Geneforge: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"Who has the courage to allow themselves to be rewritten, remade?"''|Shaping journal, ''Geneforge One''}}

 

 

In the first game of the series, the player is a new recruit sent away to finish their training. Instead, they wind up on Sucia Island, [[Deserted Island|which was abandoned two centuries ago]] and declared [[Forbidden Zone|Barred]] by the Shapers. The player must then decide how to respond to all the creations living outside of Shaper control and forbidden technology lying around. In the second game, the player starts out as an apprentice Shaper who discovers that the forbidden technology and independent creations have secretly found a foothold on the mainland. Each subsequent game follows the attempts of human and creation rebels to overthrow the Shapers and the attempts of the Shapers to regain their old level of control. In every game, [[It Got Worse|the war and chaos escalates]].

It can be purchased at the official website, [http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/geneforge/index.html here.] The series is also available for sale on [[Steam]].

 

* [[Action Bomb]]: Pyroroamers do this automatically when killed. Unstable creations, wingbolts, and rotdhizons in the later games also explode on death, though it isn't their main purpose.

* [[A God Am I]]: Abuse of {{spoiler|canisters}} can trigger this in the PC. Don't ask what happens if you actually use the {{spoiler|Geneforge.}}

* [[Ain't Too Proud to Beg]]: One of the subtle differences between the Shaper PCs in the first three games and the rebel PC in the fourth.

* [[Almighty Janitor]]: the first two games have you fresh out of [[Wizarding School]], the third has you still in it when [[Doomed Hometown|almost everyone inside is massacred]], and the fourth makes you a new recruit into the rebellion.

* [[Ambiguous Gender]]: Quite a few of the character models, allowing them to be used for both males and females. (Others are just always male or always female--only townsfolk get different models for different genders.)

* [[Amulet of Dependency]]: Canisters provide the user with a substantial power boost, writing magic and shaping abilities into the user. Side effects may include emotional dependency, cravings for more canisters, lack of empathy, uncontrollable temper, and feelings of [[A God Am I]].

* [[An Economy Is You]]: Averted. Merchants explicitly only show you what you might be interested in and some you can't trade with at all because they only have things useless to you.

* [[Armless Biped]]: Glaahks and podlings.

* [[Badass Long Robe]]: Shapers again. This potentially applies to serviles, though NPC serviles are rather less intimidating. [[Lampshade|Lampshaded]] by the description text for cloaks and robes.

* [[Barrier Change Boss]]: A few minor bosses.

* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]: If it's red, it's probably going to spit fire at you. If an upgraded [[Palette Swap]] is blue, expect ice.

* [[Com Mons]]: fyoras, available from the start of every game and usually the only creation an Agent will ever make. They're something of a [[Magikarp Power|Magikarp]] in that with their stats maxed out they can take down a drakon, but [[Olympus Mons|compared to a drakon with its stats maxed out]] . . .

* [[Critical Encumbrance Failure]]: Played straight until you reach encumbrance weight, though the AP deduction depends on how much you're carrying above your normal limit.

* [[Critical Existence Failure]]: Pretty much played straight for the main character. Others may [[Screw This, I'm Outta Here|panic and flee from combat]] when badly wounded, however, and your creations may even attack you.

** This isn't intended to be euphemistic. Creations aren't considered human, sentient, or worthy of moral concern; "kill" would imply that they're at least living beings.

* [[Defector From Decadence]]: {{spoiler|Khyryk}} in the fourth game, having failed at [[Conspiracy Redemption]]. Litalia goes through this three times in the series, eventually taking up {{spoiler|Khyryk}}'s cause.

* [[Diabolus Ex Machina]]: The {{spoiler|Goettsch}} ending of the first, obtainable by {{spoiler|defeating Trajkov and destroying the Geneforge, but leaving Goettsch alive. The ending plays up much like the best ending, but quickly turns into this as its revealed Goettsch, driven mad by the loss of the Geneforge, gathers whats left of Trajkov's forces and incites a bloody war that lasts for centuries.}}

* [[Dialogue Tree]]

* [[Duel Boss]]: Stanis in the second game--you fight him in an arena filled with devices that stun creations.

* [[Easter Egg]]: Having 8 of the same type of monster on the title screen of ''Geneforge One'' (and possibly the others as well) gives you an interesting message that is otherwise unfindable.

* [[Emperor Scientist]]: The Shapers are either this or [[The Magocracy]], depending on whether they qualify as scientists or magicians.

* [[Enemy Summoner]]: Hostile Shapers in the later games can make new creations during combat. [[The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard|You can't]].

* [[Everything Fades]]

* [[Fantasy Gun Control]]: Batons fill the niche of guns.

* [[Flunky Boss]]: Frequently.

* [[Forgets to Eat]]: Many Shapers.

* [[Friendly Fireproof]]

* [[Functional Magic]]: Divided into Battle Magic ([[Elemental Powers]]), Mental Magic ([[Psychic Powers]]), Blessing Magic (non-healing [[White Magic]]), and Healing Craft (healing [[White Magic]]).

* [[Fungus Humongous]]: Spawners and turrets.

* [[Gameplay and Story Segregation]]: No one will comment if you make illegal creations.

** You may be strong enough to wipe out every faction by the numbers. [[Cutscene Incompetence|In 5, that doesn't mean you can win if you piss them all off.]]

* [[Global Currency]]

* [[Gone Horribly Wrong]]: So frequently that properly designed laboratories and workshops can be sealed off instantly, even if it means killing everyone inside.

* [[Graying Morality]]: [[Word of God]] has it that this was intended to occur over the course of the first game. Arguably, it's more subtly developed over the course of the series, as the rebels got more opportunities to make their arguments (and even took the spotlight in the fourth game.)

* [[Hide Your Children]]: Since ''Geneforge'' is the sort of game that lets you kill innocents if you want to, you won't find any humanoid kids -- aside from a couple of serviles whose descriptions indicate their youth. However, you will find packs of drake children in some of the games (though they look the same as adults). Since they haven't learned to be civilized yet (picture an angry toddler in the body of a dragon), you may actually HAVE to kill them in order to avoid becoming their dinner. One also has to consider whether sending newly-made intelligent creations (drakes, gazers, etc.) into battle is equivalent to employing child soldiers. [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?]] is probably in play.

* [[Hyperactive Metabolism]]

* [[Insurmountable Waist High Fence]]: Over and over.

** [[Fridge Brilliance|Maybe]] those Shapers are [[Squishy Wizard|too weak from lack of exercise]] to climb?

* [[It's a Wonderful Failure]]: ''Geneforge One'', ''Two'', and ''Five'' have one for [[Refusal of the Call]]. ''Five'' gives one if you [[You Lose At Zero Trust|anger every faction]]. Every game also has a shorter version [[Have a Nice Death|if you die]].

* [[Joke Character]]: There is a [[Easter Egg|hard-to-get]] canister of create ornk (a pig-cow hybrid) in every game.

* [[Kill All Humans]]: Unintelligent rogue creations, plus insane intelligent ones.

* [[Kleptomaniac Hero]]: The PC. Sure, there are some things that NPCs will get pissed off at you for stealing... but the game tells you which ones they are. In fact, when you open a cabinet or something, the game automatically has you take all money inside and puts it in your event log. Unless it's marked as Not Yours, in which case the money just sits there with the letters "NY" in the top right-hand corner.

** The unopenable door in the end of ''Geneforge Two'', plus many small things.

** The most prominent example would be Nodye Coast in ''Geneforge 5'', everyone talks about it and describes it as a perfect, peaceful Utopia where all is well, even the map itself hammers this in by showing Nodye coast having more cities than the rest of Terrestia ''combined''. The problem? It's impossible to get there, even with cheats. Councilors will constantly use a bait-and-switch technique by saying they'll give you a pass into Nodye Coast if you do a favor for them, and then after you're done, giving you money, weapons, fame...but no pass to Nodye Coast.

* [[Mook Maker]]: Spawners, a creation that can Shape a never-ending stream of weaker creations.

* [[Multiple Endings]]: The number of endings is huge, mainly depending on which faction you helped and your hidden [[Karma Meter]], but there are also some minor changes that depend on small plot points. Almost all are [[Downer Ending|Downer Endings]] or [[Bittersweet Ending|Bittersweet Endings]].

* [[Phantasy Spelling]]

* [[Phlebotinum Overload]]: One way {{spoiler|Trajkov}} can be killed in ''Geneforge One''. You can also kill yourself this way.

* [[Plot Coupon That Does Something]]: The canisters and Geneforges that frequently drive NPCs insane also [[Sanity Meter|affect you]].

** The Geneforge itself. In earlier games, it's the [[MacGuffin]] that impacts the story and the character who uses it, correctly or not, including the player. In later games it appears in the beginning, but there's always a more powerful Geneforge under construction somewhere, some of which your player may also attempt to use.

* [[Power Glows]]: Canister addicts develop [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]] and glowing ''skin'' of doom.

* [[Power Degeneration]]: Charged creations in ''Four'' & ''Five'' are significantly more powerful than regular creations costing the same amount of essence, but continuously lose health and die when leaving a zone. A rebel Shaper in ''Four'' describes them as basically being [[Phlebotinum Overdose|Phlebotinum Overdosed]].

* [[Restart At Level One]]: The PC in ''Geneforge Five''.

* [[Rodents of Unusual Size]]: Giant rats.

* [[Scratch Damage]]

* [[Series Continuity Error]]: An ''entire continent'' mysteriously vanishes between the fourth and fifth game.

** It doesn't 'disappear', it's just not mentioned and the player isn't allowed to travel there.

* [[Servant Race]]: Most of the creations in the game. Most notably, the serviles.

* [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog]]: The ultimate ending in ''Geneforge 5'' explains that the trials and triumphs of everyone in all 5 games, including every single decision the PC made, was all just {{spoiler|the forgotten records of times long past}}.

* [[Sidekick]]: Alwan and Greta in ''Geneforge Three''.

* [[Sssssnaketalk]]: Drayks and drakons.

* [[Speaking Simlish]]: The background noise in towns includes people speaking random gibberish.

* [[Stupid Good]]: In ''Geneforge 3'', Greta believes strongly in the rights of creations but seems less concerned for all the people the rebels are killing. She [[Character Development|becomes more nuanced]] in the later games.

* [[Suicidal Overconfidence]]

* [[Take a Third Option]]: {{spoiler|The Trakovites}} in ''Geneforge Four'', complete with an ending that's somewhat hard to get.

* [[Take Over the World]]: {{spoiler|Shaper Monarch}} in ''Geneforge Four''.

* [[Tele Frag]]: {{spoiler|Khyryk}} in ''Geneforge Three''. Not a canonical death.

* [[The Chessmaster]]: The Drakon Ghaldring, who created Ur-Drakons to be improved versions, but knowing how they operate, established a society of byzantine customs and heirarchy, in which he consistently plays the Ur-Drakons against each other, and themselves, to maintain dominance.

* [[Third Option Adaptation]]: Every sequel changes the backstory of the previous installment just enough that no ending is ever canonical.

* [[Title Drop]]

* [[Tyke Bomb]]: The smarter creations.

* [[Universal Poison]]

* [[Utopia Justifies the Means]]: Every faction is willing to [[Kick the Dog]] to achieve their ends.

* [[Vendor Trash]]

* [[We Buy Anything]]

* [[Wings Do Nothing]]: Drayks.

* [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?]]: One of the main reasons for the rebellion. Under the Shapers, creations have no rights and any overly independent creations are supposed to be killed.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Western RPG]]

[[Category:Action RPG]]