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Sebastian Baltazar is a noob.
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{{Infobox webcomic| <!-- Part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject_Webcomics]] -->
| title = The noob
| image = [[Image:CoverBook1.jpg]]
| caption = Book 1 cover from [http://www.thenoobcomic.com "the noob"]
| author = Gianna Masetti
| url = http://www.thenoobcomic.com/
| status = About Twice weekly.
| began = [[June 2004]] [http://www.thenoobcomic.com/daily/strip001.html]
| ended =
| genre = [[Computer and video games|Video game]], [[Comedy]], [[Webcomics]]
| ratings = Gaming, Comedy
}}
'''The noob''' is a [[webcomic]] started by Gianna Masetti in June of [[2004]]. The plot revolves around a new [[gamer]] named Ohforf'sake (generally referred to as "Ohforf") who represents the quintessential [[noob]] in a [[MMORPG]]. He encounters various groups in the game of "Clichequest" as he starts playing, such as the [[Player versus player|PKers]] who try to kill other players for [[looting|loot]] and/or the fun of it. The comic serves as a [[parody]] and as something of a [[social commentary]] on the [[MMORPG]] genre in general. Notably, it criticizes MMORPG staff for incompetence and also shows the perceived image of MMORPG players as inclined to act antagonistically with regard to seemingly minor infractions and situations in the virtual worlds in which they interact. ''The noob'' is currently a full color comic, although in the beginning that wasn't the case<ref>[http://www.thenoobcomic.com/daily/strip003.html Episode 3: The random name generator]</ref>. ''The noob'' is very well known among the players of various online games like [[World of Warcraft]], [[RuneScape]] and other [[MMORPG]]s.
The comic was nominated for a Web Cartoonist Choice Award <ref>[http://www.ccawards.com/2005.htm The 2005 Cartoonist's Choice Awards]</ref> in 2005 and it received an honorable mention in the Gaming category. Recently it has been ''invited'' to post on [http://MMORPG.com MMORPG.COM] in their comic section<ref>[http://www.mmorpg.com/humor.cfm MMORPG.COM]</ref>.
== Characters ==
===Main Characters===
[[image:ohforf-green.jpg|right|thumb|Ohforf]]
==== Ohforf'sake ====
A [[neophyte]] player, Ohforf is more or less the [[protagonist]] and the main character of the comic. He is neither a [[role-playing|role-player]] nor a [[player-killing|player-killer]], instead simply trying to have fun and experience the game. The name was born from an early episode in which Ohforf's player is trying to think of a name only to find they are all taken, causing him to type in irritation "Oh, for f'sake!". The computer picks this up and creates the new character under this name. Despite being new to the game, he generally comes out of most situations well off; good luck allows him to escape being killed by Fred the Dread and accidentally kill a powerful monster, among other cavorts.
[[image:hyp-green.jpg|right|thumb|Hypatia]]
==== Hypatia ====
A slightly more experienced player of Clichequest and a close in-game friend (for a time) of Ohforf'sake. A female character, she also reveals to Ohforf that she is female in [[real life]] leading him to attempt to impress her in various ways. Hypatia is well used as commentary on the situation of females (and those who play female avatars) in [[MMORPG]]s; she is granted entry to a guild despite being below the minimum level and would-be suitors attempt to cater to her whims. This model is also shown by the character Emonika (see below).
==== Darkie ====
Known in full as "Sir Darkblade Wolfeyes Orcbane Raislin De Urden Von Strudel", he is a role-player. He is a friend of Hypatia and despises player-killers. He is generally regarded as fairly incompetent and eternally seeks female companionship - he offers the lady Emonika armor, 10 000 gold coins and helps her level in an attempt to gain her favour.
==== The RPers ====
In full, "The Righteous Protectors of the Crimson Star", this is a guild of role-players. At one point the guild tries to create an army (a "powerhouse of righteousness", in the words of its commander "Lord Ironman") by merging with other anti-PK guilds and forming the Zealot Elite Righteous Guardians (the acronym of which is "ZERG", a humorous reference to the [[Zerg|race of the same name]] in [[Blizzard]]'s [[Starcraft]] - the groups would presumably share the same primary battle tactic; finesse-less attacks focusing on brute force through numbers.
[[image:deadly-grey.jpg|right|thumb|D34dly-D34dly]]
==== The PKers ====
The primary [[antagonists]] - though sometimes also the [[anti-hero|anti-heroes]] - of the comic, the PKs kill other player characters for the [[looting|loot]] and enjoyment. The six major PKers featured in the comic are "Cyrus" a level 200 with rogue admin powers, "Your Name Here", "Dakilla", "D34dly D34dly", "Drakoola" and "Fred the Dread", the latter five being members of a [[clan]] called "The Outcasts". Due to a since-removed "limb loss punishment" previously introduced by the [[game developer]]s at one time to counter overzealous player-killing, however, "Fred the Dread" had to replace his hand with a hook, and all that remains of "Drakoola" is a disembodied nose due to his extremely high kill count in the past. There are also several other PKing guilds who are generally rivals to "The Outcasts", for example, the "Death Squad", who specialize in exploiting a bug in which a player puts his/her hand(s) on their behind and continually presses the jump button, allowing them to move twice as fast and become immune to attack while moving (this is commonly referred to as "arsemode" by other players), and the largest PK guild in the game (united by Cyrus the exploiter), the Shadow Dread Lord Gods of the Dark Evil Dead Doom Legion (SDLGDEDDL). This is arguably the only group that poses a threat to The Outcasts.
==== The Developers ====
Shown in asides to the main story, the developers of Clichequest plot to make the game more "immersive" (generally with a very poor success rate and a chronic lack of creativity - all of their quests seem to involve the collection of some mundane resource.)
==== The GMs ====
The game masters of the Clichequest game are a [[spoof]] of the game masters of various [[MMORPG]]s. They have the tendency to antagonise and punish players for personal enjoyment. They claim that no exploitable bugs exist in the game, responding to exploit reports with a summary "customer mistook a feature for a bug". Their attire bears an amusing resemblance to that of members of the [[KKK]], a theme which is played upon in one episode when they accidentally light a giant wooden cross. They have names based on the style of naming of the [[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]], like Famine.
==== Sir Bob ====
A flamboyant, very experienced, and skilled high-level player who quit Clichequest early on in the strip, but has since returned by popular vote among the comic's readers. It is revealed during his return that Sir Bob is not bothered by the fact that he uses exploits. One example of his exploits is standing on higher ground to kill high-powered monsters. He tends to show a considerably more benign attitude towards his fellow players than most others of his level of knowledge and experience would, although Episode 224 shows that he was quite willing to use Ohforf as bait to help him to level more efficiently (arguably, however, his technique would also have aided Ohforf.) Sir Bob is a good example of a [[powergaming|powergamer]]. In many MMORPGs, "Sir Bob" type characters (i.e: high level players with extensive knowledge of the game who do not shun using others for their own benefit) are common.
=== Other Notable Characters ===
* '''Cyrus "The Virus"''' - The only person to kill 'Fred the Dread' since [[1992]] (though in a previous [[text-based]] [[multi-user dungeon]] game rather than in Clichequest itself), he reappeared in the player vs player tournament in Clichequest with a level of 200 and started killing everyone there to demonstrate his "rogue admin powers". His goal was to attempt to unite all of the player-killer guilds in Clichequest into one single force in order to be able to control all activity in the game, in a manner not dissimilar to his namesake Cyrus' actions in the [[1979]] [[cult movie]] [[The Warriors]]. He eventually got himself ''[[pwned]]'' (killed) for his efforts by the "Death Squad" guild with Pete the Parrot's ''Eye for an Eye-Patch Attack'' in a scene which, again, was very reminiscent of how the leader of "The Rogues" shot Cyrus in "The Warriors" movie. ("Eye for an Eye" is also the name of a talent of the [[Paladin (World of Warcraft)|Paladin]] class in [[World of Warcraft]] that causes reactionary damage to spell-based attacks.) As of Episode 237, he is the leader of the largest player-killer guild in the game (the SDLGDEDDL - see "The PKers"). If we examine his staff closely, it is evident that the GMs use the very same weapon...
* '''Lord Herpes''' - The guild leader of the role-players' guild "Righteous Protectors of the Crimson Star". Mistakenly believes himself named after the Greek God of commerce, when in fact [[Herpes]] is an [[STD]], and the god of commerce is [[Hermes]].
* '''Ur-Legolas and Cyborella''' - King and Queen of the Elves, residing in Elfboro, a city built among the treetops of a forest. The city is reminiscent of Kelethin in [[EverQuest]]. At the end of a particular story arc, Cyborella encounters her love from the days when they were both new to the game, Drakoola, and escapes with him on a quest to find him a mithril body. That the king is named "Ur-Legolas" comments on the fact that most of his subjects' names are variants of "Legolas".
* '''Voltan''' - [[White Mage]] who is always [[Away from keyboard|AFK]] at critical times, is known to experience outbursts about the events on TV while his group suffers without healing. His behaviour is a reference to the superiority complex often attributed to healers in MMOs - that of being able to behave in any manner they deem fit, as their services are difficult to replace.
* '''Tacobell''' - An over-weight, excessively chatty elven roleplayer/tradeskiller who enjoys displaying her knowledge of (personally constructed) lore about the races and locales of the game, and reading her poetry to whoever is unfortunate enough to be close, which is inane to the point of inducing insanity. She is also an accomplished alchemist.
* '''Emonika''' - A true succubus who thrives on manipulating male players, such as Sir Darkblade, into granting her currency and items. She is known to constantly complain about the state of affairs - the word "[[Emo]]" in her name appears to be a nod toward this characteristic. She and Hypatia are bitter rivals - and this situation is not without irony, as Oh'forf so astutely observes, since Hypatia, too, uses her feminine charms to gain power. It seems that she classifies herself as above Emonika because she does not do so as extensively.
* '''Leggolas''' - A blacksmith in the town of Elfboro. Ohforf is referred to him by an elven farmer named Legholas (Episode 143) for a tour of the town so that he can catch a gryphon flight to the human capital of Fandoria (Episode 140). On arrival, Ohforf finds that almost all the elven citizens of Elfboro are named Legolas with slightly varied spellings - for example, Legolaus, Legolazz and Leg'olas (Episode 141).
* '''Bethany''' - Fred the Dread's ex-clichequest girlfriend. When he terminated their relationship, she boiled his epic head armor in a [[Fatal Attraction]]-style stalker manner. (Episode 183)
== Running Gags ==
The jokes found in The noob are often drawn from [[MMORPG]] "culture".
=== Movie References ===
The noob often makes references to popular movies. Movies that are repeatedly referenced include [[Blade Runner]], [[Apocalypse Now]], [[I, Robot]], and [[Ghostbusters]].
=== Character Names ===
Some character names are references to the habit of [[MMORPG]] players of naming their characters after icons of popular (usually [[fantasy]]) culture. This theme first appears in the third episode<ref>[http://www.thenoobcomic.com/daily/strip003.html Episode 3: The random name generator]</ref>, where the player has to choose the name for his character. His first few tries all reference [[The Lord of the Rings]], including obscure variants like xXxAragornxXx. All of these attempts fail as all variants are taken. His naming attempts consequently move on to [[Forgotten Realms]] (a [[Dungeons_%26_Dragons|D&D]] setting), namely the dark-elf character [[Drizzt Do'Urden]]. These two works of fiction, along with the [[Dragonlance]] [[List_of_Dragonlance_novels|novels]] (another [[Dungeons_%26_Dragons|D&D]] setting), are a common source of player character names in MMORPGs with a [[fantasy]] setting, as players are often inspired by these works and seek to emulate the protagonist(s).
Later, on arrival in Elfboro<ref>[http://www.thenoobcomic.com/daily/strip141.html Episode 141: A Legolas by any other name]</ref>, Ohforf finds that almost all the elven citizens are named Legolas with minor spelling variations - for example, Legolaus, Legolazz and Leg'olas, all presumably named in dubious honour of the fictional elven archer [[Legolas]] from [[The Lord of the Rings]].
The author of The noob commented at one point that she had encountered characters in World of Warcraft named after characters from the comic, evidencing the size of its sphere of influence.
=== Roleplayers ===
One of the distinct playing styles in MMORPGs is the "Roleplayer," defined as one who plays [[in character]]. In one of the more popular MMORPGs, [[World of Warcraft#Roleplaying .28RP.29|World of Warcraft]], roleplayers are given seperate servers on which to play - these servers have a different ruleset that encourages appropriate naming and behaviour. In ''Clichéquest'', the roleplayers exist in a separate town instead, presumably founded as a haven from the rest of the populace. The PKers invest significant resources into finding the ___location of this town, as roleplayers' reputations as weak and non-violent makes them appealing targets for robbery.
One of the other references to roleplayers is the healing [[Macro]]. A percieved phenomenon in many [[MMORPG]]ss is that of roleplaying [[healer]]s who insist upon using [[macro]]s that end up appearing as such:
> Mnemosine says, "+++Be healed Ohforf, by the powers of the Light!+++"
> Mnemosine says, "+++The light shall guide your path and illuminate your way!+++"
> ...
> Mnemosine casts Heal.
Many players see this behaviour as an unnecessary delay and the introduction of the risk of death. An exaggeration of this habit can be observed in the following comics: [http://www.thenoobcomic.com/daily/strip194.html The healing macro] and [http://www.thenoobcomic.com/daily/strip224.html Sir Bob has an idea]. The macro generally does not offer the subject or anyone else information that they could not glean from their combat logs. Interestingly, many games are not negatively influenced by the inclusion of text macros along with actions (apart from the [[spam]] created) - [[World of Warcraft]], for example, allows any number of lines of text to be included for instant transmission with an ability.
== Print Versions ==
=== Books ===
The noob has been in print at [http://www.lulu.com/gianna_masetti Lulu.com] since 2005, and is now on its third volume. The books contain 50 episodes each: book 1 covers 1 through 50, book 2 51-100, and book 3 101-150. Book 4 can be expected around March<ref>[http://www.cornstalker.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2366 Cornstalker Forums :: View topic - Latest Noob news]</ref>
=== Magazines ===
Recently the noob has started being published in the Norwegian Magazine "Pegasus"
<ref>[http://www.n4f.no/pegasus/utdrag_nr2.pdf Pegasus Magazine (page 4) ISSN 1890-0704]</ref>, Starting with the January 2007 Edition.
== Reviews ==
*''Garrik'' wrote<ref>[http://www.ubersite.com/m/81965 Ubersite - Web Comics: Review and Recommendation]</ref> the following about The noob on [http://www.ubersite.com übersite.com]:
"In this case a player in "Cliche Quest" - an amalgamation of most the trends and stereotypes found in MMORP Gaming. If you're a gamer or ex-gamer as I am you will undoubtedly find this hilarious, if you're not, well... you may enjoy some of it but you'll probably miss out on a lot of the humour."
* A review<ref>[http://www.lulu.com/content/178320 lulu.com: The Noob - book 1 by Gianna Masetti (Book) in Humor]</ref> by ''Alexander Schultz'' sums up Gianna's unique place in webcomic culture:
"Gianna Masetti is probably one of the few (real) female veterans who played basically every MMORPG since Ultima Online. Her WebComic "The noob" pays homage to the daily madness every online-gamer regularly experiences within MMORPG-Worlds. If you are a real MMORPG-Fan, this comic is a must-have!"
* The noob was also reviewed<ref>[http://comixpedia.com/a_trio_of_previews_by_damonk A Trio of PREviews by Damonk | Comixpedia]</ref> to critical acclaim by ''Damonk'' in [[Comixpedia]]:
"As opposed to many RPG-based comics out there, this is neither just a gag-a-day that mocks the game itself, nor is it a story based on characters as if they were real people. Rather, it is about real people who are playing a game, but seen through the game just as if you were watching it unfold on the monitor in front of you. So far, it is unfolding in a story fashion, which kills two birds with one stone: you get the witty barbs pointed at the flaws and idiosyncrasies in these types of games, as well as plot and character development... literally!"
* On Suizcomix, ''Hustler'' reviewed<ref>[http://www.suizcomix.com/gc/article.php?id=8 Suizcomix.com - The noob]</ref> The Noob, and gave it the neutral rating of 5.
"In all, The noob is a comic that does seem to provide limited entertainment, both as a story and with each of the one-shot jokes. It's certainly not fancy in any aspect, and it lacks any major creative spark to set it apart from the pack, but it can still suffice as a reasonable way to pass the time. I give it 5 Suizys, for it's a comic that manages to fall just shy of being actually good, yet it still delivers too much to be grouped with the lower efforts I've seen thus far."
*On the European site of [[World of Warcraft]], ''Caswallan'' reviewed The noob in the News page on November 24, 2004.<ref>[http://www.wow-europe.com/en/news/wow-oldnews2004.html#nov World of Warcraft Europe -> Archived News of 24/11/2004]</ref>.
*On [[Yahoo|Yahoo-France Actualités]] and [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pcinpact PC-Inpact], ''Bruno Cormier'' quoted<ref>[http://fr.news.yahoo.com/29112006/308/mmorpg-reportage-video-sur-les-recolteurs-d-or-chinois.html MMORPG : reportage vidéo sur les récolteurs d'or chinois - Yahoo! Actualités]</ref><ref>[http://akosh.pcinpact.com/actu/news/33074-goldfarmers-chinois-video.htm MMORPG : reportage vidéo sur les récolteurs d'or chinois - PC INpact]</ref> a related storyline of The noob in an article about [[Gold farming#Gold farming in China|chinese gold-farmers]] in MMORPGs.
== References ==
<references/>
== External links ==
{{Commons|Comics}}
{{wiktionarypar|webcomic}}
*[http://www.thenoobcomic.com/index.html The noob Website]
*[http://www.lulu.com/gianna_masetti Lulu.Com Books for sale by Gianna Masetti]
[[Category:Webcomics|Noob, The]]
[[Category:Computer and video game webcomics|Noob, The]]
[[Category:Fantasy webcomics|Noob, The]]
[[Category:Fantasy parodies|Noob, The]]
[[Category:Parody webcomics|Noob, The]]
[[Category:Webcomics in print|Noob, The]]
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