History VideoGame / Dotflow

* DummiedOut:
** The debug room, only accessible by modifying the game through RPG Maker.
** One of the rooms in the apartments, by the door leading to the snow area, used to be accessible and had an [=NPC=] resembling a brunette girl wearing a straw hat living inside; later versions changed this to a person sleeping in a bed. This room is only accessible in very early versions of .flow and does not exist in future versions. Interestingly, the [=NPC=] resembles the girl who hides within some plants in the plant labyrinth.
** The special Cleaner in Sweet Sugar, in a random event, used to teleport one to a bedroom with another Cleaner and blood on the bed, instead of to the Vomitgirl area (which was not implemented at the time). This room still exists in the RPG Maker maps, but is inaccessible by in-game means.

* ArtificialLimbs

* ArtShift

* BlobMonster

* BloodFromTheMouth

* BloodierAndGorier

* CoolMask

* {{Cyborg}}

* DrivenToSuicide

* DummiedOut

* EmptyRoomPsych

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin

* EyeScream

* TheFaceless

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The events of the endings are very subtly hidden all over the place.
** Notice how several effects do things to Sabitsuki's legs, such as replacing them (machine, plant, slime) or removing them (limbless, ghost), and that the one speed-up effect, the broom, is also the one that takes Sabitsuki's legs out of the picture, all implying that Sabitsuki has weak or bad legs? [[AnArmAndALeg Come the third ending...]]
* GameBreakingBug

* GirlWithPsychoWeapon

* GuideDangIt

* TheHeroDies

* HiddenEyes

* {{Homage}}

* TheHyena

* ImageBoards: Has [[http://uboachan.net/flow/ its own section]] on Uboachan, and [[http://archive.uboachan.net/flow/ one]] in the archive. An extensive theory thread can be found on the archive [[http://archive.uboachan.net/flow/res/1097.xhtml here]], and at least two more can be found on board on the active site.

* JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind

* JumpScare

* KilledOffForReal

* MeaningfulName

* MindControlDevice

* MindScrew

* NightmareFace

* NothingIsScarier

* PermanentlyMissableContent: As well as access to many events (such as the trauma events), all the collectible menu types become inaccessible in the endgame, due to the loss of effects, disappearance of certain [=NPC=]s, and other changes that come from entering the endgame.
* PeopleJars
** Oreko can be found in a tube in the orange maze; touching her changes the maze to a linear path.
** During the endgame, a giant Sabitsuki can be found in a tube in a disconnected section of the orange maze (which is accessed via the aforementioned linear path). Notably, this Sabitsuki is where you get one of the empty boxes from.
* PlantPerson
** The plant effect turns Sabitsuki into one, and the side-effect causes the plants on her to grow. When used in rain, Sabitsuki overgrows to the point where she can't move. Fittingly, it's found in the plant labyrinth, after one causes the plants in the industrial snow area to overgrow.
** The past plant labyrinth has many children overgrown with plants inside. A related area also has the nurse from the hospital slightly plantified.

* OneHitKill

* SchmuckBait

** The seedy psychedelic town and Sweet Sugar hotel accessed near the rainbow maze resemble ''Videogame/{{Earthbound}}'''s Moonside.

* SlasherSmile

* TheVirus

* TomatoSurprise

* TooManyMouths

* VideoGameCaringPotential
** The room before the dying girls event is full of [=NPCs=] blocking the path. You can either get through by killing the [=NPCs=] with the pipe, or with skillful manipulation of the whistle. While using the pipe can net you money -- indeed, this area is used as a place for farming money due to the sheer amount of [=NPCs=] -- using the whistle is by the far the faster option.

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential

* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment

* WombLevel

* YourHeadASplode

* YourRewardIsClothes

The latest version, v0.192, can be found at lol's site [[http://rustlimbo.webcrow.jp/games/flow/index.html here]], with an English translation available [[http://www.mediafire.com/download/t5za389klzn2d2t/flow_ver0.192eng.rar here]]. Various other versions, both the Japanese originals and any translations, can be found on the fan wiki [[http://dotflow.wikidot.com/downloads here]] and [[http://yumenikkifg.wikia.com/wiki/.flow#Download.2FExternal_Links here]]. The author, lol, has a [[http://rustlimbo.webcrow.jp/ personal site]], a [[http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?id=269411 pixiv account]], a [[http://lolrust.deviantart.com/ deviantART account]], a [[http://twitter.com/lol_rust twitter page]], and a [[http://lol-rust.tumblr.com/ tumblr account]].

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused]] with the 2006 freeware life simulation game ''VideoGame/{{Flow}}''.

* AllJustADream

* DreamWithinADream

** The Disposal location shows Smile without his eye tattoos.

''.flow'' is a [[FreewareGames freeware]] ''VideoGame/YumeNikki'' [[SpiritualSuccessor fangame]] created in the VideoGame/RPGMaker 2000 engine by a Japanese developer going by the alias "lol" or "lolrust". Like ''Yume Nikki'', exploration, surrealism, and atmosphere are the basic themes of the game; but unlike ''Yume Nikki'', this one has a ''lot'' more disturbing content and horror elements added in. ''.flow'', like ''Yume Nikki'', is an incomplete game, but as of 0.10 and onwards, the game now has a proper endgame and multiple endings, though the "multiple" status is of some debate.

* FlyingBroomstick: The broom effect, which both serves the same function of speeding up the player as the bike in ''VideoGame/YumeNikki''. It is also similar to the witch effect from the same game, down to being able to access a special flying event hidden somewhere in a maze or maze-like area.

[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flownexus_7925.jpg]]

*** The arm effect makes Sabitsuki look like Monoko's five-armed form, and an image similar to Uboa also appears on the wall of a dead end in the temple maze accessed via the ocean world.

* AllThereInTheManual: A lot of the major characters' names come from here; see the character page for details.

* BlackScreenOfDeath
** Used in both corrupted school events, right before either [[spoiler:a Kaibutsu or Fetus kills Sabitsuki/Rust]], [[spoiler:Smile kills Sabitsuki]], or [[spoiler:a very Kaibutsu-like Rust kills Smile]]. [[NightmareFuel Unsettling laughter can be heard all three times]].

** Several events will add to Sabitsuki's "erosion counter"[[note]]alternatively called the "corruption meter" or similar[[/note]], and as the counter goes up, more and more blood appears in her room (heavily implying that Sabitsuki is or has leaked blood in some way), eventually accompanied by what ''may'' be life-support devices near the computer. One of these events in particular, the bloody room event, has Sabitsuki coughing blood from the mouth before fainting.

*** The relation between rust and blood is a subtle GeniusBonus too. Rust comes from the oxidation of iron, and blood is largely made up of iron and oxygen.

** A few of Sabitsuki's effects invoke this: the arm effect makes her grow three extra arms; the viscera effect has her walk around with her [[{{Squick}} intestines just hanging out]], and its side-effect is Sabitsuki attempting to stuff them back in.

** Kaibutsu, which means "monster", is a perfect name to describe the {{demonic spiders}} the game throws at you.

[[IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused]] with the 2006 freeware life simulation game ''VideoGame/{{Flow}}''.

* AprilFoolsDay: ''.flow'' had an April Fools update in version 0.16, otherwise known as the "April Fools" version. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpw6Tk1KO9E Only one area of events is accessible in the mental world]], exclusive to this version, and only serves in adding more questions. Of course, due to its status as ''.flow''[='=]s April Fools joke, its canon status is definitely debatable.

* AprilFools: ''.flow'' had an April Fools update in version 0.16, otherwise known as the "April Fools" version. Only one area of events is accessible in the mental world, exclusive to this version, and only serves in adding more questions. Of course, due to its status as ''.flow''[='=]s April Fools joke, its canon status is definitely debatable.

** The [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] or FC world is rendered in an 8-bit style, complete with 8-bit sounds and music.

** The most disturbing scene in the game, known as the "dying girls event", has Sabitsuki witnessing nine black-haired girls spontaneously exploding and collapsing into piles of gore one after another, and then witnessing viscera splitting out of the stomach of a large black-haired girl on the wall. After interacting with the corpse of the large black-haired girl, Sabitsuki's vision goes blurry and she wakes up.

** The "bloody room" event, where Sabitsuki coughs up blood and collapses.

* LoveHotels: The Sweet Sugar hotel in the psychedelic city appears to be one of these.

* MoneySpider: All [=NPCs=] have a random chance of dropping 100 coins when killed, and the money can then be spent at the Sugar Hole, either 100 for a drink or 300 for a meal of tea and cake. The non-Kaibutsu regular at the Sugar Hole can be piped for instant money every session, and lots of money can be farmed in the black-haired girls-filled room prior to the dying girls event.

** The corrupted school event, where the [[spoiler:Sabitsuki-lookalike, pipe-carrying Kaibutsu kill you should they reach you]], and the same with [[spoiler:Smile if you interact with him]].

** The industrial snow area has a few of these:

*** There is a special plant in a building which, when interacted with, makes the area overgrown with vegetation and makes it loop.
*** Blowing the whistle in the snow area reveals a ghost of a younger Sabitsuki wearing a scarf.
** Some theories speculate that the snow world is really a cremation site, given the smoke stacks and the plant labyrinth below resembling a tomb, and with the snow actually being ashes.

*** Killing Oreko will also permanently enrage the candle world Kaibutsu.

** Piping all the guitar-playing [=NPC=]s in the underwater village turns the place dark and makes all the other [=NPC=]s come after you, and getting caught transports you to an inescapable area in ''hell''.

** Attempting to enter the bloody room before the endgame will cause Sabitsuki to shake her head and refuse to go in. When you then try to leave the area, she falls to her knees, coughing up blood as her head bleeds profusely and falls apart.

* AmbiguousEnding: The game has three endings, each one less coherent than the last. It's even ambiguous to whether they're all part of the same, or different courses of events.
** The first ending is easily the most coherent, [[spoiler:consisting just of Sabitsuki walking onto the rooftop of her apartment and looking out over the balcony]]. The second is the same, [[spoiler:but with a gas mask nurse coming out from the apartment behind her, hinting that the events of the game might be more complicated than a simple dream]]. The third, sometimes called the True Ending, [[spoiler:is just like the second, but Sabitsuki/Rust unsuccessfully fights the nurse, followed by a sequence that looks something like a DyingDream]]. To say that the relationship these endings have to each other and to the game's real world is ambiguous may be an understatement.

** One area is made out of flesh, with a few rooms shaped like organs, and the area's music contains a slow heartbeat. Disturbingly, it gets more and more obviously decayed and diseased as you go deeper in.
** The Vomitgirl area resembles flesh with the colour palette and the pulsating walls.

* TheBlank: A special Cleaner in Sweet Sugar who seems to only have hidden eyes upon first glance, upon interacting with her, is revealed to have a giant hole in her face. Meeting certain requirements lets you go inside, into the "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Hole in Girl]]" world (sometimes referred to as just "Hole").

** The special Cleaner in Sweet Sugar, in a random event, used to teleport one to a bedroom with another Cleaner and blood on the bed, instead of to the Hole (which was not implemented at the time). This room still exists in the RPG Maker maps, but is inaccessible by in-game means.

** Gaining access to the Hole area, after eating the sufficient amount of cake required, is a 1 in 5 chance every time you interact with the hole-faced Cleaner.

** The Hole area resembles flesh with the colour palette and the pulsating walls.

** In Rust's corrupted school event, [[spoiler:some of the Kaibutsu get transformed into the giant red demons]], complete with screams of pain heard nowhere else in the game.

** Used in both corrupted school events, right before either [[spoiler:a Kaibutsu or red demon kills Sabitsuki/Rust]], [[spoiler:Smile kills Sabitsuki]], or [[spoiler:a very Kaibutsu-like Rust kills Smile]]. [[NightmareFuel Unsettling laughter can be heard all three times]].

* TheBlank: A special maid in Sweet Sugar who seems to only have hidden eyes upon first glance, upon interacting with her, is revealed to have a giant hole in her face. Meeting certain requirements lets you go inside, into the "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Hole in Girl]]" world (sometimes referred to as just "Hole").

** The endgame has far more blood and gore than the rest of the game does -- you only need to look as far as what the red demons do to Rust.

** In the endgame, as you get hit by more and more red demons, Rust decays more and more, causing her to become blood-covered and severely mangled, until it gets too much for her and causes her head to ''explode''.

** The special maid in Sweet Sugar, in a random event, used to teleport one to a bedroom with another maid and blood on the bed, instead of to the Hole (which was not implemented at the time). This room still exists in the RPG Maker maps, but is inaccessible by in-game means.

** Several rooms are empty and serve no purpose. In the endgame, however, some of these empty rooms now house red demons.

** As with the red demons, who are certainly both red in appearance and demonic in both appearance and behavior.

** The Sweet Sugar maids, due to their incredibly small sprites, have no visible facial features, though one maid has a shadow over her face; see also TheBlank above.

** Getting hit by red demons further and further decays Rust, to the point where her face is mangled and she's coated in her own blood.

** Similarly, in the endgame, getting hit by too many red demons causes Rust's head to explode.

** The special maid in Sweet Sugar has a shadowed face. A close-up reveals that she actually has a hole instead, which is not reflected in her sprite.

** In the endgame, Rust's face gets messed up as she takes more damage via red demons. Even if there's not much to see due to the small sprites, your mind will fill in the gaps.
** The red demons themselves seem to have bloody, messed-up mouths for faces.

* OnlyAFleshWound: The limbless effect removes Sabitsuki's limbs (and it is heavily implied that this is done by chainsaw, given that the effect is taken from a chainsaw), and the viscera effect has Sabitsuki casually walking around with her intestines hanging out. However, the endgame trumps both of those effects, as Rust continues to casually wander around even as her body is torn apart by the red demons.

** In Rust's version of the corrupted school, [[spoiler:the giant red demons kill her if she is touched]], and [[spoiler:she performs one on Smile when you interact with him]]. Due to a glitch in version 0.15, the [[spoiler:giant red demons]] did not actually kill Rust, though this glitch has been fixed in later versions.

** The town has a randomized event where one can either gain access to a previously-unaccessible part of the area, or see [[SarcasmMode pleasant sights]] such as a Kaibutsu beating up a hunk of meat or a maid standing menacingly with a chainsaw behind a line of cones.
** Gaining access to the Hole area, after eating the sufficient amount of cake required, is a 1 in 5 chance every time you interact with the hole-faced maid.

* RandomlyDrops: Killing [=NPCs=] has a chance of dropping 100 yen every time. Several events, such as the dying girls event and the bar Kaibutsu, have a chance of randomly appearing every trip to the mental world.

* ShoutOut

** Looking closely at her sprite, Rust seems to grow a deformed one as she becomes more and more decayed by the red demons.

** The red demons are speculated to either be a virus or a product of a virus, especially given their presence in the body areas and in the endgame.

** The red demons have a mouth on their stomachs and have one covering their entire face.

** After you become Rust, this happens if you bump into too many red demons.

** The [[NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] or FC world is rendered in an 8-bit style, complete with 8-bit sounds and music.

''.flow'' is a [[FreewareGames freeware]] ''VideoGame/YumeNikki'' [[SpiritualSuccessor fangame]] created in the RPG Maker 2000 engine by a Japanese developer going by the alias "lol" or "lolrust". Like ''Yume Nikki'', exploration, surrealism, and atmosphere are the basic themes of the game; but unlike ''Yume Nikki'', this one has a ''lot'' more disturbing content and horror elements added in. ''.flow'', like ''Yume Nikki'', is an incomplete game, but as of 0.10 and onwards, the game now has a proper endgame and multiple endings, though the "multiple" status is of some debate.

** The broom event is a direct homage to both ''VideoGame/YumeNikki''[='=]s witch event and StudioGhibli's ''Kiki's Delivery Service''.

** The [[spoiler:third ending]] involves Sabitsuki (or is it Rust?) waking up from her bed, calling the reality of [[spoiler:the entirety of the game beforehand]] into question.

[[IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused]] with the 2006 freeware life simulation game ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_%28video_game%29 Flow]]''.

* LostForever: As well as access to many events (such as the trauma events), all the collectible menu types become inaccessible in the endgame, due to the loss of effects, disappearance of certain [=NPC=]s, and other changes that come from entering the endgame.

** The girl living in the house on the monochrome beach appears to be one, if not an outright robot girl; the art style makes it hard to tell.

* HollywoodCyborg
** The machine effect, which replaces Sabitsuki's arms and legs with robotic parts and gives her some sort of robotic headgear.
** The girl in the monochrome house seems to have robotic legs. A little girl in one of the hospital rooms, most likely a younger version of the same character, also seems to have robotic legs.