Introducing: Peri Maddock! (Patreon)

Peri Maddock. Plumed basilisk. General surgeon.

A young but skilled surgeon, in practice for just under a year. Despite their young age, they’ve already saved dozens of patients and can boast a spotless track record. They’re also the test subject for Kobold MediTech’s secret experimental cybernetic eye, the K-TAZ.

This friend-shaped lizard is Cutting Edge's protagonist, and it's them that you'll be controlling!

At the start of the game, you'll find Dr. Maddock working at Sweetbay Hospital as a General Surgeon. They're young but skilled, eager to help, and unwilling to let anybody down...

Peri is also the test user of the K-TAZ Cybernetic Eye (the blue one, on their right). This high-tech cybernetic device is an experiment by the prestigious medical tech corporation Kobold MediTech. It's Peri's job to also carry out any tests Kobold asks of them. Thankfully, they've been limited mostly to really basic things. Nothing life-threatening to Peri nor their patients...

Figuring how much EXP to give 'em

One of the earliest things I had to establish is how skilled of a surgeon Peri is. Their experience (or lack thereof) would greatly affect the rest of the story, so I needed to decide pretty fast.

I naturally drew inspiration from the protagonists of Trauma Center. They gave me a good idea of what I could work with, as well as what to avoid (to prevent being the same).

Source: Trauma Center series

Derek Stiles (UtK, SO, UtK2): Starts as a totally inexperienced, rookie surgeon. Has a heart of gold, but is close to clueless at the beginning. He eventually discovers he has the Healing Touch, a power thought to have been passed on by the gods.

Naomi Kimishima (SO): A very skilled but reserved surgeon. She conducts herself with much more composure, especially compared to Derek. She seeks personal atonement while on the run from the shady organization she used to work for. Also has the Touch.

Markus Vaughn (NB): A pretty-experienced, mature surgeon who's secretly trying to run away from something sinister. Has the same Healing Touch as Derek.

Valerie Blaylock (NB): Also a pretty-experienced surgeon. She starts off mostly wanting to glean anything about the Healing Touch from Markus.

CR-S01 (TT): An exceptionally amazing surgeon confined to jail for alleged crimes of terror. He is allowed to perform surgeries in exchange for time off his sentence - which he does with few words. Unlike all the others, he doesn't actually have any Healing Touch.

For Peri, there were two main things I wanted to account for:

They can't be too much of an expert, as the game needs to start off slow and teach the player how to play.

They can't be too much of a rookie, either, as I wanted to acknowledge fans of Trauma Center and treat them as returning veterans.

Hence, Peri is young (somewhat new) but already pretty skilled (not a total rookie, despite their newness). Peri also sports the K-TAZ (a good excuse to tutorialize), and is also not at all familiar with operating on cybernetic parts (and neither are veteran players).

Hopefully, this setup will allow veteran players to feel like they're being welcomed back - while also gently easing in new players.

That being said, something pretty terrible happens near the start of the game... So the status quo doesn't stay that way for very long.

Character Design

Peri wasn't actually the first character I designed for Cutting Edge. That was on purpose, as I wanted to get an overall feel for the cast before designing someone as important as the protagonist.

But anyway, there are a few things I included with Peri so that they'd fit the bill:

Their overall form has a lot of friendly curves, rather than spikes or sharp edges. (But to keep things a bit interesting, their mouth is spiky.)

They have a particularly distinct silhouette, mostly thanks to their frills (ahoge, anyone?).

They're the only character (currently, at least) to have gradients in their color scheme.

They have heterochromia (their natural eye is yellowish, while the K-TAZ is blue).

Their outfit leans a bit more into a sort of louder, unique anime style. (No, I'm not exactly sure what those hanging metal rings are actually for...)

Hopefully, all of these factors make for a visually distinct and interesting protagonist!

Fun facts

Peri is a plumed basilisk. This lizard is sometimes called the Jesus Christ Lizard because of their ability to run on water!

Peri's species was chosen partially because of the association between reptiles and healing. Many reptiles can shed, regenerate, and heal.

Peri's full name is Periwinkle Maddock. That's what the flower on their outfit's shoulder is.

Peri's name is a play on "paramedic" ...even though they're a general surgeon.

Peri's last name is also a play on "mad doc". Hopefully nothing causes 'em to earn that moniker...

I realized Peri has the same name as Peri from Cobalt Core. No relation, though.

It would be great if I could get the game working on Mac OS... because then, Peri's initials of "P.M." would correspond to "PC, Mac" - much like how Derek Stiles was for the Nintendo "DS" - and Naomi Weaver's was for the "Nintendo Wii". We'll see!

The straps on Peri's outfit were inspired by those from Goofy as he appears in Kingdom Hearts.

I drew Peri, by the way. It's just me working on this game!

If you noticed Peri's badge is different in the main picture compared to the second series of pictures... give yourself a pat on the back!