[Lunik]

I need to get my butt in gear. I need something to do to fight off my boredom.

March 7th, 2044.

I was a little bit under seven years old when it happened. We all ran into the shelter in the city. It felt like an eternity in there. It was dark, cold, and cramped. I wasn't complaining though, I knew what had happened on the surface.
It was a widespread chemical attack. I don't know what the stuff was; all I knew was that it wiped out nearly everyone in the city. I'd imagine that only a few hundred people or so survived. Quinston City had the only shelter for miles.

After the attack, everyone scrambled to make sense from the turmoil and chaos. Two groups were formed: The Rising Return and The Neo Formation. In short, the Rising Return wanted to rebuild civilization to its former glory, and the Neo Formation believed in a newer and better society where disasters such as the End War could never happen. In any case, both were very radical in their beliefs, their leaders both stubborn and extreme. Both sides treat the other with extreme aggression.

There are also the Marauders, but I'm not sure if I can call them a real group. These are the guys who think the new world should not be changed at all. They take advantage of the lack of any real government and do whatever they want (be it stealing, killing, raping, what have you.) They stick together with the same beliefs of anarchy. The other groups consider them completely hostile; the Marauders don't discriminate in their actions.

Then there are the Strangers. The Strangers are what you would call someone if they don't belong to any group. They wander around the town, looking out for themselves and possibly their loved ones. Some people look down on Strangers, as they don't have a side. Strangers are inclined to distrust everyone they see.

So yeah. Welcome to Quinston. You probably won't have many friends here. But I can guarantee that you'll make a lot of enemies. Trust me, you're better off here than anywhere else.

So, yes. I need some practice, obviously. And I need this because I find that I have nothing to do. I hope to update at least three times a week, if not more. Help to improve would be great, guys. Yes I overdid the grass I'll tone it down next time.

And please be serious with the suggestions. This is a serious attempt at a serious story and a serious attempt to seriously improve so I can pose seriously. Got it?

[Oddshot]

Arm yourself somehow.

As harmless as Odessa looks, you can never tell in the crazy-ass future.

[Lunik]

Oddshot posted:

Arm yourself somehow.

As harmless as Odessa looks, you can never tell in the crazy-ass future.

For future reference, glowy text is the main character's thoughts. Only he gets glowy text. All other dialogue is non-glowy.

EDIT: No, he does not have amnesia. What's his name?

[Decoy9]

Mark Kinson

[Oddshot]

Neville Roberts.

Also I like where this is going. Wanted to try one of these myself, actually.
Maybe after this one runs its course.

[Vivallion]

Decoy9 posted:

Mark Kinson

This.

[Lunik]

Decoy9 posted:

Mark Kinson

Get creative guys. Also note that you only control Mark. No one else. Mark can yell out commands, however.

EDIT: And I'm sorry that the pace changed suddenly. I was trying to get more people to take a look at the comic? After all, I'll only continue granted that you show interest.
EDITEDIT: Argh. Typo on third image. It's "outside," not "ouside."

[MurderZ]

Duck into behind the car while yelling "Take cover!", then open the box to see if there's anything that you can use as a weapon.

[Lunik]

MurderZ posted:

Duck into behind the car while yelling "Take cover!", then open the box to see if there's anything that you can use as a weapon.

Sorry to disappoint but Mark's box just has food in it. And don't do anything hasty, one Marauder has a knife in Pete's face and the other one has a gun aimed at nearly point blank.
Sorry, I need to make the comic more easy to understand. I'll work on that next time.

[Vivallion]

Distract the guards by throwing the box and shout: "Grenade!", then tell Pete to fill them with lead.

[jaxback21]

Have Mark hand the Marauders the box, while they rummage through it, have Mark tell Odessa to fire a couple rounds into the Marauder with the gun while he is off guard.

[Lunik]

Vivallion posted:

Distract the guards by throwing the box and shout: "Grenade!", then tell Pete to fill them with lead.

That sounds familiar... Ah, well. I tried my best at this without making it look like a ripoff from that one part from Madman: The Game.
















Ohgod Mark looks awful in the last panel. Though to be honest the entire thing looks pretty cruddy right now.
Also, smudge tool for the... win, I guess? :pseudo:

[Depth08]

Scavenge stuff.
Don't kill him! Shoot em in the leg & patch it up to immobilize em.
Prepare 5 m of copper wire.
Cute the wire in half
Find 2 pincets or any common metal material.
Find tape.
Sharpen the metal material using their knives.
Tape each wire on a metal sharp piece
Use the tape to tie him to a chair.
Stick the 2 pieces in both sides of his torso (relatively deep)
Go to the hydro plant. Find any powered circuit of DC. High volts.
Wire him to it. Throw switches on & off whilst asking him to report marauder outposts!
Do this for as long as you can.
Don't forget to make the subject wet to avoid bad smells.

Btw, don't worry about your posing, it's quick & that's what we need, our imagination does the rest.

[Lunik]

Mark's an average dude. For now, anyway. I'm planning for character development. But right now, Mark probably wouldn't even have a thought like that cross his mind.

He can, however, scavenge stuff and interrogate the Marauder the good old fashioned way. Could you settle for that?
Agree for "Do it," disagree for "My way or the highway/Let's wait for more suggestions?"

EDIT: Busy school week this week. I should also lay off on the frequent updates; I don't want to run myself dry too quickly.

[minilandstan]

You should have given them the rations, and shot them when they had their backs turned

[Jim_Riley]

Normally I'd condemn interactive comics because they have become the staple medium for poor writers and shitty posers but this is actually a worthy comic. I am intrigued to see how far you can go with this and I may as well get involved myself.

Hopefully as the comic progresses your posing will improve with more and more practice. Some better editing for the dialogue would be nice to. I understand you try to make "glowing" text for thoughts but maybe try something a little more obvious? Wrap a box around the text for thoughts, for example.

Keep at it.

[Oddshot]

Knock out the marauder and get +1 good karma for not killing him.

[Lunik]

Depth08 posted:

Scavenge stuff.
Don't kill him! Interrogate. (Sorry this is too much for me; I'd take forever to work on this. Plus Mark's not that bright as of now, so I just turned it into a simple interrogation.)

OddShot posted:

Knock out the marauder and get +1 good karma for not killing him.

Yes, Mark can and will change during our adventure. Hence the name of the comic. And no, you won't have to see that ugly status menu, unless it's the end of a noteworthy event, or if you ask me to.

The personality thing is like a slider. For example, Cruelty/Kindness. Under 100, Mark leans towards being more cruel. Over 100, and Mark will tend to be more kind. This is going to affect future moments in the comic where you will not be able to tell Mark what to do, like "cutscenes" (lack of a better word.) When everything is at 100, that is, completely neutral, Mark will NOT do much on his own.

What shall Mark and Pete do now?

EDIT: Yesh, approval get! Any comment makes me want to continue, remember that, guys.
EDITEDIT: Noooo I forgot to say Mark had a combat knife in his inventory now.

[XDcell96]

look for a car if it broken try fixing it

[Depth08]

I agree you couldn't pose all the stuff I asked, didn't expect as well, just testing how much you would do for the crowd XD.
Anyways I sugest Pete & Mark take a rest.
They had a tough day (nearly died or loss of rations).
At the coffee table they discuss their plans for the assault on the house.

[MurderZ]

Go to the city, and notify the local authorities of the Marauders' location, but before you do that, you should pick up your food and take it with you. Then proceed to getting the hell out to somewhere safer.

[Lunik]

MurderZ posted:

Go to the city, and notify the local authorities of the Marauders' location, but before you do that, you should pick up your food and take it with you. Then proceed to getting the hell out to somewhere safer.

Marauders house is down the road. The only road. Only way out is through the only road.

Marauders blocking the way

[Depth08]

Yeah,
They're gonna have to plan a breach.

[Rageblood]

Try and use the uniforms from the 2 dead/unconscious Marauders. Then go into their scouting base, then try to find weapons, food, and information about them.

[Depth08]

Rageblood posted:

Try and use the uniforms from the 2 dead/unconscious Marauders. Then go into their scouting base, then try to find weapons, food, and information about them.

I disagree because the marauders aren't with many they might just recognize outsiders emediately.
It's a risky plan.

[XDcell96]

seriously continue the comic i really enjoy reading it

[Lunik]

XDcell96 posted:

seriously continue the comic i really enjoy reading it

Sorry, man. I haven't had a lot of time to play games at all. I'm trying to get free time for GMod and stuff, but right now schoolwork is a bigger priority. I'll get back as soon as I can, but in the meantime I'm stuck studying, writing papers, and lurking on the internet for a little bit. Just thought you guys deserved to know.

[Depth08]

Don't worry, studying is more important ;)
& when you're back we'll be twice as happy :D

[Lunik]

I am BACK! Wahaha! After countless hours of work that could have been avoided by not procrastinating, and a rather large bout of depression, I am back! But who cares? On to the comic!

Depth08 posted:

I suggest Pete & Mark take a rest.
They had a tough day (nearly died or loss of rations).
At the coffee table they discuss their plans for the assault on the house.

How shall Mark and Pete go about this?

EDIT: Is it dead then? :saddowns:

[Jenkem]

Nein, continue. As you know from our deep and philosophical chats (read: me ranting one-sidedly and having depth equivalent to a slice of cardboard), I wanted you to continue. I still do. Keep up...

The two should split up and go to opposite ends of the compound to check it out. If they run into trouble, they should fire off one round to warn the other.

[Oddshot]

Yes, continue!

'Tis good stuff.

[BlueFrog]

Jenkem posted:

Nein, continue. As you know from our deep and philosophical chats (read: me ranting one-sidedly and having depth equivalent to a slice of cardboard), I wanted you to continue. I still do. Keep up...

The two should split up and go to opposite ends of the compound to check it out. If they run into trouble, they should fire off one round to warn the other.

No, when something doesn't seem right, the best thing is usually to stick together if you don't both wanna die. I'd rather scout the area for activity. If it's a trap, the people that set it up surely won't be too far away. It's always better to catch your enemy at his hiding spot, than walk into his trap to see if it is one.

[Jenkem]

If one is captured and the other escapes, he might be able to seek out help, warn others, ect. If they both get captured, it remains a secret and the marauders are more likely to succeed.

At the very least they should keep a good distance and wait a bit to see if anything happens, and then return to an agreed-upon meeting place to compare notes.

[Lunik]

Guys, for future convenience, I really encourage you all to post suggestions. If you don't have anything to say, please rate people agree/disagree. It really helps the both of us. I don't like doing the first suggestion or the one I like. Doesn't really make it interactive.

[Intense Funkid]

i demand they check it out sneakily just in case of the marauders

[Oddshot]

BlueFrog posted:

No, when something doesn't seem right, the best thing is usually to stick together if you don't both wanna die. I'd rather scout the area for activity. If it's a trap, the people that set it up surely won't be too far away. It's always better to catch your enemy at his hiding spot, than walk into his trap to see if it is one.

I have to agree with this guy.

Splitting up sounds too Scooby Doo anyway.
Not that I have an issue with that show.

[BlueFrog]

Oddshot posted:

I have to agree with this guy.

Splitting up sounds too Scooby Doo anyway.
Not that I have an issue with that show.

I do... o.o

[Depth08]

Let's try something new. The last pic shows there's a wall facing the rockside.
At that wall or near the corner, help mark a hand climbing the roof, then sneak inside the window ^_^

[Oddshot]

Damn, I just re-read the OP and got a sudden suspicion about this whole ordeal.
Since I spoiler tags seem to have messed up for me, I'll keep my theory to myself

BlueFrog posted:

I do... o.o

:argh: One of my favourite cartoons, bro.

[Lunik]

Oddshot posted:

Damn, I just re-read the OP and got a sudden suspicion about this whole ordeal.
Since I spoiler tags seem to have messed up for me, I'll keep my theory to myself .

And what might that be, my friend? Use the [ sp] tag.    I'm pretty sure they work.    Also, watch for this post, I'll edit in the images soon.

EDIT:








Whoops! Expecting some action, were we? What now?