History VideoGame / Jazztronauts

* GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: [[spoiler:The Half-Life 2 NPCs under the Singer's care.]]

** ApocalypseHow/Class0: [[spoiler:A Black Shard destroys the Bar Samsara and Home Base. [[UnexplainedRecovery They survive.]]]]

* TwentyBearAsses: Taken UpToEleven and [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by the Cellist, who even calls it "fetch quest hell."

** All players in the server must consent to picking up a [[spoiler: Black Shard]], which is useful for either [[spoiler: delaying the Black Shard progression to buy time in order to unlock the GoldenEnding, or simply saving it for later as collecting a Black Shard will [[InterfaceScrew destroy all brushes and turn the Void maroon, making it extremely difficult to see and navigate your way through.]]]]

** An empty room exists in [[spoiler: the apartment]] for no real reason, and [[spoiler:??? communicates in an anomalous closet. Similarly to the Singer and their Mewseum.]]

** "True" ending: [[spoiler:Triggered by completing all four sidequest routes in a NewGamePlus and [[TakeAThirdOption refusing to take a side in ???'s proposal.]]]]

** All players in the server must consent to picking up a [[spoiler: Black Shard]], which is useful for either [[spoiler: delaying the Black Shard progression to buy time in order to unlock the GoldenEnding, or simply saving it for later as collecting a Cube will [[InterfaceScrew destroy all brushes and turn the Void maroon, making it extremely difficult to see and navigate your way through.]]]]

** All players in the server must consent to picking up a [[spoiler: Hell Cube]], which is useful for either [[spoiler: delaying the Hell Cube progression to buy time in order to unlock the GoldenEnding, or simply saving it for later as collecting a Cube will [[InterfaceScrew destroy all brushes and turn the Void maroon, making it extremely difficult to see and navigate your way through.]]]]

** [[spoiler: Hell Cubes]] take this UpToEleven. Once everyone confirms that they agree to take it and advance the NewGamePlus story, [[spoiler: the Hell Cube disintegrates all brushes in the map and turns the Void maroon, necessitating that all players collect what they've needed before locking in.]]

** "Normal" ending: [[spoiler:Triggered at the end of any first playthrough, or if a playthrough chooses not to collect the Hell Cubes and/or meet with ???. After chugging the Shard juice, you shatter the Samsara and go with the Band to a new place in the void, something that turns out to be a [[AllJustADream creativity-induced hallucination.]]]]

* CerberusSyndrome: The NewGamePlus story, which shifts the in-game lore from "your average VisualNovel-type gameplay" to "intrigue plot" as you uncover more and more about [[spoiler: a fifth cat who has become distressingly disgruntled by the Band's antics and makes no attempt to stop for idle chatter or jokes.]]

* ManipulativeBastard: Implied to be the Pianist's true nature.

* Really700YearsOld: If you choose to gamble with the cats, the Pianist will state that they've been alive for as long as [[UsefulNotes/GreekMythology Zeus]] was, which puts their age at several centuries if not millennia old.

** The ''Pianist'' is the exact opposite of what comes to mind when imagining a particularly skilled piano performance: abrasive, stone-cold, and sometimes discordant.

* TheStoner: The Cellist is perpetually high on a mixture of weed, cocaine, and other far more dangerous substances. [[AchievementsInIgnorance He implies in the prologue that this actually benefits him, much to the Pianist's dismay.]] His introductory cutscene takes this UpToEleven as he goes so far as to suggest that his internal fluids have been replaced wholesale with his highly volatile and experimental drugs.

* VisualNovel: The medium in which all of the cutscenes are played out (but still using motion, since this is the Source engine), even neatly cut out into separate routes. [[spoiler: Choosing to pursue any route or none at all does not affect the normal ending, but your interactions in the NewGamePlus story will change depending on whether or not you've completed all four routes.]]

* MushroomSamba: Subverted with the Cellist's second cutscene. While he expects you to be hopped up on the new drink he made for several hours and then "wonder why you just purchased a grand piano off of Ebay," he conveniently forgets that human players are more resilient than his kind is, meaning that you simply see a bright flash and then end up borderline incapacitated, [[EveryoneHasStandards leading him to drag you off before you get hurt.]]

* PrecisionFStrike: One (cut-off) piece of dialogue you have the option of saying to the Pianist in the Cellist's third cutscene is "you rat-fucker."

* Really700YearsOld: If you choose to gamble with the cats, the Bartender will casually note that they've been around for centuries.

** It's fairly evident that you as a character aren't taking your interactions in the Samsara that seriously (only seriously doubting the mental state of the Cellist and Pianist and helping along the Singer and Bartender), though your mood and tone gets progressively more solemn and serious as the aforementioned plot thread advances. [[spoiler:Case-in-point, to view the true ending:]]

* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler: Looking closely at the tombstone in the post-game story will reveal your username inscribed on it, suggesting that your original self is long dead.]]

** "Normal" ending: [[spoiler:Triggered at the end of any first playthrough. After chugging the Shard juice, you shatter the Samsara and go with the Band to a new place in the void, something that turns out to be a [[AllJustADream creativity-induced hallucination.]]]]

* WithFriendsLikeThese: Seriously, ''how are any of the cats still with each other after centuries of being cooped up in the Samsara?!''

[[redirect:Creator/TheCannonGroup]]

''Jazztronauts'' is a custom gamemode released for ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'' in 2018. It revolves around the exploration and looting of every map available for download on the Steam Workshop, with some [[EdutainmentGame edutainment]] aspects regarding the Source engine.

While exploring an adventure map, you come across a team of four anthropomorphic cats who seem to be bickering about... ''something'' [[NoFourthWall that seems to be meta in nature.]] After they catch you on the other side of a windowed room, you're immediately swept into whatever they were talking about earlier, and get whisked away to a bar owned by them known as the Samsara.

This is where you discover what exactly it is they do for a living: [[KleptomaniacHero dissecting Garry's Mod maps for profit and sustenance.]] As it turns out, human players aren't nearly as much of a liability to themselves as the cats themselves are, and you happen to be the ideal employee for the job.

''Jazztronauts'' features a very basic premise: go into a randomly-selected Workshop map, try to steal all the props (even the ones nailed down) and collect the shards the cats need. Once you're done, call the bus and head back to the Samsara, where you can upgrade your gear and purchase some new equipment. To make things a little more exciting, the cats offer different missions for their own ends, which unlock various visual novel-esque cutscenes fleshing out their individual characters. Some even say you might be able to date them once you get far enough...
----
!!Jazztronauts contains examples of the following tropes:
* TwentyBearAsses: Taken UpToEleven and [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by the Cellist, who even calls it "fetch quest hell."
* AchievementsInIgnorance: The Cellist's perpetual drug trip actually enhances his abilities. The Pianist snaps upon realizing that ''[[EpicFail he lost one of the Samsara's guests in Flatgrass]]'' because he was ''sober.''
* AlienGeometries: The door to the Mewseum doesn't follow normal geometry, as the exit isn't even a part of the wall, and looking through the windows shows that there's a normal hall beyond what should be the entrance door.
* AmbiguousGender: The Singer is never referred to with any gendered pronoun, and wears a gender-neutral uniform like the rest of the cats.
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Staring into a brush[[note]]either a prop that's "nailed down" or a part of the map's geometry (with an upgraded snatcher)[[/note]] that's been looted will show a pink void. Inside, it's possible to spot the remaining shards but not what's around it, allowing you to divine the approximate direction and distance you need to take.
* BloodKnight: The first cutscene with the Pianist has her suggesting a coliseum to the Bartender. After the latter rhetorically asks the former whether or not she'd enjoy picking bloodied sand out of her fur, the Pianist simply responds with a flat "yes."
* BunnyEarsLawyer: The Bartender. Maintaining the Samsara and trolley is her job, but you'd think that the presence of the other cats would eventually get to her.[[note]]At least on the outside. The gambling cutscene has her admit that the Cellist's emotional state both impresses and terrifies her relentlessly.[[/note]] This isn't even getting into the fact that countless copies of her T-posing seem to fill the dimensional space between maps.
* ButThouMust: Even though the Cellist explicitly advises not to mess with the Pianist early on (and it's obvious he's speaking the truth ''because'' he's high), the latter's second cutscene forces you to provoke her to advance. However, other interactions with the Pianist allow you to stroke her ego instead of angering her.
* {{Calvinball}}: Downplayed with "flavor-blasted blackjack," which is exactly like blackjack except the players can steal each other's money through unexplained rules.
* CerberusSyndrome: The NewGamePlus story, which shifts the in-game lore from "your average VisualNovel-type gameplay" to "intrigue plot" as you uncover more and more about [[spoiler: a fifth cat who has become distressingly disgruntled by the Band's antics and makes no attempt to stop for idle chatter or jokes.]]
** It's fairly evident that you as a character aren't taking your interactions in the Samsara that seriously (only seriously doubting the mental state of the Cellist and Pianist and helping along the Singer and Bartender), though your mood and tone gets progressively more solemn and serious as the aforementioned plot thread advances. [[spoiler:Case-in-point, to view the true ending:]]
--> '''You:''' [[spoiler: A compelling offer. I propose a third option.]]
* CompositeCharacter: A non-animate example forms [[spoiler: jazz_apartments]]:
** The Bartender once took a shortcut through spacetime and accidentally splintered herself in the process, leaving behind countless t-posing copies of her. [[spoiler: ??? speaks of the Shards in a similar fashion.]]
** [[spoiler:There is a locked room full of chemicals]], the Cellist's calling card.
** An empty room exists in [[spoiler: the apartment]] for no real reason, and [[spoiler:??? communicates in an anomalous closet. Similarly to the Singer and their Mewseum.]]
** The place itself is dark and scary-looking, something right up the Pianist's alley.
* TheCynic: The Pianist, who tends to think poorly of the world around her. Fittingly, they always seem emotionally drained, [[BloodKnight unless bloodshed]] or morbid reality is involved. It's also implied multiple times that she's manipulating the emotions of the crew for her own gains.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: The Bartender only ever knew how to destroy things before she met the rest of the band. While it comes in handy even now, she didn't just destroy props.
* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler: Looking closely at the tombstone in the post-game story will reveal your username inscribed on it, suggesting that your original self is long dead.]]
* DialogueTree: Every cutscene gives you at least one moment where you can select one out of two or three dialogue options. While some simply open up different insights and others are there just to let you back out, the Pianist's cutscenes are distinct in that each branch either portrays you as someone relentlessly stroking her ego or someone utterly fed up with her, [[ButThouMust with the exception of the headcrab fiasco.]]
* EdutainmentGame: Downplayed. While the main KleptomaniacHero objectives are the main focus, the gamemode also serves as a way of teaching how mapmaking works on the side.
* EveryoneHasStandards: The Cellist is always high on various substances, some of which would easily be extremely lethal to a regular human, but drags you off to a safe place in his second cutscene if you choose to drink the mixture he's cooked up.
* ExactWords: When the Pianist assigns you her first mission, she says she's broke. Upon returning:
--> '''Pianist''': I'm morally bankrupt, not destitute.
* GenreShift: The NewGamePlus cutscenes take place in what could easily come out of a horror game. [[spoiler: While there seems to be no real scares, it's important since it sets the tone and mood for the post-game plot, which is largely intrigue-oriented.]]
* HeroicComedicSociopath: The Pianist, aside from being highly cynical and abrasive, is entertained exclusively by morbid and violent things (a common sign that someone is a sociopath or psychopath), and apparently cheering up the Singer in her third quest is a special case for her, since while she didn't want them to cry just then, she makes an aside basically stating she'd let it happen any other time. Of course, it's all PlayedForLaughs.
* HypocriticalHumor: The Pianist is into morbid reality and bloodshed. That being said, when the Singer asked her for strange-looking bodies, she lost her shit.
* INeedToGoIronMyDog: If you choose to back out of the third cutscene with the Cellist, your character will mention something about a horse in the oven.
* InsufferableGenius: The Pianist is incredibly stuck-up during her schemes and appears to find it excruciatingly difficult to admit defeat after the headcrab fiasco - a hint that she may have been using the crew for God knows how long.
* IronicName: The ''Singer'' only ever communicates using an electronic tablet.
** The ''Cellist'' is perpetually high, something that would impede the use of an instrument requiring fine-hand coordination and concentration.
** The ''Pianist'' is the exact opposite of what comes to mind when imagining a particularly skilled piano performance: abrasive, stone-cold, and sometimes discordant.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: The Pianist. Despite her cynical, morally-bankrupt attitude, she's more than willing to share with you if you do her missions, explained early on by her distaste for {{Greed}} and desire to redistribute wealth among those who need it.
** After her scheme involving a bunch of illicitly-obtained headcrabs goes wrong and leaves the Singer in tears, the Pianist agrees to arrange a feast for them, though this is one of many hints that [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk she may be psychologically manipulating the crew and yourself.]]
* KleptomaniacHero: You, and the cats. The most basic description of your job is "enter a map and steal everything that's considered a prop."
* ManipulativeBastard: Implied to be the Pianist's true nature.
* MushroomSamba: Subverted with the Cellist's second cutscene. While he expects you to be hopped up on the new drink he made for several hours and then "wonder why you just purchased a grand piano off of Ebay," he conveniently forgets that human players are more resilient than his kind is, meaning that you simply see a bright flash and then end up borderline incapacitated, [[EveryoneHasStandards leading him to drag you off before you get hurt.]]
* MultipleEndings:
** "Normal" ending: [[spoiler:Triggered at the end of any first playthrough. After chugging the Shard juice, you shatter the Samsara and go with the Band to a new place in the void, something that turns out to be a [[AllJustADream creativity-induced hallucination.]]]]
** "Bad" ending: [[spoiler:Triggered if you don't complete all four sidequest routes in a NewGamePlus.]]
** "True" ending: [[spoiler:Triggered by completing all four sidequest routes in a NewGamePlus and [[TakeAThirdOption refusing to take a side in ???'s proposal.]]]]
* NewGamePlus: You can start one after collecting 100 shards and viewing the ending, which unlocks new tools and multiplies your income. It also unlocks a new plot thread concerning [[spoiler: a fifth individual who seems to have reached their breaking point with the Band's business front.]]
* PrecisionFStrike: One (cut-off) piece of dialogue you have the option of saying to the Pianist in the Cellist's third cutscene is "you rat-fucker."
** In the Pianist's second cutscene, you can either try to warn her that the Singer's right behind her or angrily tell her to shut the fuck up. Like the case above, this is also cut off.
* RageBreakingPoint: In a case of this overlapping with TranquilFury, [[spoiler: the first NewGamePlus cutscene has the unnamed fifth individual apparently reaching this with the Band.]]
--> '''???''': [[spoiler:I'm tired of looking.]]
* RealityWarper: The cats seem to be capable of this, since the Bartender's second mission ends with her distorting spacetime to create a single drink (which makes sense when you think about it, since the game as a whole is MetaFiction and the drink itself concerns the watermelon, one of the most ubiquitous props in Garry's Mod.)
* Really700YearsOld: If you choose to gamble with the cats, the Bartender will casually note that they've been around for centuries.
* TheStoic: The Pianist is eternally emotionally-drained, and has to rely on morbid things to entertain herself as she sees the world as a dull monotone.
* TheStoner: The Cellist is perpetually high on a mixture of weed, cocaine, and other far more dangerous substances. [[AchievementsInIgnorance He implies in the prologue that this actually benefits him, much to the Pianist's dismay.]] His introductory cutscene takes this UpToEleven as he goes so far as to suggest that his internal fluids have been replaced wholesale with his highly volatile and experimental drugs.
* TalkingWithSigns: The Singer only ever communicates using an electronic tablet.
* WithFriendsLikeThese: Seriously, ''how are any of the cats still with each other after centuries of being cooped up in the Samsara?!''
* VisualNovel: The medium in which all of the cutscenes are played out (but still using motion, since this is the Source engine), even neatly cut out into separate routes. [[spoiler: Choosing to pursue any route or none at all does not affect the normal ending, but your interactions in the NewGamePlus story will change depending on whether or not you've completed all four routes.]]

** An empty room exists in [[spoiler: the apartment]] for no real reason, and [[spoiler:??? communicates in an anomalous closet. Similarly to the Singer and her Mewseum.]]

* ButThouMust: Even though the Cellist explicitly advises not to mess with the Pianist early on (and it's obvious he's speaking the truth ''because'' he's high), the latter's second cutscene forces you to provoke her to advance.

* MushroomSamba: Subverted with the Cellist's second cutscene. While he expects you to be hopped up on the new drink he made for several hours and then "wonder why you just purchased a grand piano off of Ebay,"" he conveniently forgets that human players are more resilient than his kind is, meaning that you simply see a bright flash and then end up borderline incapacitated, [[EveryoneHasStandards leading him to drag you off before you get hurt.]]

* VisualNovel: The medium in which all of the cutscenes are played out (but still using motion, since this is the Source engine), even neatly cut out into separate routes.

* TheCynic: The Pianist, who tends to think poorly of the world around her. Fittingly, they always seem emotionally drained, [[BloodKnight unless bloodshed]] or morbid reality is involved.

* TheStoner: The Cellist seems to always be high. [[AchievementsInIgnorance He implies in the prologue that this actually benefits him, much to the Pianist's dismay.]] His introductory cutscene takes this UpToEleven as he goes so far as to suggest that his internal fluids have been replaced wholesale with his highly volatile and experimental drugs.

* TheStoner: The Cellist seems to always be high. [[AchievementsInIgnorance He implies in the prologue that this actually benefits him, much to the Pianist's dismay.]] His introductory cutscene takes this UpToEleven as he goes so far as to suggest that his internal fluids have been replaced wholesale with his highly volatile and experimental drugs.

* TheAlcoholic[=/=]TheStoner: The Cellist seems to always be either high or drunk. [[AchievementsInIgnorance He implies in the prologue that this actually benefits him, much to the Pianist's dismay.]]

* TheStoic: The Pianist is eternally emotionally-drained, and has to rely on morbid things to entertain herself as she sees the world as a dull monotone.

* TheAlcoholic[=/=]TheStoner: The Cellist seems to always be either high or drunk. [[AchievementsInIgnorance She implies in the prologue that this actually benefits her, much to the Pianist's dismay.]]

* BloodKnight: The first cutscene with the Pianist has her suggesting a coliseum to the Barista. After the latter rhetorically asks the former whether or not she'd enjoy picking bloodied sand out of her fur, the Pianist simply responds with a flat "yes."
* BunnyEarsLawyer: The Barista. Maintaining the Samsara and trolley is her job, but you'd think that the presence of the other cats would eventually get to her.[[note]]At least on the outside. The gambling cutscene has her admit that the Cellist's emotional state both impresses and terrifies her relentlessly.[[/note]] This isn't even getting into the fact that countless copies of her T-posing seem to fill the dimensional space between maps.

* Really700YearsOld: If you choose to gamble with the cats, the Barista will casually note that they've been around for centuries.
* TheStoic: The Pianist is eternally emotionally-drained, and has to rely on morbid things to entertain herself as she sees the world as a dull monotone.
* TheOneGuy: Can happen in singleplayer with a male playermodel, since all of the cats are girls.