Post #1 · Posted at 2018-12-15 10:09:49pm 5.3 years ago
quietly turning
I recently released my second StepMania-based visual/kinetic novel, quietly turning, and wanted to share it here. Though it contains only 3 simfiles (chapters) with ~10 minutes of total content, it took 3 months of nearly-every-day-effort to complete.
With help from a small team of artists, voice actors, and programmers, I've worked on these files very hard and made them the best I possibly can.
Each file makes good use of StepMania's Lua API to tell a story using images, audio, and interactive scenarios. If you're looking for a unique StepMania experience, consider checking it out!
DOWNLOAD
You can download the pack here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qwkuw84jdxsjr5t/quietly%20turning.zip?dl=0
READ MORE
You can read much more (backstory, acknowledgments, etc.) here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2021636934534455/permalink/2176787772352703
NOTES
• compatible with SM5.0.12 and SM5.1-beta
• designed for 16:9, but works in 16:10 and 4:3 as well
• intended for keyboard play
• does not work in Edit Mode
quietly turning contains long segments of spoken English dialogue. You can find an English transcript of the voice acting here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p4mJwUzJC14mNo3trGrkNCNYp1wrKnk_esppjOU7F1g/edit?fbclid=IwAR05X5z4ZP609oLhNKTRsInucOZW6OAjnZmmiJ8YAhVwtdqhtyS-v_SeaxY
Post #2 · Posted at 2018-12-16 07:11:45am 5.3 years ago
 Daniel_BMS | |
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We have plenty of creativity after all!
Post #3 · Posted at 2018-12-18 01:15:01am 5.3 years ago
Quote: Daniel_BMS
We have plenty of creativity after all!
Thank you for saying so and for (presumably) playing quietly turning. It was an intensely meaningful and personal project for me.
2018 was a difficult year, and I experienced significant loss. I actively pushed some people away, others disappeared and I haven't heard from them for months, and one of my best friends is currently in a coma from an act of violence.
Such events and themes tumbled about in my mind for months, initially resulting in The Rabbit Hole hidden in Simply Love v4.8, eventually leading to these three files.
quietly turning tells a story in three parts, but a million little stories went into making it. For example, though I likely logged the most hours finessing chapter 2, it was chapter 3 that I struggled the most with. I wrote it once, a second time, and a third, with each new version turning out drastically different.
Once I settled on the story that I was the least unhappy with, wrote notes for the artist, Pluto, and voice acted it, I realized I had six-and-a-half minutes of material, when I was shooting for three-and-a-half. Drastic last minute cuts needed to be made in order to yield the final result.
It's difficult for me to imagine the process being more tumultuous and stressful than it was. I'm certainly glad to have been able to spend the last week just breathing.