#dreadconcept

these are the designs for the Ace of Clubs (Droll's Toll) and the Queen of Hearts (Silver Moons)! the ace cards are a lot more developed as a concept in this visual novel, as a lot of the focus is on breaking confines, and the fundamental "system" of the SBURB is more of a focus, given the characters are essentially constructs of it :O

(a bell and a detatchable halberd/guillotine)

die is a proper lead in my visual novel as well! a lot of his part focuses on themes of emotional neglect, inadequacy, and deciding to take things for yourself. i think the idea of him being able to overcome his anxiety and agoraphobic tendencies is really compelling!!!

(two face-demos)

what's the intermission without jack noir? hardly any fun. a lot of the centric on him is that, unlike other jack noirs we see, both fanon and canon, are predominantly defined by solitude. this jack is, whether he realizes it or not, the least evil person in the room. not because he's any good, but because he is rebelling against something even more malicious than him. in this effort, he has actively maintained company.

some various godtier designs! well. not quite godtier. except for ms. paint. she's.. alice. there's a lot to go into there. the designs for the carapacians in their godtiers are something that fits to their look, and evolves into something more shaped to their self-image with time. like trolls have wings and horn holes, carapacians have "sashes" on their garb. pointed ends for active classes, flat ones for passive classes.

on the contrary, the leprechauns have a lot more of a whimsical thing going on, with distinctly shaped under-trails and a "mark" somewhere on their suits. due to the nature of how they obtain godtier, if you could even call it that, they act more as latent agents upon trials being overcome and criteria being met.

oh man. it's these three fucks. despite what it may look like, ace is actually the one getting the spotlight. oh yeah baby. hope you like potential man getting some love. i think it fits the themes of my visual novel to have the "least extraordinary" of the sleuth trio matter. oh, also, they're carapacians. it just makes it easier to explain the story i'm trying to.

speaking of love, here's the other three of the crew. it'd feel wrong not showing them! a lot of their themes center around obligations, and the forming of a "pact." truthfully, this entire visual novel packaging-wise is a dear homage to the era of stuff like selan pike, korean fujoshi accounts, and unhinged pesterlogs over oldPARP. it is both homage to the past and reflectiveness of the future.

(droog is being terrorized by little men. god save him.)

another little addition is that since things have been disconnected, doc scratch just. doesn't exist. i introduce to you doc patch. he is still as annoying, he just can't speak. oh. and he has the chassis of the bunny in him. and only clover can hear him, curiously. as you might connect, caliborn is not actually lord english. infact, he's still very much caliborn.

and some cg drafts! bad things happen. a lot of bad things. ive spent a majority of the time working on this VN trying to decide on the visual profile of it, and i hope it's something people can enjoy!

i'll also include 3 of the start menu screens!! everything shown here including these is made by me. i am hoping to release the prologue and first chapter sometime soon, or at the least get audience/general reader feedback from whoever is willing to dive into it :O

some draft variety stuff; particularly some stuff showcasing the ascended design of The Droll (page of doom), ace and droog's unfinished promo pieces (intended for the first chapter), droog giving ace a wonderful and kind greeting, um... crowbar's new friend.. and jack's horse, Evil Maplehoof. like. it's just named that. oh. and the sharks. how could i ever forget my friends the sharks

oh also this motion demo for droog's "adjusted" ace of diamonds, which turns from a fan to a pool cue. weapon tri-ality? sure!

oh. and more designs. in particular is the parcel mistress from calliope's prospit. she acts as a sort of memoriam to calliope's ultimately short life, and has a vested personal interest in seeing caliborn get his shit kicked in, regardless of the reason. oh yeah. and caliborn's jack survived too. a major calling card for calliope's presence are ribbons and frills, regardless of if she wore a terrible ton of them. the intent is to have a sort of unspoken creeping reminder that she is not truly gone at the end of the day :O in reference and in service of both of her roles (counting the one i gave her for the vn) she's the seer of space. she certainly knows space more than most people around her. except for her.

these are ultimately going to go unused, but was intended for a very unfavorable encounter with our good friend PI in a place you really really REALLY dont want giant fucking battleships to go flying through without warning

here's jack during and a handful of years post exile, living amongst the actual fruits of his labor. he's still not really used to nights and days without aggressive sandstorms and very harsh sunlight that pierces your eyes

and a comparatively younger crowbar. to have a future means you have a past, right?