Page Commentary No. 192

Gunwild: This one actually got a mention on the blog Webcomicsreview (I don't think the post exists anymore though). It was contrasted negatively with the one earlier on where King explains the whole deal with how the Vanaa and the humans are at odds. I guess I was trying to show another look at it but it's not good that it repeats some stuff from that infodump, and in a less story-driven way.

Psu: I just thought it was cute and a way to pass the time. But yeah, I didn’t remember that critique. You gotta learn to keep the lesson but let the rest of it slide! Still, I think we agreed to this because it seemed like information worth repeating and placing it into a sorta physical map. And we also got to load the whole page with Easter eggs.

Gunwild: Well, it's not all eggs, some of it is setting up important stuff. And some of it is world-building "for its own sake," which I am opposed to... unless you can then seize upon those things you've left in place later on and make use of them.

Psu: Eh, I used to DM a lot of Dungeons and Dragons games. And some of the most fun times would be doing the prep work before the campaign. You get your graph paper or a map generator, and you start making random little notes and villages. You put down a human capital city, and sometimes you add an Elven Woods. You ALWAYS gotta have a “Spine of the World.” Every self respecting fantasy map needs one of those. And then... throughout the course of a years long campaign. You just realize... the players never reach them. And ya know what... That’s okay. But it’s like... when people drew old maps and just filled the corners in with dragons. You offer a world of mystery and stuff because you don’t want your world to have these borders as if the only things that exist are what your characters see.

Gunwild: I guess I just sort of feel not-great that we spent an update on it when I should have been finding a way to slip the information into the story without it just being announced like this?

Psu: Eh don’t be too hard on yourself. I bet Ashley liked Nizka’s report. Plus we got to establish Miss Carolina as a cute teacher instead of... what was her job before?

Gunwild: All we had was "colonist," although you did a drawing of her farming in her overalls. Also, she did paint the original colony sign!

Psu: A woman of many talents.