Isolde gameplay proposal. Update 2/2. Effects and W-engine.
**Before getting started, I'm considering making one more post going over the numbers of this idea for Isolde's playable kit, such as going over stats, damage multipliers, the passive, team synergies, W-engine and even a possible drive disk set. However, the reason I'm not too sure about it, is because it would be VERY number-heavy. I'll still provide commentary about it, discussing the 'why' and 'how' of Isolde fitting within the META, but since this isn't a sub where such things are discussed, I'm not convinced it would be interesting for our community. Anyway, if even just a few people are interested in such a post, go ahead and just leave a comment and I'll make it happen. Now, back to the actual topic of this post.**
===============================================
DISCLAIMER: As previously stated in the other part of this project; I am no artist. This will be painfully obvious later on, so take any images I provide as more of a visual aid that, along my descriptions, will (hopefully) make for a proper full picture of what my vision is.
Additionally; you'll see me use THIS Isolde character sheet:
And if you aren't blind, you probably can see the problem with this render; the texture in the pants is wrong, as it actually is the texture of her back upside-down. I was aware of the problem but this picture was the most comfortable one to work with I could find. It doesn't really matter, as her pants aren't important in this context, just wanted to say it in case someone brings it up.
Enough stalling, let's get started.
===============================================
—Miasma State:
As you can see, there's a few things going on, so let me break down the details.
Firstly, I didn't want to just copy-paste the miasma aura effect all bosses get when going into it, as I think that'll be too boring and uninspired. Plus, I have some potential lore to justify such change.
For starters, while in the miasma state, Isolde has a crackling, fire-like miasma aura, not entirely covered in it, but noticeable as a constant exhaust of fire around her. This is an important detail, as I think lore-wise, the Miasma State should be smilar to Ye Shunguang's Enlighten State, as in, it's a power up with downsides for the user if used incorrectly or too much. In the case of Isolde, is the fact she's using miasma to begin with, something that already gave her trouble before by getting corrupted by miasma to the point of being terminally corrupted by the time of the events in Wafei. And remember; she was "blessed" by The Creator with its mark, meaning she probably had some extra resistance to the stuff and still got pretty badly corrupted. Now, she's just a human, so the more reason to be careful with her using miasma and avoid making the same mistake twice. Plus, it also serves to justify why Isolde isn't as powerful or uses as much of her attacks as in her actual boss fight; that was a last resort, no bar hold situation where it was her final stand, so she went all out without regards for her health. Of course, ameplay-wise it's only reflected by her continuously loosing HP in gameplay, but outside of combat, it'll be a state she hardly uses unless truly necessary, much like YS and the Quinming sword, where we can trigger it as much as we want in gameplay without the consequences in lore.
The other side of this state's effect is the idea of "anger" as a primary focus and driving force. While Isolde is not a raging berserker, she definitely seems to hyper-focus on her target when she gets mad, as we see in the story with her going a bit off the rails once the target of her vengeance and rage was in the proper place at the right time. This shows mainly in her eyes, becoming red due to the miasma flowing through her in the state to both show how the miasma inside her is powering up and boosting her abilities and also reflect a "seeing red" mentality. It's not that she has lost control, but she's definitely more focused on her target, perhaps a bit too much, and has no quarrels about throwing everything she can at it plus the kitchen sink. And of course, the crackling fire-like aura also symbolises both her "burning with rage" but also burning herself, as in, she's willing to sacrifice her own health to accomplish her goals.
The last big detail is on her hair, a callback to her Defiler form and the way her hair "splits" into two tails; an actual hair one and a spectral one, a detail I noticed and thought was pretty neat. Though, I'll leave any speculation about it's significance to more suited individuals. So, decided to add it, specially since I consider The Defiler to be more of an accurate miasmic representation of Isolde as opposed to Mevorak, who I see more like Isolde playing a role unlike her just being The Defiler.
The last, smaller details, are on her weapons. Mainly it's her sword as it will be inbued in miasma, while her gun shooting miasma enhanced projectiles, similar to her actual fight. Any cut she performs during this state will also have a miasma effect on it, but it's purely visual and nothing else.
I'll go into the weapons a bit deeper later on, after her W-engine effect. Speaking of…
————————————————————————————————
—W-engine:
So, the main thing about this effect is, obviously, the hair effect. Firstly is the idea behind it, is meant to be similar to most season 2 signature engines for characters like YS, Yixuan, Yidhari or Yuzuha. (Damn, lots of "Y"). By this I mean it should be a sort of metallic texture, the colour of which is meant to be an opposite of how miasma is represented most of the time and with a "vine" aesthetic.
The other thing is how both the flower on her front and gun have a blue flame on them, much softer than the fire of her miasma state, which adds a a bit more visual interest.
Here are both effects together:
And now is time for me to get pedantically poetic and philosophical!
So, her weapons are affected much differently by both effects, and that's on purpose. To me, it seems like Isolde's sword and gun carry much different significance for her.
Her sword is used primarily as a tool for her to carry out the not-so-proud moments. It's how she transforms into The Defiler, it's how she commands her miasma soldiers often and it's often directed infuse with miasma, so the Miasma State shows most on it.
Meanwhile, her gun is most related to her carrying out more "personal" moments, from taking her revenge and bringing justice upon Lucro, to using the denny gun to both help the proxy during the Yuzuha and Alice patch, to tricking Magnus at the end of her duel.
Neither are positive nor negative, but they seem different. The sword is the tool for her to fight, to command. To be a Colonel. It's an extension of her fury and suffering made into a tool.
Her gun is more personal, it's what accomplishes her revenge, and while the denny gun isn't the exact same, it's still a pistol she uses fairly regularly to joke around lightly before Magus and her comrades deaths or in more personal situations, moments where I believe Isolde is not putting on a mask, is not pretending anything, is just being actually her. For this, her gun gets the same blue flame as her flower, almost acting like a representation of her very soul.
————————————————————————————————
And of course, we have the actual design for her signature W-engine:
Now, other than my poor drawing skills, the main thing behind the idea for a design somewhat like this is the idea of what makes Isolde very special and stand out in the roster if she becomes playable; the fact she has three whole boss fights to her name. As such, I want to pay homage to all three, but first, the basic form of the engine:
Obviously, it's meant to be reminiscent of Isolde's own clothes a bit on the nose but considering how many signature weapons look like or are reminiscent of the intended user, I think it works fine. Plus, it has another purpose, and that's it's simplicity. This engine is meant to look somewhat plain or unassuming, like an A rank engine… because this is meant to represent Isolde quite literally hidding in plain sight from both the player and in-game characters. I'll be referring a post I did not long ago about my views on Isolde's character and behaviour, from which I arrived at the idea that we've never seen the "real" Isolde much because of the circumstances surrounding every interaction we've had with her. This basic design is reminiscent of what I call her "colonel" persona, the professional and dedicated woman who seems just normal, perhaps a bit serious or drawn to isolation, but nothing that could be seen as suspicious or worrying, specially from someone who's been through so much as Isolde has. And so, this is reflected in the design of the engine by being intentionally unassuming without being bland.
Now, with W-engines there's always a shift or animated part to them, we all know and love them, but with Isolde's I've thought of an alternative and more experimental way to make her W-engine, which will sacrifice most animations and instead put the resources on making THREE different alternative forms for her W-engine.
So, this is how it could work: When viewing this W-engine, it is no different than a regular one at the beginning, just slowly spinning until a transition happens and the engine transforms into its "alternative" form, much like how many other engines shift and transform. The important part is that this transitions are essentially the only animation on the engine. After the transition happens, the engine continues spinning and then returns to the original form before the next transformation occurs, where it shifts into the second form, and then the third form on the next cicle.
So while yes; this means the engine cicles through three completely different transformations and forms the way it does it is simple and without much animations, allowing the resources saved in the animations to be used instead for the actual modeling.
Let's begin with the first change, "The Priest":
For the transformation, miasma pours out of the gap on the engine, as the top part lifts slowly and reveals the inside of it. For starters, it obviously Mevorak's mask, broken both because the Exhaltists are and because Isolde's own feelings on the role. I don't think it's a far stretch that Isolde only play the role of Mevorak for convenience and to further her own personal goals as opposed to actually caring at all for their beliefs. On the inside of the open lid is the "clock" or "mural" we see a bunch during the Mevorak fight, and while my lacking arts skills cannot convey it, the surface the mask is resting on would be one made of polished marble and miasma roots, but most importantly; organised. One thing I like quite a lot about the Exhaltists look is how they manage to look both clean and sharp but also creepy and disgusting, mixing elements of both religious piety and miasma, which is a big influence for this one design. From how the lid opens slowly, reminiscent of a holy ritual, a miasma mist pouring out like if about to reveal a holy treasure resting on miasma-infected but clean floors, only for it to be the broken mask of a woman who never cared for their beliefs… I'm just a sucker for religious iconography.
Now, unto the next version, "The Defiler":
As opposed to the previous transition between the basic form and the reveal, this one is a lot more violent, with cracks forming on the engine, miasma barely squeezing out before it blows open, where upon, it reveals another mask, this time the Defiler's, resting on a pool of water, the moon on one side and miasma tendrils on the other. This is more leaning towards recreating the arena of the Defiler, but that's still relevant to Isolde's character for obvious reasons. And, of course, this carries the more volatile and angry way of acting Isolde does in the moment. It's not far fetched to say that Isolde was far from calm during this section, so it shows on how the transition is the lid just blowing up.
And lastly, we have "The Defector":
Unfortunately, I couldn't really draw a way to show the transition, but it's actually fairly easy to describe as it would be the top of the W-engine opening like a flower in bloom and revealing the actual flower inside. No miasma to be seen, as this is a representation of Isolde's final moments, but instead the soft glow of the same effect as on her flower and gun in combat while using this engine. This is a time where, I imagine, she wasn't feeling neither proud nor angry, no emotions other than sadness and very likely regret, not because of her vengeance per se, but of how it dragged along with her so many people, including some very close to her. As such this is more of a quiet moment of reflection. The flower is obviously the same one that has become essentially Isolde's in ZZZ, the deny and the knife are also self explanatory.
===============================================
And… that's it. I have to say, I think this came out better than I expected, incredibly amateur and with lots of ways to improve the drawings and stuff, but as said at the beginning; they are more of an aid and to be used along with my descriptions to get the full picture. This is technically the last update to this little project of mine, unless there's a few people interested in me making a third instalment with all the numbers and stuff.
Either way, once again, thank you all for the support and for being an amazing community. Have a very nice day and remember to maintain the agenda.