Here I was, thinking I was playing a detective game, carefully examining everything I came across, wondering how it connects to all the other dots, trying to figure everything out..
I was doing this for 15 hours or so...... and I was enjoying it.
.......but then the game just randomly changes, and it tells me "Yeah, we're not doing that detective stuff anymore! In the face of the evidence that Chuck/Sheriff are behind the murders, we're just gonna make you frame an obviously innocent man! And none of the playable characters care about it! .....and now instead of closing the case properly, you have to go the factory to do some other dumb random stuff! And then once you start doing that the game is somehow going to become even more absurd as the meta stuff begins..............
*BLEEP* OFF!
.
Why couldn't the characters just simply acknowledge that Franklin vanished within hours of the murder of his business partner, and so it's 99.9999999% likely that the 2 events are connected!
And acknowledged that Chuck was a serious criminal (framing the manslaughter he's guilty of on the security guard victim) who certainly didn't like ideas about making toys in the factory! And that the sherif also clearly had something serious to hide!
And then they could have used these facts to refuse to frame Willy, and instead headed to the factory to investigate further!
And then in the factory, they find information that Chuck had hidden about an new android prototype that had recently escaped....
And then they learn of how Chuck tasked Sherif with making sure the news doesn't get out....
And then we learn that after it escaped the android heard of it's beloved creator's (= Chuck's) hatred for Franklin's ideas, and then it started to hate them too....
And then after a little bit more investigating we fully confirm that it's hatred of the ideas eventually led it to stalk Franklin, and then even kill him and Boris after it learnt of what they were doing......
And then; Case Closed!
And the credits roll without and meta crap!
(That would have been way better!)
I was doing this for 15 hours or so...... and I was enjoying it.
.......but then the game just randomly changes, and it tells me "Yeah, we're not doing that detective stuff anymore! In the face of the evidence that Chuck/Sheriff are behind the murders, we're just gonna make you frame an obviously innocent man! And none of the playable characters care about it! .....and now instead of closing the case properly, you have to go the factory to do some other dumb random stuff! And then once you start doing that the game is somehow going to become even more absurd as the meta stuff begins..............
*BLEEP* OFF!
.
Why couldn't the characters just simply acknowledge that Franklin vanished within hours of the murder of his business partner, and so it's 99.9999999% likely that the 2 events are connected!
And acknowledged that Chuck was a serious criminal (framing the manslaughter he's guilty of on the security guard victim) who certainly didn't like ideas about making toys in the factory! And that the sherif also clearly had something serious to hide!
And then they could have used these facts to refuse to frame Willy, and instead headed to the factory to investigate further!
And then in the factory, they find information that Chuck had hidden about an new android prototype that had recently escaped....
And then they learn of how Chuck tasked Sherif with making sure the news doesn't get out....
And then we learn that after it escaped the android heard of it's beloved creator's (= Chuck's) hatred for Franklin's ideas, and then it started to hate them too....
And then after a little bit more investigating we fully confirm that it's hatred of the ideas eventually led it to stalk Franklin, and then even kill him and Boris after it learnt of what they were doing......
And then; Case Closed!
And the credits roll without and meta crap!
(That would have been way better!)
This post was last modified: 11-05-2025, 11:50 PM by Blackberry.
Thimbleweed Park is a nostalgic throwback that reminded me that I like the New Things more actually. Sometimes you need a wakeup call that the "good old days" had some pain points that it would not be so great to return to, and Thimbleweed Park was that for me.
It really did hit a chord with a certain demographic though, I can't deny that it has its fans. I think its a great product for people who really truly want the late 80s/early 90s days back with everything, the good and bad, that entails. And that's what it was pitched as. I can't say it failed at its goal, but it turns out I didn't like its goal. It was for a core fanbase and succeeded on that metric, but it wasn't for me!
I both expected something meta given the pedigree of the game, but also didn't have fun with the first 15 hours. I didn't like juggling multiple characters, and a number of them felt like their specific stories ran dry after their (admittedly strong) introductions. I think a bit more hand-holding and railroading would have been beneficial, as the game was best in its concentrated short sections with designated characters.
And to that end, I wasn't upset when everything went meta. I was just exhausted. I had already lost steam in terms of the characters. I liked the little conclusions they did get though. I don't think the meta ending added or detracted. Ironically, it was the most predictable part of the package. I don't think your ending sounds better or worse - I would have been more surprised there were no meta elements, but I wouldn't have felt any differently.
It really did hit a chord with a certain demographic though, I can't deny that it has its fans. I think its a great product for people who really truly want the late 80s/early 90s days back with everything, the good and bad, that entails. And that's what it was pitched as. I can't say it failed at its goal, but it turns out I didn't like its goal. It was for a core fanbase and succeeded on that metric, but it wasn't for me!
I both expected something meta given the pedigree of the game, but also didn't have fun with the first 15 hours. I didn't like juggling multiple characters, and a number of them felt like their specific stories ran dry after their (admittedly strong) introductions. I think a bit more hand-holding and railroading would have been beneficial, as the game was best in its concentrated short sections with designated characters.
And to that end, I wasn't upset when everything went meta. I was just exhausted. I had already lost steam in terms of the characters. I liked the little conclusions they did get though. I don't think the meta ending added or detracted. Ironically, it was the most predictable part of the package. I don't think your ending sounds better or worse - I would have been more surprised there were no meta elements, but I wouldn't have felt any differently.
![[Image: untitled.webp]](https://i.postimg.cc/QdRgk9xG/untitled.webp)
Thimbleweed park was okay for what it was, an ode to the Maniac Mansion era adventure game (1987. Making the target demographics 45+). Certainly not my favorite, but I do appreciate it's existence. I understand that feeling of disappointment when a game differs from your expectation, but that's kind of an inherent risk of trying any new game, and especially a narrative-intensive game.
This post was last modified: 11-06-2025, 07:32 PM by sjmpoo.
The signals are strong in this thread.
I think I feel motly like gary - from what I've seen, which is to watch someone else streaming about the last third or half of it, plus reading about it, I'm not sure I would have fun with it. I'm of the right vintage to be in the target audience, but I may not actually be in it, if that makes sense.
I think I feel motly like gary - from what I've seen, which is to watch someone else streaming about the last third or half of it, plus reading about it, I'm not sure I would have fun with it. I'm of the right vintage to be in the target audience, but I may not actually be in it, if that makes sense.
Blackberry,
See your PMs.
See your PMs.
Life: Adventures guaranteed. Instructions not included.
How can you not all agree that a mystery murder is not supposed to end with you being forced to frame an innocent man and prevented from further investigation!
