Monster Mistery: Chapter 0: Escape.

[Marluna]

Zone_Q11 has escaped. Patch is expected in a few minutes.

[Zone_Q11]

Dear lord, I pray that I have not caused the 0th chapter of the game to end permanently for this generation.

[Zone_Q11]

Also, damn. A lot happened in my latest timeline.
…well, maybe not. I don’t know for certain, but it feels like a lot has happened because of the time it took from start to end.

[Marluna]

You definetly got an info-dump, because that point it was already determined it is the last run of the “official” play.

Although until the last moments, even your placement was cemented in my opinion, but you managed to surprise me. (That character you “saved” shouldn’t be able to be saved in the first place.)

[Marluna]

@Marluna

The game ends, when each player escaped at least once, given up, or didn’t respond in a reasonable time. (IRL)

End-game is triggered.

First: placements. (In case of ties, the first one reaching the same goal is ranked higher, except at zero point.)

6th place

@ElizaThePsycho (they never begin the game, and I didn’t pester them more, than sending them one single PM.)

5th place

@Wazza (they never managed to escae the starting room)

Honorable mention: YoubutWorse. She decided quite early the game is not for her taste. Eagle-eyed participants could have noticed I removed her from the playerlist, before the Signups officialy closed.

Now, for the players, who actually finished at least one run.

4th

@Squirrel2412 (Vinny) escaped with the young lizardman. (Drez)

Score: 1

Squirrel was a slow, but steady player, who actually managed to escape in their second attempt, and in my opinion they could have ranked higher, if haven’t decided to stop after their succesful attempt.

3th

@Silviu200530 escaped with Drez, the lizardman.

Score: 1

I have the feeling Silviu hasn’t grasped the mystery aspect of the game, and just tried everything alone. Actively trying to avoid any contact with the NPCs, when they were a crucial part of resolving any mystery. (Silviu got lucky with the swamp ending.)

2nd

@Leafia

Escaped with Drez (lizardman), Romero (ghoul (unknown at that time) ). Leafia witnessed James (human), Emerenta (druid) and Amaquelin (medusa) leave through another exit.

Score: 5

1st.

@Zone_Q11 escaped with Emerenta (druid), and Gida (short woman). While

James (human), [Pire] (vampire), Amaquelin (medusa) and Elisabeth (medusa contract beast) escaped through a different exit.

Score: 6

In my opinion, Zone accomplished more than any past and present player combined. Like “figuring out” every participant’s name. Realizing the difference between constant and non-constant events, starting up the second (and third) part of the eastern trials, figuring out some of the lake’s power.

But one of his drawbacks (or his only drawback), is that he believed other players, even when some facts directly contradicted their claim, and never considered that the contradiction was constructed specially for him, to realize the fact, others can lie. (But no… something definitely had to happen differently this time to get different results…)

Also There was a mod-error on my part, cause I didn’t realize Zone’s intent, but overall it hasn’t changed the situation much. (Romero still would commit suicide, but in the correct timeline, Zone would have witnessed that)

@Silviu200530 @Squirrel2412 @Zone_Q11 @Leafia

You all wake up, while you are sitting in a chair. Your instinct tells you to check your watch. But it isn’t there anymore. Suddenly huge pain penetrates your wrist. You watch as an infinity symbol forms on your wrist. Some of you could recognise the symbol. (Also, Zone_Q11 has a second symbol under the first one, so he gets double the pain.)

You all look around, seeing a lot of monitors, and the first time you actually see each other. Strangely, time doesn’t flow at the same speed in each place. (Which you all can tell, because plot reasons) Also there are multiple monitors, which show the dead bodies of other participants.

From one of the monitors you hear Fred’s voice. "Less than ten percent success rate. I guess we have to work with this one. Oh… We have a special one. I wonder what it experienced… Let them take rest first, and go for the next stage after that.

End of the prologue: S(t)imulation

(Modrant and inside work of game mechanics are expected a bit later.)

[Silviu200530]

@Marluna

Actively trying to avoid any contact with the NPCs, when they were a crucial part of resolving any mystery.

That’s not true. I tried to gather everyone then I fell into the chasm.

[Zone_Q11]

@Marluna

In my opinion, Zone accomplished more than any past and present player combined.

I am just… saddened by the fact there weren’t more “people like me” who wants to explore the world you have made.

More thoughts about my own run.

@Marluna

Realizing the difference between constant and non-constant events, starting up the second (and third) part of the eastern trials, figuring out some of the lake’s power.

…oh lord. So the eastern trial’s activation changes depending on the number of participants!?
I most definitely did not “experiment” enough to figure that out.
(kekw. Ye, that’s more suited for Silviu. lmao.)

@Marluna

But one of his drawbacks (or his only drawback), is that he believed other players, even when some facts directly contradicted their claim, and never considered that the contradiction was constructed specially for him, to realize the fact, others can lie. (But no… something definitely had to happen differently this time to get different results…)

Other players or other participants? I don’t recall believing anything other players have said because I am the one who talks the most in this thread.
(Then again, I am not exactly well-known to have a good memory. Bwa ha ha! )

If it is other participants, then I want to say… “How can others believe me, if I don’t start believing them first?”
(That, and there was no fricking way I could have known about Wolfgang’s paranoia having the same level of insanity as that of town FoL’ers.)
There was also the time when I thought Ms. Pire’s watch was genuinely broken. Man, what a fool I was back then…
(You’re still a fool now though, fool. Bwa ha ha ha! )
…

@Marluna

Also There was a mod-error on my part, cause I didn’t realize Zone’s intent, but overall it hasn’t changed the situation much. (Romero still would commit suicide, but in the correct timeline, Zone would have witnessed that)

…I feel like I have forgotten about this part.
(Ah, so that guy didn’t get killed? I thought fo’sho that he was done in by the frenzy lady.)

---

@Marluna

You all look around, seeing a lot of monitors, and the first time you actually see each other.

Live and in-person, or through the monitors?

[Zone_Q11]

@Marluna

but you managed to surprise me. (That character you “saved” shouldn’t be able to be saved in the first place.)

Hedonist!Zone: “Give an idiot a couple materials, and -one way or another- he will find a way to impress the one who gave him the materials. Whether this be for the better or for the worse.”

Altruist!Zone: “I just… want to escape with everyone. If we were given the offer to escape with everyone -but truly everyone-, then why wouldn’t there be a way to let everyone escape?”

[Zone_Q11]

Retrospect at the game so far.

@Zone_Q11

Cryptic question here: “Who has used it so far?”

Ah, yes. Cryptic questions so confusing that even future!Zone doesn’t remember what the hell this was all about.

…maybe it was about using the save point.

@Marluna

@Zone_Q11

This reminds me of “Your Turn To Die”.

The very first version was before the release “Your Turn To Die”

Although I think both “Your Turn To Die” and my game were inspired by the Zero escape games…

(My game definetly was)

@Zone_Q11

In fact, it is probably not weird to assume that the entire world is artificial. Maybe even a simulation or something, like YTTD’s spin-off game.

@Marluna

End of the prologue: S(t)imulation

I know this game was not inspired by YTTD, but I am very much feeling YTTD vibes, along with “Head AS Code” and “Danganronpa 2”.

@Zone_Q11

...oh. So that's how it is.
(…! NO! )

@Zone_Q11

So, it turns out I had a misunderstanding. A reasonable understanding, mind you.

So uh, I thought the trial of the east worked differently than how it actually works. Ironically, this is mechanic actually has more relevance with the Lake than the ravines.

---

Warning! Do not open unless you want to be spoiled!

@Silviu200530

fortunately I did not die of old age at the lake side

@Marluna

I still don’t know, where you got the old age story… When everything says that it turns things younger/Rejuvenating.

@Silviu200530

Oops, the other way around

---

[Zone_Q11]

@Zone_Q11

As for the main quest… Eh, I genuinely don’t know whether I can make it or not. I have a simple plan in mind, but in practice there are three possible ways this can go wrong.

One of them is easily preventable;
One of them relies on how well speechless communication works in this world; and
The last one is just random interference.

It kinda sucks that the solution to the first problem is only fool-proof by losing one of my greatest interests in this game, but I am heavily relying on speechless communication here, so unless there is a Mary Sue among the ones with me, then I have to do it unless I want to risk learning how slow general patience runs out.

So, late update: All went well. There was no need to do the first thing because nobody was expected to die anymore. The second thing works out just fine. The third thing is just solved, period. Lord, I love the lack of random interference.

@Zone_Q11

Sub-Quest: Find all names and lore.

For the record, AFAIK I am only missing Drez’s name origin.

@Zone_Q11

• (Personal) Sub-Quest: Find [REDACTED] .
• (Personal) Sub-Quest: Find out what caused [REDACTED] .
• (Personal) Sub-Quest: Find out what happened to [REDACTED] .

Ya, so uh… IDK what happened to the first thing, but I assume it’s just gone at this point. The second thing is caused by the lake. The third thing… I don’t remember what it entails. I think it was about Elisabeth. If that’s the case, then uh… Yeah, I guess I know what happened. Kind of.

[Leafia]

2nd place isn’t bad.

[Zone_Q11]

Aye. Congratulations!
(I had hoped to let more participants escape… Winning by one point is not enough of a great feat for a perfectionist like me.)

[Leafia]

Thanks. ^_^

[Zone_Q11]

Requesting update on OP; pretty sure we now have more attempts than 12 by this point.

[Zone_Q11]

@Silviu200530

@Marluna

Actively trying to avoid any contact with the NPCs, when they were a crucial part of resolving any mystery.

That’s not true. I tried to gather everyone then I fell into the chasm.

It says here that you started the attempt by running outside the room though?

@Marluna

You start running out the room, and searching in the forest left and right…

[Zone_Q11]

You didn’t prevent Shorty’s and Drez’s death.
You didn’t prevent Elisabeth’s and Mary’s death.
You didn’t prevent Fred’s death. (Well, this one is understandable.)

–and you literally let James, Hunter, and Hansen escape through the trials, which is a one-time escape route.

Considering no other deaths were mentioned, then assuming “everyone else” was with you, you were at the ravine with… Amaquelin, Pire, George, Romero, Emerenta, Lilith, and “Wolfgang”.

Off-Topic Thought Process

…which is odd, because I could’ve sworn–
Ah, I see. So that’s how it is. Hunter lied to me, because he doesn’t want to get involved with monsters. …damn, it will be a tough job to convince him to escape.

[Zone_Q11]

@Zone_Q11

You didn’t prevent Shorty’s and Drez’s death.
You didn’t prevent Elisabeth’s and Mary’s death.

So, fun fact that I learnt through observation of [Attempt #4] and [Death #9]: These are constants. The former two usually die at 00:05 while the latter two usually die at 01:30.

Except Drez’s case is special: If he doesn’t die at 00:05, then he will die at 01:30 barring outside interference. Somehow.

Also, some weird-*** plot is happening, because the time of deaths are not accurate whenever it comes to these constants.

---

As for Fred… Well, he’s Fred. Like, I think everyone who has interacted often enough with him would understand what’s up with him.

[Zone_Q11]

@Zone_Q11

“Let’s figure out, whether someone’s future can save your past.”

In hindsight, this is a really odd sentence, because you’d expect the opposite to happen. That is, using someone’s past (i.e. past attempts) to “save” (i.e. improve) your future (i.e. present attempts) is usually more understandable than the original sentence.

@Zone_Q11

I know this game was not inspired by YTTD, but I am very much feeling YTTD vibes, along with “Head AS Code” and “Danganronpa 2”.

…wait a minute. Source Code?

No… that’s wrong!

Spoilers for Source Code

The machine in Source Code has the ability to create alternate timelines. By branching off into an unknown future and returning to the present one can use said knowledge to alter the present. However it does not alter one’s past!

What has already happened in the main timeline won’t change; at best you would be able to use “the knowledge from the future”, but what has already happened in the main timeline still cannot change! At best, the players would branch off into an alternate timeline’s past, and then use the knowledge from the future… to save… that past.

But that past is not “your past”; it is merely “another past”.

It is not as if you can make an entire timeline “yours”; it is simply a branch of the main–

Is this… what this game is? The original timeline… is one without the external influence of the players?

No. That’s wrong! [REDACTED]… It’s not the exact same situation as Source Code. At best it would be implementing the SC machine, but the context is entirely different. The tv trope for this is [REDACTED], but what is the job? Entertainment? No, that can’t be it…

[Squirrel2412]

ggs

this was fun

my activity periods didn’t line up very well, which is too bad, but I liked reading zone’s thoughts in thread

[Marluna]

The original inspiration was the “no-one has to die” vide-game, about which I thought it is too small at the time.

(Although they managed to establish each character motivation (expect for the protagonist) and making them relevant to each other in the small time they are given, and the final plot-twist was a masterpiece of that time.)

spoiler

In that game, only your consciousness traveled back in time, and it landed in one of the possible universes of the multiverse. (Where you either exist or not exist.)

And I had my very first experience with Outer Wilds, after this game started. And I thought monster mystery is similar to that one more than any reference brought up so far. (Mostly because that’s also a free-exploration game with a twist/mistery, unlike the others, which are scripted.)