Apologies for not updating the blog last Friday. Life got in the way. This week, we’re sharing Sebastian Cabot’s new CG. We actually opted for discarding the idea for his previous CG in favor of this one. Partly because with the previous version you would’ve had to play his route a certain way to get it, unlike with the other three main characters. But mostly because this new CG gave a glimpse into an important part of his demo.
This week Seahorse, one of our antagonists, got re-designed. The first time you meet this figure is during Eva’s & Sebastian’s prologue. Not much has been revealed about this masked individual yet, save that he kills new moms by drowning them. Who hides behind the Seahorse’s mask? You’ll have to play the game to find out!
Last time, Seahorse was the first antagonist we design and we were never satisfied with his mask (or his overall design really). So it took us a while to get the right feel of his mask, especially because the masks should represent aspects of the wearer’s personalities. Seahorse sees beauty in death and we wanted that to come across by using “heavily” colors.
We also wanted to show some of his personality with the choice of clothing, going for a more stylized version (unlike what we did with Cheshire).
Apologies for missing our update last week. I am in charge of managing this platform and I fell quite ill and was out for the entire week.
This week, rather than a character’s redesign, we present to you our new game interface. The old one just didn’t fit the new art style anymore and we decided to go for a more somber style with neon highlights.
What do you guys think? We’re including the old interface so you can better compare.
This week we’re sharing the new (re-designed) backgrounds for the town of Cobbheist, where three of our protagonists used to live when they were younger. Shots of Cobbheist’s Church (exterior) were the first set of backgrounds we worked on, so they looked pretty dated against the later ones, so a redesign was in order. We’ve included the old art so you can better compare.
What do you think?
We just realized that we’re reaching 150 followers soon! We’re so excited that we’ve decided to release a character CG once we reach the 150 followers milestone. We’ll make a proper announcement about that soon. We’ll also set up a reward (give away/raffle) for the 200 followers milestone. More on that soon!
We present Ricky Vargas, the latest character to get his re-design. We’ve included his extended profile below the cut for those interested in getting to know him more.
What do you think of him?
Next week we’ll be asking for feedback on Victoria Zane’s new look, so keep an eye out for that! You can find her previous design here.
Ricky Vargas’ Profile
Private Eye
Age: 32 | Height: 6’
He’s Sebastian Cabot’s former partner and self-proclaimed "bestest" friend.
In an effort to keep the heat off of Seb, whom he considered one of the best detectives Ivanta PD had to offer, Ricky took the fall for failing to save the last Huntsman’s victims. The media was quick to crucify him, during which time his former co-workers turned their back on him and, to add salt to injury, he was dishonorably discharged.
But Ricky landed on his feet. Using his street smarts, he became a private investigator who got things done quickly and quietly, earning twice as much as he used to. He became a sought-after commodity for high-profile clients with anxiety and money to match.
Despite popular belief, Ricky neither blamed Seb nor deserted him after the Huntsman's fiasco. So every now and then he makes it a point to drop by unannounced and pester him until Seb agrees to go out for some drinks.
Beliefs:
Nothing is impossible so long as you have the patience to pester your way in or out of something.
There's no better classroom than the streets.
Never join a fight you can't win and never bet on a losing horse.
Nothing in life is free and, those who ask things with a smile, are often the most dangerous.
Cheating is an option for everyone and nobody is above using it.
Endearing traits:
He swears and truly believes Seb would crumble without him in his life.
He loves using pick-up lines on both men and women.
According to him, flirting is second nature.
Strengths:
Honest: If he's asked a question straight on, he'll always answer truthfully. That is not to say he'll make it easy, though.
Loyal: those who've earned his trust can rest assured he'll never betray them. However, he's not above crossing the law to keep them safe whether they want him to or not.
Resourceful & charming: he's lived on the streets long enough to know how to navigate and even run them. If he's in need of something, chances are he knows where to get it and can even talk his way into a sizeable discount.
Weaknesses:
Unreliable: it's his motto to only join a fight he can win, which means that he may not always show up when someone needs him.
Cheeky/irreverent: he's incapable of showing people respect if they haven't earned it. Because Ricky tends to disregard hierarchy, people avoided him during his time at Ivanta PD and often found him difficult to work with.
Distrustful: disappointments in life has hardened his heart to the point that it takes effort and patience to get him to open up.
Hi everyone! Apologies for the absence, we’ve been working hard in redesigning the character art but it’s a slow process, so bear with us!
The first picture shows Altaire Wolfe previous character art (with his short bio). The second shows some options for Altaire’s redesign. Since we cannot decide internally (everyone has a different favorite), we figured it would be good to get your feedback.
Right now, we have these three hairstyle options for Altaire and we’d love to hear which one you liked the best and why.
A bit more about Altaire:
“He’s a quiet man, a bit of a loner and introvert, who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty in order to get to the bottom of a case. He tends to put other people’s need ahead of his, which means he sometimes helps people out without getting paid.”
Considering all this, which hair style option would you say fits his character the best?
Thank you so much for all the feedback, we’re now happy to present Scott Lee’s final design. We ended up going for the brown hair option. For the eyes, we decided to go for an in-between look of the previous options we showed. So they are a slightly darker brown which is still light enough to differentiate the iris from the pupil.
Next week we’ll be sharing Detective Evangeline Guthrie’s (another protagonist) new design!
More read Scott’s profile below the cut!
Scott Lee’s Profile
Age: 26 | Height: 5’8
He’s an Ivanta PD detective and one of the newest members of Troy Holloway’s special task force.
Three strong principles have shaped Scott’s life. First, he must always follow the hierarchy and abide by its rules. Second, the only way to subdue chaos is through a well-built structure. Only a clear structure can pave a righteous path to achievement. Third, he must always pay proper respect to his elders.
These principles allowed Scott to build a reputation as a respectful and incorruptible Police Officer from the moment he graduated from the academy. But when he made detective, he struggled to fit in even more than before. His coworkers were usually careful around him and he was never invited to any outings.
Yet, it wasn’t hard for Scott to keep to himself. His family was enough to fill the social void and he was unwilling to risk his principles for a superficial friendship. However, as months rolled by, Scott’s structure began to falter. He felt helpless when it came to understanding --let alone navigating!-- the shades of grey he was confronted with on a daily basis. The lack of support from his co-workers certainly didn’t help.
Hiding his feelings of incompetence and incompatibility, he maintained his post and unyielding attitude. Following orders with professional efficiency proved enough to keep him out of trouble. But when Chief Holloway invited him to join his special task force, Scott jumped at the opportunity for a needed change.
He believed working with the best would not only help him grow as an individual, but it might help him find meaning in his career again. Of course, he couldn’t help questioning the quality of his new teammates when Detective Guthrie joined the force. Yet, Scott was sure Chief Holloway might have seen something of value in her and he knew better than to complain.
Certainly doesn’t help that, being competitive by nature, Scott has fallen into Guthrie’s traps once too many times. Even knowing he could end up making a fool of himself, Scott has never been able to back out of one of Guthrie’s challenges. Though he’d die before admitting it, he’s secretly appointed her as something of a rival within their team.
Though fiercely devoted to those he holds dear, Scott’s ego can get easily bruised, causing him to run his mouth before considering the consequences. If he’s in a sour mood, he’ll see insult where there’s none and lash out against whomever’s closest. In most cases, Guthrie becomes the cause of his displeasure and therefore ends up taking the brunt of his anger.
Yet, behind his callous front, lies a gentle and giving heart.
Beliefs:·
He prefers reasoning that is consistent and can be applied to a specific set of rules.
Second place is just another way to call the first loser.
Fathers must be obeyed but mothers are sacred.
Only cowards would turn down a challenge.
Hierarchy must be respected and orders followed to maintain a proper structure.
Endearing traits:
He’s overly respectful to those older than him. So he’s obviously relieved Guthrie is younger than him.
He’s so competitive, he doesn’t care if he looks silly so long as he wins.
He doesn’t like horror movies and secretly prefers watching romance shows and films instead.
Though he’s rational and logical, he believes in the afterlife and is scared by ghosts.
He believes Guthrie came into his life to either test his patience or punish him for sins committed in his past life.
Strengths:
Confident: he has no uncertainty about his abilities, correctness, and usefulness, which allows him to be bold and assertive (so long as he’s not asked to directly disobey orders).
Intuitive & focused: He’s able to identify overall patterns and connect the dots through theories, evidence, and other available information. If he’s set his mind on something, he doesn’t let anything distract him from his goal.
Organized & logical: he tends to be organized in both his thinking and his surroundings. As such, he cannot stand a cluttered place and can’t follow up on a conversation that goes into random tangents. Despite having a short fuse, he’s a rational thinker when it comes to his work and he’s able to keep his feelings from clouding his judgment when it matters.
Weaknesses:
Explosive & prideful: certain people can get on his nerve easily. When they press his buttons, he can react callously towards them. Though he doesn’t mean half the things he says in anger, his sensitive pride gets in the way of his apologies.
Rule-abiding & uptight: He believes in rules and hierarchy and, as such, has a hard time questioning orders that come from above, even if said orders go against his morality.
Resentful & Moody: If you cross him, he’ll not soon forget. If someone presses his buttons one too many times, he tends to get moody and can stay that way for hours, which makes him unreceptive to feedback.
Hello everyone! Thank you so much for the feedback! Here’s Victoria Zane’s final look with a small sample of her expressions. We’re also including a sample of backgrounds related to her. What do you think?
Just a few more characters to go now! Next in line for his re-design is Logan Sharp, an ambitious and resourceful reporter working for Victoria Zane. You can find his previous design here.
Learn more about Victoria by reading her extended profile which you can find under the cut!
VICTORIA ZANE’S PROFILE
Age: 36 | Height: 5’7
She’s a renowned businesswoman and the most popular news anchor nationwide. She began her career as a reporter with nothing but an overwhelming ambition to her name.
Though she struggled to make ends meet, Victoria never gave up on her career path. She finally caught her big break while covering the high-profile case of the serial killer known as ChainShaw. He was the killer of the century and Victoria had to fight tooth and claw to get an edge on her competitors. Promising justice for ChainShaw’s last victim, Agata Cabot, Victoria persuaded her family to grant her an exclusive interview –which solidified her position within not only her network but Ivanta as a whole.
Not long after, Victoria finally shot to stardom after securing an exclusive interview with Detective Cabot, in which she covered the death of the serial killer known as the Huntsman. The man had been terrorizing Ivanta for years and it was Victoria who wrote the end to his story.
Taking advantage of Victoria’s popularity, her network rewarded her with her with “Ivanta Post”, her own top show. During the celebration of the show’s launch, Victoria met Rick Jackson, an energetic politician on the rise. Finding that their ambitions aligned, they married soon after much to the surprise and happiness of the city that adored them. The media even named them Ivanta’s biggest power couple.
Beliefs:
Seize the opportunity, morality be damn.
A boring truth is worth less than an interesting story.
Influence can only be achieved by rewarding the useful and punishing the useless.
Worry about yourself before worrying about others.
The ends justify the means.
It’s better to be feared than love.
A trial of suffering is the only sure way to quickly weed out the weak from the strong.
Endearing Traits:
She knows people call her a cyborg behind her back and she loves it.
She has a tender spot for reporters who hail from broken homes.
Strengths:
Ambitious: She aims high and settles for nothing less.
Proactive: She makes things happen by leading the way or, if she must, by tearing open a path.
Persuasive: She knows how to get almost anything in life.
Weaknesses:
Morally ambiguous: She’s not married to any idea of good and bad, instead she lingers in a shade of grey and moves as needed to achieve what she wants.
Aggressive & Indifferent: She’s a goal-oriented person and a Machiavellian at that. Which means that is she must sacrifice two to get five, she’ll do so without hesitation. In that vein, if she must tell a half-truth in order to get a story, then it’s a trade worth taking.
Sly: She’s resourceful enough to get dirt on anyone, cunning enough to know how to use it and patient enough to bid her time in order to maximize her investment.
