Andrew Kepple interview
10th November 2003
Since well.... a while ago Sluggy has been a big part of this Strife. First publishing his creations at the Chasm of Strife, it wasn't long before he was drawing my weekly mini-Mavs and creating funky movie posters for all the Strife films being produced. Now learn more about the man behind the madness, it's Sluggy!
How did you first hear about This Strife and what were your first impressions, of the site, comics and the community (honestly) >=)
I first heard about This Strife after this British eccentric genius e-mailed me about my "Commander Keen, Ten Years On" mockumentary, saying that he could help out with the hosting and bandwidth problems that I was getting with various free webhosts. My first impressions were as follows:
- The Site: Oh joy, another sprite comic. This is gonna hurt.
- The Comics: How unusual; this sprite comic has more than three panels per episode. And punchlines. And Commander Keen! And LEMMINGS! Oh boy, this gets better and better (I'm not being sarcastic by this stage)!
- The Community: Are these people actually communicating to each other in a language comprised primarily of Smilies, or are they all just immature little trolls with nothing better to do than rant about computer hardware in L33T- speak? Seriously, topics would have a name full of potential like "What's your favourite Commander Keen music?" but there'd be one post and all the rest would be posts consisting of faces rolling their eyes or poking their tongue out. Very disappointing. But I can say that now, because it's not QUITE as bad anymore... heheh:-P
And how has your outlook on Strife changed in the time you've been here? What keeps bringing you back? (Apart from the free hosting)
When I started contributing comics to This Strife, I became well known in the Strife community, and was accepted into the fold, as it were. (I don't know what initiation rituals the non-comic-contributing members had to undertake, but I've heard rumours that it involved certain farm animals... ANYway...) From there I just lapped up all the weekly praise from my adoring fans and kept making Sluggy comics.
Since then, I've come to know many of the Strifers to be more than just flamewarring trolls; I now see them as flamewarring trolls who have feelings, hopes, fears, dreams, and real lives. Before my involvement in the Strife community I would never have thought that I could consider "internet people" as legitimate friends, but they've changed all that. (Cue soppy music)
Sometime in the future I hope to meet in person with as many of the Strifers as possible. Let's face it, if it wasn't for the community, I wouldn't keep coming back. Nobody would. Not that your comics are bad or anything, but hey - nobody visits my comics website when I don't update for 3 months!
What appeals to you the most about comics about game characters? Whether it be Strife's Duke Nukem or your own Commander Keen fan fiction?
When playing those classic platform games from days of yore, I always had a sense of narrative forming in the back of my mind; an untold story about what the main character was seeing, what they were thinking, their motivations, their personality. Likewise I soon came to sense this for other characters in the games, including the enemies. Even the environments (especially those of Keen 4 and Jill of the Jungle) seemed to take on a life of their own, suggesting an historical interconnectedness that went beyond the storyline that was fed to the user in the README file.
Of course I was reading too much into it all, but the backgrounds that I conceived for various characters and environments seemed worthy of relating to others who had played the game, especially after I read about the creators' explanations of the games and their characters. And that's what it's all about, really. The background info. Otherwise all games would be pretty much the same.
Of course, much of the humour of This Strife is based on impossible back- stories that would not belong in the game at all, like action-heroes Duke and Marine being roommates, Commander Keen bartending, and mindless, slobbering monsters working at Burger outlets. Well okay, maybe that last one is kinda believable...
Has being around and helping out of This Strife changed you or your life in any way?
This Strife has changed my life! Before I used This Strife I was a sad pathetic loser, but now I'm a respected sad pathetic loser! And I owe it all to This Strife! For 3 easy payments of only $29.99, This Strife can help YOU TOO! But seriously, the Strife community encouraged me to finally get home internet so that I could use ICQ, instead of the expensive and slow communication methods (ie, e-mail) available on the university's computer network.
Also, the Strifers' helpful advice and encouragement was much appreciated for when I was building the Craputer. I'm sure that someday Maverick's inventions such as the Carputer (NO, read it again, CAR-puter, not CRAP-uter) will change my life even more, and maybe change all our lives. And I will say, "I was there in the beginning." I hope to put something back into the community, and help change other people's lives for the better. I will be the people's governor... oops, wrong speech.
Sum up This Strife in one word (not penii)
UBERmatic! (is that a word?) No wait, I got a better word "Treehouse", "Clubhouse", takeyour pick
Anything else you'd like to say
When all the horrors of the world
Come crowding all around
And no-one seems to understand
You've run into the ground
When dreary, neverending gloom
Doth cloud your teary eyes
And all your fears and miseries
Increase in fearsome size
Remember there's a happy place
A website, on the 'net
Where all your fears and woe, you
Temporarily forget
So, mourn thee not, young Gothling,
Do not brood away thy life!
Come join the fun community
That's simply called "This Strife"!
Come in and meet the family,
With Sluggy, Mav, and Moz
And Cholerae, Slick, HanC, Alon
and many more, because-
We don't take life too seriously
But please don't call us morons
Or else you'll find ***This user has been
Banneth from this forums***
