Say Cheese! story explained: Big Media and the park

You work for Big Media as a journalist in Say Cheese!. Your assignment is to spread chaos and panic throughout the park so that everyone stays glued to the news. That demand threatens a peaceful society and sets up the story’s central dilemma: help destroy it, or try to bring people hope.

Why Big Media wants panic

Big Media’s assignment demands an audience of billions, with every person watching the latest news “no matter the cost.” Spreading panic serves that demand for attention.

This puts your employer’s objective in direct conflict with the park’s wellbeing. The park begins as a peaceful society, yet your job explicitly calls for chaos. Following the assignment means helping create the very danger that threatens its inhabitants.

How the park’s television fits the story

A central television sits among the park’s round-headed and square-headed inhabitants. Its reports include a hat-wearing figure under “OOH NICE HAT,” a smiling figure under “WHY IS EVERYONE SMILING?”, and two figures beside a money bag under “WHO PAID THE SCREAMER?”

The wording gives the news its unsettling tone. Even smiling becomes a question for the audience, while “WHO PAID THE SCREAMER?” introduces suspicion through its headline. These broadcasts give a concrete face to the story’s focus on news and attention.

The moral choice facing your journalist

The story asks whether you will carry out Big Media’s destructive assignment or try to change fate and bring hope to everyone. Your employer’s goal and the park’s interests pull you in opposite directions. Understanding that conflict explains why your role matters: the journalist sent into this peaceful community has been hired to undermine its peace.

Where the story’s premise comes from

The game’s own page states that Say Cheese! is based off We Become What We Behold by Nicky Case, so the media-and-attention premise behind the park’s story comes from that earlier work. If you’re new to the game itself, the Say Cheese! how-to-play guide walks through the basics of playing.