tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post7772159519040764878..comments2024-03-17T05:03:46.056-07:00Comments on xkcd sucks: One Year of HomestuckCarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-61253833941631269992011-01-15T09:34:03.441-08:002011-01-15T09:34:03.441-08:00The plot has developed much more and actually seem...The plot has developed much more and actually seems like it may be approaching a climax of sorts now. <br /><br />Also, to compare it to PS is absolute fallacy; it is an entirely different kind of webcomic.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14329590556162658500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-13848351381872797142011-01-05T09:44:12.218-08:002011-01-05T09:44:12.218-08:00...caaaarrrrrrrrrllllllllllllll!!!!
~Paul, llamas......caaaarrrrrrrrrllllllllllllll!!!!<br /><br />~Paul, llamas with hatsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-44162487690744724042010-12-09T12:22:40.866-08:002010-12-09T12:22:40.866-08:00Dunno about a year ago, but HS has stuck to its ep...Dunno about a year ago, but HS has stuck to its epic, convoluted, actually MAKES SENSE now plot and it is awesome. Who else could pull this crap out? effing yes. The fact that there is still humor is an accomplishment, I think, with all the potentially dark turns it took. Whatever it's one of a kind and kicks ass discussion over.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-51987680518733330392010-11-26T21:08:33.766-08:002010-11-26T21:08:33.766-08:00Hmm it seems to me that you are approaching Homest...Hmm it seems to me that you are approaching Homestuck with too narrow a perspective. I had no interest in the story when I started reading, but the end of the first act had me hooked enough to keep reading. The thing I really like about Homestuck is the very thing that you dislike, the excruciating detail given to every scene, the at first ridiculous, seemingly juvenile, plot points and characters masking a deeper meaning and subtlety, so that there are not only those moments straight forward entertainment, but also a great deal of depth being revealed at the same time, piece by piece. Of course the icing on the top of the cake, with the killer soundtrack, allusions to everything everywhere that give you that "ah ha" moment upon discovery (especially since he does internal MSPA references much more subtly now) and the delivery of major plot points via animation to maintain a proper turn of phrase in the story, makes it currently one of my favorite works in any medium. Oh and this is a couple months off because I just started reading MSPA recently.micimizehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14397564828348252845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-10297275308477531202010-07-15T20:38:04.284-07:002010-07-15T20:38:04.284-07:00See, i'd buy that argument if you had said it ...See, i'd buy that argument if you had said it BEFORE we got to read the troll's side of the story. But I mean - come on! 12 stories! that is madness.Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-64750933620775775922010-07-12T04:12:07.733-07:002010-07-12T04:12:07.733-07:00what is this guy's even his problem
its like ...what is this guy's even his problem<br /><br />its like heg got broad side spoon fed up the bone bulgeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-85932899161427001292010-07-11T23:04:48.033-07:002010-07-11T23:04:48.033-07:00"I just find it all overwhelming."
Mayb..."I just find it all overwhelming."<br /><br />Maybe if you weren't the intellectual equivalent of a gnat you'd be able to keep up more effectively. It's not Andrew's fault you're so stupid and it isn't his responsibility to dumb things down for you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-57484196950702602762010-04-29T20:28:55.384-07:002010-04-29T20:28:55.384-07:00I have to say, I haven't found anything really...I have to say, I haven't found anything really disappointing about Homestuck. I guess I came into it with little in the way of expectations. But I was glad that it was a little less... I dunno, something about Problem Sleuth didn't jive. It was awesome and all, but a little too cobbled together for my tastes. Just one bit of weird shit after another, all piled together with not much of an attempt at a coherent storyline.<br /><br />Whereas Homestuck has been less about the hilarious hijinx and weird puzzle shit, and more about the weird, crazy world that Hussie has dreamt up - in which great effort has been put into making it coherent and somewhat intelligible. And it has actual characterization, something PS had almost none of whatsoever. There is humor, but instead of what passes for "plot" being humorous because it's so weird, the humor is hilarious things thrown in on almost as an aside. Like where John hallucinates those salamanders as those people from Con Air. Funny, but not crucial.<br /><br />So I guess what I'm saying is, HS is better than Xkcd because randall detracts from coherence to say something OMG FUNNY YOU GUYZ, srsly.Frogwarriornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-79744783965244521152010-04-25T01:45:03.866-07:002010-04-25T01:45:03.866-07:00I enjoy Homestuck a lot. It isn't as consiste...I enjoy Homestuck a lot. It isn't as consistently funny as problem sleuth was by a long shot, but it's appeal is, like you suggested, elsewhere. The animated, musical updates are astounding, and if you invest yourself in the fictional world-building at all the plot is engaging. It's definitely not silly and fun like PS was, and it doesn't have a traditionally good story arc at all. The plot is more of a continual, winding thing, where the appeal has to come from each part separately combined with the exponential growth in scale.<br /><br />It's definitely a niche appeal, for people who like to speculate and contemplate overly complex fictional mechanics. Based on the readership, though, it's a decently large niche, and based on the forums it's a very dedicated one.<br /><br />For instance, the pesterlogs can be absolutely hilarious if you have the patience for them. But to get the full impact, you have to have absorbed a shit ton of back story from this long and detail-heavy universe. This is an admittedly large expectation, so unless you're really dedicated to enjoying this, you won't.<br /><br />I really enjoy this, though. It's a big clusterfuck, but it's a big fun interesting clusterfuck.<br /><br />One thing I think is interesting is that the art HAS gotten better. This isn't really a sign of Andrew improving; he's made graphic novels before with astoundingly good art. MSPA has always been a process of suppressing his art in order to pump out more content quickly — PS would have taken a decade to make if he had actually put effort into the visuals. Homestuck's art is better mostly because he's apparently just spending more hours per day than he used to.<br /><br />In any case, what I'm most interested in is seeing what he gets up to after this.StephenM3noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-62123470649693527122010-04-22T17:33:49.531-07:002010-04-22T17:33:49.531-07:00Of course, you could also say "...so I stoppe...Of course, you could also say "...so I stopped reading."Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01074589998141327538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-45395700446667817692010-04-20T23:40:58.284-07:002010-04-20T23:40:58.284-07:00It's like some crazy lost stuff; I dont know w...It's like some crazy lost stuff; I dont know whats going on, so I keep reading.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-19813747448940038742010-04-15T06:24:33.187-07:002010-04-15T06:24:33.187-07:00Pretty sure this blog is called "xkcd sucks&q...Pretty sure this blog is called "xkcd sucks", not "you guys, here are my thoughts on random webcomics"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-56420370007552400262010-04-15T06:04:35.572-07:002010-04-15T06:04:35.572-07:00I'm reading the first year recap of Homestuck ...I'm reading the first year recap of Homestuck that Andrew Hussie posted and lol'ing at everyone who says it's well-written. Shit reads like Axe Cop with the vocabulary of a professor.<br /><br />It's a big fun clusterfuck but it's still a clusterfuck.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-57778196929085991062010-04-14T23:00:12.600-07:002010-04-14T23:00:12.600-07:00"Andrew has admitted on several occasions tha..."Andrew has admitted on several occasions that he hasn't completed the story, or even an outline of the story. Your sense that the story is going somewhere is an illusion: it could only be going somewhere if Andrew had decided on a place for it to go beforehand."<br /><br />Just because he doesn't know how the story will end or doesn't plan ahead far enough doesn't mean the story isn't following a pretty clear narrative arc. Almost all of the exposition has been laid out at this stage, there's only one more piece of "set-up" before the "main game" starts, and who we can at this point assume to be the main villain has just completed a character arc ending in his rise to power. The stage has almost finished being set for the big battle, and I imagine it WILL be finished by the time of Act 4's finale in the next week or two.<br /><br />"This is a great description of a combination of bad writing, bad plotting, and bad pacing all rolled into one. It's hardly something to celebrate, and not really an excuse for anything."<br /><br />Not<br /><br />Not really?<br /><br />A story with more components to it is by definition going to need to be longer. The Lord of the Rings trilogy weighs enough to kill a man with, because the stories have tons of moving parts that all need to be resolved and weaved together. On the other hand, a piece of short fiction is probably only going to have one or two main plot elements that can be elaborated on and explored in a relatively short time.<br /><br />Complexity and length are not inherently good or bad qualities, they're neutral, and differing quantities of each require different kinds of execution to work well. Saying that it's bad because it's complex is just as asinine as saying that it's good because it's complex. It just is complex.Jukebox Heronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-6673679560625481522010-04-14T22:42:41.237-07:002010-04-14T22:42:41.237-07:00"He's continually adding obstacles and di..."He's continually adding obstacles and digressions because we're still in the rising action part of the story and (it feels like) just starting to transition into, maybe not the climax, but the moments leading up to it."<br /><br />Andrew has admitted on several occasions that he hasn't completed the story, or even an outline of the story. Your sense that the story is going somewhere is an illusion: it could only be going somewhere if Andrew had decided on a place for it to go beforehand.<br /><br />"It's taking a lot longer than Problem Sleuth because it's a much more complicated story, and every piece of it needs room to be fleshed out or it will just end up a confusing mess. If anything I think that's the main problem: when you're getting this story in small pieces day by day it's hard to follow due to the the gigantic scope and complex nature of the plot. You'll receive a plot point and then get no elaboration on it for weeks. It's much easier to grasp the big picture when you can knock out large numbers of updates at once."<br /><br />This is a great description of a combination of bad writing, bad plotting, and bad pacing all rolled into one. It's hardly something to celebrate, and not really an excuse for anything.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-1089487519021793782010-04-14T22:19:39.693-07:002010-04-14T22:19:39.693-07:00He's continually adding obstacles and digressi...He's continually adding obstacles and digressions because we're still in the rising action part of the story and (it feels like) just starting to transition into, maybe not the climax, but the moments leading up to it.<br /><br />It's taking a lot longer than Problem Sleuth because it's a much more complicated story, and every piece of it needs room to be fleshed out or it will just end up a confusing mess. If anything I think that's the main problem: when you're getting this story in small pieces day by day it's hard to follow due to the the gigantic scope and complex nature of the plot. You'll receive a plot point and then get no elaboration on it for weeks. It's much easier to grasp the big picture when you can knock out large numbers of updates at once.Jukebox Heronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-78554075611304866212010-04-14T21:54:58.927-07:002010-04-14T21:54:58.927-07:00I couldn't finish Problem Sleuth and am enjoyi...I couldn't finish Problem Sleuth and am enjoying Homestuck. I think it's badly written (try and imagine it as a text-only story; it's a fucking mess) but I like the depth of the little world he's created. It's sort of like how some science fiction is really only worth reading because it deals with an unusual type of alien or interesting speculative technology.<br /><br />That's damning with faint praise I guess but it's enough to keep me checking for updates. It has the occasion amusing visual gag or conversation, but the constant self-reference has got to stop. I'm really tired of him introducing new characters, too.<br /><br />The forums are full of slobbering sycophants, as usual.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-2703508666967226732010-04-14T17:10:44.463-07:002010-04-14T17:10:44.463-07:00HS fans: A complex plot is not the same as a good ...HS fans: A complex plot is not the same as a good plot. In fact it's pretty much the opposite: every complexity introduced into a plot must have a greater payoff than the last. Really the HS plot is the embodiment of juvenile writing. Rather than allow his story to get somewhere and hence conclude the author continues to add arbitrary obstacles and digressions to postpone the progression of the plot for no apparent reason. This is how kids tell stories because they want their audience to listen to them as long as possible.<br /><br />Also the characters are paper-thin caricatures who are simply the sum of a few stereotypes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-70828154162941626692010-04-14T16:46:29.266-07:002010-04-14T16:46:29.266-07:00Jukebox, that is still the greatest Pesterlog in t...Jukebox, that is still the greatest Pesterlog in the whole comic. And Carl, no. Just no.<br /><br />HS isn't meant to be funny ALL the time. It's a story, and even the best comedies aren't throwing jokes at you all the fucking goddamn time. Unlike Randall, who is running a one-shot 3 times a week comic, where we expect a joke, HS is about the story progression. HS is about building the world. HS is about needless complexity and puppet ass.<br /><br />You read HS for all the wrong reasons.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-86134513648305567652010-04-14T16:33:41.300-07:002010-04-14T16:33:41.300-07:00I honestly can't see how you could think that ...I honestly can't see how you could think that Homestuck isn't funny. I defy you to read through this pesterlog and not completely lose your shit:<br /><br />http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002999Jukebox Heronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-21516772670512265752010-04-14T11:42:56.743-07:002010-04-14T11:42:56.743-07:00I started reading Problem Sleuth some time ago and...I started reading Problem Sleuth some time ago and couldn't finish it (IT'S SO DAMN LONG!). Homestuck looks even less appealing to read.Timofeihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06478844501804517520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-43098746361757645772010-04-14T10:47:22.027-07:002010-04-14T10:47:22.027-07:00Aaaaaaaaaggh fuck you Sam I was going to do that.Aaaaaaaaaggh fuck you Sam I was going to do that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-13755898231363449792010-04-14T08:30:58.428-07:002010-04-14T08:30:58.428-07:00just how HIGH do you even have to BE just to DO so...just how <b>HIGH</b> do you even have to BE just to DO something like thatSamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07658641232170030818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-21868777287222947402010-04-14T07:29:20.851-07:002010-04-14T07:29:20.851-07:00HA! Double blog post!
How is that even possible? ...HA! Double blog post!<br /><br />How is that even possible? LOLOLOLOLOLIshmaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6714810984552499396.post-14470864850751196332010-04-14T07:29:02.850-07:002010-04-14T07:29:02.850-07:00HA! Double blog post!
How is that even possible? ...HA! Double blog post!<br /><br />How is that even possible? LOLOLOLOLOLIshmaelnoreply@blogger.com