Hi there IWC.
I have been subscribed to this sub now for quite a while as a writer (for those who dont know already, I'm doing The Stone Man). While things are going well, with lots of new subscribers with fantastic ideas, the definite influx of new material is making the sub cluttered and confusing to those who don't follow it almost every day. I have tried to direct both writers and artists here, but unfortunately they have all declined contributing for similar reasons - all of which stem from issues concerning the presentation and direction of the ideas created here.
This is a new subreddit, and as with all fledgeling creations, there will be some growing pains as the ideas and stories take on lives of their own. However when things tend to grow rapidly it leaves more and more room for errors and misjudgement, and these can lead to unintended implosion.
Therefore, I have compiled suggestions from not only those involved with IWC, but also from other successful sources and people with the intention of helping IWC through its infant stages. I know I already have a vested interest in this, since I have a project already in the works - therefore I will do my best to keep any biases or influence I have to a minimum, in the interest of fairness to all current and future members of IWC.
I have chosen to post this here rather than submit it to the mods, because as a community we should decide the direction that this sub needs to take in order to be successful.
I will try to address issues concerning layout, writers, artists, characters, and general ideas. Note that not all of these are my ideas, and some may be unpopular among the subreddit. That being said, they are all just ideas and suggestions in order to help move forward. In addition, most of them are related to each other in one way or another.
Before I address any concerns with layout and design, I feel I must address one of the more important issues first: Oversaturation. This is the most common complaint that does not deal with the visual interface of the subreddit.
One of the greatest things Reddit has is the ability to bring together multitudes of people who would not have ever met otherwise. It is a great melting pot of fantastic ideas and creations. Perfect for creating a fantastic, living, breathing, comic universe. And that is exactly what is happening here - there are so many great characters and stories from talented people - however, "so" many is about to turn the threshold into "too" many.
Now before you grab the pitchforks and torches and come after me, there are many factors that you must consider. In a perfect world (or perhaps the future), every person with a great idea could come to this sub and add to a rich comic universe. However, this sub is a long way off from that in it's current form - everyone knows that not only are there not enough artists to go around; but of those free artists many of them are sketch or character only, not full comic. The current rules for submission are creating a huge bottleneck and grinding true progression to a halt.
This may be unpopular, but mods:
You must put a limit/cap/stop on the number of new submissions until more artists can be found or projects completed.
At the current rate, you are introducing 5-12 new characters per week without adding the equivalent amount of artists or completing comics currently in the works. That is great for growth and many of the ideas have been wonderful, however the way things are set up now, it is becoming a cluster of confused ideas. There are over 60 characters now (probably way more than that) with only a small handful of them being worked on more than character sketches.
This creates a multitude of problems not only for artists but for writers as well. As a writer, it becomes difficult to discern any unified cohesion between all of the stories and characters. For new writers trying to come up with a character, it is too much of a task to read through each and every character submission to make sure your story fits and doesnt conflict. Two recent examples of this are: http://www.reddit.com/r/InfiniteComics/comments/1j6acl/do_you_consider_mother_nature_a_goddess/ (in which another character was to be created very similar to Leshy, who was one of the first characters) and http://www.reddit.com/r/InfiniteComics/comments/1j5dxl/aquixs_storyline_and_some_lore_please_check_it_out/ (where someone had created a backstory for their hero, only to have it superceeded by existing lore that he did not know of). For Artists, having so many characters to choose from might seem like a good thing at first - but once again, without direction it is impossible to tell who is serious about writing, who just wants a character sketch, or who has been waiting the longest.
It is imperative that changes be made to this policy, lest the subreddit collapse under its own weight. At this rate by next month there will be 200 characters, a handful of sketches, and no (or very few) comics actually created. As I said before, it is not only tough, but disheartening to have to consider closing off potential new characters, but the sub needs a chance to catch its breath before it passes out.
Layout
First, let me say that the mods are doing a great job with this subreddit. None of this is meant as an attack on them in any way - these are all just helpful suggestions.
After the oversaturation comment, the next biggest comment about the sub is the current layout as it stands. New users find it confusing and difficult to find; there are few clear indicators of anything - most information is found through exploration and trial and error. There is absolutely no clear indication of who is working on what, how far along projects are, where to find things, et al. The "links to read and use" and even the "wiki" aren't especially user-friendly. Everything is more or less jumbled together forcing users to dig for information, rather than have it easily accessable. As comic book writers and artists you should know that layout is essential. The first step in being professional is to look professional.
The artist sidebar is confusing and too simplistic - free/busy in no discernable order (busy artists should be removed entirely) - is the artist looking to just draw character portraits? Are they busy illustrating a comic or just doing a single character? Which artists do what? Which are just working on their skills and which actually want to make a comic? Which are even still active? As a writer one doesn't know whether or not to PM an artist or wait for one to happen upon your work.
Speaking of writers, the same applies. There is no indication of who is working on what, how far along they are, whether or not they have an artist, et al. I happen to be in the sub often so I have an idea of whats going on, but for someone new they would be absolutely lost. One of the more negative comments made to me was that the sub resembled more of a D&D character creation forum than an actual comic creation studio. That is fine if that is what the community wants the sub to be. But to actually progress forward changes definitely need to be made.
For this example, I will use /r/television as a reference, since it is easily accessible to all ages. If you notice, the sub has drop down bars for their different categories (TV Reddit, Comedy, Animated, Drama, etc). Each tab's drop down menu allows readers of the sub to easily find what they are looking for. Perhaps something similar needs to be created and implemented here. For example: One tab for current projects (comics that have actual progress), one for characters, one for writers looking for artist, one for artists looking for writers, one for storylines and background histories, etc etc. Something to that effect. The point being that things need to be organized a bit better.
That brings us to the wiki - which is good but incomplete. All those characters and no rhyme or reason to them. Who is doing what? Who is still active? Who has actual stories and who just wants characters to be sketched? Who has been waiting the longest for artwork, only to be buried by pages of other discussion? (for example, characters such as The Alchemist and Leshy are buried under almost 2 months and 14 pages of posts).
The wiki is updated often, which is good, as is the last section of the Comics Series. Information like that needs to be in the dropdown or easily accessable to those just entering the subreddit. How many issues of Black Paladin are written and ready to go? There should be priority given to those ready to actively move the comic universe forward.
Without tangible progress, no deadlines, and only concepts from those who are dedicated to their stories, the sub is runs the risk of stalling in its tracks and turning away potential contributors.
It seems as if I am running low on text characters allowed in a post, so I will wrap up this section of my suggestions. I still have plenty of things to discuss in later posts, from artists to writers, et al.
As I said before, this is not mean to be a negative criticism for this sub in any way - rather it is meant to be constructive - I would like to see this sub and IWC succeed as much as anyone. This was meant to create more of a serious discussion among not only the mods but also among the members of this sub. Everyone's comments should be discussed and considered here; this post is more meant as a catalyst for discussion and moving forward.
To be continued...
(One more thing about the name change... is it Infinite World Comics or Infinite WorldS Comics. The reason I ask this, is because Infinite World Comics denotes that there is one world and it is infinite, whereas Infinite Worlds Comics means that there an infinite amount of worlds. Just in case this kind of stuff matters to anyone)
Thanks guys!
(Made it with 1 characters to spare)
