Villagers

The "Villagers" were once peaceful people living in rural Spain, isolated entirely from civilization.

History

At some point prior to the 21st century, the villagers were aware of a cult known as "Los Iluminados" who worshiped a parasitic organism known as the Plaga. A threat to humankind, the first Castellan of a nearby fortress had them sealed away underneath the building, towering over a canyon. The story was told from generation to generation of how the great lord of the castle removed paganism from the region.

Some time prior to 2004, the cult's leader, Osmund Saddler, corrupted the mind of the eighth Castellan, Ramon Salazar, convincing him into allowing entry to the underground. Some villagers were brought to the catacombs for an apparently important "excavation" project in the caves in search of what was left of the parasite. All they found were mere fossils, or so they thought. Unbeknownst to them, the parasites survived in a spore-state, reforming their bodies inside their new hosts. This process took some time, and the miners returned to their normal lives. When the people began to experience violent convulsions, the cause was discovered to be the growing parasites gaining control over their nervous systems.

With the Plagas' survival being confirmed, the Prophet Saddler indoctrinated the village chief, Bitores Mendez, during a festival to mark the end of the harvest season. Mendez would then order a church meeting the following Sunday, which everybody had to attend. It was here that the villagers, over a period of a few hours, were indoctrinated into Los Iluminados, throwing aside their children's tales as lies, now believing the first Castellan to be a tyrant who forced the parasites away out of jealousy and fear that the Los Iluminados were a threat to his power. When the villagers began to notice the convulsions after the service, they assumed it to be a divine action against the "heathens" who did not follow Saddler's teachings. At some point later, Saddler had the rest of the villagers injected with Plaga eggs, telling them that it was sacred blood intended to "cleanse" their bodies. They too experienced convulsions, but they were utterly devout and therefore did not suspect Saddler of culpability. They eventually lost all ability to feel emotions, and some parents gave blank expressions when their children started to die - with the Plagas unable to gain control over the children's nervous systems, they experienced painful fits before dying with a disfigured look on their faces (caused by their nervous system's poor control over the muscles). Not long afterwards, Saddler informed them that outsiders may be seeking to infiltrate Los Iluminados and that they should be murdered on sight; the people ("Ganados") blindly followed. Those that rejected the Los Illumnados' teachings, regardless of gender, were most likely killed.

Bottlecaps

The player can obtain Bottle Caps modeled after the various villager ganado. The four male models' names are displayed as "Don Jose", "Don Diego", "Don Esteban" and "Don Manuel. Their sound effects various things they shout at the player. They are all regular prizes that can be won when playing Game B. "Don Pedro" is a villager with a plaga sprouting out of his head and is the rare prize won in Game C. "Isabel" and "Maria" are the female models and are both regular prizes won during Game D.

Further notes

After completing the game the first time, the credits show the story of how the villagers had become infected by the plaga.  There are thirteen images shown.  The first eight images show that the village was once a peaceful community, with most of the buildings appearing to be less shabbier than it's current day.  A few pictures show a few notable individuals, such as a grandmother talking to presumably her grandchild, a family eating at a table, farmers milking livestock and harvesting crops, and a man playing a guitar on the porch.  The music backing is gentle and positive.  The screen then turns dark and brightens up, with a dark blue fog overshadowing the pictures.  

The music turns sinister and dark as the pictures proceed to show the transformation.  A recognizable figure in a long trench coat is seen speaking to a crowd of villagers, influencing them to believe in the Los Iluminados. The next picture shows what appears to be man being calmed into having an inoculation, not knowing a plaga egg was about to be injected into him.  The next picture is very disturbing, the same grandmother and grandchild are seen in this one, they are both showing concerning symptoms.  The grandchild sitting down in a tall chair appearing to be unwell whilst the grandmother blankly stares forward.  The area around them has become noticeably dirtier.  Another picture with the same family shows one of the members clenching his chest in pain, his face clenched tight in a hidden form of rage.  The last picture shows the villagers gathered around an individual who appears to have a plaga erupting from the back of his head.  The other villagers seem to be smiling in a disturbing manner, as well as the plaga victim.

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