When I first saw Erfworld, I hated it

David Demola · 05-25-2009, 12:39 AM

I thought it was unoriginal, uninspired, and convoluted. I did see that it had potential, and that's really the only reason why I kept reading it.

I'm happy to say that my opinion has done a complete 180 degree turn. I have always loved the art style, and I like where this comic has gone.

I can't wait for Book 2, now.

Kudos to you guys, you really have done a great job.

~Dave

Kobold-Bard · 05-25-2009, 02:12 PM

Similar. I tried reading it once, but didn't get past 10 strips. I don't know why but I just couldn't get into it.

Seeing that it was the last strip on the site I had a look, and have just spent most of today reading it through in one sitting (gotta love being a student). And I have to say I've been very impressed. I'll definitely be bookmarking the new site.

Thanks to the authors for the comic and hope it keeps on running for a long while.

T-O-E · 05-25-2009, 02:19 PM

Yeah, I tried reading it but couldn't get into it as it was too weird and confusing. Then I tried again and loved it.

Same thing happened with Oots and Achewood.

bluewind95 · 05-25-2009, 03:19 PM

I didn't hate it. I thought it was constructed in a very... tedious way. Too much text, so little... well... action, or, well, anything. It was hard to read through the first pages.

A bit later, things started to happen. The pages were constructed less tediously, the action flowed more smoothly from panel to panel, the characters began to shine, and the plot became much more interesting and intriguing. Parson's brilliance, the interactions of all the other characters... it was quite something to see.

Even later, the characters shone more, they became endearing, the action flowed even more smoothly, and the plot continued being interesting and intriguing.

The comic went through a few stages where it nearly broke my personal suspension of disbelief given some things that to me had the feeling of the same kind of railroading that happens in videogames, what with, say, walking towards a path only to have rocks fall to cover it as soon as the game realizes you're heading that way. This was done by means of "so everything that Parson planned... everything.... didn't work" a bit NOT subtly. However, everything else that I liked of the story continued and while I raised an eyebrow at these events, I waited to see what the last outcome would be. It was hard to imagine that, if all those brilliant schemes had failed spectacularly by means of what almost seemed like cheating, there could be something more awesome to perform. The authors didn't disappoint on that, though, with the uncroaked volcano and whatnot. And then adding a very nice conclusion to the book.

So yeah. I quite liked Erfworld and I'm also looking forward to book 2. Really good work from the creators, there.

arkol · 05-25-2009, 03:34 PM

It's not a likable comic at first, especially if you're following it, as it's coming out. Things don't really make much sense and then you have to wait a few days for the next comic which don't really help you understand what's going on.

But then the pieces start to come together you realzie the sheer awesomeness of it :D

Morty · 05-25-2009, 03:53 PM

Same here. I didn't hate it - it's hard to hate a comic strip barring really bad ones - but it didn't impress me. While I didn't think that it was bad, I read it mostly because it's on GiantITP where I read OoTS and browse the forums. Though the detailed descriptions of combat situations bored me a little, it managed to pick my interest after some time I began to read it with real anticipation. So, good job, authors.

daggaz · 05-25-2009, 04:08 PM

Gotta say I loved it from the get-go. Could see where it was and exactly where it was going to be heading, LOVE the flavor, love the art, great story. Great job, guys!!!

Pheldagriff · 05-25-2009, 04:50 PM

I had a rough start with Erfworld, especially, as the ORLY-owls (my favorites) didn't fare all to well in the beginning (and never really got better afterwards, either)

Greep · 05-25-2009, 05:10 PM

I liked it from page one. Problem is, I didn't start with page one, I'd look at the page next to OOtS every couple months and see if it looked interesting which it didn't on those pages. Eventually, said Boop it and started reading ;)

Sieggy · 05-25-2009, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluewind95

<Grossenschnyppe>

The comic went through a few stages where it nearly broke my personal suspension of disbelief given some things that to me had the feeling of the same kind of railroading that happens in videogames, what with, say, walking towards a path only to have rocks fall to cover it as soon as the game realizes you're heading that way. This was done by means of "so everything that Parson planned... everything.... didn't work" a bit NOT subtly. However, everything else that I liked of the story continued and while I raised an eyebrow at these events, I waited to see what the last outcome would be. It was hard to imagine that, if all those brilliant schemes had failed spectacularly by means of what almost seemed like cheating, there could be something more awesome to perform. The authors didn't disappoint on that, though, with the uncroaked volcano and whatnot. And then adding a very nice conclusion to the book.

So yeah. I quite liked Erfworld and I'm also looking forward to book 2. Really good work from the creators, there.

Just like the game Parson was designing . . . he specifically said that he had set it up to stymie everything the players tried until they were forced to 'cheat', surprise the GM with lateral thinking. Which is what he eventually did. Spectacularly so . . .

ishnar · 05-25-2009, 10:02 PM

Me too.

When I first looked at Erfworld, the page of the day had some woodsey elves and Vinny in a hat. The elves were ugly and too far from the standard look for me to accept. I couldn't stand the look and decided that erf wasn't worth my time. Naturally I came back later and was treated to a whole different look.

I still cringe when I see the woodsey elves though.

Weimann · 05-28-2009, 09:47 AM

I join the crowd.

I tried reading it when it first showed up, and what do I see? A midget would-be Napoleon with a giant TOY HAMMER who sits around, all incompetent, ordering people around like he was something. Then a dragon comes and (seemingly) poops on the character who was earlier positioned with a big target painted umbrella for (seemingly) this very purpose. Add to this loads of stuff that was just plain stupid (I mean, hats as communication? Orlies?) and I left it at that.

The second time I gave it a go, I started from the beginning and took the stance that "well, loads of people talk about it, so I'll give it 50 pages to convince me".

Enter Parson. A summoned protagonist who took his predicament in stride. I mean, you get summoned to another world, your regular guy would throw fits of hysteria. This guy? He assess the situation right away. Can you say badass?

Enter Wanda/Jillian. Yeah, I thought the main thing about this comic would be silly internet memes and poop jokes (one big step forward was when I realised the dwagon was actually using its breath weapon, and not its... other end). I will admit that the BDSM lesbianism didn't particularly hurt, but there's just so much depth in that pairing that I don't know where to begin. Also, it's fascinating that I root for BOTH Ansom and Wanda in this regard. That. Is. Skilled. Writing.

Spoiler

Together with the above characters, the wicked cool characterisation of a whole load of other characters, the way silly memes turned into awesome mechanics (as a fan of Elite Beat Agents, I just love the dance fighting) and the astonishingly well written manuscript, I definitely grew from sceptisism to fandom very quickly.

OverWilliam · 05-28-2009, 12:15 PM

Ok, so even now that we all like it... Go back and start reading from the beginning again, right now. Knowing what we know now, and what we only learned very recently, the beginning is even better now than it was when it was even better the second time than it was the first time, if... that makes sense.

mistformsquirrl · 05-28-2009, 02:34 PM

I didn't dislike it; but it felt.. hrmm...

It felt like I was reading through tar <@_@> ie: it was slow going and I wasn't sure I was enjoying it, or just reading it because it was there.

I don't know that I ever had a sudden epiphany of "Woah this is awesome!" so much as I just gradually started to get into it.

I keep trying to convince my brother (who had the same reaction most of you here have had) to try it again, but he always comes up with excuses not to even give it another shot <;_;> *sigh* I'm quite sure he'd like it, as we tend to like similar things - I just tend to be more patient than he is.

Weimann · 05-28-2009, 02:49 PM

The mere fact that there is an archive now helps loads. The very best part of a webcomic is reading through the archives at the start. It should be particularly true since Erfworld really wants to be a book, read 150 pages at a time, and not the one-page-a-week deal it is now.

I heard that the authors were planning on making shorter pages and more frequent updates, while keeping the progression at a constant rate time wise. That should help, I think; webcomics really need to have some pace.

Calmness · 05-28-2009, 08:52 PM

I didn't hate it i just thought it was confusing. Let's face it the setting is pretty wacky, and there was so little of it established that many of us didn't know what to expect. Later though everything started clearing and we got some pretty good character development, which is one of my favorite aspects in comics. Really, I can say good things about most of the cast and their personalities since they are all so very likeable, particularly Jillian, of who i am quite fond.

The art has been excellent since the beginning though, and it has only been getting better. And i wouldn't be surprised if Jamie sarted working for some of the bigger comic companies one of these days.

Nice work on the comic Rob and Jamie. I wish you the best for Book 2.

Faramir · 05-29-2009, 11:56 AM

Add me to the list. When it first started I found the central premise old hat (gamer transported into a game - yawn) and the cutesy erfworld annoying. I only kept checking in on it because it was on the oots website. My change of opinion happened gradually, don't know if I could pinpoint it, but at some point I realized "this is really good". I went back and reread it from the beginning and realized it had always been good, I just hadn't seen enough of the picture yet to realize that.

Fri · 05-29-2009, 12:34 PM

I thought it just got poor pacing as a webcomic. Better to read it 25-50 pages at once.

Zeku · 05-30-2009, 02:08 AM

Loved it from day 1.

mistformsquirrl · 06-02-2009, 04:46 AM

This thread has made me think of something... well I should say, confirmed something I've been thinking on for awhile.

If I ever write a webcomic of my own (I've been tossing it around, but other than one 3-day stint never actually have put one up) - I think it might be best to start off with a fairly large number of pages pre-written before the official launch.

That is - spend a month or two (maybe more) preparing to launch the webcomic, so that when it starts people have a good number of pages to read. That way even a brand new webcomic has some background and canon.

I mean you still won't be too far into the story most likely; but your audience isn't stuck waiting 2 or more months before they have enough story to decide if it's worth following or not.

(If I'm being honest, most premises, cut down to a 'first episode' or a back-of-the-book blurb sound ridiculous, even if they're quite good. So it makes sense that a webcomic, when one only has a few pages to judge by, might seem stupid to most even if it turns out to be fantastic.)

Of course this is mostly in reference to story-heavy webcomics where humor is secondary. Stuff like Penny Arcade or CTLALTDEL (or even some of the early OOTS strips), where it's humor front and center, and story somewhere in the background, it's easier to get away with having limited story available, as you're essentially setting up a joke.

Then again I may be thinking this through entirely more than I really should <@_@> but it's late, I'm bored, and it seems like something to think about.

Sebastian Bux · 06-05-2009, 09:04 AM

I have always not really been a fan of this comic. I was hard on it from the start. The only reason I still came around to it at all was because it was on OOTS's site. I tried to follow it as far as i could but somewhere around dance fighting I decided to stop torturing myself. Erfworld is just not for me and probably never will be.

I'm glad that they have their own site now. They can do what they want, how they want it, and they never ever have to worry about me following along to tell them what I think about it. Its not good riddance .. I think Rob and Jamie are stand up guys. But I'm not sorry to see them go. I would say more, but everytime I try I get infracted so I'll leave it at that.

Good luck, Rob and Jamie on your new website and book 2.

SB

Guancyto · 06-05-2009, 03:26 PM

Being put up on GitP was a mixed blessing, I think. On the one hand, it got it a ton more traffic than it normally would have. On the other hand, OOTS was in a particularly awesome groove at that point in time, so the comparisons were inevitable and that is a damn high bar to match.

It's good to see that as a whole tBfGK has measured up, and I'm glad I didn't quit on it.

Slippery Bogle · 06-05-2009, 06:37 PM

I think around the time I got into OOTS, I only quick looked at Erfworld. I didn't really get past the first few pages because I guess it didn't really catch my attention too much or I was preoccupied with getting caught up with OOTS. So I didn't really look into it.

That was maybe a year ago? I forget.

So then I remember that it's on the same site as Order and I start it off again.

I couldn't stop reading it. It was like one of those days were you really get into a good book and don't want to put it down because there's nothing else worth while to do. It was a nice refresher. I think it's brilliant.

Now I hold high hopes for the next book and hope it'll start sometime soon.