Cryptwalker

* Sprite
* Portrait

> "*Visitors, neighbors, the more the merrier! All I want is for the Crypt’s mementos to be witnessed.*"
>
>      ― *Cryptwalker*
>
>

The **Cryptwalker** is a character in *Sea of Stars*. It is the caretaker of the Ancient Crypt, and it greets the player at the entrance.

## Compendium Description

***The Cryptwalker***

*The spirit of the Crypt's founder and curator, forever preserved in a lantern carried by a spirit animal.*

*Detached from the world's conflicts, The Cryptwalker's devotion to honoring heroes and builders of the past will remain a full time endeavor for eternity, as a guide for those who wish visit the Crypt.*

  Creature type

## Profile

### Background

The *Sea of Stars* Kickstarter campaign began on March 19, 2020 at 12 p.m. EDT, and its highest backer tier with only 1 slot available was called "The Cryptwalker," costing CA$2,000. It offered exclusive rewards not available to any of the other backer tiers, including:

* "You will design The Cryptwalker with us, and choose its name."
* "Your name in the credits as 'The Cryptwalker'"
* "The permanent Discord title 'Cryptwalker'"

Not even 45 minutes into the campaign, "The Cryptwalker" backer tier was purchased by an individual, who remained anonymous. It was initially planned for this backer to design the Cryptwalker. However, on March 5, 2021, it was revealed that the Cryptwalker tier was refunded, and that members of the official Sabotage Studio Discord community would design the Cryptwalker instead. From May 20-31, 2021, the community participated in voting decisions that determined different aspects of the Cryptwalker, such as its personality and if it would even be a human being.

The Cryptwalker vote was made available to "backers" (community members who Kickstarted the game) and "Solstice Warriors" (an ARG Discord role for active and positive members of the community). Voting decisions occurred in the #cryptwalker-design text channel, and a different question was posed on at least five different days, including May 20, May 21, May 26, May 27, and May 31, 2021. Each vote consisted of about 2-3 choices each, which members would vote-react to with Discord emotes.

The winning votes leaned towards the community wanting the Cryptwalker to be a more spirit-based entity integrated into a physical object, and this information was summarized into an artistic prompt that was sent to Bryce Kho, Sabotage Studio's concept artist. Bryce Kho produced 6 separate concept artwork designs, and of these, 3 were selected and shown to the community to vote upon as their favorite, and thus the winner.

* Option 1: A spirit fox that carries a lantern, which houses the soul of the actual Cryptwalker. Of the three Cryptwalker options, it would be the only Cryptwalker that actually "walked" the Crypt. (1st place in community votes)
* Option 2: A more "abstract" design. It is composed of spinning, hovering rings with baby ghost sharks that spin around the rings. The sharks would spin at different speeds depending on its mood or what it was saying. (2nd place in community votes)
* Option 3: A "quirky" design. It is an ecto-pot, a jar with a face that uses ectoplasm to create limbs. It would teleport by jumping up, breaking itself, and recomposing itself somewhere else. (3rd place in community votes)

The majority vote was for option 1, leading to the finalized Cryptwalker design. Although option 3 did not win, its design was repurposed for the Quiz Master.

### Personality

*This section is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.*
### Appearance

*This section is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.*
## Main Story

*This section is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.*

## Gallery

### Artwork

The Cryptwalker's Kickstarter reveal art.
### Compendium Sprites

The Cryptwalker walking animation.The Cryptwalker idle animation.The Cryptwalker stretching animation.

### Compendium Screenshots

The Cryptwalker within the entrance of the Ancient Crypt.
## See Also

* Official website Compendium entry
* Dev Update July 2021 reveal (timestamp 23:44)
* Kickstarter reveal

## References

1. ↑ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sabotagestudio/sea-of-stars/posts/3319867
2. ↑ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sabotagestudio/sea-of-stars/rewards
3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klwVd7lj1UQ&t=1424s