Even though I'm a C-list user around here, I have to admit that a lot of things that I've gotten into over the past 6-7 years are either directly or indirectly due to board 8. I've "left" a few times but I always find myself coming back here and discovering something new and awesome when I do. Every few months something pops up that I would have not noticed otherwise, or I would not have thought looked interesting at first glance, and then I try it out and love it. Not everything is outstanding but I generally trust the collective judgment of B8 on entertainment, and it's paid off for me. So thanks to everyone on this board for introducing me to or convincing me to look into...
Phoenix Wright Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan Green Lantern Scott Pilgrim Dominion Sonic Generations One Piece Community Parks and Recreation Red Letter Media Shoddy Battle Disgaea Metal Gear Solid Katamari Killer 7 No More Heroes Darths and Droids The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzamiya
My list is likely small compared to some of yours out there and I haven't kept up with everything that I was introduced to and liked via board 8, but I'm still thankful that I have a sort of internet home with people who keep introducing me to awesome stuff.
**** SPOILERS FOR HOMESTUCK FROM HERE ON**** Most recently I've noticed a bunch of topics about Homestuck and I've been meaning to get into another webcomic anyway (or whatever you want to call Homestuck). I started reading it a couple weeks ago and couldn't really get into it. It seemed like an interesting concept that for some reason couldn't make itself interesting. Maybe it's because I never played text adventures or maybe it just sucks, but it doesn't seem that great. I bookmarked it anyway, just in case I ever wanted to be persuaded to go back and check into it. After all Parks and Rec is a top 5 show, and you wouldn't know that from it's first Season if that's all you're using to measure it's quality. I kept finding myself bored and in want of distraction from school work, so I'd read 5-10 "pages" of Homestuck and slowly I became more intrigued by what was going on. It starts off very slowly I suppose as a way of developing backstory. I slowly crept through the archive until about halfway through Act 2 when things began legitimately picking up. I speed read through the rest of Act 2 and although I'm still not 100% convinced that this is the best thing the internet has to offer, it's got a ton of potential and I feel like I've put in the time investment already to enjoy it enough to keep reading.
Things I like: *I don't understand why one of the most common problems people have at first is reading the pesterchum logs. That's pretty much the most interesting thing about it and where the meat of the real story comes from. It's a bit tedious when Dave goes on a big long rant while someone else is AFK, but it gives a better sense of realism because, he's a 13 year old who's trying to seem cool and that's what 13 year olds do.
*The multimedia aspects are really cool. I like the sound effects, the music, the Strifing. It's not necessary, but it shows that the creators care enough about this project to go the extra mile and make something that stands out. Unfortunately for the creators, they probably can't make books or DVDs of this since it seems so different from most forms of media, but maybe they have done something. I haven't looked into it.
*The story in general. I like the thoughts of a video game that can actually alter reality. For a concept so obvious, it seems odd that I can't think of anything else that's done it so far. I suppose stuff like Dot Hack did similar stuff, but it's still not actually altering the world.
Things I'm not sure about yet: *I'm not entirely certain if I like or dislike how all 3 main characters have a similar living situation. They all have one parental figure (John's Dad, Rose's Mom, Dave's Bro) and their parental figures all have some eccentricities (John's Dad's love of harlequins Rose's Mom's weird housewife routine, Dave's Bro's puppet and sword collections). Maybe I'm nitpicking but it feels kind of unnatural to me. I guess John has his Nanna. That being said I actually do like their weirdness. It's strange but not so strange that it's unbelievable. Hell John's Dad being a street performer seemed to have had some story relevance (being able to break out of the handcuffs and beating up the imps). I probably just shouldn't let it bug me, maybe it won't later.
*The Wayward Vagabond. I don't really understand this guy yet. It'll probably make more sense later, but I guess he's in the future and has some kind of anxiety disorder? Maybe the kids messed up the world that he's living in now? Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention during his parts to understand the relevance?
Things I do not like: *Luckily for me, the user suggestions have been done away with. I feel like I could mostly tell when a user suggestion would come up. The creator obviously had a plan in mind for the characters and won't allow them to do anything out of their nature, so it just seems like a waste of time for it to say something like "Dave: Piss on your DJ equipment" "You would never do that, that would be dumb and not even ironic". Seems like a cool idea, but there's too many people on the internet that would just be dumb about it.
*Strangely enough, I don't really care for the GameFAQs walkthroughs. Maybe they were nice in their day when people were caught up and there wasn't much material so there were months(?) in between them poping up, but for me they seem mostly to be convenient recaps, which I don't really need since I've gone through everything in a few weeks.
So that's that. I'll probably start reading through Act 3 later this evening. Updates will be anything but consistent, and I'm not sure even how to go about updating, but I'll do what seems fitting.
Homestuck is absolutely incredible and you're going to be really glad you read it. The degree to which the scope of the story and the scale of the universe keep increasing is almost unbelievable.
There is a very specific reason for the kid's living situations with their guardians as well, and those eccentricities.
You aren't supposed to know much about WV yet. He's a mystery at that point.
The GFaqs walkthrough makes like 3 appearances. It'll be gone by the end of Act 3...IIRC. When the ACTUAL recaps start happening after year one, those are fairly useful, because there's a lot of things you may not have picked up on in the story.
Interestingly, there actually is Homestuck books. Ones out already (covering Act 1), and volume 2 is due out soon (which will cover half of Act 2).
Anyway you sound like you're really, really going to like it once it really gets going, so will be following this! Besides, Shine's almost done now anyway so we needed a new readthrough topic :p
From: tcaz2 | #008 and volume 2 is due out soon (which will cover half of Act 2).
Where did you hear this? The last time Andrew talked about it, he said Act 1 was one book, Act 2 was one book, and Act 3+ Intermission was also a single book.
I recall Hussie saying that 'there was no way Act 2 would fit in one book, and it would have to be in 2' at one point not too long after the first volume came out.
He might have revised that since then (or I could be inventing things in my head!), though, idk.
It's a bit fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure...Hussie did say that, and then maybe the TopatoCo guys said they could actually do it?
I don't remember who said what, but I do know that the very last word we've had on it from anyone credible was that Act 1-Intermission would only take up 3 books.