The Process

Characterization: The Hivemind

The comedian, the knife-juggler, the improv actor that trusts what their gut tells them to do without a second-thought. One of the most important things I learned from theater is being able to commit to an action with confidence. Oftentimes when creating a character, its not being “right” or “correct” about a character’s direction, but rather the commitment in the direction you wanna take them in. Certainly there will be those who disagree with an artist’s interpretation, but whenever that spark shines through, I want to create a fire with it.

Reaction Speed was one such spark that took a long time to figure out because of “option-paralysis;” there were so many directions I wanted take with it that I didn’t know what to do. Was it going to be a singular voice; dry and sarcastic; a chaotic-mess? Kinda like how a teacher has to calm hundreds of rowdy students at a time in order to focus on one task. I knew that no matter what direction I took with it that I was going to be uncomfortable, and that scared for me for a while. Then one day, I said "screw it, let’s just see what happens” because I’d rather externalize my imagination rather than let it build pressure. I drew inspiration from that paralysis to portray what was happening in my brain; that ping-pong effect of arguing with yourself. Numerous thoughts coming from different angles, overlapping with each other, that continually fill my head with static.

Sound Design: Doppler Effect

Playing off with those ideas of “static” and “paralysis,” I wanted to experiment with pitch-bending to convey that “moving faster than light” feeling. I took inspiration from Superhot’s sound design, where the Doppler Effect is employed to reflect the passage of time and its relativity to player movement. At that point, I felt that following one reference was going to be the best decision in order to prevent myself from being overwhelmed again. For the voice, I stuck to just pitch-bending; with the number of voices happening, too many processing effects like reverb and flangers would make it imcomprehensible. I used the sound of bullets whizzing through the air, computer hums, and general static to give the voice texture.

Conclusion: Something Terrifying

I feel relieved being able to finish this skill. There are things I still want to explore and discover, but that’s how the paralysis comes back; there will always be time to come back. Its best to let this one go so I can move forward with new endeavors. I’m so close to the finish-line in terms of completing all 24 skills for Disco Elysium; I can’t stop now. The next one is a big doozy, but the vision already seems clear. Thankfully, it’ll be more of a test rather than an experiment, and with all the skills and lessons I learned coming this far, the task doesn’t seem so daunting. Thank you if you managed to come this far in my reflection.

November 7th 2024