Weekly Webcomic Wrapup: It's a Gamer's Life

60 Comments by Ross Miller Feb 3rd 2008 5:30PM
Filed under: Culture, Online, Polls

We wanted to take this space to highlight Tim Buckley's seven-part It's a Gamer's Life comic. We were genuinely surprised by how touched we were, even if the text stuck to a very cliché A-B-C-B poetic format. It's a serious webcomic, but it's game-related.

We wish more people out there would enjoy gaming comics that took a more serious tone, but they are few and far between and the few times we've thrown them into the wrapup polls, we've seen more than a few complaints about the lack of humor. Webcomics don't have to be funny to be poignant, but we digress. Start at the beginning and read through the seven-part strip.

Here are our picks for the week's best game-related webcomics, be sure to vote for your favorite! (Polling after the break.)

Solid Smash Bros.
Fun with Forge
Left behind (pre-spoiler)
Blast from the past
"Falcon ..."
Call a timeout
Red ring of death
A narrative in Crisis
Pigs in Space

Tags: cad-comic, gamers-life, serious, webcomic

Source

(Page 1) Reader Comments

Fernando Rocker: Feb 3rd 2008; 5:37PM

Totally fresh! Nice =)

Fernando Rocker: Feb 3rd 2008; 5:42PM

Falcon lol too!

n0v4: Feb 5th 2008; 4:39PM

You reply to yourself!? That's funny.

Feigr: Feb 3rd 2008; 5:40PM

Wow that comic brought a tear to my eye. So touching. I never expected that! :)

jcd: Feb 3rd 2008; 6:24PM

What?!

Seriously, CAD sucks

/whoa, trolling IS fun!

sheppy2.0: Feb 3rd 2008; 6:53PM

Wait, that touched you and made you cry? Dude, the fuck?!? Do you tear over happy endings on Care Bear episodes too?

Obie: Feb 3rd 2008; 9:36PM

Really, it was so forcibly sentimental it might as well been an after school special....gimme a break.

GreyFox: Feb 4th 2008; 1:24AM

Yeah that was a great series. Really moving and so much so a few assholes didn't get it apparently.

BrotherEstapol: Feb 4th 2008; 5:28AM

Just cause someone didn't like it, doesn't mean they get it.

I get it, it's very touching and all that...but not enough to make cry, and it was very forced, and imho; LAME.

Feigr: Feb 4th 2008; 12:44PM

There's no need to be mean. :(
It reminded me of my own childhood and how I never had and still never have anyone to share my love of games with. That's why it touched me.

Shignami: Feb 3rd 2008; 5:41PM

I do like the N-europe one just for the possibilities of other mundane activities made awesome with the addition of flames and shouting, but Penny-arcade is just classic.

HighFiveJesus: Feb 3rd 2008; 5:45PM

My favorite was the vg cats one because of the panel with snake in the box, staring at Samus's ass. Priceless look.

Neebs: Feb 3rd 2008; 5:51PM

Falcon Comic today.

Neebs: Feb 3rd 2008; 9:29PM

In a new and exciting way, PA is also funny this week.

Gaddes: Feb 3rd 2008; 5:56PM

"It's a Gamer's Life" deliberately tried to pull at my heartstrings, and failed miserably. I found it terribly contrived.

If you want something moving, nothing will beat:
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/19/a-heart-wrenching-tale-about-animal-crossing/

Fernando Rocker: Feb 3rd 2008; 6:06PM

Best gaming comic ever...

http://www.joystiq.com/media/2007/11/animalcrossing.jpg

PointyThings: Feb 3rd 2008; 8:39PM

It would be almost emotional if any part of it could take place in reality, and if the writing wasn't painfully awkward.
Guess what that Animal Crossing one has that Gamer's Life doesn't?

Matthew: Feb 3rd 2008; 6:58PM

Yeah... CAD needs to stop - or at least take hiatus. It's gotten so bad over the last year.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo): Feb 3rd 2008; 7:06PM

I'm sorry. Usually I'm indifferent to Buckley and CAD, but It's a Gamer's Life is fucking horrible.

Neebs: Feb 3rd 2008; 8:59PM

agreed.

Xlnt: Feb 3rd 2008; 7:22PM

FALCON VOTE!

David: Feb 3rd 2008; 7:43PM

How about that No Scope Comics one? That one is great!

Phil Palmer: Feb 3rd 2008; 7:53PM

I concur my good man, quite the excellent source of humor. Also, I am by no means biased. Totally. :)

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo): Feb 3rd 2008; 7:52PM

I'm going with vg cats. Even though three of the characters have been announced for brawl(FAAAAAAALCOOOOOON PPPPPPPPAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNCCCCHHHHHH!!!!) It's still incredibly funny.

MNC Dover: Feb 3rd 2008; 8:06PM

Heh, Falcon does get into it. Only 5 weeks left to go. Anyone think our comic this week was any good?

http://www.mondaynightcrew.com/comic.html

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo): Feb 3rd 2008; 8:42PM

D'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

Slaziman: Feb 3rd 2008; 8:08PM

FALCON LAUGHING MY ASS OFF

Slaziman: Feb 3rd 2008; 8:11PM

but also:

LET ME SHOW YOU MY MOVES :(

Captain Falcon won this week.

Zertoss: Feb 3rd 2008; 8:30PM

FALCON COMMENT!

Also: SHOW ME YOUR BOOBS!

CJC: Feb 3rd 2008; 10:01PM

I've got boobies for you:

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/2299/boobiesds2.jpg

Geist: Feb 4th 2008; 1:08AM

Hot.

NvM: Feb 3rd 2008; 8:33PM

As far as Gamer's Life goes, Video games shouldn't be serious, at least in that way.

But both Falcon comics were great.

Dholcrist: Feb 3rd 2008; 8:46PM

Gamer's Life was just terribly written, and tried so very hard to be emotional that it was like he was going to go fishing with dynamite, but accidentally only bought cherry bombs. Yeah, that probably doesn't make any sense, but whatever.

And seriously, the moral is that you should love games more than your wife? He really wants gamers to like him, doesn't he?

Antonio: Feb 3rd 2008; 9:11PM

Pretty poor showing this week. I guess "FALCON... [blank]" is the newest Internet trend.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo): Feb 3rd 2008; 10:25PM

stay away from /v/ then.

Geist: Feb 4th 2008; 1:12AM

Poor showing? I am FALCON BECOMING SAD.

Internet trends are cool. Don't you want to be cool?

Jravolta: Feb 3rd 2008; 9:33PM

The No-scope comics one is hilarious. I love the Rube Goldberg machine.

eldee: Feb 3rd 2008; 10:10PM

no portal references??? I don't know what to vote for!!

David: Feb 3rd 2008; 10:21PM

Vote for No Scope!

ThornedVenom: Feb 3rd 2008; 10:24PM

Nothing really made me LOL, so I went with Digital Unrest.

It's been a while since I hadn't heard the word "Fresh". xD

Tim Harding: Feb 3rd 2008; 10:57PM

Didn't make the cut this week, but thought the Smash Bros. crowd might like this: http://www.2pstart.com/2008/01/30/if-i-had-to-call-it-something/

Nakayar: Feb 3rd 2008; 11:12PM

I really enjoy CAD, it's one of my favorite comics. The Gamer's Life story arc was really great as well, and the detractors might need to get in touch with emotions beyond humor.

PointyThings: Feb 4th 2008; 12:13AM

Buckley needs to get in touch with a writer and artist.

Geist: Feb 4th 2008; 1:10AM

Wow, someone liked that? It felt so damn forced and contrived, like, as someone mentioned, an after-school special. CAD has been declining for a while, and the only feeling it elicits from me is a groan.

Toasty: Feb 3rd 2008; 11:19PM

I'm pretty sure I speak for the majority of the internet when I say that I found Gamer's Life really hard to read. The rhyme-scheme was a work of cruelty and I could practically hear the anguished shrieks of the English language as he brutally crushed sentences together to make them fit his non-existent rhythm. Plus the story was maudlin and fake.

I mean, I like games. I like games ALOT. But I still find the whole idea ridiculous and kind of pathetic. I'd even go so far as to say that it

FALCON SUCKED!!

Geist: Feb 4th 2008; 1:11AM

FALCON AGREE!

Noxat: Feb 4th 2008; 6:52AM

That comic was really hard to digest
As any comic reader can see
In fact I think that I shall protest
by shitting out vomit and pee.

^^ See? See that god-awful rhyme I just did? Yeah, that crap was pretty much on par with the winning comic.

I'm sorry, I know it was trying to be touching, and creative, and whatever. It just came across as being one hell of an atrocious poem.

Toasty: Feb 4th 2008; 4:24PM

Actually, Noxat, that was an ABAB scheme, with two alternating rhymes. Tim used an ABCB scheme, because apparently he can only think up one pair of rhyming words at once.

Wow...you LITERALLY couldn't write worse poetry if you tried.