This time it’s all about Chapter 4 as the most recent outing in the prologue to our little adventure epic introduced a major new character and expanded on some important character dynamics. So let’s get stuck into it.
The Development of Ramos
Sharlenne: Ramos is such an interesting character and he has this really big presence, even though he’s not actually around all that much.
Voyager: She’s a fan. Can you tell?
EvilBob: Well, she ain’t wrong. Ramos is awesome.
S: He is! We get to see a lot of how Ramos affects Ike, even though he’s not Baldrik. He can lift Ike’s spirits, one second, then instantly crush him, the next. And aaaall in good faith.
E: So what you’re saying is, Ramos has two modes. Praise and Scold.
V: Once more, she’s not wrong. An important part of the whole story is that sort of mentor-student relationship he and Ike have. We wanted to really get that whole thing across. We didn’t see a ton of him in Ike’s last chapter, so we definitely wanted to get more out of him here.
S: He’s also funny, but it’s still really in-character for him.
V: Comically serious, yeah. Seeing him unintentionally troll Ike in the first chapter (and even a little bit in this one) is one thing.
E: But seeing what he’s like when things get really serious… yikes. And we also thought it’d be a good way to sort of set up the expectations for the series. Things can pretty suddenly get preeetty dire.
V: He’s the gateway character. That’s probably the best way to describe him.
S: Yeah. He’s a good introduction and someone we like and would love if people want to see more of in the future. We really tried to give the audience just enough of him to like him, but not enough to be overbearing.
V: Welcome to Burning Sky. This dude is your benchmark.
The Introduction of Faye
V: She’s precious and we don’t deserve her.
E: No one does. But, hey, that’s the point.
V: Faye is kinda weird in that she sort of has two introductions in this particular book. In the first one, on the street, we don’t really get to know a whole lot about her? We don’t even get her name. She’s just a nice girl with a funky hair color who sort of props Ike up to be a hero.
S: And then that whole thing flips totally around when we meet her again at the chapel. She becomes Ike’s hero. It’s a really nice way to establish the connection between those two characters pretty early, without doing too much.
E: It’s also a nice way to establish that she’s important. For one, she has pink hair in a world where that isn’t really a thing, so that’s automatic protagonist points, right there. But the fact that she comes back and is focused on for a bit drives the point home.
S: That and the fact that she leaves the scene with her name. C’mon. Who else but a protagonist does that?
V: …an antagonist?
S: …
E: …
V/E/S: Ahahahahahahaha!
E: Oh, dude, that was a good one!
S: Stop joking, man!
V: No, but seriously, Faye is a really fun and important character and you’ll all see soon enough. Fun Fact – She was actually the first character made for the entire thing. Before Ike, Iri, Baldrik, anyone… there was Faye. And it’s really nice getting to finally share her with you guys as we begin our little adventure with the character who started it all.
Then & Now: Ike’s Insubordination
E: So, something we got a lot with the earliest drafts of this chapter came around the point where Ike took it upon himself to chase down a purse snatcher.
S: Namely that Ike was an idiot.
V: Yeeeah. In the earlier drafts, the scenario was a little different. See, back then there wasn’t any actual peril involved. And that made the decision Ike has to make feel a bit less compelling. There wasn’t as much bite to the scenario.
S: Yeah, and the lack of peril also kind of unintentionally made the whole thing feel a little forced. Which didn’t help.
E: It was a nice little reminder of why stakes are important. In the original scene, there really weren’t any. So we made some tweaks, added threat to an actual life, along with a bit of a ticking clock mechanic, just to up the tension. “Will Ike get there fast enough?”
V: If you’re reading this, you probably know how that whole thing turned out. But we just felt tweaking that scene did a lot to add more weight to the chapter, overall. But it also made us have to somewhat change Ramos’s reaction to the whole thing.
E: Yeah. It was reeeally different.
V: It also gave us a bit of a quick flash of Faye’s character. Or, more specifically, her content of character. It allowed us to put her in a position to act in some capacity, however, small. And that let us show some of her key traits. So the whole scenario as it is now we just think is a lot stronger, overall than the original.
And those are the team’s thoughts on the chapter. Three particular aspects of it, anyway. One scene being heavily reworked, a better look at the dynamic between Ike and his mentor, and then… well, there’s no way we can skip talking about the pink-haired angel, right? So, what’d you think of Chapter 4? Let us know, down below! Thanks for reading! Keep up the Awesome!
Take Care,
Voyager