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 Forum index » Chaotic Fiction » Slender Man Mythos
Proxy Pandering
Moderators: ChildOfAtom, Cougar Draven, DavFlamerock, Dixie_Wolf, ndemeter
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Fotzepolitic
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Lithp wrote:
Quote:
This may be lame but it is how the kind of nutcase people who set weird puzzles while merrily murderering people tend to operate. They lack empathy so they don't see how someone not solving their puzzle means anything other than that they are super-dooper clever.


I'd say we're talking about a character like Kefka or the Joker, right? Well, in that case, they can obviously be quite successful, as per the previous examples. I just think it's a tricky archetype to use because, while they can come across as intimidating, they might instead come across as shallow, unmotivated, & unoriginal.

Also, from a purely subjective standpoint, I generally prefer the opposite--an antagonist who is composed & calculating.


I was actually imagining someone like The Zodiac Killer, but then I suppose a proxy implies the person just being a servant or extension of something else, so probably wouldn't have that kind of ego.

Lithp wrote:
Quote:

Yeah, this does suck. At least Masky nutted Jay in the dick that one time.


In general, I find Totheark a lot more interesting now that he's started actually doing things, & not being such an add-on.


I lost track of that one a long time ago, tbh. Certainly though it's frustrating when the stage is cluttered up with additional characters who don't do much, or do basically the same thing but in different frocks.

Lithp wrote:
Quote:
I suppose the problem with puzzles is, why set them at all?


It makes slightly more sense if you have a 3rd party that you have to hide the message from.


I guess, but it makes a lot less sense in that case to broadcast it over the Internet with only a solvable puzzle between anyone and the message.

I suppose it relates to something I mentioned elsewhere - the superpowerful secret society/cult that is invariably uncovered by a few teenage nerds in a matter or weeks - that maybe those of us who solve the puzzle should be giving ourselves big pats on the back for being so super-smrat, but I don't know.

An ideal "puzzle lock" for a message would be one where either the puzzle can only be solved, or the output of the puzzle is only useful to, someone who has some pre-existing bit of information. So say you tell Person X that when the puzzle appears, they'll need to divide the result by 17 and add 1 to get the code to open a file or whatever. No one who you don't give that information to is likely to try that, so if you can trust that person to keep shtum, you can safely make the puzzle public.


Lithp wrote:
Quote:
I suppose the proxy is often used to nudge the audience and/or protagonist in a certain direction. The downside of hiding clues someone for the audience to endlessly pour over is that, you know, they might not?


Only flaw I can think of is that maybe I haven't properly accounted for the size of the audience. With a large enough fanbase, pretty much everything is going to be analyzed at some point, & in the unlikely chance that it isn't, you can always rewrite yourself out of the hole.


Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Well I wish they'd start >=(


Something I quite liked the idea of doing was a sort of choose-your-own-adventure style vlog - obviously a bit less verite than something like MH but hey - where you'd use polls or some similar method to decide the course of the story.

The problem with that is that you need to know you're going to have an audience by the point of the first choice, or else film every possible outcome of each choice (which if you know your powers of 2 means that within just a few binary choices you're filming huge amounts of footage than possibly no one will ever see) and hope that people do eventually start playing. Of course, the advantage of that second method is people can play it again or play through it years after it finished, but still.

I think puzzles can potentially be a good way to gage how much of a shit your audience gives, actually. =)
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 5:46 am
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gottagofast
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 		I don't really see anything a proxy can do that slendy can't do better, while being scarier. I think it takes away from the main threat. But, as with everything, if done right it can add to a story very well.

PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 4:49 pm
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Fotzepolitic
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gottagofast wrote:
I don't really see anything a proxy can do that slendy can't do better, while being scarier. I think it takes away from the main threat. But, as with everything, if done right it can add to a story very well.


I guess the "obvious" one would be: it can speak.
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 5:07 pm
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TheFallenenvoy
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Joined: 08 Apr 2011
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 		proxies as a concept are ok. However two dimensional hoody and mask servants are fucking dull.
if you feel the need to have a proxy, give it character and motives. and cut the binary crap while you're at it.
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 5:12 pm
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Fotzepolitic
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 		Agreed about the binary. I don't get the appeal of it.

Everyone knows hex is cooler.
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 5:16 pm
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TheFallenenvoy
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 		* cut the computer code crap
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 5:25 pm
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Lithp
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Joined: 04 Mar 2012
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gottagofast wrote:
I don't really see anything a proxy can do that slendy can't do better, while being scarier. I think it takes away from the main threat. But, as with everything, if done right it can add to a story very well.


Maybe it doesn't need the proxies. Maybe it makes its victims do its bidding because it thinks that's funny. Or maybe it considers some tasks to be beneath it.

PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 9:13 pm
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Fotzepolitic
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TheFallenenvoy wrote:
* cut the computer code crap


Yeah, I knew that was what you meant really.

Because really, when you take out the computer element, binary is just a base. There's no real reason to use it over base-5, base-17 or base-36 or, if you're feeling really daring, base-10.

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
Of course, what one COULD do is put out trinary messages that only contain 1s and 0s, so that when a 2 shows finally up around the fourth message people are all ERMAGHERD MERNDBLERWN.


EDIT: and when I say one could do that, I mean that one might be able to but I'm sure as shit not going to check.
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 4:09 am
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Baronness
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 		I see what all of you are saying, and I think everyone's got really good points.

I just, you know... I can't figure out how to deliver any kind of clues to my characters without a proxy/observer/informant, and I can't figure out how I can bring any kind of proxy/observer/informant character into the mix now without everything about it being overused and/or cliché. I guess I was hoping one of you could just solve all my problems for me. NEED CREATIVITY JUICE. NOW.

EDIT: As far Slendy goes, I don't want him to stoop to such levels. He is better than any physical interaction with humans, unless you count staring at them, sliding to the side, or occasionally just popping up somewhere.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:21 pm
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Fotzepolitic
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Baronness wrote:
I see what all of you are saying, and I think everyone's got really good points.

I just, you know... I can't figure out how to deliver any kind of clues to my characters without a proxy/observer/informant, and I can't figure out how I can bring any kind of proxy/observer/informant character into the mix now without everything about it being overused and/or cliché. I guess I was hoping one of you could just solve all my problems for me. NEED CREATIVITY JUICE. NOW.

EDIT: As far Slendy goes, I don't want him to stoop to such levels. He is better than any physical interaction with humans, unless you count staring at them, sliding to the side, or occasionally just popping up somewhere.


I like to think of proxies as like drones to Slendy's queen bee. But maybe that's just cuz he's so stylish. Or some kind of automated fleshbot that he just detaches from himself and releases into the world when he needs menial shit done.

One way to proxy without proxying would be to avoid showing the specific character that's DOING the proxying, and just show the results of what they do. If your Slendy is ultra-non-physical, your proxy should be unrelentingly physical, and possibly not too smart. Otherwise, what's the point in him?
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:44 pm
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fezstudios
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 		If I were to put a proxy in my series (which I may), the proxy would have to be like an empty shell of a person who has been messed with by Slendy so many times that he/she has next to no free will.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 4:58 pm
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Lithp
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Quote:
He is better than any physical interaction with humans, unless you count staring at them, sliding to the side, or occasionally just popping up somewhere.


Old Slenderman is actually pretty violent. I think the whole "photobombing" thing stems from the difficulty of rendering him doing a whole lot of anything that he's supposed to be capable of.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 8:23 pm
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Baronness
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Lithp wrote:
Quote:
He is better than any physical interaction with humans, unless you count staring at them, sliding to the side, or occasionally just popping up somewhere.


Old Slenderman is actually pretty violent. I think the whole "photobombing" thing stems from the difficulty of rendering him doing a whole lot of anything that he's supposed to be capable of.


Wait--really? Are there any examples of him being violent (on film, pictures, etc.)? Or just that myth that he'd dismember/gore people?

PostPosted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 9:08 pm
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RedSoul78
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Joined: 20 Mar 2011
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 		Off the top of my head, there was one MLAndersen video where he sent Shaun, the cameraman at the time, flying backwards. Although I'm not sure if it was from physically pushing him or just willing him away. Some series have also had off-camera examples of his violence (finding bodies/organs in garbage bags, etc.).

PostPosted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 9:19 pm
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Lithp
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Baronness wrote:
Lithp wrote:
Quote:
He is better than any physical interaction with humans, unless you count staring at them, sliding to the side, or occasionally just popping up somewhere.


Old Slenderman is actually pretty violent. I think the whole "photobombing" thing stems from the difficulty of rendering him doing a whole lot of anything that he's supposed to be capable of.


Wait--really? Are there any examples of him being violent (on film, pictures, etc.)? Or just that myth that he'd dismember/gore people?


I'd say that's pretty violent.

I can find comparatively few examples where he's actually shown physically committing the violence, but why not?

PostPosted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 10:03 pm
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