FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

[christian]

Q. HOW THE HECK DOES THE GAME WORK?

Cloud Chamber is a modern ‘science noir’ story. The gameplay is about interacting and collaborating with fellow players to piece together what happened.

Entering a mysterious database, you will uncover found footage film, journals and diaries - as well as documentary clips from the European Space Agency. The story follows the investigations of young scientist, Kathleen Petersen, into the Petersen Institute, one of Europe’s most prestigious scientific centers - and what could be a signal from another world.

It's a story-based MMO - meaning that while the game centres around an intricate narrative, the real action lies in discussing what happened and how with the other players.

Try watching this Youtube film - it does a great job of explaining it.

(skip to 00:57)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSUPYdd33-E&feature=youtu.be&a

Q. WILL THERE BE SPOILERS IF I ARRIVE LATE?

No, because old posts disappear - and this not a "what happened next?" story.

The first time you go through Cloud Chamber, you're really just figuring out what there is to play with. That's when the real discussion - with the other players - starts.

This is a game about interpretation. If somebody posts about something that you haven't seen, then that is their interpretation. You will still need to see whatever it is for yourself - because they may very well be wrong about what it means and how it fits together with the other story fragments you find.

Note also that old comments automatically fall to the bottom of the forums over time. You can read them if you want, but if you want an investigation with other active users, just use the "Latest" tab in the forums.

Q. WILL EVERYTHING HAVE BEEN SOLVED, IF I WASN'T THERE WHEN THE GAME LAUNCHED?

The game is designed to stay fresh and for the mystery to be discussed again and again.

Each story fragment (film, journal, map, whatever) has its own forum. Inside that forum, old comments fall to the bottom and new comments go to the top.

If you use the "latest" tab in a forum, you will be playing with those who are active at the same time as you - and even "best" posts will fall down the forum, as they get older.

Q. BUT WON'T SPOILERS HAVE BEEN POSTED EXTERNALLY?

They may have been, but why would you want to read them? If you were going to read a book, or watch a movie, would you go to an online Wiki to get a plot summary first? No.

Also … The answers are in there, in the game, but you will never find a note inside Cloud Chamber that says "the butler did it" - this means that even external Wiki's can only ever be theories about what happened.

The satisfaction is not in the answers - it's in piecing together what happened. If you've been paying attention to the evidence (film fragments, journals, diaries and so on) then you should have a pretty good idea of what happened when you have seen most of it.

We've designed this first season to deliver a satisfying ending to the question of what happened to Ingrid … but you'll have to work with others (or at least read their theories) … because the answer will demand that you see connections between several pieces of evidence/media.

Q. HOW DO YOU HANDLE ABUSIVE COMMENTS IN THE FORUMS?

Truly abusive behavior should be flagged - our moderators will be notified and we will consider deleting and/or banning.

Comments that you don't agree with (or just don't like) should just be down voted. Since discussion is gameplay, the game is designed for bad stuff to disappear.

In our experience from previous mysteries, the community will take care of itself – because the people who enjoy playing will not tolerate destructive behavior.

Q. HOW DO I GET THE LOCKED PARTS TO UNLOCK?

It's actually simple. Don't just write posts! Make sure you comment on other people's posts! Engaging in conversations with other players is the easiest way to get likes!

Technically, you earn points when others "like" your posts/comments and/or comment on your posts.

Cloud Chamber is both a story experience and a social experience. 80-90% of the story can be accessed just by navigating between files. A few story fragments are locked: to unlock these, you have to to become a contributor to the community in the game.

This means taking part in the discussions, and getting up voted.

As one player wrote about the locked nodes: "After playing this for a while I have realized that, as with social media, nothing happens unless I'm social. I've gone back to the game with a different view. Looking through new posts and liking other peoples posts too. I have gone back to the very start going through new posts and ideas. It really does add a new perspective to the game. …

I've been getting more likes from commenting on other people's posts. Discussing theories. From what I have seen, doing this unlocks the content. I don't have to post something new, just debate an idea. And that is where the game seems to be. In the discussion rather than constantly creating new threads. ...

I always go back to look at the new comments now. I vote up anything I think is either correct or offers something new. It's a bit like the game "Journey" where you go back to help other players, even guide them.

The best advice I have for playing is... Take your time. Don't forget to go back to nodes that sometimes you don't understand. You'll soon unlock things."

You can blast through most of the story experience in your own time, but if you want all of it, you have to participate in the collaborative investigation.

Q. HOW BIG IS THE EXPERIENCE?

The first players to finish Cloud Chamber on Steam took 30-40 hours to do it.

This is season one, and it includes (a) enough filmed footage for a movie, (b) a game of navigation and collaboration, (c) a closed social network with people who are in the middle of the same experience as you - and (d) more documentary footage, written journals, maps and character-emails than you can shake a stick at …

… and all for the price of a movie ticket and some popcorn. (woa!)

Q. WILL THERE BE MORE CLOUD CHAMBER AFTER THIS?

The Cloud Chamber that has just launched is Season One. We'd love to make more seasons, and we would also love to get even better at making this new kind of story … but this stuff is expensive to make, so further seasons do depend on this one being successful. Any further seasons that we make will be sold separately, although we would love to do mini mysteries and anything else the community would enjoy, between seasons.

Q. ARE THERE SUBTITLES IN THE GAME?

The found footage films in the game all have English subtitles ("closed captions").

To activate them, press the "CC" button, next to the MUTE and FULL SCREEN buttons, under the video player.

We are considering adding more languages to this function, but it may take time.

Q. DO I NEED QUICKTIME INSTALLED ON MY PC?

Cloud Chamber uses Quicktime or Quicktime Lite to show video files. When installing the game, you will be given the choice between Quicktime and Quicktime Lite. In very rare cases, this doesn't happen. if your computer is one of the rare cases, the best fix is as follows:
(1) Uninstall both Quicktime and Cloud Chamber
(2) Install Quicktime from the official Quicktime site
(3) Install Cloud Chamber again.

Q. HOW DO I CHANGE THE EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS I AM RECEIVING?

You can choose exactly what you want to be notified of. Here is how to change the e-mail notification settings:

1. Launch the game and log in.
2. When the top bar appears, click on your profile name to access the profile settings.
3. Click on the "Settings" button
4. Scroll down untill you see the "Email Notifications" headline
5. De-select the things that you do not wish to be notified of by e-mail any more
6. Click "Save Changes" before exiting.

Q. THE MUSIC IS BEYOND AWESOME! WHERE CAN I FIND IT?

We get a lot of requests for the soundtrack. There are both atmospheric and hard pounding tracks in there by Trentemoller, Burial, Mike Sheridan and Lulu Rouge.

If you have Spotify, you can find the playlist here:

Collaborative:
http://open.spotify.com/user/1118848980/playlist/3JyljM7NQkKj6weKErxkuM

Locked:
http://open.spotify.com/user/1118848980/playlist/5LJIPp3Ymonb7VmYcsEutO

(note that the tracks after "Wounder" are NOT in Cloud Chamber - but they have the vibe!

Q. HOW DO I PLAY CLOUD CHAMBER WELL?

Cloud Chamber is not a race to the finish. You CAN do that, and you WILL get a good story out of it...

But the real reward lies in immersing yourself in the mood - and in the experience of sharing an investigation with other players.

Some players go quickly to the end, and then go back to engage others in dialogue about what is going on at earlier stages. Others choose to go slowly through, the first time. You can navigate almost instantly, but collaborating with the community takes time...

As the player, UncommonStuff, wrote:

"I have realised that I am too damn impatient. The slower you take it the better the results are. Working with new people, looking at new posts and collaborating with people gets you the results you need. I may be up all night enjoying this one. :)