unforum

[Sythys]

[Wandering Star]

I think you just nailed it.

"We have seen the enemy, and he is us."

Wandering*

[Jack LaCroix]

syths, I think you've made a extremely valid point, and to a large degree I agree with you. the Korp does appear to be a physical manifestation of the cynacism and mass consumption society has inflicted upon itself, and in the worst way possible.(on a side note, doesn't it seem like a bit of a cliche that the "big evil entity" in this ARG is a Corperation?)
However, I'm not going to make any assumptions about either the Korp or the Deck until I see some more activity from both. other than the morse code and few documents floating around, we really haven't seen much from the Korp recently. correct me if I'm wrong, but did we ever find out WHY they burnt down the decks warehouse?
going back to my original post on this thread, the Aces said we're going to have to make a "decision we don't want to make". pretty ominous words coming from equally ominous people. in my opinion, the Aces seem rather...well... "big brother"-ish? always watching and monitoring, even when we think they're not?
I still think it's far too early in the game to really make any moral assumptions on either group. the Korp may turn into a ragamuffin group of vagrants hellbent on the destruction of everything beautiful and unique, or they may turn into a bunch of potbellied beerswilling fratboys moreso concerned with harassing everyone. the point is, we can't tell at this time, agreed?
keeping with the Alice theme, we're not even to the pool of tears yet, where the white rabbit( AKA jonah, two of clubs) is suppose to make a reappearance. and as we all know, he's been breaking the rule of silence...I personally can't wait to see how the aces handle this...

[EbonyGhost]

It's interesting that you point out the white rabbit (aka "jonah") doesn't make a reapperance till the pool of tears; while at the same time he seems to break the silence often... I think that this is definatly following AIW, but I don't think we should rely on it to go fully by the book, otherwise, this would all be too easy, and it feels like things are going to get complecated, very complecated... but thats just me.

[mgelles]

I'm interested in their reaction too Jack. I'm glad someone else has picked up on some "not so warm and fuzzy" sentiments on the part of the Aces. I agree it is way to early to tell, but nothing wrong with giving all parties involved equal scrutiny when picking our way through the journey.

At any rate this game has me absolutely riveted and is the first to do so in months and I think its awesome that people are using gaming as an avenue for social message whatever said message may be.
michelle

[Jack LaCroix]

I guess what sets me off a bit about the aces is that to be a part of something susposedly benevolent and kind(the deck), they give off the vibe of being heavy handed. I'm reminded oddly enough of the heirarchy of great brittain during the middle ages ( IE, what the king/queen says, goes. and if you go against them, OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!)
And we must remember that the deck isn't entirely composed of "good"(I'm going to use such a term loosely until we determine the exact cause of the deck, other than making the players within it approach life in a different way) people. The aces seem to have misread the jokers, and the six of clubs, whom were reportedly greedy, power hungry little beasts.
though what the deck is doing seems to be on the surface morally upstanding, it appears that the cards, not the aces, are the ones that are making it that way.
but then again, I still hold by my position that the ARG is young, and we've much to see before this journy is over.

[anonymousloli]

They're people. People are both good and evil. I bet when 6c goes home, he tenderly takes care of a loving family. Same for the Jokers. Not to mention the Jokers aren't even bad. They're basically liaisons, as far as I can tell, between the deck and the Korp.

On the other, but equally interesting, hand, are the Aces. I bet they swear too much, or curse god, or maybe even committed a few crimes. And Jonah? He's no saint.

People are good, and people are bad. It's not one or the other, it's both.

[theravencries]

but we can all tell there is some kind of bigger picture that we are not clued into yet.

[mgelles]

I don't think the intent of the discussion was to fault the players behind the characters for being human but to discuss the fact that there may be more to the individuals as characters than initially meets the eye, which is by the way the mark of good storytelling. One dimensional characters would get very boring very quickly. We're merely speculating on possible directions for the story based on character actions. I've not forgotten there are people behind this curtain who are all decent people with their share of flaws as well. One of the things that makes this game sticky is the lack of definite division between character and PM common to most games. I'm not really one of those to champion the purity of the form such that i believe that a game which doesn't follow tradition ought not be attempted or played. Chaotic fiction can have a variety of forms, methods, and purposes and still be completely valid and a blast to play

When we're critical of a character we do so in the spirit of "this is not a game" taking each communication with a character as a revealation of character and story much as we would when discussing any other type of fiction, which is a necessary part of gameplay.

Michelle