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Devlog: Fallen London and Mask of the Rose
Fallen London is a huge, and ever growing game where player characters evolve and develop over many years. A few parts of Fallen London can only be experienced in multiple playthroughs; for example, you can create a character with a different Ambition but to progress far enough to complete these epic storylines is a big time investment. Mask of the Rose is a short game, but its designed so that curious players can play through multiple times, and there are meta-features which acknowledge the different outcomes you can achieve in your playthrough. Its built for replayability.
Character creation, along with the rest of the Mask interface, is being given an evocative makeover
Part of the fun for seasoned Fallen London players is the meta game; using statistics to work out how they can play the game as efficiently as possible. High-level players write complex analyses to optimise play. For example, many are constantly searching for the best Echo-Per-Action (EPA) activities (how they can earn the most in-game currency for every real-time limited action). The economy side of Mask is much simpler and less granular. If players want to earn some money, then they choose to devote a period of their in-game time to it, pick a professional topic, and play the storycrafting mini-game. The reward for each completed tale is similar; normally a shiny new penny that can be spent elsewhere. Youll also find less repetition in Mask; the idea that a player might play the same snippet of story dozens of times to earn a particular resource is entirely absent. Similarly, interacting with characters is less abstract. There is logic behind the scenes, but if you want to get Theophilus, the vicar, to trust you, then you could take straightforward steps: dress as a churchgoer, avoid lying to him, and maybe do him a favour. You wont have to work out the best way to earn 550 Foxfire Candles and increase an Establishment quality by working at a bank to have a shot at convincing him youre on the level. (Theres a bit more detail on character interactions in this blog.)
Many players play through Fallen London with one eye on the wiki to find out what their next step should be. Mask of the Rose is more immediately intuitive, and wed expect most players to want to make their first run unspoilt. If you are aiming to unlock all the different permutations of characters fates, its also quite possible to do that without assistance. There are multiple, flexible ways to reach all of the key endings, and we dont want to punish players for imperfect play; youll normally be able to get back on track if, for example, you offend someone. That said, we anticipate many players will check out a walkthrough on repeat visits to ensure particular outcomes.
In Fallen London and our other games, pursuing a course with a random chance at success is central. However, the Random Number Generator can be a real erm bustard. Weve spent many hours looking into reports by players that a particular card wont draw or that they failed a quality test many times in a row. We promise you that it really is fair and random; but of course, that also means it is possible to be extremely unlucky, which can be very frustrating. Many games use hidden mechanisms so that the chance of success increases with each failure; Fallen London doesnt do this, although you might see the same idea used explicitly. Mask of the Rose is deterministic; if you make exactly the same choices in a playthrough, you will always get the same results. Of course, there are a lot of big and small choices to make, so its not too predictable for the first-time player, but you can be sure that if you make the right choices for your desired outcome, theyll be effective.
In Fallen London, the character can change their outfit in most areas and often does so to pass particular skill checks. The outfit effects in Mask are just as powerful, but the approach is also less granular (and a little more naturalistic). Players have the opportunity to change their outfits when they are at home in their attic room. When they then pick a location to visit using their map, they are committed to what they are wearing for that particular time block. Generally, we expect players to think about what they want to achieve by visiting a particular character or characters, and dress accordingly!
Mask of the Rose has a smaller cast of characters, and fewer of them use the Fallen London naming convention of Adjective Profession, for example, the Punctilious Dentist (who will not be appearing in an exciting Exceptional Story any time soon). The Tentacled Entrepreneur will guest in Mask of the Rose, but our main characters tend to have more conventional names; Horatia Chapman, for example. Unlike Fallen London and the Sunless games, we are telling an intimate title with a smaller cast, so its easier to keep track of the actors, and we want the player to soon be on first name terms with them. This is the root of all the differences between Fallen London and Mask of the Rose. Fallen London has a grand, picaresque scope in which the player character is something of a super-heroic (or villainous) cipher, conquering every aspect of the neath. Mask of the Rose is a mystery, a story about social upheaval and if you want it to be a romance. Fallen London is the story of a city; Mask of the Rose is the story of a citizen you!
[ 2021-11-16 14:39:43 CET ] [ Original post ]
Mask of the Rose is set in the universe of our long-running browser game, Fallen London. One of the questions Fallen London fans have been putting to us most is how Mask of the Rose differs from its progenitor. Wed like to shed some light on that today. Its important to note that it is an entirely new genre for us, so apart from the lore and tone similarities, expect a very different experience overall. Bearing that in mind, here are some of the key areas where Mask is an entirely different story to Fallen London
Enduring or Replayable?
Fallen London is a huge, and ever growing game where player characters evolve and develop over many years. A few parts of Fallen London can only be experienced in multiple playthroughs; for example, you can create a character with a different Ambition but to progress far enough to complete these epic storylines is a big time investment. Mask of the Rose is a short game, but its designed so that curious players can play through multiple times, and there are meta-features which acknowledge the different outcomes you can achieve in your playthrough. Its built for replayability.
Character creation, along with the rest of the Mask interface, is being given an evocative makeover
Analytical or Intuitive?
Part of the fun for seasoned Fallen London players is the meta game; using statistics to work out how they can play the game as efficiently as possible. High-level players write complex analyses to optimise play. For example, many are constantly searching for the best Echo-Per-Action (EPA) activities (how they can earn the most in-game currency for every real-time limited action). The economy side of Mask is much simpler and less granular. If players want to earn some money, then they choose to devote a period of their in-game time to it, pick a professional topic, and play the storycrafting mini-game. The reward for each completed tale is similar; normally a shiny new penny that can be spent elsewhere. Youll also find less repetition in Mask; the idea that a player might play the same snippet of story dozens of times to earn a particular resource is entirely absent. Similarly, interacting with characters is less abstract. There is logic behind the scenes, but if you want to get Theophilus, the vicar, to trust you, then you could take straightforward steps: dress as a churchgoer, avoid lying to him, and maybe do him a favour. You wont have to work out the best way to earn 550 Foxfire Candles and increase an Establishment quality by working at a bank to have a shot at convincing him youre on the level. (Theres a bit more detail on character interactions in this blog.)
Many players play through Fallen London with one eye on the wiki to find out what their next step should be. Mask of the Rose is more immediately intuitive, and wed expect most players to want to make their first run unspoilt. If you are aiming to unlock all the different permutations of characters fates, its also quite possible to do that without assistance. There are multiple, flexible ways to reach all of the key endings, and we dont want to punish players for imperfect play; youll normally be able to get back on track if, for example, you offend someone. That said, we anticipate many players will check out a walkthrough on repeat visits to ensure particular outcomes.
Deterministic or Random?
In Fallen London and our other games, pursuing a course with a random chance at success is central. However, the Random Number Generator can be a real erm bustard. Weve spent many hours looking into reports by players that a particular card wont draw or that they failed a quality test many times in a row. We promise you that it really is fair and random; but of course, that also means it is possible to be extremely unlucky, which can be very frustrating. Many games use hidden mechanisms so that the chance of success increases with each failure; Fallen London doesnt do this, although you might see the same idea used explicitly. Mask of the Rose is deterministic; if you make exactly the same choices in a playthrough, you will always get the same results. Of course, there are a lot of big and small choices to make, so its not too predictable for the first-time player, but you can be sure that if you make the right choices for your desired outcome, theyll be effective.
Formidable Fashions
In Fallen London, the character can change their outfit in most areas and often does so to pass particular skill checks. The outfit effects in Mask are just as powerful, but the approach is also less granular (and a little more naturalistic). Players have the opportunity to change their outfits when they are at home in their attic room. When they then pick a location to visit using their map, they are committed to what they are wearing for that particular time block. Generally, we expect players to think about what they want to achieve by visiting a particular character or characters, and dress accordingly!
An Intimate Tale
Mask of the Rose has a smaller cast of characters, and fewer of them use the Fallen London naming convention of Adjective Profession, for example, the Punctilious Dentist (who will not be appearing in an exciting Exceptional Story any time soon). The Tentacled Entrepreneur will guest in Mask of the Rose, but our main characters tend to have more conventional names; Horatia Chapman, for example. Unlike Fallen London and the Sunless games, we are telling an intimate title with a smaller cast, so its easier to keep track of the actors, and we want the player to soon be on first name terms with them. This is the root of all the differences between Fallen London and Mask of the Rose. Fallen London has a grand, picaresque scope in which the player character is something of a super-heroic (or villainous) cipher, conquering every aspect of the neath. Mask of the Rose is a mystery, a story about social upheaval and if you want it to be a romance. Fallen London is the story of a city; Mask of the Rose is the story of a citizen you!
[ 2021-11-16 14:39:43 CET ] [ Original post ]
Mask of the Rose
Failbetter Games
Developer
Failbetter Games
Publisher
Coming Soon
Release
Singleplayer Tags
Game News Posts:
37
🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse
🎮 Full Controller Support
🎮 Full Controller Support
Mostly Positive
(205 reviews)
Public Linux Depots:
- [0 B]
Welcome to Fallen London: a darkly hilarious gothic underworld where death is a temporary inconvenience, the rats talk, and Hell is only a stone's throw away.
Thanks to an unknown bargain, London now resides in a vast cavern under the earth. Down here, the sun doesn't shine, and Parliament has sunk into the Thames. Queen Victoria never emerges from her palace. Cats spy on their owners and whisper their secrets abroad. The fabric of strait-laced Victorian society has begun to fray.
New Masters are in charge. Why are they so… tall? And always cloaked? And why are they so interested in love stories?
The possibilities for personal connection in London are different now. Thrown together in crisis, you might befriend or romance many of the characters you meet, from Griz, your assertive housemate for whom the Fall was a chance to break free of Victorian societal norms, to the infernally well-dressed gentleman at the Brass Consulate with the amber eyes.
Even death itself has a twist here: the first murder victim since the Fall is feeling much better, and keen to see justice done. Unfortunately, as the doctor who treated him immediately before he expired, your housemate Archie is the prime suspect...
- (Re)invent yourself: who were you before the Fall? Who will you be now?
- Create outfits from a selection of clothing and unusual accessories to unlock different story options
- Fall in love with a cast of diverse Londoners, each with their own secrets
- Matchmake among your friends, or seek love for yourself (by any definition you like)
- Write love stories in a delightful minigame, and use them to impress the new Masters
- Pick up odd jobs to earn money and gather resources. How are you at rat catching?
- Solve the first murder since the Fall, with the assistance of the victim
- Discover cosy, mysterious and magnificent locations in a dark and delicious version of Victorian London
- Seek deeper and deeper secrets over multiple playthroughs
Will you be a brilliant matchmaker, connecting friends and rivals while remaining unattached? Or are you looking for lasting love? Perhaps you're open to whatever comes your way? Every major storyline is accessible regardless of whether your approach to love is romantic or platonic.
Use an elaborate, dynamic story-crafting system to create love stories – and murder theories. Are the twists in the tale not to your taste? Then change the motive, the location, even the victim, and see how the stories adapt!
Your past will open different doors for you in London. What was your life on the Surface like? Were your family landed gentry? Or did they own a tailor’s shop, or dabble in the occult?
Your clothing will also make people think differently of you. Your outfits open new possibilities in conversation: be bolder, more commanding, more flirtatious. Ingratiate yourself with London's inhabitants by changing your style of dress – they won't be able to resist you in that hat!
You'll also work odd jobs and collect resources which will open new avenues in social situations. Your housemate Griz has found you work as census-taker for those curious new Masters. Fill your census-taker's notebook with intimate details about your fellow citizens and you'll find you can pursue deeper relationships with them, romantic or otherwise.
Griz
For your fellow lodger Griz, the Fall of London has been a liberation – the chance to throw off her corsets, dump the dresses and be taken seriously in a position that would have been forbidden to her when she was 'Miss Griselda'.
Archie
For your other housemate Archie, the change is terrifying. What is a medical student supposed to believe in when even the laws of death no longer apply?
Harjit
When the Fall struck, Harjit stepped up to help anyone who needed it. Now he’s settling into his role as a man in uniform, but the territory is unfamiliar – and, secretly, he has a missing person of his own to find.
Milton
Milton is the amber-eyed host of a literary parlour with a scalding handshake and a prior address in Hell. He’s an excellent listener, but does he only want you for your soul?
Rachel
Rachel was halfway through her serialised novel when London fell and everything she was writing about was turned upside-down. Her publisher grows impatient. Fortunately (?) meeting Milton has rekindled her passion – for more than just writing.
David
Rachel’s brother, and no fan of Milton, David is also destined to be Fallen London’s first murder victim. When he returns from the dead, you can ask him all about it.
Horatia
For a decade, Horatia has taken in lodgers and turned them into family. Since London fell, people need the security she offers more than ever. So when a man made entirely of clay knocks at the door, offering to pay handsomely for lodgings, she can hardly refuse.
Mr Pages
One of London's new, mysterious “Masters”, Mr Pages has embarked on the titanic endeavour of conducting London’s first post-Fall census! But why are its questions so concerned with the love-lives of London’s citizens? How do people declare their affection, in this fair city? How lasting are their attachments? Might a Londoner take an interest in a very tall, broad-shouldered, cloaked personage that leans towards the chiropterous, hypothetically speaking?
Explore this unique city in glorious, richly rendered 2D. Experience London through three seasons: the season of Confessions, the season of Yule, and the season of Love. Help establish the first Feast of the Rose, a festival of romance that will be celebrated in London for decades to come!
For players of Sunless Sea and Sunless Skies, Mask of the Rose offers a chance to immerse yourselves in the city that founded this deep, dark, and marvellous universe. And for veteran players of the Fallen London browser game, it marks your first opportunity to visit the city just after it fell. But fear not: Mask of the Rose is an excellent introduction to the universe we’ve been building for more than a decade, and you don’t need to have played our other games first. Come on in. Most things won’t bite, unless you want them to.
Explore the locales, lives, and loves of an impossible city. Exchange bon-mots with devils. Investigate the first murder where the victim can testify at the murderer’s trial. Dive into the sunken ruins of poor drowned Parliament. And if you’re truly reckless, fall in love.
MINIMAL SETUP
- OS: Ubuntu 20.04+. ArchLinux
- Processor: Intel Pentium 2GHZ or AMD equivalentMemory: 4 GB RAM
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 3.2+. Vulkan capable
- Storage: <8 GB available space
GAMEBILLET
[ 6132 ]
GAMERSGATE
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FANATICAL BUNDLES
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HUMBLE BUNDLES
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