999

phew! okay, done, and boy do my fingers hurt. It does get very Ever 17 there by the end of it. Alas, some of my cool theories had to be discarded along the way (and it's tempting to try and make games out of some of those cool theories, but tricky to do so without the result looking too much like either the early parts of this game, or Battle Royale...)

999 - Weird Passing References

I'm not giving plot spoilers here and I haven't completed the game yet, I'm just going to talk about a few weird tangential things that have popped up so far.

First off, 'Lotus'.



Has large breasts (really, they're bigger than that in-game!) and is wearing a skimpy belly-dancer outfit. We have no idea why - the characters are choosing not to talk much about themselves in case the killer is listening. It doesn't surprise me that people occasionally question her unusual appearance.

However, what isn't apparent from that image is that she's a lot older than the main character. I don't know her age exactly so far, maybe 40? But while this is a surprise to the player, it's supposedly evident to the other characters, some of whom call her 'Grandma' and complain about having to look at her "wrinkly raisin" body. This seems... strange, compared to the visual that's being shoved at the player. Are we supposed to assume that the characters making these complaints are being ridiculous? Is this intended as commentary on the 'christmas cake' phenomenon, to suggest that a woman over 25, no matter how conventionally attractive, is over the hill and unwanted? Are we supposed to assume that she looks extremely different from the depiction on-screen, and that the Giant Shiny Breasts are just for the player's entertainment? That has weird implications of its own... And are we then meant to agree that looking at cleavage which is not excessively youthful and perky is a horrific experience?

Another thing that made me blink in confusion was that, while examining one of the rooms and encountering a vanity table, one of the characters suddenly went off on a rant about the derivation of the term and how "women every day sit and stare at their own conceited natures" or something along those lines. Which, well, whoa, there's a lot to unpack there. It's possible that this is meant as a sign that the character speaking is a jerk, as I have yet to unravel the central mystery and I strongly distrust that particular character. If it's just an out-of-the-blue tidbit by the author along the lines of the rambling about telepathy and crystals, it's... creepy.

999

My fingers hurt... :(

I have two endings so far. Not surprisingly they've involved EVERYONE'S DEAD DAVE. (Well, okay, in both cases the person that killed me was still alive when I kicked it, but I don't know if they survived past that or blew up. Nor do I yet have any evidence about the veracity of the off-camera deaths.)

I am mildly annoyed that only a crazed killer has so far thought to do the really obvious thing that I am never allowed to do in-game. (collecting stray bracelets)

eeeeewwww (999)

Some author is having too much fun describing bloody pulp in detail.

Happy Christmas!

So, my Christmas games haul is the copy of 999 that I've started but haven't gotten too far in, the copy of Remember 11 that I bought myself but just arrived, and the autographed Fighting Fantasy that we got at a charity auction earlier in the month but again only just arrived (with bonus card game from Ian Livingstone who is a sweetheart).

Also my sister sent me Amazon UK credit that I don't actually know what to do with. I suppose I could pick up the Witcher, maybe? except I have TOO MANY GAMES TO PLAY already. It's been on my 'eh, maybe' list ever since it was first released and I'm clearly not in much of a hurry. I'm just too busy!

current word count

58,977

ingame date: November 23rd.

sigh. I make games too big. :)

ye old ball and chain

A cute article on the pros and cons of playing MMORPGs with your significant other.

(Which I'm not doing at the moment, but might again sometime.)