Five Year Anniversary
HAWM, Guildies! Yes, it’s true, this boat’s been sailing (somehow) for five whole years. What is there to say on this milestone, when we’ve got almost half the story left to go and more surprises along the way? When we’ve got books 2 and 3 printing and nearly ready to ship to all our gracious backers? When we’ve begun work on the animations?
We can say Thank You, I guess. Thank you all for reading. Thanks for showing up, for being here, for being the magick that makes us never give up on this insane comic that we’re balls deep into. We love you guys. But we can’t take so big a victory lap when we have so much more work to do, so much more crazy stuff for you all! So we will continue working: That will be our celebratory ritual, or some shit.
Now, as is tradition, we now present you scantily clad versions of our characters in the name of summer fun, and open the floor to Q & A for anyone here at team GA! Go on, then: Ask Us Anything!
But where is Adam Sessler?!
PAX, probably?
JJ, on leaving his meeting with Adam, realized: “The guy saw my face!” and backtracked to tie up that loose end.
Saw his face? All the better to ominously appear in innocuous places.
How do you sit on half a story for another five years without popping?
Tantric meditation.
Alright. Alright. You’ve answered the preliminary question. Distinguished yourself as wheat from the chaff. Now answer me this: How do you sit on half a story for another five years without poopping?
Same answer.
At what point in his life did HR grow that glorious mustache?
As early as possible, since HR craves power in all its forms.
Squee! Shanna inna bathing suit. This is as good as plot advancement any day.
How ’bout Shanna outta bathing suit?
Somebody was gonna say it.
That is a nice mental image there.
That’s the wrong sort of ‘one-piece’ though…
“HOMONCULUS: sci-fi term or gay-bashing word?”
“Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction: my style inspiration” by JJ Bertel
“SHOCKING CONFESSIONS! Brother Tom and his embarrassing ‘I luv Mommy’ tattoo!”
So is Harky a Top or a Bottom?!
That’s none of your business.
i really appreciate you referencing source material on this one.
Well then how are gay relationships treated amongst the various peoples of the world’s rebellion? What was Harky’s self-discovery like?
This is one I think we’re still hoping to get to in-story, but there’s a really big hint to the start of your first answer at http://guildedage.net/comic/chapter-28-page-32/.
Conclusion : Dwarves disapprove of yaoi… and probably check carefully under the beard when dating to make sure they don’t do it by accident.
JJ did pay money for those books… what’d he think of em when he was done reading?
He thought they were pretty good! He doesn’t watch too much modern TV though so some of the references are lost on him.
How much do you guys enjoy reading the comments when new plot threads work their way into the story as everyone takes to here to try and figure out whats going on? Alternatively, what do you think when people actually do guess correctly where a plot is headed?
It’s usually pretty fun. It takes a *lot* of effort to try and keep things secret/unpredictable for you guys. Sometimes, though, we don’t really bother and let the obvious thing be true. Sometimes, too, it’s a laugh riot: it’s basically impossible to count how many characters have been accused of being Best’s alt.
When people actually *do* guess correctly, we’re basically just like “hey, good for you” privately without confirming or denying publicly.
As we’ve said before: we aim to surprise you guys but we have never and will never change the plot simply because somebody guessed what was going to happen.
Predictable doesn’t mean “bad.” Predictability is only bad if your story somehow *hinges* on a surprise… Which in *my* book is definitely a “bad” way to write.
Can you give yourself gold medals? That was an awesome comment.
Yeah, I don’t have too much to add. I remember getting a little aggravated early in my career when readers seemed to predict EVERY twist I could throw at them, but those days are long gone.
Are there any characters left who haven’t been accused of being a BestAlt?
Maybe in other comics.
That’s a big ‘maybe.’
Phil is Best’s alt! No, T is! Wait, both of the Waltrips are!
That Bert.
I’ve been answering questions from my phone all day so more typos than usual.
Shanna at the beach? Zinc Oxide shares are set to soar.
Where do you look to for facial hair inspiration regarding your character designs? I mean, look at JJ. Just look at him.
HR’s ‘stache is definitely inspired by William H. Macy, but John or Erica might be a better source for most of them. Original description for JJ in the script did mention a handlebar moustache.
Shanna is thinking “I hate nerds like him…why do I find him so attractive when he’s working on a plan to finally get us off this island?”
I guess Shanna is into younger men then. Not that she’ll admit it. Yet.
I don’t ship it.
Are HR and Carol simply co-workers or do they enjoy a social (romantic?) relationship outside of Hurricane?
or in the very least, is this something that will be answered in story later on?
I feel like we’ve established that HR doesn’t really have much of a life outside of his quest at this point. He is Carol’s boss, but allows her a great deal of familiarity (she was calling him by first name as early as http://guildedage.net/comic/chapter-9-page-5/). In fact, even fairly early in their working relationship, he called her the only one he could trust (http://guildedage.net/comic/chapter-31-page-24/). That’s probably all I can say right now, except that we’re definitely not done with these two.
Is roleplaying enforced in the game itself, or are Byron and Company just seeing the world from a totally different perspective?
Are orcs a playable race in the game (despite most of them being enslaved)?
Is this a straightforward two faction world playerbase-wise or do players start and join unique factions (such as the Brotherhood)?
Byron and company certainly don’t seem to think of themselves as players. I think that’s probably the most straightforward answer I can give at this point.
I would say no.
According to the stats on the big board (http://guildedage.net/comic/chapter-19-page-10/), it’s two-faction.
I’m willing to give this a bit more detail:
1) Role playing is not enforced in the game, that would basically be impossible from a game management standpoint. Even on RP servers their were non role players akimbo: they just chose a server with a low population, they weren’t paying attention to what kind it was. You can’t make players RP in a game no matter how hard one tries. But otherwise, what T said.
2) Orcs are non playable. Maybe in a later expansion.
3) the game is framed in a two-faction concept a la WoW. There are smaller factions that players can rep into, but it does more than open up items for you at a vendor.
So, are those typos or puns?
I’m just happy to see you.
Why, oh why aren’t the flowers on HR’s shirt, or at least the stripe on his trunks, purple?
I barely knew it was him!
Maybe the deck shoes?
You’re not at the proper angle to see the tie he’s still wearing.
When he starts swimming, he’ll bust out the purple speedo.
How does magic work in the setting? I understand that, from the sepia viewpoint, it’s just a game and the underlying metaphysics can be handwaved, but even with that there’s stuff like scrying into the game code or the Snow Elf portents that make me wonder how the various spellcasters of the setting do that voodoo that they do so well.
I think I could help you out if your question were more specific? Otherwise the answer is “they cast spells and stuff happens.”
Basically, I’m looking for the 101 on the metaphysics. Like, just below T provides a solid explanation of how one learns to use magic. What I’m trying to figure out is the basics of what those people are learning. Are magic words, gestures, and such a mnemonic aid, or a code to unlock an effect? Does casting spells drain one’s health, or is it the strain of calling upon some arbitrary ambient energy that keeps mages from throwing around fireballs like Frig throws around profanity?
Yeah. I will say that it generally takes a whole lot of time and training, and those who seek that level of training tend to end up somewhat secluded (see the dwarven mystics). Or else there’s some kind of shortcut involved. This is basically why E-Merl, who leans on his talismans as cheats, is still capable of doing some really in-demand tricks.
HR uses obsessive study, a powerful spellbook, and a particular blend of mysticism and programming. The Winter Elves are highly specialized: they only do one thing better than other mystics, but they do it very, very well indeed.
My only question is..
Is someone getting the Best..
The Best..
Of you?
Nice try, but no, Rachel is not Best’s alt.
Don’t worry, herpderp, I get the joke.
Dang. Carol’s pretty smoking.
Not a question, but I will agree that the answer is Yes.
I just realized that Carol is about to down a huge mix drink. I didn’t know she had a high alcohol tolerance.
I have a strong suspicion Carol’s alcohol tolerance has risen a bit in the last year.
Are there any non-Gastonian human factions or powers in Arkerra? If so, what do they think of Gastonia and the war in general?
What does Arkerra look like on a map? Is it all one continent or what?
We might get to that at some point, but I think it’s safe to say Gastonia is a lot like Old Rome: its influence reaches very far indeed, even to areas not considered its territory. One of the issues raised by the formation of Fightopia was its blockage of trade routes between Gastonia and other human settlements.
We’ve purposely avoided making a map of Arkerra to leave ourselves a little design freedom, but Arkerra is a name for a continent, not a planet.
Fr’nj was left out of the list of players closely tied to the five people in tubes, and is also left out of the cast page. In my mind she’s on par with the four who were listed, though.
Do you just not consider her part of the core cast, and think of her as more of a side-character who wasn’t worth focusing on at the time (lest Shanna’s list become enormous and include every character in the story)? Or was there an alternate reason for either or both of the above decisions?
I don’t necessarily want to know what the alternate reason might be. Just whether the choice to exclude her was part of the story or part of the story-telling. I want to know if I should care about her as a character. Which sounds rude and awful, but I don’t mean it that way, I just don’t know how else to put it. You said once that the list of core characters that were at the focus of the story had expanded, and she’s the one character that I’m unsure about whether she’s part of that list or not.
We definitely did not leave her out of that list by accident. But I wouldn’t encourage rationing out your sympathy in this case. Fr’Nj is as real to me, personally, as any of the characters, as her recent crisis of faith indicates. Just as Bandit’s membership in the original Peacemakers “counted” even though she wasn’t “one of the Five,” Fr’Nj’s role is significant to both Arkerra and “the game” in ways yet to be elaborated.
Also, please: Let us not confuse my lethargy in keeping the cast page up to date as any deliberate statement of character priority.
Are we allowed two questions? I have a second question.
HR talked a lot about philosophy and shadows and parables. I’m pretty sure no one reading the comic really understood what the heck he was talking about. I started getting the kind of vibes I get while watching certain anime like Fullmetal Alchemist, or playing games like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy. Are you guys planning to eventually go into complex explanations of all processes behind the supernatural phenomena, what causes them, how they relate to the state of the universe, the truth about gods and religions, the nature of a soul, and so forth? Is this something you like or dislike when other works do it?
The answer is the same in either case for me:
It depends on how it makes me feel as I’m watching it.
We have a deep interest in philosophy, but I think it’s gotten a lot of play in Guilded Age already, not only through HR but through characters like Brother Tom and Naror’Nj, and even Shanna and Syr’Nj. I don’t think Guilded Age is likely to get more philosophical than it has in the near future.
Ehhhhhhhhhh, I would still say that I am open to the idea based on how I feel when we get there.
How we feel about the story and where it’s going/what we’re doing with it has changed and probably will change again.
What are your biggest inspirations (idols) as far as storytelling goes, Phil & T?
And will Jason ever be mentioned on the crew page?
Jason will get a spot on the crew page as soon as he gets back to me on what he wants there.
As far inspiration, I take whatever my current obsession is in games or comics or what have you and try to see a side of it that’s interesting to me.
Like, I analyze what makes me obsessively consume Thing and then try to apply it to my own ideas. Hard to describe.
I think a lot of art is seeing something that exists and going “I like my way better.”
A lot of inspiration, for me, is training yourself to always be looking for it. I certainly grew up at the knee of certain well-regarded comic-book writers, but these days I absorb a lot from a lot of different sources, all the time, and just try to mind the general quality of my diet.
Are the World’s Rebellion heroes (Goblaurence, HAMMERHEAD & co.) player characters as well?
No comment.
Horde or Alliance?
I didn’t last long enough as a WoW player to really feel close allegiance to one side or the other, really. Now, Phil…
You misspelled syllabus.
YOU ROCK!!!!! I just wanted to thank you guys. Skullkickers satisfies the craving for a good table-top RPG experience, but nothing I’ve seen gives me a full package of fantasy/sci-fi awesomeness like this book does…and I am thrilled to hear that you’re only half-done. Now go, write and draw like the wind Geor…er…heh.
Looks like there’s a little foreshadowing on JJ, there.
Looking at H.R.’s head position and angle hurts my neck!
Xen looks like a young Duke (G.B. Trudeau).