TheAuthority Posted December 28, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted December 28, 2018 (edited) I though I'd start a thread rather than clogging up the general TV thread. WARNING if you haven't watched/played this then don't read on!! This will contain plot lines and spoilers! Ok. So I really liked it overall. Format New and different and intriguing in it's possibilities. Is this the start of a new genre? Or will it be a damp squib? I'm not sure but I'd definitely like to see more things like this. Style I grew up in the mid-eighties in the UK so the look/style was very familiar and I starting gaming on Commodores and Spectrums. Full marks for capturing the feeling of the era. Story I felt that it was somewhat simple compared to other Black Mirrors that Brooker has written but maybe the point was to not get too complicated. The most satisfying for me was when he goes back in time and gets on the train with his mom and then he dies in the future. All of the other 'endings' seemed a little weak to me - especially the multiple prison ones when his game gets reviewed in various different ways. Fun Bits The acid trip & the martial arts fight with his doctor. That was totally out of left field. Would love to see more of this style - I wonder if it can be 'large' enough to be really immersive and satisfying? Edited December 28, 2018 by TheAuthority Shropshire Lad is a pedant ;-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted December 28, 2018 Share Posted December 28, 2018 It's an interesting idea. I went through it for perhaps half a dozen different endings and then just kind of stopped. It doesn't feel like there's a real payoff or purpose to the thing. Perhaps that's the point, but it just didn't really live up to the expectations I had. Cool concept though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted December 28, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted December 28, 2018 Yeah similar to others. I loved the concept and there were parts that were brilliant. But overall it’s left me feeling very unsatisfied. I dont think the actual story, or at least the ending, is actually much good. It’s very short and ends abruptly. I feel like I haven’t finished it, even though I’ve had a few different endings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Albrighton Posted December 28, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted December 28, 2018 17 minutes ago, TheAuthority said: Or will it be a damp squid? Apologies, not sure if it was just a mistype but just in case I’m gonna be that guy. It’s damp squib. Sorry. Couldn’t let the thread carry on without saying it. Carry on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuthority Posted December 28, 2018 Author VT Supporter Share Posted December 28, 2018 1 minute ago, Shropshire Lad said: Apologies, not sure if it was just a mistype but just in case I’m gonna be that guy. It’s damp squib. Sorry. Couldn’t let the thread carry on without saying it. Carry on. Thanks - mistype - I will correct. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PieFacE Posted December 28, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted December 28, 2018 Interesting concept. Prefer normal Black Mirror episodes though. Not particularly keen for this format to stay tbh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted December 28, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted December 28, 2018 55 minutes ago, PieFacE said: Interesting concept. Prefer normal Black Mirror episodes though. Not particularly keen for this format to stay tbh... It felt very much like an experiment. And also a lot more like a game than a movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted December 29, 2018 Moderator Share Posted December 29, 2018 Where can one see this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdabush Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 1 hour ago, OutByEaster? said: Where can one see this? Netflix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazzap24 Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 Absolute 10/10 for me, I loved it. Brilliant concept, brilliantly executed. Me and the wife had loads of fun with it, some of those choices were brutal! We got the 5* review ending first time through. Threw Colin off the balcony, killed the dad and chopped up the body! Fantastic stuff and really thought provoking, as the best Black Mirror's are. I hope this doesn't lead to a load of copycat, crappy, low budget 'choose your own' shite though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted December 30, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted December 30, 2018 It's a fun experiment. The story itself is very slight, and doesn't have as much of the modern world technology extrapolated to the nth degree stuff the best Black Mirror episodes do. It's a proof of concept with some meta stuff thrown in that's been done by games to a greater degree. But for what it it's well done enough. We got the first 'do over' that I'd imagine many people do, the acceptance of the job offer, and then managed to get through to murdering the dad, ultimately getting the ending where Tuckersoft goes bust. It seems we just didn't see fairly large chunks of the options, but ultimately it's clear that, like many games that have choice systems, and as the film itself spells out in the end, the choice is mostly an illusion - the wallpaper changes, but the house remains fundamentally the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 Not sure how I feel about the on demand thing. I didn't act soon enough to make a choice for the first one, and I was sort of annoyed by that and couldn't relax and watch much more than that. How is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 (edited) I prefer a proper story to be honest. I ran a couple of endings and got bored pretty quick. It’s no ‘Night Trap’. Edited December 30, 2018 by LondonLax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted December 30, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted December 30, 2018 27 minutes ago, LondonLax said: I prefer a proper story to be honest. I ran a couple of endings and got bored pretty quick. Yeah this was my conclusion. I enjoyed it, but ultimately it made me just want to see a proper story about what happened. I still think the story ends too abruptly. It feels like it's just getting going and then bang, it's over. Regardless of which ending you end up with. Brilliant experiment, but doesn't feel quite there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted December 30, 2018 VT Supporter Share Posted December 30, 2018 (edited) ALL SPOILERS BELOW Spoiler Edited December 30, 2018 by Stevo985 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 Was it the television equivalent of a Fighting Fantasy book like "Warlock of Firetop Mountain" from about 30 years ago? If so, what took them so long?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazzap24 Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 (edited) https://www.tuckersoft.net/ealing20541/nohzdyve/ I don't know how it works and it sounds complicated to me, but with some techno wizardry you can get a full version of the 'Nohzdyve' game to work on a spectrum/emulator. That's a pretty cool little Easter egg imo. Edit: So, if you click on the 'Metl Hedd' link on the main page of the Tuckersoft site and scroll to the bottom, there is a link you can click to generate a rating from 'Reputelligent' - the company from the nosedive episode! I think this might have been around a while, but it's the first time I've seen it. I love stuff like this. Edited December 30, 2018 by wazzap24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazzap24 Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 27 minutes ago, Risso said: Was it the television equivalent of a Fighting Fantasy book like "Warlock of Firetop Mountain" from about 30 years ago? If so, what took them so long?! It's a multi-choice, interactive TV show, about a guy making a multi-choice game, based on the kind of multi-choice book you're talking about. I suspect technology is why it's taken this long. Seems simple, but I'd imagine it's pretty complex to pull off? Watch it. It's a properly clever experience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuthority Posted December 30, 2018 Author VT Supporter Share Posted December 30, 2018 34 minutes ago, Risso said: Was it the television equivalent of a Fighting Fantasy book like "Warlock of Firetop Mountain" from about 30 years ago? If so, what took them so long?! No, but that was exactly the book I thought I'd like to be done in this format for TV. I always got so lost in the "Maze of Zagor" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted December 30, 2018 Share Posted December 30, 2018 (edited) I think it'd have been better with fewer choices and more content. I think our first watch through lasted...25, maybe 30 minutes? then we tried out a few others and stopped at that point. There was just a real lack of substance. Where on earth is the 5 hours of video? Edited December 30, 2018 by Davkaus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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