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Post by countlieberkuhn on May 3, 2012 10:58:15 GMT -8
Sad times! I'm sure the content was good though, even if the writing style was unadventurous.
Perhaps a change in format would be interesting, like having each new episode written from the perspective of a different character or something? It might not be particularly great for descsriptive storytelling, but it'd be a challenge to try and effectively convey the events while also dealing with a characters' personality, who is almost certainly going to have bias, will not know what's happening with all the characters (meaning surprises can be kept for the audience til a later episode, or until the next tribal council), and could open itself up to some Harry Potter-esque misleading of the audience. As long as you don't blame everything on the same person each time. By the third time they tried to blame Snape on everything, I was starting to feel sorry for the guy, and by the time he got round to killing Dumbledore, he'd been wrongly accused of being evil SO many times that I had no doubt in my mind that he'd planned it all out with Dumbledore himself.
It's not a great idea, but it would probably challenge you more from a writing perspective.
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Post by Fleck on May 3, 2012 11:20:00 GMT -8
It's an interesting idea, I'll give you that. It's something that I'd be willing to do. But the logistics of it would be very difficult to pull off.
For instance, would I stay following one character, even if that character's cult didn't go to Assembly? I never know which side is going to Assembly until I sim the challenge, so it would be entirely possible for me to pick a character who wasn't going to Assembly. Then the reader would miss out on the Assembly and have no idea what was going on in the other cult. I could, in theory, sim the challenges before the start of each episode and then make my choices from there, but that would result in spoilers, because you guys would always know that the person who's perspective I'm following is going to (or not going to) Assembly.
But I am really intrigued by this idea. I'm going to give this some more thought for sure.
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Post by Fleck on May 3, 2012 11:59:48 GMT -8
Hrmm.... I don't think having individual perspectives would work. It would break the Survivor formula too dramatically. I think third-person omniscient is the only style that could possibly work. After all, it is a social game that deals with group dynamics, and while observing a single character within that group would be an interesting experiment, the perspective would be too narrow. The reader would be almost constantly confused, which is good for the survivors, but not good for the audience. Thanks for the idea anyway though.
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Post by Bob on May 3, 2012 16:52:54 GMT -8
Too bad it's in a down time again, but I definitely understand not wanting to write if you're not into it. AFFR takes up a LOT of time and the only reason I go forward is because I enjoy doing it. But when each part takes at minimum a full-day of writing, that's a big commitment.
It's actually the dilemma I'm coming into now as well. As a teacher, I don't have much time outside of summer, so if I ever plan to do original stories, I need to start soon, so if I'm doing AFFR and other such things, then I lose my opportunity to write. Don't worry, AFFR is still on track, as are one or two other side projects, but I'd really like to write new things soon, too.
So...yeah, I get it. I'd like to see SSH2, but I understand scrapping it if need be.
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Post by Fleck on May 3, 2012 19:40:11 GMT -8
Yeah, it's not just the prose either. When reading it, it felt too much like the old SSH. Like I'm just repeating myself. And to a great extent, I am just repeating myself. Especially since literally half my cast was in the previous season.
I guess the most damning thing I can say about SSH2 is that I was on the right track, I was doing everything I needed to do and doing it pretty well, and it still wasn't enough. The project's kind of DOA, unless I'm hit by inspiration. Count almost saved the project (for like, half an hour), so if you guys have any ideas, I'm willing to listen.
If not, I have an original story that suddenly sprang to life out of nowhere and is working its way to being writable soon, so it's not like I'm out of ideas if I don't have SSH2.
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Post by Fleck on May 8, 2012 23:16:36 GMT -8
Okay guys, here's the thing. After sitting on SSH for a couple days and not really thinking about it, I decided to revisit the project to see if my opinion had changed. I quickly finished editing Episode 1 Part 2 and found that... no.... I'm still really bored by it. So I think I'm going to call it... SSH2 is officially a canceled project. It's broken, and I don't know how to fix it, and other projects are much more interesting to me right now. But it's not all bad news, I guess. Since I've already got all the images and I've already written and edited the first two parts, I might as well show you guys. Keep in mind that the project is still very dead and I am really displeased with the way this turned out, so this is hardly something I'm proud of; I figured you guys might be curious to see this train wreck. Anyway, parts 1 and 2 will be online my site, fully finished and ready to go until I start another project, or am overwhelmed by shame, at which point the whole SSH2 page will be excised from my site. If you're curious, you can start the aborted journey here: www.dar-sar.blogspot.com/2012/05/survivor-silent-hill-stars-episode-1.html
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Post by Fleck on May 14, 2012 22:39:17 GMT -8
As stated above, the time has come and SSH-Stars has been removed from my site (and my sight). I'm really quite sad that I couldn't make this work, but forcing it wouldn't have been good for anyone. Anyway, my attention now shifts to other projects, namely the FF8 sequel I have been talking about for... what? Almost two years now? Jesus. Also a long-abandoned project I started when I was 19 has suddenly resurfaced with a new face and is drawing my interest as well. Fuck Club is still alive as well, but delayed because I lost all the images and notes and I'm a bit too lazy to recover them just yet. But the project is still alive. The odds that I'll return to one of my very first projects ever, The All-White Warrior, now grows with every passing day. Someday I will return to that project, when I'm ready to piss off everyone. Also, now that I have a respectable cash flow coming in, I will soon want to (and will) buy Flash and start working on some animations I've been planning for ages. I am also in the process of writing a very stupid pseudo-children's book. In the interim, I'm interested in exploring writing techniques and philosophies that I've been reading about, so my next immediate goal is to get back into writing some short stories. So while SSH is dead, stuff at Dar Sar is still happening. News in the Announcement thread as it develops. Thanks for paying attention to me. Edit: To prove to you guys that I am still working on my FF8 project (and making definite progress), here is what I suppose could be called the "cover" image for the story: I may end up changing it, but I'm reasonably content with that.
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Post by countlieberkuhn on May 17, 2012 2:34:35 GMT -8
Will there be any more short stories like Jammin'? Because that was an... interesting read to say the least XD Note: I do not condone the writing of slashfics for purposes other than irony or parody.
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Post by Fleck on May 17, 2012 10:26:34 GMT -8
I make no promises.
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Post by Fleck on Nov 29, 2012 1:42:39 GMT -8
Howdy. I guess you guys can figure out, seeing as how I'm posting in the SSH thread, that I'm once again thinkin' 'bout SSH.
I don't think I've mentioned it on this thread, but the current season of Survivor, (Survivor: Philippines) has been a lot of fun so far, and it's really making me miss SSH. In January it'll be one year since the first season of SSH wrapped, and despite my efforts, I've never really been able to materialize a second season. The biggest problem is that I lack enough good ideas and enough new players to really make this work. But then, about a month ago, I realized a way around this that might actually work. And now, like a worm burrowing into an apple, the idea just won't leave me alone.
My idea is to have no one remember the first season. As we all know, amnesia is as much a part of Silent Hill as the fog. Hell, even I used amnesia plotlines in the first season, to keep the story from being dragged down certain melodramatic paths and away from the game. Anyway, this way, I can use a mix of returning cast members AND new characters without repeating myself too much.
I've been having a lot of downtime days for FB, and this would give me something to work on during those days, so that I can be writing and creating content every day, even when I don't have the drive to work on my main project, Future Bound. I don't think this will interrupt my writing of FB much, if you're concerned about that, and I do have quite a lot of general ideas for a second season, it's just that the cast has never been able to support these ideas. But amnesia gives me a blank slate, so even returning cast members will feel fresh.
And I've got plenty of other surprises too. So basically I want to know what you guys think. Good idea, go for it? Terrible idea, stick with Future Bound? Mediocre idea, I withhold my opinion? Lemme know.
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Post by Bob on Nov 29, 2012 16:58:03 GMT -8
I will say that I'm intrigued, but I'm currently more interested in Future Bound, so if it cuts into the time for writing that, then stick with FB. But you could always try writing a few episodes of SSH2 to make sure it's really turning out differently, then start posting things if you're happy with the results. Hard to say much so far since the "plenty of surprises" parts sounds fun, but I don't have the details on what it is (since they're surprises and all). So I'm not opposed, but FB should remain a higher priority...in my opinion.
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Post by Fleck on Nov 29, 2012 17:14:09 GMT -8
If I do SSH2, it'll be completely secondary to FB and I'll only work on it in my spare time from writing FB. I have a lot of down days for FB, either when I'm doing precise editing of a third or fourth draft and I'm so tired that night I can't see straight, so I put it off for a day, or when there's a minor plot kerfuffle that I need time to think through a solution, or when I had a bad day at work and can't focus enough to make quality writing. Stuff like that. And I hate those downtime days, because not writing feels like being lazy, even when I really do have a good excuse for not writing. Also, because I'm holding FB to a much higher standard than SSH, it's more mentally demanding. A part of me would like to have a relatively low-pressure writing project to play with on the side, so that I can add content to my site without tearing my hair out with editing and re-editing.
But yeah, your idea of banging out a couple of episodes as a test appeals to me. I know the last iteration of SSH2 died once it hit the page, so maybe this version will too. But I get the feeling that I'm onto something here. All my other versions died because the characters had no reason to behave differently. Stick Cybil and Dr. Kaufmann in a room together and they'll fight again. But take away their memories and they might end up in an alliance (or they might fight again), but at least there's an uncertainty and a possibility of something different.
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