Comic Amalgamation Station

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Not sure if this will be acceptable, but after the success of Paper Telephone, I thought this was worth a shot...

This game is a little like Paper Telephone, but with an important difference; its largely picture based. The task is to create a comic strip. The problem is that each panel is made by different people who have no idea what else is in the comic.

Basically, this is how it will work;

We'll chose some budding artists (or force some not-so-budding terrible artists). I will PM a subject to them. It will be Middle Earth related, of course. Along the lines of 'A meeting of Orcs', 'Gandalf's hat troubles' or more likely, something funnier. Each player will then draw a panel for a comic strip. (I'll give dimensions at the end...) Once everyone has sent their pictures back to me, I'll do my best to arrange them into some sort of 'story'.

If you agree to this game, then you should keep your drawings to this size;

Example;


200 X 200

So... Will any among you join this quest to spin a tale of such strangeness that all the Elves will collapse in disgust? I'd like to get about 6 players at least.

[Aganzir]

Yea.

I've been terribly lazy with drawing lately, and what would be a better way to get me to draw again than have an angry Hookbill pestering me if it takes me too long?

[Nogrod]

Ha-ha. Sure bet!

I'm in, that means...

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Thanks for supporting this incredibly silly game.

- Aganzir
- Nogrod
- phantom, the
- Lommy

The benefits of this game are that everyone is drawing at once, rather than in a chain. So it should be done sooner than a MASSIVE Paper Telephone run.

[the phantom]

I am no artist.

In the one art class I was forced to take when I was 12, my final project was a terrible drawing of a monster with a huge sword and a shoulder mounted grenade launcher. The art teacher didn't approve.

And for our final pottery project we were supposed to make an ornate pitcher with a lid. I made a four-legged monster-looking thing, hollowed out the inside, and then forced a small hole through from its mouth down through its neck to its body so that you could pour liquid out of its gaping maw.

Again, the art teacher didn't approve.

But this little game gives me hope, Hookbill. Surely here on the Downs my work will not be looked down on. I can redeem myself, and become a respected artist.

Or at least I can become a terrible artist that is laughed at rather than sent to the principal.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by the phantom

But this little game gives me hope, Hookbill. Surely here on the Downs my work will not be looked down on. I can redeem myself, and become a respected artist.

The Downs wouldn't approve.

Phantoms aside; Hookbill, when are you planning to start this thing? Or when do you think it would start... and how much time are you planning to give to the... artists... to draw their pieces?

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

Phantoms aside; Hookbill, when are you planning to start this thing? Or when do you think it would start... and how much time are you planning to give to the... artists... to draw their pieces?

I'll start as soon as we have a good number of artists. I'll probably give a limit of... say... a week at the most? It's only a small picture, so it shouldn't take that long...

[Thinlómien]

This looks like a lot of fun... count me in.

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Hookbill the Goomba

I'll probably give a limit of... say... a week at the most?

I'd call that a decent shot. Week is enough if you have other duties pressing on certain days - or even several days - but not too much to wait for the outcome.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

We could do with two more participants... Any takers?

If nothing else, it's something to do while we wait for the current Paper Telephone.


- Aganzir
- Nogrod
- phantom, the
- Lommy
- Oddwen
- A Little Green

[Oddwen]

I'll join.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Tell you what, seeing as we aren't getting any more volunteers at the moment, I'll fill up the blank space with a 'the end' panel or something. So... This means we're starting any minute now.

I'll PM the theme to all the participants along with instructions and what not.

Let's hope this is a good one!

Of course, if someone volunteers before the end, I won't say no to them.

[Thinlómien]

Can people still join? I was just talking to Greenie less than an hour ago and showed her this thread and asked if she'd like to join, and she said yes, and I asked if I should post about her being a volunteer here and she said she'd rather do it later by herself and let me write my RPG posts now...

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

Can people still join? I was just talking to Greenie less than an hour ago and showed her this thread and asked if she'd like to join, and she said yes, and I asked if I should post about her being a volunteer here and she said she'd rather do it later by herself and let me write my RPG posts now...

Of course! I'll PM the stuff to her now.

I've underlined those who have done thier pictures

- Aganzir
- Nogrod
- phantom, the
- Lommy
- Oddwen
- A Little Green

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

May I please join the next game?

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Originally Posted by TheGreatElvenWarrior

May I please join the next game?

Of course. As long as this game is successful and does not cause some sort of temporal paradox that would destroy the universe...

[Hookbill the Goomba]

It's done!



Credits, in order of frames;
Oddwen, phantom, nogrod, Aganzir, Lommy, Greenie.

[Aganzir]

Hahaha.

Well this didn't make much sense, but it was amusing. The bright colours contrasted the happenings quite nicely (well, except for my pic, but I ended up being too lazy to colour it).

If we're doing another round, I'm in - unless Hookbill (or whoever's going to mod it) decides on a participant limit and there are other people who want to try it.

However, I'm not sure if some more consistency would be needed. I kind of liked it this way but it might be worth a try - say, if the mod gave the players a short list of characters to choose from, or just wrote a story to explain the pics once that the round is finished? Or would it become too much like Paper Telephone?
Dunno.

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Aganzir

However, I'm not sure if some more consistency would be needed. I kind of liked it this way but it might be worth a try - say, if the mod gave the players a short list of characters to choose from, or just wrote a story to explain the pics once that the round is finished? Or would it become too much like Paper Telephone?
Dunno.

I agree with a need for some consistency... but we should not destroy the very anarchistic idea this whole thing kind of rests on.

I think with a host more contributors and some deals made of the central characters this would be much more fun. With 10 to 15 pics the mod could really do her/his best and would have a lot of more choices to build a funny story. With only six pics one has very limited possibilities.

But it was fun to be in this and I do hope we'll get a new one with lots of contributors to make this a real event!

[Hookbill the Goomba]

That's not a bad idea. I had thought of something along those lines, but wasn't sure whether or not to do it right away.

You're right that we need more players. So, call up your friends, and your enemies! Let's get some sort of MASSIVE comic of some sort of doom.

[Thinlómien]

That was rather insane. I love all the pics.

I agree that there was maybe a slight problem with consistency/ making sense, but I think it was more because of the original sentence than because of the rules. Had the sentence sent to all of us included some character or object (eg. "Frodo caused a tragedy in Hobbiton"), it would have turned out rather different, I think. So, I don't think the rules necessarily need to be changed. (It's a question of preference, I think.)

Count me in for the next round.

[A Little Green]

You can count me in as well. Great work with the last one, guys. That was pretty weird.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Okay, players signed up for the next game...

- TheGreatElvenWarrior
- Aganzir
- Nogrod
- Thinlómien
- A Little Green
- Oddwen
- phantom, the
-


I'll try and maintain some consistency by giving a list of characters for the next one. Maybe at least two can volunteer to do the 'ending' and 'starting' frame? Would that be good?

[Oddwen]

That was silly. And it did make some sense, as tp and Agan shared a character in theirs...thank goodness for widespread inside jokes and egotism.

I'll volunteer for the next round.

[the phantom]

Interesting comic we came up with. I see my panel was a little too large. Sorry Hook. I'll try to make it right this next time.

And just what is that in the background, Ganzy?

*glares*

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Hookbill the Goomba

I'll try and maintain some consistency by giving a list of characters for the next one. Maybe at least two can volunteer to do the 'ending' and 'starting' frame? Would that be good?

++ a list of characters

++ volunteer for the starting frame

We might also have some slight basic ideas about the central characters, like if there is Aragorn he should have "brown shirt and a green backpack" or whatever so that we might be able to see the drawer has intended the same character. It doesn't need to be minute as all creativity is okay but just some such features which would make it clear to everyone who the character is (like Faramir is having a red feather in his hat )?

[Nogrod]

PS. How about trying to attract people in with some PM's? It would be fun to try this with actually a slightly bigger crowd.

[Nogrod]

Also the header could be a bit more detailed. "Tragedy in Hobbitton" is vague enough to make too different interpretations available with only half a dozen drawers in the game. I do not wish for any strict headers but a bit narrower one could be better - at least if we don't get a landslide for new people to join as well.

Like I said earlier it needs to be open enough to keep the possibilities of totally insane stories to be made up open still...

PS. Referring to my first post: I'd keep the last frame open for the mod to decide which it should be, but the maker of the first one could be decided beforehand...

[Aganzir]

Originally Posted by the phantom

And just what is that in the background, Ganzy?

*glares*

Oh, just some random guy Gandalf had hanged because he couldn't stand it that he was almost as hot and smart as Gandalf himself.

++ a list of characters
++ a volunteer for the starting frame

I agree with Nog about the last frame as well as about the subject being a bit more detailed. However, I don't think the main features of the characters are that necessary to decide (unless it's something like "who chopped off Gollum's arm?").

Inviting people might be useful, either via PM or by posting an ad to the Paper Telephone thread. It might attract a few players.

[Thinlómien]

Originally Posted by Aganzir

Inviting people might be useful, either via PM or by posting an ad to the Paper Telephone thread. It might attract a few players.

Also, waiting for a few more days before starting could be a good idea...

[THE Ka]

Sure, why not.

I just won't be around until Monday though, if that is a problem. I have... Things to do. Artsy things. Yes.

~ Ka

[the phantom]

I agree that it might be good to add a detail or two- eg "Trouble with Gandalf in Hobbiton". But I think placing too many demands and restrictions on the panels will lead to amalgamations that make a bit too much sense. I think part of the fun of this is the fact that things don't make sense.

So yes, give us a slightly more detailed topic, or maybe one recurring character or object, but not any more than that.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Originally Posted by the phantom

I agree that it might be good to add a detail or two- eg "Trouble with Gandalf in Hobbiton". But I think placing too many demands and restrictions on the panels will lead to amalgamations that make a bit too much sense. I think part of the fun of this is the fact that things don't make sense.

So yes, give us a slightly more detailed topic, or maybe one recurring character or object, but not any more than that.

I agree. Although, something like "Gandalf tries on different hats" might produce things too similar.

- TheGreatElvenWarrior
- Aganzir
- Nogrod
- Thinlómien
- A Little Green
- Oddwen
- phantom, the
- THE Ka
- Volo
- Legate
- Gwathagor

Now we have enough players! We can still accept more if anyone else wants to play. If we get an odd number I can always put a "The End" frame in.

So... Who wants to do the opening panel?

[Volo]

Though I haven't fully grasped the idea, I'm in.

[Aganzir]

If there are no other volunteers, I have no problems doing the opening.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

I'll leave the player list open until Sunday, shall we say? Hopefully the weekend will give some the chance to sign up... Maybe?

Thanks Agan! I look forward to your work.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Well, as I managed to return, and as I see quite "five minuts to twelve", I'd say, I would like to ask: May I still join this round? Could be interesting.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

Well, as I managed to return, and as I see quite "five minuts to twelve", I'd say, I would like to ask: May I still join this round? Could be interesting.

Yep.

I'm going to start now. Aganzir, you're doing the opening panel.

[Gwathagor]

If you've got an open spot, count me in, please, Mr. the Goomba.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Oh, um, could people please sign their E-mails with their screen name. Last time I had to rack my brains trying to work out who some of you were.