6 Days a Sacrifice

[Vlad]

Just played through all the Trilby games... and I have mixed feelings on the series.

The series might be a very nice example of Making Complex Lore To a Story That Was Originally Intended To Be A Rather Straightforward One For The Sake Of Making Sequels (or: Making Numerous Sequels To A Fairly Straightforward Story That Was Not Intended To Have Sequels And Consequentally Producing A Very Complex Plot). It happens a lot and it happens everywhere (cinema, literature, gaming).

This is how I see it:

5DS is an enjoyable horror game that certainly was above average. I really liked it.

7DS is a sequel with a slightly artificial connection to the 1st game but, ultimatelly, it resulted in a nice transition of the original concept into the SF genre. Clash of genres, I like it. The main character wasn't as fun to play as the original Trilby but, overall, enjoyable.

TN is a sequel and a prequel which adds a lot of Lovecraft-esque lore to the game. A shift from classic ghost story into complex occult horror. I really enjoyed it as a game (shifting realms, presenting the history of the idol, the atmosphere) but not as a sequel (it's very different from both 5DS and 7DS â€" shift from character-based into complex plot-based action).

6DS remains faithful in atmosphere and form to TN but has more content that links it to 5DS and 7DS. The plot gets even more mixed-up and, as often happens in the case of veeery complex plotlines, time travel is introduced in order to make things work. Barely.

There is an obvious inconsistency: on one hand we have the host story and the.. space... ghost story... which is original but, IMO, works fine. On the other hand, in TN and 6DS, we have a veery mixed up lore with lots of epic bits thrown in (which is handled very well in TN, don't get me wrong). I think that 5DS and 7DS work together quite well, as do TN and 6DS. But all four of them? Hmm...

There is another way to look at the series as a whole: a play with the form. We get a lot of far-fetched stuff that attempts to tie it all together, true, but if we look at the big picture we get a mixture of at least 3 genres (sort of), lots of standard or, I daresay cliché, plot devices, and some quite ridiculous situations, especially in the last game when, for example:

Spoiler

You visit the house from the first game, accompanied by the clones of the main hero of 5DS and TN, after being guided by the protagonist of 7DS who, in the future, has visited himself to make sure he would become the guide and be able to visit himself again before the first visit to make sure it happens... again... only before that but still in the future.

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When I realised that I LOLed. Maybe THAT was the idea of the game? Mix genres, use cliches (pastiche), generally combine a lot of things that shouldn't really be combined, craft the plot in such a way that ridiculous situations occur...

It might be an attempt to make a sort of postmodern game series, on that makes fun of conventions, and should be viewed from a distance. What Jojoboy said might, in fact, reflect the author's intentions.

Which one is it? I don't know. As I said, I have mixed feelings on the series.

[GuyLaDouche]

There was also one more thing I wanted to talk about that I actually liked in this game: the puzzles. I've read a lot of people's posts talking about how overly easy the puzzles were (and how no one needed the walkthrough, blah blah blah), but to me that seems to be a WELL fulfilled goal in adventure gaming.

In many cases, it felt like Yahtzee KNEW where I was going and formed the story in that direction. An example:

Spoiler

Toward the beginning of the game when you first made it into the bunkers, notice how the journalist gave you the guns and kicked you out (giving you NO oppurtunity to explore the doorway to the right in the bunker). Then when you talked to the two characters, you had to go to sleep before you were allowed to explore the room (or the doorway to the right of the bunker). When you woke up the first time, what was the first thing you did? I know I went straight for that doorway to the right, and THAT's where the action happened. Also note that there was no post-it on the locker or a journal while you were 'in the dream' to distract you from going in that direction.

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It's things like that, where the author KNOWS what you're going to try, and pushes you in his/her intended direction. Those elements make a game fun.

However, one thing puzzles me in playing this game. Despite all the horrible things going on and all the deadly situations

Spoiler

Your main character does not and cannot die. Every time you are 'killed,' you just wake up somewhere else.

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I can understand the reasoning in terms of plot (such as fate and destiny guiding someone), but it's something that I still ask 'why?'

[Vlad]

Spoiler

Your main character does not and cannot die. Every time you are 'killed,' you just wake up somewhere else.

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I can understand the reasoning in terms of plot (such as fate and destiny guiding someone), but it's something that I still ask 'why?'

I suppose that is because

Spoiler

in all the previous games the hero could either be killed by the wraith DeFoe or the Tall Man, both, more or less, manifestations of Chzo. In this game, however, the hero is destined to become the new avatar of Chzo (as is described in the final soliloquy of the avatar of destiny), he is, therefore, “under the protection” of Chzo. The Tall Man and DeFoe attempt to dispose of him, the former wanting to keep his job as Chzo's avatar, the latter simply being a bloodthirsty wraith. Chzo, however, always has the final word in this matter â€" he keeps the hero alive until he is ready to become his avatar: after experiencing the suffering of the body, mind, and soul. He must also be there when the bridge between the worlds is constructed (the DeFoe manor is destroyed) in order to be brought to Chzo.

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[GuyLaDouche]

But then:

Spoiler

Where does Somerset stand in the hierarchy of this story? If Chzo has final say, how would "The Caretaker" be able to defy its will by killing the Trilby clone (which also makes no sense) and um.. re-animating Trilby Classic? (I think during this time, Somerset hadn't actually died). Then, in death, he becomes a slave to fate in which he serves Chzo by delivering the main character... And then there's original Trilby defying Chzo by dying 'or whatever' before the 'ritual' (which I don't understand) is completed in TN. If two humans were to be able to defy Chzo's will, does that mean that the main character here should have some kind of loophole in which he could escape as well?

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That seemed to be the most unnecessary argument written now that I've written it. This game is very confusing.

[Akatosh]

Spoiler

Sure, he would have had a loophole if the caretaker wasn't there - remember, at the beginning, when you have to distract 'The Guard'? If he catches you, he throws you into kind of a prison room, and the caretaker frees you from it.

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[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

I feel I should let people know - if you are left with tons of questions after 6DaS, *buy the special edition*. I'm playing it right now, am on day five, and the commentary explains a lot. The commentary on all 4 games of the series sometimes fun and often interesting, but the commentary on 6DaS is like watching Donnie Darko Director's Cut after watching Donnie Darko.

[GarageGothic]

I never understood if the Yahtzee commentaries were audio like the Adventures of Fatman and Dave Gilbert commentaries or just text? If they ARE indeed audio commentaries, how big are the SE files?

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Just text.

[Akatosh]

... I haven't seen Donnie Darko  :'(

And I'm not going to buy the Special Edition just because of "plot holes"... that would mean surrendering to the EA strategy. It starts with commentory, but it ends with:

"Oh my, 13DAS is free and good! Okay, the plot is not explanatory... hm... "TUESDAY IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE SPECIAL EDITION, SKIPPING TO WEDNESDAY?"... okay, I don't like Tuesdays anyway... er, wait, who is that guy? And why do I have a broken arm and everyone calls me 'Skinny Killerface'? Okay, let's proceed, let's proceed... er, what? "TO PICK UP THIS ITEM, PLEASE BUY THE MEGA-SPECIAL DELUXE EDITION"? Graaaah!"

... just kidding 

But seriously, I think I can live without these explanations.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Sure, but let me assure you, there are no plot holes. Like Yahtzee says at the end of the commentary, it's all there, in the games. Same as Donnie Darko - it was all there, but the director's cut gave you a lot of little extra info that made it all easier to understand... but everything you needed was already in the film.

[TheTurnipKing]

Rui,

Spoiler

Well, according to himself, Somerset would still have killed his dad, but would have got away with it (because there would have been no coffin floating in space because Trilby would have died at the end of TN), and wouldn't have had to live through 7DAS. Doesn't sound so bad to me. All he ever wanted to do was be a ship shrink, anyway.

(More likely, as the caretaker he was just lying to his earlier self, and he would have been caught, since the police were already on to him. So: jail. Still, probably a better deal than 7DAS followed by a padded cell, suicide, and being a slave to destiny.)

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Spoiler

I make this post with the proviso that I haven't played Trilbys notes.

What is the cult guy says after he's locked in the prison - the body, mind and spirit must all be in pain, or something to that effect?  Hell, when Theo starts, his body is already shattered, and the things he experiences in the later days presumably break and reforge Decabe into everything Chzo wants in His Chosen.

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[TheTurnipKing]

Oh man, I suck.  Totally replied to the wrong post.

Should have been this one.

Spoiler

Chzo's plan, on the whole, strikes me as seriously crappy. If he never wanted to enter the realm of technology at all, then the entire plot must have been just an effort to replace The Tall Man as Prince. Why? You'd rather have a crippled building inspector than a kick-ass druid as your servant? Besides, in Cadabath's case there was a good reason why he became The Prince. What did Dacabe do? Nothing! He just wore a silly outfit and tried to keep a bomb from exploding. If Chzo can make anyone who enters his realm his servant, wouldn't Trilby have been a better choice?

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[Klaz]

I liked Adventures in the Galaxy of Fantabulous Wonderment better...

[Alynn]

I guess I missed something completely

Spoiler

about Decabe becoming the new Prince. (Note: It's been awhile so exact details are lost)

Honestly, I thought it was Defoe that became the new prince (thus the steel welder mask and leather clothing of the new prince). Decabe just fulfilled the last part of the prophacy (The body destroyed in "Stranger", the spirit destroyed in "Skeptic", leaving just the mind for "Sacrifice".

I must have missed a detail somewhere, because I really thought the poor retarded Defoe brother finally got a reward for all his suffering.

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[TheCheese33]

Spoiler

Who cares if it doesn't make sense or creates a time paradox? It's still fun as hell! If you let things like this drag down your enjoyment of the game, you have serious issues.

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[elephant343]

I just played this game (but am not privy to the director's cut), and I found the point fairly evident, if convoluted. The four games are only tied together in retrospect, but they are all about suffering in particularly gruesome ways. Hence, the invention of Chzo. Caedamon (sp?), the druid, was the one arrogant enough to approach Chzo for his own selfish purposes in the first place: he is the one who should suffer uppermost, even while inflicting pain and fear on others at the behest of his master. Including, betrayal and replacement. Feel rather sorry for Dacabe, though. But it strikes me that all of the characters end up as pawns of Chzo, for his, and our, entertainment.

I may be wrong, but that was my impression of the overall plot. He's a "pain elemental", after all (that sounds silly to think aloud). It doesn't have to be narratively neat so long as everyone goes through maximum hell.

[Dualnames]

Wondering... why doesn't Yahtzee post himself?

[GarageGothic]

Wondering... why doesn't Yahtzee post himself?

Long story. His AGS Wiki entry explains it pretty well.

[Dualnames]

Wow...

[vertigoaddict]

Wondering... why doesn't Yahtzee post himself?

Long story. His AGS Wiki entry explains it pretty well.

I can relate with him. I'm the youngest of 7 children and as a child I got criticized almost hourly. Now whenever I do something good, I couldn't help feeling crap and I am told that I always put myself down.

Thanks Garage Gothic, if you hadn't linked his apology, I would've never read it; it made me feel a little bit better.

Although, I have to say, I've never had that ego where I think I'm superior than others, rather I've taken the opposite effect.