November 2024 Update

Development Update

The season is quickly approaching late fall and winter is just around the corner.
Speaking of which, how many of you accomplished the goals you set at the beginning of the year?
Some of you may have already forgotten about them. We have two more months left to go, and we want to do our best.

This month’s update comes to you from Sekiya.

ARMED FANTASIA, November 2024 Project Monthly Report

Director Sekiya here. We’ve reached November, which some people know as “Thanksgiving month.” No one’s really familiar with that event in Japan, but people are vaguely aware that it exists, along with “Black Friday,” which has become more familiar in the last years.

Recent memory calls to mind the horror film “Thanksgiving,” directed by Eli Roth, which went from a fake trailer to a real movie. The original trailer for “Grindhouse” back in 2007 was also “fake,” but then quickly became a reality. I admire the passion of creators who refuse to let jokes remain as jokes. Speaking of fake trailers, I’m also patiently awaiting the film adaptation of Edgar Wright’s “Don’t.”

Now, this month we’ll be updating you on the progress of Sigurd Geiermeir, a man with a quiet appearance but a passionate heart.

Sigurd’s Cloak Design Adjustments

Here’s a design drawing of Sigurd that has been adjusted since its initial release. There have been detailed changes made that may not be noticeable unless you compare them with the original, but the cloak’s design has clearly changed. This was done to make it easier to use in action parts within the game and also to make it look cool in event scenes.

Costumes with long sleeves tend to interfere with the movement of models, and since all the party characters in ARMED FANTASIA have the ability to equip any ARM, making sure that they can do a variety of motions is turning out to be a more complicated task than we imagined.

After exchanging feedback with bee tribe, we had the designer finish things up with the final design you see here. It may look like just another tattered coat,

Feedback from the verification with Mr. Bee Tribe,

Finally, we asked the designer to put together the design shown here.
It looks like a tattered cloak, but that’s exactly the sort of thing we put time and care into.

Sigurd’s Inner Garments

On the right side of the draft, you can see Sigurd’s inner garments. The truth is that during the story, there will be points where Sigurd moves around with his cloak off. Ishii-san announced last month that revisions have been made to the scenario, and we’re trying to incorporate as many minor costume changes for the characters as possible based on when and how they appear.

We might also let characters ●●●●● or ●●●●●● in order to collect information, etc… There will be other characters aside from Sigurd whose appearances change, so we hope you’re looking forward to that.

Sigurd’s 3D Model

Here’s Sigurd’s base model, which is still under construction. You may notice that there are still some differences from the design art, but we’re also looking forward to seeing how much it will change through the brush-up stage.

By the way, one of the gadgets Sigurd uses is the Wire Hook, a gadget that allows the user to shoot a hook with a wire at special points from a distance, then instantly move to that point. It doesn’t just let the user move from one cliff to the other, but also lets them dangle from one point to another, or to move from high to low, etc. In short, we’re designing it so that it’ll let you perform some very daring actions. Considering how Sigurd would use such gadgets is one of the other reasons why we adjusted his costume in these ways.

About Sigurd

He used to be a knight who fought evil for the Order of the Sacred Key based on their laws, until he lost sight of what justice really means. As of now, the Order has placed a bounty on his head and is actively hunting him down. While hiding out in the wilderness, trying to stay away from people as much as possible, he encounters Ingram and his friends.

Sigurd is a large man with a lean physique and sharp one-eyed gaze. He looks as dangerous as a wounded beast, and seems to threaten Ingram and his friends at first…

He’s also 30, making him the oldest member of the party, and is modest in his assertiveness. He tends to let the proactive Ingram, responsible Alicia, and reckless Mercedes take the initiative on things. Sigurd isn’t good at socializing, but animals tend to take to him, so he’s often envied by Euclid, who wants to make more furry friends. Soleil is also surprised to see Strisch take to someone other than herself.

However, Sigurd is not as gentle as his mannerisms suggest. Passionate justice burns within him, and he will slay any evil without mercy once he determines it to be a threat. His initial ARM is a katana-shaped weapon that specializes in attacks that inflict heavy damage on single targets. The synergistic effects from the swordsmanship that Sigurd practiced makes him a very powerful attacker.

During his time at the Order of the Sacred Key, he had many opportunities to be deployed on emergency missions. During those he usually ate ochazuke since it’s a quick and easy meal. This is a good example of how dutiful he is. His favorite type of ochazuke is salmon ochazuke with a dash of wasabi, and he doesn’t like pickled plum ochazuke because it’s sour.

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That’s all for this month’s report. The temperature is changing rapidly, so please take care of yourself. I feel like all I ever do is talk about hot and cold weather every month…like Tugg Speedman from the “Scorcher” hexalogy.
But the climate’s clearly been strange recently, so it can’t be helped! (not my fault)

See you soon.