And that's it. It doesn't feel like the answers to at least my question wasn't JS trying to be creative/subversive, it feels like they were trying to do the easiest thing possible. Going through my questions:
Q1. What the heck was that about?/What was even the story about?
A1. Okay, to be fair, after watching it a few times I thin I got the story they were trying to tell. Jazan sees Nabile is sad so decides to set up a secret so that Nabile could pull out her thieving skills out to solve and rewarded in the end with a diamond (BTW, WE got a fake diamond, I'm sure Jazan gave Nabile a real one. Giving out a present to every Neopian ain't cheap
). Of course that does say something questionable about their marriage. Like why didn't Nabile first ask Jazan what was he doing? How often does Nabile sneak around and spying on Jazan and breaking into his things? How often does she do it that Jazan knew she would do it? I'm kind of sensing some trust issues going on here, at least on Nabile's part.
Q2: Laser Security in Qasala?
A2: As
Herdy said, the reason they went for laser security system was because it was the easiest thing to do. Like they could have one something like an arrow or pitfall trap but that might have required some additional work.
Though that said it shouldn't technically be too surprising. I mean Qasala must have some trading contact with Virtupets Space Station and Kreludor, so it's not technically impossible Jazan decided to go with a high tech security system to confuse thieves no used to it. He has to, not only because of Desert Diplomacy but there was that time
the Meerca Brothers stole a hundred gold statues of Nabile. Breaks world theme and culture immersion, though.
Q3. Why was Jazan in his evil prince clothes? Why was Nabile in her Desert Scarab clothes?
A3. Because, at least for Nabile, her Desert Scarab clothes are the clothes she has the most poses they can cut and paste. As for Jazan, they probably chose his black robe design because the art matches Nabile's (while he has many poses in his white robes a lot of them are from The Faeries' Ruin which had a different art style). And to address some of the points
Liou brought up:
A. Yes they can, but I would argue within context. Nabile is just hanging around, so she wears her old ratty Desert Scarab's clothes instead of a comfortable dress or robe (and that's assuming her Queen clothes aren't already comfortable). And she's looking out of a high window so I doubt anyone would see her so she doesn't have to disguise herself.
B & C. Addressed above in question/answer 1. I'll give you she probably would switch back to her Desert Scarab clothes for thieving, but she was already wearing them. Also her first idea upon seeing Jazan sneaking around is to break into the building instead of directly asking him?
D & F. Well first off I'm sure they have dozens of royal attire, and even if they have plain clothes I'd think they'd be of better quality then of Nabile's old street clothes. Also, while there is technically no reason for Jazan not to wear his black robes, considering they represented the worst times in his life (being cursed and doing horrible things) you'd think he'd try not to have that in his wardrobe anymore. White and crimson red seems to be his robe colors nowadays.
E. As I said above, WE the players got fake diamonds, Nabile got a real one. Also I'm guessing Qasala still has its royal riches (don't see why the curse would get rid of that) and also once coming back they probably immediately started trading with Sakhmet and the rest of Neopia (as well as accepting tourists). I imagine they have plenty of money, especially if Jazan can afford a Virtupets laser security system (not only would they need to have wire the place up but they also must have built some kind of generator (guessing solar power would make the most sense, though that would mean installing in solar panels) or someplace to place in a power supply (which means needing to keep a supply of batteries/fuel and maintenance to make sure if its running low that a new battery is placed/is refueled). In short, that would cost a LOT of NP).
Thinking about it I can sort of create a story. Like Nabile is wearing her Desert Scarab outfit because, like you said, she's feeling a bit nostalgic for the days of excitement when she was running with her old friends. Jazan, who's a bit miffed because Hanso pulled a prank on him by dying his robes all black, sees Nabile wearing her old clothes and knows she's missing the excitement of her old life. Remembering what his black robes represent to other's, he sets up a surprise for Nabile in the treasury building which he upgraded with Virtupets laser security due to
an incident involving the Meerca Brothers. Nabile sees this and, confused why Jazan is wearing black robes, goes to investigate. She sneaks in, sees the treasure chest, jumps past the laser to then discovered it contained a diamond ring as Jazan comes out to congratulate her. I imagine the following conversation went like this:
Nabile: You did all this just to cheer me up?
Jazan: Of course I did, you are my Queen afterall. When I first took you to Qasala I promised you that I would do everything I could to make you happy. I saw you in your old clothes and knew you wanted some excitement so I quickly set this up, and of course what's an adventure without a prize at the end?
Nabile: *smiles and is tearing up* Jazan... But wait. You set all this up last minute? But where did you get the black robes? You vowed never to wear one again and set any you had on fire.
Jazan: ... Hanso...
But remember, this is a story I had to cobble together. JS didn't intend on any of these additional details/explanations, they just did what was easiest. There's a philosophy I go by while watching these animations: would TNT have done something like this. Up till now, my answer was yes. Okay, sure some stuff have been low quality but if TNT was restricted in time like JS was I could see them making equally as choppy animations. However this is the first time where I can't see TNT having done something like this. TNT would have put them in their right clothes (switching Nabile in her street clothes to go thieving), TNT would have made the traps more like something you'll find in the Lost Desert. Even if they don't explain why Nabile would go right to thieving (though I feel they would like maybe Jazan slips a note under her door which leads to her sneaking around), you could cover that up with things looking correct. Having so many things that immediately jump out at you that you know isn't right just makes all the other problems come out, at least to me. The idea for this animation isn't a bad idea, I just feel it wasn't executed correctly nor do I feel the reason why they did it this was due to anything else but being rushed so did what was easiest to do (not lazy, BTW, this did take quite some work to do and I applaud them for at least that. However they either didn't do their research or knew it wasn't right but went with it anyway because they were being rushed and had to do things quickly as possible which also means easy as possible (cut and paste)).
). Of course that does say something questionable about their marriage. Like why didn't Nabile first ask Jazan what was he doing? How often does Nabile sneak around and spying on Jazan and breaking into his things? How often does she do it that Jazan knew she would do it? I'm kind of sensing some trust issues going on here, at least on Nabile's part.