http://github.com/dylang/node-rsslib\media\favicon.pngWebpage HTML Export plugin for ObsidianTue, 25 Mar 2025 03:15:51 GMTTue, 25 Mar 2025 03:15:50 GMT60A Location is an abstract collection of physical spaces that the player can explore and interact within. Each Location is represented on the Map as a singular labeled dot. When hovered over on the Map, a list of the major Operations available at that location is shown - Travel, Eat, Sleep, and Work. The specifics of what those Operations entail is not shown on the Map, but is rather revealed through exploration and experimentation of the Location.
When a Location is generated, a Type is chosen for it. Each Type has its own naming template, from which a name is derived, as well as what Operations are available to it, and how many of each type. Then a random Event for each Operation outcome is assigned to the Location, taking into account its Type, the Remaining Distance, and the current Act.
When interacting within a Location, there are specific objects within the game world that are specially marked with their relevant Operation (for example, a bus schedule poster may be marked with the Travel Operation). Interacting with these marked objects will reveal a further choice among all of the predetermined Events for that Operation. These Events display their name, a brief description, any requirements they may have, and their expected outcome.
In addition to those major Operations, an object in the game world may also be marked as Return, which is a singular point that contains all of the Operations available to that location. So for example, an Event that leads the player to a diner may have that diner's door marked as Return. Interacting with that door will then reveal all of that Location's available Operations, and choosing one of those Operations will further reveal all of the possible Events for that Operation.
Every Location has a unique world space assigned to it marked as the Entry Point. Whenever the player first enters a new Location, this is where they will always spawn in. The Entry Point world space should contain marked objects for all of the major Operations, and should not contain an object marked Return. The general flow of world spaces should be that the Entry Point is only accessed upon first entering the Location, and upon failing to Hitchhike; and that all other Events assigned to the Location can be accessed through some logical path with the Entry Point as their root.

Every Location is marked as one of the following Types. Each type has a unique naming template which is not presented here - they utilize a combination of data entries, string templates, and algorithms to generate their final names, which is beyond the purview of this documentation.
Every Location Type allows for Travel, as described in the Travel Operation section. Each Location allows for Walking, and has some percent chance for Hitchhike to succeed. Bus Travel is dependent on the Location Type. All three Travel Operations are unique, meaning there is only either 0 or 1 Events associated with them. A Hitchhike percent of 0% translates to Hitchhike not being available at the location. Hitchhike chances are quantized to 5% intervals, rounded down, upon Location generation.
For the other major Operations, the number range provided in the table below is the minimum and maximum number of Events that the Location provides. A specific amount is chosen for a given Location upon its generation, chosen from the listed range.
]]>Locations.htmlLocations.mdMon, 24 Mar 2025 11:47:59 GMTThere are five main mechanics in the game: Time, Food, Sleep, Money, and Wanderlust. Each are described below.

Time progresses through the game in four Time Segments: Morning, Afternoon, Evening, and Night. Four Segments make up one day.
The game is built around the assumption of maintaining a four-Segment pattern, though systems are in place to stretch beyond that as necessary, as described below.
Each Time Segment is uniquely displayed in the game world with different time-of-day lighting, and certain Events are only available at certain Time Segments. Similarly, most Events consume one Time Segment.
Time Segments are only progressed through Events. The amount of real-world time the player spends in any one area has no bearing on the progression of Time Segments.

Food represents one of the most basic human needs for energy. On the user interface, it is presented as a horizontal Hunger Bar separated into six Hunger Segments. Each Hunger Segment is uniquely color-coded, with the left-most segment being a dark red, and the right-most segment a dark green, and other colors in between.
Each Hunger Segment correlates to one Time Segment - every time a Time Segment is progressed, a single Hunger Segment is consumed, from right to left. If multiple Time Segments are progressed simultaneously (such as through some failed Minigames), then a proportional amount of Hunger Segments are consumed as well.
Additionally, some Events can also consume additional Hunger Segments, unrelated to the progression of Time Segments.
If there are no more Hunger Segments in the bar, meaning the bar is completely empty, and a Hunger Segment is to be consumed, then the player loses the game - Rachel passes out, a Good Samaritan takes her to the local hospital, where they learn she is from Arcadia Bay, to which she is returned.
Below the Hunger Bar is a horizontal list of Food Stores. Each Food Store is a pictogram roughly representing what the item is supposed to be (a candy bar, a take-out box, etc) as well as a number representing how many Hunger Segments that Food Store replenishes.
At any time between Events, the player can click on any Food Store to immediately consume it, restoring the presented number of Hunger Segments (up to the maximum of 6 Hunger Segments) and losing that Food Store in the process. Food Stores can be consumed in any order - they do not need to be consumed in the order they are listed.
Hovering over a Food Store will present a preview ghost of the changes that consuming it makes. Most of the time, this is simply an increase in Hunger Segments, but some Food Stores may also affect Sleep and even Time, which will also be presented in the preview ghost.
Both Hunger Segments and Food Stores are replenished through certain Events. Most Events replenish neither, some replenish one or the other, and others replenish both. As with most Events, those that replenish Hunger Segments and Food Stores often transactional, offering replenishment in exchange for money, sex, or even Time Segments.

Sleep represents the other half of the basic human need for energy. On the user interface, it is presented as a horizontal Energy Bar separated into six Energy Segments. It is color-coded the same way as the Hunger Bar, just with the color-coded reversed due to its placement on the right side of the screen - the deep red is on the far-right segment, and the deep green on the far-left segment.
Much like Hunger Segments, each Energy Segment correlates to one Time Segment, and are consumed from left to right (again a mirror from the Hunger Segments). Energy Segments are consumed as Time Segments progress, and certain Events can consume more Energy Segments independent of Time Segments.
If the Energy Bar is empty when another Energy Segment is to be consumed, then it results in the same fail state as running out of Hunger Segments.
Below the Energy Bar is a horizontal list of Energy Stores, which are pictograms roughly representing what they are (an energy drink, a caffeine pill, etc) as well as a number representing how many Energy Segments that Energy Store replenishes.
Energy Stores function identically to Food Stores. Unlike Food Stores however, they tend to be far more stratified: the common Energy Stores replenish less Energy Segments than the common Food Stores tend to, and the more powerful Energy Stores tend to have more extreme penalties than the more powerful Food Stores do - Energy Stores negatively affecting hunger and time are far more common than Food Stores negatively affecting the other mechanics.
Both Energy Segments and Energy Stores are replenished through certain Events. The replenishment of both is privy to the same caveats as the replenishment of Hunger Segments and Food Stores.

Money is the ephemeral tie that binds. A requirement behind which many Events are locked, and the consequent of many Events more, having a steady reserve of Money is crucial for smoothly traversing through the game world.
While it is viable to constantly alternate your Operations with working to get money, and effectively living job-to-job, the time restrictions of certain Events may make it preferable to instead focus on building up a supply of Money in a Location that has ample opportunities for making Money. It is worth keeping in mind, however, that staying in one place too long can trigger Wanderlust to force your hand.
Money is presented as a simple numeric counter. Many Events are only available if the player has enough Money for them, which is consumed in the transaction. Similarly, Money is replenished through Events. Many Events that provide Money consume only Time (and implicitly Hunger and Energy), though many more lucrative Events will exchange sex for Money.

Wanderlust represents Rachel's innate flightiness, and her inability to stay put for too long. A mechanic that is typically hidden from the player, it only becomes apparent if the player engages four or more non-Travel Operations in a row.
When this mechanic is apparent, it represents itself as a segmented vertical Flight Bar along the bottom-left of the screen. Unlike the Hunger Bar and Energy Bar, which each have six segments, the Flight Bar is separated into ten Flight Segments. Also unlike the other bars, the Flight Bar starts out empty, and fills up with Flight Segments with the progression of Time Segments. It is color-coded with dark green at the bottom, and dark red at the top.
If the Flight Bar comes fully filled, then all non-Travel Operations become unavailable to the player - their only option to progress the game is to take a Travel option. There are no exceptions to this limitation: even if the player's Hunger and Energy bars are empty, and they have no Food Stores or Energy Stores or Money, they are still forced to Travel. This can result in a guaranteed fail state, if either the Hunger or Energy Bars are depleted before the Travel operation.
Wanderlust is automatically reset to zero, and the Flight Bar hidden, as soon as the player performs a Travel Operation.
There are certain unique non-central Gameplay Loops that temporarily disable Wanderlust.]]>Mechanics.htmlMechanics.mdSun, 23 Mar 2025 04:00:58 GMTThere are four main Operations in the game: Travel, Eat, Sleep, and Work. They are technically not systems in and of themselves, but are a logical abstraction connecting related Events to respective Mechanics.
Every Operation is triggered by interacting with objects in the current Location. Most Operations are nested within a singular object - for example, interacting with a job board might present multiple potential Work Operations. In turn, each Operation is associated with a single Event - and if that Event has any specific requirements, such as only being available during specific Time Segments or requiring the player to have an amount of Money to spend in exchange for the Event, then those requirements are presented to the player when considering the Operation.
It is important to note that not all Locations will have options for all Operations - some strategizing and planning ahead would be in the player's best interests, especially as they progress later in the game. Playing by the seat of one's pants may be all fun and games until a Travel Operation takes you to a Location that doesn't have any Eat Operations available, and you don't have any Food Stores in reserve.

Travel is a unique Operation, in that it is always available regardless of Location, and there are three specific subtypes of Travel - any Travel Event must be specially marked as to which subtype it belongs to, which is a requirement unique to Travel Operations.
This is because, unlike Eat, Sleep, and Work operations, Travel operations do not take place within Locations, but instead exist between Locations.
The three specific subtypes of Travel are as follows:

Walk is always available, no matter the Location. It never has any requirements. However, it only travels between 10 and 15 miles, and has a high chance of generating negative Status Effects, such as Worn Shoes, and has a high proportion of negative Events associated with it. In general, Walking should only be considered when the Bus is not available and Hitchhike has a low chance of success.
Bus is generally only available in town-like Locations. It generally costs between $20 and $40, and will travel between 60 and 90 miles. Bus is both the safest and the least interesting method to travel, with the lowest negative Status Effects chance and the least negative Events associated with it.
Hitchhike is available in most Locations, but is probabilistic - the Hitchhike Travel has a chance of failing, in which case the player is returned to their current Location's Entry Point. Failing to hitchhike still progresses 1 Time Segment, with the associated Hunger Segment and Energy Segment cost. The probability of a successful Hitchhike Travel is determined by the current Location's type. The requirements and outcomes of Hitchhike Travels are entirely dependent on the Event pulled from the pool for it, and unlike other Events, they are not revealed to the player before they are invoked. The distance traveled by Hitchhiking is also determined by the Event, but generally tend to fall within the same 60-to-90 mile range as the Bus. ]]>Operations.htmlOperations.mdMon, 24 Mar 2025 11:31:57 GMT
Upon starting a new game, the player is greeted with an abstracted Map visualizing the United States West Coast. Major cities like Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and Los Angeles, California are accurately labeled and in their correct locations, as are major roadways such as Interstate 90. All of the smaller towns and cities along the way are, however, fictional and randomly placed, as are the highways connecting them to one another and to the interstate. These smaller towns and roads are not labeled, though their respective dots and roads are drawn on the map.
After a moment, one such dot in Oregon blinks from gray to light blue with a small animation. It is where Garibaldi, Oregon would be on the map. The name "Arcadia Bay" fades in above the dot. Large text in the top-center of the screen fades in saying "0 Miles To Los Angeles". A red-pink line then begins to draw itself from Arcadia Bay, following the nearest minor road connecting to Interstate 90 and then drawing its way down the interstate, before it finally terminates on the gray dot labeled "Los Angeles," with the dot turning the same red-pink. As the line draws, the "0 Miles" ticks up, until finally settling on "1,030 miles".
A long few seconds later, and a blue-white line, paler than the Arcadia Bay dot, begins to draw a secondary path from Arcadia Bay, following the same road, riding Interstate 90 for a short time, before diverting to a small fictional town off to one side of Interstate-90. As the line traces, the "1,030 Miles To Los Angeles" counter ticks down a random value between 60 and 90 miles. As the line reaches the fictional town, that town's dot becomes the same pale shade of blue, and a fictional name appears above it.
A second or so passes, before the map begins to zoom in on the fictional town dot. At the same time, the map begins to fade out to a scene of an idling semi-truck pulled over on the side of the highway in a rural Oregon backwater, with a "Welcome to X" sign visible in the background, with "X" being the name of the fiction city.
The Story Event "Arcadia Bay Trucker" begins playing. A voice-over of the trucker speaker begins with subtitles, as he says "Well, this is as far south as I can take you." The camera cuts to the inside of the truck cab, with the truck driver sitting beside Rachel Amber. He looks over at Rachel and asks, "Where did you say you were headed again?" Along the bottom-center of the screen, text options for possible responses are drawn, with small directional arrow indicators in the center they are oriented around. See the specific Event entry for details of how that conversation can go, and the Dialogue page for details on the dialogue system.
Eventually, regardless of specific dialogue choices made in the event, the driver will say "I really need to get going." The player's options at this point are both color-coded with symbols next to them: the right-most option is colored light-blue with a door-with-arrow icon next to it, labeled "Thanks again for the ride", while the left-most option is colored red-pink with a lip-bite emoji next to it, labeled "Can't you take me a bit further?"
If the player chooses the right-most option, Rachel opens the passenger door and climbs out, before turning to face the truck driver, closing the door behind her, and waving farewell. He returns the wave, before the truck engine roars to life and the vehicle crawls away. Rachel watches the truck leave for a moment, before she turns to face the "Welcome to X" sign. Act 1 - The City Of Angels begins.
If the player chooses the left-most option, the truck driver says he can't, to which Rachel puts on a sly grin before she leans forward and begins gently squeezing his groin, eliciting a surprised squeal from him. She looks up at him and asks if he's sure there's nothing she can't do to convince him to take her just a few miles further. The flustered truck driver asks how old Rachel said she was, to which she casually says she's nineteen. The camera cuts to reveal that the trucker's penis is now exposed through his jeans, and that Rachel is casually stroking him as she looks up at him, maintaining unbroken eye contact as she casually asks if he's ever gotten head while driving. When he says no, she gives a small shrug, quips "there's a first time for everything," and nonchalantly leans over and begins sucking his dick.
The truck driver curses in surprise, before kicking the truck engine into life and driving away. The Hitchhike Blowjob minigame begins to play with the trucker. Once that minigame ends, the Map fades in, a roughly south-bound path is traced through across roads from the starting fictional town to another fictional town, and a random distance between 60 and 90 miles is knocked off the ticker. The new fictional town's name fades in as before, the map zooms in and fades out to a black screen, the sound of the truck door closing and the engine roaring to life and driving away. The screen then fades in to Rachel standing on the side of the road, facing another "Welcome to X" sign, with this new fictional town's name on it. Act 1 - The City of Angels begins.

The camera focuses on the "Welcome to X" sign, as a cutscene begins to play. As the cutscene plays, the text "Act 1 - The City of Angels" fades in at the top-center of the screen. The text "April 17, 2023" fades in underneath it. They both fade out together at the same time.
The cutscene itself begins with Rachel monologuing to herself: "Free from Arcadia Bay. Finally." She pulls out her phone and looks at with a pained expression. "Sorry, Chloe." An over-the-shoulder shot of Rachel's phone wallpaper being a photo of Rachel and Chloe together. "You just took too long." Rachel pockets the phone and turns around to look down the road. "Next stop: the city of angels!" She throws her arms wide in exuberant proclamation.
A waist-up shot of Rachel as her stomach loudly growls. At this point, in the top-left of the screen, the Hunger bar fades in, with only 3 segments filled. Rachel recoils and grabs her tummy, as she grimaces and comments that maybe grabbing a burger should come before the city of angels.
She pulls out her wallet and flips it open, followed by a close-up of her wallet with a whopping five one-dollar-bills in it. Below the hunger bar, the Cash counter fades in. Rachel sighs as she comments that she knew she forgot something, and it looks like she'll need to work odd jobs on her trip to LA.
Rachel puts the wallet away, and looks at her wristwatch. In the top-right of the screen, both the Time tracker and the Sleep bar fade in. Rachel comments how there are still a few hours in the day - she can keep traveling, get something to eat, or see if anyone needs something done before calling it a night. If the player did not partake in the minigame, or they succeeded at the minigame, then the current time segment is Afternoon. If the player failed the minigame, then the time segment is Evening.
At this point, the cutscene ends, and the camera moves behind Rachel's shoulder as the player gains control of Rachel. They can move around a relatively small space, with a few interactable objects she can look at. There are few specific spots that are always highlighted and labeled: a nondescript spot on the road (just a glowing sphere floating in the air) is labeled "Travel"; a postboard with some nondescript papers on it is labeled "Work"; a highway services sign with text saying "FOOD" and some nondescript logos on it is labeled "Eat"; and the "Welcome to X" sign itself is labeled "Sleep".
This is when the central Gameplay Loop kicks in. Barring a few specific Story Events that happen along the way, the rest of the gameplay between now and reaching Los Angeles is procedurally generated.
The player makes their way south, eventually reaching Los Angeles. Depending on how the player manages their time, this should realistically take between 4 and 6 in-game days, or between 16 and 28 individual time segments (and as such, between 16 and 28 Events).
]]>Playthrough.htmlPlaythrough.mdSun, 23 Mar 2025 03:07:30 GMT