This game is a about a man named Jacob Ernholtz, and his last day alive. Or I suppose his last minute, since the clock is stuck at 3:22 AM the whole time, but It can't be broken because the alarm went off... Anyway this is less of a review and more of an analysis. That being said, there will be -


I've spent a decent amount of time combing over this game and trying to piece together the narrative. At first glance it's clear that Jacob is obssessed over a painting of two palm trees. It's not a very special painting in my opinion. However he has gone far enough to have an entire room dedicated to this painting and many variations, perhaps looking for some hidden meaning. But why that specific painting? Well, Jacobs username on the chatting application is "ratherBtravelin" - a bit odd considering he has boarded up his windows and (I'm assuming) he stays inside as much as possible. He's not a complete agoraphobe, judging by his grocery list. I believe this painting has struck a chord with Jacob simply because it's a way he can vicariously be somewhere he wants. Somewhere exotic and sunny. Perhaps with friends and family. I imagine he sees himself as happy there. Unfortunately due to his depression (which is the cause of his isolation in the first place) he develops a consuming obsession over it, instead of actually taking a trip to the bahamas.

As far as depicting a man suffering with crippling depression, this game does a decent job. Eating the shrimp was a bit sickening, and a great representation of the effects that depression can have on loved ones. Cleaning the microwave was an interesting take on how often times suicidal people continue with their routine till the end. The cause of his depression is unclear, although it's implied his father has died recently. The cause isn't important, anyway.

What's important is the man he has locked in a vault. My theory is this man is the kidnapped painter Jason Malone who was in the paper. I think Jacob kidnapped this man and is forcing him to paint more copies of the palm tree painting. If you've played the game you'll know that you can kill the painter or let him go. I've been speculating about a third option that might be hidden in the game and my research has finally been coming together. At first I tried the obvious, like letting him out and then electrocuting, or selecting different options while chatting on the computer, or not turning the alarm off. I let the man out and walked around the house for a few hours but nothing seemed to happen. There's definitely something else going on in this game and I'm going to figure it out.

I took note of all the authors of the books and the suicides at the end of the game and noticed an interesting connection. z.f lincoln, one of the people who apparently killed themself, is also the author of one of the books on the bookshelf leading to the vault. Titled "Six slugs for Mario", I eventually found out this was the title of a short film the developer was working on when he went to FSU! This explains the palm trees and is proof that I'm on the right track. I've been sending twitter messages to Jesse (the developer of this game) about my theories but he stopped responding and I'm pretty sure he's blocked me. More evidence I'm getting close to the truth. I think Tim Allen must be involved somehow due to the newspaper article.

If anyone has any information, connections, or theories about this please let me know.

This game is a about a man named Jacob Ernholtz, and his last day alive. Or I suppose his last minute, since the clock is stuck at 3:22 AM the whole time, but It can't be broken because the alarm went off... Anyway this is less of a review and more of an analysis. That being said, there will be - [h1]SPOILERS[/h1] I've spent a decent amount of time combing over this game and trying to piece together the narrative. At first glance it's clear that Jacob is obssessed over a painting of two palm trees. It's not a very special painting in my opinion. However he has gone far enough to have an entire room dedicated to this painting and many variations, perhaps looking for some hidden meaning. But why that specific painting? Well, Jacobs username on the chatting application is "ratherBtravelin" - a bit odd considering he has boarded up his windows and (I'm assuming) he stays inside as much as possible. He's not a complete agoraphobe, judging by his grocery list. I believe this painting has struck a chord with Jacob simply because it's a way he can vicariously be somewhere he wants. Somewhere exotic and sunny. Perhaps with friends and family. I imagine he sees himself as happy there. Unfortunately due to his depression (which is the cause of his isolation in the first place) he develops a consuming obsession over it, instead of actually taking a trip to the bahamas. As far as depicting a man suffering with crippling depression, this game does a decent job. Eating the shrimp was a bit sickening, and a great representation of the effects that depression can have on loved ones. Cleaning the microwave was an interesting take on how often times suicidal people continue with their routine till the end. The cause of his depression is unclear, although it's implied his father has died recently. The cause isn't important, anyway. What's important is the man he has locked in a vault. My theory is this man is the kidnapped painter Jason Malone who was in the paper. I think Jacob kidnapped this man and is forcing him to paint more copies of the palm tree painting. If you've played the game you'll know that you can kill the painter or let him go. I've been speculating about a third option that might be hidden in the game and my research has finally been coming together. At first I tried the obvious, like letting him out and then electrocuting, or selecting different options while chatting on the computer, or not turning the alarm off. I let the man out and walked around the house for a few hours but nothing seemed to happen. There's definitely something else going on in this game and I'm going to figure it out. I took note of all the authors of the books and the suicides at the end of the game and noticed an interesting connection. z.f lincoln, one of the people who apparently killed themself, is also the author of one of the books on the bookshelf leading to the vault. Titled "Six slugs for Mario", I eventually found out this was the title of a short film the developer was working on when he went to FSU! This explains the palm trees and is proof that I'm on the right track. I've been sending twitter messages to Jesse (the developer of this game) about my theories but he stopped responding and I'm pretty sure he's blocked me. More evidence I'm getting close to the truth. I think Tim Allen must be involved somehow due to the newspaper article. If anyone has any information, connections, or theories about this please let me know.