Line #27 WebVideo/CatastropheCrow


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2021_03_13_09_42_06_3_catastrophe_crow_64_build_12v_youtube.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Caw!]]
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4	''Catastrophe Crow'', or ''Crow 64'', is an AlternateRealityGame centering around the eponymous unfinished game for the Platform/Nintendo64, made by Adam Butcher, known for his WebVideo/InternetStory video.
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6	The first [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irEb9TS9yEk video]] initially presents itself as a documentary of ''Catastrophe Crow'', a game by the notorious perfectionist Manfred Lorenz. As the video goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that the game is no ordinary piece of software. The ARG is continued through multiple videos on various channels.
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8	On August 19th, 2021, according to Adam Butcher, it appears that [[https://twitter.com/AdamButcherFilm/status/1428296040311099393?s=20 the ARG is over]]. However, Butcher [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBBgPVYz7hQ finally released the game]] on April 26th, 2024, with future updates planned. The game can be played [[https://opuslegacy.itch.io/play-catastrophe-crow here]].
9	----
10	!!Tropes appearing in the ARG:
11	* AlienGeometries:
12	** The platform above the Toy Level cannot be seen from the ground.
13	** In "Catastrophe Crow N64", the hallway the computer's in has the same dead end at both ends once Mr. Crow enters it.
14	* AllForNothing: What the game's development amounted to; it's all but stated that Manfred Lorenz made the game with his daughter in mind, and later cryptically told a developer, "[[UnusualEuphemism the player is gone]]". Even when bankrupt and without staff, he continued to work on the game... right as the Platform/NintendoGameCube was released, signaling the end of the Nintendo 64 era.
15	* AnachronicOrder: An unusual example. Multiple videos were posted before "WHAT HAPPENED TO CROW 64", but went unnoticed until the "original video" was posted and gave them context. In addition, the order these videos were made is unclear.
16	* BigCreepyCrawlies: The smaller of the two monsters that stalk Mr. Crow. It's implied to be the ghost of Brother Crow, and represent Nils Lorenz.
17	* BodyHorror: We get to see Mr. Crow laying on his bed after the stairs accident, connected to life support, losing tons of feathers, almost unrecognizable, and breathing with difficulty... Not a pretty sight.
18	* CreatorBreakdown: [[invoked]]In-universe, Manfred Lorenz (already something of an eccentric) underwent one during ''Catastrophe Crow'''s development. As the game's release date kept being pushed back, he made odd demands of staff while staying away from home for months. Eventually, he let all of his staff go and seemingly kept working on the game by himself, before suddenly disappearing and [[DrivenToSuicide drowning himself]]. Or at least, so it seemed...
19	* CutSong: In-Universe example. The background music for the Kid World (heard in at least two gameplay videos) was removed, as seen in Adam Butcher's playthrough. The whole area is completely silent instead.
20	* CypherLanguage: The bulk of the ARG involves tracing hidden messages in each video that are written in "crow language". The video "Forest Level" contains a key for deciphering phrases written in crow language into English.
21	* DarkReprise: A (poorly looped) 4 seconds version of the title theme is played again after the player [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent plays as a crow with glasses]], but sounds deeper and melancholic.
22	* DeathOfAChild: Manfred Lorenz's daughter, Thea, apparently died during development.
23	* DecoyProtagonist: Despite Adam Butcher being the presenter of the original video, he isn't mentioned or seen in any of the other videos, and even falls quiet a few minutes before the end of the original video.
24	* {{Deuteragonist}}: In some videos, Mr. Crow is seen using a mirror in the Forest level to swap to a secondary crow character who's smaller and doesn't have a bandaged wing, thus gaining the ability to glide by flapping its wings. A conversation with the elder crow in "Let's Play Catastrophe Crow! 64 – [=Ep1=]" implies that this second crow is based on Manfred's other child, a son named Nils.
25	* DisappearedDad: Manfred Lorenz faked his death, leaving Nils without a father. Even before Manfred's disappearance he would go long periods of time without returning home.
26	* DontGoInTheWoods: The Forest Level happens to contain some of the game's spookier elements, and marks the point in "WHAT HAPPENED TO CROW 64?" where things really start going off the rails once it's entered.
27	* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: As the interviews reveal, Manfred showed serious signs of things going wrong, but not once does the interviewer think anything's up.
28	* DrivenToSuicide: Apparently Manfred drowned himself with his computer equipment, but it's quickly revealed that he's still alive in some fashion.
29	* DummiedOut: In-universe example, the ice and lava levels appear only in the previews and briefly in "Video", but do not appear to be currently accessible.
30	* FirstEpisodeTwist:[[invoked]] The first video, "WHAT HAPPENED TO CROW 64", leads viewers to believe the game's title is "Crow 64", when in fact this was merely the WorkingTitle. The actual name of the game - and series - is revealed later in the video, when the game boots up for the first time.
31	* FreezeFrameBonus:
32	** In "WHAT HAPPENED TO CROW 64" when Mr. Crow falls down the stairs, all the textures briefly change to that of a brain scan.
33	*** In the same video, various magazine scans which flesh out the game are shown.
34	** In "Catastrophe Crow N64" the family photo on the desk changes to a photo of two crows and the two monsters that approach Mr. Crow after he falls down the stairs.
35	* TheGhost:
36	** Marta Lorenz is only mentioned once by name, and her whereabouts after leaving the country in 2001 is unknown.
37	** Zig-Zagged with Nils Lorenz, who is not mentioned once in "WHAT HAPPENED TO CROW 64" but becomes a major character afterwards.
38	** Sir Cat is supposedly the villain of the game, but is only mentioned in the briefly shown magazine scans.
39	* HauntedTechnology: {{Implied\|Trope}}, but nowhere near confirmed to be the case with the ''Catastrophe Crow'' game.
40	* HeAlsoDid: InUniverse, Opus Interactive and Manfred Lorenz are touted for their other (and ultimately only released) game, an acclaimed SNES title called ''Ocean Quest''. Becomes a bit of FridgeHorror when you consider Lorenz' eventual fate.
41	* JustifiedTitle: The game actually does depict a catastrophe, specifically [[invoked]][[CreatorBreakdown the creator's own breakdown]]. It's implied this was {{invoked\|Trope}} by the creator himself, as the game was previously given the [[invoked]]WorkingTitle ''Crow 64'', before the ensuing [[invoked]]DevelopmentHell took its toll on him.
42	* LethalLavaLand: The lava level.
43	* LockedOutOfTheLoop: By the late stages of the game's development, even the rest of Opus Interactive's staff didn't know what was happening anymore. There are differing accounts from ex-employees as to what was causing Manfred Lorenz's changing behavior, and the modelers and artists were being told to make assets without knowing what they were for.
44	* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: The video entitled "Video" shows various levels briefly as the player falls, including one of the few instances of the purple monsters.
45	* MeaningfulName: Opus Interactive's name is derived from the Latin word for "[[ArcWords work]]".
46	* MindScrew: The previews show that things were weird even before ''Catastrophe Crow'' entered [[invoked]]DevelopmentHell.
47	* NoEnding: In "WHAT HAPPENED TO CROW 64?", VideoReviewShow host [[CreatorCameo Adam Butcher]] stops giving live commentary once the game gets going, saying he'll come back to give his thoughts at the end of the video. [[NothingIsScarier This never happens.]]
48	* OminousVisualGlitch: Towards the end of "WHAT HAPPENED TO CROW 64", and again in many of the other videos.
49	* RefugeInAudacity: Lampshaded. It's pretty clear that all members of the Crow family uses the same eye sprites as Mario from ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''. Even Manfred was concerned about this when he sent the character design to Nintendo for approval. However, in the e-mail included with the game's development documents, the design was approved, and while Nintendo noticed the eye sprites, they let the issue slide and pass it off as mere coincidence. But viewers also found out that the main HUB area also uses the same skybox as Shifting Sand Land, only with the desert being recolored to make it look like a grassy field. It's unclear if Nintendo gave Opus some assets from ''Super Mario 64'' or if Manfred stole them from Nintendo.
50	* RiddleForTheAges: So what happened to the Lorenz family? And what does ''Catastrophe Crow!'' and its weird imagery represent in regards to the tragedy? Is the game really haunted or did Manfred Lorenz add all the freaky events in order to illustrate something? How does the so-called "eternal revival" system factor into things? Even constructing together all the clues presented in the ARG only leaves a partial answer to things, leaving fans to draw their own interpretations.
51	* RuleOfSymbolism: The development cart seen in the eBay photo is a mostly blank N64 cartridge with just the word "CROW" on it. In the game footage, Mr. Crow encounters the elder crow crying in front of a grave... with a gravestone that just says "CROW" on it, in the same lettering as the gray coincidentally tombstone-shaped cartridge, possibly symbolizing the cart's status as a memorial.
52	* ScaryScarecrows: The taller of the two monsters that stalk Mr. Crow. It's implied to be the spirit of Mr. Crow's mom, and represent Marta Lorenz.
53	* SlippySlideyIceWorld: The ice level.
54	* SubvertedKidsShow: ''Catastrophe Crow'' initially seems like a dark but otherwise kid-oriented game, but when gameplay is shown it quickly becomes obvious that it is something else.
55	* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Even though many unusual things appear in the previews and in Adam's playthrough, very few remarks on them are made in-universe.
56	* {{Vaporware}}:[[invoked]] The titular ''Catastrophe Crow'' is a fictional example, being a game announced in 1997, having its release date pushed back multiple times as development struggled, before ultimately going unreleased as the Nintendo 64 era ended.
57	* WhamShot:
58	** Mr. Crow falling down the stairs.
59	** The player spinning the camera around to reveal Mr. Crow's house has always been [[BehindTheBlack behind the starting point]]... and that they're playing as a ''different'' crow with glasses now.
60	** The glasses crow entering what looks like a little girl's room and seeing Mr. Crow laying on a hospital bed on life support, looking near death.
61	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Adam Butcher goes progressively quiet while presenting footage of the game in "WHAT HAPPENED TO CROW 64" and doesn't appear again after the gameplay ends, despite saying he'd be back to talk more about the game afterwards.
62	* WhenTreesAttack: A development document reveals that the trees are actually ''hostile'' (complete with an eyeball). This fact makes gameplays featuring the Forest level such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImhNwENFZjQ these]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RktfCzZd8Q two]] even more unsettling than they already are.
63	* WholePlotReference: A (possibly) haunted game that was supposed to be dedicated to the daughter of the lead developer? Aren't we talking about ''VideoGame/NanashiNoGame''?
64	* WorkingTitle:[[invoked]] Was previously known as ''Crow 64'' in press statements, before being finalized as ''Catastrophe Crow'' in the latest build.
65	* WrittenForMyKids:[[invoked]] ''Catastrophe Crow'''s main character came from a drawing by Manfred's daughter, and it's implied that the game was developed by him with her in mind. It's also implied that she died during development, causing/contributing to Manfred's breakdown.
66	!!Tropes appearing in the 2024 game:
67	* OneHitPointWonder: Throughout the game, the Crow you play as can only sustain a single hit point of damage before fainting and causing the section you're on to restart.

Context WebVideo / CatastropheCrow