THE DEVIL'S IMAGO
❖
Writing and Art by EUGÈNE SAINT-GOBELIN
Game Engine and Audio by SORDIDUS PUBLIUS LATRINUS
Character Portraits and Additional Art by CATHERINE de la HAUTE-CROIX des BEÛNES
❖
~30 minutes; one ending.
❖
CONTENT WARNINGS
INSECTS, DEATH, SEX, NUDITY, BODY HORROR, ROT & MOULD, EPIDEMICS, BLOODLETTING & BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS 🔑
Download
Development log
- Small QoL Update, Asset Sources File AddedOct 26, 2023
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Do you use Twine to make these stories? And what software do you use to draw in the art?
hello!
I want to thank you for this game, I played your CYCLE by chance ages ago, and returned to see what's new. This game blew me away, the things you do with text, and the audiovisual direction! It's like I watched something between A Field in England and some old symbolist movie, only it's also a layered, enveloping book. Oo-wee that was a ride.
...And a few trips to my search engine of choice, too. LOVE that you explored the Occitan setting, this adds such a powerful, timeless social dimension to the story, it all comes together without being on the nose. The horror of power!
Also as I understand you are the host of the Manifesto Jam? Thanks for that, too! What a productive and punk idea, and some really good stuff there
thank you! i enjoyed watching a field in england for the first time after i made this and being like ooohh…
yeah the provence setting… i’m from paris and always found it interesting/confronting that france as a country centralised its power to the point of suppressing any dialects within its borders, and i wanted to explore the transitory period when all of that started to get a lot of momentum. always love when my work leads to people opening up wikipedia or whatever.
and yeah manifesto jam was a great time, thanks for the kind words!
Eloquent, vivid, and hypnotic. The visuals are top-notch, and I'm intrigued by how the very same drawing of a gaze seemed to feel completely different each time.
Major and minor spoilers below:
Do I understand correctly that the Historian was misgendering Dominico thorough the whole story? And also, is the Devil obligated to see the deal through personally? He couldn't have possibly been taking orders.
Before the author responds, I'll add that the story emphasizes the fact that the village is in Provençal, south of France, they speak Occitan, not French. That's why their names sound unusual for us (Duomenico, Ninoun, Mamet), and why Duomenico has to translate. For example, the character Guihèn would be named Guillaume in French (guessing both sound roughly like "Gii-YOM"), and Rogièr is the Occitan counterpart for the French Roger (ro-ZHEE).
Also very mild spoilers below:
So, the Historian/Devil just pointedly uses the French — metropolitan, "civilized" — version of the character's name: Dominique. (And btw that name is unisex).
That is also why villagers feel remote from the Crown and alienated from the people in the capital (and also why they are considered / consider themselves heretics, they're leftover Huguenots as the epilogue hints). Hence also the connection with Greeks (Phocaean Nymphs: Phocaea established a powerful colony in South France called Massalia, modern Marseille), and the Farandola they're dancing (the signature holiday dance in Provençal).
i think about this all the time
fuck i love the artwork and story
The sound design is amazing! To say nothing of the story, of course. I love how the epilogue contextualizes it, makes it even darker, somehow.
literally been telling everyone i know about this story. so well-made. life altering
i feel like i've just experienced an evil version of la chimera and i love it, thank you so much for your work!
thank you! funny you mention la chimera, i watched it last year after someone talked about it in relation to this game and i totally agreed lol… not escaping the “la chimera but evil” allegations.
I read Devil's Imago about a week ago. Not a day has passed where I haven't thought about it. It's such a charming story, and I feel like it really sucks you in just as our protagonist becomes intrigued and gets drawn into something much bigger than him and his village. I really like all the themes and concepts at play here, I'm sure I'll continue to think about them months on. I really enjoyed how this story feels like a digital collage, the images, original artwork, and sound design all come together to really immerse you. This story hit so many notes that really worked for me, I don't think I could properly put into words how immensely I enjoyed it. It is a special little gem. If you can stomach the content warnings, please take the time to gaze into it.
Very creepy. I'm not sure what the wet dream had to do with the rest of the story, but otherwise I enjoyed it a lot
it's about the seduction, the forbidden
I recommend this game to all my most coolnasty friends
Was this made in Unity? It's so sleek and delicious.
lol nah it was made in html, css and inkrunner!
Can I please take part in the next jam?
No. The Domino jams are not open to the public.
sick as hell
Amazing experience!!! Very inspiring
This was really really cool! You don't really get to see that period of time through the perspective people outside of Paris, or just hear patois in general. I loved the visuals, I really felt the Disco Elysium inspiration with the character portraits and thought it was cute. Super good game.
This is so satisfying yet leaves me craving more, as if I was in a book store and picked up the book with the intentions to just skim it. Only to have realized hours passed and I read a quarter of the book and had to leave, and once I got home all I could do was think back on it and wish I had bought the damn book.
This is amazingly horrifying, how is this free?!!
most of the best things in life are free 😏
Words cannot describe this fully. Everything about this is an experience, just that. The lack of knowledge about what you're going into truly adds to it, makes every thing just hit that much harder. Some parts were disturbing but not overly so, instead the kind of disturbing that sits around in your mind, lingers there instead of hitting you all at once.
woah
that was very beautiful and also horrifying. The presentation is next level, very inspiring all around!
Incredible! I can't stop thinking about it
This should count as a religious experience, absolutely fantastic, I can´t believe I got to experience this for free
missed opportunity to call it the devil's mango :)
Incredibly gripping, every title card felt like a strike of lightning.
The joy of playing this as a corporal experience wow
That was fantastic
Love it. Creepy, atmospheric
real good shit!!!
the art, the writing, the presentation.... gorgeous. the old timey medical diagrams to hammer home specific lines was particularly inspired..... amazing work
dazed by the singular aesthetic and chapter rhythms, very inspiring thank you ✨
Average year as a transgender peasant in medieval europe
Fuck yes!
YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! okay fuck chilling, brilliant, amazing, wonderful, im fucking vibrating!
This is incredibly terrifying. Loved it.
fully sickos for this one. immaculate vibes
Wow!! Wow wow!! That was great!!!
Lovely portraits.
loved this <3