The Phoenix Prophecy: Random Thoughts, Thereās No Rhyme or Reason to This, YāAll
First up: I swear I will get around to posting pages of Lamenting City on my writing blog again. College + my game design course Iāve been taking on the side + the fact that the floodgates over my poor, poor Fancy kitty wonāt stop... Itās been hard.
Anyway, on to the story stuff!
So Iāve decided to have the group meet at some point in the early to mid-80ā²s, and then join together in like... 1989 or 1990, probably the latter but itās still pretty close. Iāll adjust their ages if need be, but with this said Iām unsure if the āmet over the Internetā backstory still works here. I must confess to not knowing as much about the Internetās history as Iād like, but even so I donāt think that backstory is really feasible here? Unless, of course, things are different in this alternate timeline and the Internet grew much faster.
At any rate, I have decided that the group meeting was definitely no accident... But I wonāt say any further. ;)
The budding game designer in me also canāt resist taking a crack at creating a concept for a Phoenix Prophecy game to work on when I finally can do that, and I think Iāve finally figured out what Iād want from a series like this. For a story originally envisioned as a cartoon, I canāt think of anything better than an episodic adventure game. It may, in fact, be the closest I can ever get to the original cartoon concept (I would love for it to happen, but I also need to be realistic and right now the only surefire things I know Iām gonna do would be write novels and make games...).
One great thing about this, too, is it allows me to tell more stories with these characters. You know, tie-in video games basically. Iād want them to be canon with the books and reference them, and in turn be referenced by them. This way, I really donāt have to scrap any ideas.
Admittedly, I havenāt played a lot of adventure games (...yet), with most that I have played having been mostly kids fare (like a Scooby-Doo! game, fittingly enough for this), but I definitely will be the time I could work on this. So this is something I will continue to work on in my head.
The final thing Iāve been thinking about it is, of course... Music. Making playlists for my stories gives me life, and since Iād like to make games too, knowing what type of style I want is pretty important, too.
Iām gonna need a bit of help, though.
See, I want to do something here that I havenāt done before: Make a playlist or two that sounds like itād belong in the era this story takes place in. And, well, I havenāt exactly listened to all the 90ā²s music or 90ā²s tribute music out there, so thereās undoubtedly gems Iāve missed.
I am making some tiny exceptions to this ā90ā²s onlyā rule, though. Stuff like synthwave and vaporwave count if they sound sufficiently 90ā²s enough. Iāve heard synthwave tracks, such as Michael Oakleyās End of Summer, which I consider to be The Phoenix Prophecyās theme song anyway, and HOMEās vaporwave music always makes me nostalgic for the 90ā²s, so they count.
Side note: Synthwave really blurs the lines for me sometimes. Some of it sounds like Sega Genesis music, only with better instruments.
In fairness, though, it did take some time for the 90ā²s to come into its own culturally/pop culturally, so a bit of 80ā²s stuff wonāt kill this playlist and maaaaaaaybe some very early 2000ā²s stuff since they were basically a continuation of the 90ā²s anyway (and I intend for this story to end in the 2000ā²s). But thatās as far as Iāll stretch the rule.
So Iām open to suggestions!
As for myself, besides HOME and a few synthwave tracks, Iāve also found some OSTs that definitely hit the themes Iām going for. The soundtrack for the 90ā²s film Hackers is fantastic and fits Adamās stuff very well, so Iād definitely like to find more of that. And 2016ā²s indie game, Oxenfree... Its soundtrack is pretty much perfect, honestly? 80ā²s based to be sure, but I still get a 90ā²s vibe from it and it has the mysteriousness I want for The Phoenix Prophecy.
So for the story itself, I pretty much want synths, lol.
Iād like to put together a āroad trip mixā for fun. Like, music theyād listen to as they drive. This can include movie and game soundtracks since theyād like those, but I suppose this also means someone has listened to Nirvana and omg who should it be ???
The burning question here.
And since I envision End of Summer as the opening theme, I felt I needed to find a closing theme, too. And so I did.
HOMEās Pyxis.
And since I canāt stop rambling (this feels so good oh my god), Iād like to share what I envision the intro and outro as being (and even if the cartoon canāt ever be made, I swear these will make it into the games).
The intro would have to be a dynamic one, as 90ā²s as possible. To that end, there will be bright colours, there will be fast movements, there will be monsters, there will be driving. The cast will appear, of course, as will the main alien characters.
I canāt really say I have a cohesive vision here, but the intro would start with the van driving down a road with Seattle and a sunrise in the distance, and what would follow is the encounters mentioned above in other cities and states (to that end, the intro would change with each season, probably). The intro would end with the cast standing heroically in front of the van, the title logo shining above.
The outro would simply be the van traveling down lonely roads, towns, and cities, set against a starry night sky. As it goes on, the driver of the van changes, starting with Adam and ending with Misora, the latter of which catches something in the corner of her eye... only for it to vanish before she can get a good look.
Music like End of Summer and Pyxis fit the feel Iād be going for.
Anyways, thatās all for now.










