Disco Elysium Update Adds Fan Art Creation Tool 'Collage Mode'

Developer ZA/UM has announced Collage Mode for Disco Elysium; a photo mode-like addition that allows you to arrange your own scenes and dialogue using the game’s characters and locations.

Launching today on PC and coming to consoles in the coming days, Collage Mode can be found on Disco Elysium’s main menu. Unlike a photo mode, it is not a system to take screenshots of moments within the game. Instead, Collage Mode gives you full access to every character, location, and effect used across Disco Elysium’s story, and allows you to create a scene from scratch. Think of it as a fan art tool rather than an in-game camera and you’ll be on the right track.

The tool is pretty simple to use, with drag-and-drop controls that allow you to easily place items in the world. Characters can be set in a large variety of poses, and even rescaled to tiny or huge proportions. A collection of stickers, including cute emoji-like faces or items of clothing, can then be layered over the scene. You can also add effect filters, like rain, snow and fog, or a frame around the scene, to add the final touches.

My personal favourite addition, though, is the dialogue reel that runs down the left-hand side of the screen. You can add this to scenes and input dialogue for each of your characters, allowing you to create an ‘authentic’ Disco Elysium scene.

While the ‘collage’ effect of the tool does mean that the scene is inherently static (you can’t create an animation or anything like that), the landscapes retain any 3D properties they have in the game, so characters can be positioned behind props and items like swings will sway in the wind.

For those fully enthralled in the world of Disco Elysium, there are also some hidden secrets to be found within the locations. ZA/UM promises new voiceover from the Final Cut’s narrator will reveal untold histories of Martinaise, should you be able to find them.

Collage Mode is available for Disco Elysium from today, so expect to see some absolutely beautiful tributes to Kim Kitsuragi on Reddit and Twitter very soon. For more, check out our review of Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, as well as one of the creator’s thoughts on if there will ever be a sequel.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.