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Character Details
Jun. 4th, 2008 05:21 pmSee, this is why I've been so desperate to find my controller and replay SH4. I was sure there were little characterization aspects I was overlooking.
The last time I played the game, I didn't pay too much attention to what was in Henry's apartment. I noted that his electronics seemed pretty old - older TV, older stereo, no computer, VCR instead of DVD player - and mostly just had fun clicking on his pictures and snickering about what he said, because he really does come off as having an architecture fetish.
I noted the stuff on his coffee table vaguely, paying attention mostly to the car magazine, because hey! Clear indication Henry is into cars, okay! I mostly ignored the two remotes, place mat, and over-sized novelty coaster.
When I started the game today, I went through his apartment and clicked everything, inspected everything, and wrote down what was there, just because. And I noted some random things - such as a produce scale, when Henry's diet seems to consist of cookies, chips, soda and Chef Boyardee, and three different bottles of cologne when he never goes out socially - and in the living room I took a closer look at the 'coaster'.
And noted hey, that really is a huge coaster. It's as big as the magazine. And the edges are really high. And have little grooves in them. And what's with the black smudges on the bottom, like someone took charcoal and rubbed it around in there? And what are all those gray flecks around it....
Oh man, it's an ashtray! A...very used ashtray. And I clicked on it, and yes, Henry identified it as indeed being his ashtray, and an uninteresting one at that.
That made no sense to me, since other than the fact that the walls and ceiling and furniture have clearly been exposed to smoke, there are no signs of cigarettes anywhere in the apartment. I puzzled over this for hours. And as I reached for my own cigarettes only to find the pack empty, I realized....
Of course there aren't any cigarettes! Henry's been trapped in his apartment for five days now, he smoked them all and can't get out for more!
And this puts me in an interesting position. Since I've been playing Henry for...over a month now, and the only smoking he's ever referred to is that one time in college he tried pot and felt funny for a while then decided he didn't see what the big deal was. And I know it's a really tiny little detail, and other than a used ashtray there's no reference to it in canon, but still. I'm anal about little details like this, and I am constantly looking for justification for my characters to be smokers, because damnit, it's just something I like writing about. (Even though I currently only have two out of....13 who smoke.)
I shall ponder this some.
Now I just need to figure out why he owns a meat produce scale and that much cologne. And why buildings make him feel so good inside.... ;)
(I only tease because I love.)
ETA: I find it highly amusing my last post, which was mostly about Henry, was titled 'Smoke'em if you've Got'em'.
The last time I played the game, I didn't pay too much attention to what was in Henry's apartment. I noted that his electronics seemed pretty old - older TV, older stereo, no computer, VCR instead of DVD player - and mostly just had fun clicking on his pictures and snickering about what he said, because he really does come off as having an architecture fetish.
I noted the stuff on his coffee table vaguely, paying attention mostly to the car magazine, because hey! Clear indication Henry is into cars, okay! I mostly ignored the two remotes, place mat, and over-sized novelty coaster.
When I started the game today, I went through his apartment and clicked everything, inspected everything, and wrote down what was there, just because. And I noted some random things - such as a produce scale, when Henry's diet seems to consist of cookies, chips, soda and Chef Boyardee, and three different bottles of cologne when he never goes out socially - and in the living room I took a closer look at the 'coaster'.
And noted hey, that really is a huge coaster. It's as big as the magazine. And the edges are really high. And have little grooves in them. And what's with the black smudges on the bottom, like someone took charcoal and rubbed it around in there? And what are all those gray flecks around it....
Oh man, it's an ashtray! A...very used ashtray. And I clicked on it, and yes, Henry identified it as indeed being his ashtray, and an uninteresting one at that.
That made no sense to me, since other than the fact that the walls and ceiling and furniture have clearly been exposed to smoke, there are no signs of cigarettes anywhere in the apartment. I puzzled over this for hours. And as I reached for my own cigarettes only to find the pack empty, I realized....
Of course there aren't any cigarettes! Henry's been trapped in his apartment for five days now, he smoked them all and can't get out for more!
And this puts me in an interesting position. Since I've been playing Henry for...over a month now, and the only smoking he's ever referred to is that one time in college he tried pot and felt funny for a while then decided he didn't see what the big deal was. And I know it's a really tiny little detail, and other than a used ashtray there's no reference to it in canon, but still. I'm anal about little details like this, and I am constantly looking for justification for my characters to be smokers, because damnit, it's just something I like writing about. (Even though I currently only have two out of....13 who smoke.)
I shall ponder this some.
Now I just need to figure out why he owns a meat produce scale and that much cologne. And why buildings make him feel so good inside.... ;)
(I only tease because I love.)
ETA: I find it highly amusing my last post, which was mostly about Henry, was titled 'Smoke'em if you've Got'em'.
