History Headscratchers / PapersPlease

[[folder: Giving your names to a government agent? This won't backfire in any way later!]]* Why do EZIC think it's a good idea to give the names of their revolutionaries to an officer of the Arstotzkan government? It seems a bit stupid to just hope the inspector sympathises with their cause and is willing to betray his country to help them out. I suppose they're giving him money, which would help ''if they told him about it before asking him to break the law''. That's not how bribery works. Hell, if they just bothered to get proper documentation, it wouldn't even be necessary to have to ask an immigrations officer to illegally let them through.[[WhatAnIdiot These guys are the worst conspirators ever.]]

* Why do EZIC think it's a good idea to give the names of their revolutionaries to an officer of the Arstotzkan government? It seems a bit stupid to just hope the inspector sympathises with their cause and is willing to betray his country to help them out. I suppose they're giving him money, which would help ''if they told him about it before asking him to break the law''. That's not how bribery works. Hell, if they just bothered to get proper documentation, it wouldn't even be necessary to have to ask an immigrations officer to illegally let them through.[[WhatAnIdiot These guys are the worst conspirators ever.]]

** In the Soviet Union, there existed a permit system called "Propiska" which kept track of people's movements and applications for residency. Supporters of Propiska said that it allowed them to track criminals and suspects more easily and prevented overcrowding of lower-class dwellings while opponents said that Propiska violated freedom of movement and promoted segregation by excluding people from certain areas. Perhaps the reason why [=EZIC=] agents don't bring Entry Permits is because they don't want to be identified and tracked down by the Ministry of Information.

** This is the case, developer did state that he initially planned to have citations come after a week, but found that the imminent citation worked better, helping the player to recognize when they were slipping up.

** As for those "minor infractions", you're arresting people for forged documents, not documents with incorrect information. It's not as big a deal as terrorism, but it's not exactly a small deal, either.

** Because that stamp of denial tells Jorji this (or at least, this is what I like to think is the meaning): "You're wasting my time with this piece of shit fake passport, holding up the line, costing me time and money to deal with your bullshit. FUCK. OFF."

** He wants proof that he cannot enter, if he gets a slip saying he didn't have papers then his boss will just tell him to get them. If he shows up with papers, and then they are stamped as wrong he has proof he can't enter with the papers he has and will get out of his contract.

** Sergiu, at least, mentions that he fought in the war, and his aim is "not like before", suggesting he may be a ShellShockedVeteran. You don't get to talk to the other guards, but it may be the same case for them.

** Arstotzka has large coastal area which means a number of docks for travel by boat which can a lot faster then travel by land even if it is on the same continent.

** If you're traveling to a new country, it's generally a good idea to get that country's currency to use before you get there, regardless of whether or not you plan on bribing someone. As far as the coinage, why would someone bribe you with coins? Just because you never see Arstotzkan coins doesn't mean they don't exist.
* You'd think that the first time a terrorist jumps over the low wall that the Arstotzkan government would be sensible enough to raise it or at least add barbed wire to deter future attempts. But no. The corruption is so bad that they can't even afford to install barbed wire. Or maybe they're trying to present a better self-image of openness. (High Walls + Barbed Wire = Oppression)

** Alternatively the immigrating Kolechians are either in extremely good standing with the Kolchian Government (and possibly spies, given what Arstotzka has been doing to them) or their permits are forgeries. Really really good forgeries (which is possible, given that Jorji will have one at some point).

** Every member of the family has a different threshold of suffering they can take before getting sick and eventually dying. The son, for example, will get sick after only a single day of hunger, while the uncle can go for a full three days. It is possible that the inspector is simply the most resilient of his family.

** Obristan probably has lower standards for legal age. If you consider this with the fact that the son recently had his birthday, it's possible that he barely reached the required age for carrying a passport in Obristan. Either that or every person wanting to enter Obristan has to have a Passport with no exceptions whatsoever, ''even if the entrant is 10 years or less''.

** Crappy forgeries, of course. Whoever made it didn't think it through.

** It doesnt matter wether they get i or not, they get a good Story. So they probably just dont care.

*** This could be the reason. But they know (assuming the first journalist was denied) that the guard is not letting someone get in without proper papers, especially when they make a point of not having proper papers. Work harder to get the papers, get good forgeries, lie about your purpose when you apply for papers, whatever.. But trying to get in through a press pass is idiocy on the second attempt

** Arstotzka has large coastal area which means a number of docks for travel by boat which can a lot faster then travel by land.

** GameplayAndStorySegregation. You could imagine it that in real life the inspector's actions are reviewd weekly and any discrepancies are then deducted from his paycheck. However, this would be incredibly frustrating in the game, so it's abstracted that you get the citations immediately.

** They are foreign journalists trying to enter a faux-Soviet bloc nation. Perhaps they tried getting legit documents and were denied.

* Why don't the journalists go through the trouble of getting the proper documents? Especially the second who tries to enter should know by that point that he or she will be denied.

** Crappy forgeries, of course. Whoever made it didn't think it through.

* Why do expired documents show up which are dated to before documents of that type were even issued? For example, ID supplements were not a part of the customs process until December 5th, 1982, but you'll run into ID supplements that expired on November 28th 1982 and the like.

** Obristan probably has lower standards for legal age. If you consider this with the fact that the son recently had his birthday, it's possible that he barely reached the required age for carrying a passport in Obristan. Either that or every person wanting to enter Obristan has to have a Passport with no exceptions whatsoever, ''even if the entrant is 10 years or less''.

** Obristan probably has lower standards for legal age. If you consider this with the fact that the son recently had his birthday, it's possible that he barely reached the required age for carrying a passport in Obristan. Either that or every person wanting to enter Obristan has to have a Passport without exception, ''even if the entrant is 10 years or less''.

** Obristan probably has lower standards for legal age. If you consider this with the fact that the son recently had his birthday, he barely reached the required age for carrying a passport in Obristan.

** In the Soviet Union, there existed a permit system called "Propiska" which kept track of people's movements and applications for residency. Supporters of Propiska said that it allowed them to track criminals and suspects more easily and prevented overcrowding of lower-class dwellings while opponents said that Propiska violated freedom of movement and promoted segregation by excluding people from certain areas. Perhaps the reason why [=EZIC=] agents don't bring Entry Permits is because they don't want to be identified and tracked down by the Ministry of Information.

* The Inspector's family is five members (himself, wife, son, mother-in-law, and uncle) with four Passports. When the niece is adopted, the size increases to six and there are five Passports. The reason why there are only five Passports is because the son is too young to bear a Passport. Yet, you need ''SIX Passports'' for everyone to escape to Obristan. ''Why does Obristan Immigration require underage minors to carry Passports???''

* The Inspector's family is five members (himself, wife, son, mother-in-law, and uncle) with four Passports. When the niece is adopted, the size increases to six. The reason why there are only four Passports is because the son and niece are too young to bear Passports. Yet, you need ''SIX Passports'' for everyone to escape to Obristan. ''Why does Obristan Immigration require underage minors to carry Passports???''

* When the Inspector tries to save money by not paying for food and heat, only his family will suffer. How is he unaffected by the lack of food and heat?

* Elisa's callous treatment by the Kolechian Government is hypocritical when you consider the fact that some of the generic entrants that you process are ''Kolechian Emigrants''. If they could get the necessary paperwork for leaving Kolechia, why couldn't Elisa get them as well? Is it just bad luck or some other messed-up reason?

* You'd think that the first time a terrorist jumps over the low wall that the Arstotzkan government would be sensible enough to raise it or at least add barbed wire to deter future attempts. But no. The corruption is so bad that they can't even afford to install barbed wire. Or maybe they're trying to present a better self-image of openness. (High Walls + Barbed Wire = Oppression)

* You'd think that the first time a terrorist jumps over the low wall that the Arstotzkan government would be sensible enough to raise it or at least add barbed wire to deter future attempts. But no. The corruption is so bad that they can't even afford to install barbed wire. Or maybe they're trying to present a better self-image of openness (Barbed Wire = Oppression).

* You'd think that the first time a terrorist jumps over the low wall that the Arstotzkan government would be sensible enough to raise it or at least add barbed wire to deter future attempts. But no. The corruption is so bad that they can't even afford to install barbed wire.

* The use of Arstotzkan Credits by foreigners raises some interesting questions. Are all the nations part of a Currency Union with Arstotzka as the strongest economy? Or are Credits the only valid currency when you're inside Arstotzka? On a side note, where's the coinage?