Penny Larceny is a small-time criminal who, with the help of their feline companion Gibson and you, the player, is going to do everything they can to make it big-time. Today, that starts with breaking into Legitimate Business Corporation's offices to "facilitate" an invitation to Crimr, the premier app matching henchpeople to supervillains. This is the start of an adventure that'll get you working with three different supervillains:
- Doctor Mayhem: A disgraced scientist that has to resort to under-the-table tactics to continue his medical work.
- The Overmistress: The born leader of a blood cult devoted to the Many-Facted One, a supernatural being that will one day plunge the world into chaos.
- HATE-4000: A Vietnam-era supercomputer that plans to destroy the world, probably through nuclear hellscape, although they are open to other options.
Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain is a Ren'Py-based Visual Novel by Stefan Gagne, creator of the Arcade Spirits games and Sailor Nothing.
Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain provides examples of:
- Anti-Frustration Features:
- While you are given a Crimr rating of 1-5 stars, they're mostly decorative. Your choices dictate how the plot plays out, but there's no manner of outright failing the caper you're on.
- After your first Bad Ending, you are given hints as to what you need to do to achieve the Golden Ending.
- Anti-Villain: Each of the supervillains you work for have backstories and nuances you learn about as you continue to work for them.
- Bad Ending: After you complete a given storyline and go through the credits sequence, you are provided an ending in which something else you put off due to you focusing on other villains caused an apocalypse.
- Bank Robbery: "Lock and Key" is a caper in which you attempt to break into a vault box. Lampshaded as it's considered a tradition in the Larceny family to pull off a bank caper, and called back to in "Breaking the Bank" if you played "Lock and Key."
- Big Bad:
- Continuum and by extension Captain Infinity, who founded Continuum, though you never actually encounter him face to face.
- The villains you work for also have their own Big Bads:
- Mayhem's is Gold Fidelity, the bank that preyed on him and put him in a position that rendered him destitute. It turns out they are sponsored by the King in Yellow, who is manipulating people financially to turn to crime.
- The Overmistress' is the Cult of the Many-Faceted One, who are raising her in order to provide a blood sacrifice to the Many-Faceted One.
- Penny's ends up being The King in Yellow, formerly known as Lenny Larceny, who sold out his family to Continuum.
- The Caper: Each mission you run is considered a caper, where you scope out the caper location and plan how it's is going to work.
- Dating Catwoman: one of your romance options is Farsight.
- Enemy Mine: In certain scenarios, you may end up working with a cape (usually Farsight, but there are exceptions) to defeat another villain.
- Freudian Excuse: Insofar as these villains are "Villains" per
the audience's point of view, you learn how and why the people you work for are deemed 'masks' by society. - From Beyond the Fourth Wall: Penny communicates with you, the player, as a voice in her head. She isn't medium-aware, but she understands that you know things about what's going on that she doesn't, potentially because of other playthroughs.
- Fun with Acronyms: While HATE-4000's name is fairly apt given their pointed distaste in humanity, "HATE" is actually short for Hauke-Alexandros Technology Enterprises, the company that created them.
- Genius Bruiser: Muscle Memory is a cape with psychic powers and is both one of the smartest and easily the most muscular characters in the game.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Penny doesn't seem to do anything outright evil in general, but also doesn't seem to do much criming outside of the capers you help them plan within the game.
- Rule of Three:
- You're given a trial run of three Crimr capers.
- You have three clients you can choose from.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Since this is a game comprised of capers, this is mostly subverted; you help Penny determine what their plan will be and, while things may go wrong, they'll never outright fail.
- Villains Out Shopping: A literal invocation: "Shopping Spree" is a day trip to a mall to run errands for your supervillain of choice.
- Wild Card: The King in Yellow runs both Crimr '''and''' Capebook specifically to profit off of both sides.
