[TRENCHES] Thursday, September 5, 2013 - Isolated

Geth

Isolated
http://trenchescomic.com/comic/post/isolated

Thanksgiving

Anonymous

As a UK development studio working with a US-based publisher, we were vaguely aware of Thanksgiving. To us, it was that Thursday in November where, for love nor money, you could not get an answer from anyone on the other end of the line. On the plus side, the steady stream of bug reports and feature requests also dried up, so we’d get a chance to catch up a bit.

One particular November, the publisher was leaning on us pretty heavily to get a console port done, and we were putting in some serious hours to work out the bugs. Thanksgiving arrives and the silence is deafening, as all Thanksgivings are, but at least we can get on with the work without international interruptions. Work continues pretty much around the clock throughout the weekend.

The following Monday afternoon, I’m busy uploading release candidate version #34 to the US test department when the producer walks in. I start telling him how I’m optimistic about this version and - touch wood - this could be it. He interrupts me:

“I wouldn’t bother sending that version. I just got off the phone to the publisher, and apparently they got release approval for version #32 last week. It’s gone out to stores. They forgot to tell us.”

Gaslight

Are we to infer from this that Isaac is still living out of his car after what has to be months if not a year or two? That's a little hard to believe, however little he may be getting paid.

Or I guess he could just be drinking alone in his car because of his profound disappointment with the course his life has taken and frustration at his inability to claw his way back to professional success.

Edit: I like how the title of the Tale ("Thanksgiving") also sort of works as a title for the comic.

ArbitraryDescriptor

I infer that he's still making car payments on a car he can't afford on that QA salary. His pride won't let him sell it (or he just can't), so he can't afford a roof and food with what's left.

This could also explain his love of all you can eat deals.

Hardtarget

I really enjoy how he decided to class it up in his car and chug Champagne

Psykoma

ArbitraryDescriptor wrote: »

This could also explain his love of all you can eat deals.

I don't really feel that's something which needs to be explained.

Gaslight

Nobody is above enjoying bottomless steak fries.

PajamaHero

Did the art get better today, or am I used to it already?

Ori Klein

Gaslight wrote: »

Are we to infer from this that Isaac is still living out of his car after what has to be months if not a year or two? That's a little hard to believe, however little he may be getting paid.

We know he's in massive debts. For all we do not know, he may be still even making payments on the car. Rent is never cheap.

Gaslight wrote: »

Edit: I like how the title of the Tale ("Thanksgiving") also sort of works as a title for the comic.

And vice versa, Isolation also works as a title for the story.

Cambiata

PajamaHero wrote: »

Did the art get better today, or am I used to it already?

It looks exactly the same as it did the other two days when people were wailing and gnashing their teeth.

Turns out people just don't like change, the complaints had nothing to do with the actual quality.

marsilies

PajamaHero wrote: »

Did the art get better today, or am I used to it already?

I think the characters have been starting to look a little more similar to their past art styles as the new art goes on. Also, panels 2 & 3 have more detailed backgrounds with some shading.


Regarding the tale, I'm guessing RC #34 became the day-one patch?

Gosling

I think Monica just needed a couple strips to get her sea legs is all.

Kai_San

The art wasn't bad before but

The facial expressions are much more akin to the old artist in this one

The characters are in much more expressive positions

Thats what it seems like to me anyway.

forty

Also, Cora's hair outline isn't half-missing anymore.

Chris FOM

Tycho just pointed out on the front page that this wraps up the third season. The comic's gotten pretty good, and I have no problems with the art shift, but this has been extremely poorly handled in terms of communication.

Gaslight

At least this feels like a natural conclusion to the season's story arc. Although in retrospect...very little actually happened this season...

Q started a company to make a game based on Cora's dads books. Cora's dad didn't want them to make a game based on his books. Then he was OK with it.

Cora found out the devs at Q's company are all a bunch of crazy weirdos. Then it turned out to be OK.

Marley caused a crisis by leaking the game. Then it turned out to be OK.

They put some shit in the game that Cora's dad got mad about. Then he was OK with it.

Gwen reappeared long enough to get promoted and then promptly disappear again.

The game got done and is apparently successful. The protagonist is still a jerk who still lives in his car.

Compared to the "mole hunt" it doesn't seem like there was much drama or character conflict and development.

marsilies

Here's the post by Tycho about Trenches:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/2013/09/06

As we have said on many, many occasions, the ultimate victory scenario is to make things, and then push them off the dock to have their own adventures. The Trenches just wrapped up its third season, which brings the archive there to over two hundred comics, each of which includes various gruesome True Tales of industry life. I really, really like it. This is what we have accomplished with Scott Kurtz, and when time got tight for him we brought on Mary C from Kiwi Blitz to handle the art. Time has tightened for him again, fairly significantly, with the success of Table Titans to the point where it’s not something we can do together anymore. Plus, Mary C is heading to Japan, which necessitated a stratagem. You might have noticed an art change in the last couple strips; those are the exquisite lines of Monica Ray, from Strip Search but also, you know, from Earth. That was Phase One of the Trenches Longevity Initiative (TLI). The second was to bring on Ty Halley, also of Strip Search fame, to write the shit out of it. This is an interesting juncture, for us and for Trenches, and I’d be curious where else this model could work

Ori Klein

So I guess we're up for a change in direction of art and story as this proceeds.