SMASH: A New Stepmania Column

[moches]

INTRODUCTION

Hello, everybody! I've long thought about just what impact playing FFR and Stepmania has had on me as a person: for a very long time, I thought of how I could write about it. I sat on the idea for a long time, but I'm finally getting the chance.

The super-dope music/art website Made of Chalk has allowed me to start a new column called SMASH, which focuses on the connections between music, games, and art through my experiences playing rhythm games for 10+ years. I covered this a bit in my very first edition, so I'll just leave it here:

This is the beginning of an exploration that I hope all of you can join me in undertaking. It’s about a realization that’s only now hitting me with full force: sometimes it’s the smallest things we do that leave the biggest marks on who we are. For me, it’s the story of how my ten-year-long pathological fascination with an obscure free-source rhythm game fostered my long-standing love for music, my worldview, and even my passion for writing–all things I consider essential parts of my identity today. For you, I hope it will be an argument for realizing the hidden profundity and joy in everyday acts of creation.

In essence, this will be an ongoing dialogue between you and I about how art can SMASH our lives and change us for the better.

EDITIONS/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This series focuses on a variety of subtopics in Stepmania, such as music, philosophy, creation through stepcharting, and even interdisciplinary applications. The following is a tentative outline, but I could expand the series in the future. New installments will go up biweekly.

My hope is that this will be a place for all of us to be able to discuss this topic, and so I'm including discussion questions with each post. You can comment here or on the articles, whichever is more comfortable. I sincerely hope that I can hear everything all of you guys have to say.

Edition 1: Introduction: Lessons Gleaned From A Lifetime Of Rhythm Gaming.
Edition 2: Origin Story

1. Do you engage in any creative activities? Do you compose, draw, write stories, or do something a little more off-the-beaten-path? Has the experience influenced you or your life in any meaningful ways?
2. Do you agree with the idea that life is a support system for art? Have you experienced something like what I felt playing FFR and Stepmania?
3. What is the appeal of creating art? Does it offer something that experiencing art cannot?
4. Is there a relationship between fun and quality?
5. Are there creations from your past that you’re too embarrassed to share or even think about, and might there be value in going back and looking at them?

Edition 3: Stepmania Music - progressive rock

1. Have you ever had a time when you were unexpectedly introduced to something you loved? Did you discover a passion for belly-dancing during detention? Did you find your favorite singer-songwriter when you were waiting for a vaccination?
2. Have you held on to any of your watershed objects? I still keep my iPod nano (and use it); maybe you have an old Gameboy Color lying around somewhere.
3. I was introduced to a completely new genre through a relatively accessible medium. Some people would argue that I wasn’t really experiencing the music and that the stepcharters who tampered with the original songs are guilty of dumbing the material down. Would you agree with that? Is there potential value to trying to make relatively obscure categories of art more appealing to everybody?

Edition 4: Stepmania Music - chiptune

1. How would you compare and contrast the progressive rock and chiptune genres? Would the comparison differ in the context of Stepmania?
2. The chiptune community has managed to emerge with one of the most diverse scenes in music today–even though the only instrument used was a computer. Does limiting oneself help foster creativity? Might Stepmania’s inherent limitations have inspired evolution in the art of stepcharting?
3. If you agree/disagree with the above question, can you think of some examples outside Stepmania?

Edition 5: Stepmania Music - rhythm game/pop music

1. Of all the songs and stepcharts we saw through the past three editions, which ones were your favorites? Why?
2. Judging from everything we've discussed so far, what might the appeal of something like Stepmania be?
3. Is midare's stepchart for "Girlfriend" utter nonsense, or does it, too, operate by certain internal rules? Is there a way the stepchart follows the music even if it doesn't strictly follow it?
4. Do you love me?

Edition 6: On Stepping (Part I)
Edition 7: On Stepping (Part II)
Edition 8: On Stepping (Part III)

Three-edition intensive on the art of stepcharting.

Edition 9: Philosophy – on genius
Edition 10: Philosophy – the value of the simulation
Edition 11: Philosophy – “subjectivemanias”

Edition 12: Interdisciplinary Work – on writing, visual and performance art
Edition 13: Interdisciplinary Work – practical applications (academic, scientific, social)
Edition 14: Conclusion

Thank you for your time and interest and keep smashing on!

Sincerely,
moches

[moches]

also I posted stargroup's PLANET KARMA file there so that's another reason to check it out

[Frank Munoz]

Fxck
yeah

I'm bookmarking this,
It's always good to pick apart even the smallest subjects; finding lessons in the everyday things we do. I can't wait to read your next installment.

[Snowcrafta]

Finally a blog dedicated to 4 buttons

[blindreper1179]

[rparty89]

wow

[EzExZeRo7497]

Bookmarked, I can't wait to see more of this.

[Choofers]

Use Robotomy for the next update!

Seriously though, I read this when you posted on facebook and it's a great read haha, I'm really looking forward to the next piece you write.

[AlexDest]

Originally Posted by Snowcrafta

Finally a blog dedicated to 4 buttons

Stepmania The Movie

[mi40]

wasd are my fav 4 buttons srie....

[moches]

thanks for all of the support so far! this is going to be fun, I can tell.

if there's ANYTHING you want to suggest or see me discuss, please let me know and I'll work it into my plan!

[Mollocephalus]

this is fuckin A+ material man... moches, your writing is really amazing!

[James May]

:') that was amazing moch :') looking forward to the next update hehe

[dAnceguy117]

super awesome. really really awesome.

moches, would you like the rest of us to post comments at the actual Made of Chalk site?

[Choofers]

I tried posting the site but for some reason ny keyboard won't pop up on ny phone when I select.the comment field lol

[moches]

Originally Posted by dAnceguy117

super awesome. really really awesome.

moches, would you like the rest of us to post comments at the actual Made of Chalk site?

Originally Posted by Choofers

I tried posting the site but for some reason ny keyboard won't pop up on ny phone when I select.the comment field lol

comments would be soooo amazing, I would be psyched to have y'all there. the catch is that you need to register at the site, though. no hard feelings if people are too busy, but it would be a ton of fun if we got a real discussion going (and that's really my endgame for this to be honest)

[Ohaider]

Nice, nice

[dAnceguy117]

Originally Posted by moches

it would be a ton of fun if we got a real discussion going

+1

heads up to anyone registering an account: one of the required fields is "secret question." all of the labels for the fields (at least in my browser) showed up in white. lol. select all text on the page in order to figure out how to fill out the secret question field.

[Mollocephalus]

It's so secret you have to solve the enigma to pass it, 2bad we're all gamers

[moches]

Originally Posted by dAnceguy117

+1

heads up to anyone registering an account: one of the required fields is "secret question." all of the labels for the fields (at least in my browser) showed up in white. lol. select all text on the page in order to figure out how to fill out the secret question field.

<3

seeing your comment there made my freaking day, man. it means more than you'll ever know.

just so you guys know, each upcoming installment is going to have a few open-ended questions designed to stimulate sharing and discussion among readers I will update this thread when each new post goes up, and I'll always be checking back to see if any of you guys left feedback/suggestions.