Glory Hounds. Glory Hounds.

I need Issue 2. 

I have replayed issue 1 3 times as a comfort read while waiting for another update, and in a meantime I think theres something to say about how Glory Hounds works within the larger cannon of Echo Project games.

The small allusions to horror within a romantic context, the overt references to Echo and Adastra, the uncomfortable feeling your getting manipulated by the main “good guys” all beg you to not view this as its own story, but from an understanding of its writers and therefore dig deeper at what is seemingly a trope-y story. If that didn’t come naturally as a defence mechanism to you yet.

So I want to look at what Glory Hounds does that makes it such an engaging introduction to this story, being a much more manageable bite-sized chunk of Echo Project writing.

So firstly; concept. A dalmatian called Alex de Rooij is starting to feel his back and time to realize his potential cave in within the futuristic city of Schippersburg, Batavia- a clear allusion to real life Amsterdam, Netherlands. As a dutchie its pretty cool seeing this setting realised as the city isn’t just much cooler looking but also remodeled to make it inhabitable to a variety of different species. 

The canals are dug significantly deeper, to allow an underwater mirror city below the main one were aquatic species can feel at home. The main connection between the two being the underwater trains which are used by Land lubbers and the aquatic species alike, which sound as dangerous as they sound rad. Alex describes almost getting killed by one of them when falling into the canal once. When the temperature falls and it gets to below 0, I imagine the top of the canals freeze and people will skate over them, gazing below as live and trains continue below the ice.

Very Zootopia.

This is a furry game after all, but something kind of absent in other Echo Project games. Early on in Echo, Chase lambasts the lack of an indoor swimming pool in his house, needing to rely on outdoor ones instead. He also mentions somewhere that Pueblo, the nice university far away from the god forsaken town does have large swimming pools that he loved. And in Adastra, there doesn’t seem to be anything specific to the furry inhabitants of the moon we wouldn’t be found in a star-faring Caesars legion. So while we do get glimpses of furgonomics, it’s not realised nearly as well as in Glory hounds. An advantage of having a city setting were a large and diverse population in a furry world HAS to be accommodated. 

This is also were some unease creeps it’s way in however- as its explained that all the technology that allowed Schippersburg to be this futuristic by the year 2035 is the work of a single company, Brevard,  that has turned the city into the start of its own empire. 

They created the underwater trains, they are Alex’s boss (and is the logo of the shirt Alex always wears), create the TV that- ok. The TV needs it’s own section.

Every time you boot it up and gets an initial command, the AI voice ends with the motto “when you think of the future, think of Brevard”. It gets said so often that it’s become a nothing phrase to Alex. Like how “remember to like and subscribe” barley register as words anymore, but as a binary call to action. A neural pathway so frequently used it has dedicated cache labelled with the company or service name. The company has moved rent free in your head@!@!@!

The TV can also detect your *Emotional State*, the ultimate input into it’s algorithm to recommend you exactly what you would be receptive to in that moment. They do use voice commands, which imo seems less efficient than just a button when your slumped over the couch flicking through channel. It is a classic sci fi hallmark to be fair. The amount of control this company has is honestly terrifying, but the way it’s presented is that it’s normal to the people of this world. In real life we often find ourselves slowly accepting the latest technologies, even if we initially understand they to be intrusive or brain rotting, and lose the ability to see just how far we have gone with our new frame. By making this very intrusive tech normal, we are reminded of this fact and how normalized our own tech is to us, and that we absolutely would make something that intrusive our new normal.

This theme of normalizing the unthinkable Coooooouulld be a theme for Glory Hounds, and we will see more evidence of that in how Dawn Hound subtly manipulates Alex’s towards his own ends, but we will get to that.

Before we continue though, I want to talk about how Glory Hounds doesn’t shy away from, and just oozes with  making parallels and links regardless of how obvious they might seem.

Like, the Brevard Logo is an abstracted sun reaching over the horizon, but almost shaped like a cookie cutter. Something ambitious and childish, which ties into how other characters tell Alex that theyre all a bit old for superhero movies now. All while Raoul is shown to BE kind of naive and ambitious, obsessed with comics and even becoming the spandex superhero,  Dawn Hound. A Dawn, like the one depicted in the Brevard Logo. ITS ALL CONNECTED!

It makes the whole story feel so much more connected and cohesive. It makes the narrative analyst in me’s ears prick up.

This inspries me to try and tie more elements of my art more cohesively, because the brain juices of meaning are overflowing with this game. I’m by no means an incredible story analyst and maybe the fact it is so simple is what is helping me pick up on this but Daamn. Is it satisfying to see this web of meaning turn over a whole work. 

One thing that furry fiction allows is to have the species of a character give some insight into their character- how they lean into or out of their unique bodies and behaviors. Wolves are territorial and loyal, otters are stout and aquatic, foxes are sly and energetic, that sort of thing.

Alex is a Dalmation, and reading off of the American Kennel Club, Dals apparently “The Dal was originally bred to guard horses and coaches, and some of the old protective instinct remains.”

Notice the line “some of”. Alex is 29 

This is true for Alex- he recklessly goes to protect Mrs De Bruin and joins Dawn Hound with the leap of faith that he *could* actually save people. It’s too early to say how that goes- the framing device gives a comically bad precedent but we’ll see.

It could also be said that he has buried a lot of his protective, heroic qualities under the relative comfort and stability his current life gives, and the leap of faith in joining Dawn Hound is a rejection of it- into the unknown were his passions lay.

But also, the biggest reason Alex gives for joining Dawn Hound isn’t actually to be that heroic- its the fear of not doing something with his life, and seeing this as a possible last chance to achieve that. His primary goal isn’t heroism, so it will be interesting to see how he reacts to that ideal while supposedly embodying it.

They also mention how muscular and elegant they are like 6 times, and well.. They captured that alright.

Now Dawn Hound, or Raoul.

Dawn Hound is a Rottweiler, and between Alex and him, he embodies the descriptors to the T.

“The Rottweiler is a robust working breed of great strength descended from the mastiffs of the Roman legions. A gentle playmate and protector within the family circle, the Rottie observes the outside world with a self-assured aloofness. The glistening, short black coat with smart rust markings add to the picture of imposing strength. A thickly muscled hindquarters powers the Rottie’s effortless trotting gait. …The aloof demeanor these world-class guardians present to outsiders belies the playfulness, and downright silliness, that endear Rotties to their loved ones. (No one told the Rottie he’s not a toy breed, so he is liable plop onto your lap for a cuddle.) “

Again, the muscles are on point, but the characterization of powerful and aloof being let down by a streak of silliness is perfect for Raoul. He’s the most powerful character in the story by a WIDE margin, both in strength, influence, and wealth. But he’s also naive and silly, to the point your not sure how well he realizes what he’s doing is kind of fucked up.

So those were my thoughts playing Glory hounds Issue 1. Im looking forward to what the future holds