More Addie ramblings
You know, I'm probably just reading WAY too much into Addie's Present at this point, but I swear that game has some psychological merit to it. (: Seriously, I'm convinced now that the characters Addie meets in her weird little dream town represent various aspects of her psyche, and the way they interact with one another shows a tremendous insight into her personality. It COULD just be pure coincidence that everything's falling into place in an unexpectedly deep manner, but I seriously think the writers intended the whole game to be this odd psychological masterwork, packed with symbolism (both thinly and thickly veiled) out the wazoo.
There are some aspects of the gameplay that I don't much care for (such as the unforgiving nature of "bomb" puzzles, which can irreversibly RAVAGE your score in a matter of seconds, forcing you to either grin and bear it, or reload your last save-game), but on the whole, I'm just getting more and more impressed with this game every time I play it. It plays very much like a Love-de-Lic title, only with a bit more "sophistication" to it... it's like what Love-de-Lic might make if they were trying to design a game for an upscale competition, or for course credit in a highly reputable college.
And it's not even like the story itself is particularly deep or meaningful - most of it is simply Addie chasing after her dream-world equivalent of the boy she has a crush on, following clues to his whereabouts as they present themselves, and dealing with whatever obstacles may stand in her way. But the way the story is told, and the unique and (in my opinion) distinctly symbolic cast of characters that populate this odd seaside resort town, make it a story I've become truly involved in, and one that I really want to see through to its conclusion.
As an example of one of the unusual twists in this game's dreamy little plotline, there's a point (which I believe I described here before) where Addie's trying to glean information from a very lazy, but very knowledgeable man named Den. Den decides to toy with Addie, and tells her that he'll only answer her questions if she brings him things from his house down the road; things that he doesn't actually own, but would really LIKE to own. He starts small, by asking her for a comb - and when she actually delivers one (to his surprise), and delivers everything else he requested as well, he decides to be a real jerk, and ask her to bring him the "large, expensive jewel" he has lying around in his home. Addie knows that no such thing exists, but with her Loglock, she can transform objects into other objects - so she finds a half-eaten donut on the guy's bed, and transforms it into a jeweled bangle.
When she brings him this jewel, he kinda sobers up a bit, and answers her questions - but makes her promise that she'll return the jewel to where she found it (since he assumes she stole it from somewhere).
Later in the game, you're once again tasked to seek out Den for information. When you find him, he's sitting Indian-style on his bed, with a vacant look in his eyes. When you ask him your question, he simply responds, "Gone... it's gone..." You ask him WHAT'S gone, and he replies, "My... my half-eaten donut... it's gone! Without that donut, I barely even have the energy to move!"
And so, you're forced to turn the jeweled bangle *back* into a donut, in order to give him the energy he needs to give you the information YOU need!
What's significant about this is that it's one incident in a trend of mishaps. The last few times Addie's been confronted with puzzles to solve, she's been really cocky about them, since she (and the player) have now pretty well gotten the hang of using Loglock to transform objects... and so, she's been transforming things all over the place, any time she gets even the slightest bit of provocation to do so. And most of these transformations have been backfiring on her - either the people she intended to help with them are just upset with her in general for messing with their stuff, or they're happy with her for giving them the object they sought, but sad that the original object is now gone.
It hasn't really been pointed out in-game yet, but it's obvious that the more comfortable Addie gets with using Loglock, the less benefit using Loglock has on the world around her, and the more people either lament her using it, or EXPECT her to use it (as quite a few people have sought her out at this point, specifically to have her transform object after object for their own personal needs!).
Some of the transformations themselves, too, have been really interesting to think about. There's this one art critic who's staring at a painting that's just a pure black canvas in a frame. When you speak with him, he talks about how his eyesight is going, and he's not able to really analyze or appreciate art anymore. So, you transform his watch into a pair of glasses! He puts them on, and you ask if that's any better. He says, no, not really... he still can't understand what the purpose of the painting may be... but since he no longer has a watch, he can now afford to take all the time he needs to study it.
I dunno, it's just a really fascinating game. One of those rare gems that, in my opinion at least, represents a team of designers who had a very clear and very unique vision.
And that's the kind of game I love to see. (:
-Tom
There are some aspects of the gameplay that I don't much care for (such as the unforgiving nature of "bomb" puzzles, which can irreversibly RAVAGE your score in a matter of seconds, forcing you to either grin and bear it, or reload your last save-game), but on the whole, I'm just getting more and more impressed with this game every time I play it. It plays very much like a Love-de-Lic title, only with a bit more "sophistication" to it... it's like what Love-de-Lic might make if they were trying to design a game for an upscale competition, or for course credit in a highly reputable college.
And it's not even like the story itself is particularly deep or meaningful - most of it is simply Addie chasing after her dream-world equivalent of the boy she has a crush on, following clues to his whereabouts as they present themselves, and dealing with whatever obstacles may stand in her way. But the way the story is told, and the unique and (in my opinion) distinctly symbolic cast of characters that populate this odd seaside resort town, make it a story I've become truly involved in, and one that I really want to see through to its conclusion.
As an example of one of the unusual twists in this game's dreamy little plotline, there's a point (which I believe I described here before) where Addie's trying to glean information from a very lazy, but very knowledgeable man named Den. Den decides to toy with Addie, and tells her that he'll only answer her questions if she brings him things from his house down the road; things that he doesn't actually own, but would really LIKE to own. He starts small, by asking her for a comb - and when she actually delivers one (to his surprise), and delivers everything else he requested as well, he decides to be a real jerk, and ask her to bring him the "large, expensive jewel" he has lying around in his home. Addie knows that no such thing exists, but with her Loglock, she can transform objects into other objects - so she finds a half-eaten donut on the guy's bed, and transforms it into a jeweled bangle.
When she brings him this jewel, he kinda sobers up a bit, and answers her questions - but makes her promise that she'll return the jewel to where she found it (since he assumes she stole it from somewhere).
Later in the game, you're once again tasked to seek out Den for information. When you find him, he's sitting Indian-style on his bed, with a vacant look in his eyes. When you ask him your question, he simply responds, "Gone... it's gone..." You ask him WHAT'S gone, and he replies, "My... my half-eaten donut... it's gone! Without that donut, I barely even have the energy to move!"
And so, you're forced to turn the jeweled bangle *back* into a donut, in order to give him the energy he needs to give you the information YOU need!
What's significant about this is that it's one incident in a trend of mishaps. The last few times Addie's been confronted with puzzles to solve, she's been really cocky about them, since she (and the player) have now pretty well gotten the hang of using Loglock to transform objects... and so, she's been transforming things all over the place, any time she gets even the slightest bit of provocation to do so. And most of these transformations have been backfiring on her - either the people she intended to help with them are just upset with her in general for messing with their stuff, or they're happy with her for giving them the object they sought, but sad that the original object is now gone.
It hasn't really been pointed out in-game yet, but it's obvious that the more comfortable Addie gets with using Loglock, the less benefit using Loglock has on the world around her, and the more people either lament her using it, or EXPECT her to use it (as quite a few people have sought her out at this point, specifically to have her transform object after object for their own personal needs!).
Some of the transformations themselves, too, have been really interesting to think about. There's this one art critic who's staring at a painting that's just a pure black canvas in a frame. When you speak with him, he talks about how his eyesight is going, and he's not able to really analyze or appreciate art anymore. So, you transform his watch into a pair of glasses! He puts them on, and you ask if that's any better. He says, no, not really... he still can't understand what the purpose of the painting may be... but since he no longer has a watch, he can now afford to take all the time he needs to study it.
I dunno, it's just a really fascinating game. One of those rare gems that, in my opinion at least, represents a team of designers who had a very clear and very unique vision.
And that's the kind of game I love to see. (:
-Tom