#awdcharacter

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

🧚 ABOUT: the Undertaking Wonder

[NO SPOILERS]

as design work continues behind the scenes (slowed a little by commission jobs, other projects etcetera), i'll keep providing some character overviews and Kickass Facts to Wet Your Whistle in the meantime. they're all fleshed out at this point...they just need designs and finalized names on my end. so: i have no problem providing you all with the Low-down on our wonderful students.

anyway, today: our Undertaking Wonder! she is...

...a morbid but nonetheless unnervingly optimistic girl with a fixation on stories, especially the fairy tales her mother used to tell her as they were on the run.

on the design front:

she remains as-of-yet nameless, but i'm leaning heavily towards, at the very least, "Izumo" for the personal name. it's tentative, of course, but we'll see. she'd be named for one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan.

we do not have an Athlete Girl in the fangan, but we do have a Fighter Girl, and the Undertaker is she. sort-of.

she is also, in a way, the fangan "chuuni" (think Celestia, Gundham, etc)

here in the Character Design Cave it's been a wonderful (ha ha) challenge determining her aesthetic without tossing her too close to existing characters. can't wait for you to see her

in-universe:

her birthday is January 2nd, making her a Capricorn.

her blood type is A.

in my design document, her keywords are listed as IDEALISTIC, PEPPY, and ETHEREAL. (each character has 3.)

likes: big cakes.

dislikes: negativity.

she is the sort of babe who will tell you her Life Story right off the bat, such as: she claims to have been a kidnapping victim "like Rapunzel" held in a "tower of bone"...

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

📖 ABOUT: our protagonist, the Hope's Peak Monastery librarian

[NO SPOILERS]

design-wise:

i haven't finalized her name yet. it may not be finalized until after her design is more-or-less locked in, since i'm trying not to solidify names until i know what These Kiddos look like (with a few exceptions: Six is demanding her name remain "Six Shinoda")

she will likely be the second student whose beta designs i show you all, after Six! originally i was going to save her for dead last, but i've generally figured out her overall aesthetic and want to show her off to you all

and in-universe:

in my design document, her keywords are listed as BEDRAGGLED, UNAPPROACHABLE, and "DARK ACADEMIA." (each character has 3.)

she is not a Wonder (Ultimate/SHSL) but rather an employee of the Monastery (the librarian)

she's not a part of the Monastery's order of monks either, though Usami would certainly like her to be

her birthday is October 25th, making her a Scorpio.

however, she is an orphan that the True Eternal Headmaster found, so the above date might be incorrect.

likes: neon lights.

dislikes: sweets.

the Speed Wonder is her very best friend, but it seems they had a falling out right before the story begins...

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

🚦 ABOUT: the Speed Wonder

[NO SPOILERS]

since we introduced the Incredibly Strange 🦈 Gossip Wonder the other day, let's talk another New Character!

the Speed Wonder is...

...a strange, outgoing, fan-wielding girl with an "ojousama laugh" and the protagonist’s best friend. genuine and open with her emotions. (maybe a little too open.) often hard to decipher in speech, however, as she believes herself a prophet, but she’s not truly arrogant: it's all play-acting. her natural speed earned her both a job as a foot messenger and a “divine device” in the form of two cyborg legs. unfortunately, these cyborg legs were made from an old vending machine, and she often stops in the midst of talking to yell PLEASE INSERT BILL AND MAKE YOUR SELECTION in your face.

to her, this only proves that she is the “chosen one,” though for what purpose she does not know…not that she’ll admit that.

oooooooohohohohoho!!!!

design notes:

another character (like our Groundskeeper) i knew i wanted early on, but whom i didn't figure out until relatively late in Character Dev.

one of the four characters with a divine device, including the protagonist herself, the Poet Wonder, and the Gossip Wonder. as stated before, missing limbs and organs are not unusual enough to be commented upon in AWD, but divine devices are.

beta first name is currently Senju with the kanji 扇寿 ("fan" + "longevity/long life"), for obvious reasons, but also unintentionally after Senju Kannon, the thousand-armed Bodhisattva of compassion and a form of the Chinese goddess Guanyin. (ended up fitting, though.) this one, like Six Shinoda's, could change but will probably stick

in-universe:

she's the Protag's best friend, like i said, but they've had a falling out recently. Speedy here's been seen hanging out a lot with the Groundskeeper and avoiding the Protag, but for what purpose?

in fact, when we first meet Speedy, our protagonist really hasn't talked to her in about a year. awkward am i right

her blood type is B!

her birthday is Nov 25th, making her a Sagittarius!

likes: compliments

dislikes: cowards

in my design document, her three main keywords are BRAVE, PROTECTIVE, and SHINY.

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

🕰️ DESIGN: Six Shinoda, face concept 1

[NO SPOILERS]

"There is only one god, and its name is Justice."

i think it's just about time to start showing off more of the design process as i go through it. meet the first test version of SIX SHINODA, our Clockmaking Wonder.

the eldest of the students. no-nonsense, competent, and pathologically gruff, she's the self-declared leader of it all whenever things go to shit. while she attempts to be fair, her suspicions often get the best of her (not that she'd ever admit that). also, she smokes a pipe. if Byakuya and Kyoko had a daughter, it'd be her. what a lady.

i want to evoke not so much the "group mom" (because she certainly is not) but The Woman Of The House: a 50s homemaker or Grecian noble lady. the woman. the house. the woman who is in charge of the house, and all who are in it, whether they like it or not.

in the next few days i'll probably be iterating on this base design as i have a few features i want to experiment with

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

⚠️ UPDATE: Full beta names!

[NO SPOILERS]

all of A WONDERFUL DANGANRONPA'S new characters (i.e. the students) now have tentative names.

📖 Suzuran Dustcrawl, protagonist & monastery librarian

🏹 Yaeko Togami, Hunting Wonder

🧚 Izumo Ohigata, Undertaking Wonder

🍯 Hachihei Rousei, Hope's Peak groundskeeper

🕰️ Six Shinoda, Clockmaking Wonder

🎸 Melville Poine, Marine Life Wonder

🚦 Senju "the Excellent" Excellence, Speed Wonder

🩸 Wisteria Ito, Perfumist Wonder

🌕 Yuwa Gladia, Poet Wonder

🦈 Kaname Yoshida, Gossip Wonder

🏍️ Reika Boulevard, Rockhound Wonder

🌀 Hikari Seki, Diplomat Wonder

✈️ Fubu Fuselage, Pilot Wonder

♟️ Masato Noboru, Chess Wonder

💥 Teisuke Nagamori, Pyrotechnic Wonder

⚛️ Veritas Yobiyama, Party Planning Wonder

don't get super attached, however: while these "beta" names may stick, they may also change. a lot! mostly, though these monikers do have quite a bit of thought put into them, i also want to leave them open in case i need to shift things around. (and i didn't feel like referring to certain characters by their wonder/talent anymore.)

enjoy!

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

🍯 ABOUT: the Hope's Peak groundskeeper

[NO SPOILERS]

i've introduced you all a bit to 🕰️ Six Shinoda, our Clockmaking Wonder, as well as 📖 our protagonist and 🧚 the Undertaking Wonder.

that's a lotta girls. so today, let's talk about a lad: 🍯 the Hope's Peak groundskeeper! he is..

...the Monastery’s grounds- and beekeeper, a lover of tradition and scholar of “the Shining Era.” comes from a long line of groundskeepers, all of whom have tended the Monastery since it was the Academy. (he’s, therefore, annoyingly helpful.) the sort of guy who would have a Greek statue Twitter icon: he believes everything was better backinzeday, and almost everything out of his mouth is a quote from one of the Saints. the past to him was more real and happier. (I guess he’s right, technically.)

on a design level:

he's as-of-yet nameless, but i've been mostly looking at names that include the kanji "蜂" ("bee") or hachi, because i'm silly like that.

not yet drawn, but i intend for him to have a kind face you just want to immediately trust. you trust him, right? y̸o̸u̴ ̵t̷r̶u̷s̶t̷ ̵h̴i̴m̸ ̶w̴i̷t̵h̷ ̴y̴o̷u̶r̵ ̴l̷i̸f̵e̷?̷

the Groundskeeper is one of the first roles i conceptualized but one of the last characters i figured out. by this, i mean i knew i wanted a dude like him in the story, but i wasn't sure of the details until the very end of base character creation.

i wanted him to feel familiar but not too close to other existing characters both in AWD and in the Danganronpa universe in general. when you meet him, you'll have to let me know if i succeeded! i sure hope i did!

and some in-universe info:

his birthday is August 24th, making him a Virgo.

his blood type is AB.

his favored Saint? well, all of them, of course.

likes: cleanliness

dislikes: rude children

he's actually illiterate, but has an impossibly strong memory and hardcore Ibuki-level listening skills. he's learned everything he knows standing outside Monastery windows during lectures

though he's been at the Monastery for as long as the protagonist remembers, she doesn't know him well, mostly because he doesn't stop infodumping about the history of the statues at the Monastery, which creeps her out. she's gone out of her way to avoid him for 18 years, which is kind of incredible considering that she's never left the fucking place

especially right before the narrative begins, it seems from the protagonist's POV that he's gotten close to the Speed Wonder, her ex-best-friend. (perhaps romantically?) protagonist isn't jealous at all, no siree bob

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

🎸 ABOUT: the Marine Life Wonder

[NO SPOILERS]

i've introduced a bunch of ladies lately, including yesterday's 🚦 Speed Wonder. it's high time we talk about another lad, like...

...the 🎸 Marine Life Wonder! this boy is...

...a guitar-player from a distant shoreline who prefers a simple and quiet life. extremely, extremely does not want to be bothered. if you ask for his view on anything, he will explain he’s too inexperienced and stupid about any topic but the ocean and guitars to know much. if you somehow get him to open up more than a little, he’ll talk about his father with great love, but otherwise nothing useful. abrasive. nonetheless, the Clockmaker is enamored with him, believing he understands more than he lets on.

design stuff:

his temporary first name is Melv. AWD ostensibly takes place in Japan, though a far-flung version of it with a whole mixture of name types. "foreign" names are still rather rare, however, which makes "Melv" rather notable

foreigners themselves are rarer still, though not completely unknown. Melv is AWD's, but very much unlike our friend Miss Sonia from across time. where's he from, anyway?

strangely, he has a protagonist ahoge...? what's that all about

in-universe:

his blood type is O!

his birthday is January 15th, making him a Capricorn!

likes: taking walks

dislikes: loud noises

his favored Saint is Makoto Naegi. kind-of a normie choice, honestly. most little boys are super into Makoto Naegi...does this kid have any real opinions on anything???

it's not a spoiler that Six seems to have a girlish crush on this boy. whether or not it's returned, well, i suppose we'll see

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

🦈 ABOUT: the Gossip Wonder

[NO SPOILERS]

continuing on with our little series introducing all the characters! yesterday we said howdy to the game's Togami, our 🏹 Hunting Wonder.

today, let's meet...the Gossip Wonder! she's...

...an awkward girl with a built-in “divine device” around her mouth that allows her to talk. seems to deliver intel to shitty news rags. quiet and a loner due to the mistrust of others, though surprisingly amicable…to a degree. most are unnerved by her profession and her inclination towards sudden bouts of manic robo-laughter at inappropriate times; to her, a good punchline is the solution to all the world’s cruelty. yet she doesn’t seem to understand what she does is exploitative. in fact, eavesdropping, for her, appears completely compulsive.

design stuff:

many possible first names, but right now the Big Contenders are Ame (雨, "rain") or Kaname (奏雨 "report" + "rain")

another "firstborn" of mine! i think she was probably the first or second student character i created.

she is, as of right now, one of four characters who has a "divine device" or cybernetic prosthetic. hers is affixed to her jaw, as stated. the others include the protagonist (inner ear), the Poet Wonder (arm) and the Speed Wonder (both legs). missing body parts and organs are not uncommon in the world of AWD, as i've said before, but true "divine devices" are relatively rare.

in-universe:

her birthday is Nov 5, making her a Scorpio!

her blood type is A!

likes: aquariums

dislikes: eating

in my design document, her three keywords are STEALTHY, INHUMAN, and "OFF."

she was raised by an unknown figure she refers to as “the Benefactor,” who also seems to own the last remaining global news outlets

and a small, very vague

[SOME SPOILERS]

past the cut here:

AWD is so much about playing with the traditional Danganronpa roles. i wanted a character that is not the antagonist, really, but creepily and compulsively does "antagonist" type shit. yet she can't stop herself nor does she hold any bad blood towards any of the other students, and is in fact quite affable, if you can get past her manic tittering. she doesn't even fully comprehend her own actions.

she is not overly proud like Byakuya and not obsessed with hope and talent like Nagito and doesn't consider herself some evil prankster mastermind like Kokichi. in this way, i wanted to put players in a bind with their own emotions: with all the nonsense she's causing, am i really that annoyed, really that angry? who's the real antagonist here?

one character compares her to a well-trained sheepdog that, once rehomed in the city, continually breaks through your apartment window and never stops trying to herd small objects.

for her part, the Gossip Wonder would rather be a fish.

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

🏹 ABOUT: the Hunting Wonder

[NO SPOILERS]

i've told you a little about our 📖 Protagonist, the 🧚 Undertaking Wonder, the 🍯 Groundskeeper, and our 🕰️ Clockmaking Wonder...

next up, a somewhat familiar face...the Hunting Wonder! she is...

...the game’s Togami, literally. energetic and murderous—towards the mutant fauna of the world, that is. somewhat empty-headed, loud, and brash, but genuinely brave....and with none of her illustrious lineage's leadership qualities. (she certainly tries.) carries around all-but-useless wads of cash in her pants at all times, as well as a crossbow she shoots off for emphasis, generally into Usami’s head.

design-wise:

no name yet, because i'm not certain what direction i want to take with it.

i desired, nay, CRAVED a Togami in this game early on: she's one of my "firstborns" (one of the first characters i conceptualized for the project)

...but i also desired, nay, CRAVED a Girl Togami. and so.

in the end, she'll probably be one of the easier characters to solidify re: design, as i (tentatively) imagine her not far off from Byakuya, or Twogami, for that matter. just with, perhaps, a redneck vibe

her splash image would be the same as Byakuya and Twogami's, except she's stepped thru and made a hole in the seat of the royal chair they use, which is itself decrepit and dusty

in-universe:

her blood type is B!

she was born on August 14th, making her a Leo!

obviously, her favored Saint is old great great great [...] great great great [etc] great great great [you fall asleep] grandpa Byakuya Togami.

likes: old superhero comics

dislikes: being doubted

Huntergirl Togami is from a shinetown, where there are banks and cash and a money flow that mostly resembles today's economy. she is not prepared to exist at a monastery with kids who don't even understand the concept of a dollar and certainly aren't sure what to do with whole stacks (?) except perhaps to use them as Kindling

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

🕰️ DESIGN: Six Shinoda, face variations

[NO SPOILERS]

trying out a few Iterations on Six's current face:

heavily feeling #3 and #5 together

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

🕰️ ABOUT: Six Shinoda, Clockmaking Wonder

[NO SPOILERS]

a few facts about her while i work on Beta Design Goodness to be posted later in the week.

on the design front:

she is one of my "firstborns," an internal jokey name i use to denote the first characters i conceptualized. (that doesn't mean she's more or less important, though!)

in fact, i knew what she was about a full half a year before i knew what the protagonist was about.

she was also one of the first characters given a name. (while all names are tentative beta names, hers will likely stick.)

and in-universe:

if she featured in other games, one of her favorite presents might include the Civet Coffee. on the other hand, she might assume you were trying to make a fool of her if you gave her the Many-sided Dice Set.

her birthday is October 1st, making her a Libra.

in my design document, her keywords are listed as CONFIDENT, UNDERSTATED, and UNSHAKEABLE. (each character has 3.)

🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️🕰️

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

🕰️ DESIGN: the Clockmaking Wonder, logo

[NO SPOILERS]

oh right. an example of logo design from the previous post. that's what i posted it for. ha

so! concrete character design for A WONDERFUL DANGANRONPA is in full swing now. my process generally involves iterating in a real-life sketchpad before taking it digital.

let's talk iterative logo designs for the Clockmaking Wonder using scans from my sketchpad. she doesn't wear the crest of a high school, because she never went to one, but rather one representing her family, the Shinodas. i started with an edited doodle of the classical symbol for Saturn, a Roman god of many things, but most importantly time:

but i never want to straight up use an existing real-life symbol, so i messed with it:

this one felt closer to the final: it brings to mind a lightbulb and a magnifying glass, representative of the Clockmaking Wonder's analytical mind. (or what she views as such.) the rays also suggest the lines on a clock.

but it felt too much like the logo of a Southern Baptist church so i kept futzing with it:

we were getting there...

almost, but still too much like the weird local born-again sect that tried to brainwash you in college...

bingo. the second one is our likely candidate here. (the cut-off text says "this one is decent.")

and so i have a likely logo for the Shinoda family of clockmakers, and thus for the Clockmaking Wonder. cool, no?

more soon!

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

⚛️ ABOUT: the Party Planning Wonder

[NO SPOILERS]

we've made it to our final student introduction, and congratulations: it's a boy! last but certainly not least, this post is all about...

...⚛️ the Party Planning Wonder!

a competitive, aggressive, and handsome guy who nonetheless tries to view the world through a lens of rationality: namely, that everything can be measured. famous among the more hoity-toity city types because he’s apparently gotten “fun” down to a science…and has determined he can quantify just about anything, including parties. acts like he’s not always losing his shit about the dumbest, smallest thing, and that everyone else is overly emotional. (further, thinks that emotions tend to betray a liar.) a little greedy and a lot yell-y, but passionate and sometimes even protective.

design stuff:

his beta name is Veritas Yobiyama (喚山) and you know how i say don't get attached to beta names because they may change? feel free to get attached to this one. i love it. it's my masterpiece. it sounds perfect in-universe and out-. all final names will be measured against this one. 10/10

Veritas is one of my very final students fully conceptualized, alongside, i think, Teisuke, Reika, and 1-2 others. he may even be the final student. can't remember! but i knew his talent early on and that i wanted a guy character attached to it. i just had no idea what any of that would look like.

then the idea of an r/atheist fighter guy with the soul of a socialite came to me in a dream, pulling its shirt off and yelling to Come At Me Bro.

so: he was last but certainly not least, as i said. wink wink

in-universe:

his birthday is April 17th, making him an Aries!

his blood type is O!

in my design document, his keywords are STORMY, UNORGANIZED, and A FIGHTER.

("unorganized"? yes. he always has shit coming out of his 40,000 pockets.)

likes: numbers

dislikes: liars

beyond Veritas' natural belligerence and dedication to rationality are traits even more strange: he's most interested in the science of addiction, he overeats, and items seem to go missing around him in particular. check his pockets! what's his deal...?

⚛️⚛️⚛️⚛️⚛️⚛️⚛️⚛️

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

In a post-apocalyptic future, one young librarian accidentally begins a killing game when she awakens a robotic bear god...

This is the official development journal of the fangame "A Wonderful Danganronpa." All material herein is tentative and subject to change.

Currently, the main and only dev is @funishment-time, aka @iris-polaris. There is no estimated release date, as they are a cripple, and cripples work as they please.

> ASK QUESTIONS HERE <

🐝 MAIN TAGS:

#awdupdate: all major updates fall under this tag.

#awdasks: any Q&As fall here. Send as many as you'd like!

#awdcharacter: anything about a specific character.

#awdsetting: anything about the setting.

#awdincharacter: Q&As answered by the characters themselves.

#awdprojections: bits of lore, or Rabbits' Eyes, to be found around the game.

#awddesign: character design, backgrounds, aesthetic, etc.

#awdbackend: misc stuff, organizational thoughts, planned features, dev timelines, etc.

🐝 SPOILER TAGS:

#awdnospoilers: what you'd see in normal game promotional materials (e.g. the premise and basic plot points).

#awdsomespoilers: this tag comprises minor plot beats, character backgrounds that don't fall under #awdallspoilers, and small easter eggs.

#awdallspoilers: huge plot twists, executions, deaths, and the ending(s).

🐝 CHARACTER TAGS:

#awd📖 (SUZURAN DUSTCRAWL, PROTAGONIST LIBRARIAN)

#awd🏹 (YAEKO TOGAMI, HUNTING WONDER)

#awd🧚 (IZUMO OHIGATA, UNDERTAKING WONDER)

#awd🍯 (HACHIHEI ROUSEI, MONASTERY GROUNDSKEEPER)

#awd🕰️ (SIX SHINODA, CLOCKMAKING WONDER)

#awd🎸 (MELVILLE POINE, MARINE LIFE WONDER)

#awd🚦 (SENJU EXCELLENCE, SPEED WONDER)

#awd🩸 (WISTERIA ITO, PERFUMIST WONDER)

#awd🌕 (YUWA GLADIA, POET WONDER)

#awd🦈 (KANAME YOSHIDA, GOSSIP WONDER)

#awd🏍️ (REIKA BOULEVARD, ROCKHOUND WONDER)

#awd🌀 (HIKARI SEKI, DIPLOMAT WONDER)

#awd✈️ (FUBU FUSELAGE, PILOT WONDER)

#awd♟️(MASATO NOBORU, CHESS WONDER)

#awd💥 (TEISUKE NAGAMORI, PYROTECHNIC WONDER)

#awd⚛️ (VERITAS YOBIYAMA, PARTY PLANNING WONDER)

➡️ Coming soon: more tags probably.

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

you can now search by certain characters in the tags (like #awd📖 for the protagonist!)

you can also search a few new organizational tags, too:

#awdcharacter: everything about any specific character.

#awdsetting: anything about the setting.

#awdprojections: bits of lore, or Rabbits' Eyes, to be found around the game.

want to ensure people can find the posts they need for whatever reason. have fun (i guess)!

[a-wonderful-danganronpa]

[NO SPOILERS]

thank you wife.

🕰️ DESIGN: Six Shinoda, face concept 1

[NO SPOILERS]

"There is only one god, and its name is Justice."

i think it's just about time to start showing off more of the design process as i go through it. meet the first test version of SIX SHINODA, our Clockmaking Wonder.

the eldest of the students. no-nonsense, competent, and pathologically gruff, she's the self-declared leader of it all whenever things go to shit. while she attempts to be fair, her suspicions often get the best of her (not that she'd ever admit that). also, she smokes a pipe. if Byakuya and Kyoko had a daughter, it'd be her. what a lady.

i want to evoke not so much the "group mom" (because she certainly is not) but The Woman Of The House: a 50s homemaker or Grecian noble lady. the woman. the house. the woman who is in charge of the house, and all who are in it, whether they like it or not.

in the next few days i'll probably be iterating on this base design as i have a few features i want to experiment with