In the Night Beta Tester Sandbox

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Hello, beta testers, and thank you again for offering to help vet, proofread, and test run our game! Feel free to use this open post as a sandbox/TDM of sorts to collect tag samples for your example application. We'll also be using this post to voicetest and practice donning our NPC hats before the game officially goes public, so again, we appreciate your help in this.

We do ask that, if you're planning to app your example app character for realsies, you update your real app with thread samples from the official TDM once it goes up on June 15. Thank you!

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Comments

[withsadness]

[She gives him a look that, for a second, has a very distinct air of What's the point of you? Instead, Mary just stares at him before answering.]

I'm going to make a line of safety! I'll say Mr. Fire, you can't come over this line! That'll be the new rule.

[donttalktome]

[Wow don't get sassy!]

Right, you're going to give orders to the bonfire. You do know that's not how that works, don't you?

[withsadness]

Why shouldn't it? A lot more things can listen than you'd think. Have you ever tried talking to it?

[She'll be as sassy as she pleases!]

[donttalktome]

I haven't needed to.

[He's not even going to dispute the "fire might talk" thing. Who the hell knows in this place.]

The fire never gets bigger. It can't leave that space unless you move it yourself. Although you know, putting wooden sticks close to it might just accomplish that.

[withsadness]

[That nearly-confident air she had fades quickly at the simple mention of the fire potentially growing, and her eyes go wide. All at once she drops her sticks.]

No! Anything but that!

[donttalktome]

[Oh god is this child about to start crying? What do you even do with that? Will hasn't so much as seen a baby in like, fifteen years.]

Come on, don't start screaming. Look, the situation is easily fixed.

[He moves forward and kicks one of the sticks away from the fire. Sorry about your hard work, Mary.]

[withsadness]

...hey, wait!

[Looking hurt, Mary chases after the stick and picks it back up again. Now she's just pouting.]

If there's not anything there...well, it's dangerous. I don't like it. I don't think that there should be a big fire. I think it's awful.

[donttalktome]

[That's what he gets for trying to help, he guesses. And people wonder why he does it so seldomly.]

I don't know if you've noticed, but these— [he gestures to his lantern, which he's got hanging from his belt] don't exactly shed a lot of light. Without the fire, we can't see. What's your problem with it, anyway?

[withsadness]

[Mary fiddles in place, awkward and disquieted.]

I got here because of a fire. But the dark, I don't like that, either. I don't know what to do...

[donttalktome]

[Oh great, she died in a fire. And the cruelty of the infinite multiverse sent her here. That'd be like Will ending up in an afterlife where everyone else was constantly wielding knives. He sighs.]

There isn't exactly an easy answer to that. Fire and darkness are the only options we have. You'll have to get used to one or the other. Just choose which one you hate the least.

[withsadness]

I don't want to choose that way.

[Perhaps stubborn but she's also a baby so also perhaps forgivable.]

I want...fireflies!

[donttalktome]

Fireflies.

[He's never seen one, but he's reasonably sure he knows what she's talking about. Are they even bright enough for that?]

What are you going to do, keep a jar of them on you?

[But ugh, she might start crying again if he shoots down all her ideas.]

Maybe if you're nice to Rastus he'll get you some.

[withsadness]

You think so?

[She's immediately excited. Her very own firefly lantern!]

I'll be his best friend! Then I won't need this dumb lantern!

[Which, notably, she's keeping as far away from her as she can manage without diminishing the flame.]