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The Future of D-D's Productivity
http://www.dynamic-designs.us/d-dforum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=971		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  Wildbill [ Thu May 17, 2018 2:26 am ]
Post subject:  The Future of D-D's Productivity
Yep, we have one - a future.

Even though our active project list should be greatly pared down even more by Christmas, new efforts are underway behind the scenes. I like to have a plan in place that outlines potential activities five-years-out. As of sometime in April this year, we are just about in that place with two and possibly three new major unannounced projects that are waiting in the wings.

So, due to having company in the house all week and working on a fledgling new RPG patch off and on for three straight days, I'm behind a few with beta test fixes. I should be back on track with those by this weekend, hopefully catching up completely. Also, Swordmaster tends to bring me issues that require tedious investigations, much greater in scope that mere re-formats or typo adjustments, so I like to be well rested whenever I tackle some of those, difficult when you have a house full of visiting family members who are running in all directions at once!

I have done some checking at a few Japanese websites, and this proposed new game is massive, much more so than I believed at first glance.

Technically, I know as of today we can definitely do this thing. I also know I will enjoy building this game and especially unraveling its story. However, for several reasons I don't wish to divulge at this time, I will mention up front that we could certainly use a skilled primary translator for this particular game story. Until someone steps forward, and for the time being, I will keep its identity under wraps.

Meanwhile, I will continue to peck away at it. All I will add is that I believe the usual players who visit here and tell us they enjoy our efforts will really like this one, too - some day.
Author:  hausen [ Thu May 17, 2018 4:05 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The Future of D-D's Productivity
So much intrigue! Looking forward to when you decide to share the news.

I've also been very, very busy past week - but I'll have those few things I had mentioned to look over with Shiji back to you in a day or two, so we can see how we should continue from then on.
Author:  Wildbill [ Thu May 17, 2018 5:06 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The Future of D-D's Productivity
hausen wrote:
So much intrigue! Looking forward to when you decide to share the news.

I've also been very, very busy past week - but I'll have those few things I had mentioned to look over with Shiji back to you in a day or two, so we can see how we should continue from then on.
Sounds good. Maybe you might want to help me unravel this new game, but we would still need a translator who is very skilled.
Author:  Atelier Tohka [ Thu May 17, 2018 6:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The Future of D-D's Productivity
Looking forward to hearing more about this when the time comes. In the meantime, I might need to get into some of the games you've done that I still need to finish. Hehe.
Author:  MariusB [ Thu May 17, 2018 7:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The Future of D-D's Productivity
This sounds extremely promising! I'm sure that's what everyone's hoping for in the end. Always great to see how much enthusiasm you have for these projects. Life pressures (and another project I'm working on, as an editor) got the better of me recently, so I took a bit of a short break, but things are looking up again. It's time to give SSMS-II even more attention, since it really is a wonderful game. :) Also, I'm excited for the new project you mentioned, sounds like something really interesting is brewing!
Author:  filler [ Fri May 18, 2018 7:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: The Future of D-D's Productivity
Wildbill wrote:
However, for several reasons I don't wish to divulge at this time, I will mention up front that we could certainly use a skilled primary translator for this particular game story. Until someone steps forward, and for the time being, I will keep its identity under wraps.

As the resident translator I feel like I should respond. For starters I just want to say that I'm in a relatively bad place right now. It's all money related though, so once I can sort that one thing out, I'll be doing much better. I'm considering transitioning from a 10 year long career in web development, to professional translation. I just heard back from a company that I submitted a translation test to saying that I didn't pass. Suffice to say, I'm pretty disappointed. I'm considering getting back in touch with a company that I did some work with in the past, which wasn't paid very well, but I think might work out in the short-term.

At any rate, this makes me both MORE interested in tackling some Japanese scripts, and also slightly hesitant, since I may have to add in 20hrs per week or more of paid translation at some point (hopefully soon). I still have lingering work on Power Dolls 3 and Metal Max, not to mention the large PC-FX scripts, and Welcome to Pia Carrot 2 that I still want to work on.

Anyway, long story short, I'm curious to know what this game is. Best case I could see myself with some interest in working on a new, long project in the latter part of this year. I'm also studying for N2 (JLPT) which I plan to take when it's offered in Nov/Dec. The most helpful thing would be for me to get a script sample so I can see what the writing is like, and what the genre is. A lot is up in the air for me, so I'd just like that to be really clear before I consider a big project.
Author:  Wildbill [ Fri May 18, 2018 1:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The Future of D-D's Productivity
filler wrote:
Wildbill wrote:
However, for several reasons I don't wish to divulge at this time, I will mention up front that we could certainly use a skilled primary translator for this particular game story. Until someone steps forward, and for the time being, I will keep its identity under wraps.

As the resident translator I feel like I should respond. For starters I just want to say that I'm in a relatively bad place right now. It's all money related though, so once I can sort that one thing out, I'll be doing much better. I'm considering transitioning from a 10 year long career in web development, to professional translation. I just heard back from a company that I submitted a translation test to saying that I didn't pass. Suffice to say, I'm pretty disappointed. I'm considering getting back in touch with a company that I did some work with in the past, which wasn't paid very well, but I think might work out in the short-term.

At any rate, this makes me both MORE interested in tackling some Japanese scripts, and also slightly hesitant, since I may have to add in 20hrs per week or more of paid translation at some point (hopefully soon). I still have lingering work on Power Dolls 3 and Metal Max, not to mention the large PC-FX scripts, and Welcome to Pia Carrot 2 that I still want to work on.

Anyway, long story short, I'm curious to know what this game is. Best case I could see myself with some interest in working on a new, long project in the latter part of this year. I'm also studying for N2 (JLPT) which I plan to take when it's offered in Nov/Dec. The most helpful thing would be for me to get a script sample so I can see what the writing is like, and what the genre is. A lot is up in the air for me, so I'd just like that to be really clear before I consider a big project.
Fair enough...

Anyway, I can't imagine how that test was set up that caused you to struggle with it. There's a trick to these things sometimes and little guide books and such put out like those that help students bone-up on SATs, LSATs, etc.

Okay, I'll send you the details via e-mail.
Author:  filler [ Fri May 18, 2018 2:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The Future of D-D's Productivity
Wildbill wrote:
Anyway, I can't imagine how that test was set up that caused you to struggle with it. There's a trick to these things sometimes and little guide books and such put out like those that help students bone-up on SATs, LSATs, etc.
It was samples of text representing the kind of translation work I'd be doing. I got dinged on things such as using the phrase "ladies and gentleman", since "we don't know the gender of the characters being addressed", so I'm not very impressed with the review process. No offense to the reviewer, but I'm fairly confident English is not their first language. At any rate, I appreciate the vote of confidence. :)

I'll be awaiting the details of the project.
Author:  Wildbill [ Fri May 18, 2018 3:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The Future of D-D's Productivity
Atelier Tohka wrote:
Looking forward to hearing more about this when the time comes. In the meantime, I might need to get into some of the games you've done that I still need to finish. Hehe.
Well, maybe you should get after those, because we have three more that are very close to being finished and a fourth one right behind that!
Author:  Wildbill [ Fri May 18, 2018 4:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: The Future of D-D's Productivity
MariusB wrote:
This sounds extremely promising! I'm sure that's what everyone's hoping for in the end. Always great to see how much enthusiasm you have for these projects. Life pressures (and another project I'm working on, as an editor) got the better of me recently, so I took a bit of a short break, but things are looking up again. It's time to give SSMS-II even more attention, since it really is a wonderful game. :) Also, I'm excited for the new project you mentioned, sounds like something really interesting is brewing!
This game I'm discussing starts a bit differently than many. I really enjoy that frequent theme that has some peasant kid decide to investigate what has stirred up the monsters lately, then he or she grabs a stick and goes out into the countryside to kill slimes until level 5 and saves enough money to purchase a Copper Sword or equivalent upgrade.

Well, this game doesn't even resemble such a start, but it's still a good one. The main hero starts at level 1, and the monsters are indeed stirred up. That's where the similarity with many other games ends.

Only about 36 or 37 basic story themes exist for writers. This game features one of them. Every RPG has one of those story themes locked inside the Japanese script. I am convinced that a bad story does not exist - only bad story-telling. That's always my challenge, to dig out the story and try to tell it as well as I can. In my view, this process requires creativity. Any thought process involving the translation of Japanese RPGs that stifles creativity I feel compelled to ignore.

I have my own carefully developed style and am known to stray "outside the box" of conventional thinking. Occasionally, I get burned out a little bit or distracted by other interests, but I always come back to writing with renewed energy. We all need breaks such as that, so don't feel bad taking an occasional hiatus from the hobby. I just want to thank you and everyone who helps us make the stories better.
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