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Crosswicking
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* TileFlippingPuzzle: One puzzle type are [[http://www.balmoralsoftware.com/fool/fool.htm#Puzzle%20Types Mask Puzzles]], where the player is presented with a series of buttons under a display of square tiles in a rectangular formation. Each button toggles the state of some tiles and diagonal-split half-tiles between colored and black. The objective is to set these toggle buttons where the masked word is revealed in black. Later games based on the same puzzle engine also have a "decoy" word that seems correct but is misleading. The ones in the first game are The Singer, The Moon, Despair, and Judgement.
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It was designed by Cliff Johnson for the UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh, and ported to [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer MS-DOS]], UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}, and UsefulNotes/AtariST. With the original publishers out of business, Johnson has deemed the game [[FreewareGames Freeware]], along with his other classics ''VideoGame/AtTheCarnival'' and ''VideoGame/ThreeInThree''. Downloads are [[http://www.thefoolsgold.com/downloads/index.htm here]].
to:
It was designed by Cliff Johnson for the UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh, Platform/AppleMacintosh, and ported to [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer [[Platform/IBMPersonalComputer MS-DOS]], UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}, Platform/{{Amiga}}, and UsefulNotes/AtariST.Platform/AtariST. With the original publishers out of business, Johnson has deemed the game [[FreewareGames Freeware]], along with his other classics ''VideoGame/AtTheCarnival'' and ''VideoGame/ThreeInThree''. Downloads are [[http://www.thefoolsgold.com/downloads/index.htm here]].
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Crosswicking
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* {{Metapuzzle}}: The game's progression is tied to the use of a storybook as well as a cryptic map, and revolves around completing chapters that make up for the whole parts of the game (there are five parts in total). In each chapter, there are puzzles (known in-game as enchantements) whose solutions are carried over to the access of later chapters' puzzles, making it so the player can get extra bits about the story as well as clues to solve the aforementioned later puzzles. Wrapping up the solutions of all puzzles in the chapters of the currently-played part will lead to the logical resolution of said part's thematic riddle. This trope also applies to the game's sequel ''The Fool and His Money''.
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--> -- '''Cliff Johnson'''
to:
--> -- '''Cliff Johnson'''
'''Creator/CliffJohnson'''
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* GridPuzzle: Some of the puzzles are jigsaws.
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Moving trivia item to the appropriate tab.
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* PreOrderBonus: The in-game Compendium of True Believers honors over a thousand players who stood by their pre-orders through up to 10 years of development, even as naysayers claimed that the project was "performance art" with a title mocking its backers.
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* NintendoHard: ''The Fool's Errand'' was absolutely ''not'' a game for the impatient or simple-minded gamer.
to:
* NintendoHard: ''The Fool's Errand'' was absolutely ''not'' a game for the impatient or simple-minded gamer. And it is still by far the ''easiest'' game by Cliff Johnson.
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* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Johnson considers his original black and white version definitive.
to:
* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Johnson considers his original black and white version definitive. (The best graphics of DOS-based machines at the time were considerably lower-resolution than Macs.)
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No future being forecast here, just nation names.
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* FailedFutureForecast: The last game where you'd expect it, but the country-themed CrosswordPuzzle includes both Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.
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* FailedFutureForecast: The last game where you'd expect it, but the country-themed CrosswordPuzzle includes both Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.
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* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: The last game where you'd expect it, but the country-themed CrosswordPuzzle includes both Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.
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* UnexpectedGameplayChange: A few of the puzzles are based on dexterity instead of reflection, and one is a card game dependent on luck.
to:
* UnexpectedGameplayChange: A few of the puzzles are based on dexterity instead of reflection, and one is a card game dependent on luck.largelyon luck (though, of course, once you deduce the rules, a little skill can help to even the odds.)
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* NintendoHard: ''The Fool's Errand'' was absolutely ''not'' a game for the impatient or simple-minded gamer.
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It was designed by Cliff Johnson for the UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh, and ported to [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer MS-DOS]], UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}, and UsefulNotes/AtariST. With the original publishers out of business, Johnson has deemed the game {{Freeware}}, along with his other classics ''VideoGame/AtTheCarnival'' and ''VideoGame/ThreeInThree''. Downloads are [[http://www.thefoolsgold.com/downloads/index.htm here]].
to:
It was designed by Cliff Johnson for the UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh, and ported to [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer MS-DOS]], UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}, and UsefulNotes/AtariST. With the original publishers out of business, Johnson has deemed the game {{Freeware}}, [[FreewareGames Freeware]], along with his other classics ''VideoGame/AtTheCarnival'' and ''VideoGame/ThreeInThree''. Downloads are [[http://www.thefoolsgold.com/downloads/index.htm here]].
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->''[[JustOneMoreLevel Puzzle-addicted students]] hated me because they flunked their exams. Business folks hated me for arriving blurry-eyed on the job. And even newlyweds hated me for ruining the honeymoon.''
to:
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trope names should not be spoiler tagged. Moved trivia to subpage
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* [[spoiler:CutsceneIncompetence: In the Finale, [[ChessWithDeath the fool bets the High Priestess his life that he can solve one last puzzle]]... and we watch helplessly as he gets it wrong. {{Subverted}} by TheReveal that he was BriarPatching, aware that if she commanded her stolen MacGuffin to murder, she would be HoistByHerOwnPetard.]]
to:
* [[spoiler:CutsceneIncompetence: CutsceneIncompetence: In the Finale, [[ChessWithDeath [[spoiler:[[ChessWithDeath the fool bets the High Priestess his life that he can solve one last puzzle]]... and we watch helplessly as he gets it wrong. {{Subverted}} by TheReveal that he was BriarPatching, aware that if she commanded her stolen MacGuffin to murder, she would be HoistByHerOwnPetard.]]
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* InspirationForTheWork: Cited influences include ''Theatre/{{Sleuth}}'', ''Film/TheLastOfSheila'', and ''Literature/KitWilliamsMasquerade''.
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* [[spoiler:ItsTheJourneyThatCounts: The fool's ''real'' treasure is the gift of wisdom.]]
* [[spoiler:LinkedListClueMethodology: The Path of Six puzzle follows this route.]]
* [[spoiler:LinkedListClueMethodology: The Path of Six puzzle follows this route.]]
to:
* [[spoiler:ItsTheJourneyThatCounts: The ItsTheJourneyThatCounts: [[spoiler:The fool's ''real'' treasure is the gift of wisdom.]]
*[[spoiler:LinkedListClueMethodology: LinkedListClueMethodology: The Path [[spoiler:Path of Six puzzle puzzle]] follows this route.]]
*
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* WhatCouldHaveBeen
** [[http://www.thefoolsgold.com/CJ/art/auction-1.gif A scene at an auction]] was cut because it took up one-seventh of the disk. Auctions became a puzzle type in the sequel.
** Johnson was originally set to produce a Nick Danger game for the Radio/FiresignTheatre, "but they bailed and I dusted off my copy of ''The Fool's Errand'' book instead."
** [[http://www.thefoolsgold.com/CJ/art/auction-1.gif A scene at an auction]] was cut because it took up one-seventh of the disk. Auctions became a puzzle type in the sequel.
** Johnson was originally set to produce a Nick Danger game for the Radio/FiresignTheatre, "but they bailed and I dusted off my copy of ''The Fool's Errand'' book instead."
to:
** [[http://www.thefoolsgold.com/CJ/art/auction-1.gif A scene at an auction]] was cut because it took up one-seventh of the disk. Auctions became a puzzle type in the sequel.
** Johnson was originally set to produce a Nick Danger game for the Radio/FiresignTheatre, "but they bailed and I dusted off my copy of ''The Fool's Errand'' book instead."
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* SequelGap: 25 years later, the story picks up from the moment it left off.
to:
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It was designed by Cliff Johnson for the AppleMacintosh, and ported to [[IBMPersonalComputer MS-DOS]], {{Amiga}}, and AtariST. With the original publishers out of business, Johnson has deemed the game {{Freeware}}, along with his other classics ''VideoGame/AtTheCarnival'' and ''VideoGame/ThreeInThree''. Downloads are [[http://www.thefoolsgold.com/downloads/index.htm here]].
to:
It was designed by Cliff Johnson for the AppleMacintosh, UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh, and ported to [[IBMPersonalComputer [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer MS-DOS]], {{Amiga}}, UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}}, and AtariST.UsefulNotes/AtariST. With the original publishers out of business, Johnson has deemed the game {{Freeware}}, along with his other classics ''VideoGame/AtTheCarnival'' and ''VideoGame/ThreeInThree''. Downloads are [[http://www.thefoolsgold.com/downloads/index.htm here]].
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Moved the \"Vindicated By History\" bullet point to the YMMV tab
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* VindicatedByHistory: The title "languished" on shelves for eight months, until a glowing five-star review from ''[=MacUser=]'' brought a critical mass of attention and a better distribution deal. (Maybe it took that long for the reviewers to finish it?)
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** Later, [[TheGrimReaper Death himself]] loses a bet that he can scare the fool. He never realizes that the fool was just [[DeerInTheHeadlights too terror-stricken to react]].
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** Later, [[TheGrimReaper Death himself]] loses Death]] himself grudgingly spares TheFool after mistaking his DeerInTheHeadlights reaction for a bet that he can scare the fool. He never realizes that the fool was just [[DeerInTheHeadlights too terror-stricken to react]].fearless, unflinching one.
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A sequel, ''The Fool and His Money'', was announced in 2003...and triumphantly released in 2012 after being postponed ''[[{{Vaporware}} 40 times]]''. It can now be [[http://www.thefoolandhismoney.com/ purchased]] for Windows or OS X.
to:
A sequel, ''The Fool and His Money'', was announced in 2003...and triumphantly released in 2012 after being postponed ''[[{{Vaporware}} 40 38 times]]''. It can now be [[http://www.thefoolandhismoney.com/ purchased]] for Windows or OS X.
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''The Fool's Errand'' is a 1987 PuzzleGame based on TarotMotifs, with players helping TheFool outwit the sinister [[EvilSorceress High Priestess]]. Some puzzles are old standbys like {{crossword}}s and jigsaws; others could only be realized electronically, such as forming shapes by switching on and off overlapping regions that cancel each other out. The endgame incorporates clues obtained from each of the [[MinigameGame 80 sections]], making this the first "meta-puzzle" video game.
to:
''The Fool's Errand'' is a 1987 PuzzleGame based on TarotMotifs, with players helping TheFool outwit the sinister [[EvilSorceress High Priestess]]. Some puzzles are old standbys like {{crossword}}s and jigsaws; [[GridPuzzle jigsaws]]; others could only be realized electronically, such as forming shapes by switching on and off overlapping regions that cancel each other out. The endgame incorporates clues obtained from each of the [[MinigameGame 80 sections]], making this the first "meta-puzzle" video game.
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[[quoteright:330:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/FoolsErrand_8803.jpg]]
->''[[JustOneMoreLevel Puzzle-addicted students]] hated me because they flunked their exams. Business folks hated me for arriving blurry-eyed on the job. And even newlyweds hated me for ruining the honeymoon.''
--> -- '''Cliff Johnson'''
''The Fool's Errand'' is a 1987 PuzzleGame based on TarotMotifs, with players helping TheFool outwit the sinister [[EvilSorceress High Priestess]]. Some puzzles are old standbys like {{crossword}}s and jigsaws; others could only be realized electronically, such as forming shapes by switching on and off overlapping regions that cancel each other out. The endgame incorporates clues obtained from each of the [[MinigameGame 80 sections]], making this the first "meta-puzzle" video game.
It was designed by Cliff Johnson for the AppleMacintosh, and ported to [[IBMPersonalComputer MS-DOS]], {{Amiga}}, and AtariST. With the original publishers out of business, Johnson has deemed the game {{Freeware}}, along with his other classics ''VideoGame/AtTheCarnival'' and ''VideoGame/ThreeInThree''. Downloads are [[http://www.thefoolsgold.com/downloads/index.htm here]].
A sequel, ''The Fool and His Money'', was announced in 2003...and triumphantly released in 2012 after being postponed ''[[{{Vaporware}} 40 times]]''. It can now be [[http://www.thefoolandhismoney.com/ purchased]] for Windows or OS X.
!! Tropes found in ''The Fool's Errand'':
* BindleStick: Carried by the fool.
* TheBlacksmith: He forges [[spoiler:''monogrammed dinner plates.'']]
* {{Cutscene}}: The Prologue and Finale, which combined filled a 400K floppy to the brim.
* [[spoiler:CutsceneIncompetence: In the Finale, [[ChessWithDeath the fool bets the High Priestess his life that he can solve one last puzzle]]... and we watch helplessly as he gets it wrong. {{Subverted}} by TheReveal that he was BriarPatching, aware that if she commanded her stolen MacGuffin to murder, she would be HoistByHerOwnPetard.]]
* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Johnson considers his original black and white version definitive.
--> Keep in mind, I spent nearly two years perfecting a look and feel that took best advantage of the Mac's high resolution black & white. To then see the game close up in gaudy IBM colors and chunky oblong pixels gave me the willies. But viewed from 15 feet away, it looks okay. Kinda.
* EpilepticFlashingLights: The game's go-to special effect.
* EurekaMoment: The fool has one at the end of his journey. Successful players will have many.
* EyeBeams: The Book of Thoth incarnates as a laser-blasting Eye of Horus.
* TheFaceOfTheSun: It even talks to the fool... and ''hands him a map''.
* FearlessFool: The story begins with our hero about to cheerfully walk off a cliff rather than stray from his path. He's only saved by the sun's interruption: "Your folly is most curious. Have you no fear of death?"
** Later, [[TheGrimReaper Death himself]] loses a bet that he can scare the fool. He never realizes that the fool was just [[DeerInTheHeadlights too terror-stricken to react]].
* FictionalSport: The game of Thoth, played with tarot cards.
* TheGameOfTheBook: The original ''Fool's Errand'' was a homemade 35-page book, of which Johnson gave dozens of copies as gifts. Only three recipients worked out the solution: "Merry Christmas."
* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: The last game where you'd expect it, but the country-themed CrosswordPuzzle includes both Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.
* GuideDangIt: The [[StrategyGuide Hint Book]] sold ''more copies than the game itself.'' There was no Website/GameFAQs back then, and even the pirates were desperate enough to pay for hints.
* HiddenInPlainSight: The solution to what many players considered ThatOnePuzzle is all but spelled out elsewhere in the game.
* InspirationForTheWork: Cited influences include ''Theatre/{{Sleuth}}'', ''Film/TheLastOfSheila'', and ''Literature/KitWilliamsMasquerade''.
* IrisOut: Not to black, but to the checkerboard grey of the Mac desktop. [[DoubleSubversion Which then]] [[FadeToBlack fades to black]] for the ClosingCredits.
* [[spoiler:ItsTheJourneyThatCounts: The fool's ''real'' treasure is the gift of wisdom.]]
* [[spoiler:LinkedListClueMethodology: The Path of Six puzzle follows this route.]]
* LiteralMinded: The fool, to the point of InsaneTrollLogic. When a woman says of a hedge maze "I wouldn't go in there if I were you," he reasons that since she ''isn't'' him, she's ''encouraging'' him to go in.
* LivingShadow: The Empress is cursed with one.
* TheMaze: With some cruel variations, like walls that are really passages and vice versa, semi-random teleportation, and FogOfWar.
* OutOfTheInferno: How the High Priestess first appears to the fool.
* PhantomZonePicture: The High Priestess can trap people inside tarot cards.
* {{Satan}}: The Devil possesses "the wings of a bat, the horns of a ram, the legs of a goat, and the feet of a bird."
* SignatureStyle: Seeking to evoke the mystery of the Tarot in monochrome pixel art, Johnson was inspired by ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfPrinceAchmed'' to depict people only as black silhouettes. This became his artistic trademark, even as graphics evolved and he designed more comedic games.
* SkullForAHead
** The High Priestess initially appears this way, then develops a face.
** Death's head is a skull "writhing with worms".
* TurnsRed: The 99 Enchantments have to be clicked in precise order. When you've cleared two thirds of them, they start changing position every couple seconds. Towards the end, they get ''much'' faster.
* UnexpectedGameplayChange: A few of the puzzles are based on dexterity instead of reflection, and one is a card game dependent on luck.
--> '''Cliff Johnson:''' I'm a big fan of collage, montage, and assemblage, so I endeavored to imbue the game with endless variety, that is, as much variety as I could pack onto a 400K floppy.
* VindicatedByHistory: The title "languished" on shelves for eight months, until a glowing five-star review from ''[=MacUser=]'' brought a critical mass of attention and a better distribution deal. (Maybe it took that long for the reviewers to finish it?)
* WhatCouldHaveBeen
** [[http://www.thefoolsgold.com/CJ/art/auction-1.gif A scene at an auction]] was cut because it took up one-seventh of the disk. Auctions became a puzzle type in the sequel.
** Johnson was originally set to produce a Nick Danger game for the Radio/FiresignTheatre, "but they bailed and I dusted off my copy of ''The Fool's Errand'' book instead."
!! Tropes found in ''The Fool and His Money'':
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: There are 70 alliterative bewitchments, such as Wentworth's Wager and Ursula's Umbrage.
* PreOrderBonus: The in-game Compendium of True Believers honors over a thousand players who stood by their pre-orders through up to 10 years of development, even as naysayers claimed that the project was "performance art" with a title mocking its backers.
* RuleOfSeven: We haven't seen this many sevens since ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}''.
* SequelEscalation: "Overall there are twice as many puzzles as the original and thrice as many on the Moon's Map."
* SequelGap: 25 years later, the story picks up from the moment it left off.
----
->''[[JustOneMoreLevel Puzzle-addicted students]] hated me because they flunked their exams. Business folks hated me for arriving blurry-eyed on the job. And even newlyweds hated me for ruining the honeymoon.''
--> -- '''Cliff Johnson'''
''The Fool's Errand'' is a 1987 PuzzleGame based on TarotMotifs, with players helping TheFool outwit the sinister [[EvilSorceress High Priestess]]. Some puzzles are old standbys like {{crossword}}s and jigsaws; others could only be realized electronically, such as forming shapes by switching on and off overlapping regions that cancel each other out. The endgame incorporates clues obtained from each of the [[MinigameGame 80 sections]], making this the first "meta-puzzle" video game.
It was designed by Cliff Johnson for the AppleMacintosh, and ported to [[IBMPersonalComputer MS-DOS]], {{Amiga}}, and AtariST. With the original publishers out of business, Johnson has deemed the game {{Freeware}}, along with his other classics ''VideoGame/AtTheCarnival'' and ''VideoGame/ThreeInThree''. Downloads are [[http://www.thefoolsgold.com/downloads/index.htm here]].
A sequel, ''The Fool and His Money'', was announced in 2003...and triumphantly released in 2012 after being postponed ''[[{{Vaporware}} 40 times]]''. It can now be [[http://www.thefoolandhismoney.com/ purchased]] for Windows or OS X.
!! Tropes found in ''The Fool's Errand'':
* BindleStick: Carried by the fool.
* TheBlacksmith: He forges [[spoiler:''monogrammed dinner plates.'']]
* {{Cutscene}}: The Prologue and Finale, which combined filled a 400K floppy to the brim.
* [[spoiler:CutsceneIncompetence: In the Finale, [[ChessWithDeath the fool bets the High Priestess his life that he can solve one last puzzle]]... and we watch helplessly as he gets it wrong. {{Subverted}} by TheReveal that he was BriarPatching, aware that if she commanded her stolen MacGuffin to murder, she would be HoistByHerOwnPetard.]]
* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Johnson considers his original black and white version definitive.
--> Keep in mind, I spent nearly two years perfecting a look and feel that took best advantage of the Mac's high resolution black & white. To then see the game close up in gaudy IBM colors and chunky oblong pixels gave me the willies. But viewed from 15 feet away, it looks okay. Kinda.
* EpilepticFlashingLights: The game's go-to special effect.
* EurekaMoment: The fool has one at the end of his journey. Successful players will have many.
* EyeBeams: The Book of Thoth incarnates as a laser-blasting Eye of Horus.
* TheFaceOfTheSun: It even talks to the fool... and ''hands him a map''.
* FearlessFool: The story begins with our hero about to cheerfully walk off a cliff rather than stray from his path. He's only saved by the sun's interruption: "Your folly is most curious. Have you no fear of death?"
** Later, [[TheGrimReaper Death himself]] loses a bet that he can scare the fool. He never realizes that the fool was just [[DeerInTheHeadlights too terror-stricken to react]].
* FictionalSport: The game of Thoth, played with tarot cards.
* TheGameOfTheBook: The original ''Fool's Errand'' was a homemade 35-page book, of which Johnson gave dozens of copies as gifts. Only three recipients worked out the solution: "Merry Christmas."
* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: The last game where you'd expect it, but the country-themed CrosswordPuzzle includes both Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.
* GuideDangIt: The [[StrategyGuide Hint Book]] sold ''more copies than the game itself.'' There was no Website/GameFAQs back then, and even the pirates were desperate enough to pay for hints.
* HiddenInPlainSight: The solution to what many players considered ThatOnePuzzle is all but spelled out elsewhere in the game.
* InspirationForTheWork: Cited influences include ''Theatre/{{Sleuth}}'', ''Film/TheLastOfSheila'', and ''Literature/KitWilliamsMasquerade''.
* IrisOut: Not to black, but to the checkerboard grey of the Mac desktop. [[DoubleSubversion Which then]] [[FadeToBlack fades to black]] for the ClosingCredits.
* [[spoiler:ItsTheJourneyThatCounts: The fool's ''real'' treasure is the gift of wisdom.]]
* [[spoiler:LinkedListClueMethodology: The Path of Six puzzle follows this route.]]
* LiteralMinded: The fool, to the point of InsaneTrollLogic. When a woman says of a hedge maze "I wouldn't go in there if I were you," he reasons that since she ''isn't'' him, she's ''encouraging'' him to go in.
* LivingShadow: The Empress is cursed with one.
* TheMaze: With some cruel variations, like walls that are really passages and vice versa, semi-random teleportation, and FogOfWar.
* OutOfTheInferno: How the High Priestess first appears to the fool.
* PhantomZonePicture: The High Priestess can trap people inside tarot cards.
* {{Satan}}: The Devil possesses "the wings of a bat, the horns of a ram, the legs of a goat, and the feet of a bird."
* SignatureStyle: Seeking to evoke the mystery of the Tarot in monochrome pixel art, Johnson was inspired by ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfPrinceAchmed'' to depict people only as black silhouettes. This became his artistic trademark, even as graphics evolved and he designed more comedic games.
* SkullForAHead
** The High Priestess initially appears this way, then develops a face.
** Death's head is a skull "writhing with worms".
* TurnsRed: The 99 Enchantments have to be clicked in precise order. When you've cleared two thirds of them, they start changing position every couple seconds. Towards the end, they get ''much'' faster.
* UnexpectedGameplayChange: A few of the puzzles are based on dexterity instead of reflection, and one is a card game dependent on luck.
--> '''Cliff Johnson:''' I'm a big fan of collage, montage, and assemblage, so I endeavored to imbue the game with endless variety, that is, as much variety as I could pack onto a 400K floppy.
* VindicatedByHistory: The title "languished" on shelves for eight months, until a glowing five-star review from ''[=MacUser=]'' brought a critical mass of attention and a better distribution deal. (Maybe it took that long for the reviewers to finish it?)
* WhatCouldHaveBeen
** [[http://www.thefoolsgold.com/CJ/art/auction-1.gif A scene at an auction]] was cut because it took up one-seventh of the disk. Auctions became a puzzle type in the sequel.
** Johnson was originally set to produce a Nick Danger game for the Radio/FiresignTheatre, "but they bailed and I dusted off my copy of ''The Fool's Errand'' book instead."
!! Tropes found in ''The Fool and His Money'':
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: There are 70 alliterative bewitchments, such as Wentworth's Wager and Ursula's Umbrage.
* PreOrderBonus: The in-game Compendium of True Believers honors over a thousand players who stood by their pre-orders through up to 10 years of development, even as naysayers claimed that the project was "performance art" with a title mocking its backers.
* RuleOfSeven: We haven't seen this many sevens since ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}''.
* SequelEscalation: "Overall there are twice as many puzzles as the original and thrice as many on the Moon's Map."
* SequelGap: 25 years later, the story picks up from the moment it left off.
----
