The developer known as Myformerselves has produced only one game so far, but it is arguably an indie game masterpiece: Middens. Many developers using hand-made art and many of those using RPGMaker as a tool for personal expression probably owe a debt to Myformerselves and to Middens. The surreal, erudite, symbol-laden exploration-adventure in RPG clothing blew the mind of everyone I know who’s played it. This meticulously constructed labor of love has influenced a number of developers and continues to attract new fans. Recently patched to version 3.3, Middens may finally be truly complete.
Now, spurred on by a successful Kickstarter campaign, the developer is hard at work on an ambitious follow-up to Middens called Moments of Silence (and also Gingiva, as it turns out). I was fortunate enough to get a chance to interview Myformerselves, and he opened up about his art and his inspirations, about Middens and Gingiva/Moments of Silence—and he did so with a certain formal, hyperliterate style that is exactly what I hoped the creator of Middens would sound like. I hope you enjoy reading his words as much as I have.
Hello! First, let me say that Middens is, in my opinion at least, an amazing work of art and probably one of the most important indie games of the last 5 years. And right up there next to Space Funeral in terms of the most important RPGMaker games.
Well, I suppose some might favour it and others might not. Thank you though.
Can you tell me where you grew up and what your early, formative experiences with gaming were?
For some mystic fun I will I say I was born when Uranus was last conjunct with Neptune (which occurs only once every 171 years). During that time Nintendo dominated the system market, and like many from my generation the NES was my first introduction to gaming. During that period games were more subjectively plotted, and most are so inadvertently abstract that they barely carry perceptible narratives whatsoever.
Possessing so little in the way of a truly distinguished story or articulated graphics these games are like empty bowls that hold whatever you want or, in other words, the players themselves are obliged to supplement the silences within the story with their own ideas. To explain further—-such games are like comics where the empty space separating panels must be filled in by the viewer’s logic in order for a narrative to manifest.
The 8-bit Mario games, for instance, are so sparsely detailed their officially intended narrative of a princess being kidnapped by a barong like lizard king is only actually emphatically expressed in the instruction guides. Overtime this condoned plot has of course been consolidated by subsequent releases, but at that time the Mario games were really about whatever players fancied them to be about. My friends’ and I’s version involved an incontinent Italian venturing from portable toilet to portable toilet to relieve his potent diarrhea.
…though my defense I was young by any count.
In any case this I use as an example of the usefulness of void which has shaped my own outlook. A discriminating intellect may even conclude that void is the foundation of existence because within void there is space and space is what houses all material matter.
What artists, developers, writers, etc. most influence you as a game designer?
Vyasa, Lao Tzu, Woodring, Svankmajer, Toc Fetch are all bright souls who have tutored me in one fashion in another.
Collage is a huge part of your visual style. What do you like about collage?
My opinion of collage is similar to my opinion of either of my hands. In reality I think nothing of it—only that it is a utile part of me.
Do you do a lot of collage outside of games? I know you make some incredible fine art.
I feel impelled to endeavor in creative activities. The feeling is compulsive like pressure against a champagne cork. It is difficult for me to imagine that anyone lacks the same impulse.
You composed and recorded quite a bit of music for Middens. How did you get into making music and do you compose or perform outside of games?
I’m not a formally trained musician, so my constructions are largely incidental—like clouds that momentarily form recognizable animal shapes.
What part of making games do you enjoy the most?
I love designing characters. Characters are the player’s eyes into the world.
What part causes you the most anguish?
Worrying that I may die before seeing the project completed.
Why was RPGMaker your tool of choice for Middens?
RPGMaker is like a granite pencil—simple, flexible, versatile. It feels a right fit.
Where did the idea of a gun with a face, who talks and uses emoticons, and serves as both conscience and id come from?
The revolver originates from a deeper set story—-mainly a world where guns were granted eyes so they could witness against their users. If guns are truly the culpable factor in domestic violence why not invent a gun with an ethical eye? Such technology is certainly within the possibility of this time period.
For example; imagine if a weapon were invented that facially scanned targets as a safety measure. Suppose it was programmed to scan for feminine traits so it couldn’t fire on women, or for infantile traits so it could not be deployed against children, or even identify ID badges of law enforcement so it could not be used against state officers.
Although you can avoid combat in Middens, it is a central mechanic in the game. Are battles as important as the exploration? Why use RPG mechanics at all?
Battle systems are themselves creative mediums capable of conveying symbolic meanings. There appears to be an attitude that such systems are without artistic purpose and merely meant to cushion the player along the game like a lifeless luxury vehicle.
If a game features a simulation of being a half-blind knight and the battle system further elaborates on this theme by employing disorienting camera angels during battle sequences—is the game therefore faulted or does the artistic intent redeem the frustration it inflicts?
In Middens the combat is most simply another line of communication between the world, its scenario, and the player. I choose to include such a facet because the potential of sharing the rift’s natives at a greater level of detail sincerely excited me artistically.
What’s new in the Middens 3.3 update? Is this the final version of the game?
This update marks the end of my work with this particular project. The changes it brings are namely technical, such as easing certain visual elements to mitigate lag and tweaking long neglected kinks. Working on this patch I additionally felt enthused to add material I first created for Middens, but neglected to implement so the update includes several new areas and entities as well. In that sense it is quite like a director’s cut.
How many endings are there in Middens, actually?
This is best kept a secret, isn’t it?
Probably. Is the dialogue in Middens really “excised from occult tomes and the last words of executed convicts”?
Yes, that’s certainly correct. Occult is a stigmatizing term however, like the philosophical equivalent of a racial slur—-perhaps it would have been kinder to reterm these tomes as ‘arcane’ or ‘esoteric’. Naming these texts specifically would be disadvantageous… people may be liable to reject such quotes if they were named alongside their sources.
In reality Middens quotes from a large gamut of material including Japanese death poems, academic babble, and 60’s era activists. Excerpts from my own personal letters and journal frequently appear as well.
You spent such a long time working on Middens—what, 3 years? And now Moments of Silence has consumed a lot of time. Do you ever feel like pumping out a smaller project?
All my projects are smaller projects before they hit their growth spurt.
How goes Moments of Silence? How far away is a release?
I’ve decided to bifurcate Moments of Silence into smaller portions. The smaller of these, Gingiva, should see public release in August or September, and Moments of Silence will likely appear in the same season of the following year.
Has the concept changed or evolved since you first started work on it?
Few ideas are so conducive to reality that they can be perfectly translated from concept to corporeal being. Due to this no idea should be wholly binding. It’s never too long before I’ve thrown out the script in favor of improvisation.
Are you using RPGMaker for it?
We’ll be using the humble and much stigmatized RPGMaker.
Whether you’re shooting on a movie camera or hand-held camcorder it seems to me the footage is what makes the film.
How is Moments of Silence related to Middens?
This is intended to be a surprise, and the relation does exist.
It looks like you’re using more than pixel art and collage for the visuals. What mediums are you working in?
Shaina Nordlund is contributing watercolor paintings for the backdrops. Her work is a tremendous gift.
And you’re making original music for it?
The immensely talented Chris Kukla will be devising the soundtrack.
You say there is real-time action in Moments of Silence. What is that like?
Echoing the idea of constant “becoming” combat will play out like a personality test with factors correlating to even minor player choices.
One of the game’s central mechanics seems to be swapping out heads. How does that work?
This idea has evolved quite a bit…essentially you’ll be swapping far more than heads. The protagonist’s identity may change at a moment’s notice. With a camera around every street corner I imagine such an ability would have great practical applications.
It’s interesting how you break the 4th wall in Middens, how the gun addresses you as the player and acknowledges that you’re playing a game. From the descriptions, it sounds like Moments of Silence does this as well. Why does this interest you?
Since the protagonist of Middens, the Nomad, is no different than the player it seems to me that the revolver addresses the player exclusively. In essence, the Nomad is the dream body that players drive and therefore all dialogue in the game is directed at the player rather [than] the Nomad (who is only a player’s vehicle). Simultaneously the player is obviously transcendent of the Nomad as they exist outside the context of his world, so although they are the Nomad they are also their essential selves which infinitely outrange the game’s scope.
This is like the quandary of the soul, false ego, and the body.
I know your focus is Moments of Silence, but do you have any idea of what you’ll be doing after that?
When I have completed the last of my obligations I hope to high-tail it to some nature set enclave. In the isolated setting of a hermitage, liberated from the demands and requisites of collective society, I would feel the freedom to live a faultless life.
One more question. What indie developers out there now are making stuff that grabs you?
Jakub Dvorsky, Lorne Lanning, Keita Takahashi, Jonatan Soderstrom, Carrionblue, the creators of the Bento Smile and Eyezmaze websites(whose names I’ve never had the chance of seeing written). These individuals are like four-leaf clovers growing in Death Valley.
Thank you!
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