Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs Discussion Topic Part 1

[Peci]

People didn't like my new thread so I'll put my ramblings here then. Let my thread die or be removed.


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Hello from a forum newbie!

I decided to open a new topic for this because this will be quite a long post. The idea is to theorize the game’s plot and try to answer the question: what is ‘a machine for pigs’. Here is my version:

What we know about the plot so far (9.3.2012):
a) year was 1899 when the character last remembers something
b) his name is Oswald Mandus
c) he is a wealthy industrialist
d) he came back from a disastrous trip from Mexico, which ended in tragedy
e) when he wakes up, he doesn’t know how much time has passed
f) I remember that somewhere it said the plot takes place in London, so he probably is an Englishman (please verify)

I did some research on industrialization in Mexico in the late 19th century. An arcticle (links in the end of the post) said the following:

“The financing of Mexican industrialization therefore fell to a small clique of foreign-born merchant-financiers”

I therefore assume Oswald Mandus is very wealthy. He might have an industrial –empire– therefore seen as an emperor. Emperor can also be called “the king of kings”.

There is a teaser trailer on youtube named “Ozymandias.avi”. Some have said they believe it to be fake, but for this theory, I assume it to be legit. The tags of the video include the words “King of Kings”.

Ozymandias is a poem which describes how even powerful figures of history will eventually be forgotten and lose their power. It describes the statue of the forgotten King which only has it’s legs and head left. One can say the only thing left of the king is the severed limbs and head.

My theory:

A machine for pigs is a metaphor for Oswald’s nightmare. As he is an industrialist, the nightmare appears as an industrial complex which is built for the purpose of slaughtering pigs. He himself is the pig to be slaughtered. Rich, powerful and merciless people can be referred as pigs. He might have a guilty consciousness about the things he have done. Like “emperors” before him, his destiny is to be forgotten and left limbless like the king in Ozymandias, because he deserves no better.

Just my two cents.

Greetings from Finland
Peci

Links:
Game teaser site: http://www.nextfrictionalgame.com/
Article: http://www.innovation.hoover.org/media/F...Mexico.pdf
Teaser trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcHtkZjnNWk