Paul Stuff and Where We're At RN - 12/21/24

Ok so... I'll try and be concise here. Holidays have got me slam dunked and with not as much time as I'd like to be drawing or writing the usual Sihai fare. Lots of family over and whatnot, Christmas moment. That said, while I've got this time, I thought I'd give you all a status update and talk a bit about the coming future, particularly where it concerns Sihai.

Did I say concise? Whoops

Anyway, back to that, first I'll give you all the good/palatable news. If you remember the arms and head system I mentioned in an earlier post- I'm going to be taking the time to update characters (particularly key characters) to use this system! It's gonna be so cool and expressive, and should add a whole lot to the game.

Unfortunately, this will take quite a bit of time and effort in order to do and get right. I'd expect another delay in the consistent output schedule, though nothing along the lines of what happened with the relaunch.

(Part of this break is also to give B the chance to catch up with a lot of the older CGs)

Then, there's the other thing, which will likely be very controversial.

Paul is gonna be on the receiving end of a few "tweaks." Not just tweaks to his sprite, but in fact a rather significant adjustment to his personality, his route, and his character arc. His new design (Smaller, scragglier, less rotund) is done to mesh his visuals up properly with his route and character.

I intend to make him more edgy and lean back on his "mischievous" side. (Don't worry- it's still in there, but it's not going to be what's on the surface any more). In the end, my goal is to have his looks and personality mesh well with the man's past and future.

I know Paul's a popular character so trust me when I say I've thought a lot about this and if it's the right thing to do for the story as a whole (which I believe it is). I hope you all understand- and, if not, that you'll put your trust in me and my vision.

Of course, with something seemingly drastic like this, I suspect people might question "who's next? D:" Will I change Jehu? Shen? Will Jorge turn into, like, a horse or something? The answer is no, of course. To those three, at least. I feel that Jehu, Shen, and Jorge's routes fit their personalities and designs well (though I'm sure Jorge could use some cleaning up earlier in his route. I'm hardly a perfect writer, unfortunately :V).

That said, I made sure to take a good long look at everyone and, in the end, I do have one character that will likely be experiencing some major changes (visually and story-wise), being Alan. I don't have a sketch for him right now, as I'm focusing on Paul and his story at the moment, but Alan's always been... tricky. It's hard to tell exactly what is holding him back sometimes, too. I can judge him on his design, on his character, on his route's pacing... but if even one issue is left unchecked, it can sour the whole experience. To me, this is a problem I've felt with Alan since day 1 and, despite my effors, I feel I haven't shaken off the frustrations that comes with writing Alan's route.

So while I have nothing really to share about his route, know that Alan will also be receiving some changes in the future.

Regardless of all of that, Christmas is coming up! I hope that you all have an excellent holiday season, and I hope you all are looking forward to 2025 as much as I am!