Trailers and Teasers – Beatrice Redux

Kris Takahashi Trailers and Teasers No Comments

Technically, as with Fjona, Arisen1 never finished this character. What I did was cut out the half dozen lines or so that never were recorded. And yet, while the quest still functioned without the missing lines, there were still things that needed to be addressed, both with the writing and the audio quality.

So with Arisen1 absent, I had Alice re-record this NPC as well, and I really think the new version is better on all fronts. Originally, when Alice proposed using a Yorkshire accent, I wasn’t completely sure it would work, but hearing it in action does make Beatrice seem more like the “erstwhile savage” she claims to be. As always, the actor knows best.

The video is a prime example of the aforementioned improvements. Having her walk over to a standing Urzub really heightens the feel that they are giving a demonstration to the player. I also like how Urzub is a reluctant participant in her various antics, standing just long enough for her to finish her speech before returning to quiet contemplation. The poetry has also been altered to be more rhythmic, and I think the overall effect is a much better presentation of the character as a whole.

Trailers and Teasers – Alphena and Teldryn

Kris Takahashi Trailers and Teasers 3 Comments

Every time I get the urge to go to Solstheim, I land on the dock, talk to the substitute mayor, and take about a dozen or so steps before I turn around and run. That’s because she’s still there, this sad puppy dog of an NPC, waiting for someone to adopt her. In fact, she’s been waiting for the better part of a year now, hoping I’ll get the motivation to finish.

The fact remains that I probably never will. And her presence makes it that I can’t play Dragonborn either, because I end up quitting the game and messing around with vanilla voice files for the rest of the day. But occasionally all this dicking around will result in a scene or two. Today was one of those days.

You’ll notice in the video Teldryn refers to her as an outlander, as that’s what she is. The story is she came to Solstheim about a fortnight before you did, although that’s given her enough time to get somewhat settled and be friendly with the other citizens of Raven Rock. In any case, long story short, here’s another video for the NPC that will never be finished. Unless one day I make so many of these it turns out she is.

Character Profile – Yseld, Ynvar, and Thendrick

Kris Takahashi Character Profiles 13 Comments

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The Reachmen say his human heart was too big for his chest, so he traded it in for a smaller model. 

Unlike most NPCs, Thendrick doesn’t have an actor. He doesn’t have a single line of dialogue. His story is one told through his companions, Yseld and Ynvar. Nevertheless, I find him no less compelling.

This isn’t to say the trio are incomplete. Yseld has her quirks – she’s forgetful, indifferent, and at times aloof. She can turn a phrase, and maybe even turn a few heads. This is in sharp contrast to her sister Ynvar – who’s the kind of rough, unforgiving woman who eats scorpions and uses tarantulas to brush her hair. You might say she’s as hard as the very rocks that cover the Reach. And yet, while the two have depth both as individuals and as sisters, it’s their relationship with Thendrick that truly gives them character.

When I visit Ynvar and Thendrick, I’m reminded of those summer days as a kid. Maybe you met someone off at camp, and you were both a little bit shy, and a little bit excited, because it was so fresh and innocent and real. And when you go back to school in the fall and back to the real world, those summer days are like special little secrets you keep between the two of you, moments frozen in time.

I also think about how much of that innocence was lost as she grew older. As the war sharpened her edges, it left her angry, jaded, and mean. But Thendrick always believed that girl was still there. Sure, she never showed it, but that’s because it was something they shared between the two of them. He always remembered those words by the river, and the smile that came with it. It was their little secret.

And now, it’s a secret he takes to his grave.

When Thendrick transformed, you might say he lost more than his heart. He lost his innocence. Ynvar’s refusal to stop him is proof she had done the same. And yet while the story of Ynvar and Thendrick is inherently tragic, their secret still lives on through their hopes for Yseld. After all, she has her sister’s smile. Here’s hoping she never loses it.