No Kings Inside

Early Access note: part of what follows isn't in the game yet. Playable today: memory and rumour, building a crew, brewing and smuggling, the guards, fighting, visiting days, the notebook. Still coming: Mercer's story, announcing your own gang and raids, the two ways out.

You don't start this game as a gangster. Daniel Mercer was half-owner of a small trucking company, right up until a driver turned up dead in a harbor warehouse and every piece of evidence pointed at him. The man who arranged it was his partner, Glenn Harlan. Mercer finds that out on his first night in Greyhollow, from a whisper in the dark.

Greyhollow Correctional Facility: 120 inmates, four gangs, guards with very different ideas about the job, and a headcount at six every morning. You have no money, no crew, and nobody you owe. That last part won't last.

EVERYONE SEES. NOBODY FORGETS.

Each of Greyhollow's 120 inmates lives by his own memory. They know who you borrowed from at the commissary, whether you paid up, who turned and ran when the fight started, and they talk about it over dinner. Stories get bigger every time they cross the yard. That's how you get a name: the one with nerve, the one to fear, a man of his word. Or a snitch, a coward, a turncoat. Which one depends on who was watching.

A CREW FROM NOTHING

Your first week is a lonely one. Then the ones nobody protects, the ones who saw you fight, start drifting your way. They don't want money. They want someone to stand behind. Hire men, hand out ranks, give your crew a name. Hold ground, collect, and hit a rival's operation in the middle of the night. And remember the ambitious man you passed over. He will.

SUGAR, A STILL AND A GUARD'S PRICE

A bag of sugar in your cell turns to pruno overnight, to liquor in the still, and to cash in the yard. Powder and pills aren't made inside. They come in on visiting day, or with a guard who has a price. Don't leave that bag sitting too long. The next cell notices first. Then the patrol stops at your door.

THE GUARDS ARE HUMAN (MOSTLY)

Some are honest, some are lazy, some want their cut. They'll come running when a fight breaks out, just not right away, and they only know what they saw or heard. First a warning, then your cell, then solitary.

FISTS, BOOTS, CONCRETE

Fights happen in real time and rarely one-on-one: combos, blocks, takedowns, finishing kicks. Lifting in the gym actually makes you stronger. Your rivals lift too. Lose, and you won't die; you'll wake up in the infirmary. But the whole block saw you hit the floor.

THE PEOPLE OUTSIDE

Visiting days are Wednesday and Saturday. A friend on the outside can ask questions for you, or knock on someone's door if it comes to that. Just remember that the men who don't like you in here have friends out there too.

THE MISSING PAGES

Who sent Mercer here, and why, is buried in a case file, in the back pages of someone's ledger, in a name a visitor lets slip. Some of the pieces are lies. You write everything in your notebook and strike out what doesn't hold up.

TWO WAYS OUT

Climb to the top of Greyhollow: the ground is yours, your rivals have bent the knee, and the guard at the door is looking the other way. Or go over the fence one night. For that you need a route, a tool, a blind hour, and a car waiting outside with the engine running. Just don't take too long. You're not the only one in here with a plan.