The inspirations behind Simone

Today's log is going into the first character Ebelle meets on his journey to Earth- Simone! He's the youngest of the three datable characters, at 24. Not only that, but he's also the first of the three datable men I designed.

Okay, that's not entirely true. Tyzian is an old OC of mine, but his inclusion was decided later than Simone's. I knew I wanted the first character you meet to be the friendliest, and the easiest to romance. Hence why today's preview is the moments before you share your first kiss!

As for his design, there's a lot that went into it. WE WILL NOT SEE HEAVEN is set in a world which is analogous to our own, but not exactly the same. The countries are all fictional, but loosely based on real life. So while it isn't a one-to-one comparison, I designed Simone with the assumption of him being half black, half Hispanic.

I knew I wanted him to be short, have cute curly hair, and be very excitable! Seemed like a good candidate for the first character you meet. His outfit is a mishmash of clothing I actually own with designs inspired by other projects.

The necklace is based on one I was gifted by my sister Marina, she made it herself! His shirt is something I own as well, just a cheap one I got online. As for the jacket, I took inspiration from a game from a good friend of mine, CROSSNIQ+. The emoji I chose for a patch was based on how I imagine Simone's deeper personality to be, if I had to boil it down to one face.

As for his name, I tend to just pull names from the void when it comes to characters. In his particular case, though, while I was brainstorming this game I had OVERBOARD from Polygon playing in the background, and the name of one of their site's content creators, Simone, caught my attention. It's gender neutral, which felt fitting for him, short, sweet, and before I knew it I couldn't detach the name from the character. 

I have a hard time conceptualizing and writing characters without pulling from inspirations around me. People I've met, friends and family, and inspirations from other characters in media. The trick behind it is to combine so many of those aspects together, boil it down to its core components, and create something entirely new. I can still trace back the inspirations behind Simone, but once it all comes together, he's his own character. And I can't wait for you all to get to date him!

Thanks for reading, and take it easy!