Update 6 - First Look at NPCs

Not Everything is Out to Get You!

Here's our introduction to "Whip", the first friendly NPC shown off for Halcyon Days.

Whip is the leader of the Yazmar City Groundbreaker's Guild. The Groundbreakers are an organization of careful explorers that journey underground to set up defensive technology that keeps the Balkon Machines away from human civilization.

With decades of experience underground, Whip salvages pieces of the machines she destroys to perfect her combat body and make the next journey underground easier. The Groundbreaker crew isn't particularly well regarded by others in Yazmar City but few officials have the guts to mess with her about changing the Groundbreaker's policies.

Whip segments her limbs from her center mass because Balkon Machines examine their targets for weak points before attacking. The rods connecting Whip's arms and legs are cleverly made to be thin enough to trigger this reaction in the Balkon CPU. However, they are made from the strongest rare metals she could track down, so Balkon Machines spend most of their time attacking her most heavily armored components. Some worry she spends the Groundbreaker's funds on these upgrades but having such a capable fighter in the city is thought to be worth more.

Behind the scenes details:

Whip is currently using the same awful face I modeled for Ara and it's definitely going to change. I'm studying a few face models from various games and I'm improving quickly. Her hair was also made very fast to get to the rigging stage but we're working on capturing the loose, floof-y look of the artwork.

The chair Whip is sitting in is from an entirely different Windzen Project but it fits the various feelings we want for the Whip character.

Whip has multiple additional armor pieces that are fully modeled but not shown here that she equips when she journeys underground, including a belt. We are planning on the capable NPCs being found underground at various points in the game. Because they serve a purpose in gameplay they are being designed and modeled first and are likely to be seen here first as a result.