The official Round Table Studio Ask Me Anything thread was moving at an absolute breakneck pace. Millions of players were flooding the Avalon servers, desperate to interact directly with these mysterious developers.
Amidst the endless sea of moving text, a highly recognizable verified user suddenly posted, instantly drawing the attention of the entire forum.
[Avalon AMA Thread]
MatTheory (Verified):
"Wow, this is a massive surprise. I genuinely thought you guys would remain completely mysterious until the end of time. I will get straight to the point though, specifically for my newly drafted lore theory: Can you confirm if this 'Evolution' state change is permanent? Furthermore, are these creatures purely biological, or are they digitized energy constructs given physical form?"
> DontTryMe:
"Whoa, the real MatTheory! Why are you here? I thought you were busy sitting one inch from your screen trying to dissect the pixel density of a bush in the trailer."
> Design_Novice_Tael [RTS Dev]:
"@MatTheory Hello Mat! To answer your first question: yes, evolution is a permanent biological change! As for the second question, they are entirely organic, biological creatures. However, they possess a unique, innate genetic ability to temporarily convert their physical mass into pure light energy. That is exactly how they are able to shrink down and fit inside the capture capsules!"
> MatTheory:
"I KNEW IT! THE LORE IS DEEPER THAN WE THOUGHT! Thank you, Tael!"
StrategyKing:
"Quick question for the programming team! Will we actually be able to collect every single monster in one single playthrough, or will there be mechanics that force us to trade with other players to complete our collection?"
> Coding_Kim [RTS Dev]:
"@StrategyKing You are going to need to make some friends! There are version-exclusive monsters. Our multiplayer servers are designed specifically for trading and battling. You absolutely cannot catch them all alone."
SpeedDemon:
"Will this game feature an internal timer and speedrun leaderboards like Hades? I need to know if I should start preparing my routing strategies now."
> CodeWhisper_Lendu [RTS Dev]:
"@SpeedDemon No official global timer this time! We want you to relax. This game is meant to be a sprawling, deeply personal adventure. Take your time, explore every corner of the world, and build a bond with your team."
HandsomeJay:
"I desperately need to know about the fire horse. Is it in constant agony? Does it eat regular hay, or do I need to feed it raw coal? If it rains, does it just evaporate?!"
> Coding_Kim [RTS Dev]:
"@HandsomeJay The Rapidash is perfectly fine! The flames do not burn people it trusts. It eats regular hay, though it does enjoy a spicy pepper now and then. And no, a little rain will only annoy it, completely evaporating before it ever touches its skin."
SleepingFrog:
"Can we romance the monsters? Look, I am just asking what half the forum is already thinking. Please judge me silently."
> ArtManiac_Liseli [RTS Dev]:
"@SleepingFrog We are judging you very, very loudly. (And no, you absolutely cannot do that. Seek professional help.)"
…
Lying on his back in his bedroom at the Kepler estate, Dorian burst into a fit of breathless laughter. He clutched his stomach, staring up at the ceiling as he read Liseli's ruthless response to the weirdest question of the day.
Outside his frosted window, the harsh Friton winter was howling, whipping snow across the agricultural fields. Yet, inside his room, the atmosphere was incredibly warm.
Dorian scrolled through the endless pages of comments on his HelioPad. He saw fans expressing sheer joy, players laughing at the developer's jokes, and thousands of people excitedly planning which starter monster they were going to pick.
A profound, gentle smile softened his face.
He always thought game development had felt like shouting into an empty void, hoping someone out there would eventually hear him. He had never experienced this kind of direct, massive community adoration before.
Knowing that there were millions of people out there, genuinely waiting for his creation, fiercely supporting his studio, and defending his artistic vision... it was an entirely new sensation. It filled his chest with a bright, steady heat. He finally understood that he was no longer just building games to survive. He was building a universe for a family he had never even met.
As the AMA progressed, the questions inevitably began to bleed over from Pokémon into their previous massive hit, Hades.
…
LoreMasterKez:
"@Knight_Arthur Where exactly does this 'Greek' mythology come from? I have searched the entire Accord Archive, and there is absolutely zero 1:1 reference to these gods anywhere. Did you invent an entire pantheon just for a game?"
> Knight_Arthur [RTS Dev]:
"@LoreMasterKez It came from a dream. My dream. :)"
> LoreMasterKez:
"Can you expand the lore further?! What happened after the Trojan War? From the scattered logs in the House of Hades, there are hints of a further story regarding that 'Odysseus' guy."
> Knight_Arthur [RTS Dev]:
"@LoreMasterKez There is a story, or maybe there isn't. That is the beauty of these gods. You can make one yourself. There is a hidden log detailing Hestia, the Goddess of the Hearth. We all come from the hearth. We gather together and share stories to keep the dark away. In a way, these gods were how we all used to explain things completely beyond our current knowledge. So go out there, find the magical in the mundane. When you do not know something, make a god out of it."
> ConfusedHusband_44:
"@Knight_Arthur Can I make a god for my wife? Because I literally never know what she wants for dinner and her mind is completely beyond my mortal knowledge."
Dorian let out a loud, echoing laugh, nearly dropping his HelioPad onto his face. The sheer creativity and humor of the community were infectious.
However, as the thread grew larger, the questions naturally shifted toward the current drama surrounding the studio.
Sector7_Citizen:
"Have you guys seen the recent articles written by the big gaming news networks like VGN? They are literally trying to blame you guys for 'ruining' the gaming industry."
> Kasavin [RTS Dev]:
"@Sector7_Citizen We have seen the articles in question. We firmly believe that the best response to corporate criticism is simply to create better, more accessible experiences for the players. We will let our games speak for themselves. Thank you for your continued support."
CodeMiner77:
"Yoo, where is CodeMonkey_Dan?! Blink twice if Arthur is currently holding you hostage in the programming dungeon because of your slip up earlier today!"
> CodeMonkey_Dan [RTS Dev]:
"@CodeMiner77 Hehe, I am perfectly safe! I am actually currently sitting on the floor playing Pokémon. Since Arthur has a strict rule of absolutely no crunching, I have filled up my free time just playing games!"
That single comment from the junior programmer completely derailed the entire AMA.
> SpeedDemon:
"Wait, you are playing it right now?! Give me your entire stock! Let me in!"
> PixelPlower:
"This is cruel teasing. You cannot do this to us, Dan! Show us the purple rat!"
> Skeptical_Steve:
"Pfftt. No crunching? What kind of fairy tales are you saying, Dan? Every single tech company in the Accord crunches their employees. Just blink twice man, we will book a hospital room for you."
> Void_Watcher:
"Wait, is that actually true? Can any other dev confirm this piece of news? A game studio with zero forced overtime?!"
Before Dorian even had a chance to type out a response, his notification feed lit up as several of the core RTS department heads jumped in to answer for him, aggressively confirming the claim.
> ArtManiac_Liseli [RTS Dev]:
"@Void_Watcher It is entirely true! Arthur literally locks the studio doors at 5 PM."
> Coding_Kim [RTS Dev]:
"Can confirm. If the programming team tries to stay late to fix a bug, the AI assistant physically turns the lights off on us."
> AudioBard_Ross [RTS Dev]:
"The only thing crunching in RTS is the snacks in the breakroom."
Meanwhile, inside the RTS group chat, the team was watching the forum's reaction in real time.
[RTS Group Chat]
ArtManiac_Liseli: "I am reading their replies right now. I honestly do not think they will ever believe us when we say there is no crunching in our studio."
Kasavin: "The corporate culture has deeply traumatized us all. A healthy work environment sounds like fiction to them."
…
Back on the Avalon forums, the players clearly did not believe a single word the developers were saying about their work culture.
> Skeptical_Steve:
"Are you kidding us right now? You cannot seriously tell me you have never done crunching on a Day 1 patch launch. Every studio crunches. It is a fundamental law of game development."
> Coding_Kim [RTS Dev]:
"@Skeptical_Steve Well, when the situation absolutely demanded it for stability, a few of us did stay late. However, Arthur forced us to take mandatory paid time off the next day, and we received massive overtime pay for those extra hours. So, I really do not think it counts as the 'crunching' you are talking about."
The first half of Logan's comment had the forum users nodding and sighing in validation; they knew a Day 1 patch required extra hours.
However, the second half of his comment sent the entire thread into another screeching disbelief.
> CodeMiner77:
"Overtime... pay? What kind of absolute nonsense is that?"
> Sector7_Citizen:
"Okay, look, there has to be a line where people stop lying on the net. These devs are clearly just joking around now. 'Overtime pay.' Good one."
> CorporateDrone_00:
"I have worked in Accord tech support for nine years. If I asked my manager for 'overtime pay', I would be thrown out of an airlock. RTS is just trolling us."
The RTS developers frantically tried to reply and confirm that the perks were real, trying to explain their benefits packages and healthcare coverage. It was entirely fruitless. To the millions of citizens in the Accord, employee rights were quite literally a pure, unattainable fantasy.
When the next morning arrived, the citizens of the galaxy woke up to a massive avalanche of new articles from corporate gaming news outlets. The journalists ruthlessly doubted the RTS developers' claims, calling their AMA a "calculated, highly fabricated PR stunt."
However, the massive media push inadvertently created a snowball of unintended consequences.
Employees grinding away in the cubicles of big gaming studios like Nexon and other studios began to read the articles. While they highly doubted the claims just like everyone else, they couldn't help but notice the casual, unscripted way the RTS developers had spoken. It sounded too genuine to be corporate PR. Whispers began to spread through the corporate cafeterias. 'Was there actually a workplace paradise hidden out in the Mid Rim?'
Unfortunately, the AMA had also unearthed a lot of specific gameplay mechanics regarding Pokémon. The gaming journalists immediately latched onto these details, twisting the mechanics to aggressively drive the narrative of the Triple A executives.
By noon, vicious new headlines were plastered across the galactic net.
"RTS CONDONES BATTLING ANIMALS FOR SPORT!"
"DIGITAL DOGFIGHTING: SHOULD THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENTS STAY SILENT?"
These specific, highly targeted headlines successfully grabbed the attention of several prominent, hyper-reactionary animal rights groups in the Core Worlds. Ignoring the massive irony that the Accord routinely slaughtered and enslaved indigenous populations, these groups immediately took to social media. They launched aggressive campaigns, calling for a total boycott of Pokémon to "stop the normalization of animal cruelty."
…
Back in the Round Table Studio junction room, Dorian aggressively rubbed his temples.
"Haaaa..." Dorian let out a long, deeply exhausted sigh. He stared at the glowing holographic table displaying the boycott campaigns.
Lin Liseli crossed her arms, her face scrunched in pure outrage. "This is completely ridiculous! The Pokémon literally faint and go back into their little comfy balls to rest! They are reaching so hard right now!"
Kasavin pushed his glasses up his nose, his expression highly serious. "They are specifically bringing up the 'sensitive education of children' angle, Liseli. The journalists are publicly arguing that our game could teach the wrong moral message to young children all across the Accord. It is a classic, highly effective smear tactic."
Standing nearby, Raja Farzir's blue tendrils were completely rigid. "If this specific narrative continues to gain traction, there is a very high chance we will face an aggressive audit from the Ministry of Civil Obedience."
A sudden wave of nervous tension washed over the room. One of the newly hired junior designers swallowed hard and tentatively raised his hand.
"Should... should we change the battle system?" the junior developer suggested nervously. "Maybe they don't fight? Maybe they just dance or compete in races instead?"
"No," Bem Lendu stated instantly, his voice echoing with absolute authority.
Bem stepped forward, glaring at the hologram. "The entire foundation of this fresh mechanic relies on the simple, yet incredibly deep elemental battling. If we change it to dancing, there are too many rippling changes to the progression system. We might as well just scrap it and make an entirely new game."
The room erupted into chaos as developers began to anxiously throw alternative ideas left and right, desperately trying to figure out how to appease the angry mobs without ruining the game.
"Alright," Dorian said softly.
The room instantly fell silent. Every eye turned to the teenager in the grey sweater.
Dorian looked at his Qerrian PR manager. "Raja. Is there absolute certainty of an audit?"
"I am not entirely sure, Arthur," Raja admitted, crossing his arms. "There is a very strong legal argument that other popular Accord games feature much more blatant, bloody violence than ours. However, I highly doubt logic will matter if the Ministry officially calls for an audit to appease the corporate executives."
Dorian tapped his fingers against his knee. "So, we haven't actually been audited yet, right?"
Raja and Kasavin looked at each other, then slowly nodded.
"Right," Dorian stated, standing up from his chair. The golden, unyielding light of a king returned to his eyes. He refused to let corrupt journalists dictate his creative vision.
"Then let's just do what we can for now," Dorian commanded, his voice perfectly steady, anchoring the panicked room. "Let's focus on the code and fight forward. Make the game exactly how we planned it. But keep our records clean, and be absolutely ready for an audit at any second."
…
Deep within the sterile, cold metallic walls of a Bureau of Stellar Order space station in the Mid-Rim, the atmosphere was strictly business.
CLACK.
An encrypted holographic data puck was unceremoniously dumped onto the pristine desk of a BSO information clerk.
"Find me the complete, unfiltered histories and communication logs for these specific reports," a sharp, commanding voice ordered.
The clerk jumped slightly in his seat, his eyes darting up. Standing before him in a flawlessly crisp, grey BSO uniform was Senior Lieutenant Verza Zal.
The clerk immediately straightened his posture, his heart beating a little faster. Every operative in the sector knew exactly who Verza Zal was. She was the newly rising star of the intelligence apparatus.
Several months ago, when the higher-ups had monumentally blundered the pacification of Yustea, it was Verza who had ruthlessly stepped in, manipulating the public narrative and cleaning up the mess before it could ignite into a full-blown galactic rebellion. Right before that, she had single-handedly unearthed a massive corruption scandal deep inside the Accord Army's chain of command, resulting in the court-martial of several high-ranking officers.
She was brilliant, ruthless, and terrifyingly effective.
"R-Right away, Senior Lieutenant," the clerk stuttered, quickly plugging the puck into his terminal.
He glanced at the requested directories, his brow furrowing in deep confusion. The files she wanted were highly classified internal logs regarding the Ministry of Civil Obedience. Why on earth was a BSO operative looking into another major branch of the Accord government?
As the clerk hurriedly bypassed the firewalls and compiled the data pinpoints, a highly unusual pattern began to form on his screen. Verza was specifically cross-referencing their recent regulatory audits with the private financial accounts of several Triple-A gaming studio CEOs.
'Gaming executives?' the clerk thought, utterly baffled. 'Why is the Hero of Yustea investigating toy makers?' But he knew better than to ask. He simply compressed the files, loaded them onto a fresh drive, and handed them back to her.
"Good," Verza said flatly, taking the drive and turning on her heel.
As she walked down the dimly lit, metallic corridor back toward her private quarters, a rare, genuine smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
If anyone had told Verza a year ago that a simple video game would completely alter the trajectory of her career, she would have had them arrested for psychological instability. But as she slipped the drive into her pocket, she knew it was the absolute truth.
Hades had helped her immensely.
Before playing Arthur's masterpiece, Verza had been paralyzed by a crippling obsession with absolute perfection. It was a flaw that often caused her to over-analyze and delay her actions until the perfect, flawless strategy presented itself, a habit that usually led to ruin when variables changed.
But dying over and over again as Zagreus had rewired her brain. It taught her patience. It taught her that perfection was an illusion, and that sometimes, throwing yourself into the fray and simply moving forward was the only way to escape the Underworld.
She had applied that exact philosophy during the Yustea scandal. When the sudden Stardew Valley DLC dropped and actively began turning the views of Accord citizens toward the truth, her old perfectionist self would have waited too long to craft a flawless counter-narrative.
Instead, she acted immediately. The way she handled the planetary broadcast hadn't been perfect, but the timing was. And that tiny window of decisive action had successfully contained the narrative before it could shatter the Accord's grip.
Furthermore, Hades had given her a terrifying new perspective on how to lead a cultural attack. The concept of "Gods" in the Accord had always been vague. But Arthur's game had taught her the simple, raw nature of belief; how myths and cultural icons could control a population's psyche. With that knowledge, Verza was now planning her "cleanses" much more effectively, targeting the root of dissenting ideologies rather than just arresting the loudmouths.
But right now, Verza was technically on a mandatory leave of absence. She had sunk hundreds of hours into both Stardew and Hades, and like the rest of the galaxy, she was eagerly counting down the days until Round Table Studio released their new monster-catching game.
Then, the sudden, highly orchestrated smear campaign had caught her attention.
She had seen the ridiculous articles accusing RTS of animal cruelty, and the subsequent, highly suspicious threats of an audit from the Ministry of Civil Obedience.
To the average citizen, it looked like a standard moral panic. But to the sharp, paranoid mind of a BSO Senior Lieutenant, it reeked of manufactured corporate sabotage.
Verza stepped into her private quarters and locked the door. She plugged the clerk's data drive into her personal terminal. Lines of encrypted financial data connecting Triple-A corporate executives and Ministry officials began to flood her screen.
Her smile widened into something truly sinister.
There was a blatant outside interest manipulating the Ministry. Corporate executives were using Accord regulatory bodies as their own personal hit squads to do their bidding.
If Verza could completely expose this web of corruption, proving that someone had illegally leveraged Ministry power for private corporate interests... it would be a catastrophic scandal for them.
And an absolutely magnificent addition to her track record.
She cracked her knuckles, her eyes reflecting the glowing data of the terminal. She was going to tear these corrupt executives apart, and most importantly… secure another commendation.
⋘ 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂.. .⋙
🎮:
- Stardwey Valley: Completed.
- Hades: Completed.
- Pokémon: 94% █████████▒
- Sky: Children of the Light: ◌ Loading…
🎬:
-
♬:
- Your Song – Elton John (ch.9)
- A Lovely Night – La La Land (ch.20)
- Merry Go Round of Life – Howl's Moving Castle (ch.25)
- Small Fragile Hearts – Victor Lundberg (ch. 27)
- Skyfall – Adele (ch. 29)
- No Time To Die – Billie Eilish (ch. 30)
- Yesterday – The Beatles (ch. 32)
- Lovely – Billie Eilish, Khalid (ch. 47)
- Best Part – H.E.R. feat. Daniel Caesar (ch. 67)
- Lovely Day – Bill Withers (ch. 68)
- My Song – Labi Siffre (ch. 75)
- Isn't She Lovely – Stevie Wonder (ch. 89)
- Gotta Catch 'Em All – Pokémon OST (ch. 90)
Thank you 4 your support on [email protected]/SmilinKujo~
~🧣KujoW