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making-more-sense-than-google · 5 years ago

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Map Of The Soul: 7 (Ver. 4)

The Notes: English Translation

Seokjin 11 April YEAR 22

I opened my eyes once again in the pouring sunlight. Beyond my eyelids, I could still see the burning flames in the container, as well as Namjoon’s dead body. I failed again this time. I raised my arm to cover my eyes and I thought, “Is there any way that I can save Namjoon?” I looked back on the events of September 30th. I didn’t feel anything in particular. I wasn’t impatient, nor afraid. Ever since the first incident, I’ve been sent through countless loops. However, I still don’t know why I’m going through these loops, or what I can do to fix this mess. No—even more than that—I couldn’t even find that ‘Map Of The Soul’, the clue that’s supposed to end all this. Map Of The Soul. The first time I heard of it was after several failures. “You need to find the Map Of The Soul. It will put an end to all of this.” Map Of The Soul? What even is that? I kept asking that, but I never got any answers. Instead, I was left with these words. “Hints always come at a price.” I could see Namjoon’s gas station in the distance. I flipped on my blinker and changed lanes. I could only think of one thing. I had to stop the incident of September 30th—I had to close the loop. I was moving toward that singular goal. Even if there was a problem with that process, even if someone was hurt or alienated, there was nothing I could do about it. If I let myself dwell on those things or I get overwhelmed, I’ll never be able to achieve my goal. What was even more important than saving everyone was making sure that I myself was able to survive and escape. That was the lesson that those endless loops had taught me.

1 February YEAR 22

There was an announcement that we’d be landing soon. I couldn’t see the clouds outside the window yet. I thought back to my time in LA. The ocean was lovely. Not much else came to mind. The plane made a big turn and the city caught my eye. Returning to Songju was so sudden. My father had called me. “Come back,” he said. Of course, there must’ve been a reason for it. My father isn’t the type of person to make a move without reason. But he wouldn’t bother telling me what that reason was. I didn’t ask either, since I knew I’d realize when I arrived. But then again, maybe coming back to Songju hadn’t been so sudden after all. Maybe everything had already been decided, and I was the only one left in the dark. “Is that our house?” I heard the kid sitting in front of me ask. I looked out the window. “No, silly, our house is across the river,” a father-like voice responded. “Home,” I thought to myself. It didn’t feel like I was going home. Then again, LA didn’t feel like home either. LA and Songju. Those two places were where my address was posted, but they weren’t my home.

Yoongi 13 June YEAR 22

Jungkook’s words sprung to my mind. “It’s because I like your music, hyung,” he had said. “It’s because when I hear you play piano, I start crying. I’ve wanted to die several times a day, but when I heard you play piano... I want to live. So, yeah. That’s why. I’m telling you, your music reminds me of my own heart.” Drunk and sprawled out on the floor, I thought of Jungkook’s expression as he repeated those words, over and over.

2 August YEAR 22

I sent the music file to Seokjin, laying down immediately afterwards. I had found something written on the border of my sheet music from the old classroom. “If we’re together, we can smile,” it said. It wasn’t my handwriting. I remembered something from a long time ago. A day filled with fog. For whatever reason, Seokjin and I found ourselves crossing the playing field together. We were awkward with each other. I shoved my hands in my pockets, purposefully walking slow. I was hoping he’d leave me behind, but he’s not that kind of person. Instead, he tried to make clumsy small-talk with me, but every time he did, it made everything that much more awkward. I’m not quite sure why, but I ended up asking, “Hyung, when was the last time you truly smiled?” He didn’t answer, I didn’t ask anymore. “If we’re together, we can smile.” This sentence was most likely the answer to all my questions. I wasn’t sure if Seokjin had written it or not. But in the end, I didn’t need to be sure. The melody on the music sheet was childish. It was only two years ago, but my music from back then was insufficient and overly-aggressive. It didn’t flow smoothly, nor sound beautiful. When I think back to highschool, I only think of getting drunk and stumbling around, but it wasn’t like every single day had been like that. I stayed up all night polishing up my music from back then, and I finally gave it a name. “If we’re together, we can smile.”

Namjoon 25 August YEAR 22

I collapsed to the floor. The inside of the steel-plated container was already so hot, I could barely open my eyes. I looked at my surrounding, a frown on my face. It had been 10 minutes since I told him to wait up, saying I’d be going out to buy some ramen. I heard a cough. When I turned around, I saw Woo-chang crouched further inside. I doused a blanket in water, wrapping it around his body. I pointed out the window. “We’re gonna have to jump out of there,” I said. “Woo-chang. You can do it, right?” Outside the door, the crimson flames were growing stronger. I grabbed Woo-chang’s hand tightly. “We’re gonna jump on three,” I told him. “One, two—” At that moment, something fell in front of the door. The materials piled next to the container seemed to be collapsing in the flames. Sparks and dirt flew around in the dust. Woo-chang and I stumbled back, shocked. In less than an instant, our exit was blocked.

18 July YEAR 22

I stared up at the building. They had a few lights on, scattered about here and there. Maybe it was because it was near city hall, but there were lots of signs for accounting firms and offices. On the highest floor of the building—the 5th one—all the lights were turned on. For the past few weeks, Taehyung and I have climbed all of Songju’s tallest buildings, looking out from the tops. We weren’t even sure what we were looking for. Our only clue was Taehyung’s dream. In that dream, he saw canned coffee and a four leaf clover. With those two clues, we went up and down buildings all night long. Some days, it rained. We brought umbrellas in the beginning, but these days, we just let it come. We’d found ourselves caught up in some disputes because of it. One time, while we were soaking wet and walking up the stairs, we were mistaken for ruffians and kicked out of the building. The fence on the roof was usually locked up tight, and we couldn’t see anything from the landing of the staircase. I looked up at the building again. “Will this be what we’re looking for in the end?” I wondered. There was a familiar name etched onto the door. Office of Congressman Kim Chang-jun. “Who’s that?” Taehyung asked. I looked back at him. “You don’t know?” Taehyung looked back at me, his gaze pure and innocent, completely unknowing. Sometimes, I feel at a loss when it comes to Kim Taehyung. There are some things that seem impossible not to know, yet Kim Taehyung boldly stated that he didn’t know them. Without hesitation, Kim Taehyung would look at the things that I was too scared to look at. He would also willingly reach out to grab someone’s hand, even when no one else would. “It’s Seokjin’s father,” I answered him.

Hoseok 24 July YEAR 22

“Seokjin, can’t you say something to your dad? You know, hyung. You know what that place means to me. That orphanage is like a home to me. And if the orphanage isn’t there, all the kids that live there will end up getting separated. Even if they redevelop the area, they should leave the orphanage out of it.” Words just slipped out of my mouth without explanation as I walked into the container. Everyone was looking at me with shocked eyes. Seokjin hyung was the only one whose expression remained unchanged. I was nearly crying, but hyung just looked at me as if it were nothing. “Everything’s already been decided. There’s nothing I can do.” Every word that my hyung was saying reached me very slowly. I could see that each of those words drew a precise line between me and Seokjin. Hyung belonged to a decisive world, and I belonged to a world where I couldn’t even stand up against those decisions. I thought that I was Seokjin’s friend, but now the thought occurred to me that maybe people like us couldn’t be friends in the real world. I was angry at him. I shouted at him, asking how he could be like this, and I begged him to help. But I guess I already knew. All of that was just noise. There was nothing I could do. The words that I said, the anger I showed—it wasn’t meant for hyung. It was meant for myself. It was for me, who could do nothing. For me, who was nothing.

31 July YEAR 2

My first impression of Hagok was that it was similar to Songju, just a little more lively. I fell behind the people rushing to get off the platform, walking leisurely. It was unlike me to move all slowly like that. But I was so slow that I was almost a burden to the flow of people around me. I was acting like someone who had promised to not do anything that felt like Jung Hoseok. I didn’t pay attention to the people around me, I just went on my way. I ate all the spicy foods that I didn’t usually eat, and when I paid, I didn’t tell the the cashier that the food was delicious. When there was no one around me, I even spat on the road. I followed the map on the internet to the location that the store was supposed to be opened. It was the first floor of a strip mall near a highschool. Next to it, there was a stationary shop and a 24 hour kimbap joint. It was almost funny how similar it was to the two star burger place in Songju. I looked around, wondering where I should be looking for a house if I was really going to move here. As I was glancing around, I bumped into someone. “Oh, I’m sorry—” I started to say automatically, but I stopped myself. I didn’t really need to, but I hardened my gaze, looking at the person critically. “Look where you’re going,” I said. The Jung Hoseok of Hagok was a ruthless jerk and a crazy person, as well as a fool who did whatever he wanted 24 hours a day. That illusion lasted for all of five seconds. “Hoseok hyung, that’s you, right?” That’s when I realized I knew that face.

Jimin 18 July YEAR 22

I killed my time by wandering around the nearby convenience store. It was at the tail-end of the Songju Middle School. I used to ditch school and secretly head over this way, and I would wait for my hyungs in a small park across from the shop. I checked my surroundings. It had been a while since I’d found myself in this neighborhood, but not much had changed. I recalled that Yoongi hyung’s and Jungkook’s house was nearby. As I glanced around, I saw some graffiti-looking artwork on the wall of an alleyway to my right. It looked like something Taehyung might’ve done. I walked toward it. Without really realizing it, I stopped in front of the drawing. It was someone’s face, devoid of warmth and scribbled out with rough, black lines. I say ‘someone’, but I knew exactly whose face it was. I knew that face’s owner. It was Seokjin hyung. As soon as I thought of hyung, another person’s face overlapped it. No matter how I looked at it, they weren’t alike at all. Yet, they were. They had the same eyes. Soulless eyes. That was when I realized. I knew who I needed to find.

12 August YEAR 22

I hugged the trembling younger me. I could feel my damp body and my heart that was beating too quickly. I spoke while stuttering, “Wait just a little longer. When you get a little older, you’ll meet some good friends. With those friends, you’ll become a better person. If you can wait until then, everything could be okay. So, just have a tiny, miniscule bit more strength.” When I finished speaking, I hugged myself tighter. I was crying. I couldn’t hold it anymore, so I just cried. I wondered how much time passed. When I opened my eyes, the younger me had disappeared. I stood up, rubbing my eyes and looking up at the sky. There wasn’t a single cloud in the clear afternoon sky, and everything around me was quiet. I saw the arboretum’s exit in the distance. There wasn’t a single trace of rain.

Taehyung 23 July YEAR 22

We went to the middle of the classroom. I shined my phone flashlight on the old desks, chairs and rolled up event placards. The classroom that no one entered anymore seemed older than ever. I checked my surroundings. I wonder what happened here. Jimin was crouching by the far wall, and Yoongi hyung was perched on the piano bench. Namjoon hyung was writing something on the window with his finger. “Reminds me of highschool. Since we’re here in the middle of the night and all,” Namjoon spoke after a long time. “Highschool?” Yoongi said, sneering a bit. “No thanks, I’ll pass.” Namjoon started talking. “Why does the world look like this? This world... It isn’t something we created. It was already like this when we got here. But why do we get thrown into this world without any means to survive?” Just then, Jimin sat up a little. “Yo, look over here,” he said. “This is Seokjin hyung’s dad’s name.” We walked to where Jimin was pointing. Hidden among the scribbles on the wall, there was a few names. Everyone’s flashlights illuminated one particular name. Jimin pointed again, saying that there was another one. “It’s the guy from the psyche ward,” he said. “I don’t know the others, though.” Yoongi pointed to another name. “Choi Gyu-ho. That’s the guy from the missing person’s case, right?” Underneath the names, there was a message that Namjoon had written. ‘Everything started here.’

24 July YEAR 22

I wonder how long I’d been sitting there. I saw someone walking out into the 3rd floor hallway. They were pretty far away, so I couldn’t see their face very well, but I could tell that it was a slim, middle-aged woman. She rested her arms on the handrail, gazing down at the playground. Then she lit up a cigarette. The lighter’s flame flashed brightly and then disappeared. Cigarette smoke floated up into the blue, early morning air. I looked up at her without moving an inch. Everything around us grew brighter, probably because of the rising sun. The woman was still leaning against the handrail, her posture staying the same. One cigarette was already burnt to the tip, so she pulled out one more. I wondered if she had seen me. I was far enough away that she wouldn’t have been able to see me very well, but I still wondered what she might’ve thought about seeing a guy sitting on a playground swing at this hour. I supported the swing with all the strength in my arms and legs so that it wouldn’t creak. I kept seeing the cigarette light flare and wane, over and over again. The sun was rising. The woman lit her last cigarette, as if to greet the sunrise. Then she turned around and disappeared back inside. I counted all the doors in the hallway one-by-one, starting from the left. 304, 305, 306. That was the door to my mom’s house.

Jungkook 13 June YEAR 22

I had a dream. In that dream, I was floating in the air above my hospital bed, looking down at a different me lying there. The me in the bed seemed to be sleeping. I wondered what kind of dream the sleeping me was having, seeing as his eyelids were twitching erratically. All of a sudden, his eyes flew open. Our gazes met. The next thing I knew, I was laying the the bed. I dreamed of the night of the accident. The headlights formed into a moon, and then they changed suddenly into marble-like green and blue lights. I opened my eyes and saw another version of myself floating in the air above. I met eyes with the floating me. Our gazes overlapped and our consciousness reversed. I was the me floating in the air, and then the one lying in bed, switching back and forth over and over again. The speed of the overlap and reversal was getting faster. I got dizzy and felt like vomiting. I woke with a scream. The sheets were soaked in sweat. I tried to catch my breath, still feeling nauseous. Suddenly, something that I’d forgotten sprung to mind. Someone’s voice. Living will be more painful than dying. Is that okay with you? Mom called in the doctor to check my condition. The doctor said that since I was recovering so quickly, it was nothing to worry about. I had bruises and fractures, but almost no internal bleeding. He told me that I had been very lucky in that crash. I looked at the doctor and asked him, “Who was it that hit me?”

3 August YEAR 22

“What’re you doing—not killing anyone?!” At the sound of that urgent shout, I pulled myself out of my thoughts. On the screen, there was a shooting game going on. Someone yelled in my headset that the enemy team was approaching. I immediately gripped the mouse. I shot like crazy. The opponents I shot felt like dolls without stuffing. I moved the mouse and pulled up the map. There was a railroad crossing through the middle of it. Next to the tracks, there were huge containers stacked all around. It felt like seeing the container village at Songju Station. I switched my weapon. There was a machine gun that could shoot nonstop. Someone wearing a black bandanna appeared in the distance. I aimed my gun, but for just a second, he looked like someone I knew. I took him out in one shot. Enemies came in one after another, but I shot them without a second thought. I didn’t know why, but my hyungs were coming to mind. I let out a giggle. When I really thought about it, they were a little similar. I took them out one by one and advanced. I shot the opposition that came from the containers. For a moment, I looked down at one of the ones that had collapsed on the ground. “Is that Namjoon hyung?” I thought. Someone fired their gun, hitting me in the shoulder. I used my mouse to look up, and I saw an enemy carrying a gun. It was Seokjin hyung. In an instant, my rage boiled over.

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sheeping-around · 6 years ago

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Sheeping Around Retrospective: By The Numbers

tl;dr: Scroll all the way down for the numbers.

Sheeping Around has been live on the App Store for a little over ten days now. I think it is about time I look back at the development cycle, the good parts, the bad parts and also share some sales figures while I’m at it. I’m following the trend of transparency to help other indie game developers know and understand the market of premium games, for which I gained inspiration from Eric @ Slothwerks and Arnold @ Tiny Touch Tales. I’m also inspired by the way they work: solo devs working with talented people across the world on a contract basis, and I follow the same pattern.

While I’ve worked on games in the past, this is my first official release on the App Store, and I’m really glad to have been able to reach that goal. My previous games got stuck in infinite iteration loops and never got to see the light of the day.

Inception

I have written in one of my previous posts how the idea of Sheeping Around was born. The idea began as a turn based (asymmetric) strategy game, and eventually turned into a card game that it is today. You can read more about it in the below two posts:

Sheeping Around Inception

Inspired by Card Thief and More

Inspirations of Sheeping Around and its inception as a physical card game

Development

I have around 8 years of experience as a Javascript developer. While I am familiar with other languages like Java and Objective-C/C++, my core expertise and speed of development is still in Javascript. Also, I had begun using TypeScript at work since mid 2017 and had loved it. Reminded me of the good ol’ Flash and Actionscript days.

When the physical version of Sheeping Around card game was proven to be fun enough, I began working on a web-based prototype version of it using Angular.js on the front-end and Node.js on the backend in the first week of November 2017. I deployed the system on Heroku on its free plan, and used Heroku Postgres as database of choice. (It was free upto 9000 rows, more than sufficient for a prototype.)

Initial prototype version of Sheeping Around

For the native mobile version of the game, I used cocos2d-x JS with TypeScript.

I pushed the code to GitHub as private repositories. I maintained separate repos for client and the server.

Multiplayer

Initially I had planned on Sheeping Around to be a solitaire card game, but it ended up being too similar to Card Thief. It wasn’t much fun anyway either. I decided to prototype a two player dueling game on paper, and it proved to be a lot of fun. I figured it would be much more challenging to handle a multiplayer game, but given my full-stack experience, I was confident I’d be able to do it anyway.

Architecture of Sheeping Around

Sketch, GraphicRiver and GUI

Around March 2018, I began working on the GUI of the game. I had recently switched my role to Product Design at my company Sumo Logic and had begun learning Sketch and loved it. I bought some assets off GraphicRiver and heavily modified a lot of them and put them together in Sketch.

All screen designs in Sketch

I wasn’t very happy with the initial designs, but towards the end of April things had started looking much better and professional.

Initial designs

Final designs

Google Indie Games Accelerator

The progress in the initial few months was somewhat slow. I spent time refining the balance of the game and tweaking the progression. Meanwhile I was also designing some UI for the native mobile version of the game.

By the end of June 2018, Google announced the first ever Indie Games Accelerator for games made in South East Asia. The submission deadline was July, so I started rapidly working on the mobile version for Android and iterating it really fast. By mid of July, I had the gameplay fully functional. By the end of it, I had the entire progression system and marketplace fully set up.

Some charts from the progression and reward system of the game inspired mainly by Pokemon

While I was not selected for the accelerator program, it did help me accelerate the game development process anyway and I am thankful to the accelerator program for that.

Art and Animation

I discuss a lot about art style with Rashi, and we had finalized that the characters would be anthro. Check out some concept art and final artwork for some of the characters below:

I really loved the idea of in-card animations in Card Thief, and wanted to have something similar in my game as well. I was fortunate enough to run into Robinson Millaguin in the Indie Game Developers Facebook group. He began his work on animating some of the initial cards in Spine and my mind was blown already. Check out the video below:

vimeo

You can see more of the animation GIFs on the official website for Sheeping Around.

Tragicomic Theme and Music

I had contracted someone for music, but it did not sound so fitting. It was very difficult to decide what kind of music would fit this game because it was such a unique premise. I started scouting out for tracks on AudioJungle. Farms are usually associated with country music, but I had ruled it out completely. Western style music with gut guitars and ukuleles are a close second choice associated with farm themes. Somehow that style didn’t fit either, and sounded rather cowboy-ish.

I explored all kinds of genres of music and tried to see if they fit in the game. Finally, I found that the music in Comedy genre seemed to be the most fitting. I stumbled upon the profile of AudioAgent, who had an amazing portfolio of comedy tracks. His tracks are tragicomic themed, and coincidentally, he kept adding more tracks in the genre as the game progressed.

The game now features a total of 9 comedy audio tracks by AudioAgent. (The tracks change every 10 levels.)

You can check out the tracks in the below Youtube playlists:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1Ajh9Cn23k&list=PLnTakDx63B8L0pBpjPD10VB3NJEcXj2l4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXeq713R444&list=PLnTakDx63B8IS3hr4Sd-tnZXgu5vCIoi6

Sound

I had already made a list of suitable sounds from AudioJungle, but it was from a variety of artists and didn’t seem to fit together. I was not sure if I should hire a sound designer for the project. I figured it would be a good idea to ask around anyway.

I am active on Twitter in the gamedev community, and I found Elise Kates’ profile there. She had done some amazing work in the past for games like Moss, and I thought she’d be a good candidate to help me out with the sound. And it was a great decision afterall. The sound effects added the finishing touches to the polish in the game and really brought the characters to life!

Putting It All Together

I’m glad I’ve been able to put all of this together in a single package. The pun in the name, gameplay mechanics, art, animation, sound and music all come together really well. It would be perhaps be one of my proudest achievement since it is an important skillset to have.

Translation, Screenshots, Trailer and Preview Videos

In December, I took help from the Indie Game Localization community to get the game translated in 12 languages. It was an overwhelming amount of work, about 5000 words. I maintained separate Google Sheets for each language.

But what was harder was designing screenshots and preview videos and localizing them into all languages. But it did pay off eventually because it got the game featured in most of the regions that I had localized for.

Check out the preview video below:

youtube

Robinson helped in creating a landscape trailer for the game as well, since Android needs a landscape video regardless of whether the game is landscape or not. it was more of a theatrical trailer that served as an introduction to the premise of Sheeping Around and dab a little bit into its gameplay:

youtube

Freemium, Premium or Paymium?

The hardest decision for me to take was whether to go premium or freemium (or paymium), and if premium, what would be the price point of the game. Early on I had decided that the game would be premium on iOS and free-to-play on Android, given how easy piracy is on Android (more on piracy in the Piracy section below). I had thought of keeping the game’s price to $4.99, as I had read that Card Crawl had recently upped its price to $4.99 from $2.99 and it increased their month-on-month sales by more than 2x. Turns out, it won’t work very well during release when both developer and the game are new to the market and there are no ratings and reviews. This is also why my day 2 sales were more than day 1 sales, when I dropped the price to $2.99.

My game also has in-app purchases, and most people object to the idea of IAPs in a premium game. But if you look at the top paid charts in the card game category (or even any other category for that matter), you will find that more than 70% of the games have IAPs. This model is called paymium on mobile platforms, and has only recently entered the debate alongside freemium and premium. In the PC world, most games are paid, and the concept of DLCs is fairly normal and accepted, so I don’t understand what the issue with IAPs in premium mobile games is about.

Besides, the IAPs in Sheeping Around aren’t your typical in-your-face popups that appear at the end of every game to give you a reward or to increase your life. They are subtle, just two coin packs that you can buy if need be. You probably won’t need to though.

Pre-orders and the Coming Soon Feature

I set the game to be available for preorder on 31st December 2018. That would make my first new years’ resolution to be to release this game. I set Thursday, 17th Jan as the release date. That is because App Store refreshes every Thursday and it would get greater number of days in visibility if it gets featured then. (Most features last at least a week.)

That is also when I also submitted my game and my story to Apple via App Store’s promote link, hoping to get featured.

On January 5, the game got featured in the Coming Soon section, and it started getting a little spike in pre-orders. From 1-2 per day to around 25-30 per day. On January 20, the game got featured in a lot more territories, including US, UK, South Africa, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. I netted about 250 pre-orders from this feature. But it turns out that in some places, since Apple lets you preorder without having a linked credit card, they would fail to be billed on release of the game. Because of this, only about 200 pre-orders went through successfully. App store still shows -1/-2 net preorders days after the game’s release.

New Games We Love & Top Charts

Upon release, the game was featured in “New Games We Love” in US, China and the Greater China Area (HK, Macau, Taiwan), South-East Asia, India, UK, Europe, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. It also went on to become #3 card game in US (iPhone) during launch and stayed between #3-#5 during the first week. In China, which is the second biggest market for me, the highest it went was #9 in card games. (Competition is quite high in that category there, with most paid games priced at ¥1 ($0.15).)

I especially love the words UK editorial team used to describe the game in Games We Love.

Reception

The reviews so far have been positive, with occasional negative reviews talking about some bugs, most of which I have fixed in the week after release. Here are the current reviews and ratings stats for the game so far:

US: 4.6 / 5 (56 ratings, 32 reviews) China: 4.3 / 5 (41 ratings, 23 reviews) Thailand: 4.7 / 5 (15 ratings, 11 reviews) Germany: 4.0 / 5 (11 ratings, 6 reviews) Russia: 4.6 / 5 (8 ratings, 7 reviews) UK: 3.7 / 5 (6 ratings, 4 reviews)

Some encouraging reviews:

“I’ve only played this game for 20 minutes, and I love it already. The creativity, the idea, everything about this game is just beyond my expectations, and I can only assume how addicting this game will be.”

“It a really good game. You should make a physical card game for this game. I really like it and it’s definitely worth buying it.”

“Don’t really review apps, let alone end up playing one a day or two after I started. But this one... this one got me hooked! It’s fairly simple gameplay but sometimes it gets pretty exciting.”

“Pre-ordered it, I've played Card Monsters since release & Hearthstone for 4 years & this game is very solid & entertaining.”

“I think this game is another new twist to a card game, I can definitely see potential for this game. I can’t wait for the next update, hopefully with some new cards to use.”

“This game is family oriented and so easy to play. It has the simplicity of UNO yet with enough strategy to keep you engage but not overwhelmed. This is highly addictive and fun to play. The element of luck is always a factor but how to use the cards given is the key. The games are short but competitive. Those who love card/card battle games should download this without hesitation! Kudos! Look forward to updates to see what you guys come up with next!”

DAUs, Screen Time and Retention Rate

I use Tableau for my data visualization needs, and have custom graphs and dashboards created for all kinds of metrics. 27% of the players have played the game for at least one hour, which is quite encouraging. 4.5% of the players have been addicted and have played for more than 5 hours. I’ve been seeing an average DAU of around 750 and average total session time of over 450 hours. Not that it matters much for a premium game, but I’m tracking it anyway. In terms of retention, my day 7 retention is about 10%, which isn’t so bad. I will give it more time to see what my day 30 retention is.

Press Coverage and Critic Reviews

I had mailed a lot of media sites and YouTubers to review the game. A lot of them covered the game. Thanks to the localization effort, the game was featured in a lot of foreign language blogs.

Specifically Pocket Gamer and Pocket Tactics wrote about the game. The review from Pocket Tactics was negative with a 2.0 / 5 rating, and from Pocket Gamer was somewhat above average at 3.5 / 5 rating. Pocket Tactics review, though negative, gave me a chuckle because of their words of choice.

You can check them out here:

Pocket Gamer: A surprisingly tense, exciting and fun card battler that doesn’t quite have the tactical depth for the long haul.

Pocket Tactics: Sheeping Around looks the part, but sadly the game turns out to be as dull as you would expect for a game based on an animal that stands around in a field all day chewing grass.

The criticism though has been pretty good in these reviews, and I will add more content and depth in the future updates to address the weaknesses they have mentioned.

Piracy

One thing I wanted to point out was that about 25% of the users of Sheeping Around are using a pirated version. I was under the impression that it would be very hard to pirate an iOS game, because it would need jailbreaking and it isn’t very easy to jailbreak your iOS device. Turns out I was very wrong. There are pirated App Stores like AppEven that you can install on your device, and you can install premium iOS games for free using those stores. You don’t need to jailbreak your phone and the whole process is dead simple. Turns out these folks are abusing Enterprise App certificates for ad-hoc app distribution, and Apple hasn’t been paying much attention to them.

Within about two minutes, I was able to download a pirated version of my own game from AppEven. It even added its own ads that pop up once every few minutes that bring revenue to the owners of the pirated app store. It made me a little sad, but that’s the way it is. No matter how many attempts you make to prevent piracy in your app, the hackers will have a workaround to bypass it. They can remove the code in your app that prevents piracy, replace your ads with their own. It is their daily business.

Promotional Artwork

For games that Apple finds worthy of promotion using a banner feature or on the Today page, Apple requests developers for promotional artwork. I got this request last Monday and I submitted the artwork by Wednesday. The game hasn’t gotten a banner feature or Game of the Day yet, so I can only hope it will happen one day in the future.

By The Numbers

And finally, the moment you’d been waiting for. Sales. Sheeping Around was able to break even about 50% of its outsourcing costs (art, animation and sfx) in 10 days since launch.

The top 2 territories where the game made some decent revenue are US and China, followed by Germany and UK.

What’s next?

I’m already working on some new cards that add more variety to the gameplay. These include:

Bonus cards

Peek - Look at the opponent’s hand.

Undo - Undo the opponent’s last move. It can also potentially undo a stolen or whistled sheep.

Lucky Pendant - Draw half the number of cards in your hand (rounded off).

Shepherd cards

Fence N (N = 2, 3, 4) - Build a fence around all sheep preventing any of them from being stolen for N turns.

Electric Fence N (N = 2, 3) - Build an electric fence around all sheep preventing any of them from being lured or stolen for N turns.

Quarantine N (N = 1, 2, 3) - Cure all sheep of Infestation or Intoxication by N turns.

Vaccinate N (N = 3, 4) - Prevent Infestation or Intoxication on all sheep for the next N turns.

Thief cards

Infest N (N = 2, 3, 4) - Infest all sheep with pests to prevent them from being whistled for N turns.

Intoxicate N (N = 2, 3) - Intoxicate sheep to prevent them from being grazed or whistled for N turns.

Thrash N (N = 1, 2, 3) - Damage a Fence or an Electric Fence and reduce its value by N turns.

Termites (N = 3, 4) - Spread termites to prevent building a Fence or an Electric Fence for the next N turns.

Changes to existing cards

Rescue N (N = 1, 2, 3) - Reduce the effect of Trap, Infestation or Intoxication by N turns on one sheep.

Distract N (N = 1, 2, 3) - Reduce the effect of Guard, Fence or Electric Fence by N turns on one sheep.

You can already add an ally that unlocks at Lv. 20 to the game. Future updates may include upto 5 allies in total:

Shepherd’s side

Beaver - Jack Kim (Lv. 10)

Llama - Fuzzy Wumpkins (Lv. 20)

Sheepdog - Casper Cloud (Lv. 30)

Emu - Emily McCoy (Lv. 40)

Donkey - Muriel Miller (Lv. 50)

Thief’s side

Raven - Merlin Kook (Lv. 10)

Eagle - Cradoc McClaw (Lv. 20)

Coyote - Roxy Fang (Lv. 30)

Badger - Agent Chaos (Lv. 40)

Bear - Boris Rockpaw (Lv. 50)

Additional Features I’ll also be working on some features like: - Expressions and dialogs - Offline mode vs AI - Pass and play multiplayer - Quests

Conclusion

Sheeping Around was a fun project, and unlike my other shelved projects, it saw the light of the day, and it is a proud achievement for me in that regard. For the past 14 months, I’ve worked part-time at a consistent pace on this project (and full time for a few months). Especially as a solo developer being able to develop a PvP multiplayer game where people in US can battle people in China with servers located in London, I think it is a great feat.

Look forward to more updates in the future on this blog. Follow the blog on Tumblr or me on Twitter to keep yourself up to date on the progress of the game.

#sheepingaround #postmortem #indiegamedev #gamedev #gamedesign #ios #appstore

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arubekibasho · 8 years ago

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MUCC Gekirock Interview (2017.01.23) Translation

Translation of the Gekirock interview (01.23), with Miya and Tatsuro about the new record 'Myakuhaku'. I own nothing except the translation work, all credits goes to Gekirock. DO NOT repost or use the translation without my permission and credit.

Members: Tatsuro (Vo), Miya (Gt) Interviewer: Sugie Yuki

Here lies the testimony of their existence. By no means it's an easy task for a band to keep on going throughout 20 years, in such a vehemently changing scene. MUCC who came to a turning point by welcoming their 20th anniversary, has released a long awaited full album this year. The record 'Myakuhaku' is the biggest masterpiece in the history of the band. This recent work was produced by Ken (L'Arc～en～Ciel), and not only it consist recklessly violent heavy tracks, but a huge variety of songs, from sweet dance rock tunes and lovely ballads that warms the heart, to serious pieces dealing with the deep topic of life and death. It’s nice too feel the deep pulsations, which MUCC creates as a band.

- 'Myakuhaku' is the newest full album since the 12th one 'THE END OF THE WORLD', which was released in 2014 June. It also came roughly one and a half year after your last release 'T.R.E.N.D.Y. - Paradise from 1997 - '. At the same time this recent work is also an ornament for the turning point, which is the 20th anniversary of the band. It feels like, as if in this album the essence of MUCC: boldness and delicateness has been collected in a more polished form.

Miya: While making music, we never fuss about the minor details and this time was no exception either. First we decided about 4 songs to be included in the album: the three singles released so far 'Yueni, matenrou' (2014), 'Heide' (2016.6), 'CLASSIC' (2016.9) and the coupling song 'KILLEЯ' (compilation song from 'HEIDE'/ Track. 4 on 'Myakuhaku'.). One of these songs is more than 2 years old, so there is a little gap in the time. Instead of obsessively following some kind of a theme, we rather wanted to express the natural MUCC as it is.

[t/n.: I believe he means the 3 one released since the last full album. Excluding 'Ender ender' which came out real close to 'The end of the World', and 'Brilliant World' which was a Christmas special release]

Tatsuro: I think this is our richest album in terms of variety. Until we were able to come up with 'Fuka' (Track.13), or 'Zettaizetsumei' (Track.2), and 'Myakuhaku' (Track.1), we didn't really know what atmosphere this album will obtain. These 3 songs clearly defined the core of the album. But even though we had this core, we occasionally parted from it and this sensation also makes the album really MUCC-like.

- What guided you this time, working on the overall sound of the album? My impression while listening to it was, that the sounding became heavier, and yet at the same time clearer also.

Miya: Surely, I think it sounds clearer. This time, we didn't smashed together sounds the way we did so far. For one theme we had this will, that we wanted the vocal to show off more feelings than ever before. Apart such balance of the music and the vocal, we also tried out various things with our producer Ken (L'Arc~en~Ciel) during the making. That part was taken seriously.

- [The album] has a loud sound, the sound pressure is also firm, yet there are no parts made without caring, the vocal could be heard clearly. What's the secret behind this achievement?

Miya: That it is not full with useless parts. The musical performance and arrangement, which is aiming for the vocal to be [easily] heard is a major premise. If the first thing we do is to put these things on a firm basic, then even if we don't really adjust the sound of the orchestra its balance with the vocal will came naturally. After all, if I raise the sound volume at a certain part that can't be heard, it will only make an other part inaudible. In short, this time we used a 'treatment' that made sure everything will be audible.

- Brilliant. All the experience and achievements piled up during these 20 years must have a great influence while making music.

Miya: However I'm not the type who is learning the rules of composing since the beginning. I'm an intuitive person, and occasionally I bump into cases, that I know I just cannot deal with. Therefore, since Ken - unlike me - is a brilliant intuitive person, this time I borrowed his intellect frequently. Especially in the case of 'Wasurenagusa' (Track.11) where the vocal is emphasized over the music, or 'Fuka' (Track.13) which is advancing the classical chord, he produced these songs by finely working out the details. And while making the so called vehement songs, he always kept in mind the importance of groove.

Tatsuro, has the approach that the band "wanted the vocal to show off more feelings than ever before", had any kind of influence on your singing method?

Tatsuro: Since around the time of 'T.R.E.N.D.Y - Paradise from 1997 - ' my approach to singing has changed little by little [from the original]. It felt as if this time, I walked on a little deeper on this road. To be more exact, by putting more weight on the volume of my vocals I achieved a sounding different from the one [that could be heard before], and by using a new, more sensible microphone, I could express a wider range of expressions. Even though I get used to it, at the beginning there where parts that left me confused (sarcastic laugh), but while working together with Ken, when for example I wanted the low tone of my voice to vibrate more, or to attach more facial expression to a singing, at those times I was challenged to use different new methods depending on the songs, and it was really fresh for me.

- By the way which song held the freshest discovery for you?

Tatsuro: I wonder. 'Himitsu' (Track.9) was quite an interesting work as I roughly never used such singing method before. If for not this song, I probably wouldn't came out with this method for now.

- 'Himitsu' is composed by Yukke (Ba) it is a dance rock tune with some R&B taste around it, this smart combination creates a fun mood, and it’s a lovely song.

Miya: This song was also a great fun to arrange. I wished to mix the classic disco sound from the '80s with a somewhat loose worldview, so I used synthesizer, which I recorded by myself [not with a computer]. By recording it in the old school way I wished for the rawness and vibration that can only came from a human to be part of the song. I believe when people listens to it they will surely enjoy it.

[t/n.: not to be confused, the song was indeed composed by Yukke, Miya just mixed it with the synthesizer.]

- The melody is really sweet and the lyrics, quite surprisingly from MUCC is also lined up with sickly-sweet words.

Tatsuro: The sparkling feeling drifting around in the [middle of the] song brings forth the picture of an amusement park in front of me. Even amongst them that kind of night amusement parks to where adults go. Attaching a 'Himitsu' title there and covering it with a curtain made it a little dirty. (laughs)

[t/n.: himitsu means secret]

- Such unique compositions could be found on the album, and on the other hand 'Myakuhaku' which decorates the beginning of the record is full with elements that could be called the essence of MUCC. Please tell us more about this song.

Miya: It all started last summer when Tatsuro suggested that the new record title should be 'Myakuhaku'. Right after that we received the invitation to perform on the Mito Festival and the honor to be the closing performance. And it made us think about it again. If we are indeed able to perform at the Mito Festival, at the place where we were born and raised, at the place where our history as MUCC began, then we want to start that day with a song that considerate the roots and seed of MUCC. This is the happening behind the birth of this song. A temporary title for it was 'Mito'. After all, it obviously owns the atmosphere of the Mito music scene.

[t/n.: Mito Groovin took place in 2016 November 12-13, but the lineup was already revealed in August. The first song MUCC performed that day was 'Myakuhaku'.]

- What's that atmosphere, which is the characteristic of no other place but Mito?

Miya: The feeling of observing everything obliquely, with a sorrowful, different and literary way. There are a lot of other Mito origin bands who basically represent such spirits, it's not only us. Starting from the BRAHMAN, or Masashi Yamada from The Back Horn, such band recently the quiet Room, or the Shinku Horou.

Tatsuro: The other day I listened to COCK ROACH after a long time, I remember how cool they were, but even after such a long time they're doing great. (laughs)

Miya: Feels like there is an unspoken agreement in Mito, that being underground is perfectly fine.

- So that's what the Mito atmosphere is. Deep emotions could be sensed behind the recording of the song 'Myakuhaku' for this recent work, and going as far as making this the title song.

Tatsuro: We held business meetings almost simultaneously about the album title, and the jacket. Gucchan (Miya) said it would be nice to have a title written with kanji. Thereupon, looking at the jacket with the skeleton an the blood vessel kind of thing drawn on it, we found it would be the best to choose a title that associate with both life and death, and also express the real time pulsation of this sensation. Hence, the title: 'Myakuhaku'.

[t/n.: Myakuhaku means pulse, pulsation.]

- MUCC continued to deeply express their opinion on life and death, ever since starting their activity 20 years ago. Your technique of word choice is really excellent.

Tatsuro: We attached the title 'Myakuhaku' to the song that was made while thinking about our origin, Mito. On the other hand, 'Fuka' tells the story of our 20 years, and we took its title from last year's tour 'MUCC TOUR 2016 GO TO 20TH ANNIVERSARY 孵化 -哀ア痛葬是朽鵬6極志球業シ終T-' which revolved around our older works. In this sense these two songs became the opposite of each other. At least that's how I feel.

- Related the picture of one's life and death, 'Zettaizetsumei' holds a vividly strong impact.

Miya: This song was put on the album at the really last moment. I wanted it to hit hard. By creating this flow from 'Myakuhaku', by having this contrast with the other songs, by putting a song on the album that has the vibe of the 16 min long LIMP BIZKIT song, with all of that I wanted to develop a more intense effect.

- Miya you wrote the lyrics for this song. Have you ever faced the crisis of not being able to escape a desperate situation?

[t/n.: The interviewer used the word Zettaizetsumei. It could be translated as ‘desperate situation’]

Miya: I had, and it was just before I wrote the lyrics. I think it's not an exaggeration if I say that this album probably wouldn't be made without this experience.

- Really? How so?

Miya: One day when I was working in the studio, suddenly everything went black and for one minute I couldn't see anything with my right eye. I was hospitalized in a hurry and went through various examinations, and of course I had plenty of things to think about, while waiting for the results. By the way, the result was that I'm perfectly healthy, even my liver is fine despite the drinking. (laugh) Looks like it was merely caused by the arrhythmia, which came out due to the lack of sleep and the overwork.

- That's good to hear. But nevertheless of receiving a positive feedback about your health, please don't overwork yourself in the future.

Miya: Receiving it caused me to turn my back to bad things. (laughs) I have problem with my eyesight, but my liver is as well as someone’s who never drinks. But.. well, it was a valuable experience that - even if for just a second - but I thought that I may die. Not to mention that the hospitalization and examination was way to boring. I had nothing to do, I though I will go crazy. (bitter smile)

- On the album that passed even such a harsh test, a song called 'COMMUNE' is also included as Track.10. Perhaps it has some connection with the even that was organized by Miya and bears the same title?

Miya: It almost has none. Merely when I tried to convey the image of this song into a word, the word commune came to my mind. The feeling that even though something is not showing on the surface, yet it came to existence in the inside. That those secrets are interesting and fun. Well, 'COMMUNE' more or less also had such significance, but the reason for this title is that this word matched the best with the song. What is considered evil in this World is in fact not necessarily evil, or just because there are bad things, the good things not going to appeal more. I wanted to include such meanings. Musically this song has a psychedelic theme. So to speak, like THE BEATLES. (laughs)

Tatsuro: It doesn't own the musical scale that I'm used to, but if we're talking about whether this song is simple or not, it is. In terms of singing it was surprisingly easy, and I think it's an easily understandable song for the listeners, too.

- Talking about being easily understandable [BILLY×2 ~Entwined ROCK STARS~] (Track.5) is also such a song. Both musically and lyrically it greatly fuels the wish to have some fun.

Miya: Satochi (Dr) brought the original song; we went to the studio and recorded it right away as it was without changing anything in it. I think this came out well in the results. We didn't really polish it, nothing but the sound of the four of us. This song is only packed with the first impulses, nothing more.

- In [BILLY×2 ～Entwines ROCK STARS～] quite a lot of familiar band names are included, and from the lyrics MUCC's affection for music and rock could be strongly sensed. A lyrics that lists the name of Japanese artists without affectation is quite rare.

Tatsuro: We had some things to consider as this album is made during our 20th anniversary. The indescribable misty feeling drifting around in this era; and something we by no means felt frequently when pondering about whether or not to start a band, a sense that makes everything clear. We wanted to include both of these feelings in one lyrics, and in the part with the band names you find nothing but Japanese music, which defines us greatly so we found it nice. It doesn't really feel like we tried to surpass our power, does it. (laughs)

- It's bold and beautiful. In addition, such songs get on this new record like 'Ringo' (Track.6), in which a folky melody made with dub technique could be heard. This piece is also very interesting.

Miya: I went to a band's concert who played dub, and found it really cool, I wanted to see how would it sound mixed with folky melody, and that's how this song came to life. But even if we made this, I don't think that a "strongly dub-ish" stage is something a rock band would step on, as it would feel warped. However conversely, that's the biggest strength of MUCC.

- What was the topic for writing the lyrics of 'Ringo'?

Miya: The motive was a female whom about we don't know whether she is a kid or adult. Whether puberty is over or not.

Tatsuro: That's right. Because I [originally] had ideas that the lyrics could be about the dim future of the music industry, or about a certain corporate giant. (laughs)

- And there is even an expression in the lyrics, that it "ruled the World".

Miya: But the two is not far from each other. For me, what the girl sees is the World of music. So it’s not like the two has no connection. There are other odd things hanging around in the lyrics, like the mark of that company [Tatsuro mentioned], or the fruit of wisdom from the Bible.

- There is an atmosphere floating around that feels dangerous because of its unrest. Is it because of that?

Miya: Isn't the human such a being, the more dangerous something is, the more we find it attractive? In this sense, what floats around in the corner of the girl’s mind may be a persistent pedophile. (laughs)

- Talking about being unrest, the modern yet heavy 'EMP' (Track.7) also has a hectic sound and lyrics. What does the title means?

Tatsuro: It's the abbreviation of empty. If you search for 'EMP' on the net, then 'electromagnetic pulse' comes up, which is used for nuclear weapons. (laughs) Originally, I wasn't really conscious of that, the picture painted in the lyrics is, that the World is filled with worrisome things and scary happenings but the surface is empty, as everyone pretends not to see anything.

Miya: With 'EMP' we aimed to do a song like the old 16 beat songs of KORN, we have other vehement songs on this album that goes back to the '90s in terms of the beat. The type of songs which are really loud and heavy thanks to the approach of the '90s nu metal and rap metal style, but you can't compose them if you don't feel the beat. I think we were able to accomplish it this time.

- If we are wondering whether there is a violent, heavy tune on the record, there we have 'Wasurenagusa' which is lyrically a ballad, and filled with a sentimental sound. This is also really MUCC-like. And yet, its arrange is something we could never heard before from MUCC.

Tatsuro: That's because I believe that Ken is the most present in this song of the album.

Miya: Even though Ken said that he rather won't put too much of himself in the song, but I wanted his elements to be there. He said this because I told him it would be nice for the guitar solo to be something like the one in Niji' from L'Arc~en~Ciel. (laughs) We included seventh cord in the chorus, which is also a new approach.

- Even the lyrics of 'Wasurenagusa' is beautifully composed.

[t/n.: wasurenagusa is the Japanese name of the forget me not flower]

Tatsuro: So far, our lyrics doesn't contain much flower words. When someone want you not to forget them, but instead of saying it out loud they would keep quiet, and yet want you to understand fully what's on their mind....I wanted to express such annoyance there. (laughs) At those times, don't you wish to scream at them to speak out frankly?

- It's a difficult topic. I believe the Japanese won't always speak their mind because of their humility.

Tatsuro: That's why I used humble words in this lyrics to describe the irritation you get when someone won't say what's on their mind. The melody and the arrange is also relatively persistent, I think it turned out well.

- And there we have the beautiful 'Sirius' (Track.12). It is such a radiating killer tune, that it would stand its ground as a single. I could say it deserves more than to simply be put on an album.

Miya: Really? We were told such things frequently. Well, this song was made 2 years earlier and was intended to be released as a single. We put it on the record just in case, without changing anything on it. It has parts that were made under the influence of LUNA SEA. Regarding our 20 years, there you can find our homage for the bands we listened back then [20years ago] and were influence by.

- I think this form of MUCC is really lovely, that you are a music fan in the first place and only then comes the artistic side.

Miya: This song is lyrically tied together with 'Brilliant World' the single that had a limited release for Christmas in 2016. There is quite a time difference between the two, but this one is a sequel for that song.

- This is precious information for the MUCCERs. From 'Sirius', to the previously mentioned 'Fuka' and 'Heide' the album has a deeply emotional finish. It became a complete record without any gap. I got a warming sensation realizing that MUCC's 20th year has begun.

Miya: Materializing this album took a lot of time, sometimes there were pause in the project, and I can't listen objectively to our own work. But I do feel that this is the most polished work we have ever done.

- Well, from February the "MUCC 20TH ANNIVERSARY 97-17 羽化 -是朽鵬6極志球業シ終T脈殺-" tour begin, which includes the 2 days long Nippon Budokan concert as well.

Tatsuro: It's hard isn't it? We warn ourselves not to be so conscious of our 20th year, but by doing this we cause exactly the opposite. (laughs) I think we want to hold this year’s tour in the same atmosphere.

Miya: Everyone is free to have their own explanation of the album, but we would like to show our explanation during the lives. On several concert dates the tickets are already sold out, so I can't wait to begin.

#mucc #miya #tatsuro #interview translation #interview #translation

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bethgreeneishopeunseen · 8 years ago

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The Great Escape

I want to bring this old meta of mine back around (X). It goes into the Grady Bethfoot and why it was Beth filming and not a description of Emily leaving set. (TDers who kept up with spoilers back then remembered the site saying the “she” was Beth, but now they say it was Emily.)

While doing research the other day for my newest collaborative meta (X), I came across an article with acting tips (X). The author, a veteran in the industry, details what it would be like for a person’s first. For when an actor leaves basecamp, he notes that, “When the crew and the director are ready for your first scene, the 2nd AD will call you to set. Generally you will be put into a van and driven to the set or a PA will walk you to the set.” It corroborates eyewitness testimony that white and black vans shuttle actors from basecamp to set on TWD. Emily did not drive out of hospital parking lot; Beth did.

In my research, I descended into a rabbit hole. I came across a TWD thread from a Thai site (X), and the particular thread went back to when this spoiler original came out. I found a comment captioning the above picture:

I plugged the text into an online translator, and it provided two translations:

Translation 1:

Apple is rumored to be in the end. It has fallen sister Beth was somewhat defeated. Libby has seen filming in the hospital building. People say that Emily came into the scene. She ran out of the building filming. She saw her blonde hair. Wearing plaid long sleeves and a bandaged right arm off. Beth is not overly well hidden. On a photograph of her was that she had seen it taken into another building, but no confirmation. But this weird image But there are a lot of people

Translation 2:

Rumors rumors finally came in, go there, falling girl, Beth comes out?. A lip is filming in the hospital building. Someone told me that she saw Emily come into scene. She drove the car out of the hospital building. The storyline saw the girl I see Long sleeve Plaid Shirt and put the right arm has bandages. PS. Beth here outline hide together inordinately on Auntie’s it people have seen that she was taken into the building, but there is no image verification, but this one phaplang but people have seen me.

(The website I used for translation: X.)

@unordinaryrose and her mother were kind enough to read over the text and send me a translation (it’s a bit jumbled as she wrote while her mother read the translation):

“Everybody is talking back and forth (mocking) the picture of the girl coming out (Beth possibly) has a problem and they see lips talking and taking pictures in the hospital and people are saying Emily is in the show driving a car out of the hospital building and filming and they say somebody saw a blonde woman wearing a striped cardigan (kind of like a farmer shirt, I think plaid?) and the right hand has material wrapped over it like a cast and has a lot of scars and guts (not sure English meaning) and don’t forget beth was shot (? Looks kind of like shot and gun) and when they filmed, an old lady saw a girl in the building, but they didn’t see a picture of anybody standing there (?). Then the picture you can’t see it easy, but a lot of people saw.”

We spoke at length about the translation and any problems that could have occurred, to make sure we understood one another and any possible mistranslations:

Rose: So what I believe it was saying at that part was that the person saw filming (Beth) had on a striped cardigan/shirt, which I believe they mean a plaid shirt maybe? Then the person also had a cast on their right wrist, maybe not exactly a cast but it was material that seemed to be covering a lot of scars, and I assume it was filthy because it was covered in guts which are probably from the walkers or maybe a bite (I say bite because I was reading about Beth being the cure theory and also because they could have been filming a flashback). The person writing that also went back to mention that Beth had been shot in the head so I can only make the assumption that the other part they wrote about was a scar on the forehead.

Me: So the person thought the cast was covering a scar?

Rose: I believe so, although I could have messed up the translation and they might’ve just been talking about the guts on the cast.

While we can’t confirm the comment’s description of scars, specifically the one on Beth’s forehead, we’re very certain about the mention of guts on Beth’s cast. The imagery sticks out as it describes Beth’s escape attempt from Slabtown, which had already been filmed on June 16th. Gunshots were heard from the hospital set that day: X (pg. 6), X. I’ve theorized before that this picture is part of Beth’s second escape attempt (X) (X), and gunfires were heard that day (X), making it even likelier that’s what was being filmed.

TPTB filmed Beth’s escape attempt in pieces over the last two seasons, mostly during the summer they filmed at Newnan. Throughout filming for 5x06 Emily was spotted. A missing report described Beth as being in the backseat of a Grady car, which is likely Beth being brought back to the hospital (X). On July 11th, it was reported that Emily was on set, and a tarp was set up in the street, to prevent people from seeing filming.

Source (X).

Interestingly it was reported that a car would crash into a fence (X):

No reports came out about a car crash though, and nothing about what happened behind the tarp was documented. You can read more about the fence crash here: X.) Norman and Melissa had also been filming, shooting the scene where Daryl and C@rol enter the city, following the Grady car. It included an officer setting a bike out into the street, and it’s been theorized that the bike was laid out as a trap. It’s possible that the bike will also come back into play when Beth is making her way through the city. Anyway, Daryl and C@rol following a Grady car also doesn’t warrant such security.

Source (X).

The spoiler sites documented most of the Consumed scenes in one way or another, including some of the C@rol flashbacks. TPTB focused more on hiding Emily. This continued into episode seven, which started in mid-July. On July 14th, people spotted Emily again at basecamp, and noted the heavy security involved in moving her to set.

Source (X).

No other information related to Emily came out that day except a van used for filming picking her up.

Source (X).

The van picking her up directly from her trailer operated the same as the van which dropped off the blonde woman at the white houses, as it prevents people from seeing Emily after she had her make-up done. As all of these scenes take place post-Coda, Beth would have her third scar, and it would be imperative that she wasn’t seen with it. If they did people would know she survived.

Then, I uncovered a comment from the day Grady Bethfoot appeared. A person had spoken to a security guard at Newnan who said that TWD would filming there on-and-off for the next few months.

Source (X; pg. 10).

Everything in relation to filming supports this, from Emily’s movements in the fall and confirmation from her manager that she was filming into October, to the firetruck and Grady tents still being set up at the hospital. People who kept up with spoilers at the time also remember there being reports of a firescreen and an explosion at the hospital (X). At the time, Beth fans thought she would set the hospital on fire in order to escape.

TPTB likely filmed the last part of Beth’s escape the year before last. On Memorial Day 2015 (Monday, May 25th), a Beth fan who had been visiting the area photographed the highway outside Atlanta, near Grady Memorial Hospital (X) (X). The highway eerily resembled the famous highway shot of Rick on horseback, from the pilot. (I showed this picture to my mother, who grew up in Atlanta, and the said the only time she’s seen the highway like that is during a blizzard and in TWD.) The highway being deserted makes no sense as it was a holiday, and people would have been traveling, with it being the last day of the long weekend.

At the time, Emily had disappeared, as there was a gap between her show in Birmingham on the 22nd, and her show in Indianapolis on the 26th. She latergrammed throughout the gap. It should also be noted that she wore no nail polish on the 22nd (X) and that a bandmate mentioned Emily would be shooting that night (X). Emily had no projects at the time, as she canceled her Con Man appearance in June and worked on MoS later that summer. And even if it were for MoS, it makes no sense that a show heavily based in the studio would require the actress to film so late at night after a show. Birmingham is only a two-hour drive from Atlanta, and MoS was filmed in California and in New York.

The day after her Birmingham show, she posted a picture of herself in a bed. From when it was first posted, it had TDers’ attention.

Source (X) (X).

(picture credit to @spooky-greene)

For one thing, it was a latergram (X). She posted the picture in the early afternoon of May 23rd, and the picture is at night. There are no pillows on the bed that we can see, no sheets, and the room does not look like a hotel. She even went to the trouble of having someone take the picture from a distant, showing her still made-up and some of the details of the room. She could have taken a selfie in bed; that would have been easier and would have sent the same message. Then on the 24th she posted a picture from her show, again hiding her location.

Source (X) (X).

She posted two promotional tweets related to her music (X) (X), something she could have done from anywhere; her manager could have also done it for her. On the 25th, she posted about heading to Indianapolis, and she posted it at 6:04 p.m. EST, giving her most of the day to film the highway shot/scene.

Source (X) (X).

Overall, I believe that Beth’s escape from Grady, including the subsequent escape from Atlanta, will cover an episode by itself. I still believe that TPTB will air the missing spoilers in the form of a miniseries centered on Beth’s journey post-Coda, catching her story up to when she returns (X). If she returns in the finale, it makes sense to air the miniseries in the summer. It would bridge TWD between its two anchor shows (TWD and FTWD), and it would act as easy promotion Beth’s storyline in the show.

Breakdown of the spoilers related to Beth’s escape:

Beth in the backseat of a Grady car (early July 2014; 5x06 filming) (deleted)

Nighttime car crash (July 11th, 2014)

heavy security via a tarp

Beth driving a police car out of the Grady hospital (July 15th, 2014) (Bethfoot 1)

included gunfire and heavy security

Originally claimed that it was Beth seen driving; now they say it was Emily driving

Description of Beth’s outfit mirrors Beth’s outfit when she first attempted to escape

Explosions at Grady (late July 2014) (deleted)

included reports of a firescreen

Memorial Day Highway (May 23rd-May 25th, 2015)

Highway outside Atlanta completely deserted

Emily latergramming over the weekend

Be on the lookout, as I will be making a post soon compiling the missing spoilers and inferences together. Feel free to share your memories of filming as any information could be useful! Beth’s story is in pieces, but it can be put together. We can figure out what happened and what’s going on.

#team delusional #team defiance #missing season 5 spoilers #missing season 6 spoilers

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