SaturnStorm

~The EarthBound Fanfiction Reviews Interview~

 

 

 

This time we’re having a talk with SaturnStorm, who, as you may know, is a sprite-comic creator with both artistic and literary skills. Her current writing agenda includes a long list of varied projects that stands right alongside the efforts put forth by noted hard-workers like Michael DePalma and MegaManX111, and she’s also a longtime forum moderator on Starmen.Net. Presently she’s working on Unusual Species, an all-encompassing tale about the “EarthBound” universe with a high amount of emotional description and one of the most well-written first chapters to ever kick off an “EB” fanfic. Here, she shares her unusual enough tale of how she became an “EB” fan, comments on the comparison between herself and a certain other gal gamer, and offers insights on her main characters and where she’s taking the story. 

 

 

 

-How did you become an “EarthBound” fan?

~~~ Since I live in the UK I didn't find out about “EarthBound” like everyone else. I was first introduced when my brother said, "Look at this. This is a ‘Smash Brothers’ character," and showed me a picture of Ness. So I got hold of a copy, played it a bit, and decided "Hey, I kinda like this." But it was a pick-up-put-down thing. Got to Happy Happy village, got freaked out by all the Happy-Happy-ists in the Church (I thought they'd all come to get me!!), and stopped again. I picked up when I met this guy, Omnitarian (at the time he was either Game_Boy or the Chocolate Pixie), and he showed me a few things: The Mr. Saturn, Giygas, the Mr. Saturn music, the Kraken music, a Mobile sprout... so I vowed to myself to play up to Saturn Valley. After that, I just couldn't put it down.

 

-Describe this story you’re working on for us.

~~~ I assume you mean Unusual Species Revised. ;) Well, I can't tell you a whole lot, yet, without revealing a ton of the story *mope*, but... It revolves around a mysterious invasion, like in the original, and, like the original, the characters of the story are being pulled along without ever really being involved, since the story doesn't actually involve them. Unlike the old one there are no flying people (they were NOBODY'S courage), and this time around I decided to base it on a more “Mother 1+2” aspect.

 

-In addition to some positive feedback, you’ve also been compared to PSI322. How does that feel?

~~~ Really? *blink* I actually had no idea. I remember reading some of her stuff a while back and thinking "Cool! Want more!" and not seeing any more. That always came as a shame. She was good at character development, and, like mine, her works aren't finished. ;) She's a good author, and I'm kinda humbled.

 

-On characters: What are some differences between Tracy in the game and Tracy in Unusual Species?

~~~ She got the wit. ;) To be honest I tried to keep Tracy as close to the game version as possible. She cares for her brother, she likes to get involved, and she's got a part to play that will become rather significant later. The main difference, like the rest of the characters, is that she's a bit older.

 

“At the moment I've written down

five battle scenes . . . the second-to-last

one I counted took me a total of two

weeks and fourteen hours to write.

It's a bit long.”

 

-How about Pippi? Why does she seem to know so much about what’s going on?

~~~ In a word, she really doesn't. She knows about Magicant from her telephone friend, and she was warned about the Starmen. Anyone who's played through “Mother” will see she's in Podunk at first, then ends up near Youngtown later, though there's no real way to get there other than through the desert. Considering the rate she leveled up I figured she'd have fought her way there. But it won't be too long before she's just as lost as everyone else. After all, she's not always going to be right.

 

-Why are the names of certain ACs being reserved for later? Is this mostly a conscious decision?

~~~ Mostly conscious. I've got a feeling most people will have guessed these first two ACs (The phone-call friend and the mystery boy who's all over Eagleland), but perhaps not everything's going to be as it seems, especially later in the story, when things start coming together. Don't worry, I won't be introducing everyone like that.

 

-You’re bringing in a lot of cast members. Have you set a limit or is the story open to everybody?

~~~ When you play the games, you meet a lot of people. These people affect your journey in one way or another. And yet, most of them don't know anything's going on underfoot. This story's going to do what the games never did: It's going to affect everyone. When the enemy makes itself known, it puts many people and places in jeopardy and everyone has to get involved some way or another. So yes, the cast of “Mother 1+2” will be making appearances, though not all of them will be big.

 

-On fight scenes: How challenging do you find it to write them?

~~~ ... That depends. Some scenes are relatively easy to get through because you know who goes where. But there's a lot to think about. A few years ago I was hailed as a veteran on a “Battlefield” Forum, where I resided under the name Zora. Despite being a God-modder, I was actually looked up to for my “talent,” but in reality when it comes to something like that it's not that hard. All you had to control was your character and what he/she did, and since I had a mage strong enough to destroy/create planets I found it pretty easy. Here you've got everything. It's all yours to control. You have to take into account the strengths and weaknesses, the speeds, the amount of enemies, how often they fire... everything. At the moment I've written down five battle scenes for Unusual Species, two of which will be showing up later. The second-to-last one I counted took me a total of two weeks and fourteen hours to write. I've very nearly perfected it. It's a bit long.

 

-How much do you think battles will contribute to character development?

~~~ Depends on the characters. People like Ness, Paula, Jeff and Poo, it'll be a case of defining the styles they use. I found Ness harder to control in battle than, say, Jeff, who was good with the hitting, but at the same time always got hit. So that's going to need to be blended. But then you've got characters like Tracy, Frank and Picky, who you never really had control of, or may not have even fought before, and how that effects them, as well as how they develop a style. That's going to be FUN.

 

“The best thing you can do is to write.

That's point one. If you get an idea write

 it down. Save it. Keep it close.”

 

-Who’ll be in the next battle?

~~~ On the immediate it's Jeff. That scene's on its way hopefully in the next chapter. The next one in plotting will be Paula and Poo, and you get to see more of the mystery boy.

 

-On production: About how long did it take to write “A Fateful Beginning”?

~~~ The actual story there took a few weeks. The planning behind it all, the bit that really counted, took months. I couldn't start without that base, and without it several drafts fell to the recycle bin and the waste-paper-basket in my frantic attempts to come across the perfect scenes. I didn't want to take it too far from the original. I think someone commented on that.

 

-What are some of your inspirations?

~~~ You. ^_^. I find myself getting really into something if I've seen something similar that made me think "Oh that is SO cool! Ohh, what would [such-and-such] do?! WOW!!", in relation to an anime (the usual reason the story gets put on hold), “Mother 1+2,” and other things. When I get further in “Mother 1+2,” I think about the story. When Perpetual Adventures and E. Revolution update, I jump around the room yelling out "COOL!" then start thinking of different scenes for Unusual Species. If I hear a piece of music that makes me smile and think of “EarthBound,” I write. Normally it comes from fanfiction and the game.

 

-What have been some of your favorite moments so far?

~~~ The Orange Introduction and the dining scenes. They both made me laugh so I decided I was going to put them in no matter what anyone thought. The only other time I make that sort of impulse is when I'm doing scripts for a small-time sprite-comic I work for. And it works. So I put them in.

 

-So what’s coming up in the near future?

~~~ In the immediate future, Jeff joins, Poo starts trying his meditation (with amusing distractions), Paula goes about finding her place, Pippi makes Peanut Cheese Bars and Frank starts the Starman resistance. And Tracy misses her yoga class. It'll be a while yet but I was kinda hoping to get some answers in soon. I get asked to do this and completely forget that I'm still at the beginning. I need to do more writing!

 

-You’ve described Onett, Threed, etc, very well. Any other places in the game you’d like to tackle?

~~~ I'm already tackling Winters and Dusty Dunes Desert as we speak. I've got to tackle Summers properly soon, and I'll be tackling Fourside twice. Once before and once after. Before and after what? Stay tuned.

 

-What advice might you give anyone who’s about to start writing fanfics?

~~~ Yes, don't do what I did originally. The best thing you can do is to write. That's point one. If you get an idea write it down. Save it. Keep it close. The more you write, the better you get. The better you get, the more people think "Hey, that's kinda cool" and you get positive feedback. You write, you get better, and once you've got your idea, plot it out. If you've written a scene that made you think "This rocks!" but it would be better in such-and-such way, try it out. You never know till you try, and to try means you'll improve.