#1151; The Creative Firm

Comic Transcripts

[[A man in Templar robes, LORD GRIMSBY, gives a tour to another man, THORNWELL, showing off a workspace. A large anvil serves as a desk with a typewriter on top.]]

LORD GRIMSBY: …And this is our work area. We try to use reclaimed and upcycled materials wherever possible. For example, this typing desk is actually a secondhand cast iron anvil! Isn’t that fun?

THORNWELL: That seems so much LESS convenient than simply using a lightweight table, no?
LORD GRIMSBY: We’re trying to establish an AESTHETIC. What’s more inspiring to look at? A cheap pressboard table or this cool old anvil?

[[Lord Grimsby shows off a complicated structure made of crossed planks.]]

LORD GRIMSBY: Like this old lamp! It’s made from reclaimed pieces of cheap typing desk, completely ELEVATED by its new context as a hip, funky IKEA-chic lamp!
THORNWELL: It doesn’t give off much light
LORD GRIMSBY: Not in a PHYSICAL sense, perhaps…

THORNWELL: Shouldn’t functionality play a role at ALL when it comes to furnishing a COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT?
LORD GRIMSBY: We like to say we move BEYOND function into METAFUNCTION. For example: need to forge any horseshoes on your flex time? You’ll LOVE this kooky anvil, made from a shabby old lamp!

THORNWELL: Let me guess: you also type on tea leaves and brew tea with old typing paper.
LORD GRIMSBY: Wow! YOU, my friend, are what WE call a CULTURE FIT!

#1151; The Creative Firm transcribed by in

[[A man in Templar robes, LORD GRIMSBY, gives a tour to another man, THORNWELL, showing off a workspace. A large anvil serves as a desk with a typewriter on top.]]

LORD GRIMSBY: …And this is our work area. We try to use reclaimed and upcycled materials wherever possible. For example, this typing desk is actually a secondhand cast iron anvil! Isn’t that fun?

[[Lord Grimsby shows off a complicated structure made of crossed planks.]]

THORNWELL: Let me guess: you also type on tea leaves and brew tea with old typing paper.
LORD GRIMSBY: Wow! YOU, my friend, are what WE call a CULTURE FIT!

#1151; The Creative Firm transcribed by in

[[A man in Templar robes, LORD GRIMSBY, gives a tour to another man, THORNWELL, showing off a workspace. A large anvil serves as a desk with a typewriter on top.]]

LORD GRIMSBY: ...And this is our work area. We try to use reclaimed and upcycled materials wherever possible. For example, this typing desk is actually a secondhand cast iron anvil! Isn't that fun?

THORNWELL: That seems so much LESS convenient than simply using a lightweight table, no?
LORD GRIMSBY: We're trying to establish an AESTHETIC. What's more inspiring to look at? A cheap pressboard table or this cool old anvil?

[[Lord Grimsby shows off a complicated structure made of crossed planks.]]

LORD GRIMSBY: Like this old lamp! It's made from reclaimed pieces of cheap typing desk, completely ELEVATED by its new context as a hip, funky IKEA-chic lamp!
THORNWELL: It doesn't give off much light
LORD GRIMSBY: Not in a PHYSICAL sense, perhaps...

THORNWELL: Shouldn't functionality play a role at ALL when it comes to furnishing a COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT?
LORD GRIMSBY: We like to say we move BEYOND function into METAFUNCTION. For example: need to forge any horseshoes on your flex time? You'll LOVE this kooky anvil, made from a shabby old lamp!

THORNWELL: Let me guess: you also type on tea leaves and brew tea with old typing paper.
LORD GRIMSBY: Wow! YOU, my friend, are what WE call a CULTURE FIT!

on your flex time you might choose to forge horseshoes, or make homemade baseball bats on the company lathe, or why not join the company 3-legged racing team? For which I maaaaay even be looooking for a paaaaartneeeeeer

#1151; The Creative Firm

— August 18th, 2015

[ Tags: commerce, craft, frugality ] Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/1151/

Buy a Print

The past few weeks have been a frenzy of assembling the very laborious, very bespoke first print run of NOODLE BATTLE, the puzzle game I am releasing this weekend at PAX West in Seattle!

PAX has an event called the PNW Tabletop Game Market (Saturday night ONLY), which is a curated selection of short-run games from local designers. As I’ve mentioned in this space before, I applied for a space in this fall’s event mainly as a way to force myself to finish a new game. And here it is!

The drawings are all by Jason Poland, good pal and cartoonist of My Dad Is Dracula. Jason played an early version of this game at Alaska Robotics Comics Camp this spring, and really liked it!

So I said, “Do you want to help me make it?” And so he has! It was his idea to make all the characters fun little animals, and I think it adds a ton of charm.

Because this edition is limited-run, it has been incredibly labor-intensive to make! The boxes and cards were made by a game factory in the usual fashion, but separately. The blank tiles were made by a woodworker dude out of Connecticut. For each game, we have had to:

Cut a piece of plastic and install the box window
Paint all the tiles, hundreds at a time
Apply a sticker to both sides of every tile
Apply stickers to the box (we couldn’t get the box back printed in time, so the whole back side of the box is a sticker too)
Apply the “Nutrition Facts” sticker, which was a late suggestion by my kid that I just had to run with
Fold up the rule sheet (they come from the printer as big strips of paper)
Put all the components into the box and seal it all up

I knew it would be a lot of work and would require some inefficient, expensive compromises AND I WAS RIGHT. But the final product is turning out great, which is the important thing!!

I will have 50 copies with me (if all goes well) at PAX, and then between now and the holidays we will be putting together additional copies to round out this first edition.

I will announce additional copies on Patreon first, once they are available online!! And here too, naturally, before long.

You can also sign up here if you’d like me to email you once the game is available online!

Comic Transcripts

#1151; The Creative Firm

— August 18th, 2015

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