Congrats to Breanne M., who won a copy of SHADOWLIGHT and her choice of a Darkyn novel. Contact me at marjoriemliu@gowebway.com with your contact information.
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Renee asks: “…what’s it like to write a video game script? And is it similar to writing the comics at all? I’d imagine there’s at least the similarity of the prominent visual component…”
It’s very similar, actually. At least, it was for me. I’m sure that folks in the game industry tackle scripts differently then I do, but I’m a baby at this, so I followed the format I know best: comic books. I had a huge amount of help, though, from Mari Tokuda, one of PassionFruit’s designers. She broke the book down in terms of essentials and what would be best for the game, and then I went from there.
Lara asks: One question about the video game/novel – I always thought that Hari was from India, or somewhere thereabouts. Will final game art follow along those lines? I was kind of looking forward to a Hrithik Roshan sort of hero.
Hrithik Roshan is hot! But that’s the problem with going visual, I guess, because everyone has their own vision of what the characters look like. I will say, however, that the Hari you see in the game comes very close to the look I imagined for him—but don’t let that change how you see him!
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Matt Sayre, the composer of the TIGER EYE soundtrack, has his own blog—and he’s been writing about the experience of creating the music for the game. Here’s his latest entry, but the following is from an earlier post, and it’s so true for writers, too:
Right then, during the new silence, a melody entered my head. It came from out of nowhere. And it was a good melody… and perfect for the game. I started playing it on the piano and developing it. This was it! And it seriously just entered my brain from who knows where.
I think, as my wife pointed out later, this is the type of phenomenon that gave birth to that mythical idea of the Muse. The artist is just a mouthpiece for whatever the Muse wants to bestow upon humanity. Well, I wouldn’t go that far. But I can certainly see how such a concept could arise. Seriously, the melody came out of left field. I had been playing something completely different and this melody just sprang into my head. It was… freaky.
For more screen shots of the game, check out this article over at IGN.
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Also, a good friend of mine, Nikki Kimberling (who is also the editor at Blind Eye Books), has a new novel coming out from Samhain. It’s called Happy Snak, and I had the pleasure of reading this story some years ago. It was wonderful and quirky, and tremendous fun—and now, finally, everyone else is going to have the same chance to read this delicious slice of—as Nikki calls it—humorous science fiction (”…a slice-of-life space opera featuring hermaphroditic, aquatic aliens, bold women, men in tuxedos and snack food…”). There’s an interview with her over at Literary Escapism, along with a chance to win several e-copies of the novel. Go check it out.
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That’s it for today—except, there’s another giveaway! Leave your name in the comments for a chance to win the audio book of THE IRON HUNT (an iTunes download).