Board 8 > life is strange: before the storm

(+) Yeah! (+)

thought I'd make an information topic.

http://lifeisstrange-blog.tumblr.com/post/161712261945/announcing-life-is-strange-before-the-storm
https://www.reddit.com/r/lifeisstrange/comments/6gof4n/life_is_strange_before_the_storm_has_been/

- episode 1 on 8/31/17 on xbox/playstation/pc
- 16.99 for the full season
- developed by deck nine games, a denver studio. they don't have a real strong portfolio: the game that jumps out most to me is PS3 launch title Pain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deck_Nine_Games
- play as 16 year old chloe. the game will focus on chloe and rachel.
- there will be a bonus episode where you play as max. it's said to be very standalone.
- dontnod is also making a full life is strange sequel or sorts, though no details are known there, including returning characters, location, etc
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not sure how good this will end up being but I'm in
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Feel like Life is Strange was fine as is. Hopefully these additions won't muddy the name.
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Well that's... weird. Don't really feel that great about delving into that part of the story - I liked the unstated nature of all of it in LiS

also the fact that it's a different developer is weird, and I don't really see how it can involve LiS's time-traveling mechanics so like eh I dunno we'll see I guess?

I'm in too. if it's bad, it's easy to write off and if it's good, it's fun backstory. Rachel was a huge tease in s1 so it'll be nice to get a sense of her.
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Do I want this? I'm not sure if I want this.
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no time travel mechanics. it has some "strange" stuff but nothing stated. conversations will surely feel different.
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Playing as Chloe?

No thanks
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They had to do a prequel because Lesbian Holocaust ending is canon. In the Sequel we'll be playing as a washed up Sailor that Max stalks because he's photogenic before murdering him with space magic.
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eh, I'll pass
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I know it's massively wishful thinking, but I wonder if this could lead to a 3rd ending of the original game. i.e. the standard ending of the prequel would lead to Life is Strange as-is, but if you dig into side stuff deeply enough Chloe gets various hints that can be pieced together to stop the storm without negating the first 4 days of the first game.
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OrangeCrush980 posted...

I know it's massively wishful thinking, but I wonder if this could lead to a 3rd ending of the original game. i.e. the standard ending of the prequel would lead to Life is Strange as-is, but if you dig into side stuff deeply enough Chloe gets various hints that can be pieced together to stop the storm without negating the first 4 days of the first game.

Don't see how it would be possible without time meddling which is the cause of the storm anyway, but hell it'd be fun
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Well, I'm hyped.

I just got back to the internet so I haven't hunted down every scrap of info that exists yet, but I have high hopes for this. More Chloe is always a good thing, and I don't see why people are downplaying the potential for time meddling. All I've seen mentioned so far is that no one has a specific power, but a lot of weird things could still happen beyond their control. Hell, in the trailer, Chloe is in the car with her dad when he's hit by a train. What's that about? A mere bad dream, or is something strange going on?!? I could even see this being about Chloe getting unstuck from time somehow after Max messed with the timeline enough, and that could have some insane ramifications. I mean, we're talking time travel. This thing could wind up negating the entire plot of Life is Strange and there are ways to justify it with time travel.

That said, this could wind up being lame if it's just 'here's Chloe a few years ago on a non-time travel adventure, nothing really happens'. I mean, I'd probably love it because Chloe is the actual best, but I'm a crazy person when it comes to Life is Strange.
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Huh, Ashley Burch is on the writing team. That's promising.
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Kind of weird that it is not being developed by Dontnod.
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it's weird, she's on the writing team but she's not voicing Chloe
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dev diary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GONk9c3MLjA

also learned two more things. one, Ashly isn't voicing Chloe because of the voice actor's strike. two, there's apparently a "back talk" mechanic for Chloe in conversations. neither are very encouraging.
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wait is it actually because of the strike?
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Some people have said that DontNod is still making Life is Strange 2 and this prequel is separate? Does anyone know where they said that?

I don't mind Chloe but this seems like a story that doesn't really need to be told. I mean I'd like it if it doesn't end up unfolding the way we "know" it does but idk.
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I'm tentatively excited, but I need a few more details before I hit the pre-order.

Mainly, I want to know that there's going to be some weirdness. I'm okay with no time-travel (it wouldn't make sense anyway), but there needs to be something screwy going on. Maybe something that shows that Arcadia Bay has always been weird, and hints at a reason why Max got her power.

I'm also kind of annoyed that it costs more than LiS did despite only being three episodes, and the version with the bonux Max episode almost doubles the price.
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Man, very skittish on this.

I don't want to know anything about the past of that universe that Max doesn't know.
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digiiiiiiiii posted...

wait is it actually because of the strike?

She outright said so on Twitter. https://twitter.com/ashly_burch/status/874344938627977216

Square-Enix isn't one of the companies they've explicitly struck against so S-E must be using on of the voiceover studios that are on the list of struck companies for this title.
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Also Max was my favorite character so a story without Max seems very meh
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gameplay (that I won't watch)

http://www.ign.com/videos/2017/06/12/20-minutes-of-life-is-strange-before-the-storm-gameplay-e3-2017-ign-il
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i'm fine with no max. life is strange wasn't really about max.

life is strange is one of my favorite games of all time and i'm way less hype for this knowing there's no ashly burch.
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transience posted...

it's weird, she's on the writing team but she's not voicing Chloe

Wait, she's not? It sounded like her in the trailer
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digiiiiiiiii posted...

i'm fine with no max. life is strange wasn't really about max.

I see it completely differently.

Life is Strange is entirely about Max (and about you, the player, of which Max is an agent), and coming to terms with the idea that so much of life is out of your control.
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skull_bonek23 posted...

Some people have said that DontNod is still making Life is Strange 2 and this prequel is separate? Does anyone know where they said that?

I don't mind Chloe but this seems like a story that doesn't really need to be told. I mean I'd like it if it doesn't end up unfolding the way we "know" it does but idk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoVni44YBtE
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Jakyl25 posted...

digiiiiiiiii posted...

i'm fine with no max. life is strange wasn't really about max.

I see it completely differently.

Life is Strange is entirely about Max (and about you, the player, of which Max is an agent), and coming to terms with the idea that so much of life is out of your control.

I'm with you in spirit. I think Rachel is an odd exception. seeing her personality is pretty interesting, I think.

plus, given that the ending with Rachel kind of has to be ambiguous, it won't be anything definitive like I think some might be fearing.
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digiiiiiiiii posted...

i'm fine with no max. life is strange wasn't really about max.

it definitely was an unorthodox "coming of age" story about Max

everything that happens is directly impacted by her weird powers and the game is her learning how to use her powers in the best way and figuring out what the best way is
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i don't really agree. it's about chloe and always was.
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It's ultimately about Max's relationship with Chloe, but everything is filtered through Max as she tries to figure out what's best for Chloe and for them, which is encapsulated in the final choice.
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i don't get that at all, max doesn't even need to exist for the story to go on. chloe caused everything to happen, it's all centered on chloe. it's not even about max's relationship with chloe. max could be a projection of so many things while chloe is in turmoil over rachel. max is the least important character in that story but a capable avatar for the unknown and the player
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Chloe would've been dead within 5 minutes without Max since she's so bad at decision making

maybe it would've been better without Max after all

make Kate the main character
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screw kate
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should've stopped after Episode 2
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Warren should've been the main character.
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max saving chloe has nothing to do with max and everything to do with the chaos that chloe created. it could have been anybody

but i guess we're not really having this discussion anymore so w/e
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LeonhartFour posted...

make Kate the main character

Day one purchase.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWNb9_NlD1I#t=15m40s

this feels wrong
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Actually without Max being in it, won't this basically just be "Life is depressingly average" ?
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Even without any strangeness, I'm still excited for all the things this prequel could show (besides just 'more Chloe').

Perhaps the most important thing is that we'll finally get some definitive information on the kind of person Rachel is. I've played Life is Strange a dozen times and I still haven't settled on an opinion of her. There are a lot of hints she didn't really care about Chloe (potentially treating her as nothing more than a way to get out of Arcadia Bay, which she also tried to do with the random truck driver at the diner, among others), but Chloe insists Rachel was 'her angel' so I dunno. It'll be interesting to see this phase of Chloe's life.

Anyway, I've pre-ordered the Steam deluxe edition. Have you?!?
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not gonna watch any videos of this, and i'm also in the camp that feels... weird about this existing at all from that really stupid "artistic purity" standpoint because WE DON'T NEED EVERYTHING EXPLAINED IN A "NARRATIVE UNIVERSE" but these are the times we live in so of course this was going to happen and of course i'm going to play this.

also, the first life is strange is definitely about max and chloe, and digi is just being stubborn with his insistence to deny max's character, growth, and agency (apart from the player) in making life is strange life is strange. this applies to the most basic of facts in driving the plot as leon pointed out all the way up to the power dynamics and themes the game tackles as jakyl pointed out. placing it all on just chloe is also hella reductive for why life is strange resonates so much, especially with a particular crowd. maxine caulfield, in all her awkward, nosy, photography dork, twee, waif hipster bullshit glory, is fucking integral.
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Max, never Maxine!
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Mixed feelings:

Life is strange was a game that doesnt need a sequel or prequel. It was such a raw, unique experience. I cant see a way to get the same experience in this game.

A new setting with new characters would possibly be the only way to do it. And the way they so perfectly created the original setting gives me confidence it could work.

Will probably ask on here before playing a generic buy/dont buy.
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No Max?

More Chloe?

Hell yes this is amazing news.
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MenuWars posted...

Actually without Max being in it, won't this basically just be "Life is depressingly average" ?

Nah you don't need her

You can throw Rachel in there and it'll be exactly the same
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Just go full on Fire Walk With Me
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imthestuntman posted...

Life is strange was a game that doesnt need a sequel or prequel.

Eh, if anything else the endings could use more closure.
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