RubyQuest has gotten a recent following on Tumblr. But did you know it was once referenced in a video game?
On April Fool’s Day, 2011, the game Killing Floor had a brief April Fool’s Day event where the biographies of the playable characters were altered into silly or nonsensical alternatives. One character, listed as Kevo_Chav, had his description changed as shown, to “Hit Tom. Kiss Ace!”
There are a lot of long-term options for artists online. Merchandising, for instance, or a website that generated serious ad revenue (this takes a lot), and even the idea of a full webcomic that can support its author is a lofty goal — look at how few, out of tens of thousands of webcomics trying for it, have ever become self-sustaining like that. These are all long investments, though, and while I’d like to pursue them, I have to worry more about my immediate situation.
I was referring to the idea posited to me the other night, which I related in an earlier post. Specifically, the idea of ‘funding’ questing. That if I could raise enough money for general-purpose productions (quests, comics, art, etc) then I could work on them, essentially, indefinitely. Think of it almost like a broad-spectrum commission. Instead of funding a single image, entire quests and comic endeavors could be funded. The pros are that it’s open content, and much more of it than a commission would buy. The cons are that it requires much more funding in total, and perhaps its biggest shortcoming contrasted to actual commissions, would leave donators with a general return rather than one custom-tailored to their wishes. Big hurdles to clear, to be sure, even if there were enough people willing to pay into the concept to begin with. Because it’s not a singular “goal”, Kickstarter can’t be used for this. But there must be another way to handle the logistics.
In short, if the audience truly wants to pitch in for this, I can make questing and comics my full-time job. It wouldn’t take much. Just enough to cover the bare essentials.
It’s hoping for a lot, even with all the people who’ve been telling me to take a shot at this, all the fans who’ve encouraged me to try this approach. But if it works, well, if there’s even a chance that it could work, why not try?
I want to be optimistic about something for once. So here’s to it. I’ll see if I can make this work. Somehow.
Okay
Maybe it could work.
I wouldn’t have believed it, but I’ve been getting a lot of PMs and letters about this fundraising thing, encouraging me to give it a shot. Perhaps I should. It’s true I would love to provide the things I’m constantly being asked for. I love working on my stories and I love seeing people read and enjoy them. And it feels insanely selfish even to put it this way, but the answer is yes, if I didn’t have to worry about money, I would pretty much just be drawing all day.
I’m trying to figure out how this will work. I’ve made plans, I’ve got ideas to enact. For now, I won’t publish them just yet. That will be part of the push. But as for the actual fundraising, I’m at a loss of where to go. I’m not familiar enough with Kickstarter to know if this is something that really falls under the purview of their system. I’d probably want to start with a very limited ‘test’ run for a period of maybe one month, and see if that works out. If it does… well, I guess we’ll see.
I feel like I’m getting ahead of myself. And I know I’m hoping for a lot. But I wouldn’t have even begun to hope if it hadn’t been for these people who believed in me, supported me, encouraged me to try something. Maybe there is a reason to hope. But it’s a big wish.
I suppose we’ll find out.
DiveQuest is currently updating! (May 17th)
RubyQuest and NanQuest are getting something of a resurgence here on Tumblr, but what about DiveQuest?
While NanQuest is a spiritual successor to RubyQuest, DiveQuest is a wholly different beast. It’s ongoing, somewhat episodic with an overarching plot, and focuses more on interpersonal interaction than RQ. It’s also adventure themed rather than horror, with a much bigger emphasis on humor. I’ve worked hard to try and make a memorable and unique cast, and the characters in it are some of those I’m most proud of.
It’s very enjoyable to write and honestly of all my works, it’s probably the quest I enjoy writing the most.
Since it’s an overarching story, I really recommend newcomers to the quest start from the start. You can find a list of chapters here.
If you liked Ruby and Nan, why not give it a shot?
Ruby Quest dub! (Link leads you directly to the scene I’m dubing) It’s kinda rushed, but I love this scene.
Music is the World of War Craft OST - Duskwood
Ruby Quest by Wesker
Ruby Quest by Wesker
so, here it is! my five page rubyquest remake, all done (i think)!
please keep in mind while reading that this was made with people who have never read rubyquest in mind, so certain changes were necessary (or at least beneficial)!
if you haven’t read rubyquest, you can do so here!
It seems people are still discovering RubyQuest. I reblogged the sketch version some days ago, but seeing my own work remade into something so polished, so beautiful and artistic, something with actual, tangible quality — it’s beyond flattering. I’m just worried my ego’s going to inflate to lethal levels with this kind of fan appreciation.
A million thanks and great applause to Maya here for her fantastic reinterpretation of this scene from RubyQuest.
