Ceolag
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The Neverwhere Tales Q&A - answers (part 2)
🕑 Added 2024-12-12 12:51:05 +0000 UTCHey everyone,
time for the 2nd part of the Q&A answers.
After the last update, the story lore is getting Vivid and also new
types of monsters and creatures are being introduced so are you also going to dive deep into their origins and lore and characters arc or are these characters just side characters with less addition in the main lore?
There's no universal answer to that and to be honest, the role I have planned now might change in the future.
For example, the mention of the Svartálfar (Dark Elves) was just a side note when I wrote the scene but now I'm thinking about implementing more lore for them in Book 2.
I'm also thinking about implementing some kind of "Lore Compendium" in the game (not much else to say here, it's just an idea for now) where I can put stuff like that without "cluttering" the game with too much information.
I suppose, while there won't be an 'official' ending...will there be some type of ending resolution for those who stuck by a side-girl?
No plans as of now. That might change depending on player feedback but it won't be a "full" ending. And it depends on my plans with the side character. For example, if I intend to bring it back in later Chapters at all.
How do you structure the work on your project? Or to put it more precisely: is there a kind of schedule that you follow and sometimes work on code, sometimes on graphics, etc.?
I work chronologically most of the time. That means the order in which you play the Chapters is the order in which I get them done throughout the development.
I don't like to "jump" between scenes because usually my mind is in the scene, the characters, what happens around them, and so on.
Working on a scene usually means everything: coding, writing, and setting up renders/animations, for the reason mentioned above.
If you were back at the beginning of the project, what would you do differently from the start, be it the story, your way of working or whatever?
The main thing I'd do differently is not start the game with a girlfriend.
At least if the relationship isn't the main focus of the story/game.
Other than that... I'd get more experience with the render engine of your choice before starting to work on the game.
Yes, a good story/writing can carry not-so-good visuals to some extent.
But not to the same extent that great visuals can carry a shit story, especially early on. I'd try to get both good from the start.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee, of course. Tea is only drinkable if you put rum in it.
And don't you dare to lock my thread again with your false information. :-P
Has it been a conscious decision to not join tons of other AVN servers to share your work? Or is it more due to a lack of confidence to advertise yourself? Or am I just on all the wrong servers?
You're probably not on the wrong servers. I'm only on a few servers and even less actively reading them. I barely have enough time to keep track of my own Discord server let alone other servers.
So yes, it has been a conscious decision to focus my available time on development instead of promotion.
On top of that, I suck at self-promotion. :-)
Would you like more of us fans to help you promote your game (I already do) in the other AVN servers?
I won't say no to free promotion. ;-)
That said, I don't expect anybody to do my work for me. I'm aware that I should promote more, but as I said above, I hate it. And since this is still a part-time project, I'd like to spend the limited time I have on things I don't hate.
And will you ever do occasional cross-promotion with other devs to get more exposure for your game?
I am/was part of a few Steam bundles.
Outside that, I'm not saying no to cross-promotion but I'll only do it if I played and liked the game for the cross-promo... and here comes the problem: I don't have a lot of time to play other games ;-)
Did you get DPC (Acting Lessons) level death threats or similar disturbing words from fans after killing a possible LI in peoples eyes?
Not yet. At least I didn't find it that bad. Maybe I need to kill more characters...
What do the Templars actually do? (and comparable questions)
I'd like to keep those answers within the game.
That doesn't mean there's no point in asking because often enough questions come up that are absolutely clear to me but not to the player.
So keep asking stuff like that and I'll try my best to answer those questions throughout the story.
Just the Q&A might be the wrong format to do it :-)
Ailill says he has had over 900 years practice using a bow, but we're also told he was alive during Ponce de Leon's attempt to colonize Alfheimr. That occurred around 500 years ago on Earth, which would be the equivalent of ~3500 earth-years ago in Alfheimr's subjective timeline. Does this mean archery is a fairly recent hobby for Ailill, or has he somehow spent the bulk of his time outside Alfheimr despite being over 900 years old?
In general, when Álfar speak about years, they refer to years on Earth.
So in that case, he's talking about 900 years on Earth.
I probably need to make that clearer through dialogue whenever an Álfr speaks about timeframes.
Looking at story-discussions-spoilers , there seems to be some confusion about the difference between the four main LIs we see summarised at the end of every chapter, and the various other potential LIs we see in game. Could you explain a bit more about what the difference is?
There are no other "potential LIs." The 4 girls on the summary are the LIs.
Everyone else isn't an LI and won't be an LI (at least in Book 1). They'll have a bit of screen time here and there or provide "distraction" but nothing more.
The 4 LIs all have a connection to the main story, the rest just have "touch points" at best and the 4 LIs will have an epilogue (notice how I didn't write "ending" because some people will misinterpret that) at the end of the game.
I get the distinct impression that magic is rare, but we don't know if it's hereditary or not. Without going into spoilers, have there been any serious magicians among humans to the point of, say, even approaching being an equal with someone like Medb? I, personally, like having magic for the MC with the foreshadowing already done, but I'd like to know if there's precedent for it.
Magic is rare. Human mages do exist and they can potentially reach the levels of someone like Medb but keep in mind that Medb has a lot more (life-)time to train her powers than a human.
Are the LI's getting the traction that you have expected?
Some are getting even more traction than expected :-P
In general, yes. At least for now when a good part of their stories is still left to be told.
Are there some things that fell flat or are there some plot points/characters that you expected to have more of an impact on the players/community?
Overall, no. Some things took a bit longer than I expected, and some things got figured out faster. That's the thing with episodic releases and several months between them: people have enough time to figure stuff out before the story moves on. :-)
Well, that's all the questions answered for now.
Thank you to everybody who participated it was very interesting for me to see the questions pop up.
I hope I could answer most of them properly. If not, there are discussion channels on my Discord you can use. :-)
I'll probably do another round sometime in the future. Maybe after the Chapter 6 release.
Cheers,
Ceo
Comments
RJR .
Why would you start the game withou MC having a girfriend if you were to starting now? Do you regret having set a relationship from the start?
ceolag
aye aye :-D
Xeron_Xr
kill more characters *chaos*
Pax
Thanks for taking the time for the Q&A!
Vleder
I'll allow it. 👍
ceolag
I agree, it's kind of a waste but let me put it this way: If you have to suffer through drinking tea, would you prefer to do so with rum in it or not? I take the one with rum :-P
Vleder
Always good to read your reasoning and explanations! But now you left me wondering... As someone who loves good Rum, why would you waste it with tea? 😜 Talking about the important stuff, of course!
