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Speculation: The Narrator's Mysterious Identity

AceOfSomethingOrOtherAceOfSomethingOrOther Registered User regular
edited February 2010 in Penny Arcade Games
Okay, I've got this shit all figured out. Let me whip this up for you.

MAJOR Spoilers For OTRSPOD Episodes 1 & 2!
First of all, the narrator is definitely an important character. In the opening of Ep. 1, he says "Do not dwell on my mysterious identity... You're dwelling on it, aren't you?" which implies that he has an identity and isn't just a story-telling device.

Also, if I remember correctly, Gabe and Tycho mentioned cryptically that "Oh, why YES you'll be learning more about the narrator." I think it's on Ustream? I'd have to check. Maybe I'm wrong.

In any case, in Ep. 2 the narrator is featured much more prominently (much to my delight!). At one point he says something along the lines of "Will you at least try not getting yourself killed? Death is not an obstacle, but resurrections can be so tedious." I think this implies that the narrator has some supernatural... abilities? In any case, he does not concern himself with matters of mortality.

Again in Ep. 2, when you (first?) enter the Symposium on the Future of Man the narrator quips "The Future of Man? Mankind has no future", so I think this guy is anticipating the destruction of mankind.

I think it's also important to note that this narrator is omnipresent/omniscient (by which I mean he seems to be following you everywhere and he knows what shit is going down).

The last point, and the most important, deals with the 3rd "God" stanza presented at the end of the game, but I can't find it in the effing movies (what's the deal?!) so I'll do the best I can from memory. I unfortunately can't remember it very well, but the gist was that as long as two evil Gods remain on the windowsill, humanity is safe. It is when only when one God remains that humanity's fucked.

So, to summarize.
- Narrator is an important character.
- Narrator is omnipresent/omniscient.
- He is unconcerned with mortality.
- Humanity will end once there is only one God left.
- He thinks humanity will end.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Narrator is... the Fourth God.

Thank you, and good night.

EDIT: Oh, also forgot to mention another important note. The narrator is aiding you and your companions in killing the Gods, so he can be the last one left, or so I speculate. That is all.

AceOfSomethingOrOther on

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    patrick.thomsonpatrick.thomson Registered User new member
    edited November 2008
    I came here with that theory in mind, as garnered from a replay. Right at the very start of the game, the narrator says something about it being dangerous. Death won't come from him, but the others (or even gabe and tycho, so much for friendly fire). So yeah, the fourth god. I daresay we'll find out in episode 3.

    patrick.thomson on
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    ReaganReagan Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I definitely agree with the fourth god aspect. It reminds of the GC game "Eternal Darkness" where there is a special ending if you defeat all the three major gods, it will be revealed that you were manipulated/controlled by the fourth seemingly insignificant god.

    Reagan on
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    AceOfSomethingOrOtherAceOfSomethingOrOther Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Yaaaaaay.

    I should re-play Episode 1 (again) to see if the narrator's dialogue* makes any more sense. Hmmm....

    *Er, is it a "dia"-logue if it's just him?

    AceOfSomethingOrOther on
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    MaratanosMaratanos Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Sorry, you're wrong about the gods. Other than some prepositions, I remember the stanza at the end of the game:

    While two Gods wait on the windowsill,
    The wick of the world is burning, still.
    But when one God in triumph shouts,
    The candle of the world goes out.

    It's not saying "once there's one god left, bad shit will go down", it's saying "as soon as any one of the gods doesn't get defeated by our intrepid heroes, bad shit will go down".

    Other than that, I love how everybody enjoys rampant unbased speculation. Sure, you could be right, but until you know for sure, acting like you DO know for sure is rather naive.

    I want to say, though, that it's not as ridiculous as it sounded when people were constantly suggesting it after the first episode. If there's one thing I noticed most significantly about the Narrator in episode 2 is that he's a hell of a lot more grumpy than in episode 1.

    Maratanos on
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    ImmersionImmersion Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Maratanos wrote: »
    Sorry, you're wrong about the gods. Other than some prepositions, I remember the stanza at the end of the game:

    While two Gods wait on the windowsill,
    The wick of the world is burning, still.
    But when one God in triumph shouts,
    The candle of the world goes out.

    It's not saying "once there's one god left, bad shit will go down"
    I'm pretty sure that's exactly what it means. The stanza at the end of the first episode would imply that the waiting gods are in contention with one another- they feed off the death of the first to fall, in any case. What you said implies, unless I'm mistaken, that you take the last god shouting in triumph to mean that he triumphs over our heroes- I'm pretty sure it's talking about triumph over the other three gods. A mysterious, seemingly helpful, manipulative narrator fits just a wee bit better with this, I think. This isn't to say that the last god won't be defeated...but that's not in his plan, anyway.
    And don't come down so hard on speculation! It is ridiculous when taken to the extreme, but everyone has that primitive urge to be able to say "I called that shit" when something not totally obvious happens. Makes ya feel smart, you know? And with this speculation in particular, people are hardly grasping at straws- it's more than plausible.

    Immersion on
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    DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I think everyone is forgetting something that was mentioned near the beginning of Episode 2.
    Tycho's father started hearing a voice that narrated his life, and talked about ordinary things... and then it started telling him what to do.

    Sound familiar?

    DarkPrimus on
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    ReaganReagan Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    I think everyone is forgetting something that was mentioned near the beginning of Episode 2.
    Tycho's father started hearing a voice that narrated his life, and talked about ordinary things... and then it started telling him what to do.

    Sound familiar?
    Nice call. Perhaps our protagonist is insane? or perhaps the Brahes haven't been insane but have tapped into a eternal guiding spirit. Perhaps we are both right. Perhaps the 4th god has tried in the past to get previous Brahes to do it's bidding and wipe out the other 3 gods. Side question, wasn't in the first poem there were 8 gods?

    Reagan on
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    Mx. QuillMx. Quill I now prefer "Myr. Quill", actually... {They/Them}Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Yup, there were originally eight Gods.

    Mx. Quill on
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    AceOfSomethingOrOtherAceOfSomethingOrOther Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Yup, there were originally eight Gods.
    Yeah that's right. The four Gods that were already dead at the start of the first episode were the good Gods. Also known as the "Gods Above", I believe? Er, formally known.

    @ Maratanos
    Ah, I'm sorry, tone doesn't transfer well over the internet. I was intending my post to sound like a student running up to his classmates saying "Hey dudes! Look what I found out! I totally got this shit down, right? Amirite?", not like a preacher standing at a podium saying "THESE ARE WORDS OF TRUTH!". I am sorry if I sounded arrogant. The last couple lines do look like that, don't they? They were just suppose to be over zealous.

    @ Immersion
    That's how I interpreted the "one God in triumph shouts" line when I first read it, too. Thanks for the defense of rampant, unhindered speculation. After all, that's half the fun!

    OH, which reminds me! Guys, what do you think if...
    Gabe was Tycho's father?!
    C'mon it's sooooooo obvious!

    AceOfSomethingOrOther on
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    ReaganReagan Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    New thought: What if the voice was the voice of the necrowombican. It'd make sense with all the jokes of people telling Tycho that "Maybe it just doesn't have anything to say to you."

    Also are we sure what the four (or 8 for that matter) gods are? We've face god of gears and mimes, what would that leave? Could the necrowombican be a god onto itself? Some sort of god of knowledge?

    One thing that hasn't been brought up is the possibility of the narrator being one of Dr. Blood's incarnations. I'd venture to guess against it since the narrator not sounding like either of their voices so far.

    Reagan on
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    fledermausfledermaus Registered User new member
    edited November 2008
    Well, there's something the narrator says at the end of his first speech, after the bit about windsurfing, and I don't think I've seen anyone else mention it:
    He prefaces one of his sentences with "Yog Bamoun" (or similar). Obviously, we've seen
    Yog Sethis and Yog Kathak, and "Yog Bamoun" was in the incantation that opened the gateway
    to, uh... I forget the name, but one of the realms of hell or the netherworld or whatever
    you want to call it. Which sounds to me like he's a servitor or cultist or valued colleague
    or something of Yog Bamoun, whichever of the four below he happens to be.

    The "it's the last dark god" speculation is interesting, but would the god use its own
    name like that? Unless it was the kind of entity that liked talking about itself in the third
    person. (Truly, a chilling prospect.)

    fledermaus on
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    LinkWorshiperLinkWorshiper Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    First off, I just want to say that this thread is making me nerd!flail like whoa; I think the Precipice games really have given Tycho a chance to flaunt his writing prowess. Anyway, I second the prospect of 'the voice' being that of the Necrowbian book and that it has some relation to the seemingly off-hand comment about Tycho's father. Though it leads one to wonder if the player's character will turn out to have some kind of past relationship with the Brahes since the voice had started speaking to him/her even before the Fruit Fucker stepped on the house. Obviously the voice had some other business or interest in you even before that, and it IS said voice that prompts you to go interact with Tycho and Gabe... rather adamantly at that....

    LinkWorshiper on
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    LeviantLeviant Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    I think everyone is forgetting something that was mentioned near the beginning of Episode 2.
    Tycho's father started hearing a voice that narrated his life, and talked about ordinary things... and then it started telling him what to do.

    Sound familiar?

    What you just said made the hairs of my arm stand up, or maybe that's just me holding my pee while i read all these juicy stuff.

    This.. this statement just made this game having more than just the crazy antics and humor. It's so going deep with all the mystery, making me appreciate it more AND FOCUS MORE ON THE LINES FOR THEY ARE NOT JUST "mere dialogue"

    It's like playing a game, that you read in a book after reading the book twice, feeling.

    I don't think the narrator IS a god, cause it would mean they would battle someday. Remeber what he said shortly after the truck wreck? something like

    You could be killed you know, but not by me of course
    but by the- others.

    Or one of these two.


    *chills*


    I thought it was just for some gag, but the possibilities, just fascinating.

    I dwell in anticipation, now even greater, for the third episode. This time, considering the dialogues to be parts of the puzzle

    Leviant on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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    WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Guys, you're falling into the trap!

    He said not to dwell on it!

    Willeth on
    @vgreminders - Don't miss out on timed events in gaming!
    @gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
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    DrBassmanDrBassman Registered User new member
    edited December 2008
    I definitely thought the narrator was the fourth god, right from the beginning of this game, but I'm starting to see a bigger picture, and agree 1000% with the person who compared this to the ending of Eternal Darkness.

    To put together two things from earlier in this thread, I actually had forgotten the thing about Tycho's father having heard voices of a narrator that told him what to do. But someone else rightly pointed out that there used to be eight gods, and at the start of this series, there were only four. Until now, I assumed that was just backstory that wouldn't be explored. But with these two pieces of information...

    Doesn't it seem likely that Tycho's father killed the first 4 gods?!? Doesn't it seem quite possible that this "narrator" is the same voice Tycho's father heard, and it's now getting the three of you to finish off the last 4? Whatever that voice is, those eight gods have been standing in its way. My thoughts on the final stanza of Ep 2:

    The narrator wants you to think he doesn't want you to kill any more gods. He wants you to be TERRIFIED of just leaving one alive. In Ep 3, you will of course end up killing one anyway, possibly by accident, possibly in cocky defiance. This will set up Ep 4, wherein the premise will be that you're totally fucked because now one dark god has free reign. Perhaps the last game will be significantly more difficult than the previous three. My prediction is that after an enormous climactic boss battle in Ep 4, the narrator will reveal himself and you'll discover that the battling dark gods kept the world balanced until you and Tycho's dad got tricked into eliminating them. Now whatever nefarious creature the narrator is or works for can take over completely, and you ruined the world, you douche. Hooray!

    (Speculation is fun.)

    DrBassman on
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    ILusiphurILusiphur Registered User new member
    edited December 2008
    I'm new here, but I've been lurking for a few years. This topic intrigues me because I wonder this same thing every time I play the episodes.

    Anyone notice that the narrator speaks like Tycho? Speaks in a grand manner, uses words that mean the same thing as much simpler word? I'll bet all your mouths are agape in realization at this, I'll bet:winky:.

    My guess is that the narrator is Tycho, and the game is a flashback telling of his adventures.

    I'm sure I'm wrong, but it's fun seeing everyones theories.

    ILusiphur on
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    Mace1370Mace1370 Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    DrBassman wrote: »
    I definitely thought the narrator was the fourth god, right from the beginning of this game, but I'm starting to see a bigger picture, and agree 1000% with the person who compared this to the ending of Eternal Darkness.

    To put together two things from earlier in this thread, I actually had forgotten the thing about Tycho's father having heard voices of a narrator that told him what to do. But someone else rightly pointed out that there used to be eight gods, and at the start of this series, there were only four. Until now, I assumed that was just backstory that wouldn't be explored. But with these two pieces of information...

    Doesn't it seem likely that Tycho's father killed the first 4 gods?!? Doesn't it seem quite possible that this "narrator" is the same voice Tycho's father heard, and it's now getting the three of you to finish off the last 4? Whatever that voice is, those eight gods have been standing in its way. My thoughts on the final stanza of Ep 2:

    The narrator wants you to think he doesn't want you to kill any more gods. He wants you to be TERRIFIED of just leaving one alive. In Ep 3, you will of course end up killing one anyway, possibly by accident, possibly in cocky defiance. This will set up Ep 4, wherein the premise will be that you're totally fucked because now one dark god has free reign. Perhaps the last game will be significantly more difficult than the previous three. My prediction is that after an enormous climactic boss battle in Ep 4, the narrator will reveal himself and you'll discover that the battling dark gods kept the world balanced until you and Tycho's dad got tricked into eliminating them. Now whatever nefarious creature the narrator is or works for can take over completely, and you ruined the world, you douche. Hooray!

    (Speculation is fun.)

    Pretty sure they said there would be only three episodes.

    Mace1370 on
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    project359project359 Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Funny, I always thought it was Seth McFarlene. Now I'm all confused :winky:

    project359 on
    Your sig was too tall. -Thanatos
    project359.png
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    Panicman123Panicman123 Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Ok, the narrator is totally a god. I bet that at the end of the series, you'll have to face off against him, and battle against his Evil Captions, like "KA-POW!" and "PERIL!" By the way, kudos to whoever figured out that the narrator guided Tychos father. These games really have a bigger narrative than I ever expected!

    Panicman123 on
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    LeviantLeviant Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    ^lol that idea was kind of unexpected... IT CAN HAPPEN then!

    Leviant on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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    gorkishgorkish Registered User new member
    edited December 2008
    Why, again, couldn't you battle the narrator? It's not like all of the sudden you have to embody him to kick his ass. He could be battled verbally just as easily.

    gorkish on
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    KingKing Registered User regular
    edited January 2009
    It actually wouldn't hurt to have a certain reason to "revive" a god, would it?

    While I also think of the Narrator as very likely to be a God, he could be just simply a narrator, like in D&D (The 20-faced-dice backed up my theory), or an upcoming important NPC that is communicating with the Player through various means: phone calls, letter, ect. The game just read it out loud to make it more interesting. Example of this important NPC: anyone in the Brahe family, preferably Tycho's dad.

    King on
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    OrzeneOrzene Artist NebraskaRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    If we're going to speculate over who the narrator is, I have my own guesses:

    1. He's just a narrator.
    2. He's a mysterious unknown omnipresence. (possibly one of the 4 Gods mentioned)
    3. He's the Necrowombicon calling out to your character in specific.

    Number 1 is pretty self-explanatory. Think back to classical horror films that used a lot of non-specific narration.

    Number 2 is, as everyone else is talking about, possibly the voice of one of the four gods mentioned in the aforementioned quatrain.

    Number 3 is based on the fact of what we know of the book. That it is a blank book, meaning that it is indeed as Tycho describes it as, i.e. a hoax; or, as Dr. Blood posed, that the book is not so much read, but is rather 'heard'. Also, the fact that Tycho's family has a history with the dark tome, and that it would describe the mundane at first, but later one would impose more sinister thoughts upon the person it spoke to. Also, it's apart of the nondescript core this game's story seems to orbit around in greater respect than the tell-tale "Gods" mentioned through out.

    Of course, as a sort of unwritten cue for these sorts of thread, it's all speculative.

    Orzene on
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    dark_porpoisedark_porpoise Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    DrBassman wrote: »
    I definitely thought the narrator was the fourth god, right from the beginning of this game, but I'm starting to see a bigger picture, and agree 1000% with the person who compared this to the ending of Eternal Darkness.

    To put together two things from earlier in this thread, I actually had forgotten the thing about Tycho's father having heard voices of a narrator that told him what to do. But someone else rightly pointed out that there used to be eight gods, and at the start of this series, there were only four. Until now, I assumed that was just backstory that wouldn't be explored. But with these two pieces of information...

    Doesn't it seem likely that Tycho's father killed the first 4 gods?!? Doesn't it seem quite possible that this "narrator" is the same voice Tycho's father heard, and it's now getting the three of you to finish off the last 4? Whatever that voice is, those eight gods have been standing in its way. My thoughts on the final stanza of Ep 2:

    The narrator wants you to think he doesn't want you to kill any more gods. He wants you to be TERRIFIED of just leaving one alive. In Ep 3, you will of course end up killing one anyway, possibly by accident, possibly in cocky defiance. This will set up Ep 4, wherein the premise will be that you're totally fucked because now one dark god has free reign. Perhaps the last game will be significantly more difficult than the previous three. My prediction is that after an enormous climactic boss battle in Ep 4, the narrator will reveal himself and you'll discover that the battling dark gods kept the world balanced until you and Tycho's dad got tricked into eliminating them. Now whatever nefarious creature the narrator is or works for can take over completely, and you ruined the world, you douche. Hooray!

    (Speculation is fun.)

    This is exactly what I came to this thread to say (beaten by about 3 people and many months though). Nigh verbatim. The fact that Tycho's father has heard the voice (and I'm guessing killed a god or two), and the fact that there are a couple offhand comments about Tycho battling gods (Ex: Anne Clair: And Uncle, do you still battle with dark gods? Tycho: On occasion.) Also, to me, it seemed like Tycho tried to make the voice sound extra crazy, possibly meaning that he himself heard it at one point, and is devestated at its loss.

    Whatever the narrator is, it's clear he wants us to kill the gods.
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    I think everyone is forgetting something that was mentioned near the beginning of Episode 2.
    Tycho's father started hearing a voice that narrated his life, and talked about ordinary things... and then it started telling him what to do.

    Sound familiar?

    Also, (making it as firmly cemented as truth speculation can be) if you remember the beginning of the first game, the narrator is just...well, narrating things. Ordinary stuff. Then he goes on to command you.

    Edit: It's quite possible that above paragraph was obvious to everybody, but I just wanted to put that out there.

    dark_porpoise on
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    iamirelandiamireland Registered User new member
    edited August 2009
    Maratanos wrote: »
    Other than that, I love how everybody enjoys rampant unbased speculation. Sure, you could be right, but until you know for sure, acting like you DO know for sure is rather naive.

    I want to say, though, that it's not as ridiculous as it sounded when people were constantly suggesting it after the first episode. If there's one thing I noticed most significantly about the Narrator in episode 2 is that he's a hell of a lot more grumpy than in episode 1.

    Noone's acting like they know exactly what's going on, they're speculating. It's the first word of the title of this particular thread. If you're so opposed to speculation... why are you here?

    iamireland on
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    toriantorian Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    dude, why are you trolling on a comment made nine months ago?

    torian on
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    KyletacullarKyletacullar Registered User new member
    edited February 2010
    Reeally old thread, but I just had a revelation, one that might blow your minds.

    It was mentioned that Tycho's father heard a voice, and that the narrator speaks like Tycho. I'm just sort of putting two and two together here but...

    What if the narrator is Tycho's father?

    Kyletacullar on
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    BonemerangBonemerang Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    oh SNAP.

    Bonemerang on
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    WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    I thought that was pretty much a given :S

    Willeth on
    @vgreminders - Don't miss out on timed events in gaming!
    @gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
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    TeburninatorTeburninator Registered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Reeally old thread, but I just had a revelation, one that might blow your minds.

    It was mentioned that Tycho's father heard a voice, and that the narrator speaks like Tycho. I'm just sort of putting two and two together here but...

    What if the narrator is Tycho's father?

    HUH!? :? Where does it say that the narrator speaks like Tycho?

    Teburninator on
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    ZephosZephos Climbin in yo ski lifts, snatchin your people up. MichiganRegistered User regular
    edited February 2010
    Reeally old thread, but I just had a revelation, one that might blow your minds.

    It was mentioned that Tycho's father heard a voice, and that the narrator speaks like Tycho. I'm just sort of putting two and two together here but...

    What if the narrator is Tycho's father?

    HUH!? :? Where does it say that the narrator speaks like Tycho?

    I believe the aforementioned poster refers to the narrators general eloquence in the manner of both grammar and vocabulary.


    Frankly though its always been my belief that Tycho holds the key to awakening some sort of hell-beast and the narrator is a god, or someone manipulating the gods in order to achieve Ragnarok, or the ending of the world. (incidentally, Tychos father using him to awaken some sort of doomsday god isnt out of the realm of possibility, but *hopefully* time will tell.)

    I could be wrong though.

    Zephos on
    Xbox One/360: Penguin McCool
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