How old is Madeline?

[zment]

We were theorizing in Iateyourpie's twitch stream chat that she might be 19, as she says she copes with depression by drinking, and the legal age for drinking is 19 in Vancouver as far as my google-fu says.

How old is Madeline officially in canon?

EDIT: We have our answer! According to Matt (the main developer behind Celeste) Madeline's age is up for interpretation, but dev himself thinks of her as being in the mid-20's, in the 22-28 range. See: https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/7tuubc/hey_were_the_dev_team_behind_celeste_ask_us/dtfiibs/?context=3

Thanks @fungusdude4 for finding this tidbit of information and letting us know.

[PRinciple prickley!?!?!]

I get the feeling that she's a young adult. The way she's written just makes her feel like that to me. So, minimum 19, but probably in her twenties.

On another note, you guys are ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ nasty.

[mayonnaise on an escalator]

Her face and size changes drastically between pictures, so we'll probably never know.

Given her personality and the things she talks about tho, probably 21. She mentions she drinks a lot.

[*Yuki*]

Publicado originalmente por Cure Lovely:

http://biancagames.com/Madelineheader.jpg
It's not just her build, but her very childish face. baby-faced 16 at most, if you believe she actually drove her own car, AND is small for her age.

face and high doesnt matter - some people may look young enough even if they are 20 years old. Coz of genes

[zment]

@damien5700 I wasn't the one looking at the build - @Cure Lovely was the one that brought up her small size.

And anyway, I don't understand how people are fixated in the creepy stuff about the age - for me, there isn't anything creepy. I'm just trying to understand the story better, and to do that, you get a totally different context depending on Madeline's age. Say for example, if Madeline was 12? The backstory about depression and anxiety, etc. they would change the dynamics of everything - and I don't get that feel of it. Or maybe she is 40? That would mean she has possibly battled with dark issues all her life, and the whole mountain is a metaphor for insurmountable odds of surviving live unscathed. (which the story still kind of is about, but that would change the flair and deepen it quite a lot)

For me, her age has nothing to do with anything creepy - it's all about the story, and to be honest, I feel storywise the only age for Madeline that really works is 20-something.

Currently there is no real evidence to prove anything either way, but we do get some indications:

1) Madeline definitely drove to the mountain on her own. At the start of the game, you can go back and see a car, which is apparently yours, and it's empty.
2) The old lady tells you that "you can always turn back and drive home"
3) When they talk with Theo, she asnwers the question "How do you cope with depression?" with "I drink" (paraphrasing here)
4) She also talks about work, "Work is fine"

So, having point 4 in mind, she definitely is either a teen, or an adult, and with point 1&2, she is definitely older than 16.

If you disregard that there is such a thing as underage drinking, and assume she drinks lawfully, then she is at leas 19 years old, as that's the legal drinking age in Vancouver.

Also, she apparently has lived alone for a while now (when she calls her mom, it feels like they haven't talked in a great big while). This is total conjecture though, I have no proof or even mild indications of this like with the rest of the stuff.

Anyway, all this makes me want to echo what many others have already said, that she's a young adult, aged around 20 to 25.

Also, someone mentioned Theo and Madeline, and for me story read as if their friendship developed to be platonic, yet profound and deep. I actually prefer that, since it would feel out-of-character for them to develop a romantic relationship, and it would also detract from the story in whole, which is a journey of introspection, and a romantic arc wouldn't really fit in.

[inappropriately_gendered_fungus]

One of the developers actually commented that they left her age up to interpretation, but he thinks of her as being in her mid-20s.

[inappropriately_gendered_fungus]

Publicado originalmente por Cure Lovely:

Publicado originalmente por fungusdude4:

One of the developers actually commented that they left her age up to interpretation, but he thinks of her as being in her mid-20s.

ahh... thanks. that all but confirms it (link to source though please, if possible?) :)
I'll just stick to my headcanon then of interpreting her as being a little girl.

Sure: https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/7tuubc/hey_were_the_dev_team_behind_celeste_ask_us/dtfiibs/?context=3

[zment]

Alright, nice, official word from the developers. It seems I've read into the story "correctly" (people interpret stories differently and there usually isn't a "correct" way, especially in something that's specifically left up to interpretation).

So now we know, Madeline is in her mid-20's, in the range 22-28, but the age is left up for interpretation in the story.

[LittleDoge246]

Publicado originalmente por Cure Lovely:

she looks like a little kid to me.... but I'd like to know her age too.

Also, a depressed underage person might drink even if it's not legal.

She looks young because of the art style. As is confirmed in the original post she is considered around 22-28 or so by the developer.

[Peligin]

What an awful thread to resurrect for no reason

[The Hamburglar]

wtf is with this thread?