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 ”Welcome, one and all, to the Zodiac Race. Or rather, the Zodiac Trial. You all live your lives with the awareness of animals. You go about, day to day, without a care in the world. Peacefully moving onwards, never stopping back to reflect or apologize for your sins. You all deserve a chance to be punished. You all must be tried. So this is what we're doing today. A Zodiac Trial...” *** The Zodiac Trial is a visual novel game created and released by a developer going by the name of Themis. Originally a mystery story, the creator decided to convert their already written story into a visual novel, changing the plot considerably to better suit the new format. It released originally in January 2021, and is the first game in the 'Shuffled Deck Collection'. It tells the tale of twelve people who wake to find themselves in an unfamiliar school, with unfamiliar collars around their necks, and an unfamiliar masked man telling them that they'll have to play a game if they want to survive... stop me if you've heard this one before.  Like most VNs in this genre, The Zodiac Trial has a branching network of routes and many, many different endings to find- over 50 (!!!) to be exact. There was thread participation when it came to making big decisions, both in terms of what paths we headed down and the important decisions that arose along the route. This LP covers every ending in the game- upon reaching the best ending for a path, if we had managed to avoid any bad endings along the way, the post route bonus update would be where those were shown off, before we moved to the next. There is also some additional bonus content upon completing the game that the LP covered, though I won't say what it entails in this intro post as it could be considered spoilers (for that purpose, probably best to not scroll all the way through the Table of Contents, either ).If you want to purchase the game for yourself and support the creator, the Steam page can be found here! (Warning: page may contain spoilers!)                                                                                                                        
Mix. fucked around with this message at 21:40 on Nov 5, 2023 |
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Sep 22, 2022 22:10
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  Mouse: Our protagonist. A college student studying law, and seemingly the youngest of the participants. Although somewhat put off by some of the more eccentric participants, she often does her best to hear people out and often doesn't take things at face value- as well as putting in the effort to uncover the truth behind whatever she encounters. Has the ability to manually disengage from her sense of fear at will. Her father was the defense attorney in the trial that would result in Aaron Morris' death, but because her father died from illness between the sentencing and the present day, she seems to have been brought in to serve as his replacement. Her animal ability is Sneaky Ride, which lets her select another animal and move the same number of spaces (in the same direction) that they do that turn. Her designated personality is 'Clever'.  Ox: The man who was in the same room as Mouse at the start of the Zodiac Trial. Polite yet reserved, he manages to keep a cool head even when faced with the perils the group finds themselves in. He is a prosecutor, and was the lead prosecutor in the trial that would result in Aaron Morris' death. His animal ability is Stampede, which lets him move to the space behind the animal currently in first place.  Tiger: A tall, athletic woman who woke up in the same room as Bunny. She always does her best to keep everyone's spirits up. Seems to be the only one excited about the game in question, specifically because it's 'a once-in a lifetime experience'- to the rest of the group's confusion. She is an Olympic athlete, and was in the offices of Amadeus Bowen the day he was murdered, resulting in her being called as a witness during the trial. Her animal ability is Dive, which lets her instantly move to the nearest river.  Bunny: An upbeat man who woke up in the same room as Tiger. He seems to do his best to be optimistic- but can also give off a feeling of unreliability, due to his desire to stay on everyone's good side causing him to shift stances at the drop of a hat. He is a police officer, and was who initially arrested Aaron Morris for the murder of Amadeus Bowen. His animal ability is Lucky Bounce, which moves him either 1, 2, or 3 spaces forward at random.  Dragon: A loud, irritable woman with a dangerous aura who woke up in the same room as Snake. Dragon has a short temper, but her fighting skills back that up in a way that makes it clear to the others to not mess with her- though occasionally, shimmers of a softer side peek through when she lets down her guard. She does not know why she is in the death game, as she seems to have no connection to Amadeus Bowen or Aaron Morris- at least, not that she knows of... Her animal ability is Dragon Breath, which lets her breath fire on a lane, preventing that person from being able to move for the next 3 turns.  Snake: A smug, intelligent man who woke up in the same room as Dragon. Often saying insightful yet provocative things to get under the others' skin, he seems to be more fascinated with the logic behind the game than remaining safe throughout it- and has already thought several steps ahead when it comes to taking action. He is an artist, and was in the offices of Amadeus Bowen the day he was murdered, resulting in him being called as a witness during the trial. His animal ability is unknown.  Horse: A towering man who woke up in the same room as Sheep. The biggest and brawniest of the group, Horse says little and tries to stay out of the way as much as he can, though his calm demeanor does little to shake the impression that he's been through a lot more than he lets on. He works for a construction company, and was doing work on a nearby building when the murder took place; while he spoke to the police about seeing Aaron Morris leaving, he was not called as a witness. His animal ability is Steady Gallop, which lets him move 3 spaces forward.  Sheep: A timid, anxious woman who woke up in the same room as Horse. While not a complete pushover, Sheep still struggles to make her voice heard and often ends up going with the group on things to avoid confrontation. Currently works as a librarian, but she used to be the secretary for Amadeus Bowen, and her testimony was vital evidence for the trial. Her animal ability is Sweet Sleep, which does nothing the turn she uses it but doubles the amount of moves she can make the following round.  Monkey: A calm and purposeful woman who woke up in the same room as Rooster, and also happens to be Mouse's therapist. She often finds herself mediating between some of the more outspoken personalities in the group, and does her best to remind people to take a breath when it seems like their emotions are too much to bear. She was Brian Morris' therapist, too, but her attempts to help him process his anger over his father's death backfired and only served to make him angrier- causing him to retaliate in turn. Her animal ability is Monkey See, Monkey Do which allows her to use any ability used the previous round as if it was her own.  Rooster: A loud, idiotic, vain man who woke up in the same room as Monkey. An actor who, in his own words, 'is up and coming with plenty of adoring fans'... though none of the other participants seem to have even heard of him. He often finds himself tripping over his own words when dealing with the rest of the group, who are often much less interested in humoring him. He was also in the building the day of the murder, but his connection was only that he and Aaron Morris passed each other in the hallway, and thus he was not called on as a witness. His animal ability is Encouraging Crow, which lets him move another animal 4 spaces forward.  Dog: A sardonic, disaffected man who woke up in the same room as Pig. He puts on a cool, nonplussed attitude when it comes to the game, though how much of that is genuine and how much of that is him attempting to fly under the radar so he can slack off has yet to be determined. Currently owns a bar, which has led to him picking up stray bits of information just from listening to his patrons talk. This bar was the same one where Bowen's master card was stolen seemingly by Aaron Morris, so his testimony to the events of that night were the cornerstone of the prosecution's case against Aaron Morris. His animal ability is Rabid Leap, which lets him leap over the closest animal in front of him (while keeping the same number of spaces between them, so if he's 2 spaces behind them he jumps so he is 2 spaces ahead of them, if he's 4 behind he jumps so he's 4 ahead, etc).  Pig: An awkward yet chatty woman who woke up in the same room as Dog. Her emotions often get the best of her and she's usually the first to raise an objection the moment things go wrong, but despite all that she's... probably somewhat reliable, right? She is an online journalist who wrote several sensational articles about the case and trial. Her animal ability is Loser's Desperation, which lets her move one space forward for every person ahead of her.  The Jade Emperor: The mastermind who assembled the twelve participants of the Zodiac Trial. Believed to be Brian Morris, son of Aaron Morris, a man charged with murder and executed several years ago, putting on this death game to punish those who were in some way involved with the case that would result in his father's death... Aaron Morris: A man who was arrested and charged with the murder of Amadeus Bowen, the well-known CEO of an entertainment company- and his employer. Was given the death penalty, which has already been carried out. Amadeus Bowen: A very influential man who was the CEO of an entertainment company. Was murdered several years ago, with his body found hidden in the safe in his office. Oliver Bowen: The Chief of Police, and Amadeus Bowen's brother. Mix. fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Sep 28, 2022 |
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Sep 22, 2022 22:10
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[BGM: Rat's Awakening]   Do you believe in destiny? Huh? Where did that come from? Just humor me. Do you believe in destiny? Uh, I guess that depends on what you mean. Perhaps I should ask in a less obtuse way. Do you believe that your future is fated, bound to happen no matter what? Of course not! The only one in charge of my life is me and me alone! Hm. Well, I for one disagree. The belief that we have any control over what will happen is simply the arrogance of humans. I suppose you would call me a 'predeterminist.' I'm not familiar with the term. Basically, it's the belief that since everything in the past already exists, and everything in the world moves on a cause-and-effect basis, everything in the future has to happen. The world's deck is shuffled, as it were, and all that's left is to deal out the cards, one by one. Any semblance of 'free will' that we have, well, it's more of a coping mechanism than anything else. Your genes and history were decided without your input, and like it or not, those two factors really make the decisions. drat. That's a bleak way of looking at things. I actually think of it as a good thing. Whether or not I'm 'in control' of myself doesn't really matter to me. I'd easily trade that away for the benefits 'predetermination' provides. Benefits? Another question: have you ever heard of Laplace's Demon? Actually, seeing as you hadn't even heard of 'predestination', I suppose the answer is rather obvious. Laplace's Demon is a hypothetical created by Pierre-Simon Laplace in 1814. This Demon of his is quite the clever creature: it knows the precise location and moment of every single atom in the whole wide universe. As if that wasn't enough, this demon's so clever that based on the information it has, it can predict where those atoms were and where they'll go. If this Demon really existed, it could accurately recount every single historic event, regardless of location or time period. And, if it existed, it could predict every single thing that was yet to come with 100% accuracy. I'm not seeing those benefits you were talking about. Well, obviously this example is extreme. But in a more controlled setting, geniuses can function much like Laplace's Demon. Through careful analysis of the past, of cause and effect, probable futures can be gleaned. Think... Think... Humans are no more than fleshy wind-up toys. Think... Think... Peer into the coding, the innermost mechanics, the clockwork within their minds. Think... Think... Become a demon. Play with toys. Control the future.… [BGM: Silence]  Ugh... drat, my head aches. It's like I can hear a blaring noise, just ringing and ringing. Make it stop, shut it up. This noise, it's so real... it is real! Opening my eyes, I find that I can actually see again. Moving my legs, I find that I can actually spread them apart again! The pain in my muscles as I start to stretch out is just a reminder that I'm no longer tied up, no longer blinded and gagged. The ringing stops, seemingly done its purpose of waking me up. I can see and yet.. My vision is still obscured. What's that feeling on my face? In an instant, I realize that I'm wearing a mask. What the hell? Quickly, I start trying to pull it off. As I struggled with it, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to remove it, but after a strong yank that fear subsided. [BGM: Bullfighter]  What on earth is this... is this a mouse mask? It was made of cheap plastic, something you'd find in the bargain bin of a costume shop. There was no hole for your mouth or ears or anything, just two small ones you can see through in its big, cartoonish eyes, and one in its neck so you can put it over your head. But wait, why was I struggling to yank it off? It was attached to something on my neck. Something's on my neck. The next thing I noticed was the cold, metallic, heavy necklace that must have been wrapped around my neck. Again, my hands rushed to try to yank it off, but this time it was to no avail. I couldn't get a good look at it, but something metallic and heavy was strapped to my neck.  After the shock of these rapid-fire discoveries and the drowsiness of waking up from my sleep had both worn off, I decided to actually take a look around at my surroundings. I appeared to be in a high school classroom. A science classroom, if I had to guess. What on earth was I doing here? Before I could start thinking about it too much, I realized there was another person in the room with me, awkwardly getting to his feet.  AAAH!Our protagonist is “offscreen” for everything, so I'm simply going to be using this for her dialogue.   Whoa! Who the hell are you?! What on earth are you doing here? How the hell should I know? Because you clearly brought me here! What? No I didn't! Oh really? Well, that's just what someone who did bring me here would say.  I have no idea what we're talking about right now. Don't play games with me! I wake up with a mask over my head in a random classroom, and you expect me to believe that the guy already in the room with me has nothing to do with it? I just woke up here too! In fact, I also woke up with a mask on my head, look! He showed what looked to be the mask of an Ox. It looked to be much in the style of mine. Taking a few breaths to calm myself, I thought through the situation and realized I was being a little quick in judgment to start making accusations. I-I see. So, you really don't have any idea what's going on right now? None. Judging by the circumstances, I can only guess that currently, we're in the same boat. Let me guess, you were randomly assaulted and kidnapped as well? Yeah. Hurt like hell, too.Last night, I was returning back to my apartment. It was late at night, and I was going up the steps when, before I knew what was going on, I felt a massive shock to my back, and my muscles started spasming out of control. In what felt like an instant, a blindfold was around my eyes and a gag was around my mouth. I had just started to recover from what I assume was a taser when my hands were tied around my back. From there, as much as I struggled, I was really just along for the ride. I was dragged for a bit, then I assume I was put in a car or a truck or something. I was on the move for a while, then I wasn't. I was dragged a bit further. It's hard to tell. I was already tired, and the shock took a lot out of me. It's crazy to believe, given the circumstances, but... After a while, I fell asleep. It had been hours of nothing, anyway. I figured if my kidnapper wanted me awake, they'd wake me up. I guess they did.  drat it. Who's the bastard who did all this to me? What gives them the right! Hey, hey, calm down. I get the outrage, but these are the sorts of situations where losing your temper can be deadly. For now, let's just try to figure out what is going on calmly. Yeah, you're right. I've gotta focus. Breathe in, breathe out. There, that's better. Sorry about all of that, I really wasn't acting like myself for a moment there. Totally understandable. Frankly, it's impressive that you managed to calm down at all. It's a good thing you were here to cool me down, otherwise I probably wouldn't have. So, first things first, we should make introductions, right? I'm- Hold on. Huh?  Considering the circumstances, giving out names might not be the best idea. Huh? Why? Well, think about it: we know nothing about each other, we know nothing about where we are, and we know nothing about why we're here. That didn't answer my question. Look, I'm not saying I'm certain it's a bad idea or anything, I'm just saying that there's a chance that we're being monitored or something, and saying our names could backfire somehow. What does that matter? If we're being monitored, it's probably by the people who kidnapped us. And in that case, they should already know our names. Probably, but is there any reason to even risk it? I don't see the use in exchanging names. The use is so we can actually call each other by name instead of just saying 'hey you'. Well if that's the problem, let's just make up some surnames in the meantime. Say, based on these masks we woke up in. Fine. So I guess I'll call you Ox. Sure. And I'll call you Rat. Veto. What? I don't want to be called Rat. Why not? Why not? Because 'rat' is an insult, that's why not. Would you want to be called rat? Fair point, I suppose. Mouse, then. Hmph. I guess that'll have to do. Not what I would've gone with though.[BGM: See No Evil]  So, Ox, what's our plan of attack here? What's the protocol? I'm not sure if there's a 'protocol' for this sort of situation, but I think trying to figure out what's even going on would be a good starting point. Let's analyze the situation. We have to exhaust all of these questions before we can continue. Why were we taken? I can't imagine we were kidnapped for no good reason. Do you have anyone who hates you, any reason to suspect you'd be targeted like this?Was there any good reason that I'd be kidnapped? As much as I'd love to say I was the sort of adventurous girl to have made a dozen criminal enemies in my past, I couldn't think of a single thing even resembling a motive for my kidnapping. I don't know any secrets. I don't have any rich or powerful relatives, at least not to my knowledge. I haven't done anything that would leave someone cursing my name, again, at least not to my knowledge. I was just a student almost out of law school. I was aiming to work as a defense attorney. Now, if I actually had become a defense attorney, well, then there might have been some motivation somewhere. But why target a student? No, no, there were no leads to be found down this line of thinking. Sorry, but I can't really think of anyone who'd have it out for me. Unless we're putting disgruntled law students on the 'Suspect List'. And we're not. Then yeah, I'm fresh out of ideas. What about you, you make any dangerous enemies? Unfortunately, yes. At this point, I've probably made dozens, and none stand out to me, so I can't really use that as a metric to pin anything down. Dozens? Yes, well, it comes with the occupation. … What, what's with the look? Ox... are you a mob boss? What? No! How on earth did you get that sort of impression of me? Well how else would you make so many dangerous enemies at your age? You know what, forget it. This is pointless to talk about : even if we could pin down which one would have it in for me, it doesn't explain why they'd also capture you. Unless... do you happen to know me? Hmm... Now that he mentioned it, he did look very vaguely familiar. But I couldn't place it well enough to say anything for certain. Sorry, but I've got nothing. If there's some connection between us, I can't find it. In that case, it's best to assume that the abductions were semi-arbitrary. Are there any immediate dangers? I'm not sure about that. Although, if I had to say something, this brings me some concern.He gestured to his neck, which I now noticed boasted an incredibly dangerous looking metal contraption. Whoa! What the hell is that? I don't know, but whatever it is, it's around your neck as well. Presumably. I can't actually see what's around mine. It is? Oh crap, you're probably right. Seriously, what the hell is that? Well, it seems to connect to the bottoms of our masks, for one. See, there are these magnetic staps attached which seem to line up with these parts.He tapped on my neck-brace. So, what, these are just to help us wear masks? Seems excessive. I would be surprised if that was their only purpose. There's a variety of other uses they might have. For instance, they might have microphones or speakers installed. There's probably some sort of tracking device embedded which gives away our location. And if I were to wager a bet, there's probably some way of remotely killing us with these. REMOTELY KILLING US?!I started struggling with the necklace, seeing if I could pull it off. Hey, calm down! I don't think whoever put those on would be so kind as to let them be pulled off by force like that. Calm down?! You know, for someone who claims to be in the same position as me, you sure seem pretty chill about the possibility of your own death. Obviously, death is the worst case scenario, but that has no bearing on how I should act right now. Really, I'm just being logical. How's this for logic: my neck plus death device equals not a good time. That equation add up for you? Look, if they really wanted to kill us, our kidnappers could have done it at any time. So even if they can kill us, we should be safe for now. Not the most reassuring reasoning there. We're not in the most reassuring of situations. Where are we? This appears to be a school classroom of some sorts. Probably a science classroom, judging by the diagrams and textbooks lined up over there. I got that much, genius. I'm asking what the hell that means. I'm... not sure. Taking us to a school certainly is an odd choice. And shouldn't there be kids here? It should be Tuesday, right? And I can't imagine this is an abandoned school, what with how well kept-together the whole place is. What are you talking about? It's Thanksgiving Break. Of course there wouldn't be any kids here. Thanksgiving... Oh, right, yes. Completely slipped my mind, that. I know Thanksgiving is no Christmas, but what sort of life are you living where you don't even remember it? I remember Thanksgiving just fine, it just wasn't at the top of my mind right now. More to the point, I guess this means we're just in some school during the holiday. Which brings us back to the question of why the perpetrator would choose this sort of location. Judging from the height, we've gotta be on the... third floor, is it? So we're not even close to the school's entrance. Ooh, ooh, try opening the window. Why? Just do it! Fine. He tried to lift open the window, but the frame just wasn't budging. Ugh. It looks like it should be able to open, but it's going nowhere. I guess it was glued shut or something. drat it. I was hoping we could climb on out of this mess. If you wanted to get out of here, you do realize the door over there is wide open, right? Oh, please. You and I both know that if we walk out that door there's no way things'll be easy. Do you think if you banged on the window and waved out someone would notice us? There doesn't seem to be anyone around in this area. And even if there were, I doubt they'd notice us. What are those on the table? I... don't know. They appear to be tablets of some sort, but I don't know if they're related to our situation. Seriously? You think these are normally found in a classroom? Schools are modernizing with the times. Who's to say they wouldn't employ tablets to help with their lesson plans? But look, there's a Mouse and an Ox symbol drawn on them! Well, that's certainly more compelling evidence.I grabbed one and tried to turn it on, but there was no response. Huh, it's not turning on. Maybe it needs batteries? I would think it's been modified in some way, and will only light up when necessary. Perhaps the kidnappers will use this to contact us. Are you sure? Wouldn't it be fine to let us turn it on to the home screen, and then text us the messages or pictures or whatever? I feel like hacking the tablet itself was unnecessary. Functionally, I'm sure there could have been a workaround. Perhaps this was done for aesthetic purposes. Seems like a lot of work just to make it look cooler. I think we're getting off topic here- much of this debate is grounded in speculation anyways. What do we actually want to do with them? I'm not sure. Uh, for now at least I'll hold onto the one with the mouse on the back of it, and you can hold onto the one with the ox on the back of it. Sound fair? Fine. That makes sense to me. Well, I don't know about you, but I've just about had it with standing around, acting as armchair detectives when we can just walk out the door. Who knows, maybe it'll be simple and we can just leave. If only. Still, you're right, there doesn't seem to be much useful in here. Let's get going.[BGM: Silence]  We prepared to leave the room, but before we could leave, an augmented, warped, demonic voice started speaking over the speakers. [BGM: Lucky Foot]  ???: Good morning, Rat. Good morning, Ox. How was your sleep? Who is this? A message from the kidnappers, no doubt.???: I hope you got some rest. You'll need it for the upcoming race. Be prepared for the jury to face judgment. The hell????: I suggest you listen to what I have to say very carefully. Failure to comply with what I tell you will result in an immediate disqualification, and trust me, that outcome would leave no one satisfied. ???: Now then, you should both promptly proceed to the starting line. In this case, that would be the cafeteria on the first floor. Right outside this room should be a staircase which will take you to the first floor, and from there it's a simple right turn to get there. ???: Before you leave, make sure each of you grabs the tablet with your respective animal printed on it. Take good care of these. They will be critically important. ???: That is all for now. Once again, do come quickly.  ???: The Jade Emperor eagerly awaits your arrival. And with that, the speakers cut off, leaving us just standing there, processing what we had just heard. What on earth was that? I-I'm not actually sure. 'Starting line?' 'Upcoming race?' 'Jade Emperor?' Seriously, what is this lunatic even talking about? It sounds as if we were on a really dumb reality TV show. That would be unlikely. Still, this is certainly outside my expectations. It appears that whoever captured us intends on indulging in some childish fantasy where they are this 'Jade Emperor' and we are his toys. What a clown. I guess there's no real reason to fear them, though. I wouldn't be so sure. That one line, 'Be prepared for the jury to face judgment', concerns me. Though it was difficult to tell with his voice-alterer, it seemed like he said that with an uncomfortable amount of seriousness. It would be unwise to write this all off as just some dumb joke. Speaking of, why bother with that voice-alterer? It was really annoying. It was hard to even make out what they were saying. I wonder if that message was pre-recorded, or if that voice filter can be applied to live audio. Hey, don't you think that the voice filter is actually a big hint? What do you mean? I mean, why bother with that thing if we don't know our perpetrator? Since they're taking the time to hide their voice, they've gotta be someone who we would recognize! Not necessarily. It might just be a precaution. In case the perpetrator is later put under police suspicion, the voice filter prevents us from positively identifying them. I guess that makes sense. But at the very least, it means that they don't plan on killing us, right? True, it would be a rather illogical precaution if they were surely executing us. Though that does not guarantee our safety. Are you always like this? Sorry, sorry. I'm just trying to help. Let's move on to what he said about 'heading to the starting line.' Doesn't sound like we have much of a choice in the matter, huh? Not necessarily. We could try boycotting the orders and not go there. It might force the kidnapper to tip their hand. Oh, you mean pissing off the scary voice who just threatened us? Great plan. Or we could look around the school first, instead of just heading straight to the cafeteria. Wandering around a creepy abandoned building while still managing to piss off the scary voice? An even better idea! Look, I'm just throwing around some ideas. You're fumbling around with some concepts at best. Okay, okay, you're probably right. As much as I hate to admit it, at the moment we don't have much of a choice. For now at least, we should shut up, do what the voice tells us, and pay close attention to everything that it says. Agreed. Then if we're in agreement, why don't we start making our way down? Let's.With that, we grabbed our stuff and exited the room.
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Sep 22, 2022 22:11
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[BGM: Silence]  Some part of me froze up the moment I set foot into the hallway, like I had just entered some hostile dimension. But no, it was just a normal school. Nothing to worry about.  Like the voice said, there were stairs right by the classroom we had been in. We made our way down, and soon we were on the first floor.  With a bit more wandering, we made our way to the cafeteria. As we got closer, I started to hear voices. It seemed as though we weren't the only ones in the building. The cafeteria ended up being pretty spacious. It made sense that The Voice would choose this to be the gathering area. I also couldn't help but notice a large TV bolted onto the center wall. Judging by the surrounding aesthetics, it didn't seem to have initially been there. [BGM: Friendly Bunny]  More importantly, there were four other people already in the room, each of whom had a metal necklace just like ours. The man and woman arguing at the other side of the room caught my eye, but before I knew it, we were approached by the other two people present.   Hey, great to see more faces!  Hell yeah, it's great! For a minute there, I was worried that those two were gonna be the only other ones here. Well, that goes double for us. Seriously, if we were left wandering around this creepy school by ourselves any longer, I think I would've gone crazy. Is my company really that bad? Anyways, you two don't happen to know why we're here or what's going to happen, do you? I'm afraid to say we don't know any more than you do. I mean, I'm guessing. You were both attacked, tied up, and brought here without any knowledge of your surroundings, right? Yep.  And let me guess: the two of you woke up in some classroom with animal masks on, you freaked out when you realized you couldn't remove these collars, then some creepy voice came on the speakers and gave you a bunch of instructions? Pretty much. Then yeah, you know just about as much as we do. Hopefully, we'll be getting some answers here soon, huh? Yeah, I hope so too. Anyways, it's not the best of circumstances, but it's a pleasure to meet you two. Indeed. I am called Ox, and you can call her Mouse. Ox? Mouse? We're using the animal masks we woke up in as codenames, just as a general precaution. Ooh! That sounds fun! I want to join in on that! But we've already told each other our names. Yeah, but we haven't told anyone else! So then, you two can call me 'Tiger'. This here is 'Bunny'. Uh, sure, why not? I'm Bunny, I guess, and I hope to work with everyone to try to figure out what's happening. I hope to as well! I mean, we need to. This whole thing is crazy, right? What on earth is with this person, calling themselves the 'Jade Emperor' and rigging up a school like this? Yeah. It's pretty exciting, right? What?! I mean, the whole kidnapping business? That was real lame. Who assaults someone from behind with a taser? How am I supposed to fight back like that? But putting that aside, it's really an incredible opportunity we've been presented with. Waking up with an animal mask, grabbing weird tablets, listening to a mysterious challenger, meeting with a bunch of interesting characters... This has to count as a once in a lifetime experience, right? Uh, yeah, this probably qualifies as that, but- Exactly! We're in uncharted territory. I'm gonna face this with all I've got! Yeah, it's actually kind of a lucky thing that we got kidnapped when you really think about it. Are you serious? How can you look at this with such an optimistic spin? We've been kidnapped by a mysterious stranger, and now we've got these dangerous collars strapped to our necks which do god-knows-what! This is horrifying! You know, I was just thinking that. It's kind of like a horror story, real horrible. Don't be such a downer! I mean, sure, this might be a bit out of your comfort zone, but that's no reason to dismiss it from the start. Who knows, this could be a lot of fun. Fun? You consider felonies 'fun'? Uh, I think we can all agree that this'll certainly be a memorable experience. Frankly, the situation is making me incredulous. I truly can't believe it. But we should bottle our strong emotions for now and focus on what really matters, right? Yeah, you're right. That makes sense, Bunny. … What's with the look? Nothing, just... do I know you two? Do you? You might know me, maybe. Uh, Tiger, your thoughts? I don't think so. But then again, I don't got the greatest memory, so who's to say? I'm probably mistaken then. It was just sort of a gut feeling, and I try to dismiss those. Anyway, I'm glad you two seem nice. I was worried we'd get more debbie-downers like those two.She gestured to the two other people in the cafe. Even after all this time, they had made no effort to come and join our conversation. You're not the friendliest with them? Not exactly. Between you and me, I would hesitate before thinking about trusting them. Oh, but don't tell them I said that, of course.Neither Bunny nor Tiger seemed to have a good impression of the strangers. But considering the situation, this wasn't a time where I could afford to be picky with who I hung out with. If it's all the same to you, I think I'm going to head over there and say hi. Agreed. I think exchanging words at this point would be wise. I'll tag along then. Who knows, I might've just gotten off on the wrong foot. Well, you three go ahead with that. I'm fine right here.With Tiger vocally abstaining from the meeting, the rest of us headed over to talk with the odd pair. [BGM: Dance of the Snakes]  Despite our approach, their argument didn't seem to calm down.   I know a pussy like you might get it, but there's a lot more at stake here. It's a little something called pride, you feel me? I ain't letting no necklace stop me from doing what I want to do, when I want to do it.  Believe me, I am perfectly aware of various irrational factors that may be influencing your decision making. Even adding that to my calculations, disobeying the voice at this stage is not the wise move. Do I look like I give a poo poo about 'the wise move'? No, you certainly don't. Now what the gently caress's that supposed to mean? Look, by all means, do what you wish. I believe you might serve as a very educational example for the rest of us, so a large part of me hopes that you disobey the established rules. However, due to us waking up in the same classroom, I have a very real and disturbing fear that the two of us might be considered 'partners' or some such by our captor. Considering that possibility, it would be awfully disadvantageous to me if my 'partner' were dead before the games begin, even if it wouldn't make much of a difference. You wanna try saying that again? In fact, I'm telling you to: say that again to my face. I find repeating myself a bore, but if you insist. Hey, hey, easy there. Hi, uh, sorry to interrupt, just wanted to introduce ourselves. Great, there's more of you. Now who are you two? Well, I'm Mouse, and this right here is Ox. Ox? Mouse? The hell kind of names are those? Ah. You two are taking up the mantles of the animal masks you woke up in, yes? Quite the reasonable move. In that case, you may call me Snake. And this right here is Dragon. That's not my name. Feel free to introduce yourself however you want. I just thought Mouse's naming suggestion appropriate. Tch. Well, I'm not a fan of playing pretend, but “Dragon” does sound like the coolest animal here, so I guess I'll go with it. Snake, I'm sorry to have interrupted your conversation, but just a little earlier you mentioned “before the games begin”. Would you mind elaborating a bit more on that point? Ah, yes. That would raise some eyebrows. To be clear, I'm not privy to any information you two are not. That was simply a presumption of mine. A presumption? It would be a rather tedious process to detail every step of my thought process, especially considering the theory will soon be confirmed or denied. To put it simply, everything I've seen so far suggests that we are going to be tasked with some sort of challenge involving the whole school, with our lives hanging in the balance. W-Wait, our lives? Again, only my presumption. I have quite the imagination, so perhaps I'm overselling the stakes. That's a sensible theory to have. I was thinking something along those lines, though it's still far too early to call. Indeed it is. I accept that I could be entirely off the mark. Whatever the case might be, it seems as if we're unfortunately dealing with amateurish work. For one, take the abductions. Attacking us, tying us up, and then just waiting for us to fall asleep? What a brutish method. Were our assailants to do their job properly, surely they could've arranged some sort of soporific to effortlessly knock each of us out. True, getting the proper drug dosages for each of us so as not to kill would have been some work, but if they were going through the trouble of stalking us, getting a hold of our medical records surely couldn't have been too great a task. The masks, as well, scream of a cheap production. Did they get these at the dollar store? Truly it couldn't have been too much trouble to bother getting some masks of higher quality, seeing as these are likely to be a focal point of whatever's to come. Wow, that's a real eye for detail you have there? And a real passive attitude towards our abduction. Oh no, don't get me mistaken. I am nothing like Ms., er, Tiger that is. I find this whole thing incredibly aggravating and insulting, not to mention frightening. However, it's one thing to abduct me beautifully, another altogether to do so in an ugly fashion. Beautifully? Look at it like this: even if you dislike poetry, surely you'd rather read good poetry than bad if forced? I don't think those two situations are comparable. Forget it with this clown. He'll talk and talk and talk with a bunch of fancy speak and logic and whatever, but he won't do poo poo. As opposed to you, who wishes to blatantly ignore simple rules. Hell yeah, I wanna ignore them! I don't get why you all are kowtowing to some bitch too afraid to even show their face. I'm not dying to someone like that. Though someone like that was able to knock you out, right? Well at least I actually got a hit in on the rear end in a top hat, unlike everyone else! You got a hit in?Before we could further discuss that, I heard a commotion coming from the other side of the room. It appeared that two more had made their way to the 'Starting Line'. Tiger was already greeting them, but I wanted to talk to everyone I could. I'm going to go talk to the new visitors. You do that. I want to talk with these three some more.I made my way over to the new guests, whose difference in builds slightly startled me. [BGM: Weak Pig]  Judging by their facial expressions, they were both unamused with Tiger, who was likely getting to the part where she explained why being abducted was actually a good thing.   S-so... we still don't know what's going on? Not yet, but I'm sure we'll learn soon.  Hmph. I guess that's that, then. What's what? Oh, Mouse! Great timing. I was just explaining the situation to Horse and Sheep here. Hi! Good to see more faces. How so? Seems like a downside to me. D-Don't be like that. Fine. It's good to meet you, Mouse. I'm Horse. If you need anything, ask me, and I'll help it if I can.  Um, and I'm Sheep. It's a real relief to see that we weren't the only ones here. Not that I'm ungrateful for you being here, Horse, not at all, you've been really nice. J-just, you know, with more people it feels less like I'm being targeted for something, more like I'm just a part of a group, you know? I totally get how you feel. It was a relief to me as well. If I was all alone, I probably would be in tears right now. But with a group like this, I'm sure that no matter what happens, we'll be able to band together and get through this. Yeah, now you're talking Mouse! That's the spirit you oughta have. What do you say, Horse? Seems unlikely. Huh?[BGM: Silence]   Banding together. Seems unlikely. Why? Just a hunch. Uh, are you basing that hunch on anything? Past experience. Past experience? What, have you been in a dangerous situation like this before? Sort of. …I hoped Horse would elaborate some on that point, but he didn't seem like he was in a chatty mood. [BGM: Queen of the Jungle]  There was an awkward silence, but luckily it was interrupted by two new faces walking in. One of which I recognized.   More people? Fabulous! It was real dreary with just the two of us, no offense.  None taken. I, too, am grateful for the presence of others. A journey alone would have been... trying. Ha! You wouldn't have been alone. I would've been here. You have me there. Hi, how are... hey, is that- Mouse! Uh, you can call me Mouse. We're using the animal masks we received as code names, just in case.  Stage names, huh? Well, I'm used to that sort of thing. Count me onboard. I'm Rooster, and this right here is my lovely assistant Monkey. While assistant may be one of my many roles in life, it is certainly not what I'd like to define myself as. But yes, my mask was a Monkey, so you can call me as such. So, why are you all here? I'm sad to say, but I don't recognize a one of you. Recognize? It's a bummer, but why we're here is still a mystery to all of us. Why, do you know why you're here? It's astoundingly obvious, at least to an intellect like mine. At first, I thought I was being held for ransom; some opportunistic scoundrel was leveraging my life to get a few measly Ks, nay, Ms. But as I thought about it some more, I made the genius deduction that if that was the case, there'd be no opportunity to let me wander around this school, giving me the opportunity to make a stellar escape. With that first possibility off of the table, then the only option left is that some rabid fangirl captured me in order to make me act in some perverted fantasy. Understandable. So, if you all are also here, then you must also be famouses that are being forced to play along. But you're saying none of you are well known? N-No... Drats. Then it appears I was a bit off the mark with that theory. If you thought this was about capturing famous people, then what did you think Monkey was doing here? I thought the villain had brought her to give me a love interest. At the time I too thought it a strange casting choice, but maybe they just had a thing for Asian chicks. As you can see, this has been a troubling time for us both. So, um, does this mean that you're famous, Rooster? Naturally. Really? That's so cool! Are you really? I don't recognize you. Heh. I guess you just don't watch enough movies. Anyone who did would recognize me as an up and coming movie star, one of the hottest names in the film world. That's odd. I love watching movies, and I don't recognize your face at all. Me neither... Oh? Huh. I guess I haven't exactly been made as mainstream as I thought. At any rate, I can assure you I'm very well-respected in certain circles- definitely famous enough that crazy fans are a real problem. Well, I think we can safely rule that out as a motive for now. Monkey, it looked like you recognized Mouse? Is that right? Yeah. Monkey here is actually my therapist. It was a real shock to see her here. Ha! You use a therapist? What, did something really messed up happen in your past or something? Unnecessary. You don't need some tragic event in your life for a therapist to be useful. Excellently said, Horse. More and more, we're learning that every human has struggles in their life. Though some may appear greater than others from the outside, we can't know how everyone handles them. What we can know is that everyone deserves to be at peace, living a happy life. Finding a stable mental state is an essential step for many in that process. Eh, I don't know. It's one thing if something super tragic happened, but otherwise it just sounds like you're not approaching life with a good enough attitude! Excuse me? Peace, peace. It is quite understandable a mindset. Society has many broad misconceptions about mental health, reinforced by a history spent dismissing what is natural as 'weak'. I commend you, Tiger, for being able to maintain such a positive outlook in life. I agree that for someone like you, I doubt therapy would be of much use. Obviously! Why would it?As this conversation continued, I noticed that two more people had entered the cafeteria. [BGM: Dog Days]  The other group was already filling them in, but I decided I wanted to make my introductions, so I walked over to them.   So I guess I'd be “Dog” then. And you're fine with being called that? You can call me anything you want. I honestly don't give a poo poo. Just don't call me late to dinner. Heh. That “joke” wasn't worth a chuckle. Yup. I thought it was kinda funny. Why?  I guess you can call me “Pig” then. Oh, I don't like that very much at all. Would “boar” be preferable? Not really. Hey guys, nice to meet you two. Ah, Mouse. A pleasure to have you rejoin us. It's pretty nuts what's going on right now, isn't it? You're telling me! I am losing it right now. I mean, what eeeeeven is happening?! Why can't my life just be nice and simple, simple and clean, that's all I ever wanted! But no, no, I have to be trapped in this scary school with these scary masks and this scary collar. I hate it, it's so... Scary? Exactly! Yep, this pretty much blows. I mean, if you're going to kill me, just get on with it. Don't make me wade through all this bullshit. Doing a race or whatever? Such a pain. Then why go along with it? I said it once and I'll say it again, we've no obligation to do what this voiced gently caress tells us to! Yeah, but... I don't know, it's not like there's been any difficulty in the instructions so far. Might as well go along with them. You know, why not, right? That's your reasoning for obeying the commands? Pretty much. Seems pretty blasé of you. THANK you! He's been like this the whole time, like we haven't been kidnapped and put in a life or death situation! This is a situation to freak out, but for some reason he's just been acting like this is chill, like this is “all good” or something. I mean, watching him not lose it has been making me lose it, you know? Pig took a deep breath in, then let a deep breath out. 3... 2... Okay, I'm fine. Sorry. I think I was a little much there. I tend to sometimes lose control of my emotions a little bit. I know, it's annoying. I'm sorry. No no, no need to apologize. This is exactly the sort of situation where you should freak out. Though it would be preferable if you didn't.[BGM: Silence]  After a bit more chatter, everyone gathered in the center of the room to discuss the situation. [BGM: Final Squeal]  Well, I'll say it folks: this right here? It's pretty not cool. You know, I'm starting to suspect you just might be right. Agreed... It's been a while since someone else came, hasn't it? Ya think this is everyone? P-Probably. After all, with us this makes twelve. What's that got to do with anything? Oh, come now. With everyone's nicknames, surely you should be able to figure it out. It's rather level-one symbology. Level one? Uh, if you two are right about that being everyone, shouldn't we have heard something by now? I thought they said we'd get more information here. See, this kidnapper's loving with us! I say we just storm out of here. Look, judging from what I saw of the school's layout, the front entrance is probably right down that corridor when you turn right. What's stopping us from just getting the hell out of here? The door will almost certainly be locked. What then? I'll loving smash it down, what do you think? And hey, we've got Horse and Tiger right here, they'd probably be even better at that than me. But we'd be ignoring what the Jade Emperor said! Didn't you hear what they said? They'll probably kill us. It's a suicide mission! Well, the plan has my vote. This isn't a voting situation! There's no need to rush at present. Surely we can afford to wait a bit longer, no? Patience is a virtue.We were getting unruly. However, as if on cue, the warped voice on the speakers began to speak once more. ???: It appears everyone has gathered at the starting line. Please, relax yourselves, talk with the other racers, and wait for a few minutes. The Jade Emperor will appear to explain the rules shortly. And just like that, the voice cut off.
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Sep 22, 2022 22:11
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One of my immediate observations here is that each pair is two signs/years/animals which are adjacent… at least for the section of the eastern Zodiac I actually know.
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Sep 22, 2022 23:16
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Oh nice, I had a feeling it was this. Sadly, that means I am Spoiled on what will happen, and thus, need to remain mostly quiet about the actual plot, but suffice it to say, this is (at least in my opinion) a very solid game/story. It's not perfect, of course, but I will heartily give this game a recommendation to anyone who enjoys Zero Escape-y stuff. Anyway, I'd like to take a moment to talk about the personalities/stereotypes associated with each Eastern Zodiac animal. You can find this information in a lot of places, but as a quick summary: Rat (or, Mouse in this case): quick-witted, smart, charming, and persuasive Ox: patient, kind, stubborn, and conservative Tiger: authoritative, emotional, courageous, and intense Rabbit (or Bunny): popular, compassionate, and sincere Dragon: energetic, fearless, warm-hearted, and charismatic Snake: charming, gregarious, introverted, generous, and smart Horse: energetic, independent, impatient, and enjoy traveling Sheep: mild-mannered, shy, kind, and peace-loving Monkey: fun, energetic, and active Rooster: independent, practical, hard-working, and observant Dog: patient, diligent, generous, faithful, and kind Pig: loving, tolerant, honest, and appreciative of luxury In case you're curious, I'm a Snake, purely going off the year I was born. Metal Snake if you add on the Chinese element.
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Sep 23, 2022 01:55
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Seems like a solid start, though as with all of these, it's hard to tell till things really get going. Getting a strong Danganronpa vibe thus far, but that might just be because of the "trial" in the game name and the fact it's set in a school.
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Sep 23, 2022 03:25
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Yeah it's a little on the nose so far in that respect, though the fact that prior connections are already coming up is at least a shift from the usual formula.
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Sep 23, 2022 04:00
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Oh boy, Birth ME Code flashbacks.
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Sep 23, 2022 05:50
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I already like Snake's ongoing critique of their kidnapping. "Urgh, zodiac symbolism, that is so amateurish!" I'm hoping he'll keep that up. "Wonderful, death in an incinerator. How very creative. Never seen that before."
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Sep 23, 2022 05:52
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Kinda on the nose for the pig to be a chubby person
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Sep 23, 2022 11:34
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I hope they pull the "there's secretly a thirteenth person" twist here too and it's the cat.
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Sep 23, 2022 14:43
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cardinale posted:Kinda on the nose for the pig to be a chubby person yeah, i find that super-awkward, considering how sadly rare it is to have anyone who isn't either thin or insanely huge-breasted voluptuous in anime games, having this character and forcing us to call her Pig is uncomfortable to me.
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Sep 23, 2022 15:50
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gegi posted:yeah, i find that super-awkward, considering how sadly rare it is to have anyone who isn't either thin or insanely huge-breasted voluptuous in anime games, having this character and forcing us to call her Pig is uncomfortable to me.  honestly. In something less uncomfortable: It's interesting how Bunny is the type of person who immediately swaps his stance when someone disagrees with him.
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Sep 23, 2022 16:56
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[BGM: Ox's Logic]  Appear? Does that mean the perpetrator is going to come to us in person? I guess that settles the debate, though. Like hell it does! I don't know how this changes anything. Dragon, please. I understand your frustrations, they're perfectly natural. However, I believe if you take some time to reflect- I have been reflecting! And I've reflected that I want to get the hell out of here! But don't you think it'd be better to face this head on, instead of trying to run away? Tch. I ain't runnin away from anything. Of course, of course. I'm just saying it sounds like whoever brought us here is going to be showing up shortly. Don't you want to meet with this punk face to face? … You know what, you're right. How 'bout this asswipe shows his face in front of me, how 'bout that. Well, I'm glad that's been settled.[BGM: Silence] With Dragon placated, the group started to fan out and make themselves at home. It sounded like we'd be waiting for a little bit more after all, and everyone needed to chill out. I decided to sit down and take a deep breath. All this stress was messing with my head. After I had calmed down a bit, I decided to head over and talk to some of the other captives. Nearby, I overheard Tiger, Bunny, and Rooster having a discussion about the kidnapper's intent. Ox, Dragon, and Monkey however were discussing how to fight back against our captors. Pig and Horse, meanwhile, were discussing the food and drink problem. On the other side of the cafeteria, I saw Dog asking Sheep about something. I also saw Snake sitting by himself at a chess board. He seemed to be studying it with some fascination. So I was left with a choice. Who to talk to?  This choice is... mostly cosmetic. It's moreso to give you a bit more of an introduction to some members of the group, and doesn't have any bearing on what route we end up going down. We'll have time to talk to two of these groups immediately; ultimately for the most part this is just fluff to let you get a bit more of a read on some of the characters, so this isn't a decision worth holding a vote for.  That said, I rolled a die for this one, so we'll be starting with Dog and Sheep. [BGM: Wool Over The Eyes]  Neither Sheep nor Dog looked particularly upbeat, not that I could blame them. The two seemed to be having a rather bleak conversation at the side of the room, so I thought they could use some cheering up. Do you really think th-they're going to kill us? Who knows. We can only hope. Hey guys! What's going on? Not much, we're just talking about how we're probably going to die today. I thought you said that was just one possibility! Yeah. A pretty likely possibility. Hey now, let's cut it with that sort of talk. I don't want to be like Tiger and say this situation is a good thing or anything, but if we start thinking negatively things are just going to get worse! So, what, if we start thinking positively things are going to suddenly get better? They are? Okay, I'll start right now! Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts! I'm in a nice, comfy, empty bed with a nice cup of cocoa and a book and no scary collar on my neck. Uh, Sheep, I don't think you need to go that far... Eh, let her try to delude herself if she wants. And while we're at it, how 'bout you stop trying to make me cheer up as well, huh? Huh? I'm a pretty chilled-out guy in most things. I'm not the type to intercede on someone else's account if it's not affecting anybody. And all I ask is that that courtesy be returned in kind. If I want to sulk about being kidnapped, let me sulk. It's not your place to tell people how to cope. Oh! Well, um... I'm sorry about that, Dog. I didn't mean to be pushy or anything. It's fine, I don't really care. Just don't do it again. So, um... Uh, Sheep, you said earlier that you're pretty sure that the 12 of us is everybody. Why did you think that? Oh! Well, it's just a guess, but based on the animals here, I have to think that whatever is happening is based loosely on the Chinese Zodiac Animals. Zodiac animals? Oh yeah, I've heard of those. A patron of mine was talking about them a while ago. Wait, patron? I run a bar. Didn't use to, but.. now I do. Get a lot of customers, most of which like to talk a lot. Anyways, if I remember right, every animal has a year, like it's a 12 year cycle or something, right? Sort of. It's true that having it be the 'Year of the Dragon' or 'Year of the Snake' is probably the most common place where you'd hear of them. However, that's just the tip of the iceburg. The zodiac animals actually have a lot of cultural significance. What makes you think that this is inspired by the zodiac animals, anyway? Well, for one, the 12 of our animal masks are exactly the 12 zodiac animals. Yeah, that's pretty compelling evidence right there. And also the kidnapper called themselves the 'Jade Emperor', right? That's also a reference to the story of the zodiac animals, more specifically the zodiac race. I'm not familiar with that part of the legend. Ok, so, the specifics of the story actually change around a lot depending on which version you're reading. A lot of old myths are like that. But the Jade Emperor is usually considered the person who held the race, and the one who gave each of the fastest 12 animals their position. Oh, and by 'the race' I'm referring to the zodiac race, which was apparently this big race where all the animals competed and the top 12 got places on the zodiac calender. The 12 fastest are the animals you see here, and the order is fixed, though how exactly each animal got their position is sometimes open to interpretation. For instance, it's generally accepted that the Mouse finished first by riding on the Ox then jumping ahead at the end, but other parts, such as the dragon stopping to save villagers or the snake scaring off the horse, those alter from telling to telling. Wow, you're really knowledgeable about this stuff! Thanks! I like to read these sorts of old tales. I actually recently became a librarian after leaving my old job. Although, there's one part of the story that's been rubbing me the wrong way. Oh? Well... it could be nothing. Just, um... Basically, a lot of stories have it where there was actually a 13th contestant, the Cat, who was disqualified because the Mouse tricked them. That's meant to explain why cats hate mice. Ooh, how naughty. I didn't know you had that sort of treachery in you, Mouse. I don't! I'd never... you know what, this isn't worth arguing. So, why are you bringing this up, Sheep? Uh, no reason. I was just wondering if that aspect of the story had any significance, seeing as our captor seems to be emulating the story. Gotcha. Um, thanks for letting me talk about that, Mouse. I'm feeling a bit better now. There's no need to thank me for that! After all, you did most of the work there. Does talking with me make you feel worse? Because, honestly, understandable. No, no, it's just... I don't know. I'm feeling like there's a lot of pressure right now. Hey, you know what? No pressure. Huh? No pressure! I mean, yeah, the situation isn't ideal, but you shouldn't stress yourself out over it. Just do what you can and hope for the best. That's all you can do, right? Yeah, now you're speaking my language Mouse!My talk with Sheep and Dog concluded, I looked around to see if there was anyone else to talk to. As I said before, we get to pick two options at this point, so I rolled a die again for our second choice and we'll be going with Ox, Dragon, and Monkey. We'll see the others at a later point in the LP. [BGM: The Undying]  It appeared Dragon and Monkey were having something of an argument, while Ox was mediating the two. I still think we just smash through the front door. You know, patience is a virtue, Dragon. Your point? What do you think my point is? Your point better not be what I think it is, or I'm going to slug you in the face. Dragon, could you behave yourself for five minutes?In response, Dragon stomped viciously on Ox's foot. Ox grabbed his foot and began swearing up a storm.  Dragon, I feel you have a tendency to resort to violence when it isn't needed. Anyone ever tell you you're a real lovely doc? I'm just trying to figure out where it stems from. Why? What's it to you? Curiosity? Oh, so you're therapizing me 'cuz you're bored? Is that an issue? In response, Dragon stomped viciously on Monkey's foot. … On second thought, I decided not to engage with that group. Better to talk with somebody who wouldn't attack me at the drop of a dime. [BGM: Silence]  However, before I could talk to anyone else, an announcement was played over the speakers. ???: Attention, attention. Attention to all animals present. Please take a seat, face the TV, and put on your animal masks. The introduction is about to begin. Introduction? I guess this is what they meant when they said the 'Jade Emperor will appear.' It was just a streamed appearance. Figures. What? Are you loving serious? What a load of bullshit! Come now. At this point you might as well just go along with it and hear what they have to say. Why do they want us to put on our animal masks though? Who cares, let's just do it. Agreed!After a bit of commotion, everyone complied. We all sat in the various seats around the cafeteria and put the animal masks over our heads. [BGM: Lamb to the Slaughter]  Once everyone had done so, the television flickered on. There before us was the Jade Emperor, leaning back in a chair. I couldn't tell where he was sitting- the room behind him was too dark. However, it seemed that this was a live feed. The Jade Emperor wore a mask which completely covered his face, as well as a green hoodie and jeans. I couldn't help but notice that by his left hand, I could see part of a butterfly tattoo sticking out.  Welcome, one and all, to the Zodiac Race. Or rather, the Zodiac Trial. I am the host of this event. You may call me the Jade Emperor. You all, if you have not yet realized, will be the 12 zodiac animals who will compete in my race. I knew it... You might ask why you are 'animals'. There are a number of good answers to this question, but to put it simply, you all live your lives with the awareness of animals. You go about, day to day, without a goddamn care in the world. Peacefully moving onwards, never stopping back to reflect or apologize for your sins. Your murder. Sins? What are you talking about? Oh, don't even pretend you don't know, you filthy glory-hungry liar! You see, perhaps not all of you know it, but the twelve of you were the 'jury' of a particular trial. Of course, you weren't the actual jury- I don't blame them. What I mean is that each of you made selfish or stupid choices. Each of you were complicit, each of you decided to help hang an innocent man for a murder he did not commit. And this idea you all have, that you just get to walk away from that and not look at what you've done, it's sickening! It's not fair. You all deserve a chance to be punished. You must all be tried. So this is what we're doing today. A Zodiac Trial. A trial? Do you mean to say there's going to be a case against us or something? Perhaps my word choice has given off the wrong impression. Initially, I had an idea more similar to that; however, I think instead we shall settle this with a race. A race fitting for the beasts you are. What are the rules for this race? Finally, someone is asking the proper questions. Please, take a look at this display.[BGM: A Bite That Persists]   As you can see, your 12 animals are lined up on the left, going from top to bottom in the order they come on the calender. You may also notice there are 24 spaces between the starting line for the animals and the end of it. The aim of this race is to use the tablets provided to move your animal to the finish line as quickly as possible. So that's what these are for... Before continuing, I think it would be pertinent to address a certain rule you all will likely find important. Each tablet may only be operated by its owner. Additionally, the owner must be alone in a room when using it. If you operate your tablet with another person in the room, or if someone else operates your tablet, you will be instantly executed. EXECUTED?! God damnit... A dismaying but expected announcement. What the gently caress?! Hey rear end in a top hat! You think you can kill me that easily? Oh, but I can. For you see, each of your necklaces are outfitted with a devious device. At the mere push of a button, knives on the inside of the collar will come out, cleanly slicing your necks open, leaving you to die. How does it feel? Knowing that just like that, you could be executed. Dead. Feel fun? Is it enjoyable for you scum? S-So... we're going to die? No. You'll only push that button if we break your rules, right? There's a bit more to it then that, but you're right in that I won't kill you for no reason. There'd be no point to any of this if I was just a senseless murderer. No, I guarantee that if all of you behave appropriately, every single one of you can leave here alive. So what else do we gotta do to survive? The race will consist of 12 rounds. If no animals are able to get to the finish line at the end of the 12th round, all of you will be executed. Every round will last 45 minutes. All participants must take an action within those 45 minutes. If a participant does not take an action during a round, they will be executed. At the end of the round, the animals take their actions in order from the top of the screen to the bottom. Using the tablet, there are a few available actions to choose from. All animals are able to simply RUN. Choosing to RUN will move your animal 1 space forwards. You may also choose to use your animal ability. Each animal has their own ability which can help them in the race. Be sure to click the Information button to learn what your ability does. Participants are also allowed to CONFESS once per game. If you choose CONFESS, then at the end of the round when it is your animal's turn, you will be given an opportunity. You may use this one minute opportunity to give a meaningful confession to me. Afterwards, I will rate the effectiveness of the confession, and your animal may move anywhere from 0 to 5 spaces. What is that ranking judged on? Are you looking for most surprising? Worst thing done? Most emotionally delivered? What's the deal? I'm under no obligation to tell you that. Try it out for yourself if you're so curious. Finally, you can also choose to use an item. Throughout the school, I have hidden some things of practical use as well as items to be used in the race. The physical item will have a passcode on it. Input the passcode into your tablet to use it. Only one participant may use any given item per round. There are a total of 24 items in the school, a Minor and Major Trinket for each animal. All animal Minor trinkets are the same. Using it will move you a number of spaces equal to the number of other animals who used a Minor trinket that turn. For example, if you use the Mouse Minor Trinket by yourself, you'll move one space forward. However, if you use the Mouse Minor Trinket, a friend uses the Ox Minor Trinket, and two enemies use the Tiger and Bunny Minor Trinkets, you'll all move 4 spaces. On the other hand, the Major Trinkets each have their own effect. You'll have to figure out what they do by finding them yourselves. Even though each animal has a Minor and Major trinket based on them, they're not exclusive to said animal. So if Dog wanted to use Pig's Minor Trinket, that's totally allowed. Tch. What a childish game for us to stake our lives on. It really makes you all seem small in comparison, doesn't it? Anyways, that is the essence of this race. At the end of each round, after all the animals have taken their actions, if any animals have made it to the finish line the race will end. Those at the finish line will have their collars automatically unlock, and everyone else will be executed. No! What, seriously?[BGM: Silence]  Heh heh heh... How you choose to run the race is up to you. Who knows, maybe you'll all make it out alive. Although, if I had to guess, the slowest third will end up dead. Either way, I'll be satisfied. I truly do hope you let your true colors fly. Open up your hearts, and think of this as Anubis' feather. Will you pass peacefully, or be devoured? Let judgment fall blindly and wisely. Round 1 Begins Now.And with that final confusing message, the speaker cut off and he left us to panic and squabble on our own. The threat of death now officially loomed over us. My mind went blank. I could feel my face flushing, somehow hot and cold at the same time. My fingers were a jittery mess. This was horrible, scary, nonsensical. Who in their right mind would dress up like a character from some ancient legend and force people to play some stupid, confusing, arbitrary game with their lives at stake? It was so weird, it was so scary... And yet. [BGM: That Pesky Rodent]  I took a deep breath in, and another out, and all of a sudden it all just flushed from my system. I was still scared and confused, deep down. But the mind-numbing panic the others were in, that I was in a second ago, it had left me. This was my greatest talent, something I inherited from my father. When the stakes are high, the chips are down, that's when fear chokes you. But I could choose to not feel it. It was a weird thing- it wasn't like I could just “choose” to not feel any other emotion. But fear? For some reason, I had perfect control of it. For now, I had to survey the scene. People were freaking out just like I was.   I can't... I don't want to die! Please, please, come on, Mr. Jade Emperor, we can work something out, can't we? Come back on the screen or something, I'm sure we can come to some kind of understanding here! What, you think you can kill me just 'cuz you got some loving knives at my throat or something?! gently caress you! And gently caress your whole deal, I will mess you up. You're nothing more than a coward hiding behind a loving desk! This can't be happening! Surely, this is some sort of... No, but it can't be a mistake, things were abundantly clear. Is this how I meet my end? As, as inelegantly as this? There must be some sort of mistake...If no one spoke up, they'd all likely be spinning their wheels for quite a bit. That was time I couldn't afford to waste.  Hey! Everyone! Everyone needs to quit panicking and take a deep breath.With that, I got everyone's attention. Look, I know this really sucks. But it's not like we're doomed or anything. The Emperor himself said that if we keep our cool all of us can get out of this alive. There's no reason to panic yet. Everything's going to be okay. B-But... Mouse is right! You all need to quit moping around. Who's that gonna help, huh? No one! The answer's super simple- the only thing we've gotta do is cross the finish line at the same time before the 12 rounds. It's as simple as that! Is it really going to be that simple? It's hard to say at the moment. We may run into complications. However, Mouse and Tiger are right. We're far from being out of options. If we keep cool, it's fairly likely we can all get out fine. For now, we should all find separate rooms and check out our tablets. Specifically, knowing what everyone's individual abilities are may be useful. Sounds about as good a plan as anything else. Keeping inner peace at difficult times can be a struggle, but we must strive for it. Fine. For now, we'll work together.It seemed as though the group was able to come to their senses together. Good. Great. With this, things should be fine. There's no reason to panic. Mix. fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Apr 15, 2023 |
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Sep 23, 2022 19:14
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Seems like an interesting and potentially-twisty setup so far. And yeah, it sounds like there's definitely going to be a Cat turning up somewhere. From the rules, it sounds like being in the room when someone else makes their move doesn't get you punished; likewise with using someone else's tablet. Which I imagine is going to come into play somewhere. (Possibly with the Cat.) From what little I've seen so far, the "ideal" solution would seem to be A) get everyone to agree to take exactly one minor trinket and not use it until everyone is ready B) get everyone within 12 steps of crossing the finish line C) have everyone use the trinkets at the same time so everyone crosses the finish line during the same round. Thankfully, visual novel characters trapped in killing games are universally excellent at cooperating with everyone else in the group. Should be a nice, quick ride to victory.  Since there's a distinct turn order, I wonder if Pig's ability is going to involve doing something to block/ruin/otherwise mess with other characters' moves (since she's last and would be in the best position to do something like that). (I have to admit, some of the character art kind of bugs me--Monkey and Tiger in particular seem a bit anatomically off.)
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Sep 23, 2022 20:10
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Yeah the visuals aren't the most amazing. Most of the backgrounds are blurred stock photos of school rooms, I think. I never really minded but I can see why some people would think the game looked cheap or shoddy, if they said so.
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Sep 23, 2022 20:47
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" You all live your lives with the awareness of animals. " Well, yes i am aware of animals is that a sin somehow???
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Sep 23, 2022 21:09
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Regallion posted:Well, yes i am aware of animals is that a sin somehow???
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Sep 23, 2022 21:10
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cardinale posted:Kinda on the nose for the pig to be a chubby person Yeaaaah. Birth ME Code did that too, right? The chubby guy was...Greed, I think? Avaritia? And had a pig mask. Great. Very creative. Can't decide whether I appreciate them getting straight to the point, or whether it just feels unearned and derivative. Guess that'll depend on how well they stick the landing.
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Sep 23, 2022 21:46
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Thankfully, if memory serves, this game is SIGNIFICANTLY kinder towards Pig than BMeC was towards Trist, at least in terms of, uh, not constantly making fat jokes. (In fact I don't think it ever actually comes up?) In the creator's commentary they do say that Pig is one of the characters they like most On the topic of graphics, yeah, this game is pretty basic in that regard, mostly because the creator put most of their money towards the art and original music. Like I said in the OP, the creator had a much rougher version of this story already written before they ever actually decided to pull the trigger on making a VN, but from the sound of it they basically ended up rewriting most of it from the ground up as a result
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Sep 23, 2022 22:10
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Pig isn't my favorite character, but I do like her a bit. I like almost everyone in this group a decent amount, and while I did have a few standouts, there wasn't anyone I really disliked, more just people I thought were a bit lacking. I won't say who is my favorite until a bit later, though, as simply saying who I like might end up giving too much away regarding how they are or what they do.
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Sep 23, 2022 22:17
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mycelia posted:Yeaaaah. Birth ME Code did that too, right? The chubby guy was...Greed, I think? Avaritia? And had a pig mask. Great. Very creative. Ava = pig = the purple haired teacher. Tris = horse = the chubby guy Good to hear, Mix. I'm also already liking the token bitchy rear end in a top hat character (hi Dragon) a lot better than Bia. Don't therapy people without their consent or get your feet stomped on 
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Sep 23, 2022 22:19
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Also, snake is literally this meme, right?
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Sep 23, 2022 23:57
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He gives me vibes of Mishima from Your Turn To Die, personally.
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Sep 24, 2022 04:35
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Jade Rider posted:He gives me vibes of Mishima from Your Turn To Die, personally. Yeah the visual designs are remarkably similar, but the personalities are anything but.
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Sep 24, 2022 09:43
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Agreed on the Mishima vibes. Super interested to see where this goes. It seems extremely possible for everyone to make it out but it also requires a lot of cleverness and coordination, so I can see where a lot of accidental mistakes can be made along with the "people don't trust each other/intentional sabotage" moves.
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Sep 24, 2022 17:43
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I'm glad we got to spend some time with dragon before she immediately gets herself offed by the bad guy. Although I suppose with the multiple endings there exists some chance she survives.
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Sep 24, 2022 23:43
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Trist being Gula/Gluttony would've been the on-the-nose option. I'm not sure how much I should read into Mouse having a similar outfit as the Jade Emperor, but as she expresses surprise in the narration (and not just dialogue) about the situation I'm assuming this will not be a "we're the mastermind" scenario (unless the game is bad). The rules are interesting in that, while there is a clear way for everyone to survive, they're written in a way to encourage paranoia and foul play--especially with the possibility of abilities that interfere with others. What jumps out at me when the Jade Emperor compares the cast to a jury is that they're all guilty of condemning a specific person on social media; it would explain we got several "you look familiar but I can't place you" cases. That said, given the confession option I suspect that individually each is guilty of more than that.
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Sep 26, 2022 17:10
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[BGM: Silence]  We all started walking off to separate rooms. Dragon, Snake and I walked down the left hallway. Still... Who the gently caress would want to put me in this bullshit? I wonder... could it be him?Before I could ask what Snake was musing about, he entered the library alone. Dragon entered a teacher's office to the left, so I went a little further and found a laboratory. After checking to make sure no one else was in the room with me, I tried turning my tablet on. [BGM: Rat's Awakening]  Sure enough, I was brought to a fairly standard looking screen. Usefully, the top right actually displayed the time left before the end of the round. There were a number of buttons... RUN, ACTION, CONFESS, and ITEM. And at the top, there was an Information button. That was what I wanted for now. I clicked on it, and it brought me to a separate page. 'Personality – Clever'? What did that mean? Whatever, it was probably some dumb flavor text this psycho had included. More importantly, I looked at the section titled 'Mouse Ability'.  SNEAKY RIDE, huh? Apparently, every turn I could target another animal. Then, during their actions, I would move the same number of spaces in the same direction as them. I guess that could be useful. Though, it seemed like I couldn't do much by myself. At any rate, now that I knew my ability, I decided to return to the cafeteria. It wasn't long before everyone else was gathered, too. [BGM: See No Evil]  So, was everyone able to manage their tablet properly? It was a bit of a trial, I must admit, but it was no match for me. It's a pretty good coding job. This wasn't just thrown together, whoever made it clearly spent quite a bit of time on it. What are you talking about? It's just a few buttons! Th-That's, um... Tiger, I think you're underestimating the work coders do. Even something as simple as creating a clean, well-working UI with nothing but custom code can be a real challenge. Plus, it's apparently connected to this system which will move our animals around.  That's not even mentioning how it was modded onto a pre-established tablet, which tends to have a hell of a lot of firewalls to stop stuff like that. I mean, it's not like it's the most amazing invention of all time, but there's definitely a bit of work that went into it. No poo poo. A lot of work also went into kidnapping 12 people and decking a whole school out to be a hosed up killing game. Is this discussion fruitful? Surely our time would be better spent discussing the abilities we each possess. That's an excellent point Monkey, we ought to start talking about that. In fact, I'll start. My ability is called Sneaky Ride. It allows me to choose an animal, and then later when that animal moves, I move the same number of spaces. A reference to the original fable, no doubt. That's a pretty handy ability. I guess, but it's kind of dependant on other people. That's why it's so handy. It's a perfect example of 'Mirrored Play'. 'Mirrored Play'? It's a concept that comes up in a lot of places, though most frequently in gambling. Just as an example, let's say you and Rooster had a little bet going. You two were at a casino, and you were competing to see who could win the most money at a roulette table in an hour. Ha! I'm down. Rooster, this is just an example. Now let's say with 15 minutes left, Mouse you've got 45 chips and Rooster has 30 chips. What! I rule at roulette, why would I be losing? Like Mouse said, it's a hypothetical. Well your hypothetical sucks if it involves me losing. Fine, you're at 45 and she's at 30, happy? Yes, that fits much better. Great. Now let's say Mouse bets all 30 of her chips on Black. What would you do? Easy. I'd bet 45 chips on Red. Why? Because I'm not to be outdone. And red's my lucky color. You sound like you'd be fun to gamble with. But no, the right choice would be to also bet 30 on black. If the roulette ends up on red, she'd be out and you'd be left with 15. Whereas if the roulette ends up on black, you'd still be leading 90 chips to 60. Yeah, but if you bet 45 on red and it winds up on red you'd have 90 and stupid Mouse would have nothing. You realize that in the context of the bet it doesn't matter if you win by 90 or if you win by 15, right? Maybe if you're playing a coward's game. Okay well I think Rooster's not going to get it, but I hope my overall point is clear. Mirrored Play refers to the strategy where if you're in the lead, sometimes your best bet is to just copy what your opponent does. That way, they'll never be able to catch up to you. In the context of the race, if Mouse only had one opponent, and she was in the lead, this ability would guarantee her victory. Of course, the issue with this strategy both here and elsewhere is that other people exist. It's not like you can copy all 11 people's moves. But if you knew who would move the most spaces each turn, you can guarantee a joint win at least. I see what you mean. Still, I don't know how helpful it will be for getting a 12-way joint win. I don't think my ability is going to be any more useful. I've got a thing called Stampede. Basically, it allows me to move to the space behind the animal currently in first place. That doesn't sound that bad. If you're way behind, that could move you way further up. Sure, but it never lets me actually take the lead. Plus, thanks to the movement order, it'll always work out so that after I Stampede, the person in first will be able to move again. My ability's super cool! It's called Dive. It lets me instantly move to the nearest river. With that, you could take an early lead and move 8 spaces forward on the first turn! Yeah, but it doesn't seem to be the most consistent ability. After all, it's the closest river, yeah? I'll need to move forward a bit before I could use it again if I don't want to jump back to the first river. And after I pass the second river, it's completely useless. At least your ability is consistent. Mine's called Lucky Bounce. It moves my animal either 1, 2, or 3 spaces forwards at random. At random? That's odd. Why? Well, all the other abilities seem consistent. It's an odd design choice to add a single piece of randomness. Yeah, well, I think it's probably based on the idea of a lucky rabbit's foot. It's pretty useless, though. My ability is pretty kick rear end! At least this Jade gently caress had the good sense to let me gently caress poo poo up. I've got Dragon Breath. I can choose any lane to breathe fire on. At the end of the turn, anyone on that lane gets burned, and they won't be able to move for the next 3 turns. An offensive ability? Won't be able to move, huh? So that means abilities that don't involve you moving would still be active. Seems like. That might be useful if someone tries to rush to first place. Or if Dragon wanted to rush to first place. Oh, quit your whining, will ya?  I know I might've... I might come across bad, but I'm not some scum who'd sacrifice others to save herself. I was just, ya know, angry at the fact that I was kidnapped and put in this situation. It's alright Dragon, we forgive you. Yo, I'm not apologizing for poo poo, get that thought out of your head. I'm just saying I'm not looking to kill anyone today. Well, we'll leave it at that then. Snake, what about you?[BGM: Dance of the Snakes]  Ah, my turn to divulge my ability, yes? I believe it would be prudent for me to not say it at this moment. What?! Snake, are you serious right now? I ask that you trust me when I say that I doubt it would be of much use in this situation. That's not the point, Snake. We all agreed that we'd share our abilities. As a matter of fact, I don't believe anyone ever said that, merely that we should all check them and reconvene. But either way, I don't hide my ability for no good reason. While I would love for everyone to work together and get out smoothly, I somehow doubt that the Jade Emperor would go through all of this if it would be so simple. There is a real chance we'll end up having some among us who betray the group's trust and attempt to win alone. In that case, my ability may be a last minute tool to prevent such a scenario. However, I must admit my ability is highly conditional. If a potential betrayer knew it ahead of time, they'd easily be able to counteract it. Therefore, for the sake of the group, I believe it best to keep this ability to myself until further notice. Well, that... it makes sense, I guess. You make a convincing argument, I must admit. I don't like it. Me neither. How do we know anything this gently caress just said is even true? Look, if I really had nefarious intentions, I could simply make up an ability of not much use and claim it as my own. Does the fact that I am outwardly withholding my ability not in itself imply I am trustworthy? Seems like some backwards logic to me, but whatever floats your boat. Whatever, we don't have time to go back and forth like this. We can't start doubting each other this early. If Snake says he has a good reason for withholding his ability, I'm going to trust him. I appreciate that, Mouse. Know your trust is not misplaced. Well if that's settled, should I go next? Yeah, go ahead. I've got a move called Steady Gallop. It lets me move 3 spaces. That's it? That's it. So I guess it's just a better RUN then. It's simple. I like it. Would you look at that, Bunny. It appears Horse simply got a better version of your ability. Hey, I guess you're right. How unfair is that! Who's balancing this thing?? I don't know, maybe there are situations where it's better for your movements to be random. I struggle to think of such a situation. Um... I don't know if my ability is any good. It's called Sweet Sleep. It does nothing on its own, but it lets me make two extra actions next turn. Hey, that could be good! It's not exactly a very fast-paced or flashy ability though. My ability is also conditional, however, I find that it may be of use to the group. It's called Monkey See, Monkey Do. It allows me to use any of the abilities used last turn as if they were my own. Wow. That's really powerful. So basically you get to use anyone's ability? That's like, wicked busted man. That's an ability fit for a main character, not some supporting role. Am I merely a supporting role? Uh, you're a therapist. You support people. That's your role. I don't know if it's actually all that powerful. I mean, don't get me wrong, in the right context it could be great. But it's only ever going to be useful if other people are using their abilities. You can never fire the first shot, as you will. Instead you're entirely dependant on the actions of others. But if things get to a point where most people are using their abilities frequently, she'll be in a powerful position. Hopefully it won't get to that point. Alright, alright, let's get to my ability already. And man, you guys are gonna love this. Seriously, you better start kissing my rear end now, trying to win me over. Just get on with it. I've got a thing called Encouraging Crow. It moves any other animal 4 spaces forwards. Four spaces, huh? That could be pretty good. But you can't use it on yourself, right? Only other people. Yes, well, I imagine people will be begging for me to give them this blessing. Seems to me like out of anyone, you're the one with the most 'supporting' role in all of this. Well, you know what they say. If you shine the brightest, you only shine slightly brighter than everyone else's brightness. We... don't have time to try deconstructing that. Dog, could you tell us your ability? Sure thing. Not that it's much of anything. It's called Rabid Leap. I jump over the closest person in front of me. And by 'jumping', I basically mirror my position in relationship to theirs. Like, if someone was 1 space in front of me, I'd move 2 spaces. But if someone was 3 spaces in front of me, I'd move 6. The ability's not great unless I'm really far behind. But then again, since I come almost last in the moving order, it's basically a guaranteed 2 spaces at least. That's all, right? Then should I say what I can do? Sure, go ahead. Okay, so my ability is called Loser's Desperation for some reason. It's not a very good name. But it is a good ability! I can move one space for every person ahead of me. Which means I can catch up if I'm far behind. Actually, considering that you come last in the animal movements, it's not improbable that you could use it to move 11 spaces. Maybe, but even if I got a lead like that, I can't do anything when I'm ahead. It's worse than just running when I'm in first.[BGM: Hear No Evil]  So that's that, then, that's everyone's abilities? And what was the point of that, exactly? It felt like I was in class or something. It gave us peace of mind, and a greater perspective. True, but I don't know if it answered the question of what we should do now. We all need to cross the finish line at the same time, right? It's simple then! Let's all promise to Run every time. That way, we'll move at the same rate and finish at the same time. Moron! Weren't you listening to the drat rules? We've only got 12 turns to cross, and there's 24 spaces to move. If we ran each turn, we'd only get halfway there. So that's it then? We're screwed?! Calm down everyone! I'm sure we can come to some sort of solution here. We have a lot of abilities at our disposal. Maybe we can work something out! Curses! We're really being undone by this stupid game? Who on earth would put us through something this childish? Actually... I think I might know who the Jade Emperor is. WHAT?!? For real? Seriously? You're not messing with us, are you? So it seems I was not the only to notice. Wait, Snake, you knew too? Why didn't you say anything earlier? What good would it do? What good? I think I've got the god drat right to know who's putting us through this bullshit! I don't think talking about it is wise. Well at this point I think we're all going to demand to know. Monkey, who do you think it is? To be clear, I'm not certain. However, there's a piece of evidence which strongly leads to this conclusion. As some of you might have noticed, the Jade Emperor had what looked like part of a butterfly tattoo exposed on his hand.Monkey was right. I had seen that, too. There's someone I know who also has a butterfly tattoo there on his body. And this person is... disturbed. Someone I've warned about. A patient of mine. Who? Brian Morris.Morris?! That last name. He... no.
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Sep 26, 2022 18:40
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I feel like this conversation goes on a bit too long for its own good. There are some nice moments, especially for Dog, but it ends up feeling kinda dry and clunky.
Junpei fucked around with this message at 02:29 on Sep 27, 2022 |
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Sep 27, 2022 01:35
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I think talking about the grand scheme of things is a bit premature for those of us who have yet to experience more than four updates' worth of this game.
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Sep 27, 2022 02:22
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Reworded it to be less... well I avoided using those words you didn't like me using.
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Sep 27, 2022 02:34
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One thing that strikes me about this death game is that, until some more wrinkles show up, it's much more solvable than usual. If you had a couple hours and some paper, it seems like you'd probably be able to work out a solution that gets everyone to the finish at the same time, maybe even including a mechanism to collectively punish anyone who betrays so that there's no incentive to backstab.
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Sep 27, 2022 02:42
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Foxfire_ posted:One thing that strikes me about this death game is that, until some more wrinkles show up, it's much more solvable than usual. If you had a couple hours and some paper, it seems like you'd probably be able to work out a solution that gets everyone to the finish at the same time, maybe even including a mechanism to collectively punish anyone who betrays so that there's no incentive to backstab. So far, the game is completely deterministic outside of 1 power. There is zero reason to backstab unless you want everyone else to die.
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Sep 27, 2022 03:44
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In any case, I wouldn't necessarily call this dry, but I do feel that some of it - stuff like mirror plays - could have been saved for later (would be a great room conversation, if this game had escape rooms). The game itself reminds me a lot of the Ambidex Game (Virtue's Last Reward) which was both very solvable and inflicted on a group with absolutely no inclination to actually solve it when they could just backstab people instead. edit: it's also possible that people are lying about their abilities, though the very on-the-nose names makes that less likely.
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Sep 27, 2022 04:04
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I obviously won't be saying anything specific, but I will say that your concerns will be addressed in a few updates 
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Sep 27, 2022 04:35
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Ignoring Items/Confess and sticking to Run or Act, then the group's in good shape to cooperatively win in 12 rounds. With 24 spaces to go, everyone will need an average of 2 spaces per turn. Mouse is self-sufficient. Being able to move as fast as someone else is good enough, especially since Horse moves 3. Ox is self-sufficient. Being able to follow the leader should be enough since the group should be able to push someone ahead far enough to time everything properly. Cat is mostly self-sufficient. Dive brings her 8 spaces forward and then either 3 or 4 to the next river. She needs 2 more spaces from her friends to make it to the end. Rabbit is mostly self-sufficient if the ability is uniformly random. 1, 2, or 3 spaces is an average of 2. If unlucky, he will need a bit of help to reach the end. Dragon needs serious help since her ability doesn't boost mobility. Snake will be assumed to need help since his ability remains unknown. Horse is self-sufficient. Balancing Gallop (3) and Run (1) is all that's needed to let others finish at the same time. Sheep's ability is unclear, but I think she needs help. If Sweet Sleep stacks exponentially, she's fine. Otherwise, she needs help since it only lets her Run 3 spaces every 2 turns, so she'll be 6 short. Monkey is self-sufficient, with the ability to Ox/Pig "catch up". Her spare turns will be key, as she spams "Rooster boost". Rooster needs serious help (from Monkey), but he can spam his 4 move boost to help the group succeed. Dog is self-sufficient. Rabid Leap should average 2 or more spaces a turn. And if he's ahead, he only needs to Run, so there's no problem then. Pig is self-sufficient since Loser's Desperation should help get her ahead early. Midway, her pace may slow, but near the end, others will be close enough to the finish line that she can catch up. To recap, Dragon, Snake, and Rooster are in danger due to their lack of innate mobility. Cat, Rabbit, and Sheep will need a little bit of help. Everyone else is self-sufficient. I think that Monkey and Rooster's boost are the key to ensuring everyone makes it to the end in a timely manner. Monkey will spend most of her turns Rooster boosting, and Rooster will Rooster boost every turn. Eager to see how it'll all go wrong.
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Sep 27, 2022 04:38
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The biggest issue is that everyone needs to cross on the same turn, and not taking an action results in execution. If they try to arrange it from the get-go, and someone like Rooster or Dragon decided they have a better idea and acts on their own, people are gonna get screwed even if no one is intentionally betraying someone. And I'm guessing it's pretty unlikely that no one will intentionally betray another.
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Sep 27, 2022 14:33
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NeoRonTheNeuron posted:Ignoring Items/Confess and sticking to Run or Act, then the group's in good shape to cooperatively win in 12 rounds. 2 corrections: It's "Tiger", not cat, cat is a separate, special animal in this context. Mouse's ability stipulates that it "would move the same number of spaces in the same direction as them", which is interesting because that actually means you can go backwards. This is interesting, because that may or may not mean snake's ability is to reverse the direction of someone. I also wonder if rooster accurately reported his ability description as it may or may not allow him to move someone 4 spaces in ANY direction. Bunny seems to be a counter to dragon, depending on when dragon's ability resolves since she can't predict his movements.
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Sep 27, 2022 15:12
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