[Spoilers] Amnesia Plot

[jens]

You are not going to get any developer input. So no need to bump it for it

[jthornbury]

Gee, thanks.

Or not. I guess you don't want to compromise your artistic mystique by talking about the creative process and the thematic elements that went into the narrative. That's cool. Edgar Alan Poe talked about it when he wrote his Philosophy of Composition, explaining the technical and rather mundane process that went into writing The Raven; a lot of writers seem to (wrongly) think that allowing their audience to peer behind the curtain will diminish their enjoyment of the end product.

God forbid. If writers actually explained their creations, then other people might learn from it, and we can't have that.

[Kein]

Except Bioware forums I don't remember any devs replying on such questions.

So, calm down ;P

[nofsky]

All you need to know is already in the game. If it isn't you don't need to know it.

[Jinix]

You are not going to get any developer input. So no need to bump it for it

Not as essential reading to finish the game but just for those that like to read more.
So it's a job for modders.
Take every character mentioned in the story and make a mod about their backgrounds and deaths... they all seem to have been killed by the Shadow that is after the orbs.
For instance William Smith's death would make a good article to read in a Victorian era type newspaper. In a mod his death could be explored further by a nosy reporter or policeman who, while looking for clues, accidentally discover a secret bookcase that leads to a horrific adventure.

[darkpast]

Gee, thanks.

Or not. I guess you don't want to compromise your artistic mystique by talking about the creative process and the thematic elements that went into the narrative. That's cool. Edgar Alan Poe talked about it when he wrote his Philosophy of Composition, explaining the technical and rather mundane process that went into writing The Raven; a lot of writers seem to (wrongly) think that allowing their audience to peer behind the curtain will diminish their enjoyment of the end product.

God forbid. If writers actually explained their creations, then other people might learn from it, and we can't have that.

I look at it in a different way. The story means different things to different people - regardless of the author's intent. We all have our subjective "versions" of the story in our heads, and all of them are valid if they are based on actual evidence and don't directly contradict the information given in the game.

In fact, I'm pretty sure the designers wanted the player to "fill in the blanks", just like they wanted the player to decide for himself how to judge Alexander and Daniel.

Take the character of Alexander for example. Is it more fun if you come to your own conclusions, or if the designers tell you "Well... he's an evil alien. Sorry if you thought different, but he just is".

[Jinix]

......
It would be greatly appreciated if one of the developers would take the time to write out the background plot of the game in detail (i.e. the ideas underlying it and the events that happened before the game). I realise that you've probably given enough details to piece it together from multiple playthroughs (i.e. hunting down all the letters and notes), but frankly I don't have the time to go through the game again from the start.

It is a short game.

[vcpinheiro14]

I strongly agree with the topic creator. Would be really nice to have the devs clarify some doubts.

[hollowleviathan]

I suggest giving this a listen.

Joss Whedon - Heart (Broken)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgYdhm_q7lg

[Karkarov]

Well here is what I can tell you for a fact based on in game things.

Alexander is not human, he was banished here from the other plane. Why was he banished? Hard to say, I bet it had something to do with him doing very psychotic bad things though. He mentions a lost love in his "memory capsules" and even says humans are little better than dogs where he comes from. Well he is gone for hundreds of years so I suspect his love has probably gotten over him by now regardless.

Johann Weyer. Long story short do some real research. Agrippa and Weyer are both real people that had real lives. Agrippa was a big time occultist and studier of medicine and such who was rumored to practice witchcraft/devil worship. Weyer was his student who basically surpassed him in every way and furthered his studies. So we can assume in game terms Weyer being a sharp cookie simply figured out how to actually control the orbs which would in effect enable him to make short work of the "shadow". Agrippa and Alexander both say in the game without the orbs power you can't fight the shadow...

Now that we are talking about the shadow... a note of Agrippa's lays it out plain and simple. They are just the guardians of the orbs. Are they physical beings? Uh no, you see in game that the shadow is literally a shadow not a "creature". It simply corrupts and or destroys whatever it effects through some type of metaphysical energy or power. Hence puss sacks growing out of walls and people dissolving in mid air into showers of blood. It is not intelligent or "alive" however... It is more like a protection feature or security protocol to prevent wrong usage of the orb. In other words it is a really nasty anti virus app.

The orb, Alexander tells you what it is in one of his notes though he doesn't spell it out or specifically say that what he is talking about. It is a power source/control device for a traveller's locket. Basically it is one half of an item used to travel between different worlds. Yeap, it is that simple.