Sadmoons: World of Black and White
Artist Statement
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First of all, working on this game was really fun and it made me convince myself that I can really feel like making and finishing a game on my own makes sense because the makes sense. Making games for fun, games that will be used for fun and entertainment only is something I can't accomplish. There are thousands, maybe millions of games that I can play just for fun, or for some specific feeling (I love strategy games, for instance). But these games already exist and I don't really feel like making more of them will make me express myself anyhow. "What about MY feelings?" would be the most important question here. So let's move on. World of Black and White is probably most experimental of my games. Before I started making it I knew nothing about Game Maker so it was nothing but a playground to me. During the development I have been pushing, and pushing, and figuring out how many ways I have to express my vision. Graphics, mechanics, music, working with extremely well-known gameplay and trying to make it different. Use sounds or not? Et cetera. Game is special to me because it is (even amongst my on-paper game designs) a game that corresponds with real world very much. I'm aware that you know very little about the world of Sadmoons that I have been building in my heart, mind and on paper for last 2 years (which I regret very much and I plan to do my best to bring most of it to you this year), but I have built the game the way it can be either intepreted in reality of our world (Earth) and the reality of Sadmoons world (Naya). But first things first. Couple of times ago when I was still a student of Philosophy and I was trying to figure out how is it possible that so called great minds of humanity have so little feelings and emotions, and how is it possible that they actually want to have very little feelings and emotions, and make their writings dull and unbearable on purpose, I have came across a unique man who, as the only one on my university, talked about something unique -- old Chinese philosophy known as taoism (or daoism). Man was so unique that he had already been targeted by some so actually getting to know him enough to start to like him and nearly immediately love him wasn't easy but, for some reason, it happened, and it had happened By Itself :) Which is the beauty of this situation. I have met taoism taoistic way and I didn't even know about it. When you study history of philosophy (it is wrongly called "philosophy", to be honest) they try to put plenty of crap into your head and force you to see the world that way. That crap made me feel sick in just about a year but taoism... Was different. It wasn't really something that is new, it was something that discribed things that I already knew and I have found them by myself and in myself. It was inner philosophy of going outside. Philosophy that knows of no betterness or worseness, there is only difference. So I've came to the point where I understood I know how to see world in two different ways. I can judge or be harmonious. I can be ambitious and compete, or do things my own way. I can use reason and believe it's superior or use my intuition and feel the world rather than believe I can understand it with my wit. Two of those ways seem to participate in me. I have been raised in European culture, but deep inside my heart I'm more Asian (accidentally I have just realised I'm listening to Japanese music, but I am in Scotland :)). It's maybe not always easy to see world totally different but it helps me understand people and whenever I come across warm-hearted people with passion to Eastern culture I know they are similar to me (if there is reincarnation in this world or destiny of any sort, we have been thrown into wrong place on the map, sir!). That's what I wanted to express with the game. I could call it a dualism but this is just wrong. These two ways of seeing the world or two natures of the world or two worlds on their own are different. Very, very much different. And both offer something beautiful. Unfortunately, at least one of them also offers something ruthless. My thinking of these two "dimensions" didn't begin just now, though. I have built Sadmoons world with four nations (industrial Gothia, mysterious and born from moonless night Nightlings, spiritual and natural Shamans and increasingly spiritual ex-Gothians known as Pirates) and immediately made the world beyond good and evil. Industrial Gothian Empire blinded by industrial philosophy (word "industrial" should be mentioned at least twice to understand the industrialism of Gothian spirit) and three other nations, approaching differently the natural world of Naya. This is a conflict of philosophies, visions and beliefs, not of something as dull and exploited as good and evil. And this is not the world beyond good and evil taken literally (I'm far, far away from Nietzchean philosophy, ladies & gentlemen). It is just a world where viewpoints mean something to the world and are attached to particular nations much stronger than in real world we know now in XXI Century with its world citizenism. So these are two sides of the same coin. Game shall work well on both grounds. Literal and fictional. Let's move on to the symbols that I've decided to use in the game now.  People People of different colours, colours of the rainbow. The diversity of humanity and other races. One of them is different, very different and she invites them to make a connection but for some reason they don't do it. They also look at the world with two eyes, the usual way, everyday way, way of the reason. Bricks Shape and interior are important here. Is it a cross? Is it a test tube? Red change to toxic green. Huuummm... Ball Ball is something you should figure out with two images given you and advised to see before playing the game. There is little else to explain here. Words Words fulfill the vision of philosophy. Gather them and you will open the books. Gather the opposite ones and gather them in order. You can't always open the books? And you can't always open them all? Well, that's what life is about. Time is short and not always when opportunity comes we know how to make a good use of it. However, we can try again and gain additional knowledge. Books Books indicate knowledge. Knowledge is what we think is most important. Knowledge of life. Knowledge of warfare. Knowledge of everything that we can see (or see with use of man-made devices). World can be explored from A to Z and written in books that will require huge libraries, right? Man stepped into a deadly fairy tale, out of nowhere, and began to explore the book. And as his memory is too weak, he began to write books about the book. Not short after that books about books about books about the book became the object of studies for those who are obligated to write books about them. Bat Bat remains a mystery.  People The same people, so different and so similar. But now they made a contact. They are a gathering of people, a people as one. They also look at the world differently. Bricks Again, shape is important. And we discover them, not hit them to force them to change. We discover the world of black and white that knows of no difference between two, theoretically opposite, colours. Words Words help us once again. In correct order. In right sequence. Not everytime we understand what opportunity brings. We are humans, we make mistakes. And we learn. All life. Whole life. Eyes Third eye opens with time and with knowledge (or wisdom?). World is different now. And we know more about it. Level 1 is colourful. Fast. With disturbing music. Rather noisy. Bat is short. Ball is fast. Knowledge of "game over" comes not when we want it but when it happens. Level 2 It's different here. Things are not so bright and shiny. But ball is more natural, closer to the soil. Bat is wider, ball is slower, sound is soothing. Hell, the world has changed if just for a moment. Or is it a different world we have just gained access to? Mind that words became colourful. And third eye opens less rapidly than the books. Music Music of level 1 is played only on black keys. Disturbing and noisy electric guitar. Music of level 2 is played only on white keys. Soothing piano music. Music of both is played in the same way. Up and down, up and down using the same keys/sounds. It's like a circle. It's like a motion. Pause Pause in both levels differ. Both act as helpers. The end Last changes between scenes are done in a scrolling way. It's because story goes back from where it starts. Try it again and it will be the same. Your experience might differ, though. That's it. If you have got to here, thanks for reading. Thanks for taking interest in my art, my work, my dream. Thanks for believing that games, like any other medium, can be a vessel for art, philosophy and whatever Man wants. Or thanks for potential in you, the potential that might bloom into belief some day. -Kaworu Nagisa |