Philosophy #38 - The Final Boss

Philosophy #38 - The Final Boss

When I first started outlining and planning this story a long time ago, it was important for me to make everything cohesive. I wanted everything at the beginning to be connected to everything at the end. Though there are a bunch of small parts, they all have to come together. Sometimes I look at the big picture without focusing on the small picture, which is why certain parts of the story can be underwhelming compared to others. It's all connected though, so even a part that might some boring or irrelevant has its place because it's part of something else.

With Episode 15 and everything beyond, all of those pieces are finally going to come together. Sharp is the biggest piece I haven't revealed until now. As I've said before, it's nice to be able to talk about him when he's always been present in my outlines but not the game itself.

Sharp's creation was simple. He's meant to represent the greatest challenge the MC will face. Every great hero needs a great villain. The story has been building up to this point. Even though you haven't seen him in the story until now, he's been progressing the same as you have. His story has been running parallel to yours whether or not you've realized it. I did my best to make sure his name was present in the story when it made sense, so that he wasn't completely off-screen and it doesn't feel like I just pulled him out of nowhere. I'd like to think that he's had an ominous presence though that's probably because of my perspective of knowing he was always there.

As the story progresses in these late episodes, there are going to be more twists and turns, with Sharp playing a major role in most of them. I think these are necessary because he wouldn't be a proper antagonist if he weren't posing a threat greater than everything you've already overcome. Everything has been leading to the arrival of Sharp so he has to have his purpose.

I don't think an achievement means anything when it's presented without any challenge. From a game aspect, I can't push you in terms of the game mechanics themselves, since all you have to do is make the right choices. However, I can push you by challenging your experience, your thoughts, your feelings and emotions, as you move through the story. Sharp's presence is a chance for you, the MC, to push yourself more than ever. This is the end of the story. Since the beginning, I've wanted to put you into the position of doing something great. Sharp's challenge is your chance to do just that.

Back in Philosophy #32, I alluded to Episode 15 being the reveal of the final boss. I hinted and implied that it was Riley. But I never explicitly stated that she was the only person I was talking about. Riley was the final hurdle to leap when it came to romancing all of the ladies. There's still more romance to pursue but it was obviously a milestone in Episode 15.

Now you have your next challenge. A greater challenge that any other you've faced before. A challenge that's been building since the prologue. I've had this planned for a long time. It remains to be seem what specifically Sharp has planned for you. I can't give things away obviously because of spoilers. But I will tell you to be ready for anything. I'm looking forward to what happens next.

On Episode 16

Progress is still in the early stages and it's admittedly pretty slow. Other obligations and distractions this month have taken time away from me to lock down and get as much work done as I wanted to. I try not to make excuses though and I won't start now. My goal is to get as many renders done this week and see where I'm at for the start of December so I can give you all a full progress update. I'm hoping that getting some of the smaller/early scenes done will allow me to focus and tackle the bigger scenes for the bulk of December. I'm still pretty far from a release but I'll get it done eventually, whenever that is.

We're approaching the end of November. Along with rendering early scenes, I'm going to do my best to carve out a space of time to get special renders done. That's all I've got for now. Thanks for hanging out, everybody. Send a message if you've got a comment or question. Take care and I'll talk to you soon.