So, who makes the signs?

gorpie · 10-16-2009, 12:56 PM

Who makes the in-game signage? "The cake is a lie", plus the helpful arrows saying "here", and the companion cube pics, etc.

I mean, there presumably have been other test subjects and/or previous incarnations of Chell. But if they all failed at the test, they would be toast (

) and wouldn't be able to go back to previous test chambers and make the signs. Especially not the cake/lie signs... (Anyone going forward could have made the helpful direction signs. And anyone could have compiled the pics.)

Sorry if this has been discussed before.

Azul5 · 10-16-2009, 01:04 PM

In-game dialogue hints that Chell is a clone, and that previous versions of her were able to escape just far enough to be able to make signs, while some went insane. If this is true, one has to wonder why they would do such a thing, if they didn't know they were clones in the first place, or at the very least didn't think they were with others. Only if they believed others were with them, or they were clones, would they bother making signs.

Another (personal) idea is that certain staff members may have done such a thing, after Glados went insane and killed off all the scientists. Of course, there is no solid evidence for this, the clone thing is only mentioned due to a threat from Glados herself (deleting Chell's back up brain or something).

During the epic (albeit odd) boss battle, hold onto the knowledge core, and it'll spout off ingredients for cake, and presumably for what is used to extract a brain and preserve it. As insane as it sounds, even by Half Life world standards, it could be true.

gorpie · 10-16-2009, 04:35 PM

I think part of this is a volume issue. I have my volume loud enough to hear, but not enough to hear little things. (Then I exit and go to solitaire or something and my ears are blasted...)

Like I meant to say, all of the signs could have been made by previous test subjects as they went along, regardless of who they were. But how could one have gotten far enough into test chamber 19 to find out the cake was a lie, and then gotten back far enough to make note of it in previous chambers...

Maybe I need to play the start of that chamber again to see if you can get back. And/or maybe they can use doors that we can't.

Some_weirdGuy · 10-16-2009, 08:09 PM

who says they wouldn't be able to do go through previous test chambers? we do exactly that during the game, going back to the 'impossible' test chamber through the weighted storage cube dispenser. Who says other people didn't also go back.

Or that they needed to go back. They could have worked out the solution, then written the hints as they went. Also they may have been trapped in there for a long time. we see those little hide out type things where apparently people hid for a while, behind walls and stuff.

Being stuck for a long time they wrote that stuff and stayed around a few chambers never moving forward, till eventually they died for whatever reason.

They might have just figured out the cake was a lie and wrote the warning to everyone. Not because they went to the end and found out, but because they just figured it out some other way. Or perhaps they got to the end like us, escaped the fire like us, and then went back the the previous test chambers like us, and wrote the messages and went around in the facility cause they were still trapped.

And there are quite a number of hints suggesting previous test subjects were chell clones. But theres also other evidence that it might just have been other people. We don't know for sure. I think the chell clones is the best answer. She was in that pod thing with its oxygen supply, glados mentions flooding the enrichment center with neurotoxins. Chell would have survived in the pod, perhaps being the only survivor. Theres also the stuff she says about having her brain scanned and backed up encase something bad happens to her, and theres all that talk trying to convince you the companion cube isn't alive. couple that with the writing and hide out you find and it seems either a chell clone or someone became obsessed with the companion cube, started hearing it speak and threaten to stab them and stuff.

gorpie · 10-16-2009, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Some_weirdGuy

who says they wouldn't be able to do go through previous test chambers? we do exactly that during the game, going back to the 'impossible' test chamber through the weighted storage cube dispenser. Who says other people didn't also go back.

Oops. Forgot about the storage cube dispenser part. But it still seems like, if someone got to the fire they'd have had to be able to go through doors that were locked to us, in order to get to other areas. Maybe I should just quit "talking" 'til I get some sleep...

darkrai88 · 10-16-2009, 09:18 PM

Valve has mentioned "Rat Man", the test subject that painted on the walls. In the 360 version, there is an achievement called "Rat's Nest" or something like that that you obtain by finding all 5 hide-outs. Also, a chell clone doesn't make sense because handprints in the walls have six fingers. Yeah, seriously.

Azul5 · 10-16-2009, 09:23 PM

... Seriously? Google time!

Nope, I only count five fingers. Where did you see one with six?

Solarmech · 10-17-2009, 05:54 AM

There a bunch of theories on who wrote the stuff on the walls. It could even be that there where a number of different people leaving writing around. The theories:
#1 It's Chell that is leaving the writing and her memory is wiped every time she fails the test. A variation on this is that GLaDOS is sending clones of Chell through the test and uploads the mind of the clone Chell to a new clone.
#2 Chell left the messages for herself and had her memory altered to forget it as part of plan she cooked up with GLaDOS.
#3 GlaDOS put the writing there as help for someone to finish the test and "kill"/free her. After all GLaDOS should have the capability to clean the walls of the Center. Even if she didn't write them, GLaDOS certainly knew about them and could have errased them. So for some reason she deliberatly left those messages alone. sm

Some_weirdGuy · 10-17-2009, 07:41 PM

Who says she deliberately left them there? she might not know about some of them, or not be able to do anything about them, or just not care about them.

Rat man is just a name fans used to address 'the person who left that writing and stuff'.

darkrai88 · 10-19-2009, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azul5

... Seriously? Google time!

Nope, I only count five fingers. Where did you see one with six?

Here ya go.
http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/a...b_a_130000.jpg
Although now that I look, this may be a smudge... but I doubt it. Picture taken in the lair in Chamber 17.

gorpie · 10-19-2009, 06:44 AM

Um, darkrai, either I am blind or I count 5. So I'd have to be in the "smudge" camp. (Of course, I haven't had my recommended daily allowance of caffeine, yet...)

Zekiran · 10-19-2009, 11:53 AM

there's really only 5 fingers there.

lulalah · 10-19-2009, 03:57 PM

I only see 5 fingers too.

I think there was/is some staff that wrote the clues. I reckon when Aperture Science was locked down some went mad (cabin fever) and left the messages.

ULoW · 10-19-2009, 05:46 PM

I think I see what you mean but it's most likely a smudge.

Mar-marr · 10-19-2009, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lulalah

I only see 5 fingers too.

I think there was/is some staff that wrote the clues. I reckon when Aperture Science was locked down some went mad (cabin fever) and left the messages.

I think this might be the case too. It also explains how the person who wrote the messages knew the cake was a lie and the cjohnson login and password.

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10-16-2009, 12:56 PM	#1
gorpie Join Date: Sep 2009 Reputation: 29 Posts: 961	So, who makes the signs? Who makes the in-game signage? "The cake is a lie", plus the helpful arrows saying "here", and the companion cube pics, etc. I mean, there presumably have been other test subjects and/or previous incarnations of Chell. But if they all failed at the test, they would be toast () and wouldn't be able to go back to previous test chambers and make the signs. Especially not the cake/lie signs... (Anyone going forward could have made the helpful direction signs. And anyone could have compiled the pics.) Sorry if this has been discussed before.

10-16-2009, 01:04 PM	#2
Azul5 Join Date: Jan 2009 Reputation: 24 Posts: 401	In-game dialogue hints that Chell is a clone, and that previous versions of her were able to escape just far enough to be able to make signs, while some went insane. If this is true, one has to wonder why they would do such a thing, if they didn't know they were clones in the first place, or at the very least didn't think they were with others. Only if they believed others were with them, or they were clones, would they bother making signs. Another (personal) idea is that certain staff members may have done such a thing, after Glados went insane and killed off all the scientists. Of course, there is no solid evidence for this, the clone thing is only mentioned due to a threat from Glados herself (deleting Chell's back up brain or something). During the epic (albeit odd) boss battle, hold onto the knowledge core, and it'll spout off ingredients for cake, and presumably for what is used to extract a brain and preserve it. As insane as it sounds, even by Half Life world standards, it could be true.

10-16-2009, 04:35 PM	#3
gorpie Join Date: Sep 2009 Reputation: 29 Posts: 961	I think part of this is a volume issue. I have my volume loud enough to hear, but not enough to hear little things. (Then I exit and go to solitaire or something and my ears are blasted...) Like I meant to say, all of the signs could have been made by previous test subjects as they went along, regardless of who they were. But how could one have gotten far enough into test chamber 19 to find out the cake was a lie, and then gotten back far enough to make note of it in previous chambers... Maybe I need to play the start of that chamber again to see if you can get back. And/or maybe they can use doors that we can't.

10-16-2009, 08:09 PM	#4
Some_weirdGuy Join Date: Jun 2009 Reputation: 49 Posts: 589	who says they wouldn't be able to do go through previous test chambers? we do exactly that during the game, going back to the 'impossible' test chamber through the weighted storage cube dispenser. Who says other people didn't also go back. Or that they needed to go back. They could have worked out the solution, then written the hints as they went. Also they may have been trapped in there for a long time. we see those little hide out type things where apparently people hid for a while, behind walls and stuff. Being stuck for a long time they wrote that stuff and stayed around a few chambers never moving forward, till eventually they died for whatever reason. They might have just figured out the cake was a lie and wrote the warning to everyone. Not because they went to the end and found out, but because they just figured it out some other way. Or perhaps they got to the end like us, escaped the fire like us, and then went back the the previous test chambers like us, and wrote the messages and went around in the facility cause they were still trapped. And there are quite a number of hints suggesting previous test subjects were chell clones. But theres also other evidence that it might just have been other people. We don't know for sure. I think the chell clones is the best answer. She was in that pod thing with its oxygen supply, glados mentions flooding the enrichment center with neurotoxins. Chell would have survived in the pod, perhaps being the only survivor. Theres also the stuff she says about having her brain scanned and backed up encase something bad happens to her, and theres all that talk trying to convince you the companion cube isn't alive. couple that with the writing and hide out you find and it seems either a chell clone or someone became obsessed with the companion cube, started hearing it speak and threaten to stab them and stuff.

10-16-2009, 09:18 PM	#6
darkrai88 Join Date: May 2009 Reputation: 18 Posts: 243	Valve has mentioned "Rat Man", the test subject that painted on the walls. In the 360 version, there is an achievement called "Rat's Nest" or something like that that you obtain by finding all 5 hide-outs. Also, a chell clone doesn't make sense because handprints in the walls have six fingers. Yeah, seriously.

10-16-2009, 09:23 PM	#7
Azul5 Join Date: Jan 2009 Reputation: 24 Posts: 401	... Seriously? Google time! Nope, I only count five fingers. Where did you see one with six?

10-17-2009, 05:54 AM	#8
Solarmech Join Date: Jan 2007 Reputation: 164 Posts: 2,508	There a bunch of theories on who wrote the stuff on the walls. It could even be that there where a number of different people leaving writing around. The theories: #1 It's Chell that is leaving the writing and her memory is wiped every time she fails the test. A variation on this is that GLaDOS is sending clones of Chell through the test and uploads the mind of the clone Chell to a new clone. #2 Chell left the messages for herself and had her memory altered to forget it as part of plan she cooked up with GLaDOS. #3 GlaDOS put the writing there as help for someone to finish the test and "kill"/free her. After all GLaDOS should have the capability to clean the walls of the Center. Even if she didn't write them, GLaDOS certainly knew about them and could have errased them. So for some reason she deliberatly left those messages alone. sm

10-17-2009, 07:41 PM	#9
Some_weirdGuy Join Date: Jun 2009 Reputation: 49 Posts: 589	Who says she deliberately left them there? she might not know about some of them, or not be able to do anything about them, or just not care about them. Rat man is just a name fans used to address 'the person who left that writing and stuff'.

10-19-2009, 06:44 AM	#11
gorpie Join Date: Sep 2009 Reputation: 29 Posts: 961	Um, darkrai, either I am blind or I count 5. So I'd have to be in the "smudge" camp. (Of course, I haven't had my recommended daily allowance of caffeine, yet...)

10-19-2009, 11:53 AM	#12
Zekiran Join Date: Jun 2008 Reputation: 68 Posts: 3,484	there's really only 5 fingers there.

10-19-2009, 03:57 PM	#13
lulalah Join Date: Sep 2009 Reputation: 0 Posts: 21	I only see 5 fingers too. I think there was/is some staff that wrote the clues. I reckon when Aperture Science was locked down some went mad (cabin fever) and left the messages.

10-19-2009, 05:46 PM	#14
ULoW Join Date: Sep 2007 Reputation: 129 Posts: 1,008	I think I see what you mean but it's most likely a smudge.