Gabby or Gabrielle?

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Eva Wu
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Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2015 5:45 pm

Gabby or Gabrielle?

Post by Eva Wu »

(I'm a chinese girl, and I'm not very good at english, hope you could understand my description,Thx!)

Gabrielle Smith's tomb(Was it really exist ? Or it just created by Thomas's imagination?):

Anyway, let's talk about the tomb...

"Gabrielle Smith, 1878~1884, Beloved sister"

now I know a little girl died at the age of 6. And her lastname is Smith...

If she was Thomas's daughter, then her name was the same as her mom !?

So...Thomas might really had a sister Gabby (If Thomas is a person with congenital albinism...... :?: )

And the story is not about incest....If Gabby=Gabrielle Smith died at the age of 6.

So...Thomas = Thomas Smith. am I right?

His father's lastname was Smith too And he hang himself...( such a picture in the candle room, and some letter like a suicide note on the desk...)

I wonder, A family like this, Thomas's mother might also committed suicide...

Then...here is my question.

Who is Thomas's wife? Another Gabrielle Smith? Or she just created by Thomas's imagination?

Who killed Gabby?
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matt
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Joined: Fri Oct 04, 2013 10:48 am

Re: Gabby or Gabrielle?

Post by matt »

Hi Eva,

I hope you found our Chinese localization satisfactory. Our simplified translation was made from our traditional, so we worried it might not be very good.

Those are some very good questions! Just in case it was clear, Gabby is a nickname for Gabrielle in English, so we use the names interchangeably. Some people think they are different characters, which probably was a shortcoming on our part.

I'm not sure if you've completed the game yet, but there are 3 endings, and each ending presents a different reality. The characters and their relationships are different. In addition, they are very open to interpretation, and I don't think I've ever officially said what they all mean to me because I want people to be able to form their own conclusions.

Some people have said the game is about incest and have made very good cases, but that wasn't what I had in mind.

My idea when creating the game was that the character of Gabby would not necessarily represent an actual person but rather an idea - a perfect relationship that fulfills 3 different roles - that of a therapist, a sister, and a wife. Since the game takes place in a nightmare, the character can play different roles without necessarily being them. At least for me, when I have dreams, there is sometimes a character that looks like someone but is actually someone different, or is supposed to be a person but is acting like another. We wanted that sort of nightmarish fluidity to the character of Gabby where she can change at will.

To come a little closer to answering your question, I think you have to look at a case by case basis per ending what role makes the most sense to you for Gabby. In the top ending (Final Descent), it is pretty clear who Gabby is. It is unclear what the child's name is. Maybe she was Gabby Jr? Or maybe the personalities was just jumbled up?

In the second ending (Destroyed Dreams), the relationship is ambiguous. Is she his wife? Is she his sister? Either could work.

In the third ending (Wayward Dreamer), I think the relationship is pretty clear. Why he is having these terrible nightmares is not. Is that ending still a nightmare? It could be!

So, hopefully this will help you understand what I set out to do with the game's story even though I am sort of dodging actual answers to the questions! :)

If you have any more questions, let me know. :-D
-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
Eva Wu
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2015 5:45 pm

Re: Gabby or Gabrielle?

Post by Eva Wu »

Hi Matt,

Thanks for your anwser!
I hope you found our Chinese localization satisfactory. Our simplified translation was made from our traditional, so we worried it might not be very good.
Rest assured that the translation is perfectly okay ;-)
And I have saw 3 endings already.

As a game player, I'm always thinking, have I understood the story correctly...What is the idea of producer...
But the producer also like to know players is how to understand the game...
Like a loop, it will never have an only anwser,haha!

You said that you want people to be able to form their own conclusions. Actually, when I saw the endings, I think, Gabby is a personality of Thomas (Like a shining of Tony). His wife and Dr. Smith looks like so Gabby maybe because their names. Even 3 endings, Are all in Nightmare too. Thomas never woke up. Because Gabby is still instead someone. (But when I replay the game. I saw the tomb and I 'PrtScn' for it. I was very confused. And I doubt that maybe Gabby is really exist! Then I came here to find the anwser.)

So, If these endings are all in Thomas's nightmare. I prefer the least damaging to Thomas (wayward ending). To the second ending, Thomas wanted to wake up by self-injury. But when he 'woke up' and saw Gabby, He knew he was still in nightmare. And the top ending, I thought Gabby was Finally left, But the Picture on the wall, she was still insteading his wife which Thomas hasn't noticed yet...It means he was still in his nightmare.

I became to think that maybe Thomas never woke up because he can't! Maybe he is a plant man in reality .Or maybe he is also just a personality in somebody's mind. But I really like that he is in sombody's dreams. For instance Thomas is in Gabby's dream. I don't know why I like it. (Maybe I badly need the <neverending nightmare II> Haha :twisted:)
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matt
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Re: Gabby or Gabrielle?

Post by matt »

I'm happy to hear the translations were good, and I love your interpretations of the endings! :)
-Matt Gilgenbach
Lead Frightener at Infinitap Games
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