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1213 is a freeware game in three parts by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of Zero Punctuation fame.Somewhat inspired by Flashback with some System Shock thrown in for good measure, 1213 is an action-adventure platformer complete with gun combat. Not bad for a game engine specifically designed for point-and-click adventure games. The title character, 1213, manages to escape the cell in which he has lived for as long as he can remember (which isn't that far back) into something much worse.As with the Chzo Mythos games, Yahtzee made a special edition of 1213. Originally donationware, it is now free to download.
Tropes used by the game:
Advancing Wall of Doom: 1213's entire perception of reality breaks down on several occasions, leaving you to keep him ahead of the breakdown.
Apocalypse How: All air-breathing life on Earth has died from a pathogen, and the space station gets overrun by zombies. It's reasonable to assume that by the end of things, 1213 is the only living mammal in existence.
More pleasant in the secret silly ending, where there are still people alive, but most of them have turned into magic chocolate people.
Apocalyptic Log: Several, particularly on the computer screens in parts of the facility overrun by zombies.
Bottomless Magazines: 1213's gun never runs out of bullets, while the same applies for the security guards.
But What About the Astronauts?: The horrible truth learned just in time for the player to realize just how badly every last source of hope has been destroyed.
Conspicuously Selective Perception: Guards will only shoot at you while you're on the same level as them, completely forgetting about you as soon as you drop out of their limited vision. Zombies only move in similar circumstances.
Otherwise subverted by Westbury's downright hatred of these sorts of people and how they go about doing things - this is the entire basis of his Motive Rant. When Petrovitch asks Westbury "Do you know how much that costs?!?" when 1213 destroys the final boss, Westbury snaps, and shoots the poor guy in the head. Westbury despises bureaucrats. In fact, in the Special Edition commentary, Yahtzee makes a point that this piece of dialogue has the only example of profanity in the game to demonstrate how absolutely pissed off he is.
Westbury: "How much these things cost? Is that all you have to say? You... You... YOU FUCKING BUREAUCRAT!" *BANG*
Petrovich himself has a bit of Corrupt Corporate Executive about him. Who else would care so much about equipment costs when the last living humans are suffering from a Zombie Apocalypse?
Downer Ending: And how. Even the comparatively silly hidden ending is equally depressing when you think about it.
Not really. Death by chocolate sounds positively divine
Driven to Suicide: James Deakin, one of Westbury's assistants when he learned that the apocalypse had already happened.
Edge Gravity: While walking, you'll stop at a ledge. Run, and you'll just run right off. There's even a Lampshade Hanging at the beginning of the game, when Westbury says "Don't worry, if you keep walking you won't walk right off the ledge. That would be silly, now wouldn't it?"
The Faceless: 1213 and the rest of his brothers and sisters all wear full-face masks to help heal the facial sores that the Yellow Death causes.
Heal Thyself: Showers can cure bullet wounds, zombie bites, being stabbed, electrocutions, heart conditions brought upon by sheer exhaustion, and painful landings.
Idiot Ball: O'Hagan is a trained psychologist who already knows how crazy Westbury is. She still thinks it's a good idea to collect evidence against him and threaten him with it before telling anyone else. While he's armed.
Insecurity Camera: Mostly averted; most cameras are decorative, and only two will impede your progress if they see you.
Insurmountable Waist-Height Fence: Hundreds of doors, few accessible. Pretty much every elevator fails to respond to 1213, requiring him to haul himself between floors.
Motherly Scientist: O'Hagan. And, in his own twisted way, possibly Westbury.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: By generally shooting everything that moves, 1213's considered a threat by the crew of the facility, which is a damned shame, considering what his purpose is...
Not to mention releasing the zombies from the first chapter to spread throughout the remainder of the facility when he blasts his way through the quarantine. Oops.
Nobody Poops: Shower blocks exist, barracks exist, there's even a small mess room and an entire food court, but not one toilet.
Ontological Mystery: Stop me if you've heard this one: you awake in a room with no memory. Through exploration, you learn a backstory of horror, and ultimately fight to liberate yourself from your condition of ignorance.
Yahtzee happily lampshades this in the special edition commentary.
Take That: In the second episode, Croshaw included a "sprint" function, which allows 1213 to run faster at the risk of making his heart explode, by request of the fan-base. He then did not include a single puzzle in the game that requires the faster speed imparted by the sprint function.
We Will Have Perfect Health in the Future: 1213 and his clone brothers have been designed to be immune to every known serious disease and highly resistant towards poisons gas. Ironically, this also causes them to be especially vulnerable to the zombie virus.
Zombie Apocalypse: Granted, it is confined to the facility. However, there isn't anything else left by the time the plot begins so it kinda still counts.