The originally intended ending for Scratches... finally revealed!

[Agustin]

Please, roll the drums!

It's been nearly two years since the original Scratches was firstly released in Germany and well over four years since we started working on it with nothing else than a paper with a few key ideas. To this day we still receive questions regarding its ending and from time to time catch an online discussion of the story. Pages and pages have been posted in many forums with theories being dissected and several exciting ideas appearing every day. While many of the story nuisances have been revealed by now, there's still an aura of mystery surrounding the game and its controversial ending. Some secrets may never come to surface...

As many of you know, the game originally wasn't meant to end in that way, with Michael facing the final horror and escaping away. Some couldn't stand the cowardice of the main character and the rather inconclusive feeling of the ending. In its defense, I like to believe it's perhaps one of the purest �Lovecraft� endings we've seen to date in adventures, in a sense that he mostly ended his stories abruptly with a shocking, final revelation that gave a horrifying new meaning to the tale (ie: �The Whisperer in Darkness�). Admittedly, the ending of Scratches left many unanswered questions and an important point of the story left to self-interpretation.

The very original ending devised for the game, though, was completely different. This was scrapped for a few reasons, but most importantly because it gave too much closure to the story. You probably must be shaking your head in disbelief, but hang on in there... As you know, there's a constant hint of something supernatural in Scratches, but you can never tell if what you're experiencing is something unearthly or just your imagination. We really wanted to maintain that feeling throughout the entire game, but the original ending kind of contradicted the idea. It gave a straight meaning to the story and was (to make things worse) totally unlike Lovecraft's closures. So... you're probably thinking to yourself that we scrapped this ending to make room for a sequel and online discussion, but seriously, the actual ending that appeared in the game did so for the sake of consistency, and nothing else. In retrospective, I still believe that was the correct way of ending the game.

Alright, I'll quit the babbling and get right to it. Of course, a disclaimer first...


SPOILER!! SPOILER!! Do not read further if you still haven't played the game! Also, do not read further if you haven't read the hundreds of pages scattered through the entire web about the subject! Actually, do not read at all!


OK, it went like this: it's exactly the same until you get to the fireplace and the lair beyond. As soon as Michael enters in the lair, he feel an evil presence. The teddy bear is there as well, giving the notion that the son of the Blackwoods was held captive and (accidentally?) murdered Catherine. Next, you hear some strange sounds... those familiar scratches in the dirt. You see Robin emerging from the hole in the wall, but in this ending he looks far uglier and menacing. Then here's the first notorious difference: you are able to play, and if you stay still, Robin will run towards you and kill you. We had the option of actually ending the game (Ha! You would surprisingly die after being �safe� throughout the entire game!) or simply restarting the last scene again. Of course, the shock of Robin's appearance would wear off, so there you have another reason why we switched the ending - that is, to make Robin's appearance as abrupt and shocking as possible.

The only possible action that Michael (or you, the player) could do at that moment is to take the African amulet and use it on Robin as the walked towards you. The amulet would emit a glow, Robin would cover his face, and then Michael would start running away, leaving Robin screaming on the ground. After all, as opposed to the later ending, Michael's stay in Blackwood manor would had an actual impact on the story.

The next scene shows the car driving away and then in the very last scene, with the camera moving towards the hole that Robin was carving up, we can still see the disfigured body of Robin on the floor... but slowly turning to human. The curse has been lifted.

As you can see, this ending (while rather similar in structure) was still wildly different. It gave Michael's stay in the manor a purpose, �acknowledged� the supernatural angle of the story and posed Robin as an evil creature. On the contrary, in the later, ambiguous ending, Michael's stay was completely irrelevant (after all, Robin was going to escape and, in any case, Michael left the door to the lair opened). Also, we never know whether the curse was real or James Blackwood was a lunatic (and in turn Michael had some mental issues as well) and, most importantly, Robin could either be an evil creature or a poor victim of consequences, just a disfigured child. I really think the later ending that made it to the final game represented the story better and was more sad and dramatic. Sure, the original ending had more �bang� and even may have been (gasp!) happy, but then it wouldn't have had that mysterious feeling which still lasts to this day.

In any case, I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Please, discuss.

(Yikes! Look at the size of that post...)

[Cold Eternity]

Thank you so much for letting us know the details about the ending, Agustin. =D

So, in this ending, Robin would indeed be evil? But in the actual one, you were left to decide whether he was evil or not yourself?

[Agustin]

So, in this ending, Robin would indeed be evil? But in the actual one, you were left to decide whether he was evil or not yourself?[/b]

Exactly, the original ending directly implied that Robin was evil and "possessed" by the curse. Totally unlike the actual one, which left plenty of room for doubt (remember how Robin looks like he's begin when Michael is shutting the door to the lair).

[Nuxly]

The teddy bear is there as well, giving the notion that the son of the Blackwoods was held captive and (accidentally?) murdered Catherine.

I recently posted on the forum a thread where I post a theory saying that the teddy bear would be some kind of vodoo doll that Robin would have used to kill Catherine.... I'd like a comment from you on this...

[Cold Eternity]

So, in this ending, Robin would indeed be evil? But in the actual one, you were left to decide whether he was evil or not yourself?[/b]

Exactly, the original ending directly implied that Robin was evil and "possessed" by the curse. Totally unlike the actual one, which left plenty of room for doubt (remember how Robin looks like he's begin when Michael is shutting the door to the lair).

Interesting.

So, you can't really tell us yourself whether he truly was possessed or just unfortunate? Or have you thought this through completely?

SPOILERS AHEAD!

If he actually murdered his mother, how can he not be evil?

[Agustin]

The teddy bear is there as well, giving the notion that the son of the Blackwoods was held captive and (accidentally?) murdered Catherine.

I recently posted on the forum a thread where I post a theory saying that the teddy bear would be some kind of vodoo doll that Robin would have used to kill Catherine.... I'd like a comment from you on this...

Of course that's an interesting theory! Pretty much all of the theories I heard about Scratches are fun and original. However, the teddy bear has its neck ripped apart and this was a "symbolic" explanation that Robin was the culprit of Catherine's death. Be it by accident (realistic angle) or on purpose (supernatural angle), Robin somehow "scratched" Catherine's throat.

But I do like the voodoo dool idea

[Agustin]

Interesting.

So, you can't really tell us yourself whether he truly was possessed or just unfortunate? Or have you thought this through completely?

SPOILERS AHEAD!

If he actually murdered his mother, how can he not be evil?

I really can't tell that... all I can say is that the Scratches story (in the unlikely event of a sequel) would have two separate branches. In other words, what you probably have is both supernatural and realistic aspects.

To tell the truth, it looks like Robin is more unfortunate than evil. But... that blooming flower at the very end of the game does imply that the curse has been lifted

As for the murder of Catherine, see my other reply above. Robin was dangerous, but that doesn't necessarily mean he was evil. It could have been an accident.

[Nuxly]

Well I found that only explanation for the teddy bear was scratches but still "sitting" against the wall after all these years, according to what you told me in a mail ("all details have a meaning").

[Nuxly]

It could have been an accident.

like if the evil turned the teddy bear into a vodoo thing when Robin scratched it?
I don't see much ways of ripping Catherine's neck by accident :s

[Agustin]

Well I found that only explanation for the teddy bear was scratches but still "sitting" against the wall after all these years, according to what you told me in a mail ("all details have a meaning").

Well, Robin grew up and he probably didn't feel like toying around with the teddy bear anymore!

[Nuxly]

hmm right... so how could it happen? is there some detail saying that we wouldn't have noticed or interpreted correctly?

[Agustin]

hmm right... so how could it happen? is there some detail saying that we wouldn't have noticed or interpreted correctly?

What do you mean by "how it could happen"? You mean the possession...?

[Nuxly]

I mean how could Robin scratch Catherine by accident?

[Agustin]

I mean how could Robin scratch Catherine by accident?

He was deformed... and by the theme of the game and how he was escaping away... I guess we can all assume he had some very nasty fingernails

(also, remember the many references to "cats" or "felines" throughout the game)

[Nuxly]

yea... cats scratches when you touch them while they're scared...

[Agustin]

yea... cats scratches when you touch them while they're scared...

Exactly, and they aren't necessarily "evil". That doesn't mean Robin was a half human, half cat... or possessed by the feline African god... but you get the idea

[Nuxly]

yea... but there's still something that doesn't sound totally right to me...
hmm. Can you tell where has Catherine been scratched? I mean, was it outside the lair?

[Agustin]

yea... but there's still something that doesn't sound totally right to me...
hmm. Can you tell where has Catherine been scratched? I mean, was it outside the lair?

That probably doesn't make a difference. But Catherine was scratched while nurturing Robin, likely in his room. The cell was "enabled" at the time, but Robin wasn't always inside. James did want to have him locked, but Catherine wanted to give him love, and therefore took him from the cell from time to time. Only after the incident Robin was locked in the cell until Michael arrived...

[Nuxly]

Very interesting reply, Gotta think about this !

[Imari]

Hmmm... then there's the much sought after "alternate ending" as well. I can honestly say that in years of playing adventure games, I have never experienced one that left me so saddened and thoughtful at the end. As a mother, the thought of condemning a child to grow up in that filthy basment --- no matter what his curse or deformity ---- was absolutely abhorent. My heart hurt for Robin and I was angry at Michael. I thought the last shot where Robin seemed to be escaping up into the greenhouse meant that he'd finally found freedom. I was ready to string Michael up by his toes. >

I really great game and one that sent me back to it to play through it again to absorb all the details. Thanks, guys.