Heya Folks,

Been awhile but just here to let you know that things are going well still.  I've been brainstorming a few new features to add in, some minor stuff just like maybe adding in character blips and maybe something major like a character screen that'll let you keep track of various bits of information on all the characters in the game.  We'll see how much of that gets implemented in the next update, but I figured I'd let you in on that much!

Now, let's talk about characters.  Been a while since we did so, and I think one character that deserves the spotlight is Theresa Reinhart.  The tenacious gambler in The Game of Fourtune.

Oh boy do I have a lot to say about Theresa.  Well for starters I can say that Theresa along with a few other characters originated from an old, old, old, game I made back when I was in middle school or early highschool I think.  She was as cutthroat and devious as she is in this game but she also was a bit helpful.  And if you couldn't tell by the hair and eye color she was inspired by a certain white-haired, pink-eyed , black-gloved character from Danganronpa.

But that was then and this is now.  Theresa now occupies a different niche here than she did way back then.  For starters Theresa more often than not acts as a purely antagonistic force, and not in the standard way.  Most of the time when Clyde or Devon end up playing a game, they're fighting against other people who are just trying to survive or have their own goals.  That makes sense.

Theresa on the other hand acts like a predator.  Each of these games is an opportunity to hunt, mangle, and destroy someone mentally.  It's not enough for her to win, she has to string someone along into thinking they can win, give them hope that they can crush and destroy, and leave them so broken and helpless that death may be more of a mercy than a cruelty.  Sometimes she'll kick you when you're down and out (even literally at times) and laugh all the while.  She'll use any method to get those results, though more often than not she'll be happy to cheat or use underhanded methods to get those results.  

Whenever you have to get in a game against Theresa... beware, as chances are she's got some plot or scheme to win the game and leave you in tatters before your inevitable death.

The great thing about a character like this is that it makes beating them extremely satisfying.  Sometimes you'll feel bad for beating certain characters in games, they don't want to hurt you, they just want to survive.  It's a bitter feeling to watch as some of these characters die chasing dreams, wishes, and hopes only for you to squash them.  

But against Theresa... well you don't have to worry about that.  She's a character I want players to feel great about beating, to outwit, to outplay, to make them regret trying to pull some inane plot against them.  Haven't we all wanted to brag in the face of people who thought they were high and mighty?  Well, Theresa's the perfect character to brag in front of.  So more often than not, I'll let her defeats be accompanied by her being a poor sport, just because it's more satisfying that way.

It hasn't happened yet, but I imagine that pairing up with Theresa will have something of a bittersweet feeling.  It might be nice to have someone like her on your side, someone determined and driven... but what about her methods?  Will you be willing to let her have her fun at the expense of other people's anguish?  Will you stop and try to rein her in even if it means lowering your chances of survival?  I assure you that I'm planning for fun scenarios like these and hope to get a fun reaction out of all of you for it.

But why is Theresa like this?  Is she just crazy?  Does she have some sadistic urge that she has to satiate? Does she have some tragic backstory that explains her behavior?

The answer to that will be sprinkled in various routes, and will be mostly answered in her own route.  But I'll say that it's not because Theresa has some different brain chemistry or is neurodivergent.  Sometimes people are just evil and bad, how they end up that way might lead up to that.  But we'll inspect that later down the line, for now just know that she's definitely dangerous and you wouldn't want to play against her if your life was on the line.  Too bad that more often than not... it is.

What about outside of the games though?

Well, if you've played a bit here and there you can know that even when she's not playing games Theresa tends to annoy and bother people as if trying to pick at their weaknesses.  Sometimes she does it in hopes of finding some advantage to exploit in a later game, and other times she just does it to be an asshole.  Maybe she really doesn't have a good bone in her body, but all the same I enjoy writing her whenever she's on screen.  Mainly just because she draws out a lot of reactions from various characters.

Aside from the Kirigiri inspiration, Theresa was also primarily inspired by characters from other gambling media again... I'm going to reference Kaiji.  But I wouldn't say that Theresa is inspired by the character Kaiji but rather the various antagonists in it's various arcs and how they try to cheat and one up Kaiji.  Theresa acts like those kind of antagonists so I enjoy using some characters in those stories to help shape her.

I could go on and on about Theresa but I think there are somethings about her best left experianced rather than explained.  So I hope you'll look forward to facing off against her in the future.  This coming update will include quite a showdown...

Until next time,

Good Luck and Good Fortune!