I've just finished the two Deadly Premonition ER episodes, and what neither I or the GB crew can seem to figure out is who Zack is. Now, I'm pretty sure we'll get most of our questions about the game and ALL IT MYSTERIES answered after the ER is done, but its always fun speculating meanwhile. So what do you guys think? Who is Zack? First thing I thought of was that Zack might be "you", the player...
Oh, and if you have finished the game on your own and know the answer to this one, then shut it! Don't want no spoiling going down here on the thread, damn it! Only speculations, ait?
Deadly Premonition
Game » consists of 11 releases. Released Feb 23, 2010
An open-world action-adventure game following an eccentric FBI agent as he investigates a series of bizarre murders in the small rural town of Greenvale.
Who's Zack?
Personally I don't get that none of the GB-crew got that. It's seem painfully obvious." Yes Zach is his conscious, which is the player, which makes decisions for him. "
I haven't played this game, and thanks to Giant Bomb I won't ever have to.
I really find no reason for me to intentionally play a "bad" game - however watching someone else play it and comment on it, I apparently have no problem with... Funny that.
" It's ''ZACH'' yah crazy fooooool. "
I'm no fool, yo! Zackhkhkh is the fool, spellin' his name all dumb...
" @Marz said:Yeah, I always talk to myself out loud while holding a finger to my ear and using a different name... dead obvious.Personally I don't get that none of the GB-crew got that. It's seem painfully obvious." Yes Zach is his conscious, which is the player, which makes decisions for him. "
" @Marz said:Yeah but it seems almost TOO obvious. I'm sure there is going to be some huge twist near the end of the game.Personally I don't get that none of the GB-crew got that. It's seem painfully obvious. I haven't played this game, and thanks to Giant Bomb I won't ever have to. I really find no reason for me to intentionally play a "bad" game - however watching someone else play it and comment on it, I apparently have no problem with... Funny that. "" Yes Zach is his conscious, which is the player, which makes decisions for him. "
After watching the 2nd video of ryan and brad in the intro bit, i figured that one of those creepy twins might be you in the past? The other twin (your brother) dies and now you're going all crazy talking to him like an imaginary friend.
That first chapter where you see the two twins right way on the chairs is called 'york and zach'.
Maybe "Zack" is his imaginary friend? Although he seems a little old to be having imaginary friends.
" @Marz said:You should have watched closer. Jeff got that like 6 minutes in.Personally I don't get that none of the GB-crew got that. It's seem painfully obvious. I haven't played this game, and thanks to Giant Bomb I won't ever have to. I really find no reason for me to intentionally play a "bad" game - however watching someone else play it and comment on it, I apparently have no problem with... Funny that. "" Yes Zach is his conscious, which is the player, which makes decisions for him. "
No, wait guys, I got it. Zach is a little man who lives in York's finger.
Kind of like Mr. Bimbo to Squire Trelawney in Muppet Treasure Island.
It explains the "holding up finger to ear" and everything!
To me he seems pretty obviously schizophrenic.
It most commonly manifests as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking with significant social or occupational dysfunction.
Depending on the individual, a person diagnosed with schizophrenia may experience hallucinations (especially hearing voices), delusions (especially ones that seem "bizarre"), and disorganized thinking and speech.
" After watching the 2nd video of ryan and brad in the intro bit, i figured that one of those creepy twins might be you in the past? The other twin (your brother) dies and now you're going all crazy talking to him like an imaginary friend. That first chapter where you see the two twins right way on the chairs is called 'york and zach'. "We have stumbled upon a winner!
Zach isn't the player. Divulging who Zach is would be spoilers. If you want a hint, Vinny guessed who he is correctly at a point in the video.
Fire,walk with me..." @Jazz said:
" @Kyreo: Its Laura Palmer. PALMER! Zachs the name of the backwards talking dancing dwarf. or perhaps Bob changed his name...... "Are you talking about the Bob from Picket Fences?? "
" @Kyreo said:Yeah... there we go. I think I blocked out all those freaky dream sequences and replaced them with all the wit and silliness with Agent Cooper.Fire,walk with me..." @Jazz said:
" @Kyreo: Its Laura Palmer. PALMER! Zachs the name of the backwards talking dancing dwarf. or perhaps Bob changed his name...... "Are you talking about the Bob from Picket Fences?? "
"
Zack is a pretty brilliant gameplay contrivance. Just like Bioshock's big reveal, it makes you reconsider your relationship as a player and as the main character. By being schizophrenic or whatever, York is actually the sanest person in the game because on some level he is aware of the player and surrenders himself to their control.
It also resolves the control / canned response duality in games. I don't know what York, as York, is going to say in cutscenes, but as Zach controlling York, I sure as hell know what he's going to do in combat. This also allows us a limited omniscient perspective, whereby talking to Zach, we understand York's more private thoughts. These elements combined allow us to form a connection to York.
A lot of people seem to think that Zach is just some kind of split personality. I'm guessing that's what we're meant to think and that there's more to him and his relationship with York. Maybe he's based on a real person that York once knew?
@YellowKing said:
How can you talk about this game so seriously? I'd expect somethin like that in Bioshock or Half Life or Metal Gear or something, and maybe I'd find it a bit clever, but look at this game. You press A to shoot, and one o the first things you do is run down an empty road for 2 minutes." Zack is a pretty brilliant gameplay contrivance. Just like Bioshock's big reveal, it makes you reconsider your relationship as a player and as the main character. By being schizophrenic or whatever, York is actually the sanest person in the game because on some level he is aware of the player and surrenders himself to their control.It also resolves the control / canned response duality in games. I don't know what York, as York, is going to say in cutscenes, but as Zach controlling York, I sure as hell know what he's going to do in combat. This also allows us a limited omniscient perspective, whereby talking to Zach, we understand York's more private thoughts. These elements combined allow us to form a connection to York. A lot of people seem to think that Zach is just some kind of split personality. I'm guessing that's what we're meant to think and that there's more to him and his relationship with York. Maybe he's based on a real person that York once knew? "
I agree it'd be a good twist, but I don't think the people who made this game know enough about game design to make you think about your role as a player in relation to the main guy. I think they're just makin a cheap Silent Hill knock-off.
" @YellowKing said:You're right. For example, what if, in another game, you use the left mouse button to shoot and one of the first things you do is sit in a completely uninteractive transport device for 2+ minutes while the opening credits or intro sequence rolls by. Surely, there are no examples of this.How can you talk about this game so seriously? I'd expect somethin like that in Bioshock or Half Life or Metal Gear or something, and maybe I'd find it a bit clever, but look at this game. You press A to shoot, and one o the first things you do is run down an empty road for 2 minutes. I agree it'd be a good twist, but I don't think the people who made this game know enough about game design to make you think about your role as a player in relation to the main guy. I think they're just makin a cheap Silent Hill knock-off. "" Zack is a pretty brilliant gameplay contrivance. Just like Bioshock's big reveal, it makes you reconsider your relationship as a player and as the main character. By being schizophrenic or whatever, York is actually the sanest person in the game because on some level he is aware of the player and surrenders himself to their control.It also resolves the control / canned response duality in games. I don't know what York, as York, is going to say in cutscenes, but as Zach controlling York, I sure as hell know what he's going to do in combat. This also allows us a limited omniscient perspective, whereby talking to Zach, we understand York's more private thoughts. These elements combined allow us to form a connection to York. A lot of people seem to think that Zach is just some kind of split personality. I'm guessing that's what we're meant to think and that there's more to him and his relationship with York. Maybe he's based on a real person that York once knew? "
@I_smell said:
I will say, though, that if this game wanted to be Silent Hill it did a piss poor job of it. It's more of a Zelda game really. You wander around the town and do side quests for optional upgrades and collectibles, and these run the gamut from a target range to checkpoint races to fishing, arena battles, and fetch quests. The Silent Hill style Otherworld (I call it Red World) gives the game a way to creates the "dungeons" while keeping to a modern setting."I think they're just makin a cheap Silent Hill knock-off. "
I guess what I'm trying to say is that the game does not draw explicitly from Silent Hill. The main influences to me seem to be Shenmue (town & time system), Resident Evil 4 (combat), Silent Hill (Otherworld aesthetic), and Zelda (overall structure). Really, in terms of actual gameplay, it draws the least from Silent Hill.
I dunno, I've never played Silent Hill. I just mean it's a spooky town game with mysterious zombies or whatever.
I'll continue to think this is just a weird bad game til proven otherwise though.
ALTHOUGH; the whole scene where he first saw F K in his coffee and did a Garry's Mod smile made me think this was some kind of Airplane/Anchorman game where it's allways being stupid for the hell of it.
@Sleepy_Insomniac
said:Ok right, I get what everyone else is sayin, but you're just being dumb. Are you talkin about Half Life? Because duhrr- obviously it uses the mouse to shoot because that's common sense. Deadly Premonition using A to shoot when there's a TRIGGER right there on the controller is just crazy."You're right. For example, what if, in another game, you use the left mouse button to shoot and one of the first things you do is sit in a completely uninteractive transport device for 2+ minutes while the opening credits or intro sequence rolls by. Surely, there are no examples of this. "
And the whole intro sequence to Half Life was like brand new at the time; shooters had never really even cared about setting or role-playing before then. It shows you around Black Mesa foreshadowing all kinds o suspiciously dangerous stuff like huge security doors and military helicopters n shit, takes you deep deep deep underground, there's a voice-over telling you all about the company n the facility, and all sorts o stuff to build your impression of where you are n what you're doing.
Deadly Premonition makes you run down a fucking massive EMPTY ROAD for no reason, except maybe to make you think it's an open world game.
" @I_smell: Ummm... it IS an open-world game. See how little you know about it? "
His nickname sums him up pretty well. Leave him alone, man.
Or not.
@I_smell: First, you use Silent Hill as an example of a "spooky town zombie game", although you never played it and you know shit about it. Then, you're talking about Deadly Premonition pretending to be an open-world game in a sequence of running down a road. Despite the fact that it IS an open-world one.
Also, if you want to destroy Deadly Premonition's plot on the basis of weird controls and a quirky character whose actions don't make any sense at the beginning, then Twin Peaks is a Saturday Morning Cartoon with no depth.
You don't know ANYTHING about the subject in matter, yet you're posting about it. Marvelous.
1. It is an open world game, watch EP 3.dly Premonition using A to shoot when there's a TRIGGER right there on the controller is just crazy. And the whole intro sequence to Half Life was like brand new at the time; shooters had never really even cared about setting or role-playing before then. It shows you around Black Mesa foreshadowing all kinds o suspiciously dangerous stuff like huge security doors and military helicopters n shit, takes you deep deep deep underground, there's a voice-over telling you all about the company n the facility, and all sorts o stuff to build your impression of where you are n what you're doing. Deadly Premonition makes you run down a fucking massive EMPTY ROAD for no reason, except maybe to make you think it's an open world game.
2. This a Survival Horror game with Third Person Shooter combat, not a pure TPS. This is the control scheme that's been used by Survival Horror games over the past decade, including RE4. You would know this if you'd actually played a Silent Hill game.
speaking of...
3. Silent Hill does not have zombies, never has and never will.
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