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Broken Age SPOILERS Thread

ArjanN

Member
I was fairly sure Marek was just a disguised "Mom" trying to fool Shay with some new simulation to give him the thrill of excitement, because the old simulations weren't enough for a teenager anymore, but I admittedly didn't made the mental connection to the maidens kidnapping until I noticed how the last one looked similar to Vella.
In retrospective I realized I should have.

I still have no idea of the details about Marek's intentions, by the way.

That's what I though at first as well, given that the new missions seemed fake as well. I figured by rebelling he had just upgraded to the teenage version of the simulation.

I'm guessing Marek's identity will be a twist, if only because he's wearing a disguise, and pretty much the only reason people wear masks in fiction is so there can be a twist reveal.
 
My interpretation of Marek was that he was as fake as the rest of the ship. Just the next step in Shay's development. Like the teenage mode that kicks in at a certain point, allowing Shay access to more adult "missions".

He may well be human under that costume, but I think he's still part of the program.
 

Ghost

Chili Con Carnage!
I thought Marek was Dad, I got the impression that he wanted more of a connection with Shay. We'll see though I guess.

I loved Act 1, so many awesome characters, F'ther laying golden eggs and the hipster lumberjack were my favourites (the voice cameos were all really thoughtfully done in my opinion).


Favourite scene was definitely making the tree puke in the bucket, oh and the stool jokes.
 

Hermii

Member
My interpretation of Marek was that he was as fake as the rest of the ship. Just the next step in Shay's development. Like the teenage mode that kicks in at a certain point, allowing Shay access to more adult "missions".

He may well be human under that costume, but I think he's still part of the program.

I agree with you exept the next set of missions were actually real because he was grabbing real maidens.

All his life Shay has been indoctrinated to save helpless creatures in his missions. And then Marek comes along and asks him to save more helpless creatures but this time for real and against the will of his mother, its pretty predictable how teenage Shay is going to react. So yea this theory makes sense. He was groomed for this job all his life.
 

Acti

Member
To say the truth I did not expect that final, so yeah awesome surprise for me there. Thumbs up for the art direction and voice art of the game. Pretty excited for what may come next.
 

Thoraxes

Member
Now i'm just wondering why it was always too dangerous to stay for all the maidens, and why he always had to pull out before the last ones.

Did Marek know about Vella then?
 

Acti

Member
Now i'm just wondering why it was always too dangerous to stay for all the maidens, and why he always had to pull out before the last ones.

Did Marek know about Vella then?

Good question... I didn't even remember that.
 

Haunted

Member
You're forgetting that they're not actually from space, though. At the end the stars fall off the inside of Mog, and he comes from underwater each time. Granted, he could still be repopulating a country or something, just not a planet.
Yet Alex states that he crash-landed on this planet and calls his vessel a spaceship iirc, and his mention of Project Dandelion clearly makes a connexion between his ship and Shay's Mog Chothra.

That said, maybe he was just deceived and didn't know about his vessels true appearance, just like Shay was.

They're leaving enough vagueness there to make it possible it's an interplanetary story or just a local one.
 

Fuu

Formerly Alaluef (not Aladuf)
Dad was certainly more in the know than he let on. When Shay is sneaking around you can see him discreetly looking through the window then hiding right after.
 

mclem

Member
Yet Alex states that he crash-landed on this planet and calls his vessel a spaceship iirc, and his mention of Project Dandelion clearly makes a connexion between his ship and Shay's Mog Chothra.

That said, maybe he was just deceived and didn't know about his vessels true appearance, just like Shay was.

Well, if we can assume that the tip of the pyramid is part of the vessel, it doesn't *look* much like Mog Chothra. Why are they so wildly different?
 

Hermii

Member
I think Vellas grandmother is an important person in all this. Wasnt it she who started the maiden ceromony thing?
 
Well, if we can assume that the tip of the pyramid is part of the vessel, it doesn't *look* much like Mog Chothra. Why are they so wildly different?

Once the mog crashes you can see that the ship lies inside of it and the outer layer that is 'painted" like space is the mog.
 

Sentenza

Member
Now i'm just wondering why it was always too dangerous to stay for all the maidens, and why he always had to pull out before the last ones.

Did Marek know about Vella then?
I was constantly assuming that there was no actual danger and Marek being in hurry was all part of the act to make Shay feel more excited about this stuff.
But of course, I could be wrong.
 

mclem

Member
Once the mog thrashes you can see that the ship lies inside of it and the outer layer that is 'painted" like space is the mog.

Oh, I didn't imagine it structured like that, I thought the Mog was the ship, not the Mog being the ship within the facade.

I guess that means the knife's still in there somewhere. And, for that matter, not as free as it thought, so I guess the droids don't know the facade's a facade either?
 
Oh, I didn't imagine it structured like that, I thought the Mog was the ship, not the Mog being the ship within the facade.

I guess that means the knife's still in there somewhere. And, for that matter, not as free as it thought, so I guess the droids don't know the facade's a facade either?

It will be a missed opportunity if that knife didn't end up stuck in the tree.
 

duckroll

Member
I think Vellas grandmother is an important person in all this. Wasnt it she who started the maiden ceromony thing?

I don't think she's her grandmother. Vella's grandmother is dead and it was mentioned that she was just like her grandfather - someone who resisted the change. Levina is just a very old and powerful person who helped transform Steel Bunting into Sugar Bunting.
 

mnz

Unconfirmed Member
I wonder what the deal with Alex is. If he did the same thing Shae is doing before crashing, where are his maidens? Did he maybe populate that planet?
And just in general how much of Shae's adventure was intentional. The space suit stuff for example seems a little crazy to have been planed ahead, but I would take it.
 
Dad skulking around outside the ship in the background was creeping me out. What was he up to?

And what "surprise" is Mom preparing for Shay in the locked room?
 

mclem

Member
I wonder what the deal with Alex is. If he did the same thing Shae is doing before crashing, where are his maidens? Did he maybe populate that planet?

I wonder if Alex's ship crashed because Steel Bunting was still Steel Bunting.

And what "surprise" is Mom preparing for Shay in the locked room?

B4JEvne.jpg


SURPRISE!


Wasn't there a mention at the start on Vella's side about a dam that "we don't go past"? Something like that? I wonder if there's more to that, too.
 

Hermii

Member
I wonder what the deal with Alex is. If he did the same thing Shae is doing before crashing, where are his maidens? Did he maybe populate that planet?
And just in general how much of Shae's adventure was intentional. The space suit stuff for example seems a little crazy to have been planed ahead, but I would take it.

I think everything was intentional.Like the knife just lying around, would a computer do that mistake? The knitter in the back of the droid how did it get there? And they gave him Grabbin Gary as the present. Also it would have to be believable enough for Shay to think its real. But I dont know. I dont mind them stretching logic a bit for the sake of making fun puzzles.
Obvously Vella blowing up Mog Chotra was not intentional.
 

Kiddo

Member
I played Vella's side first and it took me forever to beat mog chothra. Speaking of the similarities between the grabbing game and the maiden-snatching sit also took me forever to grab the last maiden. Coincidence?
 

rezn0r

Member
I saw the ending coming but that didn't really lessen the enjoyment I got from watching it unfold nor my curiosity as to why it was happening at all. I switched back and forth between the two stories throughout the game and together they give you enough clues to piece things together.

I switched to Shay's almost immediately - was being an idiot with the cupcake & knife at the time - and then did his from start to finish. Now I kind of wish I switched back and forth each scene or whatever.

Thinking back Vella's definitely seemed longer but that might be because I played 1 hour of Shay's, 1 hour of Shay's, all of Vella's for 3 sittings (a little under 4 hours total)
 

Lexxon

Member
Played Shay's story to finish (figured out you could switch maybe halfway through but chose not to), then Vella's. I pretty much knew there was a connection between the two stories (it just makes sense!) but didn't figure it out at all until the very end. I was actually spoiled while, grudgingly, looking up how to kill Mog Chathra, as I couldn't figure out the ladder thing...while looking it up, one of the google results clearly said from this very thread:

"as I started playing I did immediately figure that Shay's ship was actually Mog Chathra."

Faaaaaaaaaaaack. Still was a cool reveal and all, but dumbed down a bit by bad googling. I, like others, miss these "obvious' story twists. BioShock Infinite was like WHOA.
 

tipoo

Banned
Now I wonder if Mom actually was a sacrifice girl, or if Mog was a creation of Steel Bunting. I had Marek pegged as "actually a bad guy" from the outset, but now I'm uncertain of which side of the proverbial morality scale he falls on. Oh, and is Shellmound Prima Doom because the dead eye god was there?

Steel Bunting is now Sugar Bunting, and they were the ones that used to fight the Mog before they started appeasing it. They didn't create it. The OEG says so near the end when he says to Vella "if you really are from steel bunting" or something.


I thought the wolf may be one of the motherbots knitted creations, perhaps controlled by the fatherbot during the day.
 

tipoo

Banned
I think the wolf is in cahoots with the mom and dad bot, I think it may even be what the dad bot does during the daytime, or one of the moms knitted creations. I wonder at if the mom and dad are as well meaning as they say they are. The once every 14 years for the Mog coming by is interesting - is Shay 14, by any chance? And was his homeworld actually destroyed, or were they actually always on Vellas world? Actually I think that's likely, as travelling through different systems just seemed like going to different villages to collect maidens. Perhaps the robots didn't find Vellas world suitable and are trying to find Shay a companion, but then that would still leave the every 14 years bit a mystery. I wonder if the Dead Eye God went through all the same stuff Shay did, being raised by the programs.

Also interesting, the wolf always plays a bit of an uncaring crook, but when shit goes down all he cares about is Shays safety, I think it's the two computer programs.

The Shay being a clone theory reminds me of Oblivion, where an alien thingy tricked a clone guy into doing some stuff.
 

brian!

Member
Man the writing in this game is empathetic in the way I like about Doublefine games, hooray.

I love Marek (great voice acting!), I love Pendleton Ward Gus. I don't really feel a need to guess the connections, like I'm totally content to wait and see where the story goes. Definitely thought of the claw games when the maidens were being taken, but it'd also be funny if Moggy missed occasionally to reflect Shay missing + the villagers being all ??
 
Didn't see that ending coming, I basically only switched when I got stuck on a puzzle to clear my head on it and progress somewhere else. Really great reveal, loved all the characters especially the wiseguy Knife, Vomit Tree and the Fox.

I just wish there was more! I really wanted to keep playing. Only took me 4 hours to finish :'(
 
I just wish there was more! I really wanted to keep playing. Only took me 4 hours to finish :'(

8 hours for an adventure game is pretty good. The real tragedy is the splitting into two parts.

Actually that's probably too strong a word, but definitely an unfortunate financial necessity.
 

tipoo

Banned
Does it allow you to complete Vella 100% before Shay? I really think a new player should get to the Shay ending before Vellas.
 

Gav47

Member
What's the deal with the snake? I must have spent about 30 mins screwing around with that thing in total.

Also, allowing the peach to be a consumable item is fucked, I had to make two trips form the top of the pyramid back to the tree because Vella and the guard were too close together when I dragged the peach out my inventory.
 
I think, even if the Vella story switches before the reveal, playing Vella then Shay would be much easier to see the twist. Just my opinion. I played Shay's full, then Vella's. Loved the ending.
 
8 hours for an adventure game is pretty good. The real tragedy is the splitting into two parts.

Actually that's probably too strong a word, but definitely an unfortunate financial necessity.

Well yeah, I'm talking about playing part 1 on it's own.

I'm really surprised by the split of people who did and didn't see the twist coming, I really had no idea. I actually assumed that the entire scenario of saving space creatures was just a more elaborate ruse by the ship A.I since Shay was growing tired with the obviously staged routines.

Now I'm in an game adventure mood, should get to that new Walking Dead episode.
 

sonicmj1

Member
I think, even if the Vella story switches before the reveal, playing Vella then Shay would be much easier to see the twist. Just my opinion. I played Shay's full, then Vella's. Loved the ending.

It probably would if you knew one was coming, but I wasn't playing the game looking for a twist, so I was still pretty surprised.
 

mclem

Member
I think, even if the Vella story switches before the reveal, playing Vella then Shay would be much easier to see the twist. Just my opinion. I played Shay's full, then Vella's. Loved the ending.

As it happens, I played it Vella-then-Shay, and I thought the twist would be easier to see if you played Shay's first!

It might simply be that it works pretty well both ways.
 

Kimaka

Member
As it happens, I played it Vella-then-Shay, and I thought the twist would be easier to see if you played Shay's first!

It might simply be that it works pretty well both ways.

I did the same. I don't see how doing Shay's first then Vella's would make the story work better as most people have suggested. The twist had just as much an impact on me despite choosing Vella first.
 

mclem

Member
So here's something I've been wondering.

On the ship, there's quite a few remaining mysteries and interesting objects that that may well be resolved/used in part 2 - the captured maidens in the hold, the mystery door the computer won't let you go past, Marek's identity, re-entering the train simulation, the little 'ejecting trash into space' receptacle. Vella's ongoing discovery is clear.

On the earthly side of the story, though, I'm not sure what interesting hooks remain. The snake, perhaps. I think there's perhaps a bit more to deal with with Harm'ny Lightbeard. But beyond that... most things seem to have been adequately resolved and explained. I'm curious what direction Shay's story will go in. Maybe he'll be investigating the history of the Maiden's Feast? Certainly, talking to Alex should be interesting.

Edit: On which note, was it said why Alex went into cryogenic suspension? I forget.
 
As it happens, I played it Vella-then-Shay, and I thought the twist would be easier to see if you played Shay's first!

It might simply be that it works pretty well both ways.

I guess because it seems so obvious in hindsight (picking up things in the ship/maidens being picked up) it's easy to say that it would have been easy to see coming.
 
So here's something I've been wondering.

On the ship, there's quite a few remaining mysteries and interesting objects that that may well be resolved/used in part 2 - the captured maidens in the hold, the mystery door the computer won't let you go past, Marek's identity, re-entering the train simulation, the little 'ejecting trash into space' receptacle. Vella's ongoing discovery is clear.

On the earthly side of the story, though, I'm not sure what interesting hooks remain. The snake, perhaps. I think there's perhaps a bit more to deal with with Harm'ny Lightbeard. But beyond that... most things seem to have been adequately resolved and explained. I'm curious what direction Shay's story will go in. Maybe he'll be investigating the history of the Maiden's Feast? Certainly, talking to Alex should be interesting.

Edit: On which note, was it said why Alex went into cryogenic suspension? I forget.

We still have yet to see what happened to Sugar Bunting after Vella left. It's also a location that has barely been explored, so maybe Shay will find his way there.
 

kai3345

Banned
Just finished the game. I played all of Shay and then Vella. I saw the twist coming as soon as they showed the first maiden's feast. I was like "Oh I bet these are the things Shay is 'rescuing'" which was a bit of a bummer. That said, I'm incredibly pumped for Act 2
 
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