Friday, July 13, 2012

Always Check the Notice Board (PWA 3)

Phantasy Warrior Advance: Always Check the Notice Board

So, I have already mentioned several times that I was a big fan of the Quest for Glory series (formerly Hero's Quest) back in the 1990s.  Lori Ann and Corey Cole did an interesting thing bringing the concepts of a role-playing game to the classic "3D animated adventure game" format that Sierra On-Line had become so famous for.  There were puzzles to solve, monsters to fight, and skills to improve by using them.  Granted, the game did end up promoting some absurd results (such as spending the better part of an in-game day climbing trees or throwing rocks) but it was fun nonetheless.  A lot of my comic work (both this comic and its predecessor, the original Phantasy Warrior) has strong Quest for Glory influence.

In every Quest for Glory game, there would be an Adventurer's Guild (or equivalent) with a notice board posting quests, tasks, and general nonsense.  It was a weird idea in the realm of fantasy role-playing.  Classically, everything started out "in a tavern" or some similar nonsense.  Lori Ann and Corey decided to take a more modern approach.  If I really wanted somebody to go find my Cheetaur claws, why not post it on the local Adventurer's Guild notice board?  Looking for somebody to stop the Brigand King?  Post it!

Of course, even then they tended to make jokes about it, with the occasional absurd posting appearing as a joke.  It only makes sense.  For every serious quest giver posting on the notice board, there's bound to be some joker posting some sort of nonsense.  Here, I even put the business card of a local bard because that just seemed like the kind of thing you would expect to see.

For those wondering, this notice board intentionally has a lot of strange references and subtle in-jokes in it.  That is what happens when I stay up late building comic panels.  Hopefully, you can find something you find entertaining.

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