Alora Fane

I've mostly made models this week! Two characters and two monsters!! Wow!!!

Creating the game's graphical assets is perhaps the biggest barrier in the way of having an appealing demo. Even if I had a solid, functional gameplay system, I feel like there'd be minimal interest if it only used placeholder graphics, whereas I can probably get away with some gameplay roughness if the visuals look pretty enough.

I know that's not true of every game, but I feel you need completely novel (and fun!) gameplay to get away with crude or missing graphics. I'm hoping to make Divine Dreams a solid member of the RPG genre, but it's still a member of that genre, so I'll need to add some care to the visuals and story if I want it to come across as remarkable (though I suspect 'a reimagining of MARDEK!' will be a big part of how I present it anyway).

How long would you guess it takes to make a 3D model of a character, though? Honestly, I have no idea myself. I did a course a few years back about video games art, and experienced developers from companies like Lionhead came in and talked about their work. I remember one of them saying it took around six weeks to finalise a player character model in a AAA game, and that's with each job (modelling, rigging, animation, texture painting, others) being done full-time by separate specialists.

I have around 20 models to create for the demo, including both humans and monsters. Well, fewer actually, since that includes Mardek and Deugan, which I'd already made. Or more, since some require variations like multiple outfits. Something like 20, anyway.

"I can do that in a week!!!", I thought, naively, and set out to do just that.

I didn't achieve that lofty goal though, shockingly. I thought maybe it was possible because I managed to make four Belief models in a single day in preparation for ∞ the demo video of that a few months back ∞, but I suppose the models were more complex this time around and took longer as a result.

It seems I'm able to make one or maybe two models a day, but that's not including animations, which take longer. It's difficult to predict how long it'll take to finish all the assets at this rate. Another two or three weeks maybe? And that's just the assets. There are still other things like music, writing, and a lot of mechanics fiddling around that still need doing.

But anyway. Onto the actual models!

Oh, first, a while back I included this sheet of silhouetted characters, which I intended to reveal one by one in the build up to the demo release to build hype:

I haven't forgotten about or changed my mind about that, but it presents a bit of a conundrum. I've already posted gifs of the models I've made on Twitter because I want to keep up interest in the project, and being able to post those does give me a goal every day (even if they only end up with like ten likes), but of course I can hardly do any kind of ~grand exciting reveal~ for any of them later if I've already released them now!

I think with the remaining character models, I might just colour them pitch black for their 3D turntable gifs, until I reveal their silhouettes eventually. Maybe. It shouldn't be too long until I start doing that. I could also 'reveal' these four characters when I do that anyway since I've got posts written about each of things like their creative origins etc, which could be interesting even if you know what they look like.

Anyway. The Dreamcave section of the game that I'm working on for the demo is based on the Gem Mine section from MARDEK 2. In that, recruits from the 'Royal Guard' - the name for trainees of the 'Royal Knights' - explored the mine in split-up duos, with Mardek, Deugan, Emela and Steele teaming up to battle Muriance at the end. In this, the 'Royal Knights' are now the 'Seraphim', and their trainees are the 'Cherubim'. Like the Royal Guard, the Cherubim wear matching uniforms, though rather than the oh-so-fetching vomit green and metal codpieces look, they're blue tunics with wings on the shoulders. Donovan and Sharla have been completely cut from the story because they're not interesting enough to keep, so now Mardek, Deugan, Emeela, and Steele are the only Cherubim on this mission, and it seemed more interesting for them to just stick together as a group rather than splitting into pairs. They do still split up at some point in this chapter, but for different reasons to MARDEK 2.

So I needed to make Cherub versions of each of those four characters. Here's the concept art from late December 2019:

I think I've shown those drawings of Mardek, Deugan, and Emeela before, though maybe just on Twitter? I can't remember! I think the Steele one's 'new' though. My art's fairly meh in general, but I like how that one turned out. His Chadly face amuses me.

I already had models for Mardek and Deugan - they're included in previous posts - so making cherub uniforms for both of those only took about an hour in total. Especially since I essentially just copied-and-pasted the outfit from one to the other. I've thought a few times that it'd be great to have completely unique models for everyone, with subtly varied proportions to really add to the uniqueness and character, but I doubt most people would notice or care so it's just not worth the effort. I'm planning to have all the human(oid) characters inherit from the same base rigs and models (a male one, and a female one which is itself a variation of that male one), though their individual animations will be different. There's just no point doing the same job multiple times, and this is standard for 3D development anyway.

Well, I said they'll have unique animations, but Mardek and Deugan are in the same (unmoving) pose here since I've not devoted time to animation for any of these characters yet. Annoying, but one thing at a time!

Next, the first female character added to this game, Emeela. Though her 'casual' appearance won't be seen in this episode/demo, I wanted to make it first since it felt strange to make it a variation of the Cherub model rather than vice versa.

I really like how this turned out for the most part! She really looks like who this character's supposed to be, at least in my mind, though I know someone who's just played MARDEK would have their own conception of her based on that rather than the years of development that came after it, for things like Taming Dreams, where I revised her character a bit. Like in Taming Dreams, she's of the 'Meek' race here (most of the other characters are 'Bold'), and as such has these deer ears and paler skin.

It got a notably quiet response on Twitter though, less than I was expecting, which made me insecurely wonder about the reasons for that. I could speculate here, but I've done enough of that in my head. It is what it is.

In previous designs and the concept I have for her from December, she's wearing a blue skirt and a lavender top, but I made it into a long dress here for a couple of reasons. One's mostly technical; it was just easier to model this way! But I also like the simplicity of it, since it looks elegant and priestess-ly but no-nonsense. She's spent most of her life sequestered away under a lake, so I imagined her being most comfortable wearing something easy to put on and sit around in without being aware of how it might be perceived by others.

Here's her as a cherub:

She wears a hood to cover the deer ears, since Meek aren't ever really seen in the Bronze Archipelago and she doesn't want to be seen as a freak for having them. Character stuff, which I find interesting to explore even though JRPGs typically have bands of armed-to-the-teeth bizarrely-clad monster-people wandering around rifling through commoners' underwear drawers while they look on without comment.

As a side note, I've drawn her with this hood a bunch of times since I came up with it for Taming Dreams years ago, but I could never really wrap my head around the exact form of it - or hoods in general - until I made this. The same goes for the hoods of the Governance de Magi - and their newer incarnations as the Magisterium - so this was quite valuable to make! I've learned a lot about the forms of thing in general by making 3D versions of them.

Because of how the models are set up, it's possible to 'unequip' that hood to reveal her 'normal' hair while retaining the cherub outfit:

I could easily have every piece of equipment dynamically alter characters' models, but I chose not to because I feel it reduces the visual character and makes everyone more homogeneous. It's a decision I made in MARDEK, too; I'd made games before it (eg Deliverance) with full character customisation, but it felt wrong in such a story-and-character-driven experience.

I'm planning for characters to be able to change parts of their appearance, but rarely, and often they'd be locked into one for story reasons (eg Mardek being unable to take of his helmet once he starts wearing one). So - like with what I said about weapons in a previous post - hopefully each appearance change would feel quite significant.

I'm unsure about Emeela's hair here. There are some spiky tufts at the ends to add a bit of visual interest, but I can't decide if it's having that effect or if it's making her look too wild and dishevelled. Hmm.

Next up is everyone's [PROFANITY]in' favourite character, Steele!

Steel was a complete monster in MARDEK, with no redeemable qualities and barely any personality. In Taming Dreams, I gave him more personality and plot significance, by for example having him replace Mugbert in the intro childhood scenes. I've built on that even further this time to make him at least a slightly more interesting and less completely repulsive character. I'd say more, but I don't want to spoil the story before you get a chance to experience it directly!

The term 'Chad' wasn't around when I made MARDEK, but now that it is it's a fitting descriptor for the kind of appearance I was going for here. It's nothing new, of course; often it's the wimpy, 'beta' guys (like me) who get into creative pursuits, and they end up drawing upon the sorts of macho guys who bullied them in school - or at least got all the girls while they remained alone - as inspirations for (usually) villains. The Disney character Gaston comes to mind. I wonder how it'd be perceived in the current cultural climate of 'toxic masculinity' and such, but we'll see.

His element is Destruction, hence the lightning tattoos. There's a concept I explored for a few years where people in Alora Fane had two coloured band tattoos on their biceps to mark their lineage (one from each parent), and while I'm not doing that anymore, the arm tattoos that he has here are reminiscent of it. I also find it amusing thinking that the ones on his chest are an S for Steele, like Mardek's M motif. His pants are purple because his appearance in MARDEK 3 was purple (or rather, the completely unrelated 'Mystery Man' character was, and here it's completely arbitrary since those characters had nothing to do with one another, I wonder who he was, hmmmmm). He's topless because I found it funny, plus he's a narcissistic fist fighter so it's not like it doesn't fit.

I wonder how dated this hairstyle will be in ten years!

While I'm using the same base model as a general rule, this one's actually a buffer variant which required rig adjustments like a longer chest, wider shoulders, and bigger hands. How interesting.

Here's his cherub variant:

He had this cocky, aggressive, silly wide-armed stance in MARDEK, which - from what I can remember - was born of a desire to give everyone distinct body language so then they could be recognised even if you encountered them in a hooded robe (like a scene in Kingdom Hearts 2 where you encounter Riku in an Organisation XIII robe, and it's obviously him because of his stance).

I really like this image comparing the new Cherubim to the old Royal Guard (and based on the Twitter response, other people did too):

I think that image is probably the best one I've got so far that demonstrates what I'm trying to do in a nutshell. The characters are more varied, more emotive, more vibrant, but they're still essentially the same characters (though you'd have a hard time telling with Mardek). It's like the old, just better in so many ways.

Also, I know that the stylised proportions I'm using for these characters won't be everyone's cup of tea. I didn't know anything about human proportions when I made the originals, but they turned out not-too-unrealistic anyway, somehow. I do know about proportions now, but I deliberately chose specific exaggerations with the 3D models to create a stylised effect. Personally I really love how they turned out - I greatly prefer this style over AAA realism - so I hope you like them too! They're fun to make, and don't take as long as something more complex, but they don't look like super blocky Minecraft-style barely-human figures like I see in some indie games. So yes. Good. I like. Am proud.

I talked about monsters - and included concept art - in the previous post. I wanted to make all seven (boss included) for this dungeon this week, but I only managed three, which is better than nothing!

I started with Stratapillar, since it seemed the easiest:

It's... fiiiine, though it doesn't look quite as I'd like. I need to decide what to do about the shaders (code things that determine how objects are rendered; complicated stuff I had no idea about just a couple of years ago); ideally I want the eyes and the bottom stone to look like gemstones (the eyes faceted, the bottom one smooth), so I'll probably need to play around with that. I also need to make some decisions about the visual style of the game as a whole and how it relates to texturing things like this. Do I paint a stony texture, or leave it with just flat colouring? I'm going with flat colouring for the most part on everything else, but I've shaded parts of the characters like their faces since it looks too weird otherwise. Decisions, decisions.

Next, Neuronaut (with Mardek as a size comparison):

Again, shader stuff remains to be figured out here. You might notice that Mardek has an outline, which isn't a trivial thing to do in 3D, and I don't think I can get the system I'm already using working with transparent models, which this Neuronaut very much is. I've been meaning to look into a different, improved outlining method anyway, though it's quite an undertaking so I'll need to find the time for that when there aren't more important things to focus on.

(There's also some weird subtle rendering issues with this that I don't fully understand, but WHATEVER!)

It does look like the concept art though, so it is what it's supposed to be! It never gets old seeing my 2D drawings turned into 3D models like this.

Interestingly, this next one took less time to make than that (though I still managed to make both on the same day):

This one's called Cayvern, a combination of cavern + wyvern + cave. Originally designed as 'Cavamp' and imagined as something that'd appear in groups like swarms of annoying bats, it seemed more interesting to make it huge and dragon-based like this. Like actual caves you could get lost in. I can easily imagine it using a skill called 'Bat Breath', where it vomits out a cloud of black bats to damage the entire party, like a combination of what dragons and caves do.

Apart from a few scattered early experiences, I've only really been modelling for a couple of years or so, and at first I was so unsure of everything. Making anything felt like a mind-bending puzzle, and the results were always very poor. I was concerned about that when it came to making monster models; I've managed to get better at modelling humans through many repeated attempts, but these body types are novel so I really have to work out how to tackle them based only on my own judgement.

So it was really satisfying to make these without too much trouble, and to get exactly the results I was aiming for with a few flairs (eg nice topography) that allow me to say I'm really quite proud of the results! Obviously they're not going to compare to something a team of professionals spent six weeks on, but considering I'm doing everything myself in less than a day, I'd say they're definitely passable. Hopefully the sight of them doesn't make you vomit in disgusted rage too much!!

Finally, I needed an arena to battle these things in; previously I just had a placeholder green plane. So, long story short, I made this:

It definitely makes the battles feel so much more like they're part of an actual game!

However, here's what happened when I tried to set that huge Cayvern as an opponent:

HMMMM.

In MARDEK, battles had several possible arrangements for the enemies, so big bosses spawned in a different position to enemies that appeared in groups. I'll need to do something similar in this. Something like this:

But as you can see here, the backdrop that I made cuts off. It was designed around the fixed camera - there wouldn't be any point modelling bits you wouldn't even be able to see - but different camera angles mean I'll probably need to expand it.

I'm not sure what other, similar games do with regards to this though. Do they make their battle arenas circular, so you'd always be able to see modelled scenery no matter what angle the camera pointed? Or do they have three 'walls', so some change of angles would reveal previously unseen geometry, but there's still a big chunk that's not modelled since it'd never be seen? I've tried to look at videos of other games to get an idea, and to look for ripped models, but it's still not clear to me. I'll need to experiment, probably.

I was going to keep going with the modelling until I get all the ~20 done, but I think I'll leave this for now and spend the next week animating what I've got (they don't have any animations yet), and getting to a point where they all have skills I can have some battles with. That'll mean a focus on mechanics next week, so that's what the next post is likely to be about!

14 COMMENTS

Astreon152~5Y

Hey, i really like those graphics, though i have to say, when comparing the new to the old, the remake characters seem like the chibi versions of the original ones ?
Hope you don't take offence or feel your art is crappy, that's not the message here :) Just that the new design makes me feel like the visual ambiance of the remake is much lighter than the original. The outdoors video you posted made me feel that way too.

Also, i'm sad because Donovan and Sharla were my favourite characters, right after Deugan (personnality wise; battle ability wise it was Gloria and Elwyen). Oh, well, choices need to be made.

Ampersand68~5Y

I love the work you put into the 3-D models! Everything 'pops' and it does make me excited for the game! The translation of the main characters into 3-D is also very nice, and my interest is piqued re: Steele and his expanded role and character. Very curious that he's a Destruction elemental- I do love stories that manage to put a spin on traditionally "bad" elements/motifs that complicates the typical Manichean concept of good vs evil.

MarninPL33~5Y

I LOVE those models! Especially Steele - it just shows so much of his character. I'm just a bit curious why you decided to give them no armor, they are still fighting real monster ya know. How popular are armors in this world anyway? Also, how is Deugan's weapon called (not talking about the magic rod, which is obviously a placeholder)? Nevermind, they still look great!

Maniafig222~5Y

I remember how back with Taming Dreams, you mentioned that making graphical assets was one of the most time-consuming parts of making more episodes. I hope the switch to 3D lets you be more economical with your time!

AAA Gaming is a beast entirely on its own really, those games have astronomical money and time budgets, a significant portion of which often go to just marketing alone, and they oftentimes still crunch their developers to be able to release on time only to launch with all sorts of little bugs and errors they couldn't afford to iron out.

Still, you have gotten a lot done in just a week! That's the power of indie games really, they don't need to meet those ridiculous graphical standards and often come out looking more interesting due to their stylized artstyle than many AAA games which might as well be interchangeable in terms of art.

I'm guessing the new version of the Cherubs are sort of a mixture of their MARDEK and TD selves? In MARDEK they were just your typical guards, whereas in TD it seemed more like a sort of social program aimed to both make the people in it help others and also serve as a sort of self-improvements for the people in it, which I found interesting. I imagine Emeela and Steele in TD were sent to join them by obligation rather than choice. Meraeadyth was also temporarily one in TD, I'm guessing that's not the case anymore in the remake?

I'm not too surprised to hear Donovan and Sharla got cut out, they did feel pretty ancillary overall. Donovan only really mattered because he was the King's son, and Sharla was just a Satellite Character orbiting Donovan. It was neat that they were playable in MARDEK 3 for that "I remember them!/I speculated they'd join!" factor, but then characters like Gloria/Elwyen/Meraeador also had that going for them.

Interesting that the party doesn't split up immediately! I wonder what the party dynamics will be like. I remember how in the old MARDEK, all three guys had a thing for Emela, though I don't think the new Mardek ever showed interest in her. That probably leaves Deugan and Steele to bicker over it, with Mardek as the intermediary.

The Virgin Deugan vs the Chad Steele.

One thing that did strike me about Deugan and Mardek is how similar their eyes looked. I remember how for TD you posted an image of the whole cast's eyes since they all looked distinct. I suppose this is the sort of thing that would be conveyed by general use of expressions though. I look forward to seeing Mardek's Seraph design, with the helmet and all!

You didn't mention Emeelas teardrop-shaped cleavage!! Emeela does look like a more grown up version of her design from TD, especially with the hood. I do like her design! I wonder whether someone's going to tear off her hood, maybe Steele does and that's why she casts Hate on her.

I prefer having the characters only change appearance for plot purposes! That's much more meaningful than having people run around clad in garage sale rejects!

I actually had a bit of an argument about Steele yesterday, about whether that sort of complete monster character can work and whether Steele was a good example of one.

I personally didn't think he was a good example of one at all, so I was pretty vocal about that when you were making TD, whose version of him was instantly more interesting than the old Steele was.

I do wonder what was planned for him, really. A thought that crossed my mind was that he would work together with Maka to do something, since they share Sentiments and all.

The old MARDEK was really bad about making the Dark sentiment basically anything but just bad people! There wasn't even a good justification for why it should be allowed to exist other than some hand-wavy schpiel about how humans need adversity to not stagnate. Every Dark NPC was either a jerk, villain or Bernard who was still a morally ambiguous mysterious old man. I hope this remake handles the Destruction sentiment better than that! Maka in TD was a good example of that!

I did like how everybody in MARDEK and Taming Dreams had very distinct body language! IIRC, Steele also had that same wide stance in Taming Dreams!

I like the stylized proportions myself, they make it easier to read a character's facial expression which is important for this sort of game, in the old MARDEK you could barely tell anything from people's faces in combat or sprites, hence why it put faces in the dialogue.

I think with some texturing on the rocks and gems, Stratapillar would be fine. Its shapes definitely look just like the concept art, the textures currently just don't fully convey it's meant to be made of gems and rocks instead of organic matter. (Insofar as Miasma can be made of any of that...)

Thinking about Miasma, I wondered just how much it could do. Some ideas I had for quests that probably don't fit the canon idea of what Miasma can do but which I found interesting was someone who manipulated the Miasma to project a group's collective idealized image onto himself to basically shapeshift into that image to trick the whole community into loving him, and in another instance a strongly felt and repressed communal feeling spanning several generations being too powerful to be fully dissipated by the Obelisks, but not powerful enough to manifest, so it slowly festered, grew more concentrated and accumulated power until eventually developing consciousness and the ability to temporarily form physical constructs able to manifest in ways indistinguishable from and by regular people, or share a body with someone who was willing to share a body.

But, well, I doubt either of those things ever happen in TD or this remake!

Would the Neuronaut's blue core inside its brain be luminescent in the game? Maybe it'd glow brightly when using sentimancy. The design also reminds me a bit of the Chrysophages from MARDEK, those were cool designs!

Cayvern looks really good! The Bat Breath idea is really good too, combining the visuals of bats flying out of a dark cave with breath out of a dragon's maw.

I look forward to seeing the rest of the models!!

AAA Gaming is a beast entirely on its own really, those games have astronomical money and time budgets, a significant portion of which often go to just marketing alone, and they oftentimes still crunch their developers to be able to release on time only to launch with all sorts of little bugs and errors they couldn't afford to iron out.

Still, you have gotten a lot done in just a week! That's the power of indie games really, they don't need to meet those ridiculous graphical standards and often come out looking more interesting due to their stylized artstyle than many AAA games which might as well be interchangeable in terms of art.

I'm guessing the new version of the Cherubs are sort of a mixture of their MARDEK and TD selves? In MARDEK they were just your typical guards, whereas in TD it seemed more like a sort of social program aimed to both make the people in it help others and also serve as a sort of self-improvements for the people in it, which I found interesting. I imagine Emeela and Steele in TD were sent to join them by obligation rather than choice. Meraeadyth was also temporarily one in TD, I'm guessing that's not the case anymore in the remake?

I'm not too surprised to hear Donovan and Sharla got cut out, they did feel pretty ancillary overall. Donovan only really mattered because he was the King's son, and Sharla was just a Satellite Character orbiting Donovan. It was neat that they were playable in MARDEK 3 for that "I remember them!/I speculated they'd join!" factor, but then characters like Gloria/Elwyen/Meraeador also had that going for them.

Interesting that the party doesn't split up immediately! I wonder what the party dynamics will be like. I remember how in the old MARDEK, all three guys had a thing for Emela, though I don't think the new Mardek ever showed interest in her. That probably leaves Deugan and Steele to bicker over it, with Mardek as the intermediary.

The Virgin Deugan vs the Chad Steele.

One thing that did strike me about Deugan and Mardek is how similar their eyes looked. I remember how for TD you posted an image of the whole cast's eyes since they all looked distinct. I suppose this is the sort of thing that would be conveyed by general use of expressions though. I look forward to seeing Mardek's Seraph design, with the helmet and all!

You didn't mention Emeelas teardrop-shaped cleavage!! Emeela does look like a more grown up version of her design from TD, especially with the hood. I do like her design! I wonder whether someone's going to tear off her hood, maybe Steele does and that's why she casts Hate on her.

I prefer having the characters only change appearance for plot purposes! That's much more meaningful than having people run around clad in garage sale rejects!

I actually had a bit of an argument about Steele yesterday, about whether that sort of complete monster character can work and whether Steele was a good example of one.

I personally didn't think he was a good example of one at all, so I was pretty vocal about that when you were making TD, whose version of him was instantly more interesting than the old Steele was.

I do wonder what was planned for him, really. A thought that crossed my mind was that he would work together with Maka to do something, since they share Sentiments and all.

The old MARDEK was really bad about making the Dark sentiment basically anything but just bad people! There wasn't even a good justification for why it should be allowed to exist other than some hand-wavy schpiel about how humans need adversity to not stagnate. Every Dark NPC was either a jerk, villain or Bernard who was still a morally ambiguous mysterious old man. I hope this remake handles the Destruction sentiment better than that! Maka in TD was a good example of that!

I did like how everybody in MARDEK and Taming Dreams had very distinct body language! IIRC, Steele also had that same wide stance in Taming Dreams!

I like the stylized proportions myself, they make it easier to read a character's facial expression which is important for this sort of game, in the old MARDEK you could barely tell anything from people's faces in combat or sprites, hence why it put faces in the dialogue.

I think with some texturing on the rocks and gems, Stratapillar would be fine. Its shapes definitely look just like the concept art, the textures currently just don't fully convey it's meant to be made of gems and rocks instead of organic matter. (Insofar as Miasma can be made of any of that...)

Thinking about Miasma, I wondered just how much it could do. Some ideas I had for quests that probably don't fit the canon idea of what Miasma can do but which I found interesting was someone who manipulated the Miasma to project a group's collective idealized image onto himself to basically shapeshift into that image to trick the whole community into loving him, and in another instance a strongly felt and repressed communal feeling spanning several generations being too powerful to be fully dissipated by the Obelisks, but not powerful enough to manifest, so it slowly festered, grew more concentrated and accumulated power until eventually developing consciousness and the ability to temporarily form physical constructs able to manifest in ways indistinguishable from and by regular people, or share a body with someone who was willing to share a body.

But, well, I doubt either of those things ever happen in TD or this remake!

Would the Neuronaut's blue core inside its brain be luminescent in the game? Maybe it'd glow brightly when using sentimancy. The design also reminds me a bit of the Chrysophages from MARDEK, those were cool designs!

Cayvern looks really good! The Bat Breath idea is really good too, combining the visuals of bats flying out of a dark cave with breath out of a dragon's maw.

I look forward to seeing the rest of the models!!

Verdusk21~5Y

As the self-proclaimed Cavelord, Cavyern is easily my favorite so far. And the glow effect makes it look so much better!

Although I also think it would probably look better if the wings stretch backward a bit instead of being flat as it is, especially if the monster is going to be so big, which would make these details more visible.

Deugan's shirt design (which isn't in this post) was said to resemble a gear, but my first impression was that it looked like a sun. Old Deugan using Greatsword seemed fitting in the way that he's probably using it to overcompensate for his anxiety, which also seemed like something his Taming Dreams version would do. Now that he uses a bladed mask shield, it feels like a more honest and straightforward representation of his personality.

It's kind of funny imagining having a bunch of NPCs dressing up as Royal Guards in vomit green outfit, replacing the World's Saviours, since this game pays tribute to the old MARDEK like the old MARDEK pays tribute to FF-like RPGs. And instead of the usual "We're the World Saviours!" drivel, you'd get "(We're the) loyal servants of Goznor! Protectors of Peace! Savers of Cats! Sprinklers of Flowers that Look a Bit Thirsty! Breathers of Air!" - taken straight from the King's dialogue in the old game. And of course there'd be a mismatch of fashion sense between them (who thinks vomit green is the color of righteous, valiant heroes) and everyone else (who thinks vomit green is the color of green vomit, and what's Goznor anyway?)

Neuronaut model is looking great in my opinion, although I didn't expect it to have a doodled-on face that seems to say "stop poking/patting me".

As the self-proclaimed Cavelord, Cavyern is easily my favorite so far. And the glow effect makes it look so much better!

Although I also think it would probably look better if the wings stretch backward a bit instead of being flat as it is, especially if the monster is going to be so big, which would make these details more visible.

Deugan's shirt design (which isn't in this post) was said to resemble a gear, but my first impression was that it looked like a sun. Old Deugan using Greatsword seemed fitting in the way that he's probably using it to overcompensate for his anxiety, which also seemed like something his Taming Dreams version would do. Now that he uses a bladed mask shield, it feels like a more honest and straightforward representation of his personality.

It's kind of funny imagining having a bunch of NPCs dressing up as Royal Guards in vomit green outfit, replacing the World's Saviours, since this game pays tribute to the old MARDEK like the old MARDEK pays tribute to FF-like RPGs. And instead of the usual "We're the World Saviours!" drivel, you'd get "(We're the) loyal servants of Goznor! Protectors of Peace! Savers of Cats! Sprinklers of Flowers that Look a Bit Thirsty! Breathers of Air!" - taken straight from the King's dialogue in the old game. And of course there'd be a mismatch of fashion sense between them (who thinks vomit green is the color of righteous, valiant heroes) and everyone else (who thinks vomit green is the color of green vomit, and what's Goznor anyway?)

Neuronaut model is looking great in my opinion, although I didn't expect it to have a doodled-on face that seems to say "stop poking/patting me".

Tobias 1115~5Y

I've decided that Deugan actually uses a wand and a shield instead of the bladed shield from the earlier concepts! I imagine him being a sort of nerdy thinker type who wants to protect people, but with his mind rather than a blade, or something. And I've never really seen a tank/spellcaster combo before... though he's also a 'tank' despite being not exactly being bulky stats-wise, since I imagine him as wanting to be a protector even if his physique doesn't make him naturally one. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out in actual gameplay though. Maybe I'll change my mind and give him a greatsword again; his hero (who I've not described in any of these posts yet) used one, after all (like Social Fox did, which is why the original Deugan used one).

I do like the idea of using something that heavily references the old MARDEK as the World's Saviours characters! I've already got an idea for those though (if I even bother adding them at all). I'll leave that for a later post, but I'll say that I'm considering calling them the "Brave Hero Force Warrior Four", so interpret that as you will!

I do like the idea of using something that heavily references the old MARDEK as the World's Saviours characters! I've already got an idea for those though (if I even bother adding them at all). I'll leave that for a later post, but I'll say that I'm considering calling them the "Brave Hero Force Warrior Four", so interpret that as you will!

MarninPL33~5Y

Although wand/shield combo (sorry for calling it an "obvious placeholder" in my previous comment, but I was simply not sure if it was planned or not) for Deugan is an interesting concept, I believe that it would be the best to sitck to the blade-shield or a greatsword. Not only Mardek and Emeela both already have shields, but also in my opinion going full-dps fits Deugan in a weird way. Not only he will imitate his role model, but it could also represent how desperately he tries to change himself and become more brave instead of hiding behind a shield and casting spells. At least this is how I see it!

Comment deleted

Tobias 1115~5Y

Can you think of any games that include outdated fashion things? It's something I've never really thought about before! Steele's got this hairstyle because I find it obnoxious rather than because it's trendy, and I think it'd still suit his character even if nobody in the real world has theirs like that anymore.

I definitely understand the aversion to those kawaii anime monster girls, and it sort of annoys me because it's like something that's existed throughout history has been claimed by a particular group, giving any other instances of it associations that they shouldn't have. The same goes for furries; was Anubis a furry??

It's important with character design to make them actually look appealing to players though. I used to design alien races to look as inhuman as possible, and I really appreciate designers who've come up with concepts for alien body plans so completely different to our own (I end up watching a lot of videos about things like speculative alien biology, apparently). I like this one, for example:

[LINK]

(I think links are broken in comments; fixing it's on my to do list!)

But imagine if I made several of the primary protagonists look like that! Most people would struggle to develop empathy for them, and it'd be bizarre or impossible trying to develop relationships between them and the human characters.

So I've somewhat reluctantly decided to minimise the amount of 'otherness' in the designs of the Bold and Meek so they're essenitally akin to generic fantasy's Men and Elves. Except instead of just pointy ears, they're bigger deer ears because deer to me are maybe the perfect skittish, elusive forest creatures. The other races are at least a bit more alien, but even with those I've tried to add some empathy-provoking traits rather than indulging my love of bizarreness.

I do like the idea of ginger hair and pale skin being the main thing that sets Meek apart, and considered actually making Emeela ginger in this, but I don't like the thought of the Bold and Meek being physically identical except for colours. Not that there's a huge difference at all now, but I want there to be at least some physical difference!

I definitely understand the aversion to those kawaii anime monster girls, and it sort of annoys me because it's like something that's existed throughout history has been claimed by a particular group, giving any other instances of it associations that they shouldn't have. The same goes for furries; was Anubis a furry??

It's important with character design to make them actually look appealing to players though. I used to design alien races to look as inhuman as possible, and I really appreciate designers who've come up with concepts for alien body plans so completely different to our own (I end up watching a lot of videos about things like speculative alien biology, apparently). I like this one, for example:

https://aliens.fandom.com/wiki/Eosapien

(I think links are broken in comments; fixing it's on my to do list!)

But imagine if I made several of the primary protagonists look like that! Most people would struggle to develop empathy for them, and it'd be bizarre or impossible trying to develop relationships between them and the human characters.

So I've somewhat reluctantly decided to minimise the amount of 'otherness' in the designs of the Bold and Meek so they're essenitally akin to generic fantasy's Men and Elves. Except instead of just pointy ears, they're bigger deer ears because deer to me are maybe the perfect skittish, elusive forest creatures. The other races are at least a bit more alien, but even with those I've tried to add some empathy-provoking traits rather than indulging my love of bizarreness.

I do like the idea of ginger hair and pale skin being the main thing that sets Meek apart, and considered actually making Emeela ginger in this, but I don't like the thought of the Bold and Meek being physically identical except for colours. Not that there's a huge difference at all now, but I want there to be at least /some/ physical difference!

Dingding32167~5Y

Sorry I can't comment on everything I'd like to, but here's the most important bits:
- I don't really see a problem with any of the outlining/ big boss camera angles that you've talked about-- everything you've shown seems reasonable and playable, so it's probably not worth spending ages on them if they're not coming too naturally; I did also like the contrast between Mardek's model and Neuronaut, since it makes intuitive sense for me to have the miasmon less "tangible" and lack an outline. The dark background also means the outline wouldn't make a huge noticeable difference either.
- All the models look great and reflect what you've shown in your drawings quite well! Don't worry about the lack of response or whatever to Emeela's model, or her hair-- it looks natural as it is, and I honestly had to look for it to notice what you were talking about. The different response might be due to a number of factors and relatability etc but as you said, it doesn't really matter anyway!
- I especially love the character models! Especially since Emeela and Deugan seem to be looking at each other, and their body language and faces are quite distinct. Good job coding all of that!

You've done an amazing job, please remember to take breaks so you don't burn out and lose your enjoyment of the whole process, which is what it should be down to in the first place! I understand there are concerns with money etc but it will be much more efficient to take care of yourself first. I do also read your personal posts most of the time but mostly don't comment because I don't feel like there's something specific I can help with or to say. Funnily enough this time you've actually got more comments on your personal post than developmental! I don't know anything specific about Patreon but I feel like since you're updating this site and twitter regularly anyway that would serve as enough "proof" of your progress that it would be valuable to set up Patreon just so people who actually want to contribute have a way to! And that would only be a one-off time cost that could have long term benefits, so it would be worth it, especially to ease some of your worries financially and act as motivation (if you let it be a positive one rather than a source of stress!) As a somewhat regular poster I'd say that I don't *expect* an answer but it's nice when I do, so don't worry you're letting everyone down if you don't, because we know you have better things to do (which is why we're here to support you anyway)!

Everything is obviously easier said than done but you're doing great, just remember to rest enough and take time off!

You've done an amazing job, please remember to take breaks so you don't burn out and lose your enjoyment of the whole process, which is what it should be down to in the first place! I understand there are concerns with money etc but it will be much more efficient to take care of yourself first. I do also read your personal posts most of the time but mostly don't comment because I don't feel like there's something specific I can help with or to say. Funnily enough this time you've actually got more comments on your personal post than developmental! I don't know anything specific about Patreon but I feel like since you're updating this site and twitter regularly anyway that would serve as enough "proof" of your progress that it would be valuable to set up Patreon just so people who actually want to contribute have a way to! And that would only be a one-off time cost that could have long term benefits, so it would be worth it, especially to ease some of your worries financially and act as motivation (if you let it be a positive one rather than a source of stress!) As a somewhat regular poster I'd say that I don't *expect* an answer but it's nice when I do, so don't worry you're letting everyone down if you don't, because we know you have better things to do (which is why we're here to support you anyway)!

Everything is obviously easier said than done but you're doing great, just remember to rest enough and take time off!

Tobias 1115~5Y

Thank you! I'm definitely trying to avoid burnout by taking breaks; I'm not working at all on the weekends, for example, which ends up making me feel refreshed on the coming Monday rather than just trying to do something every day and getting completely sick of it.

I'm still so conflicted about Patreon because there's no consensus about it, but it's not like I'd be a requirement or anything, just an option... I'll keep thinking about it.

Thanks for commenting!

Mikeguy4~5Y

I forgot to make this comment under the post about creature designs, so I'm gonna make it here!
I just wanted to say that I really hope you include Sporc somewhere in the game, because it's probably one of my favorite compound puns of all time, I never stop thinking about Sporc and I would die for Sporc.
That is all.

ChuckNorris18~5Y

Love it! The game is shaping up well.