I know, I know. If you've seen my QPs, follow me on Twitter or browsed the Destructoid front-page at the right time, then you're aware that I realized my biggest writing project, the final Bass Awards. But, I figured I'd make a thread on here about them, not only to share a bit of insight into their creation, but also to have an avenue to talk about it. I'd love to talk with people who have finished reading them, but blogs and quickposts are gone too quickly, while a thread like this might just do the trick.
First, a link to download them!
(Pictured: The title screen, by ZombieC0rps)
Now, a quick story about how they came to be. The 2017 Bass Awards were broadcasted live to Dtoid peeps, an experience I really liked and found extremely stressful at the same time. Ideas for a trilogy end were already starting to take place in my head. My trip to Asia was right around the corner at that time, and I imagined something themed somewhat around them. The basic gist would be:
- Show that I faked my assassination in the last awards to get out of the game.
- Get filmed getting "kidnapped" coming back from the trip.
- Do the 2018 edition in captivity.
(Pictured: my extraordinary video editing skils)
In the end, however, I strayed away from the video format. Not only because I'm the furtest thing from an actor, but also because I figured I would save time by not planning recording sessions.
As it turns out, making a visual novel takes a while as well. I missed the deadline to make 2018 awards, and only released a 2019 edition 2 months ago or so. I wasn't constantly working on them -- far from it, in fact, with the bulk being done in late 2018 and late 2019 because of procrasination. Still, a lot of work came into these. There's a lot of words, with the reading time being around 2 hours, and yet in some ways it still feels like I could have explored things more in-depth. Still, I'm happy with what I ended up with. The story changed a bit from the initial concept -- exploring the aftermath of the awards more, and removing the specific timing of my kidnapping.
(Pictured: funni)
To those who have not read the Bass Awards: Would you have prefered if they were a video, or a more traditional blog? I don't think me reading them would necessarily make an entertaining video -- there isn't much surprise in reading your own work (plus I suck at spoken English) and a VN probably isn't the right medium for dev commentary, but maybe I could force Amna into unpaid labor.
To those who have read them: How did you find them? What did you like, what did you dislike? Did you end up reading the glossary as you go? Would you be interested in reading fiction (that isn't centered around me) in that universe? Got any questions about them?
First, a link to download them!
(Pictured: The title screen, by ZombieC0rps)
Now, a quick story about how they came to be. The 2017 Bass Awards were broadcasted live to Dtoid peeps, an experience I really liked and found extremely stressful at the same time. Ideas for a trilogy end were already starting to take place in my head. My trip to Asia was right around the corner at that time, and I imagined something themed somewhat around them. The basic gist would be:
- Show that I faked my assassination in the last awards to get out of the game.
- Get filmed getting "kidnapped" coming back from the trip.
- Do the 2018 edition in captivity.
(Pictured: my extraordinary video editing skils)
In the end, however, I strayed away from the video format. Not only because I'm the furtest thing from an actor, but also because I figured I would save time by not planning recording sessions.
As it turns out, making a visual novel takes a while as well. I missed the deadline to make 2018 awards, and only released a 2019 edition 2 months ago or so. I wasn't constantly working on them -- far from it, in fact, with the bulk being done in late 2018 and late 2019 because of procrasination. Still, a lot of work came into these. There's a lot of words, with the reading time being around 2 hours, and yet in some ways it still feels like I could have explored things more in-depth. Still, I'm happy with what I ended up with. The story changed a bit from the initial concept -- exploring the aftermath of the awards more, and removing the specific timing of my kidnapping.
(Pictured: funni)
To those who have not read the Bass Awards: Would you have prefered if they were a video, or a more traditional blog? I don't think me reading them would necessarily make an entertaining video -- there isn't much surprise in reading your own work (plus I suck at spoken English) and a VN probably isn't the right medium for dev commentary, but maybe I could force Amna into unpaid labor.
To those who have read them: How did you find them? What did you like, what did you dislike? Did you end up reading the glossary as you go? Would you be interested in reading fiction (that isn't centered around me) in that universe? Got any questions about them?
