The Series of Mana
The Series of Mana
The Series of Mana
The Series of Mana
The Series of Mana
Making a fantasy world a reality.
Making a fantasy world a reality.
Making a fantasy world a reality.
Making a fantasy world a reality.
This campaign is closed
The Series of Mana
Making a fantasy world a reality.
Making a fantasy world a reality.
Making a fantasy world a reality.
Making a fantasy world a reality.
Making a fantasy world a reality.
Hello.
My name is Ross K. Foad. I am a writer/director and actor best known for the creation of Sherlock Holmes web drama comedy, “No Place Like Holmes.” And web sketch show “The Faction of Farce.” In addition to this I have also written for independent feature films, shorts, comic strips, magazine columns, and print novels.
25-years ago, a Role Playing Video Game came out for the Super Nintendo called The Secret of Mana. Created by Squaresoft (known now as Square-Enix) it is set in a high-fantasy world that revolves around the concept of Mana. Mana is a Polynesian concept of power, often in a supernatural context. A comparable thing would be “the force” in Star Wars, but also just the very essence of creation in the universe.
The creator admits the influences for the game is a mix of Alice in Wonderland, Lord of the Rings, Japanese folklore, and the Finnish cartoon, The Moomins (!)
To date, it remains my favourite game ever that I still play, but more importantly, the impression it had on me as a child was immense.
I remember getting it as part of a random selection of games when I bought the console 2ndhand from a Newspaper ad, because that’s how you bought stuff back then, and I had no idea what is was. Never heard of it. But boy did it change my life.
That might sound really dumb, but its story, music, concept, and characters shaped so much of who I became. Concepts of loss, friendship, and an interest in spirituality were all imparted on me through this. Even throughout a lot of my creative work, elements of it has often been inspired in some way by it, and I know that I am not alone.
To date, orchestrates still perform the soundtrack at special video game events, deviant art is filled with beautiful pieces of artwork dedicated to it, and a mass collab effort from fans worldwide resulted in a cover audio cd of the music entitled “The Spectrum of Mana
It was the very definition of an adventure, and I wanted so much for it to be real. So, I decided that I would make it so.
Now, I normally have a tendency to express and share my love for something through writing and film making. I am not a great artist, I am not a musician, so I can’t express stuff that way, but I admire people who do greatly. I wish I could! But I can write, and I can direct, I can produce, and I have an ability to make things work that really probably shouldn’t. I also have a very strong and diverse reserve of actors, that for some reason, enjoy helping me execute my inane mind on screen.
So, it is for these reasons that I have decided that I want to make this game as a fantasy adventure web-series entitled “The Series of Mana.” It will be a combination of a mass cosplaying fantasy adventure web series, mixed with a bit of in-game (voiced over) footage, for certain parts where budgets will likely not allow, but trust me, I have a lot of creative work arounds for this series planned.
So, basically it’s part cos play, it is part Let’s play, but also a fully-fledged fantasy adventure series.
This game has a good fan dedication following in England and Germany and I believe that people would be interested in seeing this happen.
I have confidence that it could be a good little hit if done right. The synchronicity of timing also seems right as well, as the game is due to be included in Nintendo’s “Mini Snes,” plus has also been rereleased as part of The Seiken Densetsu collection for the Nintendo Switch (Japan only.)
Now, this will obviously not be the cheapest thing to make, which is why I am running an indigogo campaign for the first series.
This will be primarily for costume expenses, actor expenses, weaponry, props, – because Secret of Mana needs them! At the moment, because I have no idea how much this might raise or not,
In addition, the more money there is, the more characters, and exploration can be taken. For instance, why just restrict it to The Secret of Mana? I would love for this to maybe incorporate other Square or RPG series characters cropping up if we can.
So, if you like the sound of seeing this happen, then any donation to the campaign, no matter how small, will be a massive help.
But if you can’t donate, but still want to show your support you can share the video on Social Media or give the Facebook page a like. It goes a long way.
Thanks so much again for reading and I will hopefully speak to you all again soon!
CAN I BE INVOLVED?
If you wanted to be involved in some way as a crew or cast…especially if you are a cosplayer actor based in London – then I would love to hear from you. As the wonderful setup of the world means many different cosplaying costumes could fit into this world. Steampunk, fairy, LOTR, Game of Thrones, Medieval, wonderful exotic and eastern…anything like that…chances are a role may exist for you.
So, by all means get in touch and let me know.
WHEN CAN WE EXPECT IT?
Series 1 in Late 2017/Early 2018,
I am working on the idea of the first series being the first 6 episodes that I had written, running on a weekly basis (each episode being around 10-12 mins,) but should the campaign be more successful, then I may extend it for a few more episodes than this. I have no idea of how many people may submit to this, hence keeping the first series within a reasonable amount.
I believe that as the series grows in awareness, and (hopefully) popularity, lengthier series runs can be afforded.
Can we trust you to deliver and not run away with our money?
10+ years writing/directing/producing and acting. Please view my Starnow Page to read over 130 recommendations from casting directors/producers/directors/actor to gather a better idea about my character and abilities. I am largely regarded as one of the kinder directors out there, capable of making all projects fun and efficient and getting the best out my actors.