Game:

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water (2014)

Duration: 15:47

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3

Ever eager to share an obvious observation well after we've made it ourselves that she also could've easily provided BEFORE we wasted our time catching up and looking foolish while she stands around staring at us, it looks like we'll need a key. But don't worry, we'll actually receive some basic instruction in one of the Camera Obscura's not-so-basic basic functions, getting a reading from one object to locate another one to solve an immediate problem with a not-so-immediate solution. In this case, we can get a reading off a locked door to locate its key.

Of course, you'll still need to recognize the location being pointed out, find it, and get the thing you needed as a result, not to mention return to the site of your initial problem that can now be solved. Meanwhile, who knows how much crazy stuff will happen?! Thankfully this very first case is quite tame and nothing too bad can--waitaminutewhat'sthatupthereAAAAAGH!

...yeah ...yeah... I see where you're going with this, Fatal Frame. By engineering even a simple "go somewhere else and do a thing" even (or ESPECIALLY) someplace you've already been, there's suddenly a lot of room to pepper in strange, spooky, and even jumpy stuff. It was around now that I finally understood the weird prompt to enter Camera mode and snap a quick picture of some fleeting, but overall harmless visual spectacle. Y'know, if a creepy guy walking down the hallway or hanging from the ceiling right in your face counts as harmless. (Apparently it does.) ...at any rate, I think it's probably a safe enough bet I'll be quick enough to freak out constantly by these things, realizing what just happened... but not fast enough to actually pull out my camera to get the proper reward for my lost nerve and sanity...

The Camera Obscura can also locate spaces where an object is "hidden"... which is a really weird situational concept if you ask me, but basically it's a way for something to be present, but invisible... and... for some reason, you need to hold the camera JUST so in order to take its picture and make the universe realize that, indeed, some pesky spirits had gone and put it beyond our mortal senses. Wait, is THAT where my car keys keep ending up?

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We traced, scried, scanned, psyched, and exposed all over this... hallway... and found what we were after, a very specific notebook full of photographs on a very particularly gruesome subject. Can we go now? Yeah, let's go now. Hisoka even says we shouldn't stay any longer than we need to... gee, thanks.

Unfortunately, we have to go back by the spot where Yuri was clearly upset about something, but Hisoka could only manage to stare unconcerned, even while surrounded by what was clearly making Yuri all the more troubled. Yeah, it's probably just beginner's nerves, which we all know is just a symptom of a case of beginner's luck coming on, am I right?! It's time to learn how to handle actual violent situations with some crack photography. Wait, does Frank West know you can do that? (Is it weird Yuri's learning this on her own and NOT from Hisoka, though? Seems like hostile spirits would be one of the more important things to cover BEFORE it becomes an issue.)

The Camera Obscura is not only a handy lost-thing-finder, it's also a powerful tool against especially restless and spirited specters bent on doing you harm for... uh... paying attention to them? (Not everyone likes having their picture taken!)

As a general rule of thumb: you want to take pictures with your subject close, with a good look at their surroundings, and especially while they're striking a dynamic pose. But, y'know, if your subject is getting unruly, just give 'em a shove and try to get a wider-angle shot including the hazy chunks that came off them in order to deal a hefty blow-- wait, what? What photography classes have YOU been taking, guys? Whatever happened to the rule of thirds? Does lighting count for nothing?!

But yeah, the basics seem... pretty weird, and it'll be awhile before I actually understand the particulars of photography-based combat. (Fun fact, I understand the means of triggering a Fatal Frame, but it takes me until almost the end of the demo to understand how to use the resulting Fatal Time window... it's actually a period of time measured in more or less a second following the Fatal Frame shot.

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Meanwhile, our client seems to be an unkempt couch-napper, enjoying a... fairly interesting sort of dream that I could infer all kinds of wild accusations from... but I guess the real importance here is that we've now met all the three people whose fates this story will concern. There was Miu, whom we already met and said our screamful goodbyes to. We just got finished taking a little spiritual sabbatical with Yuri. And now we see Mr. Ren Hojo. Neat? (Interesting that the game is deliberately less-than concerned with Hisoka's contributions even as early as the Prologue, but I suppose it makes sense if we've got Yuri in our focus instead.)