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Another thing about Erfworld is that the art bothers me. The guy has no idea about speech bubble placement- he'll pop them in the middle of a character's face, directly over the important part of the panel. Also, if you're gonna go for the infantile big-head mitten-hands thing, all very well, but don't then try to combine it with hourglass figures and sexy sexy lesbian torture scenes, cause it adds a layer of creepy. I honestly only check it due to it being right there with OOTS, though I have no idea why its there at all.
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Mar 19, 2007 02:21
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One plotline I'm watching in OotS is the one he started with the prequel book (did anyone else get this book? I'm referring to Durkon's banishment). As an aside would detailing what this plotline consists of be spoiler tag material?
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Mar 19, 2007 10:20
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Does the Erfworld guy pay Rich Burlew to be on his site? Seems like just being on the sidebar of a comic like OotS would be great advertising, and quite a few people in this thread (myself included) only check it out because it's right there.
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Mar 19, 2007 14:29
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Vomax posted:Does the Erfworld guy pay Rich Burlew to be on his site? Seems like just being on the sidebar of a comic like OotS would be great advertising, and quite a few people in this thread (myself included) only check it out because it's right there. I doubt it, he maintains other webcomics like Bruno the Bandit on his own. I think he's just friendly with a lot of guys who're bigger than he is, like Rich and Pete from Sluggy.
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Mar 19, 2007 17:15
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Wait, this same guy is the Bruno the Bandit guy? No wonder I hate him, he's an unfunny jackass who ruined Sluggy Freelance.
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Mar 19, 2007 17:22
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The Werle posted:I doubt it, he maintains other webcomics like Bruno the Bandit on his own. I think he's just friendly with a lot of guys who're bigger than he is, like Rich and Pete from Sluggy. No, you're thinking of Ian McDonald. Erfworld is written by Rob Balder, who also does Partially Clips, which is quite frequently funny. EDIT: Oh, and just one other thing on the topic of Erfworld. While I don't want to argue that people who aren't enjoying it are "wrong," I do want to point out that Burlew and Balder were well aware that it would appeal to a different audience than Order of the Stick. That difference is a large part of the reason that it's hosted on Giant in the Playground, as opposed to elsewhere: Rich Burlew posted:Now, this strip will be a little different from The Order of the Stick. While OOTS has an ongoing story, it is also largely a gag comic, with a punchline at the end of (most) every page. Erfworld will be more like a graphic novel, with one page appearing at a time but without a guaranteed joke each and every installment. The humor is more likely to spread over the course of an entire scene; some jokes will take several pages to be told. So, just food for thought. Perhaps it's knowingly not for you. Occultatio fucked around with this message at 17:40 on Mar 19, 2007 |
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Mar 19, 2007 17:26
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Backdoor Blanche posted:Wait, this same guy is the Bruno the Bandit guy? No wonder I hate him, he's an unfunny jackass who ruined Sluggy Freelance. Pete Abrams?
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Mar 19, 2007 17:36
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Occultatio posted:So, just food for thought. Perhaps it's knowingly not for you. And that's why I don't read it.  HitTheTargets posted:Pete Abrams? Shut up you 
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Mar 19, 2007 17:49
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Occultatio posted:Rich Burlew posted: Sorry, but 'being more like a graphic novel' is no excuse for slow pacing and pages with no pay off. Look at Girl Genius. That really IS a graphic novel being put up one page at a time and oh look it works. Print or web, it doesnt' matter, every page should have some reason for exsisting. If you cannot write like that, put up multiple pages. But don't hang on 'ITS NOT JUST A WEB COMIC GAG A DAY' as an excuse.
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Mar 19, 2007 18:09
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I appreciate what Erfworld is trying to do, and actually find the basic premise pretty funny (a self-insertion fanfic gone wrong, where a repulsive and unsympathetic nerd is summoned to aid the losing and beleagured bad guys). As a fan of Discworld I am always happy when an obviously comedic fantasy kingdom takes itself completely seriously for the sake of an extended joke. But through all this, Erfworld seems too forced. Typing "Twolls" and "Dwagons" isn't funny or even cute, it's irritating.
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Mar 19, 2007 18:50
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Battlestar Ferrinus posted:I appreciate what Erfworld is trying to do, and actually find the basic premise pretty funny (a self-insertion fanfic gone wrong, where a repulsive and unsympathetic nerd is summoned to aid the losing and beleagured bad guys). As a fan of Discworld I am always happy when an obviously comedic fantasy kingdom takes itself completely seriously for the sake of an extended joke. See, this is a premise I can get behind. I loved the early Erfworld strips, where it was this ridiculous, silly fantasy world that took itself utterly seriously. It's the bizzare layouts (come on, even I can keep balloons off of the middle of my character's loving faces, and my comic is far wordier than any comic ought to be) and frightening cutsey mitten-handed lesbian bondage torture that turns me off.
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Mar 19, 2007 20:40
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God, I'm reading through Erfworld now and I cannot stand it. It's got so much potential, like Ferrinus said, but lord if that guy isn't wasting it on the poo poo that comic is. None of these strips have made me laugh, and there have been multiple strips that I've had to reread just to figure out what was happening in them because the art is so bad. Aaargh
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Mar 19, 2007 20:56
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Gally posted:Sorry, but 'being more like a graphic novel' is no excuse for slow pacing and pages with no pay off. Look at Girl Genius. That really IS a graphic novel being put up one page at a time and oh look it works. Print or web, it doesnt' matter, every page should have some reason for exsisting. If you cannot write like that, put up multiple pages. But don't hang on 'ITS NOT JUST A WEB COMIC GAG A DAY' as an excuse. Plus there have been, what, thirty five odd pages thus far and what has been done? We've been introduced to a handful of characters (two of which were remotely interesting) and the guy got pulled into the world. I mean, slow pacing is fine, but there's exposition and there's two pages of elf name jokes.
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Mar 19, 2007 21:03
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Okay, I laughed at the "PLOT" sound effect.
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Mar 19, 2007 21:26
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So, the formatting issues are pretty unarguable. They really suck at laying out speech bubbles. As for the pacing issue, though, I think the problem is that a lot of people are simply going in with the wrong set of expectations. The driving force behind Erfworld's narrative is not plot, or even characters: it's the world itself. The focus is on the crazy screwed-up world, and exploring it and fleshing it out. If I can wax academic for a moment, it's what Card calls a "milieu" story. In that way, it's like Lord of the Rings. Note that I am NOT suggesting that it's on or even near the same level as LotR, merely that in both cases, the driving force is the world the author has built, and the plot is merely a means to the end of that exploration. Balder basically went over the top, trying to build the craziest world he could, stuffed full of geeky references, but at the same time making it into a world that works. Now, whether he succeeded is in the eye of the reader, but it's clear from the bits of "seriousness" that clash so strongly with the geekiness -- like Stanley's rage or the whole bobblehead-on-hourglass thing -- that that is what his goal is, at least. So the slow pace is due to him trying to establish the world. The plot is clearly building, though slowly, but every strip to date has established some new element of the world itself. If you look at it from that perspective, and more importantly if you're enjoying the worldbuilding exercise, then there's nothing particularly wrong with the pacing so far. EDIT: Rereading this, I just want to apologize for the overanalysis. My thesis, on science-fiction and fantasy storytelling, is due in a few days, and basically my entire brain has been appropriated for purposes of finishing it. Occultatio fucked around with this message at 21:59 on Mar 19, 2007 |
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Mar 19, 2007 21:46
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Hmm, now that the fat guy is in the world and things actually seem to be happening I'm kind of interested. I like that the midget with the hammer is the bad guy but refuses to believe it, this is actually shaping up to be somewhat interesting. Not nearly as good as OotS, but I think I'll keep up with it. I still hate the art, though.
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Mar 19, 2007 22:58
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 NEW STRIP IS UP And oh snap
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Mar 20, 2007 11:50
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i was wondering what the hell happened to that dragon
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Mar 20, 2007 12:34
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Maaan, I so almost called it. I think my plan to be waaaaay up was better, though, why would Xykon come so close like that? Unless his plan is to kill off Roy or Hinjo pretty soon rather than actually go for the throne room first.
Noonsaliwah fucked around with this message at 13:24 on Mar 20, 2007 |
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Mar 20, 2007 13:16
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Noonsaliwah posted:Maaan, I so almost called it. I think my plan to be waaaaay up was better, though, why would Xykon come so close like that? Unless his plan is to kill off Roy or Hinjo pretty soon rather than actually go for the throne room first. True Seeing only works out to a range of 120 feet, duh. Therefore if they wanted a cool splash page when they figured out the plan then Xykon had to be flying bizzarely close. Plus maybe the undead dragon is lazy and likes to fly as low and as directly as possible towards its goal.
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Mar 20, 2007 14:09
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Maybe it's so he can flip them off as he flies by. Flip them off so hard.
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Mar 20, 2007 14:14
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Fuego Fish posted:Flip them off so hard. "It's a shame they can't see me doing this, because I am doing it in the most magnificent manner possible."
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Mar 20, 2007 16:30
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Fuego Fish posted:Maybe it's so he can flip them off as he flies by. I'm sorry, but this is all I could think of when I read this. 
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Mar 20, 2007 17:16
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Is the "It's Pat" thing a reference to Vaarsuvius' unknown gender?
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Mar 20, 2007 17:39
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High Altitude Hair Stylist posted:Is the "It's Pat" thing a reference to Vaarsuvius' unknown gender? Yes.
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Mar 20, 2007 17:52
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Is he just invisible or is he also ethereal? That might explain why he's flying so close to the walls. Why worry about the enemy army if they can't see or even touch you?
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Mar 20, 2007 18:20
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clockworkjoe posted:Is he just invisible or is he also ethereal? That might explain why he's flying so close to the walls. Why worry about the enemy army if they can't see or even touch you?  If he was ethereal there wouldn't be any wind.
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Mar 20, 2007 18:30
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clockworkjoe posted:Is he just invisible or is he also ethereal? That might explain why he's flying so close to the walls. Why worry about the enemy army if they can't see or even touch you? I'm not much for D&D, so correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't being untouchable mean that his dragon would not generate the wind that tipped off his location in the first place? (Completely ignoring, of course, how the heck a creature unable to touch air would be able to fly) efb
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Mar 20, 2007 18:30
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He's probably gonna have his Dracolich breathe fire or do a breath weapon or whatever to lower their hitpoints and distract them, then go straight for the tower by air, while his troops rush the walls. The heroes and most of the highrankers will chase Zykon, and the lowlevel troops will be like "OH JESUS", or dead from said previous breath weapon. Or it's just cool looking.
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Mar 20, 2007 18:41
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Shouldn't Ray's sword started glowing since Zykon was near?
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Mar 20, 2007 18:50
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I think it only does that sometimes, right?
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Mar 20, 2007 19:05
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I don't know if that's a dracolihe or a zombie dragon. I must consult the Draconomicon! . . . Ok I consulted the Draconomicon and as I thought, a zombie dragon would be a bit weak (but can still fly, slowly), while a dracoliche at CR+3 is perhaps still a bit tough for a 13th level party to be fighting. I'm guessing it's just a zombie dragon he's using to fly around and look cool. I'd like to think a dracolich would have a bit more to say, even if he's deliberatly been going light on it's appearances. Efreet saiid fucked around with this message at 19:19 on Mar 20, 2007 |
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Mar 20, 2007 19:13
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Leikr Elferston posted:I don't know if that's a dracolihe or a zombie dragon. I must consult the Draconomicon! Alternatively, you could consult the strip archives, specifially here and here.
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Mar 20, 2007 19:37
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Gally posted:I think it only does that sometimes, right?
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Mar 20, 2007 21:22
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Fuego Fish posted:
Ah, I skipped over the WHOOSHes. Anyway, it's a zombie dragon. I think Xykon kills it in the bonus strips of the second book. It used to be a silver dragon.
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Mar 20, 2007 21:50
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clockworkjoe posted:Ah, I skipped over the WHOOSHes. What happens if the zombie dragon rots enough that it's wings just fall off in mid-air? Would that suck, or is that not possible? Maybe this is why zombies aren't real...
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Mar 20, 2007 22:03
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Zombie dragons fly, but not as fast as their base creature, I guess decay and slow movement plays a role in that.
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Mar 20, 2007 22:50
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I just hope Durkon or the blind priestess has invisibility purge prepped or on a scroll...
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Mar 21, 2007 00:25
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clockworkjoe posted:I just hope Durkon or the blind priestess has invisibility purge prepped or on a scroll... Won't the invisibility break as soon as he attacks something?
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Mar 21, 2007 00:44
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Gay Polymers posted:Won't the invisibility break as soon as he attacks something? Probably, but why would Xykon want to attack them? He's only trying to get to the throne room.
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Mar 21, 2007 01:11
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