A Study in Appeal with Minimal Expression: The Susie Effect.

Pictured: Susie from DELTARUNE in her battle pose.

DELTARUNE was the successor to smash 2015 Indie hit UNDERTALE. It follows heroes Kris, Susie, and Ralsei as they save Ralsei's home, the Dark Worlds, from total destruction. And while the narrative may place Kris as the protagonist, it places special attention on Susie and her development.

Susie is a character defined by her incredible sense of hope, a bright, shining hope that gives her the power to change the future. However, this hope was fought for, not necessarily inherent to her. At the beginning of the game, Susie is an aggressive bully. She's used to being treated like a bad guy, and so she fully embraces her role as the villain is a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. That is until she and Kris, the protagonist, encounter the Dark Worlds and go on adventures where Susie learns more about herself, her wants, and her strengths. Through her adventures, she meets a Darkner (the inhabitants of the Dark Worlds) named Ralsei, and for the first time ever, Susie has friends who love her, and who she loves back.

From here, Susie's journey becomes about finding herself and her strengths, and proving that the best parts of herself aren't locked behind a fantasy. Her resolve, her actions, and her courage are what makes her the ultimate hero: The girl with hope crossed on her heart.

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Toby Fox, the creator of DELTARUNE, is no strange to creating complex narratives with limited graphical intensity. While he prefers to deliver his narratives orally, there is no shortage of design-based narrative. Susie, for example, is a character covered in purple. In color theory, purple can represent the blend of passion and serenity, creating a sense of luxury, creativity, and spirituality. This fits Susie perfectly; she is a character who has had a rough go at life and has a lot of latent potential that can only be expressed on her adventure. Dark Worlds are sort of portals that transform the inhabitants, and within the narrative it's implied that the inhabitants have some control over their form. It's no wonder then that Susie, a poor outcast, chooses to saturate her chosen form in royal colors. It gives you a taste of her development without even having played the game!

Left: Susie normally || Right: Dark World Susie

DELTARUNE is a scarcely animated game, true movement being saved for important moments and aura farming. I've posted Susie's battle sprite, but her animation tells a very coherent story. Her battle pose is strong an stoic, the only movement being her flowing hair.

The further we get into the game, the more Susie shows us her true personality, and its... goofy. She's aggressive and passionate, sure, but she's also a huge goofball. Nowhere is this more emphasize than her laugh. The first time she laughs at you, it's a mocking, grating laugh. The more you get to know her though, the more it becomes friendly and almost funny. The jovial bounce, the full gut grab, the way her teeth chomp and she brays like a horse. It turns something that should be terrifying (something that terrifies YOU) and makes it kind and warm.