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Note: Some minor spoilers ahead, although as it's a Fate-locked (read: paid) storyline, I'm keeping the details to myself.
One of the many stories you can play in Echo Bazaar involves an acquaintance known as the Repentant Forger, and a painting you buy (or steal). Initially you plan to ditch the (all-black and "fatally modern") canvas and just sell the frame, but if you have the Fate and know the Repentant Forger, he'll tell you that there's actually a painting hidden beneath the black. Thus begins a long and arduous (for him) process of stripping the paint off, layer by layer - each one revealing a more scandalous aspect of a portrait that had been painted out, each one increasing the value of the painting (at first in terms of blackmail from the family of the sitter, later in terms of secrets hidden in the various layers of the painting). The Repentant Forger, meanwhile, has a harder and harder time of it, as the painting is giving him nightmares - towards the end, you have to literally bribe him with diamonds or rare wine, or threaten to rat him out to the Constables, in order to get him to continue. This is hardly surprising, as the information contained within the painting (without going too heavily into EB's extensive backstory) is of the sort known to cause anything from nightmares to loss of sanity to actual spontaneous combustion.
I'm at the final option of the story, where the (extremely haggard) Forger, having done a beautiful job and uncovered a disturbing scene, swears to me that there are no more layers to the painting. This is not quite the end of the storyline, however. On the one hand, I can trust his statements, copy down the details of the painting, sell the canvas for (one assumes) a significant sum, and have done with the thing. Alternatively, I can demand that the Forger continue his work. It would ruin my relationship with him, and there's at least a decent chance there'd be nothing beneath the paint save blank canvas (thus rendering the entire thing worthless to anybody), but I would be absolutely certain there were no more secrets to be had from it.
As a clever reader might have gathered from my review, there's a distinct undercurrent of dark obsession running through Echo Bazaar's storylines. Often in the game, this ruthlessness in the pursuit of one's desire is rewarded, albeit not without certain unflattering attributes attaching to your character. And the discovery of secrets related to the heart of the game is one of its great joys. So there's a distinct motivation there to push this to the end and see where it goes.
On the other hand, I must admire the clever way in which the game's writers have set this up. If it were simply a matter of the currency invested in this storyline (diamonds and rare wine don't come cheap), there'd be no question - I have plenty of wealth, and the game does not give up its deepest secrets easily. But the loss of the Repentant Forger's friendship may well have ramifications further down the road (there are plenty of other storylines like this one that require acquaintanceship with a particular individual to play), and while few choices in the game are entirely irreversible (often it will dangle the opportunity to change a past decision - for a small fee, of course), it's also just a plain awful way to treat a friend.
Admittedly, the stakes here are fairly low; it's a game, fer chrissakes. But this is what I mean when I talk about just how involving the story can be - I'm not certain I want my character to be the sort of person who's do this to a friend, but by the same token, I know she's the sort of person (because I am) whose need to know may well override her better judgment. Additionally, I must doff my cap to the writers; often in stories like this, less skilled tellers telegraph which option is the "correct" one; all I have to do is imagine what I would do if I were the writer, and there's the answer. Here, I could honestly see it going either way - I might offer a reward for the obsessive option (at a price, of course), or I might say "You'd seriously give up your friendship just to make absolutely sure he's not lying to you? Here, have a useless canvas and an estranged friend." And, of course, it wouldn't at all be hard to write the result of the "safe" option in order to leave a certain ambiguity about what would have happened had you gone the other way.
So, friends, I ask you: Given the situation, which would you choose?
One of the many stories you can play in Echo Bazaar involves an acquaintance known as the Repentant Forger, and a painting you buy (or steal). Initially you plan to ditch the (all-black and "fatally modern") canvas and just sell the frame, but if you have the Fate and know the Repentant Forger, he'll tell you that there's actually a painting hidden beneath the black. Thus begins a long and arduous (for him) process of stripping the paint off, layer by layer - each one revealing a more scandalous aspect of a portrait that had been painted out, each one increasing the value of the painting (at first in terms of blackmail from the family of the sitter, later in terms of secrets hidden in the various layers of the painting). The Repentant Forger, meanwhile, has a harder and harder time of it, as the painting is giving him nightmares - towards the end, you have to literally bribe him with diamonds or rare wine, or threaten to rat him out to the Constables, in order to get him to continue. This is hardly surprising, as the information contained within the painting (without going too heavily into EB's extensive backstory) is of the sort known to cause anything from nightmares to loss of sanity to actual spontaneous combustion.
I'm at the final option of the story, where the (extremely haggard) Forger, having done a beautiful job and uncovered a disturbing scene, swears to me that there are no more layers to the painting. This is not quite the end of the storyline, however. On the one hand, I can trust his statements, copy down the details of the painting, sell the canvas for (one assumes) a significant sum, and have done with the thing. Alternatively, I can demand that the Forger continue his work. It would ruin my relationship with him, and there's at least a decent chance there'd be nothing beneath the paint save blank canvas (thus rendering the entire thing worthless to anybody), but I would be absolutely certain there were no more secrets to be had from it.
As a clever reader might have gathered from my review, there's a distinct undercurrent of dark obsession running through Echo Bazaar's storylines. Often in the game, this ruthlessness in the pursuit of one's desire is rewarded, albeit not without certain unflattering attributes attaching to your character. And the discovery of secrets related to the heart of the game is one of its great joys. So there's a distinct motivation there to push this to the end and see where it goes.
On the other hand, I must admire the clever way in which the game's writers have set this up. If it were simply a matter of the currency invested in this storyline (diamonds and rare wine don't come cheap), there'd be no question - I have plenty of wealth, and the game does not give up its deepest secrets easily. But the loss of the Repentant Forger's friendship may well have ramifications further down the road (there are plenty of other storylines like this one that require acquaintanceship with a particular individual to play), and while few choices in the game are entirely irreversible (often it will dangle the opportunity to change a past decision - for a small fee, of course), it's also just a plain awful way to treat a friend.
Admittedly, the stakes here are fairly low; it's a game, fer chrissakes. But this is what I mean when I talk about just how involving the story can be - I'm not certain I want my character to be the sort of person who's do this to a friend, but by the same token, I know she's the sort of person (because I am) whose need to know may well override her better judgment. Additionally, I must doff my cap to the writers; often in stories like this, less skilled tellers telegraph which option is the "correct" one; all I have to do is imagine what I would do if I were the writer, and there's the answer. Here, I could honestly see it going either way - I might offer a reward for the obsessive option (at a price, of course), or I might say "You'd seriously give up your friendship just to make absolutely sure he's not lying to you? Here, have a useless canvas and an estranged friend." And, of course, it wouldn't at all be hard to write the result of the "safe" option in order to leave a certain ambiguity about what would have happened had you gone the other way.
So, friends, I ask you: Given the situation, which would you choose?
