Yesterday, I went over the walkthrough of Winter Island. It goes over how to do each part, as well as information on the side missions. For a reminder, here’s the schedule for the week as seen the last couple of days:
You may click on one of the red buttons to read more about the section. The green button is the current section.
Winter Island – Extras:
Previously, I went over the story details and the gameplay details. Anything that I haven’t covered that I plan on going over are going to be covered today. Starting with…
Achievements:
Not counting any additional achievements, there are 75 achievements you can unlock by playing Winter Island. They include completion achievements, progress achievements, and status achievements.
Achievement List
- Day One – Complete “Let There Be Light”
- Day Two – Complete the early Palm City missions
- Staff of Power – Obtain the Candy Cane Staff
- Bright Friendship – Free Charlotte Sky
- Firey Friendship – Free Andrew Cross
- Firing the False God – Expose James
- Haunted Harbor – Free Moonlight Harbor
- Save the Farm – Free Agrarian Beach
- Don’t Desert the Desert – Free Palm City
- The Future isn’t here Yet – Free Aurora Village
- This Land is My Land – Free all four villages
- Liberation – Disband the Cult
- Bye Bye, James! – Defeat James
- Dark and Cold – Complete the Cold Caves
- The Room Down Below – Complete Hall of Death
- Haunted House Journey – Complete Bayside Haunted House
- Quicksand – Complete Sand Caves
- Putting out the Fire – Complete Cavern of Fire
- Savior of Humanity – Complete Robot Airship
- The End Times – Complete Revelations Temple
- Winter Transportation – Obtain the Snowmobile
- Right to Bear Arms – Obtain Snowball Shooter
- Aim with Accuracy – Unlock Scope
- Gunsmith – Upgrade your Snowball Shooter
- Always Hit – Unlock Homing Ammo
- Light at the End of the Tunnel – Upgrade your Staff in the Cold Caves
- Leap of Faith – Upgrade your Staff in the Hall of Death
- Jousting – Upgrade your Staff in the Bayside Haunted House
- Stone Buster – Upgrade your Staff in the Sand Caves
- Line Rider – Upgrade your Staff in the Cavern of Fire
- Martial Artist – Upgrade your Staff in the Robot Airship
- Thunder and Lightning – Upgrade your Staff in the Revelations Temple
- Charged Up – Smash one of the Magic Crystals
- All Charged Up – Smash all four of the Magic Crystals
- Quest for Power – Unlock all Staff Upgrades
- War Weapons – Unlock all Snowball Shooter Upgrades
- Leftovers – Collect all To-Go Boxes
- Super Snowmobile – Unlock all Snowmobile Upgrades
- Carol of the Bells – Unlock all Jingle Bell Upgrades
- Always What you Need – Unlock all Equipment Upgrades
- Health Expert – Unlock all Health Upgrades
- End of Darkness – Unlock all Energy Upgrades
- More Space – Unlock both Inventory Upgrades
- Rich Traveler – Unlock both Wallet Upgrades
- Hero of the Island – Unlock all Stat Upgrades
- Gold in the Sand – Collect all Golden Snowflakes in Palm City
- Lake of Riches – Collect all Golden Snowflakes in Moonlight Harbor
- Farming for Gold – Collect all Golden Snowflakes in Agrarian Beach
- Top Diamond – Collect all Golden Snowflakes in Aurora Village
- Streets of Gold – Collect all Golden Snowflakes in Lumen City
- Happily Lively After – Complete all Story Missions
- Volunteer – Complete all Side Missions
- Gifts from God – Complete all Present Worlds
- Gold Mine – Collect all Golden Snowflakes
- Time for Everything – Complete all Side Missions, Present Worlds, and Golden Snowflakes
- Champion – Collect a trophy
- Champion of Palm City – Collect all three trophies in Palm City
- Champion of Lumen City – Collect all three trophies in Lumen City
- Champion of Moonlight Harbor – Collect all three trophies in Moonlight Harbor
- Champion of Agrarian Beach – Collect all three trophies in Agrarian Beach
- Champion of Aurora Village – Collect all three trophies in Aurora Village
- Snowmobiling Champion – Collect all five Snowmobile Race trophies
- Ice Hockey Champion – Collect all five Ice Hockey Trophies
- Snowball Fight Champion – Collect all five Snowball Fight trophies
- Greatest Champion – Collect all Trophies
- Coin Hoarder – Own 10,000 Snowflake Coins in Bank at once
- Working Hard – Earn a total of 50,000 Snowflake Coins
- Big Spender – Spend a total of 20,000 Snowflake Coins
- Champion’s Money – earn 10,000 Snowflake Coins from winter sports
- Looting for Money – earn 20,000 Snowflake coins from breaking presents
- She who fights Monsters – defeat 300 enemies in total
- Sharpshooter – defeat at least 30 enemies using the Snowball Shooter
- Charge! – defeat at least 30 enemies using the Dash Attack
- Crab Hunt – defeat 50 snow crabs before destroying the snow castle
- Past vs Future – defeat 50 robots
Cutscenes and Songs:
As I previously said, the cutscene part of the game is inspired by the animated musicals of the 1980’s and 1990’s, such as the Disney Renaissance and the like. The three most obvious movies behind the inspiration for Winter Island are The Lion King (1994), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), and The Prince of Egypt (1998). This is especially true for Hunchback, given that the book and all of its adaptations are not based on the Bible, but the Disney adaptation has several Christian themes and references (which is unusual for Disney, which tries to stay out of this). What do all three of these movies have in common? They are all animated musicals, they are the darkest projects of their studios (The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame are the two darkest WDAS films while The Prince of Egypt is the darkest Dreamworks film), they have biblical references (yes, Lion King has a few), they use chanting as part of the musicals (especially Hunchback), and they have an intro song that hits really hard (“The Circle of Life”, “The Bells of Notre Dame”, and “Deliver Us” are all great opening songs).
One difference between these movies and Winter Island is that Winter Island is a completely original story. While it’s no stranger to pop culture references (like the part of James’ backstory where he kills a puppy and nearly kills the puppy’s owner was a reference to The Power of One) and references to actual news stories (like Janet’s funeral protest was a reference to the Westboro Baptist Church), I try to remain original with the plot structure. I also have references to my life and my struggles. For example, that part where Jenny was kicked out of the Palm City Cathedral for violating a secret and poorly enforced rule, that was based on how I got in trouble on other sites for stuff not stated in the rules or for off-site behavior.
Cutscene List
Here’s a list of all the cutscenes. The ones in italics are the musical cutscenes, while the rest don’t have any songs.
- The Tale of Snow and Ice – the introductory cutscene. It introduces Terra Vita and shows every corner.
- My Journey Begins – Jenny walks from her house to the Palm City Cathedral.
- Audience with James – Jenny talks to James about the eternal winter.
- The Candy Cane Staff – as Jenny picks up both the Physics Book, she also sees a Candy Cane Staff. God comes and tells her about it.
- Meeting Charlotte – Jenny finds Charlotte at the end of the Cold Caves, only to be confronted by the beast.
- Freeing Charlotte – Jenny rescues Charlotte and takes her out of the cold caves.
- New Snowmobile – Jenny earns a snowmobile for free from the snowmobile dealer.
- Welcome to Lumen City – Jenny and Charlotte enter Lumen City.
- The Library Fire – after Jenny rescued the captives from the evil spirits, the husband of the librarian tells her and Charlotte about the crime.
- Jenny’s Lullaby – Jenny informs Mr. Barquoy about the fire as he gives clues.
- Stay in Palm City – Jenny informs James about the fire, but was told to stay in Palm City. She was kept in the church for violating the rules.
- Carl Robertson – Charlotte meets Carl Robertson at his house, but learns that he wasn’t responsible for the fire.
- A Dangerous Cult – Andrew is freed, while Jenny and Charlotte learn about the culprits behind the library fire.
- Jenny’s Final Warning – James threatens to fire Jenny if she leaves Palm City again.
- Jenny’s Expulsion – Jenny gets kicked out of the Palm City Cathedral, and is banned from attending any church or leaving the island for interfering with cult activities by suppressing organized crimes.
- Talks of Revenge – Jenny tells Charlotte and Andrew about her expulsion. She initially refused to get revenge, but she learned that she can fight back if James is actively hurting her.
- Now You Are Free – as they’re about to get a suite room, Jenny was told that since she was kicked out of the church, she is no longer bound to the rules.
- Mother and Son Reunion – Audrey Golden and Mr. Barquoy meet each other for the first time in over 30 years.
- Charlotte’s Abduction – while trying to stop the priests in the Faith District from harassing the cult members, some kidnap Charlotte to distract Jenny.
- Failure – Jenny discovered that all of the money she donated to the Faith District were taken by the priests. Meanwhile, James threatened Jenny for leaving Palm City and for interfering with the cult.
- Exposing James – Jenny, Charlotte, and Andrew tell one of the priests of the Palm City Cathedral about James and his disturbing past.
- I am a God – James was in the middle of a breakdown after his expulsion from the Palm City Cathedral.
- The Infinite Basket – the squad invent a food basket that provides infinite food.
- Plans to Save Terra Vita – Mr. Barquoy moves into the suite and tells Jenny about how to save Terra Vita.
- Janet’s Death – Jenny learns that Janet dies.
- Janet’s Funeral – the cult hatefully protests Janet’s funeral. Andrew beats the protestors, resulting in all three members of the trio being scoffed at by James. Then God reprimands both Andrew and James, only for Andrew to capitulate while James rejects God.
- Andrew’s Warning – at the hotel, Jenny scolds Andrew for his acts of violence.
- Craig’s Lament – Craig talks about his life and how he was forced to join the cult.
- Craig Leaves – Craig departs from Terra Vita by motorboat.
- Death of Mr. Barquoy – Jenny watches James as he beats and kills Mr. Barquoy. She broke down, crying, while James taunted her.
- Mr. Barquoy’s Funeral – most of Lumen City’s population attends Mr. Barquoy’s funeral. Jenny and Audrey crying the most.
- Francine’s Message – the ghosts of Francine Miller and a puppy came to tell Jenny about the magical chest’s weakness.
- Eavesdropping the Church – the trio witness James turning one of his members into a pile of soot, then harassing a photographer for taking pictures of evidence.
- The Magical Chest – Jenny and Charlotte put in three items related to James’ crimes in the chest. Then they remove the chest after Jenny’s failed attempt to break the chest.
- The Chest is Broken – the chest breaks after Jenny delivered ten hits. After the “30 minutes later” time card, Terra Vita was under daylight and free from the eternal winter, while James got angry. Jenny then exposes his scheme, forcing him to run away.
- Discussion of James – Jenny, Charlotte, and Andrew talk about what they just did while wondering where James went. They then learn that he went inside one of the caves.
- Lair of the Beast – Jenny prepares to fight James while he did the same thing. He also turned the room into an arena over the portal to Hell.
- James’ Last Stand – James attempts to kill Jenny by stepping on her. Then he was forced to go to Hell by an angel, as the trio went back to Palm City. Jesus then came to congratulate Jenny for saving Terra Vita.
- The Tale of Snow and Ice (Reprise) – Jenny announces that peace has been restored to Terra Vita.
- Credits – the credits of the game.
Song Information
Throughout the entire game, there are twelve different songs that tell the story, making Winter Island looking like a stage musical while also being an adventure game.
- The Tale of Snow and Ice – the intro song is a dark and gloomy intro about the eternal winter and what it’s like. There are three verses, and it’s sung by the narrator in E-Minor.
- My Journey Begins – as Jenny walks to the Palm City Cathedral, she sings a song about how the eternal winter started and her plans to end it. There are two verses, where the first one is in F#-Major, and the second was in G-Major.
- Welcome to Lumen City – as Jenny and Charlotte arrive, one of the men sings a song about Lumen City, describing the city. There are three verses, all sung in G-Major.
- Jenny’s Lullaby – before Jenny talks about the library fire, Mr. Barquoy sings a song about how his relationship as a father figure to her. It’s slow, calm, and sung in C-Major.
- Stay in Palm City – while James punishes Jenny by keeping her quarantined in the church, he sings a song how it’s her duty to stay in Palm City and how she’s not allowed to get out. There’s only one verse, and it’s in C#-Major.
- A Dangerous Cult – as Jack Cross reveals the culprit behind the library fire, he also describes who they are in a song. There are two verses, and they’re both in D-Minor.
- Now You Are Free – since Jenny was kicked out, Andrew tells once she’s out of the church, the rules James put on her no longer applies, so he sings a song on what she can do. There are three verses, where the first one is in C-Major, the second in C#-Major, and the third in D-Major.
- I am a God – James was inside a cave, upset at his expulsion. But he sings about how powerful he is, and how they still haven’t taken that power. The song has two verses, and they’re in E-Minor.
- Craig’s Lament – Craig sings about the mistreatment he suffered in the cult. According to the song, he was forced to join the cult via kidnapping, and during his membership, he became even more miserable because of the orders. He also reveals that the cult doesn’t recognize Jesus. The whole song is sung in three verses, where the first two were in D-Major, and the last one is in D#-Major.
- Lair of the Beast – the song shared by both Andrew and James was about the fight. There are three verses, all sung in E-Minor. The first one was sung by Andrew, telling Jenny that there’s one last thing to do. The second was sung by James before the transformation, has he sang about how angry he was for everything Jenny did. The third verse was after James transformed his lair into the arena, as he sang that he is ready to fight and send Jenny to Hell.
- The Tale of Snow and Ice (Reprise) – the reprise to the original song, except that it was a joyful celebration sung by the chorus now that the eternal winter ended and that James is dead. The song was sung in G-Major, as Jenny repeated the last line in solo.
- Journey of a Girl – the song in the credits was about the struggles as the minister’s lead advisor, getting rid of the eternal winter, and becoming the minister.
Idea History:
Over the last many years, I have repeatedly made revisions to make the story better. In fact, while writing the story over and over again, I found some plots that actually worked. I used the best of the plots and mixed them to make the perfect version of Winter Island.
- In fact, the very first version, which was concepted in 2013, is completely different to the version I have now. In many early versions, the island was simply called Winter Island, and the eternal winter is something that needs to be saved instead of ended. In the first few, Winter Island was Santa Claus’s favorite vacation spot, and San Clause, one of his former elves, took over the island in revenge for firing him. So Santa invites some kids to Winter Island and takes them so they can save the island.
- Before the first version, it was already part of something else. On LittleBigPlanet Central (which no longer exists), I written some blog entries about the game idea Studio Quest, where some kids had to save the studio from some evil magician. One of the levels was Winter Island.
- In the 2010s, all of my revisions of the idea show that the game was supposed to be a 3D Platformer. And in 2019, I thought of making it a franchise. The first game was about a war between Winter Island and Summer Island, the second was about robots from the future advancing technology to the point where nobody wants it anymore. The third was about San Clause trying to take Christmas away. And the fourth was about the annual winter sports competition. This was also when I decided to have songs in the cutscenes.
- Starting 2020, I turned it more into an adventure game idea, where you have story missions instead of collectibles. I used the second game from 2019 as the base inspiration. This was also when I decided to put more focus on religion. Some ideas include:
- Jenny having to travel through time between 1944 (present) and 2044 (future) to save the eternal winter and to get rid of the robots.
- Jenny having to travel to Winter Island, Summer Island, and Future Island. On Winter Island, she accidentally let the evil Bud Jackhaul onto the island, and left in exile on Summer Island. Then she went to Future Island to prepare to fight Jackhaul and save Winter Island.
- Instead of Summer Island, Jenny goes to California when living in exile. This was where she had to fight James and his cult. While Bud Jackhaul was the main antagonist, trying to ruin Winter Island for banishing him, James was just a minor antagonist who was an abusive leader of a cult. Also in this version, Jenny went to Desert Island (which was futurized), Forest Island (which became a deadly inferno), and Jungle Island (which was frozen). And then she goes back to Winter Island.
- I also had to change the map for Winter Island. There used to be three different regions of Winter Island – Cold Rock Shores (the beach regions around the mountain), Pine Plateau (the forest plateau in the southeastern corner, also higher up), and Mount Aurora (the mountain region in the middle. Cold Rock Shores had Palm City, Jollyville (now Lumen City), Agrarian Beach, and Frost Harbor (now Moonlight Harbor). I changed the map to make the game shorter, where Jollyville took the plateau in the middle, while the beach towns are smaller. The tall mountain still exists, but only on the east side instead of in the center.
- In the last few versions, I got rid of Bud Jackhaul and put James front and center. And in just this version, one part of Jackhaul’s development (where he was an abusive father to Mr. Barquoy) became part of James (who was still an abusive cult leader).
Here are some other interesting facts about my idea development:
- Jenny’s birthday is February 13th, which is also my birthday.
- James’ birthday is August 18th, which is at the opposite time of the year.
- Originally, Terra Vita’s coordinates were 40°N, 180°W. It was changed to 30°N, 180°W since deserts are more common at that latitude. The shift in latitude also coincides with Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.
- I also have a lot of symbolism in the game. There are several references to the Seven Seals and three different views of it, the surnames of the protagonists were related to the life of Jesus, and the surname of James was related to Satan.
And that’s all for the ideas for Winter Island. There will be more game ideas in the future, but they will be focused on different games.
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