#deck 9

(Gonna copypaste stuff I’ve said in the Pricefield subreddit)

My wife (@mollifiable) and I wanted this whole thing to be over with Before the Storm even ahead of when that game released lol Companies just can’t leave well enough alone. We skipped Double Exposure and it sounds like we made the right call. Even IF this game somehow manages to make a lot of ‘right’ decisions in our eyes, (and that’s a big ‘if’) how can we justify all of the nonsense it will have taken to get to that point? Especially when it would’ve just been better to leave the original story alone, as the creators intended.

I think even Before the Storm ultimately wasn’t quite worth it in the end. D9 DID do their own game with their original, separate story and protagonist - with True Colors. And it was great! In some ways, I think it’s the best LiS game. It even has my singular favorite character in Alex Chen (because to, Max and Chloe are a DUO innerently) But TC was overpriced, more subtle, and I suspect it did not sell as well. (Even though I think more grounded and subtle stories are what we NEED in the genre lately).

So they pivoted hard in desperation, it seems. And I think a lot of fans could smell that desperation. Quality stories with thoughtful decisions don’t really get told when the storyteller is desperate for your attention. It’s the equivalent of shit on YouTube like Mr. Beast or something - adults can TELL what it is, the ways it’s patently trying to cheaply grab your attention. They could’ve tried pivoting to targeting a younger audience I GUESS? But they didn’t. They could’ve even just done a total AU with the original cast - which I still think could’ve been a clever and creative middle ground in a world where AU’s are canonical.

They could’ve done so many different kinds of things. But whoever is making these calls seems to lack imagination or creativity. They’ve only got eyes for dollar signs, not genuine storytelling. That’s how it all feels to me.

And at this point, they’ve burned through any good will they may have still had for many fans. The ‘slop consumers’ who don’t put much thought into the media they consume may still eat this up no matter what it’s like. But I dunno how many folks like that still care about Max and Chloe. Enough for this to be a success where DE was a flop? We shall see.

Regardless, word is that Deck Nine is finished, they’ve been bleeding employees in recent times. I feel bad for the good folks whose careers have been upended by dumb decisions. Even if the game is miraculously good, the people who WORKED on it won’t seem to benefit from that.

But the evidence suggests it’s not going to be good - not in ways that a PriceField fan like me takes interest in. Which, at that point, ambivalence is like emotional self-defense lol

I am damaging my emotional well being just checking into ‘discourse’ spaces like this. That’s how bad a job they’ve done.

Let the decline of Life is Strange be a reminder that not every property needs or can even support invite expansion. That some stories are better left alone canonically. That some stories can only truly be told by their original storytellers, and sometimes the best thing is to leave well enough alone.

And sometimes, like the entire POINT OF LIFE IS STRANGE 1 REMINDS US,

we will serve ourselves and others better by moving FORWARD with life, accepting our choices and what has happened,

Fucking yikes.

I just fucking KNEW Zak Garriss was sus as fuck the moment he said "Chloe's probably gay" and saying Rachel was toxic and the overall changes to what was planned for BTS episode 3 and for just how much the game hero worshiped fucking David and vilified Chloe for not giving the abuser a chance.

But apparently it's worse than I ever fucking thought.

The original plan was for the new mechanic was Max slipping between timelines where Chloe was either alive or dead, like in the comic. (the comic is good imho)

Square had beef with Ashly Burch, probably because her union was striking during Before the Storm production. She graciously agreed to consult on Chloe's characterization and work with the scab they hired, Rhianna DeVries, if she agreed not to badmouth the prequel. They are under the opinion that she did, though. So, no Ashly.

Square also developed beef with DeVries. So, they told Deck 9 no Chloe in this one. Which sent the whole concept spinning. DeVries did a wonderful job, imho. None of this is on her. She should join the union.

Deck 9 management apparently hated the series but loved the money from the fanbase. So, they went ahead with an altered version of the original concept but with a new character in Chloe's place. Deck 9 project managers also hated the franchise and the new concept. And probably also Chloe.

Like Life is Strange 2 (which original developer DontNod made, remember) you're given the opportunity in dialogue to choose which options you made in Life is Strange 1. Is Chloe alive or dead? If alive, did you date her or not. But even if you pick alive and dated the most positive and charitable option is you were "high school sweethearts" (weird way to frame a woman you sacrificed thousands of people to save) and you've already broken up.

The only voice lines from Chloe are archival lines from LiS1, and I'm not even convinced they're from Ashly Burch.

You can tell when game dev managers hate a game and mess with it. It's a bummer.

Max: She's always using common phrases incorrectly