The Saviour of Time (video game)

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The Saviour of Time was an interactive six-part game released on Skype on 3 May 2017. It was facilitated through a Skype bot, which challenged the user through text prompts. Mainly the game used the fictional character of the Twelfth Doctor, and a new search for the segments of the Key to Time, to deliver educational content, such as real life facts about the solar system. In that way, it harkened back to games found in 20th century Doctor Who and Dalek annuals.

Marketing

BBC Worldwide and Skype both issued statements at launch, portions of which included:

"It's hugely exciting to be launching a Doctor Who Bot on Skype - which gives us the opportunity to deliver a new form of digital story-telling with our cutting-edge brand. Through this new innovation we get to experience first-hand how bots can help deliver digital first content, and immerse audiences, old and new, in the Doctor Who universe like never before."[1]
— Jaclyn Lee-Joe, Chief Marketing Officer at BBC Worldwide
"Our goal is for everyone in the world to experience the best Skype has to offer and the Doctor Who bot with BBC Worldwide brings a range of new features and functionality. We’re excited to see the bot bring users and fans one step closer to meeting the iconic Doctor."[1]
— Steven Abrahams, Group Product Manager, Studios and Strategic Partnerships for Skype

Synopsis

Every few hundred years the Key to Time needs to be found again and reassembled to restore peace and balance to the universe. Now that time has arrived once again. Connect to Skype and help the Twelfth Doctor find the Key to save the universe.

Walkthrough

The Key to Time (Chapter 1)

The Doctor Who Bot connects with you via your Skype account. It becomes instantly apparent that the bot will be the conduit through which you communicate with the Twelfth Doctor. The Doctor asks for your name, accepting the first word that you type as the correct answer. The bot's response indicates that Bill and Nardole are present on the TARDIS with the Doctor. The Doctor informs you that they need to use a Tracer to find the Key to Time, a powerful device which can be used to balance the universe, but is split into several pieces. The Doctor promises that when they get through with this, they'll be able to visit other locations, such as the Fifth Galaxy (with purple stars and moonbeams made of marzipan).

Going down a list of potential planets in the solar system with you (Mercury and Venus), the Doctor eventually narrows down the segments location to somewhere around Neptune. Certainly not on Neptune (as the planet isn't exactly solid) but instead on one of its moons; Triton.

As some force is trying to divert the TARDIS' flight path, the Doctor asks the human to help type the coordinates to Triton, with the final code being 5, 6; 3, 5; 8, 11; 847, 851. The Doctor leaves Nardole and Bill in the TARDIS, as he drives onto Triton's surface on a buggy. The buggy no longer has a steering wheel, due to a fiasco where the Doctor needed to make a crown for a frog princess, and you must drive it from 2.7 billion miles away. The Doctor begins to hear a noise near a ravine, a troublesome occurrence as nothing has ever been recorded as to live on the moon.

Moving north despite interference with the signal, the buggy eventually enters an emergency mode, which reveals the true presence of the first segment of the Key. The buggy soon stops being able to move, stuck in something that begins to melt through its tires. The Doctor ejects, accidentally dropping the Tracer for the Key to Time in the same substance. In his last chance to escape, the Doctor uses a personal Vortex manipulator to return to the TARDIS, not knowing if the presence of a piece of the Key to Time will disrupt his travel.

The Doctor returns to the TARDIS and dematerialises, soon witnessing the piece of the Key transform. Celebrating with you, the Doctor soon realises that Nardole and Bill have totally disappeared. Shocked to learn that they are not with you, he tracks their artron energy back to Earth, where he heads to look for them.

A side transmission from another unknown user reminds you to "remember, remember the fifth of..."

Time Gambit (Chapter 2)

The Doctor Who Bot alerts you to the availability of new content. Once you respond, the Doctor asks you what you've been doing. Later, he'll ask you whether he heard anything, or if anyone sent him a clue. When you tell the Doctor about the cryptic message from earlier, he wonders which "fifth" was meant. Suddenly he gets it! It's about the The Gunpowder Plot -- and Bill and Nardole could be in explosive danger. The Doctor sets coordinates for November 5th, 1605 and the transmission ends.

Afterwards, Bill contacts you. She tells you that when on Triton, a "glowy light thing" appeared in the TARDIS and grabbed them. She then asks what they think it was. She proceeds to state it's weird, and that everything was black. She also informs you that she isn't aware or Nardole's whereabouts, before she's interrupted by the same individual who gave the mysterious warning to "remember the fifth".

That person starts off by saying that she asks a lot of questions. The figure also says that it's very much like the Doctor to get another friend after losing two. You are then greeted by this entity, who tells you that he or she has changed history. The Gunpowder Plot will now succeed! Worse, Bill is now tied up in the House of Lords. The mysterious caller asks you if you want to know how to find the Doctor's companion. He or she sets forth the rules: they'll ask you ten questions in ten minutes. If you get seven or more right, Bill's location will be revealed.

  1. Before they lived on the Internet, trolls lived under bridges. The Three _____ Goats Gruff had to get past one? (Answer: Billy)
  2. The Doctor's always playing chess because he think he's clever. What piece only moves diagonally? (Answer: Bishop)
  3. I'm in disguise because I didn't want Bill telling the Doctor what I look like. What TV cartoon robots were robots in disguise? (Answer: Transformers)
  4. 1 ACROSS (9 letters) Angry Utterance. (Answer: Crossword)
  5. Lord Ena is all mixed up... (Answer: Nardole)
  6. What boxer used to float like a butterfly but sting like a bee? Although I'm not sure that's literally possible! (Answer: Muhammad Ali)
  7. "Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the _____ of an Englishman." (Answer: Blood)
  8. How many red queens are there in a deck of cards? (Answer: 2)
  9. How many dots are there on a dice? (Answer: 21)
  10. Did you enjoy my game? (Answer as you prefer)

If you answered seven questions correctly, the disguised figure will be surprised by your success. It will then idly threaten you, saying that if you two were physically close to each other, you would be in a lot of pain. Nevertheless, he or she honours their agreement with you by telling the Doctor where Bill is.

The Doctor later reconnects with you, revealing that he has Bill and history has been corrected. He's also retrieved a new fragment of the Key to Time. He effectively thanks you for rescuing Bill, and even attempts to congratulate you, but is interrupted. Bill says she is not Bill multiple times. As it turns out, the second segment transformed to look like Bill, but it dawns on the Doctor that Bill and Nardole are still missing, and that someone is playing games with the duo.

The transmission ends.

You Are the Doctor (Chapter 3)

The Doctor returns with a message and asks how they are, however not really caring and wanting to get on with the quest.

The Doctor states that after he collected the second segment of the Key to Time, he did a sensory trail of the House of Lords and was able to locate an artron energy trail. He states that he had been following the trail across the Universe, however whoever kidnapped Bill and Nardole appeared to always be on step ahead of him, following them from Earth to Balhoon, then to Terra Alpha, then back to Earth, then Metebelis III... He realises he's been rambling on, stating that the human probably gets the idea by now. He says that the trail stopped on The Rising Sunlight of the Tristanian Nebula and that he's orbiting the planet in his TARDIS. However despite its name, it's not really a lovely place and it's essentially one giant shopping centre. He reveals his reason for contacting the human, where the human will need to answer questions based on the Doctor's previous visits while he sneaks the TARDIS through the planet's defence shields and try to locate Bill and Nardole. The Doctor talks about how the human will probably need to use information previously mentioned by the Doctor, as well as guess some of the other questions and that if they get at least half of them right it should give enough time to find out what's going on in the inner workings of the planet, and if they fail they'll be putting his life at risk, Bill and Nardole's life at risk and everyone in the universe, so no pressure. The questionnaire begins.

  1. What did you once make for a Frog Princess?
A Toad in the Hole
A Crown
A Wedding Dress

(Answer: A Crown)

  1. Which is your favourite musical instrument, Doctor?
Piano
Harp
Electric Guitar

(Answer: Electric Guitar)

  1. Which is your favourite game, Doctor?
Chess
Noughts and Crosses
Football

(Answer: Chess)

  1. Who is your favourite Earth composer, Doctor?
Beethoven
Mozart
Freddie Mercury

(Answer: Mozart)

  1. Which is your favourite Emoji, Doctor?
Happy
Death
None of the Above

(Answer: None of the Above)

  1. Which is your favourite form of confectionery, Doctor?
Chocolate
Jelly Babies
Jelly Beans
Fizzy Laces

(Answer: Jelly Babies)

  1. Which is your favourite shade of blue, Doctor?
Baby Blue
Pure Blue
Yale Blue
Navy Blue

(Answer: Yale Blue)

  1. Which item of clothing did you last buy here, Doctor?
Dark Coat
Nardole's Jacket
Velvet Coat
Bill's Summer Blouse

(Answer: Velvet Coat)

Finally, the questionnaire is convinced that the human is the Doctor offering a discount on a Valkorian Matter Dimensionalizer. The Doctor returns and states that whilst the human was distracting the computers he found the third segment of the Key to Time as well as Bill. Bill gives the Doctor a look, telling him that he should put the self-congratulations on hold until the Universe is actually saved. He also tells the human to not tell Bill that he missed her, even if only just a little bit. He says that it is time to find the fourth segment, and hopefully Nardole too, bidding farewell to the human. The Doctor ends the call, however a new message is received from an unknown recipient. The unknown figure tells the human that they enjoy watching them and that they're a funny little person.

The Temple of Death (Chapter 4)

The Doctor is back in contact with you. There's no time for chat as the Doctor and Bill are en route to the planet Shar-Tek; he's flying the TARDIS while Bill is examining the current segments of the Key to Time. He decides to tell you why they're going to Shar-Tek. He tells you about an old friends called Perkins, a train engineer who he met on the Orient Express when an ancient mummy was trying to destroy all the passengers. He states that Perkins now works on the Space Mallard taking tourists around the 700 Wonders of the Universe... or it might be 699. He sends a picture of what Perkins showed the Doctor, a carving on the wall saying "NARDOLE WOZ ERE!" Perkins guessed it was a message for the Doctor so got in touch, revealing that Nardole was on the planet Shar-Tek thousands of years ago. The Doctor runs through the options he has, which is join Perkins and his crew now or travel back in time to rescue Nardole. He says that the second option is probably dangerous, but what he really means that it'll certainly be dangerous, so he goes for the latter and more dangerous choice.

They finally arrive on the planet, sending a picture to you of the planet. He tells you that he'll look for Nardole in the temple, and he hangs up not believing that he'll need your help.

Not long after, the Doctor calls again, stating that he does need your help after all. He reveals that the Keepers of the Temple of Shar-Tek are away which is good as they're not keen on alien visitors. This is evident by the many skeletons he discovers in the temple.

Instead of dwelling on the dead, he decides to move on with the task at hand instead of joining the skeletons. He sends a picture of the lock to you as well as options A, B, C or D on what the next sequence could be, the correct one opening the door. Upon selecting Option B, the door opens, as the sequence goes by adding one orange dot in every term. He runs down a corridor which leads to a room containing two doorways, guarded by an android in a Keeper's cloak. He reads a sign which states "Hello, Doctor. To find Nardole, you can ask one of these androids one question. One android always tells the truth, and one always lies...". He names the androids Tom and Jerry. He goes to one of them, and discovers it holding a scroll, giving the option of three questions.

  1. Which is the right door?
  2. Which is the wrong door?
  3. Which door would the other android say is the wrong door?

The correct question is 3, and once asked, go in the opposite door that the android selects. The Doctor does this and runs down another corridor with a Logic Lock. The question goes "A Keeper has twelve black sacred socks and twelve white sacred socks. Their sacred room is in darkness. How many sacred socks must they take to make sure they have a matching pair?" Once the human says the right answer of 3, the Doctor goes down another corridor which again leads to a logic lock. The Doctor gives a sequence, "16 06 68 88 ?? 98". Once you tells him the answer is 87, the door unlocks. The Doctor says he hears chanting from outside so he'll need to pick up the pace. Again, another door with another lock.

"Four blessed Keepers have four blessed pets... Keeper Timon, Keeper Tivoc, Keeper Tuvoc, Keeper Ted. They have a bird, a cat, a dog, and a fish. Keeper Tivoc's pet can't fly. Keeper Tuvoc's pet has hair so does Keeper Ted's. Keeper Ted's pet doesn't bark. Which blessed Keeper owns the blessed fish?" Once you comes to the answer "Tivoc", the Doctor tries it and the door opens. Finally the Doctor finds Nardole who is gagged and tied to a segment of the Key to Time. However, next to him is a Holy Shar-Tek vapouriser timed to destroy the whole place in 2 minutes. In order to stop it you and the Doctor need to figure out a two figure code, the only clue given being "Lower than 50". The vapouriser takes 13 seconds off the clock with every wrong answer, however when the correct answer is sound (42), the vapouriser is defused and the fourth segment is finally found. The Keepers are getting closer and so the Doctor leaves, hanging up.

Chapter 5

to be added

Chapter 6

to be added

Cast

Bot interactions

The Doctor Who Bot has an extremely limited AI. It's narrowly programmed with just a few sets of comments. Even when you negatively answer suggestions to do things, the bot will typically continue with whatever it wants you to do. Because of this, there are a number of amusing situations which can arise.

  • The Doctor Who Bot, and thus the Doctor, will choose to call you the first word that is said when it asks for your name. If you give some naughty words, the Doctor will take offence and designate the user "human".
  • If you decline a "call" from the bot, it forces the call through anyway.
  • If you decline a trip in the TARDIS, the Doctor will eventually decide to ignore this.
  • If you say "hello", the Doctor answers that he's still there. Do this repeatedly, and he'll get annoyed and effectively call you a parrot.
  • If you ask the "Doctor Who?" question, the Doctor will tell you he studied under Joseph Lister in Glasgow in 1888.
  • In Chapter 1, if you get the coordinates wrong, the Doctor expresses relief that he put on the handbrake or else the TARDIS would have drifted to the Middle Ages.
  • In some cases, if you ask to speak with another Time Lord, the Doctor tells you his race is tricky to find, and that he's the nicest they'll meet. Bill will laugh, and he will remark his lack of understanding and call humans pudding-brains. However, in some input lines, the question is simply ignored.
  • If you ask where Gallifrey is, he'll answer, "It's hidden somewhere a very long way away. Probably sulking."
  • If you ask what Gallifrey is, he'll sometimes answer, "Ah yes... Gallifrey, in the constellation of Kasterbouros. Home of the Time Lords. Well, most of them. But these days, the TARDIS is my home."
  • If you ask about companions, he'll sometimes answer, "You know, I've had so many humans travel with me over the years. And each one was special in their own unique, wonderful way."
  • If you specifically ask about Bill, Nardole and River Song, you might get other answers.
  • If you ask about Clara, he'll answer, "Oh yes... I knew a Clara, once. An actor. Clara Bow. She was terrified by the prospect of talkies so I got Shakespeare to give her some acting lessons. She was quite a force..."
  • In Chapter 1, When the Doctor asks for planets, and you respond with either Uranus, Earth, Saturn, Mars or Jupiter, the Doctor will ask if it's a joke, say you were far off, or ask for another planet.
  • If you name Pluto, the Doctor will answer, "I said planet! Yes, I am a planet snob. I've been to thousands of them." or "Pluto is indeed cold, but while it does a halfway decent impression of being a planet, it's not one."
  • If you say you've already been in the Fifth Galaxy, the Doctor will answer "You-- how? Either you're having me on or you have a TARDIS of your own. I don't know which thought's more upsetting."
  • If you ask where the Fifth Galaxy is, the Doctor will answer, "I could tell you. But would the knowledge even mean anything to you?"
  • If you ask the Doctor who he is, he'll answer, "I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous and I'm over two-thousand years old."
  • If you ask why the TARDIS is bigger on the inside, he'll answer, "I'll tell you so long as you promise not to build one yourself and do foolish things with it. I'm kidding! There's no way you'd be able to. Anyway, the TARDIS works on the combined principles of -- hmm, how should I put this? A bunch of timey-wimey stuff happens, and voila! You're fighting Visigoths. That was an example. Don't fight Visigoths. They're very mean. And shockingly smelly."
  • If you ask what Daleks are, he will answer, "Just thinking about the Daleks brings out a side of me I hope nobody ever has to see. The less we can talk about those screechy little killing machines, the better."
  • If you ask what Cybermen are, he will answer, "I may never look at Cybermen the same way after poor PE became one. Actually, I rather hope I never have to look at one at all."
  • If you ask what Weeping Angels are, he will answer, "Miserable beings that spread misery across the universe, though they are curiously gentle in how they ruin your life. My advice? Carry eye drops wherever you go."
  • Sometimes, if you answer questions too slowly, the Doctor bemoans that he could have done something interesting in the meantime such as finding the cure for the common cold.
  • If you can't remember the cryptic message, the Doctor will use the TARDIS to jokingly download your internet history, whereupon he finds lots of cats, lots of shopping, an inappropriate site, and, finally, the cryptic message.
  • When prodded to "remember remember the fifth of...", you give the Doctor a reminder about Guy Fawkes' attempt to destroy parliament on the 5 November 1605. However, if you guess any month other than November as the end to the riddle, the Doctor will discuss specific events which occurred on the fifth of those months.
    • 5 January - The death of Edward the Confessor. The Doctor has already checked there, and Edward confessed to just about everything but the kidnapping of Nardole and Bill.
    • 5 February - The day of the "Apollo 14" moon landing. The Doctor notes that he was there, and played a round of lunar gold with Commander Alan Shepard. He doesn't remember seeing Bill or Nardole in any of the bunkers.
    • 5 March - Winston Churchill delivered the speech that introduced the phrase, 'the iron curtain'. The Doctor was there, but doesn't remember Nardole or Bill being there.
    • 5 April - The Dutch discovery of the Easter Island Moai statues. The Doctor claims that he was worshipped there, and that River was often pulling his leg about it...
    • 5 May - The Doctor states that 5 May rings no bells, although bells come to make him think of the phrase "remember, remember the fifth of November..."
    • 5 June - Elvis was on The Milton Berle Show, scandalising a nation with a dance routine that earned him the nickname "Elvis the Pelvis". The Doctor notes that he was in the audience with Rose Tyler, but he didn't see Bill or Nardole.
    • 5 July - The publication of the Principia Mathematica by Isaac Newton. The Doctor notes that he was the one who dropped the apple on Newton's head, and he still had to explain gravity to him over dinner.
    • 5 August - Departure of the Mayflower for the New World. The Doctor was on the ship at some point, and casually suggested that they head west. The Doctor searched the whole ship, and saw no sign of Bill or Nardole.
    • 5 September - The end of the Great Fire of London. The Doctor attempted to search there, but all of the fire made it difficult.
    • 5 October - The release date of The Beatles' first single. The Doctor made sure to hide a secret message for Bill and Nardole, but to no avail.
    • 5 December - Columbus lands on Hispaniola. The Doctor had already checked the entire hemisphere with the Vikings, and saw no sign of Bill or Nardole.
  • If you ask the Doctor how he's doing, he'll answer "Me? Well, you know... Bill's been kidnapped, universe plunged into peril, broke the E-string on my guitar… Hasn't been the best couple weeks. Oh, and Nardole's missing. So! Do you fancy helping me out with all this?".
  • If you say you're in a bad mood when the Doctor ask you how you are doing, he'll answer: "Wait, I know what to say here. All right: I am very sorry to hear that. Poor dear... um... you. Say... Perhaps saving the universe and everyone in it might cheer you up? Soooo.. Ready for action yet?".
  • If you say "no" when the Doctor asks if you're ready, he'll answer: "Oh fine then. I'm sure that spare universe you've got lying around will come in handy when this one's destroyed? Oh, wait a minute! You haven't got a spare universe! You need this one same as the rest of us. So we'd better crack on with the whole saving it thing!".
  • In Chapter 4, if you do not answer the Doctor during the vapouriser countdown, he will just let it count to 0 and at the last second stop it with the correct number anyway.
  • During Chapter 4, if you ask how the Doctor is doing, he will respond "Hurtling through space in a blue box. Getting into trouble and nearly dying. So fairly well all things considered."
  • Responding to questions and interjecting with comments while the Doctor is "typing" can lead to situations where major paragraphs of text are skipped, including some of the logic puzzles in Chapter 4.

References

Key to Time

Technology

Locations

Sports

  • On the question of which game the Doctor likes most, two choices are chess and football.

Species

Food and beverages

  • Chocolate is one of the choices in the question of which confectionary he like.
  • Jelly babies is one of the choices in the question of which confectionary he like.

People

  • Bill and Nardole both give the Doctor disparaging looks. In Nardole's case, he is reacting to the Doctor not being on Earth as he is supposed to be.
  • The Doctor mentions the mythological characters of Mercury and Venus.
  • The Doctor mentions Renoir.
  • The Doctor tells you, "You were brilliant. It was all due to my influence, of course. You mustn't take any of the credit."
  • The Doctor says that he's strictly-speaking supposed to stay behind on Earth.
  • The Doctor mentions that he had a spot of bother a while back in the orbit of Neptune.
  • On the question of which Earth-composer the Doctor likes most, the choices are Beethoven, Mozart and Freddie Mercury.
  • If you say you're doing excellent, the Doctor is relieved because he can't find his human pleasantry cards anyway.
  • The Doctor mentions that he likes little shops.
  • The Doctor mention Perkins from the Orient Express.
  • The Doctor mention people from Shar-Tek; Timon, Tivoc, Tuvoc and Ted.
  • The Doctor has previously met a set of guardians where one told only truths and one told only lies.

Music

TARDIS

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/worldwide/2017/dwskypebot
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