Winter Shard

[F.I.A]

Boy, more questions? Very well, I try answer along.

Regarding Metheus

Unfortunately, he got the fate of a side character, where he is pretty much ignored safe for a path or two. If anything, he continues to serve Frederone in many routes, safe for the worst route, perhaps.

Regarding Krotus

Frederone and other liches receive power directly from Krotus, unless Krotus permanently grants it to him, during the servitude and bad routes. So yes, if Krotus is weakened in any way, so will Frederone. Thus, killing Krotus will indirectly kill Frederone, thus what happened in True Ending.

As for sequel

I doubt I really got much stuff to write about it, given that most characters have ceased to exist. No, I definitely don't want a Winter Shard Death and Winter Shard Rebirth. Perhaps a flash animation remake with a 3rd person's point of view, but definitely not a sequel.

Well, the art is pretty what that keeps on griping me. As an artist, I tend to compare my works with others, and will always got the "Dang, still not good enough" feeling. Some of the scenes have undergone numerous remake before the "Ok" version is out.

As for the shards

I want to make it a rather mystical phenomenon which is left unexplained. Sure, there might be a possibility that they still contains a hint of Frederone's power, but I doubt anyone who will dare to try to experiment with it else invoking the Frozen Lich back.

Regarding True Ending

I will say that it is Frederone's willpower that allows him to track Marliene. Sure, I could just write that he totally vanished when Krotus is gone, but that won't make for a pretty finale, no?

At the end of True Ending, with the undead vanquished, Northern is no longer under siege. Thus, the humans living there began to notice that they are "safe", with some still traumatized.

As for a demon hierarchy

To be honest, no. During design phase, Krotus is the only demon summoned, and none others are above him or so. No, there is no Archimondes or someone similar.

For the Krotus' ruling

Being once a mortal himself, Krotus knows of living as one. Thus, this allows him to set out regulations acceptable by the people. Resistances might submit, but that is where Frederone's task - To uphold the law.

As for the possibility of invasion, Krotus has no intention to spread his influence out of the continent. Other continent will not be that foolish to challenge Krotus else facing the peril of destruction.

For Frederone, in servitude routes, he has pretty much pledged his absolute loyalty to Krotus, that he has no desire to rebel against him, as quoted in the game.

Regarding the love

Frederone is always troubled. Even when Rosetta killed herself, at the midst of the hatred, he still loves her. This allows him to accept Marliene, even the bad routes.

Regarding the choices, it is pretty much my selfishness that allow Marliene to be acceptable even tainted. It is out of sympathy for my character.

As for the hunger

To be clichy, it is somewhat a problem which lesser lich suffers. As his body starts dying out, Frederone needs to re-warm himself consistently. That was done by gorging out others' blood, or just stealing away their warmth. When Krotus grants him permanent power, he is able to overcome such drawbacks.

As for Rosetta

I am pretty much making this a sort of loved one-or-work choices out of it, where Frederone needs to think which is more important. But uh.. I don't recall Krotus drainng off Rosetta.

Regarding her hair, yes, I feel that pink suits her well. Marliene's hair might look a little bad, given that it is blood red.

As for the glasses

It is something available in my storyline. Given that Frederic failed to be a swordman, he work in a apothecary to learn about medical. Glasses is there to reflect his strive to learn.

Heh, as for the Worst Ending

I wanted to include an image of Frederone's face smiling wickedly above the altar. Let's just say that might make it looks cluttered, thus that is scrapped. Sorry for the disappointment over your theory.

As that last part in True Ending

Frederone gains momentum from the fall when the hydra lost its grasp on him. That, and with the heart Krotus' main weakness, he is able to stab in a knife even with his left hand.

As for the priest

Rael himself was a remarkable hero in the Northern. Thus when he was branded heretic, how will anyone involved not recognize the very son of the heretic?

As for killing

Frederone killed Hawketh not for his loyalty over Krotus, but more to his lost belief in humanity. Rosetta, Hawketh and Metheus are the only human recognized by Frederone(And thus with a different treatment). But when Rosetta killed herself, Frederone was pretty much tornt. Hawketh's claim only widens the torn.

And to answer your last post

For gaining power, it's possible, but I doubt I want to dwell on it more. This is no shounen jump manga to say least. Black magic practitioners exist, but any potent is eliminated, just like when Rael was executed. It is those cultist who claim Frederone as their god. So no, he cannot create anything except for more undeads.

Thanks for playing and the questions.

[The same happy person]

For the shards,

if they contain any power i still think that in a few hundred years when the lich and his power is forgotten, someone will try taking the power. It doesn't need a sequel really for that as its a pretty sure thing since it is a fantasy type game. And without a few mysterys, a fantasy game would appear too resolved so having a eternal thing that defies logic a bit is perfectly logical .

With sequels: I put in at least one post that all of the things i was saying were ideas your story made me think, and that now that i know your not making a sequel i was putting my ideas down to see what you think of them since your not making a sequel. I mean, if you were making a sequel, in one of my ideas, you may have spoiled it a bit by saying "This idea is a bit similar to what i had in mind." Hmm the putting ideas down part wasn't stated exactly but i tried to imply it.

As for the art, who are you comparing it to? I liked it better than magbou, which is odd as i normally like lighthearted stories with happy pictures better. The only one i think looked better, of the completed games, (That i played) is Morning Star but your story makes far more sense and it doesn't have all those shared scenes in it (or at least it doesn't feel as such). So as a story yours is better.

Krotus

was once mortal? Does that refer to Fred's father or was the demon summoned krotus actually a mortal before being reborn as a demon for some reason? Hmm if it was Krotus himself mortal, can you tell a bit about his life as a mortal? I assume he must have been part of the lesser nobility... My reasoning is that, anyone of the greater nobility would know enough about the power structure to be hesitant to break it down as it would be ingrained within him quite a bit. But lesser nobles plan and plot to reach higher and because they hold less power as a individual, they more often strive higher. Major nobles do plot to take the throne true, but mroe are closer to content with the power they hold and would only take a chance if a opening was seen.

Mmm i was wondering why it assumed i

hated her right after i gave her all the gifts but left as i said before.

I just don't 'look underneath the underneath' or it could be i'm not really sociable so i don't see as much as most people.

Hmm i get that

(The Hunger).

But how is anything permanent if the

power

is still the owners just granted

power

though? Wouldn't the

power

still be composed of the same thing which is the natural form that

Krotus's power

is in? Or by permanent do you mean he does something to make the

power

be composed of something different so that Fred had a easier time using it? And thus as a consequence, its harder for Krotus to use?

Rosetta: I said i was expecting that to happen at some point because of the general mood of the game. Also i like long hair better also so it made me like her even more. I liked the

funeral

picture the best overall even if the normal part of my mind liked the

flower blood transfusion

picture the most. Good thing as a whole the story was enough to discourage thoughts of that nature.

Damn i never noticed that he was

already skilled at medicine.

Its obvious in retrospect, but i didn't think about what he did after

what happened to his arm.

Hmm recalling my thoughts of before, i think i thought he jsut read a lot. So he had more than the knowledge needed to be the

minor noble

his father was even if he lacked the

skill of a hero.

Mmm also as i said before a evil face with glasses

a god

does not make. To be honest my first though when seeing him was, "Gee thats one person i wouldn't be scared of." But the way he looks makes him seem more powerful precisely because it defies his frame. So putting a picture of even a evil face would have ruined a bit of the,

"Hes so far above mere humans, that he doesn't care about the sacrifices." After all a god would never listen to all the prayers as it would take most of the power they hold to do so. I say nothing of time, because many tales already say that time in the faerie realm is different and if time in a 1/2 mortal 1/2 immortal realm is as such, then the realm of full immortals must have time going as much as the god of that space wills it.

The girl was just a random charity giver then? Or do you mean to imply that, that particular priest was involved in the process?

For loyalty, i meant loyalty to his father not krotus

(since they are techniquely different entitys who only semi merged.)

As i said a

god

of destruction is just as well as a creator. Hmm also you could say that the undead are his chosen people. Afterall in Dragonlance,

each god is only creating one type of being for the most part.

After a certain amount of power nothing can deny a beings right to be called a

god.

Also how do the people even find out about

any summoner at all?

Not all of the people must have many friends who notice the change at all... Also considering people died far more often in the past, why would even regular deaths be anything new? I would see more people thinking its ghosts then

black magic

unless the opinion was given to them, which in turn could be a plot to discredit a noble of the region. It may sound like i'm saying a commoner can't be a

summoner,

but thats only partially true. The access to books is near vital to learn the art at all. Afterall many stories say the first books come directly from the

demons

in the first place. And jeez all the spoilers really ruin the paragraphs... And most of them are only a word or two...

[F.I.A]

Heh, I can understand that you try to think up ideas for sequels, and for that, I thank you.

For the art, I have the tendency to compare it to those by professional. Now how should I word it? The current artworks for Winter Shard will not really interest me, if I am not its maker. So strong is that feeling, that I keep on remaking a picture over and over again, till I am at least satisfied.

For example,

the scene where Frederone hugs Rosetta. Up to 4 versions, the first, the second, the third and then final.

I prefer not to compare artworks done by others in this forum. Each has his/her own unique style, thus comparing might be a little rude.

Krotus

has a fragment of Rael's memory as a mortal.

As for Rosetta,

if you chose to break promise, Frederone is already saddened by her intention to trying to leave him. And when she killed herself once more, Frederone, who could no longer resurrected her once more, ended up having mixed feelings. A part of him grieved over the loss, while the other raged for being fooled once again. His love turns to hatred when his rage become prominent.

As for the bond,

Technically, when Krotus made Frederone his enforcer when he ruled, he entrusted to him power that allowed him to stand-alone. You can word it that their relation changed from benefactor-to-slave to lord-to-assistant.

As for Rosetta,

I blame myself for thinking such an extraordinary blood-tranfusing...

As for Frederic,

I have only hinted of his wisdom in anatomy, so I doubt anyone will even think of that. My fault, for not including a more complete background.

The girl and the priest

are, unfortunately, just side characters. They are there to show that even the church is not helping Frederic during his dark moment.

Other fact

For the god of destruction part, it was in one of the idea I brainstormed. However, a part of me told me that I should not dwell on such matter. Yes, partly because I don't want some random accusations over religion.

As for the summoning part, as written in Staff Room, Rael himself intentionally leaked out about it when it is near completion.

As for the thing regarding commoner's hardship in practicing, I think back then in the middle age, miracle workers tend to be branded as witches. Of course, I only know about it rather loosely.

[The Same Happy Person]

Is that so... So did Krotus choose which parts of

memory he wanted, or did a little cling to him because it was the most basic information that body had?

Also even if the amount of power allows him to stand alone, my question was,

"Wouldn't it still be easy enough no matter what to take back the power?" I mean if while being stabbed to death he had the time to do so, then thats pretty easy for him to do. Then again you, did sorta show that, by the fact, that half the ends had him stay loyal to krotus.

(hmm to many commas...?)
The minimal religous cover was placed well though, or else it would have seemed like black magic was approved of in the shard world. I really didn't see many magic based insults from the people though. Maybe its because the family servant was just that loyal, and all the rest died to quickly to have a scene where people tried to rally against the 'Evil Undead Summoning Lich'. Or was it size, time, and story flow issues that meant you didn't want to add any more anti-black magic stuff in the story? Maybe it was for the mystery factor? Imagination creating better thoughts then if you put it in yourself and all that.
And i have a new qauestion also.

"Why did Fred even want to try to make allies at that moment in time?" I mean one of them could have easily betrayed him... And he wouldn't have known which one of the lesser liches did it! The way i see it was with equal power, the advantage of surprize would have been worth more than gaining a bit of near useless help, (to either side, as they are lesser liches for a reason) and a bit more stability at the start of his rule. If he won and was weakened enough no alliance would stop the lesser liches from trying to kill him. It does sound smarter though, but i would say it had just as much risk as reward. So.... is that to show that he could take calculated risks as well?

Thank you for answering my questions once more and i wish you well.

[F.I.A]

As for Krotus,

You can say he is both Rael and Krotus. Thus, there are times where he showed his paternal side(For example, ordering Zewoe to make a Rosetta's replicate that is Marliene).

As for the power,

Frederone is given permanent power only when he starts serving under Krotus' ruling. In True Ending, he has yet to be bestowed(Thus, he still needs Krotus to sustain himself.). Only with the permanent power can Frederone live without Krotus.

As for the black magic,

I guess no one have the time to talk, when you should be running away from a hordes of reanimated. As for Metheus, he is the kind of a servant who is gullible, yet has a high faith on his masters.

As for your new question,

In an effort to overthrone Krotus, Frederone makes sure that most, if not all, of the lesser lichs obey him instead of Krotus. Those lesser lichs under him will either be easily manipulated, or are reanimated by him(In short, he could sever them if they try to rebel, just like his former relation with Krotus - the puppet and the puppeteer).

Thanks for your questions, and I hope that they fill your curiosity.

[The Same Happy Person]

Thank you once more. But i noticed something off with your answer to my ally question.

You said that Fred reanimated them all, which would be odd. Afterall, you already said that people can't be ressurected twice, which is why Fred had to let Rosetta stay dead. Or is it just twice by the same power, and thus Fred and Krotus could be considered different powers so it was possible for new revivals to be done by Fred.?

This time i hope i didn't overuse underline.

[F.I.A]

Reanimated as in new flesh brought into Hecatol. Krotus' minions, on the other hand, are given choices either to follow or die.

[the Same Happy Person]

The following post has questions and thus it could imply spoilers of sorts.

Hmm even looking it up, i couldn't figure out what Hecatol meant. 'New flesh brought into Hecatol' implies something at least.. Probably something to do with creation but my, not really a question, question is what does that word mean exactly? Also after thinking more on the minions, how did krotus actually find so many in such a short time? Or was there only a few dozen of them? Did he determine himself how much power each should have to start with? Did Krotus have a way to determine who would work better as what?

Also was whatever he did from Rael or from Krotus? (The ability to tell potential, the power to judge, the eyes of command, whatever it was that he used to determine which person was to live and serve and which were not worth the power to keep them alive.)

My last question is one i have no idea why i haven't asked before, 'Did the fusion of Rael and Krotus pick Rael's son because he figured his traits would work well in stopping Krotus once the drive from his mission was weakened?'

Or was it something like, 'Rael/Krotus remember Fred's determination to live up to his father even after his arm was weakened, so he could see leader/creator/enforcer potential within him?'

It could have been the normal 'Main character has to have some connection to another character or else we have no story thing.' but that would probably not be it.

So my real question is 'Which of these were what you thought of, or even, what was your reason for Fred being made into a lich, as thought of by Krotus?"

My questions keep flowing, the answers keep coming, and this is the most information i ever learned about any game ever. Godspeed to you, and may you be well. (I'm running out of original things to say at the end of each post)

[F.I.A]

Hecatol is made-name based on the word "Hecatomb". In Winter Shard, Hecatol is sort of a tower without any windows to prevent any light entering. Such environment suits as an undead outpost(Regrettably, I was not able to map out Hecatol well during the making.).

Krotus had roamed in the mortal realm for some time, but had been keeping low until he garnered enough force. Of course, any cemetery is perfect as a source for minions.

It is pretty much a sort of promotion and demotion system. If a minion was promoted, an equal strength will be given to serve Krotus better. In a sense of saying, Frederone's strength grows as he rises in ranks.

I am not sure about your next question, but every minions under its creator is at his mercy. Thus, he is free to whether deem any of them unworthy or not.

As for the last question, it might just be pure coincidence Krotus found the dying Frederic(Who did not want to die), or Rael's decision in wanting his own son to right him. Yes, another left unexplained.

Thanks again for spending another few brain cells pondering on this game(I guess I am out of words myself as well).

[Blue Lemma]

I played this a few days ago and never got around to commenting (shame on me >_< ) but there's no time like the present!
I really enjoyed the game I liked it so much I tried to get all of the endings in one sitting. I think the last one I got was the evil ending (not the evil god ending). And then there were little bonuses waiting for me in the staff room, nice touch
I think the "true ending" was the most fulfilling as far as plot, but the Marliene endings were kind of sweet in a dark way ^^
It was clear that there was backstory to the whole Winter Shard world, which is very nice! The use of special event graphics helped tell the story, too. The art could have been more polished, but it didn't detract from the enjoyment.

I think there was one CG where Frederone was touching someone with his death-arm but it wasn't doing anything... is that an oopsie? He needs to keep that thing wrapped up around the women!

It was fun to be as evil as possible and see what terrible things you could make happen ...poor game characters!

Thank you for an entertaining VN!

(The name "Marliene" keeps reminding me of "Marlene" (http://www.jasms.de/galerie/cells/dk_4_02.html) from Dragon Knight 4 She needs a bow and arrow!)

[F.I.A]

I think there was one CG where Frederone was touching someone with his death-arm but it wasn't doing anything... is that an oopsie? He needs to keep that thing wrapped up around the women!

It was fun to be as evil as possible and see what terrible things you could make happen ...poor game characters!

Frederone's death arm only robs the warmth of living thing. Now let's see if anyone can spot something with this last clue?

Of course, there is indeed a blooper, when Rosetta is still alive but dying, and with Frederone holding her blood-stained arm.

(The name "Marliene" keeps reminding me of "Marlene" (http://www.jasms.de/galerie/cells/dk_4_02.html) from Dragon Knight 4 She needs a bow and arrow!)

Hmm, apart from that, pointy ear and hair, I guess they are rather similar regarding the breast part(Haven't played Dragon Knight 4, but that is out as a quiz question in Allstar Mahjong 3).

Thanks for finishing this game for me.

[The Same Happy Person]

Wow i haven't been on in a while... (Thank you for your answers as always, and i hope you reply to these questions too...)
Anyway, more questions...

"How long after his father was convicted in trial, did this story take place after?" Also i wish to know about the percentage of power that Krotus used... By that odd statement, i mean, "While Krotus grants strength to go with rank, how much of his power stayed with him?" In fact a better question may be, "Whats the lowest percent of his original power did Krotus hold?" I think of it as say, 120 power with 20 going to minor liches and 50 for your self 50 for your equal strength enforcer... But, that does not fit in quite right... Because that would mean that the commanders that were killed during the siege had only a little power... So is it more like 40 all minor minions, 40 for your right hand man, and 40 staying with yourself? But 40/6 doesn't work so well... But the 40 power into the minions, do work well with dozens of minor liches. It could just be a mult. factor of a number or maybe you had it calculated from 1,000 or 10,000 to show te real power of Krotus. Anyway before i go off track, "What was the power level of each individual rank or the undead army?"

And more volleyball...

[F.I.A]

Rael had leaded for a while before taking Frederic in. When his son searched for the truth, he on the other hand recruited in minions in the shadow. Yes, you can say during the whole winter.

Gack, I doubt I really spend time thinking about power level, to be honest! As I quoted earlier, Winter Shard is no shounen title like Dragon Ball or Naruto. And no, I definitely don't want to do this.

On a serious note, think of how many a boss of a company will give to his workers. Certainly, it will be minor, unless that worker is his own son.

[BellosTheMighty]

Just finished playing it to completion.

Wasn't particularly impressed at first- it takes way too long to get to the second decision point. Had I made the game (Which I didn't, of course, so who cares what I think?), I probably would have done Freddy's transformation, and then skipped immediately to him arriving at Rosetta's cottage. Except for the discovery of the roses, which could have been filled in later, everything else is pretty much irrelevant to the main plot, except to show what a cold hearted prick Frederone is. And that's adequately shown by things that happen elsewhere in the game.

Once Rosetta enters the equation, things pick up markedly. My brother, I'm sure, would call the author an "Emo Emu" (close cousin to the Drama Llama, but that's neither here nor there). My brother's a nincompoop. There's a vast difference between conjuring real heartache and a fake imitation. Pulling it off the right way takes great skilll- the author makes the grade.

There are some interesting subtleties in the narrative, too. The most obvious is that,

by reviving Rosetta, an act of unquestionable love, Frederone eventually destroys everything she cares about- including the part of himself that still remains human. (Unless, of course, you go all the way to the Rosetta ending- hold that thought a minute).

A more interesting one is the disconnect between the player and the protagonist- while the player is supposed to see that Marliene is the female lead once she shows up, Frederone is so utterly obsessed with Rosetta that he doesn't seem to notice Marliene as a living being until near the end.

Some opportunities for improvement- the Rosetta ending is something of a disconnect- it's a touch too "fairy tale". It fits fine with Frederone's motives in the second act, and Rosetta's motives are plausible at least, but it seems to be a thematic disconnect with the rest of the story. Also, the game is rather sparsely illustrated- I shouldn't be talking, considering I can't draw at all myself, but frankly, we've got at least one significant character- the rival whom Frederone torments in the first act- without a picture. Not to mention all the gruesome events crying out to become images. (I find it amusing, by the way, that the author warns us about Serious Business CGs in the opening, and then proceeds to describe for us in words such spectacles as Fred decorating a man's hand with the eyeballs of his dead companions.) And- getting into nitpicking territory here, but indulge me just one-

the image of Rosetta's funeral is marred by the fact that the author gave her a crown of thorns.

>_< No, dude. Wrong image for the character.

All in all, it was quite a good read. Although there's not enough art, what's there is excellent, and the writing is also commendable. A laudable effort. Looking forward to more from this author.

(P.S.- In the post-game Q&A, the author is talking about rose colors in relation to character's hair. I find it amusing that he neglects to mention the significance of Fred's blue hair. ^_^)

[parvenue]

Great game, F.I.A. Sorry to say I can't write you an essay about it, but I liked it very much. Especially since...

...this game wasn't afraid to show gore or anything. I admit that seeing the blood-soaked room made me go wide-eyed at first, because I wasn't exactly expecting that you'd actually draw everything. Everything as in the little details such as the limbs and torsos lying in the bath tub. Those details were a definite nice touch to the whole scenery, nice going there.

A number of the CGs had me stopping to take a second look. I found myself hitting "h" to hide the text bar dozens of times. Great job with the art! The inclusion of the sound effects was great, too. I jumped during a part in the beginning where the SFX was used. The sound managed to make me cringe in a good way, haha.

That beginning part being the part where Temonz severs Frederic's arm. Ow...

The BGM, as well, was well-chosen. I don't remember any scenes where the BGM felt badly placed. Actually, there was one sound loop that was blindingly obvious of its looping in a bad way in the True Ending. Don't worry about it, though. It wasn't too annoying and a lot of people would probably overlook the sound.

The sound I'm talking about is the portal in the True Ending. There'd be a swirly sound, abrupt stop. Then, swirly again with a stop, instead of a seamless looping of the sound. Swirl, swirl, stop; swirl, swirl stop should have more of a swirl, swirl, swirl, swirl kind of sound, if you get what I mean.

All in all, not a bad game at all. To me, the game felt very complete. I thank you for adding in a gallery for the CGs. The CG sequence that had me page-upping (well, going back and forth and all) the most was...

The comparison between Marliene and Rosetta's deaths in the True Ending. I know, I'm weird. But, my *favorite* sequence was at the end of the True Ending, where Marliene and Rosetta's ghosts are grabbing at Frederone's crumbling hand. They reach and miss...and then his hand's gone away. Pretty sad, but a favorite.

Ooh, and another favorite was that rose abomination that Rosetta was stuck into. I have a thing for weird art like that, so thanks for having that in there. I also enjoyed her funeral. Having the minions carrying her coffin was...sad, yet touching in a way.

Oops, I wrote a lot. Nevermind about me not writing a really long post, heh. Good game here. I loved it! Recommended to all, even if you can't stomach a horrorific scene or two. Swallow your fear, you'll be glad you did (plus this game isn't that bad on the blood & guts scale).