So I read @Tim S.s topic about portals and dimensions lore, it really inspired me that things that I thought were meaningless could be connected in some way. So I went back and looked at some old things, trying to explain the ultimate question: Why does The Constant work in such a strange way in all senses?
Let's start with Wagstaff. As you know, Wagstaff's quotes focus on how he looks at this different world and wonders at how it works. So what did he see?
Quote"Remarkable! Upon its death, 'X's appear on its eyes."——examine fish
"That house has been built at an alarmingly obtuse angle."——examine pighouse
"Where did I get that glass jar? Curious..."——examine caviar
"Strange that I haven't yet seen any caterpillars."——examine butterfly
"Incredible! The obsidian is converting kinetic energy into thermal energy."——examine obsidian axe
"No wire within. How does it hold a charge?"——examine lightning goat hore
"Intriguing. The internal expansion is not visible from the outside."——examine door
"A conspicuously rapid sunset! Time must flow strangely here."——when the dusk comes
Let me put it this way: it's more Gameplay than special physics.
For most games, something like breaking the fourth wall is usually designed as a little easter egg, but Wagstaff is clearly significant to Don't starve lore, and it's unlikely that the developers would have written so many string just to make people laugh, which leads me to believe that the lines make sense.
The fact that Wagstaff noticed these and the other characters didn't might have something to do with Wagstaff being "out of the world". but that's not what I want to talk about.
We've long known that Maxwell also had some fourth wall breaking stuff, but it used to be thought of as a little Easter Egg to make people laugh. Let's take another look.
Quote"This must be game logic."——examine golden pickaxe
It's not hard to understand. Real world gold is soft. Making tools out of gold only happens in the game.
Quote"These were a failed experiment."——examine tallbrid
So why tallbird are a "failure", The Constant is full of strange creatures, what's so special about tallbird? the only answer is: they will kill their children. Maxwell caused this to happen, even though he didn't want to.
Whichever way you look at it, this move looks more like a "programming oversight" than a biological habit. Remember how long this was mistaken for a bug?
Tallbird attacks all living things near the nest.
Small bird is near the nest.
Tallbird attack small bird.
May I take this to imply that Maxwell's way of remaking the world from the Nigthmare Throne is akin to programming?
Keep going, older and darker secrets: Forbidden Knowledge Trailer Puzzle
In this puzzle, there is a message written to the player in the name of Maxwell. It said "My associates at Klei Entertainment", and talked about how it felt like they'd developed Don't starve together. (laugh)
QuoteMy “associates” at Klei Entertainment have been so kind as to provide us with these early visions of what they so quaintly call “Don’t Starve”. Some of these images did not suit the whims of my taste on a particular day. Others, I am holding in reserve for further adventures.
Return to Wagstaff.
Quote"I've found it! The portal that can link worlds! The throne of ultimate power!!"——Wagstaff, examine Nigthmare Throne
This quotes tells us that the throne is also a portal that can link worlds, which explains why Maxwell is still able to talk to the player at the beginning of the game while stuck on the throne (the black portal at his feet was the throne), but it also leads me to think of another possibility: Maxwell passes through the fourth wall through the throne and touches developers and the game code. And so, in a sense, he becomes one of game developer. That's why he was able to create the world from Nigthmare Throne.
So Klei entertainment has such a good working system because they use shadow magic to kidnap game characters to work for them.
Once you start thinking about it, you can see how the multiple dimensions of The Constant are similar to a game save or server. If you take them as the same thing. It explains why completing the adventure mode in a single player game using a different save will see the same character you used last time, as there are many dimensions and only one throne. It also explains how the portal Maxwell and Wilson built led DS story to DST story.
The last part of the theory concerns shadow realm. I'm not very confident about it so I saved it for last.
"Go to the dark side and be on top of the world."——Triumphant Wigfrid skin description
"The shadow realm is pretty much the same as here, just darker."——Triumphant Woodie skin description
The Throne may teleport people to the Shadow Realm.
"Greetings, mortal. Come to receive gifts from the Shadow realm? You need only open your chests."——maigc skin collector
The Shadow Realm is also outside the fourth wall, or the Shadow Realm is the source code itself something. Because it's where does skin this "quite gameplay" thing come from, probably, you know what I mean.