Hello! A rather long time ago I had the idea to write my own manga. I really love the Maplestory lore so I decided to use that as the universe where my story will take place. The basic outline of the story has been written, from begin, middle to end. All there's left to do is flesh it out and, well... all the rest. Some time ago I actually drew around 100 pages, but those are not very relevant to the story anymore as a lot has changed since then. I have taken the poll results in consideration and will thus be mainly focusing on World building and Action, and less so on drama. There will be romance, but more from a philosophical point of view and not the sappy drama kind. It will be made to be as realistic as possible; a motivational factor as to why certain characters behave the way they do; to explore the complex bittersweet answer to Haddaway's question "What is love?". As for the mechanics in the world, like how magic works and stuff, that will not differ much from how it is described in the old post which can be found at the bottom in the spoiler "Old post". There will be two main characters: Aiya and Nett. Both of them join the factions of the mages in Ellinia to study magic. Nett is the character in the panels of the old post, and in the overhaul of the storyline she will still be the slime summoner, as well as a holy magic user. Her contract caused some severe side effects, though. Garnox will be her mentor. Aiya is a new character with flaming red hair and blue eyes who will later on become a fire-poison mage, with Arch mage Mayorachu as her mentor. Spoiler: more basic storyline content: The story begins (x) years prior to the breaking of the Black Mage's seal. The Magatia questline will be involved to some extend. The Crimsonwood keep questline will be involved. Other Factions ( jobs ) will be featured. The Kerning PQ 'questline' will be involved. J>KPQ never forgetti. The Heroes will be included. Unfortunately Freud can't really play an active role since he died 100 years ago in canon, as much as I like his character. I can make this whole thing on my own, but that is going to take a ridiculous amount of time To make the process a little easier and fun I would like to request the help of you guys here! I have a list of things that need to be done, and for some things you will need certain skills. An other reason I'd like to team up with a few people is because I hardly get anything done all by myself. Having other people committed to the cause helps me stay motivated, as I have a tendency to mope around in my depression. Spoiler: Things that need to be done: Using the basic outline, write out the entire story from begin to end. Review the storyline. check for continuity errors. Think of a title for the manga Break the story line up in separate chapters, character arcs, etc etc. Decide on definite character designs, color schemes, page formatting etc. Make a first rough sketched version of the first version of the first volume. Review all written and drawn work! clean the pages Ink the pages. Add dialogue and sound effects to the pages. Proof read everything! Add art for the front and back. Chapters will be posted here, and on other media platforms such as DeviantArt, etc. I am looking for around 5 - 10 people to work with on this, but more people are welcome to help with things like beta reading and such. There is a Discord channel where we can work on things together. Written chapters will be posted here first, as well as external links to the manga pages when they are done. Spoiler: Chapter_1 Coming soon! Spoiler: GPQ Prologue - Roxanne Spoiler: Old Post Good day! I have been working on a MapleStory manga for some time now. I was wondering if people would be interested in collaborating with me. You see, I am not so good at writing dialogue and the like. It would be awesome is there were people that could help me with that! Most of the panels are still exclusively in pencil, but after I got the first volume completely mapped out I'll start inking them. This is a slow process and it would be cool to get help with that as well. Something about the storyline: The main character is a mage who ends up forming a contract with the slimes via a summoning stone by accident. How this exactly works gets explained in the manga of course. To understand more about this sudden development she seeks out Garnox who lives in the town of Henesys where she currently resides. In the mean time an evil is stirring deep in the Eastern past of Masteria: something is poisoning the forest and it's surrounding area with black magic, corrupting the people and monsters living there. It reaches far up into the mountains where the great Crimson Wood Keep stands imposingly, casting it's shadow over the forest below. Things that I plan to cover in the manga: - The Crimson Wood storyline ( not just the GPQ but the whole area ) - Magatia storyline A bit about the world mechanics: They are slightly different from MapleStory the game because it wouldn't be logical to have infinite throwing stars in your 100 slot non existent bag. Magic is more abstract in the sense that there are still specialisations but mages don't get crammed in a class specific box. Arch mages can use lightning attacks and bishops can spout flames if they know how to perform that spell. It is the same with other classes; archers can pick up a sword but that doesn't mean they know how to swing it, and vica versa. Everything has to be realistic or somewhat explainable with science. Potions don't just up your HP and MP like a rocket launcher, it goes gradually and it has a limit. The Heroes have already sealed away the Black Mage and they are still frozen in their blocks of ice. They won't play a role, although Freud will be referenced. Here is a preview of some of the panels and art I've made so far ( More will follow! ): Spoiler: Cover Spoiler: Page preview (Old style!) Spoiler: Panel preview This will be the main art style throughout the manga! Spoiler: Panel preview (old style!) Spoiler: Color Cover Spoiler: A Slime! (pencil drawing) Spoiler: Light pastel portrait This is an art style I really like. Unfortunately it takes so much time to draw that I will only be using it on special occasions like (front) covers. ( It is the main character. ) Please let me know what you think, I am curious. [ Updated on 12/16/2016 ] - Creation of post [ Updated on 12/18/2016 ] - Added 2 other previews ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `` - Properly named spoilers [ Updated on 03/01/2017] - Added 1 other image ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `` ``` ` ` ` ` - Updated the story bio [ Updated on 06/10/2017 ] - Complete overhaul of... everything. [ Updated on 08/10/2017 ] - Changed minor things; put more things in spoiler tags
Definitely a cool idea. One thing that you should expand on through the manga is the fact that it's a medium designed to create impact. While books and films are used to create an atmosphere, manga is used to create impact, usually through major developments often drawn in single panel format. Maybe a group of characters discovering a new huge environment, or the introduction of a new main character, or other serious plot developments. Keep in mind though, that impact only works well when it has a foundation of unique characters.
Okay. So I'm not good at all with writing dialogue... and the like. Since I have absolutely no experience in this department, or anything remotely similar. RIP, sorry. So no collaboration here. But I just wanted to tell you how amazing of an idea I think this is. And on that note, I wanted to ask you how much of the story you've already thought out and plan to write. (Like... are you still on the first chapter? Or like, fifth, for example?) Just from reading what you've told us about the storyline, I am already making all of these guesses on what will happen (and stuff) based on my experience from reading web/light novels, haha. Or animus. If I go into any more information about them, then it might be spoiler-y and it'd be a lot to write about, but I'm already drawing my thoughts from stories like: The New Gate (favorite omg) and Overlord. If you've read any of them, I'm curious if this will go into that sort of territory? Except I guess this is less-so MMORPG-y and more... real-world-y. For some reason, I have this weird feeling that the slime Spoiler is more than just a mere, everyday slime. Except this would be an entirely different story if it turns out it's a species of slime so I'm curious about that too. Okay. But anyway, ignoring the storyline, since I'll find out anyway (and I can't wait haha). I think your thoughts of addressing the world mechanics are well done. Of course, it wouldn't make sense to have infinite throwing stars in your "100 slot non existent bag". And you had mentioned things would have to be realistic/explainable with science. But how about with magic? Could a... "bag of holding" or a kind of magic (or magical item) like a 4-dimensional mirror solve this problem? (Basically, the mirror invokes the 4-dimensional pocket spell, which like... is basically a way to store things magically in another dimension. (^ Btw, this is from an amazing game I play called Elona.) I guess I was basically just curious as to how "fantastical" your world is. There's summoning magic, dragons, and slimes, but does this move on to magical tools that can be drawn from other sources? Or is it limited to just Maple stuff? I also really like your idea of pots not being instant. I mean, that makes sense since imo it'd make more sense to see wounds gradually closing up rather than being... well, rather than all of them disappearing at once the moment you quaff something. I quit long before BB so I don't know anything about the Black Mage or the Heroes or whatever. But I think your idea so far already sounds great (only wondering where it'll go and how closely you'll stick to the "Black Mage"-storyline. Like, there's canon I'm assuming based on what Nexon has revealed. Will you strictly go along with that or create non-canon content?). And anyway, mystic items. Artifacts, perhaps? From an era long gone? Spoiler Like possibly a society that rose and fell long before this current one? Which would sort of explain why Dragon Essence is so rare and long lost. And it's a common theme to have the previous society so much more magically/technologically advanced with much of it lost as the result of some great internal/external war. Or some other event. The New Gate, Overlord, Stargate... etc. Maybe I'm too excited and I'm making random guesses, but I think it's great how you're doing this, in a Maple-based world no less. Looking forward to your updates! Please keep up the great work. Edit: Oh btw, I forgot to mention my votes. I voted for world building and romance. Why? Because every novel that's I've remembered for a long time since finishing them has involved romance (or at least the availability of shipping and character/relationship development). Think about all of the anime where you felt the feels. Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso? Check. Katanagatari (my #1 anime)? Check. Uh... Plastic Memories? Check. Code Geass? Check. (C.C. best girl and also season 3 is coming out.) But that's just me lol. I just like seeing romance and relationships and love flourish. And world building? It's what drew me to light novels and stuff. When I read an amazing story, I can see everything in my mind as if I'm watching a movie. Though I guess this applies more to text-only stories and not manga. But if you create another world where you bring the 2D Maple world to... life, I think you would attract and maintain a massive fanbase. Where you get to bring your own interpretation of the Maple world, beyond the few maps we see. Where we get to see the NPCs as more than just sprites, and their homes as more than just background details. Where we can see their personal background and lives, and more than just... people who say the same thing over and over (which won't be the case here ofc). And not speaking for everyone, but I for one want to travel along with you and your characters to explore this Maple world you're creating.
I'd more than happy to answer some of your questions! To begin: - I have been working on this for well over a year now, so a lot of the story is already thought out in big lines. I'm currently just writing and drawing everything that could be included in the story so nothing has been divided up into chapters yet and it's possible some stuff will be scrapped. If I would have to make a guess I'd go for 2 chapters made with the third one in progress. So far I have 2 solid volumes thought out but since it takes so much time to draw everything, let alone convert it into a digital format, it will take some time for me to publish pages. I am doing this all on my own after all. Help in inking is always appreciated as well. The way I do my inking it will be possible for anyone with Sai Paint Tool or something of the like to be able to help. - I have watched Overlord and it is actually the reason I've gotten back to playing MapleRoyals. The soundtrack has such nostalgic gems. I plan to make everything much more realistic than is depicted in Overlord. It's not a game but an actual world in the manga. Spoiler: - About the slimes: This will be explained in the first chapter of the manga. Multiple species of slime live in the dimension they are summoned from. - The mechanics of magic will be explained through physics where possible. I'm mostly talking about the way one would cast specific magic here. If you want to cast a fire ball you would have to think of molecules getting in a more exited state / moving faster. If you want lightning you would have to do that too, but even rapidly. The same applies with ice magic but then in reverse. That is the basic gist of it. - Things like the 4-dimensional mirror will work as you described, but these items will be very rare. It's not like every adventure will be running around with them. If someone has it they will be able to use it as you described. Of course there will be a limit to it too, of course but I haven't thought of that yet. I actually didn't think of that item at all until you mentioned it. - I will derive most magic (spells ) from MapleStory, but won't limit it to that, though. Spells will be from MapleStory, but basic magic can be anything from a small flame in the palm of a magic user's hand to creating a massive ice pillar. These are not neccesarily spells seen in the game but they are magic all the same and can be used. Not all magic has to be offensive. - I will follow the basic storyline provided by Nexon but I will fill in the (tiny) detaills myself. If it just isn't logical or unrealistic I will change it up a little but, but it will mainly canon. I am planning to really get into the Masteria storyline. I have quite a few things for that planned. - You might not be too far off about an ancient civilisation that was there before the main storyline: Masteria once was home to the Storm Casters. It's where the Storm Caster glove is based on. You can only craft it in NLC I believe. The same goes with a few other good items. - Romance will be a thing but the stuff I have planned so far will be very bitter sweet. It won't be fluffy at all. It will be the kind that leaves you with a longing emptiness. There will probably be romance besides that but it will be heavy, intense, dramatic; realistic. Everyone has motives and love doesn't always conquer all. Humans will be humans. - I will use the concepts of the areas and use the maps provided by the game as base templates, but of course I will make them more realistic. I hope I've answered most of your questions this way and thank you so much for this great feedback! I will try to bring out the first chapter as quick as possible but as I said before it takes so much time to produce content all on my own. - Roxanne PS: Spoiler: Slime! :D
Yes absolutely! I wasn't sure how you'd talk about magic. Like, with many things I've read or watched, it's just a simple... recital of magical words, the creation of magical circles, and then casting the spell somehow. From your fingertips (or hand) without any further explanation. Having read this explanation you just gave, it goes along very well with what I had in mind. (And, unsurprisingly, this was yet another one of the readings that came to my mind when I read about your storyline. It's about a "magician" who's summoned to another world, aka in the typical "hero summoning to battle the demon king" story.) Anyway, I'll give you some quotes from the story that I saw and I guess... it's like feedback/sharing similar concepts from stories! So in this story, idk, it's still being translated. But we're briefly introduced to the concept of magic and how it's formed. And stuff. "Although he hadn't caught what the guard had mumbled, *the spell's composition, the magic formula's expansion, the assignment of the spell, the results, and the magic's invocation, he had all noticed.* ... The thing that had opened the door was simple magic. The incantation was three sections long, and the magic was wind attribute and just physical displacement." <--- Idk, tbh. But that's basically just how magic's first introduced in this story. I remembered this quote so I went to look for it, but maybe there was more information later on addressing it. I forgot, so feel free to read the story if you're interested! It's really good. I don't know if they ever go further in-depth about all of these individual aspects of spells, so idk. But you seem set anyway! Just for more fun reading I guess. "'Uwahh.. You are that serious? I thought True Flame would be something dangerous, but, it's only accelerating the combustion by adding oxygen.'" <--- (So your bringing in physics to explain the casting of a fireball by talking about molecular acceleration, for example, made absolute sense. But I guess to enhance its power to say... an explosion perhaps? You could explain that using this as well. But I mean, just sharing my thoughts and brainstorming! But you know! ) "That's why, he starts to chant acceleration magic. Reducing Gravity. Reducing mass. <Nutus Mltitudo Decresco.> As he muttered those words, he's freed from the shackles of gravity, and his body becomes light. His body is now seemly weightless." <--- Haste LOL. Anyway, yeah. Thanks for the response Roxanne. Amazing ideas. And thanks for the cute drawing of the slime. :') Story in case you're curious: http://skythewood.blogspot.com/p/the-different-world-magic-is-too-behind.html
On note with something else: Lovable diverse character cast, both main cast and colorful background characters. That combined with world building makes a memorable Manga.
I didn't realize you made a forum about this, but good luck, I'll be looking forward to when you get your first chapter done.
This is wonderful!! I personally love anime and watch a ton of it, but have never read manga. However, with that in mind, I have a deep respect for people with such artistic skills such as yours! I plan to follow this
Ohhh. I've been wondering why you were just bumping. Yeah, I'm super down to help you with this project in any way you might want! Uh, including beta reading or whatever else. Just no drawing. xd I also have a Disc!
Wow, sounds exciting! I wish you the best of luck in your journey into making this a reality. I am loving your passion for Maplestory's lore, which not a lot of people know about. (But they should, of course!) And I found it really funny reading this, because just last week I was thinking of doing something similar as a solo artist and designer of course. When I was younger, I had this fear of hackers because they had the ability to send packets and disconnect everyone in the channel and manipulate players to their liking because of the "power" that they hold. And so I was thinking of making a short story of an unstoppable mysterious hacker that roams the world killing players, etc. (Kind of like SAO-esque action based story) But yeah, I digress hehe. Work hard! Fighting! You can do this!
