The Confessions Thread

KeenEmpire · Post by **KeenEmpire** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:16

the cheats sort of killed the game for me; in the end i found i couldn't play the game without them. like drugs. yeah.

ckguy · Post by **ckguy** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 16:21

Lava89 wrote:The full version is "uncensored"

IMA3HDDMNKY wrote:There's really no difference gameplay-wise, between the shareware and the "registered" versions. They did away with the nag screens and maybe the title screen is a little different but that's all.

... nevertheless ...

Ceres · Post by **Ceres** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 21:34

I have full versions of all the official Keen games and I've played all of them. But I had problems with completing 2 and 3 without cheating, so I haven't completed it yet, only when using codes.

Keen Dreams is the easiest, I think, but also one of the most exciting parts. I have played it since... let me count... about fifteen years (of course not each year - I am a young grown-up person and rarely have I time and childish mood to play computer games

). Thanks to such a long time of friendship with this part, I know almost every detail about it. Maybe without one. I don't know how to get to the wagon in the bottom, when I am on the Apple Acres

After finishing a Keen game, I like to play it on 'hard' level and save the most pervert combinations like e.g. keeping in touch with squashies in Rhuparb Rapids or racing with melons.

Me and my sister played "Keen Dreams" with a black-white screen at the beginning and had some interesting ideas and names for some of the creatures. For example a french fry (or whatever it is - this yellow one which throws something in Parsnip Pass and in Spud City) was called 'woman' by us because we thought it has long blonde hair.

Keen games can be thought to have cultivated an idea of a boy hero, that is why I like them so much now - I am interested in such branch of culture. And only two fragments of the series don't belong to this idea, I think: killing women and their children in the 3rd part of Vorticon games plus showing naked ass in the Secret of the Oracle. Both these motives add something strange to this sweet, ideal and naive world of childhood, cookies and jumping on a pogo stick and our hero appears not to be a total angel in opposition to black, satanic Mortimer.

/yeah, looking for deeper meanings in an old computer game... that is one of symptoms of my mental illness

/

Post by **KeenRush** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 22:47

As for that wagon at the Apple Acres, you have to drop down and try to land to that area in an angle. It's all about aiming! One can't access the area if one tries to get there by falling near the wall.

Also, to note, many here don't play Keen daily, not even often -- many just like the Keeniverse and all that. I guess that's why you joined too, no?

Well, I've never liked the killing aspect in Keen 1-3, and thus I always say/think he only stunned enemies even if raygun and such actually are dangerous weapons... But to iD's defence, I don't think they seriously put much thought about it -- whatever is in Keens they thought was fun, most likely. And I don't think many players thought either that Keen is a cold-blooded killer destroying vorticon families and shooting innocent kids. Although it'd make an interesting plot twist for TUIT -- Mortimer telling Keen he isn't that good himself, either!

And that mooning, I don't consider it part of the game or story as such, as it was a hidden easter egg.

It's comparable to what Bart Simpons does too at times, it's a prank.

ckguy · Post by **ckguy** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 22:49

I agree with KR on the mooning thing - it's not 'really' Keen who's doing the mooning, it's John Romero and Adrian Carmack.

Ceres · Post by **Ceres** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:34

KeenRush - many thanks for the advice

But one problem remains... I can get to the wagon area and collect the boobus bombs and so on. But I have no idea how to come back to the exit stage or to any other stage from before. I could only kill myself by jumping into the abyss below. Now I have some spare time and maybe I'll try to check it myself, haha

I know it's the producents' fault that Keen moons but this is the Commander who loses a small part of his reputation in such an act

Anyway, it's a joke and a very good part of the game - if there wouldn't be such a naughty surprise, I would be bored with Keen's ideal character. I like such a game character because he's just a nice and cheeky typical boy (and a genius& supehero besides), not an 'angel without faults'.

I know that 1-3 weren't thought to be cruel. But somehow it made me sad to look at the sad frown of a dead Vorti child or at its parents. And - maybe I don't remember the story well - Vorticons seemed to be neutral to humans, not like Shikadis, Bloogs or the citizens of Tuberland. they seemed just to defend themselves and be a tool in the match between Keen and Mortimer, thats whyI pity them.

Another thing that I like very much about the Keen games is the background of stories. I haven't met an old school game with a better stroy, I must admit. Maybe I don't know many games but I'm sure that this is special about this series.

Post by **KeenRush** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:59

On the left side of that area, there is a hidden passage on the roof. There's a climbable pipe inside, and one needs to jump on the wagon and upwards from that, otherwise one can't reach it.

Then once you have climbed upwards, try moving/jumping to right, and you should drop to a more familiar underground space.

Yes, and agree that the Keen stories are best, of the stories seen in games. And speaking of Vorticons, they indeed are neutral, during the games they were under Mortimer's control via the mysterious brain-belts -- it made them hostile. After they're free, Keen even befriends with them, at the end. The frozen Vorticon Elders in Keen 2 are perhaps the only ones that Mortimer can't control, as they seem to be telling Keen that the Vorticon's are acting unwillingly (and pleads Keen to spare them!).

Ceres · Post by **Ceres** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:13

Thank you very much for the advice and explaining of the case of Vorticons! It's interesting

and ... a dramatic story, don't you think? Mortimer's awful >:

Post by **KeenRush** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 19:27

You're welcome. I think Mort is awfully interesting character.

To be trite, he's just a (very) young man struggling to find his place in the Universe...

Or should we say, Universe's place in him, and it looks like it won't have much place as he's going to destroy it. One of the reasons I'm waiting for TUIT is to know what Mortimer is on about; is he planning to survive the destruction? Is his plan to make it so his mind will be the sole thing existing, making him godlike, or is he planning to go down with all the existence... Not sure if Tom has thought it this deeply, though.

ckguy · Post by **ckguy** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 6:33

Yes, this would definitely be interesting to find out, but unfortunately I don't think Tom plans all of this stuff out carefully.

Djaser · Post by **Djaser** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 7:43

That wouldn't be surprising, all characters in Keen series are very flat. Even about Keen we know only a few basics things told in the stories.

KeenEmpire · Post by **KeenEmpire** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:40

gives more lattitude for fanfiction, though

Post by **KeenRush** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:10

Hah, I was going to say 'at least it gives more freedom for fan fiction' or something.

Well, true, there isn't that many facts when one thinks about it, but enough for me considering it's a platform game and not a novel. This gives some perspective how hollow some other games are...

Commander Spleen · Post by **Commander Spleen** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 13:20

That and it leaves room for the imagination. Sometimes great works are so because they leave a lot up to the observer.

It rather fascinates me how we can accept a story even if it defies logic when considered carefully. We think we're so intelligent, but we can be fooled so easily.

KeenEmpire · Post by **KeenEmpire** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 23:26

could you give an example (if it doesn't go too far off-topic?)