Thoughts on fan feedback for "G-M-P"

[darkwingdork]

I figured I'd split this off to a separate discussion so I can discuss something about the overall arc of "Games Monsters Play," specifically reader feedback.

As you may have noticed, one reader, Gabriel, has been pretty outspoken about his dislike for the current story. This has prompted a... I don't want to call it a flame war, more like a vibrant discussion between fans.

So, let's discuss the discussion.

The main argument is that the main characters have no real big plans to combat the threat and the few plans they do have seem slapdash and nonsensical.

Okay, fair enough. I know most writers would take this opportunity to vehemently defend themselves, accuse the critics of being completely off base and then circle the wagons. But I'll admit, yes, the main character's plan isn't the most ingenious in the world.

Keep in mind, the main purpose of the mission is to steal the missing items back from Krassus. The main characters just think he's a warlord collecting plunder. They have no idea yet that Krassus is working for Temujin, or simply retrieving the items won't be enough. It may seem stupid to just "put the fear of God" into a warlord, but based on past experience, that method would probably work in most cases. Our characters are under informed in terms of what to expect. That's partially the Jervis villagers fault for not giving the full background on the situation, but given their history, you can't completely faulty them for not being 100% forthcoming with all information.

Roaming shadow and a few others have been quick to point out that this comic is intentionally cartoonish, and on that note, can not be expected to make sense 100% of the time. In this, I agree. While I try to have internal logic most of the time, sometimes silly moments happen. Such silly moments sometimes require a suspension of common sense in order to work, or, as TVTropes likes to put it, someone is picking up the "Idiot Ball."

It's the same reason why Elmer Fudd should know not to trust Bugs Bunny when the rabbit gives him a present, but he opens it anyway. KABOOM! I think, in this setting, funny little asides can be permissible as long as there aren't too many the story is free to resume afterward.

I will admit, I'm not the greatest writer. And sometimes I don't time a storyline right. That's partially because I had no real experience with comics before launching this one. I just jumped in with both feet. Because of that, I don't have the best sense of storytelling in this medium, and when I try to do something epic, I might not pull it off the way I envisioned it in my head.

But I am trying to improve. I hope that based on the feedback I got from this story, good and bad, I can use it to improve future storytelling abilities. And for that, i thank my readers.

As an addendum, I realize now that I made Ginger too unlikable. It was never my intention to polarize the audience on that character, but looking back now, i don't know how they couldn't be. I wanted a character that started up mean... well you get the idea. I'll be more cognizant of that in the future too...

[Roaming Shadow]

I believe this is pretty well said.

You make a good point on the group's overall mission too, and it's something that had actually come to mind for me recently. None of them are actually on this mission to necessarily "beat Krassus", they are all trying to retrieve something stolen. Theorhetically, they could do that without ever encountering Krassus at all, if they were to play their cards right, but that wouldn't suit the story for sure. Also, they're likely underestimating Krassus' intelligence a bit, thinking him little more than a greedy individual who's always gotten what he wanted whom no one's either been able to stop or stand up to. Krassus is not so simple, and nither is the situation in general. The "show him who's boss" approach has worked for the girls before, and they have little reason for them to believe it won't work here.

Also, one thing I remember was remarks made about the non-coherency of the group. The thing is, they really aren't a coherent group; they're three seperate groups traveling together who have similar (though not identical) goals. Therefore, there is no single leader, because the group really isn't a single entity to be led by anyone. That's also why there's been a fair share of infighting (instigated by Ginger pretty much exclusively).

With Ginger, I think the problem was you made her far too antagonistic. Really, she's more antagonistic than any of your antagonists have ever been. It doesn't help either that, of the three hybrids, she seems to get a disproportionate amount of the lines, and it's virtually always some form of negetive comment against the dragons or enchanters. I'd like to hear more commentary and dialoge from the other two, especially Xander, whom I'm not sure if he's spoken 5 sentances since they came together. In a way, you made her so mean as to be almost a very loud mouthed racist, which tends to be quite polarizing indeed. You tried too hard to make her "unlikeable" and ended up making some readers practically hate her.

[darkwingdork]

Appreciate the comments, Roaming.

I have tried to show that the group is only loosely connected around the prospect of fighting Krassus. You have three groups of people who have differing goals, methods and outlooks. In a sense, the Enchanters and dragons are essentially one team because they're friends and will work together.

The hybrids are more... mercenary in their actions. Part of their cold, distant outlook is that's how they've been treated their whole life. It's a defense mechanism against outsiders.

I think Ginger is still redeemable. Her cynical attitude should lessen as time goes by.