YSHDT Q&A

This Q&A was published by Alex Hall on November 8, 2010 at around 9:14pm EST, on youshouldnthavedonethat.net. It was posted during the Waiting Game portion of the Moon Children Arc.

The original page for the Q&A can be found here.

The Q&A

Latest News

Hey guys, first of all I know that it's been a long while since I've updated and I apologize, but we've been pretty busy over here trying to make things work. I originally meant to have this Q&A come out around Halloween but we've been working out various issues on how this final installment will operate and function (seeing as though this is the final part of the story that will tie everything together, I'm wanting to make sure its done right instead of trying to churn out a half-assed verison). Rest assured that I've still been lurking around reading your guys' comments and thoughts and I've been keeping up-to-date with the community. I know some of you are probably frustrated with the lack of updates in a timely manner, but bare in mind that this final phase is more expansive than the first and second combined. Hours and hours of planning and work have gone into this and there's still much left to be done. I appreciate your guys' patience and I'm extremely excited about the experience that you guys will have once this is released. As promised, here is the Q&A that will hopefully give you guys a little more insight into the project:

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Q: Is the game the final phase of this story?

Yes and no. The game itself is only one part of the final phase in the story - I understand that for whatever reason some people will not be able to play the game, but that does not mean that they will be left out. There are several mediums that will be used to illustrate the final phase of the story - the website will be just as important as it was when it originally launched back in September as well as the Youtube account. There will be clues from the website that translate into the game and clues from the game that will translate into the website - you will have to conquer all three to progress.

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Q: Can you please verify (or warn me if not) that the game isn't going to have virus-like effects on the computer as a whole?

No, there won't be any viruses attached to the game - I can assure you that you won't get anything malicious from downloading this.

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Q: Do you, or will you, have some kind of way to "subscribe" to the game? What I mean is, for those of us not visiting the site every single day, will there be some way to recieve emails notifying us that you are starting the final phase (or the next phase) of the game?

I've thought about that, and decied that when there is a big announcement (such as announcing the release date), the easiest way to inform the most amount of people would be through the Youtube account. The best way to stay up to date would be to subscribe to Jadusable's channel, and I will announce the release date in advance so it doesn't just get sprung on you guys.

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Q: When can we expect the game to be released?

In time for the Holiday season, if not sooner. I don't want to come right out there and say exactly when because it could be delayed, but like I said earlier, I will announce the release date in advance to give you guys ample time to get prepared.

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Q: Will the game cost anything to download?

That was one of the factors that has hindered the development time, because I am paying my staff myself I've been constrained a little bit in terms of what I want to do/what I can afford. I definitely want to address this as soon as possible, though. At this point, I can honestly say that I am not sure if this will "cost" anything, it really depends on several financial/work factors. I may be able to work it out (ideally) that it would be just a free download, and I will let you guys know in advance what the final decision is.

It's really disheartening to entertain the possibility that the game itself may actually have a pricetag, because I know there will be fans of mine who immediately assume I've "sold out" or I'm trying to get rich or something, and I realize that its a perfectly understandable knee-jerk reaction, but I hope that I can try and clear a few things up:

1. If (and that's a huge if) this game ends up costing anything to download, based on development costs thus far, it would be around the $1.99 price range.

2. I am extremely passionate about this story and making sure the finale is done right is my biggest priority. Those of you who know people in the videogame business might have a better understanding that creating a game - even a relatively small project like this isn't exactly cheap. Essentially I'm paying my staff out of my own pocket and the price tag would be to pay for them and try and break even with this project. I want to get this experience out there as best as I can make it for you guys.

3. I have been and always will be extremely thankful of your guys' support, without you guys this whole thing would not have been as successful as it has been. As much as I am passionate about the story, I am just as if not more so passionate about understanding the concerns of my fans. This is why I would never, ever make the game the only way to participate in phase 3. Even if you do not buy the game (and the buy is still completely hypothetical), you will still be able to work together with the people that do.

If you choose not to purchase the game if it ends up having a price tag, I understand, but we have put a lot of work into it and I'm extremely proud of how it's shaping up. If you really want to get immersed into the final phase - take the fourth wall breaking aspect from the first phase and ramp it up times twenty - then the game will be a powerful experience for you. Like I said, I may be able to work it out where we can release it for free, but I wanted to just give you all a heads-up so it doesn't seem like I'm trying to pull a fast one over you guys if we do have to charge a small fee for it.

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Q: What program you are going to be using to develop the game?

The game will be developed using Unity (http://unity3d.com/).

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Q: Is this a well known company or just a small one that produces flash games that is helping you make this? I guess where I'm going with that question would be is it going to be an all out video game or just a web-based game?

Well, actually there's no company behind this. I've hired a small staff to help me craft the game. This won't be an all-out videogame, in fact, it's difficult to adequately describe it - you'll have to see it for yourself. It's not a flash game and it isn't browser based - it will be a downloadable game.

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Q: Will this game run for Windows or for Mac?

Windows confirmed, but most likely Mac as well. I'll keep you guys updated.

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Q: What will the game be rated?

Haha, well I'm not ESRB representative, but I would say that the content you've seen on the website is about par for the content in the game. There are some intense psychological fourth-wall breaking scenarios that will blow your mind and make you shit bricks and the atmosphere is immersive (doubly so if you've been following since the beginning). I can't let on too much, but I can tell you that the genre cliches for "horror" games (such as an abundance of cheap jumpscares and overuse of violence/gore) will be absent. Think more along the lines of Silent Hill 2, except this is much more personal for you.

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Q: How will the game itself work? As in, will it be 2d, 3d, topdown, first person, second person, third person?

The game itself will be first person, but you can rest easy - it's not an FPS, there will be no regenerating health and bald space marines here.

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Q: What weapons will we have?

Your only weapons will be your abillity to communicate with each other and your deductive skills.

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Q: What is the purpose of the game? What exactly will you be doing?

You will be investigating a location mentioned previously in the story while simultaneously trying to uncover the truth about BEN. You'll be interacting with some familiar faces and a lot of things will start all coming together... and for better or for worse the unanswered questions will be resolved.

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Q: Who will you be playing as?

Yourself.

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Q: If someone progresses further into the game, will everyone progress or is it individual?

There will be checkpoints - when the majority of the playerbase progresses far enough in the game to unlock the next phase of the game - a new version of the game will be released for download. Inititally not all areas are accessible, but by progressing in the story (similiar to how you guys "unlocked" areas of this website previously), it's through this that you will start to see the game world change based on your actions.

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Q: How many verisons will there be? How long will this final phase last?

I can't ruin that, now can I? There will be a fair amount of checkpoints. It depends on how well you work together and how smart you are, but its fair to say more than a week.

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Q: If this game ends up costing money, will I have to pay for each new verison of the game as we progress through the story?

No way, this game won't suffer from "DLC Syndrome", haha. If (and still a big if) it does cost money, you will only have to pay for it once - every new verison will be free.

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Q: How will you update the game with each verison? Will it be patched?

Not exactly, for the sake of having an archive for you to go back and revisit if you wish, you will be able to download a new .exe with the updated game.

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That's all for now, if you have any more questions that weren't answered feel free to send them to the address below. I'll keep you guys updated in the upcoming weeks about the progress of the game, and try not to get suckered into mock-websites (Again, only trust updates on this site - the guestbook doesn't count :P).

For questions concerning the game - whatisben@youshouldnhavedonethat.net

For fanmail - fanmail@youshouldnthavedonethat.net

For other inquiries - continue to use jadusable@youshouldnthavedonethat.net