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  • Locked thread
EagerSleeper
Feb 3, 2010

by R. Guyovich
^^^I didn't want to turn anything into a derail. It was pretty nice to learn more about the paranormal, but I'll drop this subject.

Thanks, JamieTheD, for the good response! I thought the rule about a medium having a spirit guide was a rule made up for this game, but the truth turned out to go a lot deeper!

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Bacter
Jan 27, 2012

Nie wywoluj wilka z lasu, glupku.
The game continues to be awesome, but there is an itch I have that will never be scratched. It's not so much a plot hole as advice I can't give.

Lauren. If you see a ghost get ready to tug on Joey's tie?

Lie down.

Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
There's the question of how the Countess actually knows about these people if Mitchell's writing never gets published.

Maybe there's a ghost following him around that he doesn't know about?

cmndstab
May 20, 2006

Huge Internet Celebrity!

WickedHate posted:

This reminds me of a plot hole I don't think's been mentioned. Joey said Patricia never acknowledged he was there, but wasn't she attacking thin air in private and arguing with someone named Joey before Jack mentioned his name and asked her who that was?

Yeah, I think that's just Joey being bitter about Patricia. We've heard plenty of stories from Jack about how she would lock herself in the bathroom and argue with him, or thrash at her face, or whatever. I guess the point is she ignored him 99% of the time.

Mokinokaro posted:

It's been so long since I played these that I'd forgotten the entire plot of the 2nd game except that you played as Lauren.

One thing I love about the series is that you can tell the voice actors start really getting into their roles as the games go on. The voice acting in the fourth is particularly good even though it's the same folks from the first.

It's funny, when I started playing the fourth game, the voice acting seemed a little subdued, but as the game went on on it improved. My theory is the recording sessions were done in order of the text in the game, and it took the actors thirty minutes or so to find the right voices again.

Bacter posted:

The game continues to be awesome, but there is an itch I have that will never be scratched. It's not so much a plot hole as advice I can't give.

Lauren. If you see a ghost get ready to tug on Joey's tie?

Lie down.

Man, you ain't kidding. Or at the very least, move over here to a grassy area so you don't knock your head on concrete again :(

I also wonder why she does it in the middle of the street, where anyone can see her seemingly collapse only to get up and walk away a few minutes later.

Edit: Come to think of it, continuously bouncing her head off concrete and asphalt might go some way to explaining why Lauren had such issues with early-onset dementia!


Rather dramatic update coming later on today, don't miss it! :)

cmndstab fucked around with this message at 07:14 on Oct 22, 2013

cmndstab
May 20, 2006

Huge Internet Celebrity!
Update 10

Lauren and Joey have just finished sending two ghosts to their rest. In both cases the individuals were previously investigated by Joseph Mitchell, and were subsequently strangled to death by the Countess, who is apparently a medium. Something smells bigtime about this. Time to confront Mitchell one more time.

:siren: Mitchell's Theme :siren:



Lauren: Hello again, Mr. Mitchell.
Mitchell: I was just about to head home.


Lauren's disagreeable tone makes it clear she's not just here for a pleasant chat.



She shuts the door.

Lauren: Oh, I'll just be a second.
Mitchell: Well, if you insist. Do have a seat.
Lauren: Thanks, but I'd rather stand.


Yup, she's in a disagreeable mood, alright. Joey eggs her on.

Joey: Go on. Let him have it.
Lauren: Mind if I smoke?
Mitchell: Well, actually-




Hahaha, Lauren is such a hard-rear end here.

Mitchell: Miss Blackwell. My patience is wearing thin. My family is waiting for me. Tell me what you want.

Lauren is going to make Mitchell wait a bit longer, though.

Lauren: You finished your writing for the day, Mr. Mitchell?
Mitchell: Yes. Yes I have. And now I'm going home.
Joey: He's full of hot air. The page is blank.
Lauren: You haven't written anything today, have you?
Mitchell: Why do you say that?
Lauren: The paper is blank.
Mitchell: What, how did you know that?


Mitchell, who has been of calm disposition every time we've spoken to him, is starting to get a bit rattled here... but only a little.



Lauren: And there's dust on the typewriter.
Mitchell: Well. Can't contradict you there.
Lauren: So?
Mitchell: So, I don't think that's any of your business, Miss Blackwell. Now, if you'll excuse me.




Let's get to the point now.

Mitchell: So I gathered.
Lauren: You wrote about both of em.
Mitchell: Yes, I did.
Lauren: You don't find anything suspicious about that?
Mitchell: I've written about hundreds of people over thirty years. The fact that two of them happen to be dead does not surprise me. It's just a coincidence.


Coincidence? I doubt it.

Lauren: Funny thing about my life, Mr. Mitchell. If something looks like a coincidence... it normally isn't.
Mitchell: Well I hate to disappoint you.
Joey: Ooh, look at the sweat on this guy's brow. If he aint lying, I'm dying. So to speak.




Lauren calls Mitchell out on his lies.

Mitchell: And you are poking your nose into things you don't understand.
Lauren: You'd be surprised at what I understand, Mr. Mitchell. Try me.


Mitchell and Lauren stare at each other for a tense couple of seconds, and then...



He calmly takes his seat.

Mitchell: Who are you, anyway? You come in, out of the blue, and bring up... all this.
Lauren: All of what?
Mitchell: I don't KNOW. I... I honestly don't know. I write about people and they DIE. Can you understand that? Can you? My whole life I've been driven to write about people. Now, I kill them instead.


He's been evasive all this time, but he seems believable here. It honestly sounds like he has no idea why this is happening.

Lauren: Why is this happening?
Mitchell: I think it's a penance of some kind. I've shared the details of peoples' lives with the world. Perhaps I've shared one secret too many. I don't think about it anymore. I just come to work like nothing's wrong. Everyone's been very polite so far, but I'm sure the ball will drop someday.


It seems that Lauren believes Mitchell's sincerity.

Lauren: You're not a murderer, Mr. Mitchell.
Mitchell: No, I'm not. Five years back, I tried to write about a man. An old man. In a bar. He was killed the next day. Choked to death. I didn't think anything of it, at the time. Wrote about another man. Mr. Isaac Brown. You know him. He died the same way. Still figured it was just a coincidence. But then it happened with Mavis Wilcox. For the third time in a row! No, I didn't kill them. Not on purpose.




If we're to believe Mitchell's story, he's just an unwitting pawn in what's going on here.



Lauren: There's a woman called the Countess. She kills whoever you write about.
Mitchell: ... A Countess. Killing people. That I write about. That's a... tall story. And that's a lot to take in. Why would she do something like that? How did this happen?


That's... a good question, actually.

Lauren: Probably because of your connection to humanity. I don't know.
Mitchell: You said "probably." So you're not sure?
Lauren: Not as such, no.
Mitchell: Well then.




Lauren: I can't leave it alone, Mr. Mitchell.
Mitchell: Oh, rest assured you can. You seem like a capable young lady, and I'm sure you think you know what's what. But I don't want any more deaths on my conscience.


He's happy to just leave things how they are?

Lauren: I'm trying to HELP you.
Mitchell: And I never ASKED for it. People die when I write. So, I don't write. The problem is solved.
Lauren: Don't you want to write again?
Mitchell: Oh, yes. But people are safe, as long as I don't write about anything real. I've always wanted to try my hand at fiction. Had a story in my head for years. I'll probably give it a whirl. But no more deaths. Not on my watch.


This is probably as good a time as any to point out that Joseph Mitchell, the character, is actually based on a real life journalist by the same name. Joseph Mitchell was a semi-famous writer for the New Yorker, who wrote primarily about people on the fringes of society, and about the lessons we could learn from their lives. However, shortly after publishing one of his more in-depth works, Mitchell stopped writing altogether. He turned up to work every day for the next thirty years, but never wrote another article again.

Mitchell is one of those New York characters of minor repute, and Gilbert was fascinated by his story. Why did he stop writing? What could have happened to the man for him to turn up to work every day for thirty years, but not write anything? What if he had to stop... because the people he wrote about started getting murdered?

I like the way Gilbert weaves an actual character into this fictional story, though there are a couple of holes. The "man in a bar" Mitchell mentioned refers to someone he wrote about in 1964. Isaac was apparently killed five years ago, so around 1968. And Mavis seems to have been killed around the time Seagram Realty tried to buy out her apartment, which according to Harriet was only a year ago. Yet Mitchell claims the deaths occurred "three times in a row", so either Mitchell only writes one story every four years (which I guess is possible), or the timeline is a bit messed up here. Even still, it's a pretty neat tie-in.

While I'm talking about behind-the-scenes stuff, Mitchell is actually voiced by Gilbert himself, who seems to have been a fan of the real-life writer. Apparently Mitchell was reknowned for having a very slow, southern drawl. Gilbert puts on a southern drawl (as best as a born-and-raised New Yorker can) but forgoes the slow speech for the sake of making the dialogue flow.



Back to the game, Lauren isn't willing to take no for an answer.

Lauren: There is a KILLER out there.
Mitchell: Who only kills people I write about. So, I stop writing about people. Problem solved.


Not good enough for us.

Lauren: If you won't help me, I'll have to go to the police.
Mitchell: Oh? and tell them what?
Lauren: All those deaths. All killed the same way? So soon after you met them? I'm sure they'd be interested in that information.


Mitchell does not take kindly to this.

Mitchell: Is that right. Well, I'd be careful if I were you.
Lauren: Careful?
Mitchell: I'm not without defenses, if you know what I mean.


Wait... is he saying what I think he's saying?

Lauren: ... Is that a threat?



Mitchell: I didn't say anything.

Lauren does not take threats well.

Lauren: You know what? Go right ahead.
Mitchell: What do you mean?
Lauren: You want to write so bad? Write about me. Dust off that typewriter and get to work. Knock yourself out.


Mitchell is taken aback, and tries to backpedal...

Mitchell: Listen, I spoke out of turn. I didn't honestly MEAN-



...but Lauren cuts him off.

Lauren: Just do it.
Joey: Hey, this is dangerous-
Lauren: I know what I'm doing.


Even Joey is a bit concerned here.

Mitchell: I can't do it.
Lauren: Like hell you can't. You've been writing for how long? Thirty years? More? I know you can do it. I want to meet this thing head on. It's the only way. Do it.


Lauren's motivation here is to meet the Countess. She obviously has some very important questions for her. But drat, this is a seriously risky approach.

Mitchell: You don't know what you're asking...
Lauren: What's the worst that could happen?
Mitchell: You could DIE.




For Lauren, who is surrounded by death every day, it seems death holds little fear.

Mitchell: But-
Lauren: Quiet.




Mitchell: ...
Lauren: I was born in Troy. Upstate New York. My mother's name was Patricia. My father...


Mitchell is still just staring at Lauren, unsure what to do.

Lauren: You getting this stuff down?

:siren: Lauren's Theme (Alternative) :siren:



Lauren: I'm never happy.

And it's out for yet another trip to the balcony.



Joey, however, is concerned, and more than a little pissed off.

Joey: We're supposed to be a team. You can't make this kind of decision without asking ME first.
Lauren: Button it, Joey. If this broad's a medium, like me, then I have some questions for her. If I'm going to end up like that, I want to know.
Joey: And if she kills you for your trouble?
Lauren: Well, then I won't have to worry.


That's a pretty fatalistic attitude.

Joey: And what happens to me, huh? You die, what the heck happens to me?
Lauren: You'll move on to whoever's next. That's how it works, doesn't it?
Joey: It's not about that.
Lauren: Maybe you'll end up with my baby brother. I'm sure you guys would get along great.
Joey: Yeah. Great.


There is the ever present underlying tension here that Joey loves Lauren. She doesn't seem to mind if she dies, but he sure as hell does.



Knowing he won't be able to change her mind, Joey starts to focus on what they should do when the Countess arrives.

Lauren: I don't know. I feel her coming, though. She knows who I am.
Joey: How can you feel that?
Lauren: I just do. She was right. She's like me. Maybe mediums call out to each other.


Sounds like she's on her way.

Joey: So. Any thoughts on how to handle her?
Lauren: Nope. Not a one. I just want to talk to her.
Joey: Well, she can see and hear me. So I can help. You're not alone.
Lauren: Yeah.




All in all, this game is filled with really tragic characters, and Joey and Lauren feature among them. The strength of feeling between Lauren and Joey is very real, but neither of them are able to really speak of it, which is tragic in itself.

Lauren: I'm tired, Joey. I'm so tired.
Joey: All right. I'll just... leave you to it.
Lauren: Yeah.


:siren: The Countess Approaches :siren:



Joey: So polite of her to knock.

Almost immediately, however, there is a knock at the door. The Countess has come.



Lauren: Yes. You know me. Come in.

I'm not so sure this is such a great idea, Lauren.



Joey is aggressive and intense. He doesn't like this idea any more than I do. But Lauren is cool as a cucumber.

Lauren: So. What's your story?
Countess: I want to help you.
Lauren: Help me, huh?
Countess: You're in pain? Lost? I can help.


I don't think "help" means what the Countess thinks it means.

Lauren: Who are you?
Countess: I am the Countess.
Lauren: Do you have a guide? A spirit guide.
Countess: I still feel her. She is gone, but not completely gone.


So the Countess did have a spirit guide at one point.

Lauren: What do you mean?



Countess: Yes. She snapped my mind. She went away, and my world... expanded. I see everything. Everything. It... hurts.

Apparently her spirit guide left somehow, and it drove the Countess insane.

Lauren: You're bonded with Joseph Mitchell.
Countess: Is that his name? The guide who is not a guide? Yes. The non-guide. He speaks to the world. He spoke to ME! He tells me what to do. He is so often silent. It's been years since I heard his voice... But tonight, I heard him! He told me to help you.


Again, the timeline is off here. It clearly has not been years since the Countess killed Mavis. Though I guess her sense of time probably isn't all that reliable.

Lauren: He didn't tell you that.
Countess: Why else would I be here? I... I'm here to help you.




Lauren is still calm and upfront even when she's face-to-face with an insane murderer. drat.

Countess: No! I don't kill! I will set you free.
Joey: Hey, watch it lady.


Let's see what else we can find out about her...

Lauren: Who was your spirit guide?
Countess: She had a name? I no longer know. I wish I knew. I can not... think. Not without her. Why did she leave? Why?


The Countess sounds panicked, pained and confused throughout much of this dialogue. She might say she sees everything, but it's clear she comprehends very little.

Lauren: Where is your spirit guide now?
Countess: I don't know. Her voice is gone... I'm lost. I found that other voice... but he is so quiet.
Lauren: You mean Mitchell.
Countess: The true guide... she is gone. Gone.


Where?

Joey: How did she... go away?
Countess: I don't know. She found a way. Why did she do that?




Finally, Lauren asks the question she's been dreading to know the answer to.

Countess: Like you?
Joey: You know. SANE.
Lauren: Joey.
Countess: I was... happy. I was smaller. Saw the world in muted colors. And there was music. Sweet music. We helped people. It felt good.


The Countess sounds almost deleriously calm here, but only for a moment.

Countess: Now she is gone.



The Countess is probably the most tragic character in this game. It's impossible to even comprehend what she has been, and still is, going through.

Lauren: Will I... become like you? Please tell me. That's all I want to know.
Countess: You? You are loved.
Lauren: Loved? Loved by who?


The Countess doesn't answer the question, however, instead changing to a different topic.

Countess: You are in pain, my child. Let me help you.

I really don't think we want that :stare: Lauren can refuse the help:

Lauren: I don't need help. You need to leave.
Countess: I'm sorry. But you do need my help. There's nobody else who can give it.


Offer to help the Countess instead:

Lauren: I'd like to help you, instead.
Countess: Help me? I need no help.


Or simply accept the "help":

Lauren: Yes. Please help me.
Countess: Oh, my child. It will all be over soon.


Whichever way Lauren goes, Countess follows up with one impassioned cry:

Countess: You... need to be free.

:siren: Lauren and the Countess :siren:



As she has done at least three times before, the Countess reaches out and begins to strangle Lauren, much to Joey's horror.

Joey: Let her go, you old witch!

Joey yells at the Countess, but his voice falls on deaf ears. He floats around frantically.

Joey: drat it. I can't do anything. Fight her! Lauren, fight BACK. Fight BACK, drat you!

Despite Joey's earlier claims, Lauren is very much on her own in this skirmish. She is unable to overpower the Countess, and can't escape from her vicelice grip to retrieve any weapons. But, she does have one possible weapon on her person...



In a last-second act of desperation, Lauren takes her lit cigarette and jams it into the Countess' eye, to which she lets out a blood-curdling scream and clutches at her face. Lauren collapses to the ground, unconscious.

Joey: All RIGHT. That's what happens when you mess with US. Stay away from her!

:siren: Joey and the Countess (Alternative) :siren:



In a fairly gruesome display, the Countess starts to bleed from the eye. Note there are two alternative themes here - apparently Regin felt the alternative theme was too dramatic ("it felt like Joey and the Countess should be dancing to it"), and rewrote it, but I actually prefer the alternative theme. You can take your choice for this scene.

Countess: No... she needs help.

Having momentarily distracted the Countess with his words, Joey tries to keep her attention.

Joey: Hey, you wanna help someone? Why don't you help ME? You wanna free a spirit? Well I'm the real McCoy.
Countess: You...?
Joey: Yeah, that's right. Come and save me. I'm right here.
Countess: I...




Countess: I'm supposed to help HER. Oohh... My HEAD.

I'm not sure whether the Countess is sore because of the cigarette, or her "world expanding". Probably both, I guess. Either way, she is clearly in enormous pain. Joey picks up on it as well.

Joey: She's confused, in pain, and very very insane. For the first time, I'm glad I'm already dead.

The Countess keeps returning to Lauren, but Joey isn't going to let her go without a fight.

Joey: Help me.
Countess: Help? I can help you. Wait... The connection is gone. I can not save you. But I can still save her.
Joey: Hey! I said HEY! I need HELP!




Each time Joey asks for help, he lures the Countess a bit further away from Lauren.

Countess: I can help you.



Countess: You...



Contiuning to taunt the Countess and not letting her reach him, Joey is successfully putting some space between Lauren and the Countess.

Countess: You... need me?



Countess: I can help you.



Countess: I will set you free.



Joey: What are you waiting for?

After a while, Joey succeeds in bringing her all the way out to the balcony. The Countess is dismayed and confused by his behaviour.

Countess: I.. I want to help you! Why won't you let me help you?



Meanwhile, Lauren regains consciousness.

Lauren: J-joey?



Lauren: What is she DOING? What is HE doing?



Seizing the opportunity, Lauren walks up behind the Countess, and pushes her over the edge of the balcony. The Countess' awful scream is quickly interrupted by the pavement below. Jesus. Lauren's got some backbone.

At this point, the music dies out.

Lauren: I can't look. Is she...?
Joey: Yeah.
Lauren: There's no...?
Joey: No ghost. She's gone.


Thank heavens for that.

Lauren: Gone.



Joey: It was either her or you, darling. You made the right choice.

Joey tries to comfort Lauren, but she's not convinced.

Lauren: Did I? What if that's me one day, huh? What if I'm old and confused and alone-
Joey: You won't be alone. I'll make sure of that.
Lauren: You say that NOW. But look at HER. Her guide was gone.


Lauren shows genuine emotion in this scene. She really feels for the Countess, despite having just killed her.

Joey: I can't speak for the future, kid. Maybe someday we'll meet someone like her, and then maybe we'll find out more. But right here? Right now? I'm here and I'm staying put. That's something, isn't it?
Lauren: ...
Joey: Isn't it?




One last puff on her cigarette.

Lauren: Yeah. It's something.

:siren: Solitude Begins :siren:



After a fade to black, we return to this scene at an unspecifed time in the near future, with Lauren placing a long-overdue phone call.

Joey: You don't need to do this.
Jack: Hello?
Lauren: Hi. Jack?
Jack: Lauren? Sis? Is that you?
Lauren: Yeah, Jack. It's me.


Lauren has decided to get back in touch with her brother Jack.

Jack: Where've you BEEN?
Lauren: It's not important. I... miss you. Tell me about your life, Jack. How's Maria? When's the wedding?




And with that parting message...



We say goodbye to Blackwell Unbound, and to Lauren Blackwell. I don't know about all of you, but I'll miss her.

The Solitude Begins song plays over the credit sequence, and is surprisingly good. I assume that's Regin singing the lyrics, though it's not mentioned anywhere in the credits.



I assure you, if you included all the times I loaded the games to check out the various dialogue options, these numbers would be a lot higher :3:



So we've come to the end of the second game. What did you all think? I'm unashamedly a big fan of Unbound. It has it's flaws - it's the shortest game in the series, and every major puzzle involves just cycling through the dialogue trees of the relevant characters until you hit on something important. But in terms of atmosphere, I think it's great. The small cast of characters are all fleshed out, each of them feels realistic, and each have an important story to tell. The music ranges from atmospheric to beautiful. The art is surprisingly warm and pretty. The game is a pleasure to control. The voice acting, on the whole, is well superior to Legacy, and the combination of writing, acting and music combine to create genuinely chilling or moving scenes. If it weren't for the short length, it would probably be my favourite of the series.

Of course, the strength of the game is the interplay between Lauren and Joey. The fact that Unbound starts well into their relationship means there are dialogue opportunities that simply didn't exist in Legacy, where Rosa had just met Joey. Fortunately, these same opportunities will allow for some great dialogue in the next two games, though Lauren and Rosa are two very different people. Having Lauren appear as a one-time character (remember, the story in Unbound was originally intended to form an extended flashback scene in the sequel to Legacy) is a luxury, as it means her character is allowed to brute-force her way through the scenarios that arise. Rosa can't do that without making it difficult to design meaningful puzzles in subsequent games.

The weaving of a real-life mystery (Mitchell's famous thirty year dry spell as a writer) into a storyline is another aspect of the game that I liked. It was done well enough that you could easily play the games without realising that Mitchell was based on a real-life character, but for those who want to look further, there is plenty of nods to real life as well.

Of course, the Countess character is very interesting as well. We know that Lauren does not end up like the Countess, though she suffers a similarly awful fate. But there are plenty of unanswered questions there for later games in the series to tackle.

Tomorrow, we'll have a bit of a look at how the third Blackwell game - Blackwell Convergence - came about. It has somewhat higher production values than the first two games and is a pretty tight story in it's own right. I'll also take a look at one of the interesting marketing approaches that Gilbert used to gain publicity for the games.

Anyway, I'll stop there. I'm keen to hear your thoughts! Convergence will start up shortly.

cmndstab fucked around with this message at 09:51 on Jun 27, 2014

WickedHate
Aug 1, 2013

by Lowtax
Cigarettes saved the day! DARE was wrong all along. Though it's a little weird she couldn't fight off an old woman.

A shame we didn't get an explanation of the Countess's deal this game, but I'm sure it's coming soon. I'm anxious to get back to Rosangela. I just like her a little more then Lauren.

Speaking of Rosa, you mentioned the Shivah and how it had Sam cameo in it. I went through a walk through of it the other day and a character has an email from Rosa thinking them for an interview in The Village Eye. It's pretty cool.

Geomancing
Jan 8, 2004

I am not an egghead. I am well-read.
I think one of the strengths of the first game compared to Unbound was the character portraits. I know there's a lot of voice acting in the game, but just reading the LP, it really needs the portraits to show some emotions as well as letting the readers get a feel for the scene better.

JamieTheD
Nov 4, 2011

LPer, Reviewer, Mad Welshman

(Yes, that's a self portrait)
I'd kind of agree with Geomancing here, but at the same time, Lauren is a more... well, contained character than Rosa. She has few tells, but they're all pretty obvious (the chainsmoking being the most obvious). I honestly wished we could see more of her. Still, the game in general, apart from the Mavis bit, was good. The whole thing with Mitchell and The Countess really comes out of left field (you're expecting one or the other, but both, and the how, blow your mind), and I liked that.

Essentially, this is one of the stronger games in the series so far in my books... Although Mavis still gets on my nerves.

EagerSleeper
Feb 3, 2010

by R. Guyovich

cmndstab posted:

Mitchell and Lauren stare at each other for a tense couple of seconds, and then...



He calmly takes his seat.

. . .

Mitchell: I'm not without defensves(sic), if you know what I mean.

. . .



I want to highlight one of my favorite scenes, followed by a typo, followed by another of my favorite scenes. Those eyebrows on that smoking animation... :allears:


I'm probably a dumbass, but I never really considered that Joey kinda had feelings for Lauren. I forgot the hint from the first game by the time I went through this one. Heck, I forgot about it the second time, until the spot where you pointed it out. It really was nice to see Joey with a different set of interactions. Lauren and him really were the only two that they could trust, and it was just extra bittersweet all considering we know how the promise to stick out for each other ended.

Keldulas
Mar 18, 2009
This story is very disquieting. The mess with the Countess.. a better resolution is not really possible I guess when they can't normally find her. Lauren seems to be ridiculously headstrong what with using herself as a lure without a remote plan.

At the same time, it's sad for the Countess as she really does want to help, she's just broken.

cmndstab
May 20, 2006

Huge Internet Celebrity!

WickedHate posted:

Cigarettes saved the day! DARE was wrong all along. Though it's a little weird she couldn't fight off an old woman.

A shame we didn't get an explanation of the Countess's deal this game, but I'm sure it's coming soon. I'm anxious to get back to Rosangela. I just like her a little more then Lauren.

Speaking of Rosa, you mentioned the Shivah and how it had Sam cameo in it. I went through a walk through of it the other day and a character has an email from Rosa thinking them for an interview in The Village Eye. It's pretty cool.

I guess when you're completely insane you have access to strength a "normal" person (or even Lauren) can't match.

It's obvious Gilbert had the idea for Rosa and co long before Legacy even came out if she was making cameos in The Shivah! I must admit, I never played the game.

Geomancing posted:

I think one of the strengths of the first game compared to Unbound was the character portraits. I know there's a lot of voice acting in the game, but just reading the LP, it really needs the portraits to show some emotions as well as letting the readers get a feel for the scene better.

Yeah, I agree. It hurts a SSLP to have individual characters be indistinguishable in the dialogue at first glance. Still, that problem is set to be remedied from this point forward!

JamieTheD posted:

I'd kind of agree with Geomancing here, but at the same time, Lauren is a more... well, contained character than Rosa. She has few tells, but they're all pretty obvious (the chainsmoking being the most obvious). I honestly wished we could see more of her. Still, the game in general, apart from the Mavis bit, was good. The whole thing with Mitchell and The Countess really comes out of left field (you're expecting one or the other, but both, and the how, blow your mind), and I liked that.

Essentially, this is one of the stronger games in the series so far in my books... Although Mavis still gets on my nerves.

I'm still holding out hope that Lauren gets another cameo in a future game, though it's probably unlikely.

I like the way that, once again, there isn't really a bad guy in Unbound. Mitchell is unwittingly directing the Countess, and as soon as he figures it out he just stops writing altogether. And the Countess has no idea what she is doing. If anything, Isaac and Mavis come across as the worst people in the whole story despite being the victims.

Mavis herself was a frustrating character, but I absolutely adore the scene where Joey brings her outside. There is so much raw emotion there, which even makes you wonder whether helping ghosts move on is even necessary in every case.

EagerSleeper posted:

I want to highlight one of my favorite scenes, followed by a typo, followed by another of my favorite scenes. Those eyebrows on that smoking animation... :allears:


I'm probably a dumbass, but I never really considered that Joey kinda had feelings for Lauren. I forgot the hint from the first game by the time I went through this one. Heck, I forgot about it the second time, until the spot where you pointed it out. It really was nice to see Joey with a different set of interactions. Lauren and him really were the only two that they could trust, and it was just extra bittersweet all considering we know how the promise to stick out for each other ended.

Whoops! Fixed that up, thank you.

If anything, the main shift between Lauren and Rosa is the power dynamic with Joey. Lauren seems to effectively go wherever she wants and do whatever she likes while Joey rides in tow, while with Rosa it feels much more like she's being directed by Joey. That might change once Rosa spends more time with Joey, of course.

Keldulas posted:

This story is very disquieting. The mess with the Countess.. a better resolution is not really possible I guess when they can't normally find her. Lauren seems to be ridiculously headstrong what with using herself as a lure without a remote plan.

At the same time, it's sad for the Countess as she really does want to help, she's just broken.

Disquieting is a good word for it, and the line from the Countess about how helping spirits used to feel good, "but now [that she strangles living people to death] it feels BAD", is probably the most disquieting of them all. Somewhere inside of her she knows that what she is doing is wrong, but she doesn't know how to do anything else.

As for Lauren, it's pretty clear that she doesn't think she has anything to lose, which is made even more stark alongside of Joey who very obviously thinks that he does.

ultrafilter
Aug 23, 2007

It's okay if you have any questions.


So does pushing the Countess off the balcony happen automatically, or do you have to initiate it?

MagusofStars
Mar 31, 2012



Knowing what's in store for Lauren makes that ending pretty ominous and saddening.

Also, with the Countess, we now have three mediums whose story endings we know. Zero of them were happy. :sigh:

WickedHate posted:

Cigarettes saved the day! DARE was wrong all along. Though it's a little weird she couldn't fight off an old woman.
Actually, that's not as weird as it seems. The Countess is totally unhinged, to the point that she's not holding back in the slightest. Lauren, consciously or not, is certainly holding back.

It's the same reason that there are always news stories about people on drugs having superhuman strength to fight off trained police officers - the drugs remove all inhibition, fear of hurting yourself or others.

cmndstab
May 20, 2006

Huge Internet Celebrity!

ultrafilter posted:

So does pushing the Countess off the balcony happen automatically, or do you have to initiate it?

You have to initiate it, yeah. Once Joey floats out past the edge of the balcony, control is returned to Lauren and you can't take control of Joey anymore. The only thing you can really do is interact with the Countess.

MagusofStars posted:

Knowing what's in store for Lauren makes that ending pretty ominous and saddening.

Also, with the Countess, we now have three mediums whose story endings we know. Zero of them were happy. :sigh:

Doesn't bode well for Rosa, does it? :ohdear:

WickedHate
Aug 1, 2013

by Lowtax
I refuse to believe the series will end any other way but with a happy Rosa.

Really, the games have been more up beat then you'd think given all the dark and depressing stuff. I hope it doesn't get any worse for the characters. :ohdear:

Bacter
Jan 27, 2012

Nie wywoluj wilka z lasu, glupku.
Daaaang. This is a heck of a story! I like how (as I said a bit before), we don't have any real evil-laugh-red-smoke villains, but now I can say I like how that makes the series MUCH MORE terrifying.

This is an excellent example of how you make a really good horror story, given that the readers already know how it works out - just slooowly let us see how much is at stake, and how deep the emotions run. Make everybody wish for a different ending, but know that there isn't one. Da-dum.

cmndstab
May 20, 2006

Huge Internet Celebrity!


The Blackwell Convergence

:siren: Unused Theme Music :siren:

You may as well have some music to listen to while I set the scene here. The theme music linked above ended up not being used, though Regin quite liked it and uses it as an example of his work on his webpage.

So, welcome to the third game in the Blackwell series! I would say we're halfway done, but the reality is the third and fourth games are longer than the first two. The fourth, in particular, will likely be longer than the first two combined. So let's say we're around one third done!

So what is The Blackwell Convergence? After The Blackwell Legacy was a commercial success, Dave Gilbert set out to produce a sequel that would satisfy his new fans. Legacy was short, by design, but the plan was to make Convergence quite large. As I mentioned earlier, the original idea was for a scene in the game to remind Joey of a case thirty years prior, and for a flashback scene involving Lauren to occur. However, as time progressed, it became clear that Convergence was just going to take too long to make.

Gilbert's original announcement was that Convergence would ship in March 2008, roughly eighteen months after Legacy. The reality is Gilbert lost the first six months to interviews and other such media before work even began. There were a number of other events and issues that arose. The first was that Gilbert was approached by PlayFirst, a game publishing company looking to work with indie developers. They ended up obtaining funding for Gilbert to write and produce Emerald City Confidential, an adventure game based in the land of Oz (as in Wizard of Oz). Gilbert dedicated a lot of time to this project, which is reasonable given it was the first time he was receiving funding from a source other than his own bank account. However, it meant that work on Convergence ground to a halt. As it became clear the 2008 date would not see Convergence's release, Gilbert figured he should release a stop-gap game to maintain interest in the series, which ended up being Unbound.

Emerald City Confidential eventually shipped in early 2009, though the majority of Gilbert's involvement had completed midway through 2008. With his work on that game (and Unbound) all but finished, he returned his attention to Convergence, where the second issue arose. Many of the people he had used to produce Legacy were no longer available. The artist lead were unavailable, and the lead voice actor for Rosa had gone on to other creative pursuits as the award-winning head writer for The Witcher. Fortunately composed Thomas Regin remained available to write the score for Convergence. Gilbert had a bunch of art assets from the previous two games, but the new artists he brought on board had a different style which clashed with the original. Eventually the decision was made to scrap all of the old art and start anew. At the same time, Gilbert decided to push for increased production values overall.

In the end, Convergence shipped in the middle of 2009, which is a reasonable turnaround given that Unbound came out in late 2007, but obviously it was a long way off the March 2008 that was originally promised.

There was another change occurring around this time - the methods of distributing games had changed from 2006, with the rise of Steam, and other such platforms. Gilbert did not at this stage have enough money to hire a head marketing person, so he did the marketing himself, which he later admitted was a mistake. By the time the fourth game in the series was released, Wadjet Eye had enough money in coming from the earlier games and their other projects to allow him to hire a proper marketing person who eventually succeeded in getting Steam to distribute the four Blackwell games. However, in 2009 things were less rosey. Gilbert claims that by the time the additional production costs for Convergence were taken into account, he didn't make any more profits out of it than he did for Legacy, despite spending several times as long on the project.

One of Gilbert's more fascinating attempts at drumming up interest in the series was the commission of two short Blackwell cartoons, which did the rounds on Youtube and other such video sites. You should check them out:

Blackwell Cartoon 1 : On The Town
Blackwell Cartoon 2 : Television

The cartoons feature dialogue between Joey and Rosa as they begin to explore their new co-existence, complete with the official voice actors (it was the debut of Whittaker voicing Rosa), though the animation was outsourced to a professional studio. This did limit the amount of material Gilbert could get produced, since he was effectively paying a figure per minute of animation. He once claimed to have had three cartoons made, but I can only find two of them, including on Wadjet Eye's official Youtube page. Not sure if he just made a mistake, or if the third one is lost to the ether somewhere. The cartoons are kind of funny, though nothing special. Gilbert later commented that he liked the cartoons, but with no idea what to do with them other than post them on Youtube and Newsgrounds, they didn't end up really creating a buzz and were probably a waste of money that could have been better spent on something more productive.



So anyway, that's a lot of background on how Convergence was produced. How does it actually play? Well, it plays fairly well. The portraits are back to stay, which is very welcome for the purposes of this SSLP. Another major change is that, after being unhappy with the notebook system of puzzle solving, Gilbert decided to drop the combining clues system altogether, only using the notebook clues as prompters in dialogue sequences. This makes the game flow a bit better, but does make some sections easier than they would have otherwise been. The game is quite pretty, probably comparable in quality (though not style) to Curse of Monkey Island. The music continues to be of a high standard, with Regin writing most of the music for Convergence and Unbound at the same time (he was brought on the project before Gilbert made the decision to split the game into two), and the voice acting is strong across the board. Whittaker's debut as Rosa was extremely well-received, and rightfully so. When he eventually remade Legacy, Gilbert noted in his commentary that in his mind, Whittaker is the true voice of Rosa even though she wasn't the original.

The story itself is fairly well done too, though obviously I'll leave the details for the updates. As I mentioned, the story in Unbound was originally written to serve as a kind of backstory for Convergence, so there will be some related threads throughout.

Rosa and Joey themselves have now been together for around six months. It's still early days in their relationship, but they have come to a decent understanding of one another. Being forced to step out of her comfort zone on a regular basis has helped Rosa to mature, and she's a little less awkward in this game, although she's still endearingly dorky. Some reviewers actually complained that Rosa was more functional in Convergence than in Legacy (remember that our first puzzle in Legacy was to force a dog to interrupt Nishanthi because Rosa was scared of the crowd), but I think the change is a positive one. Gilbert describes the modification of the character as "accenuating more of Rosa's positives, while still maintaining the negatives."

We'll get started on the game tomorrow! Hope you're all looking forward to it! :unsmith: I know I am!


Edit: With us now entering our third game, there is plenty of material for any of you creative types out there to come up with some original content for this thread. One of my goals for this thread is to see at least a couple of pieces of fanart :3: Surprise me, folks!

cmndstab fucked around with this message at 09:53 on Jun 27, 2014

WickedHate
Aug 1, 2013

by Lowtax
Hah, that first cartoon is set in a bar. In The Shivah, there's a red haired girl in a bar who's talking to herself.

I can't wait for this. This is my favorite LP ever, and these games are amazing.

cmndstab
May 20, 2006

Huge Internet Celebrity!
Hahaha, I should play The Shivah and see how many cameos there are :3:

I believe that Gilbert used the Rosa/Joey characters in one of his previous freeware games (I think he called it Bestowers of Eternity) so that might explain the cameos seemingly from games that were produced years after the cameos themselves.

Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
For helping the dead, do any of these mediums get any recognition from the living?

cmndstab
May 20, 2006

Huge Internet Celebrity!

Glazius posted:

For helping the dead, do any of these mediums get any recognition from the living?

Certainly nothing we've seen so far. I guess technically there's no reason why they couldn't get a case along the lines of "I keep feeling like my husband is watching me, can you help me?" "Hey, I don't sense him anymore! I think you guys did something!" but it hasn't shown up yet.

I guess the closest we've got is Susan who presumably doesn't hear the Deacon anymore after we visited her one day.

WickedHate
Aug 1, 2013

by Lowtax
You mentioned that later on we see Rosangela's paper and that it doesn't omit that one guy's name. I hope we get to see Susan too. She was in a really terrible position. :smith:

cmndstab
May 20, 2006

Huge Internet Celebrity!
Time to get Convergence started!

Update 1

:siren: Inside Office :siren:



We're greeted to another beautiful day in New York. Immediately it is clear that the graphical quality has significantly improved, with finer pixels and more detailed textures.

Unlike Legacy and Unbound, Convergence doesn't start with a scripted scene to set the mood. Instead, it launches directly into a short case. This was a deliberate design decision, so Gilbert could introduce some of the puzzle mechanics and the characters in a small space where new players wouldn't be overwhelmed.



A knock on the door is heard, before Rosa's voice pipes up. As you can see, portraits are back in Convergence, which will make these dialogue sequences a bit easier for us to read.

You really expecting an answer?
I was just checking.
Well, you checked. Now open the door and let's see what's in there.


As much as I enjoyed Lauren and Joey's back and forth, it is fun to get back to Rosa and Joey's bickering :3:



Jiggling the door handle, a grumpy Rosa encounters the first puzzle of the game.

Joey, the door is locked.
Yeah, I can see that. Looks like it's up to me.


Before we turn things over to Joey, however, Rosa checks out her inventory.



This is the news article that lead our team to this abandoned office. Will something turn up?



Well? What do you see?
Nothing. Yet.


Joey peeks his head into the office to see what he can see. Notice the fancy rippling effect as he warps through the door, rather than the simple clipping effect in the previous two games. Nice touch.



Let's head inside properly then.

I'll see if there's a way to open that door.



Joey isn't particularly impressed with the abandoned office.

Convergence has probably my favourite version of the Joey portrait. It strikes a perfect balance between a hardened detective, and being a sarcastic, fun-loving ghost.



What's this glinting away on the ground?

Looks like a paperclip. Hey, dollface. I got a present for you.



Joey uses his "power to command light breezes" to blow the paperclip under the door.

Joey. A paperclip just blew past my shoe.
It's all yours, darling.
What do I do with this?
Try opening the door with it.


Haha, Rosa is totally unconvinced about this.

Does that actually work?
Sure. Why not?


There's our first introduction to a new portrait staple - the smug smirk. We'll be seeing a lot of that :3:



Rosa tries inserting the paperclip and poking around, but doesn't have much luck initially.

I have no idea how to do this.
Just keep trying, darling. It's an old door. It shouldn't be any trouble.


Seriously, Joey didn't continuously egg Lauren on to commit crimes all the drat time like he does with Rosa, did he? Maybe I just missed it. Though I guess Lauren was perfectly happy to just commit crimes without provocation.

It keeps slipping. This isn't going to...



...work.
Oh ye of little faith.


Nice work, Rosa :unsmith:



Rosa gazes around the room in that stiff, awkward fashion I've missed so much :3:

No ghosts.
Not yet.
You think something's coming?
Not sure. I feel... something. Might as well take a look around, first. Just in case.


Rosa looks mostly the same this time around, still wearing her green cardigan and jeans, though she now wears the cardigan open and has her hair tied in a ponytail. I guess that qualifies as character development for an introvert like Rosa.



Rosa looks at her now-familiar companion.

Joey's been around for almost six months now. Maybe someday I'll actually get used to this.



Let's see what's around here. Rosa notices the draped sheets, and decides to tell one of her trademark awkward jokes :3:

Relatives of yours, Joey?
Huh?
You know. The spooky sheet.
I don't get it.
Never mind.


Complete with a delightfully dorky smug smirk for Rosa as well, and an angry Joey portrait! I really have missed the portraits, they're so charming :3:

You know what, while we're here, let's just catch up with Joey first up.



Uh huh?
Why are we here, again?
You feeling okay? You read the article, same as me. Read it again, if you can't remember.


There's a bit of a clue to look in your inventory.

It's dark in here.
Yeah. I noticed. Nobody's around to pay the bills, I guess.


It's not all that dark, to be honest. The sun looks to be shining directly in the windows. I think Rosa is just in a mood to whinge.

It's freezing in here.
Hey, you want some cheese with that whine?
Yeah yeah. I'm soaking wet. I have the right to complain.




Hahahaha, Joey's an rear end in a top hat.

It's fine for YOU. You can't even feel the rain.
Lucky for me I'm dead, then.


Good to see these two haven't run out of things to argue about in the six months that have passed. See if you can keep count of the number of times an angry Rosa portrait and an angry Joey portrait appear next to each other in this game :3:

I don't think there's a ghost here, Joey. Whatever made the renovations stop, it wasn't supernatural.
I dunno, dear. I've developed a good sense for this sort of things. There's something here. We just gotta look.


We'll see what we can do about that.



A compliment? How rare.
I'm being sincere. You've got a real knack for breaking and entering.
Great.


The positive reinforcement is short-lived, however.

You just going to stand there? Do something productive, why don't you?
I'm doing the best I can. What else can I do?
Investigate. Move stuff around. Use those hands and arms. I gotta think of everything?




There really isn't that much in this office. This shouldn't take long to scope out.

All I could find was a newspaper clipping. Looks like an obituary.



I guess if there is going to be a ghost around here, this guy will be our man. Allen Reiken.



As I mentioned yesterday, the notebook system is still in effect, though Rosa can't combine clues anymore.

A man jumped out of a window in this building.
Suicide?
Seems so. I wonder if it was one of these windows.
I wouldn't be surprised if it was. It's a long way down from here. If you want to jelly up the pacement, this is a good way to make sure it's done right.
That's kind of tasteless.
Just saying.




Let's check out the windows then. Nothing behind this one, though Rosa remarks on the view.

I wonder how much a view like this costs? Probably worth millions, even if it IS haunted.

Joey, meanwhile, is more concerned about the rain, which apparently does actually bother him after all.

Man, I hate the rain. The raindrops go right through me.

Now that we see the rippling effect, along with a warpy sound effect, whenever Joey passes through a physical body, I guess I can see why rain would be annoying.



Behind the middle window on the back wall, Rosa makes a discovery.

Yeah?
I think I found it.
Well, will ya look at that.


The arm of a ghost is visible on the left side of the window.

What's he doing out there?
There's only one way to find out.
...
... I am NOT climbing out onto the window ledge.


Joey's smile while Rosa squirms is fantastic here :xd:

What are you, kidding? Leave the dangerous stuff to the dead guy.



Yeah, I know the drill. I'll wait here.

This still feels more like Joey's operation with Rosa acting as understudy, as opposed to Lauren and Joey where the dynamic felt more in Lauren's favour. Rosa is starting to come out of her shell though, and will continue to grow in confidence as we progress.



On the outside, we find our ghost. Joey was right, there was one here.

He's a balding, middle-aged guy. He looks kind of scared.

Though Joey is more impressed with the view.

Man, what a view. I can even see the Hudson River from here.

Joey is kind of obsessed with views, actually. He'll comment on the view from various vantage points something like twenty times over the next two games.



Joey charm: engaged!

Stay back! I mean it! I'll do it!

Great. We've got a suicidal ghost on our hands. This should be awkward. Mind you, it's not as though he can actually jump.

Joey can either try to get the ghost to relax:

All right, pal. Take a deep breath and relax.
Relax? Relax! You think I can relax? If I could relax, you think I'd be out here?
I don't know. Why don't you tell me about it?


He can offer to help the ghost:

I'm here to help.
Help? Hah. Why would you want to help ME?
You just seem like a guy who could use some.
You don't know anything about me.
Well, let's change that. Why don't you tell me about yourself?


Or he can ask what the ghost is doing:

What are you doing out here?
I.. I don't know! There's no place left for me to go.
There's gotta be a better place than this. Come on inside.


Either way, the ghost is not at all interested in Joey's help.

Don't come any closer! I swear I'll jump.
Jump? You're here to... kill yourself?




I don't know. I... can't think of anything else to do.

Haunting a window sill and eternally contemplating suicide doesn't sound like a very pleasant existence. We'll have to deal with him.

Um... I think this might be too little too late.
What do you mean?
I mean, you can't kill yourself. You're already dead.
What?
I said you're already dead.


This goes pretty much as well as it always does.



You're insane. Get off my ledge.

Joey tries the calmer approach.

Hey, let's get out of this rain.
What rain?
Um... this rain? Take a look around. It's pouring cats and dogs out here.
I don't feel any rain.
That's because- Aw. Forget it.


The ghost stops speaking to us at this point.



Let's try talking to this guy again.

What's your name?
Why should you care?
Does it matter?
You don't know me. You don't know anything about me.
I want to help you. Give me something to work with, here.
You don't know me at all. Nobody knows me at all.
Look... I'll be back. Don't do anything stupid.


Joey quickly ducks inside to confer with Rosa.



Why's that?
The guy's threatening to jump.
Jump?
Yeah.
... Well, how can he...?
Yeah. It's an odd one. Our friend on the ledge seems more scared than confused.
How so?
He's aware of his surroundings at least, and when he talks he actually makes sense. That's more than you can say for most spooks.


It seems fairly obvious that the ghost is Allen Reiken, given his suicidal thoughts. Perhaps we can figure out why he wanted to commit suicide in the first place? Joey floats back outside to talk with the ghost.



It's been a while. You might not remember.

Since we found the obituary, we can now guess the ghost's name.

No. I don't remember at all. Although, I've had a lot on my mind...
Yeah, that's why I'm here. I thought you could use someone to talk to.
Did my wife put you up to this?
Wife? No. No. Just here for an old friend.
Okaay. I'm not sure who you are, but you seem to know ME. What do you want to talk about?


At least he's receptive to listening. Joey tries to prod him in the right direction.



Concentrate and take a look around. Doesn't anything seem... strange? Out of place or off-kilter?
No...
You don't remember... falling?
Falling? No! Course not. I came out here and STAYED. I haven't jumped yet.
Right. Right. Nevermind.


As usual, the ghost refuses to accept any thought that will force him to confront his own death.



Oh, surely they can. Do you know what it's like to lose everything? To have everything you loved and struggled for just vanish?
I know something about that, yeah.
Then you know what I'm going through.


I guess Joey is referring to Lauren here :smith: He changes the subject.

Nice view, huh?
Is it? Yeah, I guess it is.
Makes you feel like you're king of the world.
I used to feel that way. Now, I'm not sure.




Let's see if we can figure out what went wrong for Allen.

What brought you to... this?
A fire destroyed my entire stock. The resulting lawsuits bankrupted me.
That's no reason to kill yourself.
You don't understand. I spent my LIFE building this business. When it happened, I lost everything. Everyone deserted me. People I THOUGHT were friends. Even Sandra.
Sandra?
My wife.


Ouch. His wife leaving him is understandably a sore point for Allen. We'll have to work through that.



We now reach the main meat of this case. As I said earlier, this is just a short case designed to show off the basic mechanics of Convergence. Similar to the Deacon back in Legacy, there are two ways to deal with Allen, and one is clearly "better" than the other. I'll show one off today, and we'll look at the other tomorrow.

Where is your wife?
She LEFT. She won't even talk to me. I just get phone calls from her lawyer. I thought she'd stick by me. That's what you're supposed to do, right?


Suddenly, Joey is struck by a brainwave.

Hey, your wife's inside.
Really?
Yeah. She wants to talk to you.


Hahaha, Rosa is in for a treat :3:

I don't believe you.
Come on. Now's your chance to win her back.
Well... all right.




Joey is enjoying this way too much :3:

That's my wife? That's Sandra?
Wife?
Sure. Don't you recognise her?


Hahahahaha :unsmith: Of course, Allen wants to believe that Rosa is his wife, but if he actually looks at her he'll know it isn't. So in his typical ghostly way, he simply finds himself unable to focus on her.

It's hard to see clearly, for some reason. Is that red hair?
She dyed it.


I love how Joey gets angry that his obvious deception has been immediately detected :3:

Go on. Talk to her.
Sandra? Is that really you?




No wonder poor Rosa is out of her comfort zone so often, with Joey pulling poo poo like this out of the blue.

Sure it's me. I'm Sandra.
...


"I'm Sandra," hahahaha. Joey wasn't kidding in that cartoon about Rosa's smile making her look like a serial killer :3:

Why are you here, Sandra?
Well, uh...




Here we come to the puzzle, such as it is. Rosa will attempt to help Allen to confront his demons and overcome them, and will either be successful, or unsuccessful. Her being successful is the "good" solution. If she is unsuccessful three times (over three different problems), we'll have no choice but to take the "bad" approach.

Here's one of the unsuccessful choices.

I, uh, made a mistake, Allen. I shouldn't have left you.
A mistake? Why should I trust you now, Sandra. After you left and sicced lawyers on me. Taking what little I had left.
You destroyed me, Sandra. If I jump, it'll be your fault!




Allen floats moodily back outside, while Joey calls after him.

She was trying to be NICE.



I've never been a wife before.

I love how these two immediately leap to blame each other :3:



Since Rosa was unable to sort out this point of contention, it's time for hardass Joey to take matters into his own hands.

Yeah.
Figures.
What?
Look at yourself. Everyone knows that if a ship is sinking, you abandon it. I can't blame her for leaving. Anybody would.


Ouch. Obviously Joey feels Allen needs a bit of tough love. Funnily enough, it works.

That's... that's...



Completely true.

That's one of Allen's issues "dealt with", but in a bad way. He has two more issues for us to try to work with.

The world's full of pretty broads, Allen. You shouldn't get all weepy over just one.
Come on.
Look at me. I'm pushing fifty, overweight, and not to mention BROKE.
What woman would want me?




Since we're looking at the bad outcome today, let's jump straight to another tongue-lashing from Joey.

I can't think of any woman who would be attracted to you.
You... really think so?
Sorry, pal. That's the way I see it.
I always thought that. But to hear someone else say it... It hits very close to home.




Allen's final problem, and the one which seems to hurt him the most, is his failure as a businessman. Even Joey has cold feet about pushing him too hard on this one.

Ah... Man, this is cruel. Even for me. One more blow to his ego and he's bound to go over the edge. Do I really want to save him THIS way?

Hell yeah. Shoot the works, Joey!!



Well, yeah. I guess.
And I thought you were a businessman.


That gets Allen fired up...

I AM a businessman!
Not anymore, you're not.
No, I'm not.


...but only momentarily. He is a seriously defeated man.

You're just a little man with a big office and a view he doesn't deserve. And you're way too old and tired to start over.
Yeah... what's the point. I don't know what to do anymore.
Oh, I think you do.
I do?




This seems a fairly cruel way of dealing with the situation, and I guess it is. It should work though - Allen can't kill himself. Forcing him to try should make him aware of that.

You're right. You're so right. It's over. It's... This is it.



Sure enough, as he takes the leap off the building, he finds himself floating through the Manhattan skyline.

The realisation hits him almost immediately, and the familiar sound of wind blowing accompanies the fading in and out of Allen's ghostly form.

I've been here before.
I'm sorry.
But it was an accident! I wasn't really going to jump! I was going to go back in!
It's too late now.
I slipped and fell! I didn't want to jump! I remember.


Ahh, geez. He didn't even want to kill himself :ohdear:



That sucks :smith:

But, maybe... maybe it's for the best. I didn't have much to live for anymore.
I'm sorry, pal.
So what now? I haunt this ledge forever?
No. I'm here to help you move on. Just come inside with me.




I guess. Let's get this over with.

Not the most sensitive way to deal with things, but effective nonetheless.



In Convergence, the act of pulling a ghost into Nodespace seems to cause an electrifying effect rather than an implosion in the brain.

Hm. I can't help but think we could have handled that better.

Joey isn't wrong - tomorrow we'll take a look at how to work Allen through his difficulties more satisfyingly, and then get started on the game proper!


Welcome to Convergence everybody :unsmith: Hope you enjoy the ride!

cmndstab fucked around with this message at 14:27 on Jun 27, 2014

JamieTheD
Nov 4, 2011

LPer, Reviewer, Mad Welshman

(Yes, that's a self portrait)
Man, this... I got this ending, got to the end of the game, then saw the cheevo for doing it right. It took a while. But still, this is gonna be a strange trip!

WickedHate
Aug 1, 2013

by Lowtax
drat, every ghost in this series is sad. :(

I like the return of portraits. The graphics are very pleasing to the eye.

Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.
This is probably my favourite game in the series, graphically speaking. It looks really, really nice for a sprite-based game. Personally I think it looks better than Deception, the final game in the series, but we'll see that later on so I won't go into detail.

Mokinokaro
Sep 11, 2001

At the end of everything, hold onto anything



Fun Shoe
Deception isn't the last of the series actually. Just the last one released.

The fifth game is in production and, iirc, is intended to be the last.

Edit: according to Gilbert, he wants to do 2-3 more depending on how he paces the story. The Blackwell Epiphany is apparently in a state where all the coding is finished. Just art and sound assets to go.

Mokinokaro fucked around with this message at 15:29 on Oct 24, 2013

cmndstab
May 20, 2006

Huge Internet Celebrity!
Yeah, the background art is really, really pretty, and I love the portrait style. The only thing I don't particularly like arts-wise are the sprites themselves, which look a bit ugly. Though I mean that stylistically rather than in terms of quality.

cmndstab
May 20, 2006

Huge Internet Celebrity!

Mokinokaro posted:

Deception isn't the last of the series actually. Just the last one released.

The fifth game is in production and, iirc, is intended to be the last.

Edit: according to Gilbert, he wants to do 2-3 more depending on how he paces the story.


Awesome, I'm glad to hear there's at least two more - I was thinking Blackwell needs at least two more games after Deception to really tie up all the loose ends.

When we get to Deception I'll do a bit of a comparison of the graphics. The two games are quite similar in terms of overall art quality.

Tupperwarez
Apr 4, 2004

"phphphphphphpht"? this is what you're going with?

you sure?
Convergence is my favorite of the series so far, just because of how the scope of the story just widens the hell up.

Also, I'm glad to hear that they're working on a fifth game. I always figured that Deception was the start of a second trilogy, personally.

RickVoid
Oct 21, 2010

rickvoid posted:

So Joey fell in love with Lauren. Hope that's not going to end up a huge reveal, but it's pretty obvious with him cutting off the "Liked her? Hell, I loved her." phrase. Explains the fact that they look like a couple in those pictures. That would be pretty drat frustrating. Not to mention having to watch her waste away for 25 years.

cmndstab posted:

Lauren: Will I... become like you? Please tell me. That's all I want to know.
Countess: You? You are loved.
Lauren: Loved? Loved by who?


cmndstab posted:

Oh, surely they can. Do you know what it's like to lose everything? To have everything you loved and struggled for just vanish?
I know something about that, yeah.


Wow. Some days I hate being right. :smith:

NullBlack
Oct 29, 2011

I'm as confused as you are.

WickedHate posted:

drat, every ghost in this series is sad. :(

Not every ghost: Joey seems to be fairly balanced.

To be fair, though, I don't think people who die happy leave ghosts. Becoming a ghost seems to require a problem to be solved.

Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

NullBlack posted:

Not every ghost: Joey seems to be fairly balanced.
Not very happy, though.

EagerSleeper
Feb 3, 2010

by R. Guyovich
^^^Maybe there's someway for Rosa to cheer him up?

cmndstab posted:

Edit: With us now entering our third game, there is plenty of material for any of you creative types out there to come up with some original content for this thread. One of my goals for this thread is to see at least a couple of pieces of fanart :3: Surprise me, folks!

Why would I need to draw my own fanart when I can post other people's fanart instead?



http://eggheadcheesybird.deviantart.com/art/Oh-Blow-And-I-ll-Come-To-You-265259536



http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/images/stories/fanart/fan_gary_joangelo.jpg

EagerSleeper fucked around with this message at 20:01 on Oct 24, 2013

Bacter
Jan 27, 2012

Nie wywoluj wilka z lasu, glupku.
Ha! Awesome.

Not to go back into the previous game too much (there's this one to catch up on!) but I really appreciated the device of waiting for Crazy Mary (or whoever, the Countess, sure) to show up.

Those few seconds before she showed up were just awesome - the tension thick in the air, and it was a really good symbol too, right? I mean from Lauren's perspective, she's waiting for the actual murdering countess to show up, but she's ALSO waiting for what the countess symbolizes - the transition from chain-smoking ghostsolver into, uh, that, to show up in her life.

And we know that both were awful.

So the countess snapped when her ghost went away. Could it be that she, you know, WON? Found a way to help her ghostguide move on? And so the only way out of this thing is death from old age, murder, suicide, coma, or crazy mary?

And we know that you can also just go hog-wild insane even without your ghostyman being gone. Augh the unknown is used so well in this series!

cmndstab
May 20, 2006

Huge Internet Celebrity!
Hahahaha, that blowing comic is awesome :3:


RickVoid - you got your wish in some sense, because it didn't end up being a "huge reveal", just hinted at in a subtle enough way that you could miss it if you weren't paying attention. Which is probably the most powerful way to do it.

Cardiovorax - The only thing that seems to make Joey happy is repeatedly teasing Rosa :unsmith: But I agree, the guy is ridiculously grounded for someone who died, found themselves haunting a family forever, spent a handful of happy years around a girl he fell in love with before being stuck in a room for 25 years with her while she rotted away to nothingness. Dude should be bitter as gently caress but he just jumps straight back on the ghostsaving bandwagon, literally within minutes of revealing himself Rosa.

Bacter - One thing the series uses very well is time. The writing is filled with little pauses and breaths, and several scenes make you wait just long enough before continuing to build some good tension. In some sense, if the Countess had knocked on the door right as Joey was asking when she would be arriving, it would have been far less impactful than it was ten seconds later once Joey had returned inside and started waiting.

And yes, we're still waiting to see a pleasant way for a medium to end up. Even stopping for a few months is enough to send you to the loony bin, apparently. What happens when the medium is too old to get around? Or suffers a long-term injury? What if they live in a remote area and there aren't any ghosts nearby? :ohdear:

Whatever cosmic force allowed the medium/spirit guide thing to occur should have spent more time ironing out the bugs :smith:

cmndstab
May 20, 2006

Huge Internet Celebrity!
Update 2

So last time we rejoined Rosa and Joey as they attempted to help the ghost of Allen Reiken move on after his suicide. They eventually succeeded by convincing him to try to commit suicide again, but that's not really a great outcome. We'll do better than that today, and then get started on the game proper.

:siren: Inside Allen's Office :siren:



Allen has three issues which torment him even after death, and one of them is his wife having left him. In his confused stated, Joey convinced him that Rosa is his wife. Let's see if she can work him out.

Well, uh... I love you, Allen. That's why I'm here.
You... love me.
Sure.


When we tried this yesterday, Rosa said she'd made a mistake, and Allen didn't take it very well. This doesn't go much better.

After your pet lawyer took everything I had left.
Uh, sure.
You expect me to trust you?
Sure?
Sandra. Watch very carefully. I'm going to jump, and it'll be YOUR FAULT.


Geez. This dude doesn't trust Sandra at all, and he's more interested in making her feel guilty than anything else. We'll have to try a different approach.



...what?

This catches him off-guard.

What?

Joey, too!

You're pathetic. Why do you think I left? I just wanted to look down on you one more time, just to confirm what a big loser you are.
You're right.


Allen barely even pauses before sadly agreeing with Rosa. This seems a cruel approach, but this is Allen's chance to work through his wounds.



Joey recognises the situation and eggs Allen on.

Huh?
Stand up for yourself, man!
Stand up for myself?
You gonna let people push you around all your life?


The pep talk works, and the fire starts to come back into Allen's heart.

You're right. You're RIGHT.
Let her have it.


Joey is going to enjoy this :unsmith:



I'm broke, yeah. The business is gone, yeah. Life gets tough once in a while. A marriage is a partnership, Sandra. You certainly were happy to stick around when things were good. Yeah, when I was bringing home 200 grand a year, I wasn't such a loser. Then when I'm in trouble, you're nowhere to be found. But you know what? You were just dragging me down. Without you around, I'm going to do even better. I might not be much, Sandra. But I'm better than you. You're not worth dying over. Get outta here.

Allen lets forth a seething rant on a bewildered Rosa, who listens in silence before turning and walking away.



Joey is appreciative of his efforts :3: Allowing Allen to vent his spleen seems to take a load off his plate.

That felt good!
Quite a rush, huh?
I feel like I can do anything! Like I've got a second chance.


Uh oh. Maybe he's taken a bit too much off the plate...

Er...
First thing I'm going to do is buy back this office!
Yeah, about that...


Oh, man. This is better than driving him to repeating his suicide, but it's still going to hurt in a second...

I made some mistakes before. I won't make em again!
Ah...
I might have fallen once, but...




Suddenly the truth dawns on him.

Wait. I fell, didn't I?



And there it is. The blowing wind sound accompanies the fading in and out. It's a neat touch that the wind sound has remained unchanged over all the games so far.

I remember now.
I'm sorry.


Allen then turns his attention to Rosa, who he can now see perfectly clearly.

You're not really my wife, are you?
No. I'm not.
I went out on the ledge... and I slipped. I don't know why I went out there, but I wasn't going to jump! I was confused. For some reason, it seemed like the right thing to do. Stupid. Stupid.




Allen is a defeated man. Joey decides to give him one last boost before sending him on his way.

Hey, what happened to that can-do attitude of yours?
It makes no difference now, does it?
Maybe not to anyone else, but it does to you.
Hm. Maybe you're right. So what do I do now?




A quick unfastening of Joey's tie, and we're on our way. That's a much better way of dealing with things.

While we're at it, let's see what Allen's other two issues are. You only have to succeed in any one of them, but we'll look at all three.



What woman would want me?

Last time we saw this scene, Joey told Allen that he was right to think he was unattractive. This time, we'll try an alternative approach.

Hey, you like redheads?
Huh?
It's a simple question. Do you like redheads?
Sure, I guess.


Hahaha, I can see exactly where this is going, and it's going to be awesome.

Great! I've got a girl who's perfect for you.
You do?
Sure. She's inside. Wanna meet her?


Allen is not at all comfortable with this.

Is this a trick?
Of course not!
...
Okay.


Joey's charming smile convinces Allen to come back inside. This should be fun!



Seriously, Joey absolutely loves putting Rosa in awkward situations with absolutely no warning.

Go on. Introduce yourself.
She's kinda young for me, isn't she?
Don't let that stop you.
...


Rosa does not appreciate what is happening here.

What are you doing?
SHH!
Go on, tiger. She's waiting.




Oh man. Rosa does her best to play along here.

Oh. Um. SURE.
Really. Why?
Well, uh... I, um... Think you're cute?
Cute.
Yeah.
Me.
Sure.


Hahaha, she looks terrified :3: Allen isn't buying it for a second.



No, really.
I have a mirror. I'm not blind. Don't patronize me. You've got some angle, and I don't like it. Thanks for trying, but this isn't going to work.
Hey, wait! She was trying to be NICE.


I guess we failed at helping Allen overcome his issues with women. But on the plus side, we might have helped Rosa develop a few more issues with men!!



Rosa is furious with Joey, hahaha.

Just call me Matchmaker Mallone.
I'm not seducing a ghost.
You don't have to go all the way.
N-O spells NO.


As much as I love Lauren, this scene just couldn't have happened with her. Rosa and Joey are wonderful together :3:



Let's try this a bit differently.

A nice guy.
Sure.
Let me tell you something, lady.
Women don't like "nice guys." What's your angle? You're not interested in me.
Wait-
I'm wasting my time.


But that goes just as poorly as before. It's clear that the only way we're going to pierce Allen's armour is to break him down, and then let him build himself back up again.



See what?
If you were really as big a loser as everyone says you are.
...what?
What?


Rosa isn't finished her verbal onslaught though.

Seriously. Me date YOU? Get real. You're repulsive!
You're right.




Here we go again...

Huh?
Stand up for yourself, man!
Stand up for myself?
You gonna let people push you around all your life?
You're right. You're RIGHT.
Let her have it.




This is gonna hurt...

You're not so hot yourself.
What?
Yeah. You've got the most annoying voice I've ever heard! And you slouch. You look like a hunchback.
He does have a point.
Hey!


Poor Rosa, hahaha.

You squint, you know that?
I do?
Your glasses are filthy. And makeup - ever heard of it?
Ooh. Ouch!


Joey is enjoying this way more than he should, haha.

I get it now. You insult guys like me to make yourself feel attractive. Because you can't get a guy of your own. Well you ain't getting me, lady. So get outta my office!

Once again, Allen enjoys his newfound confidence just long enough to realise that he's dead. This is the second "good" way to deal with him.



Really, though, Allen's identity seems to be primarily based on his business. That would be the best way to get through to him. Let's try to do that.

Wants to talk to you about starting another business?
Really?
Someone wants to start a business with me.


Right after he's declared bankruptcy. I can see why that would seem a tad suspicious.

That's what she said. Why don't you come inside and talk to her?
Well, okay.




Is that right?
You bet.
This isn't some kind of gag?
Course not! She's loaded. Go on, talk to the lady.


Rosa, of course, knows absolutely nothing about big business. This is going to be even more awkward than before.

So, what's the story? You really want to invest in a bankrupt publishing supply company?
Ah... Yes. Yes I do.
Why?
Well, uh...




Oh really? From who?
Oh, people. In the biz.
The biz.


Hahaha, "the biz" :3: You're adorable, Rosa.

Yes. You know, word gets around.
Nobody would say good things about ME. I think you're full of it.




Way to put me on the spot.

Let's try a different angle.



Smart? If I was smart, would I put ALL my goods in one warehouse? When that warehouse caught fire, I lost everything.
That's not smart. That's stupid. You really want to do business with a guy like me?
Yes?
You've got some angle here. I don't trust you.


I have to admit, that probably was a bit stupid. At least he should have taken out an insurance policy on the goods or something.

Okay, let's talk to Allen for the last time. It seems the only thing that works is abusing him, so let's do that.



I love the way Rosa looks scared out of her wits while she badmouths Allen to his face :3:

...what?
What?
Do business with YOU? Hah. That's a laugh. You're the joke of the publishing world.




Joey goes through his usual pep talk, and Allen lets forth with another rant.

Hey, lady. You don't know ANYTHING. I built this business from scratch. I clawed and wheeled and dealed all the way to the top. You see this office? You see that view? Look me in the eye and tell me I don't deserve it. I've worked all my life to be the best. Okay, I had one big setback. Maybe I thought it was over, but it's not! I got this far once. I'll do it again! You can take your money and shove it where the sun don't shine. I don't need you. Get outta here.

It's not as amusing as when Joey tries to hook him up with Rosa, but this is probably the most sensible outcome. I'd consider this outcome as canon. Of course, it doesn't take long before Allen realises he's dead, and can't actually start over after all.



No. I'm not.

Time to get this guy dealt with...

:siren: Opening Credits :siren:



The tie comes out...



...and Rosa quickly sends Allen on his way.



With that, the intro is complete, and Blackwell Convergence officially starts.

I like the little mini-case at the beginning. It's short, sweet and simple, though still manages to be pretty depressing in it's own right. Allen's story has nothing to do with the rest of the game, but that's kind of nice in some sense. Think of him as like a short before a movie truly begins.

It also functions really well as a short tutorial without actually feeling like one. It has the player utilise all of the elements of Convergence - inventory items, switching between characters, having to compile notebook clues, dialogue trees - without feeling like the game is pointing a giant arrow at any of them. Overall I think it's a very effective little scene.

Also notice that the intro music, around one minute in, is an up-tempo version of Unbound's theme. In the game it cuts in after the opening credits, as we scroll over a Manhattan skyline.

:siren: Rosa's Theme :siren:



After the credits, we end up in Rosa's apartment. If we fail to save Allen the "good" way, Joey is less than impressed. If we do get the good outcome, his line of dialogue changes to:

Another day, another satisfied spook.

Other than getting the achievement, that altered line of dialogue is the only difference that the good outcome has on the game itself.

I'd call this day done, wouldn't you?
Yeah. Although...
What?
Isn't there something we're supposed to do tonight?
I don't think so.


Rosa with a social event? That does seem unlikely.

I feel like we're forgetting something.
I'd ignore that feeling if I were you.


If there is something, Joey obviously isn't interested.



Amusingly, our first proper clue of the game is that Rosa is forgetful.



Let's just take some time to look around Rosa's apartment. It's mostly the same as in the original, though obviously prettier. Here's the original apartment, for comparison.



Looking in the trash can, Rosa bitterly comments:

It's full of rejection letters from publishers.
Best place for them.


Apparently Rosa has been sending off manuscripts over the last six months, but hasn't met with much success. I guess she gave up on the whole journalist thing?



I could never get past step number 4.

The books next to the door are Publishing For Dummies guides, but I guess they haven't helped very much.

Up on the wall next to the door, Rosa has a few of her newspaper articles framed.

Just a bunch of old articles I wrote for "The Village Eye" newspaper. I don't know why I've kept them. I hated working there.



Her boss was a real piece of work. I'm glad she quit that gig.

Joey didn't like Rosa working there either. One of the framed articles in particular is interesting.



It's the story Rosa wrote about JoAnn, moments before Joey first appeared to her in Legacy. Hilariously, Rosa put Adrian's name straight into the article despite promising not to :xd: Gilbert claims this was unintentional, but I much prefer to think of it as absolutely intentional :3:

This was the last article I wrote for "The Village Eye." It was also my very first case as a medium. I was never cut out for journalism.

We can look individually at the three girls.

JoAnn and her friends were the victims of a spirit called the Deacon. I never met her, living or dead. But her death enabled me to save her two friends, which is something I guess.
We found Alli's ghost haunting the Washington Square dog park. Another victim of the Deacon's madness. She's all right now. Wherever she is.
Susan was the only one of the three girls to survive. I looked her up once, after it was all over. She left New York and went back home to the midwest. I assume she's all right.


Good to see Susan survived, and got out of the mental hospital. I guess our handling of the Deacon allowed her to move on with her life :unsmith:



Rosa is impressed with her own byline!



She actually signed her name to this?

Joey, on the other hand, is less impressed.



Some familiar photos are also on the wall.

Joey looks angry. Of course, that's nothing unusual. Auntie looks kind of happy. I wonder what she was smiling about.
My mother died in a car crash soon after I was born. She looks so young in this picture. More like a kid sister than a mother.
My father died in a car crash soon after I was born. Looking at this picture is like looking at a stranger.


Joey can also look at the picture, which is a bit more interesting since he was actually there when the picture was taken.



Seems kind of frivolous, now that I think of it. Look at her, all smiles. Was she really so happy? Or did the camera just catch her at the right moment? It was so long ago, I don't remember.

Knowing Lauren, she probably wasn't "so happy". My guess is she was just enjoying the opportunity to frustrate Joey :3:

I never saw Maria much, but she was all right. She liked to cook, is all I really remember.
I never saw Jack much, but he was a good kid. Smart. Read a lot. I guess that's where Red gets it from.


Let's see what else we have in here...



Somehow, he blocks TV and radio signals. I got cable installed last month. Seems to do the trick, even though I rarely watch TV.

Rosa now has cable, which I guess explains why she was able to watch television in that cartoon I linked a couple of days ago. And also why there was nothing worth watching on.



Rosa has some kind of tribal drum here. Joey wonders what it's for.

She only played it once, then shoved it up here. She looked disappointed, but she didn't tell me why.

Checking out the drum with Rosa clears up the mystery.

It's an African ghost drum. It's supposed to keep ghosts away when you play it. It doesn't work.

Aww. Looks like Rosa took some time to accept that Joey was here to stay.



Rosa continues being a huge dork :3: There's an awesome outtake in the bonus features where Rosa's voice actress, a real-life burlesque dancer, is horrifed at how much of a dweeb her character is.



Another familiar photo...

I don't remember anything about that day. I barely remember Auntie. All my life, I wanted to know more about her. I never imagined she was a medium. We almost look like a real family, with Joey standing there. The most dysfunctional family in the country, but still. I look scared out of my mind. Maybe I could sense Joey even then? If so, I had a good reason to be scared.

That's a good point, actually. Babies can see ghosts. What about a small child? Not sure.



Going all over the city, trying to get that sullen kid to open up. I told her it was a bad idea, but she was stubborn. For all the good it did her. Look at that little rugrat. If she knew the trouble she was causing, she didn't show it.

This photo can only have been taken at most months before Lauren suffered her early-onset dementia. It must be hard for Joey to look at it :smith:



Rosa still has her beloved Griff.

I've had him since I was a kid. He's really starting to show his age.
Hey Griff. How're you today? Fluff all secure? Holding yourself together?
...
Awesome.


Rosa is seriously adorable :allears:



Was it almost thirty years ago? Jesus. I'm surprised it lasted this long.

I'm surprised the plant hasn't taken root in its synthetic fur.



Okay, that's enough looking around the apartment. The most important thing here is Rosa's computer. There is now a little operating system.



Complete with a few namechanges of popular internet sites, presumably to prevent lawsuits. Rosa has a "Bmail" account.



Let's see what emails she has:

FROM: Rel Day Books

Dear Rosangela Blackwell:

Thank you for submitting your rough draft of "The Devil and the Deacon." to our editor. Unfortunately, we are not looking for new ghost stories at this time. We wish you the best of luck in the future!

-Elizabeth Scheier, Rel Day Books



Hahaha, apparently Rosa tried to write a book about the whole Deacon affair.

Rosa also has an email from that horrible physician from the first game, Doc Quentin.

FROM: Donald Quentin

Dear Ms Blackwell,

I just wanted to touch base and see if everything was all right with you and yours. My door is still always open if you ever feel the need to chat. All the best,

-Dr. Donald Quentin, Bellevue Hospital



Yeah, we're not going to be visiting that rear end in a top hat. gently caress Quentin.



"Tomo"? Not really sure what that is, but Gilbert has an easter egg mentioning Tomo in several of his games. My guess is it's a private joke, though maybe it'll become a plot point in a later Blackwell game?

Next up, Rosa has received an email from the Brittany hall dorm.

FROM: NYU housing office

Rosangela Blackwell:

Please be aware that a stay away policy has been put into effect against you by a Kelly Hawthorne. Should you harrass her further, we will be forced to get the police involved.

-Tom Small, NYU housing office



Haha, Jesus, Rosa has got a restraining order placed on her. Oh, sorry, a "stay away policy."

Another email is from Yu Na Lee, the mother of Susan Lee from the first game.

FROM: Yu Na Lee

Hello.

I don't know who you are, but my daughter Susan insisted I contact you. She is home and resting and appears to be doing fine. Please stay away from us. Susan lost her two best friends and nearly her life, and her mental health is fragile.
-Yu Na Lee



There is one more email if we scroll down, but it's just another rejection letter.

FROM: Polar Bear Publishing

Dear Rosangela Blackwell:

We reviewed your submission of "The Devil and the Deacon." Unfortunately, novels of this sort are not what we are looking for. If you have anything else to share, please contact us.
-Laurie Claret, Polar Bear Publishing.




Next up, we have a rudimentary search engine, cunningly entitled "Oogle". I see what you did there, Gilbert. Lauren actually has an entry:

Archive
September 23, 1981

Police were brought to the door of an East 23rd street apartment last night, due to reports of loud screaming and crashing. What was thought to be a domestic dispute was a single woman, identified as Lauren Blackwell, who had apparently undergone a psychotic episode.

Hiding in the closet was a five year old girl, identified as her niece.

Blackwell was apprehended and admitted to Bellevue, while the niece is currently in foster care.


September 23rd, hey? Lauren only received the email from John Durkin regarding taking custody of Rosa on April 21st. So it took less than five months before she went crazy. That's really depressing :smith:



Looking up Tomo brings a strange little page.



Rosa also has her own homepage which is hilariously Web 1.0, considering the game is set in 2007. Unfortuantely it won't ever be constructed in this game, so this page is pointless.



Anyway, that's Rosa's apartment. Tomorrow we'll begin to tackle our important mission of "figuring out what Rosa has forgotten!" All this drama and more can only be found right here in the Blackwell thread!!

cmndstab fucked around with this message at 14:29 on Jun 27, 2014

Geomancing
Jan 8, 2004

I am not an egghead. I am well-read.
I love that her Geocities webpage background is her teddy bear. :3:

cmndstab
May 20, 2006

Huge Internet Celebrity!
I know, and tiled as well :3: I was desperately hoping that http://rosablackwell.com would be an actual site that looked exactly like that, but it just redirects to the page for the fourth Blackwell game :smith:

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Glazius
Jul 22, 2007

Hail all those who are able,
any mouse can,
any mouse will,
but the Guard prevail.

Clapping Larry
I love that Rosa's homepage is just so very Geocities.

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