Many

webcomics Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be co ...

have been influenced by

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...

and

video game culture Video game culture is a worldwide new media subculture formed by video gamers. As video games have exponentially increased in popularity over time, they have had a significant influence on popular culture. Video game culture has also evolved with ...

Background

Webcomics frequently poke fun at video game logic, the video game industry, and stereotypical behavior of gamers. The earliest video game webcomic was '' Polymer City Chronicles'', which started in 1995. However, 1998's '' PvP'' is seen as the origin of the genre, influencing various webcomics following it. Low-quality video game webcomics were particularly common in the mid-2000s, often featuring author stand-ins with poor dialogue and unrealistic relationships. A common trope in video game webcomics is to have the main characters sit on a couch, talking about the game they are playing. It is common for webcomics to exclusively use in-game art and speech bubbles, such as in sprite comics. The term gamics has been proposed by Nathan Ciprick in 2004 to refer to webcomics that consist entirely of video game graphics. Despite the fact that video game graphics are generally

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

ed, owners of the intellectual properties used have traditionally been tolerant.

Webcomics set in a video game world

Webcomics about video games

Webcomics inspired by video games

Other

ShiftyLook, a former subsidiary of

Namco Bandai is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...

, focused on reviving various

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, ...

video game franchises between 2011 and 2014. The company originally did this through English language webcomics. ShiftyLook has released webcomics based on ''

Dig Dug is a maze arcade game developed by Namco in 1981 and released in 1982, distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. The player controls Dig Dug to defeat all enemies per stage, by either inflating them to bursting or crushing them underneath rock ...

'', ''

Dragon Spirit is a 1987 vertical-scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Namco. In North America, it was distributed by Atari Games. Controlling the dragon Amul, the player must complete each of the game's nine areas to rescue the princess Al ...

'', ''

Klonoa ''Klonoa'' is a platform video game series created by Namco in 1997. It stars Klonoa, an anthropomorphic creature who explores dream worlds. The series includes two main games: '' Klonoa: Door to Phantomile'' (1997) for the PlayStation and '' Klo ...

'', and various other video games.

References

{{Webcomics