Endgames: Disabled, MT Volume 3 extra story MDT

My copy isn't even on its way to me from Ann Arbor yet, but reports are that Volume 3 is out, and Char's started up a brand new sticky in Central, so I'm going to kick this off here.

We've seen previews:
http://www.megatokyo.com/index.php?strip_id=634
http://www.megatokyo.com/index.php?strip_id=640
http://www.fredart.com/fredart/artpage.php...c=&ft=sk&fn=121
http://www.megatokyo.com/extra/wow_that_was_awesome.jpg
Now the real thing is out. If you've got book 3, discuss. If you don't, stay away because there be spoilers here.

You mean in stores...or just by Fred Ex?

*jumps up and down* Squee! I'm so excited!!

I dont want to drop any major plot details, but lets say the gameworlds Largo does at least one thing (maybe two) that the Megatokyo Largo would never dream of doing. But the main part of the tale is about Pirogoeth, and thats all i'm dropping.

powdered fire magics ... hahahah

rigorous training *snigger* Miho, you slutty girl, you.

Mwuahahahahah!

EDIT: *puts hand over mouth to muffle maniacal laughter* MMMFFMmmfmfmfmffmfmff


Sabyr
... under a blue sky ...

This post has been edited by Sabyr on Feb 3 2005, 06:17 PM

You are all quite evil.... I even pre-ordered... <waaaaah!>

I have no money to buy the book

*cries in a corner*

Name: Largo

Class: Fighter

Level: Unknown

Special Abilities: <...>
Immune to:

Fire
Explosive damage
Pleas for help
Sexual suggestion
Common sense



This post has been edited by dimension_drift on Feb 3 2005, 06:41 PM

Stores. Check the MTC sticky, Fred mentioned that he hasn't gotten his shipment yet. That's what we get for preordering from MegaGear, right? Oh well, at least Fred gets more money off it this way (I presume DH lets him have them at wholesale) and there was a t-shirt I still needed.

Edit:
BTW, I typoed "www.fredex.com" one time when trying to get to the FedEx site, and the domain does exist.

This post has been edited by raykremer on Feb 3 2005, 07:03 PM

And consists of a big "FredEx" sign linkiing to the FedEx webpage. What a waste...

Just back from checking at the local Barnes & Noble in Hillsboro, OR ... they have it in their computer but the shipment hasn't arrived yet... they do a pretty good job of keeping copies of Book 1 and 2 in stock. .... where they fall down is they seem to be really short of volume 2 of almost any other popular series... but I bet running a manga shop takes a *lot* of daily inventory checks -- and they only have about 18 feet of shelf space (6ft) for manga.

It pays to shop at Comic-Book-Guy places.

must go get book. Must collect peice. Must get graphic Novel section up to date... need 400 bucks... Damn....

*calls Waldenbooks for the 20th time*
"Hello, I was wondering if Megatokyo vol 3 is out yet?"
"Oh, let me go check..."
*annoying beeping*
"No, i'm sorry. It's not...would you like me to put name on the watiing list?"
"No thank you, it's already there. Goodbye"

Oh, well. Tomarrow's another day...

*big watery eyes*

They don't have it yet? Aww man, does this mean I have to go to Planet Anime?

::runs off with butcher knife heading torwards B&N::

damn you bastards!!

I

WANT

MY
VOLUME 3!!!!!!!!!

Hmm... haven't noticed that...

*goes to have a look*

Argh! The ribbons! And there's TWO of them!

noticed that too, she must have more than 1 computer unless there is some way to have multible accounts running on 1, leading on from that, how many characters does she have in total if she used a probably custom made, character for each?

No way of getting it here in Québec though... WHYYYY!!!

Interesting guy, he handles his tools poorly and have the properties of a lighter(you know what I mean) I like it.

Ooooh Neverwinternights eye on the book.

"I'm the black knight and you may not pass."

Oooh righty male and lefty femme. It would seem little miss Thoya have learned some nifty magic.

AAAUGH, NOT THE BLACK KITTY EARS!

Hmmm, some nifty medicine next to the lefty femme. Perfect if it would get 'too heated,' but then again as mentioned abowe he's pretty much invulnerable by heat of any kind.

Was that a gunblade Endgames version?

Mmmmm, orange juice.

Hehe funny, you guys in the states are having trouble getting it, but here in dear old Blighty Forbidden Planet must have had 30 somthing comics up front, I don't know how many they had in storage.
The Endgames comic is exelent, much easier to get through than the all written last one, the book is heavy and I love it.

That's what I thought too, seeing the blade hilt at the end....

That's what Miho gets for trafficking in untested weaponry...

So are we gonna actually discuss the Endgames minicomic or not? Is all this shallowness because no one cares or because no one's seen it yet? Well, I've seen it and I'm ready, so let's get serious.

I guess I'll attack this in the easiest way, which is page by page.

1) Cover Page: Nice little sketch. It's good to see Fred's name without Rodney's alongside it.

2) First Page: Interesting. This reminds me of something I've seen before. How cool. I wonder if such an obvious reference means anything in particular. [/subtle hint to the analysts to start speculating] Pirogoeth responds to the rude awakening in a way Piro only wishes he could.. which is quite the point.

I'm rather inclined to believe that Pirogoeth is who Piro would be if he didn't feel restricted by the expecations of society. This is not surprising in the slightest; for most people, their gameworld personas are but idealized versions of themselves. It is interesting to note (for yet another time) that Largo does not have an idealized version of himself. There are small variations in behavior but, for the most part, he is simply "himself" no matter the setting or scenario.

Pirogoeth Hawt Status: Pirogoeth is teh hawt!!! with her hair down. *__*

3) Second Page: Gray, gray.. why does everything always have to be gray? What is Fred's obsession with gray? Bah. Anyway..

I really like the ornate designs presented on this page. The edging on Pirogoeth's.. uh.. nightshirt.. is really cool, as are her arm and leg wraps. The level of detail is quite a nice and welcome touch.

Continuation from the first page: Although Pirogoeth is the one who set Largo's hair on fire, she didn't mean to hurt him at all and takes measures to put it out. One begins to think that Largo is rather used to this type of treatment from his travelling companion.

Last panel: Bewildered Pirogoeth drops a LOT of the edge that she normally has, lowering her hot factor while simultaneously upping her pretty factor. I love those eyes we see here. Now that I'm looking, the eyes in panel 4 are fabulous, as well.

Pirogoeth Hawt Status: Mmm, we get to watch her get dressed. She's got quite the hot little body.

4) Third Page: Pirogoeth has to look up the spell to kill someone by squeezing the juices out of them. I guess she doesn't use that one very often. Funny, though, that her choice for the "lemme and see if I can still perform spells" test is to kill Largo in probably the most horrific way available to her. This probably says less about their relationship and more about the nature of existence in games (when one can respawn or go back to a save point, death becomes meaningless).

It suddenly occurs to me that Game!Largo speaks in mock-Shakesperean English while Pirogoeth does not. This is probably Real!Largo's way of immersing himself deeper into the game. It suggests that he doesn't really have a sense for this type of game and can't immerse himself within the environment without resorting to a gimmick. Alternatively, it could be that this is how he approaches RPGs. Not as epic storytelling, but as a fun diversion in which he can hack and slash a bunch of shit. These two things are not mututally exclusive and, indeed, it is most likely that the characters' speech is but a concrete representation of the differences between the way they each view this world (and, similarly, the attitudes each player has towards the game).

Pirogoeth Hawt Status: Nothing much to report.

5) Fourth Page: A chuckle, first for the "heal beggars" (which are so common in MMORPGs), then again for the fact that Fred drew a legless, one armed person in panel 5. I dunno why, but I find that humorous.

I note that this guy uses that mock-Shakespearean English the way Largo does. Indicative of another hack and slash swordsman, no doubt. You can usually tell the losers by the characters they choose to play. *clears throat* Moving on.

Pirogoeth Hawt Status: Panel 4. It's the look that makes her look beautiful, again.

6) Fifth Page: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! She's caught offguard. She blushes HAHA! This rocks! Largo looks on, busily sucking on a phallic object. Symbolism? .. Nah.

But seriously, this is really cute. Enter the conflict: a rather odd looking guy with ribbons in his hair. More than likely, he's one of Miho's characters (and we know from the next page that she has more than one. I don't know why I never considered this before, but *shrugs*).

What I don't get is why Pirogoeth starts blushing so early. She's hot, so I'm sure she's had guys hit on her before. I'm also sure she just magics at them and crushes them into a tiny bloodless mass (though that'd be player killing and I'm not sure what the ettiquite is on that) or at least sends some harsh words their way. But blushing whyever for? All he said was "My Heart. It is in need of healing." Why in the world would that, even said in a suggestive way, cause this girl to blush? One wonders.

My guess is that this is a moment where Piro is showing through Pirogoeth. The player behind the character is all, "Aw crap, guy hitting on me!!!" and trying (and failing, as he often does) to get out of the situation. The problem with this idea is that Fred has said time and time again that Pirogoeth is her own person. I guess, though, that there are just situations where the player can't help but shine through the character and the player's personality will override the character's.

In panels 5 and 6, Largo chooses not to help Pirogoeth. This is likely for any one of three reasons: 1) He knows she can take care of herself. 2) She's not in any real danger and he'd like to let her experience some discomfort because 3) she set his hair on fire this morning. If she were in any real danger, Largo would certainly come running to the rescue. It's what he does. In this case, though, it's satisfying to him to see his companion in a situation of extreme discomfort.

As for Miho's male character.. his approach is extremely clumsy and pathetic. Did Miho really expect this crap to work on girls? The sad part is that it probably does, because we already know that the only two characters she couldn't control were Pirogoeth and Largo.

Pirogoeth Hawt Status: Panel 7. Tough chicks are so cute when they're out of their element (get it? Cause she can't do magic. So she's "out of her element". HAHA! ...okay, I apologize for that one.)

7) Sixth Page: Now it's Largo's turn. Busty Bess whips out the sexual innuendo right from the start. Largo, however, it too oblivious to notice the innuendo and is, instead, far more focused on the shiny, stabbity objects.

Miho's female character is also very juvenile with what she says, the way the male character is. This makes sense, though, as Miho was about 16 (or so) when these characters were being played, so her lines are going to sound very cliche and immature.

I'm liking the level of detail in the final panel. It's really nice to see each individual weapon drawn out and given distinct edges. Gives us a sense of setting and atmosphere.

Pirogoeth Hawt Status: NEGATIVE, for wearing those fscking cat ears. Did I mention that I hate catgirls? Well I fscking HATE catgirls! >_<!!

8) Seventh Page: The sexual innuendo didn't work the first time, Miho, give it up. She's really showing her inexperience here. Either she's got no clue about anything at all or she's only been with teenage guys (or guys who are emotionally teenaged).

And Largo blows something up. Lame.

Pirogoeth's expression and pose in panel 4 leads me to believe that Male!GameMiho just kissed her. I think that's probably why she's getting ready to light his ass up in panel 8.

Note the irony of panel 6. Male!GameMiho is acting like he doesn't know what caused the explosion. However, he does, since his player just witnessed the explosion through Female!GameMiho's eyes. He's extremely clumsy in the way he tries to coverup his knowledge, too, just like everything else he says. Miho is not suave at all. How the hell does she get people to buy her things? Are those people just that pathetic? Maybe she got much better at it in the years between Endgames and now.

Female!GameMiho NOT-Hawt Status: Is it just me, or is this woman not attractive at all? She's just kinda.. trying too hard, I think. Bleh.

9) Eighth Page: The pretty eyes are back for panel 1. Largo's expression in panel 3 also rocks. Hooray for offcamera violence!

Largo's look in panel 6 is so knowing, so full of intelligence. It's a sharp contrast from the expression of complete ignorance that he wears throughout the rest of this comic. This man is truly brilliant, though you'd never know it. He doesn't need to convince everyone else of it, because he's so completely secure with exactly who and what he is. He needs the approval of no one but himself. *swoons just a little*

Aaaanyway.. This brings us to the end of the comic, the last panel. Presumably, Pirogoeth needs the bath more because icky Male!GameMiho was touching all over her than the fact that she now has his blood splattered across her garments. Blood wipes off. Boy cooties require a deep scrubbing.

Pirogoeth Hawt Status: Panel 1 is simply gorgeous.
Pirogoeth Hawt Status Summary: Doable, if you can get that far without being dejuiced via that horrific crushing spell.

~*~*~*~

So.. what does all this mean for the main storyline of Endgames, as we now know it? *shrugs* I think I'll let someone else take the stage and go into that, for now.

Aieee, I still hate all of you who got your copies... while I sit here waiting for my pre-ordered one and the local bookstores are *still* waiting for their copies to arrive... arrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!! <run around in circles ala "Calvin">.

((Phydeaux - most of us are still trying to *get* a copy...))


This post has been edited by Vexx on Feb 5 2005, 08:08 PM

On the flip side, Pirogoth's spells are a mix of mock Japanese and mock Latin, (a few bits of the real language mixed with English words with different endings and auxillary words nyo! )

The off-the-cuff spells are in mock Japanese...

Why are you people reading this thread if you haven't read the comic yet? Do you WANT spoilers this badly. Seriously, read the damn thing first and form your own opinions, then contribute your original thoughts here. And for goodness sake, STOP using this thread as your fucking LiveJournal to whine about not having the book yet. Sheesh! WE DON'T CARE!

Come back when you've managed to get your book and read the thing. This thread will still be here, you won't miss out. And noone minds if you don't have it within 48 hours of the release. It's not THAT important. (Yeah, here come the dumbass jokes about how it IS important ... fuck off.)

Sorry to rant here after Phy's excellent walk-through analysis. I should contribute something better. Promise to do it real soon now.

Sabyr
... under a blue sky ...