ChilePepino might have been kidding about JB being able to blame the apprentices, but I’m still going to refute it. If anyone’s curious, here’s how the apprentice process has gone so far:


The Pitches: The apprentices submitted loose ideas for NPCs and missions. JB took the 65 ideas that were submitted and chose the 20 he thought would work the best.


The Drafts (Three Different Kinds): Out of the final 20, the apprentices each claimed a mission and wrote out the sTalk dialogue, mission descriptions, character profiles, etc for their missions. In some cases a mission was the product of a single writer, in others it was a team effort. Once finished, JB gave notes and the writers further fixed up their missions. In the forum, the apprentices could win/fail vote and comment on all the missions. After a little bit, the apprentices were bumigned to do edits on another person’s work to get fresh eyes on the mission.


Crotch Zombie missions: The CZ guys also had mission ideas which were also put up for grabs to the apprentices. This is the current stage we’re at in the process. This is also where the apprentices start getting to see the missions being written by the Crotch Zombie staff proper. At this point, we know what missions, forums, and NPCs will be used and it’s just a matter of filling them in.


The Constant Stage: All through out, everyone on the apprentice team and the Crotch Zombie team has access to all the missions being written. They are free to read, comment, and edit on each other’s work. If a joke isn’t as funny as it could be, someone can suggest a new one. Typos can be fixed, continuity errors pointed out, and dialogue tightened. Routinely, JB will go through and do line edits on the works. While for the most part people are writing individual mission, everyone has a say in what goes on.


I bring this up not to toady and defend JB, but so that every knows they have the right to blame the ENTIRE apprentice team and Crotch Zombie if they have a problem with Episode 3. No one can hide behind anyone else, as we all get the opportunity to make something better. JB is also writing missions, also doing editing, so he can’t push the blame to anyone. By the same token, I can’t pitch **** about anyone’s writing, because if I don’t like something I can voice my opinion.


So, remember, if you hate the writing in episode three: blame everyone.
Except me.