Neon Blood News

Check out the new trailer shown yesterday at the Best Indie Games event and with many more surprises in store at Guerrilla's upcoming event.

Ruby Emerald

33

Bright City

Leader of the Samaritans, Mayor's daughter

Main antagonist of the game, leader class

Great orator, immense intelligence, boundless ambition

White


Ruby Emerald constantly plays with two faces. Publicly, she is kind, benevolent, and cheerful with everyone, charming people with her persona. However, the real Ruby is cold, cruel, and extremely calculating. Along with her ambition to control all of Viridis at her whim, she orchestrates a large-scale plan involving murders and betrayals, viewing them merely as means to achieve her end, representing the belief that the end justifies the means. With the power she holds, she is a dangerous and threatening individual who will crush anyone if necessary, abusing her power when she can be herself. To maintain the facade of two faces and not raise suspicions with her plan, she uses her immense oration skills to create an alter ego called Luzbel, which she uses to organize all the pieces of her macabre chessboard, being truly herself without limitations. When speaking, she is empathetic, assertive, and truly gets into your head to make you do what she wants, speaking calmly and in a continuous tone, except when she sees that her wonderful plan is being frustrated, then she bursts into anger, letting out all the rage she is accustomed to suppressing and feigning.


1/10


Surrounded by an aura of luxury and power, Ruby always dresses ostentatiously. Always equipped with heels, Ruby is the center of attention wherever she goes, making noise upon arrival and departure. She wears a white skirt symbolizing purity, long but slightly suggestive, revealing her leg up to mid-thigh. On top, she wears a top with neon inlays, which serve as an invisible defense field in case of attack but also leave her arms free in case of need for combat. All of this is covered by a large coat worn over her shoulders, purely for ostentation as it is not so cold as to require such a large coat. With delicate and beautiful features, Ruby has a characteristic red hair tone, the reason her parents gave her that name. Her hair is tied up in a bun, held with two sticks made of platinum, demonstrating her economic superiority. Ruby has many implants distributed throughout her body, but since they are always performed by the best surgeons of the moment, they are completely invisible unless she activates them, even if that means getting her hands dirty, another reason why she is rarely seen in direct action, instead sending her Samaritan henchmen. When Ruby activates 100% of her implants, she takes on a divine appearance, with a halo of light surrounding her head, able to levitate from the ground and seeming weightless in the midst of combat. If she were to fight without activating 100%, each time she activates an implant, it remains lit up shining from under the skin, with lines of light emerging through her body.




Ruby Emerald was born as the daughter of the mayor, into one of the wealthiest families in all of Viridis. Her father was not the best mayor, in fact, his management left much to be desired as he seemed to never take action on matters affecting the city. Ruby grew up in pomp, completely oblivious to the real world, on a beautiful crystal throne. As Ruby grew up, her greatest concern was to do as she pleased, but due to her condition as the mayor's daughter and her inexperience in the real world, she felt she was in a golden cage. That's why she began to realize the power of words; being an extremely cultured person, she could speak with people and compel them to do the things she wanted, making them think it was their idea. With rhetoric in her hand, Ruby realized she needed power to have the freedom she so desired to do as she pleased. It was precisely when she took charge of the Samaritans that she realized her great leadership skills, ending with a whole cult towards her person and the deity, Liwn, whom they worship, an invention of Ruby from day one. With all this power and her new faculties, Ruby directed her frustration at not achieving freedom to the lower parts of Viridis, believing them to be second-class citizens who did not deserve to live in her city for threatening the freedom she sought, so she began a larger-scale plan.


The now religious leader and daughter of the mayor, Ruby Emerald, realized that there were several elements missing in order to have total freedom in Viridis, now also adding the goal of ruling it, always thirsty for leadership after testing it with the Samaritans. The elements that stood in her way were the gangs of Blind City, which could be dangerous, her inept father, the mayor, and the police, as corrupt as they were, they would try to stop her at the slightest hint of revolution against Blind City. That's why she needed an alter ego, a person in the shadows with Ruby's rhetoric but not herself to gather more people, thus creating Luzbel, the 'genius' behind the whole plot, actually being Ruby in an attempt to protect her more public facet. With her skills, she was able to convince the Architect and Viper, two key pieces for her plan, giving her access to industrial and police power, which combined with the military power of the Samaritans was a good start and undoubtedly a threat to all of Viridis. All she lacked was political power, which would be achieved by killing her father and taking his place, as in an oligarchy in Viridis, her father's friends would choose her. She also needed a scapegoat, someone to blame for all this when it was over to appease the people with her extreme policies, with Axel being the perfect candidate in Ruby's eyes.


With the plan starting, Ruby already has the Spark that the Architect manufactures flooding the streets of Blind City, gaining favor with the mafias and gradually generating chaos that will make people think worse of all of Blind City again. Robin encounters a setback in her plan when Robin dedicates herself to taking out the mules transporting the Spark, but it was thanks to her that Axel became much more involved with all this, making him perfect to blame. Ruby is always two steps ahead, letting Axel work on the playground she has planned, and everything Axel does ends up benefiting Ruby, like ending the Architect, giving Luzbel (the greatest industrial power of all Viridis). This is evidenced when Ruby kills her father since she doesn't need more, having the police and all the power behind her, she just needed to take that last chess piece and blame everything on Axel. At first, Ruby appears as she is publicly, attentive, nice, and pleasant, but as soon as it is discovered that she is the one involved with everything by killing Joe, Ruby stops pretending and her serious, rude, and cruel personality is revealed.


To have absolute control of Viridis to not depend on anyone and have complete freedom.


https://store.steampowered.com/app/2067310/Neon_Blood/

[h3]Background and previous experience[/h3]
As a writer, I am primarily a novelist. However, I have had a multidisciplinary career. I started out as a copywriter in the creative department of an agency. Coming up with ideas and writing scripts and radio spots for advertisers like Ford, Telefónica, or ONCE really helps to hone your writing, getting straight to the point. Concurrently, I developed a literary activity that has resulted in the publication of five books, almost all of them crime novels, a genre in which I have carved out a niche, a reputation, and quite a few readers. As for video games, I'm not a gaming addict, so I've been gradually getting into them, naturally, in the same way that I've always dabbled in any work requiring well-written stories. I started out as a dialogue writer, crafting all sorts of texts for games, designing backgrounds, and then contributing ideas for narratives... Neon Blood is the title that has given me the first opportunity to propose a complete narrative, from the initial structure to writing the script.



[h3]Inspiration for creating the narrative of Neon Blood[/h3]
When I entered the development process, I didn't encounter a blank page. The folks at Chaotic Brain had already done excellent graphic work, environments, characters, and had several quite appealing lore ideas. So the initial inspiration came from the work I found already done. From there, I insisted that if this was going to be a cyberpunk genre game, I wanted to tell a story as cyber as it is punk. I turned to the most classic references, of which nods can be found throughout the game (for the more culturally savvy players): William Gibson, Warren Ellis, Phillip K. Dick... In the story, influences range from as obvious as Strange Days to some much geekier ones, like Tales from the Galactic Tavern.



[h3]What is the creative process like in creating this narrative?[/h3]
Developing a video game is, in most cases, a team effort. So, you have to start with some reflection: What narrative does the team want? Which narrative among those I can and want to create will appeal to the whole team? You also have to examine the work done, the concept art, the part of the flow that has already been built... and think of a story that fits. In the case of Neon Blood, for example, I thought that the type of graphic art, vintage and delicious, wasn't suitable for a serious, existential science fiction story, in the style of Ghost in the Shell or Blade Runner. However, it was perfect for something more Transmetropolitan, to shake things up, to offer a sharp critique of our present through fiction, to be, at times, a bit rough and, at others, more reflective. In other words: a very classic hardboiled story, but replacing LA gangsters with characters with cybernetic implants, addicted to synthetic drugs. From there, you just have to sit down and write. First, you outline a structure, like a screenplay, with its acts, powerful turning points, climax. And then you start writing action and dialogue as if there's no tomorrow.



[h3]Major challenges in creating the narrative of a game[/h3]
In my experience, the most complicated part is figuring out where the space is to tell a story. And once you find it, making a story that fits that space. When you write a novel, you know the story will be told with ink on paper. When you write a movie script, you know the story will be told with images, where you'll see characters' actions and dialogues. When you write a video game narrative, it's a bit more complicated. One of my first jobs was for a sports game; I wrote a very sophisticated background and character profiles that turned out great. But then, in the video game, there wasn't room for all those things. It's not the same to write a Red Redemption, which is almost like a movie, as it is to write a Monument Valley, which also tells a beautiful narrative but has hardly any space to insert it. I think the latter is much more commendable.



[h3]Bonus track[/h3]
Narrative is not only important in video games. People don't realize how important it is for every profession. From a waiter to a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, mastering narrative helps to better present the product of your work. Narrative is nothing more than adding emotion to the description of facts. I can tell you the facts that lead Frodo to Mount Doom. But narrative tackles it from the emotion: it first tells you what a character's goal is, and then focuses on all the obstacles keeping that character from achieving it: he's small, he's pursued by nine Nazgûl, there are spiders in the way... For the consumer, narrative offers a great gift: it gives you the possibility of living lives other than your own. This is especially powerful in video games, where the player has more power over the action than a novel reader. Well-done narrative will make you afraid, subject you to incredible emotions, make you laugh. Everyone loves the narrative created by Portal's off-screen voice, but the game could have existed without it. It would have been a great game, but not an exceptional one. And that's because someone saw the opportunity to add that voice to that story.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2067310/Neon_Blood/

Axel McCoin is a police detective and revolutionary leader in Viridis. He possesses advanced deductive skills, is empathetic, and has a strong sense of justice. His goal is to make Viridis a better place for all its inhabitants. He wears the Viridis police uniform and has a prosthetic arm after losing his arm during an escape. Before Neon Blood, Axel was Joe's protege and felt trapped in the monotony of his work. In Neon Blood, he investigates a conspiracy from the upper echelons of Bright City to destroy the balance of Viridis, becoming increasingly violent and furious. His objective is to help the people of Viridis and achieve lasting peace and uniform equality.




Axel Miller


28


Bright City


Police Detective


Leader, Game Protagonist


Highly advanced deductive abilities, intelligence, innate leadership, follows his convictions more than his obligations




Axel is highly empathetic, able to put himself in others' shoes without difficulty. He has a strong sense of justice, which, coupled with his respect for people and kind heart, makes him a fair and good police officer. His goal is to make Viridis a better place for all its inhabitants, a goal he gradually postpones due to bureaucracy and minor cases, but he endures this situation even if it means falling into monotony. He has a way with words but demonstrates intelligence and even ruthlessness during interrogations, being more than competent as a police officer. Over time, Axel becomes hardened by the situation in Viridis, transitioning from being more passive in his life in general to being much more proactive, allowing anger or rage to occasionally cloud his decisions, but always with a very clear objective, without crossing the line of 'the end justifies the means'.


9/10


Axel McCoin wears the standard uniform of the Viridis police force, sporting grayish trousers held up by a belt around the waist. He wears a gray suit vest over a regulation white shirt enriched with carbon fibers, giving it some resistance although it is not a true armor, adorned only by a black tie tucked inside the vest. Although it's the standard uniform, it's slightly more resilient than typical attire, but Axel dislikes dressing this way. Due to Viridis' common rains, they are required to wear a trench coat; however, Axel decided to wear his own trench coat with a faint blue light around the outer embroidery. This light serves a purpose, helping him quickly find his trench coat if he needs to remove it, as well as being able to use it as a distraction if the situation requires it.



Viridis detectives have a small internal projector implanted in their left eye with the police system interface, where they can obtain information about almost anything in real time, as well as enter detective mode, a mode patented by the Viridis police and later improved by Basilio, which intensifies the natural power of the eye and highlights elements that may be useful. Apart from that, Axel does not have any other implants, which are highly frowned upon within the force, a situation that changes when he is forced to flee the station, losing his arm due to a bullet that impacts his shoulder, seriously damaging the nerve and losing all mobility in the arm, as well as becoming infected from collapsing in very dirty tunnels during the escape. Luckily, Nikolai finds him while searching for scrap metal, helping him by having to amputate his arm to save his life, crafting a prosthetic arm that serves more than one function and will aid him in combat. Axel sports the typical almost military haircut required by the police, but it's on his face where one can see a man who has to mature and become aware of the world at forced pace, generally having a serious and tough demeanor.


Axel McCoin was born as Axel Miller into a wealthy family in Bright City. Like any family minimally belonging to Bright City's oligarchy, they had complete contempt for anyone from Blind City, instilling that thinking in young Axel from an early age. However, internally, Axel struggled to think that way. Over time, a young Axel began to peacefully rebel by sneaking away to Hunter Heaven, the nearest neighborhood belonging to Blind City, where he made friends with whom he enjoyed himself and realized that the class distinction his parents spoke of was simply fear of the unknown. Eventually, his parents found out, and if they were told that Axel had died, it would have hurt them less. His parents began to see him as if he were dirty, as if he had mixed with the riffraff, even resorting to violence due to his great audacity and irresponsibility.

The situation became extreme; Axel's parents would beat and insult him for mingling multiple times, seeing him as if they had no children. Fortunately, Axel's situation became evident little by little, especially to the neighbors, who called the police, and fortunately for Axel, it was Detective Rob McCoin who showed up at the door. Seeing the situation, he told the parents that he was taking him to teach him a lesson, to which the increasingly paranoid parents happily agreed. Rob rescued Axel, and after learning about everything that had happened and the good-heartedness the boy had, he decided to adopt him and give him an education in Hunter Heaven, away from the toxic environment where he had been raised. The elitist group among whom Axel's parents moved quickly realized that they had allowed their son to mix with people from Blind City, so they began to turn their backs on them until they ended up falling further into their madness, cursing Axel for his actions and turning to drink.

Rob was a good mentor; he taught Axel about right and wrong, about how it's important to fight for justice, equality, and respect. Undoubtedly, Rob was one of the few good cops left in an increasingly corrupt police force. When Axel learned of the situation, he felt horrible, but Rob helped him understand that it was his actions and philosophy that killed them, telling him that it's important to fight for your philosophy but that the end does not justify the means.

Axel grew up happily under Rob's tutelage, with the goal of working as a taxi driver, becoming completely enamored with the people of Viridis and its places; he wanted to meet many people and help them get around. However, when Rob died in the line of duty, Axel's objective changed radically. He had to enlist, join the force, and help people in another way, as Rob had helped him. Rob's partner, Joe, knew about Axel and his abilities, so from the police academy, he taught him to deduce and investigate, motivated by his promise and objective, soon standing out from the rest, becoming a detective in the Viridis police force.




Axel was Joe's protege, not out of favoritism towards Rob, but because Joe saw in him a young man with clear ideas, a good heart, and a real willingness to help people, not just collect his paycheck, aligning with Rob and Joe years ago. Axel spent his days in his Hunter Heaven apartment, always attentive to the most complicated cases that Joe gave him, sometimes handling minor cases, making Axel feel like he was falling into monotony and drifting away from his main objective.


Axel begins investigating another case, a simple murder, but to his surprise, as he delves deeper, he realizes a conspiracy by the upper echelons of Bright City to destroy the balance of Viridis. At first, Axel is a bit bored with the situation in his life, feeling that he wasn't really helping the people of Viridis, but as the game progresses, Axel becomes increasingly violent and furious, driven by Robin, with the goal of taking down Ruby.


To help all the people of Viridis, achieving lasting peace and uniform equality.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2067310/Neon_Blood/

Indie publisher and distributor Meridiem Games and developer ChaoticBrain Studios are thrilled to reveal the first trailer for the dark RPG/Graphic Adventure title Neon Blood. Coming to PC via Steam & to consoles, via digital stores later in 2024.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Neon Blood is a JRPG/Graphic Adventure with a 2.5D aesthetic, based on the use of 2D PixelArt sprites with 3D-modeled environments. This first trailer, titled Welcome to Viridis, unveils gameplay from Neon Blood and several spectacular scenes animated by the fantastic team at Sunshine, known for their work on several major titles in the industry in recent years, both in trailers and in-game animations.



Neon Blood will be featured in the Chinese New Year Steam Sale thanks to Astrolabe, a publisher with a solid presence in Asia and America, who has already collaborated with Meridiem Games for the release of The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo.


About Neon Blood
In the year 2053, after the Third World War, humanity was reduced to a single megacity, Viridis, formed by two cities, the luxurious Bright City and the dystopian Blind City.
Axel McCoin, a detective from Blind City, will be motivated by his ideals to rebel against the injustices caused by the drastic class difference between the two cities that exist in the dystopian society they inhabit, becoming a symbol of a revolution.
In his adventure, Axel will encounter powerful allies who will help him in his purpose as well as enemies who will stand in his way, such as Ruby Emerald, who will do everything possible to thwart Axel's plans.



FEATURES:
● Neon Blood features an elaborate and deep story with a cyberpunk theme that serves as a thread to tell Axel's story, which will be marked by the relationships he will establish throughout his adventure, showing the player the different realities of the two cities.
● In Neon Blood, we embrace a 2.5D aesthetic, based on using 2D PixelArt sprites with 3D-modeled environments, maintaining an aesthetic differentiation between flat characters and the environment with depth.
● Additionally, in the art department, we have two very marked and contrasting aesthetics, further emphasizing the differentiation between the two cities, with Blind City being purely Cyberpunk and Bright City having a more futuristic aesthetic marked by Sci-Fi. You will discover the secrets of Viridis thanks to Detective Axel McCoin's Investigation skills in a revolution that will demolish the foundations of society.



https://store.steampowered.com/app/2067310/Neon_Blood/