Hello everyone,
It's been a while. We are happy to report that the script for The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City's Fall is now fully complete, and our wishlists have surpassed the 100,000 milestone. The game has now entered the voice acting and art production stages. Preparations for the Japanese voice-over are also underway. We expect all production work to be completed by March of next year. If everything goes smoothly, the game will officially launch in Early 2026.
Below are some notes and thoughts from our creative process during this period:
A while back, I argued that our characters possess their own souls.
Some in the community challenged this: "How can a fictional character have a soul?"
Doesn't the author's word dictate everything?
Can they truly defy their creator's intent and act autonomously?
Would they ever seize the pen from the writer and forge their own destiny?
Here's my perspective:
Most of the time, an author has full command over their creations.
But there are those rare, defining moments when control slips away.
When writing within an established world, be it as a fan or licensed creator, one must honor the core essence of its characters.
In my own original works, I have free reign over the fates of minor, background characters.
But pivotal characters, particularly those born from real-life accounts, historical records, or classic literature, demand a different respect.
To force my own will upon them would render their actions hollow and break their credibility.
These are the characters that slip from an author's grasp, as if guided by a soul of their own.
In truth, "Rebel Leader Li" was absent from the original outline for "The Hungry Lamb". He stormed into the narrative as I immersed myself in period music and historical texts during writing.
I could never have made Li show mercy to the reviled "Swine Demon" of Luoyang, nor alter the ending history had decreed for him.
The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City's Fall is filled with such spirits, none more so than its second heroine, Lin Pianpian.
She evolved beyond my control, almost seizing the pen herself to continually reshape her own tale.
The initial draft of "The Weeping Swan" featured only one leading lady: Su Lianyan, the renowned courtesan of Yangzhou.
Then, during development, an unexpected thing happened: a minor NPC caught my fancy. I promoted her to a supporting role, but the more I wrote, the more she seemed to guide the narrative... She soon ascended from a tertiary character to the second lead, and finally, to a co-protagonist...
By the end, Lin Pianpian had blossomed from a fleeting extra with just five lines into a second heroine boasting over five hundred, transforming the Weeping Swan into a dual-female-led narrative.
...
What follows is a detailed, yet largely spoiler-free, account of how this transformation unfolded.
For those who wish to go in completely blind, I invite you to revisit this dev log after the game launches in April.
That said, I believe the details shared here will do little to diminish the actual experience—
...
Initially, Lin Pianpian was conceived as a direct homage to the source text of Ten Days of Yangzhou, a "shameless" prostitute surviving in the fallen city's ruins.
Her character was born from this very passage in Ten Days of Yangzhou:
"A native of this commandery, she was heavily painted and finely adorned, resplendent in her attire. Holding court amid talk and laughter, she glowed with self-satisfaction."
In this scene, Wang Xiuchu, the narrator of Ten Days of Yangzhou, is among a group of captives. As the men are herded into a courtyard for slaughter, he witnesses a woman who, faced with the soldiers, responds not with fear or grief, but with unrestrained laughter.
Wang's original intent was likely to portray such women as devoid of shame. In my pursuit of authenticity, I initially recreated this moment exactly.
Yet, after writing it, I found myself wanting more.
I was captivated by the woman who dared to laugh in the face of death.
What story lay behind that defiance.
Furthermore, my protagonist Su Lianyan was conceived as a figure of purity, an almost idealized "idol." This left my narrative without contrast, failing to capture the full spectrum of womanhood in wartime Yangzhou.
Thus, I decided to expand the role of the "laughing" prostitute, positioning her as a foil to the "reserved" and virtuous Su Lianyan.
I gave this laughing woman a placeholder name, "Hui'er," made her a figure from the protagonist's past, and began my research.
To my surprise, accounts of their "laughter" appeared repeatedly in writings about late-Ming prostitutes.
In Dream Memories of Tao'an, a passage describes the streetwalkers of Yangzhou's Twenty-Four Bridges. They solicited clients daily, facing beatings if they failed. Yet, in the deepest night, these very women would pool their coins to buy a single lantern, gathering in its glow to share jokes and laughter amongst themselves.
This is a masterful use of "joyful imagery to convey profound sorrow", a contrast that made the moment feel painfully real.
My research then led me to the Lyrical Language of the Green Mansions, an anthology of poetry penned by the prostitutes of late-Ming China.
I was deeply moved by the works of one celebrated prostitute, Jing Pianpian. Inspired, I renamed my character from 'Hui'er' to 'Pianpian,' leaving her family name undecided for the time being.
As I wrote, "Pianpian" grew in depth and substance. Her history with the protagonist gained authenticity, steadily elevating her from a minor role to a pivotal tertiary character.
Then, midway through writing the Weeping Swan, as I explored endings beyond the original outline, a rereading of a literary classic sparked an idea. It was then I gave "Pianpian" the surname "Lin", solidifying her place as the secondary heroine.
Throughout the rest of development, fueled by ongoing research, "Lin Pianpian's" presence demanded more space. By the final draft of the Weeping Swan, she had unequivocally claimed her role as a second protagonist.
In essence, my creative process was a constant dialogue with history and literature. I was merely assembling the fragments of a soul that already existed. "Lin Pianpian" was never truly under my command.
I am convinced she is a character possessed of an absolute soul.
Of course, Lin Pianpian is not the only such character in the Weeping Swan, but her journey is the most definitive, hence why I've focused on it.
In truth, even my protagonist Su Lianyan defied the outline, making choices that stunned me. Characters like Fang Zhiyou, Qionghua, and Liang likewise seized agency, each beginning to inscribe their own fate.
The Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City's Fall is now fully written. We have entered the voice recording and art production phase, targeting completion by next March, for a release in March or April.
Stay tuned!