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fansofvow · 3 years

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Interview with Eve Golden Woods!

Many of you know who is Eve is. She's a writer and artist, a part of Dreamfeel studios whose beautiful game If Found won Best LGBTQ Narrative and Best LGBTQ Indie game at the first ever Gayming Awards presented by EA games. I am really excited I had the chance to ask Eve some questions about herself, her time at Lovestruck and her creative process.

Congratulations on the two Gayming Awards (Best LGBTQ Narrative, Best LGBTQ Indie Game) for "If Found" from your game studio, Dreamfeel. What was the inspiration behind making the game?

If Found... was a game that emerged out of a collaboration between Llaura McGee, the founder of Dreamfeel, and artist Liadh Young. Liadh's background is as a comic artist, and so when they started working together Llaura had the idea of showing off Liadh's art by making a diary game, and using an erasing mechanic she had previously developed to let the player move through the diary in a fun way. By the time I came on board at the start of 2019, the game had already been in development for a while, so in some ways my work on that game was similar to the work I did for Voltage, because it was taking existing characters and concepts and writing a lot of scripts for them. Unlike Voltage, though, my work for Dreamfeel was a lot more collaborative and I had a lot more creative input. I really enjoy taking something and helping to make it the best version of itself that it can possibly be, but I was also really happy that I got to reflect a lot of my own experiences in If Found. Llaura and I both grew up on the west coast of Ireland, and although If Found... isn't autobiographical for either of us, it was definitely really meaningful to be able to tell a story that reflected our own experiences of growing up as queer teens in a similar kind of environment. Since the game came out we've had fans reach out to us and tell us that they also connected to the experiences of the main characters, and as far as I'm concerned, that makes me feel like I achieved everything I wanted to.

You are a writer and a visual artist. Does one come easier to you than the other?

I used to think of art and writing as talents, and I always felt like my art was at a very mediocre level (that's probably still true, lol). So when I was younger I focused a lot more on writing. It was only later that I started genuinely trying to improve as an artist, but when I did, I think I had a much healthier mindset, and approached it as a skill I could learn with patience and effort. Because of that, even though I still have a lot more confidence in my writing, I find art more fun and relaxing, and I don't stress about it as much.

Did you always know you would follow a creative path?

Kind of? Both my parents are artists, and I grew up surrounded by artists and writers, so it was something that was always very familiar and accessible to me. On the other hand, I didn't exactly have a clear idea of how to make it into a career, or what kind of work would be involved. But there's never been a point in my life where I wasn't doing something creative, even if it was only writing fanfiction.

What did your path to working professionally as a writer/artist look like?

I did a creative writing masters in college, but after that I spent years teaching English as a second language. That was really fun and I got to live abroad, but it was so busy and tiring that I didn't have time to do any writing outside of the occasional fanfic. I only started to take art seriously again when I became interested in games and comics as ways of telling stories. I did some critical writing, which led me to speak at a few local events and get involved in zine fairs. That was how I met Llaura, the director and lead of the Dreamfeel studio, and it's also what gave me the confidence to start applying for actual writing jobs.

Is there any work of art, visual or written, that you look to for inspiration?

So many! I try to read and watch as widely as I can, although there are touchstones I always return to, like the works of Ursula Le Guin and Terry Pratchett. Right now I feel very passionate about the actual play podcast Friends at the Table, which manages to combine really thoughtful worldbuilding and storytelling with cool, fun characters and great action scenes. I'm also reading a book called The Memory Police by Youko Ogawa, which has extremely beautiful prose.

Do you have a favorite piece of your own art, whether it is something you’ve drawn, a screenshot of something you’ve written or something else?

My favourite piece of art is usually whatever I finished most recently (I think that's true for a lot of people). Especially with visual art, once a bit of time has gone by you look back on it and start to notice all your mistakes, which is very annoying. But actually I do still really like the first piece of Fiona fanart I did last year. I managed to use some effects to give it a kind of nineties anime quality that I find really fun, and I think it conveys an emotion pretty effectively. That's always one of the hardest things to predict with visual art, whether the different parts will come together to create the exact mood you're looking for.

I also really like the compass I did for Bycatch. Krissy (@xekstrin) was the one who suggested filling it with fingernails, which was such a good, gross idea! As soon as I heard that I knew it was perfect and that I had to try and draw it.

Many people who read this blog know you as a writer for Lovestruck. When you look back on your time there, what stands out in your mind?

Lovestruck was very important to me when I first started because it was my first ongoing, regular, paid writing work. It gave me a lot of confidence and helped me to get into the habit of writing consistently and rapidly, which is a really useful skill to have. I know I was right to leave when I did, though, because I am just brimming with energy to work on my own projects, and channeling that power into something that you can't control will always end up disappointing you. Also, I made a ton of incredible friends, through Lovestruck itself but then even more so through VOW (@vowtogether), and that is more than worth all the difficult parts.

Is there any character that you would have liked a crack at writing?

Oh gosh, what a fun question! There are so many, but one I do sometimes think about is Axia, just because I know there are a bunch of fans who want her route, and because I had fun writing her as a villain in Zain's route. I can see in my head the shadow of a storyline that takes place after Zain's route is over, where she's in prison and trying to understand how she lost the battle with Zain and MC. I think there's, like, a gap there, where you could see her downfall forcing her to reconsider her assumptions about power, and that could build into a very interesting redemption story. But maybe it's for the best I never got to do that, because I would have wanted full creative control over it, and also I think the story in my head is very different to the sexy, in control, menacing version of Axia that her fans enjoy.

Do you have any upcoming projects you can talk about?

Most of my current work is under NDA, but I will say that I'm doing something very exciting with other VOW members that we should be able to talk about soon(ish). Maybe I can even give a little teaser... It's not a game, but it is something you can read, and my part involves cakes, swamps, and a museum.

Do you have a favorite quote or song lyric?

It's a big long, but there's a section from The Dispossessed by Ursula le Guin that has stayed with me ever since I read it:

"For we each of us deserve everything, every luxury that was ever piled in the tombs of the dead kings, and we each of us deserve nothing, not a mouthful of bread in hunger. Have we not eaten while another starved? Will you punish us for that? Will you reward us for the virtue of starving while others ate? No man earns punishment, no man earns reward. Free your mind of the idea of deserving, the idea of earning, and you will begin to be able to think."

It's such a profoundly radical way of imagining the world, so different to everything I was raised with, but whenever I think about it I feel like I can see something very beautiful and powerful that I hope to come closer to understanding some day.

And of course, "Solidarity forever, the union makes us strong."

I was a big fan of the show Inside the Actor’s Studio. Host James Lipton asked every single guest the same 10 concluding questions. I’ve picked 3 of them:

-What is your favorite word?

My favourite word: for sound, I like words you can really roll around on your tongue. Chthonic, alabaster, insinuation. For meaning, I think simple words that encapsulate big concepts have a kind of power to them. We use them so often we forget how big they are, how much weight they really have, but they give us the space to imagine new possibilities. Love. Freedom. Revolution.

-What is your least favorite word?

I've heard that "moist" is a lot of people's least favourite word but it doesn't actually bother me. My least favourite word is probably one where I feel like the sound doesn't match the meaning. One of the Irish words for rain is báisteach, which I feel has a much weightier and more onomatopoeic sound than rain. Rain is just very flat and uninteresting.

-What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Oh, so many! I love history, and I think being a historian/archaeologist would be fascinating. Or something that had a physical component to it, like being a potter or a carpenter. I don't think I'd be any good, but I'd love to take the time to learn.

What would be your advice to anyone who wants to pursue a creative career?

All the work you do matters. Even the failed experiments, the things you hate when they're finished. It all helps to make you better. Also, creative career paths are often really unexpected, so chase any opportunity that seems remotely interesting. Don't work for free for anyone who can afford to pay, but work for yourself and put it somewhere. On a blog, twitter, whatever. You'd be amazed how many people get noticed and get offered opportunities because of something they made in their spare time. You'll probably have to work another job for a long time, so don't be hard on yourself if you're too tired to devote much energy to creative work. Try to make art consistently, but don't feel like that has to mean every day. Don't chase after celebrities. Make friends with your peers.

#vowtogether #vow interview #writing #art #lovestruck #dreamfeel #iffound #gayming #gaming #mod atlas

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snarkyhetalian · 7 years

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Hi! Hope you're having a good day! If you don't mind me asking, why did George devalier stories had so much success? I read WMA, AWS and BS, and while they were nice stories, the characters were sweet, and they were truly well written, still I don't see how it became a cult. I mean maybe that's because some historical inaccuracies were really jarring for me, and maybe for other people they're not. I'm genuinely curious, and I really like your analysis so I hope this question won't offend you

Well this turned into a book. Lmfao.Before I get too deep into this so it’s not missed, would you please send me what you noticed as historical inaccuracies? I’m not much of a history buff myself (I’m a math/science person, and only more recently literature and even that it plot focused which is more like math to me anyway) so if you could point those out, I’d appreciate it. I haven’t noticed many myself, and that’s probably part of the answer to your question. Whatever historical inaccuracies there are, people generally aren’t noticing them.But, a series can have lots of flaws and people still love it. It’s about mass consumption, not each individual thing. No one is perfect either, so mistakes happen. Any sort of fame is about getting around issues that a majority would consider unassailable. The good points outweighing the bad points enough that people over look them easily. Talking success-wise, I think you hit on some of the points. The characters are relatable, which is highly attractive to many readers. If a reader can’t relate to the character somehow, they usually end up not caring. But another point on that is character diversity. That was one thing that stood out to me when I read deValier’s stories, was how well he could switch from one character to another and it flowed without effort. He wasn’t inserting himself or bending the characters to be what he wanted. The characters who they were and the story build off of that. Which is a separate point. In fanfiction, generally the more the author can keep to the original characters from the series, the better. Obviously, changing things is doable within reason (or because of a specific reason), but deValier kept most of the character qualities and simply put them in that time period. This was a big reason the ATLA movie was a flop. Not only did the characters change drastically from the animated series so that the part of the characters we loved were taken away, but that ended up having a huge effect on the theme too.Obviously, deValier’s grammar and whatnot were very good for fanfiction (beyond the occasional typo here and there, but again fanfiction, human error, and some mistakes are easily overlooked). It was clear he knew how to write and any errors were simply mistakes that anyone could make. It’s not like he didn’t know how to spell or where to separate quotes or other things that can be annoying.Then there was the plot/theme. To me, from what I’ve noticed in my writings, the plot is that thing that people don’t notice about a story that makes a huge difference. And this would be because it reaches from one cover to the other, so you have to sit back and reflect on the whole thing, or reread. But a good plot makes you want to reread. To see things you didn’t see the first time. A good theme makes people think about the story even after it’s over. Good themes bring up questions that people want answers to and will think about for ages.It’s kind of hard to define too, but I can sit here and say things like “Suicide Squad” had a terrible plot and I didn’t notice a theme (fun characters though), while “Lord of the Rings” had a great plot and an amazing theme. We can see it, but defining it is difficult. In my own writing, a good plot has seemed to come from having a focused theme on what the story is about (I’ll talk a bit about that later). Of course, there are some guidelines on when to have ups and downs, side plots, underlying themes, and I can talk about Midpoint Mirrors and whatnot till my face turns blue, but none of that comes easy without a focused subject. In AWS, it was a peace versus war kind of plot. Not quite that black and white, but you’ve got one super-nationalistic soldier and a boy who picks flowers and goes to the market...teaching the soldier how to love life. And the soldier teaches the boy how to grow up and deal with the world. It’s the sort of story that makes you think about life. And death. Same with WMA, except it looks are heroism, and how heroes aren’t really what we think they are. And it’s contrasted with a pub owner.But that one was one of his first, so I have a feeling if he rewrote, it would be better now. In BM, it’s the happy-go-lucky spy and the grumpy misunderstood wannabe hero that end up in a patience battle (they both have to wait extraordinary amounts of time for each other). And I wish that one would have been finished....One thing I’ve noticed in my writing, is that...you don’t need popular pairings...or sex scenes...or a lot of things that tend to make stories popular easily. Plots and themes have gotten me very far. One of my most popular stories has this random ass pairing, in a weird au, with no sex yet, but the plot is so good. It keeps me up at night thinking about how to weave it together and the consequences of everything. It’s exciting. And the focus of that one is how people want to change themselves constantly, and how in love it’s a fucking terrible idea. Lol. You NEED someone to love you for who you are! But it’s so hard to be who you are....And it shows that. It’s something I question myself constantly. Where’s the line between self-improvement and being yourself?? I’ve never once said it in the story, and I probably never will. But it makes me think. It makes the readers think. People want answers. And it keeps people guessing, wondering, wanting, needing....that’ how you draw people in. That’s what deValier managed to do in his stories too. The types of conflict he posed kept people NEEDING to know what happened next. And at the end, it was rewarded in a manner that people found pleasant. Because that’s something I see a lot too. The plot is great, but the ending is a flop. Or you were just expecting more...like Eragon. I LOVED the books but the ending was kind of a let down. It didn’t....resolve really. In LOTR, the same ending made sense, but in Eragon it didn’t.So let’s talk about the endings. In WMA, it’s exciting. The supposedly dead hero is alive and right around the corner. But their reunion is complicated by the possibility that Alfred is going home. And there’s pain we can understand. Not wanting to face a brutal reality and instead avoiding it until it becomes unavoidable. All the way until the end, there’s things that could ruin it, but the readers are rewarded with snippets of their happy lives and all the pain beforehand makes the happiness that much more brilliant.In AWS, again, up until the end things go wrong, people are presumed dead, then they’re injured, then there’s a problem with their romantic life afterwards. But at long last, the readers are rewarded with very touching scenes. And rewarded in a realistic way. And we get to see the characters from WMA and it makes us feel like there’s closure. For those characters at least. The endings were never a given throughout the story. It could have ended so differently. And in real life, it usually does. But that’s why I think people tend to turn to fiction (and naturally why people prefer happy endings). It’s escape for the masses and deValier’s functions as such. But those endings played off of the stories themes. At the end of AWS, they live together and are at peace as opposed to their being separated and at war. In WMA, again separation that makes the ruinion sweeter, but there’s acceptance from the world which was important for Arthur. And there are pieces that show that Alfred has learned that being a hero isn’t as important as being loved. We get to see their major conflicts resolved. And it wraps the stories up very well.So that’s why I think deValier’s works became so popular. There were a lot of parts that a lot of fanfiction authors can’t always pull off, but he did it so well. And a lot of those parts were tied together to enhance the experience. He had so much going for his stories, most of the things that could be criticized were easily overlooked or went unnoticed completely. At the same time, there are probably other stories out there that deserve just as much attention but will never get it. Fame is weird like that....Also, please don’t forget to tell me what historical inaccuracies you noticed. I’m very curious.

#snarky replies #george devalier #auf weidersehen sweetheart #we'll meet again #devalier theories #besame mucho #Anonymous

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