Theet Chatango Q&A 1

This Q&A was held by Alex Hall on June 22, 2011 in the Knights of Theet Chatango. It took place just before the announcement of the ARG's hiatus following the Moon Children Arc. The Q&A was logged by PERSONAshou.

The Q&A

MajinMew: Does Usekeb's name have any hidden meaning? Use keb, for example.

JadusableH: As another forewarning, there are probably going to be a lot of questions concerning the lore that I will not be able to answer... this is one of them.

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Faron: Do you know, off hand, what sort of computers will be able to handle the game? Like, Mac, Windows 98/XP/Vista?

JadusableH: As far as I'm aware, Unity is supported PC and Mac, although with 98 I kind of doubt you'd be able to run it.

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shawn: Is it positive that the game will be $3? Or is there a set price?

JadusableH: It's still in the works at this point, but $3 seems like a safe bet. There's no way it would exceed that by a lot.

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CookiesAreForever: Hey jad, Wanted to say thanks for the awesome ARG! I just wanted to know if you follow any other ARGs, and any inspirations?

JadusableH: @Cookies Thanks a lot, I appreciate it. To be completely honest with you I wasn't really aware the genre existed before people started calling my game an ARG. I was vaguely aware of MarbleHornets.

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Kylinn: Hey Jad. Thanks for being awesome. The mysterious forum member known only as ??? has the same "name" as the guy stuck in the toilet in Majora's Mask; is this an intentional allusion/joke, or just a coincidence?

JadusableH: I feel like that's best left up to individual interpretation at this point in the story.

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Spirkiroid: Jad, have you watched Lost? I've noticed that 423 is a combination of a few of the Numbers.

JadusableH: I watched almost the entire first season back when I was dating this one girl who was a pretty big fan, I'd say that the 423 combination is a pure coincedence

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Jevandyr: Hey Jad, Jevandyr (AKA Dan on Facebook) here. Just gonna go ahead and apologise for any grivences I have or may cause you because of the photoshops and advice Jads. They were done in good humour at the time, but they have gone a little too far I feel, and I'd like them to not be able to effect your future or career in any way, so I'm going to stop as of now. As for my question, here it is: Is it possible we could get more mods on the forum, and also forum related, are there things on there we have still not discovered?

JadusableH: If you guys need more mods then absolutely, I'll go through some of the applications again and select those on the waiting list. Wayward Horizon is a pretty mysterious place, it wouldn't surprise me if there was still content you guys hadn't found yet. wink wink

JadusableH: But if the question is are you able to access it as of right now? Then, no, you're not. You can try, but you won't be able to get in.

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PERSONALoiathal: Disregarding development-related delays (which of course cannot be avoided), do you have any explanation for the repeated instances of missed short-term deadlines that seem to have not been have dependent on you having material to show and only required for you to make a short post - (such as the April 4th update - “I'll fill you guys in on the majority of the info [...] tomorrow” - no update until the 23rd; Complete Guide to the Story, posted 26th feb, still no update; May 10th update - “I'll keep you guys posted throughout the week” - as of writing no update)? Personally, that has been the most disappointing aspect of this process. Can we expect more of this absence?

JadusableH: Finally, getting to the elephant in the room, geez. There are a lot of factors, there have been a few real life incidents, there are a lot of excuses due to lack of experience with managing this kind of thing, but in the end a lot of it comes down to the thought process that "If there's nothing new to report, then there's no point in updating at this time" due to the fact that some of the more dedicated fans spend unhealthy amounts of time glued to their computers whenever Guide logs in, does anything. These guys and girls will scour the website three times over looking at the most miniscule things in hopes that they'll find some kind of clue that isn't even there, and to be honest I feel guilty every time that happens.

JadusableH: I've heard horror stories about me logging on just to check the forum out and see what the community is like, and since people saw Guide on the active users list, they pulled an all-nighter for absolutely nothing when they had school the next day.

PERSONALoiathal: I understand that problem-- I see it all the time. Have you considered creating an "OOC-Jad" account for community browsing and general unrelated stuff? That way, we'd know you're alive, but it's non-canon.

JadusableH: I mean, there are still people who swear by the belief that my facebook is in character even after I've repeatidly said otherwise

JadusableH: But if you think it would help, that's something to look into in the future.

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Hoaieu: Hello, Admin your admins could post like! Will other media, including the youtube/YSHDT.net/Wayward Horizon which have proved to be relevant in the past continue to play a significant part once the game part of arc 3 begins? You stated in I believe your 4/23 update that there would be an event building up to the game, and I assume that those aforementioned mediums would be important during that, but will they continue to be vital, necessary and continually updated in the latter half?

JadusableH: Well it kinds of ruins it if I reveal my gameplan, but I'll just say that some old mediums will be returning and will play a significant role in Arc 3.

JadusableH: Whether they're identical to how they were in the past, well, that's not something I can answer.

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BroBuzz: Hey Jad. First of all, I'd like to thank for you all the time and effort you've put into this ARG, I appreciate it. Moving onto my question. Will people who have donated to you in the past get the game for free? Me and my family are going through some tough times meaning I can’t afford the game, but I did donate to you in the past.

JadusableH: Well, that's kind of the nature of donating. I dont think there was anyone who expected to get the game for free because they donated in the past. It's been explicitly stated that if you donating you are doing so because you enjoyed the story thus-far, not because it will speed up development time. I have hammered home this point (even as far back as the old website) time and time again to ensure that people know exactly what they're donating for. I can think of maybe three instances where I would make an exception if they asked me, but other than that, come on. It's $3 man.

JadusableH: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/717/donationsj.jpg/

JadusableH: Also, people who donate do get the perks of donating in way of actual physical mementos of the ARG. Hence the letters.

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Anon1942: Thank you for your daily hard work! I was wondering how many of the Tenors are gonna be used in the game. Are some of them just placeholders to ward off gamejackers?

JadusableH: Hehe

JadusableH: No, they're all going to be in

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GreyouTT: We know that the news clippings were not the RL event so my question is, How big is the RL event going to be? and how will we know?

JadusableH: Uhm, well, you'll know. And it'll be big enough to get your attention. I'm not talking like on a massive world-wide scale, but you'll know.

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PERSONAmc: For the record, I am not asking this question and claiming to represent the views of ALL parties involved but most certainly the views of some parties. I am using my question slot to ask this question for other folks. The mods of WH have done an amazing job. They have dedicated an incredible amount of time and energy into making the forum a community hub, despite delays and general canonical inactivity. In the same way there are times you do not respond to the community for weeks on end, will you continue to not respond to the mods nor chat with them on a weekly (or even as needed) basis?

JadusableH: The mods have done an amazing job, and I'm forever grateful for that. When I first appointed them I checked up on them repeatidly and they seemed to constantly reassure me that they had everything under control. It was about that time that I moved to New York and started to have other immediate priorities so I couldn't check in as much. At the same time, I get dozens upon dozens of messages/emails almost daily and its hard to keep up with them all, but I hardly recall hearing any problems with the mod situation until it got "bad", and even then I only heard about it once or twice from other members who weren't the mods themselves.

JadusableH: It was a regrettable failure to communicate, I didn't realize the magnitude of the situation because quite frankly it all seemed rather absurd to me that people were getting that worked up to begin over completely petty things.

JadusableH: I encourage mods, or anyone, for that matter, to aggressively seek me out when there is a problem on the forums, as I can't check up on them every day.

PERSONAmc: One sentence response: I am under the impression you were emailed multiple times by multiple mods to no response, and they eventually gave up trying.

JadusableH: Which email address?

PERSONAmc: WithinHubris.

JadusableH: I'm looking through the inbox right now. What dates were these? May? April?

PERSONAmc: A few weeks ago, I am told.

JadusableH: I have one email from a moderator on April 30th, asking to IP ban someone named Garfield, which I did and responded to. Let's see..

JadusableH: No emails from June 5th. June 4th and June 6th, but no 5th.

JadusableH: The only other email that I recieved relating to moderating was one from a moderator titled "Think you can help? (not super important so if you're busy its alright)

JadusableH: I recommend double checking your sources again, though

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TheVGR: Hey Jad, you said that our own groups and orginizations we have will be incorperated in the 3rd arc, however, I wanted to know are individual users (EX. Sephiriam, any of the mods, group leaders. ) going to somehow be referenced in the arc as well?

JadusableH: Mods are just regular players, so they're not involved. Sephiriam does not hold any significance to the third arc, he was mentioned previously way back when to convey that something was going after the actual players.

JadusableH: Beyond that, he isn't a character akin to Ryukaki or anything like that. (Sorry Seph!)

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PERSONAthree: Do you take the time to read the theories on WH? If so, where there any that you enjoyed?

JadusableH: I love reading your guys' theories, although some of you make connections that are waaaaay out there, but there's actually a theory on the forums that's not too far off from the basics of whats really going on.

JadusableH: Which is pretty neat one of you was able to pick up on it, I was really impressed when I read it

PERSONAthree: Hahah, time to comb the forums. Thanks!

JadusableH: No wait! God damn it.

JadusableH: Now I'm going to feel bad when half a dozen people lose 48 hours of sleep again.

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WaywardSouls: My question is: severl records of the chapters have been recorded over the span of the ARG. Is the current, spell checked, grammar checked version of the text plot relevant?

JadusableH: The transcripts on Within Hubris are the correct ones and "canonical" ones. There were spelling mistakes that were unintentional in the original draft that went up in September - I had stayed up the entire night before writing and proof-reading the truth.txt, and the first draft I made was completely different than what we ended up with funnily enough. I think I was writing for about seven hours straight, and I had to make it by the deadline so I overlooked some unintentional grammatical errors.

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Soulstarhubris: Thanks for the hard work Jad, but my question is, recent update has of course hinted at more activity, will BEN be making his long awaited comeback soon? ;D

JadusableH: I guess you could say that

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Shadshaddo: hey jad, sup, I'm shad, derpaderp :D* part of what made the 1st two arcs great was the fact that we couldn't tell if it was real or no, so my question is what are you going to do about the 4th wall being so destoryed/is there a plan to make it feel more real again?

JadusableH: Oh yeah like I'm totally going to tell you now, because that totally wouldn't ruin any attempt making it real.

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PERSONAshou: Not really a question, but thank you for reading my open letter and just say that I hope that you took what I said into consideration and I really do hope that we can finally get somewhere. May I ask however why it was removed?

JadusableH: Hey Shou, the reason it was removing is because its more or less a lighthearted facebook fanpage, that kind of indepth and serious discussion belongs on the forums or in a chat really.

PERSONAshou: Ah I understand. If you have any issues with it though then i'm happy to address them any time.

JadusableH: Actually, I was interested in writing a response to it and sharing it with the entire community because you make some really valid points that need to be addressed.

PERSONAshou: Ah right, glad I could do that! It would be interesting to hear what you have to say.

JadusableH: I'm glad you were rational about it and level-headed. Thank you, a lot.

PERSONAshou: No problem, and thank you.

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Astartus: First up, I wanna thank you for taking your time for doing this Q&A and finally getting in touch with us again, and I speak for everyone when I say that we would be extatic if we could do this a little more often, just to know how things are moving forward and to be assured that you haven't forgotten about us •• I think it would do a great deal to relieve the stress, misunderstandings and tension that unfortunately have been increasingly floating around lately. Now, about the game: just to be able to prepare (I'm on a Mac and it's always difficult to find proper programs), will there be the need to videocapture/audiocapture the game while playing? Will there be audio hints that need to be recorded etc., and are there any other programs we should get familiar with? Just so we have our digital "Anti-BEN care package" ready when we need it.

JadusableH: Hey Astartus! No problem man, I guess the whole concept I'm really having trouble wrapping my head around is how there can be so much stress and tension between the communities over something so... eh. I don't want to say it's petty, but just in the grand scheme of things I don't understand how some people can get as frustrated and as mad as some of them seem to be getting. But yes, with the new Twitter account I'll be able to stay a lot more involved with you guys (already its easier answering questions from you guys quickly and efficently) in these last few weeks.

JadusableH: I guess that kind of factors in why I didn't understand the gravity of the situation the forums were in, which is still kind of silly to me, but as for your second part, if you want to be thorough, I suppose it couldn't hurt to bring all that extra equipment. I'm not going to say that you won't find anything interesting, but you certainly won't be crippling your experience if you don't have access to that kind of equipment.

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Delex2002: Just wanted to see if the game was still coming along the way you'd originally planned it. I mean, with all the astronomical costs of developing a game, and all the setbacks you've had with programers leaving and such, are we still going to see it the way you envisioned it, or were some sacrifices necessary?

JadusableH: You seem like a sophisciated guy, why did you have to have my friends old shared screenname.

JadusableH: You even asked a good question too!

JadusableH: I'll answer your question if you answer mine

Delex2002: Sure. Basically, it started with some of my especially creepy colleagues finding your old handles and such, and in a completely humanitarian effort to avoid someone signing up with your name and troll with it, I signed up with your name and trolled with it. With the best interests of the community at heart, of course.

Delex2002: I did try telling everyone I wasn't you, but it's really hard to get anyone to believe that if they don't want to. I'm sure you know what I mean.

Delex2002: So I've been using assorted other handles since.

JadusableH: Interesting..

JadusableH: So, what exactly compells you to do that? Sure it's weird, not so much since the screenname is public knowledge, but I'm just genuinely interested in what your thought process is behind this? Did you think you were going get a few laughs? Do you like the attention? I'm not trying to be sarcastic at all, this kind of psychological stuff genuinely fascinates me how the human brain can work in such warped ways.

Delex2002: Warped? That's cold, especially from one as well esteemed as Mr. Ice Cream Paint Job himself. :P I actually didn't want either, and was actually a bit surprised by the attention the account got. That's why I dropped it so quick. But at times like this, hell yeah it's entertaining.

JadusableH: See, they always do this. They start trying to deflect the questions with idle jokes and weak justifications. Every time it happens! I dont get why they get so defensive. Someday I will pick your psychotic brain and figure out what makes you tick... someday!

JadusableH: To answer your original question: No, it's been pretty much the same, the scale has been increased a bit but other than that its staying true to its original design.

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PERSONAdeacon: Hey Jad, I was just wondering why you stated the Twitter was canon, yet there was an IC post there from when the trailer was uploaded? Can you try to explain this. Also, are the rims big? Do it ride good?

PERSONAdeacon: Additionally, sorry for the long winded, will you be doing retcons of the Guide posts in Off Topic when this resumes, or should we take your account now as what it will be like when the game is on?

JadusableH: I can't really answer any of those questions.

JadusableH: I'm white and mild mannered, I know nothing about rims.

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Anjus: hey jad, i wanted to thank you for the effort you've put into the ARG and I have a question about the computer game. How long will it take to play through it, and just how important will it be to arc 3? will it form the backbone of the arc, or be more of an extra thing?

JadusableH: The game will take probably a week to play through, shorter or longer depending on how you guys progress, there will be certain areas that will be inaccessible in the game until criteria is met somewhere else.

JadusableH: Think of it as a battle on multiple fronts. Those who have the game will be able to go into more or less the eye of the storm, where a lot of the story progression takes place, but that doesn't mean that the other fronts aren't important. You'll have those with the game in "ground zero" so to speak, and you'll have those working - say the website for example - as your tech support, opening up other parts of the game and such.

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Ariesus: So the game will require internet access to play? Or will it rely heavily on patches?

JadusableH: Won't require internet access, I think we're getting it so that we'll release multiple downloads

JadusableH: Which are more or less patches.

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Dimentiomod: does the fake trailer have any revlance or is it just a "hold me over" and does it come close to how you real trailer back then?

JadusableH: It has relavance but its also a hold me over.

JadusableH: It'll make sense once the real trailer comes out.

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BleddArmada: Okay Jad, thanks for this Q and A. Someone managed to find all but five of Guide's posts, all the topics he made, the replies on haunter cartridge full story, wayward horizon, and three community posts. Are we missing an important one or were they just more random stuff in community?

JadusableH: I wouldn't worry about it Bledd

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ReflectionOfDesire: Hello Jad, thank you so much for making this ARG and for all the effort that you've put into it. We just want to know what happened to Ryukaki's bike? And do you know or are you aware of The Sun Children?

JadusableH: I don't know what happened to the bike and I don't know about the sun children.

External Links

• Knight of Theet Chatango - The group that hosted the Q&A session.
• What's Your Mask? Chatango - The group that organized all the questions for OOC Jad.