[spoiler]I never freed the falsely accused guy (for some reason I don’t remember his name now).
So. About the murderer.
Was it Boris?
…and can you get the true murderer in jail?
For me I kinda lost interest in the game after the murder was “solved” and the whole game went meta on itself. It wasn’t bad or anything. It just wasn’t the game I bought. I thought it was more a Twin Peaks or X-Files comedy murder mystery kinda thing. But it was just … something else.
Why do people still think Twin Peaks is a basic murder solving story? I thought the fact that this game is even compared to Twin Peaks should be hint enough that a simple murder solving case is not what this is about?
Just a guess: Because there is a murder that works as a common thread through the series?
No.
First, there is no official statement from the developers, that TWP is comparable to/with Twin Peaks (have a look at the Steam page). That’s primary the press who did this association. The developers even wrote:
By the end of a long, strange night in Thimbleweed Park, all of this will be answered – and you’ll question everything you thought you knew.
(The second part of that sentence doesn’t imply that questions are left open, it just promise a twist in the story.)
Second, you need a lot of time(*) to find the “murder”. The first half of the game focus even on the murder. So it’s only natural that you want to know who the murder is.
(*) I needed round about 2/3 of the whole playing time to feed all tron machines. But at least you need 1/2 of the playtime for that.
Which is way overrating it, considering the murder is solved halway through the second season, so two thirds into the series, like a certain game we´re talking about here.
It was part of the kickstarter pitch and mentioned in lots of interviews, I´d say it´s super official.
I thought the murdersolving part was the easiest and fastest thing to do. I was so soon done with it that I went:“wait that´s it?” and then was relieved it wasn´t. But it also wasn´t that much of a surprise as Ron also has said in countless interviews:“it starts out with this murder but very soon starts off to go in a very different direction and the murder becomes less and less important”. I really haven´t seen a single livestream or interview where he was a guest where he hasn´t repeated that.
… it is not mentioned on the official sites. So new player don’t know that.
… could you please cite the part of the Kickstarter site where Twin Peaks is mentioned?
… in interviews Ron mentioned that he was inspired by different films, series and directors. Ok, including Twin Peaks. But you can’t say or imply (as a reader and/or player) that TWP was a reference to Twin Peaks.
Huh. Your posts are growing… Ok:
For me it was the other way around. One “problem” here is, that you can solve puzzles at that stage that belongs to a later part.
But if you break it down to the story and the parts, the first half of the game is about solving the murder, the second getting into the factory. (And we won’t talk about the time you need in the factory … :))
Yes, for him. He wrote the story (and re-wrote the end, btw ;)). As an author you are deeper in your story and you know what happens next.
But the murder is a large part of the game: You have to feed four tron machines. Each of these needs at least two objects. Each of these objects are having a puzzle chain.
The murder is mentioned in every description of the game and it is the “hook” of the game. So it’s natural that someone who bought the game asks the question: “Yeah, nice twist - but who the beep was the murderer?”
You know the funny thing is, that page has changed a lot. But I´m positive there were several official texts that included that “Twin Peaks mixed with X-Files and True Detective plus some Stephen King for good measure” bit.
Oh, no that is totally a problem in my opinion. I was totally invested into breaking into the factory (because everyone tells you at that point) when I was actually supposed to do the whole Will stuff still. I had to look up a hint and then found out I missed out on a whole puzzle chain because of this (thus getting spoiled for a couple of puzzles instead of only just one).
True but then again this was also all over the place:
Also when you played that game to the end even though it isn´t literally spoken out loud, I thought it was pretty obvious how and by whom the murders were commited. Afterall the game has only one antagonist, no matter how “nice” he seems near the end.
Sorry, last minute additions! I type faster than I think…
Also note that the terms basic and simple were not used in the initial question, and a “murder mystery kinda thing” is not the same as a “simple murder solving case”.
Whilst we initially know that the murder “is part of something bigger”, the very meta story twist of TWP may for some players still feel anticlimactic or like an unexpected not-mystery-anymore genre change, leaving one disappointed.
Although I kind of expected the meta plot from the beginning, I was continuously hoping that the bigger mystery was something else. Although the ending somehow “explains everything”, I personally felt the first part / murder story quite dis-attached to the second part / factory & meta story, which sort of made the first part somehow unimportant and un-interesting (as opposed to still unsolved and thrilling and part of something bigger).
The comparison with Twin Peaks maybe hints towards a certain genre and the concept that the murder is just the peg for a bigger story hovering around a strange town. It sets some expectations, but not about a genre twist. (By the way, in Twin Peaks, even after the murder is solved after 2/3 of the initial episodes -which was a decision not liked by all involved people- , both the victim and the murderer are still part of the plot and key part of the bigger story.)
Add to that that Twins Peaks is bascially still on going, so you never know where that will go now (I totally consider the revival series a part of the original now).
Personally I don´t care much for the meta ending of Thimbleweed Park myself. I totally get it, but I agree it wasn´t very satisfying. Still not bad enough to ruin the whole game for me. But I never had any issues with the idea that the murder was only the mcguffin to get the whole story going.
The “problem” is, that we have read all texts and follow the lead… ehrm. Ron’s blog posts and podcasts. A new player coming to Thimbleweed Park reads the official descriptions in Steam and Gog.
But you have to solve the murder. And you can’t deny that the murder takes a large part of the game. There are even three(!) parts dedicated (only) to the murder (“The Meeting”, “The Body”, “The Arrest”). And the longer you try to solve other puzzles first, the longer you stay involved in solving the murder. Then the arrest scene occurs at a later moment in the game, so it stays in the brains of the players until the end.
For you. But it seems that a lot of players have a problem with this (in their eyes) unsatisfying ending.
Hehe, yes. In German this is valid for me too. My beeping knowledge about the english language slows me down a bit.
This used to be on the official website before they changed it. It´s the official press blur. Or a product of my imagination, you decide!
In a town like Thimbleweed Park, a dead body is the least of your problems.
Thimbleweed Park is an all new epic graphic adventure game by Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick, the creators of Maniac Mansion.
Thimbleweed Park is the curious story of two washed up federal agents called in to investigate a dead body found in the river just outside of town, bloated and pixelated from a death come too soon. Lost along a dusty stretch of highway, the town of Thimbleweed Park once boasted an opulent hotel, a vibrant business district and the state’s largest pillow factory, but now stinks of a desperate longing to be what it once was.
The game will feature Ron and Gary’s trademark satirical humor, poking fun at Twin Peaks, True Detective and The X-Files, with a little Stephen King thrown in just for fun.
Thimbleweed Park was successfully funded on Kickstarter in Dec 2014 and is scheduled to be completed early 2017 for Xbox One, Windows, Mac and Linux. Android and iOS will follow soon after.
Yes I do, because I really don´t feel that it does.
You gotta be kidding, that part is almost as short as “The Will”. And by sheer defintion that part hasn´t anything to do with “solving a murder” right?
A link would have been enough, but thanks. For all who are curious: It is on the “About” page of the blog.
But I don’t think that most (new) players will read this page and it states that it is “poking fun at” several films and books. So you can’t assume/imply that in the game some questions will be left open. That is especially valid for people who haven’t seen these films/series/whatever.
You are hard to convince. But as I said above: There are several(!) puzzle chains that needed to be solved to arrest the “murderer”. So it isn’t unimportant.
That wasn’t the question.
You stated that it should be clear to the player that TWP is not about the murder (because it’s officially compared to Twin Peaks and the end answers all questions). And I tried to argue that this isn’t true, especially for new players that haven’t read the blog posts or heard the podcasts.
But to answer your question (if Ron reads this, he will tar an feather me again ): If a lot of people have problems with (parts of) the story then either (parts of) the story is/are weak or the people started the game with wrong expectations. In the second case you could/should change for example the advertisement text. (btw: I for myself haven’t a problem with the story and especially with the ending.)
That´s it, I´m blind! I´m getting a dog first thing in morning!
Yet it dwarfs in comparison to everything else that comes later in game, ie The Will, Franklins plotline and the whole getting into the Factory/AI part. Literally the only part about the murder that took me a while was the whole thing with the blood, you find exactly one third what you need to solve the murder in the drawers of the police station! And one thing you already have before you even get there… I just don´t see how solving the murder could have been such a big deal, but okay…
I think it´s funny that the point you´re trying to make is that no one can know about all these Twin Peaks and X-Files relations when the very starting point was the person who started this thread mentioned exactly those two shows!
It just wasn´t the game I bought. I thought it was more a Twin Peaks for X-Files comedy murder mystery kinda thing. But it was just…something else.
So in practice nobody who buys this game wouldn´t be able to know these things, what I have to take from this is proabably that I´d have to agree with you that this seems to mean that most people don´t know these influences enough, to be able to tell how on the mark it actually is.
But in the end the argument I don´t get the least is. “The makers of this piece of fiction have conciously taken me on the wrong path and deceived me and played with my expectations”.
Why has this to be a weakness in general? You may not like it, or get the same level of joy out of it as everyone else but why should this be wrong in principle?
But a lot of people seemed confused about the murder (and the murderer). So obviously something must be confusing.
Ehrm … No. The only thing I am trying to say is, that it isn’t “super official” (as you said). (Twin Peaks is mentioned in several reviews and Ron talked about it in his interviews.)
The “problem” is, that this “Twin Peakness” isn’t in the focus. If I read the text on the Steam page (and several german reviews), I get the impression that this game is about a murder and that there is some mystery going on (that might promise suspense). The steam page states even: “Switch between five playable characters to uncover the surreal secrets of this strange town …” So nothing points to the fact, that some questions won’t be answered. I think it’s natural that some people are at least confused - like the person who started the thread.
This isn’t wrong in principle. But: If you buy a horror game you don’t expect a love story. This is a similar situation.
(And to be honest: I don’t like unanswered questions in games, books and movies too. And I haven’t watched Twin Peaks.)
I love movie, books and games that don’t answer all my questions. I love thinking about a book for months after I finish it. I loved Mulholland Drive. One of my top favorite movies. I suggest you don’t watch it.
I think that it’s interesting to point out that when the game was launched, the main trailer video on Steam was the one about Ransome.
I assume that a lot of people watched this trailer back then, which starts with the words:
“Hey, it’s Ransome the -beeping- clown here. I wanna tell you about this game called Thimbleweed Park. If you think this is a game about figuring out who killed this stiff out by the bridge, you’re -beeping- wrong!”
Do you like games that have multiple possible endings, where none of them is the “official” one?
Ok:
