Post by Tobey on Feb 7, 2008 12:50:25 GMT -5
Okay, so for a long time I've been tossing around the idea of creating my own webcomic (like, ever since I found out I had artistic ability). I sorta thought about doing a webcomic for ATL, but I realized that pixel art really wasn't the right medium to convey the tone of After the Lab. I just didn't think I could do it justice.
So I've been trying to think of an idea for my own webcomic, and I think I've finally hit on something, and I just couldn't keep it to myself. So I wanted to see what you all thought. And if you have anything to add.
My idea is this: There's this world (which I still need to name), where there exists a race much like humans. The world would probably be very similar to ours, too (modern, but with maybe a slight touch of fantasy elements). But there's one major difference. The people have supernatural powers. As long as they're children, they can sort of pick and choose what power they have (sort of like daemons from the Golden Compass, but with powers instead of animals). Of course, there would have to be some effort involved with changing powers, or these kids could be all-powerful. Which I don't want.
Anyway, once these kids hit a certain age (probably something younger than ten), they have to pick a power and stick with it. One of several catches is that there's a huge taboo on taking a power that's already in use, so there's a registry process and all, and lots of legal paperwork for getting your power. And, of course, shady dealings involving killing people who have powers that other people want.
And, of course, the class system would come into play, too. Rich snobs get all the good powers, and the poor peasants are stuck with whatever lame powers are left.
Another catch is that not all of the population works the normal way. There are a few mutations of this power-gaining process. I've put the names for these mutations in quotes, because they're just temporary names until I come up with something better.
About one in thirty people are "randoms," who have no control over what powers they gain. This throws a huge wrench into the legal process, of course, because when someone says they're a 'random', how do you know they're not just trying to cheat the system to gain a power that someone else already has? Answer: You can't know. So 'randoms' aren't trusted by a lot of people. Which really sucks for them, because on top of getting stuck with a power they might not want, they face prejudice, too.
About one in fifty people are "chosen." Much like 'randoms,' they can't control what power they gain. Unlike 'randoms,' however, with 'chosens,' there is someone out there who can. I haven't really thought out how it works yet, but the jist of it is that the 'chosen' has to go out and find this certain person (usually a person who fits a certain trait, like someone with fire-related powers, for example) who can pick their powers for them, and pray that whoever they find isn't a total jerk. Of course, they don't always know who or what they're looking for, so a lot of them probably either would never get their powers, or they might get their powers by accident.
Next, about one in a hundred people are "multipowers." They can have more than one power. Now, this allows for some combination of power-gaining types; a 'multipower' might have a normal power and a 'random' power, for example. More than two powers, however, would be exceedingly rare.
Finally, the rarest of all is the "permanent shifter." This is basically someone who keeps the ability to shift their powers, even in adulthood. They are, obviously, extremely powerful, but since they're so rare, most of the time people don't even consider the possibility that they could be 'permanent shifters,' and so they never realize that they are (until it's plot convenient for them to do so ). Aiding their inability to realize what they are is the fact that they would have a 'dominant power', which they chose like a normal person, and other powers are harder for them to use. I'd say there would have been only a tiny handful of these 'permanent shifters' in recorded history.
All the mutations in power-gaining (except 'permanent shifter') manifest in childhood. So a 'random' would have different powers every day with no control over it, a 'chosen' might realize that his powers correspond to whatever one of his siblings is thinking about at the time (or, they might not seem to be able to use powers at all), and a 'multipower' could use two powers at once.
Anyway, part of the reason I'm bringing this up here on ATL, is because most of our characters would be very compatible with the world I've envisioned. I know I'm probably going to modify Echo (as a 'chosen') and Sven and company to be in the comic. So I was wondering if any of you would be interested in me featuring your characters, too, and if so, let me know what they'd be like in the context of this world.
We could have roleplays to help come up with the script, even! I'm thinking this would be a mostly serious, plot-based comic, with a few punchlines scattered about where they fit.
Finally, I thought of a possible title for the comic. "Beggars Can't Be Choosers." Lame, but it's all I've got so far.
Disclaimer: So far, this is just an idea. It may or may not come to fruition. I have a really bad track record of starting things I never finish, so don't get your hopes up /too/ high that I'll actually follow through on this. I just got really excited about the idea, and had to share it. That is all. In a day or two, I'll probably realize this is not as good an idea as I currently think it is.
So I've been trying to think of an idea for my own webcomic, and I think I've finally hit on something, and I just couldn't keep it to myself. So I wanted to see what you all thought. And if you have anything to add.
My idea is this: There's this world (which I still need to name), where there exists a race much like humans. The world would probably be very similar to ours, too (modern, but with maybe a slight touch of fantasy elements). But there's one major difference. The people have supernatural powers. As long as they're children, they can sort of pick and choose what power they have (sort of like daemons from the Golden Compass, but with powers instead of animals). Of course, there would have to be some effort involved with changing powers, or these kids could be all-powerful. Which I don't want.
Anyway, once these kids hit a certain age (probably something younger than ten), they have to pick a power and stick with it. One of several catches is that there's a huge taboo on taking a power that's already in use, so there's a registry process and all, and lots of legal paperwork for getting your power. And, of course, shady dealings involving killing people who have powers that other people want.
And, of course, the class system would come into play, too. Rich snobs get all the good powers, and the poor peasants are stuck with whatever lame powers are left.
Another catch is that not all of the population works the normal way. There are a few mutations of this power-gaining process. I've put the names for these mutations in quotes, because they're just temporary names until I come up with something better.
About one in thirty people are "randoms," who have no control over what powers they gain. This throws a huge wrench into the legal process, of course, because when someone says they're a 'random', how do you know they're not just trying to cheat the system to gain a power that someone else already has? Answer: You can't know. So 'randoms' aren't trusted by a lot of people. Which really sucks for them, because on top of getting stuck with a power they might not want, they face prejudice, too.
About one in fifty people are "chosen." Much like 'randoms,' they can't control what power they gain. Unlike 'randoms,' however, with 'chosens,' there is someone out there who can. I haven't really thought out how it works yet, but the jist of it is that the 'chosen' has to go out and find this certain person (usually a person who fits a certain trait, like someone with fire-related powers, for example) who can pick their powers for them, and pray that whoever they find isn't a total jerk. Of course, they don't always know who or what they're looking for, so a lot of them probably either would never get their powers, or they might get their powers by accident.
Next, about one in a hundred people are "multipowers." They can have more than one power. Now, this allows for some combination of power-gaining types; a 'multipower' might have a normal power and a 'random' power, for example. More than two powers, however, would be exceedingly rare.
Finally, the rarest of all is the "permanent shifter." This is basically someone who keeps the ability to shift their powers, even in adulthood. They are, obviously, extremely powerful, but since they're so rare, most of the time people don't even consider the possibility that they could be 'permanent shifters,' and so they never realize that they are (until it's plot convenient for them to do so ). Aiding their inability to realize what they are is the fact that they would have a 'dominant power', which they chose like a normal person, and other powers are harder for them to use. I'd say there would have been only a tiny handful of these 'permanent shifters' in recorded history.
All the mutations in power-gaining (except 'permanent shifter') manifest in childhood. So a 'random' would have different powers every day with no control over it, a 'chosen' might realize that his powers correspond to whatever one of his siblings is thinking about at the time (or, they might not seem to be able to use powers at all), and a 'multipower' could use two powers at once.
Anyway, part of the reason I'm bringing this up here on ATL, is because most of our characters would be very compatible with the world I've envisioned. I know I'm probably going to modify Echo (as a 'chosen') and Sven and company to be in the comic. So I was wondering if any of you would be interested in me featuring your characters, too, and if so, let me know what they'd be like in the context of this world.
We could have roleplays to help come up with the script, even! I'm thinking this would be a mostly serious, plot-based comic, with a few punchlines scattered about where they fit.
Finally, I thought of a possible title for the comic. "Beggars Can't Be Choosers." Lame, but it's all I've got so far.
Disclaimer: So far, this is just an idea. It may or may not come to fruition. I have a really bad track record of starting things I never finish, so don't get your hopes up /too/ high that I'll actually follow through on this. I just got really excited about the idea, and had to share it. That is all. In a day or two, I'll probably realize this is not as good an idea as I currently think it is.