Right, the cold has been properly pummeled by my immune system and the comic is back on track.

Sorry about the lack of update today, guys. The week was crazy busy and I even managed to get a cold to boot. :(

New comic next Monday. :)

Before I start, I want to clear up that I don’t play World of Warcraft and their “orcs” - with their Power Rangers armour and /dance routines - have nothing to do with this post. (Although the orcs from the original Warcraft: Orcs and Humans fit the bill much better.)

Let’s take a look at the typical ork: dirty, smelly, bad-tempered and always on the brink of a bloody rampage. Most people will look at this and call it a day. Orks are the typical bad guys and they have nothing more to offer. WRONG!

What an ork is, what he represents, is unrestricted tenacity in the face of impossible odds. Monstrous demon spawn? “Grab yer spears, ladz, we’re goin’ in!” Need to build a gigantic war machine with nothing but spare parts? “Gimme a few weeks and I’ll get it done proppa!”
An ork doesn’t hesitate. When he encounters a problem, he doesn’t debate over the possibilities, nor does he consider alternatives. He charges head first screaming at the top of his lungs. Orks are pillars of confidence and any problem is a challenge that must be crushed, spit on and bragged about afterwards.

Of course, we live in a civilised society where is it frowned upon to wear someone’s bones as a fashion accessory (for now), but I think the orkish way of life could be applied to many other factors of our human society. So the next time you have something to do, remember the ork. The ork doesn’t procrastinate. The ork acts and he acts with unrestricted passion.

So be the ork. Show those problems what you’re made of.

WAAAGH!

(Disclaimer: I am not responsible if you take this post literally and get yourself - or someone else - arrested, maimed or killed.)

So with another storyarc finished and a third one just about to start, June and I have been starting to think about selling merchandise for Edemia. We’ve gotten feedback from people who said they would love to have an Edemia t-shirt or print, so we’d be all too happy to oblige.

Now our first instinct was to go for Cafepress, but I’ve been advised against it. Mostly because the base prices are too high, forcing us to overprice our stuff in order to make any sort of profit. So we’ve been looking for alternatives. If anyone has an idea for that, could you drop us a line? Thanks.

On another note, this weekend I became a very satisfied man by getting my wife hooked on the Warhammer hobby. I’m not sure how she feels about the actual game, but she’s really enjoying building models. So we spent most of the weekend assembling Lizardmen, as well as the stray Ork model for my 40k army (Snikrot is a total badass). Now I’ve promised myself that I wouldn’t buy any more Warhammer supplies until I’ve assembled and primed all the models I need for my 40k and Fantasy armies. A tall order, but that Stompa is totally worth the wait.

(Well this post turned out long… just skip to the last paragraph if you have A.D.D. like me.)

For a while now, I’ve been in the grips of nostalgia. Call me an old kook, but there’s something missing from today’s entertainment, especially in regards to games. Now don’t get me wrong, Ive been hooked on Fallout 3 for a while now and games like Dawn of War 2 and Left4Dead make me glad we’re in our day and age. The thing is, I don’t get the same kind of thrill I used to from trying new games.

Maybe I’m just cynical, but it feels that the love has gone out of game-making. I’m not talking about each individual’s love for their craft in the great production process, but rather the will to create something you want, rather than something that’ll make the most profit. I’m sure most everyone working on a project loves it, but the fact remains: it exist to make money.

Now I can hear the voice at the back of my head saying “Well yeah, but people wanted to make money back in the 90’s too!” It’s true, but the main difference is back then a lot of games were created by a couple of guys in a basement. Back then making a successful game was possible to almost anyone. With today’s Goliaths of game-making, two guys in a basement don’t have as big a chance as they used to.  Games used to feel like an independent restaurant down the street: unique and cozy. These days, it’s like a fastfood joint: thank you, come again.

Now I’ve been talking mostly about videogames, but the same holds true to a lot of other mediums. Take Pen and Paper roleplaying games. I own Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition as well as the newest edition of World of Darkness. They’re pretty, polished and easy to understand. But that’s the thing, you can tell that a horde of people worked on it to make it this presentable and desirable. My current favourite roleplaying game is Labyrinth Lord. It’s basically a remake of the original 1970’s Dungeons&Dragons. And did I mention it’s free? I purchased a printed copy and I’m in love with it. It’s simple. Not the kind of simple where everything is explained for you so you don’t have to think. Simple in the way that there are many ommissions that will simply have to be covered by your own imagination and creativity.

I play games to let my imagination run wild. While newer games are still good, they don’t require you to imagine anything because there’s a billion polygons, rules and tutorials to do that for you. I miss games that didn’t tell you how to enjoy their game. They just showed it to you and said “Have fun!”