You won't ever get bored (though beaten or gored you might)...
I was informed by one of our officers last night that i was able to tell you that i'm currently in Camp Striker, just outside Agraba-er, Baghdad.
One thing i love about working graves, is that on a quiet night you can get a lot of stuff done. I decided, for prosperity, to write a little essay on the different versions of Lost Fantasy. Though i'm generally skipping some earlier versions that bear no resemblance to the earliest offical version, or any mid-versions in between...
The Many Lives of Lost Fantasy
It's no secret, Lost Fantasy has been percolating in my mind for over 10 years. Over the years, it's slowly mutated as characters and ideas are added in, and other ideas that end up in other recent media get taken out. Here's a glimpse into some of the variations on the theme, with any currently in use ideas edited out.
Version 1
Version 1 started as a fantasy novel. Ray Kaiser (later Rail Cayder) was a Magicycle racer in the totalitarian city of Valia, who also commits acts of grand theivery with his girlfriend in order to afford the fee to smuggle them both out. Unfortunately, he ends up stealing the treasured sword of Valia's ruler, Galt. Galt is possessive to the point of insanity, and immediately sends the full compliment of his forces to hunt down the theives. Ray and friends barely escape, and only then because of the sacrifice of his mentor Marley and the aid of Mia 0008, a reticient girl with insane fighting skills. As Ray and his party travel the world trying to flee Galt's forces, they learn that there are 5 other countries ruled by madmen, each one of them former great heroes that saved the world from the Demon King Ehrgo (Mia herself is from one where children are raised from birth to be soldiers and nothing else). Ehrgo himself shows up (horribly disfigured, but still able to fight alongside Ray's group) and reveals that he was a great hero too, and the cycle has been continuing for centuries. Ray resolves to end the cycle, and discovers the real culprit is an evil entity that possesses the strongest warrior in the world. With the help of Mia, Ray ends up destroying the entity and saving the world.
Mia was one of my favorite characters, but ended up getting cut two years later when i found out a similar character named Rei Ayanami beat me to the punch. The whole thing was kinda stereotypical Final Fantasy Plot-ish, and when the thing became a comic, a great epic 5 thousand chapter epic didn't seem feasable. As my ability to write grew, things mutated a bit into
Version 2
Rail Cayder is a former Motor Calvary Knight of Valia (imagine swordsmen who fight while on bikes, which ended up getting used in Advent Children >.> ) who now works as a Bounty Hunter after a mysterious incident. He ends up meeting the master theif Zee Bluelande, who has evaded capture for years, and to her surprise discovers Rail is the only person to be able to keep up with Zee (through a combination of Leet skills, brass balls, and flexible morality). He ends up repeatedly saving her and others from the problems caused in the wake of a master theif, but she always manages to evade capture (partly due to Rail's halfhearted attempts to keep her in custody after she assists him). Eventually, Rail's past as a Knight catches up to him, and Zee is the one to step in and help him avoid the machinations of his Father and Brothers (Who discover the Cayder family was descended from an evil emperor and want to take back what they think is rightfully theirs, which led to Rail leaving the Knights to oppose them). The two realize their love for each other, and after defeating Rail's family they settle down in a small village by the sea (Rail becomes a carpenter, and Zee finds she has a natural talent for politics, becoming the mayor).
Was kinda "Eh". The setting was half-assed, and cobbled together. Zee, a character i was very fond of, seemed to be misunderstood by everyone, who thought she was more of a generic busty babe than anything. The relationship angle could be seen a mile away, even though i wanted it to seem iffy. Plots were mostly a series of deus ex machina. though there were some amazing action scenes i had in my mind (Rail defends an entire town from monster zombies and killer mosquitoes while riding a motorbike across rooftops comes to mind), it was just too EH. So i jazzed it up, which led to
Version 3
Marley and Misa Rasteva are hunters in the town of Ardos. Hunters are people in an organization that works with the government to police people with powers too great for normal police. Unfortunately, Marley is severely short handed, and Misa is still in training. An old enemy Marley arrested named Abberrah has returned to town, and Misa is the only one on hand to fight him. At the same time, Rail Cayder, a former Knight is in town on a layover when Abberrah attacks in the Train Station. Rail saves Misa and apprehends Abberrah with his incredible skills, but misses his train. Stranded, Marley offers Rail a job as a hunter. Rail declines, but soon saves the entire town from Abberrah's children, who broke him out of jail in the first place. Rail decides to stick around, and eventually takes Marley up on his offer. After lots of cool battles, they discover the real reason Rail left the Knights: His family stabbed him through the heart, leaving him for dead. They have the same plot as Version 2, but this time they succeed in taking over a good portion of the world. Rail, Misa, and the other Hunters of Ardos end up on the front line to stop the Cayders from taking over.
Was a lot better and worked better for a comic, but was still not clicking entirely for me. Misa, a character who was a combination of Mia and Zee's designs, had an awful design and no personality beyond "Weaker female who disagrees with the main character because she likes him". Essentially, it was a Superhero comic with swords, powers, and a semi-fantasy setting. Rail's design, probably the longest lasting one, was starting to get overshadowed by similar designs popping up in games (most notably Gayed-up in a successful RPG), manga and anime (not to mention copycat designs popping up from other people. Rail's Waistband, once unique, was now a design standard on the art forums). Some serious reworking had to be done to keep Lost Fantasy fresh and original, fix some problems, and bring back that rivalry/partnership dynamic that i loved with Rail and Zee which led to...
Version 4
Misa Rasteva is the daughter of one of the greatest martial artists who ever lived, though he died under mysterious circumstances when she was young. Discovering a scroll containing some of his martial arts secrets along with a note to "Follow his path for the other nine", Misa leaves home and follows a path laid out in a story of her father's younger days (Which was her favorite bedtime story), which leads her to cross paths with Rail Cayder, a demonic-natured young martial artist. Being the first person to hand Rail a defeat (though on a technicality), Rail decides Misa is her rival and accompanies her after a small misunderstanding. Rail's "little bro" Chikan joins them.
This is almost the version i'm working with today. Misa was a lot stronger character both in ability and personality, boring generic sword combat (Which is tough to portray) gave way to more dynamic martial arts play. Certain things had to be changed (Rail's goggles, the last part of his original design, had to go after they kept on being used in other media. "Chikan" was renamed to "Roosta" after i found out how negative a connotation Chikan is in Japan), and i felt i was "Blowing my wad" too early. Misa still had a story to tell and i was starting her in the middle instead of developing a proper beginning. Towns were run through at a breakneck pace instead of staying around to explore them. BUT the real reason for a revamp was that i had lost all the art i had done on the project, as well as all my art archives from the last 10 years. if i was going to be forced to redo everything, i might as well fix it all. All the little changes added up, and Lost Fantasy finally flowered into...
Version 5
Misa Rasteva is the daughter of Jamai Rasteva, one of the greatest martial artists of the last 50 years, though he died mysteriously when she was young. Raised by her martial arts hating aunt, Misa has spent the last 8 years practicing in secret. When a coincidence brings her to an underground street fight, Misa's excitement makes her forget her secret and enter the fight against the champion, a demonic young man named Rail Cayder. Winning on a technicality, Misa realizes what she's done and runs off. The next day, Rail Cayder shows up at her school to challenge her, further jeopardizing her secret. During the course of events, Rail gives Misa confidence to proudly show her true self, and she vows never to hide her talents again.
Where does the story go from here? Hopefully i'll get a chance to tell the story.
I also went and, using a notebook touchpad, Colored that 'Zelda Transforming' pic from a while back. Be nice...touchpads and fingers are a pain to draw with easily. (Also linked to DeviantArt instead of from artfu because i forgot my login stuffs)
One thing i love about working graves, is that on a quiet night you can get a lot of stuff done. I decided, for prosperity, to write a little essay on the different versions of Lost Fantasy. Though i'm generally skipping some earlier versions that bear no resemblance to the earliest offical version, or any mid-versions in between...
The Many Lives of Lost Fantasy
It's no secret, Lost Fantasy has been percolating in my mind for over 10 years. Over the years, it's slowly mutated as characters and ideas are added in, and other ideas that end up in other recent media get taken out. Here's a glimpse into some of the variations on the theme, with any currently in use ideas edited out.
Version 1
Version 1 started as a fantasy novel. Ray Kaiser (later Rail Cayder) was a Magicycle racer in the totalitarian city of Valia, who also commits acts of grand theivery with his girlfriend in order to afford the fee to smuggle them both out. Unfortunately, he ends up stealing the treasured sword of Valia's ruler, Galt. Galt is possessive to the point of insanity, and immediately sends the full compliment of his forces to hunt down the theives. Ray and friends barely escape, and only then because of the sacrifice of his mentor Marley and the aid of Mia 0008, a reticient girl with insane fighting skills. As Ray and his party travel the world trying to flee Galt's forces, they learn that there are 5 other countries ruled by madmen, each one of them former great heroes that saved the world from the Demon King Ehrgo (Mia herself is from one where children are raised from birth to be soldiers and nothing else). Ehrgo himself shows up (horribly disfigured, but still able to fight alongside Ray's group) and reveals that he was a great hero too, and the cycle has been continuing for centuries. Ray resolves to end the cycle, and discovers the real culprit is an evil entity that possesses the strongest warrior in the world. With the help of Mia, Ray ends up destroying the entity and saving the world.
Mia was one of my favorite characters, but ended up getting cut two years later when i found out a similar character named Rei Ayanami beat me to the punch. The whole thing was kinda stereotypical Final Fantasy Plot-ish, and when the thing became a comic, a great epic 5 thousand chapter epic didn't seem feasable. As my ability to write grew, things mutated a bit into
Version 2
Rail Cayder is a former Motor Calvary Knight of Valia (imagine swordsmen who fight while on bikes, which ended up getting used in Advent Children >.> ) who now works as a Bounty Hunter after a mysterious incident. He ends up meeting the master theif Zee Bluelande, who has evaded capture for years, and to her surprise discovers Rail is the only person to be able to keep up with Zee (through a combination of Leet skills, brass balls, and flexible morality). He ends up repeatedly saving her and others from the problems caused in the wake of a master theif, but she always manages to evade capture (partly due to Rail's halfhearted attempts to keep her in custody after she assists him). Eventually, Rail's past as a Knight catches up to him, and Zee is the one to step in and help him avoid the machinations of his Father and Brothers (Who discover the Cayder family was descended from an evil emperor and want to take back what they think is rightfully theirs, which led to Rail leaving the Knights to oppose them). The two realize their love for each other, and after defeating Rail's family they settle down in a small village by the sea (Rail becomes a carpenter, and Zee finds she has a natural talent for politics, becoming the mayor).
Was kinda "Eh". The setting was half-assed, and cobbled together. Zee, a character i was very fond of, seemed to be misunderstood by everyone, who thought she was more of a generic busty babe than anything. The relationship angle could be seen a mile away, even though i wanted it to seem iffy. Plots were mostly a series of deus ex machina. though there were some amazing action scenes i had in my mind (Rail defends an entire town from monster zombies and killer mosquitoes while riding a motorbike across rooftops comes to mind), it was just too EH. So i jazzed it up, which led to
Version 3
Marley and Misa Rasteva are hunters in the town of Ardos. Hunters are people in an organization that works with the government to police people with powers too great for normal police. Unfortunately, Marley is severely short handed, and Misa is still in training. An old enemy Marley arrested named Abberrah has returned to town, and Misa is the only one on hand to fight him. At the same time, Rail Cayder, a former Knight is in town on a layover when Abberrah attacks in the Train Station. Rail saves Misa and apprehends Abberrah with his incredible skills, but misses his train. Stranded, Marley offers Rail a job as a hunter. Rail declines, but soon saves the entire town from Abberrah's children, who broke him out of jail in the first place. Rail decides to stick around, and eventually takes Marley up on his offer. After lots of cool battles, they discover the real reason Rail left the Knights: His family stabbed him through the heart, leaving him for dead. They have the same plot as Version 2, but this time they succeed in taking over a good portion of the world. Rail, Misa, and the other Hunters of Ardos end up on the front line to stop the Cayders from taking over.
Was a lot better and worked better for a comic, but was still not clicking entirely for me. Misa, a character who was a combination of Mia and Zee's designs, had an awful design and no personality beyond "Weaker female who disagrees with the main character because she likes him". Essentially, it was a Superhero comic with swords, powers, and a semi-fantasy setting. Rail's design, probably the longest lasting one, was starting to get overshadowed by similar designs popping up in games (most notably Gayed-up in a successful RPG), manga and anime (not to mention copycat designs popping up from other people. Rail's Waistband, once unique, was now a design standard on the art forums). Some serious reworking had to be done to keep Lost Fantasy fresh and original, fix some problems, and bring back that rivalry/partnership dynamic that i loved with Rail and Zee which led to...
Version 4
Misa Rasteva is the daughter of one of the greatest martial artists who ever lived, though he died under mysterious circumstances when she was young. Discovering a scroll containing some of his martial arts secrets along with a note to "Follow his path for the other nine", Misa leaves home and follows a path laid out in a story of her father's younger days (Which was her favorite bedtime story), which leads her to cross paths with Rail Cayder, a demonic-natured young martial artist. Being the first person to hand Rail a defeat (though on a technicality), Rail decides Misa is her rival and accompanies her after a small misunderstanding. Rail's "little bro" Chikan joins them.
This is almost the version i'm working with today. Misa was a lot stronger character both in ability and personality, boring generic sword combat (Which is tough to portray) gave way to more dynamic martial arts play. Certain things had to be changed (Rail's goggles, the last part of his original design, had to go after they kept on being used in other media. "Chikan" was renamed to "Roosta" after i found out how negative a connotation Chikan is in Japan), and i felt i was "Blowing my wad" too early. Misa still had a story to tell and i was starting her in the middle instead of developing a proper beginning. Towns were run through at a breakneck pace instead of staying around to explore them. BUT the real reason for a revamp was that i had lost all the art i had done on the project, as well as all my art archives from the last 10 years. if i was going to be forced to redo everything, i might as well fix it all. All the little changes added up, and Lost Fantasy finally flowered into...
Version 5
Misa Rasteva is the daughter of Jamai Rasteva, one of the greatest martial artists of the last 50 years, though he died mysteriously when she was young. Raised by her martial arts hating aunt, Misa has spent the last 8 years practicing in secret. When a coincidence brings her to an underground street fight, Misa's excitement makes her forget her secret and enter the fight against the champion, a demonic young man named Rail Cayder. Winning on a technicality, Misa realizes what she's done and runs off. The next day, Rail Cayder shows up at her school to challenge her, further jeopardizing her secret. During the course of events, Rail gives Misa confidence to proudly show her true self, and she vows never to hide her talents again.
Where does the story go from here? Hopefully i'll get a chance to tell the story.
I also went and, using a notebook touchpad, Colored that 'Zelda Transforming' pic from a while back. Be nice...touchpads and fingers are a pain to draw with easily. (Also linked to DeviantArt instead of from artfu because i forgot my login stuffs)