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On a warm summers eve, on a train bound for nowhere, I met up with a So, hey, do you remember the part in of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust where he had to lay that wicked slam dunk on the devil to get into heaven? Or that time Faust got arrested by the magic police for methamphetamine abuse? I'm sorry? No? Really? Well Soul Gambler does. Released for iOS, PC, and our god the OUYA as the result of a successful Kickstarter back in 2012, the game credits itself as a contemporary and engaging adaptation of Goethe's Faust. It plays as a comic-book style visual novel in which the player directs the life of a modern-day office drone given the opportunity to bargain away his mortality for power, and then get nickel-and-dimed to death by the devil. It's a good life. VIEWER CHOICE There are a lot of choices in this game. Some of them matter kind of and I'll let the thread vote when we get to those. This is a short game, so updates may be kind of short when several important choices are thrown one after the other. In the worst case scenario I'll choose the 'best' option to progress when faced with too many. THREAD GAMBLER These are the rules of Soul Gambling: 1. Know when to hold them. 2. Know when to fold them. 3. No spoilers. UPDATES UPDATE 1 - My name is Faust UPDATE 2 - Let's make a deal UPDATE 3 - Catherine UPDATE 4 - GOING HOG WILD UPDATE 5 - I am a detective UPDATE 6 - Exposition Man UPDATE 7 - Celebrity guest Hugh Jackman UPDATE 8 - Bullshit basically UPDATE 9 -  UPDATE 10 - WIIIITCH! UPDATE 11 - gently caress YOU MOM I'M MOVING OUT UPDATE 12 - The End Party Bug fucked around with this message at 03:37 on Feb 27, 2015 |
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Jan 13, 2015 01:11
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 22:02 |
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  Nothing has ever changed. All days looked exactly the same. I used to think I would graduate and get an exciting job in a big company. But I ended up settling on the first depressing office that accepted me. After all, no matter how mediocre it was, most of my colleagues could not even manage to get a job like this.   I'm finishing them. They should already be ready! One other thing. Later, in the afternoon, an HR employee will come to perform an "assessment" on you. Ok... I wasn't excited at all for this assessment, but I would accept any excuse in order not to finish those drat reports.  Hi. You are Faust, right? The one and only.No, seriously, the only one. My parents hate me. Could you fill this out for me? Sure, why not? Jesus lady this is the most esoteric work review I've ever had. How am I supposed to know how manipulative of other people I see myself being in ten years? A brief breakdown of the mechanics of this game. Sometimes there are choices that require or only show up if a certain stat is high enough. They do what they say, but I'll list them for posterity: HEALTH: Governs Faust's ability to wage war with gravity. MANIPULATION: Governs Faust's ability to have an adult conversation sometimes. INTELLIGENCE: Governs Faust's ability to perform basic pattern recognition. CHARM: Governs Faust's ability to do things that are different from Manipulation somehow? I'm going to let the thread vote on how we'll spend our points. Please post your preference of stats from most to least important and I'll figure out the average spread.  It turns out for the purpose of this update Faust just spends all his time at work deadlifting all those boxes. I don't know if being jacked as hell helps with summoning demons, but it can't hurt.  It is only a one-in-365 chance. Not much of a coincidence. Ok, that's all I need. Thank you. The bus stop had even less people that day. Just me and an old lady. She wore strange clothes. An awkward mix between a gypsy, a beggar, and a mad professor.  You could say that. I see your future. Yes. Your future is promising. Let me read your fortune. Gimme a few coins and I will reveal your future. SURE HERE IT GOES   Interesting. I see that your life does not make you happy. Your life is not a life of pain and suffering. Your life is rather boring, nothing seems to happen, everything looks the same. ... I can't believe I'm paying you for this. Hmm...but in a very near future, I see an opportunity that could change everything. Oh...I see, yes, here, I see that if you do not accept your destiny, something terrible will happen to you! Very scary, indeed. But what is this "opportunity" of which you speak? A pact. The opportunity to make a pact with your inner demon...and sell your soul. The soul has the power to alter the fabric of reality. Wisdom? Money? Fresh fruits? Selling your soul gets you MAD HIGH. I still was at the bus stop. It was the same place but I was in a dark and twisted version of it. It looked like something created by an artist of macabre taste.   Sometimes, usually during exposition, you're given a chance to select every choice before continuing. So let's do that. Who are you? I'll be your guide. I'm here to help, advise, and...comfort. What is this place? This place is exactly the same. What changed is your perception of reality. What has happened?" You are awake. Now you can see a reality that is beyond what meets the eye. You are one of the few chosen ones who have the privilege of possessing the power to transform your wishes into reality. This seems to good to be true... Indeed. But everything has its right price...and what you need to sacrifice to get what you want is... ...Your soul. Nothing in the world can convey my skepticism better than that middle face. You silly boy...there is no such this as eternal suffering. If this pact was as unfair as you said, we certainly would not have had thousands of people selling their souls throughout history. Upon making this pact, you will be granted access to a powerful mystical being. He will be able to fulfull your wishes. Men are used to calling "Demon" those creatures they consider evil, but this is not the case. Like this? Not quite. He will only give you what you ask. It's up to you to accept the user of the energy of your soul to make wishes. You can make the pact and have access to your demon and this will not cost you anything. However, if you accept what he offers, you will have to give up part of your soul in exchange for your wish. To make the pact, you have to make a cut in your hand. If you prefer to continue living an empty and dull life, as you have been living until this day, just let the dagger fall.I close my eyes, took a deep breath, and...  Should we make a deal with the devil? That sounds kind of reckless, I dunno.
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Jan 13, 2015 01:11
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Sure let's do it. What else we gotta do on a monday. Charm, Intellect, Manip, Health
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Jan 13, 2015 01:20
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I'm down. Not gonna be a spoilsport at the start of the story. Manip, Int, Health, Charm
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Jan 13, 2015 01:50
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We look way too straight-edge to do anything fun like that, drop the dagger. Int, Char
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Jan 13, 2015 01:58
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Who the gently caress names their kid Faust in the 21st Century? That name has probably gotten him beaten up in school dozens of times, no sense letting it cause something even worse. Drop the Knife.
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Jan 13, 2015 03:38
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It's probably a last name. There are still people who have it as one.
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Jan 13, 2015 03:44
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Always start with the obvious wrong choices. Drop the knife.
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Jan 13, 2015 10:24
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This game needed proof readers. But ah well, they only got 5000$. Many more kickstarters have received a lot more and produced nothing fruitful or interesting. Our guy is kind of dumb though, not asking what are the repercussions of having a little soul taken off. But then again that wouldn't be Faustian would it. Rigged Death Trap fucked around with this message at 17:43 on Jan 13, 2015 |
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Jan 13, 2015 17:39
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Making deals with soul-stealing things never goes well. Then again...fresh fruit. I say go for the cut. As for stats, manipulation, charisma, intelligence, health. We don't need to be smart if we can control people smarter than us!
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Jan 13, 2015 17:46
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Manip, Charm, Int, Health. I like the Scooby Doo style.
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Jan 13, 2015 17:51
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Make the cut. I can't see trying to drop the plot ending in anything but a but thou must, so why waste time? Manip, Int, Health, Charm. Manipulation and charm mean the same thing according to all my knowledge to date of video games I'm so confused 
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Jan 13, 2015 18:47
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Carbon dioxide posted:Always start with the obvious wrong choices. Drop the knife. Drop the Knife Screw the plot  (  )
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Jan 14, 2015 01:11
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Ralepozozaxe posted:I like the Scooby Doo style.  100% increase in old lady hair quality
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Jan 14, 2015 05:12
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I close my eyes, took a deep breath, and...  The people have spoken, and they agree: Satan is rad. Oddly enough, I felt no pain...  ...Leaving a scar with a bright blue color in the palm of my hand.  This blue line represents your soul. The shorter the line, the less soul you have left.She startled me. I had forgotten about that awkward old lady... And what happens when my soul line ends? I die? It does not work necessarily like that. I still can't believe this is all real... Try it out. You do want to know what happens, right?That weird woman took a mirror from her purse and showed it to me.  You reflection will be your channel of communication between you and your inner demon. : For 1% of your soul, I can make the bus arrive early.It was frightening to see that distored version of my reflection charging a part of my soul for something so trivial. So, what is your answer? I mean, we should at least make sure it works, right?  Is...is this what it feels like to be God? Amazing! Good luck with your new gift, honey. And remember, don't spend it all on candy...hahahaha! Actually, Let's take a moment to pull up our stats. I ended up splitting the primaries between Manipulation and Intellect. Charm came next, and health was by far the lost priority, but I threw a point in there just to round us out.  Also, if you haven't noticed, we now have a total soul percentage count now. I got 99 problems but a bus ain't one. Anyway, let's get back to it, I'm sure Faust is enjoying his amazing new- What have I done?! I see you made the pact. I can feel the mark on you. Have you decided what will be your first wish? Y'know what I'm saying? I am curious to see what you are going to wish. Did you not see my eyebrows? Are you not getting this? But do not tell me now. I do not want to spoil the surprise. But- If I might, I would like to make a small suggestion. You are not very strong. Have you thought about how it would be to have a better body?  The healthy and strong body of an olympic athlete would look great on you. Mods please change thread name to Swole Gambler.  We've now got a +2 to Health, bringing us to a mighty total of 3. We look exactly the same. That is much better, isn't it? You will not regret it. This change will be very handy, believe me. I think yo should rest and relax. Your life will hardly be as dull as before. See you soon. Bye bye! ...It was late and I decided to sleep.   I couldn't tell why but...my work had always been annoying, but now it felt more annoying than ever. Faust! You're falling behind in our schedule, I need you to catch up immediately! Stay here until you finish everything. But... But what??? If you don't stay, you can use that new spare time to do something special, like... LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB!!I hated the situation and I knew he wasn't bluffing. I could not afford to lose my job. Not now. Okay boss, I'll stay.It's not like I'm a loving soul wizard or anything, shucks. Each minute took hours to pass. I was the only person there and I hadn't gotten through half of what I had to do yet. Why me? Because you want to. That's why. You could transform your boss into a camel, if you wanted to. Or this office into your very own harem. Instead you choose to spend your days working in a job you obviously hate. This demon lady is way smarter than Faust, so I agree.  I call that a good offer. If it was me I would say yes, but I'll let the thread choose. I'm also not gonna lie, there's a lot of choices coming up that aren't super important. So, here's the deal. You tell me which of these playstyles you'd like to roll with for the next update, until we begin our descent into insanity: Spend fast and aggressive, live free and die hard. Practice fiscal responsibility and only spend sometimes. Introduce severe austerity measures and spend nothing. And remember: 
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Jan 15, 2015 01:44
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Let's be responsible for now.
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Jan 15, 2015 01:54
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Party Bug posted:THREAD GAMBLER 3. Know when to walk away. 4. Know when to run. Be responsible.
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Jan 15, 2015 02:00
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AUSTERITY!
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Jan 15, 2015 02:05
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Be responsible I think spending it on trifles like the bus will make us miss out on actual moments where the power would be important.
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Jan 15, 2015 02:45
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SSNeoman posted:Be responsible Agreed. Also we still don't know what this soul even really represents in this context? Assuming Lady Satan is being truthful (of course she is why would you doubt a Lady Satan?) then it isn't strictly tied to our life or afterlife. Whatever it is, I'd rather not go wasting anything related to my soul on petty things like buses and work schedules. Spend responsibly
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Jan 15, 2015 03:02
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Party Bug posted:I know it's bad but I really think the demo version art would have been way better finished product: I like this version better then the animuhentai poo poo that the maker appears to have gone for. Like every other bland "I watched a poo poo tonne of anime" adventure game out there. Also Soul us looks like an rear end in a top hat. Edit: Spend like there's no tomorrow! That way we die early and can come back and make responsible choices, honestly the game dosen't look like it's very long. And we all know how Faust turned out regardless right? Gridlocked fucked around with this message at 03:15 on Jan 15, 2015 |
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Jan 15, 2015 03:10
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If you consider this anime, you have not seen a single anime in your life. Like it was said earlier, this style is actually really more like a Hanna-Barbera cartoon and I actually like it better than the demo art. I think the demo art looks loving awful, tbqh.
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Jan 15, 2015 03:12
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Practice austerity. All these deals suck so far. We might need our soul for something important. Like, why not use our soul to get a better job rather than just finish the work at our current lovely one? Faust doesn't seem very bright. ...what the hell kind of name is Faust anyways?
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Jan 15, 2015 03:19
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Waffleman_ posted:If you consider this anime, you have not seen a single anime in your life. Like it was said earlier, this style is actually really more like a Hanna-Barbera cartoon and I actually like it better than the demo art. I think the demo art looks loving awful, tbqh. You're quite right it does look like an old Hanna-Barbera cartoon. I guess I have just read too many anime-style Choose Your Own Adventure games LP's that my perception is all warped and my brain isn't functioning very well. I apologize for my idiocy. Still looks lovely compared to the Saturday Paper Political Comic art of the demo though. I like that hand-drawn feel.
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Jan 15, 2015 03:23
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The old lady looked nice and creepy in the original art, but outside of that its kind of meh. Granted the current art isn't super great either.
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Jan 15, 2015 03:46
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Well, in for a soul penny, in for a soul pound. Be aggressive! Also try to come up with more interesting things to do with your soul than "your job a little better".
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Jan 15, 2015 04:06
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RBA Starblade posted:Well, in for a soul penny, in for a soul pound. Be aggressive! Also try to come up with more interesting things to do with your soul than "your job a little better". Like what? Devil lady already shut us down.
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Jan 15, 2015 04:08
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Let's save our soul until we meet Gretchen. Once we've met her, let's spend is all baby! Edit: Da steh ich nun, der armer Tor! Und bin so klug als wie zuvor. Shbobdb fucked around with this message at 04:18 on Jan 15, 2015 |
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Jan 15, 2015 04:15
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Waffleman_ posted:Like what? Devil lady already shut us down. I wasn't really telling anyone to do anything in particular.
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Jan 15, 2015 04:18
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2XGp5ix8HE
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Jan 15, 2015 04:28
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Spend Early, Spend Often
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Jan 15, 2015 04:45
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Fiscal Responsiblity is key. How else are you going to deposit to your soul Roth IRA?
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Jan 15, 2015 05:02
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For a concept with so much possibility they sure do limit your actual choices, eh? "You could turn your boss into a camel, or the office into your personal harem!" Becomes: "Spend 3% of soul for work being finished faster."
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Jan 15, 2015 05:45
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Be responsible. Also, I think I'll check out Soul Gambler myself. It looks interesting. I decided to check this thread out because I thought "Goethe" was just a play on "Goat" and I needed a quick chuckle or two about watching someone flail around in Goat Simulator. I'm not sure whether or not to be disappointed.
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Jan 15, 2015 05:49
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Austerity]
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Jan 15, 2015 13:09
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You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs... Fast and Aggressive!
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Jan 15, 2015 17:09
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rakovsky maybe posted:For a concept with so much possibility they sure do limit your actual choices, eh? No loving kidding. *Unlimited wish granting powers* and they want me to waste it on making the bus show up early? Hold out for the good stuff and spend responsibly.
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Jan 15, 2015 17:27
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I gotta say, for a being made of raw desire, your reflection looks bored as hell.
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Jan 15, 2015 17:51
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Spend responsibly. Save up for cool stuff, we can't piss away our powers magicking up busses.
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Jan 15, 2015 17:53
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 22:02 |
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Aw. I was expecting a homophone of the thread title. Still, this is... man, I wonder. You have to spend to up your stats or the devil lady shows up when you've met a horrible fate and bails you out for even more soul? I want to see how this develops.
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Jan 15, 2015 20:20
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