PMDXR Feedback - January 2018

[Nekomata]

@Nekomata @MajorLeeMan @Neo Emolga @Suicune's Fire @Phoenix Fire @Noblejanobii @Scytherwolf @Neon Umbreon @Zirilon @azura evley @Liokora @Rival Max @Shruikan @pokemon trainer Felix @October @LKWayvern

Howdy!

PXR has been going on for nearly a year now and our first chapter is about to be wrapped up (with a cliffhanger, so I've been told). I think it's time we create a thread to discuss how we can improve the process while still keeping things fun and unpredictable.

I pinged the page maker list, but anyone is welcome to contribute to the discussion. (Also if I messed up any pings, someone fix them. I'm on mobile and it's a pain.)

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Some thoughts on my end:

- While PMDXR is meant to be created with minimal planning to allow each person to take the story in the path they so choose, perhaps we should create a thread for people to suggest ideas or desires for the next page. The person in line will have no obligation to follow any of the ideas, but it's something to help the next person in line.

- Time. The official rules say 2 weeks per page. I know we haven't strictly enforced this because the last thing we want is to pressure people. I have no problem extending the official rule to 3-4 weeks if people think they'll need that.

- Fill ins. I realize that when following the list, you may see your name 2 spots down and prepare to set aside some time. However, if for whatever reason the next person in line has to skip and you fall at a poor time, that can be a problem. If someone needs to skip, I think it'd be good to encourage one of the other artists to fill in for that spot as needed so the next person in line doesn't get "SURPRISE, YOUR TURN CAME EARLY!" This is as needed of course.

- Chapter Covers. Since we're wrapping up the first chapter, I'd love to see several people come together to make the chapter cover. We can have people come up with ideas, people make thumbnails based on said ideas, have one person sketch the final, another line, another do flats, and finally someone to do shading, etc. etc. If this doesn't seem feasable I'd be willing to do the cover pages myself, but it'd certainly be more fun to have as many people have a hand in it! We'll be using the contents of Chapter One for inspiration, of course. (I'll make a thread for chapter covers later.)

- New People: I know we've already got some non-PXR people working on this, but do we want to go seeking more authors/artists to join in the rotation, or are we happy with the current number? (Not to say we won't accept people who ask- just not actively seeking?)

- And cause some people came to me about this: As much as we all love Natalya, don't forget Edgar is the main charrie! Friendly request to give him a little more panel time and love. XD

- Lastly, I created a PMDXR channel on my discord server since a good number of the PMDXR team is on there. Here's a link: https://discord.gg/Ha7ysN4

- Neko

[Suicune's Fire]

I love all your feedback here! I don't really think the focus has been taken too far away from Edgar though. Maybe a little, but yeah...good to acknowledge at least.

I personally am happy with our current numbers. However, considering it's meant to be a PXR comic...I'd love to see the people who aren't members of the community actually BE part of the community. XD Of course that might be asking a lot if people are busy/don't have the interest, but it certainly helps to be able to tag people and be in contact with them, rather than you having to be the middle woman communicating with people who aren't on this site. So yeah, I don't really want to expand it to more people, unless they were on PXR. Mostly because of communication and the fact that it's meant to be a forum community comic. :) But totally happy with who we have on board currently, so please don't think I'm complaining or dissatisfied. xD They're all great. I just wish they were here. :<

[Neo Emolga]

I like the ideas thread, but not having anything does really keep it unpredictable and totally up to the next person in line. There's an element of "I wonder what the next person will do" whereas if it's clear they pulled all of their inspiration from other people, it just loses that feeling of surprise.

Two weeks for completion time is cool, but if a person says "hey, life's been kinda busy, may need more time," then giving them the 3-4 weeks is good, but otherwise, I think two weeks is enough time. If there's no response from them at all, then I say skip that person after two weeks and then move onto the next. I think that's enough time for someone to update everyone about when they might get done or if life is throwing a lot of curveballs and they need more time or just want to skip to the next person.

I agree with Xanthe that I'd be cool with more people, but I'd like to see them on the forum, also. We're friendly and we don't bite! But honestly speaking, it would be nice to talk to them, hear from them about how things are going, and get their feedback also. If they're not around, well, then we have no idea what's going on. Plus some of these guys are really awesome artists! I'd love to meet them!

As of late, yeah, I think Natalya has gotten just a very tiny bit more attention, but generally throughout most of the entire comic, it seems like it's been a pretty even split. Both of them are pretty active and right now things are looking pretty dicey. I think it may feel this way because Natalya's personality is a lot more spunky and outgoing while Edgar is a bit more timid and tentative, but there's nothing wrong with that. But it will mean you'll see Natalya being more vocal, which will probably feel like the spotlight is shining on her more.

As far as chapter covers go, it sounds cool. One person sketches, one person does the lineart, and the last person does colors/shading and that kind of jazz. That does sound like a neat idea. :3

[Nekomata]

I love all your feedback here! I don't really think the focus has been taken too far away from Edgar though. Maybe a little, but yeah...good to acknowledge at least.

I personally am happy with our current numbers. However, considering it's meant to be a PXR comic...I'd love to see the people who aren't members of the community actually BE part of the community. XD Of course that might be asking a lot if people are busy/don't have the interest, but it certainly helps to be able to tag people and be in contact with them, rather than you having to be the middle woman communicating with people who aren't on this site. So yeah, I don't really want to expand it to more people, unless they were on PXR. Mostly because of communication and the fact that it's meant to be a forum community comic. :) But totally happy with who we have on board currently, so please don't think I'm complaining or dissatisfied. xD They're all great. I just wish they were here. :<

I don't think the focus has been off him too much, but I have spoken to some who would like he get more love. XD

As for the people, I can't force them to post here. It can be difficult to get involved with what is already such a tight-knit community here (from my experience) and it's a bit daunting for some to find a place. I'm in contact with most of the people on discord (where we now have a PMDXR channel cause there's enough of us) and have no issue keeping in touch with them this way. The only person that isn't on active here or there is October, but he's not hard to get a hold of. I posted the link to this thread and encouraged them to post here if they had anything to add in (to keep all feedback discussion in one place).

And ye, I feel comfortable with the current numbers. I don't think we'd turn away anyone wanting to join, but seeking new people out doesn't seem to be necessary. Most of us will have to do about 2 pages a year which is comfortable and easy to keep up, I think.

I like the ideas thread, but not having anything does really keep it unpredictable and totally up to the next person in line. There's an element of "I wonder what the next person will do" whereas if it's clear they pulled all of their inspiration from other people, it just has a feeling of

Two weeks for completion time is cool, but if a person says "hey, life's been kinda busy, may need more time," then giving them the 3-4 weeks is good, but otherwise, I think two weeks is enough time. If there's no response from them at all, then I say skip that person after two weeks and then move onto the next. I think that's enough time for someone to update everyone about when they might get done or if life is throwing a lot of curveballs and they need more time or just want to skip to the next person.

I agree with Xanthe that I'd be cool with more people, but I'd like to see them on the forum, also. We're friendly and we don't bite! But honestly speaking, it would be nice to talk to them, hear from them about how things are going, and get their feedback also. If they're not around, well, then we have no idea what's going on. Plus some of these guys are really awesome artists! I'd love to meet them!

As of late, yeah, I think Natalya has gotten just a very tiny bit more attention, but generally throughout most of the entire comic, it seems like it's been a pretty even split. Both of them are pretty active and right now things are looking pretty dicey. I think it may feel this way because Natalya's personality is a lot more spunky and outgoing while Edgar is a bit more timid and tentative, but there's nothing wrong with that. But it will mean you'll see Natalya being more vocal, which will probably feel like the spotlight is shining on her more.

As far as chapter covers go, it sounds cool. One person sketches, one person does the lineart, and the last person does colors/shading and that kind of jazz. That does sound like a neat idea. :3

Yeah- I'm still on the fence with the ideas thread. On one hand, it'll be great for tossing ideas around, on the other- it does ruin the spontaniosity of the pages to an extent. The idea came up when after some pages people had expressed "I sure hope the next person doesn't/does do ----" and to an extent I can relate to the concerns/desires. I think it's something to discuss further before any action is taken.

Yeah- staying at 2 weeks seems fine, but so long as the person is communicating and working on it, I don't mind waiting longer. Life can be busy for some. XD

And as I said above- some people struggle at getting involved. PXR is a very tight-knit community and that can make it difficult for us more socially-awkward people to get involved. I can only encourage it. Right now half the people are here on PXR and the other half are on discord- and neither side seems to be willing to bridge over to the other, so I'm here playing middle-man- which is fine. I don't mind. Just saying I really can't force anything.

Ye- Natalya has a stronger personality which does make it feel like she gets more attention. I only brought it up so people are mindful of it. XD I don't think it's been a big problem. Just expressing concerns that people have come to me about over the year.

Ye. If no one opposes, I'll create a thread for the chapter cover creation when I'm home and the chapter is complete. I think by the end of chapter two or three we can work on a main cover for the comic itself. (I'm lowkey hoping a 3rd member joins the team before we do anything for a main cover.)

[LKWayvern]

I personally kind of like the idea of a suggestions thread, with no pressure to follow the ideas in it. I can see the appeal of not knowing what's going to happen next, that's one reason I like being part of this comic, but I also kind of worry that if it's suddenly up to me to reveal a secret or plot twist or something, that I might get anxious without planning and end up creating a letdown. So someplace people could instead maybe create theories about what they think may happen next could be someplace people could get inspiration from, if they do feel that pressure. Or it could just be for fun, who knows.

I think the time's okay for now. Have nothing to say about it.

If anyone does need a fill-in, I'll volunteer. Perhaps we could have a list of people willing to volunteer to go early, or ping the next three or so people when it's a new person's turn so they can be prepared if they do need to go early. Then again, that may become annoying.

I think it's an interesting idea. I like it.

Yeah, I'm okay with the number of authors we have at the moment...

I kind of wanted to give that Jangmo-o some screentime but I'll remember when my turn comes. >.<

Lo and behold, guess who's on the discord channel now.

[Nekomata]

I personally kind of like the idea of a suggestions thread, with no pressure to follow the ideas in it. I can see the appeal of not knowing what's going to happen next, that's one reason I like being part of this comic, but I also kind of worry that if it's suddenly up to me to reveal a secret or plot twist or something, that I might get anxious without planning and end up creating a letdown. So someplace people could instead maybe create theories about what they think may happen next could be someplace people could get inspiration from, if they do feel that pressure. Or it could just be for fun, who knows.

I think the time's okay for now. Have nothing to say about it.

If anyone does need a fill-in, I'll volunteer. Perhaps we could have a list of people willing to volunteer to go early, or ping the next three or so people when it's a new person's turn so they can be prepared if they do need to go early. Then again, that may become annoying.

I think it's an interesting idea. I like it.

Yeah, I'm okay with the number of authors we have at the moment...

I kind of wanted to give that Jangmo-o some screentime but I'll remember when my turn comes. >.<

Lo and behold, guess who's on the discord channel now.

- I'll put it to a vote when I get home. I think that'd be fair to let everyone decide whether or not they want that ideas thread/discussion going on. XD

- I like that! Getting a list of emergency fill-in volunteers that can be called on in case of emergency. Also pinging people a few turns in advance so they know ahead of time to get ready (and can give more advance notice in case turns need to be skipped).

- Saaame! XD

- Yay! =D We don't do any big PMDXR discussions there (anything formal goes here on PXR, of course)- but a lot of us are there and it's nice to be able to gush over everyone's amazing pages in chat in addition to forum format. XD

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Have gently nudged people to post here more. Let's see if there are any bites. XD

[Scytherwolf]

I think everything's been going fine from what I've seen. I don't mind waiting longer for pages if people are busy.

An ideas thread might be a good idea. I'd just hope it wouldn't turn into something where a lot of people are for/against a certain idea and the person who's turn it is feels pressured. I think it's important to make sure the person doesn't have to use any certain idea.

I want to be active on the discord, but man, it is just the worst format for me. I'm not good at jumping into the middle of active conversations especially when I barely know anyone. Not sure what to do about that.

[Nekomata]

I think everything's been going fine from what I've seen. I don't mind waiting longer for pages if people are busy.

An ideas thread might be a good idea. I'd just hope it wouldn't turn into something where a lot of people are for/against a certain idea and the person who's turn it is feels pressured. I think it's important to make sure the person doesn't have to use any certain idea.

I want to be active on the discord, but man, it is just the worst format for me. I'm not good at jumping into the middle of active conversations especially when I barely know anyone. Not sure what to do about that.

So far the general consensus on time is that no one minds the delays all that much. xD That's always good to see since I'd hate to pressure people to finish or skip.

Yeah, I agree there. If we do make the ideas thread it'd be clearly stated that it's just ideas and there is absolutely no obligation to pick one.

Discord isn't for everyone, but it's a faster way of communicating. And I feel ya there. Getting into convos with strangers is stressful sometimes. xD

[Nekomata]

@Neo Emolga @Suicune's Fire @Pokemon Trainer Sarah

Not sure who to ask on this, but can someone add a poll for the idea thread? I don't want to make a separate thread just for that. Thank you!

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Will be getting the Chapter 1 cover creation thread up today.

Am also planning a mini event for the 1-year anniversary of the comic. Nothing big or fancy, just for fun. Will get it up early next month.

[Noblejanobii]

@Neo Emolga @Suicune's Fire @Pokemon Trainer Sarah

Not sure who to ask on this, but can someone add a poll for the idea thread? I don't want to make a separate thread just for that. Thank you!

--

Will be getting the Chapter 1 cover creation thread up today.

Am also planning a mini event for the 1-year anniversary of the comic. Nothing big or fancy, just for fun. Will get it up early next month.

I got it! Just let me know if you want me to edit it for you.