In the original drafts of the story line behind Star Story it was planned that Star Story would not be one game, but two, featuring Wendicka Lovejoy as the main protagonist of Star Story I, and Crystal McLeen as the main protagonist of Star Story II, and yes that also means that Xenobi, who is Crystal’s love interest would be her “male sidekick” in Star Story II.

The idea for a cyborg as protagonist came from a movie I once saw of which I forgot the title, and which I haven’t even seen as a whole. A group of mindless cyborgs was killing everything that came in their path, however one of them appeared to slowly get his sanity back allowing the human side in him to act. In Star Story II, Crystal would be that one cyborg. The distrust shown when she meets the Ji knights in this game, except for Xenobi, was part of this original synopsis.

The name Crystal was the first name that came to mind for her, and it was very clear from the start that would be her first name. The looks I had in mind for her was inspired by the character Leen from Grandia, hence her surname “McLeen”. In my first art draft, Crystal looked more like a traditional Cyborg, much like the Borg in Star Trek, which could suit her fine, since Star Story as a whole has been inspired on many science fiction series, Star Trek and Star Wars both in particular, however it was my back-then-girl-friend who decided to give Crystal a more sexy and girlish look. The “mole” who is strongly suspected to have saved her life by turning Crystal into a cyborg, was supposed to act as the final boss of Star Story II (as where the original final boss Wendicka would face in Star Story I would be the same as it was in the final product).

There were many problems in the setup of both stories, though. My girl-friend at the time suggested to merge both stories into one, and it was also her idea to turn Crystal and Wendicka into surrogate sisters. That was a bull-eye-shot, as it became much easier to shape not only the stories, but also the girls themselves. Wendicka was a tomboy, based on my own personality as a real person. Crystal’s personality was meant from the start to be anything Wendicka was not. A real “girl” and not a tomboy, less aggressive than Wendicka and also where Wendicka is the one with the higher IQ, Crystal was meant from the start to be more intelligent and mature in the social department. This was to make Star Story I and Star Story II to be taken from different perspectives and not being “just copies” of one another. These opposites in behavior remained when the two concepts were merged into one story and bringing two girls together in a bond of sister-love, who are totally not like one another in any single way, worked out brilliantly for me. Where Wendicka could use her technical cleverness and superior intellect to actually analyse situations, and to hack computer systems (which she does several times in the game), Crystal could make social contacts easier, polish away Wendicka’s rough behavior and expose her for the sweet girl she truly is, and also keep Wendicka’s feet on the ground whenever she overreacts. Crystal is by far not the perfect girl, but she has all the skills Wendicka lacks, and can therefore perfectly fill her in. Crystal herself however does also have her shortcomings. Crystal can be terribly naive, something that worries Wendicka, and Wendicka is also for more knowledgable than Crystal, making her act often like a teacher to Crystal. Turning Crystal into a vegetarian also came forth from Crystal being troubled to kill even for food, and Crystal also likes to avoid violence, however due to her training in M.E.T.E.O.R. she is realistic enough to know that sometimes you have to kill and that there are situations where you simply HAVE to eat meat in order to stand a chance to survive.

I think it’s quite obvious that Crystal’s guns in her bionic arm have been a bit inspired on the ARMS Rudy uses in Wild Arms, and which have always been a kind of a red line throughout that franchise. It may seem a bit odd that Crystal was allowed to carry these as a civilian of the IF (as she resigned as a cadet after being turned into a cyborg). I need to set straight that the IF has no “2nd amendment”, so normally IF civilians are not allowed to carry firearms. Crystal was officially licensed, as the gun was technically crafted into her body and IF authorities agreed to give Crystal a license for that gun, because resigned or not, as a former M.E.T.E.O.R. cadet she as professionally trained in using guns and the ethics one must learn in order to wield one responsibly. I needed to set that one out straight in this article as I didn’t find a chance in the game scenario to explain that properly. The customs office Crystal has to pass during the game, was already aware of Crystal’s condition (like Xenobi stated, it was in all the papers when Crystal became a cyborg), and due to Crystal having a clean record, she could pass the border with her arms. Then again, Yirl could also bring his laser gun, and Xenobi his light sabre. The two nations have certain treaties on the matter.

Wendicka and Crystal sharing an apartment together, even though they are both straight and their love is solely a sister bond and not a romantic one, came forth from an idea a few friends and I had to rent a house together in order to keep the costs low and also benefit from each others abilities to keep the house running, as that is exactly what Wendicka and Crystal are doing. In reality the idea always remained an idea. The girls not sharing their bedroom, but sleeping both in their own rooms had to signify they only share an apartment together while they are not lovers. Of course this becomes even more clear when Wendicka falls in love with Yirl (although she desperately tries to deny it) and Crystal falls in love with Xenobi. It’s not that I have anything against homosexuality (I’m writing novels where homosexual couples appear), but as both girls already had a (male) love interest before the two stories were combined I wanted to make things clear on this from the start to prevent any form of confusion.

It wasn’t hard to give Wendicka and Crystal shape. This is not despite they’re being complete opposites, but rather because of it. They love each other because of their differences, and maybe the girls instinctively know they need the other half to back up the abilities and skills they lack themselves. There may not be many duos who can co-exist so well because of their differences, rather than despite of them, but maybe I can hope the duo can be an example for the rest of us. Crystal has never been afraid for Wendicka’s “curse”, and neither does Wendicka fear Crystal’s cybernetic implants, and both of them never “blamed” Yirl, Foxy or Dr. Salp’r’drita for being “aliens”, so we can also safely say neither of them suffers from xenophobia… well, maybe except for their fear for the Astrilopups, but can you blame them for that one?