Hello, this is Guidus Zero. 😊
Today, we'd like to share something a little different.
Up until now, most of our updates have focused on in-game content or upcoming features; however, we thought it would be fun to start pulling back the curtain and showing you what goes on behind the scenes.
That's why we're kicking off a brand-new series called the "Dev Sketch".
Each month, we'll be sharing short stories from the dev side—whether it's the design process behind a character, ideas that shaped a system, or fun little behind-the-scenes moments we wanted to tell you about.
And the very first feature? It's none other than our protagonist, Dalia.
Dalia, our protagonist who has stood at the frontlines of countless battles in Guidus Zero, is on a quest to uncover the secrets behind the Scar.
Today, we'd like to give you a glimpse into how she came to be. ✨
Interestingly, Dalia isn't an entirely original character created just for this game.
She's actually a reimagining of the Queen character from our previous mobile title, Guidus, set in her earlier years.
We took that concept and reshaped it from multiple angles to better fit the tone and lore of Guidus Zero.
In the beginning, we carried over some of the Queen's visual traits from the original game while exploring a fresh direction based on her previously imagined personality and backstory.
Some of those visual elements include her elven, pointed ears, her quirky blonde ahoge (that signature strand of hair), and nature-inspired accents, such as leafy decorations.
Back then, we hadn't locked in the final pixel resolution, so we tested multiple sizes—16px, 32px, 64px, even 12px—to explore how her look would work in-game.
Because the game's style was rooted in pixel art, we didn't go from the usual illustration to pixel art.
Instead, the pixel sprite was created first, and the character illustration was reverse-engineered based on it—a unique approach that shaped Dalia's identity from the start.
From that foundation, we explored multiple illustration directions and gradually locked in Dalia's core identity: a brave young elven swordswoman, somewhere in her teens by elven standards.
Bit by bit, her design details were polished and defined.
In the end, Dalia became a character who carries echoes of the previous title while fully belonging to the world of Guidus Zero.
We continued to make small adjustments to refine her visuals.
Finally, she was given a full animation sheet, allowing her to express a wide range of actions and emotions in-game.
We believe that creating a character isn't just about drawing a picture.
It's about imagining how they live, move, and feel within their world—and adjusting every little detail to bring that to life.
For Dalia especially, the process was like emotional reconstruction, reviving a familiar character from the past while breathing new life into her story and setting.
If the Dalia you're playing today captures even a small part of the emotions and world we wanted to express, then we're truly happy.
These little pieces of development come together to make the world of Guidus feel more real, and we hope you can feel that too.
That wraps up this first look into how Dalia came to be.
Maybe the next time you play as her, you'll see her a little differently, knowing all the thought that went into her creation.
We'll be continuing Dev Sketch with stories about characters, systems, graphics, and more from all corners of the development process.
If you enjoyed this post, let us know in the comments or drop us a like!
And if you're enjoying Guidus Zero, a quick line of encouragement on our store page would mean the world to us. 😊
Thanks for reading—see you in the next Dev Sketch!