Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

Smokescreen

Lady Zhao had spoken. There was no longer a reason for Su Li to decline, along with the fact that it was more than decent pay. Su Li also stood to gain much from this job, as there was no way that only one person was in charge of the illustration for such a large scale game. Before Su Li joined,already had many well-known illustrators, and it was why the game was still going strong.

This game company had asked for Su Li’s cooperation, mainly due to the overwhelming beauty of her illustrations. Only she could bring out the nameless maiden’s swordplay, especially the skill – “Flight of the Extra-celestial Fairy”

Of course, they also took into account the fact that Su Shi’s entire character design did not fit in such a dark and cold world background. The stark contrast would really make her stand out.

All the prior main illustrators working for this game were well versed at depressing, oppressive, dark illustrations, which worked extremely well with guy characters, giving them an ikemen vibe. Yet, this did not roll well with female characters that made them seem even more detached from the players taking away their charm. Also, from the gaming trends, players never showed much interest in the female characters. Instead of improving their relationship with females, they would rather go around exploring and killing.

The filthy rich creator Zha Feng motioned his hands, beckoning Su Li over. He briefed her over the game’s main characters and the factors that needed to be changed, mainly the change in style for the main woman protagonist.

In reality, all this needed some lengthy thought, as game art designs and illustrators were practically from different planets and were of different cultures. This was actually a test to see if Su Li would be able to adapt to the team.

Su Li’s induction to the team would serve as great publicity. However, Old Man Zha Feng never once thought of using this as a means of advertising. He only intended to spill the beans after the DLC has been released.

After all, when the game ends, their names would roll through the customary credits. Su Li’s name would definitely pop up in bold letters when they reached the design team.

Su Li herself was not advertising material, but her illustrations had practical use, especially her illustration of Yan QingMeng that turned her into a fairy.

It would be unwise to use Su Li as promotion before the dust has settled.

Zhao Youyue trusted Su Li as usual. She believed that Su Li would do well as always. Su Li could serve as a reliable source of intel, if she worked there.

To portray a person’s essence in ink, one needed to know everything about the character, including their personality, experience, habits, minor quirks and etc, to create and illustrate the best possible rendition of a character.

Due to this, Su Li would be able to find out if this nameless maiden was a measly side character, or a main character in disguise.

However, Zhao Youyue’s plans were foiled this time round. Due to how the company kept everything in wraps, she was not able to enter the company and learn everything from the inside. As a result, she never got to learn of the dark, sadistic mind that Zha Feng actually was.

Zhao Youyue meddling was used by Zha Feng to the fullest. He could now show the players the extent of the dark Wuxia world.

Zhao Youyue was an actual, experienced gamer, and nothing would prepare her for Zha Feng’s evil intent and tricks.

Nevertheless, all her hard-work of acting as the nameless maiden eventually got adopted.

What she did not know was that Zha Feng had even added some extra scenes for the maiden, mainly in the form of flashbacks. “The gut-wrenching, heart-breaking feels,” etc. Zha Feng was already treating the maiden like his own daughter.

As Zhao Youyue claimed the fictional world as her stage, she had made sure to act as a girl who had grown up without a childhood, scarred by a tramatic past. However, Zha Feng had tweaked her characteristics ever so little, that she would give off many sad, precious memories that could be used to stimulate the tears of players.

FengHuo gaming company’s webpage hosted their interview with Tencent Gaming Platform. This interview could also be viewed on Tencent’s platform. Players who followed FengHuo’s gaming company through this platform might actually be more than what one might expect. Tencent Gaming Platform was somehow similar to Steam. Simply visiting it would lead one to an advertisement regarding the interview with FengHuo gaming company.

From the video, a man in his thirties who sported black spectacles, and carried some excess weight around his weight could be seen with a warm smile while answering multiple questions in succession. His candid attitude cradled the feelings of players in its arms, spoiling them with love.

“In this new DLC, a female character called Yan Qingmeng would be introduced. This character has been created by our hardworking team. We noticed that Ye Huolian from the last DLC did not receive much attention, but were instead interested in the newly added skills and clothing. That left me a little saddened Our team had a hard time, as we had put a great deal of effort on the characters – while implementing new features such as the “My Room” function, increasing the variety of weapons, etc. I know that many players see this game as “Hero of Equipment Changing,” but”

As Zha Feng spoke endlessly about the new DLC, many comments started popping up.

“What Hero of Equipment Changing??? More like – Hero of Pain!!!”

“Witch Ye Huolian’s story might lack feels, but compared to the earliest main girl, Cheng Shan or Luo Shiqi, there was a vast improvement. Let’s just hope that Yan Qingmeng would come as a surprise to players.”

“Does anyone actually care about the story? All that happens in this game is: choose a waifu and dress her up. That’s where the real game is!”

“I get the feeling that Thief Zha Feng has something up his sleeves. But as a loyal follower of , I’d get any DLC that comes my way to experience it firsthand. Since Mr. Thief’s games are not that expensive and are always wholesome.”

“I really like Fenghuo gaming company’s works myself, and I definitely feel the effort the team gave in creating the game.”

“Diligently create the game? More like diligently designed the CGs [1]!”

By the end of the video, a 3D illustration of Yan Qingmeng and her in-game 3D model was revealed. It featured Yan Qingmeng – sitting by the side of the Peak of the Emperor’s Step as the setting sun half obscured by the clouds, glowed in the background. It was truly divine.

Without questioning, Su Li took up the job. She started by being in charge of Yan Qingmeng. What she did not know was that Yan Qingmeng was just a decoy; a smokescreen for the real main character to hide behind.

Su Li’s godlike skills produced a ‘simple by her standards’ illustration of Yan Qingmeng. It sent the viewers into a frenzy. In her basic, simple robe, she already possessed such beauty. If her favorability was maxed out, and you unlocked all the costumes, to what realm would her beauty ascend to?

TL Notes:

[1] CGI : Computer-generated imagery. Refers to computer art. Mostly hand drawn then processed into pixels by using a drawing tablet or something of the sort.