uh....? (newbie to the series here)

Started by Lucifargundam, May 29, 2013, 06:55:57 PM

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Lucifargundam

I know absolutely nothing about Homestuck. Anyone wanna give a layout/links about this? Why is it so popular? How many characters are there? Why is it so popular? Where did all this fandom come from?                Just what is this and what's going on?!!!


if that the master a 'prentice have,
Entirely then that he him tell,
That he the craft ably may know,
Wheresoever he go under the sun.

Rhornez

its basically a boring "webcomic" that bored me throught the first few pages, people will urge you to wait till the third or later chapter and say it will get better. -__-

Been going to Fanime Since 2008

Yuu- pon

Quote from: Rhornez on May 29, 2013, 07:53:15 PM
its basically a boring "webcomic" that bored me throught the first few pages, people will urge you to wait till the third or later chapter and say it will get better. -__-

hehe, my boyfriend who reads it off and on just walked by and saw this. His response was " Yep, that's pretty much it.

From what I've read read and he's explained  it's one of those " This series is boring how do we fix it?" " I know! Time travel/ overly convoluted pardoxes that add an extra 500 hundred characters are always cool!"

My opinion of it: Eh, better than all the MOE crap thats come out by the truck load these past few years.

keitoghostie

It's a webcomic which can be read on this site: http://www.mspaintadventures.com/
The rough story is about one kid named John Egbert who has a group of friends who all play a video game that brings about the destruction of Earth. Along the way they encounter aliens called trolls and cooperate to find a way to get a "good end" to the game.

I've been a fan of Homestuck since late 2010 and a Homestuck cosplayer since early 2011 so I've seen the fandom develop quite a bit and I honestly don't understand exactly why it's so popular (I think a lot of the humor in it speaks to a specific niche) but there are a few things that definitely contribute to its popularity:

  • Relatable Characters
    There are a ton of characters (I don't have a specific number of how many but there are over 60 characters easily) that have individual personalities and are well-rounded and as a result it's really easy to find someone you can identify with.
  • Flash Animations
    One thing that really sets Homestuck apart from the majority of other (web)comics out there is its use of Flash and HTML5 animations and minigames to supplement the story (the longest animation clocking in at over 13 minutes!), adding a very dynamic element to the storytelling.
  • Fandom Feedback
    The webcomic itself started by taking prompts from forum members, adding an element of fan-to-creator relation that isn't present in a lot of media. While the fandom is too unwieldily to solicit direct prompts from, the author sometimes inserts references to fan creations into the comic, which is definitely a source of validation for fans.

It definitely starts off slow! It took me a couple tries to get into it honestly and that seems to be a common thing that most people getting into it face.
If you want to check this sort of thing out, I'd highly recommend reading the previous adventure, Problem Sleuth, which is about 6x shorter than Homestuck but has a great story and serves as a good introduction to what this is about. (I actually like Problem Sleuth WAY more than Homestuck to be honest)
It does tend to be convoluted, especially lately, but overall it's something I've enjoyed.

I'm tired so I can't think of anything else but I'd be happy to answer any more questions.

otakuya

So, like Final Fantasy, Naruto, Bleach, Hetalia, Battle Royale, etc., do you see this as a trend for FanimeCon? or a long-term thing here to stay?

Of course, cosplay-wise, we still get the classic Eva plug-suits, super saiyans, etc...

SkylerKarashi

Quote from: Otakuya on May 29, 2013, 08:39:10 PM
So, like Final Fantasy, Naruto, Bleach, Hetalia, Battle Royale, etc., do you see this as a trend for FanimeCon? or a long-term thing here to stay?

Of course, cosplay-wise, we still get the classic Eva plug-suits, super saiyans, etc...

oh im sure its just a phase, just like everything else has been.
My Cosplay For Fanime 2024:
Thursday: Closet Kaminari/Yuri (BNHA/Yuri On Ice)
Friday: Goth (Boyfriends)
Saturday: Red (Pokemon & Smash Bros)
Sunday: Casual Kaminari (BNHA)
Monday: Goth (Boyfriends)

keitoghostie

Quote from: Otakuya on May 29, 2013, 08:39:10 PM
So, like Final Fantasy, Naruto, Bleach, Hetalia, Battle Royale, etc., do you see this as a trend for FanimeCon? or a long-term thing here to stay?

Of course, cosplay-wise, we still get the classic Eva plug-suits, super saiyans, etc...
I think it's more of a trend to be honest, but I'm not entirely sure.
I've definitely heard a number of people express interest in continuing to do Homestuck stuff after the comic ends, but there's no saying how long it'll take before there's a significant decrease.
Certainly the popularity will drop off but I'm assuming there will still be people cosplaying from it (similar to how there are still people cosplaying from the series listed above).

Rhornez

Quote from: Yuu- pon on May 29, 2013, 08:16:46 PM
Quote from: Rhornez on May 29, 2013, 07:53:15 PM
its basically a boring "webcomic" that bored me throught the first few pages, people will urge you to wait till the third or later chapter and say it will get better. -__-

hehe, my boyfriend who reads it off and on just walked by and saw this. His response was " Yep, that's pretty much it.

From what I've read read and he's explained  it's one of those " This series is boring how do we fix it?" " I know! Time travel/ overly convoluted pardoxes that add an extra 500 hundred characters are always cool!"

My opinion of it: Eh, better than all the MOE crap thats come out by the truck load these past few years.
moe crap eh? havent heard of hokuto no ken, jojos bizzare adventure, terra formers, berserk, Akame ga Kiru! have you?

Been going to Fanime Since 2008

SquallLHeart

i had ever heard of homestuck... and i didn't see how apparently popular it was until i kept seeing cosplayers everywhere dressed up...

i was confused... but in the meantime.. probably happier just being ignorant.
Trung D. Nguyen
Fanime: Autographs Head '11 | Rovers '01-present | Gopher '99-'00
Anime Expo: AxCon '07-'2009
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staff/vol. for misc. conventions all around the nation... ranging from 30.. to 130K+ attendees...

otakuya

Now we know why there's a seperate section in the forums for Homestuck

Yuu- pon

Quote from: Rhornez on May 29, 2013, 10:25:16 PM
Quote from: Yuu- pon on May 29, 2013, 08:16:46 PM
Quote from: Rhornez on May 29, 2013, 07:53:15 PM
its basically a boring "webcomic" that bored me throught the first few pages, people will urge you to wait till the third or later chapter and say it will get better. -__-

hehe, my boyfriend who reads it off and on just walked by and saw this. His response was " Yep, that's pretty much it.

From what I've read read and he's explained  it's one of those " This series is boring how do we fix it?" " I know! Time travel/ overly convoluted pardoxes that add an extra 500 hundred characters are always cool!"

My opinion of it: Eh, better than all the MOE crap thats come out by the truck load these past few years.
moe crap eh? havent heard of hokuto no ken, jojos bizzare adventure, terra formers, berserk, Akame ga Kiru! have you?

I've read Berserk but I don't know how it's MOE. Unless your talking about that origional and obscure definition that I don't I don't recall off the top of my head. I've also that Jojo's Bizarre adventure is good. Might into that one.

But no, I havent heard of the others.

Rhornez

What Iwas saying is that its not always moe crap -__-

Been going to Fanime Since 2008

Yuu- pon

 Aren't a lot of those fairly old though? A LOT of what comes out these days is MOE OR the same old Shonen crap.

Rhornez

Only berserk jojo and fist but not the others

Been going to Fanime Since 2008

nangke

Starting to read Homestuck feels slow at first. I supplemented my reading by listening along with the Let's Read videos.

PinkHairSasuke

I'm open to hearing more about the series and interesting parts of it.

Lucifargundam

so what's teh "best" part of Homestuck?


if that the master a 'prentice have,
Entirely then that he him tell,
That he the craft ably may know,
Wheresoever he go under the sun.

Dagger-6

Quote from: Rhornez on May 29, 2013, 07:53:15 PM
its basically a boring "webcomic" that bored me throught the first few pages, people will urge you to wait till the third or later chapter and say it will get better. -__-

You have a whole subforum to say stuff like this.  Shoo.

As for the best part about it:

It's a bit messy to read through, I'll say that.  It's especially messy when you note how the plot is semi-crowdsourced at the beginning.  But there are a few key things about it that make me recommend it to people to read through.

Most notably: It's a very interesting and unique way to tell a story.  It combines video games, webcomics, animation, and a unique chat-transcript method of narrative.  The closest analogue might be reading a movie script, but even that differs extensively.  It's a form of story telling that can only exist in a certain medium, and you won't find anything else like it.

I also love the creativity of the fandom.  A lot of the artwork is very styilized and leaves a lot of room for interpretation and imagination.  People have taken very simple basic designs and created some amazing pieces of art.

Going in the opposite direction, at times the art in Homestuck is amazing when you consider it's all done in MSPaint.  There's some really neat panels that can be truly amazing to turn to.

The characters.  It does suffer a bit from having too many characters and not all of them are fleshed out terribly well. (looking at you Tavros...no idea what's going on with you).  But there are many interesting characters to latch onto as well.

Is it just a 'trend'?  I don't know.  Was sailor moon just a trend?  How about Iron Man?  There's more to homestuck than simply being popular at conventions, similar to how even Naruto had something that garnered so much popularity for it at the outset.  It may quiet down as people move on, but I doubt the fandom will die down moreso than other popular works of fiction, especially considering the sheer range of creativity that Homestuck can inspire.

Lucifargundam

Quote from: Dagger-6 on May 30, 2013, 03:14:38 PM
You have a whole subforum to say stuff like this.  Shoo.
lol cute :)
Quote from: Dagger-6 on May 30, 2013, 03:14:38 PM
Most notably: It's a very interesting and unique way to tell a story.  It combines video games, webcomics, animation, and a unique chat-transcript method of narrative.  The closest analogue might be reading a movie script, but even that differs extensively.  It's a form of story telling that can only exist in a certain medium, and you won't find anything else like it.
so the story isnt strictly told via comic but also flash games and other media?
Quote from: Dagger-6 on May 30, 2013, 03:14:38 PM
The characters.  It does suffer a bit from having too many characters and not all of them are fleshed out terribly well. (looking at you Tavros...no idea what's going on with you).  But there are many interesting characters to latch onto as well.
How many characters are there?! o_O
Quote from: Dagger-6 on May 30, 2013, 03:14:38 PM
Is it just a 'trend'?  I don't know.  Was sailor moon just a trend?  How about Iron Man?  There's more to homestuck than simply being popular at conventions, similar to how even Naruto had something that garnered so much popularity for it at the outset.  It may quiet down as people move on, but I doubt the fandom will die down moreso than other popular works of fiction, especially considering the sheer range of creativity that Homestuck can inspire.
I don't recall Iron Man ever being a trend... Sailor moon I havent seen.  Naruto/Bleach however...

I know there's more to it than the fandom, but that's what most everyone is talking about right now- not the series but the fandom... from what I gather anyways.           I'll definitely take a look into it :)


if that the master a 'prentice have,
Entirely then that he him tell,
That he the craft ably may know,
Wheresoever he go under the sun.

Dagger-6

#19
Haha, maybe it's because I do a lot of armor costuming.  But Iron Man has definitely skyrocketed in popularity since the movies came out. =)

Characters...I'd say about 25 or so notable characters?  And then a whole host of supporting characters.  "Main character" wise I'd say it tends to focus on about 6-8 characters, which is still quite a lot.  Most of them are pretty well fleshed out and interesting, though it is one area of weakness of the story.  Though to be fair, other books of this length tend to have a dearth of characters also (looking at you Aeneid.)  But overall everything is well written enough that I shed some tears at points where I had to say goodbye to some of my favorites.

But yeah.  It's got interactive segments as well as animated points that can be pretty interesting. A lot of the music has actually grown on me as well.  I can't count how many times I've watched the Cascade animation and listened to the soundtrack.

The fandom can definitely be intimidating.  When I got into reading homestuck it was mostly because a few of my friends recommended it more than anything.  But aside from the younger, more energetic crowd that gets a lot of attention there's a lot of other people out there that are part of the homestuck fandom as well.  Artists are one obvious aspect.  But there's also a great little "Can Town charity" which take a concept from the comic and generates a really cute gathering/food drive.  Also, a lot of voice actors seem to love homestuck, much of which can be thanked to Dante Basco (aka Rufio) sharing it around.