Disco Elysium Support Group

I picked up this game a while back. I started it but then was distracted by life and other games. Truth is, I let myself get distracted because I felt like choice had a lot of gravity in this game and I wasn't used to that. I've played a lot of RPGs, but most of them boil down to a series of obvious choices. I've become more cognizant of this during a recent run of Fallout New Vegas. I've played this numerous times with probably every character build imaginable. The story is fantastic, easily the best of all the Bethesda Fallout games. However, I became especially cognizant of how limited meaningful choices are. There's the good choice that works out good for all the good people involved and then a number of sub-optimal choices.

So, I started thinking about Disco Elysium and how I should really circle back to this one. I have the opposite problem with this game. I'm a highly analytical person that has a tendency to look for the "best" choice in things. In games, even RPGs, there's frequently a "best choice", so that kinda works out. Fallout 3? Sure, I'll save the wasteland and purify the water. Baldur's Gate? Yeah, I'll kill my chaotic evil brother instead of letting him kill me. No sweat.

That being said, I'm not a power gamer. For example, my go to build for my New Vegas runs has a host of self-imposed limitations. She can't engage with the in-game economy at all and needs to scavenge or craft anything she needs. She doesn't get to use any of the player housing which includes extra storage and other perks. And so on... I don't want easy. I want to have a challenge in figuring out the most optimal path.

The little I saw of Disco Elysium made it clear choices were not this simple. There aren't good choices or bad choices, there are just these choices and those choices. You make choices and things happen. And then you need to make more choices. You'll never make the best choice, but you'll never make the worst choice because the choices just don't seem to fit that rubric. I respect the hell out of this. Differentiating choices laterally is an extremely difficult thing to do, but they seemed to have nailed it here.

I booted up the game to have a bash at it and froze at character creation. I'm not looking for the "best stats". I didn't think that exists here. Even if they did, this strikes me as a game where failing at things could be just as satisfying as succeeding. Do I really want to be good at anything? Shouldn't I aim for a wacky and wild time?

I know Physique is not a top priority. It just sounds so boring, like playing a fighter in D&D. I suspect that Psyche would make my life the most interesting. Perhaps I should pair it with Intellect, kinda like how Int/Wis are the story stats for Planescape: Torment. Still, Motorics has Perception, which I imagine is quite nice.

This game is going to drive me mad, isn't it?

JustKneller said:

This game is going to drive me mad, isn't it?

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I've asked myself that same question.

Like you, I've booted it up but only got a short way in before abandoning it. For me it was mainly because the voice over/acting is a major turnoff, and I found some of the early dialogue choices unappealing - they weren't things that any character I would ever RP would say. It wasn't doing it for me from a flavour standpoint. It's been long enough now that I can't remember specific examples.

But I, too, am intrigued by what the choices will lead to. I should probably finish at least one game to see what it's about (and I suspect you should too). One thing to remember is that it's apparently a fairly short game, so it's not like we'll have to slog through a 150-hr campaign.

P.S. Great title for this thread.

Ohh, Disco Elysium, nice. Don't overthink it. Allow the game to lead you. Just start with something, you'll be able to pick other things later, and initial picks won't harm your build (if you make it different later) much.

You're right: there is not one "best choice", the game allows you to RP a lot, and failing dice can also move the story/side-story forward.

If you really want an optimal path, it would only be possible after at least playing the game until 1/2.

OrlonKronsteen said:

One thing to remember is that it's apparently a fairly short game, so it's not like we'll have to slog through a 150-hr campaign.

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That's a good point and partly what has inhibited my New Vegas run. The writing is great, but it's a long game to get it all, and considering a fair amount of the gameplay is clicking on things you want dead, it's hard to find a refreshing way to approach that task. I had been toying with an character concept based on a mashup of Algernon from Fallout 2 and Chance from Being There. But, I hit a wall on a few aspects of the build and then started thinking about Disco Elysium.

Antimatter said:

If you really want an optimal path, it would only be possible after at least playing the game until 1/2.

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I don't think I want an "optimal" path. My initial thoughts are that optimal will contradict fun. I play a lot of games as a completionist, but I'm sure that will create a lot of FOMO hear. But, you can only have a first play through of a game once (Subnautica flashbacks now), and I want that first go to cut deep.

I'm trying to take that approach here. I could create all kinds of detectives. The only thing I know I want to avoid is the boring TV detective. A Sherlock Holmes type might be interesting (High Int and Mot), but I feel like there's a complex metaphysical layer here that is more interesting to explore (so Psy). I'm trying to think less in terms of attributes, and more in terms of skills that seem the most interesting. My logic is that if I can pick my eight most interesting skills, then that can direct where to put my eight attribute points. Here's my initial assessment of things, but let me know if I got the wrong idea about something:

Logic: Sounds useful, but possibly a bad move for me and may enable my analysis paralysis. Logic is a RL strength for me. It's not very interesting, but it "just works".
Encyclopedia: I've played the BG games as well as some Skyrim. Sometimes, I collect the lore books. Rarely have I ever read them. Easy pass, I think.
Rhetoric: Seems like it has its uses in moderate doses, but terrible if you have too much of it.
Drama: Seems like an essential skill for the sake of conversation. But, once again, too much can easily be a bad thing.
Conceptualization: Not sure what to make of this. I'm not really seeing how it will help an investigation. I could see it being secondarily useful in building relationships.
Visual Calculus: This is what I do. I used to work in corrections. They had a nickname for me there based around being able to take a mess of loose evidence and assembling the situation quickly and accurately. My investigation time was half that of my peers because of it. I still use it in my current role. It's pretty much the only thing I like about the job.

Volition: I might just like this one for the "hit points".
Inland Empire: This seems to have a high "weird shit" factor. Yeah, sign me up.
Empathy: In my experience, this is tied to Visual Calculus more than may seem apparent.
Authority: I kinda could care less.
Esprit de Corps: There was a saying in corrections. If you're not coordinating with your team, you're putting yourself on an island by yourself. Don't be on the island.
Suggestion: Definitely important. I've done a lot of interviewing and this helps you from people telling you what they think you want to hear to telling you the truth.

Endurance: Once again, I think I just want the "hit points".
Pain Threshold: Meh. I'm not trying to die like that, but I tend to play the diplomat.
Physical Instrument: Same as above.
Electrochemistry: Not terribly interested in drugs.
Shivers: Definitely. Part of what set off my past investigations was that first tingle of my "spidey-sense".
Half-Light: Something I don't want to low, but probably wouldn't want it too high.

Hand/Eye Coordination: Useful, but this isn't what cracks a case.
Perception: Definitely useful.
Reaction Speed: I'm not seeing this primarily as an action game.
Savoir Faire: I could see finesse coming in handy, for sure.
Interfacing: Probably a great secondary skill.
Composure: I wouldn't want it to be a dump skill. But a moderate amount will get me through my day, I think.

By this logic, it would put me at 3522. For my signature, I could lean into my strengths (Psy and Inland Empire for more weird stuff), shore up a mediocre area (Int and Visual Calculus), or give a fringe skill in a weak area a chance to excel (Probably Phy/Shivers or Mot/Perception). I'll have to think on this.