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[Duke 2.0]

Man, the whole time I was reading the archives, I kept thinking that it would make the world's best RPG.

Probably not.  But it makes me want to create something.

There have been countless fan adventures using the system, and at least one fighting game in development that will likely never go anywhere.

 They made a rockin' trailer though.

[Vector]

Oh, I meant in terms of characterization, mostly >_>  I'm not talking about making a fangame (more like I just feel inspired to create a completely unrelated novel or somesuch), though I have a strong suspicion that this webcomic will create a wave of fans who will change the face of the RPG market in general at least a little bit.  Game-within-a-game mechanics, or something like that.

... Actually, that's a very smart way of hiding the fact that the external game is a game, since you'd be interacting with a computer inside of the computer... and so then the game mechanics are no longer exposed and cannot attack one's suspension of disbelief.

Huh.

The other interesting thing is that it puts an emphasis on mediation, friendship, and rivalry as somehow equal to romance, so that then the readers have an expanded world-view as to what is "important."  That's... also extremely interesting.

Huhhhhh.

[lordnincompoop]

It would be the world's best RPG if only because it would be the world's last RPG. And then you can't argue anything is better than it because everyone is dead.

Not quite what you meant. Yeah, making it work would be a headache. Combinatorial explosion is problematic with just a small number of items, but when you can combine things and then combine them with the combination, and do it in two different ways? Or more, depending on how long the chain is? That would be a horrible task to tackle. And that's just one issue.

I suppose one could address alchemization by limiting what one can use, but that feels too restrictive for this particular setting...

You could have it create items, and their combinations, on the fly. Set some rules, see if it works.

With more complex forms of graphical representation, of course, this task would be harder. For a roguelike, it'd still be difficult, but not impossible.

[Vector]

MMO.

Also, that would be strange, and probably just kind of suck.

[freeformschooler]

You're right, Vector -- it probably is going to end up changing some market. Hussie accurately described it as a "singularity" in that the popularity and impact of the comic could not be accurately imagined before it actually happened. Heck, they have a thread in the MSPa forums about MSPA references in popular culture, and there's all sorts of things -- from the problem sleuth weapon in Super Scribblenauts, to trailers with character names in them (such as Etrian Odyssey 3), to veiled SBAHJ referenced on a TV show (american dad? can't remember the name), the list goes.

[Aqizzar]

... Actually, that's a very smart way of hiding the fact that the external game is a game, since you'd be interacting with a computer inside of the computer... and so then the game mechanics are no longer exposed and cannot attack one's suspension of disbelief.

Japanese-produced videogames have been doing that for a generation.  Every time Solid Snake or Fox McCloud asks for clarification about a game mechanic, it's at once a little grating and kind of a refreshing joke.

The other interesting thing is that it puts an emphasis on mediation, friendship, and rivalry as somehow equal to romance, so that then the readers have an expanded world-view as to what is "important."  That's... also extremely interesting.

The more I think about Hussie's "romantic creations", the more they actually make sense in a human perspective - he's basically putting names on atypical relationships that we never really acknowledge but understand immediately.  Some of his ideas about friendship work by turning normal friendship structures on their ear, but they're still tangible.  And that's the real brilliance of it, they're alien ideas without being so alien that they're nonsensical or hackneyed.

But yes, creativity of any kind.  I'm using to scratch my writing itch, but jumping in with the fanfic crowd.  Eventually.  Finally.

I suppose one could address alchemization by limiting what one can use, but that feels too restrictive for this particular setting...

If anything, Hussie actually addressed that a long long time ago with the Ghost Dad Poster business, that I'm too lazy to link right now.  Basically, some combinations lead to total nonsense objects or pairings, because 2^64 or whatever is still a finite number for a system that's supposed to accommodate literally every conceivable object in the universe.  If you were actually trying to make a playable game, as opposed to the unbounded possibility of narrative, you'd have free license to make the alchemization as limited as you wanted, provided it was still fun.

Making enough objects and combinations for it to be fun would still be a ludicrous amount of work though.

There have been countless fan adventures using the system, and at least one fighting game in development that will likely never go anywhere.

 They made a rockin' trailer though.

April 7, 2010

[Vector]

Japanese-produced videogames have been doing that for a generation.  Every time Solid Snake or Fox McCloud asks for clarification about a game mechanic, it's at once a little grating and kind of a refreshing joke.

Ah, well, I meant more explicitly, so that it's really just a game... or something.

Hm.


I guess my main interest is that he's made the trolls so extraordinarily "unlikable" in the normal sense, but their sheer unlikability makes them fun.  Er... English is failing me.  But in any case, this is all ridiculous.

[freeformschooler]

But in any case, this is all ridiculous.

welcome to the MSPA fandom have a nice day

[FuzzyZergling]

I guess my main interest is that he's made the trolls so extraordinarily "unlikable" in the normal sense, but their sheer unlikability makes them fun.  Er... English is failing me.  But in any case, this is all ridiculous.

Do you mean that the Trolls are likeable as characters, but not as people?

[applesauce machine]

Welp, Terezi's dead.

I sensed some possible foreshadowing that said otherwise. Gamzee will attack Terezi, and Terezi will... you get the idea. I think Terezi is about to be in a life-or-death situation soon, but I'm sure everybody here was already thinking the same thing too, though probably without the "life" part.

You would need to achieve an especially heightened state of determination to pull that off, though. [/qoute]

[Vector]

Do you mean that the Trolls are likeable as characters, but not as people?

No, they actually seem like my sort of crowd in some senses (hell, it was basically Vriska, Eridan, Tavros, and Kanaya [me? whoever the fuck I am.  I'm just going with the mediator for obvious reasons] in high school).  What I mean is that their redeeming qualities are usually underneath all of their grumpy, nonfunctional layers, which are so fun to watch that their good points become sweet and interesting rather than the boring mess that such things so often are.

Also, Karkat arguing with himself is amazing.

[Aqizzar]

Indeed.  The Trolls are entertaining to watch because, under all that objectively entertaining alien idiocy, they're recognizable as people, deeply flawed but ultimately endearing.  There's a reason the comic's readership and fan-made output increased exponentially with Act 5, because they have so much development potential as characters, on top of being fun to watch.

Welp, Terezi's dead.

I sensed some possible foreshadowing that said otherwise. Gamzee will attack Terezi, and Terezi will... you get the idea. I think Terezi is about to be in a life-or-death situation soon, but I'm sure everybody here was already thinking the same thing too, though probably without the "life" part.

We can once again point to the chat-timeline oddities that prove Terezi will still be relatively sane and very much alive at least an hour after the "countdown" ends, when we see Gamzee covered in considerably more blood than he already was.

[Heliman]

Spoiler: Courtesy of the MSPA fanart thread (click to show/hide)

[Jim Groovester]

Welp, Terezi's dead.

I sensed some possible foreshadowing that said otherwise. Gamzee will attack Terezi, and Terezi will... you get the idea. I think Terezi is about to be in a life-or-death situation soon, but I'm sure everybody here was already thinking the same thing too, though probably without the "life" part.

We can once again point to the chat-timeline oddities that prove Terezi will still be relatively sane and very much alive at least an hour after the "countdown" ends, when we see Gamzee covered in considerably more blood than he already was.

But what about all the trolls that didn't work out for?

[Aqizzar]

Fuck those guys.  TZ and KK survive, the rest are acceptable losses.  They're chilling out in dreambubbles or some shit, they'll be fine.

Spoiler: Courtesy of the MSPA fanart thread (click to show/hide)

Why do we even read this comic?