we can do that, of course since the main attraction is the actual fights between characters, the monsters can't be too strong.
Edit: Annnnnnnnnnnd Skype isn't working for me.

I am back(well not mpan. I took a really long break.) and i'm stil up for it.
Oh, for readers of mpan, sorry about the break. I'vd become engrossed on my ps4. I'll try getting back to it by march 17, once i picked up my copy of ff type 0 hd.

I hope youre able to troubleshoot your Skype problem KouSnow, Max and I are already connected and it would be a very convenient way to communicate.

Its been a while since we started, so lets get a quick recap:

The proposed idea is a fighting tournament inspired by the sort on Deviant Art (such as the Law of Telos). A shadowy figure gathers exceptional folk from all over, bribing and coercing them into battle to fulfil his unknown agenda.
The title Fightsplosion has been suggested for this project
A black tower has been suggested for the Final location (or main location, or such)
Rules for matches and victors need to be established
Minions or hazardous environments has been suggested for Character development
Matches resolve with the KO of a character rather than death


–Our eight contestants are:–
Dany the Ice Pick an Ice guy
William Tell Telekinetic sniper
Evangeline Demonic suit wearing 16-year-old
Kyoko Tachibana Armed mage with affinity for Ice
Henry The Bogyman
Zeyrah Streamline Hedgehog
Ink Banshire trickster with a glaive
Oscar Part-time berserker
Eiderdown (insert description later)


Tallent:
Call me Tom, SnowTheHedgehog, and Shastab24 are willing to draw
Niccea and Ink are willing to color


Phew, we barely have anything settled and already it looks like we need a record keeper/organizer.

For todays assignment I need everyone to tell me what roles they want to play in this projectartists, writers, planers, web designers, organizers, advertisers, etc we cant get started if we dont know where we stand. Also, bonus points to anyone who wants to solicit other authors on this site to join. We need contestants, NPCs, and Cameos. Lets see what we can gather

I can only draw people so I'm no good at helping with the art(Also my only medium are pencils and color pencils.)
I can probably help write or plan(maybe organize)

A Question to ask, are alliances allowed?
You know, like in Dissidia where characters travel together or something?

Yeah, I'm still down for it!

I can help with a little writing/planning.

I'll try and rally a couple more author/contributors too if we want more participants.

Thinking of structure…

ONE PAGE:
it could start with a wizard or someone who knows about the powerful being and hint that something big and multiverse-shaking is about to happen. It can be vague on this page if we want. “It begins.”

ONE PAGE EACH:
Then we could show a character in their own world. They see a doorway or hear a voice or whatever form “The Call” takes. The character enters the door/heads to the light/whatever. This could be every character in the tourney or just the one or two who are about to fight.

then we can show the character, with stats and particulars printed for the audience (we could do this again, or a less wordy version, when the two characters actually fight. Before the fight, there can be a two-shot, with the combatants side by side and a brief description of each).

THE FIGHT (SEVERAL PAGES EACH)
Will the fights all be purely physical, in a closed ring or tournament-style stadium? Can the fights take various forms and occur in various realities (like one or both of the combatants' realities?). I guess I was assuming it would be either some kind of stadium, or a garden path where the combatants encounter each other and are commanded to fight…

Sounds good so far. One page for character introduction each might be a bit few (though I certainly have no problem with that), but we'll want to remember that the main idea of this is not to advertise our comics. The introduction doesn't necessarily have to be elaborate or cohesive - giving insights that raise more questions than they answer have always been fun in my opinion. I'd also strongly recommend not to involve hard numbers for stats. It'll only end up in dick measuring contests every time two characters engage in a fight. How about a couple bullet points stating what respective characters are (in-) famous for in their world/community instead?
What hassles me more is the fights themselves.
A.) We shouldn't try to go too over the top with our environments. Not trying to speak for the other draftsmen here, but I've only recently acquired a drawing pad that I yet have to get the hang of and I need to get a new program for it, too, since the one I got with it plain sucks.
B.) Do we still want to go with the idea of having the audience decide for the winner of each fight? If so, we'll need to think of some sort of structure. E.g. 5 pages of fighting, voting break, and to avoid the silly “sudden K.O.”, another five pages of fighting (without letting the audience know who got more votes) and eventually the winner advancing. Another option would be a K.O.-less fight; the fighting happens, then the referee ends it, voting happens - winner advances, loser goes home. Which, I'm gonna be honest, feels like a cheap cop out.

Is this still happing? I'm in!

My word is not Law, but let me answer questions anyway in an effort to cement things in as I understand them. Feel free to correct me or question my answers.

MaxAxil wrote:
A Question to ask, are alliances allowed?
You know, like in Dissidia where characters travel together or something?


The way I understand it, folks are pretty much traveling alone until their battles and until we get more contestants, the best fighters will only have three of those battles. After that of course, theres nothing stopping the folks that have met up from traveling with each other.

Call Me Tom wrote:
Is this still happing? I'm in!

This is very much still happening. Please, I want what talents you can bring to this and any plans/ideas/input you can muster. Lets make this a wall of text people!

Banes wrote:
Thinking of structure…
ONE PAGE:
it could start with a wizard or someone who knows about the powerful being and hint that something big and multiverse-shaking is about to happen. It can be vague on this page if we want. “It begins.”
ONE PAGE EACH:
Then we could show a character in their own world. They see a doorway or hear a voice or whatever form “The Call” takes. The character enters the door/heads to the light/whatever. This could be every character in the tourney or just the one or two who are about to fight.
Then we can show the character, with stats and particulars printed for the audience (we could do this again, or a less wordy version, when the two characters actually fight. Before the fight, there can be a two-shot, with the combatants side by side and a brief description of each).
THE FIGHT (SEVERAL PAGES EACH)
Will the fights all be purely physical, in a closed ring or tournament-style stadium? Can the fights take various forms and occur in various realities (like one or both of the combatants' realities?). I guess I was assuming it would be either some kind of stadium, or a garden path where the combatants encounter each other and are commanded to fight…

We need folks thinking about format and timing; thanks Banes! I dont see anything wrong with your idea for character and setting introductionlets see if we can use it!
For the fights, Ive been assuming that well have them take place in many different locations for varietys sake, each location decided by the contestants of the battle (rather, the authors of the contestants get together and decide where they want the fight to take place and the evil wizard makes it happen).

SnowTheHedgehog wrote:
Sounds good so far. One page for character introduction each might be a bit few (though I certainly have no problem with that), but we'll want to remember that the main idea of this is not to advertise our comics. The introduction doesn't necessarily have to be elaborate or cohesive - giving insights that raise more questions than they answer have always been fun in my opinion. I'd also strongly recommend not to involve hard numbers for stats. It'll only end up in dick measuring contests every time two characters engage in a fight. How about a couple bullet points stating what respective characters are (in-) famous for in their world/community instead?
What hassles me more is the fights themselves.
A.) We shouldn't try to go too over the top with our environments. Not trying to speak for the other draftsmen here, but I've only recently acquired a drawing pad that I yet have to get the hang of and I need to get a new program for it, too, since the one I got with it plain sucks.
B.) Do we still want to go with the idea of having the audience decide for the winner of each fight? If so, we'll need to think of some sort of structure. E.g. 5 pages of fighting, voting break, and to avoid the silly “sudden K.O.”, another five pages of fighting (without letting the audience know who got more votes) and eventually the winner advancing. Another option would be a K.O.-less fight; the fighting happens, then the referee ends it, voting happens - winner advances, loser goes home. Which, I'm gonna be honest, feels like a cheap cop out.

Thanks for the caution Snow; we do need to consider logistics too.
Idealy we shouldnt have to worry too much about involved environments because they will only be as detailed as we feel comfortable making. That said, weve a fairly wide talent pool to draw from so I think it will all work out.
I like the idea of the Audience deciding on the Victors of the match, but clearly such a method needs work. I think that we should allow each person one vote per page as long as the fight goes on (either in the comment section or a forum linked to in the comic) and by the time the fight wraps up we have a victor (the other KOd). It keeps it all up in the air and the audience involved right down to the last. (Authors may vote too so as to set an example, but no alt accounts voting).



Keep the ideas and input coming people, and try to shake the folks that already signed up earlier. Ill be checking into this forum daily to keep the ball rolling!



PS: Skype is a truly wonderful tool for multi-author comic planningand I can say this from experience. Im currently and author in the comic Haunted House (shameless self-plug http://www.smackjeeves.com/comicprofile.php?id=148505) and thats what we all use to communicate. please, help me to help you; get on skype or at least look into it!

Kou, you said Skype isn't working for you (I didn't notice before, sorry). What exactly isn't working?

Okay Here is what I think need to happen,
1: set a date for all of this or else every thing will just shamble on with nothing solid happing!
2: get the background story sortied so I can get started on drawing it!

As for fights I think 7 pages, with taking winer vote at 4 pages. (first page square off, second combaint a attack, third combaint b attack and fourth both stailmate.)

character intro 1 to 3 pages (drawn by there owner?).

Yeah, I think the exact planning of who does what in which page and panel is what we should avoid doing. Even with the different characters' varying skillset, I'm afraid it would seem stale and repetitive after a while. Of course each character should be guaranteed of getting the chance to “let it all loose”, but the pace of the battle (which doesn't necessarily predetermines the length of it) should be determined by the characters' different ways to go about this.

I can join back in on conversation starting tomorrow. I work during the weekends.

SnowTheHedgehog wrote:
Kou, you said Skype isn't working for you (I didn't notice before, sorry). What exactly isn't working?

says Skype Can't Connect (tried using my facebook, doesn't work either.

Hm… Have you registered with a username instead of an email address? Or typed the email wrong? It could also be that your firewall is preset to block Skype. If all of these don't work, try running an update, aaand… that's pretty much all I have.

come to think of it Chatango stopped working for me a little while ago to.

Call Me Tom wrote:
Okay Here is what I think need to happen,
1: set a date for all of this or else every thing will just shamble on with nothing solid happing!
2: get the background story sortied so I can get started on drawing it!

As for fights I think 7 pages, with taking winer vote at 4 pages. (first page square off, second combaint a attack, third combaint b attack and fourth both stailmate.)

character intro 1 to 3 pages (drawn by there owner?).

I agree that dates and scheduals are needed to keep us on track, but there is still far too much unsettled to presently set a date.
As for the formulaic approach to pages, fights and votes, I think itd be best that we play that a little more free-form. Certainly a limit to how long someone can spend on a single page or set of pages, but having such a rigid method for the fights would certainly become repetitive.
I cannot express how glad I am that you are eager to start drawing. Do you think you could sketch up a couple drawing for our evil sorcerer? His design has gone by the way side.

SnowTheHedgehog wrote:
Yeah, I think the exact planning of who does what in which page and panel is what we should avoid doing. Even with the different characters' varying skillset, I'm afraid it would seem stale and repetitive after a while. Of course each character should be guaranteed of getting the chance to “let it all loose”, but the pace of the battle (which doesn't necessarily predetermines the length of it) should be determined by the characters' different ways to go about this.

I agree.




Kou, it sounds like youve got a bigger issue than a simple one with skype. It may be your firewall, or malware, or some plugin that has stopped working. I really dont know where to start. If it were simpler, Id suggest uninstalling and reinstalling skype, but at this point your best bet may be tech support.
By the way, Im very grateful that that youre actively trying to forward us with our communication efforts. Hopefully we can talk soon.

I can make character art too if you want. But I wont guarantee it would be of high quality.

disabled avast's firewall and chatango started working immediately.
it was Avast all along, gonna reinstall skype and try again.
Edit: Yup, it was Avast the whole time, Skype is working again.

Kou, my skype handle isInk-wolf, and I expect I shall be online 'till morning. feel free to look me up.

mine is KouTheMad (they might all be lower case or there might be spaces.)

Amphisboena, or RBellhaeuser@web.de. I recommend using the latter, that way you won't end up having to pick from half a dozen accounts that all use a similar profile name.

Banes, Call Me Tom, and Niccea; Id greatly appreciate if you would join us on Skype (Kou, Max, Snow and I are already on). In a nutshell, it blows this forum out of the water. Said the long way

Skype holds numerous advantages over the online forum in terms of efficiency, clarity, availability, and secrecy of communication. As such, it should be our first pick for the duration of our discussion, as I will illustrate. Skype chats are more efficient than Forum posts in (most importantly) speed of communication. Interaction between as little as two or as many as we may become is near immediate, and allows authors to essentially talk to one another as opposed to the missive writing required by the clunky forum. Voice chat, screen and file sharing are also features of Skype allowing updates on pages, scripts, and all manner of information to be transferred quickly and easily; improving clarity. Skype is just as if not more readily available than this forum; its free and runs not only on windows and mac, but tablets, and smartphones too. It also does not have a habit of being down for hours if not months at a time, unlike a certain comic site I know of. Finally, and most importantly, Skype allows us secrecy in our communications so that we do not spoil that which is to come in the comic. When we are planning such things as winners of fights, the last thing we need is readers reading ahead and spoiling the action.


In case you dont already have a Skype account, heres the site for the download:
http://www.skype.com/en/
Again, its free and ideal for our purposes. Join us.

In other news, Kou and I have been talking (via Skype!) and have come up with some simple outlines for the comic.

1. A wizard did it
Long ago have we decided that a powerful sorcerer should be the organizer of this tournament, and although Kou and I agree with that whole-heartedly, we believe that we deserve more. In addition to our sorcerer, there should be several recruiters under him that gather the contestants for the competition. Said recruiters may and likely will use any and all means to garner fighters for the tournament, not limited to: kidnapping, blackmail, lies, threats, bribes, favors and even the truth.

In addition to the recruiters, we will need at least one announcer for the matches who will also act as referee (like there are any rules to enforce :3), and/or commentator.

We probably ought to have security forces, medical faculty, cooks, maintenance, janitors, etc.. in the background. This leads to point number 2


2. Moar Cameos
Cameos can be a challenge in some comic efforts, but for us, they are essential. A cameo is like free advertising, as it gets at least one fan invested and likely to speak of the comic his character cameos in. it also gives your average reader a little thrill to recognize characters they have come to love crossing over into other works. What we are conducting is something akin to Drunk Duck all-stars; how will we accomplish that if we dont have the stars?

If possible. Cameos should be placed where they make sense, in the roles outlined in A wizard did it.


3. Voting time
Now that weve got readers (in theory) we ought to get them involved so they keep coming back for more. Ive already proposed my idea on voting, but allow me to explain it a tad further:
Simply put, as soon as a fight starts, everyone (including authors) gets one vote-per-page as long as the fight progresses. This allows folks to essentially change their minds and start voting for the opposite guy halfway through the match. It also keeps readers involved up until the very end, as they cant simply vote once and walk away. Additionally, it actively encourages consistent comments, which just fuels my drive to create all the more.

Its a quick, easy, and fun way to conduct our battles, and I really hope for all our sakes that we embrace it.


4. Environments and hazards
I think I can speak for all of us when I say the same local over and over and over again just gets boring (just like wrestling). With eight of us, weve got 7 battles to slog through at a minimumfor Peats sake lets get some variety! We can have simple fighting rings, fields, and abandoned building complexes for the easy backgrounds in the beginning if we like, but I personally recommend that we reach for the fantastic in our fights, that allow contestants to use their environments to their advantage. The field of a battle just fought with soldiers and weapons scattered across it, a shanty town with shadowy citizens built up multi-storied into the sky, a deep forest scattered with poachers traps, a busy subway station; the possibilities are endless!




Get on Skype and tell us what you think. Do you have someone lined up for your first fight? Do you know folks that want to join either as cameos or authors? How do you feel about this fight being posted to Deviant Art, or Smack Jeeves in addition to the duck? Come online and share!

Added Kou to my to Skype. Too many people came up under ink-wolf. I'm Niccea (with a capital N). Just updated my avatar to make it easier to spot. I'm home in the evenings, but my computer/Skype isn't always on.

come and join us on Skype, we already got a Beta Sketch of the Villain.

Guuuys, come on, we need you on Skype!

bit slow lately, we still need some more people.