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Automata

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    Captain VashCaptain Vash Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Perhaps in this world imbuing robots with emotion was there version of the three laws.
    guilt and empathy, at any rate, being a pretty good murder deterrent for most of humanity.

    Captain Vash on
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    YarYar Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I was pretty sure the "feel" comment in the first strip was just bigotry. I don't think it was meant to imply some historical event about imbuing feelings. Unless I missed something.

    Also, is it just me, or is the guy being interviewed a Swangee?

    Yar on
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    Captain VashCaptain Vash Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Yar wrote: »
    I was pretty sure the "feel" comment in the first strip was just bigotry. I don't think it was meant to imply some historical event about imbuing feelings. Unless I missed something.

    Also, is it just me, or is the guy being interviewed a Swangee?

    I don't think so, the host's attitude doesn't seem to fit with interviewing a swangee to me.

    Captain Vash on
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    shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Where's the term "swangee" come from again?

    shryke on
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    YougottawannaYougottawanna Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I think it's just a brand name, maybe named after the guy that designed them.

    Yougottawanna on
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    PreacherPreacher Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    shryke wrote: »
    Where's the term "swangee" come from again?

    Mostly ads in the background and I believe it was on Carls license.

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    King RiptorKing Riptor Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    shryke wrote: »
    Where's the term "swangee" come from again?

    Swangee is the company that produced Carl. It's also his ethnicity( for lack of a better term) and surname

    King Riptor on
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    INeedNoSaltINeedNoSalt with blood on my teeth Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Yar wrote: »
    I was pretty sure the "feel" comment in the first strip was just bigotry. I don't think it was meant to imply some historical event about imbuing feelings. Unless I missed something.

    Also, is it just me, or is the guy being interviewed a Swangee?

    I don't think so, the host's attitude doesn't seem to fit with interviewing a swangee to me.

    No? He was really rude and condescending to the interviewee.

    But the interviewee refers to automatons as 'they' and humans as 'we', so.

    INeedNoSalt on
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    YougottawannaYougottawanna Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Seems like there was a lot of swearing on the radio back then. I don't quite understand that bit.

    Yougottawanna on
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    kedinikkedinik Captain of Industry Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Seems like there was a lot of swearing on the radio back then. I don't quite understand that bit.

    It was the 1920's equivalent of a Rush Limbaugh interview.

    kedinik on
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    YougottawannaYougottawanna Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Sure, but Rush Limbaugh doesn't curse. Seems like radio back then would have been cleaner. Though the developing theme appears to be that the depression is making people desperate and maybe a little crazy.

    Of course, all we have is (redacted) for those parts. Maybe he was really saying "dagnabbit" or something like that and even that was too spicy for the transcript.

    Yougottawanna on
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    Captain VashCaptain Vash Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Yar wrote: »
    I was pretty sure the "feel" comment in the first strip was just bigotry. I don't think it was meant to imply some historical event about imbuing feelings. Unless I missed something.

    Also, is it just me, or is the guy being interviewed a Swangee?

    I don't think so, the host's attitude doesn't seem to fit with interviewing a swangee to me.

    No? He was really rude and condescending to the interviewee.

    But the interviewee refers to automatons as 'they' and humans as 'we', so.

    condescending in the way an idiot doesn't like to hear facts when fiction is much juicier, not condescending in any racist way. Also your point.

    Captain Vash on
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    DietlamaDietlama Registered User new member
    edited August 2009
    I, like some others in this thread, registered (after reading the comic for years) to say how excellent Automata is.

    The discussion here is great, but I really just want to make a suggestion.

    I'd love to see a game based in this universe. The one hope I would have is that the game be narrative driven. Perhaps point and click andventure or a derivative of some sort. There's depth here that interactivity could really enhance.

    Dietlama on
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    ScalfinScalfin __BANNED USERS regular
    edited August 2009
    Dietlama wrote: »
    I, like some others in this thread, registered (after reading the comic for years) to say how excellent Automata is.

    The discussion here is great, but I really just want to make a suggestion.

    I'd love to see a game based in this universe. The one hope I would have is that the game be narrative driven. Perhaps point and click andventure or a derivative of some sort. There's depth here that interactivity could really enhance.

    Powerups and penalties depending on what music you have the computer playing.

    Scalfin on
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    Captain VashCaptain Vash Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Scalfin wrote: »
    Dietlama wrote: »
    I, like some others in this thread, registered (after reading the comic for years) to say how excellent Automata is.

    The discussion here is great, but I really just want to make a suggestion.

    I'd love to see a game based in this universe. The one hope I would have is that the game be narrative driven. Perhaps point and click andventure or a derivative of some sort. There's depth here that interactivity could really enhance.

    Powerups and penalties depending on what music you have the computer playing.

    I was actually thinking that after today's comic, and I was really feeling a game like KOTOR, only set in this universe would be amazing.

    a little bit sandbox, a lot bit character narrative.

    Captain Vash on
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    KilroyKilroy timaeusTestified Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Scalfin wrote: »
    Dietlama wrote: »
    I, like some others in this thread, registered (after reading the comic for years) to say how excellent Automata is.

    The discussion here is great, but I really just want to make a suggestion.

    I'd love to see a game based in this universe. The one hope I would have is that the game be narrative driven. Perhaps point and click andventure or a derivative of some sort. There's depth here that interactivity could really enhance.

    Powerups and penalties depending on what music you have the computer playing.

    I was actually thinking that after today's comic, and I was really feeling a game like KOTOR, only set in this universe would be amazing.

    a little bit sandbox, a lot bit character narrative.

    Statement: such an enterprise would require the presence of a humorously psychotic robot.

    Kilroy on
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    Raiden333Raiden333 Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Kilroy wrote: »
    Scalfin wrote: »
    Dietlama wrote: »
    I, like some others in this thread, registered (after reading the comic for years) to say how excellent Automata is.

    The discussion here is great, but I really just want to make a suggestion.

    I'd love to see a game based in this universe. The one hope I would have is that the game be narrative driven. Perhaps point and click andventure or a derivative of some sort. There's depth here that interactivity could really enhance.

    Powerups and penalties depending on what music you have the computer playing.

    I was actually thinking that after today's comic, and I was really feeling a game like KOTOR, only set in this universe would be amazing.

    a little bit sandbox, a lot bit character narrative.

    Statement: such an enterprise would require the presence of a humorously psychotic robot.

    Rhetorical query: Why, do you have any particular robot in mind?

    Raiden333 on
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    KilroyKilroy timaeusTestified Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Raiden333 wrote: »
    Kilroy wrote: »
    Scalfin wrote: »
    Dietlama wrote: »
    I, like some others in this thread, registered (after reading the comic for years) to say how excellent Automata is.

    The discussion here is great, but I really just want to make a suggestion.

    I'd love to see a game based in this universe. The one hope I would have is that the game be narrative driven. Perhaps point and click andventure or a derivative of some sort. There's depth here that interactivity could really enhance.

    Powerups and penalties depending on what music you have the computer playing.

    I was actually thinking that after today's comic, and I was really feeling a game like KOTOR, only set in this universe would be amazing.

    a little bit sandbox, a lot bit character narrative.

    Statement: such an enterprise would require the presence of a humorously psychotic robot.

    Rhetorical query: Why, do you have any particular robot in mind?

    Clarification: I was merely stating that a world filled with such arrogant meatbags would naturally result in certain forms of hostility.

    Kilroy on
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    MayGodHaveMercyMayGodHaveMercy Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Hahaha. A++ would laugh again. :^:

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    DarkBridgeDarkBridge Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    HamHamJ wrote: »
    And the way to do this to set up strawman robots, show that they aren't sentient, and thus prove that humanity really is special?
    What? No. It's to question whether humanity is sentient at all. I mean, we have our own little STOP codes. I like stories that explore just how much we can consider ourselves sentient. "9 Planets Without Intelligent Life" for example, is a world populated exclusively by definitely non-sentient robots. Who are in no way shape or form different from human beings in terms of mental life.

    Thanks for linking that comic, great stuff.

    Also, I wish Automata would become its own project. This is great stuff and I hope they can flesh it out some more. The CTS was also quite epic, particularly "The Seventh Spring"; I would be totally down if they took some time off to develop these.

    DarkBridge on
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    TalkaTalka Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    So I can't really follow what happened in the new strip for today. The events seem out of order.

    Talka on
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    kedinikkedinik Captain of Industry Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Talka wrote: »
    So I can't really follow what happened in the new strip for today. The events seem out of order.
    In the previous comic, Regal tackled Carl into the middle of the street.

    In this one Carl takes a few wild shots, runs out of ammo, warns Regal to get away, and is struck by a car as he approaches Regal, seemingly calming him down.

    I'm not sure what is meant with his eyes changing back to blue right before the car hits him. Did he get control of himself back? The banter with Regal seems to imply that it was the car crash that knocked him back to his senses, but there seems to be a pretty strong connection between his eye color and his mental state that confuses things slightly.

    kedinik on
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    King RiptorKing Riptor Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Talka wrote: »
    So I can't really follow what happened in the new strip for today. The events seem out of order.

    Carl and Regal prepare to fight.
    Carl knows he'll kill Regal.
    Realizing the only way out is to shock his system into resetting Carl musters enough control to walk into traffic . Alternately he was trying to kill himself rather than kill his friend.
    Witty Banter ensues.

    King Riptor on
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    The Boy SatelliteThe Boy Satellite Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    beans, page five still isn't coming up for me. D:

    The Boy Satellite on
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    King RiptorKing Riptor Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    beans, page five still isn't coming up for me. D:

    It's posted down in SE++

    King Riptor on
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    The Boy SatelliteThe Boy Satellite Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    beans, page five still isn't coming up for me. D:

    It's posted down in SE++

    dig. :]

    The Boy Satellite on
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    Brian888Brian888 Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    The chances of that outcome are...very near to zero.


    :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

    Brian888 on
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    Tiger BurningTiger Burning Dig if you will, the pictureRegistered User, SolidSaints Tube regular
    edited August 2009
    Talka wrote: »
    So I can't really follow what happened in the new strip for today. The events seem out of order.

    It makes sense when you realize he is stepping back in panel six, not walking forward. It's hard to tell because there aren't any directional cues.

    Tiger Burning on
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    durandal4532durandal4532 Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Oh wow, yeah, that makes it clear.

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    Brian888Brian888 Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Talka wrote: »
    So I can't really follow what happened in the new strip for today. The events seem out of order.

    Carl and Regal prepare to fight.
    Carl knows he'll kill Regal.
    Realizing the only way out is to shock his system into resetting Carl musters enough control to walk into traffic . Alternately he was trying to kill himself rather than kill his friend.
    Witty Banter ensues.


    I think the red eye color is meant to indicate "Error," as in there's something wrong with the robot. Carl briefly regains enough control to step backwards off the curb into traffice. As he's hit, the jar to his system causes his eyes to flash red again. Afterwards, though, the system-shock was apparently enough to "reset" Carl back to his normal condition.

    Brian888 on
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    Fatboy RobertsFatboy Roberts Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Yeah, if there was a panel establishing they were on a sidewalk with said car approaching in the distance, or another panel showing him start to step backwards with his friend reaching out to him at the edge of the frame, that'd be a LOT clearer. as it stands, reading left to right, it looks like he left the frame, and walked all the way across the street before getting clipped in the back by the car.

    It's gotta be pretty hard to convey "Walking backwards" in a still frame, though.

    Fatboy Roberts on
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    durandal4532durandal4532 Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I think a large part of it how stiffly Carl walks. Instead of flailing backwards, he just steps straight-backed into traffic, which makes it look almost like he's stepping out of traffic if you don't know what's going on.

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    PreacherPreacher Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Yeah little hard to follow what happened (especially the blue eyes back to red in the one panel) but still an enjoyable arc with a nice finish.

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    Fatboy RobertsFatboy Roberts Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Again, I think this is something that might work better collected, printed, all in one go. I don't think I'd have been so turned around by the geography if I had JUST read the preceding 2 pages within the last minute. I'd have remembered what side of the street the speakeasy was on, and when they left the bar, Carl blasting wildly, I'd know which direction he was being pushed back towards.

    Again - take like, 6 months off, and craft the GN. Do re-runs of PA. have the Beartato guy do a bunch of guest strips or something. But I think Automata is an idea not only worth fleshing out, but worth fleshing out for about 150 pages in a graphic novel.

    Fatboy Roberts on
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    RaynagaRaynaga Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    To everyone saying this makes a nice finish, Tycho had said it finishes Monday if I'm not mistaken.

    Raynaga on
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    DruhimDruhim Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited August 2009
    I think a large part of it how stiffly Carl walks. Instead of flailing backwards, he just steps straight-backed into traffic, which makes it look almost like he's stepping out of traffic if you don't know what's going on.
    flailing backwards wouldn't make sense though as the whole point is that he's voluntarily stepping in front of the car and flailing suggests a lack of control. So that actually would have been a pretty poor choice for the direction they decided to take the story at this point.

    Druhim on
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    matt has a problemmatt has a problem Points to 'off' Points to 'on'Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Druhim wrote: »
    I think a large part of it how stiffly Carl walks. Instead of flailing backwards, he just steps straight-backed into traffic, which makes it look almost like he's stepping out of traffic if you don't know what's going on.
    flailing backwards wouldn't make sense though as the whole point is that he's voluntarily stepping in front of the car and flailing suggests a lack of control. So that actually would have been a pretty poor choice for the direction they decided to take the story at this point.
    It was more the perspective than anything, the fight took place in the street, and we had no reference for him walking onto the sidewalk. That said, it only took a bit of analyzing to figure out what had actually happened.

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    monikermoniker Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Druhim wrote: »
    I think a large part of it how stiffly Carl walks. Instead of flailing backwards, he just steps straight-backed into traffic, which makes it look almost like he's stepping out of traffic if you don't know what's going on.
    flailing backwards wouldn't make sense though as the whole point is that he's voluntarily stepping in front of the car and flailing suggests a lack of control. So that actually would have been a pretty poor choice for the direction they decided to take the story at this point.
    It was more the perspective than anything, the fight took place in the street, and we had no reference for him walking onto the sidewalk. That said, it only took a bit of analyzing to figure out what had actually happened.

    Yeah, it just wasn't readily noticeable and so took a bit away from the first reading. Hardly a knock though. It's just too bad, because one more frame with Carl's eyes being red and looking at the oncoming headlights or something might have made it more obvious. Still, so far so good. It would be incredible if G&T decided to go full bore on a longer storyline as a side project or something.

    moniker on
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    RandomEngyRandomEngy Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Such a fun comic... I wish they would do a little bit of Valve-style iteration and make sure people know what's going on when they read it. There are a lot of subtle cues that if you miss you are completely lost, and ways to interpret the panels that just make no sense.

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    Eat it You Nasty Pig.Eat it You Nasty Pig. tell homeland security 'we are the bomb'Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    So, is the idea meant to be that carl regains motor control only very briefly and uses that time to step into traffic, the impact of which knocks him around and fixes him up for good?

    I guess I see that, but the comic doesn't do a very good job of showing it to you. I think it would've been better if the last panel had shown carl waking up in whatever kind of noir-robot-hospital they had, with regal sitting next to him or something.

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