Developer’s Diary, 8/03/09: So… Nine Unknown Men.
First of all, yes, it’s been fucking forever. Second of all, it’s 5:30 in the fucking morning and I’m tired, so if I come off as grumpy, go fuck yourself in a barrel. Third of all, here’s some information on the Nine Unknown Men in my game.
So, I posted this character sheet like 4 months ago:
Remember those guys? I said I would describe each one in the next couple of posts. So, now that four months have passed, it’s time to talk about them.
But first, some information on what in the hell they have to do with the story. Basically, the plot of the game is that Cyrus, a young farmboy from a small town (as RPG heroes tend to be), has been unwillingly roped into being a hero. He’s been charged with the task of finding eight of the Nine, who have been out of touch for many years, by the Sage of Cosmology, who just suddenly appears and fucks Cyrus’s life up. Due to his powers, the sage is privy to some knowledge about the future and is doing what he has to do to save mankind, which means essentially screwing Cyrus out of a normal life. Finding the rest of the Nine becomes the primary goal of the game. Unfortunately, the person who seems to be responsible for humanity’s downfall, Hitogoroshi, becomes aware of these plans, and attempts to stop Cyrus and the Sages from saving the world.
In Navaratna, the Nine Unknown Men are nine parts of the same group acting completely independently, with no knowledge of each others’ whereabouts and actions, and the only thing that really binds them together is the source of their work. As a result, they know very little about each other, and as a result, Cyrus has to search them out. Fortunately, this is an RPG, so he’ll be able to, now with 60% more dungeons. Just like in the legends, the Nine work for the good of mankind, doing everything within their considerable power to prevent humanity at large from blowing its own dumb self up. Each of the Nine is in charge of his own discipline of knowledge, and keeps a tome of all the knowledge they’ve collected. Let’s look at each character and their discipline individually:
This burly motherfucker is the Sage of Physiology. He knows all that kung fu shit, and will mess you up if he has to. He created judo, and can do a literal touch of death, like in Fist of the North Star. Generally, he likes kicking ass, training to kick ass, chasing women, and drinking. Basically, he eats dynamite, shits lightning bolts, and generally isn’t a dude you want to mess with. His name is Hank Chuckrock. It used to be Cameron Whiteley, but he karate chopped that shit into a much manlier name.
This is the Sage of Alchemy. As you can see, he’s got a fucked up face. Thanks to various failed attempts to create Aqua Vitae (Water of Life), his body and face have been mutated nearly beyond the point of being recognizably human. Despite this, he’s eternally chipper and good spirited. This is good, because if he was bitter, he would transmute the shit out of everybody he saw into, like, trees or something. He can do that, you know.
This sexy little number is the Sage of Communication. She’s not dressed like this because she’s a whore or anything, she just realizes that people are more willing to listen to beautiful women than they are to anyone else. She could explain calculus to a dog, and that dog would then construct a rocket and fly to the moon. She can communicate with anyone, anywhere telepathically, she talks to aliens, and she can tell you where you grew up just from reading your body language. Also, bunny ears are adorable.
This is the Sage of Biology. He’s one suave son of a bitch. Tall, strong, handsome, well-dressed, well-spoken, and brilliant, he puts James Bond, Doc Savage, and most of all, you, to shame. He’s in charge of the secrets of biotechnology and microbiology, including biomechanics, bacterial nanomachines, viruses, and the such. He’s one of the few sages who simply hides in plain sight, crusing around the Old Countries in his supercharged Aston-Martin, wining and dining beautiful women, saving small villages from voodoo zombies and ape men, and above all else, doing science wherever science needs to be done.
You know how in anime there are often characters who are really grim and purposeful? Well, that’s the Sage of Cosmology. Don’t worry, though, I promise he’s not just a stock character. He’s got a few surprises up his sleeve. For example, did you know he’s a fan of country western troubadours? Of course you didn’t. Ok, that isn’t true. But, because of his research and knowledge, he’s nearly omnipresent, able to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He can travel instantaneously, go from dimension to dimension at will, travel to alternate universes, and even through time itself. For a number of very complex reasons, though, he’s losing control over these powers. You know Dr. Manhattan, from Watchmen? Same kinda deal. He exists in the future, the past, and the present at the same time, and has a completely altered view of time, motion, and even reality itself. As such, he’s not exactly the most stable person to be around all the time, mentally or physically. However, he is the sage who is responsible for roping our beloved hero into this quest, and the one who will serve as a guide and mentor, so don’t hate him or anything. Just… try not to stand too close to him if he starts glowing.
This adorable little mystery is the Sage of Light. No one has any idea exactly who or what he is or used to be, or even if this is his true form. He has learned how to keep utter and complete control over light, and appears to be completely composed of it. He can concentrate it as a very powerful laser, bend it to become invisible, alter colors, increase or decrease the speed of light (even stopping it in midair), or even form it into shapes. Very mysterious, but everyone who’s met him has said he’s very sweet and childlike, although a bit bitter that everyone seems to be afraid of him. You’ll love him, trust me.
The Sage of Gravitation, Captain Flynn, has completely transcended the need for walking. He can fly. Be honest, as cool as all the other powers the sages have, you know you’d probably want to be able to fly most of all. In addition to being able to just straight-up lift off the ground, he knows how to build a Vimana, the mythical Indian UFOs of yore. These use no energy, make no noise, and can travel at nearly the speed of light. They’re also capable of interstellar travel. Additionally, he can invert gravity, which tends to either fuck with people’s heads, or, depending on where they are, kill them. However, as commanding and militaristic as he is, he’s also clumsy and generally pretty nice. He’s also got that cool helmet, so that’s a plus.
Finally, this friendly old scholar is the Sage of Sociology. Unlike the other sages, he’s actually out spreading his knowledge as a professor, although making sure not to allow too much out. He’s known as the hardest teacher at his school, albeit the nicest one. He enjoys having tea, baking, predicting the downfall of mankind and its civilizations, and chess. His knowledge doesn’t have many direct applications, but at the same time, much of the rest of the Nine’s work goes into preventing what he predicts from happening. He has charted civilzation for many, many years, and knows the secrets of human conflicts and interpersonal relationships, and as such, is the only one who can help prevent them.
Ok, now that you’re done going up and counting how many people I just talked about, yes, number nine is missing. I have a good reason for that. The Sage of Psychology is a complete mystery to the rest of the group. No one has any idea what he looks like, and everybody who has met him has described a totally different person. They have met with men, women, children, and even animals that claim to be the sage. As such, no one is sure about the true nature of the sage, and it’s possible that any of those making claims about being him are correct. However, it’s equally possible that none of them are correct, and that the whole illusion is a complete mindfuck on the part of the real sage. You see, he’s able to do that, because he can get inside your head and do whatever he wants to it. He’s like Hannibal Lecter, but much, much more powerful. He has the ability to control entire populations of people with the stroke of a pen, and to persuade anybody to do his bidding. Or, again, maybe he doesn’t, and he’s just good at making himself appear able to. It’s all a mindfuck, man.
So, hopefully, that sheds a little light on what in the hell is going on in this game. I have much more planned out than it probably seems based on what you’ve read, but I’m trying hard not to release any of that information. I’ve taken in 103 hours of Lost in a 2 month period, so I could destroy you with plot twists right now if I wanted to. I’ve been making a lot of progress on it recently (one of many reasons I haven’t been updating; I promise there will be plenty of updates soon), so hopefully I’ll be done with it this year. I know that seems like a pretty easy goal, but this motherfucker’s gonna be long. Trust me. I’ve got a lot of story to write.
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Erdemja on 12.20.2011
So how’s your game coming along? I’m a great fan of NUM mysteries and i really liked your idea. I come here to check upon it from time to time and i even finished Daxy Games’ Nine Unknown Men as well. Just Reply to my comment if you would like to get some insight on these man okay? I would be glad to help ya.