Pollilop?

I need to do more of these.

Okay, so I recently had another poll, which, well did slightly less better. Six down from 8. Oy.

The question I posed was " What do you want to see more of in Drake Mandible?"

The options were as follows:

1: BIGGER EXPLOSIONS AND MORE EPIC ADVENTURES!

This option received 2 votes.  , this is both good and bad.

Good, because it means that people are enjoying the series, which is the main reason why I wanted to write it in the first place. Votes for this particular option, means that I'm clearly doing something write. Uh...right...

Bad, because A.) Since there are only two votes, I'm not reaching the audience in a very effective way. Sure, people might still be reading the series, but only a few of them are affected enough to actually vote. This is really something I should have been looking into a lot , but then again, I think the podcast has a much better chance of doing this. B.) This will make it a bit harder to stretch and experiment with the tone of the show. I know that people like the series and I want people to KEEP liking the series, so I'll be reluctant to make changes. That doesn't mean that I can't or won't.


2: MORE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT PLEASE!

A measly one vote for this one. Fair enough. But again, this doesn't mean I can't start thinking about ways to incorporate character development. Speaking of which...


3: I wanna see things take a darker turn.

This was the most popular option with 3 votes. Why is it that we like our heroes gritty these days? Does it make them more relatable because life itself is gritty? Probably. I guess a darker turn gives a more realistic feel. While I didn't ever INTEND for this series to be realistic, going darker might bring something new to the series, a bit of a defibrillator.

Well this, combined with Steve's feedback (more on that in a future post) have inspired me to do so. Now, I was very reluctant to alter the world that I've spent nearly two years creating, but then realised that maybe I don't have to.

I found a way to have my cake and eat it too (which I always thought was an odd phrase, I mean what else are you gonna do with cake?)  by creating a "Flasback" story. This way, I can go really dark without affecting the present day Drake that I'm so comfortable with. Even better, this provides an opportunity FOR character development: what if the past events/actions of Drake are what drove him to become what he is now? Why doesn't he kill? Why is he so over-achieving?

I've already starting to set those particular wheels in motion starting part one of "An Interlude" setting up for the darkening. (Hmm, sounds like a good Z grade movie, "The Darkening." I should trademark that.)

The poll can be viewed here:

http://www.wepolls.com/p/32395016/What-would-you-like-to-see-more-of-in-Drake-Mandible

I've also just created another poll: What would you like to see LESS of in DM?

I don't know why I didn't do that earlier. It really would have helped me to be on the lookout for things that weaken the series and strengthen them.

Doh well!

Stay Tuned, Ladies and Gents ;)

Nate.

P.S: Yeah, turns out "The Darkening" already is a movie. Directed by -interestingly enough- one Jack Young. Surely not my grandfather? Perhaps he'll let me help write a sequel/remake?