@@The1andonlysharpshooter Imagine when Two Whales blew up, she used her powers and rewound time (or with this theory just left that timeline) the Max in that timeline just wakes up, and sees everyone dead in there
I thought this was pretty much confirmed in the first game, not just theory. Time travelling is brutal. Max is basically desperately looking for the perfect timeline.
we only have a few actual instances and dialogue references about it. the game doesn't get into the mechanics on how it works. hopefully double exposure explores that since it's basically the story
i was replaying the first game for recording purposes the other day - i was actually thinking about this very same thing! great video - it's like Max can circumvent the photo-jumping mechanic and just dip straight into an alternate reality. great video!
Thank you so much! Yeah, it only occurred to me recently as well - I was making a completely different LIS video (which I’m still working on) and as I started to explore some of the games subtext I started to notice things I hadn’t picked up on before, like the alternative reality’s. It occurred to me then how well her power connects to double exposure, much better than I initially thought.
For me i think she is rewinding time AND shes going though different timelines. And other maxes are dealing with the consequences, so the question at the end is yes! But interesting theory overall
A few points, some in favor, some not: - The butterfly effect is just the escalation of minor change into major consequences. It has nothing to do with alternative realities. Rather, alt realities are a way to avoid the butterfly effect or preserve causality so the time traveller won't deleted themselves. - I recently played the original. When saving Arcadia Bay, one of the snapshots of the new timeline show Max intently staring at some photos. This implies that Max still had her powers and was still trying to change things, but failed. - I'd discount anything happening in the nightmare sequence as real - I think photo travel and rewind are different powers that work completely differently. Rewind is physical, photo travel is psychological.
- The butterfly effect is what creates an alternative future in BTTF. It’s also what changes Chloe’s future. Alternative realities exist because of the butterfly effect. -Yes, that picture in the bay ending is very interesting. 🤔 -the nightmare sequence is a manifestation of some of Maxs worst fears. The confrontation she has with herself reveals those fears. She already tells Chloe she’s worried she’s destroying ‘all these alternative realities,’ and the ‘maxs that get left behind’ are part and parcel of that. -I think every rewind is a switch to an alternative reality, hence why no one notices her teleporting from one place to another when she does it.
@@TheGamingPsychologist While I don't think BttF is even relevant (and its science is abysmal, as much as I love these movies) as opposed to the butterfly effect in actual chaos theory and Bradbury's works (which are referenced in the game while BttF is not), I won't argue too much. As for nobody reacting to her teleporting: There is only one instance (as far as I remember) where she notably switches places by more than an inch or two and somebody is around to notice: During the office break-in. And there, Chloe clearly notices. This one is important - there is no way mere mental timetravel could have gotten Max on the other side of that door. There's also the issue of her getting objects from the future, like Frank's keys. This also shouldn't be possible were the rewinds not physical. And then there's the Kate Marsh sequence. Halting time is more in line with a physical explanation than a mental one.
She never used rewind power after life is strange season 1, but now in life is strange double exposure she will use after so long to protect her new close friend, safi.
This seems right for the photos travel (explains limited action range, and the photo time travel within photo time travel in Episode 5, requiring time travel in steps, from classroom to plane with limited action range, and then from plane to photo exhibit) but it doesnt work for the rewind time travel: take Max opening the principal's office door - you're telling me that her consciousness travels to an alternate universe where the door lock was never broken, but Max ends up on the other side of the door while Chloe is still trying to pick the lock? Similarly in your example of Max picking up Frank's keys: Max's main consciousness rewinds to her previous self before picking up the keys, but left behind Max being attacked would still remember taking the keys, and indeed would also be able to rewind - and thus do so. The only issue with the rewind is Max "teleporting" from the point of view of everybody else. But there can be workarounds to that based on her power. Heck, the teleportation bit is another argument in favor of it not being consciousness transfer for the rewind bit. So photos, yes. Rewind, demonstrably no.
I do believe in the Auto-Max theory. And I do believe that there are many Maxes out there. But Max literally sees time reverse around her, and the rewind has been showed a lot to the point that we can confirm it is rewind.
I'd like to think that as Max got older her powers changed. So her rewind powers evolved into time slipping powers. It does take place 10 years after the first game
Youre right that Max switches her conciousness with the Max of another reality... But only sometimes. I think we see only Max only reinserting herself to the point in spacetime that she had been in, in most of game one, not necessarily just creating and retconning a parallel universe with every decision or rewind. There IS a stark contrast of when she ACTUALLY travels between timelines instead of just affecting the one she was already in. Max's power in the end ISNT time travel, but she has the ability to insert herself and affect her own actions/location/other items as long as she was there at a certain point. Hence she can end up in a room she wasnt supposed or otherwise couldnt end up in, can pick up things and still retain them, and can 'rewind'- Or rather, just reinsert herself to a point that was just recent, or in later moments in the first game, use photos to basically hone in on a certain point she was at. We see her more often than not, in a linear sense, just placing herself back into a place she had been in. Its just this occasionally and eventually spirals into extending to different timelines/realities. BUT. Her ability to actually go so far as to switch to herself in other timelines is very specific in certain moments rather than what she does EVERY time. Usually when she is very emotional, and she expresses when she basically doesnt even know how she got there, as if she just snapped into that version of herself- As opposed to when she can use her power to just rollback to herself only moments prior to accomplish what she wanted. She isnt timeline hopping all the time, in fact that was rather rare- This is accounted by the fact of item's she gains having permanence within her current world. If it they were truly 'alternate' timelines for even the short term power usages, she would probably have created two copies of things she took or wouldnt be able to just appear in a slightly different location. Rather than it being that deep, I think theres two distinct happenings in the first game where one, she can simply reinsert herself into the space-time that she knows happened, and two, there are very selective events that create alternate timelines- This is a game, it'd be far too complicated if EVERY action just sprouted a timeline, narratively. It'd make the significance a little pointless. TLDR; Max's power is she can reinsert and affect a pocket of space time that she is or has been in, as long as she was/is there. I think if it was her just hopping between timelines, cut and dry, there'd be less manipulation and observations of her surroundings. There IS a 'main' Max that exists and that is the one that can hop in between all her selves.. I think Double Exposure shows a maturation of her powers that she can then extend it PAST just her current timeline's self and place herself in different universes more accurately- Or even catch full on glimpses of another timeline happening simultaneously around her, and in the FIRST game, we see her able to basically see the events that played out around her as she affects her place in spacetime (as she rewinds). But ultimately, the most important part, is that Max can affect spacetime around her, or in a certain point she was while still remaining in that timeline- This could be explained why she can do minor adjustments/rewinds and silheouettes/ghosts of everything that had happened in that timeline, rather than just creating an infinite amount of them by just swapping to a prior version of herself. She's very limited to "main" Max's experiences and presence in the first title, and only timeline hops in very specific moments.
Your point about items is a good one. It’s also a bit of a head scratcher and maybe even a paradox. Your comment made me think about the scene just after Max steals Franks keys in which Chloe then lobs them on top of his trailer - it’s almost like the game is highlighting the item shifting. I still stand by my theory of course but you’ve definitely got me thinking. 🤔
Thank you for pointing this out. Travelling between different realities is pretty much the same as turning back time. (Game-bound commentary, not to be generalized).
If I was making the upcoming game, the person Max would be trying to save would be an older Daniel Diaz, as she would find out about his powers, and after the two connect, Max tries everything in her power to keep the only other person who might understand what she goes through alive.
Only problem I have with this theory is the teleporting. There is a part where you need to get into the principles office, you do so by breaking in and setting off the alarm then rewinding before it was broken and you just unlock it. How could she teleport to the other side of the door if she just transferred consciousnesses. Also with taking items and traveling back in time and still having them, which you do for a lot of puzzle things.
Except there are multiple occasion in which switching consciousness doesn't explain what happened. As said in the video, when you take the keys, switching to an alternate reality, why would you still have they key ? At some point you have to enter the principal's office (or something similar), do to so you have to break the door which sets off the alarm then once inside, you can rewind to open from the inside. This implies you DID went physically somewhere where you couldn't be. So it's not a consciouness switch you have to at least physically teleport the body with things that are worn (or keys for the matter). What's strange is that Chloe or anybody for that matter never points out the fact that Max teleports every time she rewinds, because she doesnt physically rewind to where she was. She rewind the world around her.
I agree with you about the realities part... kinda. I like to believe that the "rewind" in the game doesn't happen in the same reality, it works like a type of multiverse theory. Everytime Max rewinds she doesn't literally manipulates reality and goes back, she just becomes conscious of the reality she wants. For example: She goes to a reality where things didn't happen yet (past) and then when she comes back to the future she goes to an alternative reality where things happened in a different way (like when she saved Chloe's father). I like to think this way because it makes more sense to me than literally manipulating time and space... althrough I don't know about the whole other Maxes being traumatized, I mean, do they really realize that they are being "controlled" by another max? I prefer to believe that the Maxes from these realities that the "original" Max switched from/to would do the same action she did anyway, since infinite realities could exist. I also could believe that Max messes up with space and time too in a way since the storm happened because Max saved Chloe in the bathroom. So I could suppose in THAT reality Chloe was suppose to die? Idk, it's confusing. I guess we will never have a proper answer, because time travel working without breaking any universe law or rules is by itself a mysterious even in real life and theorical terms.
One thing to add: Max kind of HAS to manipulate space-time because she literally travels through it. Let me explain: in the game there is one time when Chloe and Max were invading the school where they blowed up the door and the alarms are activated. Max then enters the headmaster's room and goes back in time to when the door wasn't open yet and the alarms weren't on. Like, what? How could the Max from this reality enter the headmaster's room without opening the door? In short, Max "teleported". And she does it multiple times during the game.
@@nyyahzbk669 its mindblowing to think about all of this. You are right about her teleporting. The more you think about it the more you get into this philosophical spiral that doesnt end
If you think about it yes she can teleport it make sense how easy it was for her to rewind and teleport at once to get into headmaster office @eleanorkim0390
I have another theory in which if she was in fact rewinding, it is a muscle which is why she couldn't use it in the trailer but a muscle/muscle memory isnt totally destroyed usually so i would bet she is going be able to use the rewind in the game at least once.
It kind of reminds me of the rick and morty episode where morty gets the replay button he wasn't actually redoing things he was just switching bodies with another morty
Not a big fan of this theory. Largely because, if Max is simply shifting consciousness to an alternative self when she uses her rewind, then why is she able to teleport herself using her ability? I think it actually being a rewind power makes more sense. That being said, it's definitely true for the photo rewind / reality jump.
Because - I don’t believe she’s teleporting at all. Imo, if Max teleported, people would notice her jumping around from place to place right in front of them, especially in crowded areas like Blackwell Academy. I think the reason they don’t is because Max B was already in the place Max A shifts too in the alternative reality.
@@TheGamingPsychologistwhat about when she uses her powers to get into places that would otherwise be inaccessible? Like the locked door we teleport behind at blackwell and getting into the VIP zone through the back at the end of the world party. There’s no way another Max was already at those locations.
@@Aaron-hv4hrit's an infinite timeline/alternate reality... there may be one where max was already there for some other reason. she literally controls space-time... SPACE and TIME
@@woozema that’s a stretch. To say that there was a Max behind a closed door to a private office at night, with no one else around… idk, maybe the theory just doesn’t work
@@Aaron-hv4hr the word is INFINITE, meaning infinite possibilities... it doesn't exactly have to be Max behind a closed door, to a private office at night, with no one else around... in another reality it could've been daytime, in another, the private office could've been converted into a regular classroom, and another, it could've been a school event or just a normal class taking place there... and our max just switched places with them with another max, who just happen to be in that very exact spot. think it's called spatial transposition or something. we've seen it in the game all the time... it's why max stays in place whenever she uses her "rewind" powers and doesn't go actually "time-travel" like she did at the very beginning of the game or through the pictures
But then why the death and chaos? If the realities already exist why the drama ? She is not doing anything and Why he spiral in reverse? This was not planned his is retcon. The explenation can make sense but it was definetly not well set up maybe they'll clarify and fix this
This is so wild. So there is infinite amount if alt. realities, shifted in time and also in events (there can be a reality with same time but different events). So there is infinite amount of Maxes, doing different things in realities. Also, Max can not be sure that she returns exactly to the same reality she was from because she sees the events only superficially by some result. So she will never meet the original people after each power usage....
Really interesting theory, also, 3:00 I TOTALLY forgot this scene, I don't even remember it at all, I only played the game once back in like 2016. I'm glade they are making a sequel for Max's story, LIS1 is the only one I liked, 2 was a step down and True Colors had no real choice consequences. Now I do hate an ugly feature the series is known for, at the very least I will avoid it so I can play normally.
@@TheGamingPsychologist if you follow this concept then, in the moment you kill handicapped Chloe due to her suffering, you could just rewind and avoid doing that and go away, in that moment you have both saved and killed Chloe and your conciusness is not called in the cause... I think this actually destroys the concept of letting a determinate choice doing it's course of events... But we don't actually know so you may be right
Soooo. Frank keys If Max jumps from one reality to another, how she still have keys? And so, how alternate reality Frank keys gone missing? Sorry, this theory is interesting but easily debunked
The question of items is an interesting one but the theory is by no means debunked. When Max rewinds time she doesn’t go back to where she came from, she stays in the same spot. People around her would notice a jump as she visibly teleports in front of them but they don’t. The theory of alternative realities - which the game itself explores, makes sense of this paradox.
yes this is wild. The solution would be that Max literally rewinds time in some limited area for example for the whole town, only this could make any sense. The town is so calm, that nobody notice that :D As a result, anomaly in atmospheric pressure caused the storm. This parallel realities makes complete mess where you can not rationalize anything.
