Line #73 WMG/Spelunky


1	[[WMG: The entire game is a simulation in a {{Zeerust}} future world.]]
2	This would explain the [[spoiler:Teleporter]] and the [[spoiler:aliens]].
3
4	[[WMG: The whole cave of Spelunky is a twisted game show or reality show.]]
5	Contestants climb in for riches, contestants get chewed up by the deadly traps and criminals inside the cave, the viewers get to watch and enjoy. Anyone who survives is allowed to keep their money but has to return all the equipment and weapons they found... and they can dive into the cave for even more money if they desire.
6	* This actually explains why there are shops everywhere, despite having no visible target market aside from the player. Unless...
7
8	[[WMG: "Kissing" the Damsels is just visual shorthand for [[OptionalSexualEncounter something else]].]]
9	The Kissing Booths are lit by {{red light\|District}}s, it costs upwards of $20,000 per "kiss", and it always (except for in the booths) takes place in completely safe "between" areas.
10	* I think this is less "Wild Mass Guessing" than "correctly interpreting the author's intention."
11	** Which makes the [[DirtyOldMan shopkeep]] just plain creepy…
12	*** Considering he's [[UnfortunateImplications hinted at regularly beating his Kissing Damsels and will readily shotgun them down if provoked]]?
13	** Further implied by the lantern. All other stores have yellow lanterns, but the one in kissing booths are red. Red light district, anyone?
14	* ...so what does that imply [[BestialityIsDepraved if it's a Pug]]?
15
16	[[WMG: The City of Gold is a hallucination and you're just shoveling rocks and rubble into your pockets.]]
17	The sheer psychological strain of getting the Hedjet and opening the sealed door, only to find nothing of value inside, loosens the Spelunker's grip on reality.
18
19	[[WMG: All the Damsels are actually men.]]
20	Look at that face and try to tell me there's nothing definitively masculine about it.
21	* In fact, one can get the damsels to reveal their true selves in the remake, as one can turn them male in the options menu.
22	** So they are secretly dogs dressed as men dressed as women?
23	** [[OverlyLongGag So they are secretly sloths dressed as dogs dressed as men dressed as women?]]
24
25	[[WMG: Kissing the damsels is not a euphemism; that's actually all that goes on.]]
26	The main hero is just so utterly terrible around women, that actually receiving any attention, let alone a kiss, significantly increases his will to live, more than any of the vast amounts of treasure he collects.
27
28	[[WMG: Each attempt is the DyingDream of the previous Spelunker in a {{Mind Screw}}y reality warp perpetuated by [[BlackMagic dark, twisted magicks]].]]
29	When a Spelunker dies, their final moments are spent imagining a scenario where they made [[WhatIf different decisions]]. [[InSpiteOfANail If]] ''[[InSpiteOfANail that]]'' [[InSpiteOfANail adventurer fails]], reality is warped just a little further as ''that'' explorer has ''their'' DyingDream, and so on and so forth. The cycle is perpetuated by the restless spirits of all the hapless {{Virgin Sacrifice}}s, {{Distressed Damsel}}s, and {{Adventurer Archaeologist}}s trapped in this wretched, cursed land; if anyone actually ''makes'' it, their soul is free to move on, along with those of any they 'saved' during their successful journey. But for every fortunate soul that finally escapes the curse, countless more remain trapped in the cycle, making attempt after attempt...
30
31	[[WMG: The shotgun is an EvilWeapon]]
32	The shotgun is a cursed weapon. Notice how every shopkeeper sets up in a strange location and is willing to kill you over minor things. Notice that they also always have a shotgun. Coincidence? I think not. Finally, look at how many players murder the shopkeepers just to get it.
33	* Or ''[[BallisticDiscount with]]'' it.
34
35	[[WMG: The skeletons are the remains of previous Spelunkers.]]
36	Pretty much ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. This explains, 1) why the Tunnel Man gets to keep his progress, even when your death is "undone", 2) why there are shops everywhere, including gambling parlors, and ''brothels''. Still doesn't explain the crates, or why everything changes every time you come back, which leads to my next theory...
37
38	[[WMG: The game is the Spelunker equivalent of [[WarriorHeaven Valhalla]].]]
39	Instead of fighting and feasting for all eternity, the Spelunker gets to go on dangerous and glorious cave dives without worry of life or limb. It explains a lot of "inconsistencies", like the crates, the random dungeon, the shops, the Damsels who've survived apparently indefinitely without food or water... It's all part of our red-nosed protagonist's personal heaven.
40	* This could also mean that the Damsel was his girlfriend/significant other in life, with the Tunnel Man being his TokenBlackFriend and/or Guardian Angel.
41	** It makes the things he [[SuicideAttack does]] to [[YourHeadASplode her]] raise even [[UnfortunateImplications more]] [[MindScrew questions]].
42	* It makes sense, especially the journal entries in the remake, like writing when your brains are fried/getting impaled/etc.
43
44	[[WMG: The Spelunker is dead and the cave is Hell]]
45	The spelunker died of dehydration in the desert. His spirit found the "cave," actually the portal to Hell, and he was compelled to enter due to his sin of greed. There he is forced to pass through the cave again and again, atoning for his sin. As for the rest of the game…
46	* The damsels are the personification of innocence. For selflessly saving them, they grant him their innocent kiss, strengthening his resolve. When he has saved enough of them, he can take on their appearance, showing that he is becoming pure. In the damsel's body, the beings he saves look like him, for that is innocence's will: to save him from Hell.
47	* Kali is the spelunker's own sin given form. She seeks to prevent him from leaving Hell by rewarding him for doing evil, especially to have him betray innocence by sacrificing the damsels, an act for which he will always receive a tangible reward. He can ignore her if he likes, but he can never completely deny her by destroying her altars without having terrible things done to him. His sin is powerful indeed.
48	* The Ghost is one of the demons responsible for the spelunker's punishment. The Ghost chases the spelunker through the cave, ensuring he can never rest or find peace of any sort.
49	* The shopkeepers are more of the demons in charge of his punishment. They are bound by divine will to help him atone, by rewarding him for sacrificing his money, thereby abandoning greed. However, if he commits any sin against them, be it wrath (attacking them) or greed (stealing), the bonds are broken and they are free to destroy him, sending him back for another attempt.
50	** The shopkeepers who run the kissing parlors may appear to be twisted, forcing the innocent damsels to do their bidding, but they are in fact another test. Sacrificing large amounts of wealth will earn him another innocent kiss. By giving up even more money, he can save them from the clutches of the demons, but only if he is ''that'' willing to give up his greed.
51	* Tunnel Man is the spelunker's guardian angel. By sacrificing money to the Tunnel Man (again, abandoning greed), the Tunnel Man can create "shortcuts" to make his quest easier. By completing many harsh challenges, he gains the ability to "replace" himself in his punishment by Tunnel Man, the angel taking up his burden so that he may rest, even if only briefly.
52	* The City of Gold is perhaps the harshest punishment of all. In his sinfulness, this place, full of treasures beyond imagining, is his vision of Heaven, but it is in fact only a fraudulent mockery. By performing great deeds and sacrifice, he can earn the right to enter, but his gain is hollow. His greed to own the treasures himself compels him to destroy the place, leaving nothing worthy of desire. He has still not found rest, he must move on.
53	* The final boss is the embodiment of greed: a gold statue of immeasurable value, exactly what the spelunker has always wanted, and yet not only will it be forever denied to him, it will be his downfall. However, even if he overcomes this final challenge, he still has not escaped…
54
55	[[WMG: The Spelunker is a [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Favored Soul]] of Kali.]]
56	Many people who play the game may [[FridgeLogic eventually wonder]] why many parts of the cave only work for the Spelunker. Some traps will only trigger for him, enemies (with some exceptions) will only attack him and not other enemies, damsels, or shopkeepers, and for that matter, why is the Spelunker always blamed for the destruction of Kali's altars, even if he didn't do it? It's only explainable if he is in some way special.
57
58	He is. He's a favored soul, sort of a "mini-avatar", a human who has been given slight amounts of his goddess' power and favor. He followed a trail of clues to the cave so that he could take Kali's test to see if he is worthy to gain her treasures.
59
60	* This is why looters haven't yet taken all the gold, despite the presence of shopkeepers meaning humans have clearly already found the cave: no one Kali deems unfit may enter.
61	* Kali always blames the Spelunker for her altars' destruction because of his connection to her. Even if he didn't destroy the altar himself, he was expected to protect it.
62	* This is also why you can sacrifice the cultists in the Temple for high favor. Why would Kali like you sacrificing her own servants if you weren't above them in her eyes?
63
64	Why is he a favored soul, though? Simple, he can't be her son or avatar because he's not powerful enough. He's not a simple priest or high priest either, because then he would be equal to the cultists, not above them. Lastly, he's not a normal mortal because then he wouldn't be treated so differently. By process of elimination, he must be Kali's favored soul.
65	** However, Hawkmen are Olmec's cultists, and there's no real evidence that Kali and Olmec are allies or at least connected to each other. They may as well be deadly foes.
66
67	[[WMG: Shops are found in the dungeon because they are illegal]]
68	Let's start with the content of the shops: There are brothels, gambling parlors, and two distinct types of weapon store; one can possibly extrapolate that the specialty stores are in fact selling stolen military prototypes (explaining the jetpack) and so forth. In addition, the only collection of multiple shops in one level is called the Black Market, and yet contains nothing one would not find in a standard shop. This leads to the fact that all the shops are in fact illegal, and can only avoid being shut down by being set up in a treacherous dungeon.
69	* This also means that the Spelunker, if you wantonly kill and steal from the shopkeepers, is actually a WellIntentionedExtremist trying to uphold the law.
70	** "You'll pay for your crimes!" indeed.
71
72	[[WMG: The shopkeepers are Nazi war criminals.]]
73	Given the nature of the spelunker as an Franchise/IndianaJones {{Expy}}, one might notice the distinct lack of Nazis, prevalent in the Indian Jones series, but not to be seen here. Perhaps Spelunky takes place a decade or so after World War 2, and many Nazi officers fled to the cave to escape justice for their crimes. The higher technology such as the teleporter and the jetpack are easily explained: they're not inventions of an advanced humanity, but rather come from [[spoiler:the aliens in area 3]].
74	* As if killing shopkeepers wasn't fully justified enough...
75
76	[[WMG: The lanterns in the stores are actually security cameras.]]
77	That's how wanted posters with your picture are made, even when you kill the shopkeeper and you are the only one around.
78
79	[[WMG: Olmec's Curse is actually Olmec's Challenge.]]
80	The mighty Olmec set up the caves not to ward off and punish would-be thieves, but to be an elaborate game to challenge nosy adventurers. They are resurrected when they die because he ultimately wants them to win through hard lessons and perseverance, he rearranges the levels somehow to keep it interesting and unpredictable, he's even a fair fight when you confront him in his lair! And after all that, he gives you a big golden thingy as a reward for winning his challenge.
81	* It's also why nothing really bothers attacking the damsels, they're not there for the challenge, just lost, and the monsters understand that and leave them alone.
82	* Hell, though, that's just Yama being a jerk.
83
84	[[WMG: The Damsel(s) found in the cave are the "her" referred to in some of the intros.]]
85	* If you leave the damsels on the default female version, that is. The mysterious "her" followed you into the cave, with the Curse of Olmec resurrecting her every time she died. She attempts to follow the Spelunker, but she's not exactly a whip-cracking chasm-swinging adventurer-type, so she frequently gets stuck in hard-to-reach places and needs the Spelunker to try to rescue her. However, if the Spelunker misses her, she dies of dehydration/enemies/falling and is resurrected so that the Spelunker can try to rescue her in the next cave.
86
87	[[WMG: Van Horsing stayed behind in Vlad's Castle to make sure Vlad was DeaderThanDead. This cursed him.]]
88	Cut off the vampire's head, put garlic and holy wafers in his mouth, put stakes in their limbs, annoint with holy water and oil, and burn until white ash.\
89	Which gave Vlad's spirit time to curse him. Van Horsing was in the pyramid looking for the Elixir from Tun's Trial. If successful, his next step was to hunt down Lahamu. (hence him giving you the alien compass)
90
91	[[WMG: The Empress is The Ghost.]]
92	Diamonds are ''usually'' associated with the Ghost and there's one buried in the Empress's grave in Eggplant Land. The Ghost is female as shown when you use a camera. Goofy in the first game, but as an elegant Chinese noblewoman in the second.
93	* Likely confirmed, as of 11/19/2020, an Easter Egg was added with the Ghost's Camera form appearing when you take a photo of the Empress's Grave.
94
95	[[WMG: The red things that the Damsels wear are what supplies the healing factor to their kisses.]]
96	* Somehow, the Damsel's red dress, the Dude's red clothes and tie, and the puppy's collar give their kisses/licks a special healing property.
97
98	[[WMG: The Spelunker has [[SanitySlippage gone mad]] and he's seeing reality through a distorted lens.]]
99	* After suffering from severe dehydration and other hardships during his voyage in the desert, the Spelunker's mental state has deteriorated considerably. The enemies he's fighting, such as spiders and snakes, are exaggerated and hallucinatory. The anachronistic and out-of-place things he's seeing, such as the presence of cavemen and knights, are his interest in archeology blending with reality.
100	** Somebody made the obligatory 'it's all a dream' theory! The WMG page is finally complete.
101
102	[[WMG: The setting is in the ''VideoGame/LaMulana'' universe]]
103	Despite supposedly being a lesser creator to Mother; Tiamat secretly had her own creations working well in hand. She never let this be revealed in the La Mulana ruins and instead had her successful projects reside in dimensional distortions in the Cave of Olmec and on the Moon, far away from Mother's eyes.\
104	Mother's destruction and prevented resurrection at the hands of Lameza and his kin impressed her greatly, so she called humans with her genetic markers to examine. But not before making certain she had plenty of spare bodies and time dilations to prevent permanent destruction. Should they impress her, let them take gold and treasure with them. She would have far more valuable information and those they "killed" would be easily restored. (Although the change to King Yama was permanent.)
105
106	[[WMG: Monty is a timelord]]
107	* Think about it. It just makes sense.
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Context WMG / Spelunky