So How Does the World Work?

[Magicphobic]

Alright, my first topic! This form doesn't seem to have a off topic section that I can find so general discussion it is. 

I have a few thought provoking questions about how does the world of Don't Starve work now with the new information we've been given with the update. That said, if you haven't seen the update yet...

SPOILER WARNING, TURN BACK NOW.

1. First of all, is this world located anywhere on earth or is it another dimension?

I think I recall from the William Cater puzzles that both Maxwell and Charlie ended up here because of the book itself, it brought them here. In origins trailer though Maxwell helps Wilson construct a portal to bring Wilson there, which can support the dimension thing. I think it's probably within the Codex Umbra, which also explains all the Shadow energy and horrible stuff in the world. Also, in the update Maxwell and Wilson make the new multiplayer portal bringing more characters into the world. Any thoughts on this?

2. What happens in this world when you die?

Okay we all know that if we die in the game we just loose our world and it resets (using logic from the base game, in together for game play reasons you can have endless mode and such where you keep your world, but if you play survival you loose it anyway like intended) because that's just a game mechanic right? What if it wasn't though?

From what we know the goal in don't starve is for the player to traverse adventure mode while surviving the harshness of the world and you need to make it to Maxwell to dethrone him. But whoever dethrones takes the throne, so following the base game's lore that's how Wilson ended up on the throne. The question is how does Maxwell end up back in the world as survivor now? He turns to bone and dust when you release him as pointed out by Wilson in the comic puzzle. You do unlock Maxwell as a playable character when you reach him, so that could be a hint. However there is a flaw where if Wilson should be controlling the throne it should be as soon as Maxwell returns as a survivor. However in the update, because Charlie took the throne, Wilson was released but this doesn't add up.

When Maxwell runs into Wilson, it appears Wilson has been surviving now for a good few days, where the comic shows us that it seems Maxwell just got here, assumingly the same version of himself that died as soon as Wilson took the throne. You see the problem in timing here? Maxwell should of been the one to be surviving a few days and Wilson run into him. They don't seem to talk about Charlie either, you'd think Wilson would of pointed that out that's how he got off the throne, but he doesn't.

My conclusion for this: They don't know Charlie has the throne and what's really going on here because when you die, the world 'resets' and they 'respawn' in a sense. They don't have their memories. (this could be argued thought cause Wilson seemed to recognized Maxwell (and was out for blood) or it could of been he mistook him for another one of the world's monsters.)

3. What point do the other characters serve?

So far all I'm getting from the puzzles and lore updates is that whatever conflict is going on here it mainly revolves around Maxwell, Charlie, and Wilson, since we really only got information on these three, and even Wilson is less important it seems then the conflict going on with Charlie and Maxwell. (Personally I still wanna know WHY Maxwell brought Wilson here, but moving on.) 

It seems to me that this update was the first time Wilson has canonically interacted with someone else. _{(I Don't count the general trailers for together as they were animated to support the "play with your friends" features, unless there actually is a subplot there then I will go back to them.)} He's interacted with both Maxwell and Charlie. The only time I can recall him interacting with any of the characters brought in with together now is at the end of the comic, I guess that counts. Yes these characters are also in the base game, but this also poses questions mainly Webber and Wes. You unlock Wes by burying his skull, which means that Webber possibly died before Wilson, or they do inhabit the same landmass (reasoning for Maxwell bumping into Wilson). Wes is more interesting cause you unlock him in Adventure mode, which is accessed by going through Maxwell's door which seems to lead to other dimensions of the world. You have to save Wes to unlock him and he is alive and moving in person, so I guess Wilson interacted with him before in a sense.

Now none of this could mean anything and just be how the game devs made it to unlock characters but it's interesting to think about, also considering Wes is one of the characters to come out of the portal. 

I have a lot more I can talk about but I think these 3 are good to start off right? Please comment your thoughts or any questions or theories you may have down below and lets discuss them! Feel free to challenge, correct, or question any of my own theories or reasoning. I like debating this stuff, and please this is just a topic to voice opinion and speculation so don't be rude or get out of hand if you don't agree with someone else or have problems with their opinion/theories.

Other then that, have fun!

[DwerBomb]

As for why all the characters have been brought in DS, it's probably to act as food for Them, slowly feeding off their sanity

[RickyBelanger]

I think the unlock mechanisms are just gameplay mechanics. I always thought that the survivors were all on different islands, as adventure mode has five individual worlds. Wilson does bring up charlie as well, the DST trailer is a form of "speech bubble" for wilson if you look at the comic's art. 

DST just came out of beta, which is a way of loosely saying that anything happening before release was not cannon.

[Arlesienne]

My three pence to this delicious thread. Working in letters, expect ravings from now on ;). And remember it is just an interpretation.

1. A parasite dimension, a blob on the fabric of the multiverse if you will. The shadow ones as witnessed by Maxwell are malevolent creatures, curious ("they just watch" - from Adventure Mode's epilogue) and possibly envious of humans. My opinion is They need sentient beings (or just are bored without them). The Ancients fell for their tricks just as Maxwell did, allowing Them to alter their world through nightmare fuel and so on until their civilisation crumbled. I like the parasite dimension theory as it sorts out the differences between Earth and DST. In a way, the mobs fit expectations of their inspirations and behaviour of creatures from Earth. Cue the piggies and the bunnymen. The shadow ones cannot achieve a perfect simulacrum, but it does not deter them. Maxwell was imprisoned by the Nightmare Throne to give them a human point of view on how to "improve" the DS dimension. Remember it takes a human to know cruelty and They appear to have fun pitting mortals against their creations and each other (Maxwell and the others).

You don't have to take the Codex Umbra as the actual place DS resides in. It can be just a portal to it. See, it appears every PC was lured there by Maxwell using what they trusted and desired. Wilson calls himself a scientist (more like an ocultist given his story with Maxwell, but whatever). He had to build a machine for immersion (the suspension of disbelief). Maxwell was tricked by Them through a book after becoming obsessed with finding success as a magician as it made sense. It is like scenery or redecorating a room. You pick what fits the person to use it most.

2. Wilson (or whoever rescued Maxwell) back in the world while Charlie appears to rule. My take on this (if interpreting it from a narratologist's, rather than a ludologist's, point of view) involves the warm feelings Charlie seems to have had for Maxwell. He gave her a job (in the Twenties - a bold move), showed her many dazzling things. They looked like friends, possibly with something of an infatuation on her side (no opinion on this).

If so, seeing how cruelly Maxwell treated the PC (no matter who they are, Wilson, Willow or whom have you), Charlie has reasons to fear the new prisoner will take retribution on him. So she sacrifices herself for him. I don't like the mushiness of this theory, but it is something. Then you get Maxwell doomed to roam the world as further amusement of Them, the remembrance floral postern being a good example of this just as his quotes.

This leads to your original question. The PC sees Maxwell wither. It does not mean he DOES die. It can be a trick of Them. The same for Them reviving their playthings if they are deemed engaging enough. This in turn explains the reason for reappearances of the PCs, most notably Webber.

Why Webber? Was our favourite archnomorph boy Maxwell's first victim? I could see that. Look, Maxwell had to lure someone into a world that is a distortion of Earth. Who is more trusting than a little kid? It also shows how desperate Maxwell was. When it did not work, he tried other people (mind you, not the "average" folk: you get a pyromaniac, a morphing lumberjack, Wendy with Abigail, three performers - Wigfrid, Wolfgang and Wes - BECAUSE average folk would be less likely to fall prey to his promises), he went for Wilson as he saw how desperate the unsociable scientist was. Anyway, I can see it this way:
- in DS Adventure Mode, playing Webber takes place before the other characters;
- in DST, he (possibly by Charlie, Them or something else at work) was brought back (the world is crazy enough for this to work: it is a favourite escape of many artists and nobody can deny Klei members that title);
- similarly the world of DS is cut into smaller parts of different chances (the Pants of Time theory), so in one run, Webber could have survived whatever caused his death that had already occurred as you unlock him); THIS SOLVES EVERYTHING.

Now, a little disclaimer: it is fairly twisted. But so are the minds of writers (cue my hopeless case) and the world of DS.

3. Maxwell brought Wilson and any PC to appease the lust of Theirs for mortal amusement (DS is a gladiatorial arena of sorts) and in turn get a chance to escape the Throne. This one is clear at least.

4. Nobody has a reason to talk about Charlie. You mix the cognition of the player and the PC. The player knows the monster in the dark is Charlie. The PC knows there is a monster in the dark and finishes here. The comic has Wilson and Maxwell, yes, but any PC has a good reason to despise Maxwell, so small talk is unlikely to happen. A viable reaction would be the triad of Fs: fear, flusterment and fury. Also I doubt Maxwell himself would be eager to talk about Chrlie as he clearly feels guilty about her change. And rightfully so: he had reasons to know the Codex Umbra was no average book and yet he toyed with its dark powers he did not comprehend. Charlie was just an innocent cheerful girl/young woman.

5. One thing I know about my trade: as many facets of a work as many readers, because they interpret it differently. It could be the people at Klei did not really dwell on the points you raise that much, instead going with the feeling. And it would not diminish the brilliancy of their creation at all. I am not saying anything here has literary interpretation. It can be just mechanics. Then again I feel better with the narratologists than ludologists and cannot avoid analysing DS and DST in the light of game studies. DST is the edition of DS as a world after the events of DS or just another dimension when all paths merge (see Aarseth's papers on hypertext regarding literature and games). Sure, the PCs are gathered together because THE PLAYERS want it this way, but it does not change the principle. For instance my headcanon for DST after the official launch is that whoever dethroned Maxwell was "saved" by Charlie worried about what would likely befall Maxwell. Now, bearing in mind she feared and hated the shadow ones back in the States, it would make sense she, knowing how they enslaved both her and Maxwell (pick who is the greater monster), wages a vendetta gainst them in hopes of escaping or just destroying the realm altogether just to prevent Them from obtaining more victims. And she uses the power to bring back all others as distraction for Them. It is one thing to pull the strings of one puppet and another of multiple ones. Having to deal with various transients gives Charlie an advantage of being left unsupervised. I add to this my homebrew rules:
- as they are in another dimension with time flowing differently, the PCs do not age (this explains why you cannot die of age as Wickerbottom plus the lack of maturing of Webber and Wendy - it would be a waste for the shadow creatures if their playthings could die in peace of old age: cruel... and it fits);
- transients can come from other worlds than just Earth (because my players like mixing characters).

Then again, it is just an interpretation. Not better, not worse. One thing is clear: the game is excellent writing/RP-ing fuel (and the thread should be stickied).

PS AKA Humorous Addendum: to answer the previous interlocutor, I sincerely hope there were no cannons in use in any DS or DST session due to the high casualties they cause. Naturally Through the Ages can change it ;).