Star Legation Update (part 5)

Once the sound effects and music had really brought the alien forest to life on planet Yolwana, I needed one more thing—a little animation. Throughout the Star Legation, there are little cinematic moments involving some animation that enhance the overall immersion and help connect the story. This is the beauty of a visual novel, and in my opinion, this genre of game can be similar to filming a movie. Framing is important, camera movement can help create mood and focus, and cuts to and away from certain focal points can almost set the tone for what is going to happen next. The animation sequences take a lot of work, and often involve a lot of trial and error with the timing of certain effects, but once they are all synced up, it feels like you are really part of an interactive movie. I hope that the Star Legation will feel like that for you, because my goal is to tell a great story with memorable characters along with an immersive backdrop of great art, music, and animation. I really can’t wait for you to try the demo and hear what you think! Only a few more months until spring!

Star Legation Update (part 4)

The alien jungle sounds were almost enough by themselves, but I decided that there also needed to be some nice background music emerging at one point during the characters’ walk through the jungle. Composing this piece took longer than I anticipated, because I couldn’t quite capture the right feel of the situation. At least, not at first. After three false starts on compositions that just didn’t quite fit the right mood, I was finally able to design a theme that felt fitting. The next step was to find the right instrumentation, and that proved challenging as well. I thought about the kind of instruments that seemed fitting for a forest, and although my initial inclination was towards strings, I decided on more of an ethereal “winds” sound, with purer tones. I had struggled to write this composition at first because I thought a major key would best fit the beautiful environment, but this wasn’t going to work if I wanted the audience to feel the growing uncertainty and dread of the protagonist as he walked deeper into the alien forest. A minor key felt too dark, however, considering the beautiful colors of Aeghite’s artwork. In the end, I decided to write the composition in a mode, which felt just right for the occasion.

Star Legation Update (part 3)

An alien forest wouldn’t be complete without background sound and music, however, so I spent countless hours playing with my sound design programs. I finally designed what feels like a common forest soundscape, with a full orchestra of birds chirping and tweeting. However, I didn’t want to stop there. This is an alien planet, after all, so I used my digital audio workstation to play around with various sounds. By manipulating synthesized sounds, I was able to design the sounds of a few alien lifeforms. For instance, one synthesized instrument sounded like a series of fast blips, so I took this sound, arranged the pitches, adjusted the tempo, and played it backwards to achieve a somewhat “alien” bird chirp. In another instance, I took some metallic grating sounds coupled with a few mumbles and groans, producing the sound of an alien forest mammal somewhere in the distance. I then added in these alien animal sounds periodically in among the more natural forest sound effects, producing a very “alien jungle.”

Merry Christmas!

Star Legation Update (part 2)

One of the delays I experienced this fall was regarding planet surface artwork. I ended up re-commissioning the work to my talented CG artist, Aeghite, and she has done an absolutely fantastic job in a very short time. When the protagonist lands on the Erwani homeworld, Yolwana, we see a beautiful forest full of color, covered with a mixture of plant life that is both familiar and alien. I wanted the protagonist, Trey, and his Reln companion to walk through the forest together, but this took some doing. I spent many hours trying out different tests with my program to achieve the animation I wanted, using some cinematic trickery to keep it all connected. I was finally able to achieve my goal of having some sideways scrolling background art during their “walk,” and it really feels like you’re moving through the forest with them!

Star Legation Update (part 1)

A lot of progress has been made this last month on the Star Legation visual novel, and I can say that the demo is ahead of schedule. I suspect the demo will be completed before the end of January, which is well before the spring—the intended release date of the demo during the Kickstarter campaign. This will give me time to plan and prepare for the Kickstarter, putting together a short video, setting up backer rewards, etc. There are still a few details left that need refining in the demo, but this month has been all about visiting the homeworld of the sentient plant race, the Erwani. Our human protagonist, Trey, has never encountered the Erwani before, so it is exciting to see what happens when he lands and travels through their forests. A lot was involved with putting this altogether, though…

Writing Relatable Scifi (part 5)

Once you’ve imagined how future tech might develop, you need to ask what the societal implications would be. How would the world change with the new technology, and how would people change? Those of us who grew up in the 1980’s look at society today and worry about younger generations. The anonymity of the internet, the unrestricted and unfiltered expression of thought, and instant accessibility to information has affected who we are and has changed how we interact with each other. With access to all this through personal smartphones, our children are much different than we were, and the way they see the world has been influenced and shaped in ways that will alter society when they become our leaders someday. Personal privacy has become an archaic concept, judgment by internet “netizens” has become a severe influence upon some, and misinformation is harder to parse from legitimate facts. All of this sounds like a dystopian scifi novel conceived by Orwell himself, but it is our reality. What might our future look like a few decades from now? You only need to look at our technological advancements today, imagine what the next probable step will be, and then theorize how we would react to it if it became commonplace. This kind of scifi is grounded in relatable material, and your audience is very likely to keep reading when they find something familiar stretched into new territory. Or, you could take a gamble and throw your readers into a world they have no way to relate to. It has worked for a few, but if that's your intent, it’s best to try later--after you’ve built an audience that trusts your writing.

Writing Relatable Scifi (part 4)

Some of the best science fiction out there has most of its roots in a reality we can relate to. Writing scifi can be extremely tricky because it often ceases to be scifi if you give it a few years—most of the visions of scifi authors have actually become reality within a few decades, and people in different fields (medicine, aerospace, military, etc.) have admitted that their designs and inventions were often inspired by something from a scifi story. The magic of scifi, unlike fantasy, is that it often involves the possible or probable. If you are a scifi writer looking for inspiration, try not to look too far, because you might find your answer right in front of you. For example, take a look at your smartphone. Imagine how amazing and improbable this device would seem to someone in the 1950’s. It would be nearly impossible for people of that era to imagine such an amazing device. Someone from the 1980’s might consider it an eventual possibility, though, with the advent of home computers and video game consoles. In the 1990’s, it might even seem probable, when considering the tech explosion that was the internet. Of course, if you showed a smartphone to someone during medieval times, the obvious reaction would be shouts of witchcraft and sorcery. Considering all this, science fiction writers just need to look at every-day technologies and try to see how they would naturally develop in a decade or two. But what then?

Writing Relatable Scifi (part 3)

Don’t alienate your audience. If you’re a science fiction writer and you are debuting your work, you’re asking a lot from your potential audience. You are asking people who have never heard of you to sit down and spend time reading your work, and in these busy times, that is actually asking a lot. However impressive and extensive your world building, it is important to present your story at the beginning in a way that reaches out to your audience in a relatable way. One key to science fiction is that it is grounded in something from the real world—something relatable—even if it takes place in the far future. If you do not present some relatable aspects of your story at the beginning, it is likely that your audience will feel lost. As an example, fans of the award-winning scifi novelist, William Gibson, are familiar with his work and when they pick up one of his novels, they know what they are about to dive into. However, I have repeatedly seen readers new to Gibson give up on his work at the very beginning, and these people are avid, intelligent readers. Although I love William Gibson’s style of plunging you into his vision of the future without explanation, it can be a bit shocking for the uninitiated, despite his Hugo and Nebula award credentials. Yet Gibson’s approach works if you stay with it, because his world does become relatable if you just give it a little time.

Writing Relatable Scifi (part 2)

Right from the beginning, you need to grab your audience with something intriguing but relatable. Established writers have more luxury with their writing because they’ve established trust with their audience—previous popular works of these writers create enough familiarity and confidence in their writing that they can write with more flexibility. Established writers can take more time with the story in the beginning, and fans will stay with it, knowing that the author will deliver. However, new writers face a situation that might be contrary to their preferred writing style, because new audiences are likely to be less willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Instead, they may impatiently move on to something else if a new writer has failed to really grab their attention in the first few pages. When writing science fiction, this can be even more challenging, because the writer is inviting the reader into an imagined world that might require too much faith upfront.

Writing Relatable Scifi (part 1)

How do you relate to science fiction? Do you consider it as a far fetched, unlikely or impossible scenario conjured up in the feverish mind of some nerdy writer who is hopelessly enamored with technology, aliens, and outer space? Or do you consider science fiction as more of a solace for the dystopic, doomsday alarmist that believes the end of everything we know is just around the corner? The answer may be some, none, or all of the above, but for the science fiction writer, the challenge is to engage you, whatever your preference or bias might be, and that usually starts with setting the terms of reality. Deviate too far from something relatable, and your science fiction is on the fast-track to fantasy. Stay too grounded in reality, and your scifi might be classified as contemporary. This week, I'll cover a few steps that might help you write scifi in a way that appeals to a wider audience...

Composing for a Visual Novel (part 4)

In the early spring, I plan to launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for the completion of the Star Legation. I will be releasing a finished demo by this time, which will include music throughout. However, one of my intended stretch goals for the Kickstarter is voice acting! If I am able to raise the extra funding for that, I can shift my sound design into a more cinematic approach. Having audible voice parts for every line a character speaks would be amazing, and this would feel like a choose-your-own adventure movie. I would change the looping background music to fade in and out at certain moments for emphasis, but wouldn't keep it running throughout. However, voice acting is expensive and the script for the Star Legation is quite large (there are lots of branching paths), so it might be an unattainable goal. In the meantime, I'm designing the visual novel to have music throughout, and I'm doing my best to keep the music unobstrusive and atmospheric. Below is a link to a short youtube video showing screenshots with short music clips from the game. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5dUV1TZ7lQ&feature=youtu.be

In closing, I'd like to share a quote from the game's character artist, John Fell, who played the first 2 chapters of my demo. Note his comment about music...hopefully this means I'm on the right “track” with things! ;)

“The dialog is snappy and you've totally been able to keep the reading flow at a good pace. It never feels like a slog. The way you worked in the questions for Trey's profession/personality was clever.

I really like the main tunes that play as you read. They're distinct but not distracting.

The backgrounds and camera movements/animation look great.

I'm all around impressed as heck!”

Composing for a Visual Novel (part 3)

After sampling a number of different VN's, I realized that in most cases, the music loops after about 1:30 or 2 minutes. Though many of my guitar compositions are longer, I decided to try writing additional shorter pieces for specific scenes. Keeping in mind that the music would loop, the resolutions were usually the beginnings of the pieces, which in classical music is known as an “elision” (when the last note of a phrase is also the first note of a phrase.) I've managed to write several short compositions specifically for the Star Legation visual novel in just a couple months, and I'm happy with how things are turning out. Though it would be my preference to have music only set the tone during certain moments in the game, I do understand why visual novels keep it looping—it becomes less immersive when you play the game in silence, hearing only the occasional clicks of your mouse to advance the text or make a choice. There is a possibility that I will be able to design the VN more cinematically, however, if I can manage one thing...

Composing for a Visual Novel (part 2)

Up until this year, most of what I've composed has been for solo guitar. Once I began writing the Star Legation visual novel, I realized how many of my existing guitar compositions would be a good fit for a sci-fi atmosphere. I tend to prefer somewhat eerie, minor pieces of music and my compositions actually matched a number of scenes really well. The only concern I had was the instrumentation. Solo guitar didn't exactly fit for the kind of atmosphere I wanted to set, so I looked into getting a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW.) I tried out a lot of different DAW's, but finally settled on one I liked that enabled me to port in my .midi compositions directly. Once I had the composition imported, I began playing around with instrumentation, using a lot of synthesized sound to produce the sci-fi feel I was looking for. As I became comfortable with the process, I also began to write more compositions to import, specifically for the game...

Composing for a Visual Novel (part 1)

Visual novels are traditionally designed with looping background music that plays throughout the entirety of the game. The music usually changes with each new scene, but there is almost always something playing in the background. Sound effects add to the atmosphere and punctuate certain events in the game, but the music is usually something innocuous and atmospheric, designed to loop and never really resolve as most musical compositions do. It is not uncommon for small indie development studios to use royalty-free stock music for the background music in their VN's, and there are some excellent online resources for those that don't have the option to pursue an original soundtrack. Some of these resources are put together with extremely high production values, and they can be a very nice fit for an average VN, in addition to cutting out the serious cost of commissioning a composer for music. I decided not to pursue this route for my visual novel, however, because conveniently, I am a composer...

Paws and Effect Visual Novel Review

I met the programmer from Shimmersoft on the forums who is using the same visual-novel designer I am (Tyranobuilder), and he recently finished his visual novel, a short 3-4 hour game called Paws and Effect. He sent me a copy of the game, and so I decided to write a review after playing through it. I won't give away anything about the story other than what is available in his game description, but in short, this is a game about a dog owner's two dogs suddenly turning into humans. Paws and Effect is available online here, for only $5:

https://shimmersoft.itch.io/paws-effect

From the opening of Paws and Effect, the light-hearted mood of the game was clearly established, before the game itself had even begun. The company logo bounced onscreen with cartoony sound effects and was accompanied by cute dogs falling from above to stamp it into the company name, Shimmersoft. My mouse cursor became a dog paw, and somehow the menu felt of scrapbooks and sketches. I instantly knew this was going to be a fun game, and launched a “New Game” from the title page. Of course, you can experience all this with the demo, so I'll avoid a play-by-play description, but as I progressed through the first episode of the game, I really enjoyed the little details. When my character's smartphone rang, a little smartphone graphic slid onscreen with a playful blip. A scene transition looked like a distant grainy photo and then expanded to a beautiful art background that made me feel like I was there with my dogs, enjoying the sunset at the end of a stressful day. Short voice-acted phrases appropriately punctuated the dialogue and thoughts of the protagonist. A relaxing, atmospheric soundtrack gently reflected the overall mood. Yes, some of this is standard fare for a well-made visual novel, but a lot of tiny surprises really highlighted the experience for me.

As an example of the extra polish that went into the design of Paws and Effect, I particularly enjoyed the scene transitions. For example, instead of a typical fade or dissolve, the closure of a scene used an iris-type wipe that diminished into a little circle as another scene behind it took its place. Yet the little transition circle didn't fully disappear, lingering for a few brief extra moments as a black dot that pulsed playfully—as if to wave a final goodbye--before “popping” out of existence with a cartoony pop sound effect. There were many nice little touches like this that added up to the overall “cute” character of the game, and I was only just getting started on this playful visual novel!

But how is the story, you may ask? Instead of outlining the story for you—something I usually skip in game reviews because I hate any and all spoilers—I'll talk about things like pacing, character development, balance, and intrigue. The story develops along at a very natural pace without lingering and it moves along to establish who the protagonist is and what her daily life is like. As the game advertises, the main plot really begins when the protagonist's two pet dogs suddenly transform into human versions of themselves. I enjoyed the humor and perspective of the two dogs, observing the world in human form still from a dog-like perspective, though they are able to speak English reasonably well with a few comical errors here and there. I also liked the choices available to the protagonist during this event, with her mind running through a list of possible explanations while she wondered what the most responsible, sane reaction should be to such a supernatural occurrence. The prior set-up to this event alluded to several upcoming real-world situations that the protagonist was already stressing about, so I was intrigued to find out how she would handle real life while trying to navigate the sudden appearance of her dogs as real people in her life. Paws and Effect kept me reading and clicking through each scene.

The comedy of this visual novel was accented by the somewhat goofy expressions of the now-human dog characters, with character art and expressions that communicated the simple-minded, innocent, and literal minds of the dog people. Further enhancing the humor was the background music, which mirrored the light-hearted nature of the game. I enjoyed the writing because it was obvious the writer was having fun with the concept and knew it was funny without trying too hard to make it so. All of the characters were likeable in their own way, and it was fun spending time with them, seeing them interact with each other and reflect their character backgrounds through their personalities. Putting them in the same room together provided entertainment enough, especially when the dog-humans innocently quoted their owner and referred to her past behavior in ways that unintentionally shamed her—this reminded me of parents not realizing how much their own children are listening and observing.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of kinetic visual novels because I like having choices in a game and seeing those choices play out. I felt like there was a balance between choices that altered events and choices that had only a few different sentences ascribed to them. I played through different situations several times, picking different choices. Sometimes only a few references were made briefly to my choices, yet in other situations, an entire sequence with new characters occurred. However, despite this, things still cleverly looped back to the same point eventually and the story rejoined the original timeline. There are 5 possible endings, which each have their own separate outcome, and these endings are contingent upon a few of your previous choices. I particularly liked the episode system in the menu, where I could restart from a previous episode and toggle between different choices I'd made along the way, seeing which character routes would become available as a result of those decisions. It honestly surprised me to see that seemingly innocuous choices actually made a difference.

The only small criticism I have is that there were times when the dog people made statements that seemed a bit too advanced for their intellect as dogs. For instance, at one moment the male dog stated, “The universe is an inescapable vortex of chaos.” Even if he had picked up some words from human conversations, I felt a dog would have no concept of what a universe even was. Keeping with the dog's “voice” throughout would have enhanced the experience even more, because moments like this made me lose my suspension of disbelief (which I preferred to maintain during this fun, slightly absurd, comical story.) This was explained at the end of the game, so I guess I can give it a pass, but at the same time, those moments did make me feel that way during the game and pulled me out of the immersion. I don't see a way that the explanation could have come any earlier, however, and though it made sense as an explanation, it also felt suspiciously like a plot device to explain something away. Despite this, though, about 90% of the human dog comments felt natural.

Overall, I found the game very enjoyable and light-hearted, with an interesting contrast between the realism of every-day life and the supernatural. This made the game relatable and intriguing, because I wanted not only to see how the protagonist would handle the dog people and their antics, I also wanted to know why it all happened in the first place. I'm glad the answer didn't feel like an afterthought but was instead given some depth and presence throughout the game. Paws and Effect had great presentation, style, flow, and just the right amount of comedic seasoning to make it fun to play through on a lazy afternoon. Thanks, Shimmersoft! 

A New Era of Consumerism (part 4/4)

I think that a lack of ownership is indeed a concern for our society, and one of the big reasons is that we become subject to those we are paying for the services or products we want. How many times has your smartphone or computer program been “auto-updated” to a version you disliked? Have these updates changed or removed features that you liked, or have they required you to re-learn the way you operated things? I have a software program for composing music that I purchased in 2004, and I have intentionally kept it offline and avoided updating it because I like the way it works for me. At one point, I had upgraded from the 2000 version to the 2004 version and there were so many key command changes that I basically had to relearn the entire program. I want functionality, and don't want to waste my time learning a new program with each yearly update (believe me, this is a VERY complex program, so relearning it takes weeks.) I have the freedom to continue using the program the way I want because I own it, but if I wanted to purchase the latest version, I would be locked into a pay-to-use system and would be repeatedly subjected to forced changes in functionality through their auto-updates. This is an example of what we are headed towards in the future with all the digital products and services we use—we as consumers no longer have any rights, forfeiting choice and control as the products and services we use change at the whim of the corporations. We can't even “vote with our dollar” and go elsewhere because all competing corporations are following the same practices. Welcome into the new era of digital tyranny.

A New Era of Consumerism (part 3/4)

It's not just computer software that is following the pay-to-use model (which is essentially rental.) Entertainment services like Netflix and Disney require a monthly payment for access to their streamed content. I have a huge movie collection at home, with tons of DVD's and Blurays, but I suspect that there will be a day in the not-to-distant future where I'll no longer be able to purchase a device to play these discs. And honestly, let's admit it—it's a lot easier to cue up Amazon Prime, Netflix, or some other streaming service to watch a movie when we want to, rather than dig through our collection and load it into whatever player we have hooked up to our TV. We'd rather remain on the couch and push a few buttons than sort through our growing collection, which takes up a lot of physical space, anyway. I have bookshelves full of DVD's and Blurays, and my minimalist wife doesn't exactly encourage continued collecting. But doesn't all this reflect a general movement away from ownership? Why have we become so comfortable with this? Is it really a concern?

A New Era of Consumerism (part 2/4)

Even if it's been a while since you've tried to purchase new computer software, it's difficult not to notice the business model that has been spreading across most software companies. No longer can you go online and purchase a program, download it to your PC, and own it. Instead, you must pay monthly fees to use the software, or a yearly license fee to have it installed. Companies control this through various methods, such as the entry of a user key (which changes or expires after a certain date) or simply through an internet connection—they check your software use and monitor if your term of usage has elapsed; then they shut it down. As an example, years ago I purchased a version of Photoshop from Adobe that allows me to keep the program on my hard drive and use it without monthly fees. However, if you go to Adobe's website, you'll find no such option for any version of their software—everything is pay-to-use. When setting up my new PC, I had to dig up my old email with a link to an Adobe page that allowed me to access previous downloads, and I was thankfully able to download my old purchase. Finding this page without that link in the email, though, would have been utterly impossible with their new webpage design. I expect that by the next time I purchase a new PC, I may not have this option any longer.

A New Era of Consumerism (part 1/4)

Gone are the days of ownership. Some of you may not even remember a time where you could purchase a software program at a physical store such as CompUSA and CircuitCity. I'm not talking about games—we can still buy physical games through Amazon or at Gamestop, though Gamestop may be heading the way of Blockbuster someday now that digital game purchases and streaming services are quickly pushing them out of the market. No, I'm talking about software programs used for work and development. This was recently brought to my attention again as I set up my new PC. My father, who turned 80 this year, was very concerned that my new PC didn't have an optical drive—he couldn't conceive of functionality without one. As I explained to him how unnecessary it was now, I realized how we are all being edged towards a future where we lack true ownership. I may have found a few ways to hold on a little longer, but it won't be long before we are completely at the mercy of a growing digital empire...

Star Legation Update!

On Friday last week (“Black Friday”) I sent out the 6^th “Insider Update” for the Star Legation visual novel. If you haven't subscribed with your name and email, and you'd like access to insider details on the development process of the game, please subscribe on the StarLegation.com website, or just click the link below. Insiders even received access to a special unlisted youtube video including screenshots from the game and clips of the sci-fi music compositions I've been writing for it. Things are really moving along and the game demo is well underway. I'd like to share a quote about the demo so far from one of my internal beta testers, artist John Fell, who is the talent behind the character graphics I'll be using in the game. John wrote:

“The dialog is snappy and you've totally been able to keep the reading flow at a good pace. It never feels like a slog. The way you worked in the questions for Trey's profession/personality was clever.

I really like the main tunes that play as you read. They're distinct but not distracting.

The backgrounds and camera movements/animation look great.

I'm all around impressed as heck!”

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