SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

[moches]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

I just gave the OP a HUGE overhaul. Please take a minute and check that out!

[Arch0wl]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

dropped some comments son

[moches]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

thank you so much. I have to retreat to class now but I will respond as soon as I get home. <3

[hi19hi19]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

This is really, really cool.

[moches]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

dope comment roundup:

Arch0wl made some fantastic points on both articles:

A normal person who looks at that video [stargroup's Planet Karma] probably sees a bunch of arrows, and while that’s true at the surface level, the amount of time someone took to do that probably exceeds the amount of time some musicians actually spend making their songs, especially when you consider the varying systems of quality-judgment these authors have created.

To outsiders: it is difficult to convey how many layers of reference and pastiche surround this artform. The best example I can present is something like 4chan or certain Japanese cult games, but even those don’t come close. The tendency of the Stepmania subculture to develop its own insulated lingo and systems is unlike any other community, online or off, that I’ve been part of. If you truly wish to go down this rabbit hole, google “keyboard packs” and prepare for a long journey.

I know what you mean about the “watching life pass before you” phenomenon. Most games have nostalgia value, in the sense that you can look back on it and remember what it was like when that game was in motion: it had very defined release dates, and once a newer game of that kind was out, everyone directed their attention to that. But Stepmania has always been so versatile — you can play with 4 keys, or 5 keys, or 6 keys or 8 keys or 10 keys if you want. And if at any point the program became too easy, the community could fork a newer, harder version.

It’s always been “there”, in other words, morphing to the needs of the community. It never really feels like it got phased out like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion did when Elder Scrolls: Skyrim came out.

and here's a lovely comment from Daikyi (if you're here, show yo'self!)

I really like your third question that you ask, about the appeal of creating art.

I would like to say, as a stepartist, stepping things for FFR and Stepmania, I’ve recieved…well, a lot of negative feedback on my files, a lot of insults directed towards me, a lot of “stop stepping you’re bad”, and a lot of hate in general. It kinda saddens me to the point where I have to step away from making anything and really reconsider what I’m doing.

However, pretty much every single time, there’s just a single beautiful point to me that keeps me creating charts. The simple knowledge that what I create is unique to me, and is an expression and interpretation of a song that no one else could create is enough. The fact that I’m able to convey…myself in my files. My files, at least to me, have my life in them, and my little quirks (i’ll avoid getting technical with terms here) and preferences inserted throughout.

The same goes with any other art: my music, arrangements, doodles, and everything else that I make. Being able to put yourself into your work makes the difference for me in terms of creating versus experiencing art.

I respond to every comment posted there, so I encourage everybody who's interested in sharing their thoughts to jump in and join the discussion!

[EzExZeRo7497]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

Daikyi is YoshL, pretty sure haha.

EDIT: Aaaand answered.

ps resize your banner in your sig man lmao

[YoshL]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

yeah daikyi is me lmfao (p.s. hi moches from late teens korean dude with conservative asian parents)

[moches]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

EzExZeRo7497 just wrote an absolutely fantastic response to the discussion questions on Origin Story. Lemme highlight some of the...highlights.

1. Do you engage in any creative activities? Do you compose, draw, write stories, or do something a little more off-the-beaten-path? Has the experience influenced you or your life in any meaningful ways?
2. Do you agree with the idea that life is a support system for art? Have you experienced something like what I felt playing FFR and Stepmania?
3. What is the appeal of creating art? Does it offer something that experiencing art cannot?
4. Is there a relationship between fun and quality?
5. Are there creations from your past that you’re too embarrassed to share or even think about, and might there be value in going back and looking at them?

1. Well, I write stories. I mainly write about things that I’ve recently watched, experienced or read, or maybe just something more dark and melancholic in my lower points. I’m quite the asocial person in real life and I feel that I can interpret more emotions in my writing more than my speaking. Many people have told me that they don’t really know how I’m feeling most of the time. When I realised that my writing actually shows more emotion than how I usually speak, I try to write what I want to say in my head before I start to say anything. It’s been a habit for some time now, I’ve gotten more social through creative activities, ironically enough.

2. Not too sure what you mean by “support system”, I’ll just skip that haha. Unfortunately I’ve never felt anything similar to how you’ve made simfiles in SM and such, neither do I think it’ll happen any time soon. I do make simfiles, but I’m always never satisfied with them and that I’ll never release them unless they’re not really serious files to begin with.

3. As a writer, writing stories have this one point that I feel really satisfied when I write it, that feeling when you realise that there’s no one else in the universe that has the exact same words written on a piece of paper or typed out in a text document. That’s what’s so beautiful about creating art for me, it’s that everyone has their own interpretations and ideas in almost everything in the “creative” area; writing, music, drawings, simfiles, you name it. Chances are, you probably won’t find an exact duplica of anything when you’re comparing someone’s art with someone else. There might be similarities, but they will never be precisely the same.

4. I’ll take simfiling as an example for this question I guess. From how I see it, if you enjoy making a simfile, the higher chance that it’ll be an enjoyable file. Whenever people on FFR say that they’ve put in a long time into this file and that they enjoyed making it, I’d be inclined to think that it’s going to be a great file since the simfile authors themselves had a blast just making the file. Same thing would apply to anything else in general if you think about it. If you’re having fun, you’re optimistic, you’d probably do better on a particular activity.

5. All of my simfiles. Like you, I’ve restepped a couple of files. When I mean a couple I probably mean twenty, lmao. I’ve always looked at those files and compared it to my version of it. Although I did enjoy making the files, I soon realise that there are a lot of flaws in my files that I’m pretty sure I could fix to make it better. Eventually I’ll find more and more flaws as I get better, which would become an endless loop and I’ll never make a single file that I would consider a “masterpiece”. Maybe I should consider releasing my simfiles some day...

release simfiles plz

[EzExZeRo7497]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

you have to make me

>8(

[YoshL]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

[Ohaider]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

[Choofers]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

this second article is so awesome haha, will respond after I go grocery shopping

do you really have files lost in oregon? I went to oregon for the summer of '08, and since the computer at the house only used dial-up, I made so many files using my cousin's music collection. I also restepped quite a few sharpnel songs (I can remember stepping pants and flower forever). I never saved them though, and I don't think she still has that computer, so they might be lost forever.

[dAnceguy117]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

I forgot my password and had to register a new account.

rip plantsguy 2013-2013

[Choofers]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

rip in pce )o: )o:

[stargroup100]

Re: SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

O.o

someone with a better computer should reupload a video of that chart with a notebar skin