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Hey again, 13-15 year old spriters
Me again.
Ya know, I look back at when I wrote that first rant... how angry it sounded; how disgusted I was with what I was seeing around this website and all over the internet. How utterly pissed off I was.... And I realized.
I’m still pretty damn pissed off.
I dunno, can someone explain to me why sprite comics seem so easy and fun to do that makes every newly teenage kid wanna make one? I guess it’s sort of an expression of their humor, but the biggest problem I have with these comics is that none of them are original in the least. I just don’t get it. But, for science, I’m going to try to understand. Join me?
Let’s try to get into the mindset. A newbie spriter plot....ah!
“Sonic and crew meet up with a bunch of random original characters and team up to fight evil in this totally awesome adventure!”
We got our plot. I went with Sonic because it seems to be the most popular. I’ve seen this exact plot hundreds of times, so I guess it must still be fresh. I mean, why else would it be everywhere?
Ok, let’s think of some cliché’s....
Sonic = Homosexual
Tails = Violent
Knuckles = Retarded
Amy = Slut
Rogue = Prostitute
Cream = Evil
Shadow = Angsty/Homosexual/Drug Addict/Evil/Retarded
Yeah, that works.
Now, let’s recolor Sonic red....give him one of Tails’ tails....and how about a bad-ass sword that's twice his size that he couldn't possibly lift. Ok, that looks pretty.....damn....
Well, let’s make him the super strong awesome hero that can never be defeated and everyone loves and it’ll all be better. Now we just need the dorky sidekick who is also stronger than the original Sonic cast, the “Hot” girlfriend for the main character who is....again stronger than the actual Sonic cast...and hey, let’s throw in all our friend’s original characters for the hell of it, so we can all toot our horns!
Now we just need a cliché’d storyline....ok, who has amnesia...?
Oh screw it. I’ll never understand.
Maybe it’s just that these kids don’t know that there are a million comics out there already like this. But I find that hard to believe. On the internet, comics exactly like this one are like needles in a needle stack.
Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great if they do it if they really wanna do it. But I get the feeling that this is what really happens.
1) One comics like this, only more original and well written, becomes popular.
2) Hundreds try to emulate it.
3) Because everyone does the same comic, they all read each others to see what other ideas they can use.
4) This makes the spin-offs popular, and seem good.
5) Hundreds see each of the spin-offs, and are directed to the good comic.
6) Millions try to emulate the popular comics.
It’s like a pyramid scheme. Everyone just wants to be popular. Because everyone knows if you’re popular online, you must be the coolest person ever!! </sarcasm>
Now, if you’re one of these 13-15 year old spriters who does a comic similar to this, or aspire to, please listen to my advice.
Making a copy and paste comic of one you like will NEVER make you cool.
If you like the idea, try to expand on it, or change it. If someone says “I like your comic, it reminds me of this other comic I really like called blah blah blah” then you’re doing something wrong. You need to separate yourself from all the other comics out there. This can be tough, but you can do it. If you can take an established idea and make it yours, then you deserve praise.
And no, giving Shadow robotic arms that fire giant laser beams doesn’t count.
Good luck to you all. You spriters, and the rest of us.
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Comments
ZephyrWinds Says:
That's a very valid point you made there. I couldn't agree more.
Ry Hughes Says:
Chazzie Says:
I think you've relieved every horrified comic reader's stress.
It's so hard to find good comics nowadays.
Amazing. I've been arguing against such things for SO long it relieves me to find a similar minded individual.
RaCaracal Says:
I've just read what you've said and I completly agree with you. It's a shame that the 13 - 15 year old kids you refered to rarely think outside the box and instead emulate what others have done. As well as the various re-colours and "doing what he's done", I've also see my fair share of people jump on a bandwagon with their characters, e.g. Naruto. I've seen so many characters make a character who belongs in the Naruto universe and generally emulate the series rather than trying to think outside of the box or at least put their own unique spin on it (though I don't count making Sonic gay a valid spin on the universe). Sure, there's nothing wrong with being inspired by something - I've been inspired by a number of comic book and manga heroes and emulated aspects of them in my character's designs, but I've tried to refrain from ripping them off 100% unlike the Naruto fans.
Plus I also find your rant as a form of inspuration. It helpes me stop and think about what I do and evaluate it so i can try and find ways to improve what I do. So thanks for making me stop and think.
All in all, well said and well written. I hope it helps others to stop and think for a minute.
Foxcat Says:
(How old is this? Oh well, I tend to always be late. You don't mind right?
)
Yes, I agree entirely with your statement. You'll always have people emulating what they find entertaining. Thus most shows and such have warnings saying NOT to repeat such actions (such as wrestling for example).
However, you either forget or don't realise there's only so much that CAN be done. Sprite-comics are incredibly difficult to maintain seriousness for example. Say we had the Sonic scenario above, without the original characters and keeping to the official Sonic attitude, implement a serious story without the retarded gags. Can you picture such a comic lasting long? I can't, not one that is cheesy/boring. The "normal" route is even moreso cliché than the smaller "duur retard sonic" problem
Alright, bugger that. How about the storyline instead, what could we do to improve on that? Amy is sick and will die in timeframe of which some evil beast is in possession of the only cure- done.
The heroes are transported to the futur- done.
The heroes have their bodies swapp- done that too.
Robotnik has all 7 chaos emeralds and a giant las- nope.
Tails is in love with Amy/Crea- overdone.
Shadow has a subconscious memory kick in, and he goes on a rampag- G'damnit.
Yeah, most teenagers aren't doing a very good job at being original, but where CAN a comic go?
On a sidenote: In my experience I haven't seen 300 odd sonic comics, but it's bloody typical. In my opinion the teenagers prolly don't perceive having too many comics of the same thing BAD. Or they're just jumping on the bandwagon/showing off how "awesome" they are.
Mech Ah Says:
Amen.
The fact millions did the same is lame. It's true, every single new spriter starts with the SAME OLD PLOT, and likely ends to make 2 trillion GB of information, wasting valuable resources.
Only 1 on... a few Google become good spriters...
This should be FP'd for LIFE!
Back when i made comics... I at least TRIED to make a plot not stereotype.
Now, I need to go and gather the masses, light the torches and burn the houses of millions.