James' Eyes in Maria Ending: 'It's okay... I have you.'

James got a letter. From a dead person. Oh dear.

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Ratiocinator
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James' Eyes in Maria Ending: 'It's okay... I have you.'

Post by Ratiocinator »

Something interesting I noted: During the Maria ending, when James tells Maria he wants to be with her and she asks about Mary he responds, "It's okay... I have you." What's interesting about this line is James' eyes.

http://www.igotaletter.com/temp/itsokihaveyou.mpg

If you look at them when he says the line you'll see either a) his eyes goes from "normal" to constricted (opposite of dilation) and/or b) they go almost completely under his lower eye lid which would make it very difficult to focus on Maria.

Since, to bluntly summarize, Maria is an idealized image of what he wanted in Mary this tomfoolery with his eyes could be a subtle way of showing how he's fooling himself into seeing/believing her as what he wants. (I'm thinking the same way he convinced himself Mary died three years ago.)

I'm not fully sure if this was done on purpose or is a glitch but it seems too well-placed to be a glitch. In any case, it's interesting.
Last edited by Ratiocinator on 21 Sep 2009, edited 1 time in total.
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Returbuliz
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Post by Returbuliz »

It could be possible.
The developers have been worked one every little detail of the game.
As in the Making of SH2 dvd, they said they'd intentionally made Eddie's eyes look at different directions in the Prison cutscene.
Maybe this one's been done on purpose too.
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Xev
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Post by Xev »

I'd like to believe its not a glitch! Pretty cool Ive not noticed this.
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Sionnan
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Post by Sionnan »

That's actually pretty remarkable; good find. What's interesting about that is that James is showing the markers for sadness: constricted pupils and drooping upper eyelids. He knows precisely that he's lost Mary forever, and that Maria really is not substitute.
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Post by cascade88 »

As was said, the developer's put an insane amount of work and detail into the game, so his eyes changing like that were surely done on purpose. Good find!
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Ratiocinator
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Post by Ratiocinator »

I posted this thread in another forum and someone said it was a glitch so I followed up with this remark, thought it was worth posting here, too:

The two things that lead me to believe this was done on purpose is 1) his eyes come back to "normal" after he blinks right before the end and 2) he rolls his eyes after the blink. Usually when someone is "spacing out" they usually blink to regain focus and awareness. With the rolling of his eyes: Usually when someone is disoriented and "coming back to" they may roll their eyes (not in a snooty way) as a sign of body language saying, "Whoa, what just happened?!" And the line he says when this happens is just too eerie to be pure coincidence.

Bare in mind that Team Silent are responsible for subtle details such as Maria's roll of flab, Eddie's and Vincent's off centered eyes and Vincent always gritting his teeth. Those sneaky developers...
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Maria's roll of flab
James' ideal woman...as a chubby chaser.
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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Damn It All
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Post by Damn It All »

Something else about this ending that struck me as odd was how James says "You'd better do something about that cough". Did the way he say that feel a little...aggressive?

Good catch Ratiocinator!!
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Ratiocinator
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Post by Ratiocinator »

Damn It All wrote:Something else about this ending that struck me as odd was how James says "You'd better do something about that cough". Did the way he say that feel a little...aggressive?
The line you just mentioned: That line alone is why the Maria ending is my favorite ending. It's foreshadowing of how Maria is/will become ill just as Mary did. "You'd better do something about that cough... or you may be acquainted with my pillow."
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Sionnan
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Post by Sionnan »

I don't hear aggression, just resignation. I think he knows perfectly well what's going to happen, but he's tired by now.
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Nissa
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Post by Nissa »

I always thought that his eye movement was rather odd during this scene. It just seemed out of place for him to look at her like that during this statement (kind of like the refrigerator ring dialogue.) I agree though that this couldn't be just a simple glitch. It's interesting to see little things like this, really adds to the feeling of the game.

Though, until reading this, I never focused much on Maria or her 'roll of flab' for that matter. [Any reasoning for why they threw this in? Search didn't come up with anything.] I should go back on a detail run through soon.
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Post by Ratiocinator »

They added things like Maria's roll of flab and her roots showing in her hair to make her appear more "real" and vulnerable. You can visit my site below in my sig to learn a bit more about all this. There's a written version of the "Making of" in the "Development Overiew" section and the Making of video as well
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Re: James' Eyes in Maria Ending: 'It's okay... I have you.'

Post by Uyrikeustek »

Yeah I saw the eyes and noticed a subtle difference. They looked as if they were glowing and he looked possessed. Possessed by his lust for sex and the ability to be with his wife again, or at least someone that looked like her.
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Re: James' Eyes in Maria Ending: 'It's okay... I have you.'

Post by Mumbler »

Oh woah, I love things like this! I never thought of that, maybe 'cause I never much liked that ending, haha. From now on, I think I need to pay a lot closer attention to the characters themselves during cutscenes. I love love love those little details!
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Re: James' Eyes in Maria Ending: 'It's okay... I have you.'

Post by Sarkoh »

Nice find there!
Though I did notice something odd about that part of the ending the first time I got it, I didn't grasp what it was except for his head looking down, like beneath his words he was still sad.
I sometimes never seem to notice the character's body language as such, I just kind of stroll with it and feel that it's not right for the most part.
I guess I'm just pretty absent minded to notice
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