Frequently asked questions
We have answered our most common questions below to help you with any queries you may have. If your question is not answered below, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are here to help!
General
We currently support Windows, OSX, Android and iOS. Check out the minimum specs on the download page
Scarlet City is committed to creating biblical engagement media products that advance biblical literacy in a robust and relevant way. The Aetherlight is designed to serve Christian community by creating an immersive and fun experience that not only motivates and engages pre-teens with biblical thinking, but connects with their world as well.
Pre-teens today grow up in a world with many competing stories on which they can base their lives. Will it be the story of consumerism? Or perhaps the story of Hedonism? Or even the story of Nihilism? None of these stories are sustainable, and to the Christian, we know that the best story to base your life on is the story of a loving God who created the world good, and despite humanity’s sin, has enacted a plan to redeem and restore that which he created. Pre-teens are caught up in various "life stories" at a young age, and we believe that these stories need to be subverted at a young age with the story of the gospel, so that pre-teens (and teens!) can begin to live an alternative story with confidence. Knowing the story of the Bible will give tweens and teens a vocabulary and a “set of lenses” to view the world and culture as they transition from childhood into adulthood.
We believe that God is a trinity – one Being, three Persons, indivisible but distinct. We are very aware that we need to depict God in a way that represents him with integrity. To express a Triune being in any form is challenging, but this is where the beauty of allegory comes in, as we are not depicting God directly but rather something that is based on our understandings of God. We hope that the way we have portrayed the Trinity inside the world of Aethasia will draw players to want to know the real Great Engineer, that is, God.
Currently The Aetherlight is only available in English, however we do hope to expand to other languages in the future. If you are interested in helping us fund the translation into your language, please get in touch.
We are currenlty developing ancillary resources that christian schools, churches and families can utilise in conjunction with the game and provide a more engaging experience. While you wait for more content, you might like to check out the Postman's Journals with your group in game, they are great for starting discussions. There re also the parent update emails which have discussion starters and tips and tricks for game play. Finally, you can download the Companion App and play the Companion Engines as well as read the Postman's Travel Journals for more direct Biblical links.
Episodes 1 and 2 are available now, and Episode 3 comes out in late 2016.
We don't yet have a firm time for Episode 4 release, stay tuned to our social media and our blog though to be updated when we do announce it.
To connect to The Aetherlight servers, the game needs to be able to create a connection using ports 9933-9935 to IP address 52.89.103.97
Yes, each episode of The Aetherlight needs to be purchased for every player who requires access. We do however offer discounted Family Packs which allow 5 players access to a single episode, or a Family Season Pass which allows 5 players access to all of Season 1 (episodes 1-3).
Parent
The Bible is one complete story from Genesis to Revelation (not a random collection of unrelated stories). Despite the many different stories and types of literature in the Bible, there is a definite narrative thread that tells a purposeful story — the presence and activity of God in the world to work through his people to redeem creation. Jesus is the high-point of this Story – it is all about him, it all only makes sense with him. Humanity has a part to play in this story, by partnering with God in his redemption of his people and creation.
The Aetherlight is designed to engage pre-teens with the Bible. The game is allegorical and is closely linked to the Biblical narrative, however does not use Biblical names, places, and language that may confuse or alienate some players. Players who wish to engage deeper can download our companion application (The Aetherlight Companion Engines) which contain minigames that link the game story of Aethasia with the Bible text and their own lives.
We want to make sure the message we are teaching is not lost in translation! This is achieved by making sure that the allegorical story follows and includes recognisable "moments" from the Biblical story. In game, we have a character known as “the Postman” who gives the player notes from his investigations in Aethasia. The Postman has seen a very interesting link between the unfolding story in Aethasia and a Bible his friend Bob gave him. We also have our companion application (The Aetherlight Companion Engines). Here the Postman helps the player “join the dots” between the Biblical text and the world of The Aetherlight through mini games, to ensure that they make the connections between the allegorical story and the biblical story. These tools help the player unpack the allegory and are core to the game design!
Safety for all of our players is our top priority. Players may report other players for unwanted activities, which will be reviewed by the moderation team and dealt with appropriately. We have designed all systems so that players are kept safe at all times, alongside the great team at Community Sift.
The Aetherlight: Chronicles of the Resistance is certified by the kidSAFE Seal Program. To learn more, click on the seal at the bottom of the page or go to www.kidsafeseal.com.
No! The Aetherlight is designed to ensure that players are taking what they have learnt online and applying that to the real world. We do however recommend that parents take an active role in monitoring how long their children are playing for.
When designing The Aetherlight, we’ve had pre-teens in mind. That doesn’t mean that older “kids” can’t enjoy it too, but some younger children may have trouble understanding the gameplay without assistance as we assume a reading age of approximately 10-11 years old.
We've designed family packs for those families that have a few children keen to play The Aetherlight. If you purchase a family pack, you get access for up to 5 players for the Episode you purchase. All players must sign up with the same parent email address and be associated with your Parent Dashboard.
All 5 players can then play on multiple devices at the same time. In fact, you can play on any device as long as they have the Aetherlight downloaded you simply log in with your unique username and password.
