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part 4
Today let’s go over how the antagonists of Clock Tower and Haunting Ground make their first appearances. To simplify this let’s assume that this is from the perspective of someone who has never played each game before and knows absolutely nothing about the story save for what they’ve seen on screen as the game starts.
Clock Tower: The First Fear
For this the player does not opt to use Quick Start.
The player character, Jennifer, starts in the foyer with her three friends Laura, Ann, and Lotte as they wait for Ms. Mary to return. Jennifer separates from them to look for their host. When she reaches the end of the hallway opposite the foyer a scream pierces the air. At this point it is not unreasonable to assume that the player would return to the foyer to discover the cause for that scream. The other three girls have vanished by this time.
Now it may seem impossible for them to have completely disappeared as the front door is still locked, no windows appear to be broken (not even any shards of glass from the wall that is logically behind the camera), and Jennifer did not see them run down the hall she was standing in.
There is still one escape point on the second floor that Jennifer cannot reach because the floor collapses when she approaches. This seems like the only logical means by which the three left this room. Although badly weakened the floor held together long enough for them to pass.
Alright let’s keep going. There is a branch in the possible paths here but one way requires some minor puzzle solving. I’m going to call that Path B for now. However it is not unreasonable to think that a first-time player wouldn’t immediately solve the puzzle so let’s go back to Path A.
Through the door and down the hall Jennifer goes. There are three doors here but only one path that leads deeper into the house. About ¾ of the way some ominous music starts up. Jennifer opens the door and steps into the grand front hall. Immediately the camera is up at the roof where a beautiful stained glass sun roof would let in sunlight if the sun hadn’t already gone down.
A soft thumping noise plays and it is obvious there is something on the other side of the window. With a deafening chord it breaks and down plunges Ann’s body along with a strange figure. Both come to a halt amid bits of shattered glass and the standing figure removes what Jennifer can now clearly see as a huge pair of scissors from Ann’s body.
This misshapen figure is Bobby, the resident stalker of Clock Tower: The First Fear and it is immediately obvious what fate awaits Jennifer if he catches her.
But what about Route B? Rewind and solve the puzzle in the hall with the rockslide. This opens a crawl route to the courtyard and pool. As Jennifer approaches the pool a woman screams and we can see that it is Ann (unfortunate soul eh?) thrashing about begging for Jennifer to help her. After a few seconds she slips completely under the water. All is still. Then without warning Bobby pulls himself out of the pool and the chase is on.
There is some inherent randomness in what the player sees at the pool in Route B. The developers programmed the game so that a few items and rooms are shuffled about with every playthrough. The fates of Ann and Laura are likewise randomized and interdependant with Jennifer’s actions. This does not change the fact that Bobby’s presence is first announced with bloodshed.
this will continue tomorrow with Clock Tower for the Sony Playstation …
Today let’s go over how the antagonists of Clock Tower and Haunting Ground make their first appearances. To simplify this let’s assume that this is from the perspective of someone who has never played each game before and knows absolutely nothing about the story save for what they’ve seen on screen as the game starts.
Clock Tower: The First Fear
For this the player does not opt to use Quick Start.
The player character, Jennifer, starts in the foyer with her three friends Laura, Ann, and Lotte as they wait for Ms. Mary to return. Jennifer separates from them to look for their host. When she reaches the end of the hallway opposite the foyer a scream pierces the air. At this point it is not unreasonable to assume that the player would return to the foyer to discover the cause for that scream. The other three girls have vanished by this time.
Now it may seem impossible for them to have completely disappeared as the front door is still locked, no windows appear to be broken (not even any shards of glass from the wall that is logically behind the camera), and Jennifer did not see them run down the hall she was standing in.
There is still one escape point on the second floor that Jennifer cannot reach because the floor collapses when she approaches. This seems like the only logical means by which the three left this room. Although badly weakened the floor held together long enough for them to pass.
Alright let’s keep going. There is a branch in the possible paths here but one way requires some minor puzzle solving. I’m going to call that Path B for now. However it is not unreasonable to think that a first-time player wouldn’t immediately solve the puzzle so let’s go back to Path A.
Through the door and down the hall Jennifer goes. There are three doors here but only one path that leads deeper into the house. About ¾ of the way some ominous music starts up. Jennifer opens the door and steps into the grand front hall. Immediately the camera is up at the roof where a beautiful stained glass sun roof would let in sunlight if the sun hadn’t already gone down.
A soft thumping noise plays and it is obvious there is something on the other side of the window. With a deafening chord it breaks and down plunges Ann’s body along with a strange figure. Both come to a halt amid bits of shattered glass and the standing figure removes what Jennifer can now clearly see as a huge pair of scissors from Ann’s body.
This misshapen figure is Bobby, the resident stalker of Clock Tower: The First Fear and it is immediately obvious what fate awaits Jennifer if he catches her.
But what about Route B? Rewind and solve the puzzle in the hall with the rockslide. This opens a crawl route to the courtyard and pool. As Jennifer approaches the pool a woman screams and we can see that it is Ann (unfortunate soul eh?) thrashing about begging for Jennifer to help her. After a few seconds she slips completely under the water. All is still. Then without warning Bobby pulls himself out of the pool and the chase is on.
There is some inherent randomness in what the player sees at the pool in Route B. The developers programmed the game so that a few items and rooms are shuffled about with every playthrough. The fates of Ann and Laura are likewise randomized and interdependant with Jennifer’s actions. This does not change the fact that Bobby’s presence is first announced with bloodshed.
this will continue tomorrow with Clock Tower for the Sony Playstation …
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