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 What is this? Mozart: The Last Secret/The Conspirators of Prague is a point and click adventure game that was released in 2009. We play as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who, for some reason, doesn't sound Austrian and is also a freemason in this game. The year is (I believe) 1788 and apparently there is a conspiracy going on in Prague, of all places. This game was developed by a French company called GameCO Studios and it was originally published as Mozart: The Last Secret. It was localised to German, Dutch and Russian shortly afterwards and they renamed the game to Mozart: The Conspirators of Prague. An English release was planned and the localization was completed but it was never released. A version of the game was found last year with the English localization included, patches were quickly released to convert the French and Dutch versions to the English language. I am using a patched version of the game for this LP. A revamp of this game was released last year and the game was renamed a second time to Mozart: Requiem, which is available to buy on Steam. There are some controversies surrounding this release though. Nowhere on their store page have they mentioned that this release is a revamp of a game from 2009, they're treating it as a new release and asking for a premium price tag. They did include the English localization and have added Italian, German Spanish and Korean subtitles, but for some reason, the German, Dutch and Russian voice acting has been completely removed from the game as well as the Dutch subtitles. In fact, they've replaced the original German subtitles with new ones that are apparently very sloppy. LP Details This will be a VLP and I will be recording commentary live and unscripted. I don't have a schedule, it all depends on when I have free time around work and child care but I will aim to have at least one video up a week. Let's Play: Mozart: The Last Secret/The Conspirators of Prague            Bonus Video - Additional Footage Rocket Baby Dolls fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Jul 15, 2023 |
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Jun 3, 2023 11:52
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Well, I'm always happy to see Czech names and words mangled in videogames but the names are pretty good so far - except the Slovakian coachman whose pronounciation of Czech* is a loving miracle - I think that "NERRRRRRROZUMÍM" (|I don't underrrrrrrrrstand") is going to keep me awake at night for quite a bit. Also whoever subtitled "Czech" as "Tchek" is in dire need of defenestration. Anyway... What a weird game? I don't think I ever heard of it. *Czechs and Slovaks generally understand each other but they definitely use different languages.
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Jun 3, 2023 13:58
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I feel like this is going to make me angry, being a music teacher and all, but I'm really intrigued as to what stupid conspiracies they're going to bring up with all of this.
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Jun 3, 2023 16:22
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It had a Russian release back in the day, too.Professor Duck posted:I'm really intrigued as to what stupid conspiracies they're going to bring up with all of this. Also, keep track of how many times Mozart literally wagers his own life.
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Jun 3, 2023 16:28
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SelenicMartian posted:It had a Russian release back in the day, too. I'll be sure to do that. Just other random bits here: Music used: K. 527 "Don Giovanni", Overture K. 525 Serenade No. 13 (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik), Mvnt II: Romanza K. 525 Serenade No. 13 (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik), Mvnt IV: Rondo Mozart actually uses a catalog number during the composing puzzle-- "KV563"--which is Divertimento for String Trio in Eb Major, composed in 1788. The only problem is that the KV catalog numbers weren't published until 1862. Professor Duck fucked around with this message at 18:18 on Jun 3, 2023 |
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Jun 3, 2023 17:40
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anilEhilated posted:Well, I'm always happy to see Czech names and words mangled in videogames but the names are pretty good so far - except the Slovakian coachman whose pronounciation of Czech* is a loving miracle - I think that "NERRRRRRROZUMÍM" (|I don't underrrrrrrrrstand") is going to keep me awake at night for quite a bit. Professor Duck posted:I feel like this is going to make me angry, being a music teacher and all, but I'm really intrigued as to what stupid conspiracies they're going to bring up with all of this. I feel like this game is going to annoy many people in lots of different ways. I was irked by the American accents for a game set in Europe that was made in France. I'll be interested to know just how much that they've mangled the language. SelenicMartian posted:It had a Russian release back in the day, too. Ah yes, how could I forget to include Russia? I've amended the details. It seems like the Russian language has been completely removed from the re-release too. Professor Duck posted:I'll be sure to do that. I didn't even think about the amount of copyrights that would be slapped on these videos. I'm not going to be surprised by any of the historical inaccuracies in this game.
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Jun 3, 2023 18:25
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Rocket Baby Dolls posted:
They've been good, at least from a musical standpoint. They're all pieces that were composed around the setting of the game (I'm assuming we're in Sept, 1788 given the poster in the opening). Now, Mozart being in Prague at all in 1788 is pretty inaccurate--he left for Vienna after premiering Don Giovanni in 1787, and didn't go back until 1789.
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Jun 3, 2023 18:43
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It's always been interesting to find games where music composition becomes a reoccurring part of the gameplay. I mean, not in one-off puzzles like Resident Evil, but it has to be done enough that it almost becomes part of the core gameplay. So it's interesting to see it here. The only other game where it sorta appears is the Playstation 3 game, Eternal Sonata, which stars Chopin as kind of a protagonist. Part of the game involves finding bits of music and then finding someone else in the world that could use that music to finish their composition. I have never been able to solve one of these puzzles. As an aside, it would be funny if failure in these games is Goonies-style, where if you make too mistakes then Mozart just falls into a pit and dies.
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Jun 7, 2023 08:01
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This video covers the third and fourth chapters. There are a total of eighteen chapters, but two of those are the intro and outro videos. In this episode, Mozart visits the Nostitz Theatre (was it ever called this?) for rehearsals and then returns back to the hotel to keep his appointment with Dubcek. I made a slight mistake by forgetting to use an inventory item at an optimal time. It's not a big issue but it did waste a bit of time, if I wasn't already twenty minutes into recording I would have restarted it. Rocket Baby Dolls fucked around with this message at 10:54 on Jun 8, 2023 |
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Jun 8, 2023 10:51
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Rocket Baby Dolls posted:In this episode, Mozart visits the Nostitz Theatre (was it ever called this?) anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 11:02 on Jun 8, 2023 |
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Jun 8, 2023 10:58
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anilEhilated posted:Haven't watched the video yet but that is definitely a real location named after the noble who funded building it, Franz Anton von Nostitz-Rieneck. It is, in fact, still a theater now, although under a different name. It's definitely a real location. It's probably just me being pedantic as I haven't seen this place specifically named Nostitz Theatre but the translators have probably just anglicized the name, the closest name that I've seen is the Nostitzsches Nationaltheater.
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Jun 8, 2023 11:19
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That is most likely the same building. One possible reason for this is that it didn't stay the Nostitz theatre for long - it was built in 1783 and renamed in 1799. The name it went by afterwards (and now, with a brief intermission during the Communist times) translates to Estates Theatre.
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Jun 8, 2023 11:23
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Here’s the Mozart that crowds revere. Congratulations!
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Jun 8, 2023 22:40
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anilEhilated posted:That is most likely the same building. One possible reason for this is that it didn't stay the Nostitz theatre for long - it was built in 1783 and renamed in 1799. The name it went by afterwards (and now, with a brief intermission during the Communist times) translates to Estates Theatre. Thank you for the clarification. sb hermit posted:Here’s the Mozart that crowds revere. Congratulations! Maybe not this particular Mozart, I'm intrigued to see where this adventure is going to take him. I still feel like this game is set in Colonial America and Mozart is about to declare his desire to secede from England.
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Jun 8, 2023 23:31
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More random poo poo! "Cosi fan tutte" means "so do they all", literally. While it might not be a common Italian saying, it IS another Mozart opera reference (K. 588) I seriously doubt that a bust of Handel would be present in an opera house in Prague. Keep in mind here that the reason Mozart is big in Prague is because he personally went there and premiered an opera there. Handel's output was mostly composed in England (with a few operas composed in Italy). While Mozart did have a score of The Messiah, which is housed in the Lobkowicz Palace in Prague, I would question it if was ever staged by this time. I also would doubt that a bust of Vivaldi would be present. While his proximity and contact with the public would make it more likely, the general taste of music changed and a lot of Vivaldi's best works were "antiquated" close to the time he died, 40-odd years before the game takes place. I imagine that's the context of Mozart's comment of his music being too "cute" K. 551, Symphony no. 41 is one of Mozart's most famous symphonies (famous enough to be given a subtitle, which were not given by the composers at the time--giving works "names" beyond a utilitarian style/number was a convention that didn't really start until the Romantic Era), and was finished in August of 1788. The music with the piano is the same as part 1 Bach's bust is questionable, too. Most of Bach's life was spent as a court composer, and while there were some works that were published publically, most of his output would have been heard only by aristocracy. While it is a reasonable assumption that someone in charge of this opera house would've heard his compositions, a good majority of his work was written for chamber ensembles, or solo instruments (which reflects the nature of his work). On top of that, much interest in Bach came in the 19th century after Mendelssohn's staging of St. Matthew's Passion in 1829. 1st conducting minigame comes from the Divertimento everyone's been clamoring about. 2nd conducting minigame: Concert for 2 violins and orchestra in C Major, K. 190 Also: I use the term "conducting" incredibly graciously here.
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Jun 9, 2023 13:42
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This LP is funny for all the in/semi-accuracies the game seems to be reveling in.
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Jun 9, 2023 17:28
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You're all going to love the next update! I feel like the word bonkers doesn't get as much use as it should these days.
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Jun 9, 2023 23:05
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Rocket Baby Dolls posted:You're all going to love the next update! I feel like the word bonkers doesn't get as much use as it should these days. bonkers is a good word a lot more playful than the alternatives
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Jun 10, 2023 02:51
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anilEhilated posted:Also whoever subtitled "Czech" as "Tchek" is in dire need of defenestration.
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Jun 11, 2023 19:05
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This video contains the fifth chapter where Mozart visits Prague castle to speak to Mazzini, who is currently treating the unwell Emporer Joseph II. We also begin chapter six, which takes place in the Masonic chapter of the city where we get to meet some of Mozart's brethren.
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Jun 12, 2023 11:11
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Oh boy, the "battle" of Caransebes. Joseph II might have been wounded there, but what he definitely brought home from that campaign was the illness that eventually killed him. The war was an attempt by Russia and Austria-Hungary to stop the expansion of Ottoman Empire and seize control of the Balkans. On the A-H side, it was also a total military disaster complete with lack of communication, logistical mishaps and setting up the field HQ in a bloody swamp. Anyhow, Caransebes was where the Austro-Hungarian army intended to stop Turkish reinforcements. The army got there and set about scouting the countryside; they found no Turks but they managed to come upon some locals who were willing to sell their booze. This is where things get a bit muddy, but the most likely explanation is that the scouting hussars were there first and started drinking before an infantry unit got wind of it and demanded to join in. The hussars refused and set up an improvised barricade that held until nightfall, when someone on the infantry side had the brilliant idea to scare the cavalrymen off by firing a few shots into the air and shouting "Turks! Turks!". The result was a complete clusterfuck with drunken hussars, panicking horses and confused infantrymen giving enough of an impression of a battle that logistics train decided to run for it; to top it off the artillery opened fire. Death toll estimates differ wildly - between 150 and 10 000 - but it was enough for the A-H army to retreat and leave the strategic position to the Turks who showed up a couple of days later and took it without any resistance, with the Austro-Hungarians already on their merry way home. What Joseph II himself was doing in the middle of the mess is a bit less clear - we know he had a dream of proving himself a brave military commander who leads from the front and there are accounts of his carriage being pushed from a bridge into the river in the panic, making it quite possible he sustained a wound that way. That'd be the least of his worries, though - staying at the aforementioned swamp HQ has already ruined his health. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 14:42 on Jun 13, 2023 |
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Jun 12, 2023 12:26
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Thanks for playing this one, it looks like it's gonna be... Something.
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Jun 12, 2023 14:49
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Music used: K.409, Minuet in C K.107 Concerto No. 1 in D Major, mvnt II: Andante K. 299 Concerto for Flute and Harpsichord in C Major, mvnt III: Rondo A diapason is a rank of organ pipes. The use of the term in the context doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense, though. He's starting with A because, historically, that is the pitch that orchestral instruments tuned to. At the very least, they set the tuning to NOT A = 440, which wasn't standard at the time....in fact, there really WAS no standard frequency of tuning note at all. Different counties had different ideas of what frequency A should be. So much so that there was a section of the Treaty of Versailles (that ended WWI) that contained a treatise on creating a "standard" tuning pitch. Also: Mozart: "I shall start by tuning A!" RBD: *tunes G first* Professor Duck fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Jun 13, 2023 |
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Jun 12, 2023 18:34
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This is turning out to be one of the more enjoyable LPs that I've done and that's not because of the game itself. I'm enjoying the learning experience mainly.
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Jun 12, 2023 23:38
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Here's a sneak peek of what to expect in the next update:
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Jun 13, 2023 13:42
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This video contains the final part of the sixth chapter as well as the seventh and eighth chapters in their entirety. Now that Mozart is all dressed up the ceremony can now begin. Even though none of the other members of the order are wearing their ceremonial garbs...
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Jun 15, 2023 10:33
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Rocket Baby Dolls posted:This is turning out to be one of the more enjoyable LPs that I've done and that's not because of the game itself. I'm enjoying the learning experience mainly. Of the setting? That's one of the reasons I loved Pentiment.
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Jun 16, 2023 07:02
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Samovar posted:Of the setting? That's one of the reasons I loved Pentiment. I'm enjoying the history and music education from that people are sharing.
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Jun 16, 2023 08:16
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Not much for me to dig into in this update - I'm fairly sure all the Freemasons presented here are fictional (or just didn't make a sufficiently large mark on history). As for the names, I'm fairly sure Epoch is not a surname in Czech, Slovak or German. Ilan Havel is an odd duck - Ilan is not a name (Milan, however, is one, so someone might have misheard something), but Havel is a Czech surname (possibly the most famous bearer of which having been Václav Havel) but at the time of the game's setting it was more likely to be a first name. There were actually three masonic lodges in Prague at the time the game takes place, but their time was nearing an end - Joseph II's father was a freemason himself and while the Emperor simply sought to bring them into the Imperial fold (and under his control), his nephew Franz II outright banned them in 1795. It's generally difficult to find much reliable information on secret societies thanks to their tendency to uncritically assimilate legends or outright bullshit into their "history" - we had a good demonstration of that with the argument about origins of Freemansonry in the previous video. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 08:50 on Jun 19, 2023 |
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Jun 16, 2023 18:07
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LOTS of music, but not much else for me to talk about in this one K. 527, Don Giovanni, overture K. 139, Missa Solemnis in C minor, Crucifixus K. 504, Symphony No. 38 in D Major K. 345, Thamos, King of Egypt, Maestoso, Allegro K. 492, The Marriage of Figaro, Overture Symphony No. 38 is commonly referred to as the "Prague" Symphony because it was premiered there. However, there is a lack of evidence to suggest that Mozart "dedicated" the symphony to Prague, or even wrote it particularly for a trip to that location. Professor Duck fucked around with this message at 14:24 on Jun 17, 2023 |
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Jun 17, 2023 01:05
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When you said "I choose chaos", I didn't expect this.
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Jun 19, 2023 05:03
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This video contains chapters nine and ten in its entirety. Mozart re-enters the Freemason's headquarters and no one is surprised to see him. After some amateur sleuthing, he moves on to a new location in search of an old friend and then manages to insult an entire ethnic group.
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Jun 19, 2023 12:50
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Rocket Baby Dolls posted:
Wow. This really IS historically accurate!
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Jun 22, 2023 10:24
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I was hoping to have an update tonight but I encountered a bug which put any form of progress to a complete standstill about 2/3rds of the way through. It's too late to start again tonight as this chapter involves a game of chance and it took me ten minutes to get through it this time due to some bad luck. I'm not sure if I'll have enough time to record tomorrow but I'll try again this weekend.
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Jun 22, 2023 23:14
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Rocket Baby Dolls posted:I was hoping to have an update tonight but I encountered a bug which put any form of progress to a complete standstill about 2/3rds of the way through. It's too late to start again tonight as this chapter involves a game of chance and it took me ten minutes to get through it this time due to some bad luck. I'm not sure if I'll have enough time to record tomorrow but I'll try again this weekend. Bummer. Take your time.
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Jun 23, 2023 01:04
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Isn't it awfully convenient that all of those Masonic ciphers can be solved with The Awesome Power of Music. Anyhow, some more nitpicks: *Mishka is a very diminuitive form of the name Michal or Micha(e)la - I have a hard time believing anyone over the age of twelve would use it to refer to themselves. *While "house close by the bridge of stone" sounds like a supremely unhelpful address in a city built on a river, it would have actually worked at the time the game takes place. He can only be referring to (king) Charles' Bridge which was the only way to cross the Vltava/Moldau until 1841. I was actually pretty impressed by their research until- *The statue of Atlas - ARRRRGH. I wish popular media stopped doing that. Depictions of Atlas holding the world are based on misinterpretation - in Greek myth he's holding up the sky. *So, yeah, the whole racism question. I think Mozart's assertion that she would not be invited into society would be reasonable at the time - we've got a long history of systemic racism towards the Romani that, I am sad to report, continues to this day. What I don't get is why the woman apparently turns into a parrot at the end of their little exchange. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 19:14 on Jun 23, 2023 |
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Jun 23, 2023 19:12
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Music used: K. 477 Maurerische Trauermusik, or Masonic Funeral Music with a HARD shift to K. 492, Overture from The Marriage of Figaro in a really somewhat inappropriate spot Bad MIDI rendition of K. 504, Symphony No. 38 K. 487, Piano concerto No. 21 in C major K. 370, Quartet in F Major with a nasty cluster chord thrown in for good measure ("A very good interpretation" is questionable there, game) K. 312, Allegro in G minor with another hard shift, but this time to K. 527, Overture from Don Giovanni/ K. 332, Piano Sonata No. 12 in F major I thought more of my expertise would be at play here, but I'm becoming less relevant as this game wears on. Mozart's just kinda a placeholder character, it seems, unless something comes along later to alter that.
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Jun 23, 2023 23:56
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anilEhilated posted:
Women like shiny things, duh
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Jun 23, 2023 23:57
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This is chapter eleven in its entirety. It took me an hour and a half to record this twenty-one-minute video. I had to abandon a second recording attempt tonight due to hitting a wall again with the same bug but I managed to avoid it on this attempt.I have no idea how much time I spent trying to get through the game of chance.
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Jun 25, 2023 00:33
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Professor Duck posted:Music used: I kind of wish the game let you play MIDI versions of the part where you're 'fixing' the score by moving notes around, just to hear how screwed up you could make it, and then went to proper recordings when you finally got it right. (I guess you'd want a button to play it how it's supposed to be, too). They did a decent job making the 'conducting' mini-game sound bad when you screw up. It's somewhat conceptually interesting that these bits suggest that Mozart is maybe 'thinking through' the solution to other puzzles via music, though I'm not really sure the game isn't just vaguely mixing music and puzzle-solving together.
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Jun 25, 2023 00:41
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