tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post3585945413599613951..comments2024-03-17T05:03:46.056-07:00Comments on xkcd sucks: Comic 623: Headed SouthCarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-86212654821896747652009-08-21T09:13:53.982-07:002009-08-21T09:13:53.982-07:00This comic made me smile as I comptemplated how it...This comic made me smile as I comptemplated how it would be if Oregon Trail (a computer game, not a video game :P) had happened in real life. Therefore the comic is a success. You're right that it becomes the reader's job to make it funny in their head, but I guess I don't have a problem with this.Ian Monroehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16953610792430204523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-80310036233376161362009-08-19T23:08:35.659-07:002009-08-19T23:08:35.659-07:00Wow. You really think we didn't get it? And ...Wow. You really think we didn't get it? And you really went through and wrote a full fucking page explaining the non-joke.<br /><br />Thanks.Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11192581573588205095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-37646326770205916622009-08-19T22:57:32.497-07:002009-08-19T22:57:32.497-07:00what is this "oregon trail video-game" o...what is this "oregon trail video-game" of which you speak?Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-55856480259182777572009-08-19T22:25:32.578-07:002009-08-19T22:25:32.578-07:00not enough, whatever, fuck younot enough, whatever, fuck yourshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15828938843801425383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-51457291816812347102009-08-19T22:25:23.617-07:002009-08-19T22:25:23.617-07:00fun fact: bad execution = bad humor. an idea is no...fun fact: bad execution = bad humor. an idea is not alone to make anything good, at all.rshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15828938843801425383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-66915086404027543772009-08-19T22:20:17.734-07:002009-08-19T22:20:17.734-07:00This comic is humorous because you're at first...This comic is humorous because you're at first led to believe that the timeline is an accurate historical account. Then the narrative begins to vary from reality to extrapolate what WOULD have happened if the game Oregon Trail actually represented real life.<br /><br />"children and adolescents" -- the game Oregon Trail was played in grammar schools. The trail wasn't actually populated by children.<br /><br />"500,000+ settlers" -- a joke about the fact that the game always took place during 1848. The number of times that the game was played far surpassed the actual numbers of settlers that year.<br /><br />"cartloads of bullets" -- in the game, the most effective way to find food was hunting (and the hunting minigame was also quite a bit of fun). Everyone I know who played the game didn't bother to bring any food from town, but stocked up entirely on bullets. This choice was based on childish exploitation of the game engine and would never have worked in real life. The thought of people *actually* leaving for Oregon with nothing but a wagon-full of ammunition is rather comical.<br /><br />"overhunting begins to devastate ecosystem" -- again, EVERYONE hunted in the game. In the *game world* there was an infinite supply of creatures to kill... <br /><br />the list of epidemics -- the only real epidemic occurring at that time in North America was Cholera. Just wikipedia "list of epidemics." Five different diseases causing epidemics at the same time in the same region is completely unrealistic... but it definitely happened in the game. There's also a bit of nostalgia pandering going on here... everyone remembers being frustrated when several members of their party died from different diseases for no reason.<br /><br />"all mammals larger than squirrels wiped out" -- in the hunting minigame, the larger animals moved the slowest (easiest to kill) and gave the most meat. In the real world it'd be much easier to kill smaller animals -- easier to kill, easier to butcher, easier to carry, less chance of attack. But by the rules of the game world, only large animals would be wiped out.<br /><br />tragedy at the end -- extrapolating from the game world, we have overpopulation, no food supply, and five separate epidemics affecting the settlers. The (ridiculous, thus humorous) conclusion is that everyone dies and flees the territory. Hint: in real life, things didn't turn out quite that way.<br /><br />And then the alt-text is a little meta-humor about the video-game that WOULD have been made if the original video game had been the story of what actually happened.<br /><br />TL;DR the above. In conclusion, some xkcd comics aren't very funny. Some, like this one, are hilarious, but still get bashed because people don't understand the premise of the humor or don't like the style/execution. It's disappointing that there isn't more objectivity around here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-17076093106748234042009-08-18T04:20:22.874-07:002009-08-18T04:20:22.874-07:00It coulda been a REALLY REALLY dull spanish class....It coulda been a REALLY REALLY dull spanish class.Ann Apolishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08566528013026340201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-69517578039081782332009-08-18T01:01:55.749-07:002009-08-18T01:01:55.749-07:00It's another thing I never figured out, you kn...It's another thing I never figured out, you know. Why is she sleeping on the floor? What the hell kind of Spanish class (or high school) is this, anyway? She doesn't even look like a hobo. (Not that hobos sleeping in Spanish classes makes any sense)Person Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03486274284758665991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-309165021349514512009-08-17T23:45:22.667-07:002009-08-17T23:45:22.667-07:00Gah, #7 is fucking horrifying. It wouldn't be ...Gah, #7 is fucking horrifying. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that he was just stone cold drawing some random sleeping chick. 'Oh hey you are asleep, I'm just going to stare at your ass for a while.'rshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15828938843801425383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-59541788091258186672009-08-17T23:27:02.605-07:002009-08-17T23:27:02.605-07:00Also, what about *7*? I mean, okayish drawing, esp...Also, what about *<a href="http://xkcd.com/7/" rel="nofollow">7</a>*? I mean, okayish drawing, especially for Randall, (although the ones before that were all fairly good sketches) but it fits the CarlCriteria alpha ("Where's is teh funny?") and gamma ("Shit, creepy!"), I think.Person Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03486274284758665991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-64975587914394338952009-08-17T23:17:31.993-07:002009-08-17T23:17:31.993-07:00You gotta admit though, it has nice art. I mean, s...You gotta admit though, it has nice art. I mean, sure it's not awfully creative, but at least it's... Competent? It takes competence to copy well. >_><br /><br />And anyway, I haven't really heard of this Kurt Halsey person except for what Google told me, but it seems his thing is that he writes these mushy little notes on his drawings. If that's the case then 46 is a legitimate subversion, and I think a clever one at that.Person Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03486274284758665991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-71598299911133447982009-08-17T21:23:59.848-07:002009-08-17T21:23:59.848-07:00i'm going to have to go ahead and disagree wit...i'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with you there. what about <a href="http://xkcd.com/46/" rel="nofollow">46</a>?Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-31456944406709869182009-08-17T12:08:00.706-07:002009-08-17T12:08:00.706-07:00This was the first XKCD that honest-to god simply ...This was the first XKCD that honest-to god simply sucked.Nulonohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00696072610155482618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-29141640876883885732009-08-16T11:01:22.993-07:002009-08-16T11:01:22.993-07:00Well script is even less than stick figures, but h...Well script is even less than stick figures, but hey. Calligraphy.Person Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03486274284758665991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-72152404687307992872009-08-16T06:58:13.879-07:002009-08-16T06:58:13.879-07:00i agree with that, but regardless, it's still ...i agree with that, but regardless, it's still just stick figures. Be they unique (I think part of it comes from stick figures usually being drawn fairly stiff, with no curves)Person #1https://www.blogger.com/profile/17155647957555627795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-6841897045642848722009-08-15T22:22:06.675-07:002009-08-15T22:22:06.675-07:00"This is going to sound silly, but when Randy..."This is going to sound silly, but when Randy puts a little effort into it he does draw somewhat distinctive stick figures. I think his proportions are slightly unusual, and the stroke he uses for the head is not common, so when he can make his strokes obvious the resulting stick figures are pretty recognizable as Randall's stick figures."<br /><br />Yeah, indeed. I always felt there was something distinctive about his drawing style. Also, a couple of people I know have said before that his stick figures can be uncannily expressive. I *do* think he deserves praise for his style, but that DOES NOT compensate for or justify the recent comics, much less that atrocious tie.Fernie Cantohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01753446688169468457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-11261704094777468712009-08-15T18:09:52.021-07:002009-08-15T18:09:52.021-07:00Oh and, if you're wondering, here's the ki...Oh and, if you're wondering, <a href="http://i32.tinypic.com/24nn2o1.jpg" rel="nofollow">here's</a> the kind of style I'd have liked to see for this comic. (only imagine the artist doesn't suck at drawing)Person Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03486274284758665991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-87641913779957506472009-08-15T18:06:36.563-07:002009-08-15T18:06:36.563-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Person Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03486274284758665991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-84980739669392349962009-08-15T16:21:37.822-07:002009-08-15T16:21:37.822-07:00This is going to sound silly, but when Randy puts ...This is going to sound silly, but when Randy puts a little effort into it he does draw somewhat distinctive stick figures. I think his proportions are slightly unusual, and the stroke he uses for the head is not common, so when he can make his strokes obvious the resulting stick figures are pretty recognizable as Randall's stick figures.<br /><br />Although, this is a non-anglophone making a ton of assumptions about anglophone graphology (and the one I'm familiar with is very different from it, as far as I have observed).<br /><br />Fernie: I do remember being a bit annoyed by your comments waaay back, most of the latter were mostly "I don't much like this guy, bet his post will suck... Oh wait, this isn't so bad. Why don't I like him, anyway?" =p Well, sorry about the prejudice. And yes, this blog does seem to have that effect. I wonder if it means anything.<br /><br />HateBottles: That was a great post! Your alternative about the period piece would be awesome, at least the way I'm imagining it. Of course, I'm imagining it with well selected colors, detailed clothes, lots of detail, maybe 3 or 5 parts, a proper plot, natural sounding dialogue... Yeah, it's not happening. =( But why not, dammit!? It would even make sense: History wouldn't be distracted since the narrator would accompany the protagonists, not be an omniscient historian.Person Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03486274284758665991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-13668015529628993952009-08-15T14:17:33.105-07:002009-08-15T14:17:33.105-07:00I know what you mean, Fernie. Like when I see sigs...I know what you mean, Fernie. Like when I see sigs that have this "geek code" bullshit in it (which is basically just a bunch of pointless abbreviations with the word code slapped in), it's just so fake. It's like "look at me, I'm a geek. The ladies hate me. Great with compuers. Using linux."<br /><br />I feel I can't call myself a geek legitimately, because of the bullshit that is associated with it now, so I avoid that word like the plague.Person #1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-26012103697898144352009-08-15T13:33:39.586-07:002009-08-15T13:33:39.586-07:00It's not unmistakeable, since lots of people d...It's not unmistakeable, since lots of people draw crappy stick figures.John Magnumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04416392917805723793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-26462788653569310182009-08-15T10:31:49.433-07:002009-08-15T10:31:49.433-07:00I could make a point about stick men drawings bein...I could make a point about stick men drawings being Randall's unmistakeable trait, but I agree with you. The sad thing is that xkcd merchandise is essentially "geek" sub-culture, something that is instantly recognisable among certain circles, therefore having a "cool" factor. And maybe I'm one of the very few who see a glaring contradiction in that, because "geek" originally represented a complete disdain for the "cool". "Geek" used to be counter-culture, but now it ceased to be, and Randall has contributed largely to that. The "geek" culture has suffered pretty much the same thing the "emo" culture suffered in this decade: what once used to be a genuine, no bullshit attitude has become an idiotic fashion statement.Fernie Cantohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01753446688169468457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-61678788629649526942009-08-15T09:13:04.228-07:002009-08-15T09:13:04.228-07:00There is something that has always bugged me about...There is something that has always bugged me about the merchandise featuring just characters, not jokes. You are essentially buying stuff with stickmen on it. Generic stickmen. You could give some white t-shirts and buttons to your little brother and he can do the same thing for you, for free. xkcd has no artistic appeal whatsoever (with the rare exception that happened more often back in the day), why would you just buy a button with a stickman that is wearing a hat on it? Do you really think that looks good? "Oh yeah today is like the perfect occasion to wear my generic stickman button. People will totally get that I bought this from xkcd, and didn't let me 6 year old son make it for me"<br /><br /><br />But that's not even all! If it weren't stickmen, if it was a comic with actual characters, like for example qwantz. (Not the best example. Fill in whatever comic you like) I wouldn't want a button with just t-rex (character) on it. That's stupidPerson #1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-1365752414082669072009-08-15T09:05:19.038-07:002009-08-15T09:05:19.038-07:00Whee, some people actually tolerate me!
Actually,...Whee, some people actually tolerate me!<br /><br />Actually, I admit I have been deliberately annoying here, but I regret that. As much as there are some kinds of comments that I can't stand ("hurr hurr, Randall's sex life with Megan TOTALLY matters to me"), there are plenty of very sensible people and I'd be stupid to keep a trollish attitude.<br /><br />Okay, maybe sometimes. Man, I TOTALLY want an xkcd tie.Fernie Cantohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01753446688169468457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-40667838121670254052009-08-15T07:35:59.044-07:002009-08-15T07:35:59.044-07:00This was rubbish.
Over in the UK we never had the...This was rubbish.<br /><br />Over in the UK we never had the Oregon Trail, so I never had the experience with it, but I still found the Achewood arc funny*, and the Something Awful Let's Play was hilarious.<br /><br />A boring chart with a few illustrations at the side? Put some fucking effort into it Randall. It's proven that the source material can be used to make something funny. You need to put work into it though.<br /><br />*Getting funnier each time I think of it.Dannynoreply@blogger.com