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X7 Narrative Overview Transcripts and Notes: Acts IV-V, Analysis, & Endings Sections

Be warned, this is very long. You can scratch off my "I'm not gonna squint" comment from the last one, I ended up squinting so hard that now mermaid people are canon in DE, I guess?

Read my Acts 1, 2 and 3 transcripts here.

Once again, this does not include the first "Summary" slides of acts IV and V, which I already transcribed like yonks ago.

Act IV: The Doubt

me doubting my decisions

Location

Top box: "2 nautical miles to Hämärä Maa"

Blue sticky note: "Another Locust Dream... Visuals TBD"

Bottom of slide: "[...] and clearly all the inmates have much more freedom than they would in a more traditional prison. At the same time the cost of living and the low income has forced some of the guards to [...] and sometimes it can cause a friction. Imagine coming home from the [...] and watching a [...] guard on the [...] He's sorry [...] kicked him out, he just needs a place to crash for four days. Overall there's a beautiful [...] in the [...] sincerity in the Tréville. ([...] about taking [...] don't you?)"

Characters

Supporting: Gang of Girls

Purple box: "Philippe Constance Rhöne" Grey-ish box: "Middle Man" Blue box: "Family Friend" Bottom olive box: "Girl gang" Two blue stickies: "Horse thief?" "Siamese Twins?"

Plot details

Bottom box:

Cuno and Cunoesse get off the train and reach the Tréville. They start seeking a way across the bay to Hämärä Maa.

Cunoesse might remember an old family/tribe acquaintance, who used to buy marrow from her people. They always came to Hämärä Maa in a boat, so they must have a boat. Find and talk to this person.

Cuno and Cunoesse try to find the person, but it turns out they've been locked up.

C&C can go to the wall of prisoners, and ask to talk to the person.

Maybe they need to do something for The Wall before the person is revealed?

The Person reveals himself and probably wants something to [...] for their small vessel to be given to C&C. (This is the straightforward way to Hämärä Maa.)

The kids can also decide not to help the person, in which case they need to find an alternate way to the island. These may or may not include: Donkey-jacking -- jacking a donkey and using it to cross over; Building a raft; Stealing a raft; Hitching a ride with the diver-beam in the evening? (FAILSAFE) [A/N: confident this one is correct, how are they crossing over on a donkey???]

[...] prison boys [...]

[...] Skill, Surface Tension.

[...]

[...] girl gang.

Subpoint: [...] they've been secretly building their own raft on the beach, aiming to sail to Hämärä Maa themselves.

Subpoint: Once you've found this out and located the raft, you can attempt to steal it, which will lead to Cunoesse encouraging Cuno to fight the Girl Leader.

Subpoint: Little does he know, they might have more in common than he thinks -- for if he takes her down, she will make a desperate, crying threat to call her father, the most violent man in Rhöne-Tréville, the only person even she is afraid of.

This is also the earliest point where Cuno might begin to connect that nobody is actually after them, and that the RCM doesn't care about some abusive drunk. He won't end up in a prison like this.

Tasks

Critical tasks:

Find a way across the strait to Hämärä Maa:

Jack the raft

Swarm evolves

Side tasks:

"More like *dread* raft" - Dress the raft up, make it pretty.

Make the warden look like a fool.

"What would a real Rhöne do" with Philippe Constance Rhöne.

Win The Wall's respect.

Set up an enterprise, Cuno's little Shit Show.

Reactivity/Outcomes:

Swarm variations

Items

Maybe: Book; Prison photo [...]; Magazine

Thoughts, Special Assets

Cuno thought: "I am Cuno"

Systems asset: "Leave the area by boat/raft.

Relationship Beats

Cunoesse vs. Her Kind; Cuno vs. The Unfamiliar

Act V: The Arrival

Location

Breach Atoll / Hämärä Maa

Top left box: "Five kilometers west of Rhöne-Tréville lies the Breach Atoll. Erected in the atoll is the strange rocky-archipelago the inhabitants call Hämärä Maa - "Twilight Land" in Suruese. Underneath it -- a vast network of underwater caves. Small Suru-community lives, spread out on the archipelago. They are descendants of the Katlan migrant workers who came to Insulinde some ~50 years ago, answering the call of Phillippe I, who broadcast on every available media channel. "Come be part of building the future on Le Petit Continent!"

[...]-there, the Suru brought the knowledge of Katlan shamans, a knowledge that in deep underground lakes live blind-cave fish -- Latinname Latinname -- if distracted and prepared with few other ingredients, the brine made out of the bone marrow of that fish will get you so high you will literally shit your pants. Through generations of genetic adaptation the Suru cave fishers who came and claimed the archipelago had adapted to diving in the caves. Increased lung capacity, larger pupils to see better in dark water, almost supernatural [...], some are even [...]

Over time word of the Suru and their fishing techniques has reached the exo-prison community. Desperate people have established a microeconomy, which stands on sending boys and young men in the caves to dive in darkness to catch these blind fish. They trade the fish to a Local Buyer, who passes it on to serious middlemen, who in their town distribute it between many new age shops, gurus, mystics, psychonauts and occasional coalition government's covert operatives."

Top right stickies: "Cave divers go in the caves with very little equipment. Regular people literally can't do it without diving gear." "Cunoesse's people live on that archipelago." "Approx. 3 years ago Cunoesse left Hämärä Maa." "Trip thinks he's [...], but Cunoesse is [...]."

Characters

Character bubble: Crucial: Cuno, Cunoesse, [...], The Matriarch Necessary: Jaakko's parents, The Shamans, The Year-King Supporting: The Diver Boys, Islanders in funeral procession, The Oldest Man Marginal: Jaakko, the dead boy

Character list: Note on top reads: "*very* tentative list." Row 1: The Oldest Man (Cunoesse's grandfather); [too small to read] Row 2: The Matriarch (current head of the [...] / community, leading the funeral procession) Row 3: Jaakko, Kid cunoesse killed; Jaakko's parents Row 4: The Diver Boys; Kids who dive for the cave fish Row 5: The Year-King; Person who was ritually drowned (their funeral) Row 6: Islanders in funeral procession; Non-interactable crowd NPCs; The Diver Boys

Plot Details

Box 1: So what *is* Cunoesse's story?

Cunoesse has brought Cuno to Hämärä Maa as a replacement for a kid she drowned three years ago.

Cuno and Jaakko -- the drowned kid -- don't have a lot in common. Both are/were boys with red hair, and about the same build but that's about it. Only a child's mind would come up with a plan to replace the dead kid with an 'identical' one so she'd be accepted back in her tribe.

But Cuno can't just be like Jaakko, he has to *become* Jaakko.

The Suru have a coming of age rite that involves drinking a brew made of the bone marrow of a blind underwater cave fish. This experience has sometimes profound, sometimes devastating effect on one's consciousness.

Subpoint: Perhaps this "Naming Ceremony" doesn't happen until the Hämäräns are 10 years old, so that's why Cunoesse never got her name, and this is the pretense under which she lures Cuno into the ceremony -- a name for herself (but Cuno doesn't know it's also going to be a new name for him.)

Cunoesse believes that if she subjects Cuno to this ceremony and "spirit guides" him through this process Cuno might actually *become* Jaakko. Or at least accept he's Jaakko now. She's been laying foundation for this transformation throughout this whole journey.

Cunoesse's people thought her dead, drowned with the boy. Hardly anyone could recognize her at first sight.

Subpoint: Maybe Cunoesse hid the body |under a rock in one of the caves| before she fled Hämärä Maa, so in her mind no-one can definitely claim the kid she brought back isn't Jaakko.

Box 2: Psychedelic Sequence

We want this to be a visually memorable and spectacular setpiece, where we can bend the rules of everything we visually do with dialogue and visuals and apply dream-logic.

The entire underwater showdown will be in FELD.

We can depart from / play with the isometric perspective, switching from a side-view showing the vastness of the dark ocean, with C&C small figures, sinking.

Experiment with overlays, filters as well as painted and/or 3D modeled additions to the scene, showing people, motifs and iconic elements from their journey. There can be lots of reactivity here, with the visual elements reflecting decisions the player had made throughout the game.

Competitive Red Checks are the key new feature we want to test here, to create unique playthroughs and the impression of truly "fighting yourself" as the rolled value of Cuno or Cunoesse's Red Checks affects the difficulty of the other's counter-attack.

For the first time Skills may break the barrier and commune with each other.

Cunoesse comes out of the trip with +1 Psyche if she lives.

Stickies: Multiple life/death outcomes. Swarm / Locust City side-plot reaches its conclusion. End of Evangelion style psychedelic underwater fight sequence. New Home for Locusts Funeral cultural event.

Tasks

Note on slide reads "needs work"

Critical: "The path through Act V is still largely TBD." "In its bare minimum implementation, Hämärä Maa could have the same density as the Deserter's Island finale of Disco Elysium, where the game's entire conclusion is communicated through a small number of characters -- three very extensive and immersive dialogues (one of which is a stylized dream sequence) followed by a posse epilogue. Although railroaded, Disco's finale had a *page-turning* quality to it that we should aim for, as going too much into the mundane life of the Hämäräns would kill the pacing. However, since the entire journey has been about getting to the island, we *should* give the player at least a little more to see and do than the Deserter's island did.

An example of how the task chain at Hämärä Maa could look:

Face Cunoesse's folks

Find a new home for the Locust City.

Learn how the brew works.

Make the brew

Go to the caves.

Survive the caves.

Bring 'Jaakko' to his parents."

Reactivity/Outcomes: [...] Cunoesse changes her mind, valuing Cuno more than her tribe (accepting Cuno as her new tribe and she doesn't let him [...] Jaakko) [Two sub-stickies, illegible] Cuno drowns and Cunoesse is (this time for real) exiled by her people. Cunoesse drowns and Cuno returns to Jamrock alone Cunoesse manages to brainwash Cuno into Jaakko [...] fragment of the boy's psyche lives on in the depths [One sub-sticky , illegible]

Items

Definitely: Interactable: The blind cave-fish

Maybe: Other: Some diving equipment for Cuno?; Jaakko's item; Worn-out shaving brush Interactable: Interactable pamphlet from Philippe I's 'invitation'; A book

To be decided: Consumable: x3 Substances; x3 Healing items; x5 Hype items

Thoughts

Cunoesse: Jaakko drowning [+5 blank Thought diamonds] Cuno: Dark jungle; If not *trust* then...? [+4 blank Thought diamonds]

Special Assets

Systems: Arrive by boat/raft; Sailing of [...] (has been cut); [...] Art: Area map; Location splash screen; Hämärän Culture Design; Cultural [...]; Psychedelic dream sequence Audio: Psychedelic dream sequence; The [...] of Hämärä Maa

Relationship Beats

Cunoesse vs. Cuno

Analysis

(Note: This section is EXCLUSIVELY production-related. If you're just here for lore, scroll down to the endings. I will keep the screenshots here much more sparse.)

Total map size: approx. ~1 Martinaise. (Act 2 = the right side of the Traffic Jam zone; Act 3 = the length of the Traffic Jam zone; Act 4 = the entirety of the Church peninsula; Act 5 = Whirling-in-Rags, part of dock, the Capeside Apartments)

Total characters per Tier Tier system explanation (and Disco Elysium analogies)

Crucial (5 characters) - Characters required for the minimum viable path from the first scene to the ending of an Act. (Klaasje, Titus, Ruby, Deserter, Hanged Man, Jean Vicquemare.)

Necessary (16 characters) - Characters who affect the main story significantly, requied[sic] for an enjoyable player experience. (Everart[sic], Joyce, Measurehead, Garte, Station Radio, Sylvie, Lillienne, Dora, Lena and Morrell.)

Supporting (10 characters) - Smaller NPC's who have information affecting the main story, but are skippable. (Cuno, Idiot Doom Spiral, Rosemary, Paledriver, Roy, The Pigs, The Gardener).

Marginal (7 characters) - Additional folks with very little to no bearing on the main story, but with side-tasks of their own. (Working Class Woman, Annette, Dicemaker, Easy Leo, Mega Rich Light Bending Guy, the Ravers, PIss & Fuck, Mañana.)

Total: 38 (characters with portraits & VO (barking NPC's not included))

Character Matrix: "Considering the discrepancy in subjective story significance of a character vs. their actual mechanical importance (e.g. Cuno in Tier 3, Jean in Tier 1), another dimension needs to be added in order to provide the full picture: the expected word count, quantifying how much a character has to say to you over the course of the game.

Downscoping approaches: "Should the scope need to be adjusted, there are two diretions we can take. The trade-off between the number of locations and the distribution of the character population will be a fine balancing act to ensure the locations aren't too barren, nor that the supporting characters cast balloons out of scope. We believe the current number and population of acts are optimal to tell the story we want to tell. More discussion is need on how we should approach scoping each location as well as the story in total; the two most orthogonal approaches are depicted below."

Scenario 1: High location variety; Low character stratification Keep five distinct Locations/Acts, but remove marginal characters and cut down on supporting cast.

PROS:

Keeps the maps fresh & simple, not too long in any one place

Maintains the "road story" vibe

Sense of traveling large distance

A new and unexpected direction for a Disco-like cRPG.

CONS:

Loses the layered richness of the Disco world

Characters in the world only exist to prop up the main story

Hard to ensure each map has enough meaningful content with too few characters

Scenario 2: Low location variety; High character stratification Reduce the number of Locations/Acts, but maintain a higher number of characters in each.

PROS:

The world of Disco is rich because of its supporting cast

Less need to "cram" into a few characters

Easier to populate map with content & reactivity

CONS:

Trouble maintaining the central conceit of a journey

Locations become more complex

Extensive plot reworks needed

Lower art cost, but higher writing & casting cost.

Endings

Summary

Top right box: "The outcome of the Swarm will also be concluded in the endgame."

Stickies: "The Endings are still a work in progress, though we know the broad strokes." "The outcome of the psychedelic sequence will dramatically affect the [...], [...] will be [...] depending on the choices made earlier in the game. "Right now we are thinking that the endings would take place in (part of) existing maps, thereby reusing assets." "We will have a better idea of any additional location or audio resources required as we develop the story further."

Cuno potential outcomes: Dead; Brainwashed; Alive & Sane Cunoesse potential outcomes: Dead; Alive Potential endings: Cuno dead and Cunoesse dead; Cuno dead and Cunoesse alive; Cuno brainwashed and Cunoesse alive; Cuno alive & sane and Cunoesse dead [Two sticky notes, illegible]

Ending 1: Jaakko Ending

Cunoesse alive, Cuno brainwashed Location: Hämärä Maa

Sticky notes: "Cunoesse's manipulation worked. Cuno has fully internalized Jaakko." "The scene closes with Cuno diving dead-eyed among the Hämärän boys. He's one of them now." "Loss of identity. No more Cuno-sentences.

Ending 2: Pale Ending

Cunoesse dead, Cuno alive Location: Tréville, deserted

Sticky notes: "With Cunoesse dead, Hämärä Maa holds nothing for Cuno anymore. He turns back, aimless." "He lands back in Tréville and finds it deserted. The prison has finally moved." "One prisoner has been left behind. They've forgotten him. He could go anywhere, but he [...] "Surely they'll come back for me, won't they?"" "Cuno sits with him. With Cunoesse's death, Cuno's prison has left him too. The thing about freedom is that no one tells you where to go." "Cuno waits with the prisoner indefinitely. We fade to white and roll credits."

Ending 3: Bad Ending

Cuno dead, Cunoesse dead Location: ?

Ending 4: Cycle Ending

Cunoesse alive, Cuno dead Location: ?

Sticky notes: "With Cuno dead and her plan foiled, Cunoesse must exile herself from Hämärä Maa. Again." [...] "[...] has irrevocably closed. In [...], Cunoesse finds that she is bleeding the only blood not of violence. [...]" "The Interval Skill announces: "A new epoch of timekeeping is beginning."" "She goes into another Murder Hangover, back to sleep and hibernation."

Ending 5?: New Tribe Ending

Cunoesse alive, Cuno alive Location: ?

#locust city #project x7

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discardedtower · 1 month ago

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#disco elysium #harry du bois #kim kitsuragi #my favourite kims ever

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discardedtower · 1 month ago

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X7 Narrative Overview Transcripts and Notes: Acts I-III

Hi there. Nothing revolutionary contained in this one, I was just bored so I decided to start writing everything I could see on the other slides I didn't end up doing when this stuff first came out.

This doesn't include the first slides of each Act, which are summaries of everything that happens in them. What's contained in *here* is just production notes and whatnot. Here's some links if you'd like to read something shorter that actually tells you what you're looking at.

Acts 1-3 Summaries Acts 4-5 Summaries

I need to stress by the way, I'm trying to not squint as much at these since it really hurt my eyes last time lol, so this probably won't have as much hard-to-see stuff as the other ones did. Also, length warning, there's more content in these so the post is way longer.

Including screenshots in case anyone else sees things better. Alrighty, have at it

act 1 da murda

They want me to die so this one's a nothingburger and the stuff that could have been a somethingburger just straight up never becomes visibleburger

Location

The timestamp seems to read "Season: Autumn (<5 min. post-Dream)"

This section of the game takes place at the Capeside Apartments, but rather than simply reusing the location from Disco Elysium, it appears they were remodeling and retexturing the maps. There are four images here: "Interior (Old)", "Interior (WIP)", "Exterior Dock (Old)", and "Exterior Dock (WIP)". Probably just so these parts can be visible from a different angle than the game.

This bit is never zoomed in enough for the other text to even become blurry pixels, sadly.

Characters

Five characters appear in this segment of the game: Beast de Ruyter, Cuno's father as seen through his eyes (crucial); Cuno and Cunoesse (crucial); Call Me Mañana (on the cusp between "necessary" and "supporting"); and The Swarm, Cuno's box of locusts (necessary).

The video never zooms in close enough to see the other text clearly, but some of the concept art on these slides appears at full size later on in the video.

Plot Details

They don't even want to give me a chance. The text never even becomes a visible blur, it just stays as lines. There is this odd little "FELD" thing in the top right corner though, I guess?

Tasks

Critical tasks:

First, survive

Return to Cuno's Apartment - [...] Completed when both Cuno & Cunoesse have [...]

Find what's left of Cuno's people [A/N: probably The Swarm]

Subtask: Find something to carry the survivors [A/N: probably the box he carries The Swarm in for the rest of the game] - Complete when Cuno [...] the remaining locusts in the box. [...]

Leave Martinaise forever

Reactivity/Outcomes: Three sticky notes. Too blurry to read.

Items

Definitely: [Interactable item sticky with no text], [Family?] photograph (Interactable)

This section contains a screenshot of a mock-up of the in-game clothing system, with the items that both children are already wearing highlighted. I assume it to be such: For Cunoesse, hat, shirt(?), pants. For Cuno, shirt(?), pants, shoes. There's two sections that have nothing in them, one between Hat and Shirt and one between Pants and Shoes, but I'm not sure what they would be.

There is other text, but it never zooms in enough for it to be visible.

Maybe: [Two interactables, too blurry to read]

To Be Decided: x2 Healing Item (Consumable); x2 Hype Item (Consumable)

Section also contains one other consumable, two clothing items, and one interactible. One of the clothing items has a screenshot which looks to me like some kind of beanie and scarf set? Not sure. Can't read anything else.

Thoughts

Cunoesse has one Thought, and Cuno has two, but I can't read them. I'm not a magician. Sorry guys...

Special Assets

Systems: (unreadable) Art: Title screen at end, Opening dream sequence, Locust Swarm Audio: (unreadable)

Relationship Beats

Cuno vs. His Dad; Cunoesse vs. The Strong

Act II: The Escape

everyone say Thank You Dora for Zooming Riiiiiiight In on This One

Location

Top text:

"On the splash screen at the opening of each Act (Location), the Player should immediately be given the ability to place themselves in time and space to understand how much time has passed since the last Act and how much distance remains to their destination. Each Act (Location) should be introduced alongside the distance to Hämärä Maa (in kilometres.) Therefore, the distance to Hämärä Maa will serve as a reference point for the gameworld and as a tension-building countdown towards the game's climax."

"1,347 km to Hämärä Maa (Tweak the numbers)"

[A/N: Hämärä Maa is likely named after a Finnish song by the same name written by Matti Esko. You can view translated lyrics in the reply section of my Acts 1/2/3 Summaries Transcript post.]

Note on Geography:

"Consulting the huge wall map of Le Petit Continent on the Jamrock Central station wall the kids learn there's a 14:44 train to June Cite, -- Revachol Express' Azure Sans-Détour -- that completes the 1300 km journey south in three days. Before reaching June Cite -- the third largest city on La Petite Continent -- the train drives past Rhône Tréville (formally Royal) Penal Colony. That's right across the bay -- few kilometers -- from Cunoesse's ancestral home -- Hämärä Maa archipelago -- marked as Breach Atol on the station map. If the kids could only find a way to stop the train there, they'd be almost home."

[A/N: chat, is it Le Petit Continent or La Petite Continent, why is it spelt both ways]

Jamrock Central

"Refer to Jamrock Central Map (hyperlinked) for more references." [A/N i would give anything to have this]

Sticky notes: [unreadable] Groningen station Green marble Peacock, cockatoo [unreadable]

[A/N: Groningen Station is the main railway station in Groningen, in the Province of Groningen, in the Netherlands. It's quite lavish. Many of the reference images on the left side of this slide are actually of this train station.]

Middle block of text:

"Jamrock Central is one of the three major transportation hubs in Revachol. The other two being railway hub in Ville de Charbon and the aerodrome on La Délta.

Jamrock station was erected about 150 years ago by the edict of King Philippe III the Squanderer. It was the height of opulance for the Philippian kings and and[sic] not a cent was spared building the station. The ceilings are high, the windows are huge, the floors are all marble and there are columns everywhere. It's the lavishness of the catholic church + of Sheiks of Dubai but with the taste and sensibilities of Louis XIV the Sun King. Or "was", because after the communards dethroned the Suzerains in the Antecentennial Revolution (Turn-of-the-century Revolution) and the Great Spending came to an end no one wanted to carry the insane upkeep costs. Nowadays the marble is cracked, the colors faded and no one is even thinking about renovation. The station is still very busy and multiple trains both regional and continental arrive and depart every hour.

Near the entrance is a fish pond turned wishing well. Beastmaster Raccoono can talk to the fish, Cunoesse can talk to the water and every 30 minutes the pond produced 0.50 cents from people wishing for stuff.

The station should be populated by lots of npc's barking as crowd in a way the Scabs bark in DE. Ideally there's lots of motion and commotion. The busier we can make the place look the better.

Notable areas might be: - The Fish Pond - Source of income, Cuno beastmaster reactivity, Cunoesse surface tension reactivity, foreshadowing the blind cave fish of Hämärä Maa) - The Ticket Offices - Might be just a dinow in the wall. Ask information, buy tickets, pull a schenanigan) - The Little Gentleman's Room (Piss Lounge for Noblemen? Salle de pisse pour Nobles?) - Rob Herculé, set fire to create a distraction to sneak aboard the train. - The Platform (maybe two sets of track visible?) - The one further back would be purely cosmetic -- inaccessible for PC -- and could show cool trains flashing by"

[A/N: Louis XIV, King of France in the 1600's, commissioned the Palace of Versailles and had a huge influence on French Baroque fine art and architecture. Also was notable for a bunch of other things, but that's what's relevant here.]

Middle image references: Estimated size of this map is compared to the whole road area of the Martinaise map, from the scab area down to where the lorries end near the open water lock. There are also some more reference images in black and white, as well as some more images labelled "Early platform concepts".

Right side: Title text "Arrive at dawn, leave at mid-day" A box titled "Visual references: Train, Exterior". Contains many older style train carriages and artworks. There's a draft logo with small top text "REVACHOL EXPRESS", large text below "AZURE SANS-DÉTOUR". There's two sticky notes, one reads "MARX!!!! HELP PLEASE!!!!!!". Middle text: "The Train from the next Act needs to be visible on the platform (exterior only.) Rough level map below; needs to go through several iterations with level & environment design." The rough level map is divided into the Pavillion and the Platform.

Characters

"updated 02/03/2023"

Character Map Crucial: Cuno, Cunoesse, Trip the Train Conductor (Ticket Control) Necessary: Petite Hercule, Beggar King, Dog Courier, Rémy the Ticket Seller Supporting: The Academic, The Wandering Widow Marginal: Man from Jamrock Station, First Class Lounge Door (No portrait, but might need some funny VO (TBD, small)

Character Relationships Beggar King: Observing The Academic, Has dirt on Trip the Train Conductor, Observing Petite Hercule Petite Hercule: Following Cuno, Following Cunoesse, Helps steal from Dog Courier Cunoesse: Wants to mug Petite Hercule Rémy the Ticket Seller: Creeping on Dog Courier

Major Area NPC: Hercule Louveau, the Younger Kid Flow map: C&C enter the Train Station -> (no text visible on other sticky notes)

Biography:

8 years old

Travelling [...] to see his grandparents in June Cite, [...]

sheltered, [...]

total [...]

[...]

fascinated with C&C, because they're the only other unsupervised kids

slowly manipulated [...]

Narrative function:

can be manipulated to help you steal from the Ticket Office

can be mugged for his ticket by [...]

[...]

[crossed off list item] (TBD)

Also a section labelled "Appearance" with no text visible, and some TINY screenshots of text in the bottom left corner

Beggar King No text visible

Man from Jamrock Station No text visible

Dog Courier There is a name here, almost certainly readable with the right eye, but I cannot read it. Most likely her real name.

Some quotes read:

"No petting the dogs!"

"[Name] doesn't like you."

"These aren't dogs for petting."

The dogs in the references appear to be borzois. There's other text, but it's unreadable.

The Academic Split into two. The two sections are titled "Convergent Field of Disaster" and "Dr. Agathe Maier-Sachs" respectively. Also a small text box at the bottom labelled "Financial [Autonomy? Astronomy?]". Other text is unreadable.

Rémy Caprice Subtitle "Employee of the month". Other text unreadable.

Estelle Edelbrock Subtitle "The Wandering Widow". Other text unreadable.

Barkers Cops; Public [...]; Barking passengers; [...]; Janitor Bonus: [...]

Trip the Train Conductor

Present here only as gatekeeper to the Train level

Major character in the next Act

Might even have a different entity name, since he has not introduced himself yet

Needs to be presented with two tickets, or a ticket and a pet carrier to let you aboard

Him letting you aboard ends the Act (otherwise chasing the train as it's pulling out of the station ends the Act)

(Unreadable text box)

This box connects to a box immediately below it in the Act III Characters section.

Plot Details

There is a note on this slide that reads: "Information might be outdated, See the latest Progression Path in the Act II Miro board:"

Location Objective: "Get on the 14:44 train to June Cite. If possible, secure two train tickets. If not, get creative. You arrive at the Station at 07:30. Your time at the Station is limited."

Ways to board the train: "Ideal: You have two tickets. Show your tickets to the conductor and board. Sub-optimal: You have one ticket. Obtain a pet carrier from a Station NPC. Smuggle one of you in it. Inadvisable: You have no tickets. Create a diversion and board in the chaos. (?) Disastrous: Train is departing. Last calls, dramatic encounter where you [...] RC's to mitigate losses. [...] on the train, but you likely lose inventory, health... [has been cut]

The amount of tickets you are holding will have reactivity in the next chapter, as Trip the Train conductor will be able to casually blackmail you."

Ways to obtain tickets: "1. ONE can be stolen from the Ticket Office, if you manipulate the Young Kid to help. 2. ONE can be taken by force from the Young Kid, if the previous has happened. 3. ONE can be bought with fish pond money, but it takes a whole day of fishing for coins.

The dog carrier can be stolen from the Dog-Walker if you can trick the dog to get out.

The diversion involves setting fire to the men's room...?"

Plot:

Cuno and Cunoesse arrive in Jamrock Station at 07:30.

At a first glance it seems cops have beat them to it. Several groups of RCM patrolmen are moving around the crowd. You don't know this yet, but the cops aren't there looking for you, they're looking for someone else.

This "Criminal at Jamrock Station" side-plot will unfold in parallel to Cuno & Cunoesse's story, as their fugitive paths cross during Act 3 and possibly 4.

First they need to know how to get to where they are going. Consulting the huge wall-map of the entire Le Petit Continent the kids learn there's a 14:44 train to June Cite, -- Revachol Express' Azure Sans-Détour -- that completes the 1300km journey south in three days.

Before reaching June Cite -- the third largest city on La Petit Continent -- the train drives past Rhône Tréville (formally Royal) Penal Colony. That's right across the bay from Cunoesse's ancestral home -- Hämärä Maa archipelago. If they could find a way to stop the train they'd be almost home.

Originally, Cunoesse made her way to Revachol as a stowaway on a train along the same line, so she is trying to retrace her steps back home. (Being illiterate, she barely understands maps, and needs Cuno to connect the dots between her recollections and geographical locations.)

The task now is to find a way aboard the train. There's a number of ways to do it. Should they be able to acquire the means they can straightforwardly buy the tickets aboard AZURE SANS-DÉTOUR. Alternatives include, sneaking aboard, stealing a ticket from a young(er) boy or perhaps outright forging it.

The main goal in the Station should be getting aboard that train and one of the more obvious ways to accomplish that is to just buy two tickets. Tickets cost money. There are three ways to get money in the train station.

Fish coins out from the Fish Pond (0.50p/30min)

Beg for money. -- After talking to the character "beggar king" about begging and it's finer nuances and option to tell your own little sob story (Series of RC's on different character in station) to people owns up. Tell it convincingly and they'll give you their change.

Steal a number of items from NPC's in train station and sell them to Beggarking.

Criminal from Jamrock Station notices that and has reactivity to the fact in ACT III.

Once you've found a way to get past Trip and board the Train, the Act ends.

Tasks

Note at top says: "This is a rough overview. The latest Task Chain can be seen in the Progression Path in the Act II miro board:"

Critical tasks: "Find out how to get to Hämärä Maa: Activates upon arrival at the Train Station. Completes upon FELD interaction with the Continental Map. Subtasks: Consult the (huge) railway map on the wall. Ask for directions. Find a way aboard the 14:44 train: There are multiple ways to go about this objective. Let the PLayer know that their time at the Station is limited. This task can fail if the time runs out and the train begins to depart, triggering a failsafe "jumping on board" sequence with critical penalties. (It might also mean a different starting point for Cuno & Cunoesse in Act 3, with them waking up in the Cattle Car instead of the Passenger Car.) Solutions: Buy a ticket; Smuggle one of you on board; Steal a ticket; Forging? Distraction?; Each one of these can be a task with its own subtasks."

Side tasks: "Make the kid stop following you Figure out Beggar King's luggage stealing ring Evade the RCM officers Deal with your injuries? Find new clothes?"

Reactivity/Outcomes: "How many tickets you have = the ease of Trip blackmailing you; Lost items, money, if boarded via failsafe; Criminal from Jamrock Station knows all you did at the Station, and he boarded the same train; Hercule either left behind safely, or mugged, stranded and possibly even stabbed"

Items

At the top is a concept map of the station showing where items or perhaps people can be found. Note reads: "Please refer to the location map (hyperlinked) in Act II Miro for the latest number and distribution of items, NPC's and containers."

Definitely: None in this section

Maybe: Interactable: Can of dog food; Railway map of La Petit Continent; Book: interesting Zoology: Animal colonialism. Consumable: Candy stolen from a baby Other: Locust home upgrade item; an umbrella; Ring from the fish pond

To be decided: Clothing: a hat; Winter-barka; What are those? [A/N: ugly ass shoes]; Meque[sic] sailor shirt; pair of pants / a skirt?; Tioumoutiri T-shirt Consumables: x3 Substances, x4 Hype Healing item; x3 Hype Healing item Other: TBD ITEM from FISH POND

Thoughts

Cunoesse:

Cuno's dead dad.

Reflecting on Hercule

Trains

Predators & prey

Blood debt

Hämärä Maa 1

[Four blank "THC" diamonds]

Cuno:

The Man from Jamrock Station

Dead Dad

Thoughts from Beggar King

Leaving home

Beast-master

Swarm 1

Thought about money?

Hooked to the Book

Blood debt

[One blank "THC" diamond]

Special Assets

Systems: In-game economy: The buying-selling mechanic and the use of money start to play a role from this Act forward. Some preliminary design brainstorming needs to be done on the game economy, including what kind of merchants and money sources should each location require. Mechanic for a fishpond that generates 0.50 centimes every 30 minutes Special movement: Hercule pathfinding: See the Hercule character brief for the idea on the kid following Cuno & Cunoesse at a distance around the Train Station. He should initially be evasive and retreat if you try to approach him, only after some time you can catch up to him. Explore technical possibilities for implementing this kind of special pathfinding for Hercule. A large clock on the station wall which is in sync with the game one? Kid in a pet carrier: There's a sequence where the kids steal a dog carrier, and one of them crawls into it to be smuggled onto the train. There can be strategic screen fade to black to avoid some of the unnecessary animation work, but at the very least the player should be able to have a conversation with Trip where one of the kids' character model is replaced with a dog carrier model. Jumping on a train failsafe [has been cut]: Specifics are largely TBD, but there should be a scripted and [...] sequence where [...] in-game clock reaches 14:44, triggering a FELD-[...] where the [...] some Red Checks and jump on the departing train with minimum [...] losses. Introducing the Cooperative Red Check ?

Art: Map of La Petit Continent: Use the map from the Location Brief as reference. Half-screen sized, like Harry's *expression* painting. Afterwards, it should get added to the map roster in the journal screen. Should there be a marker on it that shows your location in each Act? Train Station map: Standard location map that automatically gets added to the Journal. Shows the layout of the station and platform. Should be done in the style of retro railway pamphlets / subway station maps. Location splash screen: This Act, and each consecutive Act, opens with a title screen overlaid on the environment (in the style of Control or Fringe.) containing the words "ACT II -- JAMROCK CENTRAL -- 1,347km to Hämärä Maa" [A/N - not sure what they mean by Control or Fringe] Kid in a pet carrier Dog model, running away Cuno and Cunoesse idles: Both in the free exploration of ACT I and in Act II, Cuno and Cunoesse's body language should be uncomfortable, suspicious - a lot of looking around and [...] kind of hunching into themselves, generally uncomfortable and [...] by possible witnesses. Jumping on board failsafe (animation) [has been cut] Hercule mugging animation Potentially animations for [...] other [...] the [...] dog [...] carrier [...]

Audio: Train Station foley: Voice calling out names of cities, murmur of crowds echoing in the waiting room space, sound of idling train engine on the platform, and more Action music for failsafe sequence?: The very short but intense failsafe sequence will require some action music. Since this is not necessarily the path the majority of players will see, the music doesn't need to be unique, it can be a piece of generic action music we will reuse in other tense chase/combat scenes as well. Dog/animal noises: voices for the dog in the dog carrier and/or other animals which might be present on the location. (Pigeons?) Subtle, occasional background music: The Train station is far less [...] than the Murder Scene, but still not as lighthearted or [...] as the Train. Most of the time, the Player's focus should be on the [...] sounds of the Train Station, and in the [...] of when a musical track is present, it should come with a sense of [...], feeling of tension, of looking over your shoulder, of being a fugitive on the run. Nothing [...], but rather a [...] reminder that this is not a place where you can relax. It is a place you are eager to leave, but you can't allow yourself to be too visibly agitated. Some musical references TBD?

Relationship Beats

Cunoesse vs. The Weak; Cuno vs. His Conscience

Act III: The Journey

this ones also evil strap in boys

Location

Top box: "Day 1: [1,004] km to Hämärä Maa Day 2: [489] km to Hämärä Maa Day 3: [76] km to Hämärä Maa [Tweak the numbers] [Unreadable sticky note]"

Revachol Express Azure Sans-Détour: Sticky note sequence: Locust Dream 2 -> After the first day on the Train, [...] will [...] -> [...] -> [...] Ghost station -> Second night -> [...] Left notes: "Inspired by mid-century European trains. The [...] and first class luxuries [...]"

Characters

Fuck if I know

The Trip box from Act II's characters links to the box here titled "Major Area NPC: Trip Leroy Fruiscante aka Trip the Train Conductor" actually

Plot Details, Tasks

le shrug

Items

surely im gonna run out of images here soon right

"From top to bottom: items for which we hae a solid narrative idea, vs. items for which the specifics are still unknown. Objects in the definitely pile can already be passed to an artist to paint, whereas the TBD pile will need some concepting first."

Definitely Clothing: Trip's coat?

Maybe Other: Skippy's leash Interactable: [...]; Adult flip-book; [...]; Interactable; Interactable

To Be Decided Clothing: like 50 of them idk theres no writing... Consumables: [...]; x3 Healing items; x5 Hype items

Thoughts

i swear this is actually harder than the summaries were

Cunoesse: There's four thoughts there idk Cuno: Road Living; Swarm 2; yeah that's it sorry, there's 7 more thoughts there

Special Assets

Systems: [...]; Daily map changes; [...]; Jumping off the train Art: Train map; [...] sequence; Locust dream; Two kids in a trench coat model / animation; Jumping off the train animation; Animated character model; Location splash screen Audio: Locust dream; [...]; [...]

Relationship Beats

Cuno vs. His Influences; Cunoesse vs. The Ordinary World

#locust city #project x7 #thank you again for your hard work !

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discardedtower · 1 month ago

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my DE analysis/compilations:

Harrier Du Bois, a black dog

LIeutenant-yefreitor

A true Vacholiere

Kim's strangely comforting touch

Kim's itchy trigger finger

Kim's portrait

Kim and the pale (ft. @kryaaas)

Kim and the homosexual underground (ft.@binomech)

En Dehors (a custom Kim skill)

Water, the stuff of life

Water, the stuff of life 2.0 (insanely long version)

The pleasure wheel

The radicalization of Kim Kitsuragi

Kim Kitsuragi, kid master general

#disco elysium #disco elysium meta #i love reading them

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discardedtower · 1 month ago

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I wanted to try to connect Harry and Kim in some ways with the events of Locust City.

#disco elysium #locust city #project x7 #harry du bois #kim kitsuragi #cuno de ruyter #cunoesse #call me mañana #uuno de ruyter #de shivers #disco elysium fanart #my art #i finally found the motivation to turn this mashup of sketches into a semi-coherent composition #I couldn't stop thinking about Harry who would feel deeply guilty for not being able to catch #or stop that train in time with his injured leg #daily painful reminder of the (non)-existence of locust city i'm sorry #i tried to use the train wagon model from the video presentation but I feel i messed up with the proportions lmao

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discardedtower · 1 month ago

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Let’s talk Disco. What's in a name?

(And I'm going in. I'm talking linked sources and bullet points and enlarged text for visual ease.)

Specifically, we're talking about the etymology, linguistics, and semiotics behind the names of our two favourite haunted detectives:

Harrier Du Bois and Kim Kitsuragi !

I'm going into first and last names. This is going to be a long one, so bear with me.

Let's start with Harry.

Harrier du Bois.

This is a loaded as fuck name.

Harry is a man, fallible, mortal. Harrier is a role he is fated to step into. A consequence.

The verb harry (harried, harrying) comes from the middle english "harien", "to plunder, ravage, torment, pursue, drag." That in turn comes from old french, "harier:" "to ravage, pillage".

That's our guy!

It also refers to a breed of hunting dog (a scent hound. Bred for pursuit.) that is also noted to be friendly, outgoing, and people oriented.

It further refers to a type of low-flying hawk, the Harrier. It hunts while flying low to the earth in search of small prey. "They are distinctive with long wings, a long narrow tail, the slow and low flight over grasslands and skull peculiarities."

Sound familiar ?? Harry with his long arms, long skinny legs, hovering low and slow over crimes scenes talking about how he's the "law" with his polio jaw? No reaching required... the shape of him is already in the wingspan. Even the flared-pants make sense here. Those are his tail feathers.

So with that in mind, Harrier as:

a verb; someone who harasses, raids, or troubles. That’s Harry to a fucking T. A man who can’t let things lie, who stirs up buried crimes, historical rot, and his own trauma... A man who harrows the land AND himself. The precursor of the hawk. The neglected cockatoo. The fuck-up-atoo.

a dog; loyal but reckless. A creature that pursues, sometimes beyond sense or self-preservation. There's many references in canon of Harry being likened to a dog.

a bird of prey; solitary, watchful, predatory in instinct, but not cruel. Just hungry. And low-flying too-- earthbound despite his name’s aerial aspiration.

YOU - “Wait, what kind of name is 'Harrier'?” KIM KITSURAGI - “It's a wartime name. Revolutionary. The kind mothers give their sons during troubled times. Like 'Undying' or 'Boxer' or 'Ironhide'.” ENDURANCE - It's meant to keep you safe.

So in that sense, Harry is not a man. Not to the world. Not to himself. He’s a harrier. A tool for the pursuit of truth, justice, order, or whatever corpse they’re digging up today, but he doesn’t just chase criminals. He harasses the world for meaning.

Harry has been:

Harassed by grief

Hounded by memory

A raider of the past

A prey animal pretending to be a predator

It’s recursive; the harrier is also the harried. The hound becomes the hunted. You pursue truth so hard you collapse into your own life, and no one calls him Harrier unless it's serious. Harry leaves room to be unpretentious, childish even. Harrier is militarized. It is a role.

This name, Harrier, is his job, his burden, his curse. It was chosen for protection, yet assigned for destruction.

And Du Bois.

I've seen a lot of theorizing how it's so perfect for Harry as a lot of folks think the direct translation is "Harry of the Drink", which inspired me to write this post. "Of the drink" is actually both etymologically and linguistically incorrect, but the poetry is in the mishap. That's what makes it such a massively fucking potent brew.

Bois as in "drink" is a verb from the full word "boire" and in French, they would never use "du" (the conjugation of "de le") in front of a verb. With that in mind, the noun "Bois" is in reference to "forest" or "woods." In old french historically, people who lived near the woods would have this surname.

SO--

Du = contraction of de le = “of the”

Bois = noun, masculine plural of “le bois”

Meaning: wood, woods, or forest

Ergo:

“Du Bois” = “of the woods”, or less literally, “from the forest.”

So bois can mean either:

The noun: wood

The verb form: you drink / I drink (tu bois, je bois)

THIS DOES MATTER !!

Harry is a man who

Hails from the forest (his vast, bountiful, mysterious soul)

Is lost in the forest (falling through the cracks of society, the vastness breaks him open)

Drinks the forest (the Pale. The rot. His passion. Himself.)

Becomes the drink (what was supposed to save him becomes his crutch, vice, and eventual murderer)

His surname sounds like the thing he escaped into. The woods and the bottle. But he is the woods. He is the drink. His deep, forest-hazy soul. He is the haunted house where they meet.

Harry is his name. Harrier is his role.

Du Bois is:

where he was born,

where his mind resides,

his way out.

Kim Kitsuragi

Kim is more tricky than cross referencing the french dictionary. This is all mostly my own speculation guided by research, game knowledge, and what I understand about him as a character.

Kim to me is both the mask, and the mirror, if that makes sense. He’s both what you see, and what you see in yourself, if you’re lucky.

Let's talk etymology and use of the name "Kim"

It's common in Korea (김), Vietnam, and China as a surname.

Also used as a given name in Thai (คิม - Khim)

In the West, it’s also more often a given name (like Kimberly)

I believe the ambiguity is the point. He nor the game ever specifies his ethnic background, really, just that he’s quarter Seolite, and that others read him as foreign in ways that are often hostile or dismissive. Mostly dismissive; think Evrart, Lena, Joyce etc. How many people defaulted to speaking with only Harry and saw Kim as a background token.

Now “Kim” is an extremely adaptable name. It passes, in a way Harry never could. It's also short and blunt. You can’t mispronounce “Kim.” His first name is functional. It doesn't leave room to read him at a passing glance. He could change it, but...

KIM KITSURAGI - "Even if I were to change my name now, upon hearing any syllable that sounds like *kim* in the street, I'd turn to see who was calling me."

Now, Kitsuragi

His last name, "Kitsuragi," is not a real Japanese surname although it sounds like it is, and I know it's confirmed as homage to a character from Evangelion (I haven't watched it, but from what I know, the Kitsuragi woman takes Shinji under her wing in a way that she feels a bit pitiful for him. Shinji is pitiful. So is Harry. But they both contain multitudes.).

So if we talk about what parts make up the name "Kitsuragi," it starts to get extremely interesting and telling of his character.

It sounds like Kisaragi (如月), OR a kitsune + kisaragi fusion.

Kim is extremely fox-coded. Even just consider his bright orange bomber jacket. That's the first tell... red foxes have black boots too! Let's get into it.

So, Kitsune,

In Japanese folklore, a fox spirit. Intelligent, shape-shifting, often tricksters or protectors.

Some stories portray kitsune as loyal companions and others, as illusions.

This makes sense to me as he is a fox in the henhouse of Revachol -- clever, composed, always watching (despite visual impairment -- but that's another conversation) and foxes aren't domestic animals, like dogs. They're forever relegated to the outside. That's his curse.

And Kisaragi (如月),

The second month of the old Chinese lunar calendar. February. The month before the game takes place. A cold, inward time.

Literal meanings attributed to the word include “wearing more clothes” ("kinusuragi," due to the cold), or “renewed garments," or "plants awakening". A season of concealed change.

Kitsu-ragi = A name that sounds real, but isn’t. It’s a crafted surname but loaded with motifs: coldness, reinvention, misdirection, foxlike sharpness, seasonal stillness, and the coming of spring.

I feel it may also relate to the Japanese art of Kintsugi, where they repair pottery with a visible golden lacquer, showing off the damage. Because something damaged can be repaired into something more beautiful than before.

Because of his past, it might not even be his birth name. He lost his parent's at the age of two. He may not have had any papers.

Kitsuragi could be a racialized paper name from the orphanage, a precinct name, or (more likely) a name he gave himself to navigate a system that wouldn’t pronounce or respect the one he was born with. “Kitsuragi” is extremely effective camouflage in a city that flattens difference into decorum or suspicion.

It’s a uniform, and it fits too well-- because he probably tailored it himself. We know Kim can tailor. He tells us that if you choose to bully him.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Yes. And this 'mega-binoclard'/'washed-up TipTop racer' knows how to sew a lapel and center a back vent." The lieutenant raises one eyebrow at you. COMPOSURE - That's why his clothes fit so well...

The name is bespoke. His name also holds syllabic symmetry. Kim Kitsuragi. Kim Kitsuragi. Say it out loud with me:

Kim Kitsuragi is rhythmic: one blunt syllable, then four that flow.

Kim, his blunted identity = a single edged blade.

Kitsuragi, his curated name = a sheathe.

The alliteration also creates an identity that is branded. It's easy to remember but impossible to mistake. It feels like a cop’s name in a procedural: professional, foreign, clean. But just beneath that? It’s too clean. Too curated. Almost like a man who trimmed down every word he didn’t need until only the useful ones remained.

Sounds like our guy, doesn't it?

“Kim Kitsuragi” is a name you say without knowing how much you’re actually misreading it. That’s how racism works in Disco Elysium-- not through overt slurs (though those come too! Fuck you Gary!), but through the way names become containers for assumption.

Kim’s name, in full, carries:

Cultural displacement

Invented belonging

Effortless erasure (No one asks. He doesn’t offer. He's fine with that.)

But he holds power in that too. In a place like Revachol, to choose your name is to take control of your story (think Tommy le Homme, Cindy the Skull, The Cuno). It's a mechanism of Elysium. His name to me doesn't read as history, but strategy, and unlike Harry, who is was constantly finding himself, found too much, and is starting all over... Kim knows who he is. He just doesn't tell you, because the world has shown him that he is not safe as himself.

Now the contrast is also interesting when I line it up like this--we LOVE Kim/Harry because they're both complete opposites but also two sides of the same coin. They go together like all good combo's do. Let's compare their names as a last little treat.

Harrier Du Bois:

Unruly, haunted, almost lyrical.

"Hunter of the Woods."

Too much name to handle.

Born into myth.

Kim Kitsuragi:

Controlled, flowing, sharp.

"Fox of the City."

Just enough name to live.

Written into survival.

Kim's initials are an architecture of his own building. Harry's initials are his written-in spiral.

They don’t just complement each other. They make it possible for each other to finally be legible.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE THIS KIND OF ANIMAL ANYMORE."

They make me fucking crazy. I could even get into how both their names are 5 syllables, and how the alliteration of K.K implies self awareness, duplication (living only a version of yourself) a loop? , and also a self-inflicted barrier. Maybe tomorrow. This took me all day to research and write.

Thank you for coming to my Ted-Talk. Please enjoy my ramblings. I love you Kim and Harry. I love you Disco Elysium world building. Can look under a rock and find lore there. It's actually nuts.

#disco elysium #oooooooh this is genius #awesome post and analysis #harry du bois #kim kitsuragi #disco elysium meta #etymology

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