Line #27 VideoGame/TheAxolotlProject


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/axolotl_prologue.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Don't worry, this prologue is just a dream! [[BlatantLies The game will be far more cheerful from then on!]]]]
3	For eight months now, you've been a research intern on a slightly creepy Moon base dedicated to studying weird moon salamanders. That's... not the most interesting job in the world. To make things worse, out of the three scientists on the base, one is [[TheAlcoholic drunk]], one is a [[ItsAllAboutMe dick]] and one is nowhere to be found. And you've lost a test subject.
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5	Great.
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7	''The Axolotl Project'' is a [[https://twinery.org/ Twine]] [[InteractiveFiction game]] by Samantha Vick. You can play it online [[http://www.samanthavickgames.com/axolotl/#3i here]].
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10	!! Oops, some tropes escaped from the holding tank! Better look for them:
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12	* AdDissonance: [=SylioTM=] posters are all over the base. Vid screens show [=SylioTM=] commercials, [=SylioTM=] commercials-thinly-disguised-as-sitcoms, and not much more. It has an AdvertOverloadedFuture vibe.
13	* ApocalypticLog: Henry's notes. [[spoiler: He also left a VideoWill, but you only find it in the end.]]
14	* BenevolentAI: TOM, as much as possible in this slightly {{dystopia}}n future.
15	* CatapultNightmare: [[PlayerCharacter Casey]], right when we meet her.
16	* ChekhovsGun: Chekhov's salamander. And Chekhov's escape pod.
17	* DeadpanSnarker: You can choose snarkier and less snarky dialogue options, but Casey's wit is quite dry in any case.
18	* DreamSpying: Turns out, [[spoiler: the intro was]].
19	* EmbarrassingPassword: Casey does note that Bill Gallo has no sense of humour whatsoever and probably wouldn't see the joke, but his security measures tell a lot about [[ItsAllAboutMe the guy]].
20	* ItsAllAboutMe: Bill Gallo. Very much.
21	* HealingFactor: The moon salamanders. [=SylioTM=] gives one to mammals, as well.
22	* HiveMind: [[spoiler: The salamanders. They need to be in sufficient numbers for this to work]]. This explains a lot about them.
23	* LabcoatOfScienceAndMedicine: Casey, as a researcher, wears one.
24	* LockAndKeyPuzzle: Several, mostly {{Locked Door}}s, but not only.
25	* MadScientist: Bill Gallo, except he's not all that good at actual science. But he has {{Morally Ambiguous Doctorate}}s pasted on every wall in his office and a PlayedForDrama case of SmallNameBigEgo.
26	* MonsterOrganTrafficking: Salamanders (not really monstrous, but alien and a bit weird) are the source of [=SylioTM=]. [[spoiler: And the company's new drug.]]
27	* MotherlyScientist: A RareMaleExample in Henry, who gave TOM a name and opposed to hurting lab animals needlessly.
28	* NeverSuicide: It's not much of a spoiler to say Henry [[spoiler:did not hang himself.]]
29	* ObfuscatingStupidity: [[spoiler: Crystal hides quite a formidable competence under a GlurgeAddict sunny cowgirl facade]]. When you search this person's room, there's a copy of ''Literature/{{The Art of War\|SunTzu}}'' on the table. Being underestimated and hidden in plain sight is a major theme.
30	* PhoneCallFromTheDead: You get several [[DyingClue haiku SMS]] from Henry Adams, both before and ''after'' discovering [[spoiler: his dead body. He's programmed the AI to do this, knowing he'd be murdered.]]
31	* PosthumousCharacter: Henry Adams, mostly - he appears in the intro.
32	* PsychoSerum: Discovered by Henry. Initially makes you smart. The AxCrazy comes later, followed by [[spoiler: turning blue and death]].
33	* SanitySlippage: [[spoiler: Bill Gallo]], not that [[MaskOfSanity they've been very sane to begin with]]. It is stated that they're "smelling rotten", and it's probably the effect of PsychoSerum.
34	* UselessSecurityCamera: Fortunately, because it would lead the bad guy to you, but still.
35	* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Of course, the means ''might'' [[spoiler: kill everybody within several years, in the meantime]], though, won't it be worth it to [[{{Transhuman}} lead mankind into a Golden Age]]? Won't it?
36	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Henry and Casey discover [[spoiler: the alien axolotl may be sentient beings]]. The villain outright states [[CruellaToAnimals the salamanders should be abused]] for human ''good''.
37	* YouMonster: You can yell this at the villain during your final confrontation. Not that it helps.

Context VideoGame / TheAxolotlProject