Wellington Wells

This was last updated during game version Full Release V.1.3.

A randomized Wellington Wells. Here you can see all islands accessible as of 13/04/2017.

Wellington Wells is a dystopian island city and the setting for We Happy Few.

Geography

Wellington Wells is sprawling habitat, built on a small archipelago located in the Severn Estuary/Bristol Channel, in the south-west United Kingdom. Each island is a "holm" (an old English word meaning an island in a river). As of Full Release v.1.3, the currently accessible islands are Barrow Holm, Rat Holm, Eel Pie Holm, Lud's Holm, Ravensholm, Maidenholm, St, George's Holm, the Holm of Usglass and Apple Holm.

Each island is connected to the others via bridges, some of which are heavily guarded. The bridges are the only way to traverse between islands, as the waters are treacherous, and you cannot swim.

In happier times, the city was linked by an underground metro system called the Wellington Underground. However, the metro has since fallen into disuse and severe disrepair, and the trains no longer run. Some stations (like Eel Pie Holm) have been re-purposed to serve as Motilene pumping stations.

Wellington Wells is administratively divided into three districts so far; the Garden District (where Wastrels live), the Village of Hamlyn (where Wellies live), and the Parade District, aka "The City" (where richer Wellies and the government lives).

As Wellington Wells sits in the middle of the Bristol Channel, the player can observe vast expanses of land to the north (Wales) and the south (England). This is the fated "Mainland" (i.e. the mainland United Kingdom), to which player characters will try to escape.

Every new campaign of We Happy Few will randomly generate an entirely new version of Wellington Wells, meaning that no two playthroughs will take place in the exact same iteration of the city. This also serves as a lore mechanic. Any in-game character who overdoses on the local happy pills will completely forget the lay of the land and will have a brand new town to explore (from their point of view). Real life players of We Happy Few will obviously not overdose and forget, so a new Wellington Wells is created to serve the purpose of the *player* suffering Joy-induced amnesia.

The Garden District

The Garden District is where Downers and Wastrels are forced to live, in order to protect the decent citizens of Wellington Wells from bad memories and negative vibes. The Garden District is a true wasteland, with no established government or infrastructure, aside from the odd waterpump. Bombed out houses and overgrown hamlets dot the landscape. The Garden District suffers from major food shortages.

Barrow Holm

The starter island for all new campaigns, Arthur, after the events in the prologue, is chased by bobbies all the way to Motilene Station 4 in Eel Pie Holm. After the story quest "Wellington Underground" is completed, Station 4 becomes the player's first shelter.

The game-world generation of this holm is fixed. It will therefore be laid out exactly the the same way over multiple playthroughs.

Rat Holm

An island only accessible in Act: II (Sally's playthrough!). It has two hatches, no hamlets and a lab. its inhabitants are plauged wasterls.

Eel Pie Holm

The first randomly generated island of the Garden District.

Ravenholm

This sites inhabitants are plauged wastrels which will constantly chase the player. It houses Victory Memorial Camp, where the Home Army unwwilderness. It also houses two shelters. Tingly guards a dreadful secret.

The game-world generation of this holm is fixed. It will therefore be laid out exactly the the same way over multiple playthroughs.

Lud's Holm

The second island of the Garden District, which the government has locked down for the purpose of quarantining (or dumping) victims of a plague that has been spreading through Lud's Holm. These plague-infected Wastrels mostly appear at night.

The Village of Hamlyn

Hamlyn village is the first section of Wellington Wells proper that the player will encounter. Picturesque villages, groovy rainbow roads, and Joy dispensers can be found here, and it obvious that "normal" life reigns, with the presence of a city government maintaining roads, gardens, and Motilene infrastructure. A local uniformed police force is also present, preventing crime and investigating reports of Downers. Food is much more plentiful here.

Maidenholm

The first island of Hamlyn, and the first area that is Wellington Wells proper.

St. Georges Holm

The second and larger island of Hamlyn, usually far more dangerous for any downers lurking about. Can sometimes be connected to Lud's Holm, meaning one can avoid visiting Maidenholm altogether.

Holm of Usglass

A tiny little island off St. Georges Holm. It is where Haworth Laboratory, and Dr. Verloc Ph.D, are based.

The Parade District

The economic and political centre of Wellington Wells, Arthur is chased from his job and happy life here all the way to the Garden District. The Parade District also contains the Britannia Bridge, which is the final bridge and connects to the Mainland. Everybody is VERY well dressed here, and security is much more prevalent, with lots of Red Bobbies, Peepers, and Headmistresses. Buildings are much taller and much grander. The headquarters for many institutions and government departments are here, including the Wellington Wells Broadcasting Corporation.

The Executive Committee, the ultimate power in Wellington Wells, is based in the Parade District.

Apple Holm

The island on which the Parade District sits. It contains Apple Holm Train Station, the Broadcasting Tower, the Wellington Wells Hospital, and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, to name a few.

The game-world generation of this holm is fixed. It will therefore be laid out exactly the the same way over multiple playthroughs.

Unseen/assumed/removed/referenced locales

Emerald City

No longer in game.

Apple Holm (Placeholder version)

A placeholder island which served as the "end" of the game in build v.38678. This island contains an abandoned mansion, a crashed V-1 rocket, a LOT of toxic fog, and the hatch Arthur must access in order to escape to the Parade District and finish the game. Was accessible only from Maidenholm.

Inis Holm

The island bridged to Maidenholm. No joy booths, can only look for joy pill from trash bins. No save house for recovering and hiding at night and rather difficult to find food and extremely difficult to look for water.

Inhabitants

Wellington Wells is inhabited by humans. St. George's holm and Maidenholm are populated by wellies. Lud's Holm and Eel Pie Holm are populated by the wastrels. Disease is rife in Lud's Holm, but is contained.

Government

The city hall of Wellington wells is based in the parade district (as seen by looking out of the window in Arthur's office) and provides services such as utility staff and police officers. The city hall is in a state of extreme disrepair, with broken pneumatic tubes and lots of unfiled paperwork present in the offices. The dwellers do not see it, though.

History

During World War II, England was attacked by German airplanes and the Germans succeeded in occupying England. The residents of Wellington Wells did something called "the very bad thing" which caused the residents to become depressed. This is believed to be have been the deportation of Wellington Well's children to Germany, under the assumption that the occupying Germans were unbeatable with their (fake) tanks. To counter this, a drug called joy was invented. Taking this pill, residents become happy and forget their dark past. Due to this, anyone who is not under the effects of Joy are known as downers.

Background and trivia

• The name of the town is based on Tunbridge Wells in that it's like every English village.
• The citizens of Wellington Wells are also "Well, well, well!" which is the reason for the reduplication in the name.
• Another meaning behind the name is due to the citizens being called Wellies. They are insulated from the outside world, as if they were wearing wellies.
• The town also shares its name with John Wellington Wells, a character from the Gilbert and Sullivan opera The Sorcerer. Wells is the eponymous sorcerer who doses an entire English village with a love potion.