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I just love how the music represents how innocent you think the game is... until you get the bunker. Then you get the forest ending.
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"It’s Tia’s birthday, and she’s looking forward to beating all of her friends..." was what I first saw when I saw this in the recommended games. This isn't the game I thought it was, I guess.
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@ItachiUchiha532 It's more like the villagers know that Uncle Jack died, and he was one of the scientists. They tell Tia not to go there and lie to her about the guards so she doesn't find out the truth about what happened. If you read the developer's notes it all becomes quite clear.
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Explanation: The people in that camp are only survivors of a nuclear war. The cards were based off the war, which were obtained in certain shops somewhere that are probably destroyed along with it's town/city. It becomes clearest when the girl goes out the other exit of the base.
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I think the story is told in the card, and in the order by which you get cards and how you beat the other kids. (Ex: The Drone beating you if you have a tank, but losing with the soliders and the destroyed drone outside.) I came to a conclusion that there was a nuclear war, and this was a small camp that the original people came too.(The old man) The building you went into was monitoring the village, but was abandoned.The dead body is your uncle, who found the building and activated the security measured, killing him. The people in the village had no idea that the guards were gone, since your dad tells you they will kill you.
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In a sense this isn't a game but a short science fiction story in game form. A type of interactive fiction. As in fiction there is no "winning" or "point", just aesthetic pleasure, in this case horror and despair. It's very well crafted - even the "cheap" graphics add to the effect by lowering the player/reader's guard and making the final shock more powerful, as well as suggesting a child's view of the world. Also, for those who are confused: if you study all the clues, including the screens, all the adult dialogue (talk to them again), and the card art, it's quite clear what happened. I do wish the final screen stayed visible for just a few more seconds though.
Excellently done. 5/5.
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I highly recommend completing both endings and then read the developer notes. Very interesting. Kudos to dev for adding his notes. I wish more game devs shared their thoughts/insights like you.
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"there is a body on the floor, it looks like it has been there for a long time... you seem to reconise the clothed uncle jack wore from old photos" o.O
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My theory on what happened: The cards are nothing but old newspaper clippings showing scenes from the War. Tia's camp is one of the last remnants of humanity. All of the guards pulled out a long time ago, and left the camp to fend for itself. Uncle Jack tried to log on to see what happened, but got killed by "Lethal Counter Measures" The brown splotches re nuclear craters
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Ah! If you talk to old man bilk, he says the troubles started when he was young, and Tia's dad was a baby when he came to the pace AND HE SAYS THAT NOONE LEAVES THE CAMP. This practically confirms many suspicions about a war.
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Why does everyone think the game is incomplete, or bad? IT'S BRILLIANT! It has a deep meaningful side to it. In my interpretation of this game is that there was a war, and the place with the fence all around it is some sort of camp or sfe place where people fled to. I think Tia's uncle was a hacker, trying to gain information on the enemy, but was killed by guards or something? The craters may be from bombs, and the strange giant skeleton a weopon of some sort? I can't be sure, but that's what makes this game great. The mood of suspicion, suspense, and darkness, common in many of Terry Cavanagh's games, is a mix from the gods. Amazing work. 5/5
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i thought it was creepy to see the blue skeleton on the floor....
then i freaked out to see uncle jacks dead body......
after that i screamed when i saw the weird monsters skeleton.........lol
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the contrast between the simple children's game with a light-hearted score made the cameras inside the camp a little jarring, despite the seemingly innocent, possibly humorous comment about your uncle jack, but good lord, when i stepped into the observation room.... great job creating such a convincing distraction inside the camp. it made the whole experience much more alarming