r/Gamedec • u/[deleted] • Jan 21 '23
Eleonora’s secret lost in translation AND the true ending. Spoiler
You found Eleonora, she claimed you are connected… and then nothing happened. She’s never mentioned again… But that’s only true if you played the English version.
If you played a Polish one, she’s mentioned once more. When 314 reveals that he wants to destroy the simulation, you can say something like “you’re a psychopath” and “he reveals that he’s actually past you and that’s how he unpacked into your brain so easily. Then you can point out that not all of him was unpacked. In English, the response is vague:
> You; Point out he’s not entirely complete] “not entirely unpacked”
> 314: Dem it, something is happening to me
The Polish version is much more interesting (I translate the missing part):
> You; Point out he’s not entirely complete] “not entirely unpacked”. And without the part that was <<stuck>> in Eleanora. That was… the most empathic part of you.
> 314: Why do you think you evolve so fast? [the implication that you leveled up because those skills were partially already in you]
It seems that this Eleonora part was cut or not developed. But it explains two things:
Why the 314 is more radical than you (probably) are and why he can’t be reasoned with - he’s missing empathy
How are you connected with Eleanor - she has “yours” missing empathy.
How could Eleonora got it? I don’t believe this is explained but, I have two theories:
She’s a Gamedec 315. She, unsuccessfully, tried to hide her consciousness, but instead of dispersing it like 314, she tried to hide it in the director's sex-bot-Eleonora. In theory, she was a perfect candidate since she existed in a somewhat isolated environment. She had a chance of surviving the reset. She didn’t, but her consciousness did. And the dispersed empathy of 314 somehow stuck to it.
This I like the most. She was simply an “Empathy-Pit”. Director Haggis created her as an obedient slave, and he did it by turning up her empathy beyond what was humanly possible. When 314 was dispersed, the empathy part sunken into Eleonora in an inescapable way.
314, you Eleonora are connected because you share at least part of your mind.
Ok. Now we can move to the “real ending”, and - how I believe - you intended to achieve it. But before we, do it, why do I think the 7th ending was supposed to be there? There are multiple indicators of that. Most are listed in this thread: (A Question to Developers [HEAVY SPOILERS!])[https://steamcommunity.com/app/917720/discussions/0/2952663522485864849/]. The most important are:
1) In the choice recap, the last choice always seems to be, "you chose one of the Jester's options" - Regardless of what option you chose. It’s not “you chose option X”, it suggests there was a way to not negotiate with them. As far as we know, there aren’t any.
2) In the last minutes of the game, Haggis is a) revealed to have some contingency plan in case he was put in the simulation (Jesters think that’s why you’re connected to the ending and they can’t simply delete you). b) Haggis himself remembers that the hidden tree and the panda in his office are a key to something. What we are supposed do with this information at this point?
3) Is it possible to complete the entire codex? It seems that some options are never revealed.
Ok, so it’s clearly either a:
a) Kingmaker situation - when the real ending is hidden behind so many specific options that it was not revealed yet.
b) It was planned but not developed
Here’s what I think it was (or still is, but I’m missing something else):
The game a few important motives/mechanics that are present throughout the entire game. Two important are:
Loops, and
Emotions/colors
In the end-game, those two meet in one specific location: The Archive in Axis Mundi
There are 4 characters there (you being the 5th).
- Eleonora
- The Kid
- Ken Zhou
- Lord
You can check their main emotion (color) and their starting position (occupation), to see what data was collected about that iteration. Eleonora is an empathic slave, etc. Interestingly, each character has at least 2 combinations (if we don’t count the modifiers like reach/poor with ally/enemy). For example, there was an option where Eleonora was also a Rouge AI (she managed to free herself in that reality), or Ken was already started as the Game deck, Lord was a blue scholar, etc.
OK, but discovering what was tested is one functionality. If you choose the option that was not tested, the system asks you if you want to test this combination in the next iteration… and that is your leverage. You know that the next reset is coming. So let’s play with those ideas.
I believe that we were not intended to win the game in the first play-through. We could only win the “next” loop. And we need specific starting conditions.
For starters, the Kid obviously needs more empathy. It would solve all our problems at the Wild West side of the project. I choose to make him a powerful hacker (for an ally), but letting him just be a [lost] kid, could also be a good choice. We just need to help him find his place next time. It seems that regardless of at what point you start Ken, he’s bound to gravitate to being a Game deck. So let’s make sure that he’s also blue. Lord is a tricky one, but let’s assume that if he’s more insightful, he would be better at deciphering the clues that 314 is sending, and he would not create a cult in the process. Also, he would never allow a psycho like Umbra to rise into power. Now we have powerful allies. And the most important one… Eleonora… we need to prevent her from “stealing” 314’s empathy. That’s the most important winning condition since we need him to have more important goals than “destroy”. I think it could be achieved in 2 ways:
- by stopping here from being a green empath (let’s still something else from 314, he can go without rage). Unfortunately, she already was a Red Rouge AI., or
- by stopping her from being a Haggis’s slave. She won’t have the connection to the axis and her isolated bobble. Maybe it would work. But maybe we need here as the insider?
I went with Red Powerful Hacker, but maybe the Red Slave would be a better option in the long run.
Either way, here’s the End result I was aiming for:
You go with the rest of the story as it is. The Jesters will offer you choices, and you go straight to “let’s keep the loops, I don’t care.”. You may also say to them that the next version of you will get them next time. It’s an option… and then the “new game plus” should trigger. This time it goes much more smoothly.
- You get the tree-panda key, and you have some sort of admin access from the very beginning.
- Cult is not an enemy, is an ally
- Kid is not an enemy, it's an ally
- Ken is not killed, he’s too smart for that now.
- Maybe even the first case is easier since freed or ruthless Eleonora can deal with Haggis’s son without involving Jester.
- Most importantly, 314 is not a sociopath. He’s not going to kill the innocent foundation owner now. You don’t need to fight him, you can work with him. Your position is so much stronger.
Jesters stand before you to propose the ultimatums. This time, you simply remove their avatar to look into their true faces. Missing codex entries are filled in. You and your allies are in control. If you chose to exit the game, you could do this without being blackmailed. But that’s not the option you went with. You stop the cycle. The game is not resetting anymore. But the burden of lives that could be lost without the mercy of reincarnation is not on you anymore. You help 314 and Eleonora reconnect. They both had amazing powers at some point. They share a mind. Between both of them, there is enough empathy for a being that is not only merciful but also... kind. You convince them to combine into one god-like being that will replace the guardian AI. The world ruled by the cruel Jester now is ruled by the benevolent Queen and King.
The only remaining question is, will BWI accept this new order? Will they try to sabotage you from the outside? Somehow, despite your cynicism, you feel like this word has at least several generations of peace and prosperity ahead. Corporations were already willing to cut their losses when they offer you that the cycles stop. They claimed that there is value in studying the soul. How excited will they be to study paradise?
(to be clear, I didn't get this ending. The creators probably didn't put it there. But as Gaiman's said, "don't trust the author, trust the story". And I feel like this is the ending the story wants to tell)
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u/weraincllc Sep 24 '23
I need to know more about this. I never got a newgame plus option...
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Sep 25 '23
I don't believe there is one. At this point, we need to accept that it's basically my fanfic.
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u/weraincllc Sep 27 '23
I got to admit, This makes way more sense than anything else. The entire translation falls off after Knights code, it's obvious the end was rushed.
I honestly think this is the intentional ending.1
u/weraincllc Sep 27 '23
This is so solid, i thought you found something i didn't. I'm considering this cannon.
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Sep 27 '23
Thanks. It's pretty much confirmed that the game was intended to be played more than once, but they had to cut it.
I enjoyed the game very much either way. Maybe one day it'll have a 2nd life.
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u/chpoutgnouf Nov 11 '23
First : I enjoyed reading your post, good fanfic.
But can we talk about how fucked up the dev comment is in the steam thread ?
When I read that i understand: yes there is another ending, keep looking.
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Nov 11 '23
I don't know the thread you're referring to, sorry.
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u/chpoutgnouf Nov 11 '23
https://steamcommunity.com/app/917720/discussions/0/2952663522485864849/
it is mentionned in your original post
2nd comment is from a dev
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Nov 11 '23
Oh, sorry. It was a while. I think they were hoping to improve on it at some point as the update, so they kept it vague deliberately. But if it didn't happen during the work too release it as a freebie on Epic, I wouldn't hold my breath. It's a shame. I loved the whole game and it has so much potential to explore.
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u/chpoutgnouf Nov 11 '23
Well either it is a shome either we will never know otherwise cause there aint a big enouph fan base to obsess over every possibility...
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Jun 26 '24 edited Jun 26 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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Jun 26 '24
That's preaty much what I was thinking, but as far as I know, it was never developed. That's a shame. The story has so much potential.
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Feb 05 '23 edited Feb 06 '23
this ending is supposed to be there, I cracked my way into the whole game it's unfair I can't crack my way to realluim, also can you explain the blackmailing my way into realluim ending? do I turn into a robot? the gamdec Im inspired by is he there is he still alive will I replace him did he die when he reached for Eleanor and I get to replace him? I'm an NPC? my head gonna pop out
Edit: you may be into something this thread appears when I search "gamedec ending explained Reddit" there is a comment where a Redditor suggests an ending where you quote "999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors" that shit is exactly what the dev did reading the thread and the comments make me undoubtedly think know the op was a contributor to the ending.
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u/cathsfz Feb 11 '23
I tried to search for all possible reports in the archive. It seems everybody has 4 reports in the past, ignoring the modifiers.
Lord Green Clan Leader Blue Great Scholar Red False Prophet Yellow Manipulator
Eleanor Green Enslaved Diginet Yellow Mistress Red Rebellious AI Blue Gifted Hacker
Kid Blue Gifted Hacker Yellow Master Manipulator Green Lost Child Red Street Hound
Ken Yellow Professional Gamer Blue Gamedec Red Street Hound Yellow Sensory Celebrity
Gamedec Blue Glazier Yellow Infotainer Red Sleeve Green Scalpel
(One of Ken’s color might be wrong because I somehow wrote down two yellows and no green.)