Hi! Defaundre checking in for his bi-annual contribution to the forums. I wanted to know you guys’ workflows! Things like: how do you get started on your projects? what kind of music do you listen to while you hack? And who are your favorite people to brainstorm with?
Personally, I’ve never completed a hack, but I’ll generally start out worldbuilding (mostly just locations and names), and then I’ll make characters, all while jamming out to music that suits where I am in my hack thematically. I haven’t really reached out enough to meet someone to brainstorm with, but I usually talk to my old fire emblem loving dad about my hacks.
This is my playlist, it’s entirely just Touhou music.
Other things I listen to include the Len’en OST and Pokemon OSTs, basically any OST that’ll get me pumped up or inspired to think
When I get started on a project, it’s always through some sort of unrelated convo with my team that eventually evolves into an idea, I usually just throw something stupid out there and then we kick the idea around until it turns into an actual concept, and then maybe from there we’ll take some action on it.
My team is probably my biggest source of inspiration, and I tend to draw influence from their daily stories of local happenings/culture etc or just their general hobbies for plot points, outlines, and general character personalities or quirks. I also like making characters based off of my latest obsession or new factoid i just learned.
When I’m actually hacking, what I do is start off by making a database of all the items and classes i want to get that out of the way immediately before starting the eventing.
On a chapter by chapter basis, i start out by “gutting” the chapter or getting rid of everything but essential barebones events that the chapter would need to run, and then set up chapter settings in the chapter editor, before making a map, and then unit placement, and then finally get to writing and eventing. I always write chapters on the spot in one go.
Oh, right, big thing. I hack really fast. Like, really fucking fast, because my mind gets distracted very easily if not focused, so i tend to do work in huge batches in a short period of time.
This is my playlist I listen to while hacking(It continuously grows as I remember more music).
I almost always start with characters, then I have the dumbest ideas known to man, then I get started on maps.
My usual chapter workflow is Map —> Events —> Writing —> Testing.
Various things.
I don’t have to look at the screen, I play Murder Mystery game videos, I have videos of Amongus playing, I have history videos playing (thanks to which I am a little more familiar with ancient Roman history and such).
Kaitou has reached 1000 BGM, so I sometimes play BGM in random playback, and sometimes I play the OP’s ClassReel, which is almost 30 minutes long, endlessly.
By listening to BGM in random playback, I can check for corrupted data and also check if the volume balance is constant.
Since the purpose is to play some sound endlessly, I don’t think it needs to be music.
When I was first making Kaitou, I think I was playing animated videos endlessly.
Basically, I just listen to the sound as if I were listening to a radio and watch the scenes that interest me later.
Sometimes they have a synthetic voice play a novel and listen to it.
There are people reading Holmes and other out-of-copyright content on Youtube, so you could watch their videos.
I think books are meant to be not read, but listened to.
Music has gone from the era of going to hear an orchestra in a theater to gaining the era of playing it at home and listening to it as background music in bed or on the move.
I think the same is true for other content.
Generally I set aside an hour of my free time during the work/school week for romhacking specifically and typically do most of the work on a chapter during the weekend.
My general flow is
Monday-Friday get almost nothing done on the start event/chapter due to a lack of inspiration
Panic
Saturday-Sunday get most of the work on a chapter done from a sudden burst of inspiration / resolve to see my project through
Repeat
I’ve slowed down quite a bit recently with progress bc of the part of the hack I’m at and the crushing realization that I should probably get some supports done but progress is still being made.
As for the music I listen to, generally it’s either tracks from the Neo: The World Ends With You soundtrack
Or I don’t listen to music and listen to a podcast like Trash Taste.
I’ll run history vids and famous battle documentaries while I work too! I love learning about ancient civilizations and finding ways to morph them into a fantasy and/or game setting.
Well, I always try to set aside time before or after work, depending on when I wake up.
It’s been a bigger pain in the ass recently since the ligaments in my mouse arm’s elbow are kind of janked from working in a warehouse for 8+ years.
As for actually working, I find it pretty difficult to just sit down and work. Basically, if I’m not in the mood to work, nothing’s getting done.
Flow-wise, it’s just what I feel like doing at the moment. Some days I just write, sometimes it’s palates, and other times, it’s maps.
Music wise, either stuff I’ve added to my hack or whatever’s on my mind at the time (Been jamming out to the PC Engine CD/TG16CD versions of then YS games lately).
Music - Videogame OSTs they’re long and don’t pull your attention.
Conception - I start with an idea or gimmick then build the hack design around that.
Brainstorm - I talk to my brother to make sure my ideas are sound. (He plays video games but is less into RPG than I so he gives an informed outsider perspective.)
I work on the music for a hack so kinda hard to listen to music while making music. One of the things that help me work though is taking a walk beforehands listening to things that will help get me in the general mindset of a piece I’m working on. Although usually when I write or discuss things I listen to either Classical or Psychdelic Rock
Really I just collect soundtracks I like and put them all on random and just vibe, but the creating always gets good when the 30 minute version of this comes on.
while I’m pixeling I have my playlist with LITERALLY EVERY SONG I have ever collected in it on shuffle and then I get super mad when it goes onto a full album flac without a cuesheet because I forgot to make one while ripping it and the album is like two hours long but I’m too focused on pixeling to press the skip to next song button and-
I’m actually planning on starting work on the hack I had brainstormed nearly eight years ago this week so we’ll see about that too
