To The Moon

[Eirik Raude]

Just finished this fantastic little game now, and I'm truly impressed. This is some of the best storytelling I've seen anywhere, maybe the best I've seen in a video game. Simply a joy to play through from start to finish. Everybody who enjoys a good story should play this game, and it's not even that long (about 4-5 hours), so if you somehow find yourself not absolutely loving it, it's not like you threw away a day.

Anybody on here played it? What did you think about it?

 

[Ainu]

I've got it sitting in my Steam library, think I bought it in some massive Indie Christmas pack. I've only played the first 15 or so minutes. It had a mysterious and intruiging air about it and the visual style reminded me of NES era Final Fantasy (which always gets me a bit nostalgic in a good way). Somehow I never got around to playing more of it, but it's certainly on my to do list.

 

[Eirik Raude]

You're in for a treat then.

 

[Maagge]

I played it quite a while ago and I enjoyed it. It's more of an interactive story than a game though.
It had some incredibly poignant moments I thought. Like when you meet the old man for the first time.

 

[Eirik Raude]

Poignant. That's a word which is not used often enough. Very fitting word to describe a lot of the scenes in To the Moon.

 

[Maagge]

Poignant. That's a word which is not used often enough. Very fitting word to describe a lot of the scenes in To the Moon.

Glad you like it

 

[rcoobc]

Thomas was Alone was pretty good too!

 

[Eirik Raude]

Haven't played that one. But seeing as I don't have anything else on my agenda these days, all exams finished and everything, I might give it a shot.

 

[rcoobc]

I dont want to oversell it.

Its alright

 

[Redlambs]

Both To the Moon and Thomas was Alone are great.

If you want poignant though, try Dear Esther and really sit through and pay attention to it. What an experience that is.

 

[Eirik Raude]

Love the suggestions, I'll definitely check it out.

 

[KingEric7]

Thought this should be bumped just so I don't end up talking about it in every thread. Amazing game...anyone who has even a vague desire for a good story needs to play it.

One thing though that's been bugging me for anyone who has played it:

Spoiler

The part when Eva and Watts go to Jonny at the lighthouse and make Lily disappear for the second time.... there's just one thing I need to fully understand. I understand it for the most part but there's something that's confusing me. Jonny says something like, "why can't you just send me to the moon now", and Watts says in return, "this is merely a canvas, and you are simply an algorithm traced from the real Jonny".

That's ok. I understand that in terms of the limitations of working with just a canvas, but then he says, "it would work if this was your one true set of memories", and "you are merely a read-only program". This makes sense until Eva goes back and starts changing the film at the cinema to one about the moon with the hope of kickstarting a change in future memories. If it was just about the limitations of not being able to get someone to the moon from a canvas, I can see how this would be consistent. It's those two quotes up there that don't quite make sense to me yet. Would it not stand that if they were to put Jonny on the moon in one memory, that would write onto all the others and change his life? Is that any different from how Eva was hoping to use the moon related film to creates changes in future memories?

It's driving me mad trying to understand whether that part is consistent, someone please help me.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Thought this should be bumped just so I don't end up talking about it in every thread. Amazing game...anyone who has even a vague desire for a good story needs to play it.

One thing though that's been bugging me for anyone who has played it:

Spoiler

The part when Eva and Watts go to Jonny at the lighthouse and make Lily disappear for the second time.... there's just one thing I need to fully understand. I understand it for the most part but there's something that's confusing me. Jonny says something like, "why can't you just send me to the moon now", and Watts says in return, "this is merely a canvas, and you are simply an algorithm traced from the real Jonny".

That's ok. I understand that in terms of the limitations of working with just a canvas, but then he says, "it would work if this was your one true set of memories", and "you are merely a read-only program". This makes sense until Eva goes back and starts changing the film at the cinema to one about the moon with the hope of kickstarting a change in future memories. If it was just about the limitations of not being able to get someone to the moon from a canvas, I can see how this would be consistent. It's those two quotes up there that don't quite make sense to me yet. Would it not stand that if they were to put Jonny on the moon in one memory, that would write onto all the others and change his life? Is that any different from how Eva was hoping to use the moon related film to creates changes in future memories?

It's driving me mad trying to understand whether that part is consistent, someone please help me.

Spoiler: spoiler

it's a good question actually. But I think the reason they can change the poster is that it is something irrelevant to the memories before that particular memory. The way I see it, if they change something in a memory then his memory of his subsequent life is then affected by that change. But changing something which would impact the past wouldn't have a dominoe effect on previous memories and alter them accordingly so as to make the changed Emory feasible.

So if they just transported him to the moon it wouldn't work because it's inconsistent with all his previous memories and they wouldn't "align" whereas changing a poster was something that was only part of that one memory and had no involvement in orevious memories.

That's basically what I think was the case seeing the way they seemed to view making changes to memories. Whether it actually makes sense I'm not sure. Probably does.

 

[RedSky]

Spoiler: spoiler

it's a good question actually. But I think the reason they can change the poster is that it is something irrelevant to the memories before that particular memory. The way I see it, if they change something in a memory then his memory of his subsequent life is then affected by that change. But changing something which would impact the past wouldn't have a dominoe effect on previous memories and alter them accordingly so as to make the changed Emory feasible.

So if they just transported him to the moon it wouldn't work because it's inconsistent with all his previous memories and they wouldn't "align" whereas changing a poster was something that was only part of that one memory and had no involvement in orevious memories.

That's basically what I think was the case seeing the way they seemed to view making changes to memories. Whether it actually makes sense I'm not sure. Probably does.

Spoiler

That was my assumption too, adding subliminal messages to try and push Jonny in a certain direction. It's a bit like the idea Derren Brown played around with 4/5 years ago.

Having gone through it a second time, it's even more engrossing. I hadn't noticed but River wears a Blue/Yellow wedding dress, makes a Blue/Yellow rabbit. The Blue/Yellow referring to the first time they met, the Blue being the nights sky and the Yellow being the rabbits tummy. Also the horrible subplot with the mother, i've come to the conclusion that the Mother has swapped the two twins round, thinking that it was Jonny that died and Joel survived. Hence the comic book bought for the wedding, she even calls him Joel at one point!

I've also reached the conclusion that Rivers condition is one of the two barriers preventing her from telling Jonny the truth. The other barrier as discussed in the other thread how she wants to protect Jonny from the truth and to prevent him from reliving the pain of losing his twin brother. It's a very moving story, Rivers character is particular is very well written. I really enjoy that moment when it all clicks, you watch the first meeting scene and every minute or so you go "oh shit!!! that's why she does that!"

What's never clear though is whether River knew of Jonnys wish to go to the Moon. I assume not, which confirms how sad the whole story is!

 

[KingEric7]

Spoiler: spoiler

it's a good question actually. But I think the reason they can change the poster is that it is something irrelevant to the memories before that particular memory. The way I see it, if they change something in a memory then his memory of his subsequent life is then affected by that change. But changing something which would impact the past wouldn't have a dominoe effect on previous memories and alter them accordingly so as to make the changed Emory feasible.

So if they just transported him to the moon it wouldn't work because it's inconsistent with all his previous memories and they wouldn't "align" whereas changing a poster was something that was only part of that one memory and had no involvement in orevious memories.

That's basically what I think was the case seeing the way they seemed to view making changes to memories. Whether it actually makes sense I'm not sure. Probably does.

Right, I've given this post about 2 solid hours of thought now and:

Spoiler

I think that's getting there for me. So you're saying basically that you think there is something integral about the role Jonny's intent must play in the creation of his memories, and that this intention must be almost entirely self-generated instead of forced upon him by outside things? That's good; I like that and I've a feeling this is what the writer was aiming for (there's a scene at the start when they've just seen Jonny in his bed that comes to mind here). There are still slight, slight niggles but that is maybe more to do with my own perception of thought/intention as opposed to anything necessarily being inconsistent with the philosophy of the game itself. It's the line that is drawn in terms of interference and what is actually acceptable, as well as the issue to do with this causation and whether previous memories really should be relevant to a present change writing forward.

This is looking into it in a really quite silly amount of depth though and it shows what an amazing game it is that I'm zooming in on something like this. I'm not even criticising it; this is all coming from me thinking it really is the 'bestest storyline ever!" in video game terms and me wanting it to be exactly just that. I'm pretty much being a complete fanboy and trying my absolute hardest to conclude that every single aspect of it is perfect!

I think you are right about intentions aligning though and that the answer is to be found there. I just need to wrap my head around it a bit longer and chuck all my own perspectives to one side.

Spoiler

That was my assumption too, adding subliminal messages to try and push Jonny in a certain direction. It's a bit like the idea Derren Brown played around with 4/5 years ago.

Having gone through it a second time, it's even more engrossing. I hadn't noticed but River wears a Blue/Yellow wedding dress, makes a Blue/Yellow rabbit. The Blue/Yellow referring to the first time they met, the Blue being the nights sky and the Yellow being the rabbits tummy. Also the horrible subplot with the mother, i've come to the conclusion that the Mother has swapped the two twins round, thinking that it was Jonny that died and Joel survived. Hence the comic book bought for the wedding, she even calls him Joel at one point!

I've also reached the conclusion that Rivers condition is one of the two barriers preventing her from telling Jonny the truth. The other barrier as discussed in the other thread how she wants to protect Jonny from the truth and to prevent him from reliving the pain of losing his twin brother. It's a very moving story, Rivers character is particular is very well written. I really enjoy that moment when it all clicks, you watch the first meeting scene and every minute or so you go "oh shit!!! that's why she does that!"

What's never clear though is whether River knew of Jonnys wish to go to the Moon. I assume not, which confirms how sad the whole story is!

Spoiler

You are so right about River; her character is incredibly well written. It cannot be overstated just how impressive a depiction of Asperger's this is. It's why I was absolutely pissing myself laughing about lines like "yes" instead of "I do" when she was taking her wedding vows. Her dialogue is absolutely littered with these golden moments representative of the literal perspective and attitudes to life people with autism spectrum disorders can have. Another key facet is the difficulty in communicating emotions, hence why I think it's almost certain that the primary barrier to telling Jonny about the memory was her condition and not Joey. It's up for interpretation whether or not she knew about Joey given that it's not clear whether or not they both went to the same infants/primary school (she mentioned school at the lighthouse in the first memory but Jonny never said anything about having seen her before), although at the same time they've shown her to have the level of emotion that would justify the idea of her having hidden that.

You're right about the mother, too; definitely lost the plot!

What a game, damn.

 

[Kinky Melinky]

It rules! So simple yet so powerful

 

[amolbhatia50k]

It rules! So simple yet so powerful

I see you commented on the interview with the creator on youtube

 

[KingEric7]

I've got it now amol, cheers. Crisis averted.

The soundtrack has pretty much been on repeat since finishing this. That version of 'For River' that the two kids play is lovely.

 

[Minkaro]

Bought this yesterday, based on seeing someone in the Breaking Bad thread talking about it. Not sure I'd play it again, now that I know the story, but when playing it for the first time, reading it all for the first time, it's a fantastic story.

Spoiler

I thought the part when Johnny and River were at the carnival, and the art style changed, was just brilliant.

 

[KingEric7]

Bought this yesterday, based on seeing someone in the Breaking Bad thread talking about it. Not sure I'd play it again, now that I know the story, but when playing it for the first time, reading it all for the first time, it's a fantastic story.

Spoiler

I thought the part when Johnny and River were at the carnival, and the art style changed, was just brilliant.

Yeah, that part was amazing.

Spoiler

There was so much going on there and I did well to hold back the tears for a bit, but I think I cracked when Jonny gave River the platypus. So beautiful.

 

[Rooney in Paris]

What is the story of this game?

 

[KingEric7]

What is the story of this game?

The general outline is that two scientists are working on a dying, comatose man to fulfill his last wish of going to the moon (via unorthodox methods). To say anything more than that would ruin what is surely one of the best told stories told in any medium. You must play it RiP! It is so, so good.

To put it into context, this story hit me harder emotionally than any game since FF7. I first played that when I was 7, so for this to do something similar 15 years later is damn impressive. I'd put it up there with that and Planescape Torment in terms of its factor.

 

[RedSky]

Yeah, that part was amazing.

Spoiler

There was so much going on there and I did well to hold back the tears for a bit, but I think I cracked when Jonny gave River the platypus. So beautiful.

Spoiler

She took that Platypus everywhere too! So sad.

 

[KingEric7]

Spoiler

She took that Platypus everywhere too! So sad.

Spoiler

Yeah, she had it in literally every scene! I swear I must be some complete weirdo or something because I didn't actually find the game sad. It was undoubtedly sad (River's suffering, Jonny not knowing, Joey's death, everything), but I was so struck by how they demonstrated River's love that I basically didn't have it in me to feel sad about it! Was a different sort of crying; like happiness crying if that makes sense. Probably just a bit of a weirdo like I say. Really was yearning for the original Jonny and the one from his memories to find out, though. I just wanted some aspect of him to know what River felt and the lengths she had gone to in order to bypass her condition. That's what I loved the most. I found that depiction and her efforts to be so beautiful given her Asperger's related difficulties.

Another thing I thought was pretty powerful was when Eva said to Watts "If that is all you think he is, then why are you explaining to him?". It's a deep game even when it's just within its own philosophy.

 

[Rooney in Paris]

The general outline is that two scientists are working on a dying, comatose man to fulfill his last wish of going to the moon (via unorthodox methods). To say anything more than that would ruin what is surely one of the best told stories told in any medium. You must play it RiP! It is so, so good.

To put it into context, this story hit me harder emotionally than any game since FF7. I first played that when I was 7, so for this to do something similar 15 years later is damn impressive. I'd put it up there with that and Planescape Torment in terms of its factor.

Is it on PS3? I love games driven by a strong story.

 

[KingEric7]

It's an indie game for the PC in a similar artistic style to a SNES era JRPG (like Final Fantasy, with slightly superior graphics). Very easy to... get hold of.

Wouldn't expect too much gameplay from it but the story is definitely one of the best. It was said in the other thread but someone needs to take this and turn it into a really famous film.

 

[Revan]

I started it tonight, and until now I am massively enjoying it's music. Is this guy Nobuo's son or something like that? The music is awesome, and the story seems nice, though I am at the beginning.

The squirrel battle made me laugh.

 

[KingEric7]

Yeah, this game has great humour.

Odd, I was going to recommend this game when I saw you posting in the FF thread the other day, Revan. You'll love it - it is a really special gaming experience.

 

[Revan]

Yeah, this game has great humour.

Odd, I was going to recommend this game when I saw you posting in the FF thread the other day, Revan. You'll love it - it is a really special gaming experience.

How long is it? Can I finish tonight, and will it be ruined if I seperate it on two nights?

It seems a bit like Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind. Also the memories seems to go backwards so need full concentration in order to fully understand the story.

 

[KingEric7]

How long is it? Can I finish tonight, and will it be ruined if I seperate it on two nights?

It seems a bit like Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind. Also the memories seems to go backwards so need full concentration in order to fully understand the story.

It can definitely be done tonight - it's about 4 hours in length. Would just recommend powering through it in one go and ignoring everything else. It wouldn't do any serious damage splitting it over two nights but I'd go through it in one sitting if possible.

 

[Revan]

Yeah, this game has great humour.

When John asked River for the date, then talks with his friend. The conversation is something like:
- What have you done, I would have asked her: 'hey, you, me, date'
- Dude, that's terrible.
- I know. And still was better than yours though

Amazing!

 

[Revan]

Finished it. Still processing it and tomorrow will look at the thread, but it was really a unique gaming experience. I loved every part of it! feck sake, I am a sucker when it comes to sad/bittersweet stories.

That person who made this game is a fecking genius.

 

[Peasplease]

One of the most memorable games I've played. I can't see it being for everyone though, you might have to be a bit of a softy at heart to enjoy it.

 

[KingEric7]

When John asked River for the date, then talks with his friend. The conversation is something like:
- What have you done, I would have asked her: 'hey, you, me, date'
- Dude, that's terrible.
- I know. And still was better than yours though

Amazing!

....Morpheus?

 

[Revan]

....Morpheus?

That was definitely the best. I laughed for a few minutes there. KameHameHa was fine but the Matrix reference was amazingly funny.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

You should play this in as few gos as possible because it's essentially more like a movie than anything else.

 

[KingEric7]

Finished it. Still processing it and tomorrow will look at the thread, but it was really a unique gaming experience. I loved every part of it! feck sake, I am a sucker when it comes to sad/bittersweet stories.

That person who made this game is a fecking genius.

Same, this really got me! I guessed what was coming at the festival but it was still absolutely brilliant.

So true about the guy who made this. The first thing I did after completing the game was get the soundtrack.

 

[Revan]

Same, this really got me! I guessed what was coming at the festival but it was still absolutely brilliant.

So true about the guy who made this. The first thing I did after completing the game was get the soundtrack.

Me too. Just finished the second listening of it. He really seems to be great. Hopefully A Bird Story will be great too.

 

[KingEric7]

Me too. Just finished the second listening of it. He really seems to be great. Hopefully A Bird Story will be great too.

Know idea what it's gonna be about, but:


I like that even more than To The Moon's opening.

 

[Revan]

Know idea what it's gonna be about, but:


I like that even more than To The Moon's opening.

I read today that it will be like a short prequel to the next To The Moon game. In that way that the protagonist of the To The Moon sequel will feature here too.