Game News Esoteric Ebb is a 5E ruleset Disco-like where you play as a cleric unraveling a political conspiracy

[Rocket-Propelled Game]

This game has combat. What does Disco-like mean? I haven't tried Disco Elysium. An RPG without combat just doesn't appeal to me. If it's about the story and dialogue wouldn't 'Planescape Torment-like' be more fitting?

Presumably referring to the "70s buddy cop show" undercurrent, and also referring to the player character being regarded by some of his colleagues as a relic, a has-been, a now-useless appendage. In other words, "deader than disco".

 

[Tony]

This game has combat. What does Disco-like mean? I haven't tried Disco Elysium. An RPG without combat just doesn't appeal to me. If it's about the story and dialogue wouldn't 'Planescape Torment-like' be more fitting?

Presumably referring to the "70s buddy cop show" undercurrent, and also referring to the player character being regarded by some of his colleagues as a relic, a has-been, a now-useless appendage. In other words, "deader than disco".

Thank you very much for the explanation!

 

[rusty_shackleford]

wtf did I just read

 

[Rocket-Propelled Game]

This game has combat. What does Disco-like mean? I haven't tried Disco Elysium. An RPG without combat just doesn't appeal to me. If it's about the story and dialogue wouldn't 'Planescape Torment-like' be more fitting?

Presumably referring to the "70s buddy cop show" undercurrent, and also referring to the player character being regarded by some of his colleagues as a relic, a has-been, a now-useless appendage. In other words, "deader than disco".

Thank you very much for the explanation!

('_')b

(I wonder how I add reactions to other people's posts like they do mine...)

 

[Tony]

This game has combat. What does Disco-like mean? I haven't tried Disco Elysium. An RPG without combat just doesn't appeal to me. If it's about the story and dialogue wouldn't 'Planescape Torment-like' be more fitting?

Presumably referring to the "70s buddy cop show" undercurrent, and also referring to the player character being regarded by some of his colleagues as a relic, a has-been, a now-useless appendage. In other words, "deader than disco".

Thank you very much for the explanation!

('_')b

(I wonder how I add reactions to other people's posts like they do mine...)

I had to pay $5. They call it equipping the ring. I also got the ability to edit and delete posts and see some hidden forums. If you don't pay, I believe you have to wait a year. You can block ads for a month by paying too.

And thank you very much for making 5e game. I wish far more people did. After this game you should consider making a new first person, party based, dungeon crawler with 5e (or 3.5e would be even better).

 

[Lovecraft's Ghost]

I like it

Mr. Tamsalu, blah blah blah.

Because you feign politeness and address me so formally, I’ll bite. After all you’ve even gone to the trouble of considering my background just enough to fashion a taunt of sorts.

[Some gibberish about everyone deserving a gold star for effort and how you can't judge unfinished games.]

My politeness is never feigned, the 'taunt' is genuine disgust and indignation at seeing someone with proven artistic credentials shewing approval of something so utterly distasteful and bad. You know as well as I do this game won't see some great overhaul before release in terms of aesthetics. You are correct that many here have very high tolerances before the sight of visual vomit offends them, but so what? As for the pronouns I assumed it had to do with your current employer and/or the cultural milieu you were immersed in, as this is almost always the case when used online, barring ironic purposes, but in this regard I'm quite happy to have underestimated you, for now at least.

On further account of politeness, I do appreciate that you did take the time to clarify your position. What use are those aspects you did appreciate though when a game that is all about presentation looks so repugnant? The reason why some people here put up with so much is because the depth of the mechanics offered by those games. There are two things which make or break these narrative focused projects, writing and visuals, and this game has neither. Some portrait might be 'bouncy' and well timed, but if it looks like an amateur Flash game from the early 00's then this is of little consequence. This is what prompted my first reply, I know you have eyes, good ones at that. Either your standards for what you consider acceptable are so low they dip into Tartarus or you must have some ulterior motive.

 

[Kasparov]

I like it

Mr. Tamsalu, blah blah blah.

[gold star]

[taunt]

Honestly I was 75% shitposting with that first one. As I do on this hallowed Codex ground.

However I stand by what I posted in my response to you. 9/10 indie projects start looking off and end up looking maybe only halfway there. That’s possibly because of my Actual Art Degree. Have you also got one? So few notice the obvious…

I can hope the universe will prove me wrong this time. And the maps get the right density, and the portraits a final art pass, and the menus a reskin to break it free from the disco. Costs me ziltch to have the wishlist bell ping me once it is finished. I don’t even have to waste my gilden stickers.

Okay I’ve had my fun. Godspeed to the developer and I’ll check it out when I can. I’ll retract to my insignificant self until the day my services are required again.

 

[Rocket-Propelled Game]

This game has combat. What does Disco-like mean? I haven't tried Disco Elysium. An RPG without combat just doesn't appeal to me. If it's about the story and dialogue wouldn't 'Planescape Torment-like' be more fitting?

Presumably referring to the "70s buddy cop show" undercurrent, and also referring to the player character being regarded by some of his colleagues as a relic, a has-been, a now-useless appendage. In other words, "deader than disco".

Thank you very much for the explanation!

('_')b

(I wonder how I add reactions to other people's posts like they do mine...)

I had to pay $5. They call it equipping the ring. I also got the ability to edit and delete posts and see some hidden forums. If you don't pay, I believe you have to wait a year. You can block ads for a month by paying too.

And thank you very much for making 5e game. I wish far more people did. After this game you should consider making a new first person, party based, dungeon crawler with 5e (or 3.5e would be even better).

Ach, understandable but still disappointing because I want to festoon this entire forum into some sort of emoji apocalypse.

 

[ItsChon]

No idea what people are complaining about in regards to the game's art style/presentation. I didn't like the voice acting that was shown in the trailer, though that could be due to the fact that it's desynched from what's happening on screen. I think it would be beneficial if it was removed if it will take up too many resources to implement properly. Outside of that, I think the game just needs some polish.

The game has a simplistic art style but the colors are nice and I like what we've seen of the actual environment so far. That being said, something about the lines delineating objects is off. I don't know if he needs to make them thicker or if there is a word for it, but the game would benefit from some increased contrast or separation between items/people and the foreground. The game also looks very flat, and it's hard to get a good sense of depth perception. Things blend together, and you don't know when things end and when things start. Also, some of the portraits look outright not good, but this just speaks to the alpha state of the game and I can only hope that it will be much more polished as time goes on.

If these things are fixed though, the visual component of the game will not be an issue in my eyes.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

This game has combat. What does Disco-like mean? I haven't tried Disco Elysium. An RPG without combat just doesn't appeal to me. If it's about the story and dialogue wouldn't 'Planescape Torment-like' be more fitting?

Disco-like means a digital gamebook with zero combat and little exploration but some character customization that allows the player to choose their preferred variety of flavor text, of which there is an immense amount, hence the meme:

Esoteric Ebb does claim to have actual combat, so we'll have to see how similar it really is to Disco Elysium in the end.

 

[Tom Baker's Arse]

This is an absolute fucking abortion

 

[AwesomeButton]

No other game can boast the success achieved by Disco Elysium.

A game which sequel gets to be created by the secondary NPCs from the first game.

 

[luj1]

Tags: Esoteric Ebb

A number of RPGs to be announced in recent years have been inspired by the success of Disco Elysium, but Esoteric Ebb is probably the first one to explicitly describe itself as a "Disco-like". Set in a Sigil-esque "post-arcanapunk" fantasy metropolis, Esoteric Ebb puts you in the role of a municipal cleric tasked with investigating a terrorist attack on the eve of the city's first election. Interestingly, the game uses an adaptation of the 5th Edition OGL ruleset, with dialogue checks based on the standard D&D attributes and some sort of implementation of divine spellcasting. Developed by Swedish fellow named Christoffer Bodegård, who has been working on it as a side project since 2019, the game appeared on Steam in August and today it received its first proper trailer.

​

​

Esoteric Ebb is a 5e isometric Disco-like CRPG in which you unravel a political conspiracy in a unique post-arcanapunk fantasy setting. Inspired by classics like Planescape Torment & Baldur's Gate, it features colorful and really weird characters you get to interact with through deep and branching dialogs.​

​

The City of Norvik is holding its first ever election. The tension on the streets is sizzling, and somebody just blew up a tea shop. Great. Since no one else wants to touch it with a ten-foot pole, it's up to you and your goblin companion Snell to unravel the political web of intrigue and shine a light on the secrets hidden within this ancient city. Is it a divine mission? A quest for justice? Or is your first step towards complete political dominion? Only you can decide on your personal & sacred journey as a devoted government employee.​

​

An open-ended QUEST. The tea shop on Tolstad blew up just a week before the election, and nobody is doing anything about it - except you! Solve this mystery in any way you want by exploring the streets, towers, and dark tunnels of Norvik.​

​

A strange fantasy setting. Based on a homebrew 5e campaign of weird fantasy, Esoteric Ebb takes place in a world where mythological creatures sell newspapers at corner shops and ideologies overtake the ramblings of dead gods.​

​

Set-piece combat sequences. Clerics in Norvik are taught to use violence as a last resort only, although not everyone follows the mantra so strictly. When need does arise, a roll of the dice determines life or death.​

​

Deep Cleric Customization based on the 5E ruleset. As a government employee, a helm and uniform is required of course. But no one said anything about accessories! Customize the look and abilities of your cleric as you choose how to engage the many tense encounter in Norvik.​

​

Warp reality to your whim, with MAGIC. As an expert in arcana, your cleric can learn powerful spells during his QUEST. Heal wounds! Detect evil lurking around every corner! Speak with the dead! Speak with cats! They might even respond if you're lucky!​

​

Unique plot mechanic, THE QUESTING TREE. A branching representation of your cleric's goals and ideas, where each node is a unique dialog to be explored and solved. Both useful to keep track of the various leads you'll follow, and also a means to change your cleric's mind... who knows, you might even unlock unique dialog options.​

I worry about the viability of these one-man Disco Elysium clones (when's the last time you heard about Clam Man 2?) and the cel shaded MS Paint look won't be for everyone, but otherwise I'd say the game is worth keeping an eye on. A few additional details about it are available on Christoffer's official website.

let me see

>disco-like
>shit presentation
>posted by infinitron

instant shit rating

 

[BING XI LAO]

Swede developer, disco-like, and 5e. The ultimate soy shit formula.

a world where mythological creatures sell newspapers at corner shops

 

[Grunker]

a world where mythological creatures sell newspapers at corner shops

The Wolf Among Us was p. good (for a Telltale game)

 

[Maxie]

I’ll retract to my insignificant self

do

until the day my services are required again.

shan't be

 

[Mortmal]

a world where mythological creatures sell newspapers at corner shops

The Wolf Among Us was p. good (for a Telltale game)

The comics are very good, it was hard to fuck it up.

 

[Kasparov]

I’ll retract to my insignificant self

do

until the day my services are required again.

shan't be

Maxine, please. We’ve spoken about this. Please behave yourself when we are in public. You’re embarassing yourself in front of all these gentlemen.

 

[Maxie]

I’ll retract to my insignificant self

do

until the day my services are required again.

shan't be

Maxine, please. We’ve spoken about this. Please behave yourself when we are in public. You’re embarassing yourself in front of all these gentlemen.

remind me whose gamedev studio got hijacked by a pedophile writer

 

[luj1]

a world where mythological creatures sell newspapers at corner shops

Terry Pratchett ripoff too

 

[Oberon]

>5e
>current year """"Dungeons & Dragons"""""""""""
Yikeserino

 

[Grunker]

a world where mythological creatures sell newspapers at corner shops

The Wolf Among Us was p. good (for a Telltale game)

The comics are very good, it was hard to fuck it up.

Considering most media conversions to video games, I'd say that's definitely not the case. It's kind of amazing it wasn't trash, actually

 

[Kasparov]

I’ll retract to my insignificant self

do

until the day my services are required again.

shan't be

Maxine, please. We’ve spoken about this. Please behave yourself when we are in public. You’re embarassing yourself in front of all these gentlemen.

remind me whose gamedev studio got hijacked by a pedophile writer

Oh, Maxine. I didn’t know you cared! Now be a good girl for your daddy and say something nice about Esoteric Ebb.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I’ll retract to my insignificant self

do

until the day my services are required again.

shan't be

Maxine, please. We’ve spoken about this. Please behave yourself when we are in public. You’re embarassing yourself in front of all these gentlemen.

remind me whose gamedev studio got hijacked by a pedophile writer

Oh, Maxine. I didn’t know you cared! Now be a good girl for your daddy and say something nice about Esoteric Ebb.

Are you the drug addict that got fired, the one that went to prison, or the one that got involuntarily put in an insane asylum?

 

[EvilWolf]

[...] metropolis [...] investigating a terrorist attack on the eve of the city's first election.

So a cold case, or does the game feature time travel as well?