VGCulture - Filler - FF14 Comic

Source: http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/image/583

Well they can try.  Hellgate was revived, though I'm not sure how it's currently doing.  The point is that they're trying.  I don't think it was that FF14 was a broken game as much as it was an outdated formula.  People didn't want to play FF11 again with a few changes and especially if they have to pay monthly for it.  There are too many other games to invest time and money on if there isn't anything in particular interest that the game can offer.  Honestly, I'd give the game a try if I didn't have to pay monthly (I wouldn't mind paying once for the game and play for free afterwards like Guild Wars did).

VGCulture - The Trenches

If you haven't heard, the creators of PVPonline.com and Penny-Arcade.com (both webcomics that started in 1997 and 1998 respectively) have joined forces to bring you their new webcomic "The Trenches".  It tells an on-going story of a guy getting a job as a game tester and his life in the industry.

Source: http://trenchescomic.com/comic/post/once-more-unto-the-trench

I just finished my last day at the company I worked at this week and now am looking for a job once more (though I have been for the past year since it was a temporary job to begin with).  Looking at this strip got me to laugh a bit because it is very relevant to our modern day employment.  What does "Over-Qualified" really mean?  It means you have the credentials to get paid well for the job you do and that the company doesn't want to pay that much.  They rather have someone without a degree with the same amount of skill that could do the same job for a lesser pay.  A lot of companies have outsourced their work to oversea workers where they pay dirt cheap for a position they would have to pay much more, even if it was minimum wage.  It seems that the game industry is starting to outsource their jobs in art, programming and game testing to oversea workers as well now.  The recession in our economy only makes it more tempting for company CEOs to make the decision to outsource their positions, so it gets harder for those trying to look for a job here.  I think I'll like this webcomic as it will be relevant to what I'm doing/want to do (game testing/game development).  You can check out the webcomic and the other ones the creators have been working on for over a decade here:

-The Trenches: http://trenchescomic.com/
-Penny Arcade: http://www.penny-arcade.com/
-PvPOnline: http://www.pvponline.com/ 

GameOn - Web Comics - VG Cats

Official Site: Videogame Cats - Scott Ramsoomair

Yay, it's Friday and I really need rest from the weekend after this crazy week.  So I tried to choose a strip from VGCats that didn't require too much knowledge of the game it's parodying, but I guess the ending does require a bit of knowing to get the joke.  Anyways, I found out about VGCats on Youtube when Super Smash Bros. Brawl was releasing information about the game and someone took one of Scott's comics and turned it into a video.  I looked VGCats up and really liked the comics and started to follow it.  Once I caught up, I realized that it took Scott to add a new comic between each one.  I really don't blame him as comic artists take a LOT of time and effort to produce even one strip.  What's great about VG Cats is that a lot of the jokes are general and don't focus on specific game references.  This makes it more welcoming for many in the gaming community.  I also like the two main characters Leo (Grey cat) and Aeris (Pink Cat).  They usually take the role of a character from a game when referencing one, but there are also times where they're themselves.  Despite that, their personalities are pretty distinct and is reflected even when taking the role of another character.  Scott started another comic called "Adventure Log" which had to do with Final Fantasy XI Online but gave up after a while.  He also started a comic called "Super Effective" which follows the stories and jokes of Pokémon.  He generally updates "Super Effective" more often now, but still takes a while before updating it.  Reviewing all these web comics has inspired me to get back into drawing, and so I am working hard to improve myself and draw more.  Well that's it for this week's GameOn, have a good weekend.

GameOn - Web Comics - Nerf NOW!!

Official Site: Nerf NOW!! - Josué Pereira

Nerf Now is a unique Videogame Web comic in that a lot of the earlier comics, you don't need to understand English or read in order to understand the story or jokes.  I posted this one in particular since the comic artist does a lot of story arcs and jokes based on Team Fortress 2.  Using minimal lines and color, the art style is very easy on the eyes and a joy to read.  A lot of the recent comics require a bit of reading and some knowledge of the game that it references, but it's much more welcoming than some of the other web comics and their references (ex. Penny Arcade and their usual satire of important figures in the game industry).  Nerf Now is up to strip # 499 as of today and continues to grow as a well known videogame web comic on the internet.

GameOn - Web Comics - Penny Arcade

Official Site: Penny Arcade - Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins

I thought it'd be appropriate to post the strip that related back to yesterday's topic on MegaTokyo.  In fact, it was Penny Arcade that linked MegaTokyo's first 2 strips that generated a lot of attention to MT comics and thus resulting the continuation of it.  I'm not sure what their relationship is between Penny Arcade and MegaTokyo, but they've mentioned each other a few times in their comic.

Source: http://megatokyo.com/strips/0057.gif

I've known about Penny Arcade forever but never bothered reading their comics.  It's a good thing too until just recently this past year when I did start reading it.  Their comics are heavily intertwined with references to games, the industry, and the community.  I started learning more about the industry and started reading game news (ones that affect real life and economy) just these past 2-3 years and so I wouldn't have been able to understand a lot of their jokes and satire when mentioning a public figure such as Sony's CEO or co-founder of Valve Gabe Newell, things like that.  The comic has changed from when it first started and has delved far deep into the many aspects of game culture rather than make obvious jokes of games themselves.  Despite the directed audience of hard core gamers, they're very successful and has since brought their success to organizing charities such as "Child's Play" which donates money to medical fundings of sick children.  Their jokes are provocative and their content is rather mature, so it may not be to everyone's liking.

GameOn - Web Comics - MegaTokyo

Official Site: MegaTokyo - Fred Gallagher

The comic isn't strictly based on games, but it references and parodies it so often that it might as well be a comic about it.  The comic started back in 2000 when two guys on the internet decided to a comic strip and noticed that there was an audience for the first two strips they made and decided to continue on.  Over the first few years, Rodney Caston and Fred Gallagher had their creative differences in story and so their partnership in creating MegaTokyo comic strips was dissolved with Fred continuing the story.  In a way, the two main characters, Piro and Largo, are loosely based on the two creators "Fred and Rodney" since those were their online names.  The comic starts with them failing to get into the Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3) and ended up going to Japan only to end up getting stuck there.  The art style leans toward the typical Japanese manga style face features with a bit of Fred's own style leaking into the artwork.  Fred is actually an architect which is why a lot of his drawings of structural buildings are so nice and intricately drawn (in the later chapters).  The story favors a lot of Japanese manga/anime fans as well as Western gamer fans with heavy references to gaming culture and the Otaku culture.  I first found out about MegaTokyo when I saw the first book at the library back in high school (this was already 2004 when the comic started 4 years prior).  Ever since then, I've had great interest in Fred's work but haven't followed it since book 2.  Looking at it again, I want to re-read everything from the beginning and catch up to the latest strip.  Fred's art style is rougher than most web-comics since most of his drawings are the bare-bones without the inking (outlining), clean up, coloring, etc.; however, it's still very pleasing to the eyes.  Match it up with absurd humor and references to cultures the reader have a common interest in and you get a really enjoyable comic.  Out of all the ones I'll be mentioning this week, this is probably my highest recommendation to follow.

GameOn - Web Comics - Awkward Zombie

GameOn with a week of videogame based Web Comics.  Today, we're going to take a look at Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich.
Official Site: Awkward Zombie - Katie Tiedrich

Not all of Katie's comics are exclusively on a specific game.  There are times where she would make a strip based on real life events with references to videogames.  I enjoy a lot of her quirky jokes that she makes that reference a game's actual gameplay, story, or character.  Most comics are based off of Nintendo games with Super Smash Bros. Melee and Pokémon being more of her well known references to games.  Her art style is simplistic, but effective in what it wants to achieve.  The Awkward Zombie site does experience problems loading and I can only hope that it's because a lot of people read her comics.  She is currently up to strip #193 from when she first started back in September 2006.