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Life is Strange Community Thread: Arcadia Baes
- Thread starter Pirate Bae
- Start date
OP
OP
I'm in the same predicament. Not sure if I should listen to it now...
Sometimes when I'm playing a game, my girlfriend will text me and ask what kind of game it is. Trying to explain Life is Strange in a way that didn't sound like some kind of erotic visual novel was difficult.
Haha, my joke answer if someone asked me that would probably be like "It's about time-travelling lesbians!"
Serious answer would probably take a bit longer. Like, where does one even start? "Well, you play as a girl who learns she can rewind time, and her best friend is a hella dope punk with blue hair, and there's a mystery you have to solve, and the characters and situations are relatable, and there's like a million sub-plots, and your choices affect the narrative..." I could probably go on forever trying to explain it lol.
You should fix this. All the weird, dark, macabre stuff in Life is Strange is basically straight from Twin Peaks. Hell, more than that, the geographic setting, the characters, all of it is extremely Twin Peaks. There is no singular influence that is more strongly apparent.
OP
OP
Girl goes to the bathroom and discovers she can rewind time. She uses her powers to be a total raging lesbian and to avoid handing in her school projects.
Gah, yeah I really should. I see that it's on Netflix, so perhaps I'll start watching that tonight then. I'm sure I'll like it if LiS was so inspired by it. I can post my thoughts in here too if no one minds, since it does seem to be pretty related to the game.
Absolutely, please do.
I was secretly hoping BtS would similarly take from Fire Walk With Me, but I think the band 'Fire Walk' is about as far as it goes. :P
Maybe there'll be a Life is Strange: The Return in 25 years
DUDE. You'll love it. It's so quirky. Be advised, Season 3 is quite different from S1-2. And do watch Fire Walk With Me, it's a masterpiece.
Fuck. This would be incredible!
And I agree that Twin Peaks is fantastic and highly worth the watch if you loved the LiS series.
Haha, ok friends, I just finished the first episode. Wowzers, what a ride lol. This is a hell of a show! I can tell how influential it was not just on LiS, but a lot of other media too. I had to go look up when it first premiered (1990) because wow, I cannot remember seeing any other show from that time period that was shot like that, and it's got such a unique vibe to it. I recognized a lot of the actors too, some really good ones in there. I am definitely hooked after the first episode!
Gunna watch a few more episodes tonight now. I'll post any other random thoughts I have while watching in here too. I don't have much else to say at the moment other than just my general feelings after the first episode and that I really fucking liked it lol. Can't believe I waited this long to watch this haha! I guess it's just that I don't think any of my close friends have ever seen this show, and they're the ones I usually get TV recommendations from, but god damn haha, thanks for pushing me to start watching this finally!
Ha, nice! Glad you like it. So many great moments in that show. I'm excited for you to be able to watch it for the first time.
Started rewatching it recently and it's hard not for me to think of Rachel Amber when Laura Palmer is mentioned.
I don't usually think of games like LiS as being able to be played wrongly but my wife is playing BtS for the first time and I have no idea how but...
BtS ep 2 Spoiler
BtS ep 2 Spoiler
After the play, she didn't get the option to have Chloe kiss Rachel as they were walking down the street. She could only ask Rachel for her bracelet or necklace but no kiss. I had to tell her what happened in my game because that was one of my favorite moments coming off the excitement of the end of the play and Chloe and Rachel kissing after.
That was one of the most romantic moments I've seen in a game. Usually in a game the romance scene feels like a reward for playing a certain way rather than actually being romantic and knowing that she missed out on that scene made me feel terrible.
When I told her though she was so sad she decided to replay the entire game from episode 1. Tried looking it up to try and help her how to avoid losing that option but there doesn't seem to be a consensus that I found. Hopefully that doesn't happen again.
I can't imagine playing the game and missing out on that moment.
That was one of the most romantic moments I've seen in a game. Usually in a game the romance scene feels like a reward for playing a certain way rather than actually being romantic and knowing that she missed out on that scene made me feel terrible.
When I told her though she was so sad she decided to replay the entire game from episode 1. Tried looking it up to try and help her how to avoid losing that option but there doesn't seem to be a consensus that I found. Hopefully that doesn't happen again.
I can't imagine playing the game and missing out on that moment.
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Thanks for the info, pre ordered the PC version with the vinyl set. How about a re-release of the first games promo vinyl? It's going for like 3-400 or something absurd, would love to support the game and the artists directly if possible!
It's got that progressively intense vibe that you know will be used over the very end sequence of the game, and yeah I can't see it being a happy scene :(
it occurs to me that the bonus episode in BTS is totally going to depict
, right
the last time chloe and max hang out before max moves away, that's why it's "farewell"
Thanks for the support! A re-release of the first vinyl set isn't possible due to the same licensing restrictions we're facing with Before the Storm (We can only offer the soundtrack as part of a bundle, not a standalone product). I agree that it is a shame to see the limited quantity of promo vinyls for season one out there being hawked by private sellers for so much :(
Yeah, that was my guess after reading the official description of the episode too.
There's no way it won't be a super emotional and sad scene. ;_;
Yeah I definitely see the similarities there for sure, especially with how Rachel is talked about in the first game, where everyone has really nice things to say about her, but then there's all of the darker rumors that people had heard of as well.
LOL! I'm on episode 5 now, so yes I understand that reference! My jaw was on the floor during that whole scene honestly.When you finish the third episode we'll be all like:
And just a random thought I had while watching last night: Audrey is probably my favorite character so far. Every time she shows up I just think "aww yeah, here we go!"
Ah, Twin Peaks. Decent show with some memorable tunes. That said I mostly remember it from all the references it gets more than the actual show these days lol, maybe I should rewatch it sometime myself.
I'm gonna wait 'til Episode Farewell is out to before listening to any music from it. If the music lends itself to an emotional scene, I want the full surprising effect.
I'm gonna wait 'til Episode Farewell is out to before listening to any music from it. If the music lends itself to an emotional scene, I want the full surprising effect.
Twin Peaks is where style was born. Once you see it you understand the massive influence it has had, and a dozen references from all sorts of media will click into place all at once.
It basically changes your life.
It basically changes your life.
Yeah I've been under that impression for a while. Not sure why, now that I think of it, though.
Well, just finished season 1 of Twin Peaks. That was quite the show haha, can't believe I binged all of that between last night and today, but I was seriously sucked into it. If anyone else in here hasn't seen it yet, you should definitely check it out. LiS was clearly heavily inspired by it, especially in how the characters are portrayed. They all have this kind of over-the-top quirkiness while still being pretty believable, which is pretty similar to a lot of the characters in LiS too. Plus it has that Pacific northwest small town vibe too, which is really a great setting for a mystery story to take place. I think I'll take a break now and maybe start in on season 2 later tonight or tomorrow. But yeah, overall I really loved watching season one, thanks for pushing me to watch it guys!
I really liked this video, and is from my favorite channel.
For whoever going to watch it, fair warning. Is full of spoilers.
Oh wow, this is great! I feel my entire time playing BtS I was in a very similar mindset that Jane also seemed to be in about how she viewed the characters and Chloe's choices. Her choices in how she chose to interact with David are pretty much exactly the same ones I made.
I definitely got a big Last of Us vibe from the option to lie to Rachel in the end too. Which like they said in the video lying wasn't really an option for me because Chloe does not seem in anyway shape or form to be someone who could hide something from someone they love, but I also was very surprised by the stats in the end where it showed how divisive that choice was amongst players.
Thanks for sharing!
Nice! Glad you liked it. Just FYI, S2 has some kind of weak episodes (due to studio interference and Lynch being angry because of that) in the middle (which I find enjoyable regardless), but stick to it, because the ending is an absolute masterpiece.
Twin Peaks turns to complete shit from S02E10 onwards, be warned!
I normally just skip from S02E09 right to S02E22, I will never watch the Windom episodes again ever. EVER.
I normally just skip from S02E09 right to S02E22, I will never watch the Windom episodes again ever. EVER.
Complete, complete shit, ehhh, I wouldn't go so far. It can become a bit tedious if you're not into it, but I enjoyed it.
Well, I do plan to watch it all just so I can form my own opinions on it, but yes I do understand that season 2 is apparently divisive. If anything though, that just makes me even more excited to watch it just so I can, like I said, form my own opinions on it.
Well it'll be nice hearing your impressions all the same, it just became a completely different show that I just really didn't like... it certainly expands far beyond where you are now in ways you'll never expect :)
Not to suggest that creators opinion = law but Lynch himself called it stupid, ridiculous and unwatchable... so much so I believe he's actually never watched all of season 2.
Ehhh, I'm less sore about it now we finally got a season 3, that and the film certainly make-up for it.
Oh yeah, obviously his word ain't law, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It's a couple of hours of fun if you've got nothing to do, but it's definitely not as grabbing as the first season or S2 finale.
Yeah, season 2 gets rough for a bit. But as others have said, definitely stay with it until or simply skip directly to the season 2 finale. Lynch came back to direct that final episode.
Chase the finale with Fire Walk with Me and then you have some stellar television to look forward to with Twin Peaks The Return. There's two Secret History book of Twin Peaks that are pretty fun reads too if you find you really like the characters. Helps clear some things up and adds quite a bit of mythos to characters that wasn't in the series. Would actually be really cool if DontNoD did some similar side stories outside of the games too.
Chase the finale with Fire Walk with Me and then you have some stellar television to look forward to with Twin Peaks The Return. There's two Secret History book of Twin Peaks that are pretty fun reads too if you find you really like the characters. Helps clear some things up and adds quite a bit of mythos to characters that wasn't in the series. Would actually be really cool if DontNoD did some similar side stories outside of the games too.
Interesting but I have my reasons for
keeping the truth from Rachel, even though yes... His father is pretty crappy if what they assume is correct. In my mind it was the first time he did something like that
I also did not told Rachel the truth. Despise what her father did was an horrible thing, I couldn't take that away from her. Plus for 1 years, her biological mother prefer drugs to her.
I can understand those reasons.
...but I just didn't see my version of Chloe lying to Rachel the way her parents did. I felt that (again my version) Chloe wants to leave Arcadia Bay for reasons very similar to what she sees as Rachel's parents doing which is not being honest and playcating to pretending that everything is ok when it's not.
I felt that telling th truth would only strengthen the relationship she had with Rachel and encourage them both to realize that all they need is each other, serving their plans to leave Arcadia Bay behind. Besides it was fully established in my playthorugh that Rachel knows when Chloe is lying so I didn't think it would make sense for her to lie at all.
I felt that telling th truth would only strengthen the relationship she had with Rachel and encourage them both to realize that all they need is each other, serving their plans to leave Arcadia Bay behind. Besides it was fully established in my playthorugh that Rachel knows when Chloe is lying so I didn't think it would make sense for her to lie at all.
Their plan or your plan (as Chloe)? I was never truly convinced by Rachel's "I want to leave Arcadia Bay" story. It felt more a spur of the moment reaction and not something true and deep like it felt for Chloe. That is probably why in the three years after they actually don't leave. For me Chole telling the truth would make her manipulative towards Rachel to get things her way. While keeping the truth is more like protecting Rachel from the pain of losing her father (who was doing all he could to protect her) after she had lost her biological mother and therefore more of a selfless act.
I'd say "their" plan because that's how Chloe saw it. I personally didn't really believe Rachel wanted to abandon Arcadia Bay the way Chloe did, but I definitely think Chloe thought Rachel wanted to. When Rachel told Chloe that she wanted to come with her I think that became their plan in Chloe's eyes. Rachel convinced Chloe that she wanted to leave with her, so it never felt like Chloe would get her way if Rachel came along. It felt more to me that Chloe thought that's what they both wanted anyways.
I know they didn't leave for three years but Chloe didn't know that was going to happen. Even after three years Chloe was convinced Rachel still wanted to leave but something was always holding her back which added to Rachel being knowingly or even unknowingly manipulative herself.
One of Chloe's biggest character traits is that she thinks not acknowledging the past is wrong. She thinks that her mother trying to move on from her father is a betrayal in a way. Throughout the series Chloe is bringing to light all of the secrets on the lives of Arcadia Bay and she wants to leave because everyone is lying to others and themselves and I just don't see Chloe participating in The lying. I think for Chloe to lie on that level she'd do so for Rachel, Max, or maybe her mom but not someone like Rachel's and never to one of the three people she loves. Chloe lying to Rachel is ultimately protecting Rachel's dad more than Rachel and I think Chloe would know that.
I also think that if Chloe lies to Rachel, and because a main plot point is that Rachel always knows when Chloe is lying, that for the next three years into LiS Rachel would know something is off with Chloe. Chloe is very adamant in LiS that there is nothing hidden between herself and Rachel when she talks to Max. However if she had lied to Rachel she would know very well that there was something that could've caused the division. She'd also be lying to Max by by not acknowledging that she'd lied to Rachel about a father who kept her mothers identify a secret and also tried to kill the mother when things got too heated.
If I was Chloe in LiS and Rachel is gone, and I lied to Rachel my immediate conclusion would be that she learned what happened and realized that Chloe had lied to her. But Chloe never mentions this in LiS, so for her to lie she'd be ether very forgetful or would be lying to Max. Two things that I dont see Chloe as ever doing because she truly loves Max and she never forgets.
I just felt that a lie between Rachel and Chloe of that magnitude changes the nature of events in the story. I think her telling Rachel the truth would've bonded them and Chloe lying would've divided them.
I don't mean to suggest this is how the game should be played, these thoughts are simply reflective of my interpretation of Chloe.
I know they didn't leave for three years but Chloe didn't know that was going to happen. Even after three years Chloe was convinced Rachel still wanted to leave but something was always holding her back which added to Rachel being knowingly or even unknowingly manipulative herself.
One of Chloe's biggest character traits is that she thinks not acknowledging the past is wrong. She thinks that her mother trying to move on from her father is a betrayal in a way. Throughout the series Chloe is bringing to light all of the secrets on the lives of Arcadia Bay and she wants to leave because everyone is lying to others and themselves and I just don't see Chloe participating in The lying. I think for Chloe to lie on that level she'd do so for Rachel, Max, or maybe her mom but not someone like Rachel's and never to one of the three people she loves. Chloe lying to Rachel is ultimately protecting Rachel's dad more than Rachel and I think Chloe would know that.
I also think that if Chloe lies to Rachel, and because a main plot point is that Rachel always knows when Chloe is lying, that for the next three years into LiS Rachel would know something is off with Chloe. Chloe is very adamant in LiS that there is nothing hidden between herself and Rachel when she talks to Max. However if she had lied to Rachel she would know very well that there was something that could've caused the division. She'd also be lying to Max by by not acknowledging that she'd lied to Rachel about a father who kept her mothers identify a secret and also tried to kill the mother when things got too heated.
If I was Chloe in LiS and Rachel is gone, and I lied to Rachel my immediate conclusion would be that she learned what happened and realized that Chloe had lied to her. But Chloe never mentions this in LiS, so for her to lie she'd be ether very forgetful or would be lying to Max. Two things that I dont see Chloe as ever doing because she truly loves Max and she never forgets.
I just felt that a lie between Rachel and Chloe of that magnitude changes the nature of events in the story. I think her telling Rachel the truth would've bonded them and Chloe lying would've divided them.
I don't mean to suggest this is how the game should be played, these thoughts are simply reflective of my interpretation of Chloe.
+Edit: Damn it. Didn't realize that was so long when I posted. Sorry about the length.
Yeah I agree with a lot of what you said here.
For me as well, it had a lot more to do with (my) Chloe not feeling comfortable lying to Rachel than it did about the truth she would have had to hide from her. I definitely agree about that particular lie being more about protecting William than it is about protecting Rachel, especially because, like you said, Rachel can tell if Chloe is lying, and would probably continue to assume that there was something that Chloe found out about that day that she decided to keep hidden from her.
I've said this before on here, but when you're having the conversation with William on the side of the road, I told him that I wouldn't want him to tell me a hurtful truth about himself if it meant that it would ruin my image of him as a perfect dad. I chose that because I personally have a really good relationship with my dad, and I figured I would also not want him to tell me something like that. But then when it came time to make that final decision, I just couldn't keep that information from Rachel.
I think some of it might be that her dad was (as far as I could tell) never going to be honest with her about that anyways, so it isn't quite the same as what William (or the version of him that Chloe speaks to in her head) was proposing earlier in the game, it was more about telling your girlfriend (or close friend) the truth about something no matter how much it might hurt them to know it. That's kind of a different thing in my mind I guess, because if a friend of mine were to know something like that but were to keep it from me, especially if it was someone I was in an intimate relationship with or a really close friend that I am very open with, then I think I would feel kind of betrayed that they didn't tell me that regardless of how much they knew it would hurt me to know about it.
Either way, I really do like this final choice in BtS a lot more than the Bay vs. Bae choice in the first game, just because I think it's a much more interesting philosophical question at the end of the day. Keeping a painful truth hidden from a loved one, or telling them the truth in order to remain honest with them is a very hard question to answer depending on the exact circumstances of any given scenario, and one that I think every person is going to approach differently based on both their own interpretations of the events in the game as well as their own personal life experiences.
I've said this before on here, but when you're having the conversation with William on the side of the road, I told him that I wouldn't want him to tell me a hurtful truth about himself if it meant that it would ruin my image of him as a perfect dad. I chose that because I personally have a really good relationship with my dad, and I figured I would also not want him to tell me something like that. But then when it came time to make that final decision, I just couldn't keep that information from Rachel.
I think some of it might be that her dad was (as far as I could tell) never going to be honest with her about that anyways, so it isn't quite the same as what William (or the version of him that Chloe speaks to in her head) was proposing earlier in the game, it was more about telling your girlfriend (or close friend) the truth about something no matter how much it might hurt them to know it. That's kind of a different thing in my mind I guess, because if a friend of mine were to know something like that but were to keep it from me, especially if it was someone I was in an intimate relationship with or a really close friend that I am very open with, then I think I would feel kind of betrayed that they didn't tell me that regardless of how much they knew it would hurt me to know about it.
Either way, I really do like this final choice in BtS a lot more than the Bay vs. Bae choice in the first game, just because I think it's a much more interesting philosophical question at the end of the day. Keeping a painful truth hidden from a loved one, or telling them the truth in order to remain honest with them is a very hard question to answer depending on the exact circumstances of any given scenario, and one that I think every person is going to approach differently based on both their own interpretations of the events in the game as well as their own personal life experiences.
Kind of a rambling response to your rambling response, but that's just how it goes sometimes I guess haha.
Well, that was a thing. The twist that Jefferson, and not Nathan, was the big bad was interesting, and explains why he so wanted Max to enter.
I went for the Chloe romance route, and well, it did make the ending a bit rougher, but it was still an easy choice to take the town over her. One loss max could deal with, but losing all her friends, classmates, Chloe's family, etc? I think it would have crushed her in the end.
I went for the Chloe romance route, and well, it did make the ending a bit rougher, but it was still an easy choice to take the town over her. One loss max could deal with, but losing all her friends, classmates, Chloe's family, etc? I think it would have crushed her in the end.
Oh yeah, I completely forgot about the dream with Chloe's dad and her talking about the possibility of him not being perfect.
I also chose not to know. Or I maybe didn't say anything and it automatically triggered, I don't remember.
I played the scene out like it no longer mattered to Chloe if her dad was perfect or wasn't because In the end he's gone. Felt like a moment for her to try and grasp at the acceptance she's always avoided. But the parallels are definitely there I just didn't factor them in as much to Rachel and her dad.
"Chloe not feeling comfortable lying to Rachel" is a good way to put it. That's how I read my Chloe as well.
I also chose not to know. Or I maybe didn't say anything and it automatically triggered, I don't remember.
I played the scene out like it no longer mattered to Chloe if her dad was perfect or wasn't because In the end he's gone. Felt like a moment for her to try and grasp at the acceptance she's always avoided. But the parallels are definitely there I just didn't factor them in as much to Rachel and her dad.
"Chloe not feeling comfortable lying to Rachel" is a good way to put it. That's how I read my Chloe as well.
Hey, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
My first time through the game I also chose to save the town. It's a really heartbreaking ending, but I do think it's a pretty tough decision to make (and one that has been discussed in various forms for years). On replays I prefer to pick the save Chloe ending however, for a few different reasons. I can relate pretty well to the idea of wanting to bring a dead friend back to life regardless of the consequences, which is something I talked about earlier in this thread. Other than that though, I like the idea of just saying "fuck it" to the whole fate thing and telling whatever cosmic powers that were trying to prevent them from being together that Max and Chloe don't give a fuck. It's a more fun choice to make for me I guess, because it throws all of that standard logic out the window, and even though that ending isn't as well produced as the save the town ending was, I still like watching that one play out too.
Feel free to stick around and chat with us in here about the game by the way! And if you haven't already got it, I do highly recommend checking out Before the Storm. Even though it was done by a different developer, I personally think they did a really good job at nailing down what makes LiS a special game, and it also adds a lot of interesting backstory to some of the characters, especially Chloe and Rachel. It has a bit of a different tone than the first game because it's less about sci-fi and mystery, but I still thought it was really good overall.
Yeah, sacrificing Chloe is a rough ending. The scene where Max is crying in the bathroom as she has to let Chloe die after they've been through so much was brutal but it was a great scene. That definitely feels like the "true" ending.
I loved Max and Chloe together too much to sacrifice Chloe and while I understood that the choice really did matter in the game in the story I had no real garuntee that it would work. I had no idea what caused any of this time manipulation shenanigans. I want a signed contract that garuntees the survival of everyone in Arcadia Bay before I even start nagotiating to sacrifice Chloe.
I want Chloe and Max to be happy and I'm certainly not going to sacrifice her for a theory. I have too hard of a time giving that up. I'm more than willing to admit that I may have made a selfish choice. I'm not perfect, but then again in my game Max chose to save Chloe... and Max is perfect :)
Fuck it, I'm an optimist. Maybe it's all being overblown and everyone survived. Maybe tidal waves in Arcadia Bay taste like champagne because from where I'm sitting it's a happily ever after to me.
Pricefield <3
I loved Max and Chloe together too much to sacrifice Chloe and while I understood that the choice really did matter in the game in the story I had no real garuntee that it would work. I had no idea what caused any of this time manipulation shenanigans. I want a signed contract that garuntees the survival of everyone in Arcadia Bay before I even start nagotiating to sacrifice Chloe.
I want Chloe and Max to be happy and I'm certainly not going to sacrifice her for a theory. I have too hard of a time giving that up. I'm more than willing to admit that I may have made a selfish choice. I'm not perfect, but then again in my game Max chose to save Chloe... and Max is perfect :)
Fuck it, I'm an optimist. Maybe it's all being overblown and everyone survived. Maybe tidal waves in Arcadia Bay taste like champagne because from where I'm sitting it's a happily ever after to me.
Pricefield <3
Well, especially with these types of games I think there's a broader schism between players who see and put themselves as the character, versus roleplaying strictly as that character. On my playthrough of LiS there was nothing that suggested Max was gay or bi but the game also (with moderate success) tweaks the context to fit your choices (if you don't go for the kiss, for example, Max's diary entry is pretty aromantic about the thing.) If you are playing BTS as trying to be Chloe, I'd actually agree with you there's really only one 'right' decision at the end, but of course I imagine a lot of people are putting themselves into both character's shoes and making the emotional choice based on their insertion into the narrative. There's not really any 'right' way to play them (unless you're harassing devs or something.)
Oh yeah, definitely agree that there is no "right" way to play. Meant more that on my play through and the choices that I made had already established what kind of character I was playing, so that when new choices were presented many felt to me that my version of the character leaned more towards one conclusion rather than another. Which is certainly more of me roleplaying Chloe but inserting myself as the interpreter of the events like you mentioned.
When I played through BtS i actually played into the character that I role-played in LiS. I often tweaked my choices to fit into what I considered to be the overarching narrative of what my choices were when I first played LiS. So an outcome I reached in LiS was the result and I would choose something in BtS to service and play as the cause to the events that unfolded in my version of LiS.
If a choice in BtS conflicted with an outcome in my version of LiS I would consider that the wrong choice, but wrong in the subjective sense.