The Spyder in the Cathedral

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Plot organisation page.

Links

My proposed map

Synopsis

  • The game begins with a recording of the CEO of OMNICHANNEL (introducing the Cathedral, the Pillars, tuxemon and unlocking)
  • The action begins in PAPER TOWN, where you line up to get a STARTER at the STORE but don't have the Cathedral subscription required - your Rivals do though! (introducing your rivals and stores)
  • After resting at your HOME (introducing your Mom), you can head back to the STORE
  • You do fish a thrown-away, unofficial tuxemon out of the rubbish - but your RIVALS catch you and are scornful, and battle you (touching on the Cathedral and unlocking, and introducing battles and types)
  • If you wander around town, you might meet the RIVALS' Dad (filling you in on Pillars), or see the Riverboat Station or Daycare Centre (introducing these places in anticipation of later)
  • In Route 1, you encounter wild tuxemon for the first time
  • In Cotton Town, you run into your Mom, who gives you a Nu Phone (introducing your phone)
  • You also see the OMNICHANNEL building, and may be rebuffed by the Enforcers when you try to enter (touching on Omnichannel and introducing the Enforcers)
  • You enter a CAFE, meet TEAM BAZAAR and get the TUXEPEDIA app (introducing cafes, Team Bazaar and Tuxepedia)
  • In Leather Town, you face your first Pillar - Shaft - and get the chance to buy your first locked tuxemon and TMs (introducing TMs and touching on unlocking and the Pillars). Once you defeat the Pillar, however, the tuxemon are unlocked
  • In Route 3, you run into your MOM, who gives you a Hoverboard, and a Fisher, who gives you a Fishing Rod (touching on your mum and introducing fishing)
  • In the Abandoned Lab, you find Booster Tech (introducing a new evolution option), encounter the VIRUS for the first time, and fight ENFORCERS (introducing Spyder Bite and touching on the Enforcers)
  • 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 RIVALS 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 (introducing you to the Dojo of the Five Elements). You can retame your TXMN at the Dojo.
  • Also in Flower City is a broken-into house with someone who was working on a cure for Spyder Bite (touching on the virus), and when you go through you find the person who broke in - a Spyder Rookie (introducing Spyder)
  • 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
  • (Note there should be something new in PAPER TOWN to reward you for your trip back. Maybe the SURFING upgrade for your HOVERBOARD? MUM could say: "Hey bojo, your BOARD doesn't work on water. Unless you've got power.")
  • Also in Timber Town, you face your third Pillar - Scoop
  • Also in Timber Town, TEAM BAZAAR gives you a CONTACTS APP so you can re-fight all the people you've met before
  • Also in Timber Town, THE DOJO OF THE FIVE ELEMENTS introduces many people to fight and teaches you about the mechanics of battle - just in time for rematches via the CONTACTS APP. And who should be in the final room of the DOJO to challenge you for a final test of your skill but your RIVALS? They mention that they've gotten the TUXEPEDIA APP themselves, and they admire your edits - and have done some of their own!
  • 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.
  • Also in Candy Town, TEAM BAZAAR gives you the RENAME TUXEMON APP - maybe you can name your other tuxemon after your stolen ones :(
  • 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 ...
  • There's a picket line on Route 7, formed by employees of the fourth Pillar - Greenwash! This route heads to Wool Town and Bronze Town, but there's ENFORCERS blocking the way to BRONZE TOWN.
  • 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 Bosses tricked everyone into leaving the building, and have locked themselves in while they wait for the ENFORCERS to get through.
  • Reliable old MOM drops off XP Device along this route too (or maybe that's what you get for going back to PAPER TOWN?)
  • At Wool City, 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 BOSSES, 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 UNLOCKED tuxemon and use them to boost their power. SPYDER is a conspiracy within the CATHEDRAL, and it goes right to the top of OMNICHANNEL!
  • You grab the 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
  • Before you can return to COTTON TOWN, your RIVALS intercept 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 RIVALS minds ...
  • At COTTON TOWN, you fight your way through the SPYDER AGENTS ... but then two of the four OMNICHANNEL BOSSES challenge you at once! You'd be in trouble, but who should arrive but your RIVALS?! The whole VIRUS debacle convinced them that freedom and openness are the way to go, and so each of them joins you for a two-on-two battle with the OMNICHANNEL BOSSES.
  • You triumph, and bring down the CATHEDRAL! All tuxemon are unlocked, and there's only a few more tuxemon you need to add to TUXEPEDIA!

Some thoughts on the conceit of the game

The conceit 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.

The Game

Introduction

The opening sequence is a propaganda video from the CEO of the Cathedral. He explains (in a couple of sentences each):

  1. What tuxemon are
  2. What the Cathedral is
  3. What the difference between locked and unlocked tuxemon is
  4. What services Stores and Pillars offer

There is then a chance to set:

  1. Your appearance (eight or so options, including a variety of genders and ethnicities)
  2. Your name
  3. The game's difficulty

Paper Town

Events

If you try to enter ROUTE 1 without a starter, the Shopkeeper intercepts you and drags you to the STORE

When you enter the STORE (or are dragged there), the SHOPKEEPER takes you to the front. Your two Rivals are there as well, by rows and rows of CAPTURE DEVICES.

Your two RIVALS pick one each (you don't see which), and then you are invited to choose. However, before you can the SHOPKEEPER checks for your Cathedral Gold Subscription.

Oh, you don't have one? So sorry, these are a Gold Subscription exclusive.

When you go to leave the STORE, the Shop Assistant pulls you aside and explains that the reason the SHOPKEEPER's giving away tuxemon is that there's new stock coming in tomorrow - and if he doesn't get rid of the tuxemon, he'll just chuck them out.

"So go home and sleep, and by tomorrow I bet the leftover tuxemon are in the bins at the back of the shop!"

After you rest at home, when you go to the back of the shop there's bins and the ASSISTANT from earlier. He offers your choice of tuxemon from the five starters (all level 5).

After you choose one, your two RIVALS come up behind you. One has the tuxemon resistant to your starter's type, and the other the tuxemon super effective against your starter's type (both at level 5).

They say you shouldn't steal, even out of the bins, and challenge you to a battle - "Our licensed tuxemon will beat your bin dregs any day!" (A 2-vs-2 battle, if possible).

Whoever wins, your RIVALS say they're not going to report you to the authorities "this time", then leave.

The ASSISTANT says he's going to give the rest of the thrown-out tuxemon to other kids who can't afford their own.

Key Features

Home

Mom is an inventor, so the house is cluttered with devices and machines. You can rest here.

The first time you talk to your MUM in your HOME, she gives you a Potion and tells you about resting at home.

Rivals' Home

Before you get your starter, the Rivals are playing outside, blocking your access.

After you get your starter, the Rivals are gone. The Rivals' Dad is inside. He says that they've "run off to try their luck at the first Pillar in Leather City".

"Oh, don't you know about the Pillars? Each one sells the tuxemon that it specialises in raising and training. They're so confident in the strength of their tuxemon that if you beat them you win a prize!"

Route 1

Five or so patches of long grass.

Cotton Town

Events

Upon arrival, you are intercepted by a Pirate who admires your starter and asks to see your receipt for it. "Just kidding! I see it's unlocked, unlicensed and unofficial. For years, OMNICHANNEL has controlled the strongest Tuxemon. Do you hate them as much as I do? Good: I have a project for you - meet me in the basement of the CAFE".

The first time you try to enter the CAFE, you are intercepted by your MUM who gives you a Nu Phone (a play on "GNU" and "new") she invented. "This way you can tell me how your adventures go! And look, it has the MAP APP installed already so you'll never be lost. It also has the BANK APP installed, so whenever you're in a city it will add any cash you picked up to your bank account! That way you won't pay as much money when you lose a battle".

The first time you enter the CAFE basement, there is a meeting of TEAM BAZAAR, a group of likeminded DRIFTERS, KNAVES, ROGUES and PIRATES who share information, tuxemon, healing, resources, etc., and meet wherever they can.

The PIRATE from earlier gives a presentation on TUXEPEDIA, a website where people can collaborate to compile information on tuxemon, but says sadly that not many people have contributed so far.

He explains that if you have a PHONE, you can install the TUXEPEDIA APP and contribute. Next time you check your phone, it's on there.

(The TEAM BAZAAR hideouts are also where you can have battles against human players, over the internet.)

The first time you enter the STORE, they are promoting Capture Devices. They offer to teach you how to use them, and are offering a sampler pack of five.

Features

Omnichannel (Pillar 5)

A giant skyscraper, but it's closed for "renovations". First encounter with Enforcers if you enter the foyer, they intercept you and tell you to "butt out of it".

Route 2

The first time you step on to Route 2, your RIVALS appear and challenge you to a battle. They have their two STARTERS (level 6) and a level 3 Cardiling.

City Park

A branching map with dead ends and multiple paths, including several patches of grass, some of which must be past through to get to Leather City.

Leather City

When the Shaft Boss is defeated, they give you the speciality TM and agree to unlock all Grintot and Magmaturtle.

Route 3

Upon entering, your MUM intercepts you and gives you a Hoverboard that lets you move twice as fast, saying "Hey little boy, do you need to borrow this ... HOVERBOARD?".

Upon defeating the Fisher, you get a Fishing Rod from him. He complains about only catching Nudiflot in this area "The fishing's good in FLOWER CITY - but who wants to walk that far?".

Abandoned Laboratory

Three floor dungeon.

When you encounter a tuxemon, they are infected with Spyder Bite. They "Shiver" instead of using a technique 1/4 of the time.

When you talk to the Nurses and Scientists on the second floor, they reveal that they had to quickly abandon the lab for unspecified reasons, but they have snuck in to find some of their stuff. They despair at how wild tuxemon have wandered in, and "been infected by ... well, I shouldn't say".

When you talk to the ENFORCERS on the third floor, they also hint that something's happened, and they talk about "quarantine" and "centralised checking of DNA" and "the virus".

Booster Tech: When given to a tuxemon, it evolves (if it evolves via Booster Tech). When given to Botbot, it evolves into the secondary form of your choice, but continues to hold the Booster Tech. When the Booster Tech is taken off it, it de-evolves. (So you can vary which evolution route it takes).

Route 4

Flower City

When you defeat the Nimrod Boss, they give you the speciality TM and agree to unlock all Hydrone and Boxorox.

Broken-Into House: A distressed Scientist is standing here. He was developing a cure for the VIRUS you first saw at the ABANDONED LABORATORY, but then "some armed bandits" broke in to his home and took it. He says they called themselves "SPYDER".

Leads to Route 5

Side Route A

Abandoned Mansion: At the end of Side Route A, there's a mansion that TEAM BAZAAR is using (there's no TEAM BAZAAR presence in FLOWER CITY, so if the TRAINERS in this route wear you out, you'll have to pay for healing in FLOWER CITY from the PILLAR).

Complete a puzzle to win the trust of one of the TRAINERS here, who gives you a Dojo Pass.

They also install the RENAME TUXEMON APP on your phone, which does what you'd expect.

Route 5

When you first enter Route 5 through the BROKEN-INTO HOUSE, you are intercepted by a Spyder Rookie, who battles you. She lets slip that she has some knowledge of your character that only an ENFORCER would have.

Timber Town

When you arrive, you are intercepted by a person handing out fliers announcing that the RIVERBOAT STATIONS have been reopened - but only between here and PAPER TOWN - the river waters are still choppy further north (as you visit each additional town, its RIVERBOAT STATION opens). He also tells you that the DAYCARE CENTRE in PAPER TOWN has reopened.

River Boat Stations: Use these to get to any CITY or TOWN you've visited so far. Obviously these are on the river, so every map needs to take into account the river. However, the river should only be accessible by the PROTAGONIST from certain towns once you get a SURFING HOVERBOARD; these would represent WATER ROUTES. Everywhere else, the river bank should be blocked off and only the River Boat Station available.

  • As the game expands, this can also be used to access to other maps unrelated to the main plot.

Cafe: TEAM BAZAAR is represented here as well. They install the CONTACTS APP on your PHONE, which keeps track of everyone you've met, for (a) fame checking, (b) rematches and (c) remembering who and where people with trades, challenges, offers, competitions, move tutoring, etc, were (or maybe the CONTACTS APP was always there for purpose (a) and (c), but now (b) is unlocked too).

Dojo of the Five Elements

This is mostly a chance to battle lots of Monk trainers, but it also teaches you the details of tuxemon battling - with diagrams of the different stats, how the types work, when to swap out moves, etc.

Players can ignore it, of course, but this is meant to give them a much deeper grounding than many people get playing PKMN - even if they play through the games many times.

Finally you battle the MASTER, who has Sampsack and Sampsage. If you win, they let you choose one - whether you'll prefer strength or strategy.

Route 6

Rest House: Just before entering the TUNNEL.

Tunnel B

Or some other dungeon.

Candy Town

When you first arrive, an ENFORCER says that your starter tuxemon (if it's in your active tuxemon, otherwise your highest level active tuxemon) is infected with a VIRUS and he has to confiscate it. He leaves you at the CAFE, where you can pick up more of your tuxemon.

Hospital: This is where thousands of tuxemon are being kept, in "quarantine". An automatic detector at the door identifies tuxemon and won't let anyone in with them. (So you can't enter at all).

Cafe: For TEAM BAZAAR. They also install the RETAME TUXEMON APP on your phone, which lets you change your tuxemons' moves to any that they're entitled to know.

Route 7

When you first enter, your MUM intercepts you and gives you an XP Device.

Protesters: Route 7 leads to Wool City and Bronze City, but ENFORCERS are blocking the path to Bronze City and Workers and Scientists are blocking the path to Wool City. The WORKERS will let you through; the ENFORCERS will not.

Dialogue with the WORKERS and SCIENTISTS explains that in the middle of a fire drill, Greenwash (a PILLAR) management locked all staff out of GREENWASH HQ.

The striking workers think it's because GREENWASH staff had invented TUXEMON Fusion, and were going to release a paper on it.

Now they're worried that ENFORCERS have been called in to kill all the FUSIONS and shut down the program.

They'd love for you to enter, but because the front entrance is locked, you'll have to sneak through the back - where tuxemon experiments are running wild!

Wool City

Greenwash HQ (Pillar, forest)

Must make your way through the greenhouses first, where experimental tuxemon are loose (the long grass encounters).

This is a multi-level forest with trainers and random encounters, and a healing location.

When you fight the big boss, the CEO of GREENWASH, she drops the FUSION REPORT. You upload it to TUXEPEDIA. Now any tuxemon with a 'PEDIA entry (i.e. any that you've captured) can be fused.

When you leave, the strike diffuses, because "We've gathered all the remaining lab tuxemon and either released them into the wild or taken them as pets. There's nothing that the ENFORCERS can do!"

Hospital

Now you can return to the HOSPITAL. Just fuse one tuxemon that can pass through the detector and switch it off. The machine won't detect it - because it's not any known breed!

This is a multi-level building, with many ENFORCERS and SPYDER AGENTS - the first direct proof of their collaboration, a healing location, scattered items and puzzles.

They drop hints about their true plan: when the VIRUS is cured, they will confiscate any unlocked tuxemon for being "unsafe", and use them to further their plans for world domination!

As you go along, you also recover your confiscated tuxemon. For each one, you can choose to place it in your team or store it. They have the VIRUS though.

You also find a trapped scientist, who says that the VIRUS is cureable - but only with access to the DNA. In other words, only unlocked tuxemon are cureable! He cures all yours.

Later

  • Four legendary tuxemon, based on the animals of the four cardinal directions
  • A terrifying and very powerful tuxemon that was created using the FUSION technology - but it stuck, so it rampaged and then hid
  • A showdown in the final pillar, Omnichannel, (equivalent to the INDIGO LEAGUE of PKMN) where it's revealed that the SPYDER is run by the bosses of the CATHEDRAL. You fight a number of two-on-two battles, with your RIVALS teaming up with you to back you up!
  • Reward for "completing" TUXEPEDIA
  • A post-game ISLAND RESORT where you can buy any item, acquire any tuxemon, battle any person, and where you can test out battle tactics, technique sets, teams, etc. at any level.
  • Side story:
Remember back in TIMBER TOWN? Some bazaar dudes shared contacts in there...

One guy (or a girl?) was especially friendly, the player and him/her had contact over the phone more than with others... because, well, s/he is nice and helps out a few times maybe. also checking if the player does any good and maybe even give a little money over the bank sometimes, for a little "I thought you would need a blabla, so here is a little gift! We are friends at all so I figured you would be happy to have a xyz", sometimes randomly calling with a "how are you doing?" and maybe this guy/girl also helped with the hoverboard upgrade...

Now, when you're in the final area... you are not able to call people. Because of the walls or something else, your NU phone has zero connection.* Something feels odd, and as you get closer your phone rings. It's him/her. And s/he is ready to take you on.
*when calling anybody (other than him/her) "NU PHONE has no connection" - most player's will give up instantly. But if you try out every number, you eventually get "It rings... It rings.. It rings... s/he didn't accept your call", which already gives a hint that this person is somewhere closeby.
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