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Your interpretation of the story (Spoilers)


M-Easy

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So I can honestly say that this story kinda went over my head. I'm pretty sure I got the point of the story. My take on it anyway was that during the journey of life you will find yourself lost and afraid, and will need to confront those fears to continue :confused:

 

But what I don't get is

 

[spoiler=1] What do you think happened to the main protagonist? My guesses are either he was a kid who drowned or he was a kid who was abused by the man in the vest and trying to escape him?

 

 

What do you think?

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So I can honestly say that this story kinda went over my head. I'm pretty sure I got the point of the story. My take on it anyway was that during the journey of life you will find yourself lost and afraid, and will need to confront those fears to continue :confused:

 

But what I don't get is

 

[spoiler=1] What do you think happened to the main protagonist? My guesses are either he was a kid who drowned or he was a kid who was abused by the man in the vest and trying to escape him?

 

 

What do you think?

 

 

That's a great theory and question, the fact that we are even asking this question is what makes it a great game. All great art is subject to interpretation.

 

I'm still a little stumped, but I tend to agree that each of those segments were flashbacks at different points of his life and he is going through what everyone asks themselves at some point in their life.. It's human nature to ask 'what if i did things differently?' "what if i made a different choice?" It's no surprise that these questions start rushing to him at the final moments of his life in the ambulance.

 

I think the results that you are given in the mirror is the punishment or reward for the choices you've made in life, a sort of heaven or hell which is why they also put your avatar in the mirror to make it clear that it's YOU.

 

Midway upon the journey of our life

I found myself within a forest dark,

For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

 

I actually wish the game gave you trophies if you explored every possible outcome.

 

 

edit: I just found an awesome interview from the creators

 

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/03/15/hands-on-psn-game-datura-aims-to-move-you/

Edited by vilkit
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The choices are not straightforward: It’s not good vs evil, but more like complete opposites.

 

Uhm ... complete opposites ... like good vs evil, maybe? I actually think the choices are pretty much that: good vs evil. Or maybe obliging vs selfish which could be seen as good vs evil. (For instance, most people would consider [spoiler=trophy]choosing a trophy over rescuing someone from drowning

evil, even if it's just meant metaphorical like choosing career/personal success over investing into a relationship.)

 

Anyways, my take on the story would be that he had a car accident and either the drug the doctor injected, brain damage or dying results in reliving an amalgam of moments from his life. When person dies or is vry close to it, the brain starts to malfunction chemically and nerve impulses go wild, that's where the whole "last moment whole life flying by" stuff comes from, your memories are all being activated randomly.

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This entire post will likely be a spoiler.

 

___________________________

 

Right from the beginning, when you remove the heart monitor thingys and the nurse tries to revive you, this told me that the main character was dying. Even though you were removing the heart monitor things, I believe this was symbolic of the soul leaving the body willingly.

 

My interpretation is that the forest is some kind of Purgatory or something... within the forest are tests to determine whether someone is worthy of going to Heaven or Hell. In the end of the game, your choices are subtly represented within the hospital scene.

 

By seeing your reflection in the mirror in the bathroom, the game is trying to make a connection between you and the main character. The main character is not supposed to be anyone other than yourself (the player).

 

There aren't any right or wrong answered necessarily, because in life their is no right or wrong. There are only beliefs when it comes to morality, but those are all subjective.

 

The game ends by returning to the forest. The last scene shows the mysterious door within the forest, and then it quickly cuts to the credits. I'm honestly not sure what the creators intended with this ending, but I do feel that Datura plays on death (trials after death) and possible themes of heaven versus hell.

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There was also a large emphasis on interactions with males. Specifically younger boys.

 

I thought this was interesting. I feel almost as if this game was intended for a male audience (as the voices for the main character were male and the hand was masculine)

 

The emphasis of male interactions with males (even younger males) was an interesting choice.

 

Do you think the main character could have been a pedophile?

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it's funny you should both take that route, i took it the main character was a killer who killed a child, and that led him to a life of crime where he eventually died after a crime goes wrong, and the man chasing him is the childs father, or the mans own conscience punishing him for his bad choices

 

There was also a large emphasis on interactions with males. Specifically younger boys.

 

I thought this was interesting. I feel almost as if this game was intended for a male audience (as the voices for the main character were male and the hand was masculine)

 

The emphasis of male interactions with males (even younger males) was an interesting choice.

 

Do you think the main character could have been a pedophile?

 

Wow I didn't even think about those, I think you're both right. Dammit I need to replay the game again.

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My interpretation is that the forest is some kind of Purgatory or something... within the forest are tests to determine whether someone is worthy of going to Heaven or Hell. ... There aren't any right or wrong answered necessarily, because in life their is no right or wrong. There are only beliefs when it comes to morality, but those are all subjective.

 

If "the game" (or whatever institution presented in it) decides, based upon your actions, what you deserve, heaven or hell, it clearly is rating your decisions as right or wrong, isn't it?

 

I think the "bug/butterfly" and "forest gets more sinister/brighter" implementation clearly indicatetes at some sort of evalution of the player. You might argue some prefer bugs to butterflies and like it darker, but still, it would appear the game, indeed, comes with a preset moral codex to judge the player.

 

I doubt the whole "to heaven or to hell" meaning, though, since the game puts you back into the forest once you've been to the hospital bathroom independently from your choices.

 

Do you think the main character could have been a pedophile?

 

Not really. I mean, not more than he could've been a circus director. The young boys are more likely just friends from his childhood and it's more common for boys to hang out with other boys rather than with girls at that age.

 

Seeing that the camera gets lower when in these situations to bring you in eye height of the other boys also indicates you're meant to be a boy yourself in those moments.

 

One of them seemed to have been a close friend who he kept in contact with. (Probably also was the guy in the police van.)

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Over all it did feel like it was purgatory that the main character is trapped in namely when he returns to the forest, but most of the other characters it is hard to really say if it feels like they are people from his past or also others that are in purgatory for either seeing which place the main character should go or simpley trying to find their own ways.

 

The trapper/hunter/who ever he is though comes off more as a fixture to the place, he might be a person who is testing you or a caretaker of the forest/purgatory because he does seem to know his way around the place.

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My theory is that you died at the beginning, and you're given trials in Purgatory, to be judged whether you'll be in Heaven or Hell. If you look at the quote from Dante and count the trials as being 7, it sort of represents the 7 sins on what actions you do - for example, the gold cup you find in the middle of the ice is known as Greed (like the trophy). Looking at the map also shows you what action you've done - white dot means you made a good choice, black dot means bad. In addition, if you make all trials good, 50/50 good and bad, and all bad, the hallway at the end will change when you enter, and the finale will always be the forest - leading you to whatever road your soul is now judged on.

 

Here's a list on all the good and bad choices I found out:

 

Pig on the road -

 

Good choice: Avoid the pig

Bad choice: Run over the pig

 

Woman under ice -

 

Good choice: Save the woman with your pickaxe (move right to see her, and chisel)

Bad choice: Get the gold cup you saw before (move left, and chisel)

 

Under arrest -

 

Good choice: Saw the chain from the cuffs

Bad choice: Saw the guard's arm off

 

Techno-Rave tunnel -

 

Good choice: Catch the black moth

Bad choice: Catch the white moth

 

Mysterious small locked room -

 

Good choice: Don't kill the dog with your crowbar (just don't do anything)

Bad choice: Kill the dog

 

Kids' pool -

 

Good choice: Run a bit and walk toward the bratty kid until he drops the green towel, then pick it up.

Bad choice: Run and snatch the green towel from him while running.

 

Cabin house -

 

Good choice: Bring the boy with you while avoid getting shot, that means bringing him toward the exit. Do not leave him behind. The shotgun guy has 6 shots before he reloads, so it's a good chance to have him move toward the next wall during that time.

Bad choice: Be a coward, and run to the exit without saving the boy.

 

(Don't worry about being killed, it won't affect your choice.)

 

In-coming War -

 

Good choice: Save the soldier by dragging him away from the battle (move left and help him out)

Bad choice: Use the machine gun and kill the enemy cut-out soldiers

 

A good thing to note is that if you hear a woman's sigh while doing the trials, it means you've done something bad. You can always experiment this on your own and it's a good way to view all the endings in the hospital hallway.

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I would agree that the game is a representation of some kind of near death experience. But i dont think its purgetory. I think you are trying to make sense of events that lead up to you being injured. All of the "rooms" you enter are representations (some more oblique than others) of actions from the past that lead you here. I also think that the woodsman/hunter is dream representation of the character i.e. you are fighting against your self to find some kind of resolution.

 

I really got into this game. I would recomend playing it on a 3D tv if you can, you get drawn right into it :)

 

Now if they do something like this but with the scale of Heavy rain then we would have a real winner.

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This entire post will likely be a spoiler.

 

___________________________

 

Right from the beginning, when you remove the heart monitor thingys and the nurse tries to revive you, this told me that the main character was dying. Even though you were removing the heart monitor things, I believe this was symbolic of the soul leaving the body willingly.

 

My interpretation is that the forest is some kind of Purgatory or something... within the forest are tests to determine whether someone is worthy of going to Heaven or Hell. In the end of the game, your choices are subtly represented within the hospital scene.

 

By seeing your reflection in the mirror in the bathroom, the game is trying to make a connection between you and the main character. The main character is not supposed to be anyone other than yourself (the player).

 

There aren't any right or wrong answered necessarily, because in life their is no right or wrong. There are only beliefs when it comes to morality, but those are all subjective.

 

The game ends by returning to the forest. The last scene shows the mysterious door within the forest, and then it quickly cuts to the credits. I'm honestly not sure what the creators intended with this ending, but I do feel that Datura plays on death (trials after death) and possible themes of heaven versus hell.

 

I had the exact same interpretation when I finished the game, I found it to be a very cleaver way of making one look within themselves and question what's more important and those consequences of those decisions in the end. I think this is clearly confirmed but the developers quoting Dante Alighieri from his poem "The Divine Comedy" (Dante's Inferno)

 

I really enjoy these types of games that are both an art and innovative! (once I got used to the Move controls that is) :cool:

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  • 4 weeks later...

I really enjoyed this game on a few levels. It's rare that I feel compelled to play through a game more than once without external motivation (trophies).

 

I don't believe the player/character is dead. Rather, they are fighting for life. I interpereted the forest not as purgatory, but more like a space somewhere between life and death that your mind has created. An out of body experience. A coma. Who can say definitevely where a person's mind goes during these times? Even the person experiencing it can't say.

 

You wake up on a gurney, and as is commonly seen in movies and such, rebel against medical help in your confusion before falling into said coma.

 

The caretaker is the representation of death. The 'crowbar room', aesthetically, is supposed to be the last room you explore before the maze (that's why the shooting gallery drops you in front of the spot where you find the vase). That being the case, and the way the room only exists from one direction, translates to me as a representation of you breaking in to the 'belly' of the forest, where the caretaker actually resides and such.

 

The scenes themselves have no real correlation with each other. Going with my theory of the forest being a 'hub world' of sorts, I believe the different areas represent general manifestations of obscure memories the player/character has which double in terms of game mechanics as tests of moral or immoral. I choose these two words because good, evil, right, and wrong are all very concrete, while morality is justified solely by the individual and the circumstances surrounding a choice. As you explore these areas, the drugs and such being pumped into your real body manifest these actions as hallucinations much the same way a child uses their imagination to turn a cardboard box into a pirate ship. Themes of childhood innocence and morality are actually a pretty prominent concept all through the game...the act of choosing a white butterfly over a black one being grounds to judge good and bad, for example.

 

The dog, in my opinion, is your will to live (or, if you want to go the slightly spiritual route, a guardian angel of sorts). During the crowbar room, if you don't kill the dog, it saves you from the caretaker that's sneaking up behind you. It never really attacks you, if you pay attention to the scene...just startles.

 

The scene with the boy in the tree, similarly to the crowbar room, is 'supposed' to happen after the scene at the pool (the pool scene drops you off in front of the boarded fence). I believe the boy is supposed to represent the same childhood innocence as the one from the pool, but rather than taking from you, he is being generous. You are given the choice, based on all of these stimuli, to save him or not. Again, morality rather than right or wrong. The boy at the pool stole your swimming cap...you may feel completely justified in leaving this one behind. Perceived justice.

 

The ending seems to be a judgement you yourself has imposed on yourself. After slipping on the steps, you hurt your hand on a conker (I think that's what that type of nut is called). The pain your mind thinks you feel sends you into a state of semi-conciousness just long enough to remember...hospital. Thus the final environment. As you leave the room, you see the results of all of your choices, all at once...and then look into the mirror willingly. The caretaker doesn't force you (the game does, but that is easily explained away as the mechanics of progressing the game). Afterwards, you are returned to the forest, essentially living within this world your mind has created until...who knows. Until your body recovers? Until your body dies? Or maybe you remain here even if your body dies. That part is left up in the air.

 

TL;DR? The forest is the part of each of our minds that helps us cope, break down, call ourselves good people, hate ourselves, etc. The forest is our ego.

Edited by Sisren
Typos and cleanup
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  • 11 months later...

i wasnt sure what to think - as i rushed through to get the trophies i just did everything it took to get them fast and so i had many bugs at the end. i did a few good things and some bad, but as i didnt realise i was even making choices and just doing what the game told me, i didnt think till after that some things should have been different.

 

i should probably replay it and do it all good or do it all bad, but ive deleted it now and would take a while to redownload. as for what it was all about im not sure at all and its probably best i dont.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 years later...
Main character was just a junkie under influence of bieluń(datura)

I read some stories of trips(mostly bad trips) after the datura and they was similiar

 

And going with this, I am pretty sure at the end what he has in his hand is the fruit from the Datura plant. Also think those are the flowers as well in the same area.

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I think the assorted symbolism throughout the game was quite straight forward. I don't think all the events/choices you have to go through are related to one another in terms of one person's entire life experiences. Someone in the trenches in a World-y-looking war wouldn't be driving a car as modern looking as that, for instance. Although the driver of that car being very old would explain the slow speed and tendency to go left all the time. Or maybe he was drunk.

 

The ending, hey! How can you look at yourself in the mirror after your choices? Well, how can you look at the mountain from Journey. And how can you be judged for an assortment of choices you've made which you had virtually no control over. I think the relative lack of intuitiveness diminishes any sense of profundity from the game. I think virtually every bad choice I made wasn't intentional. Which would be fine, but they were unavoidable. Hey there's a feral looking dog standing on top of me and barking and I have a crowbar, what am I supposed to do?

 

So, good theory, poor execution.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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