The Venomafia Development Thread
Reikara - Heavens Tear
Posts: 1,321 Arc User
Ok I realize there's heaps of info I should have given out in the other thread asking for applications to appear in it but I preferred to make a separate thread dedicated to it's development instead, keeping the other one simply for applications. This is more of a hang out to throw in some of your ideas.
See I should explain the original concepts and ideas behind it first. I had originally thought up this little mini story of a PWI comic but it sort of lacked the character material. Since I didn't have many active friends in game at this point (I was close to quitting) I thought it'd be cooler to have people who are active on the forums (where the comic would be featured) to apply for a role instead. This way it was more of a collaboration comic between myself and the players, since their character's personalities and skills would largely determine the outcome and events themselves.
So this comic isn't something I purely claim to have made myself, your character and ideas (even if you don't end up in it) also pull a heavy weight in it's creation and you'll also all be credited for that, here and on DA. Now the most important thing to understand about it is that it is not a 100% serious comic. It's genres would fall under Comedy and action, but more towards the comedy side. It'll utilize different types, sarcasm, wit, randomness and whatever the crazy player's characters and ideas concoct.
There are elements of seriousness in it, in the fights and struggles between members of the Venomafia and the NPCs (neutral characters) they interact with, along with some lessons learned along the way and a bit of character development as a by product of some of the events and interactions. So while the applications gave me lots of material to work with, they lacked a bit in that comedic effect. Whether it's either due to polar opposite personalities clashing or just quirky traits they had to offer (although I'll be honest, Murcas's was great in that area) I really need a bit more of that to make this comic effective.
Although the important point for me is to not dictate what your characters are like, they're solely products of your own imagination and uniqueness. I'll only point out what I'm looking for and I'll work with what people offer. Since this project isn't going to be rushed (while I'm not a professional, I'm going to be putting in my best effort to make it look as much of a finished product as possible. This will actually be my first comic ever.) So you have plenty of time to edit and refine your bios, or even make multiple ones. I'll be looking at only accepting one app per player to make it as fair as possible but you can make multiple ones so long as they're all unique and well thought out characters.
You're welcome to make newb characters and just reference a particular armour set or fashion (so long as it's not too detailed and impractical to draw over and over again, poor Kyna has to colour it also) you'd want to see on them. Like I said in the other thread, there's actually no sense of "levels" in the comic. It's treating the PWI universe as though it were an actual reality, so you won't see names and such over heads. :P
Another thing the comic will introduce is the concept of relaxed weapons and armour. Example you character won't be wandering around fully dressed (as in battle gear) with a weapon in their hand if they're just walking through Archo and chilling with friends. Unless maybe they're just paranoid or a try hard or just simply a military like personality who likes to be ready when they have their guard down for example. So these sort of things I need you to think about when you're writing your bios.
When off duty the characters are more likely to be seen in fashion with weapons strapped to their backs or to their waist, or summonable, depending on the weapon or specification of the player. Some characters can also be seen in fashion only when in battle instead of armour as per their personal choice or if their personality would indicate that to me. There'll also be a bit of guess work involved since I can't ask you about certain things without giving away a plot twist, so the more important and relevant detail you give the better it'll help me decide on how they're likely to react to certain things. I want to keep it as true to you as possible.
As for more of the plot itself, I can at least divulge the main focal point which will give people a better understanding of what it all revolves around. For those of you who are old enough I'm sure you'll recall the time when phoenix and hercules pets were first introduced to PWI and the controversy they caused, particularly with Barbarians who were most hurt by the Hercs and every other class by the phoenix in pvp related grief.
This is originally what inspired the whole thing. It's essentially a parody on the controversy. Being a PvP nix veno myself and also having my **** chewed on them constantly (because my role was similar to a BM's due to being a HA veno) in TW I could easily understand both sides to the story. Everyone except venomancers felt they were very heavily overpowered pets in PvP (due to a glitch on their flesh ream skill which the GMs recognized and refused to fix to give them more edge in PvP) and since the damn thing was chewing your butt off with a physical bleed while the veno was nuking you from a safe distance with magic, there was just no compromise to survive it no matter what armour combo you used. You just had to hope your self heals, charm and HP pool was enough to survive it, and a lot of the time it wasn't, at least not in TW when you were being ganked by a million people.
The Venomancers just said that everyone was being a whinger that they finally had more edge in PvP and everyone was too lazy to invent new ways to adapt to counter them. (Which was possible, through the use of Apoc items, which I agreed with.) Plus they just figured everyone was jealous. As a fun fact, at the time a new guild on HT server popped up lead by a person who was rich in real life. Like, rich enough to by every single person who joined their guild a phoenix. (This was back when 80's would have been the highest level I believe so not everyone was as capable of dealing with the amount of damage back then compared to now.)
Basically this new guild comprised of basically high level venomancers only all equipped with the best gear available and flashy new phoenixes provided by their leader which they would pay back over time through their TW winnings popped up over night and entirely wiped out my own underdog guild's territory and quickly took up ownership of a fair portion of the map. They essentially steam rolled everyone, and they weren't at any sort of lack of people wanting to join them, especially when you were guaranteed a powerful new pet. So this is where the idea of a "Veno mafia" came from. And is essentially their view on things.
They believe they deserve world domination simply because they're capable and able of it. If they're on top it's because no body is strong enough to challenge them, thus they are rightly the new world dictators. Their strength however does not actually come from them, it is entirely derived from their 'assets'. The comic really revolves more around the phoenixes since they were the ones that caused everyone to bend down on their knees and beg for mercy. The Hercules really only caused upset with barbarians however they may still feature, they just won't be focal points.
The point of having one venomancer on the good guy's side was to provide an alternative point of view that some Venos had, who were in opposition of solely deriving all your strength from an extension of you, instead of directly from your own being.
-That's all for now I need to go sleep but there's more I'll add later. So keeping these things in mind, you're welcome to add some ideas to the story even if they just revolve around your own character. The basic idea is that the two groups of good guys will essentially be facing off with the Veno's and their pets, however who fights who will be determined by the finalized applicants.-
Also just something I forgot to add in. I'd really like to see some non perfect characters. It's all good to be righteous and such, however no one in real life is 100% perfect, and perfect characters make horrible material to work with and a boring story. Every one has flaws, and some times those flaws can even be used as strengths. Even just insecurities, fears and such would make great comical material.
See I should explain the original concepts and ideas behind it first. I had originally thought up this little mini story of a PWI comic but it sort of lacked the character material. Since I didn't have many active friends in game at this point (I was close to quitting) I thought it'd be cooler to have people who are active on the forums (where the comic would be featured) to apply for a role instead. This way it was more of a collaboration comic between myself and the players, since their character's personalities and skills would largely determine the outcome and events themselves.
So this comic isn't something I purely claim to have made myself, your character and ideas (even if you don't end up in it) also pull a heavy weight in it's creation and you'll also all be credited for that, here and on DA. Now the most important thing to understand about it is that it is not a 100% serious comic. It's genres would fall under Comedy and action, but more towards the comedy side. It'll utilize different types, sarcasm, wit, randomness and whatever the crazy player's characters and ideas concoct.
There are elements of seriousness in it, in the fights and struggles between members of the Venomafia and the NPCs (neutral characters) they interact with, along with some lessons learned along the way and a bit of character development as a by product of some of the events and interactions. So while the applications gave me lots of material to work with, they lacked a bit in that comedic effect. Whether it's either due to polar opposite personalities clashing or just quirky traits they had to offer (although I'll be honest, Murcas's was great in that area) I really need a bit more of that to make this comic effective.
Although the important point for me is to not dictate what your characters are like, they're solely products of your own imagination and uniqueness. I'll only point out what I'm looking for and I'll work with what people offer. Since this project isn't going to be rushed (while I'm not a professional, I'm going to be putting in my best effort to make it look as much of a finished product as possible. This will actually be my first comic ever.) So you have plenty of time to edit and refine your bios, or even make multiple ones. I'll be looking at only accepting one app per player to make it as fair as possible but you can make multiple ones so long as they're all unique and well thought out characters.
You're welcome to make newb characters and just reference a particular armour set or fashion (so long as it's not too detailed and impractical to draw over and over again, poor Kyna has to colour it also) you'd want to see on them. Like I said in the other thread, there's actually no sense of "levels" in the comic. It's treating the PWI universe as though it were an actual reality, so you won't see names and such over heads. :P
Another thing the comic will introduce is the concept of relaxed weapons and armour. Example you character won't be wandering around fully dressed (as in battle gear) with a weapon in their hand if they're just walking through Archo and chilling with friends. Unless maybe they're just paranoid or a try hard or just simply a military like personality who likes to be ready when they have their guard down for example. So these sort of things I need you to think about when you're writing your bios.
When off duty the characters are more likely to be seen in fashion with weapons strapped to their backs or to their waist, or summonable, depending on the weapon or specification of the player. Some characters can also be seen in fashion only when in battle instead of armour as per their personal choice or if their personality would indicate that to me. There'll also be a bit of guess work involved since I can't ask you about certain things without giving away a plot twist, so the more important and relevant detail you give the better it'll help me decide on how they're likely to react to certain things. I want to keep it as true to you as possible.
As for more of the plot itself, I can at least divulge the main focal point which will give people a better understanding of what it all revolves around. For those of you who are old enough I'm sure you'll recall the time when phoenix and hercules pets were first introduced to PWI and the controversy they caused, particularly with Barbarians who were most hurt by the Hercs and every other class by the phoenix in pvp related grief.
This is originally what inspired the whole thing. It's essentially a parody on the controversy. Being a PvP nix veno myself and also having my **** chewed on them constantly (because my role was similar to a BM's due to being a HA veno) in TW I could easily understand both sides to the story. Everyone except venomancers felt they were very heavily overpowered pets in PvP (due to a glitch on their flesh ream skill which the GMs recognized and refused to fix to give them more edge in PvP) and since the damn thing was chewing your butt off with a physical bleed while the veno was nuking you from a safe distance with magic, there was just no compromise to survive it no matter what armour combo you used. You just had to hope your self heals, charm and HP pool was enough to survive it, and a lot of the time it wasn't, at least not in TW when you were being ganked by a million people.
The Venomancers just said that everyone was being a whinger that they finally had more edge in PvP and everyone was too lazy to invent new ways to adapt to counter them. (Which was possible, through the use of Apoc items, which I agreed with.) Plus they just figured everyone was jealous. As a fun fact, at the time a new guild on HT server popped up lead by a person who was rich in real life. Like, rich enough to by every single person who joined their guild a phoenix. (This was back when 80's would have been the highest level I believe so not everyone was as capable of dealing with the amount of damage back then compared to now.)
Basically this new guild comprised of basically high level venomancers only all equipped with the best gear available and flashy new phoenixes provided by their leader which they would pay back over time through their TW winnings popped up over night and entirely wiped out my own underdog guild's territory and quickly took up ownership of a fair portion of the map. They essentially steam rolled everyone, and they weren't at any sort of lack of people wanting to join them, especially when you were guaranteed a powerful new pet. So this is where the idea of a "Veno mafia" came from. And is essentially their view on things.
They believe they deserve world domination simply because they're capable and able of it. If they're on top it's because no body is strong enough to challenge them, thus they are rightly the new world dictators. Their strength however does not actually come from them, it is entirely derived from their 'assets'. The comic really revolves more around the phoenixes since they were the ones that caused everyone to bend down on their knees and beg for mercy. The Hercules really only caused upset with barbarians however they may still feature, they just won't be focal points.
The point of having one venomancer on the good guy's side was to provide an alternative point of view that some Venos had, who were in opposition of solely deriving all your strength from an extension of you, instead of directly from your own being.
-That's all for now I need to go sleep but there's more I'll add later. So keeping these things in mind, you're welcome to add some ideas to the story even if they just revolve around your own character. The basic idea is that the two groups of good guys will essentially be facing off with the Veno's and their pets, however who fights who will be determined by the finalized applicants.-
Also just something I forgot to add in. I'd really like to see some non perfect characters. It's all good to be righteous and such, however no one in real life is 100% perfect, and perfect characters make horrible material to work with and a boring story. Every one has flaws, and some times those flaws can even be used as strengths. Even just insecurities, fears and such would make great comical material.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Post edited by Reikara - Heavens Tear on
0
Comments
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-Reserved for more info-
Also I wanted to ask if anyone would be interested to attend any live stream sessions of when I get to drawing some of the work. I'd like feedback on it as it's being drawn, especially if the person who owns the character could comment on things. Even though I haven't started it yet I more than likely continue to do some more concept work of it and ideas for panels.[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]0 -
Reikara - Heavens Tear wrote: »-Reserved for more info-
Also I wanted to ask if anyone would be interested to attend any live stream sessions of when I get to drawing some of the work. I'd like feedback on it as it's being drawn, especially if the person who owns the character could comment on things. Even though I haven't started it yet I more than likely continue to do some more concept work of it and ideas for panels.
I'd love to attend some live streaming, it's just that i'm really busy irl with school work and studying for my exams
I'm sure the comic is going to turn out brilliant either way 
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]<3 by Silvy
Reborn ditzy archer with a serious oreo addiction =3
'...cuz my IQ is just above what is required to function as a human' - tsumaru20 -
Esnemyl - Dreamweaver wrote: »I'd love to attend some live streaming, it's just that i'm really busy irl with school work and studying for my exams I'm sure the comic is going to turn out brilliant either way
Well in that respect I guess I'm versatile with time zones at least. I can adapt a schedule to suit the majority of people. My timezone is GMT +10 (East coast Aus) however I'm doing a part time online course so I'm able to stream afternoon/ night time USA which is my morning and midday. I can also do night time here which is midnight there and morning Europe I believe.[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]0 -
I wouldn't mind a livestream, also hi Prophet0
-
I generally don't pop in on livestreams anymore, been busy brushing up on my own 3D-art skills in prep for Skyrim's release. (Nowhere near where I need to be, either). But USA-evenings are fine for me, assuming I don't work that night. Might be fun to sit in on some artz, and be silly in the chat tab.
Speaking of silly, figured I'd share this...
Murcas has returned after an encounter with a newer member of the venomafia, and is chillaxin on a couch with his beloved pizza. Another member of his group enters...
"So, how did it go? You're still alive, I see."
"Yup," Murcas answers between mouthfuls. "She hadn't trained her nix very well yet."
"Ah. Lucky for you then." They nod towards the pizza. "So what's today's flavor?"
"Buffalo Chicken." A faint, ghostly squawk comes from the pizza tray... Murcas turns and glares at it. "Shut up, I'm still hungry."
The other friend takes a slow step back. ". . . You cooked her nix?"
"Funny thing about phoenixes. They're basically immortal. When they reach the end of their life they just immolate and rise out of the ashes." Murcas glares at the pizza again. "I had to keep healing it the whole time, just to get some decent breast meat."
His friend turns slightly green, looking ill, then shakes their head. "The things you do for your pizza, man... How is it?"
"A little spicy." He stifles a belch.
The pizza gives another ethereal "squaaaa~aaaawk..."[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Clockwork spider luvs you.
youtube.com/watch?v=J9TPpBwVhM80 -
Aww, thanks for the compliment; it really means a lot to me. I love your art style, I wish I could draw as well as you. ^_^; Also, Kieve, I laughed so hard at your scenario that I snorted soda out of my nose. XD0
-
I'd certainly watch any livestream regarding this (if I'm online then that is).
It's been really interesting to get to know the actual background story behind this whole idea. =D
And that scene was pure hilarious, Keph. b:chuckle
EDIT:
What I forgot: I could well imagine an appearance of a GM called 'GM Assclown' in the plot. o_o
Anyone who caught that reference; I probably know now where you live.0 -
GM Assclown? Lolwhut. xD
Although as a refresher, a couple NPCS who will be featuring in it are the Archosaur Elder, Bounty Hunter, Duke Blacke and the Elder's non existent in the game assistant. Either that or I'll make the assistant General Summer.
That list has the capacity to expand within limits as we develop the story more, it's just that those guys play a significant main role in the direction of the player's characters' misadventures. Ergo, they're there for a reason, not only just comedic effect. So I'd say any further NPCs added in would need a strong reason/ influence to be there as well, otherwise adding in random ones only for the sake of small jokes would just stretch out the story for no reason.
Although I think I'd get you guys to hold back on those kinds of suggestions till I can get a basic outline of the story down so you know where I'm going with this as a general guideline, which Imma try do asap.
And thar be what Keph sent me because it kinda belongs here more than in PM, so you guys know I not be conspiring against you.
First, lemme say that this is your project and whatever you do with it will be awesome, I'm certain I'm not about to dump a bunch of "Oh! You should do this!" stuff on you and tell you how to write your story 
I did, however, have a quick thought while heading to work Sunday, and it seemed interesting enough to share. If it's useful, so much the better.
One of the venomafia has summoned her herc, Keph turns to meet its strength with his...
Veno: "You're really starting to get irritating, you know that? Hercules, deal with him please."
*Herc grunts and runs forward, swinging a punch.*
*Keph catches its fist with one hand, then a second punch with the other - they lock arms, pushing against each other*
Keph: "Ngh. You're strong, fat boy, but not that strong."
*Herc scowls (harder) and headbutts Keph*
Keph: *stumbles back* "Nice, lard-****, but you forgot one thing..."
*Herc bulls forward, swinging another punch - Keph sidesteps, drawing one of his axes off his back and driving the blade between the herc's shoulders as it rushes past him*
*Herc stumbles and drops hard in a cloud of dust, laying still.*
Keph: "... I'm armed." *draws second axe and looks at veno*
Veno: *slow clap* "Oh, well done. Very nice. But you forgot something too."
Keph: "And what might that be?"
*Veno lifts hand, a blue glow around it - behind Keph, a shower of blue sparks falls on the herc's body...*
Veno: "He's my pet."
*Herc yanks Keph's axe from its back and gets up, still holding axe*
Keph: ". . . Aww bugger."
- - -
I'm not sure where the others would be in this - maybe one of the venos catches him alone/offguard, or maybe there's other "good guys" nearby who show up at a convenient juncture... either way, just a thought and I figured it might be useful. Looking forward to the comickry regardless
I know I had something to say on that but I forgot so I'll go away and remember it then come back to type it out and forget it again later.[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]0 -
On a side note I'll make a new thread here each time I live stream, plus probably a DA journal entry too. I'll try get on earlier next time for you USAers. I'll aim for maybe 8 or 9 am my time which should be your arvos there. A housemate's newborn wakes me up at 4 am with it's screaming anyway. Although I wanted to see how many of you are in different time zones so I could cater for those because I can do evenings here if necessary.
Breaking! This just in; I have word of a new development that's only minorly- well not really important at all or any real form of progress but I'm going to tell you anyway so you can pretend to care about it!
I created a new folder in my gallery dedicated to the Venomafia project. http://spudfuzz.deviantart.com/gallery/33301800
\I should have probably written that in Sartalics because it's the new craze and people apparently don't know what sarcasm is anymore so a company created a new app called Sartalics. It goes like this.\
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/05/sarcasm-font-_n_919845.html
Now I gotta go find my note in my myriad of documents that had the start of my generic plot written down. >_>
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]0 -
Another update thingy. Originally the idea of the Veno Mafia is that they are and aren't exactly a mafia. The story behind that is that when these legendary nixes and hercs were "discovered" in the comic, these guys popped up and started terrorizing groups and individuals who were lesser than them, in terms of strength and skill etc.
They had a cowardly approach, so they wouldn't attack a large group of say, the equivalents of level 90s+ in the game. However I wouldn't put it past them to ambush one who was alone, and they'd do it together, to ensure their survival. As this continued to happen, word would spread around of that and the people began to dub them the "Veno Mafia" in a derogatory manner, which is a name they adopted then contracted into one word just for shets and giggles. So although they don't run around calling themselves that with a patriotic attitude to the name, they wouldn't deny it if you asked them if they were a member of it, and probably proceed to kill you immediately afterwards. Then as their group expanded and their power began to influence more people, they did actually begin to operate much like a mafia.
Despite not shouting their name around in everyone's face, they're very much patriots in the sense of their ideals and what they strive for. They'll put their lives on the line for their goal, much to Vixe's delight.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]0 -
Reikara - Heavens Tear wrote: »On a side note I'll make a new thread here each time I live stream, plus probably a DA journal entry too. I'll try get on earlier next time for you USAers. I'll aim for maybe 8 or 9 am my time which should be your arvos there. A housemate's newborn wakes me up at 4 am with it's screaming anyway. Although I wanted to see how many of you are in different time zones so I could cater for those because I can do evenings here if necessary.
Problem for me Reikara, si that I can only use the school and local citys library( I stay until about 5pm UK time after school a lot) until I finish my GCSE's next year. As much as i'd like to watch, I don't know if I can participate in the livestreams b:surrender
I will try to be involved as much as I can though [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]<3 by Silvy
Reborn ditzy archer with a serious oreo addiction =3
'...cuz my IQ is just above what is required to function as a human' - tsumaru20
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