Developer Ask-Me-Anything!

[Sashimioishi]

I had always wondered on it. I sort of imagined it differently but I don't have the art skills to sketch up the design in my head.

[Ben]

It's definitely interesting to be sure. But I don't know if it was necessarily the goal of the Valdorians to make an ominous mark upon all of its citizens, just one to represent pure Valdorian blood. We assume it to be ominous because of the terrible actions of King Janus and the nastiness of Valdor, but at the core, I don't think the people were evil, or really anything beyond innocent townspeople. Maybe if the tattoo was threatening people wouldn't want it... It could create fear and negativity between citizens and their kingdom, but, to me at least, it is just a symbol of being a Valdorian. Of course we all have our own interpretation - I didn't picture it like this either - but taking a step back, if you were just a citizen of your state and you needed a tattoo for "All New York citizens" or wherever you live, would you want it to be ominous? I assume the citizens weren't even in complete knowledge that they were doing the wrong thing. Though Janus was absolutely a bad man, he wouldn't want to cause havoc upon his citizens, well until his plan to release the Valdorian disease that is. But putting that aside, and thinking over what the symbol really represents, is it too crazy to look at this and to think it shouldn't have been threatening?

I'll get off my soap box now haha What do you guys think? You too cowbunny! What were you thinking when you made the symbol?

[YearlyAquariAce]

Since King Janus Valdor created the tattoos, and based on the little bit we've seen of him, I think he fully meant it to be ominous. Perhaps it was sort of like a little thing to remind the Valdorian citizens of their bloodline, and the fate they would suffer if they ever dared to defy the King. The drop of blood would probably represent the pure Valdorian bloodline, though I'm not quite sure what the horizontal lightning bolt means.

[cowbunny]

The story of the Valdorian tattoo and King Janus will be told later. I won't spoil anything by adding to the speculation here.

[YearlyAquariAce]

Heh, alright ^^

Also, how much of Alyncia is still like the human world? Do they use the same letters/language? Do the they have the concept of months, and if so are they also called what they are in the human world?

[cowbunny]

Alyncian language has a different alphabet, sound and words than ours. The concepts of time are similar, which is why seconds, minutes, hours, months and years are the same length of time as ours.

[YearlyAquariAce]

Then did Nexutas translate the maps or something o.o

[cowbunny]

I think Nexutas translated the maps, just like your speech and Ash's speech are translated.

[Sashimioishi]

Was it Nexutas or was it the watch that translates? Or perhaps another source? Another grand mystery left to Timecrest 3

[YearlyAquariAce]

Eee, new question: How tall are the members of Team 13 and Riley? (Fairly sure they all tower over me.)

[cowbunny]

Roger & A.C. are the same height. Riley is shorter than them, then Ash, and finally Elise is the shortest.

[Ben]

If there are multiple continents in Alyncia, assuming that their planetary structure is similar to ours, where exactly did the meteors come in? If the meteors were summoned on Asura and Ash saw them, what about on the other side of Alyncia? Were they just in the dark about the meterors? Did time flow regularly there? What happened to them, if anything? Or did Ezra summon meteors that appeared in Alyncia's skies everywhere outside of the world? And if that is the case, does that mean that Chronos's magic spread throughout the atmosphere of Alyncia? I know it is a lot of questions, but if the world of Alyncia is not flat, then what happened on the other side of the world?

[cowbunny]

Alyncia is flat. See the other thread.

[Sashimioishi]

How advanced is Alycian technology? Do they have electricity? Plumbing? Or would we consider them on a middle age type technology?

[cowbunny]

Alyncians do most things with magic. Humans once had a lot of technology in Alyncia, but most of it was destroyed...

[crysania]

I am playing Timecrest one for the first time, and I am only on chapter 5, but I noticed that in the first few chapters, there were a lot of times when you could either say something nice and empathic, or something mean and cruel. I have not noticed this is much in chapters 4 and five. Why are there so many what I see as cruel and insensitive responses to ashes questions in the early chapters ?

[cowbunny]

I am playing Timecrest one for the first time, and I am only on chapter 5, but I noticed that in the first few chapters, there were a lot of times when you could either say something nice and empathic, or something mean and cruel. I have not noticed this is much in chapters 4 and five. Why are there so many what I see as cruel and insensitive responses to ashes questions in the early chapters ?

Hello crysania!

We wanted to have a range of responses you could give Ash, where they felt different and interesting. Also, those are in the early chapters because we felt that was the time you were still developing your relationship with Ash. And we wanted you to have the freedom to have different choices so that the game could really be how you wanted to play it.

[crysania]

Hi there,

Maybe I'm incredibly naïve then, but why would anyone say something that mean to someone, even to a fictional character?

[cowbunny]

Hi crysania! It's a matter of perspective. There are a few reasons why someone might like the choices.

1. Depending on how you interpret the tone of voice, it could be considered light teasing. Teasing is something loving you do to friends.

2. Similar to #1, some people found the responses funny.

3. Some people want to be mean. While we may not like it, the point of an interactive fiction is to give choices to those people.

4. Some people in real life are more guarded when making friends, and aren't "nice" to others until trust is earned.

But either way, Ash is not overly sensitive, so those choices are also an interesting way to reveal more of Ash's personality, all other things being considered.

We wanted to make choices that explored a variety of ways you could react to Ash, and we've found that there are people who enjoyed some of these responses. It seems you reacted very negatively towards them–that's fine, they're not for you, and we're delighted that you want to choose the kinder options toward Ash. These options are just part of trying to give everything what they want, and it's fine if not all of them apply to everyone!

[ChristineMoon]

Spinoff of Crysania's question- I know that Ash's reactions/ responses to people change the game in the long run. What about your replies to Ash? I'm not talking about giving instructions, I'm talking when Ash says "can you hear me", and you reply "I'm glad you're back" or "oh, it's you again". Do your replies or trust level with Ash change whether Ash is willing to follow your advice in the future?

[cowbunny]

Spinoff of Crysania's question- I know that Ash's reactions/ responses to people change the game in the long run. What about your replies to Ash? I'm not talking about giving instructions, I'm talking when Ash says "can you hear me", and you reply "I'm glad you're back" or "oh, it's you again". Do your replies or trust level with Ash change whether Ash is willing to follow your advice in the future?

Hello Christine, and thanks for asking us a question!

That's a great idea–having trust levels change throughout the story. While some of the early options aren't tracked this way (we wanted you to have a safe way to get to know Ash without consequences) in some of the later story in the last few chapters, some options do allow to question your trust level with Ash. In particular, there is one storyline in Chapter 10 where Team 13's trust of Ash is questioned, and you can also choose to lose faith in Ash at this time.

[JohnnyValdezi]

I think I keep getting that one when I go to Wispy Brook with Team 13...