I'm a writer, text editor, and indie narrative game developer. One of my primary professions involves the creation of English language visual novels and their cousin, the dating sim. I'm also a voice actor and director who does a lot of work on visual novels. I also just play them for fun because I enjoy… Continue reading I Suffered Through the KFC Dating Sim
Author: pixelsandpins
…But No One’s Done it Like You
It's a piece of advice that I give to anyone I can. Someone might have made it before, but no one's made it quite like you. What exactly does that mean, though, especially when paired with the idea that there are no new stories? Isolate Your Personal Narrative/Experience We all have things that are unique… Continue reading …But No One’s Done it Like You
Everything’s been done before…
There are no new ideas. West Side Story is Romeo and Juliet is Pyramus and Thisbe. Arthurian legends have been told and retold hundreds of times. The same thing for classic fairy tales. There's a whole classification system for character archetypes we see over and over and over again. And that's fine. These stories and… Continue reading Everything’s been done before…
How to Be the “Idea Guy”
This article features Extra Credit: Developing an Idea to Execution for $5 Patrons. Check it out here. That's a dangerous phrase isn't it? The "idea guy." The one who spouts things but doesn't actually do the work associated with the thing and yet still wants to see it done. The person who takes way more… Continue reading How to Be the “Idea Guy”
Why No One Wants to Work With You
I'm not a perfect project manager by any means, but I've been extremely lucky that people I've worked with are willing to work with me again and again, even when I can't pay them. Being able to translate whatever goodwill you can into working relationships is a delicate skill that you have to learn. So… Continue reading Why No One Wants to Work With You
Quick, Hot Tips for Paneling at Conventions (and Other Events)
Where I am, it's convention season. Anime, video game, comic book, and otherwise. And these conventions have panels. And a lot of conventions have open submissions where anyone can submit an idea for a panel. Which is really awesome. It's a way for everyone to have a chance to get involved in their local geek… Continue reading Quick, Hot Tips for Paneling at Conventions (and Other Events)
On Starting
I've been going around to local conventions with a presentation about the development process of visual novels (a video of one you can see here). It's been great bringing this information to people who are genuinely excited about the narrative game development and want to learn more. At one of the conventions, they invited me… Continue reading On Starting
How to Cast Voices Like You Know What You’re Doing Part 2: Finding the Character’s Voice
Last time we talked about how to frame the voice you want for your casting call. Now, how do we implement this? Everyone casts a little differently, but, without digging into those details, there are some broad strokes you can abide by to get the best out of the casting process. Stick to Your Deadline… Continue reading How to Cast Voices Like You Know What You’re Doing Part 2: Finding the Character’s Voice
How to Cast Voices Like You Know What You’re Doing Part 1: Learning the Character’s Voice
We've talked project management and casting calls before. I've been doing casting myself this week for The D (Stands for Demon), which made now seem like the perfect time to go into a little bit about how casting for indie projects can work. Not every director casts the same for every project. In-studio casting is… Continue reading How to Cast Voices Like You Know What You’re Doing Part 1: Learning the Character’s Voice
Good Project/Bad Project: Finding Your Scope
Previously, we had a project management crash-course, going over the basics of how to be successful with your independent production. Now, though, let's go into some more detail into the parts of this plan for success. We'll start at the beginning: how do you determine your scope? Your project is like a house. And any… Continue reading Good Project/Bad Project: Finding Your Scope
Pixels and Pins Studio 