#Alex Chen

[thealexchen]

Why Dontnod's games feel original and inspired (and why Deck Nine's games don't)

So, I've talked at length about how Double Exposure feels much more like a corporate product than a playable piece of art entertainment [My initial thoughts on the DE trailer] [My thoughts on the early access paywall] [My thoughts on the weird marketing].

But now with the release of Lost Records, I feel like I have no choice but to confront the question: were any of Deck Nine's games truly original or inspired in any way? And honestly, I have to say no.

Objectively, I could say it's because Deck Nine literally has not produced any original IP's since their rebrand from Idol Minds in 2017. Their only narrative adventure games are all part of the LiS franchise. But even their most original game, True Colors, pretty obviously follows the first game's narrative formula (young woman with a superpower investigates a sudden disappearance/death in a small town with a dark secret, has two opposite sex love interests, learns about a twist villain, is nearly murdered, and goes through a psychological nightmare in the last episode) to a tee. But oh look, there's also a LARP!

But I believe there's more to it than that, because when I look at Dontnod's games, they are always inspired by other works. Life is Strange 1 plays very clear homage to Twin Peaks with the Pacific Northwest setting and Rachel Amber resembling Laura Palmer. Max Caulfield is named after the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, another novel about the fleeting innocence of childhood and superficiality of society. Life is Strange borrows tropes from Donnie Darko, Groundhog Day, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Stand By Me, and even Blue is The Warmest Color for its themes and plot points. Just take a look at its "Shout-out" page on TV Tropes. And the result is... something completely original, with riveting plot twists, memorable characters, and an ending that will make you cry.

This shouldn't make sense, right? You'd think this big soup of references would turn into an indistinguishable mess of cliches, but Life is Strange managed to be a synthesis of everything the writers loved and were inspired by, to become something completely new. Why? Because nobody had tried to take Twin Peaks, Donnie Darko, and The Catcher in the Rye and turn it into a video game before! And make it gay!

The point being, Dontnod consistently makes original material because they take creative risks. This is definitely not done lightly, since they still need to be a company that generates profit, but they still prioritize making art over selling out. Their stories feel inspired because they are inspired; when writers love what they're writing about, the result is a passion project that has loving, clever nods to all the works that are woven into it.

So perhaps a way to reword that first question is to then ask, "Have Deck Nine's games ever been inspired by anything?" And unfortunately, the answer is still no. Instead, they just copy what they hope will sell well. And a bland imitation for the sake of generating profit is never going to produce anything that feels original.

This takes me back to Lost Records, which is also clearly inspired by the same works: Twin Peaks, It: Chapter One, The Craft, The Blair Witch Project, The Goonies, Stand By Me. But again, no other game studio besides Dontnod has ever looked at these works and thought, "But what if it starred teenage lesbians instead?" Or, more specifically: "How do we capture the spirit of what made these media great and incorporate that into a new story for a new audience?" And those characters have so much thought and care poured into them too: while I've been disappointed that Double Exposure Max looks airbrushed to hell and back, I love that the Bloom & Rage girls have asymmetrical faces, acne, freckles, body hair, skin discoloration, and diverse body types. Double Exposure is marketed as nostalgia bait for fans, where Max is reduced to a prettied-up, polished-up, representation of nostalgia, not even her own character anymore, in a game that otherwise has no connection to the original. Her quips are reduced to "Hey! Remember our good ol', dad-joke cracking, dorky Max Caulfield??" and her grief is shoved aside for "Hey, look at that appealing new love interest! Because we knoooow y'all love your sapphic romance, right?"

By contrast, Lost Records has only been out for 10 days, but I already feel like the girls are some of the most memorable characters I've come across in gaming for the niche they fill. Swann seems like your typical Max-like dork, except she's also a movie buff and giddy about bugs, horror, and the paranormal; and has clearly been affected by her mother's fatphobic beliefs. Autumn is a level-headed leader who always stuck to her desire to help others, and her Blackness naturally informs her desire to feel valued and not cause trouble in a small, very white, conservative town. Nora intrigues me so much for going from a fun-loving rebel punk teen to a more gender-conforming, capitalist-leaning, influencer businesswoman. And Kat feels like an evolution of Chloe's cynicism, where her scrappy charm belies an almost unsettling obsession with the occult and a deep, tragic chasm of rage at having to confront her mortality far too young. They make sense. They feel carefully written, genuine, and like real people.

But most of all, Dontnod's games have never felt like products. In fact, most of their characters have historically gone against the grain of what traditionally "marketable" characters are. The first LiS took all these aforementioned stories about straight white men and chose to remix and retell it through the eyes of a young, queer, time-traveling girl instead. Tell Me Why is the first AAA game with a trans protagonist, and Tyler is voiced by a trans actor in all the language dubs. Lost Records decided that it would tell its story through four queer teenage girls, with women writers onboard, and fucking own it. As long as Dontnod keeps making games that stick to their creative integrity, I'll keep respecting their vision in whatever they decide to create next. Also, maybe I should finally watch Twin Peaks.

Thank you for reading!

[proxythe]

life is … weird

[door-insurance]

LiS characters from different games hanging out

sean, max and chloe chillin at the diner- looking at each others work

Victoria and steph babysit daniel and chris, hijinks ensues

kate and alex having a jam session (idk what you call it)

rachel signs up to be ranger, ryan is there to mentor her and she accidentally starts a fire somehow

[worseforwarren]

the beauty of life is strange

[arcadiabaytornado]

The way the Life Is Strange franchise portrays freedom is so, so, so, insane.

It's portrayed as the ultimate goal Chloe, Rachel, Karen, Sean, Steph, and possibly Alex strive for. Yet, it's also portrayed as a doomed ambition that you'll have to give up everything to reach.

Rachel loses her life in her search for freedom, and so does Chloe unless Max makes the ultimate payment of everything she and Chloe have ever held dear. Karen has to sacrifice her family to be free, and Steph has to sacrifice her bonds in Haven Springs. Alex has to sacrifice her dream of living a happy life in Haven with her brother to end up on the road, and Sean loses A: His life or B: His freedom or C: His brother or D: His safety in his pursuit of escaping into Mexico.

But despite what all is sacrificed, freedom is still portrayed as something beautiful. It's portrayed as Chloe and Max driving off into the sunset for more adventures. It's portrayed as Rachel and Chloe happily daydreaming about their future with no awareness of the horror yet to come. It's portrayed as Karen, Sean, and Daniel star-gazing and letting lanterns lose into the night sky. It's portrayed as Alex and Steph playing in a band in front of their adoring fans

But it's also portrayed as something destructive. It's the tornado that destroys a town so Chloe can leave. It's the wild fire that engulfs a town Rachel feels stuck in. It's the bullet wound that made Alex and/or Steph realize they didn't belong. It's the blood shed by a nine year old as Sean crosses over the border. It's the deep emotional scars Karen left behind when she up and left in the middle of the night.

Freedom is portrayed as this beautiful ultimate goal that ends up being a force of destruction in the lives of everyone who seeks it. It makes me think of this philosophical question: "Can you be truly free if you have something? And it makes me think of how the franchise answers "No. At least, you can't have everything." It's an interesting twist from how freedom is usually depicted in media, and the choice to make the downside of freedom destruction makes me brain go insane.

[bricreative]

Van life

[lillbitdramatic]

do you ever walk scott street and feel like a stranger ?

[xamiipholia]

This is a really important read. (fyi the title refers to the upcoming LIS, not True Colors)

Rebekkah Valentine is the real deal, she does great fucking investigative journalism.

Honestly it seems like a miracle that True Colors is as good as it is. Fuck Square Enix.

[pricknim]

lazy sunday

[seattledaytwo]

I just know that teenage Alex Chen did NOT play abt her Tumblr

She was putting in the work with her layout and embedded music player

Just look at her!! I can visualize the black and white soft grunge gifsets she was reblogging like omg

Don't get her started on her history with The 1975 and Arctic Monkeys...

[fishbone2]

kissing simulator

[pridebicons]

HAPPY BI VISIBILITY DAY!!! 🩷💜💙

made icons of some of my fav canon bi characters to celebrate!!!!

like/rb if using + credit

[lgbtvideogames]

[door-insurance]

Chasemarsh - jealous/being protective

bonus - unrelated but here is alex suplexing jed

[blue-rose-07]

[theesteppenwolf]

Alex motherflipping Chen

I finished LiS: True Colors and am proudly in love with Alex. Drew her in the bard outfit from the LARP chapter because it’s so gosh darn charming it hurts.

Also can you believe i drew something not Dragon Age related, wild.