One of my friend’s recently brought up the topic of deviantart, and all of the old ‘inspiration boards’ that artists would post. I’ve always thought things like that were fascinating-- I love knowing where people’s ideas come from, and then reading/watching/looking at their art and going “Aha!”.
IF is also an art medium, I think, and I was wondering what works inspired all of you?
CS is a good mix of gaming and reading, so I myself have quite a few! In regards to video games, I try to mimic a lot of the older video RPG’s like Planescape Torment, Vampire the Masquerade and Dragon Age: Origins. I’m a sucker for atmosphere, and dialogue is SO important to me. As for books, I’m more drawn to mystical and morose. The Last Unicorn is my favorite book, followed by things like ASoIaF and the Sevenwaters series. I’m also a sucker for short horror stories like on r/nosleep… Anyone ever read the ranger stories?
But yes, please tell me what inspires you! I want to know so I can replay your game and see what makes it yours
Normally, I listen to a lot of songs while playing or just relaxing on my bed or in the garden. Depending on the music and the atmosphere, I get different kind of ideas. For example;
When I first listened to this song, I couldn’t help but imagine the MC of my current story being in some kind of dark place, secrets and other things just waiting to be found inside it. A hidden cave full of dangers and also treasures? A destroyed lab with secrets just waiting to be found?
And then it happens that somehow they are encountering someone or something, either fleeing or fighting depending on the situation.
But songs are not the only thing giving my mind something to do. My dreams help me a lot as well. One time, I dreamed of myself being some kind of bystander, a third person, so to say. I followed a man through the vast plane of a city unlike our own, until a murder happened. Hearbroken, the man tries to fix what happened and tries to rewind time, but lands somewhere a bit too far. He encounters all kinds of people and in the end, all of his choices lead to the fact that he did save the one he wanted to save, but ultimately he payed a high price for his choices; his own life in exchange for that he loved.
This is partly some side project I wrote down next to FAWR and SC xP
And of course, don’t forget the movies! I see a scene I like, but the outcome is different than expected at first? No problem, for I imagine my own way for how the movie could go. I change the setting, change the thing that the scene was all about, but in the end, the main actions are pretty much similar and yet not the same. It’s fun, but stressing to do as you would need a way to make it fit
I could go on and on about books and other things, but I need to find some time to sleep as well xP
You can blame the demon from Bigfinger’s See no Evil (warning: adult) that likes belly rubs and brushing and the flavor text dog jokes from Macguffin’s Curse for my cravings for more pet humor involving characters that aren’t purely animal.
My inspiration for naturalist werewolves has more to do with the young adult section at the library and… well the Amish sort of.
Also I was really into wolves for a while. Not the stupid demonization of them. Around the same time I was studying Egypt and bats as much as I could I think. Back when I was in grade school and idiots made me watch horror movies.
I’m not sure what inspired my idea of magic that lets you shred things apart with 2 dimensional objects.
Despite all the magic and such I actually prefer things of a more sci-fi area. Especially cyberpunk.
Technically I haven’t really written anything since about High school and that was mostly talking heads. I have been churning out a lot of fictional worlds though.
As for many, music is one of my greatest inspirations, particularly when I write. World music, with seldom heard instruments, or soundtracks to ancient times seems to open the creative floodgates. Like @Wraith, it allows me to wander yet undiscovered temples and the untapped potential of imagination.
Lisa Gerrard is my goddess for this.
And the incomparable Yma Sumac.
Lest I impose any further upon the music thread, there is Björk’s Vespertine and Medúlla.
Strangely enough, a completely misheard lyric, from a song I shall never reveal, gave birth to the title of my soon to be Choicescript odyssey. {throws salt over shoulder and crosses fingers}
Film directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Hayao Miyazaki, and Ron Fricke.
Painters Bouguereau and Dali.
Rococo.
The entire Renaissance and the old French royal court.
Emily Brontte’s ‘Whethering Height’ is my greatest inspiration. Not to any of my work, but to my interest in English fiction in general. I own all my inspiration to her no matter how much other authors influrent my work.
A lot of things inspire me, not just in writing but in drawing as well.
Music, obviously. Especially instrumentals, although electronic music is growing on me. Some movie/show/video game OSTs. Opera and musicals, too. Some Bach, Chopin, Beethoven, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, etc. You know, those composer dudes?
Dances too, especislly ballet. And figure skating! I absolutely love drawing the human body in elegant and refined motion even though anatomy is not my forte.
Food, glorious food! Even as simple as a chocolate chip cookie or something as extravagant as lechon can make them creative juices flowing.
Certain books, movies, tv shows and video games. Listing them all here would be too much, I’m afraid.
Seeing the awesome beauty of nature. The world is simply beautiful, even with all the chaos running around.
Basically anything can inspire me if I put my mind in it.
Life itself and the act of enjoying life inspires me, especially all of the beauty and human nature in the world, educational books and watching anime also are an inspiration. I am a bookworm and I greatly enjoy seeing all of the science-fiction, fantasy and horror movies. Food is also good. Also, animals and the ocean are a big influence as well. Music is a contributing factor to set the tone of many stories
@Quaintrelle Thank you so much for that music! It’s so atmospheric, I’ll be playing it while I write tonight. The opera one really reminds me of the game I’m writing… sans parrot.
Anyone ever get spite inspiration? Like, “I really hate this trope so i’m going to deconstruct it?”. Read a really bad book and think “well I can do better than that?”
I create my own endings to things. There’s little themes I find fascinating too. I find inspiration flares when I’m playing a game or something and I really wish it’d do something else than it does, and I go “What if?”
What ifs are great for inspiration. My current project is a pile of what ifs.
Everything. I look at things and they remind me of other things, or they get me wondering, and then I’m off. I never know what’s going to be useful until I study it and see, which is why I’m always trying to learn something new, to look at or read something that might strike a spark.
Today I started looking at The People of Walmart website, and found a ton of inspiration for future fashion. The unexpected combinations of color, types of clothing, etc. in the stranger outfits got me thinking about what I take for granted in terms of what is aesthetically pleasing to wear. This is going to be directly useful to the sci fi visual novel game I’m creating; other things are not so readily apparent in their use.
I also believe in something like muses. Stories are not so much written by me as through me; my skill is as a conduit. When I’m at my best, writing feels less like pure imagination than it does tuning myself closer to a frequency until it rings true, and matches what it’s supposed to be.
p.s.: I don’t have much use for music, personally. I try to keep up with video games to see the best and worst of what everyone’s doing, I watch interesting shows while I work with my hands, and I read a lot.
I did get this idea for babysitting teddy bears from Choice of Robots. I wondered why that wasn’t an option in the game but I’ve seen the problems that can cause even without an AI uprising or the systems screwing up.
At first I thought, “Why would you need to babysit a teddy bear?” because I have blonde girl on Monday brain. I assume you actually meant a robot that looks like a teddy bear that is programmed to act as a caregiver? Or maybe I’m wrong on both counts!
I am fascinated by where the focus in such a story would be. Is it on the corporation and employees that produce and sell such robots? Or maybe follows the life path of one robot and/or a family that uses these services? Is there potential for it to both be a successful venture or a horrible, child-endangering nightmare??
Or maybe something else I can’t even conceive of yet, because it’s your awesome idea. I think it has potential and I would read it, if you’re looking for encouragement. You’ll only know if you try!
My first inspiration came from video games and the Chyna goosebumps novels.
The very first game that gave me real branching choices was Vanguard Bandits, a chess board mech game with fantasy world backgrounds. Where on pivotal choice based on your current stats at the near beg8nning of the game divided the story into three story lines. The choice being “stay with your dying father, or hunt down his killer” which resulted in widely different consequences and gave access to even a joke story line!!
The second was the game series Suikoden. Vast games with hundreds of interesting characters and unique personalities and stories. This gave me a taste for character creation and character/world development. As in each of the 5 games you could recruit 105 characters build a home base and explore a vast world.
Do dreams count? I’ve always had really vivid dreams, and they (of course) never went how I wanted them to, and my alarm always woke me up before I got a satisfying ending. So, I’d continue them in a journal as short stories, and my dreams act as inspiration to this day. Anything and everything can manifest in your mind, so there’s always a unique fountain of inspiration.
Also, feelings inspire me, if that makes sense. After I watch a movie, read a book, or play a video game, there’s always a dominate feeling, whether it’s pleasant or not. I try to capture that feeling when I write, so others can feel what I felt too.
Well, anything and everything, really. But I fare the well-est when I listen to music or play an inspirational game, since I’m an action writer and all it’s pretty easy to find an inspiration in the diverse pool of artful goodness.
You 'prolly wouldn’t want me to tell you the games that I played, but I do have an album that get me in “the mood” a lot. (Not sexually )
I prefer classics and soft songs to EDM, despite my genre. I also hate rocks. I usually listen to Passenger. That guy sure as hell can sing, and his songs sure as hell are inspirational.
This is the one that inspires me to write one of my book (Yes, I also write Romance).
, gave birth to the title of my soon to be Choicescript odyssey. {throws salt over shoulder and crosses fingers}
I assume you actually meant a robot that looks like a teddy bear that is programmed to act as a caregiver? Or maybe I’m wrong on both counts!
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