 Players of Undertale who manage to complete the game will see the name Magnolia Porter in the end credits. A talented artist, writer and creator, Magnolia contributed several monster designs to the game, helping to make the world of Undertale feel more varied and diverse. This is only one of many pieces that form Magnolia's impressive portfolio of work. In addition to drawing for Undertale, Magnolia has also written for other video games, as well as creating a webcomic that continues to explore her love of monsters. This is the story of Magnolia Porter and how her unique vision has helped her to grow and develop as an artist, all the while working on video games such as Rose of Winter, Namco High and of course, Undertale. Magnolia Porter has always been obsessed with monsters. When she was young, Magnolia played Pokemon and became enamored with the idea of kids who were friends with powerful creatures that would follow them on adventures. Eager to emulate these stories, Magnolia started drawing her own Pokemon fan comics. She wanted to emulate the world of the games and at her best to tell her own stories within this setting. Proudly, she showed her comics to a friend, but she didn't get the response she was expecting. You're going to have to learn to draw a lot better if you want to draw Pokemon, said her friend. Rather than be upset by this, Magnolia decided to take the advice and run with it. Eager to learn to draw better comics and by extension, better Pokemon, Magnolia started studying how to draw manga books. She was eager to learn as much as she could about drawing so that she'd be able to create her own Pokemon stories. Over time, Magnolia's interest in storytelling evolved. Instead of simply copying Pokemon, she started to come up with her own ideas for monsters and magical creatures. While Pokemon was a driving force in her development as an artist, Magnolia also took plenty of inspiration from Digimon. There was one element of this world that felt worth exploring further. While in Pokemon, the player is encouraged to catch them all. In Digimon, each main character within the story has a single digital monster that they befriend. Each of these monsters seem to, in some way, echo or complement the personality of their human counterpart. Magnolia liked this idea, the concept of every kid having their own special monster friend that reflected them in some way. As she was toying with this thought, she considered how this bond could be given even greater emphasis. What if the monsters were part of the kid's bodies? What if they shared some kind of connection so that their lives were inextricably linked? Once she had this idea, coming up with a premise for a comic was easy. And so, Magnolia created Monster Pulse, her own world of adventures and creatures that she could explore regularly as a webcomic. It's fun to create something that perfectly matches her own interests. As she explores themes in her work, Magnolia is able to make something that is wholly her own from her unique perspective on the world. The benefit of comics over other art media is that Magnolia can tell stories herself. Growing up, she was always a fan of films, but didn't like the need for a big production team. Comics and video games instead feel more personal and can be created with a far smaller pool of talent. But this isn't the only way that Magnolia's monster obsession has led to a unique creation. She's also been able to help her friend, Toby Fox, with the design of his indie video game Superhit, Undertale. Magnolia and Toby had been friends for a while. Toby was known primarily for his skills as a musical composer, but he would periodically mention to Magnolia that he was working on a video game with his own. Toby's grand idea was for a game filled with monsters, in which the player has the choice of whether or not to kill an opponent and face consequences based on their decision. For much of the game's initial development, Magnolia thought that Toby's project was nothing more than a simple pipe dream, something that he mused on, but was never actually going to produce. It wasn't until the release of the demo for Undertale that Magnolia sat up and paid attention. This game was really happening, and what's more, it was very compelling. So, when Toby asked Magnolia to contribute some monster designs to the game, Magnolia jumped at the chance. Magnolia sketched out around a dozen designs for monsters that could appear in the game. She didn't really put a lot of effort into this, and her sketches were fairly rough, but she figured that if any of these designs really caught Toby's eye, he could probably develop them further. Apparently, Toby really liked the rough sketches, as he didn't change much about Magnolia's initial designs at all. Instead, 5 or 6 of Magnolia's initial sketches became monsters within the game, looking almost identical to her quick drawings. This was incredibly gratifying for Magnolia. The character that she was most pleased with was Monster Kid. Clearly, Toby really connected with this design, as he went on to give the character a story arc within the game. Magnolia was particularly pleased with the moment in the game where the player walks with Monster Kid in the rain. This, to her, became the defining moment of Undertale, and she was thrilled to think of so many people playing the game, experiencing this moment, and seeing her name in the credits. Upon the release of Undertale, Magnolia got a small chance to gloat. Following the game's initial announcement, Magnolia had pestered her brother to play the demo, but he never got around to it. Finally, as Undertale's popularity soared, her brother tried out the game, and instantly fell in love. It became his favourite game of the year, and he sheepishly admitted to his sister that he should have listened to her sooner. In addition to helping with Undertale, Magnolia has also worked on other video games. 2013 saw the release of a web browser title called Namco High. The premise behind the game was simple. Namco Bandai got together with a group of talented webcomic artists and writers, and allowed them to run riot, creating a high school simulator that featured classic Namco characters such as Pac-Man and Dig Dug. Magnolia's friend, George Rohack, felt that she would be perfect for the project, and so she was included in the writing team for the game. This was a tremendously satisfying experience for Magnolia. She and other writers, Brian Clevenger of 8-Bit Theatre and Annath Hirsch from Johnny Wanda, rented office space and would participate in writers' retreats. Magnolia felt, for the first time, like a legitimate professional writer. While Namco High is no longer available online in its original form, Magnolia is still incredibly pleased with the work she did on the game. Most recently came another game, Rose of Winter. Magnolia initially pitched the game to developer Pillow Fight, who specialised in creating titles for marginalised audiences. Magnolia wanted to make an automated dating simulator, with a female protagonist who chooses between potential male suitors. In Magnolia's experience, these games typically involve pretty boys that went really to her tastes. She preferred the idea of a dating sim with characters that had facial hair, tattoos and muscles. The project became a short list of all Magnolia's favourite things. It was given a rich fantasy setting, as the player takes on the role of a female knight, who is a big lug with a heart of gold. Magnolia worked hard to create characters that felt believable and real, as the player slowly gets to know them over the course of the game and discovers their desires and struggles. In spite of her successes, Magnolia still often worries about her progress as an artist. She doesn't yet feel like she's had her big break, and she often feels like she's falling behind compared with her peers. Magnolia continues to push forward. Her goal is to grow slowly, bit by bit, a little more each year. She's also motivated by the support of fellow artists on social media. Her friends and colleagues keep her inspired to do more. If they like her work, Magnolia reasons, then she must be doing something right. Little by little, year after year, Magnolia grows and learns as a creator. She may not yet be where she finally wants to be, but she's making incredible work as she progresses along the way. The moral of the story is that you shouldn't worry about your shortcomings compared with other people. Don't focus on what other people have that you don't have. Don't worry about who's better or worse. Just focus on what you want for yourself and what makes you unique. If you focus on what you love, something special will come out of it. Be yourself and do what you love, and you'll connect to people who are waiting for someone exactly like you.