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The names for the elements had originally all been single-word names except for Moonlit, where we felt that ‘moon’ falls too close to ‘dark’ and didn’t want to confuse players between it and ‘The Darkness’, the shadowy big bad evil of our world.  So Moonlit was born, and by a slip of the tongue we got Sunstruck, while the rest of the names stayed as they were. 

In fairness, we had wondered about the elevating effect of compound-words for only those two, so it was almost a relief to hear it from another quarter reinforcing a feeling of our own.  We concluded that our associate was right in his assessment, and that the names would need to change.

Then we did nothing about that for six months.  Oops.

Finally, we have spent a few weeks testing out various options, finding a compound-word for each element that we are happy with, and that doesn’t step on the toes of any other.  This required a slight adjustment of the initial lineup, but we managed it.  Many thanks to our associate for providing this feedback, as well as offering suggestions to the changes.

Announcing the new elemental names:

Sunkissed; Moonlit; Earthformed; Skybound; Waterborn; Fireforged; Thunderstruck; Naturegrown; and Rainbowdrawn.

Keep overthinking things, AetherRen!

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Last week we discussed ‘filler’ mon, and our decision not to include them.

That conversation originally began on a different question – should we include a ‘normal-type’ element?  We had considered including normal-type aethermon among only NPC’s (non-player characters), but in the end we decided the answer must be ‘no’ on this too.

The reason why players adventure with only a single aethermon companion and not many is because of the aetherbond – a mystical connection between aethermon and human (or aetherren) that represents both their unique friendship and also the very nature of each member of that pair.

There are those of us who like to live fast (thunder), or who blossom in their own time (nature).  Some of us are bold and bright (fire) while others are steady and determined (earth).  You get the idea – whatever qualities you associate with each element, they represent something powerful.  The aethermon you choose, and which chooses you, recognizes something about your own nature, and vice-versa.

Normal-type doesn’t really have that.  It’s not so much a quality as a lack thereof.  What would the power of ‘normal’ be?  It’s not the ability to summon rain, or manipulate the wind.

Of course, this is all a fantasy role playing game and not real life, but after all, the point of role playing is to pretend otherwise.  And NPC’s deserve respect too.

Be true to yourself, AetherRen.

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A question we asked ourselves early in the creation process of Aethermon was, should we have ‘filler’ aethermon?

We concluded the answer was ‘no’, and today we’re discussing why.

As mentioned last week, Aethermon is not a collect-a-mon game.  In collect-a-mon games it makes sense to have filler creatures – that is, less interesting, weaker foes that make the player’s team or boss monsters more interesting by comparison.  A psychological buff, if you will.

A perfect example of this is Rattata from Pokemon Red or Blue.  Rattata has an adorable character design, and is quite an exciting Pokemon to discover – the first time you encounter it.  After that…not so much, and the reason is, there are SO MANY OF THEM.  But once you’ve chewed your way through the hordes of Rattatas towards Viridian Forest, how much more exciting to finally discover a rare and tricky-to-capture Pikachu!

Both are rodent creatures with small, cute designs, but Rattata is all-too-common whereas Pikachu is relatively rare.  Moreover, Pikachu has cool electricity powers that offer a real advantage in the second gym battle and beyond, whereas Rattata never really has any special skills.

I’m willing to bet there are some hardcore Rattata fans out there regardless – and again, all of this is fine in a collect-a-mon game where you can add whatever pieces to your team that you need or want in order to defeat the challenges in your path to the top.

But what if Rattata was your only pokemon – ever? 

And what if other players got a Mewtwo?

Then the game starts to feel a mite unfair.

In Aethermon, your companion is not simply a battle minion but an ally and trusted friend – aethermon have personhood after all (see previous blog post).  For this reason, representing some as powerful and valuable and some as run-of-the-mill cannon fodder disrespects the very tenets we have established.

Next week we will continue this subject into a discussion of ‘normal-type’. 

Stay special, AetherRen!

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If you’ve ever studied the philosophy of ethics, you will have heard of Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative.  This doctrine believes that morally good behaviour should be based, not on what works best for you and your life, but on what works best if all moral agents were to follow the same course.  A central tenet of this is the belief that a person has a value in and of themself, not merely for what or how they can be used.

This is a belief we have leant into when creating the aethermon.  The story takes place in a world much like our own, with humans and animals already established by the time the aethermon arrive – which is itself long before the time the story takes place.  The aethermon are not human, but nor are they animals.  They are their own moral agents.  We wanted to be unambiguous about their moral value, in a way that is difficult when discussing animals in our own world.  

Here are some of the ways we are following this principle both in the game design and in the lore of the World of Aethermon:

Aethermon is not a collect-a-mon game.  There is no mon-trading mechanic, nor does the player capture wild aethermon for the purposes of enslavement or battle (or anything else).

The aetherbond is a unique reciprocal relationship.  Much like a deep personal friendship in the real world, it is not replaceable – although one can be friends with many aethermon, humans and aethermon share only one aetherbond.

Although the basic concept of Aethermon is a battle sport contest, it isn’t merely about putting your aethermon under physical harm, cockfighting-style.  In the first game of Aethermon, players proceed with their aethermon from a small village to the stadium of a large city, to compete in the Aether Championships.  This has a fairly typical sports trajectory – challenge small opponents, then minibosses, then eventually compete for the cup.  However, there is more to the World of Aethermon than merely a battle game, and that isn’t the end of your journey.

Do right, AetherRen.

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