2P START!
Encyclopedia
2PSTART! was a gaming webcomic
created by Tim Harding and Ray Hargreaves. The website (2pstart.com) was updated every week with a new comic on Thursday and a new podcast on Monday. Originally, the comic was posted on Wednesdays, but as of January 27, 2010, the comic was moved onto Thursdays. The comic was regularly featured on Joystiq
(their fifth comic "The Truth Is Revealed" won the best webcomic on March 22, 2007 - See Awards and nominations for other award-winning comics). It was also part of the Gamers Pair of Dice Gaming Webcomic Network (found here).
and then gives that idea to Ray to draw in Adobe Illustrator
. The comics are usually something funny or odd related to video games and usually involve humorously criticizing an aspect of a recent video game or video game console
, creating a story about a video game character, or taking a strange facet of one of the previous and expanding upon it to the point of ridiculousness.
In the comic, both Ray and Tim had comic counterparts, but unlike Penny Arcade
's characters, they used their real names and resembled themselves in appearance. Their characters sometimes have appeared in the comics to show the gaming world from a "real life" perspective (though this line has been crossed once or twice, such as in the comic "This is How I Roll" or in the comic "The Makeover"). Tim also had a Mii
version of himself, named TiMii, which appeared from time to time. A Mii
version of Ray, named DoRayMii, appeared in more recent comics, although DoRayMii was executed worse.
The 2P START! style did have some consistent features. For example, characters were drawn with a relatively thick outline around them and skinny characters were given "Nubby" elbows or knees to exaggerate this fact. The characters of Tim and Ray had specific trademark characteristic themselves: Ray was usually wearing Sonic the Hedgehog's "light speed shoes," and Tim was generally shown drinking Dr. Pepper, his favorite soda (with two noted exceptions: in comic 113 "In Poor Taste," where he is eating Doritos as part of an advertising scheme, and comic 167 "Now Boarding," where he is seen drinking Diet Dr. Pepper as part of the 2P End! story arc). The website's Comic #171, was submitted on May 20, 2010, under the fitting name of 2P FINISH!, where they end the story arc with a comic that fits the role of the end of the series. It is reminiscent of some of the jokes of their comics, and ends with a message that was apparently meant for the comic's Ray, but works for about any fan of the series.
effects and background music. It was released in two formats: the mp3
format contains simply the audio, while the m4a format contains the audio accompanied by a PowerPoint-style video which shows images and allows links that Ray "puts up" on the podcast. Since the end of the comic, Ray and Tim have chosen to release occasional Postmortem podcasts for special occasions, such as E3, Lost ending, and Ray getting a girlfriend.
Segments included:
Ray : For every great comic comes great comments, and this week's Suggestion Box was no different.
Ray : It's time... for the dreaded Black Doom Award.
Tim : Mwahahaha...
Ray : Each week, Tim and I both mention a terrible choice made related to video games in honor of the worst character Sonic Team has ever created, Black Doom.
The Mystic Cave Zone music from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 plays here.
The Level Up theme from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
plays here.
The Tunnel music from Rhythm Heaven
plays here.
on sixteen occasions: March 22, 2007 , May 1, 2007 , May 8, 2007 , May 15, 2007 , July 3, 2007 , September 11, 2007 , November 6, 2007 , December 18, 2007 , May 21, 2008 , August 14, 2008 , September 25, 2008 (guest strip by Ryan Estrada), October 14, 2008 , October 22, 2008 , October 29, 2008 , January 21, 2009 , February 19, 2009 , April 10, 2009 , August 1, 2009, October 17, 2009 , November 21 , January 16, 2010, February 26, 2010
2P START! was also featured on Joystiq
's Weekly Webcomic Wrapup on June 23, 2007 for their reference to the voting pattern of Joystiq readers and on August 25, 2007 for their BioShock
reference.
2P START! LIVE! also earned the title of "Best Podcast" in the 2009 Knubby Awards, winning by a mere two votes.
, Geist Panik, Goblins
, and Nerf NOW!!.
s. Most were created by fans, though a few webcomic
artists have contributed including Ryan Estrada and Matthew Taranto of Brawl in the Family.
2P Start! has also made one guest comic for Brawl in the Family, called "Waluigi's Origin Story".
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
created by Tim Harding and Ray Hargreaves. The website (2pstart.com) was updated every week with a new comic on Thursday and a new podcast on Monday. Originally, the comic was posted on Wednesdays, but as of January 27, 2010, the comic was moved onto Thursdays. The comic was regularly featured on Joystiq
Joystiq
Joystiq is a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 that has since become one of the most successful sites within the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs. It is the centerpiece of WIN's own network of video gaming blogs, which also includes a blog dealing specifically with the popular MMORPG World of...
(their fifth comic "The Truth Is Revealed" won the best webcomic on March 22, 2007 - See Awards and nominations for other award-winning comics). It was also part of the Gamers Pair of Dice Gaming Webcomic Network (found here).
Comic
The comic was created as a collaboration between Ray and Tim; Tim usually thinks of an idea or story lineStory line
Storyline is the only current affairs show in the country that allows the story to be told by those who lived through it, without the filtering voice of a host...
and then gives that idea to Ray to draw in Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Adobe Systems. Illustrator is similar in scope, intended market, and functionality to its competitors, CorelDraw, Xara Designer Pro and Macromedia FreeHand....
. The comics are usually something funny or odd related to video games and usually involve humorously criticizing an aspect of a recent video game or video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
, creating a story about a video game character, or taking a strange facet of one of the previous and expanding upon it to the point of ridiculousness.
In the comic, both Ray and Tim had comic counterparts, but unlike Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade (webcomic)
Penny Arcade is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website loonygames.com. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have established their own site, which is typically updated with a new comic...
's characters, they used their real names and resembled themselves in appearance. Their characters sometimes have appeared in the comics to show the gaming world from a "real life" perspective (though this line has been crossed once or twice, such as in the comic "This is How I Roll" or in the comic "The Makeover"). Tim also had a Mii
Mii
A is a digital avatar used in Nintendo's Wii and Nintendo 3DS gaming consoles. They allow users to capture a likeness of themselves and others. After creating one using the Wii's Mii Channel or the Nintendo 3DS's Mii Maker, they can be used as playable characters in various titles for the...
version of himself, named TiMii, which appeared from time to time. A Mii
Mii
A is a digital avatar used in Nintendo's Wii and Nintendo 3DS gaming consoles. They allow users to capture a likeness of themselves and others. After creating one using the Wii's Mii Channel or the Nintendo 3DS's Mii Maker, they can be used as playable characters in various titles for the...
version of Ray, named DoRayMii, appeared in more recent comics, although DoRayMii was executed worse.
The 2P START! style did have some consistent features. For example, characters were drawn with a relatively thick outline around them and skinny characters were given "Nubby" elbows or knees to exaggerate this fact. The characters of Tim and Ray had specific trademark characteristic themselves: Ray was usually wearing Sonic the Hedgehog's "light speed shoes," and Tim was generally shown drinking Dr. Pepper, his favorite soda (with two noted exceptions: in comic 113 "In Poor Taste," where he is eating Doritos as part of an advertising scheme, and comic 167 "Now Boarding," where he is seen drinking Diet Dr. Pepper as part of the 2P End! story arc). The website's Comic #171, was submitted on May 20, 2010, under the fitting name of 2P FINISH!, where they end the story arc with a comic that fits the role of the end of the series. It is reminiscent of some of the jokes of their comics, and ends with a message that was apparently meant for the comic's Ray, but works for about any fan of the series.
Podcast: 2P START! Live!
The podcast, named "2P START! Live!", features Tim and Ray talking about various things in the gaming world and on the comic itself. The podcast was edited by Ray to include several multimediaMultimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
effects and background music. It was released in two formats: the mp3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format contains simply the audio, while the m4a format contains the audio accompanied by a PowerPoint-style video which shows images and allows links that Ray "puts up" on the podcast. Since the end of the comic, Ray and Tim have chosen to release occasional Postmortem podcasts for special occasions, such as E3, Lost ending, and Ray getting a girlfriend.
Segments included:
- TriviaTriviaThe trivia are the three lower Artes Liberales, i.e. grammar, rhetoric and logic. These were the topics of basic education, foundational to the quadrivia of higher education, and hence the material of basic education, of interest only to undergraduates...
for Two - Where Tim and Ray attempt to stump each other with obscure knowledge of video games. - Trivia for You - Where Ray plays a sample of video game music for the listeners to guess by posting comments or sending an emailEmailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
to the creators. Winners can be viewed on the contestCompetitionCompetition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
page of the website. - (Wricki-Wricki) Remix - Where Ray shares a favourite video game remix of his.
- T-T-T-T-Topic of the Week - Where Tim and Ray discuss a current topic related to video games.
- Comic Talk - Where Tim and Ray discuss the creation process and reception of the previous week's comic.
- Suggestion Box - Where they go through the comments posted on their website (and other websites occasionally) that pertain to the comic of that week.
Ray : For every great comic comes great comments, and this week's Suggestion Box was no different.
- Black Doom Award - Where they give an award to a company or individual who made a "terrible choice related to video games". The segment is named after Black Doom, the antagonist of the Shadow the HedgehogShadow the Hedgehog (video game)Shadow the Hedgehog is a 2005 video game developed by Sega Studio USA, the former United States division of Sega's Sonic Team. Featuring the titular fictional character Shadow the Hedgehog from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series, the game was revealed at the March 2005 Walk of Game inauguration of...
video game and (in Ray's opinion) the worst character created by Sonic TeamSonic Teamis a Japanese computer and video game developer established in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan in 1990, originally known as Sega AM8. The Japan-based division is also known as G.E. Department Global Entertainment. The studio has collaborated with several in-house Japanese studios as well as other American-based...
.
Ray : It's time... for the dreaded Black Doom Award.
Tim : Mwahahaha...
Ray : Each week, Tim and I both mention a terrible choice made related to video games in honor of the worst character Sonic Team has ever created, Black Doom.
The Mystic Cave Zone music from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 plays here.
- Internet LootLootingLooting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
- Where Tim and Ray show a little bit of treasure they found on the internet.
The Level Up theme from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, or Paper Mario 2, released in Japan as , is a console role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube...
plays here.
- Rise from your Grave - Often, comment of the week would go to people who had been reading the comic for a while and finally left their first comment. This bothered many readers, however, so a new segment was created just for these first-time commenters. Every week Tim and Ray mention a new fan to 'rise from the grave' by posting their first comment.
- Musical Misfits - At the end of each show, Ray plays a video game song that was 'lost in the shuffle over time', for reasons such as the game not being popular, or perhaps it is simply under-appreciated. These songs are usually submitted by 2PSTART fans, and Ray alternates between his own choice and a fan's choice.
- Off Topic - A new segment as of episode 111, created as a result of comments from fans and friends expressing interest in the bonus content found at the end of many episodes. As the name implies, anything discussed during the segment does not relate to regular episode topics (rap music, etc.).
The Tunnel music from Rhythm Heaven
Rhythm Heaven
Rhythm Heaven, known in Europe as Rhythm Paradise and in Japan as is a rhythm video game-exclusive for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It is the sequel/successor to the Japan-only release Game Boy Advance title Rhythm Tengoku...
plays here.
- The Official Chicken Grab - First appearing in episode 41, this segment sees Ray challenging Tim to catch as many chickens as possible while he plays a fast banjo tune in the background. While this segment has not appeared in many episodes, it has proved to be a fan favorite and has even been requested by a listenter. A variation of the segment, which appeared in Episode 112, involves Tim grabbing the chickens in space, where no one can hear you cluck.
- Tim With the News - A segment new to February 2010, Tim picks a news story possibly related to the world of entertainment and discusses it at length with his co-host and guest host, should there be one for that week.
- Tim checks on the baby- A segment filled but nothing with elevator music (the Event: Goodbye theme from Sonic Adventure) in which Tim checks on the baby and with the occasional noises in the background. This segment only appeared a few times.
- Videogame music spotlight- a segment that only appeared once in the 2PSTART LIVE! podcast. It appeared in episode 61 in where Ray would play a good piece of music from an upcoming game- in this case the 'Lets Tap theme'. This segment didn't appear again because Ray didn't come across another song from an upcoming game again.
Running Jokes
One of the major aspects of 2P START!humor is running jokes accumulates over the entire course of the comic and podcast's existence.- "This comic used to be good." - This originated from a comment left by "???" on 2P START!'s ninth comic, the first Tim's Take, and became so prevalent that Ray had it scripted so that these would be the last words of the last podcast. Ironically, the comment actually said "This comic used to be funny."
- "Just Sayin'" - Only introduced in Episode 123 of 2P START! Live! where Ray goes Off-Topic to criticize the expression, fans quickly adopted this as a joke. Ironically from podcasts 20-80 Ray would say 'Just sayin'
- "Oh brother" - This originated in the comic "If 2P START! were daily as satirical criticism of catchphrase humor in newspapers meant to be funny, not because it was, but because of people who used catchphrase humor that wasn't funny. Ironically, this soon became funny, especially when Tim used the phrase in his second Tim's Take.
- Tim hating Up - Fleshed out in Episode 103, where Tim defended his hatred of the Pixar movie.
- "Raped into the death zone" - From Episode 20, when Ray said how in Brawl he had "raped [Tim] into the death zone."
- "How Dare You" - A recurring joke that often has to do with Ray saying a strange comment, followed by him saying "How dare you!"
- "... Quote unquote PEOPLE..." - From podcast 95 from a black doom award where Tim read an article from a Nintendo forum where a user was acting like the internet police.
- The knubby elbows, aka elbow tumors - Developed from a weekly comic Ray drew in college, these have become iconic of the 2P START! style, sometimes mocked by haters as elbow tumors, the result of the atist's sucking at drawing, while eventually 2P START! Live's annual awards were named the Knubby awards as a result of the elbows.
- Tim having swimming pools of money - Originating in comic #85 where Tim is depicted as cannon-balling into a swimming pool of money while a sickly Ray waits for Tim to email him podcast files.
- 'ABC coverage on comparing Metroid to Citizen Kane' From episode 98 where ABC made a terrible coverage on Metroid in which they would compare them.
- 'Hey dude, dude, guys, guys' From episode 102 where Jon and Ray overheard a conversation, whilst they were waiting for Modern Warfare 2, where someone from Ray's former rival highschool interrupted his friends to announce the 'best' iphone app ever where there would be a klondike bar on the screen and if you tap it, it takes a bite out of the bar.
- A phone call of GameStopGameStopGameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
relating to the release of Super Mario GalaxySuper Mario Galaxyis a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in most regions in November 2007, and is the third 3D original platformer in the Mario series, after Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. The game follows the protagonist, Mario, on a...
featuring Charles MartinetCharles MartinetCharles Martinet is an American actor and voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Mario, the titular character in Nintendo's flagship video game franchise. He has held this role since 1994, longer than any other actor. He also voices Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Toadsworth, and a select few...
. After being introduced as a Black Doom Award, this recording has been featured in both Knubby Awards. - Not really a joke but the phrase 'NCG- Nice comic guys' This was said by the commenter Dash who, on the site's first anniversary, stated he couldn't be bothered to keep typing 'nice comic guys.' Thus the phrase NCG was born and used by many fans. Dash was then named 2P START!'s most influential fan during the 2008 Knubby Awards.
Awards and nominations
2P START! has been voted best gaming webcomic of the week by the readers of JoystiqJoystiq
Joystiq is a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 that has since become one of the most successful sites within the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs. It is the centerpiece of WIN's own network of video gaming blogs, which also includes a blog dealing specifically with the popular MMORPG World of...
on sixteen occasions: March 22, 2007 , May 1, 2007 , May 8, 2007 , May 15, 2007 , July 3, 2007 , September 11, 2007 , November 6, 2007 , December 18, 2007 , May 21, 2008 , August 14, 2008 , September 25, 2008 (guest strip by Ryan Estrada), October 14, 2008 , October 22, 2008 , October 29, 2008 , January 21, 2009 , February 19, 2009 , April 10, 2009 , August 1, 2009, October 17, 2009 , November 21 , January 16, 2010, February 26, 2010
2P START! was also featured on Joystiq
Joystiq
Joystiq is a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 that has since become one of the most successful sites within the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs. It is the centerpiece of WIN's own network of video gaming blogs, which also includes a blog dealing specifically with the popular MMORPG World of...
's Weekly Webcomic Wrapup on June 23, 2007 for their reference to the voting pattern of Joystiq readers and on August 25, 2007 for their BioShock
Bioshock
BioShock is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston and designed by Ken Levine. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on August 21, 2007 in North America, and three days later in Europe and Australia. It became available on Steam on August 21, 2007...
reference.
2P START! LIVE! also earned the title of "Best Podcast" in the 2009 Knubby Awards, winning by a mere two votes.
Gamers Pair of Dice
2P START! was part of the group of web comics known collectively as the Gamers Pair of Dice. Also in the Gamers Pair of Dice are Another Video Game Webcomic, Digital Unrest, Dueling AnalogsDueling Analogs
Dueling Analogs is a webcomic by Steve Napierski . The website was launched on November 17, 2005, and new comics are posted every Monday and Thursday. Dueling Analogs is a gaming comic and as such most of the comics take place in the universe of the games discussed...
, Geist Panik, Goblins
Goblins (webcomic)
Goblins - Life Through Their Eyes is a Dungeons & Dragons webcomic written and illustrated by Tarol "Thunt" Hunt. It is set in a humorously stereotypical fantasy setting, and follows the lives of a party of goblin adventurers who started as monsters and declared themselves player characters...
, and Nerf NOW!!.
Guest Comics
2P Start! has had some guest comicGuest comic
A guest comic is an issue of a comic strip that is created by a different person than usual. The practice is especially common in webcomics.-Guest comics in webcomics:...
s. Most were created by fans, though a few webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
artists have contributed including Ryan Estrada and Matthew Taranto of Brawl in the Family.
2P Start! has also made one guest comic for Brawl in the Family, called "Waluigi's Origin Story".
Guest Artists
- Matthew Taranto
- #154 - "Tortoises and Hares" - 1/20/2010
- Richard Aguirre
- #038 - "Domestic Bliss" - 10/31/2007
- #100 - "The Origin Story" - 1/7/2009
- Ryan Estrada
- #084 - "The Great Debate" - 9/17/2008