Did you consider writing SMGF in Disco Elysium voices? What kind of skills would come up in the Manorpunk setting?
ohohoho Iâm gonna go on some tangents here because I have thought a LOT about âwhat if manorpunk/SMGF was Disco Elysiumâ
(to clarify: âManorpunkâ is the name of the overall setting with Sunny Roosevelt and Usonia and the Global Logistics Network, and âSwordmaster Girlfailureâ is a story within that setting because Iâm building a BRAND baby!)
So, the skills. Theyâre great, right? It is known. Theyâre funny and poignant and memorable. But part of what makes them so good is that theyâre *deliberate.* They exist the way that they do as a reflection of Harryâs self-perception being shattered into dozens of pieces because heâs depressed and heartbroken and waking up from a failed attempt to take his own life. A lot of DE is like that: the themes of fracturing and the weight of history run through every level, from the history of all of Revachol down to the history of Harryâs love life. So to me, âDE but Manorpunkâ wouldnât be just âDisco Elysium skill system but change some of the skills and put it in the Manorpunk settingâ but rather âa skill system which resonates with the broader themes of the story.â So with that in mind, let me tell you about:
Heaven is Falling: The CRPG, Maybe?
The basic plot setup: Johnny G. Newsroom, a ranger with the Usonian Union, is investigating the disappearance of an Infrastructure Corps work site on the outskirts of the Protectorate of St. Louis, which is mostly a launching pad for a lot of sidequests. St Louis seems like a compelling setting for a lot of reasons: the iconic Gateway Arch now a symbol of the re-frontierization of the former US; the blending of Southern and Midwestern culture; the stark and un-ignorable class and ethnic divisions; the reputation as the âcity of neighborhoodsâ making it feel diverse and vibrant but in an isolated and almost paranoid way, like a Balkan vassal state. The Cardinals are a major source of political legitimacy now, where if you want a career in politics you basically have to be involved with them because theyâre the only local figures who are seen as transcending petty local politics while also representing/embodying St. Louis.
(The Johnny here may or may not sound like the Johnny in SMGF; this would probably be a prequel to explain why the Johnny in SMGF is still terse and unsentimental but substantially more chill.)
The intended feeling I want with Johnnyâs character arc is that at first he seems like a default and ârelatable everyman,â but as you play the game and hear more from him, itâs increasingly clear that heâs someone who has deliberately tried to strip himself of wants and needs and personality traits. Heâs like an inverted Holden Caulfield. Heâd always been told that he needs to grow up, be mature, and take things seriously. So he did. And once he set aside childish things and became a serious grown-up, he looked around himself and said âwait a minute, Iâm surrounded by fucking children.â He thinks heâs trapped: he fell for the polite lie of a meritocratic society, and now itâs already âtoo lateâ for him because itâs all he knows how to do and heâs too scared to try and break out of it.
So Johnnyâs equivalent of âmain attributesâ would be a variety of outdated stereotypes of American masculinity:
Johnny Law: The cowboy-sheriff, stoic and independent. Responsible for âphysicalâ skills like endurance and pain tolerance, as well as survival skills like animal handling and botany. The Neo-West is a harsh place, no place for weakness or cowardice. You gotta be tough to survive. Tough and distrustful and maybe even a little stupid. Itâs simple: there are good guys with white hats and bad guys with black hats and there are no unfortunate implications to this metaphor. And if someone isnât wearing a hat, well, itâs probably best to assume theyâre evil, just in case. After all, how can you trust someone who doesnât even have a hat?
Newsroom, P.I.: The private eye, sharp, introspective, and fatalistic. Responsible for âintellectâ skills like logic and investigation. The mean streets of current location will chew up a bleeding heart like yours and spit it out. And then ash a cigar on its remains. Maybe even piss on it a little. Sure, heâd LIKE to help make the world a better place for all the downtrodden little guys, but he knows the powers that be, how vast and implacable they are, so you may as well give up in advance before you get yourself hurt.
Sarge: The soldier. Irascible, bitter, and protective. Responsible for âmotoricsâ skills like reflexes and hand-eye coordination. He knows that war is hell, but goddammit, heâs going to get our boys back, whoever the hell âour boysâ are, if he has to die trying. Does anyone have a suicide mission for him? Someone give him a goddamn suicide mission right fucking now!
Father John: The reverend. Bombastic and passionate. Responsible for âpsycheâ/âspiritâ skills like empathy and insight. All the other guys in here, theyâre closed off. Theyâve become shells of themselves. They refuse to understand their inner selves. But not Father John. Father John is kind and compassionate. Father John has a strong moral compass. Father John will listen to you. And thatâs why youâll always come crawling back.
Coach J: The football coach. Dedicated and encouraging. Responsible for âmoraleâ skills like willpower and leadership. Seemingly friendly and avuncular, but god help you if you get in the way of his competitive streak. All your other selves had better knock it off with all that quitter talk and get their head in the game. You gotta hustle for sports. You gotta give 110%. Whatever youâre doing right now is the only thing that has ever mattered and the only thing that will ever matter, and youâre going to win it. Even if the dice are loaded, even if the deck is stacked against you, even if the task is not in any way a competitive measure of skill, youâre going to bring that trophy home!
And thatâs pretty much what Iâve got, Iâve still been trying to figure out who Johnnyâs companion would be, if it would be one people or multiple, etc. Not to mention the actual plot lol. But itâs been fun to think about.
And I have also thought about your actual question of âwhat DE skills would the characters haveâ but this is long enough already so Iâm gonna answer that separately lol