go out searching for the boy and find him walking along the side of the highway with his guitar.


So those are my two interpretations. I'm still leaning a bit towards the first one; I really think that first scene of the game is a big hint towards what follows. But it could also very well be a combination of the two.

One thing that I noticed, but I'm not sure what it means. You see a dark shadowy figure in the doorway after the scene where the boy catches his father in the act. It looks like the shadowy figure is that of a girl. I'm pretty sure that this is the same figure that steps out of the UFO and takes the boy away. What that all means, I don't know.

I think it's a pretty brilliant, well-thought out game. I really got a lot out of it by replaying it a few times.

Great insight, very well-written.
 
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