[SPOILER] What you think about red?

[AitrusTekis]

Alot of you are over analyzing and then forgetting things. If you remember the opening of the game and the talk about the letter from Phillips father regarding the book in the deposit box that was waiting for him; everything is geared towards NOT going into this mine. NOT exploring deep inside of it. NOT searching for answers. Because as the saying goes, "you cant handle the truth." And maybe its not even that, maybe the truth will unleash an evil of unprecedented power.

I think a couple things about Red. I really liked the character and voice acting. This game would have not been near as great without Red. But my two theories on Red are as follows...

1) He is dead. If you read all the papers and everything in Reds room he had been trapped there ever since he was 14. Just a small boy. And that was 30-ish years ago. He had plenty of time all alone, in a place filled with death, to go crazy. And I think thats what happened, he sank into a little world in his own mind and simply stayed there.

2) He was already dead. There is the one article you find on one of the other levels talking about people who had made it out of the mines, and saying (i forget the exact word) something about demons in the mines. And of course the abnormally large worms and spiders, and the demon looking dogs. And all this, to me, with the opening line of "If fate frowns, we all perish", leads me to think something much more sinister is going on. Maybe a little on the level of occult stuff. I like the idea of an all encompassing absolute evil lurking in the shadows... thats true fear.

But all is up for the toss right now... This game could teach a very good moral... Do not ask questions of the dark, because you cant see the answers until it is too late.

However all in all, I am loving this game. The story is so far very engaging, and the atmosphere is simply terrifying. I cant wait for the next two episodes ^_^d

[Linux.Blue]

maybe you talked some about this, but something isn't making sense in the game. that or it's just some mystery/twist that will (hopefully) be revealed in the next episodes.
Red says "no, you can't have the key", but he wants you to kill him, while having the key on him? Wouldn't he have the key elsewhere?
It's like saying to the enemy, you can't come through here, but you can kill me, BUT DON'T COME THROUGH!
That pile, as others mentioned, is odd to. Why not scattered out more? Was it set up to look like someone died? I mean after all, he knew where you were throughout parts of the game, why not when you entered that last room? he could have screamed over the radio or something knowing when you pressed that button, or have some sort of speaker in there.
Okay, the speaker part, hmm..maybe not, but a thought.
Keeping this "knowing where you are" in mind, maybe someone else was in that and Red wanted you to think it was Red in there.
This game is neat. You can come up with so many ideas, good or bad, right or wrong. I think that was a VERY good choice in releasing only one part at a time, so we CAN talk about this, and enjoy coming up with ideas.

[banj007]

Alot of you are over analyzing and then forgetting things. If you remember the opening of the game and the talk about the letter from Phillips father regarding the book in the deposit box that was waiting for him; everything is geared towards NOT going into this mine. NOT exploring deep inside of it. NOT searching for answers. Because as the saying goes, "you cant handle the truth." And maybe its not even that, maybe the truth will unleash an evil of unprecedented power.

or maybe the truth is a ham sandwhich and that would boggle our minds into submission. ^_^

[DarkExcalibur]

I think the real Red died years ago, and I think that the Red we talked to over the radio died in the incinerator, but I don't expect that to stop him from talking to us on the Radio...

He had one of those artifacts in his room, and we already know from gameplay that they're filled with "bad copies" of the people who use them. I think early on Red found that artifact, died at some point, and one of those bad copies replaced him. "Parts of my head are not my own!" He even knows he's one of the copies. Now that this copy is dead, another one (probably an even more insane one) will show up to take his place. I make this argument because I would be horribly saddened if I never heard Red's ravings over the radio ever again. Plus I was hoping to meet him at the end of the game.

As for when he says it is against the rules, I think one of the voices he hears was created by all the books on ethics he read and there was simply a part of him that refused to allow suicide. But I also think the whole "supernatural gatekeeper" thing is a part of it too. He really couldn't die until someone else came to relieve him of his burden. And lucky Phillip got that honor, the changing of the guard took place and now it's Phillip's job to keep all this crap down here, hence his letter from the beginning of the game.

[banj007]

I think the real Red died years ago, and I think that the Red we talked to over the radio died in the incinerator, but I don't expect that to stop him from talking to us on the Radio...

He had one of those artifacts in his room, and we already know from gameplay that they're filled with "bad copies" of the people who use them. I think early on Red found that artifact, died at some point, and one of those bad copies replaced him. "Parts of my head are not my own!" He even knows he's one of the copies. Now that this copy is dead, another one (probably an even more insane one) will show up to take his place. I make this argument because I would be horribly saddened if I never heard Red's ravings over the radio ever again. Plus I was hoping to meet him at the end of the game.

As for when he says it is against the rules, I think one of the voices he hears was created by all the books on ethics he read and there was simply a part of him that refused to allow suicide. But I also think the whole "supernatural gatekeeper" thing is a part of it too. He really couldn't die until someone else came to relieve him of his burden. And lucky Phillip got that honor, the changing of the guard took place and now it's Phillip's job to keep all this crap down here, hence his letter from the beginning of the game.

I still think the "copies" are the game designers way of allowing Phillip to recognize the artifacts as save points.

[DarkExcalibur]

I still think the "copies" are the game designers way of allowing Phillip to recognize the artifacts as save points.

Agreed, but if they've been making such a big deal of them, then maybe they're making it part of the plot as well... think of how much text has been associated with these "artefacts" and keep in mind that there was an entire note specifically about them. if they were just save points, why go to such much detail when it comes to Phillip's "out of body experiences" and how he recieves visions from these things?

I wonder, would it cause a plot hole if someone managed to beat all the episodes without ever having used an artefact...

[Manstree]

I personally liked Red, mostly because I pitied the character. But I believe the developers allowed that margin for people to feel one way or the other about him because after

Spoiler below!

you have to kill him, you see what a terrible life he had, and everything made sense.

. Red I think was on your side during the game, mostly because of what I saw in his room.

[banj007]

I still think the "copies" are the game designers way of allowing Phillip to recognize the artifacts as save points.

Agreed, but if they've been making such a big deal of them, then maybe they're making it part of the plot as well... think of how much text has been associated with these "artefacts" and keep in mind that there was an entire note specifically about them. if they were just save points, why go to such much detail when it comes to Phillip's "out of body experiences" and how he recieves visions from these things?

I wonder, would it cause a plot hole if someone managed to beat all the episodes without ever having used an artefact...

They aren't making a "big deal" so much as providing more of a stable reason why the artefacts are even in the game.

[eliasfrost]

I liked him, really much, i felt more safe by hearing his voice guiding me through the dark rooms.

[DarkExcalibur]

banj007, you're probably right, but I'm still of the belief that Frictional Games is somehow making the artefacts a vital component of the Penumbra storyline. And if Red happened to have one... then it's my suggested plot excuse for bringing a fan-favorite character back to the game.