Who are you, Tex? (Spoiler: ALL games)

There's some nice things in your reflections, but I wouldn't go as far you.

Sure, Donelly was a past life of Tex, but I wouldn't say that it had any more hold on Tex's life, at least not more than these two details:

1- Donelly hid the Egg at the top floor of the Ritz Hotel. That fact might reside into Tex's "soul memory" (I just made up that term to describe the memory of a soul as opposed to the memory of a brain.) When Tex was looking for cheap rent after Martian Memorandum (supposedly, that hasn't been established clearly), he might have been drawn to this same appartment because of that "soul memory".

2- The proximity of the egg woke up those past life experiences in Tex, resulting in the nightmares.

For now, that's all I'm going to accept. I prefer to think that Tex going to the dark side (in Pandora and/or in the seven years prior to Tesla Effect) has no basis in Donelly's own personality (which, incidently, seems to match this edgier persona according to Tesla Effect and the Radio Theater.) I believe any people can turn bad giving the right circumstance.

This said, we might have some new light shed on this question with the new Radio Theater coming up. The way I understand it, the new episodes are supposed to cover the time just prior to Tex returning on Chandler Avenue with his new attitude. Something quite traumatic should happen there and I can't wait to see what it is.


As for Tex's name, didn't we have an answer in Tesla Effect? I'll admit, when Tex told Mojo that his name was James Tiberius on my first playthrough, I thought he was joking. Then, I kept thinking about it and I suppose it could actually be accurate. Think about it: named after a character of an old sci-fi show, the second name being, well, an unusual one. Tex told Regan that she wouldn't believe it if he told her his real name. What other name would satisfy this condition better. Not only does it have to be weird, it has to be unbelievable. James Tiberius Murphy COULD BE Tex's real birth name.

(and if the fans really hate it, it was written in a way that could be refuted by the guys in charge. Really, that was a smart play by them.)

The one mystery I'd like to know now is this: So is Chelsee a mutant or not? Charles Johanson and Margaret Leonard didn't seem to be. If genetics play a big part, Chelsee shouldn't be either. Then why did the guy laugh so much when Tex told him she was his girlfriend in the last episode of the Radio Theater? I always assumed it was because of her mutation... Can't wait to find out more...

Sorry for the double.

I'm not sure I agree With you.

The way I understood it is yes Tex was actually Donelly, not in a past life, but actually him. He was frozen in Cryo stasis and was re awakened at some stage, given false memories and Became Tex Murphy. All trough the game its stated again and again you are only the sum of your memories. So when Tex was drawn to Chandler Ave and moved into the apartment where he, as Donelly, had hidden the egg, the egg began to awaken those repressed memories.

Now if I'm right there is a lot we don't know about yet.

If he was frozen, who woke him up?

Why were his old memories repressed and he was given false ones?

Who did all this to him?

As for Tex going to the bad. there are hints in the Chelsee path and the game intro that something happened between Tex and her after the events in the Radio Theatre and before this game.

Going from what Aaron posted on here years ago the original Plan was to Produce three games, Chance, Polarity and Trance. I think we just played Polarity with some of Chance. I think trance was to be set just after Overseer and that the rest of it will be covered by the new Radio Theater.

I think/hope we will find out exactly what happened between Chelsee and Tex in the new radio theater and why she left him, thus causing him to become dark Tex at the beginning of Tesla.

The reason I think that dark Tex was caused by Chelsee leaving him is from the Chelsee ending.

She wanted to go back and remove from her memory everything that had happened in the last seven years. the only reason I can think she would want to do that was because something very bad had happened between her and Tex and she wanted to undo it, she even says "i want to go back in time" That is why she takes the Trance drug at the end so both she and Tex wont remember what had happened between them and can start again with a clean slate.

At least I think that is what the Chelsee ending is hinting at. Hopefully we will find out more in the new Radio Theater.

Also I hope we learn more about why Tex was frozen in cryo stasis all those years, by who and why in the next game.

I'm also hoping for more info when I read Aarons Tesla Effect book.

So that is my take on it what do you guys think. One thing is for sure TE answers a lot of questions but also give us a whole new load to obsess about. Hopefully it wont take sixteen years to get the answers this time.

talon2000uk wrote: The way I understood it is yes Tex was actually Donelly, not in a past life, but actually him.

Maybe that is possible. But then that opens up a whole new set of questions. Who is Tex? Who is this person we (and sometimes Chelsee) all fell in love with? How can we, the players, still love Tex if he and Donelly aren't separate people? It's implied that he beat Beek Nariz to death. He murdered other people too. Just because he can't remember doing those things does not make it OK! That's not justice.

The bizarrely happy A+ ending must also mean that Tex is innocent of wrongdoing. Chelsee isn't an idiot. She wouldn't give up everything for Tex is she thought that he was nuts and had the potential to turn into an evil man. She must know for a fact, somehow, that something happened to him that wasn't his fault.
In her apt. video, Margaret Leonard says that Tex had been drawn to Chandler Ave. "even before the neural experiments". She maybe she did something to him? Or not?

But if Aaron Conners is going for something complex and dark and wants to say that Donelly and Tex truly are one and the same, that's OK.
Otherwise, the only way to justify the evils of Donelly is to believe that Tex truly is innocent and his Donelly personality altered him against his will. And from what Taylor says, that is quite possible.

Taylor says that Tex had seemed afraid that his dreams were turning him into someone else. She say that one night she got a call from Tex and he was saying that he was hearing voices and started beating the walls of his apt. When she got there, he was curled up in a ball on the floor. Now, just picture that. Poor Tex.

And if Tex ever gets his memory back, even little pieces of them, he would see himself doing terrible things, watch his own hands kill. Fridge horror. (nice touch, Conners)

I'm still working on the Taylor path, and I suspect I'll be seeing new people and places which I didn't see the first time I played. Like Tex's room at The Resort. Wow, this game is interesting!

Valynis wrote:The one mystery I'd like to know now is this: So is Chelsee a mutant or not? Charles Johanson and Margaret Leonard didn't seem to be.

Yeah, it appears that it was a trick question all along! Chelsee was never a mutant. Heh.

Valynis wrote: I'll admit, when Tex told Mojo that his name was James Tiberius on my first playthrough, I thought he was joking. Then, I kept thinking about it and I suppose it could actually be accurate.

I thought he was joking too! But... maybe he wasn't? It's so hard to tell. Maybe that's what J.T. Donelly stands for? But then why would it? (Cooonnnnners!!!)

talon2000uk wrote:Hopefully it wont take sixteen years to get the answers this time.

Agreed! They clearly made a mini-cliffhanger to leave in some interest for a new game or Aaron's books!

... They did it again! Nooooo!

As interesting as Tex physically being Donelly is, the timing doesn't work. Based on Mean Streets Tex was relatively young maybe late 20's early 30's. We know Mean Streets/Overseers occur in 2037 and he had been working at the Colonel's detective agency since earning his PI degree which means Tex has been active in "the Future" since his mid 20's. We don't know how old Donnelly was when he disappeared but he had been active as a PI for some years. It's implied that Donnelly was the same age as Tex when he disappeared.

Of course the weird thing is that the Translator/Johanssen looked fairly young. Could the cryogenic process be restorative as well?

Throwing my hat into the ring on this uber sensitive and intriguing topic. First...I do NOT believe that there was a body in that tube that was reanimated and was given false Tex memories to cover up the "Real" Donnelly and became our hero.

First reason why. As someone said here previously, timing. The Colonel knew Tex long before he came to Chandler Ave, and the Ritz, and the dreams. No matter how you slice it, the numbers don't add up.

Second reason why. EVERYONE that came out of cryo tube was seriously screwed up in some way. Charles was not exempt. Extreme physical or mental deformities, and Tex has none of those.

3rd reason why. Another Blade Runner rip off. I REFUSE to believe that they would take the lazy route of stealing a very intriguing story line from a movie that they've already "homaged" the death out of. I would REALLY REALLY be pissed off at that.... Igor, it's impossible.

Was there a Donnelly frozen? Maybe. He could have been frozen long ago, and is dead, or brain dead in that tube. If Donnelly was brain dead in that tube, it's very possible that Tex is affected by him, whether it be a past life or another theory.

I'm glad folks have brought it up. I like the JT connection between the two, so I do believe that Tex's real name is James Tiberious. (A spoiler here, that reveal was SUPPOSED to be buried deep in a interactive conversation thread. The original plan was for it to be difficult to find.) Alas. things had to be trimmed, and instead of cutting it out altogether, it was in a cinematic.

In a perfect world....you'd have had to hunt for it.

Jen wrote: 3rd reason why. Another Blade Runner rip off. I REFUSE to believe that they would take the lazy route of stealing a very intriguing story line from a movie that they've already "homaged" the death out of. I would REALLY REALLY be pissed off at that.... Igor, it's impossible.

Jen, you have a red phone in a glass case that calls BFG HQ, right? Can you pick it up and tell the BFG gang that having Tex turn out to be Donnelly unfrozen and reprogrammed or something would be really, really stupid? And gamers would never stop comparing it to another futuristic, handsome, amnesiac, noir, suit-and-trenchcoat-wearin', Blade Runner copyin', 90s adventure game sleuth hero.

Jen wrote: I'm glad folks have brought it up. I like the JT connection between the two, so I do believe that Tex's real name is James Tiberious. (A spoiler here, that reveal was SUPPOSED to be buried deep in a interactive conversation thread. The original plan was for it to be difficult to find.) Alas. things had to be trimmed, and instead of cutting it out altogether, it was in a cinematic.

In a perfect world....you'd have had to hunt for it.

Oh... I see. Thanks a lot!

Jen wrote:First reason why. As someone said here previously, timing. The Colonel knew Tex long before he came to Chandler Ave, and the Ritz, and the dreams. No matter how you slice it, the numbers don't add up.

Second reason why. EVERYONE that came out of cryo tube was seriously screwed up in some way. Charles was not exempt. Extreme physical or mental deformities, and Tex has none of those.

3rd reason why. Another Blade Runner rip off. I REFUSE to believe that they would take the lazy route of stealing a very intriguing story line from a movie that they've already "homaged" the death out of. I would REALLY REALLY be pissed off at that.... Igor, it's impossible.

Ok Let me take them one at a time and rebut.

Firstly. The timing is only if you know how old Tex was when he started working as a PI, do we? Tex has no friends from before he came to Chandler Ave and we have never seen his family. Sure we have seen flashback to his childhood but they are all subjective from Tex's Memory.

Also the Dreams started when he came to Chandler Ave, but he was drawn there. He says it in the intro. The translator says it in the Chelsee ending. The egg does not allow you to talk to the dead, that's what the Immortal Coil does, not the egg. I think it helped Tex recover his suppressed memories Not allow him to relive the dead memories of Donnely.

Secondly. No that is not true, Mantis said it himself Every few of use survived the Cry process unscathed." Very few not none.

Thridley, how is this a rip off of Blade Runner. Tex is from the past not a replicant. The game is all about asking the question are we more than the sum of your memories, That's not stolen From Bladerunner. it a phycological problem that has been around since Sigmund Freud.

As for what you said Jane about it being a bad thing that Tex is Donelly I can't agree. Our Tex. The good Tex was not around during those seven years. That was Donelly, I don't know what happened to bring him out of Tex mind but you can't blame Our Tex for it. Again its all about memory and if you are your memories again.

I can't wait to read Aaron's Novel and Shooting script and see who is right here. This is so much fun to discuss.

talon2000uk wrote:Sure we have seen flashback to his childhood but they are all subjective from Tex's Memory.

In Pandora Tex says that his parents mailed him a Zebra, post-UAKM. Not possible if they don't exist

But of course, continuity in this series is mutable. How could Tex have had a (Zune) Zoom player as a kid? The timing is way off. But hey, seeing Chris Jones symbolically express anger towards Microsoft is totally worth it

talon2000uk wrote:As for what you said Jane about it being a bad thing that Tex is Donelly I can't agree. Our Tex. The good Tex was not around during those seven years. That was Donelly, I don't know what happened to bring him out of Tex mind but you can't blame Our Tex for it. Again its all about memory and if you are your memories again.

No. It doesn't work that way. Who he thinks he is doesn't matter. Facts, truth and justice matter. If I murdered your family, and then got amnesia, would that make me not guilty? It is highly probable that Dontex murdered Beek Nariz or had something to do with it:
Probably killed other people too. You can't just hand-wave that away!

And again, Chelsee would be quite stupid to commit herself to a man who really, actually had been a monster. She would be a fool to leave Ault for him then. But she's not stupid. The only explanation is that she knows Tex is an innocent man whose life had been altered against his will.

talon2000uk wrote:Thridley, how is this a rip off of Blade Runner. Tex is from the past not a replicant. The game is all about asking the question are we more than the sum of your memories, That's not stolen From Bladerunner. it a phycological problem that has been around since Sigmund Freud.

Even if it's not a Blade Runner ripoff, like I said before, that idea would be a big, huge ripoff of another well-known adventure game. It's hard to talk about that without spoiling it. It's a Sega CD game which is hard to buy, so I'll go on. If anyone wants to know, proceed carefully...

The game itself:
<start> Snatcher is an adventure game made for various platforms in the 80s, but is most famous for being the only truly great Sega CD game. It's cyberpunk noir, post-apocalyptic, futuristic, borrows heavily from Blade Runner, and has voice samples and semi-animated cut scenes (Like Mean Streets). Gillian Seed is a special investigator who is basically a blade runner. He has amnesia and is trying to discover his missing past life. (Tesla) He dresses an awful lot like Tex and has a fat blaster gun. </end>

And now for the huge spoilers:
<start>At the end of the game, it's revealed that Gillian Seed was cryogenicly frozen in 1987 and then awoken 50 years later. He was working at a secret lab on a secret sci-fi project in Russia (!) and some villain froze him. This lab was working on world-destroying technology, and of course he has to save the world. I'll say no more.</end>

So, if the Tex series ended up that way, we'd never, never hear the end of it! If you're thinking about it, don't do it Conners! Cooonnneerrrsss....

THIS POST IS DARK AND FULL OF SPOILERS SO DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU ARE FINISHED WITH TESLA EFFECT!...............................













I'm just going to counter on the first account.

Tex and the Colonel had their falling out in 2027. So there is physical proof of Tex existing as himself to the outside world even earlier than that, as he would have been working for him for a time before the blow up.

Born in 2004, so 23'ish. Certainly an idealist age as stated in UAKM.

Under a Killing Moon starts at the end of 2042. There is way too much of a time problem to make this anywhere near a feasible option.

Also, Donnelly lived in the 1940's. Folks in the TLS that agreed to be experimented on? None of them were in the cryo as long as that. Donnelly would have been in the tube longer than Charles himself. Who froze him ?? (there's only one possible option and a tenuous one as he was dead broke at this point and tottering on death himself.) And how could he have remained stable in the cryo for SO many years without adverse effects. Mantus did say, the longer they were in the more damage it did.

Also, who would have the skills to reanimate and place "Fake" Tex memories on Donnelly? Not the Translator, he was in the tube. Not Margret Leonard, she knew of Tex before he changed into the jerk that came after the abduction. There's NO WAY she would have let her daughter get involved with a frankensteined "Donnelly/Tex". Plus she arrived at Chandler close to the time Tex did. Maybe even before if memory serves. And remember it wasn't for Tex....it was for Chelsee.

Plus there's one little factor that comes into account. Why would anyone pull such a mean trick on such devoted fans? GUESS WHAT?? The guy you've come to know and love over these last 20 years was a trivial plot device. The character you've become attached to really doesn't exist, in reality it's just a hard ass unthawed after almost 100 years in a deep freeze with a light veneer of implanted goofyness. One that we're going to yank away and reveal as a total hoax. Everything you've been told up to now is a lie.

ENJOY!





*edit to add.
It's a Blade Runner rip off that a sentient life had fake memories implanted into their consciousnesses.

I can totally buy the past life, I can even buy that the egg in Tex's office affected him even more strongly, (He did have a radio) I cannot buy Texcicle.

Jen wrote: Also, Donnelly lived in the 1940's. Folks in the TLS that agreed to be experimented on? None of them were in the cryo as long as that. Donnelly would have been in the tube longer than Charles himself. Who froze him ?? (there's only one possible option and a tenuous one as he was dead broke at this point and tottering on death himself.) And how could he have remained stable in the cryo for SO many years without adverse effects. Mantus did say, the longer they were in the more damage it did.

Nikola Tesla died in 1943 (IRL). Donnelly vanished in 1943. If Tesla himself made that cryo chamber, it would of course be 100% perfect because he's The Infallible Science God. That specific year wouldn't have been mentioned if it wasn't relevant. Certainly, Tesla himself preserved Donnelly or Donnelly used Tesla's equipment. That makes sense. But why? To protect Tesla's work? The opposite?
Doesn't mean he's Tex, though.

Jen wrote: Not Margret Leonard, she knew of Tex before he changed into the jerk that came after the abduction. There's NO WAY she would have let her daughter get involved with a frankensteined "Donnelly/Tex".

Agreed!

Jen wrote:Plus there's one little factor that comes into account. Why would anyone pull such a mean trick on such devoted fans? GUESS WHAT?? The guy you've come to know and love over these last 20 years was a trivial plot device. The character you've become attached to really doesn't exist, in reality it's just a hard ass unthawed after almost 100 years in a deep freeze with a light veneer of implanted goofyness. One that we're going to yank away and reveal as a total hoax. Everything you've been told up to now is a lie.

ENJOY!

Oh, gosh, this. This x100. That would hurt too much. Don't do it Conners! Cooonnnneeerrrsss...

Jen wrote: I cannot buy Texcicle.

Well... playing the devil's advocate here, there could be ways to make it work. I guess? Suppose the chamber aged Donnelly backwards into a baby Tex who was later adopted and lived a new life. Or he's a clone. Etc. But as-is it would be hard to avoid making the Donnelly = Tex idea really stupid.


Oh, and just for fun, I copied down the dialog from when Taylor and Tex are talking about his close encounters. The reincarnation idea jives better with the things being said here, IMHO.
http://i.imgur.com/IDLRBiU.gif

And the opening monologue too. It is most certainly the words of Dontex, not Tex. He seems to not know or understand how her ended up like this (kinda like the worst ending to Pandora), and has now rejected the optimism with which he and Chelsee closed out the main tale of Overseer.
http://i.imgur.com/AiV064X.gif

So, again, "fridge horror." Imagine poor Tex suffering in a helpless battle for his soul... Thanks for the shot, Margaret.

Can the Spirit Radio contact the dead-dead?
It's also now occurred to me... The Spirit Radio only appears to work on people whose brains are still alive in some way! Charles in his cryo-chamber, and Margaret's head. After all, wouldn't they have tried to talk to Tesla himself? Or give Edison a call to tell him he's a chode? But we never hear of it being used on the dead dead.

Thus it's possible that Donnelly's spirit was able to influence Tex because his body was in cyro-stasis until the start of the game. And J.T. Donnelly might still be alive, as Tex's bizarre psychic dopplerganer. Maybe, though. Just maybe.


EDIT:
Ho lee mo lee, Aaron's book is coming!
http://www.aaronconners.net/
I really hope it's... good.

Well I've just received my Invoice from Aaron for the Novel and the shooting script from his site http://www.aaronconners.net/ so I guess we will see how he has written it.

I personally don't mind which way around it is, if Tex is Donelly I'm ok with it and if he isn't that's fine too, but I can see if he is Donelly it will upset some of you guys and I think that would be a shame.

I actually think Aaron Conners and Chris Jones are unbelievable geniuses with this. They really have given us a gift that keeps on giving for years to come now with this twist. I believe that it is left ambiguous on purpose and if you ask them point blank hopefully they will only say 'Tex is Donnelly, draw your own conclusions'.

The Tex Murphy series is an interesting hybrid, it feels like a movie at times but don't forget that these are video games. With movies, we expect the characters to be fully realized with their back stories totally up in the open. But what do we really know about Tex Murphy? He obviously isn't close to his family, most of his past he has either joked about or tells odd stories which he could be lying to himself or have been distorted over time or even implanted. There COULD be actors saying they are his parents who send him Zebra prints, thats the only contact he has with him. Remember how Tex was before he went to Chandler? He was humorless and a boy scout, a 'blank slate' really of the kind someone would use with a memory wipe on a person maybe.

But THATs the catch isn't it? Video game characters are DESIGNED to be blank slates to immerse the player. Link from Legend of Zelda isn't even his real name, its really a placeholder for a name you choose with his real name lost to time. Most RPGs and other games you create your own character, the player IS the character. I also feel that we aren't controlling Tex but we are actually playing as the spirit of Donnelly who despite this is how Tex gets his PI top notch chops, it drives him bad. The combination of wanting to do good along with the hard edgeness of Donnelly, not to mention Sylvia's damage on him, has given Tex his humor and personality.

What does anyone in his life know about Tex Murphy? He knew Chelsee officially for a year, only started dating and really knowing eachother for a few weeks.......maybe a month. He couldn't of been on Chandler long in Under A Killing Moon since her newsstand is literally across the street from the Ritz, so Louie, Rook, and the others couldn't of really known him all that well.

Personally I want to believe in the frozen Donnelly theory since I don't like the supernatural in the franchise and its a brilliant backstory for the character the more you think about it: A PI who is really from the 1940s! But it could also be that he is reincarnated from Donnelly. The ages don't really match up thats true, but cryo sleep could make you younger. Charles did seem a bit too young looking to of been a seasoned FBI agent who started a cult. Although I think it works even with his past with the Colonel, the Colonel could of knew all along who he was. Maybe that is why he was so disappointed in Tex? He knew what he was really capable of and the guy turned him in for stuff he did and worse himself!

Video game characters are meant to be open, hell for two games know we have influenced what Tex turns into. It works that he is connected to Donnelly and I think either theory or anything else to explain the connection 'fits' and I think Jones and Conners are both clever enough to leave it open to fan interpretation. We are all going to be talking about this for years to come I can tell you that much.


Personally I believe he is a thawed out Donnelly, and he became Bad Tex when he fully remembered his past and accepted who he really was. The Tex we all know and love is a split personality that came out of losing his memory and gaining a new one in the future. Deep down Tex likes himself and others like him too, but his 'real' self is a real SOB who everyone including himself hates.


Think its really clever to echo Total Recall as well as all the Blade Runner bits in the series!


On Chelsee's Mutant status: She could still be a mutant. Its from radiation in the atmosphere from so much atomic bombs going off, so genetics don't figure into it much. I think she is a norm though who just didn't want people to question why she lived in Chandler.

I wrote a lot here and was going to write a lot more lol I feel this is a clever development that has been thought out since Pandora Directive and its great to see them try it out.

joliet_jane wrote:

Valynis wrote: I'll admit, when Tex told Mojo that his name was James Tiberius on my first playthrough, I thought he was joking. Then, I kept thinking about it and I suppose it could actually be accurate.

I thought he was joking too! But... maybe he wasn't? It's so hard to tell. Maybe that's what J.T. Donelly stands for? But then why would it? (Cooonnnnners!!!)

Shouldn't that be KHAAAAAAAAAANors!!! ???

No one is saying it because we all know it (and we all know that we all know it) but Tiberius is Capt James T. Kirk's middle name.