Strangetown: outtakes and reflection
Well, after posting ten installments in one month, I thought it was high time to take a little breather, have a cup of tea (or, in this case, a rather large beer), and reflect on Strangetown, especially since I managed to end the last chapter on a feel-good note. I quite enjoy a little peak behind the scenes myself, so let me offer some inside info of my own. This will have some outtakes, hint mongering, and all that good stuff.
Let's begin with this little oddity:
Instead of heading to work, Circe decides to drive right off of the cliff! Nervous seems quite relieved. I would be too, Nervous.
Circe is an odd person to find humour in, really, but there was also this:
Yes, those are very nice pet collars, but you HATE animals, Circe! You wanted to cook a puppy for dinner, remember?
There weren't many bloopers for Nervous, but I do have this one really weird photo:
That's one extreme angle.
Moving right along to the Specter estate, we find a really odd glitch, and I wonder if anyone else has ever had this happening to them. Every night, the ghosts in Olive's graveyard change their appearance, clothes, and hair. Take this, for example:
I'm fairly certain that Willow Nigmos was not an alien, or even descended from aliens, but those eyes are definitely hinting otherwise!
Then there was the late-night meeting between Ripp and Ophelia, which had some nice bloopers. The game provided me with a number of really good reasons why Ripp Grunt would probably not make a reliable person for Ophelia to call in her time of need:
a. General horniness.
b. Lack of attention to the task at hand.
c. A serious penchant for pillow fighting.
Oooh, boy. Well, thankfully, this is a story, and not a play by play of actual game events.
The Specter estate is extremely dangerous to live in, and I was constantly having to save a major character from dying, including Ophelia and Olive herself. That resulted in this unlikely situation:
Ophelia pleading for Olive's life... and winning! Right...
Ripp managed to survive all of his trips over there, but he did piss himself from fright once (I exited without saving because I didn't want Tank gossiping about it, as if Ripp had been a bed wetter, or something).
Speaking of Tank, the Tank/Ophelia crush plot was all based on a really random action by Tank in the game. He autonomously flirted with Ophelia! Yes, a suggestive flirt, like he was possessed by his brother for a minute. Tank and Ophelia don't even have a single bolt for each other (they're dead centre on attraction), so I don't know why this happened autonomously.
Cute picture, but please, PLEASE, file this under "It never happened". This is so out of character for Tank that I considered not even posting it in the outtakes for fear that it would give the wrong impression. Let me be clear on this one. If Tank did decide to make a move (and I'm not saying that he will), it wouldn't be this particular type of move.
What is it about Ophelia, anyway? Is it because she's the only girl for miles, or is there something else at work here?
I have plenty of extra photos from the Ripp/Genesis rendezvous, but I had to edit it down to a reasonable amount, and many of them were just too lovey-dovey to use. That's really not the vibe I was going for. These were some of my favourites, but they seemed way too romantic.
And then there was Mrs. Crumplebottom.
"Save me from the bad lady, Genesis!"
Crumplebottom really, really hates Ripp. Better get used to it, sweetie! He's just getting started.
Ripp is so not impressed. He thought Johnny was a prude...
And here we are with some post-coital dreaming of the hot chick from downtown (I'm not sure if it's Genesis that's dreaming about her or Ripp. Does it really even matter?).
Yeah, I get it, Genesis. You did just go for a romp in the sheets with him, so I assumed that you found him hot.
This was the best part. After eating the crepes (or whatever that was), they both got fat!
Ummm, Genesis? Even if you did get knocked up in the process, I don't think it takes effect quite that fast! I really liked how Genesis looked with a little more booty, but I had to have her work it off for continuity's sake, at least for now. Maybe I'll let her spread out a bit later on.
Ripp didn't so much get fat, as get less fit. Yes, lazy boy was actually "fit", because he needed body points for his drama major. Plus, it pleases me. *grin* Before university, Ripp had nary a body point, though. Which makes this so much harder to explain:
He really did kick Tanks ass in the game (thus the "I won a fight" icon when he's bragging to Genesis about it). Now, I briefly thought that this turn of events would be kind of interesting, but it was ultimately way too unbelievable for me. Ripp could not kick Tank's ass by any stretch of the imagination, so I went with the result described in the story.
Am I the only one who giggled at the sight of Ripp fighting Tank in that stupid Weiner Wagon uniform? That just really cracked me up for some reason.
The destruction of the dollhouse wasn't planned, by the way. Tank autonomously destroyed it because his aspiration level was low. My reaction was seriously, "Why didn't I think of that sooner?" Thanks, Tank!
Since I have Seasons installed, Strangetown is set to permanent summer, so we occasionally have some sunstroke issues to deal with.
Teenage angst? No wait, just sunstroke!
Again, more sunstroke...
And... ooookaaay. Johnny turns a whole lot less green when he has sunstroke! They really didn't think about aliens when they designed that, now, did they? He has some acne going on there too, but Ophelia still likes him!
Some more random amusements...
General Buzz showing up at the Smith's house randomly to eat chips. Why not?
Buzz saw this when he went downtown. Well, then. Ex-girlfriends can be so damn clingy. Chloe knows what I'm talking about.
*snicker* Busted!
And here's Ripp exaggerating the length of his "bow". Yeah, sure, Ripp... I'll bet. How typical.
Other notes:
I feel really lucky to have been handed the idea to make Ripp a musician by the randomly generated LTW, because it just seems to suit him so well. Rock stars have groupies, afterall. :) We'll get to see him in action really soon.
A small note about musical selections: does anyone pay any heed to them? You should. I have left some hints in the form of lyrics, so be aware. Not all of them, but some of them have been and will be hints.
My favourite so far was Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran, because, well it's Duran Duran! *grin* But seriously, besides being silly, this applied to this chapter in a number of ways, if you really think about it. I also really like the idea of Ripp having an intimate knowledge of some seriously questionable 80's favourites, and we'll see his love for such things crop up again really soon.
You may have noticed that I referred to two songs by Neko Case. I highly recommend that album, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. It's really great. She's a great storyteller, and listening to that album always helps the words to fly off my fingers.
I've been leaving some hints in the comment section too, but they're usually fairly minor, and pertaining to something that will happen fairly soon, but there are some exceptions.
For those of you who might be pondering the identity of the person that I based Mr. Doe on, here's a summary of the hints that I've dropped so far:
- He's based on a real, living person
- He's not really a celebrity (but somewhat), and not from television
- The identity will reveal a cheeky pun once you figure it out
- His hair should be a very good clue
- Oh, just re-read the prologue! :)
As I've said, it's one of those people that you'd know well if you do know them, but not so much a really mainstream figure. Perhaps this extra pic of Mr. Doe will help a little...
It's not a perfect likeness, but from this angle it's fairly accurate to me.
Any ideas? ;)
Let me close by adding some more gratuitous nudity.
I considered having Ripp streak around for a laugh, since he's super outgoing, but after what he said about "keeping his cards hidden", it hardly made sense. He likes to have some surprises to share with his "friends", afterall.
On that note, I'll leave you. Questions? Comments?