I'll be making a musical - writer/designer wanted

I got very inspired by Deirdra Kiai’s Dominique Pamplemousse. So inspired, that I now plan to make my own musical.

I’m starting the project in a slightly odd end: I’m auditioning for actors/singers. The reason for this is that I think the voices is an important part of a musical, and as I’m doing this without any budget, I’ll be relying on volunteers in that area. So I’ll be selecting the cast first, and then create the parts for them to play, and the songs for them to sing. This part of the project is looking good. Despite the fact that I don’t have much to show, I have already received several auditions, and some of those are really good. The audition deadline for the voice actors is September 21.

After the deadline for the voice actors, I’ll be selecting a cast, and then start to write the game. Or will I? I really want to make this project. I want to create the music, draw the characters and program the game. But when it comes to the writing and designing of the game, I don’t have the same enthusiasm. So if there’s someone who thinks this project seems interesting, and would like to take on the role of writer/designer (or co-writer if you’d prefer that) - let’s talk!

This is a project that’s important to me, though, and it’ll probably become the most ambitious thing I’ve done, so it may not be easy to convince me that you’re the right person for the job. (It’ll help if you have made a game before.) But if you think it sounds interesting, please give it a try. If I could find a writer that I’d trust with this project, that’d be great.

What else can I say? Not that much more about the project itself (because I don’ know much more yet), but I suppose I should talk a bit about myself for those of you that don’t know me. Hi. My name is Rikard Peterson, and I’ve made one adventure game before. Frasse and the Peas of Kejick. The game was pretty well received in some parts of the internet (links to reviews are on the game’s site). It’s been a few years since I finished the game. After I finished the game, I’ve spent a lot of time working on the game engine, improving it and making it cross platform (it now runs on Mac and Linux as well as Windows).

I work as a teacher of wind instruments, so music is a big part of my life, both professionally and taking up a large chunk of the rest of my time. I have improved my music making skills since I made Frasse, so if you like the music there, it’ll be even better in the new game. (If you dislike it, you probably won’t like this one either, though.)

If you have any questions, feel free to post them here, or by sending me an e-mail. If you’re interested in maybe working with me on this project, please send me an e-mail. My address is “info at trumgottist dot com”. (Replace the at with the at-sign and the dot with an actual dot.)

So… you’re casting before you know what the game’s about? Is the idea to write around the strengths of your voice actors, or what?

Yes. And also to find out what size of cast I can get without having to sacrifice quality. If I get a writer on board, they’ll of course also have a say in the casting. (If I don’t get a writer, the project will still happen, but I’ll write it myself.)

I’ve now posted similar posts in two other forums, and in the process of doing so, I’ve improved my pitch a bit (which makes me realise that it would have been smarter to post first to GaveDev where a good fit for this project is less likely to be found, and save this forum for last, as this is the kind of crowd I’d really like to get interested). So there are now a few things I’d like to add that may help you to get some idea of where I’m headed with this project. And please do keep in mind that if I end up working with a writer/designer, that person will of course get to influence that direction a lot! This is just what I’m currently thinking, but I’m open to taking it in another direction. Ideally, this would be the writer/designer’s game at least as much as mine.

All that said, here are some things you should look at:

  1. The half-finished song I used for the audition of the cast, called “A Matter of Time”. Here it is: Sheet music and Simple mp3. The audio version is deliberately simple and stiff because I want the singers to do their own interpretation of the song, and not copy my version of it. (There are some chord choices there that I regret too. The backing track was literally made in a few hours late one night.) The song doesn’t have to be part of the game, but I like it, and the simple lyric could be a starting (or ending) point of something.
  2. My own game Frasse, so that you get an idea of what you can expect from me. (I plan to do better, but I’m still proud of Frasse.)
  3. Deirdra Kiai’s Pamplemousse Demo, because that’s my inspiration regarding how to make an adventure game musical work. (I have ideas for making the music less repetitive.)
  4. Emily Short’s Best of Three, because I expect a musical to be a lot about interacting with the characters in the game, and this game is a good example in that area.

But let me repeat that all this is simply where my thoughts are at the moment, and where I’ll probably be heading if I don’t find a writer. I’m open to different ideas!

As I wrote in my first post, the deadline for the actors is September 21. Once that date has passed, I will start working on the game: start on the design and select a cast. That means that anyone who might find this project interested should have started discussing it with me before that point, or I will already have set out a direction. I hope to hear from someone - you don’t have to commit to anything by sending me an e-mail. It’s obvious (to me) that both parties will have to do some conversation with each other before we figure this out and possibly get started on this together.

If anyone happen to be interested, you should get in touch with me ASAP. I’ll be deciding who to collaborate with in a few days, and after that it’s too late to declare interest. (If nobody is interested, that’s ok too. I’m currently talking to two people, and at least one of them is interesting as a partner for this game.)

It’s one week left until the deadline for the actors, and things are looking good. I’ve received a small bunch of good auditions, and a few that are outstanding. (It’s looking very likely that the game will get a female lead character.)

Another update: I now have a writer (hooray!), so I’ll stop posting about this project here for a while now. (I may post again when it’s time to find beta testers.)