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The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117016
02/23/05 12:00 AM
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Tirian Offline OP
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Okay, I've just finished The Black Mirror, and I'm horribly confused about what happened at the end. There seems to be a great deal of affection for it in these forums, so maybe you'll offer your thoughts.

1) Am I the murderer? Bates and James thought so, but it hardly seems possible that I would have the opportunity to carry out all five murders. It's particularly odd that I could kill William, since the story seems to indicate that I was nowhere near the area when he thought to write his letter.

2) What went on in the Black Mirror? Walkthroughs seem united on the concept that it's a good thing, but I don't buy it. The good Marcus didn't want the keys united and used, which I did, and then I followed that up with a blood sacrifice and reading a sinister incantation. If that's how you defeat Mordred, why didn't Marcus do it? Seems much more likely to me that I unleashed Mordred on the world rather than banishing him.

Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117017
02/23/05 01:46 AM
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Jenny100 Offline
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Check this site
http://adventure-treff.de/artikel/interviews.php?id=21&lang=eng

The article has "whited out" the part where what happened in the game is discussed. So you'll have to highlight it to see the text.

Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117018
02/23/05 01:47 AM
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Last edited by looney4labs; 06/19/07 10:44 AM. Reason: updated link
Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117019
02/23/05 06:21 AM
02/23/05 06:21 AM
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nickie Offline
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welcome to Gameboomers, Tirian! And thanks for posting those links, Jenny100. It is very interesting what everyone thinks happened in the game -and lots of people came up with different ideas, although most agree that it is a fun game to play! I don't think the main character killed William either.


"How could drops of water know themselves to be a river? Yet the river flows on."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117020
02/23/05 11:46 AM
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I still think Samuel was framed!

WW


"So then he says it's enough to take aim! What's that supposed to mean?!?"

Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117021
02/23/05 01:56 PM
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nickie Offline
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I think you're right, Wysewomon! And the butler helped do it! wave


"How could drops of water know themselves to be a river? Yet the river flows on."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117022
02/23/05 02:12 PM
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Thanks for the welcome -- I certainly am glad to find a place where story-based puzzle games are king -- I certainly play enough of them!

I think I like Becky's hypothesis that the spirit of Mordred was in the orb which killed William when he took off the ring of protection and then possessed Samuel because he didn't have the ring. (Furthermore, the orb was so evil that it caused all the problems at the mine when someone unknowingly broke through to Marcus' tomb.) I'm capable of believing that I killed Henry with blood-draining mystic powers on night 1 and then killing Vic on night 2 using more powers so that his blood would still be fresh on day 4 when I got back from Wales. Killing Hermann is no problem and my only regret is that I didn't get to see myself killing Robert, who is a world-class butthead but his only sins are torture and doing everything in his power to keep the chain of succession on his branch of the family. I'm not assured that Samuel was the last of the Gordons -- Robert had a wife who left him who may well have taken children with her to wherever she went. That would also explain why Robert stole William's letter and ring, because he didn't want Samuel to have any tokens signifying that he was the chosen lord of the manor.

But I've played these pawn of prophecy games lots of times. You find out near the end that you've been following an A-Z ritual for doing immense evil and you just finished step Y and the evil guy is mwahaha-ing at you. But when that happens you do something surprisingly unexpected instead of Z that foils the evil plan. You know, like deciding to read the incantation backwards or yell out the 23rd Psalm instead. But Samuel just stuck to the script that was written 800 years ago, so I can't see how someone can claim that he didn't fulfill the horrible prophecy that Mordred had described. Maybe they had an elaborate cutscene planned that would show Mordred rising and you defeating him only then but didn't have enough time to include it in the game.

The suicide is the only thing that made sense to me, although perhaps it would have been better to give you the option of going downstairs and facing four counts of murder, two attempted murders, any number of charges of tampering with a crime scene and obstruction of justice, defiling four graves, violating the sanctity of the confessional, and Victoria's deep shame at having welcomed you into her house. Whether Samuel was the murderer or not, his daylight actions during the week fully separated him from civilized society and the defence that you were possessed by a demon wouldn't help to reacclimate you, much less address your own guilt.

Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117023
02/23/05 05:02 PM
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Tirian---I loved this game--but it left me with more questions than answers--However, now that I know the ending, I think it would be interesting to go back and replay it and see if you can see any little indications that Samuel is the murderer throughout the game wink


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-Roger Caras
Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117024
02/23/05 06:30 PM
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That's a great idea, L4L! wave Think I will do that, since it was so enjoyable I don't mind playing a second time.


"How could drops of water know themselves to be a river? Yet the river flows on."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117025
02/23/05 09:15 PM
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Heh, well enjoy playing it again! If you have the same problem I did and the CD got separated from the access code, it is EV49DB-LPU4RL-FMND2U-RTSTQH (which I yoinked from the FAQ at the official site, so that's not a horrible security violation for me to tell you).

For me, I had my eye on ... um ... myself as soon as I saw that I was under medication for headaches and blackouts, and the suspicion doubled when the night after I arrived the person who was murdered was the one whose death was most fortunate for me. All the same, my working theory was that it was my Black Mirror reflection and that I would face my shadow in the endgame, but the whole notion that I was responsible for all these deaths was so strong that I was looking forward to the shock that it would turn out to be someone else. I guess all those Agatha Christie novels make me believe that I never suspect the right person.... smile

If people really like murder mystery games and don't mind text adventures, I'd really recommend Suspect from Infocom. Only one murder, but the police are far less willing to let you off the hook when it looks like you did it.

Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117026
02/23/05 10:24 PM
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wave Hi Tirian!

Welcome to gameboomers where games that actually focus on story instead of mindless action reign.

I also like Becky's hypothesis about Samuel and the orb. I was completely taken by surprise by the ending until almost the very end and never expected the suicide.

Melanie


"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Mahatma Gandhi
Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117027
02/24/05 02:35 AM
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Thanks Tirian, not sure if I had that or not. For quite some time into the game, I thought Samuel's condition was because of whatever happened with the fire and his wife. I kept expecting that to come into play, but no!


"How could drops of water know themselves to be a river? Yet the river flows on."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117028
02/24/05 09:40 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by nickie:
For quite some time into the game, I thought Samuel's condition was because of whatever happened with the fire and his wife. I kept expecting that to come into play, but no!
Me too Nickie--I kept thinking we would find out that Robert set the fire and killed Samuels wife--or something like that! But no--but think about it this way--maybe it was a good way to end the game because it has kept the game in all our minds--more so that if it had had the expected neat ending that I wanted maybe-- think


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Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117029
02/24/05 09:42 AM
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Or maybe there will be a sequel where he wakes up from the nightmare.....


A bounce a day keeps the doctor away!!
Playing Sims2, Sherlock, Phantom of Venice
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Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117030
02/24/05 11:58 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by tigger:
Or maybe there will be a sequel where he wakes up from the nightmare.....
That's it! "It was all a terible dream!!" Heh Heh.

I *did* suspect "myself" (Samuel) right away too, Tirian, but I expected there to be some big plot twist where it was a set up. Ever since The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, making the protagonist the murderer without really revealing it to the audience seems cliched, and I'm disappointed when it's not something different. I also was shocked that he just went into the cavern and did the ritual and that was basically the end...and though Samuel may have sincerely felt that suicide was the answer, I just don't see how, once he raised Mordred's spirit, killing himself was going to help anything! Now we just have Mordred's evil spirit wandering around. I would have liked to have seen Samuel (if indeed he was the culprit, which the game designers assure us he was--potty!) say, "Okay, I won't be used anymore! I brough this about and now I'm going to stand up and end it." Now *that* would be a good sequel: "Dupe of Satan Makes Good."

I also would have liked to see Robert's "research" have more relevance. I kept thinking it would, but it never did.

WW


"So then he says it's enough to take aim! What's that supposed to mean?!?"

Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117031
02/24/05 12:53 PM
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I knew all along that Samuel was the killer, that's what you get for ignoring the spoiler warnings before you buy the game. I still enjoyed it immensely but it was quite hard to reconcile that for centuries it was best to keep all the keys apart and then all was saved by bringing them together. I think Mordred had some kind of psychic connection with Samuel which made him kill unbeknownst to himself and the murders were opening the portal. His blood and self sacrifice were needed to close it. Still, now they're all very conveniently together for someone to find.
Teresa

Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117032
02/24/05 03:25 PM
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Perhaps it is confusing enough, that the developers will change their mind about Samuel being the killer. I would even forgive them the cliched "It was just a nightmare" if they made a sequel, and tied the story together.
That's a good point L4L - we have discussed this game a lot, since it made us think about it. I thought it was so much fun to play, I forgave it for being so vague - I can't remember another game where I did that! laugh


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Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117033
02/24/05 09:55 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by wysewomon:

I *did* suspect "myself" (Samuel) right away too, Tirian, but I expected there to be some big plot twist where it was a set up.
Yeah same here. It wasn't a surprise at all. Black Mirror's best feature was its atmosphere, not the coherence or originality of its story.

Quote:

Now we just have Mordred's evil spirit wandering around...
...looking to infect someone else. There's your sequel.

Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117034
02/24/05 10:49 PM
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You know how when someone says, "Don't look" you just have to look? And you know how after you peek a little, you just have to peek a little more? (Fool of a Took!)

Well, I'm playing Black Mirror for the first time and I just HAD to look at this thread. I'll just go to bed now and try to forget everything I read. ::whimper::


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Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117035
02/25/05 06:27 AM
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Oh Melia, so sorry you read it! I've posted an even stronger warning at the top in hopes that no one else will be tempted.
But the story is so confusing, just ignore it, and have fun playing - like what was said before, the atmostphere is king.


"How could drops of water know themselves to be a river? Yet the river flows on."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117036
02/26/05 12:11 AM
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I didn't understand the storyline very well myself and the ending was weird so far as I was concerned but the only thing I really disliked about the game was having to roam around forever waiting for certain actions in the game to become workable. Even Samuel's voice didn't bug me. laugh


I didn't do it......and if I did I'm not guilty!
Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117037
02/26/05 12:15 PM
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Samuel's voice didn't bother me at all, since the game I played right before Black Mirror was The Watchmaker. Yeesh, now THERE was some lousy voice work. woozy

Ooh, that's a shame about Melia. I hate it when I have to try to forget that I know something, because it really doesn't work. I guess next time I'll put (total spoilers) in all caps. oops

Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117038
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Tirian, don't worry about it. Even though I learned that Samuel was the bad guy, I think I would have suspected later on in the game anyway.

I just finished the game. Unfortunately, we gamers who can see where the game is leading can't stop the self-destructiveness of the lead character.

It's like watching a scarey movie where you KNOW the lead character should not go into that room. We're yelling, "Don't go there, you idiot!", but of course they can't hear us and end up taking us with them where WE don't want to go.


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Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117039
03/05/05 12:55 PM
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That's something that bothers me in games, though: when the main character HAS to do something utterly stupid that I'd never do in real life for the game to progress. And you KNOW it's going to turn out badly, but you have to do it because that's the way the game is set up.

WW


"So then he says it's enough to take aim! What's that supposed to mean?!?"

Re: The story in The Black Mirror (total spoilers)- DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE PLAYED IT #117040
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That is so true. Especially the games where they shine an enormous spotlight on you while you do something that you don't want to do. You people who have played Final Fantasy VII know what I'm talking about.

I guess The Black Mirror didn't bother me so much in this regard because I stopped identifying with Samuel back when he started lying to Eleanor and Richard just to keep from having to spend a second day in Wales. By the time he started electrocuting guards and exhuming his recently departed grandfather, I was much more of a witness than a collaborator.

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