A Song for the Damned: Guilt, Love, and Jazz Clubs
Have you ever played a game that left an impression on you even after the credits roll? A Song for the Damned gave me one of those experiences. A short, but amazingly done visual novel set in a mysterious demon-run club where time is the ultimate currency. We had the joy of speaking with its creator, Ryan X. Messcher about his experience developing it, his inspirations, and what makes this indie project so special. Let’s dive in!
“I’m fairly new to the visual novel scene, though I’ve been composing and voice acting for games for over five years now. The first visual novels that I worked on were for Otome Jam 2023: I created the background music for Potion Panik, Curtain Call Crusade, and Hello Counsel. I took on more responsibilities beyond just composition for Spooktober 2023 later that year, including singing and songwriting for Twisted Carnival and voice acting for Tunnel Vision. I was really pleased with the reception and feedback we got on those games and was inspired to try my hand at end-to-end development. Being new to writing and directing was definitely the biggest challenge for me, but I’m so glad I stepped outside of my comfort zone. This whole process has been incredibly rewarding, and I’m even now in the process of working on my own full-length visual novel that expands on some of the themes explored in A Song for the Damned.”
“With my background in audio and musical theater, I knew I wanted to create a game that was fully voice acted and featured songs I could perform. A story centered around a crooner in a jazz club seemed like a perfect fit. But, of course, this is Spooktober, so there had to be an element of horror, which is what inspired Madame Laurent and The Whispering Wraith’s dark secret. Madame Laurent was definitely my favorite character to write because her motivations are the most mysterious, which is also reflected in her unique design that leaves players intrigued about her background.”
“With the short runtime of the game, I wanted to avoid overly long bouts of exposition detailing the exact rules of the world. As a result, much of the story’s lore is implied and up for interpretation. I think you put it well in saying that this game’s version of Hell is a bureaucratic one. I posit that Hell would operate similarly to a large, unfeeling corporation but substituting money for time as its primary currency to highlight the characters’ parallel desires for more time.”
In my mind, the Whispering Wraith is an institution that predates Madame Laurent working there. It’s some sort of demonic location that exists in the mortal world but is kind of an outpost for hell. That being said, I didn’t want it to be all doom and gloom. People need a reason to come back there and keep giving years.
So it’s a pretty fun spot, you can listen to some music, get some drinks. If I were vacationing in New York and came across the club, maybe I’d pop my head in to see what’s up and lose a few years and have no idea. As for its place and connection to the theme of the story—a major theme of the story is guilt and sacrifice.
And you do both those things there. You’re very guilty about your actions. Perhaps you’re trying to forget what you’re doing, and then sacrifice. Jack can make the decision there to give his years to Maia or keep the years for himself, leading to the two endings.
“Guilt is universal but not often discussed openly in media, despite its prevalence and the many different forms it can take in our lives. As such, I think it is a wonderfully powerful theme to explore and unite a story under, especially one that deals with how one’s soul is judged.”
“Regarding “head-cannons,” I’ll say that the story is up to interpretation and every way each player reads into it is inherently correct. Madame Laurent is most certainly an unreliable source, but based on how broken Caleb was in the face of Maia’s miscarriage, I wouldn’t put it past him to have been going to The Whispering Wraith to intentionally accelerate his life. That missing chunk of the story (while left intentionally vague) is certainly a good candidate to be expanded upon in the future!”
“The community response to A Song for the Damned has been rather encouraging to this first-time director! I was thrilled to see it appear on the list of honorable mentions at this year’s Spooktober Awards Ceremony, and it was an honor to be nominated for “Best Voice Acting Performance.””
“In truth, I would love to keep exploring the world of The Whispering Wraith. An expanded edition of the game, featuring new choices, endings, and songs would be something I’d be very interested in pursuing. While I am currently hard at work on my full-length visual novel, Body, I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to writing an updated version of A Song for the Damnedsometime in the near future.”
As a special treat, we’re excited to share an exclusive piece of promotional art for A Song for the Damned, crafted by the incredibly talented Liulyam. Madame Laurent’s enigmatic design comes to life in this stunning illustration, perfectly capturing the game’s hauntingly beautiful atmosphere. You can find more of Liulyam’s work at liulyam.com.
If you’ve fallen under the spell of A Song for the Damned, don’t miss the chance to explore more from its creator. Visit ryanxmesscher.com to dive into their other projects, and keep an eye on updates for Body, their upcoming visual novel. For more sneak peeks and news, follow @SystemsStudios on Twitter/X. With so much passion behind their work, this is one developer worth keeping on your radar!
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