Episode 3: Feedback and Thoughts

[agewisdom]

Sorry... some problem with earlier post

***

Just finished Episode 3 and think this one was the best one yet. I like the fact that Cognition (Ep1-3) brings out the following issues

1. Is the Cognition ability a blessing or a curse?
From Cordelia's perspective, it can be seen as a curse. Arguably, if she did NOT have the ability, she would not have asked for Keith's assistance and precipitated the incident at the basement. From Erica's perspective, without this ability, she wouldn't have shot *** without hesitation as she was acting in anticipation of being shot. From both ladies view, it would have been better not to have these abilities.

2. Does the ends justify the means?
Cordelia may seem like a monster, but from a wider perspective - she has arguably done a lot of good. Eliminating and neutralizing 3 serial killers which the police had failed to catch would have saved countless lives. Sure, she killed a FBI agent and hurt another but isn't this outweighed by the good she's done. Consider the possibilities of her powers in the future.

3. Is the future preordained or malleable?
Was the creation of the Cain killer due to:
(a) a fixed determined future that would take place irrespective of any actions taken by Cordelia; or
(b) paradoxically, due to Cordelia's actions in trying to prevent Max's death which leads to the Cain Killer's birth.

Overall, I think all 3 episodes taken as a whole is extremely intriguing and I am not too sure how episode 4 can top it. Well done!

As to some suggestions:

1. Case Files
It would be great if some of the case file details were full sized. Not too sure about other people's experience, but I had to squint to read some of the case files, which was a bit disappointing. It would be better if the case files were higher definition and full screen for ease of reading.

2. Tablet or notebook
It's a bit disappointing to have hints and/or information too conveniently being sent to Erica by the IT guy all the time at just the right moment. Something that's slightly too convenient and breaks the believability. This may because of the problem with the hand-phone UI. Perhaps next time, Erica could be using a tablet, which could simulate the PC UI which was being used to access the case files and to hook up to the FBI database. Some of these information could have been very useful during the case.

3. Lone Ranger again(?)
I understand in order to keep things simple and to ramp up the tension, Erica has to work solo most of the time. However, doing this too many times makes things seem a bit silly. After all she's been through, surely she should be able to get call some backup rather than going solo and getting caught in all these nasty situations?

4. Time issue
I think it would be good if Episode 4 takes a breather. All 3 episodes appear to have happened in a span of 3 days, which is a tad unbelievable, if you ask me.

5. Summarizing entire Episode 1-3 in Episode 4 FBI database
In order to refresh most player's memory, it would be great if the FBI database could be updated and we could read Erica's report about what exactly happened. Some of the information and correlation between all 3 episodes might not be spotted. Or have a semi-quiz like in the beginning of Ep2 to see how sharp the player is in spotting all the relevant issues.

[stika]

Sorry... some problem with earlier post

***

Just finished Episode 3 and think this one was the best one yet. I like the fact that Cognition (Ep1-3) brings out the following issues

1. Is the Cognition ability a blessing or a curse?
From Cordelia's perspective, it can be seen as a curse. Arguably, if she did NOT have the ability, she would not have asked for Keith's assistance and precipitated the incident at the basement. From Erica's perspective, without this ability, she wouldn't have shot *** without hesitation as she was acting in anticipation of being shot. From both ladies view, it would have been better not to have these abilities.

I think it's interesting how Cordelia sees it as a curse, considering her power is arguably more useful than Erica's

[agewisdom]

I think it's interesting how Cordelia sees it as a curse, considering her power is arguably more useful than Erica's

From what I gather, Cordelia's abilities give rise to a difficult dilemma. She can foresee the future but does she dare to change it? To what extent can she actually change the future or is it inevitable?

If the future is inevitable, then her powers are not only useless, but worst... since ignorance is bliss, especially in her case. It could be that Max's death was a certainty, but by her actions, she may feel even worst, because not only does she feel responsible for his death, but for her FAILURE to respond to her visions and change his fate.

[KatieHal]

Thanks for the feedback, agewisdom, and welcome to the forums

Interesting thoughts you've got there, too. I think I'll refrain from commenting much on them since some are things that will be brought up in the next episode. But I like reading them!

[stika]

I think it's interesting how Cordelia sees it as a curse, considering her power is arguably more useful than Erica's

From what I gather, Cordelia's abilities give rise to a difficult dilemma. She can foresee the future but does she dare to change it? To what extent can she actually change the future or is it inevitable?

If the future is inevitable, then her powers are not only useless, but worst... since ignorance is bliss, especially in her case. It could be that Max's death was a certainty, but by her actions, she may feel even worst, because not only does she feel responsible for his death, but for her FAILURE to respond to her visions and change his fate.

It's hard to guess really. I suppose that moment where she and Erica "connected" would become a fixed point time, though I'm not entirely certain if the same applies to her brother

[agewisdom]

Thanks for the feedback, agewisdom, and welcome to the forums

Interesting thoughts you've got there, too. I think I'll refrain from commenting much on them since some are things that will be brought up in the next episode. But I like reading them!

Hi Katie,

Thanks for the warm welcome.

Glad that you'll be addressing some of the issues in Ep4. I'm sure your team should have some tricks up your sleeves. A bit of thinking back makes me feel that the antagonist should have some Cognitive powers of his/her own since the prologue in Ep1 makes it clear that (s)he was aware of Erica's powers.

I was a tad disappointed with Ep2 but Ep3 was just fantastic! It really tied up a lot of the loose ends and questions. Glad your team resolved them nicely but maybe a bit too nicely. Hope you manage to leave some goodies for Ep4... 

[agewisdom]

I think it's interesting how Cordelia sees it as a curse, considering her power is arguably more useful than Erica's

From what I gather, Cordelia's abilities give rise to a difficult dilemma. She can foresee the future but does she dare to change it? To what extent can she actually change the future or is it inevitable?

If the future is inevitable, then her powers are not only useless, but worst... since ignorance is bliss, especially in her case. It could be that Max's death was a certainty, but by her actions, she may feel even worst, because not only does she feel responsible for his death, but for her FAILURE to respond to her visions and change his fate.

It's hard to guess really. I suppose that moment where she and Erica "connected" would become a fixed point time, though I'm not entirely certain if the same applies to her brother

Oh, the cognitive powers and "connection" across time periods between Erica and Cordelia is quite intriguing. If you think about it, irregardless whether Cordelia actually communicated with Erica or not, the Cain Killer would still be born.

In the 1st timeline, even without Erica's help, the Cain Killer still managed to find his way to the basement. Otherwise, how could the events in Ep1 happen?

In the 2nd timeline, Erica's assistance may have made it easier for the Cain Killer to access the basement. So theoretically, the only significant in Erica's use of cognitive powers in Ep3 was for her to understand the horrific experience that Cordelia faced and the motivations for her subsequent actions.

[KatieHal]

Well, it is clear that Keith's had some secrets Cordelia was not aware of! That much is certain.

[jfrisby]

So much strange stuff happened that it felt more like a dream.

Finished Episode 3, and I think this pretty much sums up my thoughts

It was a very dream-like experience, I'm not sure I have a very good idea of what is actually going on...   The posts here have cleared up some of the "is Cordelia the bad guy" stuff, and other basics, but that's only one of three or four plots running through this, all of which I probably solved in a weird order.

I'm not sure this was entirely intentional, but it ended up with some really awesome vibes because of it -- I think it kind of works as a standalone piece of crazy surrealism.  Definitely my favorite episode so far. 

[agewisdom]

Well, it is clear that Keith's had some secrets Cordelia was not aware of! That much is certain.

Extremely interesting! You know, I actually have a sneaky suspicion that the trauma that both these ladies are going through aren't actually just sadistic acts per-se. From Ep3, the trauma of seeing a loved one i.e. brother killed dramatically increased the scope and intensity of cognitive powers.

In Cordelia's case, her powers grew exponentially after the basement incident. Not only could she see the future but apparently she can know detect serial killers just via touch alone.

In Erica's case, we can see even more clearly the dramatic expansion of her Cognitive powers. Sadly, this increase in powers only occurs when she's placed in extremely stressful situations in which her loved ones are placed in dangers and her Cognitive powers are her only hope in rescuing them.

Perhaps, both ladies are just experiencing 'tough love' from a secret organization which intends to recruit them for special assignments once the full potential of their Cognitive powers are realized. The fact that 'Rose' is there is too convenient and then there's the Psion symbol that makes it appearance in all 3 episodes. I wonder...

[stika]

I think it's interesting how Cordelia sees it as a curse, considering her power is arguably more useful than Erica's

From what I gather, Cordelia's abilities give rise to a difficult dilemma. She can foresee the future but does she dare to change it? To what extent can she actually change the future or is it inevitable?

If the future is inevitable, then her powers are not only useless, but worst... since ignorance is bliss, especially in her case. It could be that Max's death was a certainty, but by her actions, she may feel even worst, because not only does she feel responsible for his death, but for her FAILURE to respond to her visions and change his fate.

It's hard to guess really. I suppose that moment where she and Erica "connected" would become a fixed point time, though I'm not entirely certain if the same applies to her brother

Oh, the cognitive powers and "connection" across time periods between Erica and Cordelia is quite intriguing. If you think about it, irregardless whether Cordelia actually communicated with Erica or not, the Cain Killer would still be born.

In the 1st timeline, even without Erica's help, the Cain Killer still managed to find his way to the basement. Otherwise, how could the events in Ep1 happen?

In the 2nd timeline, Erica's assistance may have made it easier for the Cain Killer to access the basement. So theoretically, the only significant in Erica's use of cognitive powers in Ep3 was for her to understand the horrific experience that Cordelia faced and the motivations for her subsequent actions.

that's a good point, when we think about it, Erica's powers are pretty much useless in the grand scheme of things, she's more like a pawn in all of this

[br305893]

So much strange stuff happened that it felt more like a dream.

Finished Episode 3, and I think this pretty much sums up my thoughts

It was a very dream-like experience, I'm not sure I have a very good idea of what is actually going on...   The posts here have cleared up some of the "is Cordelia the bad guy" stuff, and other basics, but that's only one of three or four plots running through this, all of which I probably solved in a weird order.

I'm not sure this was entirely intentional, but it ended up with some really awesome vibes because of it -- I think it kind of works as a standalone piece of crazy surrealism.  Definitely my favorite episode so far.

Definitely agree. I will say Cordelia seemed suspicious since when you met her in episode 1.

[snabbott]

Regarding timelines and causality:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY_Ry8J_jdw" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY_Ry8J_jdw</a>

[Cognition1234]

I really liked EP3! I think it was very interesting and intense.
But in my opinion, I think that you ruined the tension for Episode 4

Not only we know the identity of the the Oracle, we also know the identity of the Cain Killer - I think that his identity and motives should have been left for the last episode of this amazing game.

[br305893]

Not only we know the identity of the the Oracle, we also know the identity of the Cain Killer - I think that his identity and motives should have been left for the last episode of this amazing game.

Slightly agree here.

[KatieHal]

snabbott: yay!

Granted, I know something you don't know, but trust me, there's plenty of tension in Episode 4, but it's a different kind of tension. After all, we've certainly not yet resolved everything--there's not one but two killers out there now.

[Cez]

Episode 4 will have its own vibe. For one, it's a rollercoaster from beginning to end as we fly through the different events it present to us. There will be complications along the way including a new future vision that will have you guessing till the very end. Decisive moments between McAdams and Erica, And who isn't excited to finally see Erica and Cordelia side by side, now that all has been revealed? And to really dig deeper into how much the Cain Killer affected both their lives, who's right, who's wrong, is there any kind of answer to all of this?

Who lives, who dies, what is Cain Killer's next move?

Is John alive or dead? What is Rose hiding?

Yeah, episode 4 will pack a few punches of its own

[stika]

ooooh cannot wait!

[Cognition1234]

Granted, I know something you don't know, but trust me, there's plenty of tension in Episode 4, but it's a different kind of tension. After all, we've certainly not yet resolved everything--there's not one but two killers out there now.

You have a point, but Keith is almost dead... I don't think he can hure anyone anymore, after what happend to him with the fire. But in this game nothing is expected

[stika]

We could just give Keith and Max a "come-back-to-life" pill! Everyone loves a Deux-Ex Machina, right? right?... *runs away before anyone starts throwing rocks at him*