Episode 598 - 2D or not 2D!
Aug 29, 2022
What makes a character two dimensional? What makes them three dimensional? Does it matter that they only have two dimensions to them? This was an idea that GeekyGami posed and so we thought we'd explore it in the cast. My own theory is that a character that is purely archetypal, tropeish, or cliche, with everything about them flowing from that archetype, and they never go beyond their archetypal traits- that makes them 2D.
Topics and Show Notes
An example for this could be a “nerd” character who has their trousers pulled up too high, a pocket protector, short sleeved collard shirt tucked into their undies, thick rimmed glasses with tape in the middle, slicked down dorky short hair, pimples and greasy skin. They can't talk to girls, they're super smart, they're arrogant to anyone who they see as less intelligent in math or the sciences, they can't do sports, they're uncoordinated, they're often bullied, asthmatic, easily injured and talk in a high pitched voice. They only like Scifi and fantasy and they play dungeons and dragons all the time… etc. That's a moronic cliche, but it's often used. If they stay perfectly true to that no mater what happens or changes around them physically or socially then in my opinion they're 2D.
2D characters are not always a negative thing though. Not every side character needs to have more to them. Even primary characters can get by as simple 2D cutouts if the story needs them to be that way. You always do what's right for the story rather than sticking to rules or biases about what you should or shouldn't do with characters… Intention is the main thing! You don't want to inadvertently make a 2D character when they're not meant to be that way.
What do you think makes a 2D character?
This week Gunwallace has given us a theme to Scorned - In the words of the man himself: Went for a Sex in the City meets the Underworld kind of vibe. I would say it’s a cheeky salsa rhythm that drives you to shake and dance, which then takes a terrifying leap into a gothic baroque circus of doom!
Topics and shownotes
Links
Forum post - Hawk and Flo Ice Cream Truck of Doom part 1 - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/179142/
Featured comic:
Hawk and Flo Ice Cream Truck of Doom part 1 - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2022/aug/23/featured-comic-hawk-and-flo-ice-cream-truck-of-doom-part-1/
Featured music:
Scorned - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Scorned/ - by Damehelsing, rated M.
Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - http://www.virtuallycomics.com
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
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Episode 561 - You are being manipulated
Dec 13, 2021
This interesting Quackcast topic was influenced by a DDer who has been subsumed by anti-CoVid conspiracy. This inspired me to delve into the reasons for the massive growth in these types of conspiracy and how the current state of the internet contributes to it. I had some theories, but I thought I should do some reading on the subject to see what the real reasons are rather than using guesses to fill the gaps like conspiracy thinkers tend to do. I was quite shocked by what I found.
Episode 549 - Love stories
Sep 20, 2021
In today's cast we're chatting about LOVE stories! This isn't a subject we get into much but it's a huge genre so we thought we'd tackle it. We thought none of us even WORK in that genre till I belatedly realised that Banes and I sort of DO with Bottomless Waitress hahaha! There's all sorts of love in there… Sorry for the sound quality with this one I've no idea what went wrong.
Episode 537 - Historicity
Jun 28, 2021
We have a chat about historicity in this Quackcast. What IS historicity? It's historical authenticity basically but a nicer way of saying it! It's pretty important for a lot of reasons to make the best effort you can with historical authenticity- it increases immersion of the audience, gives you a better understanding of the story and the world you're looking at (because things will make sense), and leads you to better understanding of your own history and where we came from. BUT, that doesn't mean you always have to be strict. As long as you as a creator properly understand historical context then you've got a lot more leeway to play without creating something stupid. Playing fast and loose with history is ok as long as you know what you're doing, not just being a moron and faking it (hey, many of us are guilty of that). Historical fantasy, myth, classics, fiction, biography etc are all different classes of story where it's more or less forgiveable to mess around.
Episode 532 - Fixing art to make it less sexy?
May 23, 2021
Tantz made a great newspost about this little trend of “fixing” people's art to make it less sexy, as if there was something wrong with sexy art. I think worst about it though is the implied moral superiority of the “fixer”. They're judging the art as non-realistic and “bad” (because it's sexy), and they set about “fixing” it to gain some sort of social kudos, slimming busts, increasing the girth of the figure, making their pose less provocative etc… I think the exercise would be perfectly fine if the context and the attitude wasn't one of “I judge this art to be BAD because it's sexy, I am fixing it to make it non-sexy and that will make it better! And you will all agree that the original was shit and I have improved it!”.
Episode 526 A return to Mary Sue!
Apr 12, 2021
Mary Sues are always a fun topic! There are some misconceptions about them though… Mary Sues aren't all female, they can be any gender. Being super powerful or super popular or super pretty etc doesn't equal a Mary Sue, not even if your character super stands out next to all the others, those things ONLY indicate they might possibly be one. What equals a Mary Sue is a character that doesn't have to struggle very hard for anything, a character that is almost universally admired, and or loved (even by the enemy), a character that masters hard skills with ease and ends up teaching the teachers and beating the masters, a character that's destined to succeed and does in spite of internal story logic… All these things and more can add up to make a Mary Sue.
Episode 518 - Gina Carano, no more right to bare arms!
Feb 15, 2021
Gina Carano who plays Cara Dune in the excellent Star Wars franchise Mandalorian has been fired, as we all know by now… It's a great series, really one of the best incarnations of Star Wars since the original trilogy, and Cara's character was pretty cool. Though I personally didn't really like her lunk-head costume- Fully dressed characters in SciFi with bare biceps always look stupid to me for some reason. Doesn't matter if they're men, women, anthros etc, it's just ugly, especially when they're wearing armour. UGH! Be that as it may Gina said some pretty silly things on social media, and kept saying them after she got in trouble for it aaaaaand then Disney booted her.
Episode 468 - Online communities and the friendships that are part of them
Mar 1, 2020
The nature of online communities and making connections with people you meet in them is quite different from what happens with “social media”. The connections are deeper and longer lasting while social media is more about communication, staying in contact, and finding out what's popular at the time rather than sharing creations and forming strong bonds.
