I love John’s and Mercedes design. What was the idea behind them?
Sorry for the delay anon! That's a really good question.
John I honestly went very much what felt right in the moment. The way he's ended up pleases me immensely though. He's what Miriam would rather not have to play right now: charming, an optimist, always smiling, nice to look at. It wasn't intentional on Miriam's part, but he ended up being her honeypot, her lovely facade to lure people into working with her. The hazel eyes and light brown hair gave visuals to that. Also, fun fact: John's full name is John Adam. Joh is the most common name in English, and Adam makes the reference to biblical Adam. I (and Miriam) named him so because, for all his charm, he is supposed to be forgettable; he is supposed to be percieved as the most common denominator of a man.
Mercedes meanwhile I made very specifically to be Stephanie's mirror image, and I made her so to torment poor Ricardo 🤭🤭🤭 I even gave her the same clothing that Steph will be wearing come Retribution. Steph I think has a very strong sense of self, and seems to be carrying that over to her puppet. I'm still early on in her playthrough and will need to define that relationship there further, but I am very curious if Steph will stay in her own body or come to consider Mercedes such an extension of herself that she becomes puppetstuck. Mercedes was named so to harken back to "merced" and "mercy"; she is a safe place from the nightmares.
Thanks for the ask!!
