Talents in Disjunction represent permanent bonuses to your character’s passive statistics. Whether you want to play as a melee combat expert, ghost-like stealth character, or a beefy tank with a lot of health, Talents allow you to customize each character to fit your playstyle.
Each character in Disjunction has a unique Talent Tree with four paths within it to choose from. You can choose to specialize fully within one path or mix-and-match different talents to finely tune how you want each character to play. As an example, Joe’s four Talent paths include:
Boxer - Represents Joe's ferocity, strength, and skill in close combat. It contributes to his melee attack speed and ability to stun enemies.
Mercenary - Represents Joe's marksmanship, vigilance, and skill in ranged combat. It contributes to his ranged attack speed and ability to find ammo pick-ups.
Point Man - Represents Joe's athletic ability, fitness, and capacity for movement. It contributes to his movement speed while crouching and movement speed while running.
Survivor - Represents Joe's endurance, tenacity, and sheer strength of will. It contributes to his health points and energy points.
Talents are bought using Experience Points, which are gained by completing mission objectives. Talents can be rechosen between levels, so you’re never locked in to any decision that you make. This allows you to experiment and see which playstyle works best for you!
Since Disjunction is set in the near future, we knew from the beginning that we didn’t want some of the more high-tech elements of traditional cyberpunk stories. We didn’t want flying cars, human-looking robots, or mind-uploading machines. We wanted a setting that felt rooted in reality and that felt plausible in the year 2048.
Because of that, the game’s sense of style and design took a lot of inspiration from retrofuturism. The aesthetic of Disjunction isn’t glitzy or sophisticated. It’s grimy, crumbling, and somewhat dystopian. Most people live in decaying apartments with technology that you would have expected to be outdated by the year 2048. Even the homes of the rich and powerful have architecture inspired by Art Deco, giving it a stuck-in-the-past feel. In a way, the game’s substance informs its style.
On top of that, we knew that we wanted the game to feature pixel art, both because we love it aesthetically and because it would help sell the “throwback” and “retro” elements of the game. It took a lot of iteration to really nail this aesthetic, but thankfully we work with some really incredible artists who completely understood what we were going for. Plus, pixel art has the added benefit of being relatively quick to produce, which makes iteration a much smoother process compared with other art styles.
Overall, we’re really happy with how the game’s style turned out. It’s a nice balance between the dystopian elements of the setting (like the crumbling infrastructure) and the more sci-fi elements (like holoprojected cats). There’s a nice contrast between the new and the old in Disjunction that helps give it a unique feel compared to other cyberpunk media.
The third character that you play as in Disjunction is a grey hat hacker who goes by the alias “Spider.” Spider made a name for herself in cyberspace while escaping from her past in the brutal Chinatown underworld. She used to work as a hacker for a Chinatown crime syndicate named the Harmonious Path, which her family has strong connections with. After several years, she grew disillusioned and cut ties with both her family and her past.
At the start of the game, Spider has managed to eke out a living on her own, living a quiet life spent mainly in cyberspace. Things change when her cousin, the current leader of the Harmonious Path, is killed in a violent coup. She is contacted by her estranged father and asked to help him restore the balance of power in Chinatown. Either out of a feeling of duty to her family, or because she doesn’t want to see her neighborhood descend into chaos, she accepts. As is often the case in the underworld, her mission ends up being more sinister than she bargained for.
Spider is a reserved, calculating, and fiercely independent person. She actively tries not to form connections with others, because she doesn’t trust anybody. Still, she has a strong sense of responsibility and cares more than she lets on.
Spider is in her late 20s, sports a buzzed haircut, and has a cybernetic neural implant embedded into the side of her skull. She always carries a handheld holographic projector to distract any would-be pursuers, as well as a shockglove in case things get dicey. She has a tattoo of a large spider crawling on her arm.
Joe “Lockjaw” Murphy, the second character that you play as in Disjunction, is a washed-up boxer and ex-con trying to recover from the mysterious death of his daughter, Maria. Joe has a checkered past, made up of stints in the military, organized crime, prison, and unlicensed boxing. He’s been through a lot, and has had time to regret most of the decisions he’s made. Maria was one of the few things Joe did not regret.
At the start of the game, Joe is severely depressed and emotionally unstable. Since Maria’s death, he has been drowning his sorrows in booze and brawls, and is clearly battling his own inner demons as much as his opponent in the boxing ring. It isn’t hard for Joe to feel as if he failed Maria - it’s hard to be a good father when you aren’t around. Joe knows that, and it’s killing him.
In fact, Joe probably would have died if not for Curtis, the bartender at the boxing club where Joe fights. Curtis convinces Joe to pull himself together and investigate Maria’s death, which Curtis suspects to be more suspicious than the police seem to think. Joe heads out into the dark alleys of New York City, his mind bent on justice… or revenge.
Joe is an African-American man in his early 50s. He is broad-shouldered and muscular, wears a black leather jacket, and has a short crewcut. He has an enormous mechanical arm, and a metal jaw that covers the bottom half of his face.
Frank Monroe, the first character that you play as in Disjunction, is a jaded private detective living and working out of his office in Brooklyn. Frank used to be a cop in the NYPD, before a run-in with a Russian gangster left him with acid burns where his eyes used to be. In the span of a week, he lost his job, his vision, and his sobriety. Frank eventually managed to dust himself off and get a pair of glowing cybernetic eyes installed, restoring some semblance of his former life. On the surface, Frank tries to appear serious, detached, and professional. Depending on how the player chooses to interpret Frank’s personality, this surface can be paper-thin.
At the start of the game, Frank is contacted by his friend Sibyl and hired to look into the arrest and possible framing of her husband, Lamar. Through either loyalty or a desperate need for cash, Frank accepts the job and finds himself embroiled in a much stickier situation than the one he signed up for.
Frank’s persona is an amalgamation of various famous hardboiled detectives like Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade. He’s a walking trope, because he wants to be. Beneath it all, he’s quite a bit less stable than he lets on. He hasn’t completely recovered from his alcoholism, is still plagued with acid-themed nightmares, and is most likely addicted to painkillers.
Frank has short brown hair, parted on the side. He likes to stay clean shaven to look more professional than he actually is. His face has more wrinkles than it probably should for a man his age, and his frame is slender from years of heavy substance abuse. He always carries his revolver at his side.
Since the Steam Summer Festival we've updated the Demo and are bringing a whole new level to the fore that's not been seen in a previous steam festival.
The Completionist Plays Disjunction @ IndieLand 2020
We recently transported The Completionist and Shane Gill from DidYouKnowGaming to the dystopian, futuristic version of New York City to play over an hour of Disjunction.
Our very own Erwan LeCun was beamed virtually into proceedings and was quizzed on all things Disjunction development, story, gameplay styles and more. After an intense gung-ho, all-out destructive set of decisions, Jirard and Shane also get a glimpse that every life spared or taken has an effect in the gameplay and story.
Watch the hour of destructive shenanigans unfold: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/751930850?t=35h2m56s
Like what you see? Well we have good news for you all – you can dive in for yourself and play the very same slice of Disjunction for yourself by downloading the demo right here on Steam, but in your own unique way and with your own in-game decisions (and in the comfort of your own home…)!
A big thank you to Jirard and the team at That One Video Gamer for inviting us along to participate in IndieLand 2020 and given us an opportunity to show more of you out their Disjunction – the event itself was set up to not only show off an incredible wealth of upcoming indie games, but also to raise money for The Open Hand Foundation, which was set up to aid and support dementia research.
You can still donate to the cause, via their specially set up Tiltify page: https://tiltify.com/open-hand-foundation/indieland-2020
Stay tuned for more on Disjunction by heading on over to our Twitter for new content, or come make yourself at home in our Discord, where you can hang out with the dev team and even submit you demo gameplay feedback directly.
Brand new Gameplay Trailer & Extended playable Demo!
We are thrilled to share a brand new trailer for Disjunction!
The trailer reveals Disjunction’s third playable character, Spider, fully for the first time. Up until now, this former grey hat hacker has been largely in the shadows, but when the Harmonious Path, a brutal Chinatown crime syndicate, murders her cousin, she is contacted by her estranged father and called on to help restore the balance of power in New York’s Chinatown.
https://youtu.be/SRV6iO-vu4g We’re also delighted to say that the extended playable demo revealed at PAX Online X EGX Digital will be staying live on Steam! Following its debut last week, we are now making the demo available permanently so that you can jump into the cybernetic universe of Disjunction any time you like.
Experience a mysterious role-playing game set in the dystopian underworld of New York City. Choose your playstyle and use an arsenal of futuristic tech, weaponry and cybernetic upgrades to engage in lethal, high-octane combat, or utilize distraction techniques and non-lethal attacks to stick to the shadows and avoid detection. Experience a reactive story shaped by your actions, unlock cybernetic upgrades to augment your abilities, and crush entire factions or convince them to aid your cause. Your destiny is yours to write.
See what everyone is captivated and excited about!
This year, behemoth events PAX and EGX have merged into a single mega-event, joining forces to bring to life the biggest digital version of their shows! We were due to have the Disjunction team at both shows to meet fans and show off a brand new playable demo!
Since we can’t be there in person, we have decided to bring the show and Disjunction direct to YOUR home, with a BRAND NEW demo (now available to play right here on Steam) and a sit down discussion with Erwan LeCun, Co-Founder and Lead Developer on Disjunction, from Ape Tribe Games!
Let’s get to it!
Q1) Disjunction is currently on display at the Sold Out booth as part of the virtual EGX and PAX 2020 joint show. There is a brand-new demo on display which people can download right now on Steam and try it at home – What can people expect from the demo?
This demo features the first three levels of Disjunction, and two of the three playable characters that will be present in the final game. You’ll start off playing as Frank, a private eye, as he investigates the suspicious arrest of a controversial community activist. From there you’ll play as Joe, an unlicensed boxer seeking answers and revenge for the recent death of his daughter. Within these levels, players will experience intense sealth-action gameplay, a reactive story with branching dialogue, and an immersive cyberpunk world.
Q2) A big part of the allure of Disjunction comes from allowing players to carve their own way in the game and enabling them to tackle situations any way they like, with a mixture of stealth and ‘all-out’ methods – was it quite a challenge to balance out this freedom?
From a design perspective, it was definitely a challenging balancing act for us to pull off. We wanted both playstyles (as well as a mixture of the two) to feel fun, challenging, and viable. We had to constantly playtest levels and character abilities to make sure that there was never a situation where a particular playstyle felt easier or more rewarding. In the end, I think we struck a good balance in our design. Half of our players go in stealthily and the other half go in guns blazing, so I think that’s a good sign!
Q3) So out with it, Erwan… What type of Disjunction player are you? We have a feeling you’d put on quite a ‘Ballet of Destruction’ style show.
No way! I’m the type of person who has beaten the original Deus Ex game five times, and never once thought about killing anyone. In fact, if non-lethality is ever an option in game, that’s what I go for. That includes games like Thief, Deus Ex, and Dishonored, which are all huge influences on Disjunction. That said, there is something really satisfying about blowing enemies away in Disjunction…
Q4) There’s a lot of choice in Disjunction, building out all of those decisions and splits in the path must have been quite a challenge. How did that process begin and how did you know when to stop and tie it all up?
This was probably the hardest part of developing Disjunction. We really wanted to offer the player a lot of freedom in the choices they made, but also have those choices have satisfying reactivity. On the other hand, we had to be able to do this in the confines of being an indie game with relatively limited resources when compared to AAA RPGs. Our method was to determine where each character would start, and where they could end up given a range of possible choices the player could make. Once those start and end points were established, it became easier to “fill in the gaps” of the story, since we knew all the possible places that each character could end up. We found it very helpful to refer to a list of confines for each character, so that we knew the types of choices we could offer to the player that would have reactivity later on. Mostly though, it just involved writing many drafts of the story/dialogue/choices and rewriting things when it didn’t make any sense or if we couldn’t justify the payoff for a certain choice.
Q5) You’ve been building the game with your brothers. What influences did you each bring to the table and equally was Disjunction always what you had in mind?
The interesting thing about my brothers and I is that we are remarkably similar. We always had a very good idea of what Disjunction should be about, how it should feel to play, and how the characters should act. We ended up with a very solid instantiation of our original vision. That said, we do each have our own quirks: Ronan is an awesome systems designer. He meticulously made sure all of our damage/health/energy numbers were perfectly balanced for each possible playstyle, and that each ability/upgrade/talent was worth using. He also really cares about the internal consistency of our setting and making sure that nothing is “stupid.” Kevin is good with dialogue and making sure that each character has a unique and recognizable voice. I’m always trying to make sure the “big picture” of the game really works, and that we’re tying all of our different systems and ideas together into a coherent experience.
Q6) You wrote the story for Disjunction quite some time ago, but the interesting thing to us is that whilst it is set decades into the future, the story and themes seem grounded within the realms of reality. What kicked off the thinking behind the overall scenario and what do you hope Disjunction conveys to the player?
I think cyberpunk stories are unique because even though they’re set in the future, they often serve as a vehicle for exploring contemporary social and economic issues. On the surface, Blade Runner is a movie about Harrison Ford shooting replicants, but it’s really about the changing nature of humanity in the face of rapidly evolving technology. Likewise Deus Ex (the first one) plays like a conspiracy-filled adventure, but it’s really about structural failures in our government and the growing influence of corporate power over society. When we were writing Disjunction, we looked at all of the trends in the United States that our generation grew up with: rising income inequality, unchecked climate change, growing corporate influence in politics, and general social instability. We then amplified all of these to ridiculous levels. In Disjunction, many people live in shanty towns while the rich live in luxury arcologies, sea levels have risen so much due to climate change that an enormous flood wall surrounds New York City, corporate lobbying basically runs the country, and divisions based on social class are worse than they ever have been. The setting and story of Disjunction isn’t so much a prediction of what is going to happen in the future, as much as it’s a radical depiction of what is already happening. Disjunction isn’t a preachy game, but we do hope that some people will play through it and draw some parallels between it and the world we’re all currently living in.
Q7) Disjunction could make for a pretty incredible movie or TV series – if you had to pick cast members for the three main characters or Frank, Joe and ‘Spider’, who would you cast in those roles? Fun question! Let’s go with Aliens-era Michael Bien for Frank, Chad Coleman for Joe, and Awkwafina for Spider.
Q8) If you could pick up a cybernetic enhancement, what would it be? I’d pick Spider’s cybernetic neural implant. I’d browse Reddit using only my thoughts!
Q9) You have to spend a week with one of the main characters of Disjunction – Who are you staying with and what are you both doing? I’d pick Joe (assuming he’s in a good mood). He’d have some crazy stories to tell.
Q10) If you could give a single handy tip to those about to jump into Disjunction, what would it be? Take your time, and assess each situation carefully!
Q11) Finally, do you have a final message to those waiting to get their mitts on Disjunction when it releases? Thanks for your patience and for supporting us during development! We’re almost there.
A big thank you to Erwan for taking the time to answer our questions - we hope you enjoyed this interview and look into the DNA of Disjunction! Don’t forget, you can now download a brand new Disjunction demo, right now here on Steam! Please give it a go and let us know your thoughts and if your playstyle is more “Ballet of Destruction” or “Erwan LeCun”!
Follow us on Twitter for more news and developer updates on Disjunction @ApeTribeGames.
Disjuction at PAX EGX
The time is now upon us...
Disjunction can now be found at the Sold Out booth for EGX / PAX online event that’s just gone live!
