AFR #203 – the lack of horror, the lack of horror

<<First comic <Previous comic | Next comic> Latest comics>>

In Burning Crusade we went to went to a broken world full of rampaging demons.  In Wrath we went to a frozen wasteland full of rampaging undead.  In Cataclysm we went to shattered landscapes full of rampaging elementals and cultists.  In Pandaria we go to a lush, tranquil land full of happy panda people who want to tell us stories and teach us how to cook.  It’s a bit of a shock to the system.

Oh, and a virtual Tootsie roll to everyone who recognizes the movie Thizzible thinks she’s in.

AFR #181 – Cruelly usual

<<First comic <Previous comic | Next comic> Latest comics>>

I’ve always been bothered by the torture quest in Borean Tundra.  Largely because I’m bothered by torture (as every sane person should be), but also because it’s so insulting to be told: “We’re too good and pure to do something as pointlessly cruel as torture, but hey, you look like a person with no moral compass whatsoever!”  I like to think of my characters as being better than that.

Now, I know it’s all pixels and code and no actual torture of actual people is involved, but if pixels and code is all we care about then we should throw out all that extraneous “story” and “character” stuff and just play on spreadsheets.  Even when I’m not actively role-playing, I still like to feel like my characters have, you know, character, and while I’m okay with killing monsters who can fight back and present a threat to me and my people, I’m not okay with torturing helpless prisoners.  That’s not what heroes do.

AFR #171 – Shear madness

<<First comic <Previous comic | Next comic> Latest comics>>

Well, what else are you going to do when you need wool and you can turn people into sheep?

AFR #169 – Happy family

<<First comic <Previous comic | Next comic> Latest comics>>

Some families are born happy, some achieve happiness, and some have “happiness” thrust upon them.

AFR #133 – Just role with it

<<First comic <Previous comic | Next comic> Latest comics>>

Not being much of a WoW role-player myself, I’ve sometimes wondered how role-players cope with the fact that the world of WoW is basically unchanging, like a global sitcom.  Bands of bold adventurers battle their way into bastions of evil and vanquish vile villains– then come back the next day or next week and do it all over again.  I suppose there’s some leeway in a world whose premise has half the population able to resurrect the dead, but there’s still a fundamental conflict between gameplay, which requires repeatability, and storytelling, which thrives on change and progression.

None of which really has anything with this week’s comic.  The only deep question to be asked about this comic is: where did Thizzible get a fedora?