Afterword
On Logistics
As the game’s published, let’s close the WIP thread. @Eiwynn, I’d appreciate your help.
To discuss the published game, mosey on over to the game announcement thread. Other queries can find me via DM here, on tumblr, or in my email inbox: nacaratgamelabs (at) gmail-dot-com.
On Qingcheng, in Truth and Fiction
This is the real-life Qingcheng, on which there are no magical pandas.* The mountain is a part of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, China, which is home to a fascinating blend of polarities: internationalism and local quirks, history and modernity, the mundane and the magical.
For a real example of this duality, consider the Wu-Hou Shrine (武侯寺), which honors people from China’s Three Kingdoms Period (220-280AD). These historical figures are the “deities” of the Shrine, which depicts them as enshrined statues inside the temple. They’re also massive, person-sized chibi anime figurines in the touristy areas around the temple. No, really:
From left to right: Zhang Fei, Liu Bei, and Xiang Yu.
Ancient China is cool and all—I can see why Western fantasy media often focuses on the period—but what about my enormous chibi figurines? The world around us is a fascinating combination of the past and present, the sensible and the absurd, of great and terrible beauty. I wanted to see the complexity of modern China represented in fiction, especially because this world isn’t just fantasy but also a real people, place, and culture.
Bonus photos to help you picture real and fictional Sichuan
All photos in this post are mine. The cat and dog aren’t.
*No magical pandas that the author has met. Magical pandas of Qingcheng, here’s your call-to action! Please say hello when I’m in town.
On Stories and Endings
In word count, this game has the length of 2-5 traditional fantasy/YA novels. Being interactive also gives it compounding complexity. Meanwhile, I remain limited by the constraints of space, time, and availability, so I’m grateful for the work of WIP folks (you!), beta-testers, copyeditors, editors, mods, and countless other supporters (digital + irl) in making this project better. I take full responsibility for the issues that remain and will continue bug-fixing + learning from your feedback.
Once a story is published, it belongs also to readers. The end of my game breaks the fourth wall to validate readers’ interpretations and encourage your reshaping this world into what you believe or desire. After all, I’m just a nebulous online entity who claims to be a dozen (extra large!) rats in a trench coat. I made this and leave it with you, to make your own story.