Questions about plot... spoilers within...

[Danny_G13]

So having finished the game I’ve a few little posers for the devs about the plot. Perhaps things I’ve missed, who knows. Here we go:

1: Is Josie really Josie in this game, or is it a projection of Patricia’s own ‘living ghost’?

2: Why does Josie have a man’s voice in her head?

3: Did Janet really see Josie or Patricia’s projection?

4: Does Patricia really see into the future through her dreams?

5: Why didn’t Bram just kill his brother ages ago in more conventional manners rather than all this nonsense about being the Laughing Man? I mean it made logical sense but his motives didn’t. Is he just mad?

6: Why was Janet complaining about Harriet’s noise when, as Patricia said, Harriet didn’t live above her?

7: Were the master keys and bolt cutters left by Bram to lure Patricia down into the basement so he could kill her and put her in the candle circle like Rose and Hubert?

8: If Josie is really Josie, why are the ‘Josie tapes’ in Patricia’s voice?

9: Josie says ‘leave her a clue’ – but what clue was that? Was that the first Josie tape I THINK I remember in her apartment?

10: If Josie is really Patricia’s projection, does that mean the ‘Josie tapes’ are what Patricia is REALLY saying rather than the diary entries to the psychiatrist she claims she’s seeing?

11: The mountain climb sequences? I didn't understand their relevance beyond a few Josie diaries talking about mountains and a document talking about hard to reach places in mountains. Why were there dolls on them?

Hope that lot made sense :)

[Robot Invader Chris]

I am not going to give you straight answers to anything (ha!), but I will lend a cryptic hint or two.

My question to you would be: if Josie is there, why? What's she looking for? Why does she need Patricia?

Pro tip: if you collected the secret ending, you can consider that a "real" event and not a dream. It takes place several months after the events of Dead Secret Circle.

[Danny_G13]

Originally posted by Robot Invader Chris:

I am not going to give you straight answers to anything (ha!), but I will lend a cryptic hint or two.

My question to you would be: if Josie is there, why? What's she looking for? Why does she need Patricia?

Pro tip: if you collected the secret ending, you can consider that a "real" event and not a dream. It takes place several months after the events of Dead Secret Circle.

If the secret ending is another mountain climb, yes, I collected that.

PS thanks for the help :P

[FMLPhoto]

"Is he mad?"

Did you look him in the eyes? That man freaked me out.

[Danny_G13]

Originally posted by FMLPhoto:

"Is he mad?"

Did you look him in the eyes? That man freaked me out.

I don't think any of the characters in this game weren't insane, quite honestly.

[Danny_G13]

Originally posted by Robot Invader Chris:

I am not going to give you straight answers to anything (ha!),

I have come to realise there are no straight answers. Because what you've done is thrown a few linked ideas in, in concert with several that aren't, and created a tonne of red herrings designed to deliberately make no sense and get players wondering why this and why that.

A commonly-used device to create meaning when there isn't any.

Barely matters - it was a fun game anyway.

[Robot Invader Chris]

Originally posted by Danny_G13:

A commonly-used device to create meaning when there isn't any.

It's ok if you want to think that, but I'll tell you that we spent a year on the story elements of this game. It's important to me personally for everything in the game to be there for a reason, even if I might not reveal what that reason is. It's convoluted, I know, but it's not random, and it's not all red herrings. Whether or not you want to spend time thinking about it is, of course, up to you! My intent was to leave enough breadcrumbs that those folks who wanted to dig into it further have leads to follow.

[Danny_G13]

Originally posted by Robot Invader Chris:

Originally posted by Danny_G13:

A commonly-used device to create meaning when there isn't any.

It's ok if you want to think that, but I'll tell you that we spent a year on the story elements of this game. It's important to me personally for everything in the game to be there for a reason, even if I might not reveal what that reason is. It's convoluted, I know, but it's not random, and it's not all red herrings. Whether or not you want to spend time thinking about it is, of course, up to you! My intent was to leave enough breadcrumbs that those folks who wanted to dig into it further have leads to follow.

I'm too lazy. I don't want it spoonfed, but I do want the information to be there rather than getting out my magnifying glass and finding it.

I appreciate the effort you put in, but investigative journalism isn't my thing.

[pxoenix]

Watched the games on U-tub. Really liked the atmosphere, especially sound-design. I was also puzzled by the ending. Here are my thoughts.

1. Josie is (probably) real Josie. In the final voice recording, Patricia mentions that Josie escaped. At first I thought it was about escaping from the building where the game took place. But perhaps it refers to Josie escaping the mental institution?
In one of Josie's later recordings, she talks about (I think) mental training, like, climbing a mountain in her mind / dreams - helped her to get stronger, more agile or something. You know, that same thing like bedridden people imagining running or doing exercises, and it really helps their muscles stay fit.
Which is how Josie escaped, and defeated an armed man.

2. The man is probably the same guy wearing that weird red horned mask. Maybe he's a ghost of the real man from original game (whose murder we were investigating). He used the Lunar machine as well, so maybe part of his mind was trapped or copied there... Josie and Patricia got interconnected after using the machine. What if part of that man remained in their subconscience as well, even after he was killed in real world? Patricia never talked to him, so she wouldn't know his voice. But Josie did.

Or it could be just random manifestation of Josie's subconscience...

An interesting observation - in Patricia's apt. there is a painting of a lonely man next to her writing table. In "ideofocal" mode, you can see "He didn't love you" written next to it. Maybe it was Patricia's husband or father?

3. If Josie was "the real Josie" (see #1), then yes, Janet could see her.

4. In one of her recordings, Patricia mentions her visions could be not the future, but the past. Probably her subconscience "connects" to Josie's memories or something.

5. A million-dollar question! I think Bram (the writer) wanted to move on with his life (with Janet), and he decided to cut the loose ends - get rid of all members of the "drug-circle", everyone who knew about the drugs. In case the police got them, perhaps.
Rose and Zhand were the suppliers, Hubert was the manufacturer.
One of the victims was the editor, who wrote that nasty letter to Bram refusing to publish his works.

[pxoenix]

6. The secret laboratory in Hubert's apt is above Janet's bedroom. Check the room maps, see for yourself. There are bottles and crates in the lab. Perhaps Hubert made noise moving those.

7. I think these are just game conventionalities. The dev's probably wanted the player to "identify" the suspect by going to the right apartment. So, they had to put a key item there absolutely necessary to move forward. They went with bolt cutters.
Alternatively, they could just let the player unlock that basement door with master keys.
But in this case, player could proceed without checking on Colm and learning he was the killer. So, they just needed a reason for the player to visit Bram's apt.

8. I think their voices are just similar, not identical.

9. Yep. The tape, and taking the mask from Patricia's closet.

10. See #1.

11. No clue. Has to be some metaphor (as well as "No shortcuts" hidden message Josie can leave on Patricia's mirror), but I don't get it. The "goggled" statue probably refers to the ideofocal goggles.
Also no idea why Josie needed all those items in her inventory: the pocketwatch, the weird statue, the rat.

Hm... the rat... Didn't Janet mention she saw a CAT wearing white mask, not human? Cats catch rats...

[Danny_G13]

I think they call this 'necroing' a thread.