Re: That Cheap and Sacred Thing - Drama/Sci-fi
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:55 am
First of all, congrats on finishing this! Been keeping an eye on it for while and it's really exciting to see it done.
Second, I apologize for the length of this post. I analyze too much.
Third, wow. That was incredible. Seriously incredible.
I downloaded this as soon as I saw it was done, started playing it before work but only got 10 minutes in, and pretty much spent all day looking forward to coming home and finishing it. So worth it. Really, really poignant--I cried.
I loved the art. Sprites were spectcularly expressive (I love Elly's shocked face/pose so much~), and as for the CGs... the snuggly ones were all super adorable (the pizza one actully made me "Bawww"), and that one last CG, wow. I seriously just stared in awe for a minute. Such a powerful, fascinating image.
Also, I had a few little geek spaz-out moments, when you mentioned the uncanny valley and authorial intent.
And while I do agree that authorial intent is fairly irrelevant, I really appreciated the notes (I love to analyze, but I'm dense, and don't always look close unless I'm told to).
Second, I apologize for the length of this post. I analyze too much.
Third, wow. That was incredible. Seriously incredible.
I downloaded this as soon as I saw it was done, started playing it before work but only got 10 minutes in, and pretty much spent all day looking forward to coming home and finishing it. So worth it. Really, really poignant--I cried.
I don't even know that I have words for how Jude's destruction scene affected me. Just so powerful, and so grotesquely beautiful, and brilliant, right down to the fact that it was a metal baseball bat (I love the reciprocation that that implies). The way Jude was so dedicated to her without even having the chance to bond over time like Elly had, what it said about Autumn's dedication to Elly, the sense that her assenting to Jude's backup was something of a breakthrough in Autumn's ability to love... It was a gloriously climatic as I could have wanted. And it left me wondering if Jude wanted to be a real boy.
Elly's interrogation scene was another one that floored me. One more thing I loved: Autumn's commentary on "programming". Jude might be saying he loves her because he's programmed to flatter clients, but all the same Elly might have said she loves Autumn because she was programmed to care, and Autumn's programmed to feel good whe she's told she's loved.
The title image is BRILLIANT, by the way. I didn't notice the little thing-which-is-off until I finished the game, and then as soon I got back to the start menu I did a double take, because of course I've already seen the image a bunch of times since I've been following this game's development and I was shocked I hadn't noticed the discrepancy before.Elly's interrogation scene was another one that floored me. One more thing I loved: Autumn's commentary on "programming". Jude might be saying he loves her because he's programmed to flatter clients, but all the same Elly might have said she loves Autumn because she was programmed to care, and Autumn's programmed to feel good whe she's told she's loved.
I loved the art. Sprites were spectcularly expressive (I love Elly's shocked face/pose so much~), and as for the CGs... the snuggly ones were all super adorable (the pizza one actully made me "Bawww"), and that one last CG, wow. I seriously just stared in awe for a minute. Such a powerful, fascinating image.
I will admit I have a morbid fascination with the image of half-dissembled androids. In one of my own works, an android takes herself apart after her creator dies, and it's one of my favorite scenes.
Also, I had a few little geek spaz-out moments, when you mentioned the uncanny valley and authorial intent.
And while I do agree that authorial intent is fairly irrelevant, I really appreciated the notes (I love to analyze, but I'm dense, and don't always look close unless I'm told to).
I did find myself wondering if it was somthing unique about Autumn that caused the "errors" in robots committed to her, or if it should just be taken generally as "things that could happen". I do sort of like to think that maybe it's just the robots' ability to notice how badly Autumn needs unconditional love that causes the error.
On "choosing" people: I could argue that we never completely choose. We can't choose who comes into our lives, at least, and who we like depends on how they line up with what we're already "programmed" to like in people.
Lastly, thanks for pointing out that the title can refer to multiple things. I fell too easily into the trap of "it means love!" but I really like the idea of humanity--or rather, that perhaps-mythical unique and quintessential "human-ness"--as cheap in that it can arguably be manufactured (I certainly feel that if there is such a "human-ness", Elly and Jude both achieved it), but sacred in that people put so much stock in it and want to believe that it can't be mimicked.
So all in all, thanks for making something so amazing. This has actually given me something to aspire toward with my own WIP. Also definitely going onto my little list of VN recommendations.On "choosing" people: I could argue that we never completely choose. We can't choose who comes into our lives, at least, and who we like depends on how they line up with what we're already "programmed" to like in people.
Lastly, thanks for pointing out that the title can refer to multiple things. I fell too easily into the trap of "it means love!" but I really like the idea of humanity--or rather, that perhaps-mythical unique and quintessential "human-ness"--as cheap in that it can arguably be manufactured (I certainly feel that if there is such a "human-ness", Elly and Jude both achieved it), but sacred in that people put so much stock in it and want to believe that it can't be mimicked.