Erfworld - getting good?

[Andor]

It's parody. The point of paradoy is not 'coolness'. So far I find myself amused. I'll keep reading it.

 

[Nifft]

Erfworld seems to laugh at gamers and gaming.
As opposed to OotS, which laughs with gamers and gaming.

I get the feeling that Erfworld is written by people who either aren't really gamers, or are ashamed of their gamer-ness. In either case, there's a lack of either familiarity or comfort that makes the jokes strained.

The meme-references are at a funny-level that would qualify them for throw-away background one-liners, but not for the punchline of the whole darn page. For example, the ORLY birds are funny when they're in the background being fried ("OMGWTFBBQ!"), but not when being first introduced.

Meh, whatever. They can't all be OotS.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Nifft]

The last one wasn't half-bad.

The last three really show well what I think is wrong with the comic.

They spend three pages setting up the joke.

First, they show the fat guy. He's a gamer. He's a geek. Strictly one joke per panel, mostly stuff that's not really a joke (like the bumper sticker).

Then, he talks. He's a geek.

Then, he does an exposition about how he's a turn-based gamer geek and he wishes he were in a fantasy world.

It's not a bad joke. The "PLOT!" sound is funny, and is probably original. But the setup to reward ratio is just too high.

- - -

Finally, most of the stuff we see is irrelevant. I don't particularly like this fat guy. I don't particularly dislike him. He's just a stereotype. What's his character? Aside from an escapist, I mean. That aspect was rubbed in our faces a bit too hard.

In contrast, on just the first page of OotS, I had a decent idea of who most of the characters were. Belkar is angry and swears. Elan is happy and easy-going. Haley is sarcastic and tells it like it is. Vaarsuvius is smart and serious. Roy and Durkon get short shrift, but you can see the seeds: Durkon is stalwart, Roy is a contemplative authority figure.

Hell, their eyebrows alone tell me a lot about their personalities.

Anyway. I'm glad someone is enjoying it.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Finally, most of the stuff we see is irrelevant. I don't particularly like this fat guy. I don't particularly dislike him. He's just a stereotype. What's his character? Aside from an escapist, I mean. That aspect was rubbed in our faces a bit too hard.

Yeah, I've got to agree here. It isn't that I hate the characters. It isn't that I love the characters. Its more like I don't really care about them.

Unfortunately the story hasn't been linear enough to allow for any serious kind of plot development. I think a few linear strips that actually had each panel as important (and not so parody trick) would go far.

 

[JustKim]

I get the feeling that Erfworld is written by people who either aren't really gamers, or are ashamed of their gamer-ness. In either case, there's a lack of either familiarity or comfort that makes the jokes strained.

It's illustrated by Jamie Noguchi and written by Rob Balder. The latter's done some gaming jokes with his other webcomic project, Partially Clips (which is much funnier), so he has some exposure.

And the black chick is hot.

Ashna is Indian.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Serials are hard enough to do on the web. Short attention span and easy availability of alternatives and waiting between plot points and archives means that people read them in blocks, if at all.

I don't know what I'm supposed to like about Erfworld. Where's the hook, where's the BAM, where's the *reason* to read it? Internet memes aren't a reason, fantasy comic isn't a reason, give me something! The world has some promise, I think, but then you make the world irrelevant by saying "it's all a fantasy game!" The "guy gets transported into a fantasy world" schtick wasn't that interesting when it wasn't horribly overplayed.

I mean, I don't hate it or anything, but I don't know why I would read it when there are so many other webcomics worth my time that deliver consistent results.

 

[Yair]

Ashna is Indian.

She's still hot.

 

[interwyrm]

I did like the ORLY owls, and the fact that she was riding a peep. I do agree that a lot of times the joke takes waaay too long to set up.

 

[Vanuslux]

Other than "Dibs on his dice", which I admit was pretty amusing, there wasn't anything funny about the strip. It's not that Erfworld is terrible, but it's neither engaging as a storyline nor does it have a very good funny per page ratio. Combine it's mediocrity with the fact that it's on the same site as a strip that excels in both those areas and it's going to seem like a steamy pile in comparison.

Then again, if Erfworld wasn't on the same site as OotS and therefore a single click away I wouldn't bother with it at all.