There are some subjects, common wisdom states, which should not be brought up in polite company. Religion and politics are two of the biggies, but as of late, computer operating systems and gaming platforms seem to be flowing in the same vein. The sheer amount of energy invested in the holy wars over gaming platforms is impressive, and more than a little puzzling to the outsider. Regardless, there seems to be no shortage of webcomics willing to jump into the fray with their BFGs blazing. Ctrl+Alt+Del, created by Tim Buckley, is one more pixilated soldier trying to wade through the slavering bad guys, hoping to find that Secret Area where the popularity power-ups lie.
The title is an obvious reference to the combination of keystrokes necessary to reboot a Windows-based personal computer, but Ctrl+Alt+Del covers – and lambastes – all forms of electronic home gaming, from the PC, to the platform, to the handheld. It also lampoons gaming, Internet, and computer culture in general.
Buckley is smart enough to realize that he is hardly breaking new ground with his strip – the first few strips, in fact, acknowledge this, and parody other well-known gaming comics. Even with this acknowledgement, however, Ctrl+Alt+Del still centers around roommates Ethan and Lucas, who spend an inordinate amount of their time sitting on the couch playing video games, insulting one another, and complaining about one game/game company or another. And how much mileage can this device get anymore, really?
Not enough.
At least, not enough for mainstream audiences. A hardcore gamer may know what it means to camp at a spawning point, or what the big deal about a Radeon 9700 is and why it’s bad (And just what it is. A sound card? A video card? A really tasty sandwich?), or why a gamer may defend to the death one platform against and above all others, but the general Internet public doesn’t. Now, gaming comics are hardly the only webcomic genre to fall into the trap of requiring Secret Knowledge™ to get the jokes. Hardcore geek strips (technology-, rather than gaming-related) do it; furry strips do it; in fact, any strip that targets a specific Internet demographic runs the danger of doing it. This may work within that given demographic, but makes it difficult for the strip to appeal to potential readers on the outside. As presented in the above examples, Ctrl+Alt+Del falls into this trap, too.
Which doesn’t mean that the audience to which these jokes are directed aren’t all ROFLMAOed, just that the appeal may not extend beyond that group. Ctrl+Alt+Del does much better from a mainstream perspective when it comments on gaming culture rather than on the games themselves.
These are instances where the strip moves beyond being a series of one-shot gags towards more integrated storylines. Stories such as when Ethan and Lucas have to find jobs in order to pay the rent, or when Ethan attempts to woo Lilah (the gamer chick upstairs), add a depth and breadth to both the characters and strip that the single strips can never achieve.
Of these, the best storyline by far occurs when Ethan decides to develop his own video game, a grand synthesis of every other type of game, and strong-arms all his friends into slaving on the project for him. Like the game Ethan hopes to create, this story brings together the best elements of the strip: Ethan’s monomania regarding video games, Lucas’ devotion to his friend, and Lilah’s clear-headed outside perspective. It operates not only as satire of the video-game industry, but of industry in general and of the danger of working for your friends, and the whole storyline ends with a Lord of the Rings parody. Because there is less reliance on jokes specific to a game title or system, which may be dated within a month or two, these "longer" stories are the strongest part of the strip. And while they are more common later in the archives than earlier, they do not yet occupy enough of the total run to counterbalance the volume of the issue-specific strips.
The art of Ctrl+Alt+Del is generally rendered in the fat-outlined tradition of the genre, and usually consists of the characters sitting or standing, while they comment on whatever game they happen to be playing. Ctr+Alt+Del is very definitely a "talking head" comic. This is understandable, of course, since the strip is about video games, and playing and commenting on them don’t require a whole lot of action shots or dramatic camera angles. But a look at one of the Art Pages that Buckley has included on the site shows that he has the talent and ability to draw more than just talking heads, and by incorporating more varied camera placement might both increase the visual variety of the strip and add a greater element of visual humor.
As a non-hardcore gamer from way back (my family had a Pong system, and I remember the Atari 2600/Intellivision/Colecovision feuds), I recognize the appeal of gamer-specific humor – and there are a lot of people who play video games. But the willingness of Ctrl+Alt+Del to narrowly target a particular subset of them, the ones who get worked up into froths (angry or ecstatic) over a few pre-release screenshots, means that the larger potential audience might be rebuffed.
If you fit into the hardcore gamer subset, then you will likely find something that appeals to you (unless you dislike the systems that Buckley champions). If you’ve only briefly glimpsed the Secret Knowledge™, or have never even entered the temple, then you might not be able to figure out what the big deal is all about, and may prefer to reboot your way towards something less encryptic.
I can assure you that my reviewers usually read the entire archives before writing their reviews — that is one of the requirements for reviewing webcomics here at the Comixpedia.
Seeing that many others here were polite and fair with their opinions, no matter how they may have disagreed with this review, it makes me wonder if you yourself are not the one who just couldn’t hold the verbal diarrhea in.
ASDASFDKFDLK!!!!
Did any of the 200 people commenting here read what Mr. Trepal wrote??
At least, not enough for mainstream audiences. A hardcore gamer may know what it means to camp at a spawning point, or what the big deal about a Radeon 9700 is and why it’s bad (And just what it is. A sound card? A video card? A really tasty sandwich?), or why a gamer may defend to the death one platform against and above all others, but the general Internet public doesn’t. Now, gaming comics are hardly the only webcomic genre to fall into the trap of requiring Secret Knowledge™ to get the jokes. Hardcore geek strips (technology-, rather than gaming-related) do it; furry strips do it; in fact, any strip that targets a specific Internet demographic runs the danger of doing it. This may work within that given demographic, but makes it difficult for the strip to appeal to potential readers on the outside. As presented in the above examples, Ctrl+Alt+Del falls into this trap, too.
First of all, there is a decidedly tongue-in-cheek tone to this paragraph of contention. “Secret gaming knowlegde TM” is a good clue, so is the sandwich aside. He’s not being entirely serious here, folks.
Also, he NEVER SAYS THAT NO ONE BUT HARDCORE GAMERS WILL GET THIS COMIC. Nowhere does he say that. He says it will appeal to people who understand what the jokes are about- games, computers- more than people who don’t ever come into contact with these things. My parents might like his sense of humor, but they won’t invest their time in reading a comic where they don’t get a lot of the background information, even if the jokes are funny WITHOUT knowing this stuff. That’s a pretty basic assumption for a reviewer to make.
Matt says that having gaming and computers presents a CHALLENGE, it makes it more difficult for the comic to come across to a wide range of people. He didn’t say it couldn’t happen. Thus all these people who consider themselves non-gamers who enjoy the comic prove that CAD can conquer that challenge, which is a good thing, and THAT’S what people should be writing about, not that the reviewer doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Does anyone here understand that distinction?? One hand – Reviewer is idiot who doesn’t get that comic appeals to people who don’t get the background info on some jokes. Or the other hand – Reviewer says it’s hard to appeal to people who don’t get the info behind some of the jokes, yet fans say Tim overcomes that setback because CAD is awesome. One of these remarks is idiotic and the other is what’s actually going on, and what should be said if people weren’t so quick to assume the worst.
This is a glowing review. It is not praise from a fan, it’s praise from a reviewer, and there is a great difference. I don’t care what a fan says about something for the most part, because it does appeal to them and saying “It’s the best!” really isn’t quite persuavsive, unless I know my tastes are similar. A reviewer is supposed to give a report that ANYONE can read and find out whether the subject would appeal to them. Not just people of similar taste.
…and i’m not afraid to log in and comment. I’m not anonymous.
-Meaghan
You may be right, except for one thing: Nowhere does this review belittle the comic in question. As a reader who had heard of, but never seen Ctrl+Alt+Del, I came off with a rather favorable impression of the comic, not negative. If the review was hard on the comic, then I could understand fans leaping to the defense of a favorite comic, whether or not the reviewer is just in presenting flaws. But this is exactly not the case. Most of these commenters have not read the review, but have read COMMENTS about the review.
Let's put it this way. If these people are going to judge a review based on a comment, then they must judge the comic based on the review. No, in both cases you go to the original source to judge for yourself.
In any case, this is a lot of comments!
Actually, I disagree. I don't believe myself to be a “hardcore” gamer in anyway, shape, or form… however I think CAD is incredibly funny. I just read it, and fall off my chair… unlike some comics… So there's my two cents.
Firstly, why was the art used not the new stuff. Secondly i like games but do not play 24/7 but i think its good. Even if you have never touched a consol you should find it funny.
I agree with the guy above, in that I play games – but I'm not a hardcore gamer.
On another note, you should have taken the screenshots from the latest comics on CAD – as Absath even agrees that the art on them is far better.
well, i think the comic is amazing, and I go to his site many times a day to see if tim posted anything new on the main page, I’ve been reading his comic for a long time and i feel that people who arent hardcore gamers can find humor and laugh about this comic. best example, i told me friend to start reading it, now my friend doesnt really play video games (but he does love halo), he find this comic strip very funny.
Tim, i love the comic, keep it up!
what about little-gamers? they have a lot of computer/gaming humor and they’ve been up for 3 years and the comic is still humorous
I’m not at all a hardcore gamer. I don’t own a gaming system besides my PC, and while I have tried quite a few games over the years, I have always lost interest within a week. But I still check Ctrl+Alt+Del every day. It’s one of my favorite webcomics. It is true that I don’t get all of the jokes, but I love the art and the dialogue. I also feel like I can relate to the characters. But most importantly, it makes me laugh. Isn’t that the whole point? -Rachel
Just a few notes: “(unless you dislike the systems that Buckley champions)”… I don’t think this is true unless your the kind of person who can’t take a joke… I like Linux… I hate windows… I like PS2, the only console that Ethan doesn’t own anymore (out of the 3)… and this is now the only comic I read on a regular basis.
Also, If you don’t know what a Radeon is… it’s a video card… that’s sad whether you game or not…
Although there is a big portion of the internet that won’t get the comic… I think that’s ok… you can’t please everyone… The comic is hillarious for some people, where it probably wouldn’t be if it was made to please everyone… a decent trade off in my opinion…
Anyway, umm last note, you could hae posted a more recent piece of art, as it has evolved a bit…
Nah. CAD rules because its funny. In the same way that seeing a piano fall on a cartoon mouse is hilarious, it doesnt mean we all go around dropping pianos on small rodents.
I havent played a game for about 3 years, but I still love it.
You’ll also find that by reading a couple of comics which have one off jokes, you gradually build up a knowledge of the basic gaming world, which does help add a new dimension to the comics you’ve already read.
heh, i like it alot, but i am a hardcore gamer, although, i introduced a female friend of mine to it, who has never played a console or pc game, and she enjoys almost as much as me, so i think its appeal is broader than you think.
it def has most broad appeal than pa. 😉
I don't understand why you have to be a “hardcore gamer” to understand the humor in this comic. This comic is a lot funnier than you give it credit. I've been reading for about 6 months now and it just keeps getting better. I hope you come to senses and realize this isn't just a comic for gamers, but something that anyone not living under a rock can enjoy.
This comic got me into video games, but I understood everything they were talking about before it did… It's not rocket science. Find out for yourself what Radeon 9700 is if you really HAVE to know what it is and can't just find humour in their sarcasm and killing sprees. How hard can it be to figure out what it does? Google it.
Quit being so harsh, it's really not that hardcore. Hardly a coded mass waiting to devour unsuspecting websurfers. Have you seen how many people love this comic? Tim does a great job; people like the comic not only for Ethan and his dumbness, but because Tim seems to make his work personal. He has an awesome amount of talent for this, he should keep it up, improve upon certain critics’ cynicisms *squinty evil eye* -.- and *annoyed evil eye* >.< Good luck!
Later days.
I agree with you. I play computer games incredibly sporadically (I don’t even have any on my main computer, and don’t own any consoles) yet I think this is the best web comic I’ve read. It’s hilarious for parodying computer gamers, but the computer gamer as a stereotype is well-defined enough for non-gamers to find the comic funny. Okay, so the game-specific comics are less appealing to me sometimes, but the graphics are still great.
So I agree with some points of the original review as well, but agree completely with this reviewer 🙂
Hey, thought I'd put my 2 cents in.
I'm not a “hardcore gamer”. I play Savage and Starcraft, with a little Diablo, but thats about it.
still, I get most of the jokes in this comic. even for the ones I don't get, the situation that the characters in this strip are in is always funny. I also don't know anything about computer hardware, like that chip you mention, but that is posted in Buckley's message log, not on the comic, so it really doesnt affect me much. The message log is good for everyone, though, because there are all sorts of links to new games, demos, and gaming-related news. I would never have heard of savage if it wasnt for this strip (and the savage comics were great). all in all, I find CTRL+ALT+DEL to be a well-drawn, wickedly funny comic… you were kinda harsh on him.
-Andrew Schiraldi
I have been reading CAD for over 4 months now. They are the best thing since slided-bread. I your reviews sounds more like a report as to what Tim can do to get more viewers. I think that Tim is very happy with his current viewer count as he gets OVER 30,000 viewers a day. You say in the review that only Hardcore gamers will understand the commic and enjoy it, which may be true, but you make it sound like a bad thing, which it is not. See there are probebly millions of hardcore gamers in the world, they are LAN parties that thousands of people go to all across the world, and there are even the gaming Finals where the best gamers compete against eachother to see who is the best gamer. Tim is going a great job with his comming and I believe he should keep it up. as a read I enjoy the random strips once in a while and Tim usually goes back to the main story before it is to late. He might not be original as a running a web commic, but he strips are the funniest I have seen, nothing else got me to sit down for 3 hours and read his archive, I tried this at other places and was only able to handle about 20-40 mins before I was bored off my ass reading about stick figures random talking to eachother.
Keep up the good work Tim.
I’m just gonna go ahead and flat out disagree with you here. First of all, your only references to confusion and missed jokes in this webcomic come from its early days. It has gotten much better sinse then. The fact is, like any good webcomic, this one has gotten better and better through time. I’d also like to point out that absolutely all comics will have “inside jokes,” that people without frames of reference will miss. That’s just the way it is. But the fact is, you’ve blown the importance of getting these occasional, esoteric jokes entirely out of proportion. Ctrlaltdel does an outstanding job of staying fresh and not lingering on jokes that aren’t related directly to the storyline.
Sure, I’ll admit, in order to find this comic amusing, you have to have some backround in gaming, but saying that only “hardcore” gamers will find it amusing is a gross overstatement that really fails to give credit to this webcomic’s broad readership. With just a basic knowledge of Mario or what an X-box is, you can be totally entertained by this comic for hours on end. This is due to the reliance on plot driven humor, rather than on cultural humor. And with this style, this comic will stay fresh and continue to entertain it’s gigantic readership for years to come.
ok, i have a few things to say…. one, yes tim is a phenomenal artist as shown by his artist page… but this i s a comic stip…. it doesn’t need to have fantastic artwork with deep camera angles to be funny and look nice…the screenshots you have as an exapmle aren’t even the best work in the archives…
two, on the subject of secret knowledge CAD does not solely rely on this as it’s source of comedy and even in the strips that focous on things a less than avid gamer might not understand, the punchline is still funny….and even if it was only based on secret knowledge and with out such no one would find the comic funny as you said this is a GAMING comic.. it is a subgenre… there is no lack of comics that are not gaming related.
i have found myself crying i was laughing so hard at some of the strips… the one where ethan is wrapped in duct tape for example…. all in all i think this comic is great it may not be for everyone but nothing really is….
Tim keep up the awesome work…
CAD is one of the best comics around, i have spent countless hours combing the net for something to fill my daize between his new strips, and there is nothing else quite as effective to make me get off my ass and go to work. i cant see why you would choose his older art work for your screenshots, absath's work has progressed to be amazing. I have started gaming a hell of a lot now, but i never used to be a “hardcore gamer” and i loved this comic straight away. This comic is not made for the masses but it has characters that almost come to life, which you dont come across everyday.
the bottom line is… dont sell it short, this is a great comic and i will own anyone in the head with my gamecube controller who says otherwise.
Bob.Monkey
(well actually the bottom line is…)
HAPPY WINTER-EEN-MAS EVERONE!!!
I also disagree with this article. My sister, who has rarely ever played videogames in her life, understood around 75% of the jokes, and she thought they were very funny. I think this article doesn't really give Ctrl+Alt+Del enough credit. They were rated the best site on Top Web Comics for, like, six months, but then they dropped out of TWC so somebody else would have a chance at the top. C+A+D, I salute you!
ok well if you didnt think this comic appealed to a large group of people, then it got almost everyone in the small group, because you have had so many posts since I read the review, there were like 5 more replys by the time I finished reading, I think Tim has a huge fanbase, this can be seen by the donations he recieved this month when he mentioned the costs of his moving to his fans. He has some espically dedicated fans, and I think that this should be noted, since you only commented on who this comic would and would not appeal to NOT who it actually has appealed to since it started. I would like to say that Tim draws a great comic, and that your review of the comic was rather harsh. About the special knowledge thing, did you read the archives, not once did you mention |337, which would really confuse the general public.
my ranting is over, in sum, your review, not completely objective, Tim, Great comic, Keep it up
Yes, I would be what you would call a semi-hardcore gamer. I also do know a good deal about computers, but those two facts aren't what draw me back to CAD day after day. In fact the tech/game content of the strip isn't even that “hardcore.” You don't have to know anything about the Xbox to know that making it into a sarcastic robot is funny. The tech/game situations are only a means in which Buckley can place his characters into comical situations. In the example given above about the Radeon 9700, the humor in the strip is not totally about whether the graphics card is bad or good, its the fact that Ethan, in all of his singular-visioned wise-ness, set it ablaze while it was still in the box. The strip makes you want to see what kind of insane antics Ethan will get into next (I mean who would create a Holiday besides him?) and how Lucas will try to reason with him only to fail. The strip is in many ways like my own life.
As for the art, it is relatively simple but that is a positive thing. With many cartoons today being drawn in the all-to-artsy Anime form, it is nice to get back to the basics. If it was drawn differently, I probably wouldn't read it.
So, you don't have to be a gaming god to like CAD. Its the interactions and situations of the characters that make it funny and graspable by all. Keep up the fantastic work Tim!
– Keith Shetler
I have to disagree along with everyone else. I know multiple people who do not play any video games, but still enjoy the comic.
okay… I am a danish reader of the CAD comic… I started reading it 3-4 month ago. The comic just cought me with one very hilarious comic… i just HAD to read the archives and have followed the comic since… I don't se my self as a hardcore gamer. i play games, on pc and PSone but that does not include all the insider knowlegde about new X-box games and the like.. Most of the strips everyone can understand… the one you linked to with dial-up, all your readers should understand that strip..
Conclusion: CAD is the most funniest comic i ever read… (and i have read many) The storyline and characters evolve and grow… to make it more funny. my advice: READ IT !!!
Okay, I am a hardcore gamer. However, I don't play, or even have seen many of the games mentioned in CAD, like AC2, Everquest or any from the Star Wars series.
If you read it a bit more toroughly, you will notice that it does not center in video games, but in two characters who are addicted to them.
Big difference? The characters may grow, evolve and develop… the games will not.
I have to disagree with you,
I do not see myself (or any of my friends) as hardcore gamers. In fact, most people to whom I've recommended this commic aren't gamers at all. And quite a few don't know anything about computerhardware and/or just consoles.
Guess what… They all find this comic hillarious!
And I think this comic just is the best one that's out there on the internet 🙂
Conclusion: You are totally wrong 🙂
That was my opinion 🙂
I am barely a gamer (I hardly play games on any platform or device at all anymore) yet I am an avid follower of CAD and have fallen in love with the humor. The comment that it would only appeal to gamers has to come from someone who is so jaded by doing these reviews that they have lost sight of humor or someone who thinks because they are not a gamer and “don’t get it” that only gamers do. These are not necessarily critical comments of Matt, but for those of you reading this review, just keep it in mind.
I’m not a gamer of any sorts and do not claim to be. I still LOVE ctrl+alt+del.
Also, why’d you use the old art style?
Ohh also, Ctrl+Alt+Del (the series of keystrokes), reboots more than just Windows machines, or atleast most Linux distros I’ve tried have it also, and I believe old Dos did too… meaning it probley originated with Unix…
And also:”As a non-hardcore gamer from way back (my family had a Pong system, and I remember the Atari 2600/Intellivision/Colecovision feuds), I recognize the appeal of gamer-specific humor” – It sounds like your trying to make yourself sound less Bias here… you failed, as you show that you do indeed have little interest in video games at all…
I’ve been reading this comic almost since it’s creation, and it is by far the best I have ever read. And although yes I am a hardcore gamer, andunderstand a LITTLE more of the content in the comic, my girlfriend, who is anything but a hardcore gamer, loves the comic almost as much as I do. I have also brought 6 of my friends to this comic, and they don’t game half as much as I do but still proclaim CAD as their favorite comic.
One of the funniest comics on the web, for gamers or non-gamers. Great characters and great humour and judging from the posts to this article plenty of other people think so too. I’m starting to feel a little sorry for the guy who wrote this article though- he’s really getting crapped on, isn’t he? I also have to wonder what sort of comics he reads.
i totally disagree. i love video games but i dont even own any of the newest systems, i am still playing off of the ps1 and the n64 (dont forget the snes and sega gen) i also dont play any online games. the point of the matter is, ctrl+alt+del is one of the funniest comics that i read on a daily basis and i dont have a problem understanding what he is talking about. yes tim is much more talented then what the comic shows, but seriously here THIS IS A COMIC STRIP, who says that it cant be just talking heads. i think that everyone should get a chance to read tim's comic and ignore this above commentary, because simply humor is humor if you have a sense of humor you will understand the comic period.
I think you are off on the assumption that only hard core gamers will only enjoy this comic. I myself love this comic more for His sense of humor, his talent, than I do the Gaming part. Tim “champions” the xbox, while I am an avid Playstation fan, and dont enjoy the xbox at all. (NO LETS NOT DEBATE THAT HERE)
You also critisize him by stating that the comic is a “talking head” comic, and he doesnt use much action. I personally read a LOT of comics, and this comic is one of the best done in that perspective in my opinion.
Quote “If you fit into the hardcore gamer subset, then you will likely find something that appeals to you “
Well i am hardly a hardcore gamer myself, but funny is funny. You dont need to know what a Raedon 9700 pro is, but knowing that if Ethan (a comp and gamer maniac) is putting numerous ones on a “super computer” so he can play a upcoming game, and how he neurotically focus' on it, thats some funny stuff.
This comic strip is more then one line hitters or strip funnies, you above mentioend that one of its strengths was its storyline and i whole heartedly agree, its got a great storyline but he still packs it with great instances so you dont have to drag on 2-3 strips before getting the final kapow punchline.
I have read every strip that has been done on http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/ and i cant even think of one where i thought “wow that was lame” or “hmm not very funny” i often catch myself laughing out of control and running into the other room and informing my brother on the latest strip, which he also enjoys (he is a hardcore gamer).
” Oh sorry kenji, I guess your fired” HURRK–!! LOL that should have been your opening strip, not the ogre, anyhow back to my rant.
This strip kicks arse and it has a very wide fanbase of thousands of readers, probably more but i dont really want to spit out a innacurate number. Moreover this site is more then a webcomic, its a HQ for all aspiring comics to come and get tips and criticism on their strips, its a place where they do reviews on all sorts of things from personal experiences to movies/games. Finally the people at http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/ do one thing i havnt quite seen at other web comics, they play the games they talk about with you, they host online forays and frag fests where you can actually play and interact with them. I still wont forget the time i actually logged onto Savage and sniped Absath a few times, before he reamed me the next couple of rounds.
http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/ Kicks arse, you dont need to be any kind of gamer, computer literate or not to know what funny is, and this strip is funny.
-Dreadedspirit@hotmail.com avid crtlaltdel reader forever!
I don’t have time to be a hardcore gamer, but I still love this comic. It makes me laugh on a semi-daily basis. Absath includes numerous references beside gaming ie. movies, relationship, and the best slap-stick insanity. Ted is just a reference to Fight Club. Also Absath does not beg for money 24/7 cough*8bit*cough. He is very loyal to his fans and thanks them quite often. He’s a good guy who has won over our loyalty. Happy Winter-een-mas everybody.
Daniel Henry
i dont play video games at all, in fact all of the knowledge of gaming past NES has come from this webcomic, and i would just like to say that i love it, and read it everyday
I don’t have time to be a hardcore gamer, but I still love this comic. It makes me laugh on a semi-daily basis. Absath includes numerous references beside gaming ie. movies, relationship, and the best slap-stick insanity. Ted is just a reference to Fight Club. Also Absath does not beg for money 24/7 cough*8bit*cough. He is very loyal to his fans and thanks them quite often. He’s a good guy who has won over our loyalty. Happy Winter-een-mas everybody.
Daniel Henry
Seriously, if you think this comic will fizzle out, you need to take another look at the ratings. Everytime CAD makes it onto a top web comic list, it always ends up number one, and if it happens to slip the fans, who are the most devoted i have ever seen, alwyas get it back to number one. Another note on the fans, i don't think any other artist could ask for $900 for moving expenses and get over 3x that amount. For obvious reasons, CAD must appeal to hardcore gamers, which are known for being quite poor. No, I am not a hardcore gamer, yes i need a daily ration of games, but it is the only way one can say sane in my opinion. Personally I applaud Tim for what he has done. It is not easy to start something and not be sure where it is going to lead, and put all your faith in others. He has done exactly that, and he has succeeded. Tim i love your comic, and i go to the site more times in a day than i can count. Keep up the good work. If you feel i am in error or you agree with me, well tell me about it at goalie7763@aol.com .
I personally disagree with the hardcore gamer perspective of Ctrl Alt Del. Even my sister, other non gamer friends and family get a kick out some of the comics. I personally feel that CAD is directed to a more general audience, not just the hardcore gamer.
Only a few of the comics do point toward Hardcore gamers. I am by no means a hardcore gamer, and I think it is funny. My mom thought some where funny, and I had to explain to her for 20 minutes how to turn off the computer. I mean shesh, if she thinks it's funny…
I think Tim's comic is completely awesome. When I first started reading it, I didn't know what a lot of things were, what in the blue bonnets of hell is a Radeon. And now I find myself going into best buy and picking it up, wondering where I can find a lighter. Overall you learn about the gaming world from CtrlAltDel, you don't need to be a harcore gamer. I don't even play computer games [insert gasp here]
Tha's all I have to say
I disagree completely when you say that CAD is only for hardcore gamers. I’m a girl for crying out loud and as stated in this comic, gaming girls are hard to find. I really don’t consider myself to be a “hardcore” gamer. In fact, I only play a few rpgs here and there because I don’t have time for them with 4H, NRA, Band, Show Choir, Jazz Band, Chorus, musicals, plays, auditions, lessons…. need I go on? ANYWAY, CAD is by far one of the funniest comics out there simply because there are some themes in it that people just get. Your ideas are very outdated and off simply becuase your not using any of the stuff past the first year the comic was out. If you read the entire thing of CAD you’d start picking that up. CAD is absolutely hillarious and you don’t have to be a hardcore gamer to pick the humor up.
You go “Absath”!!!
~* Selene Silverwing *~ ^_^
i disagree with your article, i enjoy reading tim's comic and while i do play games occasionally, i am not a gamer. i find that tim's comic is refreshing and humourous and i think it easy to understand, regardless of one's computer/gaming knowledge.
How in the world? Are you sure you even read the right comic, Matt? When I read CAD, I see a long and diverse series of comics making fun of just about everything from games (duh), computing, relationships, and sometimes just…stuff. I’m sorry, Matt, but you get a zero on credibility with this reader. BTW, I’m a college student and a busy one at that, I don’t have time to be a hardcore gamer, don’t own a single console more recent than the now-old PlayStation (not the new compact one, the old boxier job). I happen to run Linux and I find the comic to be hilarious. Several of my friends who are casual gamers (have roommates who own a system, usually) find the comic to be hilarious. And so, I might add, does my girlfriend, who is not a ‘hardcore gamer’. Maybe you need to lose whatever cynical chip you’re carrying around on your shoulders before you review another comic for this site. And then, maybe, try to take a look at CAD again. (and read some of the newer ones, please! The art in the old ones was fine, but the new stuff is superb). fin.
-Avarice
Although I disagree that CAD is only for hardcore gamers, I might be biased because I AM a hardcore gamer.
However, other than that point, I think this review is entirely fair and doesn’t seem “harsh” at all as some other commenters here have thought. It’s true that there are a ton of web comics out there depicted chracters obsessed with video games but there has to be something unique, something over the top, something BETTER about a certain comic to make it stand out, and CAD has that something.
As stated in the review, the artwork isn’t varied much concerning the characters’ actions, but I am very glad the reviewer visited the art pages, because in my opinion Tim Buckley is a great artist, and though it definitely shows in the comic, the art pages really show the extent of his talents.
Keep up the great work, Tim, and I’ll keep on reading!!!
I been enjoying the webcomic for over a year now. I am not a hardcore gamer at all… One, I can’t make the time for gameing cus of A-Levels (thats right im from the UK). Two, I’m shit at most games I’ve ever played before anyway. Stiil for a busy person, taking a look on this webcomic everyday is something that is looked forward to as a luxury, and continues to impress.
Also it seems a bit bias to show the older worse drawn comics than the up to date sexy ones.
Ciao!
Honestly, I think that this review misses the main point of the comic: the universal humor contained within it. Obviously there must be some reason that hundreds of people read, vote for (before Asbath removed himself from the lists as a favor to other comics), and donate to this comic.
Oh, and as far as the comment about it being aimed only at the hardcore gamers is concerned, you’ve obviously misinterpereted it. I, for example am not even close to what anybody would consider even an average gamer, let alone hardcore. I only own one system; a Gamecube, which is mocked on C+A+D, yet I still enjoy the comic and read it daily. Anyway, you really missed the mark on this one.
Asbath, you rock. Keep ’em coming.
-Aiden
Very poor review.
The strip appeals to a greater deal of people then just hardcore gamers but either way – there are hundreds of thousands of “hard core” gamers.
Matt Trpeal obviously has not spent a good deal of time reading though Tim's and has missed the simple off-the top / spin of the moment interesting situations and funny comics CAD has to offer.
Instead of looking for an underlining point or magical denominator, maybe the reviewer should read the comic for what it is; a unique entertaining comic that's updated several times weekly by a gamer, for gamers, and other people at that.
I really must disagree with your assessment of Ctrl+Alt+Del. It's really funny, even if you aren't a hardcore gamer, which I definitely don't claim to be. Though it may be geared towards the younger generation (ie. late twenties and lower), almost anyone who has emerged from their caves in the last five years will get at least one in three of the gaming jokes. And that's not all that's funny. Mr. Buckley has been responsible for many a cleaning of my keyboard when I read his comic while drinking soda, that, to me is greatness. And the talking head thing. It's a COMIC, that's what comics are! They're talking heads. Get over it. It's the content that makes a comic sucessful, and I'm sure that most everyone who actually bothers to READ THROUGH THE ENTIRE ARCHIVE, will agree Ctrl+Alt+Del doesn't skimp on content at all.
You said: “I recognize the appeal of gamer-specific humor – and there are a lot of people who play video games. But the willingness of Ctrl+Alt+Del to narrowly target a particular subset of them, the ones who get worked up into froths (angry or ecstatic) over a few pre-release screenshots, means that the larger potential audience might be rebuffed.”
I say: “Does everyone get like this with screenshots? No! Get real, CAD is not only for hardcore gamers. I don't consider myself as one and I still read this comic. “Why?” will you tell me? I'll answer you this: Because it's simply funny. It's easy to understand that Ethan doesn't like Radeon and has specific reasons to hate it. Just search a little in your head and you'll find. And you know, there are lots of hardcore gamers, yes, but I'm sure that there are also a damn lot of people that are non-hardcore and that read the comic, and find it great, just like me.”
You don't have to be a genius to understand.
Long Live C+A+D, Winter-Een -Mas and Tim Buckley!!
Yet again, im not a hard core gamer.
I dont know if the strip where Lilah asks Eathan if he watches porn… thats something that can relate to a large proportion of males… not just hardcore gamers. (just one example)
Great strip.
ScaryCucumber.
I don't quite think you understand the point of the comic, Matt! It's not to amuse “hard-core gamers” or internet-savvy game/computer developers. It's a funny look into the lives of people evolving (or, in the case of Ethan, sometimes de-evolving ;)) and just making fun of something they don't like. You seem like the type of person who would swoon over the next reality tv series because it “appeals to everyone”
One reason everyone likes Control-Alt-Delete and Asbath? He updates! Most comic-readers are suckers for people who actually can keep a storyline going for more than a week. Megatokyo is great and has amazing artistry and a non-gamer based storyline, but it's hard to pick out a storyline, whereas Asbath never fails his readers! He has the most devoted fan-base around, and reading the replies you've gotten, I can't quite see how you got ANYTHING from the comic.
Did you only read one or two strips first?
im no hardcore gamer, i hardly game, but what really makes this comic funny is to me is that ethan is completely insane, like me. even though ive never even SEEN counterstrike, Rob is obsessive about it, fanaticism and randomness is where i find most the humor. whatever happened to chef bryan and the arrows? sorry if half of this is already stated, but i got bored reading the endless amount of replies and jumped to my own.
in short, most everyone can find SOMETHING funny in here, even if its ethan smashing skulls of roomates with a frying pan, that takes no gaming experience to understand.
I'm not a gamer, even a little. As far as I go is Solitare, and even that's a bit of a stretch. Even so, I think CAD is the funniest thing to happen to web-comics since Little Gamers. I'm a huge fan of the art, the colors, the shading, then characters, and the story-lines. I've even donated a little, which I've never been moved to do for another web-comic.
Encryptic? I got your Encryptic right here, buddy!
I think that this strip was unfairly judged. But as an overly obssessed hardcore gamer who understands all the terms and nuances of this comic I can hardly present an unbiased opinion. However, it is my opinion that these comics should not be addressed as attempting to appeal to all groups, I mean come on when was the last time that you saw a tv show that was interesting and had appeal to everyone? So I just would like to say that Ctrl-Alt-Delete roxors and that it deserves to be everyone’s homepage. Jya
Hi Im not a real big game person. All I have is what I bought myself, a PSX and a few games that I enjoy that critics like you give terrible ratings. However, I love ctrl-alt-del, its one of the few webcomics I enjoy. I dont care if its not “new” or “original”. I think it hilarious, and I understand enough of the lingo to understand the comic. If I don’t understand something, then I look it up. It’s that simple. I think that ctrl-alt-del is better then any of the other comics, and certainly more enjoyable then other more “original” comics. thats all. -veggie dish
This is an awesome comicstrip. We can relate to the writer while laughing at the comics. And it is updated very often. There is a new strip everytime I pass by (3times a week or so) . I think that there is a small CAD community building. Go job Tim!!!
Happy Winter-een-mas to you all (to X-bot too)
I am in no way shape or form a hard core gamer, not even much of a gamer at all, but I absolutely love CAD. I am not completely lost when it comes to (damn, I wish my number keys weren’t broken on my keyboard.. work with me for now) 1t. I might be a little confused with game references, but I can always ask my friend Bobby. For the most part even if I don’t get the game references, I am cracking up reading the latest comic.
AND I’M A GIRL.
i happen to be a gamer myself, and ive introduced this game to many of my friends, (many of whom are NOT hardcore gamers) and they really find it funny! For example, at the risk of sounding redundant, check out the strip on the crest whitestrips doesnt apply to games in any shape or form, its just humor. The chef Brian comics are also a good indication of this.
I too have introduced numerous friends to Ctrl+alt+del some gamers some non gamers some non gamers who hate games but still find this comic funny so i will add my tallie to the side of disgreeing with you
I've read CAD for the better part of a year now, and i still find the humor in the comic fall-off-your-chair funny. I'm not a hardcore gamer per say, but i do spend alot of time playing video games.
I disgaree with you, (the writer) when you say that CAD targets a very specific audience. Anyone who plays video games or has even a basic knowledge of computers will know what Absath is tlaking about when he reffers to a “Radeon 9700.”
If Absath followed your advice and tried to widen his audience; it's possible that in doing so and trying to please more people he could loose that indescribable magic that the comic seems to have now, and end up just making the comic worse.
CAD is aweseome. I think that if Absath keeps doing what he's doing now, he'll be fine, and the comics audience will continue to grow as more and more people from around the world discover it.
I'd also like to thank Absath for putting this comic out in the first place, it's been a source of hilarity for me every time i see a new strip.
-Spitfire
I don’t think you entirely understand. Im not a ”hardcore” gamer, I game yes, but I don’t think quite to the same extent that some of the other readers do.
It’s not about the ‘genre’ or ‘demographic’. It’s about the characters, it’s them that I watch and follow. Although granted, I would say the story strips are more fun 😀
Also, Tim treats us more like friends than people who could pay for his comic, I’ve never even spoken to the guy but I can tell that he care’s about what we think of the comic, and if we’re happy with it. I’d wager he care’s more about being able to give us new strips regularly than him making money off it.
And Ethan just plain rocks, reminds me of me 😀 Irish all the way
Okay, well this'll probably just get lost in the shuffle, but I'd like to voice a slightly different opinion.
I used to enjoy CAD quite a lot, in fact it was actually the comic that first got me into webcomics. Ironically I feel CAD has lost much of what it had say a year ago. Maybe that’s just me, and maybe my taste in comics has just changed. Still I do not and never have felt that it's especially geared towards hardcore gamers.
I definitely agree that CAD is at it's prime during the storylines, however none of the stories in recent months have really gripped my interest like the older ones.
As closing note, I think CAD obviously appeals to a large amount of people, many of which are certainly not hardcore gamers.
However past that fact I agree with much of what has been said in this review.
i agree with most of the reviews. its not for 'hardcore gamers'. but i agree with some of the other people saying that the comic has lost its touch. maybe not touch- but it is a bit tamer now… non of that slap in the face action…its turning into drama >.<
I am not a hardcore gamer, actually I almost don’t game at all I still find CAD the best web comic I’ve seen in a long time.
The characters are funny as hell with some sarcastic humour to spice it up a little.
Even those who don’t play games actively find the comics amusing because even anti-gamers have heard about games and consoles and know a bit what the comics are about.
Many web-comics are about the most popular option on a computer(gaming), but still they keep steady people coming to read them and they have many positive comments about their comic.
CAD rules! Tim keep the comics coming 🙂
Well everyone has petty much said what i was going to say so i just wanted to agree in saying that CAD is a really funny and i think Tim does a great job. He updates all the time and the artwork as evolved considerably since i started reading it. Im not a hardcore gamer by any means and i dont own or have ever played anything on x-box but i still think its hysterical. Keep up the good work Tim!!!
Happy Winter-een-mas!!!
I'd like to comment on a couple of your ideas Mr. Trepal and your methods of reviewing. First I would like to mention that for every example of art, you have used some of the origional strips written by Mr. Buckley in your review. Though you can choose what you use, you don't mention in any way how the art has gotten better and improved over time, as does with a good percentage of artists. Furthermore I'd like to expand on your idea the Mr. Buckley's comic applies only to hardcore gamers. I'd like to say that though, I am a gamer I did not need to be a hardcore gamer to understand what Mr. Buckley writes about. Furthermore his comic is perhaps the best comedic comic that I read. Besides, why should we critique, that which is free to us, it's not as if you are having to pay money to read the comic, like some in the newspaper. Also you seem not to have any true knowledge about what you talk about or have you read all of the comic. For with Ethan's burning of the Radeon graphics card, without knowing what the Radeon is, that comic itself still is funny. Furthermore by your review you apparently haven't read all of Mr. Buckley's work and even if your gaming expertise is limited to pong and the Atari, I'm sure you would still be able to understand practically everything Mr. Buckley writes about. Keep up the good work on your comic.
CAD (Ctrl+Alt+Del) is in my opinion the best web comic, i think it relates to almost if not every “hardcore” gamer wether your getting into full swing of gaming, or just an off-on person who likes to sit down and play for hours on end every once in a while, then you have the “geek” (relating to extensive computer and videogame knowledge) trying to score the chick , the storyline of CAD might sometimes be a little sketchy at some points, anyone of the best parts about CAD is the creator ,Tim Buckley or on the forums or anywhere else “Absath” or “Abs” he gives you quick replys to your emails, takes suggestions for strips , he takes suggestions for items to be sold in the store, hell HE EVEN CREATED HIS OWN HOLIDAY “WINTER-EEN-MAS” how cool is that, which leads me back to my original statement in my opinion CAD is the coolest webcomic out there. thanks for your time
It’s been my experience that even non-hardcore gamers are aware of “gamer culture” and the feuds that rise up over the better game or better system are not restricted to those considered to be hardcore. I often play less than 1 hour a week but still get pretty roughed up when someone trash-talks my pretty little Xbox.
I enjoy some of the comments, but as a long time CAD fan, i cannot see myself as a hardcore gamer, i like to have fun and mess with peoples mind like any other nerd i know, but i cannot sit hour on hour playing a game and if you dont know what a Radeon is…I suggest you quit your job while your ahead. Im not a hardcore gamer, so, revise your article, think of it seriously, if you can understand some of the concepts, and your not a hardcore gamer, then lets put it this way, its not for hardcore gamers, and besides, Abs puts links on the news post about the comic sometimes if its a tad confusing.
-Halo
I didn’t read any of the other comments, so bear with me if I repeat. But I am in no way shape or form a hardcore gamer… my Xbox has been unplugged for months and I’m fairly certain my computer monitor is actually an Etch-A-Sketch posing as something it’s not. However, I enjoy every single one of Buckley’s comics because the joke in them is often not about games themselves; it seems to me that the comic is about Ethan being a psycho, and games are a readily available avenue through which his (hilarious) psychosis is shown.
And way to put quotation marks around “longer” when describing the extended storylines. What, they’re fake longer or something? You think they’re longer at first, but it’s just an optical illusion, so they’re only “longer”?
And what on God’s green Earth is a Secret Knowledge™, and will hookers accept it in exchange for sex?
I have been reading Ctrl+Alt+Del for awhile now, although I am not a gamer. Some of the comics I don’t understand, but for the most part I do. I can understand why Tim Buckley makes those gaming comics and I don’t mind. It isn’t fair to say that non-hardcore gamers wouldn’t like it, because it is a very funny and entertaining comic and Tim Buckley has a great amount of talent.
Three words about CAD. Best. Comic. EVER. I have never read anything nearly so funny in all my life. There are PLENTY of non-gamer jokes, from rubert and ninjas in the early days, to The ever popular “SHORYUKEN” in “tis the season” and the frosty joke in “toasty”. I don't what what you were drinking and/or smoking when you reviewed this comic, but it must have been crazy strong. In closing, you are a moron if you don't like CAD. It rocks even to us non-hardcore gamers. Also,
Happy Winter-een-mas!
–Major CAD fan in Texas, Blake Royall, Out.
The last game I ever played for a system was super smash brothers for N64 and it was one of about 4 games my brother and I owned. That was at least a year ago. I've never once played a PC game. I've read every CTRL-ALT-DEL comic there is and I freakin love it. That's just my story. Sorry Lucas, sorry Ethan. And as a girl, Lilah, I'm sorry for being the typical stereotype of a girl that wouldn't know a computer from a microwave. That's all.
I've read the strip and I've found that Tim uses a variety of comedic devices, rather than just “frag wars” and what not. Strips like Penny Arcade and the like certainly indulge the more decadant video game player, but saying that CAD is exclusively video games is to say that PVP is exclusively gamer. They both utilize video games as only a foundation. The entire comic centers more around the personalities of the men involved. And more specifically, Ethan's original and even eccentric behavior. Even when video games are involved for a gag, such as Ethan's co-worker and Counter Strike, the basis of the comical effect is Ethan's distaste for said gamer. And if someone doesn't know what Counter Strike is, they can substitute Redneck Rampage.
I can understand the concern of the essayist, but doubtless his logic falls apart for those who have been die hard fans since the beginning. And watching Ethan melt Frosty the Snowman pretty much made the series for me. Perhaps allow the readership to decide for themselves if the series is too technical for their tastes. Novel idea? I think so.
okay, CAD rules, whether or not you’re a hardcore gamer. I mean, i barely played any games when i started reading it. it was funny either way. CAD rules, and Happy/Merry Winter-een-mas to ALL! WOOT!
Well, I almost feel sorry for mister Matt Trepal for being completely crapped on in every comment here, but I still feel that he is not quite covered in crap enough. Quite frankly, this review sucks. The reviewer obviously has not read any of the later comics, where the art does indeed progress, along with the characters. And I know it’s been said about 82 times at this time (when I’m writing this there are 82 comments), but really, I am not by any means a hardcore gamer. I am 14, I go to school and spend most of my life doing homework. I have next to no time for games. I have never in my life owned a console, my home computer sucks. But I still think this comic rocks, I love it. All the friends I’ve shown it to (none of them gamers) love the comic. It doesn’t target just one audience, though the l337 concept is rather specific. Many non-gamers would know what a Radeon 9700 is, simply because Radeon is a popular company, but if they didn’t, it’s still funny, he whips out a lighter and burns the thing. Finally, even if CAD was only geared to hardcore gamers, why is that bad? You act like there’s something wrong with that. Every cartoon out there is geared to a specific group of people. But the important thing about CAD is that the group that it is geared too (most people with a sense of humor and very limited computer knowledge) will doubtless find it hilarious.
Hey, buddy, that's a stupid comment! You say the guy shouldn't be reviewing this just because people don't have to pay to read it? That's stupid! People can review stuff w/o your permission, mmk?
And hey, I love CAD,and I think it appeals to a lot of non-gamers, me being one of them. But it is true, reviewer guy, that the comic strip is for gamers. Thus, does it really matter if the average Joe doesn't get it? Okay, maybe it matters to the writer, 'cause isn't he trying to make a living off of it? But why should it matter to a reviewer?
I thought this one guy here's got a good point that the comic strip has been getting better and better, especially the art. And you, reviewer, made the comment that overall the series was too, I dunno, had too much stuff non-gamers wouldn't understand. You acknowledged that it was getting better, but said that overall it still had too much of that. Well… if it's progressing, then who cares about “overall” anyway? I mean, you're talking about from when he just started the thing, of course it's better now than it was then. THat's all
Hi,
I play video games quite a bit on all platforms cpu, consoles,x- box, PS2 (NOT GAMECUBE) and hand helds. However i dont believe you need to be a gamer to enjoy CAD. I introduced the site to my brother who is not a gamer and he got a few laughes out of it. But also missed a few jokes, so takes this input as you please, but i’ll be a reader and a fan for a long time to come
P.S. Winter-een-mas is awesome
Mikey1220 @optonline.com
CAD is probably my Favorite comic of all time, in any format, it is the only one so far to Challenge Foxtrot so far in my own beliefs.
i do not own an Xbox, i loathed this comic for having it….for about 3 strips, then i couldn’t get enough of it. CAD is one of the best comic out there. period.
I honestly don’t agree with the hardcore gamer reference. I am by far not a hardcore gamer, my internet is only 56k (otherwise I would be another gamer girl for the guys to worry about). Ither way though, I got into this comic far before games, it is actually with CAD that I have been able to understand what my gamer friends are talking about. I dont think that Tim will have any trouble growing bigger on the web.
Pixie
Wow, Tim. You couldn't have read it more wrong. Unlike many Webcomics, this one does have appeal outside the hardcore gamer set….Though, I confess, I myself AM a hardcore gamer. Peronally, I rate this right up there with The Hallowed Penny Arcade itself. Anywho, at least you didn't totally slam it, and you did at least read the whole thing unlike so many reviewers…..If it ain' for you, fair nuff, but this has got to be 1 of my top 5 webcomics ever.
I strongly dissagree with this review…I am not a hardcore gamer at all, I barely play games, if i have a good one i play for a bit a day, but sometimes I go for weeks without playing, and I LOVE THE COMIC. I read it all the time and crack up at what Tim has to say through these characters. It’s a brilliant comic, and those comics you show are his very old ones, and they have gotten much better with time. It is the best comic on the web, pure and simple. Thank you Tim, for all the laughs.
RJ
I rarely game and still enjoy the comic. I also read Pvp and several pseudo “gaming” comics, and enjoy all. I have several friends who aren’t gamers either who regularly read.
I’m just going to say it, this review stuck weasel turd. I can’t belive you gave CAD so little credit.Here are just a few other reasons i disliked this review:
1. You used old art which makes the comic seem bad although it has some of the best drawing around now. (I spend my free time trying to draw Eathan and Lucas.)
2. You don’t know what a “Radeon 9700” is. (Come on I knew this when I was 5.)
3. You put nothing about Winter-een-mas, which is the best holiday I know.
4. When I started to read CAD I didn’t know what Halo was. (Belive it or not) And I got all of the jokes right off. I also thank Tim because it is his comic that turned me into a gamer.
5. I told all of my friend at school about the site (I have 48) and they all went there and loved it. Also two of them donated to the site.
CAD, Ethan, Lucas, and of course your creator Tim, I hope you keep going forever!
-Kaya
I'm not a hardcore gamer in any sense. I know a few addicts though and I find this comic hiliarious. Ctrl+alt+del doesn't limit itself to any one subset of gaming or even game technology, it's taken on everything from console to pc and hit on operating system debates in between. Also I wasn't aware that webcomics were supposed to have an all inclusive universal appeal spanning the entire internet. Perhaps though, I'm out of line.
Like every one else that has posted here, I have to disagree with several of your views. This review was entirely too biased.
Your entire review seemed to be based on the fact that you do not aprove a comic that is targeted towards a specific group of consumers. What, may I ask, is not? Everything a consumer buys is targeted to a specific group.
Hardcore gamers are very serious and passionate in their views. Gaming to a hardcore gamer could be comparable to a religious zealot. The fact that he has done as well as he has is very impressive. He makes his comic very funny, without pissing off any specific group.
Have you seen the donations he has received? He asked for a mere $900, to help him move. As of this moment, he has raked in $3326.41. What other webcomic has had such success? The fans of CAD are extremely loyal.
I have read many webcomics, and still do to this day. Take Megatokyo for example. This used to be my favorite comic, before I discovered CAD. The best moments in Megatokyo are when the comic is like CAD. Without Largo and his gaming antics that comic would be a flop. The parts that may appeal to a larger audience are incredibly boring.
CAD may be a gamers comic, but that is what makes it so good. For you to say otherwise is incredibly narrow minded. Heres an example: You may like a comic about Billybob, the incredible gas pump attendent. I do not like your comic. Does that mean the creator of that comic is wrong to create a comic targeting people who like gas pump attendents? Certainly not!
I could go into more detail and make an incredibly long list of the things wrong with your biased review, but to do so would be to repeat things that the many loyal fans before me have already done.
I've got fragging to do. Go read about Billybob, n00b.
Keep up the good work, Tim!
Happy Winter-een-mas!!
i've been a fan of this comic since almost the start, and to say that it is only based on hard-core gamers is wrong, although i am a hard-core computer person, i hardly ever play a game other than solitare once and a while.
I believe CAD is as good as it gets when it comes to gaming comics. Tim’s sure got a good head on his shoulders, and knows how to put gaming and humor together while appealing to everyone. You need not be a hardcore gamer to read it. All I have is PS2 and a somewhat nice computer(not really at all nice), but you don’t need any of it to understand the jokes. The newsposts are informative and usually there when a new comic is up to. Dedication’s the key word here. The man has a lot of it.
Wow. I hate playing video games and i go into the CAD site everyday. It is my absolute favorite. P'shaw
Seriously, if you think this comic will fizzle out, you need to take another look at the ratings. Everytime CAD makes it onto a top web comic list, it always ends up number one, and if it happens to slip the fans, who are the most devoted i have ever seen, alwyas get it back to number one. Another note on the fans, i don't think any other artist could ask for $900 for moving expenses and get over 3x that amount. For obvious reasons, CAD must appeal to hardcore gamers, which are known for being quite poor. No, I am not a hardcore gamer, yes i need a daily ration of games, but it is the only way one can say sane in my opinion. Personally I applaud Tim for what he has done. It is not easy to start something and not be sure where it is going to lead, and put all your faith in others. He has done exactly that, and he has succeeded. Tim i love your comic, and i go to the site more times in a day than i can count. Keep up the good work. If you feel i am in error or you agree with me, well tell me about it at goalie7763@aol.com .
Sorry Tim but Ctrl-Alt-Del is only my second fav. online comic vgcats is my #1 but it's close =\
I've been reading CAD since it's first few episodes. Yes, I play video games, Yes, I know about computers but No I don't get the jokes because I'm a tech geek or a hardcore gamer. I'm afraid your review is a little shallow and blows your one (you only really appear to have one) opinion out of all preportion. You have however suceeded in writing an entire review on one negative point… which must have taken some creativity on your part.
A reviewer is always gonna get grief from the fans of the comic he badly (at least in the majorities opinion) reviews. Thanks for writing a review of a web comic but in future please try to look at it from more than one angle.
Unlike most people (Tim included I think) using the early artwork didnt seem to be that big an issue to me… when put against the quality of the review it's of minor importance. I liked the old strips quality (before Ethan and Lucas became utterly and devilishly good looking) and the new strips look great, but the pictures are only important if they're used in a well balanced, objective and detailed review. Did you even bother to read the entire archive? If not, it's something for you to do over Winter-een-mas (oh no… did my use of an in-joke confuse you!?!)
-Stephen Kilbride
Happy Winter-een-mas all! Three cheers for Tim!
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*Source http://www.alexa.com
I must disagree with Mr. Trepal's assessment of CAD. As a complete and utter non-gamer, I still enjoy the comic on a far more regular basis than most comics in your average newspaper. I just want to note that, as far as I can tell, on the internet, it doesn't really matter whether you reach a really varied segment of the population. on television, if you don't reach a large enough group, yes, it matters because advertisers get rather snarky when their ads are not viewed. Same goes for radio. However, for the internet, this requirement does not seem to be as stringent. (Just take a good look at the quality of some of the websites out there.) Therefore, the death knell of a comic should not be dependent on what niche it appears to cater to, especially one so technologically based. (Polka dancers of America, now they may have a bit of an issue, since you really don't need a computer to polka.) Though, judging by the responses you've received to this column, CAD has a large, and apparently vociferous fan base. (Happy Winter-een-mas!)
Yeah, I’d just like to say that not only is this appealing to gamers, but anyone who knows a gamer (hardcore or otherwise) can relate. The Everquest addiction is hilarious to everyone I show (including our school librarian, who until this year didn’t know how to use a computer for e-mail). And as so many others have asked, why link to the early, unrefined art?
I personally don’t find myself a hard core gamer at all, I personally had to ask a friend on all the little details, but it is still a hilariuos comic strip, that is better than most gamer ones I have seen. It brings in both genders, and jokes that everyone can laugh at. (Like the latest with Ethan and Winter-een-mas, which is far from just a gamer funny) Well, I agree with you on the satire, CAD uses satire very well. And, yes, I think most readers are ROFLMAO as Ethan tries to kill Ted, or tries to woo Lilah. Every single one.
Okay, I think the bottom line here is YOU DON'T NEED TO GAME TO LIKE CTRL-ALT-DEL. I don't game. I have played American McGee's Alice, onCE, for about 10 minutes- and I played Sonic/ Mario/ Donkey Kong when I was 10. Other than that, I DON'T GAME. Ever. I love Ctrl-Alt-Del, I think Time does an excellent job. It's funny, and the gmare references are not obscure that a non-gamer like me doesn't get it. And if there is a specific “gamer term” that not everyone would get, he blatantly states it for you in his rant. And have you seen the support he's getting for his comic? He asked for $900 from his readers so that he could move.. you know how much he got? I believe the count is currently at approx $3300.
With those kind of numbers, he's got to be doing Something right.
~Dani (Female Non-Gamer Fan)
H A P P Y W I N T E R – E E N – M A S!!!!
I’m barely a serious gamer. If I could be considered one at least. But seriously, everyone who has EVER played an online match in a first person shooter knows what a camper is. Anyway, this is my favorite webcomic. I even find it funnier more often than Penny Arcade (my second favorite). Tim is the man and he’s got a gift for both the humor and art involved with CAD. And for the record, I’ve shown some CAD comics to friends who’ve picked up a game maybe once or twice in the past five years and they thought that particular strip was hilarious. Seems like a crowd pleaser in my experience.
I wouldn’t consider myself a hardcore gamer, nor a gamer that would get “worked up into froths”. However, I find Tim Buckly’s work to be one of the funniest web comics I’ve ever read. Sometimes I’m at a loss about the subject matter, but I laugh anyway because of Ethan’s actions. This is a testament to Tim Buckly’s ability to write pure comedy. I have friends who play games only when they come my house, but the read the comic and laugh just as I do. Matt Trpeal has got it wrong and needs to learn how to write in a funny way, not cheezy and pathetic.
I don't think it only appeals to 'hardcore' gamers. I'm hardly hardcore, but I'm going down the path. I sent some of the comics to my friends who aren't even close to hardcore, nor were they even gamers. They still found it funny and laughed their asses off. CAD is one of the, if not the, best webcomics out there. I'm sure someone that can run a computer knows what a video card(or sound card) is. If not, they should try and not be dumb. MERRY WINTER-EEN-MAS!!!!
Yes, the comic does have somewhat of a narrower range of popularity because it is targeted toward a more specific demographic than say, the sunday paper comics, but isn't that kind of one of the big upsides to webcomics? It's going to be a long time if ever that we will see a gaming comic in the newspaper, so this seems like a fantastic alternative, especially since gamers tend to be at least part techie, which means at least semi-frequent use of the internet.
Though, I bet (considering it is an *online* comic) that gamers are not in a minority when it comes to those who read webcomics, so it is more or less targeting a major demograpic.
Also, I think saying only hardcore gamers get it isn't really true, I am not a hardcore gamer, but I do game from time to time, and I know plenty of people who read this and other gaming comics that either don't game but hang out with people who do, and people who game less than I, who enjoy and understand most of the content of CAD.
My grandmother thinks I am a computer geek because I can: a) save a word document, b) write an email, and c) turn off a computer without exploding something. However, almost anyone under fifty will tell you my grandmother's standards are ridiculously low. Rather than proving my geekyness, my grandmother's opinions show her ignorance of modern culture. Mr. Trepal's review places him in a similarly comic light. He uses two or three phrases a non-gamer might not understand to describe CAD as “encriptic” and only for those with “Secret Knowledge.” Yet 130+ angry responses in less than two days show CAD's appeal beyond “the hardcore gamer subset.” If you have a sense of humor, CAD is for you. If you're an oblivious buffoon, CAD is probably still up your ally. That is, unless you're Matt T.
-BiColoredPythonRockSnake
Saddly, this review just shows how bias this site is to me. I will likely never visit (nor would I ever have before) this site, due to the simple fact how blind-sighted it is. If you don’t know what a 9700 Pro Radeon card is, what are you doing on a computer? I mean, honestly, just sit the computer aside, and don’t touch it again.
Furthermore, CAD is drawn much better than what your screenshots show now. Those are among the first (and very short time it was) slides Tim drew. And don’t showcase his talent (nor the dedicated hours he spends shading and such) that the newer slides show.
Also worth noting, is the fact that CAD is probably one of the few gaming comics worth reading. Chef Brian has become my favorite character just for the randomness of it all, and he obviously has nothing to do with gaming (“Napalm is nature’s Toothpaste”). It’s updated every few days, though it looks better than most comics updated in the same length of time. And even if you’re not a hardcore gamer, as long as you play multiplayer games like “Battlefield 1942” or even the long dated “Counter-Strike” you can catch nearly every joke they mention. I even know a person who had no idea what a LAN was, but still read through the entire archive and enjoied the comic almost as much as myself.
well, if Absath’s comic targets only a specific audience, then so be it, because its what he wants to do. there are many comics that you can find that appeal to a larger audience, and perhaps thats what he wants to veer a bit away from. he makes enough money to support himself off of his own comic, so i think its safe to say he’s doin pretty well. myself, i’m not a hardcore gamer either, but even some of the jokes i don’t directly get, i get the general idea of. i mean hey, they’re pro x-box-all-the-way types, and i’m a ps2 guy, but i still love it nonetheless. keep up the good work Absath!
-Trickler87
Actually, this review is fairly kind. I have yet to see this comic reach beyond the basic stretches of gamers. The jokes have been downhill for several months, Lilah is a horrible character, and their forums are more painful than watching Roseanne-Anna Nichole porn.
There’s far superior comics than CAD out there– why bother wasting time on sub-par unfunny jokes?
Ctrl+Alt+Del Is awsome! ’nuff said
Yeah, I disagree. True, sometimes the comics are related to games alone, but a lot of time's it's Ethan's fanaticism or Lucas' dry humor that give the comic that kick. For the most part, it's just a funny strip with an underlying gaming thread. I urge everyone, gamers and non gamers alike, to check it out.
I really think that the principles put forth in control alt delete are universal to a modern computer driven society. so what if some people who dont like computers feel unattached to the cult? I think this comic is hilarious. If financial support is any indicator, just check out the literally thousands of dollars donated to tim buckley. As far as im concerned, he must be doing something right.
Happy Winter-een-mas everyone!! (but where are my presents??)
Ok, I'm with the others on strongly disagreeing with your review, so you are one of the few who don't like and can't enjoy ctrl-alt-del. But I think there are lots of people out there who find it a great comic.
Some background here, I'm what some will refer to as a gamer, but I'm not a hardcore gamer simply because I have a job and can afford to game only 2-4 hours a day. Most of the games that ctrl-alt-del I've never seen or even played. Matter of fact I don't own a single console as I'm solely into PC games. So I don't see what you mentioned in your review that only hardcore gamers will understand or appreciate the comic.
As for the Secret Knowledge™ part, anyone who hasn't heard of a Radeon must be living under a rock or hiding in a cave in Afghanistan. The marketing of the Radeon series by ATI is so aggressive it almost guarantees that if you've ever come within 10 feet of anything IT related you would have heard of Radeon. If you've even stepped into an IT superstore or the IT section of a supermarket you would probably have ran into a Radeon product, if you've ever read a gaming or IT magazine you yould probably have ran into a Radeon, and if you've ever surfed the internet you would have probably ran into the name Radeon, so if you own or intend to get a PC you must be lying to say that you've never heard of a Radeon. So I don't see how its benefitting ATI or any other console or game developers to have their products made Secret Knowledge™. If fact all the ads of these products scream out their specifications to get people interested them to know more or buy it immediately.
I first fell in love and became a fan of ctrl-alt-del after reading about the comic about Lilah beating Ethan in DOA2 and in fact it was a female who posted the comic at a forum so you see, ctrl-alt-del does appeal to both males as well as females.
As for “talking head” style of the comics, who cares, Dilbert and Garfield are both talking head style but they're still immensely popular. So I say you're just biased to ctrl-alt-del.
So I say to all of you that haven't converted, just head over and read a few of the strips, I'm sure you'll love it.
-kitsura
Bah Humbug Mr Scrooge!. CAD is a wonderful comic in it’s own right. I stumbled across it a few weeks ago and was hooked. I am not a hardcore gamer, but this does not detract from the humor. I haven’t read PvP so I cannot comment on it, but I have read through the archives of Penny Arcade. Now I’m not saying that PA is a bad comic (I wouldn’t have read through the archives if it were) but, If you want to blast a comic for being too hard core gamer oriented, go after them. You will need an extra dose of “Secret Knowledge” to understand 99% of their strips.
I er.. well dont play video games at all unless I’m trying to beat my brother at them or proving some off wall point… or am just extremely bored. but I do read the comic and I almost always get the jokes <<; or have them explained by hardcore gaming fan friends... so I wouldnt say that only hardcore gamers could be into it all.. hec I even bought a shirt (and dyed it from brown to black by swimming in it) so anyways, thats all I had to say as a big fan of all comics and such. ~Dgirlk~
Well i think that you are a communist but does that make me right no. So you can go to hell…dirty communist. Myself I believe that it is not the general basis of the comics(i.e video games) but it is the way it is portrayed. CAD goes about this in a completely original way. The comic is by far the most innovative gaming comic online. You think your so cool with your Red Army and…and your makeout parties.
Alex (non communist)
Ctrl+Alt+Del is a great comic, Tim buckly is very talented. I love Ctrl+Alt+Del!!! GOOD LUCK WITH THE MOVE TIM!
Im deffinatly not a hardcore gamer.. Yet i still understand the jokes….
I'm also not a hardcore gamer (my newest system is a Sega Genesis [don't kill me!]) and I find Ctrl+alt+del absolutely hilarious. There's enough in the comic about the game itself to get the gist. Oftentimes, I'll be reading a comic and then fall gasping to the floor, twitching spastically as my diaphragm makes futile attempts to restart my normal breathing processes (i.e. stop me from laughing any harder). The characters are uber-tangy (that's my slang for “really awesome” … start spreading it around…) and the comic's plot is amazing. If there's anything out there that could possibly cause death by laughter, Ctrl+alt+del is probably it.
The comic most certainly does not appeal only to hardcore gamers. It has much less to do with gaming and much more to do with the character interplay than, say, Penny Arcade, a far more popular gaming strip.
It is not the art that carries this strip, though the art is certainly not bad. Buckley’s writing, which combines, hilariously, megalomania (Ethan), dryness (nearly all other characters), and my personal favorite, raw, unfiltered insanity (Chef Brian), never fails to produce a laugh from myself, at least. It remains light-hearted without sacrifing character credibility, and manages to keep up a meaningful continuity and storyline without becoming a soap opera.
I, and many others, will be celebrating Winter-Een-Mas in two weeks’ time, and I suggest the reviewer do the same.
-Caley Anderson
The comic most certainly does not appeal only to hardcore gamers. It has much less to do with gaming and much more to do with the character interplay than, say, Penny Arcade, a far more popular gaming strip.
It is not the art that carries this strip, though the art is certainly not bad. Buckley’s writing, which combines, hilariously, megalomania (Ethan), dryness (nearly all other characters), and my personal favorite, raw, unfiltered insanity (Chef Brian), never fails to produce a laugh from myself, at least. It remains light-hearted without sacrifing character credibility, and manages to keep up a meaningful continuity and storyline without becoming a soap opera.
I, and many others, will be celebrating Winter-Een-Mas in two weeks’ time, and I suggest the reviewer do the same.
-Caley Anderson
I do believe that you need to know somethings about games, such as how EQ steals souls and other things, But this does not prevent most of the hilarity produced by this comic.
Btw Radeon 9700 is not _bad_ as you said.
Ctrl+Alt+Del is one of the best online comics out there. Tim cover's all the bases of the computer and gaming world. keep up the great work, Tim.
From all your fans at the Cow box.
Happy Winter-een-mas
wow………….rolled 😉
CAD is most definitely one of the higher quality webcomics out there today. There with PA, LG and similar, CAD does have definite roots to games, gaming and other portions of the technological-entertainment world. I disagree with Trepal, that CAD is only a comic for gamers, and gamers who know a lot about a lot of games. Yes, as aforementioned, there is the element of gaming – however, it isn't beyond all comprehension for those who do not play teh specific games. In fact, it is my belief that such a comic nature about gaming could indeed influence many in to becoming interested in the game/platform/subject.
As mentioned before by another commentor, CAD has a far wider spectrum of readers than say PA does. Where PA tends to be cynical all-the-time, CAD tends to play on the comic side of things, and let the readers decide for themselves. This is not to say PA isn't a great comic – because it is.
In short, I'm saying that I believe Trepal has reviewed this comic in a perhaps excessive subjective manner, thus making it a poor review.
Ctrl+Alt+Del has long been a favourite of mine, and I'm sure – many others. It will continue to be a favourite as long as it's Creator, Tim, does exactly what he is doing now!
Ctrl+Alt+Del has not been done justice in this review. And that is a sorry sight.
Happy Winter-een-mas, Tim and fellow CADers.
email: effekt@soliphion.com
CAD can be appealing to all audiences. If someone’s who has never played video games or plays the occasional game and doest understand a term that they read on CAD, they can always search for the term on a search engine. I’m sure some of the people reading it will have found the website from such a service.
you say that it won’t get enough mileage? then how is he making a living off of this comic. its the best damn thing on the internet, this comic.
WolfNine7
The points made here are certainly valid, however, some things, such as camera angles, are pieces that add to the humor. The lack of movement solidifies the fact in readers' minds of the lunacy with which events are happening. A still shot can often not portray the ridiculus (i can't spell) movement of Ethan and his crew when it is constantly changing. For what it's worth, I feel that the chosen type of camera style was a necessary artistic piece of the CAD humor.
I disagree with what the reviewer had to say about CAD being a comic meant for hardcore gamers. I fancy myself as a hardcore gamer, but most of my friends are not. In fact, I have many friends who aren't gamers at all. When I introduced them to the comic, it made them laugh, and I know they've become regular readers like myself. The comic is enjoyable for all to read, not because of the gaming references, but because it's just a good comic. Period.
Also I'd like to wish everyone a happy Winter-een-mas!
this review seems just a little bit biased. you’re not one of those “GTA:VC is the work of the devil” kind of guys are you? anyway though, it would first seem to me that anyone who has ever bought a computer for the purposes of playing a game should know what a radeon 9700 is, else you’re not much of an educated buyer. but that’s a moot point, i won’t push it. my main beef with the review is that you’re making this “hardcore gamer” category, when in fact ctrlaltdel encompasses just about every console. granted, there is a focus on the x-box and pc, but almost every game that is included is at the time ridiculously popular, and it seems silly to me to call the millions of people who purchased, say, knights of the old republic the “hardcore gamer only” crowd.
the second main beef is that why the hell would you complain about the artwork when you only seem to have looked at the older comics? there are new ones too. they look better, they’re generally funnier, and are overall better done. and what about chef brian? hes not even “gamer culture”, just pure unadulterated ridiculosity.
meh, im ranting
Ctrl+alt+del rocks as a comic…
i dont know how you can say that its only for hardcore gamers…
i dont game, as a rule, im too busy.
but i find ctrl alt del hilarious… great job to the author, and a happy winter-een-mas to you all.
I'm 17, from england, and have visited CAD since i first saw a post on my local forums about it. i headed over to the website just in time to catch the second strip. From there i have been hooked, permanently. Now, yes, i am what could be considered a 'hardcore gamer' put i know for certain that my parents are not, and neither is my girlfriend. so can you explain to me, if your article is true, as to why i have to fight them off with a penguin to actually get any time on my own pc? in the past hour, i have had both of my parents asking (and yes, this is at 8am in the morning) 'HAS CAD BEEN UPDATED YET?'
If your article is true, then both of my (has to be said) parents of a non-determinal, older age, must both be hardcore gamers. even though the main thing being used on their computers would be Word.
Happy Winter-een-Mas!
I know I’m not a “hardcore” gamer. I don’t play games. Yet, I enjoy Ctrl+Alt+Del every day a new comic is posted. (I also enjoy other game-related comics) The only thing you need to enjoy this comic is a good sense of humor and maybe a search engine if you don’t know what the games are. (But who doesn’t know about the games/systems mentioned in the comic?)
while i am a big fan of gaming, by status as a law school student studying abroad in the uk means i definitely am not an in-depth gamer. I still love CAD however, and part of that appeal is the frustration when i know that a joke would be that much funnier if i knew what the hell they were talking about.
of course, i do get slightly disgruntled by the disproportionate time given to the xbox, but i figure that#s just because Tim knows that the PS2 is beyond reproach and thus poor material for comic gags *grin*
I strongly disagree with this entire review.
I am NOT a hardcore gamer, but I do like games. And yet I find this comic extremly funny.
I cant wait to wake up in the mornings of when he updates to read one.
The usage of words, to video games, and the comparsion of video game systems or the current games and the way he does it just hilarious.
CAD = GG.
Well I think you've already been hit over the head with this Matt- but CAD appeals to all gamers not just hardcore. I play a MMORPG about 5 hrs a week, thats it- my husband handles any and all computer related issues. and I adore CAD!
Moreover- I work in a rather conservative Christian office, I'm the only person in there that has seen LotR…. my coworkers always ask me to pull up the CAD comic so they can have a good laugh-
admittley I have to explain some things to them – ( I also had no idea about HALO) but his humor does indeed cross boundaries!
I also agree with several other commenters : Why did you use such old artwork? His later stuff is a great improvement over what you chose to show.
Overall rather dissappointed with this review- it really doesn't do CAD justice.
Right. This is your opinion, and I won't tell you it's not “right”, but I do disagree with you. I am not a hardcore gamer, I detest the XBox, and I don't see any reason why the strip should not be appealing to those not gamers. It is fun to read, the storyline is easy to grasp and entertaining, and you know what? Half the jokes aren't even about games, but the characters themselves!
I love the comic, and although there are times when I don't find it just <i>that</i> that fun, it's still one of the best comics out there, and I know several non-gamers who read it.
I have an imac, so no games there and the last game engine thing (of a sort) that I bought (hey that rhyms!) was a PS1 so I aint a hardcore gamer to speak of, but since I read the entire library of CAD in one night I have been hooked on this comic which I find greatly and consistently funny. The strip where chef brian stabbs a random guy in the eye and then his head catches fire had me on the floor crying for 15 straight minutes I was laughing so hard.
I think that a wide audience can appreciate this kind of random humor to a full extent with out a wide knowledge of gaming.
Don't pick on the internets' friend Tim. He is everyone's everyones friend and I think his comics are awesome. I am not a hardcore gamer – but I think his comics are, for me, an escape from work! I stop by twice a day at least – Keep up the awesome work Tim!
Happy WINTER-EEN-MAS Everybody!
The closest I ever got to video games was playing Tetris in a 386 a long, long time ago. And still, I consider Ctrl+Alt+Del one of the best webcomics. Of course there are times when the jokes seem quite obscure to me, but since it’s not only about games, but also about attitudes towards games and gaming life, I still find it quite funny.
CtrlAltDel is a work of craftmenship combining a slick established style with quality writing and a sense of humour that does not require a subscription “Hardcore Gamer Weekly” to enjoy.
I happen to browse the CAD site once a day and being a “hardcore” gamer, I enjoy it VERY much. I’ve showed the comic to 5 or 6 of my friends who are “casual” gamers and they laugh just as hard as I do. I’ve showed the comic to my girlfriend and some of her friends(who dont play video games very often) and they even find it funny. I’ve printed out a few of my favorite strips, put them in the front cover of a few of my notebooks for school, and people I would expect not to know anything about gaming even laugh at these.
So I disagree with your opinion that you need to be a hardcore gamer to enjoy this comic.
“This may work within that given demographic, but makes it difficult for the strip to appeal to potential readers on the outside.”
This is the entire appeal to some artists to start a webcomic. They can make the comic they truly want and not have to appeal to the masses in order to keep it going for those that they create it for; wether that be a group of people or themselves.
I think CAD appeals to others than the hardcore gamer, like casual gamers, the geek culture, including males and females. I’m the geek girl subset and wait impatiently for the next update. Buckley writes the comic well, always keeping us guessing with Ethan’s eccentric ideas (Rupert, the tie, X-Bot) and he knows when to throw in the insane randominity of Chef Brian. It’s just good fun.
Speaking as someone who can’t stand video games, can never seem to play one for more then a half hour before becoming bored ; I love this strip. The humor is funny and right on target with the subject matter. The characters are delightful and lively.
What makes CAD funny is the time and investiment that T. Buckley places in the carefully crafted story archs and jokes. It’s accessable by any one with a remote sense of the world today.
crtl-alt-del is the #1 web comic. no matter what anyone says or who says it. i think it is mind blowing that the fans like my self and others around the world have supported him in his move to a new place to live. he hardly expected $900 and he surpassed that in just 1 day from loyal fans. somehow ethan and lucas feel like close friends and you somehow can connect to them. what Tim has done with this strip is amazing and i give him and the props in the world. not many individuals can pull that kind site off. so i say ctrl-alt-del is not just for the major gamers. n00bies can get into it and start getting into it.
bravo Tim, bravo Tim. CTRL-ALT-DEL is #1
Ctrl+Alt+Del is one of the best comics out there, and i;m not a hardcore gamer I own a GameCube might I say Best System out there. X-BOX SUCKS!
I really disagree. I am not a gamer, in fact, the only games I play usually involve solitare. Tim Buckley's comic is halarious and well drawn, unlike many of the filth that passes itself off as comics on the internet.
But i like Roseanne-Anna Nichole porn.
dammit!
/mrcs
I know you’ve already had LOADS of replies to this, and I could rant (believe me, I could), but I just want to say a few things. The review made here is entirely inaccurate. The drawing (like many others have noted) has improved GREATLY from the examples shown here. Totally not fair.
And another note. Who out there, video-game literate or not, can not appreciate being addicted to a game? I have one word for you; Solitaire.
So. In short, CAD rules, and I want to wish a Happy Winter-een-Mas! to everyone, and hope that the season gives heart to those who bash gamers and the comics who love them.
I don't think you need to really be a 'hardcore gamer' or whatever you call it to enjoy this.. hell, my glory days of gaming were back in the NES/SNES days.. I play new stuff on the computer from time to time, but I still enjoy the heck out of this comic.. You don't need to keep up to date on everything electronic to know what the comic is talking about.. and the Radeon 9700, a sandwich.. well, it IS technical, but its hardly a hidden matter of discussion. If was talked about for months if you do much web browsing..
Ah well, I think this review hits on some good points, but personally I think its appealing to a much wider audience than stated above.
I am not much of a gamer, in fact it’s laughable to consider me anywhere near the catagory of “hardcore gamer”, but i’m a huge fan of CAD. The humor in even Buckley’s most game-specific strips has been easy enough to understand even if one is not familiar with that game, and i am only familiar with a handful of the ones he has mentioned. I’m impressed with very few webcomics, as i feel the jokes are generally mediocre, but CAD is hilarious and socially relevant while keeping with the gaming comic genre.
This strip is so many more times better than you make it sound. Your review makes it sound as though its a comic strip with intense gaming references that cause it to be dull and unfunny to any non-gamers. even if you don't know what the game 'fallout 2' is for instance, you can still laugh at ethan's relapse problems that he suffers if he hears the word 'fallout'. you can similarly laugh at ethan's hatred toward rob, even though it is centered around his obsession with counter-strike.
And then there are even strips that have no gaming references at all. Take for example:
-Chef Brian
-Winter-een-mas
-Case 132
-etc.
This strip deserves more credit than you have given it, especially in the areas of artwork. i dont care who you are, but unless you look at the first couple strips, before he began outlining and shading his characters, you cannot find any way his artwork could be improved. maybe you could like somebody else's style better, but there is nothing wrong with his.
Happy Winter-een-mas to all!
Even if its just me echoing what others have said. Such a great comic. I would love to hear Matt Trepal defend his words. Not to be antagonistic, just because maybe he sees something none of us do.
HAPPY WINTER-EEN-MAS
Although I have somewhat of an extensive knowledge of “gaming” through television, experience and “gamer” friends alike… I wouldn't consider myself hardcore at all.
I can't get enough of the comic…there's never anything ridiculously obscure and secret about anything he pokes fun at that we need to explore in depth to get the joke
So..
I'd have to disagree aswell
I don’t think that you have to be a hardcore gamer to enjoy Ctrl-Alt-Del. I think that most gamers in general, like myself, understand most (if not all) of the jokes presented throughout the series. Furthermore, I like to think that most people who play (modern, possibly graphic-intensive) computer games know that a Radeon 9700 is a video card.
No way, Ctrl-Alt-Del is for anyone, my friends who've never touched a console thinks its funny too. HAPPY WINTER-EEN-MAS!
~Bret~
http://www.omninetwork.co.uk
i’m not really into games. in fact, i rarely play them.
yet this comic is still amazing, especially the character scott.
linux rocks
Man, you guys have a really bad rap. i mean really, all the web comics i enjoy and love all got bashed by one of the reviewers at comixpedia…You guys should learn to be more objective and not give ANY personnal thoughts about the comic in the article. I love CAD for it is funny. Some people might not understand what a radeon 9700 is, but those people dont even have a computer, nor do they even look at webcomics. Now get your story straight.
I completely agree with you. I've never been much of a 'hard-core' gamer…but I understand it. And judging by the amount of comments you've receive on this article, you were alittle presumptious in labeling this comic “hard-core only”. That's just my opinion.
Ah, also, I'd like to thank Tim for making a female-gamer character. Use video game chicks are few and far between, and we need the recognition.
Sorry Matt Trepal. I gotta disagree right along with everyone else. Yes I have a rather extensive knowledge of video games and computer hardware. But that isn't what draws me to CAD. The character driven humor is what appeals to me, not what little secret nugget of l33tness Tim can slip into the comic. My sister, who can barely operate a computer and never plays video games, enjoys the comic as much as I, and evidently a great many other people, do. It has been said again and again in the replies to your review, and I will reiterate: the artwork you chose is all older stuff. Tim's work has only gotten better with age. I will continue to read CAD for as long as Tim writes it. I will leave you with one final thought as I sit here typing, proudly wearing my Rated l337 by CAD sweatshirt:
Happy WINTER-EEN-MAS!!!!
like everyone else, i would not consider myself a hardcore gamer, though the comic is still funny for me.
I’m definitely not a hardcore gamer either. I am quite into computers, and play some games, but not to the extent you suggest. This is my favourite webcomic, and many of my friends who are not hardcore gamers also read it.
I hope you are aware that you are completly wrong on the fact that you need to be a hardcore gamer to like this comic. I rarely play video games and it is my favorite web comic of all.
Well I completely understand why you would think this comic is for “hardcore” gamers, he uses many terms and such that only pretty big gamers / interent people would know. Although many people would still find the majority of the strips funny. Personally i think a very large majority of households have some kind of gaming system in them now-a-days, and even if you arent up to date on games, you still can find most of his humor funny. Also I have showed this comic to my girlfriend (definately not a gamer) and as you said, she didnt understand a few comics that were about specific games or use of 1337 and other internet slang, but the ones she did get she found histerical. Now i agree someone with no internet/gaming knowledge would not like the comic. But this is a web-based comic, and i think the majority of people looking for web-based comics to read are pretty internet knowledgable, so they would get alot of the slang. Well, I thought I would throw my opinion out there, very well done review, I see where your coming from entirely 🙂
I would in no way call myself a hard core gamer. I play a single obscure persona based furry RP, a game called aqua aqua for ps2 that i doubt most have heard of, and ddr on ps2. Ive touched the very fringes, and thats it. Sure, i have gamer friends, and i spend a good deal of my time online, but i cant code, or anything like that. Im the exact opposite, one of those english geeks. Poet, artist, all that stuff. But i still can relate to ctrl+alt+del. It reminds me of my friends, and sometimes myself. Sure, maybe hard core gamers would catch a few subtle references i might miss, but it dont think it applies to only the hard cores. Anyone who has the slightest bit of gamer in them, or has friends who are gamers can relate.
I kind of feel like standing up and going ‘Hello, my name is Tor and I’m not a hardcore gamer,’ and then wait for everyone else to go ‘Hi Tor’ with an unassertive applause. Anyway, instead of attacking your criticism, which to some degree is quite realistic, although I have to say I think you’ve exaggerated somewhat, I’ll entitle you to your opinion and state mine separately.
To my knowledge, most people I have shown the comic to have understood it fully, even the occasional obscure reference to some computer chip or another. They even sympathize with the gaming addiction to some game, because the addiction in itself is relative. There are a lot of fads out there, including roleplaying games, card games, some specific author’s books, any movie or old TV-show. And people get too intense, and they lose their ‘lives’ (in a nonliteral sense) to their obsession. Ethan as a character is an exaggerated middleway between all of these different obsessions, and the way in which he stays in-character for hundreds of hundreds of strips is something I find quite impressive.
Using Ethan as an example, all the other characters in general apply to their distinct social classification, bringing under their fold various groups of people, and incorporating their quirks in to their personalities. These personalities are woven well enough that they clash, yet coexist in a way that while it is obviously something of a parody of reality, it does not seem unnatural. It’s like watching a comic version of Friends, although I’d not dare to say he ripped the concept in any way, with different settings, characters and themes.
In your defense, Matt, I have to say that it’s quite obvious you’ve read the whole comic, because in your positive references to the comic (specifically the part where Ethan decides to make a video game, and similar references) you are referencing to things further into the storyline, all the way up to Lilah. And I absolutely agree with you on this point, that the consisted cross-strip storylines are more fulfilling and do add a lot to the characters. However, the singular strips, for example the recent one about the TV-Network releasing some new Japanese Cartoon, and completely violating it before putting it on air, is something that in a slap-stick sort of way, certainly tickles a funny nerve with me. However, the intermissions between the times when something actually ‘happens’ can be a bit long. Now we’re heading in the direction of winter-een-mas it seems, which is, at least so far, very funny.
When discussing the art, I’ll have to say that I think the art is fine. While I agree with you that it is to a large degree a ‘talking heads’ sort of comic, I can also imagine that poor Tim has a life outside of CAD. While I know that he can do better, it wouldn’t really be… well… worth it. The funniest bits about CAD, is generally the dialogue. The pictures exist as an emphasis of what is going on, or implies the mood of the dialogue. A raised eyebrow indicates that what Lucas is saying right now is so absolutely drenched in sarcasm, that the acidic fluid dripping off it is burning holes in the carpet. And, of course, to show the events that happen, though that much is obvious. The events that happen are as you say mostly gamer-related and thus do not really entitle vast amounts of movement. Which is the way that it’s supposed to be. While I’m sure Tim could do it in a style well-drawn enough to rival Megatokyo if he really put his mind to it, it would spoil the nice and laid-back style that the comic has acquired. As it is now, the comic has an unformal undertone that lets you relax to some degree when you read the comic, you don’t really expect to see anything but true interaction between the featured characters. I could go on forever about this, so I’ll cut myself short.
All in all, I find the comic to be a refreshing exit from reality, it gives me five minutes of laughing and joking a few times a week. I don’t leave it thinking seriously about how things are going to end up between the characters, and I only check it once every other day or so, but I don’t think it was ever really meant to be a dramatic comic experience. It’s a pass-time, and a very good one at that. I find it funny and very amusing, and the characters are all harmless and friendly, and easy to like. There are a million details that could be improved, but if you ask me, I wouldn’t really change a thing.
I have to say that I find the responses to this review hysterically amusing. This isn't a bad review. It's just a review. Nowhere in there did I get a feel of 'OMG THIS COMIC SUXX0RZ IT MUST DIE DIE DIE!!1!!!!!eleven!!!!1!'.
All it did was point out what can be pointed out about most comic strips on the internet – there's a limited audience that strips of this type can appeal to. Which can be said about any strip on the internet – if you're not a furry, furry comics might not appeal. If you're not into the casual mockery of graphic sex, you probably don't want to go check out Sexy Losers. If you're not into tabletop RPG gaming and gaming systems, Gaming Guardians is going to confuse the everloving hell out of you.
What he's saying here is essentially a gentle warning to the viewing public that if you aren't a hardcore gamer, or a gamer at all, some of these strips might confuse you. Which is a perfectly valid point to be making in a review.
As far as the artistic style goes, Tim is damn well proficient in drawing, has a really good grasp of anatomy and facial expressions, and has a visually unique style – but there's only so many positions one can draw a human being playing games in. In the strips that jump out of that format, you see all kinds of variety in positioning and facial expressions, and no one can say that Tim doesn't have a grasp of colouring – his colouring techinique is simple, but it gets the point across and it's a hell of a lot more fluid and natural looking than some of the strips I've seen.
Matt isn't bashing this comic, he's pointing out the good in it – and he has a point – the longer storylines that Tim does do read better and have a bit more humor to them than the one-shots, especially if you're not a gamer.
I just don't really understand why all these people are hassling and berating a reviewer who is #1 – doing his JOB, and doing it effectively, and #2 – wrote a good review.
That said, I'm not a 'hardcore gamer' myself, but I still enjoy reading Ctrl-Alt-Del – because while I'm not 'hardcore', I do have enough knowledge of the different games out there to get the gaming references, and the strips that deviate from the gaming format are pretty goddamned hysterical.
Face it guys, he never once said this was a bad comic. And there's this thing out there called constructive criticism that you might want to try looking into, because all it looks like you're doing here is jumping blindly to the defense of someone that doesn't need to be defended from anything.
See, the thing is… Im pretty sure that the idea isnt 'to get the biggest target demographic' or 'to penetrate the market and get the largest share of audience'… Its a comic, for the sake of making a comic, and I sincerely doubt that the authors are overly concerned with a critique of how to make a comic better/reach a larger audience/choosing the best audience/not telling jokes that appeal to only one audience; theyre doing it because they enjoy what theyre doing, and because they audience they have enjoys what theyre doing. I could say the same for pretty much any comic out there. Its not about the money, its hard to make money with a semi-weekly comic. Its not about money, or the biggest appeal, its about the culture and whether people choose to be a part of that, and enjoy it for what it is, then great, and if not, then leave the guys alone and just let them be.
To offer a review to new viewers who may be interested in reading the comment, is one thing, but to pick the comic apart and list all sorts of implications that make the comic look 'bad' because it doesnt follow your standards, or it isnt original enough, or it isnt this/that/something else, what exactly is being proven? Just like the artists, you too have the power to target a select niche, however they are operating insufficiently where you are at your peak? They have their own audience, and you yours, but you and rip on them, their perception of what is amusing, what is not, and their choices, while inferring that you are the leading authority on these things. Well, it certainly must take someone possessing a different type of 'secret knowledge' to figure out what the big deal is here, encrypted within your petty, opinionated criticisms of people doing what they love.
– xnoblefoxfirex
Way to not have the sense to say all you want in one post… moron.
Happy Being A Sheep And Saying What Everyone Else Says Day!
Oh yes, the majority just KNOWS what’s good.
Anybody want to listen to some Aguilera?
I suspect that most of them didn’t. It’s sad really – I checked out CAD, and it looked promising, but with fans like these who needs enemies.
Like the Sloan song says: “It’s not the band I hate…”
I don’t play games at all. Last thing I touched has to be some shooting James Bond thing almost two years ago. I never was a gamer, never will be. I still love this comic.
I disagree. I am anything but a hardcore gamer, and I find Ctl+Alt+Del to be a good run the whole way. Sure, there are sometimes obscure references to things I don’t quite know about, but within the context you can still understand whats going on. I find it funny that the author of the article actually finds it over his head, simply because it’s one of the least “1337” comix I’ve read; it doesn’t immerse all of the comics in deeply woven trials of this graphic card or this console. It’s mostly the situations these thing cause. Most of the references are to things that even if you don’t know about them, you know about something like them. Take Ethans Addiction to EverQuest. Hasn’t everybody felt the pull of something too strong to ignore?
Or his hatred of Ted? Hasn’t everyone disliked another for no apparant reason?
Ctl+Alt+Del is a good comic and I’ve been following it for awhile now. I understand most of the jokes and you don’t have to be a hardcore gamer to enjoy it.
ok so here it is simply. I don't get most of the jokes in “girly” magazines, or if someone said a “hilarious” fishing joke it would go right over my head. How can 2 girls argue over the color of lipstick that quite obviously the guys they are dating would never tell the difference. It's that same with gamers, while it may not be a big no no for a normal person to buy a pre-built IBM computer from dell, you would be shot in the computer world.
so in short, only rate what you understand, cause i don't understand you but i would have to say that you suck!!!
I completely, totally agree with everyone who has already posted their fanatical obsession with CAD.. even though there is no way I could consider myself a gamer, I mean I play computer games but definitely do not spend enough time gaming to be classified as one. CAD is still my favorite comic, by far.
Happy Winter-een-mas everyone! Here’s your excuse to go game your thumbs off, even if you don’t normally..
Good review Matt.
The review does not insult anyone and is very informative. A little longer and a few more points might have made it a great review.
I don’t feel you insulted anyone as some people have found. You stated that not only Hardcore gamers read it but that is who it is mostly targetted at. I enjoy reading CAD. Have done for the time its been around (and in comparison to MT, LG and PA its not very long) and hope that I will until it becomes a lost project.
Verdict: CAD = Great. This review = Not insulting and very informative which = great.
I agree with just about everyone even non gamer people can get the jokes as long as they keep reading very rarely does it do “Gamer only” jokes
Well, I don’t see the use for a site like Comixpedia… I think it would be better if it was just a really cool list of Webcomics, I don’t agree with various reviews… Hell, I dont even think there should be reviews… If you like a comic, read it, and if you don’t like it.. Guess what? Don’t read it… CAD in my opinion is a good comic, I like, it makes me laugh, I like the art; it does point some points and made me think (I think it was the objective of the review) but… Is there a need to say “Review”? Some of the reviewers write their own comics… so… What does give them the right to say something? Only because they upload their art to a site? There are a lot of artists in the streets, go check them Matt, I think you try your best, so shut up and let CAD do on his own… CAD does not need your review, it has proven to be successful, it should be enough to stay quiet.
I don’t really read your comic, and even less have read a review of your comic (Dont appeal to me)… but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t get the atention necessary to make your fans raise their voices just to say “shut up”.
And, BTW my fist language is not English, In case you want to write something about this…
Just to finish: Does a Webcomic that has proven to be successful need to be reviewed?
Bye bye, and Matt, try your best and let other do theirs (by let, don’t say anything; if they can improve, I know they’ll realize that).
Ctrl+Alt+Del is yet another fucking webcomic on the net that can’t take more than ten minutes to “draw,” yet has a million readers who can’t throw donations at it fast enough. Buckley was an ass to post a misleading link to this article. If the responses are any indication, his readers are a big load of whiney fucks who can’t read. Trepal didn’t deserve any of the flames, the SomethingAwful link, or the rest of the shit he had to put up with.
I guess the point I’m trying to make is “fuck you all.”
-josh
Ctrl-Alt-Del is possibly the most creative and imaginative (not to mention humurous 🙂 ) comic out there. Not to mention that Tim Buckley is a creative genius as well becuase he of course makes it. The fans of Ctrl-Alt-Del are the best to play games with and I can't wait to game on Winter-een-mas! The art flows perfectly with the dialog and brings the characters to life. one does not have to be a hardcore gamer, rather have just played a game for an hour or two and payed attention to whats going on. While true a hardcore gamer might find it more funny I think the demographic for this comic can appeal to anyone. Go Tim! Happy Winter-een-mas!
several hundred people have responded to this revue, it's hard to get that many people to compleatly agree on anything. But, I think we all would agree that no one cares what Josh types. If you feel the need to explain your beliefs to a bunch of people that dont give a rats ass what your opinion is, all the power to ya man. I just wouldn't want you to get an inflated idea of self worth by thinking we care.
Don’t confuse the lack of organized thought out responses with idiocy or simply not reading the revue. The former of which I’m sure was a joke, because even the dumbest of people normally don’t post in response to a revue they have not read. I believe the lack of well organized responses is due to two main factors. First off being the fact that a good deal of the readers have the right idea but are not articulate enough to state their ideas as gracefully as you seem to expect. Secondly is that after having their site belittled by someone that was obviously wrong (due to the fact that a great many of the posts where by non extreme gamers) they are not interested in having a debate. They want to unjustly drag him through the mud, just like how in their perception they have been unjustly dragged though the mud. They are not inept; in fact they are acting like one would expect any group of people to act in a similar situation.
While I’m not a big fan of Ctrl-Alt-Delete, aren’t you the same person who got pissy because Movie Comics was on BuzzComix when Girly was?
Well I can honestly say, I am not a hardcore gamer in any way, shape, or form. And okay, I don’t always understand CAD. In fact, sometimes I’m downright mystified by it. But I’m still amused, and I still love it.
It's actually simple to get that many people to agree on something when the author they all hold in high regard POINTS THEM TO THE FUCKING REVIEW.
I would like to disagree with the statement that Ctrl-Alt-Del can only really be found entertaining to a hard-core gamer. Several of my friends who know nothing about games, when shown ctrlaltdel, fell in love with the comic. These are friends who happen to think that gaming is a bad habit of mine and many of people.
I would also like to point out, that the comics chosen to represent ctrlaltdel, were non-game related. So using these comics when saying ctrlaltdel was a comic only gamers would find good, was a contradictive move. They were also taken from a long time ago in the archives, and not from recently.
Sincerely
!–DazzeR–!
If an author has to be “pissy” to protest the existance of a comic which gained attention, press, and respect from thousands of naive people by unapologetically stealing from fellow comic author, then fine. I am “MR. PISSY.” Excuse me while I go PISS.
Jesus Christ…
I am not an extreme gamer (I play games, but rarely).
I do not use consoles period, end of story.
I find ctrl-alt-del incredibly funny, and read it regularly. While I do have a considerably above-average knowledge about computers, I can only think about a couple of strips that tread into the hardware realm.
It is funny, ethan is incredibly insane and reminds me of a few gamers I know, and on top of all that, the author is more tactful than most webcomics.
Even if you are not a gamer, it is enjoyable.
Good comic, keep up the good work, don’t listen to this dude.
Hmm, I must disagree as well. I know I like gaming, but my two roomates who are far less involved in the whole gaming realm are quite entertained! I can’t wait to celebrate Winter-een-mas!
Josh, a website reviews my comic. I'm not supposed to link to it? Do you have any idea how stupid you make yourself look? You want to run around calling everyone else stupid and naive. Your attitude screams “my views are the right ones, and everyone else is wrong”. That is the epitomy on naivity. Those are the views of a child.
People like you are the reason you should have to have a license to breathe.
There is more appeal to this comic then just gamers. My wife HATES games and finds the comic to be hilarious, she really like the ones with the cat in the picture. I myself am not a harcore gamers but I do love them. The comic owns so what if they are “talking heads” it works for them.
You don't have to be a hardcore gamer to enjoy the comic. I am not a hardcore gamer and I love the comic just because it's funny as all hell and also designed nicely. This review is poorly done and it seems the reviewer did not read all of the comics.
quote:
The art of Ctrl+Alt+Del is generally rendered in the fat-outlined tradition of the genre, and usually consists of the characters sitting or standing, while they comment on whatever game they happen to be playing. Ctr+Alt+Del is very definitely a “talking head” comic.
Apparently you haven't read most of the comics. Please rewrite your review completely after viewing each comic, or find another person who has the balls to read each comic.
Thanks.
Winter-een-mas calls to us all!
Quite frankly, I'm only a simple gamer, not at all deserving of a 'hard-core' status. So that just debunks your (ill-researched) statement right there, doesn't it?
y0 Tim, if you're reading this, I salute you. I've been reading you for…maybe a year? Half a year? :/ Damn, that's a long time… Anyway, it caught me right away, and it's got the charisma to get me coming back week after week.
Do your homework next time article person. And be careful who you dismiss. The gamers \/\/||_|_ g41 j00 *cue maniacal laughter*
I can't believe your “or what the big deal about a Radeon 9700 is and why it's bad (And just what it is. A sound card? A video card? A really tasty sandwich?)” comment – if you don't know what one is, here's an idea – USE A SEARCH ENGINE TO FIND OUT!
In a way, any comic which occasionally talks about something you don't know about, then it's educating – unless you're too damn stupid/lazy to look it up
Most of Ctrl+Alt+Del is NOT about gaming, it centers around gamers, but they hardly ever refer to the games themselves… it's about the situations they find themselves in – like when Ethan tried to create a new game, or modified the Xbox into a robot – what has that got to do with any games on the market? NOTHING!
Try doing a little RESEARCH and READING the whole thing before judging – or maybe you're just a wannabe-hack who does 5 minutes of reading and forms their opinion
Ctrl+Alt+Del does what it's meant to do – be funny with the characters it has – if you're going to judge it, then I suggest you look at comics close to your own style – Fight Cast or Evade is not about gamers, so how exactly can YOU judge it? Try reviewing only those close to your knowledge, then you won't get a headache when somebody mentions a new fangled word
Yes, in order to enjoy CAD you must possess a MINIMUM of 5 brain cells.
You also MUST have embraced the “technological revolution” that took place before most of you were even born (and are hence born with the innate sense of it). This means you have to *GASP* know what a video card is! Or know what an X-Box is! Or even a Gamecube! Good lord no, nobody would figure that stuff out if they weren’t a hardcore gamer!
Or it could be that you’ve never read a web comic in your life. I’d hate to see you try and do another pathetic review on say…Penny Arcade, which strikes at a MUCH more hardcore audience and routinely has “inside jokes” that you not only have to be a hardcore gamer to understand but also have read the previous comic relating to the current one.
On second thought, you better not, you might have a heart-attack “old timer” (Atari, C-64, ooo aren’t you special? I’ve had ’em too).
CAD Kicks ass, you're completely wrong.
I wouldn’t consider myself a hardcore gamer but I enjoy CAD’s humor consistently. While I agree that the longer story lines are better than the one-shots, it’s all great fun. Keep up the funny, Tim!
Every Now and again a review comes along that is totally wrong and rubs everyone up the wrong way. Congrats Matt, you've just wrote one. And pissed off everyone.
(: Have a Happy Winter-een-mas 😉
if this comic was for “hardcore” gamers, then im sure that the forums would be empty… i mean, come on, just saying its hardcore only its like saying that LOTR 2&3 is for the hardcore watchers only… but we all have our point of view… but thats my $0.02
This webcomic is for everyone, not just “hardcore” gamers.
Happy Winter-een-mas! 🙂
I just want to put a couple more cents in here – I am a woman who is 23, who hardly ever plays video games (besides Dance Dance Revolution, that stuff is my crack), and who knew nothing about “camping” or “game systems” before my current boyfriend. I love CAD, I think it’s hysterical. I read it every single time it updates, and I even read the messages posted on other parts of the website. These guys are great – they’re funny and clever and even thoughtful. I have the crazy monkey as my icon on Livejournal. I even had the Star Wars “backwards light-saber” comic as my desktop for a month or so at work. These guys are not just for hard-core gamers. I’m living proof.
CAD is insanely hilarious whether you're a hardcore gamer or Joe Average. Of course, you'll laugh a bit harder if you really are a hardcore gamer, but it's still funny as hell no matter what insight you might have into the world of gaming ^_^!
Happy Winter-een-mas to all d:-D-><
Props to Tim for getting a quality review 🙂
CAD Forever <3
Ok I like Ctrl Alt Del and i think it is the funniest gamig comic on the net. However I never expect it to go mainstream. Not many Net series do! People love Eskimo Bob (Newgrounds) and the most T.V they got was on some late news channel. If anyone expects this to go mainstream I wouldn’t hold your breath. I enjoy Tim Buckleys work but I don’t expect it to go farther than a comic on the web (or possibly a gamer magazene). Don’t get me wrong Id love to see CAD the T.V show but I don’t think it will.
Jordan
I’ve been reading this comic for about a year now. There are many instances where you don’t need to be a gamer in any way to get the joke. For the jokes that you do need some gaming knowledge, you can acquire that knowledge in other strips or find it somewhere.
This comic is unbelievably funny for anybody, or such is my opinion.
I know many people who are not “hardcore gamers”, and who greatly enjoy CAD. Really, knowing basics about gaming is a giant plus, but noone has to be hardcore to get it. A pulse is also helpful in being able to read this strip and process it in order to achieve the desired funny effect.
I myself am quite the gamer, so yes, I think that this is the best webcomic out there, but a few of my friends who arent gamers (or at least not as much) still greatly enjoy this comic. Sure, some jokes might not be understood by some people, but isnt that the fact with everything? Its open to everyone but might be more appreciated by a gamer. You dont need to be British to like a British comedy, you dont need to be dead to enjoy black humor (er, black as in dark/dead, not skin color, before anyone yells at me). Do you have to be an average american family to like something such as the Simpsons? Nah, but youd still find it damn funny.
Anywho, those are my few pennies (all I had left, I might add). Off to game away the night with the warm company of my super mocha (simple, easy to make, and caffeinated to all hell!)
Thanks for reading, blah blah, yadda yadda, goodnight
i hate video games, yet real life comics and CAD are really the only two comics that i have read every strip of and follow every day…
Three and a half years later and Ctrl+Alt+Del is still going strong.
Just thought I’d mention that.