The Spyder in the Cathedral

Synopsis

The Spyder in the Cathedral plot takes place in the Fondent region, which is dominated by five nominally separate corporations, called Pillars (see Cathedral). Not content with profitability, the Pillars want to take full control of the region and they hatch a plan to do so:

Scoop, the fast food and retail empire, will transmit a disease, the Spyder virus, that weakens tuxemon that don't have the vaccine, putting any opposition on the back foot. Meanwhile, mining company Shaft will extract and revive fossils of powerful extinct dragons. Agro-business and genetic engineering corporation Greenwash will use its fusion technology to combine these dragons with arms manufacturer Nimrod's killer robots, allowing them to steamroll any opposition already weakened by Scoop's virus. Behind the scenes, news media monopoly Omnichannel puts out propaganda and coordinates the scheme through its Spyder agents.

Main Story

The main story is The Spyder in the Cathedral, set in the Fondent region. It follows a familiar model of the protagonist traveling from town to town, catching and battling creatures. However, the protagonist ends up discovering cruelty and corruption at the very heart of the region, and defeating their villainous scheme.

The main story is set in an unnamed country. There were plans to make the country Ancient Egypt-themed, as can be seen in some of the concept art. However, we have heavily used existing art assets, and therefore there is not currently an observable Egypt theme.

The game opens with the Introduction, which ends with the Protagonist being escorted to their home in Paper Town.

These are the country's locations, roughly in order as the protagonist heads through the game:

Full map

• Paper Town
• Route 1
• Cotton Town
  • Omnichannel HQ
  • Dryad's Grove
• Route 2
• City Park
• Leather Town
  • Tuxemon Elite Academy
• Route 3
  • Wayfarer Inn
• Route 4
• Flower City
  • Nimrod HQ
  • Side Route A
  • Mansion
• Route 5
• Timber Town
  • Dojo of the Elements
  • Scoop HQ
• Tunnel B
• Route 6
• Candy Town
  • Hunting Grounds
  • Hospital
  • Greenwash HQ
• Sea Route C
  • Dragon's Cave

The towns are loosely named after wedding anniversary gifts.

Travel

Your Mom gives you a Surfboard that can go over water. This is required to progress the game once you reach Candy Town; it's also required to access Volcoli in Dryad's Grove, Dragon's Cave in Sea Route C and the wild encounters in Route 6.

When you reach Timber Town, the Riverboat Stations open up for places you've visited so far. When you visit Candy Town, it becomes available too. The complete list is:

• Paper Town
• Leather Town
• Flower City
• Timber Town
• Candy Town

Cheat Codes

Cheat codes are a way to make the game easier (eg without spending too much time in leveling up and by focusing on the plot).

If you name the player ApexPlayer, then you'll start the game with all the starting monsters at level 100 (max evolution).

Summary

Paper Town

• The game begins with a recording of the Omnichannel CEO.
• The action begins in Paper Town, where you line up to get a Starting Tuxemon at the STORE but don't have the Gold Pass required - your Rival does though! They choose the tuxemon that you wanted.
• After resting at your HOME (introducing your Mom), you can head back to the STORE
• After a hint left by Dante, the Shop Assistant, you do fish a thrown-away, unofficial tuxemon out of the rubbish - but your RIVAL catches you and is scornful, and battles you.
• If you wander around town, you might meet the RIVAL'S Granny, who runs the Daycare Centre, or see the Riverboat Station.
• In Route 1, you encounter wild tuxemon for the first time.

Cotton Town

• The first large town you come across is Cotton Town. You are invited to swing by the Cafe.
• You also see the Omnichannel HQ, and may be rebuffed by the Enforcers when you try to enter.
• You enter a Cafe, meet Team Bazaar and get the Tuxepedia app.
• From Cotton Town, Route 2 leads into City Park.

Leather Town

• In Leather Town, you find the first traces of a Pillar - Shaft, which mines in Route 3 beyond town.
• In Route 3, you run into a Fisher, who gives you a Fishing Rod.
• In the Wayfarer Inn, you find Booster Tech, encounter the VIRUS for the first time, and fight ENFORCERS.
• From Route 4 you can make your way to the next settlement.

Flower City

• In Flower City, you face your second Pillar - Nimrod
• You have to go out of town to find TEAM BAZAAR (forcing you to go to STORES for paid healing until you get there), and are intercepted by your Rival who mock your weak tuxemon and talk about the great stuff you can buy from the PILLARS
• When you get to the Mansion that TEAM BAZAAR hang out in, you get a Dojo Pass.
• In Flower City, the Dojo of the Elements introduces many people to fight and teaches you about the mechanics of battle. And who should be in the final room of the DOJO to challenge you for a final test of your skill but your RIVAL? They mention that they've gotten the TUXEPEDIA APP themselves, and they admire your edits - and have done some of their own!
• Also in Flower City is a broken-into house with someone who was working on a cure for Spyder Bite, and when you go through you find the person who broke in - a Spyder Rookie.
• Route 5 leads on to Timber Town.

Timber Town

• In Timber Town, the Riverboat Stations reopen, and so has the Daycare Centre you saw in Paper Town all that time ago. You should go back and drop a tuxemon off.
• Also in Timber Town, you face your third Pillar - Scoop HQ
• You head along Tunnel B, which soon goes underground, and upon surfacing you are on Route 6.
• There's a mass of people on Route 6, formed by employees of the fourth Pillar - Greenwash! This route heads to Candy Town, but there's ENFORCERS blocking the way.
• Dialogue with the protesters indicates that there's a new technology called Fusion developed at GREENWASH, and they reckon that's why the ENFORCERS are interested! But the Greenwash Boss tricked everyone into leaving the building, and has locked themselves in while they wait for the ENFORCERS to get through.

Candy Town

• When you arrive in Candy Town, your tuxemon are confiscated by ENFORCERS because they allegedly have SPYDER BITE - and are taken to the Hospital for quarantine! You'll have to battle with your B team for a while.
• You might try to enter the HOSPITAL, but the scanner rejects any known tuxemon DNA. If only there were a way to scramble tuxemon DNA so it couldn't detect it ...
• You can break into Greenwash HQ by going through the greenhouses - which are full of experimental tuxemon! Creepy, but make sure you catch them all!
• When you beat the Greenwash Boss, you get the Fusion Report and can upload it to TUXEPEDIA! Now anyone can fuse any unlocked tuxemon! And now Greenwash HQ is safe, since there's nothing for the ENFORCERS in there
• FUSION lets you get past the DNA detector at the Hospital, and fight your way through the Spyder Rookies - who reveal their plan was to use the quarantine as an excuse to confiscate all other tuxemon. SPYDER is a conspiracy within the Pillars, and it goes right to the top of Omnichannel!
• You grab the Spyder Keycard off the Spyder Boss in the HOSPITAL, and retrieve your confiscated tuxemon, and free the SCIENTISTS who can heal all unlocked tuxemon by looking at their DNA

Dragon's Cave

• You can head along Sea Route C to find Dragon's Cave, and when you defeat Drokoro it leaves a path straight to Cotton Town.
• Your RIVAL intercepts you! They are tired of your meddling, just let the CATHEDRAL find a cure! After you beat them, they notice that your tuxemon are cured. You mean it was that simple? Just unlocking them and checking their DNA? Then why did the ENFORCERS take our tuxemon? The seed of doubt has been planted in your RIVAL'S minds ...

Cotton Town (again)

• At Cotton Town, you fight your way through the Spyder Rookies at Omnichannel HQ ... but then two of the PILLAR BOSSES challenge you at once! You'd be in trouble, but who should arrive but your RIVAL?! The whole VIRUS debacle convinced them that freedom and openness are the way to go, and so they join you for a two-on-two battle with the BOSSES.
• You triumph, and bring down SPYDER! All tuxemon are unlocked, and there's only a few more tuxemon you need to add to TUXEPEDIA!

Some thoughts on the concept of the game

The concept is that how tuxemon are restricted in the game world is analogous to how creative works are restricted in the real world ("creature" and "creative" both come from "create"; a creature was originally a created thing).

But we can use the creatures/creative works that we have to challenge the wicked corporations that would restrict them. As our creatures/creative works grow stronger and more numerous, the wicked corporations are defeated and fewer creatures/creative works are restricted until the protagonist's victory where no creatures/creative works are restricted.

I think that's a clever and subtle conceit for an open source game to have. It gives the player a goal, and a reason for battling. The use of battling creatures makes sense, because they're a metaphor for the battle of ideas. "As it is above, so it is below" - both Tuxemon: The Game and a tuxemon in the game world are creations that help win the battle of ideas for freedom and open source.

Timeline

Origins

• The Universe was shaped by—or gave rise to—the thirteen elements.
• Life appeared: plants, tuxemon, and eventually humans.
• Tuxemon naturally battle each other to grow stronger through elemental competition.
• Humans, especially those drawn to Metal tuxemon, began building relationships with them.

Ancient Times (about 5,000 years ago)

• The first known human civilizations emerged.
• Early humans began interacting with tuxemon, mostly those found in nature.

Early Engineering (about 1,500–1,250 years ago)

• Humans created the first tuxemon—possibly made from glass, pottery, or bronze.
• Over time, they got better at designing and modifying tuxemon for farming, combat, and other uses.

Collapse (about 1,000 years ago)

• Human interference disrupted the world’s balance.
• Wars and ecological disasters broke out, destroying cities and farmland.
• Civilization collapsed as tuxemon warfare spiraled out of control.

Recovery (about 500 years ago)

• The environment slowly stabilized and adapted.
• Human-made tuxemon became part of nature.
• Human societies began rebuilding, but most records of the past were lost.

Rebirth (about 150 years ago)

• Industrial technology was rediscovered.
• Tuxemon biology was studied again, and new societies emerged.
• A group called the Cathedral became a community-oriented governing force with local Enforcers.

Boom Times (30–50 years ago)

• The region experienced strong economic growth.
• Five major companies—called the Pillars—gained influence.
• Tuxemon capture tech was invented, leading to conflicts over control of tuxemon.
• The Cathedral allowed private ownership of tuxemon designed by people, but resisted claims over ancient or natural ones.

Corporate Era (the last 25 years)

• The Pillars took over most of the region’s industries.
• The Cathedral began partnering with corporations and allowing them onto its board.
• Enforcers became less community-based and more corporatized.
• Corporations pushed the idea that all tuxemon were man-made to justify monopolies.

Links

• Explanation of the plot, the ideas from different contributors that it tries to balance, etc
• Game Elements
• Omnichannel (plot)
• Game Bible