Hello fam – Eyematerror here. It’s been a long three weeks, but it’s been precisely that long since we released Build 0.5. Whatcha think? We’ve received pleasant feedback, and let me say: every kind word is read and appreciated. Even constructive criticism impacts how we move along toward build 0.6.

I promised in my last announcement to be more frequent with posts and updates. This way you at least “know” there’s stuff happening. One of the ways I’m doing that is to do some devlogging, ‘cause who knows? I’ve learned a lot over these 2.5 years, and maybe something I’ve learned will help a fellow furry developer or writer forward. I don’t want to bore y’all, though, so we’ll start with a fun topic today: Lorenzo and Warren!

But why these two? They aren’t even ROUTES. Well, I wanted to talk a little about these two men since they have a lot of screen time – giving some side characters the spotlight, if you will.

(Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD for Aaron & The Void… be forewarned. I won’t spoil anything about the core story itself, though.)

When you read Danny’s route, or when you mess around in parts of Chet’s route, you may encounter Lorenzo: a tall, brutish, himbo-like… uh… species who lives with Danny. Sometimes he goes by “Renzo,” and, to be honest, he wasn’t supposed to play a large role in the story. But what I like about him is that he’s jovial and fun-loving and accepting of Aaron despite not having much of a reason to be. We all need people like this in our lives. There’s more to be learned about him, and if you read Part II of Danny’s route, you will understand his background. Given how much drama can happen in a family setting, I felt it was important for there to be someone who can reinterpret Danny’s position in life and feed that information to Aaron when he needs it to be “successful”. I can’t say whether or not he’ll keep popping up, but honestly, he’s fun to write for. I hope that came through with some of his tribulations or patterns of speech.

Then there’s Warren. Okay: I had a coworker named Warren who was the total opposite of the moose but had a fairly strong paternal role in my life. He’s passed away now, but I’ve never met someone who could find more joy in arguing with customer service reps… Anyway, Warren the moose is Aaron’s roommate and landlord, for better or worse. To have a reason for Aaron’s strife, we need to have a (seemingly) unsolvable conflict of interest. The spiritual visions you experience in the Void itself cause strife, but Warren is grounded in reality: he is unlikeable, he is unable to be reasoned with, and sorry but these types of people exist. If you are someone who’s struggled to find secure living, his scenes may be hard to handle. It’s why I hoped to write Warren as someone who seemed irrational in his justifications. Yes, he wants money from you. No, you don’t have it. We’re on Aaron’s side, and Warren has some points to make. But is there more to this than meets the eye? Were Aaron and Warren formerly friends? Is he being unreasonable with you because of something else Aaron did?

(In Build 0.5 you may notice Warren’s character sheet artwork is different than the in-game sprite – we’re still working on his final sprites. Even though he got bulkier, he somehow looks less intimidating? Don’t really know how that worked out, but maybe there’s something scary in what a skinny-ass man with antlers who never unfolds his arms can do.)

Both serve critical roles despite not being Aaron’s romantic interest. Despite that, they are far from being basic or easy-to-understand people. This is what’s great about worldbuilding, and it’s important to take the necessary time to build out character personalities before inserting them into your story. Before I started filling out my script, I created a document that has core aspects of every character’s personality traits and motivations. The more a character “appears,” the more these things need to be determined.

Lorenzo’s seemingly pleased with his simpler lifestyle, so his motivations are unclear, but he’s also been through the wringer in his past. Warren, on the other hand, is in survival mode – Aaron’s not helping him in the slightest, so he’s the punching bag. Finding out what else is going on in his life may be key to repairing their relationship and/or cutting the line entirely.

Anyway, if it looks like they’re going to play a bigger role than you expected, like Lorenzo, then take a step back and focus on what makes them tick…. or take them out of the story! Poor Malik.

Anywho, that’s all for today. I’ll be back in another few weeks with either a Halftime Report or another devlog. Until then, enjoy your April showers and be compassionate. Love y’all.

-E