Zero Punctuation - Webcomics

Jintor said:
Yeah, if you're stupid.

Seriously though, Penny-Arcade's Alone in the Dark comic was far funnier, methinks.

20080623.jpg
Click to expand...
Heh, got a chuckle out of me :)
 
I adore Penny Arcade.

Ctrl-Alt-Del I used to read, until I bored of it as it began to feel like like an unfunny sitcom (I should have completed it with a laughter track).
 
Gray Fox said:
It's funny how Yahtzee mentioned comics should use as little text as possible, well it's funny in relation to your example.
Click to expand...

It's not a hard and fast rule. It's variable. Ask yourself - which was funnier?

The CAD one would have been funnier with just the first and last panels, which I understand is a common hobby on forums...
 
I see your point, Sea. Didn't think about it like that.
 
Yahtzee, right as always.

Not only is PA much funnier, but the artwork is exponentially better than CAD. Leagues beyond it.
 
Is this gonna turn out be a webcomic argument like the one in the lounge?
 
Jintor said:
It's not a hard and fast rule. It's variable. Ask yourself - which was funnier?

The CAD one would have been funnier with just the first and last panels, which I understand is a common hobby on forums...
Click to expand...

I liked the CAD more. I usually don't think about why something is funny,
it's all regulated at an emotional level.

But if I had to explain why. It would come down to the build up and impact of the clue.
The PA comic reveals it in the first panel and I can guess instantly what is to come after that.
It would have been better had they been arguing about a game called Alone in the Dark,
and it was revealed at the end that one of them thinks about something very different when
Alone in the Dark comes to mind.

CAD handles it better by associating the situation in the comic at the end with the literal interpretation
of the name of the game. Without the 2 panels in between there would be no tension, so I like it more the way it is.
Though it is less original then what PA came up with.

But I don't think either of them is really funny.


Anyway, yahtezee breakthrough came with the review of Fable, which was brilliant because he managed to reiterate
the disappointment with the game without resorting to the very popular bullshit notion that linearity is inherently bad.
That took some guts, plus he went deeper and explained it by exactly pointing out the flaws with the gameplay, and the
superficial choices that the continuation of the story necessitates. While being incredibly funny in the process.

I can't make a definite statement about PA since I do not follow them regularly, but what I've seen of them is that they
usually take a very popular idea and draw it. And that's it, I have never seen anything that is particularly insightful,
clever, original or that provides a better perspective on matters. If there is a popular notion about some character being
emo or a game to colorful, PA will have a comic about it the next day, that will say the exact same thing in comic form.
I guess it works if you see them as an authority that justifies an opinion.
 
Gray Fox said:
I can't make a definite statement about PA since I do not follow them regularly, but what I've seen of them is that they usually take a very popular idea and draw it. And that's it, I have never seen anything that is particularly insightful, clever, original or that provides a better perspective on matters. If there is a popular notion about some character being emo or a game to colorful, PA will have a comic about it the next day, that will say the exact same thing in comic form. I guess it works if you see them as an authority that justifies an opinion.
Click to expand...

Fair enough.

What's with the bloody formatting though?
 
I format my text the way I do because it's easier for me to read it this way. I assumed
it would be the same for other people. If I do not format it then I can sometimes see a
whole paragraph in one long line running from the left of my 20" to the right and it's
really annoying to read. My eyes move easier from top to bottom then from the left to
right.

I also try to have my text in small digestible chunks, because that makes it easier
for me to read it. And easier to find something in the text should I need to review it.

But I have had 3 complaints about it by people, so...
 
^ It's fine with me. When someone posts a long reply I normally resize my browser window to make it easier to read
 
Gray Fox sounds like Tim Buckley LOL! :P I'm kidding, but it was funny, come on, you know it was. =]
 
I love CAD and I hate PA. :-\ The video wasn't about CAD but webcomics in general.

It just so happened that the miscarriage story arc got skewered. My sister reads CAD occasionally and it really hit home for her. I thought it was cringe worthy. Everyone's different.
 
Oooooooooooooooooooh sick burn on CAD.

Lulz.


Fan-noob said:
I love CAD and I hate PA. :-\ The video wasn't about CAD but webcomics in general.

It just so happened that the miscarriage story arc got skewered. My sister reads CAD occasionally and it really hit home for her. I thought it was cringe worthy. Everyone's different.
Click to expand...

It was about CAD. Your a noob, your sisters a noob, and CAD is for noobs.
 
OK, why the **** is there some random advertisements at the end of the videos, now?

I guess I gotta start stopping the vid after the credits are done, and thinking, "OH GOODY, EXTRA CONTETN!!!"
 
Well, let me say something on topic.

Those that are saying, "OMG THEY WERE BASHING *insert comic here*!!! THEY ARE WRONG!" are just playing into exactly what he was saying.

The ONLY comic he mentioned was Penny Arcade. Don't like that comic, HOLY SHIT, CONGRATS TO YOU! Please, don't mention it in your post. We don't care what you like tbh.

The video made me laugh, as there are numerous comics I've read that follow that guideline.
 
Ahhh... "brevity". What a wonderful word, and oh how CAD so desperately needs it.

I actually used to read CAD really frequently until I began to realize I was practically forcing myself to like it. It's Buckley's comic and he can do what he wants with it. But most of the jokes are predictable and marred by excessive speech bubbles. But to be fair(ish), and as was rightly pointed out in the video, this shit comprises 90% of gaming web comics.

PA is blessed with both great artwork and a skilled wordsmith. It may require some investment to fully "get" a lot of their comics. But I always appreciate the characters, and they always hit just the right level of absurdity, be it either in the premise or the dialogue. But go back to their very early comics and you'll see they suffered from a lot of the same faults Yahtzee described. The difference is that they've matured (if that's the appropriate word to use) over the years, whereas most others seem stuck in a rut with the humor of a 16 year old.
 
Cyberpitz - those ads have always been there, it's cos of theescapist, you know? He even put a joke about the ads in his vid.

Their traffic tripled after he was hired, so yeah.

Abs got it right about PA, btw.
 
Occasionally, Penny Arcade is funny. I mean, really witty and funny. At other times... it can get a bit lame. But no miscarriages. Also, can an IGN Insider PLEASE transcribe this IGN interview I see with Yatzee? It is cruel.. Cruel that they would make us pay for this.
 
You know why Penny Arcade kicks the ass of more or less every other gaming comic out there? It didn't develop a plot.

Drama is the f***ing cancer of gamer comics, no exceptions.
 
Indeed. Their "dreaded continuity" comes out in quick bursts and is largely self-contained. I swear I recall reading CAD plotlines that stretched on for weeks. Or at least that's what it felt like.
 
And they're actually genuinely funny! The Turkey Trilogy or Armedeadon were some of the funniest series of PA strips I've seen!

I'm not really liking this Cross the Line thing they've got going, but the latest comic is wordless bloody hilarity.
 
I like it, partly because I [used to] play table tennis :P
 
I just like the set-up comic at the beginning because its spot-on for the opening of half the sequels in the 80s.
 
20080704.jpg


lololololoool

Yeah, i'll be going back to Penny Arcade now.
 
I saw this on the gamespot forums and nearly crapped myself laughing, so I'm sharing it with you all:
77072d1213980337-funny-strange-random-pics-slowmygod.jpg

ah it appears many of these tasteless beauties originate from ED
 
The CAD forums are back up after a few days of "downtime", it seems.
 
The CAD Rule said:
At some point in time, 4chan got fed up with the general shitfest that is Tim Buckley's recent comics, and instigated a simple rule to make his comic much more tolerable and lulz worthy. By the simple act of removing the second and third panels, and removing the text from the fourth panel, the comic is made much funnier (which, ironically enough, isn't hard to do since the comic has long since been devoid of anything amusing and filled with walls of text and storyline ******ry). Any redundant panel in CAD is generally referred to as a Buckleybox. A second variation to the CAD rule is replacing the fourth panel of the comic with the fourth panel of "It's a Zu out There" (original plox). Not as lulz worthy, but the edits are still vastly superior to the original comic.
Click to expand...

Cad_Poor_Bomberman.jpg
 
I liked CAD when I read it last summer while bored at my boring government job. It looks like either it got much, much worse, or I've had my eyes opened.

Maybe both.
 
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