The Curator/Involvement/Man of Medan

*All that glisters is not gold, often have you heard that told...**This article is about The Dark Pictures Anthology's first installment,* ***Man of Medan***
***.***
*You're going it alone. Independent. Admirable. Possibly foolish...**The content below contains spoilers from one or more of the games. Read at your own risk!*

**Sub-Pages**

* **Man of Medan**
* Little Hope
* House of Ashes
* The Devil in Me
* Switchback VR

## Meetings

### *First Meeting*

The Curator meets the player for the first time after the prologue. He welcomes them to his Repository and introduces himself, lighting up the candelabra and pulling the *"Man of Medan"* book off the shelf.

* If the player already has save files, the Curator will say that the player is back to try again and everyone likes a trier. He will also add that he hopes they will get desired outcomes. The rest of conversation will be skipped.
* (In Shared Story) If one of the players has save files, the Curator will say that one of them is back to try again and everyone likes a trier. He will also add that he hopes they will get desired outcomes. The Curator will introduce himself to the new player and the rest of conversation will be the same.

The Curator sits at his desk and says that as the keeper of all stories, he is here to record an incomplete tale that the player will finish with his decisions. Then the Curator starts talking about the importance of decisions' consequences.

* The Curator will say that the player's choices matter and they will affect others.
* (In Shared Story) He will note that sometimes players will determine the story separately and their actions may not make complete sense to each other, because everyone has a different perspective. He will add that their choices matter and they will affect each other.

The Curator says it's not his place to interfere, but he might be persuaded to give an occasional hint and gives one for free, telling them about pictures and their importance. Then he says their conversation is over and they will meet again to account for the player's decisions and mistakes.

### *Second Meeting*

The Curator meets the player for the second time shortly after Alex and Julia return from their dive. He summarizes the main characters and opines on the player's choices up to that moment.

* If Alex and Julia have high relationships, he'll say Alex is the love of Julia's life, otherwise he will sympathize to his unrequited love.
* If Conrad and Fliss have high relationships, the Curator will say he detects a spark between them, otherwise he'll say Fliss is so far immune to Conrad's charms.
* If Julia refused to decompress twice, he'll say the player will regret this choice, otherwise he'll congratulate the player.

After this, the Curator sends the player back to the story.

### *Third Meeting*

The third meeting with the Curator happens once the SS Ourang Medan is discovered.

* If all protagonists are alive, the Curator will praise the player and hint that things could have been quite different.
	+ If Conrad successfully escaped on the speedboat, he'll admire the player's actions and ask them if it makes the rest of the group more vulnerable.
* If Conrad died, he'll say the player has already suffered a casuality and the move wasn't smart, but bold.
* If Conrad died and Julia has the bends, he'll sympathize the player's first loss and note that "some" people should take a greater care about their decisions.

Before sending them back to the story, the Curator will offer the player a "small piece of advice".

* If the player accepts his offer, he will cite a passage from *The Merchant of Venice*, hinting that Manchurian Gold is not gold at all.
* If the player refuses or stays silent, he will say this move is independent, but possibly foolish.
* (In Shared Story) If players say yes/no together, the Curator will react to their agreement and his answers will be the same as in the singleplayer.
* (In Shared Story) If someone stays silent, Curator will say that things won't bode well.
* (In Shared Story) If players answer yes and no, he will say that if they could learn to work together then things might turn out more beneficially.

After this, the Curator pulls out a red book from a bookshelf and states that "everything may not be entirely as it seems". After sipping from a metal flask, which was hiding in the book, he will claim he shouldn't have said that.

### *Fourth Meeting*

The fourth meeting with the Curator occurs once the group reunites on the Ourang Medan. He will acknowledge the supernatural occurrences on the ship and mention the protagonists' potential deaths since the last encounter.

* If one protagonist died, he'll say "*now you're one down.*"
* If Conrad died in Act 1 and another protagonist died, he'll say "*now you're another one down*".
* If two protagonists died, he'll say "*now you're two down, when you were doing so well.*"
* If two protagonists died and Julia has the bends, he'll say "*now you're two more down. Don't you think that's a little... careless?*"

After this goes a short comment about the manner of death.

* If Alex...
	+ Was stabbed by Olson - "*...and poor Alex. But there are worse ways to go.*"
	+ Died from head bashing - "*...and poor Alex. That really wasn't pretty, was it?*"
* If Julia...
	+ Was stabbed by Olson - "*...and poor Julia.*"
	+ Died from neck snapping - "*...and poor Julia. All that youthful promise, snuffed out in a second... Ahem... well, several long, drawn-out, agonising seconds actually.*"
* If Brad...
	+ Was stabbed in the stomach or died in the chase - "*...and has anyone seen Brad?*"
	+ Drowned - "*...and you! You could have chosen differently, avoided his untimely death. You know that... right?*"
* If Fliss...
	+ Was split in the head or died in the chase - "*...and has anyone seen Fliss?*"
	+ Drowned - "*...and poor Fliss. Was that what you wanted? Or are your bearings a little off?*"
* If Conrad...
	+ Died in the chase - "*...and what about Conrad? He... or rather, you, should have been a bit less... careless.*"
	+ Died from jumping off from the top of the ship's funnel - "*...and what about Conrad? Took a step into the unknown, I fear. Too bad.*"

Then the Curator asks the player if they've firgured out what's going on the ship, how to stop it, and how to save the protagonists. He also says the ship's crew never managed to do so and there were quite a lot of deaths "that" night. After that he will offer the player another tip.

* If the player accepts the offer, the Curator will hint that a more scientific or political explanation may be behind the mysterious happenings on board, rather it being supernatural.
* If the player refuses, the Curator will suggest that the player will be satisfied with the clues that they find themselves and "wish" them luck.
* If the player stays silent, he will say the player's indecision is pity and dangerous.
* (In Shared Story) If players say yes/no together, the Curator will react to their agreement and his answers will be the same as in the single-player.
* (In Shared Story) If players answer yes and no, he will say that it's worth trying to see through other people's eyes and get different perspective on things.

After that the Curator shows poker cards, symbolizing the surviving protagonists, which turns out to be kings, queens, and jack on the table. Meanwhile he says that "*everything and everyone may not be quite what they appear to be.*" He also asks the player if they want to know the protagonists' opinions about the situation and how to avoid unnecessary tragedy, and sends the player back to the game.

### *Final Meeting*

The final meeting with the Curator takes place after the game ends. The Curator closes the "*Man of Medan*" book, saying the game is over and the player can try again to "do better next time around". He then comments on the player's final results.

* If all protagonists survived, he'll reluctantly congratulate the player and say their charges are still breathing and that it's "something.”
* If one protagonist died, he'll say it's impressive and "almost" everyone survived.
* If two protagonists died, he'll say it's not a bad effort, some lived, some died, and it's all the player's fault.
* If three or four protagonists died, he'll say it's not a very happy ending. Or it is, depending on what makes the player happy.
* If all protagonists died, he'll say there's not a sole survivor and will outright laugh, while questioning whether it was done on purpose.
	+ This ending is not easy to achieve since the player must perform a certain sequence of actions.

The Curator's next comment will be about the final outcome the player got.

* If the chapter Flooded happened and...
	+ Olson opened the door and the cargo door fell, the Curator will use a metaphor saying that when the "curtain falls", we can be ready for it or not.
		- This is the reference to the curtains Fliss saw earlier.
	+ The diving protagonist opened the door and the fire happened on the ship, the Curator will say things got a little "heated" at the end.
		- This outcome matches the original legend of the SS Ourang Medan.
* If the chapter Matters of the Heart happened and Alex managed to stay calm and didn't stab the hallucination or himself, the Curator congratulates him and the player.

After that the Curator can comment on fate of the distributor cap.

* If the distributor cap was broken, the Curator notes with smile about how unfortunate that was.

Then goes a short monologue about the player's decisions, which were made in a hurry and a panic, and about their repercussions, which will manifest very soon. The player will see this monologue and repercussions of their decisions, if...

* The distributor cap was destroyed.
* Conrad was shot by Olson.
* Conrad returned with the coastguard.
* Julia has the bends.
* Protagonists gave their coordinates to the military and the name of the ship too if possible.

The Curator gets up from the desk and leaves the Repository. He informs the player they'll inevitably meet again, whether in Little Hope or somewhere else.

### *Curator's Cut*

After the opening intro, the Curator greets the player again and talks with them about the new mode. He uses the metaphor "one door closes, another opens" and explains there's been an "adjustment" to the story and new possibilities are now available. He encourages the player to try this mode, as one's choices can lead to different outcomes than before. Depending on the outcome the player got in Theatrical Cut, he also adds a short comment:

* If the player saved everyone in Theatrical Cut, the Curator will encourage the player to take a few risks and raise "a little hell".
* If the player lost someone in Theatrical Cut, he will say that maybe things will be better this time.

The other encounters with the Curator occur exactly as they do in the Theatrical Cut.