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| #1: | Why is the comic called "catch(Exception)"? |
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It's a programming thing. According to my C++ textbook (Dale, Nell and Weems, Chip. Programming and Problem Solving with C++, 4th ed. ©2005, Jones and Barlett Publishers, Sudbury, MA.):
- Catch
- To process a thrown exception. (The catching is performed by an exception handler.)
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- Exception
- An unusual, often unpredictable event, detectable by software or hardware, that requires special processing; also, in C++, a variable or class object that represents an exceptional event.
- Exception handler
- A section of program code that is executed when a particular exception occurs.
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- Throw
- To signal the fact that an exception has occured; also called raise.
In a piece of code, these things might work something like this:
/******************
* Sample Program *
******************/
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
// function prototypes
void doStuff();
void handleTheException();
// main function
int main()
{
try
{
doStuff();
}
catch (Exception thingThatWentWrong)
{
handleTheException(); // exception handler
}
return 0;
}
// function definitions
void doStuff() // function that can throw an exception
{
.
. // stuff happens
.
if (somethingGoesWrong)
{
throw Exception;
}
}
void handleTheException() // exception handler
{
cout << "z0mgw7fbbq 0n0z!!1!1 3rr0r!!1!1 :(" << endl;
}
In terms of the comic, one might say that humans from this world appearing in the Battle Network cyberworld is an unusual, unpredictable event (an Exception) and that Maxie and Minie, having had the bad luck to end up in (catch) such a situation, are trying to deal with (handle) what has happened to them.
- See Also:
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| #2: | When do you update the comic? |
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When I have time - which, unfortunately, means rarely.
I'm a double-major. Both of my majors (Physics and Computer Science) are hardly soft options. In Computer Science, I'm in a "simultaneous BS/MS" program, which means that a few of my classes are graduate-level courses. I'm involved in a research project. And finally, I'm a horrible procrastinator. All this means that I have precious little free time to devote to the comic.
In an ideal world, I'd update catch(Exception) at least once a week, but I just don't have that kind of free time right now. Maybe when I graduate ...
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| #3: | How do you make the comic? |
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I start by drawing the page itself, minus text, in my sketchbook with a mechanical pencil. I try to get nice, clean, solid lines, since I skip inking to save time. The area I sketch in is a 6.5-inch by 10.25-inch area on a 9-inch by 12-inch sketchbook page.
Next, I scan the page into Photoshop at 300dpi greyscale and fiddle with the levels, the magic wand, and the fill tool until the lineart looks good. Sometimes I move the things on the page around a bit. Then I add the text and the text bubbles. I change to RGB mode and add the colors on a different layer, followed by the shadows and highlights. I add the backgrounds and special effects last.
After the artistic parts are done, I save a copy of the PSD as a PNG, resizing to 650 pixels wide. Then I use the crop tool to cut out a part to make an 88x31 preview image with and save that image as a GIF.
Finally, I upload the images and update the database, making the new comic available to the world.
I'm experimenting with moving the drawing process to my tablet, so this answer could change in the future.
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| #4: | Will you put my character in the comic? |
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Probably not. Definitely not, if you actually ask me.
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| #5: | Can I use your characters in my comic/fanfic/whatever? |
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I'd rather you didn't, but if you do so anyway, please give credit.
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| #6: | Who's RockMan/MegaMan? |
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I'm not explaining that one myself. It'd take too long and I've already explained catch(Exception). Please see the below links for information on Rockman/Megaman.
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| #7: | What's with those funny brackets when characters speak? |
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I am a stupid American, as are Maxie and Minie. Although I know a few Japanese words thanks to the online message boards I frequent and I'm taking a Japanese class this semester, the only language I really know is English. While Maxie and Minie are vaguely aware of some of the name differences in the original Japanese versions of the Battle Network video games, they know even less Japanese than I do at this point. This wouldn't be a problem if I decided to make all the other characters American (or, in the Battle Network world, Ameropean).
Unfortunately for Maxie and Minie, the characters in the video games are not all Ameropean - most of them are Japanese and will therefor speak in Japanese unless they want the stupid American protagonists to understand. But just because I don't want Maxie and Minie to know what a character is saying doesn't mean I want to keep the audience in the dark, so when a character speaks a language other than English, I put the "translation" of whatever they're saying between a pair of < > brackets, like in Doonesbury.
When a character speaks another language and an exact "translation" is unnecessary, I use [ ] brackets and write something like "[Angry stuff in Japanese]" to get the idea across.
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| #8: | Which continuity is catch(Exception) set in? Game, anime, or manga? |
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I use the game continuity with the original Japanese names. I may include things from the anime continuity, like ShiningMan, from time to time, as long as I do so in a way that doesn't conflict with the game continuity.
However, only the events of the main plot are certain to have happened in the catch(Exception) continuity. As for sidequests and things that the player can do after completing the game, information revealed in them is usually accurate, but the events themselves usually don't happen. For example, as the player finds out if he/she manages to defeat Serenade after completing the third game, Serenade did narrowly defeat ForteGS in an intense battle, but since fighting Serenade and Serenade's underlings is an optional sidequest, the Netto and Rockman of this comic have never met (much less defeated) Serenade, DarkMan, or YamatoMan. In fact, despite Forte's presence as a secret final uber-boss in every single game, Netto and Rockman have only actually faced him twice, getting creamed the first time and only winning the second time because Forte was tired after deleting and absorbing the Gaurdian program, because those two encounters in the third game are the only ones that are actually neccessary to finish the game. I count the entirety of Battle Chip Challenge as an optional sidequest in this sense - Mary, Ring, Kenta, and TurboMan exist, but Netto and RockMan have never met them.
Of course, saying "game continuity" raises the issue of which games to use for the later installments, where Capcom went the Pokemon route and released two different versions for each. In my continuity, I try to include as much as I can from both versions:
- Blue/Black:
- Since the two versions differ only in minor details, I just merge them. The only important difference between the two versions is whether the UraNet Rank #2 navi is MistMan or BowlMan, and I'll eventually get to show how I resolve this ...
- Red Sun/Blue Moon:
- Events happen based on the Red Sun version, with Netto and Rockman facing all possible challengers from each tournament in the Red Sun version. They also meet the Blue Moon exclusive characters in the course of each tournament, going through scenarios much like those from the game but not actually tournament battling them. For example, Netto and Rockman help out Saloma and WoodMan during the second tournament but never face them in battle because they're in a different tournament bracket and WoodMan loses to someone else before they can fight him. The different tournament names in each game version become the names of different divisions of each tournament in my continuity.
- Team of Blues/Team of Colonel:
- Netto and Rockman are a part of Enzan and Blues's team along with Tesla and MagnetMan, Charlie and GyroMan, Nenji and NapalmMan, Laika and SearchMan, and Jasmine and Medi. Barrel and Colonel's team also exists, and Team of Blues crosses paths with them frequently, so Netto and Rockman still get to meet the Team of Colonel members. Team of ProtoMan defeats CloudMan, BlizzardMan, ShadeMan, and CosmoMan, while Team of Colonel defeats other Nebula navis not encountered in the games. The two teams join forces in the final assault on Nebula.
- Greiga/Faltzer:
- I'm not exactly sure how I'll merge these two yet because I can't find any game scripts online and I haven't found time to actually play through the games yet, but I'm leaning towards making the Greiga version events the cannon ones and making the Faltzer version scenarios the inserted-in-altered-form ones. However, there is a key event near the end that separates my comic's continuity from both versions. What happens, and why it happens, will eventually be revealed ...
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