aaryn
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Devlog: Sound and All the Obstacles That Have Come With It
🕑 Added 2022-09-02 18:47:43 +0000 UTCSo we're back today to talk about one of the core additions to the Straight!? remake and the one that I've ironically been the quietest about: Sound. So let's jump in and get everybody up-to-date on what's been going on and where things are.
Again, long post here but I like transparency. I'll do some bullet comments at the bottom for those of you who have zero patience with my ramblings.
Licenses and Legality
One of the biggest things you'll see in indie adult games is the use of unlicensed sound and music. The primary reason for this is cost. Music and sound can get very expensive very quickly. However, it's always impressive when someone uses a track that you've heard-- kinda like you'd see in a movie soundtrack-- but they probably didn't pay the $100k to get permission to do that. Obviously, long-term that can create legal issues and ultimately stop production of the game. I'm also not ok taking donations for this project while secretly stealing the music content from other sources. It's one thing to not complete the paperwork correctly but it's completely different to just take stuff.
The goal for Straight!? is to create an adult game that's actually legal. When I use sounds or music within the game, I will have an actual license from the artist or distributor granting the game permission to do that. I've had zero experience in this and during the original rough draft of the game, I never wanted to suddenly have noise halfway through the game. As a result, I was never able to actually practice using sound in the way that I did with some visual techniques like depth of field and the lighting changes. So the revamp will be the first time that we hear the world of Zack and Braden and that couldn't be more intimidating to actually create.
When I decided to add sound, I didn't realize how much of a time sink it is. I spent an entire week going through websites and had nothing by the end of it. The process was infuriating but it was a learning experience. Since then, I've continued to jump around on multiple pages, one of which I now have an annual membership and I'm pleased to say that I've purchased music rights from another website for the main menu theme.
Another problem that some may not realize is the actual permissions that some artists will allow you to use the sound/music for. For example, early on I found a track that I fell in love with for Straight!? and I spent a pretty significant amount of time tracking down the name of it, only to find that the artist would not allow it to be used for anything related to adult content. So even if I was willing to pay for rights to the song, I wouldn't be allowed to use it in the game due to the mature content. Other artists will only allow their content to be used on certain platforms like YouTube or Twitch-- but not in software or games. Just dumb stuff like that that really adds to the hassle of it all. Which is probably also why a lot of people pirate shit because it's way harder to actually do it legally and they intentionally make it very difficult to do.
The solution right now appears to be that I'll be using several sources and websites to pool music and sounds together. One website is just simply not going to have everything that I'm looking for. That's fine. Using multiple sources will just make things more diverse anyway.
Right now, I have 3 tracks that will appear in the demo as well as a handful of subtle sound effects like doors closing, boxes shuffling, chatter in the cafeteria, showers running in the lockers-- stuff like that. They're already coded into my demo and I'm generally happy with the ambiance for being a complete noob at this.
Adding Sound/Music and Some of the Obstacles to that
There's a lot of editing that goes with sound such as looping the content and trying to make that seamless in areas where it needs to be seamless.
There's also an obstacle with timing when working with a medium where we're dependent on the reader. If you're watching a movie, the pace of the movie can control when a sound or the way music can be heard. Think of a horror movie using some dissonant sound then making a loud bang when a certain event happens. When you're dependent on reading speed, you have a lot less control over things like that. So there's going to be a learning curve there and I'm sorta playing it by ear. I will fully admit that we could see some slow modifications of sounds or music editing as the revamp progresses, much in the same way that we saw that with image quality, as I learn the ropes. However, Jordyn has some good sound editing experience and he's going to be probably bailing me out of most of these problems so we'll see.
When you're working on game development, it's insane how long very petty things can take to fix. Jordyn and I had a long conversation last night about showers and sounds. Turning the water on, having a static shower sound and turning the water off. All three of those may require overlaps or additional edits, splicing; the workload can balloon very quickly. Sure, I can ignore things like that but people notice it and they will message me-- a lot. I joked awhile back about another game that had a character playing a guitar in it and I laughed because in my head, I could hear that developer's inbox filling up if the fingers of that character were not on actual chords. Some people lose their minds about things like that. You could work months on a game update and someone will send you an angry letter over a guitar chord, lol. So I have to be careful and try and strike that balance and it does command attention to fixing those issues, even if they take extra time.
The good news is that many of these sounds will be reusable. So every time they go to the shower, we can use the same sound. Same with the cafeteria. Stuff like that. So initially looking for sounds and editing them is taking some time but that investment should pay off for the future when we reuse them.
Main Menu Coming Soon
So in terms of music, I'm hopefully going to have something to share very soon. I've purchased rights to a song that will play during the main menu video when the game boots. We need some edits done on this right now but I do want to give you a taste of just hearing something from this world so stay tuned. I'm probably going to just post the opening video with the music on top in it's own post here on the page.
Demo Coming Soon
We'll also have the first demo coming very soon hopefully. I will warn you that it's pretty short. Much shorter than what you've come to expect from past updates around here. Basically, I'm just going to do the first day of meet-and-greet, the cafeteria, shower, and bed. The actual plan I have right now is to try and recreate the way the original game was released, stopping at the exact same times episodically that long-term followers will remember. This will simulate the old school release while still allowing me more time near the beginning of the game (where the updates were shorter) to do more work and edits.
These new sets took a little longer at the beginning but it's good setup for future development in terms of lighting and stuff like that. But the demo would showcase a few environments you've seen before and hopefully justify what my vision is for this thing. Right now, I'm polishing up some writing and we gotta finish up with the sound edits than hopefully I can get the demo out for people to see. It's bootable now and I've already played through it a few times and I'll say that regardless of the visual expectations you have for it, it's probably going to meet those, if not exceed them.
Summary
-We've purchased music rights to keep the game legal and are currently editing sound effects and 3 music tracks to appear in the next release and a handful of subtle sound effects
-Outlined some of the obstacles to sound and what I've learned from it moving forward
- Main Menu with Soundtrack coming soon to the Patreon Page hopefully and will likely have it's own post devoted to it.
- First Demo of Straight!? v0.01 is coming very soon as well once sound edits are complete but is very short and will likely only include the first day of the game as a test.
Comments
Aaryn
I hope so. I really do get involved with this project and I really try. it was something special for me and i know it's become special for others. i feel like i have an obligation to the characters, the fans, and myself
robbes7rh
Attention to detail is what sets your work apart from the pack. It’s the concern of the professional who cares deeply about the quality of his work. Even to those who don’t articulate an appreciation for such things, it affects them subconsciously to have a deeper experience.
Aaryn
I gotchu
MadPatter
Stud, looking forward to this
Aaryn
yeah, i'm not sure if they do tips or not. i'm going to try and research it in full before i drop it but i do want more substance to the revamped version first
Harlequin
I wouldn't think it inconsistent of you to have a paid version on Steam with a clear link on its page to an absolutely identical free version. You could think of it as just an advertisement for the full free game to catch the eyes of people who associate price with value, with an optional tip for anyone who wishes to give it.
Aaryn
In terms of Steam, I've considered releasing it on there and just making it free. It does cost me I think $100 to post it but I also believe I can still list it for free. I'll eat the $100 to post it, though, that doesn't bother me. The voucher code thing could be an idea but it could also turn into something that I would have to heavily monitor and would like turn into a pretty involved job to keep track of. I do appreciate the motivation to get the game out there and yeah, I'll be honest, I've always been afraid of it blowing up too much. I have no desire to be a damn celebrity, lol. But you're exactly right, I would be concerned about it compromising the community as well. I'll likely take a serious look at Steam with the revamped version at least, once I get a few updates under my belt and there's more substance to it
Chip Bianco
Would you consider putting it to a poll on discord in the future? I know how principled you've been about keeping Str8?! free and how loyal you are to your community. However, I think I've seen more push for releasing it at cost on steam, and maybe keeping us in mind for voucher codes! 😉 With a little bit more development, I could see this game exploding on Steam. I know how trite it is to say this, but stories like this don't only have a place in the LGBT community, they are 100% an absolute necessity to us. You know how important it is! When I first played this, I felt like my story was being told but in a world where it had a happy ending. I'd love to see that offered to the public. It could help so many people. The downside, of course, is our little community wouldn't be so little anymore. I've seen these kinds of things blow up a lot and the discord server turns into heavily moderated noise and spam. There are ways around it though.
Anxious Adam
Just chiming in here to also harp on you about getting it on steam, I’m good about that every few months anyways and it was about time for another round of nagging from me so this saved some effort 😛
Aaryn
and that's a fair point. I have a strong desire to make the game free though and it would take a lot for me to change that. now, if i really thought that charging would give it more exposure-- to get the story out there-- then i may be a little more open to it just for the sake of getting it out there. however, i've said for years now that it'll always be free and i really don't want to go back on that. even if it costs me money. i really want to be consistent and do what i say i'm gonna do, ya know?
Aaryn
yeah, the coding for it is pretty simple so far-- at least from what I've researched quickly. basically just play and stop. Then I've played with some volume to mute a few things. I'm gonna test some more with the shower sounds after Jordyn gets done doing some cutting for me and see what it sounds like. At that point we'll see if it's worth the effort or not. The coding so far isn't the bad part. it's trying to find the damn songs that takes full days of scouring
Harlequin
Switching to new sounds and tracks between lines seems relatively simple (see Ranli) but I've no current ideas on how to time to sections of a continuous piece of music.
Harlequin
I think, however, that many people don't take free stuff seriously. Even three to six dollars could raise the profile of a game to something worth looking at. A demo could be free and a link to the full free game elsewhere could be provided.
Aaryn
yeah, the scary thing is that you can intend to do things the right way and still mess it up and have them come after you. But yes, the cost of the music rights will not be reflected back onto supporters or the public. This game will still be free. People have been more than generous to me and that should help offset the costs here so all future versions of the game will be free just as they were before. I've considered a Steam release but it would still be free. I never intend to charge for a copy of this game regardless of how popular or how financially burdensome it becomes. I felt the story was something I wanted people to have access to and not feel they have to pirate it because they couldn't afford it. but you're right, dropping it on Steam would probably reach a whole new audience
Anxious Adam
My conversations with you have that effect often
Aaryn
Things you never thought you’d say…
Chip Bianco
Digital rights to music is some of the most complicated and dumbest fucking shit I've ever seen. Most IP laws are just a scam to take things out on consumers and strongarm enterprising businessmen like yourself! I'm glad you're doing your research and keeping your options open for a public release. I hope someday I'll see this selling like hotcakes on steam... this is definitely something that our community would benefit from getting mass distribution.
Aaryn
will do. appreciate the suggestion <3
Bound By Night
Absolutely and no worries (wouldn't suggest it if I was feeling possessive). 😊 They have 17,000+ music tracks along with some SFX of varying quality (some great, some meh). Obviously, most of them won't work for a particular project, but I've found it a great resource and one of the few that doesn't have issues in the TOS about adult content. I need to renew my subscription but, IIRC, I think it's around $200 or $250 for a year for a project, then unlimited downloads and no expiration but (again IIRC) its use is limited to that particular project. Feel free to DM me on any of the platforms if you like.
Aaryn
hmm. i haven't seen this one. i may look into it. Also, dont want to snag a resource you're doing and create competition...ya know? So if i end up looking into that one serious, I may reach out to you if that's ok
Anxious Adam
Like “Hooked on Phonics” but with dicks! 😂🍆
Aaryn
i'll have an animated ball bounce across the words as you're supposed to read them. JK, please no one take me serious here
Bound By Night
Glad you found some resources you're happy with (I'm a fan of Storyblocks if you haven't checked them out already), and with you 100% on wanting to do it legally and without any copyright issues. Can't wait to see more of the next evolution in Straight!?
Aaryn
yeah, sound has been something i've been wanting to talk about for awhile now with the revamp but i didn't know enough then i ran into problems and just had to research and learn some before i dropped an update about it
Anxious Adam
🎶❤️😊
Dave
This is Wonderful, Again another thing that makes this VN soo Special. Communication. Its always awesome to know, you are interested enough in us, to kjeep us always in the loop.....
