Those hooks would be based on different type of exotic settings, such as desert (a tried and true staple in many JCRPG), arctic icelands, jungles and the such.  Any feedbacks on any particular trends you are observing and any fantasy staple I have been lacking in would be welcomed too!

Do note that when it comes to magic, the magic level could be high, but uncommon throughout the world. So we’re not talking about having every town their own resident cleric and Deckard Cain, but rather stuff like an entire city popping out from nowhere and the adventurers got to figure out how to deal with it. In fact, that would be the very first upcoming seed…

The tickets for VGL @ Singapore were on sales at SISTIC since March, but there weren’t really marketing and promotion till May, which I found strange. The event was organised in conjunction with the CG Overdrive, and when the tickets are out (during the early bird period), there was no announcements, no updates on both the official VGL and CG Overdrive website. It was frustrating until a friend, who often go to such concerts, helped me to locate the page at SISTIC where I could book the tickets. Only later then there is a site called VGL-SEA (VGL for Southeast Asia?) launched. Even for the official site for this concert, there are no previews, just a site hastily put together. Posters for VGL only sprang up around the IT hub of the city, only in May. Isn’t that a bit too short a period for marketing effort?

Also considering that in May there was a Final Fantasy concert at the Esplanade and the tickets were completely wiped cleaned by late March. Considering that VGL coming to Singapore is such a rare opportunity, shouldn’t the marketing efforts be ramped up a bit? Marketing +0 (Medicore).

Sound Test

Marketing, of course, is just something that happens before the event. The real meat is during the show itself. So how does it stands? Let’s talk about the entire performance first. The symphony is the NUS Symphony. Sadly, some people I knew were put off by that as it is not a “full-fledge symphony”, and the price tag (SGD 55 just for the lowest tier ticket) just put them off. So did the NUS Symphony performed well?

I don’t know.

You see, there was a bit of problem with the mixing at the indoor stadium. The first piece, Metal Gear Solid 2 Opening Theme feels a bit underwhelming. There is no sense of listening to a live performance. It was like, listening to a recording of the performance itself. Of course, it is performed live, but something seems to be lacking in recreating the “live atmosphere”. My friend pointed out that the brass was too weak.

Later, they compensate (or attempt to try to? Or I guess they did try) by boosting the volume. That backfires, I guess. To me, the volins, strings and trumpet, when they reach high pitch, are especially jarring on the ear. When I listen to a piece of music, I like to follow the subtle things beside the main instrument playing on the foreground – things like the strings, the brass and motif. However, they were all clashing with each other. It’s hard to pick out the strings when something else is overpowering it. This I feel, is not the Symphony’s fault, but rather a mixing problem. I would really suggest VGL looks into acoustics next time for their next performance at Singapore.

While the NUS Symphony definitely is a notch lower when compared to the Singapore Symphonic Orchestra or the Eminence Ensemble, one thing for sure is that they tried their darn best. The pieces when the acoustic problem cleared up for a while (due to the virtue of the composition, I guess) are the Snake Eater theme and Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross piece. Those are quieter pieces and they do literally suck you in. It also helps that for the second part of the show, there were strong players, such as the composers themselves. Kudos to the lead violinist for playing the Chrono Cross piece.

The vocals, from the NUS Choir, are well done though. They do sound exactly like what I would imagine them to be, but they seems to be lacking in numbers for a really bombistatic performance. The music seems to be crowding them out.

Performance +1 (Average), +2 (Fair) for the second part
Mixing -1 (Terrible)

Comparison

The only other concert I have been to is Passion, by Eminence Ensemble and I afraid that VGL @ Singapore, in terms of performance, lags behind Eminence. Then again, all the strong players from the Ensemble were presented and they were a professional one. However, one sore sticking point is that the ticket for the event is a lot more cheaper (yes, Singaporeans are picky about pricing). Maybe it’s wrong of me to compare the two, since Passion was a quartet event, more close-up and intimate whereas VGL is a large scale one.

I won’t comment on the light shows and the multimedia display. Perhaps I am just not used to large scale concert. For me, I prefer a quieter one where one could focus entirely on the music. The lights sometime just hit full into my eyes and I have to close it. Perhaps the other concert-goers are more used to such events, so I’ll let this pass.

But though – showing photos of cosplay during the rendition of One Winged Angel doesn’t struck me as a good idea. Perhaps I am too rigid or some such. I rather they ask for permission to put on more fantastic fan art. (Maybe it’s just because I am not a fan of cosplay?)

Research, Research, Research

Singapore is between the East and the West, though largely put, people tend to prefer the East (Japan) when it comes to music. There was someone who I would dub “Final Fantasy 7 Fan of the Year” when he kept shouting out for One Winged Angel. That the reception for Chrono Cross, Castlevania and other FF7 pieces way outweight any other pieces.

For example, it was mentioned that Metroid is one of the most requested piece ever. The thing is, I doubt Metroid is that big in Singapore. Picking Halo, World of Warcraft and Diablo are the pieces (and checking out the audience’s response) that resonated more with the audience.

I would humbly suggest that VGL, if they are to return to Singapore, to leave out the Tron segment.

I am sure going out on a limb for this, but I think VGL ought to pick music that are good instead of just famous. How many time have we heard One Winged Angel, anyway? Recently, there are many games with good music (Shadow Hearts, Ace Combat series, Okami) but are not famous. Heck, there are many classic with great music which are really underpresented (Lufia, Final Doom, Tyrian, Quest for Glory, Ultima). Secondly, I would also suggest re-arrangement to a certain extent. The front part of the show seems to be straight covers, and adding in that somehow the playing sounds recorded, I find myself drifting off to boredom-land.

All in all, I have a fun time, however I have to say it doesn’t measured up to Passion by Eminence Ensemble.

The line between using magic effectively or carelessly is something that I have been thinking about. On one hand, it is good to use magic to preserve the mystery of a setting and the Meta Plot, but it get tiring when it’s always evil sorcerers, unhinged druids, mentioned unspeakable horrors, infernal demons and unexplained psionic manifestations behind the scene. So for this week, the usual daily adventure hooks would have no magic as its explanation whatsoever. That also includes faerie creatures and monsters which have magical abilities.

Consistent Magic or Mysterious Mysticism?

One of the thing I have been pondering over why D&D and Dragon Warriors are different in term of magic and the supernatural is because in D&D magic is fleshed out entirely. Schools of magic, meta-magic feats, what can be done, what not and so on. It’s limiting at first, and I find all the explanations suffocating, but on thinking through it, some people do like it. Magic cannot be used carelessly. It is possible to build a challenge revolving around the schools of Magic in D&D (or just see the speculation of who actually saved V and O-chul in the latest Order of the Stick comic).

I can now understand why some people prefer magic to have rules and to be a closed system, rather than an open system where are lots of unknown. I guess it’s no a matter of “this way is better”. In Dragon Warriors, the school of Sorcery and Elementalism are not the only form of magic there is. There are faeries, not documented and not detailed, and what they can do is entirely up to the GM’s imagination. Those holes allow the GM to challenge the magic-using players.

Yet this could get annoying when the GM keeps springing up “this is a new form of ancient magic which you have never encounterd before”. I have been guility of that. So how to you retain mystery and but not carelessly? I like to think of magic, like cooking and other disciplines, have basic fundamental. Work out the fundamental of magic for your setting and let the players know, but allow for variants and differences for different cultures, different ages and so on. For example, a very good fundamental would be the classic Five Elements, or Ars Magica’s arts and forms. Using those as fundamentals, even when a magic user comes across a mysterious form of magic, he would have some clue to proceed. The clues could either grant specific formal bonuses (which you need rules for) or a bargaining chip for certain rolls (agreed between the player and the GM).

Though said, I am intrigue now by how D&D handles magic. The game is not my cup of tea, but having a ‘science of magic’ defined would help to remove the accusation that GMs and fantasy authors use magic as a crutch as an explanation for everything.

Incidentally, the site is also great to get tutorials on…..SDL (with a side-dish of C++). Also there is something called sdl.net for those who like to work with managed code.

One thing for now is that I think I would put the game out on as “donation-ware” with an optional “buy if you like it”. After all, this is just my first work

First chapter coming up tonight!

• Adventure Seed: Ruining the Funeral: Feathered thieves take off with a coffin.
• Adventure Seed: The Singer of Storms: Treat he well lest he sings a song that wrecks the coastline with hail and lightning.
• Adventure Seed: Not all that which tastes bitter is poison: Fair is foul, and foul is fair.
• Adventure Seed: Where light was now darkness dwells. An ancient ruined lighthouse becomes the focus point of an adventure.
• Adventure Seed: The Questing Inn. A queer inn with a queer inn-keeper sending adventurers on strange quests.
• Adventure Seed: Dereus’ Paradox. Don’t think,  just look.
• Adventure Seed: Spear of the Conqueror. A spear imbued with the power of its original owner, a conqueror and emperor.
• New Item: Godwin’s Hurbis.
• Fate 3.0: Grim and Gritty Rules for Combat
• Games Dev: How do know a movie clip has reached the end

This should be all the important highlights. As usual, check out the New Stuff section to see daily updates!

• Adventure Seed: The Unexplored Lair – why are the noble lords forbidding entrance into the ruins of a pagan temple?
• Adventure Seed: An Ancient Coinage – A new type of coins which bears the symbol of a long destroyed kingdom begin to surface at the market square of a city…
• Adventure Seed: Magefire – A weapon employed by Emphdor in the ancient days of yore; it’s a liquid which burn upon exposure to air and naught but sorcery can put it out…the secret to its making is on the verge of being discovered.
• Adventure Seed: A Wedding in Crisis: An ordinary political marriage is more complicated than it seems to be.
• Adventure Seed: The Caller of the Winds – There’s a sudden change in the direction of winds along the coastline of the Shimmering Cape.
• New Item: Silk Cloak [Flowing Clouds]
• Resources on Normal Distributions: If you need a function to return a normal distribution and a diminishing (or increasing) graph, you can check out these posts on the subject.
• Tao of Games Dev: What is a professional game developer?
• Game Design: The Confusion about Casual Games

These might be all. Do check out the New Stuff link from time to time!