Talk:YIIK: A Post-Modern RPG

The "Rework" Version

I noticed a new intro paragraph to the page, which is nice, but it has a really common talking point I hear which is not true. This is the fact that the game was "rewritten" mid-development and that the ending was outright replaced. In fact, when this page was first created, the only part of "cut content" showcased was the "cut ending..." which in of itself is extremely dubious.

This misinformation comes from the Variety article "In the Wake of Their Mother’s Death, How Two Brothers Rebuilt Their Video Game"

"As a result, despite the game’s near-completed state, the brothers say they rebuilt roughly a quarter of “YIIK” — including a total rewrite of the game’s ending, which required revised voice-work – in accordance with a more “humanistic” perspective, as Andrew puts it." However, writer Andrew Allanson has clarified this was a misinterpretation on the author's part.

First, the game's rework was specifically in 2017-2018. "So at the point of Episode Prime the game had entirely different other dungeons... The reality is a lot of YIIK was remade between Septemebr 2017 and and Summer 2018"

So since we know this, a huge wrench is thrown when you datamine Episode Prime. Episode Prime contains the entirety of the game's script. The only big piece of content missing is "Ending 1" and the KNN ending. The Proto Ultima Alex one is there.

Additionally, Andrew has talked about how the game's script was set in stone in 2015. This is because all of the voice acting was also done in 2015. To "rewrite a quarter of the script" then repaying for voice acting for that much, is INSANELY COSTLY for a game which has already gone years over its budget (set to release in 2016.) So according to the article they only really needed new Alex's lines for the "changed ending." Also note that Prime, the "pre-rework version," didn't have KNN. Note how KNN doesn't have any voice acting. Also note how the "Old Frankton" ending in the files doesn't have any voice acting either. This is all because these were additions made AFTER 2015's script. These are the only real changes to the story made, besides the Cave dungeon quest from Prime being put into the main game.

The truth about the ending with "Proto Ultima Alex" is that it was actually the game's SECOND ending. It was also used as a placeholder in testing to hide what the real ending was. "Ending 1", in terms of plot, is exactly the same as it was in 2015 except for the "final lines" of Alex. "No, there are some mistakes out there because of the Variety article. We change the ENDING LINES of Alex but the ending as it is in the game is always what we had planned It's the same exact scenario just rewritten to be NICER and more optimistic When Alex talks to the player. That's the part we rewrote The lines right before the credit roles where you're addressed directly"

The Ultima ending was apart of a cut ego death route. The game had two routes to take (I assume the choices which don't seem to do anything would trigger it) and then it would be Ending 1 or Ultima Ending. HOWEVER! While the route is cut, the ending itself is not and has been confirmed many times by the developers to be accessible in some way. (Likely tied to the game's Third Ending.)

I was supposed to sleep like 2 hours ago so I hope this isn't too nonsenscial and let me know if I need to clear anything else up. But it's just a frustrating misconception about the game's development I keep seeing and I need to make sure it doesn't keep spreading. Thanks

Warestar (talk) 12:06, 21 November 2024 (UTC)

Honestly thank you for actually giving a proper rundown of what went down. When I tried to check online sources regarding the game, I was actually appalled by how... bad the state of documentation for Y II K actually was? Like, I've seen some bad stuff, but this was bad. That intro was written from me going off on Wikipedia (which is okay but felt more like drinking Yop as an adult) and trying to read between the lines on what was on Reddit/YouTube. As you can tell things fell through the cracks and I'm glad there's clearing up on what happened regarding the rewrite

Chimes (talk) 18:58, 21 November 2024 (UTC)

Yeah it's only really recently there's been some documentation. Not to self-shill or anything, but I totally am, the best place rn (even though its still early) is the ONISM Wiki. The development history page is there and its mostly by me. Not great, a lot of it atm is still just links, but the parts regarding the prototype and the "reworked" version are pretty detailed and have lots of sources and fun details about how the game was.

Also, some additional clarifications about my first post: Episode Prime was a demo made in 2016. This means the build is pretty indicative of what the final game was going to be like once upon a time. This is why the script being basically the same was important to point out. Also, in the Variety article, when it was talking about "rebuilding" the game, it was not referring to the story... but rather the game's dungeons. The Sewers, Essentia's MD, the Mountain Trail, the Cave (only seen in prerelease, not in games files), were all completely redesigned from the ground up and had new visuals. All of these (except Cave) are present in the game's files and are mostly playable. The title screen was remade, and two new towns were added: South Town and Mt. Town. This is only some of the things that were actually changed in the "reworked" version of the game during 2017-2018.

Warestar (talk) 20:24, 21 November 2024 (UTC)