MSPAFA Chat Thread In... The Mysterious Mystery!

[The One Guy]

I often have the urge to reveal my plans ahead of time, but since I have experiance this sort of thing (primarily from stories I've created before my family even had the internet access for me to share them), it's not hard for me to resist the urge.

[Jovian]

I sometimes post panels I like on Tumblr before I update.

but then people end up thinking there was an update when there wasn't so I've been doing that less.

instead I just link panels I like before I update to friends and that usually helps me fight off the urge.

[CzBacklash]

I like to believe that the fact one can be so jittery on their updates can be a good thing. In the sense that once you do one update your pumped to get right on the next one. To be excited to get started on your adventure has to show a sign of effort and care the artist (and writer) pump into their adventure.

[LuFa]

What plans

I don't usually talk about things that are going to happen, but rather things that could've happened, but didn't. Stuff like "oh good thing you posted that suggestion or else this character would've died" or something

[Ford Johnes]

I like to believe that the fact one can be so jittery on their updates can be a good thing. In the sense that once you do one update your pumped to get right on the next one. To be excited to get started on your adventure has to show a sign of effort and care the artist (and writer) pump into their adventure.

Every time I update my adventures I'm glad I don't have to update for another 2 months.

[OldManRupee]

I have a plan! I keep forgetting what that plan is! I've written down some of it...

[Dudemaster47]

I guess I should have more plans going, but all of mine tend to be short term and either for a few specific future updates, or for the next few upcoming updates.

Although I agree that these plans and whatnot are like OMG I WANT TO SHARE WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.

[Dalmationer]

I have a plan too. It involves flash and monochrome.

[Torquemadras Trump]

I've got a whole lot of ideas about what happens next in my adventures, including new characters, ending, plot twists and whatnot.

Only I ALWAYS get some other idea I like more half-way through. Mostly because of some completely random suggestion.

So, I'm technically planning ahead AND making up shit as I go

Or something

[CzBacklash]

I've only planned on where the story is going to reach for, but alot of the commands I've received has made me rewrite it alot. Like Bygjit wasn't actually suppose to be a main character, I actually ment to kill her off, but now even I have grown to like her and want to make a story revolved around her. Happy accidents man. Dem happy accidents.

[earthexe]

I have so much shit planned, you don't even know :U

The problem is actually doing it.

[MIster Scurvy]

I can't wait til I hit 12 posts because I want to start a homestuck/ breaking bad crossover forum adventure. Would anyone read that?

[kd7sov]

Actually, I think you can start stuff in the Cradle before you hit the limit.

It's almost moot now, but The More You Know...

[Dim]

On the topic of planning, how many characters/environments do you create before you start an adventure?

I usually just make the first panel and make up the rest as the adventure goes on. But for my latest one, I've pre-made made 4 characters.

[CzBacklash]

Mine started out as 10. Its slowly growing more and more now.

[earthexe]

I have 7 environments planned for one adventure and ~8 for the other.

THAT'S HOW MUCH PLANNING I DO.

And the way things are now, you can barely see how those could ever come out :U

[The One Guy]

Well let's see (and added the element of the story, because it kind of fits with the characters and environments):

Out of Beta:
Characters: All pre-planned
Environments: General environments pre-planned, specific areas made up on the spot
Story: Made up ahead of time as I go

Powerworks:
Characters: Most pre-planned
Environments: I'm still not sure what I'm doing.
Story: Greatly pre-planned, other parts being slowly developed in the background

Yume Niko:
Characters: Most dreamworld characters (as in giving the characters personalities and backstory to the Yume Nikki characters) pre-planned, waking word characters slowly being devloped in the background
Environments: Most dreamworld environments (as in giving details and explanations to the Yume Nikki environments) pre-planned, waking world environments slowly being devloped in the background
Story: General framework for what happens mostly pre-planned, more specific stuff entirely dependant on reader suggestions



Yeah, I do a lot of planning ahead of time. Now if I would only update and put all that planning to use...

[MalkyTop]

Planning differs from adventure to adventure, but I've found that often even in a very loose adventure, I would plan events ahead of time.

Ex Nihilo, though, has a lot of stuff I made up before I even started drawing shit. I was bored while in vacation in Germany. So it happened.

And I guess I'll also say that I might have the urges to spoil things if it weren't for the fact that I don't want to spoil. The problem is I like learning about developmental stuff of everything, movies and shit or whatever, so I sometimes feel like giving some notes of my own but those would tend to spoil (also they're not interesting) so I don't.

[kd7sov]

On the topic of planning, how many characters/environments do you create before you start an adventure?

I usually just make the first panel and make up the rest as the adventure goes on. But for my latest one, I've pre-made made 4 characters.

Nothing?

Well, no, that's not entirely true. For Hat Quest, I did a copy-pasted bunch of magicpunk robots and a race or some such in the background through the window in the first several panels. And for Baker's Wife, I actually put in a fair bit of effort to get the characters and the curtain frame looking appropriate. (Do you realize how few screengrabs from Into the Woods there are online? Even most of the youtube videos are of high-school productions.)

But mostly, I just make everything up as it becomes relevant, at least visually. I do have a fair bit of background floating around my head for both of those. And for Toupees, which I might restart at some point when I have a better idea of what I want to do.

[Almost Human]

By the by, ever get that feeling of wanting to say something about your next update before you actually post it? How do you guys fight the urge?

All. The. Time.
I fight the urge by working on the update so that I don't have to preview it, I can just post it, but it's not always that easy. I've had a bit of a break in my once-regular update schedule and I kind of want to just throw my notes at the readers and go "But look how much fun it will be when we get here!".
I've also more than once wanted to hint to my readers to take a specific path, but then I remember the strange roads they lead themselves down tend to be much more fun and rewarding than anything I could nail to the rails and force down their throats :P

On the topic of planning, how many characters/environments do you create before you start an adventure?

I premade A LOT.
I had a weeks worth of notes and sketches before I even started my adventure, and even more notes now.
Unfortunately this lead to a little disappointment on my part when my adventure didn't flow into those premade plans, but since then I've learned to just roll with it, which has been significantly more fun.
I think it's important to have a loose game plan, but to be flexible with it.

[Bropocalypse]

I made the main characters before starting Spark and Tricorne, but that's it, art-wise

I do have a ton of notes on both. Spark, especially

[Almost Human]

I'm not sure I could work without notes, I'd be afraid my adventure would get too directionless.
Although maybe that could be fun too?

[supersinger472]

I usually come up with at least the main characters and some background about the world they live in before starting

[mysticCharlatan]

Probably a bad idea for my first adventure, but I started out with 9(!) characters pre planned. I've got a general idea of where I want the story to go, and a few scenes which are getting written no matter what, but apart from that I am trying (and possibly failing) at playing it fast and loose.

[Yako]

Well let's see...

Royal Flush had the four main characters planned. Almost all other characters were taken from other old stories of mine. The only planned location was the Casino, but it was a loose kind of plan-- I kind of made up areas within it as I went along.

Almost a Hero had Phil, Illuman, Penguin's chairman, and Janitor Stan Lee planned out. I made the rest up as I went along or, again, cannibalized from other stories.

For my next adventure, I've got... 10 characters. 5 major locations. And a fair amount of story. I still need to do a little more planning, though, and I definitely need to flesh out my notes/outline document.

For me, not having anything planned past the first panel has killed all of my adventures thus far. It's different for everyone, though! I really admire people who are good at coming up with things on short notice.