So what was it about? (Spoilers)

[Visuwyg]

I finished the game yesterday, and quite enjoyed it. The graphics were delightful and I dug the gameplay concept where you basically search for chapters of an audio drama. The light orb did a fantastic job in guiding me through the open (?) world, I never felt restricted, and didn't get lost either.

The more ominous Voiceclips about nosebleeds and slowly encroaching panic clashed nicely with the peaceful scenery. It was very unsettling. In the later game, they seemed to shift more towards relationship drama, - which I could still relate to, but it was less interesting than hearing about the light creature.

Which brings me to my question - what was that thing? Sentient liquid light that spread from person to person, killing them in the process (Without intending to?) Then at the very end, Kate doesn't make much sense to me by talking about it as some kind of cosmic match-maker, bringing everyone together with their mate...

An alien with romantic intentions? What about the obvious christian undertones - was it actually the rapture? Or is it some kind of evolutional "next step" á la 2001: A space oddysey?

Just post some of your impressions here, what do you think is the light?

[Technobabble]

I believe the lights (because there were several of them) were actually representations of the individuals named at the beginning of each chapter. In fact, each new chapter title seems to be revealed when you first encounter that person's light. This particularly became evident with Lizzie, who may have been pregnant and had a smaller light with her. At the end of her chapter, her light meets up with Stephen at the start of his.

If you paid close attention, you could hear fragments of that character's voice within the light and the behavior of the light would change depending on what you just witnessed. (i.e. Stephen's light frantically urgent before and then practically sulking after the event at the Little Tipton railway station).

[yogue]

I don't know why, I had to think "BREXIT" a lot :)

This of course not from within the game logic, just a way to interpret the story of the game metaphorically.

I found it striking that a protected little rural community in England gets taken apart by destructive/loving? ambivalent outside forces (international trade agreements) that come through the wires (internet), mediated by a female American scientist (globalization/scientific findings challenging our cherished perspectives on life/the universe).

I appreciated that for once science and religion were not played off against each other but stand as alternative interpretations side-by-side.
Maybe things would have been fine if the UK stayed in the EU? :)

Just one way of reading it of course, among probably hundreds of others.

I'm really glad that the game keeps on making me think even now that I have finished it + I truly hope there will be more content like this, showing that games can provide such unique experiences.

Thanks to everyone for putting all the work/money in to make it happen :)

[Visuwyg]

Originally posted by Technobabble:

I believe the lights (because there were several of them) were actually representations of the individuals named at the beginning of each chapter. In fact, each new chapter title seems to be revealed when you first encounter that person's light. This particularly became evident with Lizzie, who may have been pregnant and had a smaller light with her. At the end of her chapter, her light meets up with Stephen at the start of his.

If you paid close attention, you could hear fragments of that character's voice within the light and the behavior of the light would change depending on what you just witnessed. (i.e. Stephen's light frantically urgent before and then practically sulking after the event at the Little Tipton railway station).

Nice I noticed the small extra light too, this seems plausible.

[Akim]

I thought the ending sucked. I am not fan of Hippe Christian New Age ideas. I always thought there would be an actul scientific solution. Some kind of energetic alien or what. This end was bloody bullcrap. Everyone is gone and all we got was the kumbayah hippie esoteric message!

♥♥♥♥♥♥ 'ell!

[Pixels]

notice love seemed to be the subject.
This is my own point of view of this game.

When we think of someone we love we go back to the point of that memory and when it took place. so are we viewing that point of time and space again as love is timeless, notice not all memorys you view in game are at night.

I believe that all of our past is exsisting within a path like a neverending growing snake and each frame is locked in time, so the first time you fell in love is still frozen there and we as humans have the ability to go back to this point and view it.

[Playstation 2]

Spoilers I guess.

An alien came to town and spread from person to person as an infection, bonding together as light based on how they acted together. As it collects the memories and relationships from everyone -- telephones being an easy pathway, as they are the simplest form of communication between people -- it fries away the useless human meat and leaves what's left (the links between people, important dialogue and relationships etc)

The main character (i.e. you) is apart from everyone in the village (due to being an outsider, i.e. from "outside the borough" and also a black american woman), so naturally she spends her time in the observatory. This also means she bonds with the alien. The alien is lonely. It wishes to connect with other sentient lifeforms, but in doing so, it renders them into nothing.

While the main character doesn't connect with anyone in the village, she is closely connected with someone who is. As such, she experiences his experiences as everything turns to poo.

The lights were a gameplay tip. You can imagine them as the link the alien force used to link all the relationships togther (which is how it sees human contact), or you can think of it as the developers trying to get you through the game. Your call.

The game ends when the main character realises she done ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up and called down this curious alien being that has been keeping her in a limbo, reliving the experiences of not only her husband, but all the people her husband was closely linked to. The alien will probably continue to infect Earth in an effort to communicate with other beings, but she herself is done once she realises that the town is fried up and probably the rest of the earth along with it.

I've been drinking a lot so maybe my thoughts are not so cohesive but it's not a complex story.

[Zotlerg]

Originally posted by Akim:

I thought the ending sucked. I am not fan of Hippe Christian New Age ideas. I always thought there would be an actul scientific solution. Some kind of energetic alien or what. This end was bloody bullcrap. Everyone is gone and all we got was the kumbayah hippie esoteric message!
♥♥♥♥♥♥ 'ell!

Yeah, that's my overall take on Christianaity. We should have known from the title, though :)

[Boff]

Everybody "has" gone to the rapture - it's in the title.

Alien being of light and energy comes over and converts people into light and energy, evolving us to the next phase (in some science fiction).

Effectively a living heaven, no disease, death, and we can swirl around our loved ones forever.

Personally I like confused wounded space alien devours humanity by mistake and Stephen trying to save the world makes some tough and horrible choices to murder everything he holds dear to make sure he's contained it, and then commits suicide to spite it.
Dark.

It would be a matter of perspective if the name of the game didn't tell you precisely what happened, and you knew what to expect for 4 slowly paced hours. (I loved every facit of the game, except the title). The Youghton Incident, would have been more fitting.

[CyntHaf]

I loved this game....especially the end. The music was wonderful, I let the credits roll all the way to the end just to listen. And the credits are loooong! I'm glad I bought this and will probably play it again. As for the Christian aspect.....I can take it or leave it. It was an interesting journey.
Many thanks to the developers :)

[sam-tenaim]

This is a truely amazing experience, it is also possible to see other religions not just christianity in it (at least all the monotheistic religions and aspects of polytheistic ones). For me though it was the fact that this was set a few counties over (I'm in hampshire that was Shropshire!!!!), so things about the place like the phone boxes was exceedingly disconcerting.

[тяαѕн¢αи ρℓαуєя]

At the end Stephen talks about the fox and how his father took care of it, but when Stephen took it a sandwich it bit him. His father killed the fox and said "It's a poor, dumb, dying animal. It doesn't know it's hurting us."
I believe this "light" from the stars was lonely and only wanted to connect with people - in return it ended up killing everyone.
Kate found herself in the light and gave into it, whereas everyone was connected with the person they were meant to be with.
Also: Steven saw Kate in the light right before he died.

[Kitty]

Originally posted by Jesus Kristov:

Spoilers I guess.

and also a black american woman

Where did you get that she was black?

[76561198035352433]

Originally posted by Kitty:

Originally posted by Jesus Kristov:

Spoilers I guess.

and also a black american woman

Where did you get that she was black?

I remember I think Stephens mother talking to LIzzie just before the Railway part and says something along the lines of "Has nothing to do with her color"....Or close to that...

[fomkass]

Originally posted by Threedog1421:

Originally posted by Kitty:

Where did you get that she was black?

I remember I think Stephens mother talking to LIzzie just before the Railway part and says something along the lines of "Has nothing to do with her color"....Or close to that...

true

[fomkass]

Originally posted by Kaffeebohnson:

Originally posted by Technobabble:

I believe the lights (because there were several of them) were actually representations of the individuals named at the beginning of each chapter. In fact, each new chapter title seems to be revealed when you first encounter that person's light. This particularly became evident with Lizzie, who may have been pregnant and had a smaller light with her. At the end of her chapter, her light meets up with Stephen at the start of his.

If you paid close attention, you could hear fragments of that character's voice within the light and the behavior of the light would change depending on what you just witnessed. (i.e. Stephen's light frantically urgent before and then practically sulking after the event at the Little Tipton railway station).

Nice I noticed the small extra light too, this seems plausible.

I really love the explanation about Lizzie's light, the small one really has been bugging me, now it's clear.
Also - there is the Light (or the Pattern), and then there are lights - one for each of the characters. As Kate said, "the light that we cast transcends our deaths".
Kate was probably the only really lonely person in that village, that's the reason she managed to connect and merge with the Pattern. The others could not accept it - hence the headaches and the nosebleeds. They were already taken.