November 2015 Q&A and Poll

Click here to vote in the November poll!

Go ahead and ask any questions you guys may have regarding Four-Letter Word! Anything from its creation to aspects within its universe is fair game! I'll have a write-up of the answers available next month with any spoilers clearly marked.

Last Month's Questions

Q:What are your favorite parts of the creative process?

A: The research, definitely. It may not seem like it, but there's a lot of that involved in Four-Letter Word. While much of the story and characters are drawn from my own personal experiences, there's probably even more stuff that I had to learn about on my own. It can range from how certain industries work and how people working in them feel about them, to just minor details to help the characters feel more authentic. Since I have a pretty inquisitive and curious mind, I just love doing this sort of stuff. I'm the kind of guy who's always fascinated by trying to figure out how things work, so this is definitely the part I enjoy the most. Whether it's reading an article, listening to a podcast or an interview, watching a documentary, or just having a personal conversation with someone, I love to find out more about people's lives. It's often pretty fascinating, and you might be surprised to find out how interesting so many other people's lives really are, even if they seem pretty mundane on the surface.

Q: In the comic, FLW's porn is softcore. In the VN, it's hardcore. Why the change?

A: Well, when I started conceptualizing Four-Letter Word, I knew I wanted to bring something different to the table. A lot of furry comics are pretty porny and only a few really try to delve into relationships in earnest. Many of them are fairytale romances and it's rare to see them try to examine relationships that just don't work in the end, which are, really, the majority of relationships. So, the reason I went softcore with the sex in Four-Letter Word and didn't go on for pages worth of panels for it is because I didn't want it to distract from the focus of the story, and just to be a little different from other furry comics out there.

In the visual novel, I felt like I already set the tone for what people would expect in the storytelling in the comic, so I didn't really have the same hangup over having somewhat gratuitous sexual scenes. Also, I still felt like I could do something different with them that would set them apart from other visual novels without eschewing them entirely. Now, I'm not exactly a connoisseur of the genre/medium, so this could just be ignorance talking, but I don't see too many of them incorporate animations in them. And, while, Four-Letter Word's are quite primitive, I feel like they add something more visceral than the typical handful of still images and written descriptions I've seen elsewhere.

Q: Asher's a horror film buff. But what does he think of horror games?

A: Part of the reason why Asher loves the genre is the psychology behind crafting experiences meant to unnerve and frighten people. There's a science to it, but also a real art. So, that aspect of horror is definitely transferable between films and video games, and he digs that. The other side of it, is that he loves the "movie magic" aspect of horror films. Especially in older or low-budget films, the wizardry that goes on behind-the-scenes to make the special effects work really excites him creatively and intellectually, which isn't exactly something that works the same in video games. So, while he prefers films, he's not above a good scare in any medium!

Q: Why does Slade run away so quickly after sex? Is there more to him than meets the eye, or is he really just that insensitive?

A: People have very differing opinions on what sex means to them. To Slade, sex isn't an emotional or romantic thing, it's just something that feels good, that he gets an urge to do, and is ultimately gratifying. So, when he's got what he wants, he's done. He doesn't mean to be callous about it; sex is just not a big deal to him and he just assumes anyone who's as sexually active as him views things the same way or has come to the same conclusion.

Q: Can you talk about FLW's fashion? What inspires your choices?

A: There's actually quite a bit that could be said about it, actually. Fashion was one of the trickiest things for me when I started the comic. Especially with the way modern casual wear is these days, there's a lot of focus on what's printed on your clothes - logos, phrases, designs, etc. Those sorts of things make it a real chore to replicate in each panel that character is wearing that outfit, and because I knew I wanted the characters to be wearing different clothes in different scenes to denote a difference of time, there were going to have to be a lot of different outfits, so the whole process would have been super tedious. In the end, I decided to look at modern trends in clothes, but specifically picked outfits I could make work with broader details, like colors and simple patterns like stripes, grids or checkers. I also wanted them to wear clothes that would be emblematic of the person's own style, so you would see stuff a little more flamboyant on Colby, and stuff that's kinda hipster on Asher, but definitely more conservative than what you'd see on Colby.

Q: After Colby tells Noah to get out of his life, Noah ominously responds with, "Don't worry. I will." Will suicide be a potential theme?

A: There are no current plans to go into that territory, but that could always change.

Q: Why was Colby living so austerely before Asher moved in with him?

A: While he may not look it, Colby's pretty fiscally responsible because he grew up in a small town with penny-pinching parents who passed on some of those values to him. Some of that might have come across in his conversation with Aubrey where he talks about saving money buying groceries online. He could have afforded to live a little more comfortably, but knowing he's a good a cushion of money for emergencies gives him more peace of mind. He's also deathly afraid of student loans because he doesn't want to spend his young adult life in debt.

Thanks for all the great questions!