Roaming Stxrm

Credits

Well, more specifically...

INFLUENCES

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In terms of setting, the continent of Africa serves as a recurring location throughout the series -- given it's where the main cast resides. This was inspired by my own childhood experiences from spending summer vacation in Nigeria, the birth country of my parents. Because of that, the story gets some of its influence from African culture. As well as various other cultures that make up the Old World (aka Afro-Eurasia).

This includes Animism; the belief that creatures, objects, and places all have a distinct spiritual essence. Due to my interest in wildlife, brought upon by various animal documentaries, I find it intriguing how most animals are able to "feel" just like humans can. So when developing this fictional world, I figured that they could "act" like humans as well. This is one of the reasons why I made the world be run by anthropomorphic animals.

In regards to the conception of the duo, the following occurred: When coming up with the main protagonist, I wanted to make him an animal that could easily stand out compared to other anthro characters. Looking back at scrapped ideas I had for a different story (which was a lot more episodic and comedy-driven) I took interest in one particular creation. The character was named Zoomzy, a young cheetah who was the best friend / sidekick of a fox protagonist. Reworking him to take center stage, he would instead be an aged-up adventurer. Just a guy who enjoys travelling from here to there, and going hella fast while doing so.

Initially it was just regular super speed, as expected for a cheetah. But after some thinking, I decided to give him a source of even greater speed; That being electricity. On top of moving extremely fast, he can also pull off a wide array of tricks to go with it. I thought about keeping it as just a visual aesthetic at first -- but ultimately -- it felt more fitting to have him do way more with it. Hence the new name, Umeme -- which is Swahili for "lightning".

The whole "electro speed" angle was inspired by various characters associated with it. The most influential being Killua Zoldyck, in his Godspeed mode, from Hunter x Hunter (2011). I've taken plenty of pointers from that anime in terms of its diverse power system, and its intricate worldbuilding especially. That is to say, I wanted my story to convey a strong sense of adventure; an urge to not stay in one place for too long. So despite the de facto African setting (which I admit, wasn't as fully utilized as I'd liked it to be) my intent was to focus on the overall planet that is Immobi -- not just one continent.

It was originally just Umeme, who went through many different name changes -- such as Ace, Cody, Chase, Lightning, and... Lytning. (Yeah, not exactly my proudest change). I eventually gave him a sidekick of his own, that being a wolverine soldier who was cast out by his wolf commander. However -- somewhere later down the line, I decided that Umeme should instead have a close friend/rival. Someone who's an equal in his abilities, but contrasts him in both personality and technique. With that put into consideration, I made the second main character a peregrine falcon. The world's fastest flyer -- as opposed to the world's fastest runner.

Much like Umeme, Radi -- Swahili for "thunder" -- also went through multiple name changes. With the following being: Boomer, Skylert, and (you guessed it) Thunder. Though unlike Umeme, who is good-sported, quick witted, and impatient -- Radi is cocky, impulsive, and easygoing -- thus establishing their relationship as rather dynamic. They almost remind me of Mordecai and Rigby from Cartoon Network's Regular Show, another influence of mine.

Alright, enough stalling. I'm well aware that this whole concept shares various similarities with Sonic the Hedgehog, coincidental or otherwise. In fact -- compared to the previous stuff I mentioned, I honestly received the most influence from Sonic. Me and my two brothers grew up mostly on Sonic games -- though I remember usually just watching them play, rather than playing any myself. Despite that, those childhood memories have still stuck with me to this day.

And it's not just the games that sparked my creative drive, but various shows, comics, music, fan works, etc. Whenever I think of speed and adventure, the first thing that comes to mind is -- well -- who else but the fastest thing alive? And while I'm not opposed to throwing some sly references here and there, I should at least make sure my own work's able to stand out on its own. Any more would just be copy n' paste at that point.

Moreover though, even the design of the characters grew to become loosely inspired by Sonic Adventure's iconic art style. Back when I was in middle school, my earliest designs of the two protagonists were -- no joke -- mistaken for a species swap of Mordecai and Rigby. Needless to say, there's certainly a night-and-day difference to how they look now. Same goes for the other characters, most of whom had their fair share of background revisions.

And speaking of revisions, here are some scrapped ideas I had for the series title:

1.) Chase & Skylert

2.) Safari Speedsters

3.) Lytning and Thunder (again, I'm sorry)

A few years down the line, I eventually landed on "Roaming Storm" as a definitive keeper. Would've gone with Passing Storm beforehand, but the latter sounded much more "in-the-moment" by comparison. And for the sake of standing out amongst other works of the same name, I later replaced the second "o" with a silent "x" -- essentially crossing it out. (With an added bonus of it being pretty relevant narrative-wise). Either or, I had finally found a name that sat just right with me. Not only does it represent our main two to a tee, but it also extends beyond just them. Because much like the letter X, a storm alone can symbolize many different things...

Chaos, Uncertainty

Power, Conflict

Change, Transformation

etc, etc.

All these aspects and more are a force of nature in and of themselves. Parts of our lives that're beyond our control, yet at the same time, are always around the corner. So by that logic, thunder and lightning isn't the only storm in this wicked wild world.

Anyway, I think I've prattled on long enough. To anyone reading this, I sincerely thank you again for having made it this far. This silly lil' story of mine has come a long way since middle school. But naturally over time, I grew out of it, and I wanted to try something more original -- rather than just your typical Sonic clone. For what it's worth though, it's been a huge help in sharpening my writing skills. So much so that I've recently been working on three other projects. Feel free to check 'em out if you want. Either that or stick around for some other stuff I added. It's the least I can do.

- Uchenna Erechukwu