![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
plutherusPart Two:
So, I’ve been playing Life is Strange: Before the Storm, a sequel to the game Life is Strange.
I’ve found some exceptionally good writing in this game, which may be interesting to look at for some lessons on constructing narrative fiction - so, novels, movies, whatever, not just video games.
So I’ve recorded some of my thoughts with that in mind as I go. Be warned, this whole thing is going to be super spoilery for both Life is Strange and Before the Storm. So, you might want to play the game first before reading this.
This was going to be a Twitter thread, but then it got a little long for that.
They say every scene should reveal character or advance the plot. This scene is all about revealing character. Here you get to tag stuff, and smoke, but we already knew Chloe was a delinquent.
You also get to interact with several other students. Since it’s a game, things work a little differently than they would in a novel, or a movie. You get to make a lot of choices yourself about Cloe’s character. So, what kind of person she is is partially created by the player, and partially revealed by the game.
For the most part in this scene, Chloe’s character is revealed in interactions with other characters, who we also learn about. Considering how many of them there are, the developers did a good job of making them all different, and of developing Chloe’s character with every interaction. I was going to choose a couple of representative examples to mention, but I really want to go through all of them. Since this is going to be on my blog now instead of Twitter, I don’t have to worry about blowing up anyone’s feed, so I will.
First up: Justin
Despite her protestations of having “no friends” at school, she and Justin are at least friendly. They both smoke pot, though apparently not together. Later we learn that they’re friendly enough that he feels it’s OK to take hers without asking and let her know he intends to repay her later. She’s relaxed around him, not standoffish or angry. This seems like Chloe being herself more than almost any other time. If there was a “mean Chloe” interaction, I didn’t see it.
Then there’s Victoria
We run into her sitting at the fountain. For the most part, I’m going to ignore the original game, but I feel it deserves a mention here. Victoria plays a large role in Life is Strange, and this meeting is a great example of an issue in sequels: How to introduce a character to an audience, some of whom are seeing them for the first time, and others who are already familiar with them. And how to give them a character arc after they’ve already had one, especially in a prequel. The writers pull it off nicely: She is disdainful and full of herself, and it’s obviously an act that she’s just starting to perfect. Chloe has the opportunity to get the better of her, and I took it. My Chloe may be a generally nice person, but she don’t take shit from no-one.
Immediately after, we meet Samantha, who’s vulnerable and sweet and when she accidentally insults Chloe, Chloe lets it go with no more than a withering look. I don’t think there was an even an option to insult her back. If there was, I didn’t take it. She’s already unsure of herself enough, no need to make it worse. We get to see two opposite sides of Chloe within maybe a dozen lines of dialog, just by seeing how she reacts to two different people.
Skip the security guard is in a band, and ignores Justin smoking pot on school grounds. He shows he respects Chloe, too, and they have an easy banter, so he’s cool. He’s the opposite of David in pretty much every way. I feel sad that David gets his job, later. The only nice/mean option I saw was whether I agreed to listen to his band, which I did, and it was good so I told him so. I imagine if I’d said it sucked, there’d be different dialog somewhere along the way somewhere. At this point, I don’t feel Chloe would be mean to someone being earnest and treating her with respect. She saves that shit for people who deserve it.
Moving on, we meet Evan, who like Victoria is way too full of himself. When he’s being inadvertently insulting it’s different from Samantha, so we take the opportunity to fuck with him and sign his petitition with a humorously fake name. I don’t think there was even an option to sign with your real name, which is appropriate. At this point, we’re getting a pretty good idea of what kind of person Chloe is, and it’s far more than “troubled teenager”.
Finally we meet Mikey and Steph. Steph invites me to their D&D game. The first time through, I blew them off. Too nerdy. This time, though, I realize I’m there because I’m buying - actually paying cash for - a pirated DVD of the Bladerunner director’s cut. So, combined with not being that far away from playing pirates with Max, and her knowledge of chemistry, I realize Chloe’s kind of a nerd herself. Plus, Steph promises it won’t take long, and she’s kinda cute. So I join this time and, not wanting to upset Steph, I play it straight. Mikey wasn’t so into it at first, but I won him over. Then accidentally chopped off both his feet. Oops. In the game, I mean, not in real life. I mean, in the game in the game, not in the real life in the game. It’s confusing. Well done, writers. I may have to revisit that trick, of making the story seem more real by referencing something that isn’t. I wonder if that’s what Star Trek: The Next Generation was going for with all the holodeck stories? Probably not.
Finally, a payoff: two last people to meet before heading in to be late for chemistry class: Drew and Nathan. Drew, the jock, is bullying Nathan, the sniveling rich kid. This looks like something Chloe would stay out of. Then Samantha runs up and pleads for her to intervene. There’s something odd about her fixation on Nathan - they seem a strange couple. Good call on the writer’s part, though. They knew at this point Chloe wouldn’t be interested in intervening, so they brought in an external motivator for her to do so. How can you say no to that face?
So, anyway, there’s my thoughts so far on that scene. Showing us Chloe’s character with seven interactions with nine people. Each one was different and revealed a different facet of our protagonist. Most are only about a minute or two long.
So, I’ve been playing Life is Strange: Before the Storm, a sequel to the game Life is Strange.
I’ve found some exceptionally good writing in this game, which may be interesting to look at for some lessons on constructing narrative fiction - so, novels, movies, whatever, not just video games.
So I’ve recorded some of my thoughts with that in mind as I go. Be warned, this whole thing is going to be super spoilery for both Life is Strange and Before the Storm. So, you might want to play the game first before reading this.
This was going to be a Twitter thread, but then it got a little long for that.
They say every scene should reveal character or advance the plot. This scene is all about revealing character. Here you get to tag stuff, and smoke, but we already knew Chloe was a delinquent.
You also get to interact with several other students. Since it’s a game, things work a little differently than they would in a novel, or a movie. You get to make a lot of choices yourself about Cloe’s character. So, what kind of person she is is partially created by the player, and partially revealed by the game.
For the most part in this scene, Chloe’s character is revealed in interactions with other characters, who we also learn about. Considering how many of them there are, the developers did a good job of making them all different, and of developing Chloe’s character with every interaction. I was going to choose a couple of representative examples to mention, but I really want to go through all of them. Since this is going to be on my blog now instead of Twitter, I don’t have to worry about blowing up anyone’s feed, so I will.
First up: Justin
Despite her protestations of having “no friends” at school, she and Justin are at least friendly. They both smoke pot, though apparently not together. Later we learn that they’re friendly enough that he feels it’s OK to take hers without asking and let her know he intends to repay her later. She’s relaxed around him, not standoffish or angry. This seems like Chloe being herself more than almost any other time. If there was a “mean Chloe” interaction, I didn’t see it.
Then there’s Victoria
We run into her sitting at the fountain. For the most part, I’m going to ignore the original game, but I feel it deserves a mention here. Victoria plays a large role in Life is Strange, and this meeting is a great example of an issue in sequels: How to introduce a character to an audience, some of whom are seeing them for the first time, and others who are already familiar with them. And how to give them a character arc after they’ve already had one, especially in a prequel. The writers pull it off nicely: She is disdainful and full of herself, and it’s obviously an act that she’s just starting to perfect. Chloe has the opportunity to get the better of her, and I took it. My Chloe may be a generally nice person, but she don’t take shit from no-one.
Immediately after, we meet Samantha, who’s vulnerable and sweet and when she accidentally insults Chloe, Chloe lets it go with no more than a withering look. I don’t think there was an even an option to insult her back. If there was, I didn’t take it. She’s already unsure of herself enough, no need to make it worse. We get to see two opposite sides of Chloe within maybe a dozen lines of dialog, just by seeing how she reacts to two different people.
Skip the security guard is in a band, and ignores Justin smoking pot on school grounds. He shows he respects Chloe, too, and they have an easy banter, so he’s cool. He’s the opposite of David in pretty much every way. I feel sad that David gets his job, later. The only nice/mean option I saw was whether I agreed to listen to his band, which I did, and it was good so I told him so. I imagine if I’d said it sucked, there’d be different dialog somewhere along the way somewhere. At this point, I don’t feel Chloe would be mean to someone being earnest and treating her with respect. She saves that shit for people who deserve it.
Moving on, we meet Evan, who like Victoria is way too full of himself. When he’s being inadvertently insulting it’s different from Samantha, so we take the opportunity to fuck with him and sign his petitition with a humorously fake name. I don’t think there was even an option to sign with your real name, which is appropriate. At this point, we’re getting a pretty good idea of what kind of person Chloe is, and it’s far more than “troubled teenager”.
Finally we meet Mikey and Steph. Steph invites me to their D&D game. The first time through, I blew them off. Too nerdy. This time, though, I realize I’m there because I’m buying - actually paying cash for - a pirated DVD of the Bladerunner director’s cut. So, combined with not being that far away from playing pirates with Max, and her knowledge of chemistry, I realize Chloe’s kind of a nerd herself. Plus, Steph promises it won’t take long, and she’s kinda cute. So I join this time and, not wanting to upset Steph, I play it straight. Mikey wasn’t so into it at first, but I won him over. Then accidentally chopped off both his feet. Oops. In the game, I mean, not in real life. I mean, in the game in the game, not in the real life in the game. It’s confusing. Well done, writers. I may have to revisit that trick, of making the story seem more real by referencing something that isn’t. I wonder if that’s what Star Trek: The Next Generation was going for with all the holodeck stories? Probably not.
Finally, a payoff: two last people to meet before heading in to be late for chemistry class: Drew and Nathan. Drew, the jock, is bullying Nathan, the sniveling rich kid. This looks like something Chloe would stay out of. Then Samantha runs up and pleads for her to intervene. There’s something odd about her fixation on Nathan - they seem a strange couple. Good call on the writer’s part, though. They knew at this point Chloe wouldn’t be interested in intervening, so they brought in an external motivator for her to do so. How can you say no to that face?
So, anyway, there’s my thoughts so far on that scene. Showing us Chloe’s character with seven interactions with nine people. Each one was different and revealed a different facet of our protagonist. Most are only about a minute or two long.
