Chapalapachapa
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2024
female mc, hard fucking pass
Disco Elysium - Insane Drunken Cop Simulator RPG GotY 2019
- Thread starter Secret Asshole
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2021
It's a visual novel with some RPG elements, and it would be improved by not having gear with attributes.
Which is a particular flavor, but still.
You could take what it does well in the storytelling/presentation field and pair it with something like Shadowrun Returns-style combat and have a satisfying narrative-choice RPG paired with something that has meat on its bones, but I think that's beyond most of the field at-current.
Oh, as to why it gets the praise - tankies don't realize this game is calling them retarded incels lol, because that reveal is towards the very end of the game and if you don't read metanarrative (or frankly, read in general), you miss that his presentation isn't supposed to be forlorn or noble, but rather pathetic. In the early-game and middle-game, it's easy to get a sense that the game is lionizing communism (especially if you don't do the mind-cabinet thing that makes fun of you for thinking you're the one who's really going to make it work).
The retarded fans don't realize that presenting those pro-communist sentiments in the same breath as "I want every penny ever minted" "Why don't we all just get along" and "Me hate women" as plausible solutions is calling them stupid and retarded. They see that you can select "worker's rights!! YEAH MAN WORKER'S RIGHTS LET'S ALL STOP WORKING FOREVER!" and go 'wow finally a game where I can play myself,' missing the fact that Harry's interpretations of political ideology are all extremely shallow and vapid, which he can swap between at any time as if they were fashion.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2024
And as if the D-man wasn't enough, the other communists there seem to be outright comical figures, who fail to deliver the thought to the masses for who is the ideology intended. It's the book club of two students, who don't seem to work and are so strict in their gatekeeping, that the only person who visits their club room, is one Cindy who uses it as her studio. Whatever they are trying to convey, is drowned in academia jargon no average working Revacholian has chance to understand, and the description of their magazine sounds like a leftist meme.
The conclusion of the communist quest was intended to show, that the leftist thoughts can provide some hope and promise of a future for people who think there is none, but the realization falls flat.
In Sacred and Terrible air, their (former) communist figure is some pathetic wrecked Meth-hew whose teeth had crumbled away and who desperately wants to erase himself from existence, wants to dissolve in Pale so he can meet his teen crushes, and is accompanied with an imaginary friend or a ghost of soviet-like mass murderer.
The conclusion of the communist quest was intended to show, that the leftist thoughts can provide some hope and promise of a future for people who think there is none, but the realization falls flat.
In Sacred and Terrible air, their (former) communist figure is some pathetic wrecked Meth-hew whose teeth had crumbled away and who desperately wants to erase himself from existence, wants to dissolve in Pale so he can meet his teen crushes, and is accompanied with an imaginary friend or a ghost of soviet-like mass murderer.
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2022
Exactly. He's only using politics as a distraction and a coping mechanism. The point of the political quests is that Harry's desperately latching onto something that will "win her back". Ultimately when you tell his ex that you're rich now, or you're fighting for the working class, or you're going to save Revakhol, she tells you none of that matters to her, it's over. Ideology can't make her love him again. It's especially apparent in the fascist quest which beats you over the head with the fact that all of the fascists are coping. Gary is poor, René never confessed, the racist lorrydriver is dissatisfied with his appearance (literally an incel that thinks fascism will get him a government-mandated wöman), and Measurehead has a fetish for "inferior" Kojiko babes and likes their morally lax sexual promiscuity. It's my favorite quest because it's barely a critique of politics, it's about men and women, and how often a political label is just a smokescreen for insecurity. The conclusion is that love is dead and you have to suffer your loneliness with dignity (for Revachol).
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2020
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2022
I won't paraphrase-
But yeah, he does say that. I also believe him when he says he likes it.
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2020
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2023
Stupid thought, but do you think this game would have gotten more or less praise if it came out in the 2000s? like CRPGs and a focus on replayability was a lot more normal in the 2000s, while it was seen as so amazing when it did come out because most other games did suck that badly
it feels more real than any other city in any other video game
great point, it was probably the most "realized" world gamers have seen in the last decade, very few original IPs were coming out by the time it released and this game practically dripfed an entire wiki worth of events that happened before the story that helped form the city. Every artsy fucking movie and tv show set in NYC says "the city is a character" and this is one of the best examples of that in a video game. the monuments to the craters to the jobs and bureaucracy has an explanation based on history that all manage to bend around to fucking over the current citizens.
it feels more real than any other city in any other video game
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2024
From a Reddit thread, copying it here in case the Pale takes it from there too. https://www.reddit.com/r/DiscoElysium/comments/1jpj0vc/the_plot_of_x7/
Slayer-Knight
The plot of X7
Scoured through the video, zooming in and reading on as much as I could from blurry images. This is what I got. Keep in mind that some of the details in the story are tentative and were still work in progress so some of it is just posed as a suggestion for the plot rather than an absolute.
Act I - The Murder - Martinaise
Martinaise is still on strike. This is supposed to be inferred by the player through environmental clues. Mañana is still "an agent" of the union.
For some reason that I couldn't really see, Cuno and Cunoesse "brutally murder" Cuno's father, also referred to as "The Beast". It seems that they were trying to escape, but they were being blocked by Cuno's father "relentless pursuit". The murder witnessed by Mañana, which prompts the kids to flee Martinaise and head for Cunoesse's homeland, Hämärä Maa.
All along the journey Cuno seems to experience what they call Locust Dream sequences, which are analogue to Harry's dream sequences.
Act II - The Escape - Jamrock Central
They arrive to Jamrock Central, a train station, by having walked all the way there. They need to get two tickets to board the train, or otherwise smuggle one of them in a pet carrier. They can also steal a ticket from an NPC called Petit Hercule, another kid. Or use Hercule to have him steal a ticket for them from somebody else. Or actually collect enough money to buy the tickets. Bottom-line is they need at least one ticket. If they fail the objective of getting the tickets, there is a failsafe where they would both need to jump onto the moving train, which will incur in "critical penalties"
Originally, Cunoesse arrived to Revachol as a stowaway on the train they want to board, so Cunoesse is basically trying to retrace her steps to lead them back to Hamara Maa, her homeland. But she is illiterate, and needs Cuno to connect the dots between what she remembers and the geographical locations. (Who knows how literate Cuno is to do this lol)
Act III - The Journey - Azure Sans-Detour
Getting out of Jamrock Central they board a train on which they will have to be in it for 3 days. Cunoesse wants the train to stop close to a point where she knows it's closest to the destination of her homeland. But this point on the route is in the middle of two stations, so apparently they have to convince the train operator to use the emergency brake, or if they cannot do that, jump from the train while in motion.
Act IV - The Doubt - Rhone Treville (Royal) Penal Colony
Couldn't really make out anything from the text here; too zoomed out. But one of the endings, the Pale Ending, seems to propose that, if Cunoesse dies during the events of Act V, Cuno can come back to this place, although he finds it deserted. They say something about the prison having "finally moved"? So it is not clear to me exactly what kind of place is this.
Act V - The Arrival - Breach Atoll / Hamara Maa
Cunoesse brought Cuno to her native homeland to try to use him as a replacement for the kid Cunoesse killed (Jaakko), three years prior. It would seem that Cuno's similarities to Jaakko are very superficial. They are both kids, they both have red hair. That's about it. It says on the Story Overview "Only a child's mind would come up with a plan to replace the dead kid with an 'identical' one so she'd be accepted back in her tribe." The devs propose that maybe Cunoesse hid the body of Jaakko and so nobody could definitively say that Cuno isn't Jaakko. Also the people thought that Cunoesse had died along with Jaakko.
There seems to be a "coming-of-age" ceremony held by the Suru (Cunoesse's people). A "Naming ceremony". They say perhaps this ceremony doesn't happen until kids are 10 years old, which is why Cunoesse would undertake the ceremony. Cunoesse wants to undergo the ceremony, I think so that she is accepted back into her tribe. She lures Cuno into this ceremony as well in order for him to get named too, and one of the paths would seem to be that Cuno gets "brainwashed" and completely accepts his new identity as Jaakko.
Ending 1 - Jaakko Ending
Cuno assimilates Jaakko's identity through the ceremony ritual. No more "Cuno-sentences". Cuno shows as diving with other Hamaran boys, being one of them now.
Ending 2 - Pale Ending
Cunoesse is somehow dead. Cuno heads back to what seems to be the place of Act IV's events, Treville. The prison that was there has somehow moved. He finds somebody named "the prisoner" and waits with him indefinitely. Fade to white and roll credits.
Ending 3 - Bad Ending
No apparent description. Both kids are dead.
Ending 4 - Cycle Ending
Cuno somehow dies. It seems that Cunoesse kills Cuno herself, because they mention her going "into another murder hangover". Cunoesse's plan is foiled and she must exile herself from her Hamara.
Ending 5 - New Tribe Ending
No apparent description. Both Cuno and Cunoesse are alive
I think that's about it. Write in the comments if there is anything else you caught. There is much more to talk about, like the skills, or the characters presented, but at least this is an overview of the plot that would have happened in X7.
Act I - The Murder - Martinaise
Martinaise is still on strike. This is supposed to be inferred by the player through environmental clues. Mañana is still "an agent" of the union.
For some reason that I couldn't really see, Cuno and Cunoesse "brutally murder" Cuno's father, also referred to as "The Beast". It seems that they were trying to escape, but they were being blocked by Cuno's father "relentless pursuit". The murder witnessed by Mañana, which prompts the kids to flee Martinaise and head for Cunoesse's homeland, Hämärä Maa.
All along the journey Cuno seems to experience what they call Locust Dream sequences, which are analogue to Harry's dream sequences.
Act II - The Escape - Jamrock Central
They arrive to Jamrock Central, a train station, by having walked all the way there. They need to get two tickets to board the train, or otherwise smuggle one of them in a pet carrier. They can also steal a ticket from an NPC called Petit Hercule, another kid. Or use Hercule to have him steal a ticket for them from somebody else. Or actually collect enough money to buy the tickets. Bottom-line is they need at least one ticket. If they fail the objective of getting the tickets, there is a failsafe where they would both need to jump onto the moving train, which will incur in "critical penalties"
Originally, Cunoesse arrived to Revachol as a stowaway on the train they want to board, so Cunoesse is basically trying to retrace her steps to lead them back to Hamara Maa, her homeland. But she is illiterate, and needs Cuno to connect the dots between what she remembers and the geographical locations. (Who knows how literate Cuno is to do this lol)
Act III - The Journey - Azure Sans-Detour
Getting out of Jamrock Central they board a train on which they will have to be in it for 3 days. Cunoesse wants the train to stop close to a point where she knows it's closest to the destination of her homeland. But this point on the route is in the middle of two stations, so apparently they have to convince the train operator to use the emergency brake, or if they cannot do that, jump from the train while in motion.
Act IV - The Doubt - Rhone Treville (Royal) Penal Colony
Couldn't really make out anything from the text here; too zoomed out. But one of the endings, the Pale Ending, seems to propose that, if Cunoesse dies during the events of Act V, Cuno can come back to this place, although he finds it deserted. They say something about the prison having "finally moved"? So it is not clear to me exactly what kind of place is this.
Act V - The Arrival - Breach Atoll / Hamara Maa
Cunoesse brought Cuno to her native homeland to try to use him as a replacement for the kid Cunoesse killed (Jaakko), three years prior. It would seem that Cuno's similarities to Jaakko are very superficial. They are both kids, they both have red hair. That's about it. It says on the Story Overview "Only a child's mind would come up with a plan to replace the dead kid with an 'identical' one so she'd be accepted back in her tribe." The devs propose that maybe Cunoesse hid the body of Jaakko and so nobody could definitively say that Cuno isn't Jaakko. Also the people thought that Cunoesse had died along with Jaakko.
There seems to be a "coming-of-age" ceremony held by the Suru (Cunoesse's people). A "Naming ceremony". They say perhaps this ceremony doesn't happen until kids are 10 years old, which is why Cunoesse would undertake the ceremony. Cunoesse wants to undergo the ceremony, I think so that she is accepted back into her tribe. She lures Cuno into this ceremony as well in order for him to get named too, and one of the paths would seem to be that Cuno gets "brainwashed" and completely accepts his new identity as Jaakko.
Ending 1 - Jaakko Ending
Cuno assimilates Jaakko's identity through the ceremony ritual. No more "Cuno-sentences". Cuno shows as diving with other Hamaran boys, being one of them now.
Ending 2 - Pale Ending
Cunoesse is somehow dead. Cuno heads back to what seems to be the place of Act IV's events, Treville. The prison that was there has somehow moved. He finds somebody named "the prisoner" and waits with him indefinitely. Fade to white and roll credits.
Ending 3 - Bad Ending
No apparent description. Both kids are dead.
Ending 4 - Cycle Ending
Cuno somehow dies. It seems that Cunoesse kills Cuno herself, because they mention her going "into another murder hangover". Cunoesse's plan is foiled and she must exile herself from her Hamara.
Ending 5 - New Tribe Ending
No apparent description. Both Cuno and Cunoesse are alive
I think that's about it. Write in the comments if there is anything else you caught. There is much more to talk about, like the skills, or the characters presented, but at least this is an overview of the plot that would have happened in X7.
Cassadore
•2 days ago•
About Act IV: I was able to make out a couple of details but also not that much. All I know is that they now arrive at a former penal colony by the coast called Rhone Tréville where they have to find a way to get to the island Hämärä Maa. Just like in act 2 there are several ways to do this like doing a task for an npc which I think is a diver but you can refuse to do the task, so it's probably a morally dubious one. Instead you can also build your own raft or steal someone else’s raft.
The most prominent feature of Tréville is the abandoned prison, which seems to have some kind of narrative importance to Cuno and is also the place he returns to in ending 2.
Ending 2 also mentions a prisoner who still lives at the prison but it's possible you first meet that npc during this chapter and not just in the ending. Based on the title of the chapter "The Doubt" this is the point it also becomes obvious that Cunoesse has some kind of secret plan and is trying to manipulate Cuno into going along with it while not telling him anything about their goal or where they are even going.
Also some more details on Act V: On the island you find out that this is Cunoesse’s original home before she was exiled 3 years ago for drowning another boy called Jaakko, like you wrote. Cunoesse wants to plead to be readmitted into the tribe by "bringing back" the child she killed, that role being filled by Cuno. But it isn’t enough for Cuno to simply pretend to be Jaakko, she wants Cuno to completely forget his true identity and brainwash him into fully believing that he is Jaakko.
For this she wants to do a coming-of-age naming ritual from her tribe together with Cuno which would involve her feeding him the psychedelic bone marrow of a cave fish to induce permanent ego-death in Cuno and then jump into the sea together for an underwater psychedelic trip. She believes that in the end they will emerge from the sea with new names, join her tribe and together they can finally have a safe home at the cost of basically obliterating Cuno's soul.
Of course this is all completely insane and the documents by the devs point out how ridiculous and psychotic (but also in character for Cunoesse) this plan is, but it actually works if you make the right decisions. This ritual is sort of like the tribunal from Disco Elysium and can also end with one or both of them dying probably depending on how resistent Cuno is to Cunoesse's manipulation at this point.
Ending 5 being called new tribe ending could hint at Cunoesse giving up her plan or the ritual not working on Cuno while both survive it which leads to them creating a new home for themselves somewhere else maybe.
Overall a really bleak story even relative to Disco Elysium but what else would you exptect of a game where you control 2 mentally disturbed children. Cuno's identity seems to be at the center of the story, with Cunoesse acting like a manipulative villain trying to destroy his identity while at the same time questioning wether the abstract concept of Cuno is even worth saving.
I think Cuno willingly staying in an abandoned prison after killing Cunoesse is also a metaphor for Cuno’s own mind being like a prison to protect him from his depressing reality. I guess the game would have allowed the player to influence who has the upper hand in this relationship, either building up Cuno's defences against Cunoesse and the world in general or letting Cunoesse break down Cuno's ego over the course of the story in the hope that she can "save" him.
The most prominent feature of Tréville is the abandoned prison, which seems to have some kind of narrative importance to Cuno and is also the place he returns to in ending 2.
Ending 2 also mentions a prisoner who still lives at the prison but it's possible you first meet that npc during this chapter and not just in the ending. Based on the title of the chapter "The Doubt" this is the point it also becomes obvious that Cunoesse has some kind of secret plan and is trying to manipulate Cuno into going along with it while not telling him anything about their goal or where they are even going.
Also some more details on Act V: On the island you find out that this is Cunoesse’s original home before she was exiled 3 years ago for drowning another boy called Jaakko, like you wrote. Cunoesse wants to plead to be readmitted into the tribe by "bringing back" the child she killed, that role being filled by Cuno. But it isn’t enough for Cuno to simply pretend to be Jaakko, she wants Cuno to completely forget his true identity and brainwash him into fully believing that he is Jaakko.
For this she wants to do a coming-of-age naming ritual from her tribe together with Cuno which would involve her feeding him the psychedelic bone marrow of a cave fish to induce permanent ego-death in Cuno and then jump into the sea together for an underwater psychedelic trip. She believes that in the end they will emerge from the sea with new names, join her tribe and together they can finally have a safe home at the cost of basically obliterating Cuno's soul.
Of course this is all completely insane and the documents by the devs point out how ridiculous and psychotic (but also in character for Cunoesse) this plan is, but it actually works if you make the right decisions. This ritual is sort of like the tribunal from Disco Elysium and can also end with one or both of them dying probably depending on how resistent Cuno is to Cunoesse's manipulation at this point.
Ending 5 being called new tribe ending could hint at Cunoesse giving up her plan or the ritual not working on Cuno while both survive it which leads to them creating a new home for themselves somewhere else maybe.
Overall a really bleak story even relative to Disco Elysium but what else would you exptect of a game where you control 2 mentally disturbed children. Cuno's identity seems to be at the center of the story, with Cunoesse acting like a manipulative villain trying to destroy his identity while at the same time questioning wether the abstract concept of Cuno is even worth saving.
I think Cuno willingly staying in an abandoned prison after killing Cunoesse is also a metaphor for Cuno’s own mind being like a prison to protect him from his depressing reality. I guess the game would have allowed the player to influence who has the upper hand in this relationship, either building up Cuno's defences against Cunoesse and the world in general or letting Cunoesse break down Cuno's ego over the course of the story in the hope that she can "save" him.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2024
On Tumblr, user Parasolemn was even more successful in reading the blurry text from video, this is a transcript with some words missing. I will fix the formatting later, if I still will be able to.
X7 Acts 1-3
note: all things i am uncertain about are now in italicised square brackets bc they were bothering me
I encourage everyone to look at the screenshots or video themselves to see if they can read something themselves more accurately than I have. (Video has been removed via copyright strike from ZA/UM, however drive links are available.)
(Updated as at 5/04/2025 at 10AM AEST)
Size: Small Playtime: ~1 hour Energy: High Emotional tone: Panic & Survival 30% Talking; 70% Action 30% Comedy; 70% Darkness
"The first Act introduces Locust City's protagonists, Cuno and Cunoesse. The game starts inside Cuno's subconsciousness, in the special Locust Dream sequence, from which he is violently awakened by his father's abuse. We find Cuno in his living room at the Capeside Apartments, where he must fight to survive Beast de Ruyter's violent rage. Brought to near death by his father's overpowering strength, Cuno is rescued by the [pursuing?] Cunoesse, but their escape attempt is thwarted by the Beast's relentless pursuit. Finally, the children are cornered into brutally murdering Cuno's father on the Capeside boat dock.
The act is witnessed by the [urgent?] Call Me Mañana, frightening the children into fleeing Martinaise for good. Cunoesse sets the destination: Hämärä Maa, her ancestral land, thus setting the events of the game in motion. Lastly, before moving on, the player needs to go back and explore Cuno's apartment to collect a few key items before setting off on their journey. (See the Miro board for a detailed overview and storyboard.)"
Player experience
Summary
Size: Medium Playtime: ~2 hours Energy: Medium Emotional tone: Impatience & Paranoia 70% Talking; 30% Action 50% Comedy; 50% Darkness
Themes (top to bottom, left to right): BLUE: Being in transit; Clocks ticking; Neither here nor there; Maps, networks; Wanting to leave, not being able to; Running from your past; People who live in between places [The in-between economy] -> (Yellow) Beggars, homeless PINK: The "strong" vs. the weak; Cushioned childhood vs. street childhood; Loss of childhood naïvete GREEN: Guilt; Paranoia; Looking over your shoulder; Being bound in blood; Depending on each other
"The Second Act finds the children arriving at Jamrock Central station, having walked all the way from Martinaise. It is 07:30 in the morning, and Cunoesse insists they must board the 14:44 train to June Cite.
Time at the station is limited, and there are several progression paths through the area. If the kids can obtain two train tickets, they can board legally, or otherwise smuggle one another in a pet carrier, potentially create a diversion (?) or, if all else fails, leap aboard the departing train, likely losing health, inventory supplies, etc. During their time at the Station, the kids notice they are being followed by Petit Hercule, an impressionable little schoolboy whose naïve nature can be put to good use in stealing one ticket. In the process, it becomes clear that the kid is traveling unsupervised and has one ticket already on him, resulting in Cunoesse urging you to lure him into the men's room and try to mug him, testing your conscience and the power balance between Cuno and Cunoesse. Otherwise, the kids can take up the advice of the Beggar King and begin the painstakingly slow process of scraping together barely enough coins to buy one ticket, thereby receiving an introduction into the game economy system."
Player experience
Size: Large Playtime: ~3 hrs Energy: Low Emotional tone: Mundanity & Temporary Relief 90% Talking; 10% Action 80% Comedy; 20% Darkness
Themes (anything I can read): PINK: Social contrast BLUE: [Deception?] -> Trip as Peter Pan -> Never growing up
"The third Act, entirely aboard the Azure Sans-Détour train line, represents a breather in the tension and a break in the overall darkness. Whether they like it or not, Cuno and Cunoesse have no other option but to stay on this fast-traveling metal tube for three entire days before they've reached their destination, so they might as well make the most of it. The key character of Trip the Train Conductor will serve to induct them into the ephemeral but vibrant social microcosmos of the train, a temporary society on wheels. This is the Act where we have the opportunity to introduce the largest social spectrum of characters, involving the petit bourgeois hops entrepeneurs Vincent & Agnes, wrapped up in a (consensual) love triangle with Trip, as well as other train staff and passengers from social groups Cuno and Cunoesse have never had the chance to interact with before, such as a scientist.(?) This Act will contain another Locust Dream sequence, as well as one-off sequences like the Ghost Station, the Biggest Meal, and Two Kids in a Trenchcoat. The catch of the train journey however, which Cunoesse doesn't tell you until you've already boarded, is that the place where you need to get off the train is actually in between two stations. For this, you're going to have to do Trip's bidding in order to have him pull the emergency brakes on the third day to let you off, or you might have to risk jumping off the moving train to move to the next Act."
Player experience
I encourage everyone to look at the screenshots or video themselves to see if they can read something themselves more accurately than I have. (Video has been removed via copyright strike from ZA/UM, however drive links are available.)
(Updated as at 5/04/2025 at 10AM AEST)
Act 1 - The Murder
SummarySize: Small Playtime: ~1 hour Energy: High Emotional tone: Panic & Survival 30% Talking; 70% Action 30% Comedy; 70% Darkness
"The first Act introduces Locust City's protagonists, Cuno and Cunoesse. The game starts inside Cuno's subconsciousness, in the special Locust Dream sequence, from which he is violently awakened by his father's abuse. We find Cuno in his living room at the Capeside Apartments, where he must fight to survive Beast de Ruyter's violent rage. Brought to near death by his father's overpowering strength, Cuno is rescued by the [pursuing?] Cunoesse, but their escape attempt is thwarted by the Beast's relentless pursuit. Finally, the children are cornered into brutally murdering Cuno's father on the Capeside boat dock.
The act is witnessed by the [urgent?] Call Me Mañana, frightening the children into fleeing Martinaise for good. Cunoesse sets the destination: Hämärä Maa, her ancestral land, thus setting the events of the game in motion. Lastly, before moving on, the player needs to go back and explore Cuno's apartment to collect a few key items before setting off on their journey. (See the Miro board for a detailed overview and storyboard.)"
Player experience
- Immediate parallel to Disco with the interior psychological opening of the Locust Dream
- The extensive multi-phase animation-driven action sequence between the kids and Cuno's father should give the impression of an ambitious technological upgrade over Disco
- Kicking off the game with a refreshingly faster, more higher-stakes pace, establishing the tonal difference of the story
- The opening Act is necessarily linear in its major outcomes (Beast is murdered, murder is witnessed, kids flee Martinaise) but on a smaller scale, the Player and the roll of their dice can influence the way in which the Beast dies, as well as the inventory, Health and injuries the kids walk away with.
- The more curious Player should understand through environmental storytelling and reading between the lines that the Martinaise strike is still ongoing. Streets are barricaded, and Mañana is still an agent of the Union. The kids might not understand it, but on some level (for any subsequent playthroughs) the Player should understand that Mañana doesn't truly intend to report the children to the cops, he merely wants to get them out of Martinaise because they've witnessed him where he shouldn't be.
- The Player will internalise some of the key gameplay mechanics, character [switching], and refreshed Skill, Inventory, Consumable and Thought Cabinet systems.
Act 2 - The Escape
Summary
Size: Medium Playtime: ~2 hours Energy: Medium Emotional tone: Impatience & Paranoia 70% Talking; 30% Action 50% Comedy; 50% Darkness
Themes (top to bottom, left to right): BLUE: Being in transit; Clocks ticking; Neither here nor there; Maps, networks; Wanting to leave, not being able to; Running from your past; People who live in between places [The in-between economy] -> (Yellow) Beggars, homeless PINK: The "strong" vs. the weak; Cushioned childhood vs. street childhood; Loss of childhood naïvete GREEN: Guilt; Paranoia; Looking over your shoulder; Being bound in blood; Depending on each other
"The Second Act finds the children arriving at Jamrock Central station, having walked all the way from Martinaise. It is 07:30 in the morning, and Cunoesse insists they must board the 14:44 train to June Cite.
Time at the station is limited, and there are several progression paths through the area. If the kids can obtain two train tickets, they can board legally, or otherwise smuggle one another in a pet carrier, potentially create a diversion (?) or, if all else fails, leap aboard the departing train, likely losing health, inventory supplies, etc. During their time at the Station, the kids notice they are being followed by Petit Hercule, an impressionable little schoolboy whose naïve nature can be put to good use in stealing one ticket. In the process, it becomes clear that the kid is traveling unsupervised and has one ticket already on him, resulting in Cunoesse urging you to lure him into the men's room and try to mug him, testing your conscience and the power balance between Cuno and Cunoesse. Otherwise, the kids can take up the advice of the Beggar King and begin the painstakingly slow process of scraping together barely enough coins to buy one ticket, thereby receiving an introduction into the game economy system."
Player experience
- Being thrust into the bustling train station following the gruesome murder should leave the player feeling like a fugitive on the run trapped in limbo, eager to depart but forced to pretend everything is normal.
- The indifferent reality of the train station will provide a contrast to the post-murder emptiness, a reminder that the world is still moving in its tracks. The clocks are still chiming. People are drinking coffee. It's almost insulting. Don't they know someone's world has just come crashing down?
- Time at the station is limited to mere hours, adding to the sense of impatience and pressure to move on, so that the player would not lose momentum after the high-action opening Act and fall into a slump. They are still not safe -- this is no time to relax.
- This Act will challenge the Player's problem-solving abilities, as finding all the ways to gain passage aboard he train will require speaking to a variety of characters and following up on several strategies.
- This Act will also put the Player's motivations at odds with their conscience, presenting them with a layered and difficult choice between Little Hercule and Cunoesse. This confrontation sets up Cunoesse's frightening, manipulative nature.
- The Player will be introduced to Co-operative Checks, the game economy, the map(s), and receive a greater variety of items and consumables to experiment with.
Act 3 - The Journey
SummarySize: Large Playtime: ~3 hrs Energy: Low Emotional tone: Mundanity & Temporary Relief 90% Talking; 10% Action 80% Comedy; 20% Darkness
Themes (anything I can read): PINK: Social contrast BLUE: [Deception?] -> Trip as Peter Pan -> Never growing up
"The third Act, entirely aboard the Azure Sans-Détour train line, represents a breather in the tension and a break in the overall darkness. Whether they like it or not, Cuno and Cunoesse have no other option but to stay on this fast-traveling metal tube for three entire days before they've reached their destination, so they might as well make the most of it. The key character of Trip the Train Conductor will serve to induct them into the ephemeral but vibrant social microcosmos of the train, a temporary society on wheels. This is the Act where we have the opportunity to introduce the largest social spectrum of characters, involving the petit bourgeois hops entrepeneurs Vincent & Agnes, wrapped up in a (consensual) love triangle with Trip, as well as other train staff and passengers from social groups Cuno and Cunoesse have never had the chance to interact with before, such as a scientist.(?) This Act will contain another Locust Dream sequence, as well as one-off sequences like the Ghost Station, the Biggest Meal, and Two Kids in a Trenchcoat. The catch of the train journey however, which Cunoesse doesn't tell you until you've already boarded, is that the place where you need to get off the train is actually in between two stations. For this, you're going to have to do Trip's bidding in order to have him pull the emergency brakes on the third day to let you off, or you might have to risk jumping off the moving train to move to the next Act."
Player experience
- Here we want the Player to relax a little bit and indulge in Cuno & Cunoesse's mischievous and comedic side. The Train is removed enough from both the immediate stress of the murder and from the impending dread of arriving at Hämärä Maa that it is able to have a more lighthearted tone than the rest of the game.
- The Player should feel as though they are really covering ground on their journey, as evidenced by the daily changes to the Train map and the dynamic scrolling background.
- The characters the Player gets to interact with on the Train can be very thematically diverse and unconnected by background or life experience, joined only by this shared journey. These characters can deliver all kinds of stories from all corners of the game world, expanding on Elysium worldbuilding and lore.
- The Man from Jamrock Station throughline will present the players with a parallel plot which bridges the seemingly unconnected locations of Acts 2, 3 and 4.
- The Player should have the freedom to decide how they will navigate the special puzzles of the Train, affecting the fate of Trip and his love affair.
- The location itself should provide enough exploration incentives to keep the limited train space feeling fresh, including gaining access to various cars and compartments, new Orbs and situations appearing every day, and people and luggage changing location daily.
Act 4 - The Doubt
Size: Large Playtime: ~5 hours Energy: Medium Emotional tone: Creeping doubt & feeling like an Outsider 70% Talking; 30% Action 50% Comedy; 50% Darkness
"Arriving in the Fourth Act, Cuno is officially furthest from his home that he's ever been, while Cunoesse is coming nearer to hers than she has been in the years after she escaped, and this [distinction?] is starting to get difficult to ignore. The presence of Hämärä Maa looms over them both, as the fabled archipelago lies just across the bay, across the [...]. Having disembarked from the Train virtually in the middle of nowhere, Cuno and Cunoesse come upon the Rhöne-Tréville (Royal) Penal Colony or the Tréville, but most people call it: a [...] centred around a former Royalist prison-labor camp. Being that geographically [...] to Hämärä Maa, the small community represents the closest point of contact between the archipelago and the world, participating in the trade of goods, legends and the profitable psychedelic marrow of an endemic cave fish. Meeting the locals, the kids will learn about the impending relocation of the surprisingly harmonious community-sustaining prison complex, and the complicated [...] between the coordinate [...] of freedom, imprisonment, community and [reunion? tension?]. They will also begin on their [...] is a growing sense of dread that Cunoesse got herself into something that is much darker and more morbid than he could have expected. In order to progress to Hämärä Maa to find out for themselves, the kids must [...]. [...] they must [...] Cunoesse's half remembered [...] family connections among the marrow traders, some of whom are now in the prison, or they might win their way forward with [...] and sneers, stealing a toy raft from a gang of violent girl children."
Player experience
Size: Medium Playtime: ~2 hrs Energy: High Emotional tone: [...] & Reality-Twisting 60% Talking; 40% Action 30% Comedy; 70% Darkness
"After all the fear and the mayhem, Cuno and Cunoesse are finally there: landing on the shores of Hämärä Maa, their promised shadow-land. Greeted with the sounds of shamanic singing and solemn drums, the kids will catch the locals in the midst of a funeral ceremony, gaining a glimpse into both the cultural practices of the Näkki and the strange and colorful faces of the island's population. The island has changed since Cunoesse has last called it home. Only her impossibly old grandfather remains, and her [sins?]. She knows she must do one last thing before she can plead to be readmitted into her tribe. Under the pretense of a Hämärän naming ceremony, Cunoesse pressures Cuno into ingesting the bone marrow of the psychedelic cave fish. As Cunoesse takes on the role of his fucked-up trip shaman, Cuno grapples with the growing clarity that her goal is deeply sinister: to bind him to herself, or kill them both trying. Cunoesse embraces him and throws them both off a pier, pulling him deep under water, triggering the stylish climax sequence of the game: the Underwater Psychedelic Trip. Reality will [...] as you seemingly sink for an eternity, fighting for your life and your identity as Cunoesse's true intentions come to light - to use the drug to manipulate Cuno into total and irrevocable ego death, and make him believe that he is Jaakko, the boy Cunoesse killed in the caves three years prior. That was her plan all along: to bring Cuno all the way from Martinaise to buy herself passage back into her community by replacing what she has broken. All she needs him to do now in order for her plan to work is to play along, *really* play along, so deeply that he will never recall being someone else ever again. Their showdown under water will determine whether Cuno will let go of his identity in one [...], or if he is willing to kill his other half in order to remain who he is. The Act spins off into up to five possible endings, depending on which one of the kids lives, dies or is brainwashed."
Player experience
"Arriving in the Fourth Act, Cuno is officially furthest from his home that he's ever been, while Cunoesse is coming nearer to hers than she has been in the years after she escaped, and this [distinction?] is starting to get difficult to ignore. The presence of Hämärä Maa looms over them both, as the fabled archipelago lies just across the bay, across the [...]. Having disembarked from the Train virtually in the middle of nowhere, Cuno and Cunoesse come upon the Rhöne-Tréville (Royal) Penal Colony or the Tréville, but most people call it: a [...] centred around a former Royalist prison-labor camp. Being that geographically [...] to Hämärä Maa, the small community represents the closest point of contact between the archipelago and the world, participating in the trade of goods, legends and the profitable psychedelic marrow of an endemic cave fish. Meeting the locals, the kids will learn about the impending relocation of the surprisingly harmonious community-sustaining prison complex, and the complicated [...] between the coordinate [...] of freedom, imprisonment, community and [reunion? tension?]. They will also begin on their [...] is a growing sense of dread that Cunoesse got herself into something that is much darker and more morbid than he could have expected. In order to progress to Hämärä Maa to find out for themselves, the kids must [...]. [...] they must [...] Cunoesse's half remembered [...] family connections among the marrow traders, some of whom are now in the prison, or they might win their way forward with [...] and sneers, stealing a toy raft from a gang of violent girl children."
Player experience
- [...] begin to suspect we are approaching a sinister [...] with the things we've been avoiding all along.
- [...] more and more about Hämärä Maa [...] borders of a bad neighbourhood, like walking alone at [...] realising your GPS is leading you in the direction of [...] you've realised way too late to do anything about it.
- [...] are more frightening if they are unseen. Hearing [...] tales about Hämärä Maa before we've had [...] establish what's there will build up the sense of dread [...] for the game's climax location.
- [...] for the later endgame where Cuno breaks free of the bond.
- The power balance between Cuno, Cunoesse and the player's conscience will again be tested as Cunoesse urges Cuno to brutally fight one of the Tréville girls in order to steal her raft.
- The small self-sustaining community will present the player with the opportunity to engage with the full set of game systems, including game economy, Thoughts, substances, exploration and multiple-approach problem-solving.
Act 5 - The Arrival
SummarySize: Medium Playtime: ~2 hrs Energy: High Emotional tone: [...] & Reality-Twisting 60% Talking; 40% Action 30% Comedy; 70% Darkness
"After all the fear and the mayhem, Cuno and Cunoesse are finally there: landing on the shores of Hämärä Maa, their promised shadow-land. Greeted with the sounds of shamanic singing and solemn drums, the kids will catch the locals in the midst of a funeral ceremony, gaining a glimpse into both the cultural practices of the Näkki and the strange and colorful faces of the island's population. The island has changed since Cunoesse has last called it home. Only her impossibly old grandfather remains, and her [sins?]. She knows she must do one last thing before she can plead to be readmitted into her tribe. Under the pretense of a Hämärän naming ceremony, Cunoesse pressures Cuno into ingesting the bone marrow of the psychedelic cave fish. As Cunoesse takes on the role of his fucked-up trip shaman, Cuno grapples with the growing clarity that her goal is deeply sinister: to bind him to herself, or kill them both trying. Cunoesse embraces him and throws them both off a pier, pulling him deep under water, triggering the stylish climax sequence of the game: the Underwater Psychedelic Trip. Reality will [...] as you seemingly sink for an eternity, fighting for your life and your identity as Cunoesse's true intentions come to light - to use the drug to manipulate Cuno into total and irrevocable ego death, and make him believe that he is Jaakko, the boy Cunoesse killed in the caves three years prior. That was her plan all along: to bring Cuno all the way from Martinaise to buy herself passage back into her community by replacing what she has broken. All she needs him to do now in order for her plan to work is to play along, *really* play along, so deeply that he will never recall being someone else ever again. Their showdown under water will determine whether Cuno will let go of his identity in one [...], or if he is willing to kill his other half in order to remain who he is. The Act spins off into up to five possible endings, depending on which one of the kids lives, dies or is brainwashed."
Player experience
- We want a sense of culmination in every way -- the culmination the journey, of finally getting to see what Hämärä Maa is truly like and what Cunoesse truly is.
- This should be a streamlined sequence, funneling the player [seamlessly] towards the end. We want the player to be unable to [...] the game once they've landed on Hämärä Maa, similarly to how Harry's story spirals tighter and tighter towards its resolution from the moment he steps onto the Deserter's Island.
- We want the player to feel as if they are performing cultural [...] with an ominous insular community, something like [...] but with degenerate alcoholics instead of tradwives.
- This is where everything we've tried to do over the course of the game comes to count. All the dual-character systems that make the player roleplay as both Cuno & Cunoesse, all the story beats that make the player internalise their respective stakes, all the emotional connection to this feral superorganism, if we can make the player feel like we're making them choose between two halves of themselves, we've achieved what we set out to do. If they feel torn apart, agonized over their choices, we've won.
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2023
Are they kidding with this? Did anyone want a Cuno spinoff? What would be so wrong with making a new character whom you don't already hate going into the game instead of making me play as this terrible one? Just any other street kid in this setting and I would not have instantly hated it; the final act concept is alright, it just doesn't seem like there's all that much happening on the way there.
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2024
Apparently it wasn't meant to be a fun game that is likable, but a game that "had to be made" which is still better, than if they based a game on fanservice - as long as the authors are able to convey their thoughts so it makes sense to the reader. (The book alone failed at that)
Tbh, the Cuno ending in DE was surprisingly rewarding, I just couldn't bring myself to play it in my 1st playthrough and had to leave it for later. He had tuned the preemptive hostility down a bit there, so he was more tolerable. Any other street kid wouldn't be nice and likable anyway, that would make them an easy victim.
The description of railway station scene with the time limit makes me anxious just from reading tho.
Tbh, the Cuno ending in DE was surprisingly rewarding, I just couldn't bring myself to play it in my 1st playthrough and had to leave it for later. He had tuned the preemptive hostility down a bit there, so he was more tolerable. Any other street kid wouldn't be nice and likable anyway, that would make them an easy victim.
The description of railway station scene with the time limit makes me anxious just from reading tho.
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- Joined
- Aug 11, 2020
I would have liked a Cuno game. Cuno and Cunoesse were some of the most memorable parts of it to me, especially as you try to figure out what happened with Cunoesse. Detective Cuno was kino, too.
Not sure what they were doing was what I wanted, tho.
wtfNeedSignUp
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2019
What the fuck did I read? Can't street brats be street brats rather than some magical beings?
What does that even mean?
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2024
Those are likely just their ''Finnish'' immigrants from different isola, who had ended up on an isolated archipelago long time ago for some reason (say, to hide before the war or the tzaraath) and make their living by selling fish psychedelics and use their children to hunt for them. Why the Moralintern did not deal with them yet, stays a mystery, but maybe they are their customers.
Considering IRL exist places like pedo paradise Pitcairn in Oceania, this doesn't sound that weird.
God of Nothing
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2016
good, sad lads
now excuse me, i have to bring myself to play through the rest of the game while i still feel bored enough but not too bored to quit
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2019
I wouldn't exactly be surprised if Moralintern just saw the whole thing as beneath them because there's no other things of value to extract out of them.
God of Nothing
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2016
Well, that was interesting.
Friendship ended with Kim after I super spirit cop firebombed the mercs and dodged a bullet, now the Cuno is my boy.
he was a zipperhead, you see
he was a zipperhead, you see
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2024
That was quite a painful part (it was peak covid lockdown time back then and Kim was my FRIEND), so it went over my head, how can one's vision turn triple, when he's only got two eyes.
And wtf coinslot even means? I know it's how is called when one doesn't wear a belt and part of their ass crack is visible, but KK doesn't seem to be the case. Boy just can't use normal words and speaks their urban dictionary phrases and idioms all the time.
And wtf coinslot even means? I know it's how is called when one doesn't wear a belt and part of their ass crack is visible, but KK doesn't seem to be the case. Boy just can't use normal words and speaks their urban dictionary phrases and idioms all the time.
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2020