Canon 2: Masterpiece By Masterpiece (1995)
Canon 2: Masterpiece by Masterpiece is a 1-3 Player immersive storytelling sim developed by R.D.O. Games in late 1994 (officially released in some time in late 1995) as an exclusive for Sony's PlayStation console. The game is set shortly after the destruction of every existing piece of human artistic expression (o/k/a Canon 1) in the year 2020 by The Machine; players are responsible for crafting something worthy of a place in the next annal of history and avoiding a premature death leaving behind an unfinished posthumous work.
The game is known for its early mix of rogue-like and immersive simulation elements and its inscrutable scoring system.
Canon 2: Masterpiece by Masterpiece is an Actual-Play Podcast wherein Medley plays Canon 2: Masterpiece By Masterpiece (1995) while accompanied by an extremely special, smart, beautiful and talented guest playing as Player 1. The podcast is produced and distributed by The Real Discordian Organization - Office Concerning Esoteric Archival Necessitations.
This page serves as the Wiki for both the podcast and the game itself.
Recent Episodes
| # | Episode Link | Masterpiece Format | Masterpiece Title | Player 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Common Gameplay Elements
Player 1 begins the game with 50 HP (Health Points) and 15 AP (Avant Points) and is, on paper, the only player making pivotal decisions. The experience of playing as Player 2 (or Player 3) has been described alternately as 'Diddy Kong-esque' and 'Being the Puppetmaster' [citations needed], with Players 2-3 core gameplay consisting of aiding Player 1 in making their decisions as wisely as possible. Players 2 and 3 do not have HP, but start each game with 5 AP.
The game is split into 5 sequences:
I - Prologue
- Player 1 is informed they have saved one piece of art from Canon 1 and must decide what it is and explain why.
- The Players decide on one of The Sacred Five Forms (TV, Movie, Book/Comic, Anime/Manga, Video Game), as well as 2 of 10 Genre Elements.
II - Act 1
- The Players submit a Title for the Masterpiece.
- The Players work out an Elevator Pitch for the Masterpiece.
III - Act 2
- The Players flesh out The 'Tagonists (pro- and an-).
- The Players figure out the Central Conflict/Theme.
IV - Act 3
- The Players highlight one of the best parts of the Masterpiece and try to render it as fully as possible.
V - Epilogue
- Player 1 decides whether to release the Masterpiece into the Public Domain, or retain ownership for a potential Sequel Run.
Between each sequence, Jacques The Robot (Member of The Machine) reveals it will rat you out to the Binary League unless the Players insert 3 Machine Ideas (or MI's) into their current Masterpiece. Players must choose at least 1 of the 3, but take 5 HP of damage for each MI not used.
Players may spend 5 AP to speak with the Wizard B. Eno, who in exchange will give you an Askew Technique which may aid your ideations.
History
Little is known about the History of the game's development and its developers. This section needs further research.
Known Achievements
R.D.O. Games had developed a groundbreaking 'Achievement System' by utilizing a peripheral which came with an edition sold exclusively at Toys"R"Us. The peripheral utilized both of the PlayStation Memory Card slots at once, allowing R.D.O. 10MB of additional storage with which to run/manage the Achievement System. R.D.O. claimed there were "hundreds" of Achievements to unlock as of 6 months before release [citation needed]. The following is a list of known achievements as of March 3 2025:
| Achievement Title | Descriptor Text | Discovered By |
|---|---|---|
Opening Cutscene Transcript
Goddess Avanti: The year is 2020. Humankind’s greatest enemy known only as ‘The Machine’ has successfully destroyed all previously existing works of art in a terrible act known colloquially as ‘The Big Deletion.’ As one of the last remaining Sovereign Artists of high reknown, you have been asked to join ‘The Avant Guard:’ a secret society of artists questing to create the next artistic Canon, masterpiece by masterpiece. Welcome Sovereign, to The Avant Guard, and "Canon 2: Masterpiece By Masterpiece"!