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Personally, I think it's now safe to say Disco Elysium is better than Planescape: Torment.

BruceVC

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How it doesn't have combat or dungeons.
I still haven't seen a satisfying explanation of how is it possible for Planescape: Torment to have the worst combat and dungeons in any RPG ever while still being Codex's top RPG of all times.

And if combat is so important, the single combat encounter in Disco Elysium is better than all the trash mobs you have to cleave through in P:T.
Its because Grace is hot and everyone wants to Romance her :hug:
 

EtcEtcEtc

Savant
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Messages
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While Disco Elysium is elaborate and does kinda "push" you towards your own agenda providing more and more elaborate dialogue options (and unlike average 'dexer I think it was made decently enough, where commie would give you even more commie and fascist would give you more fascist) they fall short in the long term. Disco Elysium is a great commentary on the modern and by it I mean current politics, at best 100 years ago and 100 years in the future, but does it even that? People in the 1000 wouldn't understand it and people in the 3000 probably won't understand it either if it still exists. It's just a nice adventure game about modern politics, but that's all. Planescape Torment, on the other hand, touches on the ideas valid 4000 years ago and possibly 4000 years in the future - mortality and morality. Even if general constructs of morality (and mortality?) change the themes the game touches will most likely be ambiguous.

So no, they aren't similar in any way.
Yeah, Planescapes theme and ideas are universal - that's why it's better. That's one of the biggest problems with woke writing in general - their obsession with hyperfocusing on "lived experience" bullshit takes away from the universal and the true. It's why a story told about a character who feels like they are living a shadow life, or hiding their true selves from other is always going to be better then a story about someone who is fighting to be recognized as trans. Anyone can relate to the former - only alphabet ppl can relate to the latter.

Having said that, I don't think Disco Elysium IS about politics. The politics is window dressing. The game is about the journey of your character and his partner in solving a murder in a weird ass urban fantasy world.

Also, the Communism aspect of things, the writer is apparently a communist, but the articulation of communism in this game makes it very clear he is not a "True Communism has never actually existed!" and is fully appreciative that Communism requires revolution and murder. As a person, that probably makes him much grosser - but at least it's intellectually honest and not existing in this stupid millenial fantasy world where somehow captialism is the worst, and communism would be great, and we'd all be happier no evils, and also the flow of captialist goods - iphones, computers, tv shows, movies - would continue unimpeeded.

Besides, you don't HAVE to be Communist, and all other ideologies get more or less the same razzing.
 

Harthwain

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Messages
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Having said that, I don't think Disco Elysium IS about politics. The politics is window dressing. The game is about the journey of your character and his partner in solving a murder in a weird ass urban fantasy world.
I think the reason behind putting politics in the game is that politics (as such) is an integral part of the world, so it makes sense for it to make a stronger appearance than it usually does in games. What matters less is the specific political ideology, because you can depict any. The reason communism and fascism were chosen is probably because even this long after the fall of both the echo of these ideologies still remains relatively strong and remains a persistent topic in the world (and in Europe in particular).

the writer is apparently a communist [...] and is fully appreciative that Communism requires revolution and murder.
rating_citation.png
 

MF

The Boar Studio
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I did. For the most part you're in the driving seat, with skills throwing you suggestions. The stronger your skills get, the less likely it is they suggestions will be reasonable. Ultimately you may go too far and they can even take over and do something you didn't want or expect, but that's on the player for going ham on certain skills and thinking there are no drawbacks for doing so. As a result I never felt like outcomes were out of place, even if they weren't always what I wanted or expected. Hell, once or twice I got what I wanted by FAILING a skill check.
Interesting. I felt like not being in the driver's seat precisely because of what you're explaining here. I felt like I was experiencing Kurvitz's story about Harry and my only agency was in choosing which skill triggers a cool piece of writing. It wasn't about forging my own narrative within set parameters and developing a character, about wining or losing something, or even about escapism. It was thought-provoking but full of weltschmerz and more than a little bleak, like a lot of Eastern Bloc novels. Make of that what you will.

Funny how everyone seems to have gotten something else out of the game.

For example, how I perceived the story wasn't so much about solving a crime as it was about a loser cop indulging in maudlin contemplation about his ex wife. The rest was just a backdrop.

How you stumble through seems like it changes the story and it sells that illusion well, but if you try playing it again with a different build, that idea doesn't stick. An exception is how Harry's political convictions serve a broader narrative, but Disco's politics are too smothered in conceit for that to have appealed to me. Deliberately so if I had to guess.

Anyway, whatever the game is or is not, I'd say it was executed well and I enjoyed it for the most part.
 

Harthwain

Magister
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I felt like I was experiencing Kurvitz's story about Harry and my only agency was in choosing which skill triggers a cool piece of writing.
Interestingly enough that's how I feel about most story-driven RPGs (and "RPGs"). Like I said before - this is the inherent weakness of this particular approach to making a cRPG.

For example, how I perceived the story wasn't so much about solving a crime as it was about a loser cop indulging in maudlin contemplation about his ex wife. The rest was just a backdrop.
To be honest I think you got it right: everything IS a backdrop for Harry's personal problems. But same goes for Planescape: Torment - everywhere you go you bump into your past actions. The setting of the game serves as an excuse to tell you the story about the nature of man. Ultimately you get the same ending, with some slight variations of how you get there. But such is the lot of narratively-driven RPGs in general (and the reason why I crave more RPGs that are not so narratively-driven. Still, it's nice to eat a decent burger from time to time). At the very least the writing is interesting enough to make the game worthwhile (and I mean both Planescape: Torment and Disco Elysium here).
 

Comte_II

Guest
Disco Elysium is a boring art piece for zoomer fags. Planescape is a boring rpg with awful combat. Baldurs Gate 1 is superior to both of these titles.
 
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Codex Year of the Donut
Communists pretending a commie game written by a commie isn't a boring political commentary because they happen to agree with it.
Is there any other group that's as intellectually dishonest as commies?
 

Kev Inkline

(devious)
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A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
I still haven't seen a satisfying explanation of how is it possible for Planescape: Torment to have the worst combat and dungeons in any RPG ever while still being Codex's top RPG of all times.

And if combat is so important, the single combat encounter in Disco Elysium is better than all the trash mobs you have to cleave through in P:T.
Combat is like sex, it doesn’t have to be good, but it separates sex-havers from virgins.

(rpg/non-rpg)

Lately I’ve mostly played non-rpgs.
 
Self-Ejected

Lim-Dûl

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I still haven't seen a satisfying explanation of how is it possible for Planescape: Torment to have the worst combat and dungeons in any RPG ever while still being Codex's top RPG of all times.

And if combat is so important, the single combat encounter in Disco Elysium is better than all the trash mobs you have to cleave through in P:T.
Combat is like sex, it doesn’t have to be good, but it separates sex-havers from virgins.

(rpg/non-rpg)

Lately I’ve mostly played non-rpgs.
So sex-havers are rpg players? That can't be right.
 

Sunri

Liturgist
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I still haven't seen a satisfying explanation of how is it possible for Planescape: Torment to have the worst combat and dungeons in any RPG ever while still being Codex's top RPG of all times.

And if combat is so important, the single combat encounter in Disco Elysium is better than all the trash mobs you have to cleave through in P:T.
Combat is like sex, it doesn’t have to be good, but it separates sex-havers from virgins.

(rpg/non-rpg)

Lately I’ve mostly played non-rpgs.
So sex-havers are rpg players? That can't be right.
I had sex in video game, that's why romance is important part of modern RPG;s.
 

Zed Duke of Banville

Dungeon Master
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12,711
Zed Duke of Banville likes to post around "Tactics is the new RPG!" screenshot, but here is the joke: for some people RPGs are all about tactical combat.
The entire series of "...the new RPG" images began with Disco Elysium:

Ci6cRbg.png


This was created after the Codex voted Disco Elysium the best RPG of 2019, intended to mock its supporters, as DE is very much a digital choose-your-own-adventure or gamebook.
 

yeat_keef

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Communists pretending a commie game written by a commie isn't a boring political commentary because they happen to agree with it.
Is there any other group that's as intellectually dishonest as commies?

I dont understand why having communistic undertones inherently makes the political commentary "boring". The massive success of DE makes it very clear that many people enjoyed it and your opinion in is the extreme minority. I think more than likely you struggled to understand the concepts put forth, which is why you'd rather vaguely suggest the ideas are bad without being able to articulate why. I understand that this isn't the space for political punditry which is why I wouldn't expect you to dissect Marx or something, but it's for that same reason why I dont understand your fervent passion for demonizing communists in this thread for RPG discussion.

Honestly, I get the feeling that you're just regurgitating stuff you've heard somewhere else and are more so interested in being anti-social than actually building a substantiated critique of DE.
 
Joined
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Messages
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Codex Year of the Donut
Communists pretending a commie game written by a commie isn't a boring political commentary because they happen to agree with it.
Is there any other group that's as intellectually dishonest as commies?

I dont understand why having communistic undertones inherently makes the political commentary "boring". The massive success of DE makes it very clear that many people enjoyed it and your opinion in is the extreme minority. I think more than likely you struggled to understand the concepts put forth, which is why you'd rather vaguely suggest the ideas are bad without being able to articulate why. I understand that this isn't the space for political punditry which is why I wouldn't expect you to dissect Marx or something, but it's for that same reason why I dont understand your fervent passion for demonizing communists in this thread for RPG discussion.

Honestly, I get the feeling that you're just regurgitating stuff you've heard somewhere else and are more so interested in being anti-social than actually building a substantiated critique of DE.
I ain't reading that
 

EtcEtcEtc

Savant
Joined
Jan 16, 2017
Messages
417
Communists pretending a commie game written by a commie isn't a boring political commentary because they happen to agree with it.
Is there any other group that's as intellectually dishonest as commies?

I dont understand why having communistic undertones inherently makes the political commentary "boring". The massive success of DE makes it very clear that many people enjoyed it and your opinion in is the extreme minority. I think more than likely you struggled to understand the concepts put forth, which is why you'd rather vaguely suggest the ideas are bad without being able to articulate why. I understand that this isn't the space for political punditry which is why I wouldn't expect you to dissect Marx or something, but it's for that same reason why I dont understand your fervent passion for demonizing communists in this thread for RPG discussion.

Honestly, I get the feeling that you're just regurgitating stuff you've heard somewhere else and are more so interested in being anti-social than actually building a substantiated critique of DE.

Rusty can be wrong all about Disco Elysium all he wants - but saying you don't understand him "demonizing communists" is just fucking stupid.

More people have died because of Communism then any other ideology. Not demonizing Communism makes you an idiot - he's 100% in the right on that.

Also gtfo with appeals to popularity & success as if that means something.
 

yeat_keef

Novice
Joined
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Messages
41
Location
United States
Communists pretending a commie game written by a commie isn't a boring political commentary because they happen to agree with it.
Is there any other group that's as intellectually dishonest as commies?

I dont understand why having communistic undertones inherently makes the political commentary "boring". The massive success of DE makes it very clear that many people enjoyed it and your opinion in is the extreme minority. I think more than likely you struggled to understand the concepts put forth, which is why you'd rather vaguely suggest the ideas are bad without being able to articulate why. I understand that this isn't the space for political punditry which is why I wouldn't expect you to dissect Marx or something, but it's for that same reason why I dont understand your fervent passion for demonizing communists in this thread for RPG discussion.

Honestly, I get the feeling that you're just regurgitating stuff you've heard somewhere else and are more so interested in being anti-social than actually building a substantiated critique of DE.

Rusty can be wrong all about Disco Elysium all he wants - but saying you don't understand him "demonizing communists" is just fucking stupid.

More people have died because of Communism then any other ideology. Not demonizing Communism makes you an idiot - he's 100% in the right on that.

Also gtfo with appeals to popularity & success as if that means something.

I said i dont understand why he's demonizing communists in this thread for RPG discussion. I'm not suggesting he should be a communist sympathizer. It's just very weird to bring politics into this thread when it was totally unwarranted and unasked for.

Also, It's naive to suggest Communism is the cause of the most deaths in history. It's totally blind to so many ills in history and the harms capitalism have brought to the world, especially in third world nations. Regardless, I'm not interested in digging into political ideology since it doesn't seem like some of you guys know much about it and this isn't place for it anyways.

Btw, I only brought up popularity to make it clear that his ideas are niche, and since he refuses to put any thought into his opinions it's like who cares? The guy just wants to whine and seethe and yet somehow I'm the shitposter.
 

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