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Mind Games - The writer has a sick and twisted mind
davidwford
Member Posts: 1,836 Arc User
Please take that as a backhanded complement.
The story was very compelling and at times disturbing. I kind of saw the first part with the disruptor on the table coming. It was a repeat of what happened to Geordi in "The Mind's Eye". The construction of the Thalaron weapon was unexpected and I couldn't help but wonder if Sela's voice was her, the programing, or the darkness in my character's own soul speaking. The medical experiments with the Borg implants was reminiscent of thee so-called TRIBBLE "medical science". After two runs, I am glad that there are accolades for complete resistance and complete compliance.
All in all, it was a very troubling mission/story that makes one think about the ramifications of a no-win captured/prisoner scenario. Well done!
The story was very compelling and at times disturbing. I kind of saw the first part with the disruptor on the table coming. It was a repeat of what happened to Geordi in "The Mind's Eye". The construction of the Thalaron weapon was unexpected and I couldn't help but wonder if Sela's voice was her, the programing, or the darkness in my character's own soul speaking. The medical experiments with the Borg implants was reminiscent of thee so-called TRIBBLE "medical science". After two runs, I am glad that there are accolades for complete resistance and complete compliance.
All in all, it was a very troubling mission/story that makes one think about the ramifications of a no-win captured/prisoner scenario. Well done!
Post edited by davidwford on
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"Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them."
-Thomas Marrone
Other then that I enjoyed the mission, I just thought that at least a few times someone should have asked what you were doing and why you were taking things....
Given Tovan's apparent lack of knowledge of anything at the end of the mission (I believe he mentioned looking for a whole week for you), I doubt either he or Sela's voices were actually them. I took it as part of your subconscious mind working through the programming.
"Sela" represents the part of you effected by the conditioning. while "Tovan" represents the part of your mind actively fighting the conditioning. Neither one actually belongs to the person but is infact all in your head.
I got to shoot Tovan
Burn some Epohh
then...
Make a Borg... it was epic... I would of signed up for the Tal shair a long time ago if i could burn Epohhs on a daily basis. Hakeeve is dead... I call dibs on being Sela's new high ranking minion.
How exactly is the mission different then any other mission in the game?
You get told what to do, you do it, mission progresses or is done.
If you don't, no progress.
Fundamentally, there is zero difference between been told by Sela what to do, or by some starfleet admiral that sends you out to blow up a romulan base.
You do what you are told to do, no brainwashing needed, because your only other option is to skip the mission.
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I always seemed to get Satra or Hiven. That said, shooting Tovan while you're hearing his voice telling you not to do it is a funny scenario. :P
Infinite possibilities have implications that could not be completely understood if you turned this entire universe into a giant supercomputer.
Really? This level is like Plants and Zombies in comparison to stuff like Silent Hill, Dream Emulator, Amnesia etc. There is only so much immersion that red and green dialogue choices can offer you.
Granted, it was an amusing mission that made an attempt to go against the grain. But it is still run to objective A, solve mini puzzle, go through chat, move to objective B.
True, from a mechanical perspective there is no difference.
But from a storytelling or role-playing perspective, the set up is everything. This mission works even though the outcome is immutable because you have the illusion of making a choice and of trying to resist the conditioning.
When my character regains the illusion of free-will, giving Hakeev a bad day feels much more satisfying than if I were merely ordered to go fight him.
More missions like this (the immersive experience, not the brainwashing) would be much appreciated.
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Anyhow, I wish we could stay with them, and have some more inside looks at the worksings of the Tal'Shiar.
Maybe even a Episode of Indoctrination Relapse, and forced to go back to the Empress,.
Like the Above Poster said, ^_^ I wish we could be ordered to kill that Moron.... T.T He is a pain and a very bad example for the Tal'Shiar.
I completely agree. Some of the mission designers at Cryptic do what they can to try to hide this, but it seems all but impossible given their engine.
Missions in STO are horribly linear and hinge on extremely specific conditions. The player has no real agency in the decision making process. You either check off the grocery list of objectives or you fail the mission. The actual items on that list case to matter very quickly. Maybe if Mind Games were one of the first missions players could connect with it more.
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How is this different then any other MMO on the market. Nearly all of them have a "Checklist" of objectives. I have yet to see a mission in any MMO i have played that would actually play out differently based on some decision made by the player.
MMOs are not "Choose your own adventure" novels. At the end of the day you are progressing through the storyline in a linear sense, pretty much defeating various "Bad guys" along the way.
Yep - I got Satra myself. I probably WOULDN'T have choosen to resist picking up and firing the Disruptor has it been Tovan. :eek::D;)
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Much like the other players, I get holographic Veril. Maybe it is because he is Reman that she is selected. I do agree that Tovan is suppose to be the character's conscience trying to prevent him/her from becoming a catspaw for the Tal Shiar. The corruption inch by inch is exactly how some of the greatest evil acts have been perpetrated. It is called moral relativism. There are numerous books by Vietnam War Prisoners of War that describe in great detail how their captors tried to coax or corrupt the prisoners into making political statements or betray their comrades in arms.
Yes, the accolade names are very clever allusions to "Chain of Command". Some of Sela's comments are particularly humorous depending on if you capitulate or resist.
I would like to see the assimilated bridge and the corridors added to selectable warbird bridges when the player becomes a member of Omega Force.
Actually, there are. Most of those players are spawncampers and cyberbullies. I do agree that there does need to be a dual option gameplay for KDF. The player through their actions are either honorable (House of Martok/Worf allied) or treacherous and evil (House of Duras).
simly awesome
The thing is though it does not matter if you try to resist the conditioning, you can do exactly what you are supposed to do with out any hesitation what so ever and it makes no difference then if you resist every chance you get...
I liked the mission however they could have made it a lot better by making resisting actually mean something other then getting different comments from Sela.
Also, as I mentioned before, the part about you gathering all the things you need to set into motion getting into the back room and downloading the files could have been done a lot better if at least someone questioned you as to what the hell you were doing...setting a fire, hiding the fire extinguisher, TRIBBLE with the borg subject, making the borg walker active...its all done as if no one even notices what you are doing and the only time anyone does anything is when you get to the transporter room. That part was very poorly done indeed.
My character Tsin'xing
Basically from the moment I saw my character on the table I thought "Out of the frying pan and into the 9 circles of I'm-so-screwed"
Well played Cryptic, well played.
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X'Tem
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"Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them."
-Thomas Marrone
--Red Annorax