Absolutely crazy to see how the different outcomes are reached. There's an example of something having an effect that isn't "marked" by the butterfly; the knowledge about Frank rescuing the dogs that you get from the cop.
Explains why it's so tough if you don't steal the money, you literally can't fuck up once.
There's something odd about the fact that even if you don't have prior knowledge of Rachel's photo or Frank rescuing the dogs, the dialogue outcome is the same, and that making Chloe be nice does nothing outcome-wise, but I guess if they wanted to change that then we would be waiting for episode 4 to come out some time next week instead...
Absolutely crazy to see how the different outcomes are reached. There's an example of something having an effect that isn't "marked" by the butterfly; the knowledge about Frank rescuing the dogs that you get from the cop.
Oh, nice, not knowing about Rachel's photo gives different dialogue... that's a lot of details to make sure the writing feels consistent.
It's interesting to go back and see the major choices in the previous episodes play off one another. Many related to this encounter with Frank and many related to Kate. Those arcs mostly concluded by now and while they very well might play a role in Ep. 5, the result of the many choices has been illustrated. The rest of the major choices however haven't and they are related to three characters in particular:
Chloe (took the blame for Chloe, kissed Chloe, sided with Chloe, etc.)
David (sided with David, blamed David, took a photo of David and tell Jefferson, etc.)
Nathan (reported Nathan, blamed Nathan, stopped Warren from beating Nathan)
There's also the last major choice in Ep. 4 that relates to Victoria. So I feel we're not done seeing Chloe and Nathan alive as many choices haven't led to a conclusion yet.
Explains why it's so tough if you don't steal the money, you literally can't fuck up once.
There's something odd about the fact that even if you don't have prior knowledge of Rachel's photo or Frank rescuing the dogs, the dialogue outcome is the same, and that making Chloe be nice does nothing outcome-wise, but I guess if they wanted to change that then we would be waiting for episode 4 to come out some time next week instead...
I'm really suprised that telling Chloe to be nice does nothing. It sure felt like it did nothing in the game, but I figured it at least helped out a little.
I'm really suprised that telling Chloe to be nice does nothing. It sure felt like it did nothing in the game, but I figured it at least helped out a little.
Absolutely crazy to see how the different outcomes are reached. There's an example of something having an effect that isn't "marked" by the butterfly; the knowledge about Frank rescuing the dogs that you get from the cop.
I got the hard path (no money to pay him and he still had the dog) and damn I had to rewind twice becuase I ended up killing Frank and the dog. But when you get him to give the list without violence, you feel like you acomplished something. This game has a lot of paths to take and there is a final episode to come. Can't wait to see how it concludes and the choices we will have to make.
- The first major choice was brutal. I actually had to step away from the game for a moment to think. Seemed appropriate that the endgame results had players split on it nearly 50/50.
- The ending death was pretty shocking, but it was kind of undercut by the reveal. I went from, "Oh God no. Rewind! Rewind!" to "... Uh, what the fuck? How?" real quick. I think they did a disservice to that moment. Should have given you a second to process before the twist.
- The first major choice was brutal. I actually had to step away from the game for a moment to think. Seemed appropriate that the endgame results had players split on it nearly 50/50.
- The ending death was pretty shocking, but it was kind of undercut by the reveal. I went from, "Oh God no. Rewind! Rewind!" to "... Uh, what the fuck? How?" real quick. I think they did a disservice to that moment. Should have given you a second to process before the twist.
I think the end of the Episode was meant to overwhelm the player. They focus you on one thing and then switch your brain to another thing so you can't immediately comprehend it and are immediately baffled.
And there's more to Jefferson making her cry than simply that. It's taking someone near the end of the rope and pushing them over the edge because they then believe there's nowhere or no one else to turn to for help/support.
It only makes sense to blame Jefferson at that point as the player that's taking into account being genre savvy, not as Max, so I wouldn't feel too bad about not blaming him. Especially in a room with someone as comically evil as Nathan.
- The ending death was pretty shocking, but it was kind of undercut by the reveal. I went from, "Oh God no. Rewind! Rewind!" to "... Uh, what the fuck? How?" real quick. I think they did a disservice to that moment. Should have given you a second to process before the twist.
I agree - a better way to do it would have had Chloe stand up and stare at "the killer" for a moment, look confused or slightly shocked then say, "Jef-" bam headshot. Then cue Jefferson reveal
It only makes sense to blame Jefferson at that point as the player that's taking into account being genre savvy, not as Max, so I wouldn't feel too bad about not blaming him. Especially in a room with someone as comically evil as Nathan.
Okay. I just finished episode 4. It's worth the wait.
What we finally know now
+ Jefferson is the owner of the dark room (Build by Prescotts, costs millions, also note that one of the photos in Rachel's binder had both Nathan and Rachel passed out. No way could Nathan have had taken that himself)
+ Nathan is just helping him drug/gather people for photo (note Jefferson bossing him, insisting he use throw-away phones to call, and not during class)
+ Rachel Amber is dead
+ Mr. Madsen and Frank are innocent
So what we don't know (yet)
- How Max got her powers
- What's with the weird phenomena, incl. the tornado(note the second moon disappearing after party--but the same moon showing in the optional photo)
- What's with the Spirit Animals (note the deer disappearing after they found the body, as if disappointed with the same ending)
- How will Max get away from Jefferson
- What will happen to Chloe
- Why Nathan is helping Jefferson and Why did the Prescotts build Jefferson a million dollar studio in an old barn
Also, Anybody suspended/blamed Mr. Jefferson in episode 2? Are there any major differences in this episode, considering he's not heading the photography contest any more?
--- Speculation
Why did Jefferson drug Max first then shot Chloe (in the head). Did he know about the rewind powers? Or did he just want Max after overhearing them in the party? Also, one of the last photos of Rachel Amber (in the dark room binder) had blood(?) from her mouth. Is it from overuse of time travel powers? Is that how Jefferson know about the rewind (if he knew about it)?
Also the tornado might be a red herring, considering the second moon disappeared after the party. Maybe the tornado will hit, but not with end-of-the-world consequences killing Chloe, considering she'll revive somehow?
(Outrageous) Speculation
Anybody think that it'll be cool/cruel that Max got powers because Mr. Jefferson drugged her, and that he was experimenting to get people to time-travel (along with his photo hobby)?! It would make sense why Prescotts build him a studio, to cultivate time-travelers. Time-traveling might be a family trait since Harry Aaron Prescott, but Nathan didn't inherit it. That's why Sean is so disappointed with him and had to experiment a way to manually induce time-traveling powers.
Ha. I hope I come back after episode 5 and laugh at myself for posting this.
+ Jefferson is the owner of the dark room (Build by Prescotts, costs millions, also note that one of the photos in Rachel's binder had both Nathan and Rachel passed out. No way could Nathan have had taken that himself)
+ Nathan is just helping him drug/gather people for photo (note Jefferson bossing him, insisting he use throw-away phones to call, and not during class)
+ Rachel Amber is dead
+ Mr. Madsen and Frank are innocent
I don't think we quite know if Nathan is actually working with Jefferson or if Madsen and Frank are completely innocent, while it may seem that way and would be fairly safe to say so.
But likely we get some more information on what's going on with the tornado and everything, I think all those things and the time powers could be connected.
Okay. I just finished episode 4. It's worth the wait.
What we finally know now
+ Jefferson is the owner of the dark room (Build by Prescotts, costs millions, also note that one of the photos in Rachel's binder had both Nathan and Rachel passed out. No way could Nathan have had taken that himself) We don't know yet that he's the owner but he certainly operates there. The bunker is named "stormbreaker bunker" from one of the documents you can find in the dark room. The Prescotts (or at least his father, as the mother and sister seem to want Nathan's well-being) seem to know a storm is coming (Nathan even mentions it in the Ep. 4 trailer but that line wasn't used in-game) and from some of the stuff we find it even seems like they want it to happen ("This shithole town is going to get an enema along with a fresh brand").
+ Nathan is just helping him drug/gather people for photo (note Jefferson bossing him, insisting he use throw-away phones to call, and not during class) Yeah. Maybe not just that but he does do that it seems.
+ Rachel Amber is dead Probably but I'm still not 100% on that
+ Mr. Madsen and Frank are innocent Frank unknowingly supplied the drugs responsible in part for Rachel's disappearance so I assume he doesn't know about the dark room but knows a bit about the shady things going on from his dealings. Not enough to uncover the truth though and when he sees Max and Chloe are not enemies and are on the right path he wants to help them.
So what we don't know (yet)
- How Max got her powers
- What's with the weird phenomena, incl. the tornado(note the second moon disappearing after party--but the same moon showing in the optional photo) Interestingly, it concerns mostly lunar (eclipse, two moons, tide) and animals (flocking birds, dead birds, beached whales, etc) save for the first day and probably the last day (snow, tornado)
- What's with the Spirit Animals (note the deer disappearing after they found the body, as if disappointed with the same ending)
- How will Max get away from Jefferson
- What will happen to Chloe
- Why Nathan is helping Jefferson and Why did the Prescotts build Jefferson a million dollar studio in an old barn
Also, Anybody suspended/blamed Mr. Jefferson in episode 2? Are there any major differences in this episode, considering he's not heading the photography contest any more? He still announces the winner of the contest so it doesn't impact that too much
--- Speculation
Why did Jefferson drug Max first then shot Chloe (in the head). Did he know about the rewind powers? Or did he just want Max after overhearing them in the party? Also, one of the last photos of Rachel Amber (in the dark room binder) had blood(?) from her mouth. Is it from overuse of time travel powers? Is that how Jefferson know about the rewind (if he knew about it)?
Also the tornado might be a red herring, considering the second moon disappeared after the party. Maybe the tornado will hit, but not with end-of-the-world consequences killing Chloe, considering she'll revive somehow? I think he wanted Max and drugged her first because it'd be easier than shooting Chloe first and then running after Max
(Outrageous) Speculation
Anybody think that it'll be cool/cruel that Max got powers because Mr. Jefferson drugged her, and that he was experimenting to get people to time-travel (along with his photo hobby)?! It would make sense why Prescotts build him a studio, to cultivate time-travelers. Time-traveling might be a family trait since Harry Aaron Prescott, but Nathan didn't inherit it. That's why Sean is so disappointed with him and had to experiment a way to manually induce time-traveling powers.
Ha. I hope I come back after episode 5 and laugh at myself for posting this.
Considering how many times Chloe has been in mortal danger since Episode 1, I'm guessing that she's SUPPOSED to die and Max keeps stopping it, messing with...fate or something?
But had Max not saved Chloe from the beginning, nobody would have learned the truth about Rachel, so in a roundabout way Chloe got justice for her friend.
I'm grasping. I also have a bad feeling we're not going to get any real answers on the spirit animals, the dead birds/whales, where she got her power from or why a tornado ACTUALLY figures into the story...
Absolutely crazy to see how the different outcomes are reached. There's an example of something having an effect that isn't "marked" by the butterfly; the knowledge about Frank rescuing the dogs that you get from the cop.
Just wanted to say that Jefferson was my number one suspect since Episode 1 when the game reveals the Rachel Folder - I had a feeling we would end up with a Dexter type kill room which he used to create sick photos - the hint was the folders themselves, there is an effort there only to be done by an artist, its a portfolio. That and the school rumour of Rachel/Jefferson, it spells it out.
Its why I never suspected David, especially since his files were in plain no-nonsense folders.
Kudos to the game though, with them spelling it out that Nathan was the killer and then Warren acting super tweaked this episode I had completely forgotten my prediction by the time of the final reveal.
Shucks, I just wiped my PS4 and didn't have some of that stuff backed up so no, not anymore, ask me this time yesterday and I would. I love that picture though, a lot.
You know, these types of choice games always present an interesting psychological experiment to observe.
I don't ever do this, but I've been watching a lot of Let's Plays for LIS and the euthanasia choice in episode 4 and the choices that the youtuber's have been making has been pretty fascinating to watch.
Sure, some are reacting for the camera, but there is still usually a line or two of thought discussion in there. It's also neat to see how close the choice was at the ending screen.
I didn't pull the trigger because I thought if this was real life then it would be too heavy of a choice to make without the parents consideration, although on the other hand if I was asked outright by my bestie then there's a large chance that I would. On another, other, third, mutant hand, there was still some part of my optimistic attitude in that she could pull through, or that there was a winning solution since it is, after all, a game.
I don't ever do this, but I've been watching a lot of Let's Plays for LIS and the euthanasia choice in episode 4 and the choices that the youtuber's have been making has been pretty fascinating to watch.
Sure, some are reacting for the camera, but there is still usually a line or two of thought discussion in there. It's also neat to see how close the choice was at the ending screen.
I didn't pull the trigger because I thought if this was real life then it would be too heavy of a choice to make without the parents consideration, although on the other hand if I was asked outright by my bestie then there's a large chance that I would. On another, other, third, mutant hand, there was still some part of my optimistic attitude in that she could pull through, or that there was a winning solution since it is, after all, a game.
I was discussing this with my girlfriend after we finished that episode, she put Chloe to sleep in her game, but I chose not to.
Her reasoning was basically that if someone is ever in a brain dead state, or in a situation where there is literally no chance of recovery, then it is selfish to force them to stay alive at that point, if they are ready to go or are very obviously never going to wake up, or anything, but either way will never recover or have any quality of life, then you're doing them a favor and they will no longer be in pain.
Chloe's situation is a little less absolute but there was enough information there where she was most likely never going to recover and she simply didn't want to live an existence in her room, costing her family so much money, and she was ready to go after her nice time with Max, so she concluded that she was doing what Chloe wanted with good reason.
I however refrained from putting Chloe to sleep because I didn't necessarily feel like Max should have to experience that and I also felt that it was a little too immediate, so in hindsight I wish I had put Chloe to sleep, but in the moment I felt doing so was a little rash.
I feel so stupid because I picked Jefferson since I knew that guy was up to no good, and he had no excuses but after playing the entire following chapter I thought I fucked up do to everyone telling me that getting him in trouble was wrong that I went all the way back to the office and chose nathan and replayed it that way. Then the twist happened. I wasn't even surprised -- just pissed at myself for changing my choice.
Also -- Because the game is so great, it really bothers me every time I see an opportunity I should be able to affect but can't
I just watched Butterfly Effect (director's cut) for the first time. I can definitely see where it was a major source of inspiration, but I hope they go a different direction for the ending. It made me appreciate the writing of Life is Strange more, the plotting and storytelling is, IMO, much better than Butterfly Effect.
I was discussing this with my girlfriend after we finished that episode, she put Chloe to sleep in her game, but I chose not to.
Her reasoning was basically that if someone is ever in a brain dead state, or in a situation where there is literally no chance of recovery, then it is selfish to force them to stay alive at that point, if they are ready to go or are very obviously never going to wake up, or anything, but either way will never recover or have any quality of life, then you're doing them a favor and they will no longer be in pain.
Chloe's situation is a little less absolute but there was enough information there where she was most likely never going to recover and she simply didn't want to live an existence in her room, costing her family so much money, and she was ready to go after her nice time with Max, so she concluded that she was doing what Chloe wanted with good reason.
I however refrained from putting Chloe to sleep because I didn't necessarily feel like Max should have to experience that and I also felt that it was a little too immediate, so in hindsight I wish I had put Chloe to sleep, but in the moment I felt doing so was a little rash.
I agree with her thoughts on the subject though my sister actually brought up that chloe brings you this choice after you give her the morphine which could alter her state of mind regarding that, and this is a pretty huge thing to not be clear headed on for obvious reasons. I put her to sleep but didn't even consider that at the time.
I didn't kill Chloe because it is highly illegal and I just kept thinking "yeah I know I'm about to go back to the real timeline but WHAT IF I GET STUCK IN THIS ONE AT THE END OF THE GAME". Max would go to jail for sure, and with all the crazy shit happening, who is to say Chloe won't get magically cured?
I didn't kill Chloe because it is highly illegal and I just kept thinking "yeah I know I'm about to go back to the real timeline but WHAT IF I GET STUCK IN THIS ONE AT THE END OF THE GAME". Max would go to jail for sure, and with all the crazy shit happening, who is to say Chloe won't get magically cured?
I didn't think I'd go to jail but I did think there was a real chance they'd keep you in this timeline and punish you if you killed chloe so I spared her
