This quest appeals to me. It has the traditional setting of "scary laboratory/installation with things happening beyond rationality", but managed to keep it interesting throughout its threads while creating a threatening atmosphere. I like it.

>have something to do with the theme of what's going on
necronomicon hurr durr

Yeah, I noticed that the filenames were in German. I don't know anything about the Necronomicon though, so I might be missing something important.

Either way, props to the creator. The art's fantastic, and it manages to mix a light and once innocent main character with a threatening/terrifying atmosphere.

And I don't care what anybody says. Herbert's the King of France, the son of a pirate and a ninja, an international spy, and a doctor all in one.

>>338799
The necronomicon is a book, nowadays often related to Lovecraftian stories and settings.

When you read it, it will make you go mad with fear and terror (your mileage may vary) and after months or years of suffering, you will claw your eyes out and lobotomise your own brain to feel some relieve.
And that's the happy end, kinda.

>>338812
It also has something to do with summoning demons and shit in some stories.

It has one of the best updating schedules around allowing for everybody to participate. And that allows it to stay fresh in memory and the artwork remains crisp.

And it somehow remains hugely unpopular in comparison. I don't know.

Probably fatigue in my case. Herbert keeps getting into a lot of fairly hopeless situations where I honestly have no idea what to suggestion.

>>338863
Kinda this. The quest is often very open about how to proceed.

Which is, however, in my opinion much better than some quests which offer limited options but without explanation (e.g. "go left or go right?").

Still, I can not restrain myself from saying that it's really worth a look. Try and read, fellow questers!

I only just started reading up on Herbert vs. Happiness. Judging the book by it's cover, I thought the quest was your usual "protagonist hates the world quest" and set reading it aside for later. Boy, was I wrong.

I absolutely adore this quest. It's very much like RubyQuest, and no, this is not a bad thing. It's got alot of the things I fell in love with in RubyQuest; that feeling of hopelessness and the adorable, innocent protagonist trapped in a harsh, dark world.
Keep it up, quest author!

Im honestly wondering what might happen if the do escape. I mean, this doesn't look like it takes place in a world of fantasy beings (the scientists are/were human), so Herbert, Isabel, and Labyrinth are going to really have it hard, since they're some kind of experiments or eldrich horrors or something.

I read through the entire thing yesterday and I was pretty impressed. Other than some art critique I wouldn't mind giving the author one on one my only complaint is that I ran out of updates to read.

I was put off from reading it for reasons similar to ones other people have mentioned, and I apologize for not reading it until now.

A+ Would Read Again.

I'm glad that at least some people like the quest.

>>339097
I know the art is still pretty flawed and I hope it will improve over time. I am afraid though, that it will take a long time until it is on an acceptable level, but as long as the quest is enjoyable nontheless I think that won't be a problem.

>>339197
I think the art is fine. No, its not DaVinci quality but its still pretty fantastic. I say to keep up the good work. :)

>>339197
The art is very good. Please do not alter it, except for when, well, you get naturally better over time.

This is indeed a good-great level quest.

Keep up the fine work. I am eager to see where this one is going.

I have to say that the squiggly line effect, although unintentional and probably due to hardware problems, became part of the theme of the quest. It makes everything look kindof... grimy, like the facility is falling apart.

Amazing quest!

I don't see why people complain about the art. This a quest, not an official DC comic! For a quest, I would say that the art is just great.

Keep it up!

The art is great and fits the quest perfectly, which by the way is interesting and well done.

Flying labcoat guy grabbed Isabel. What options do we have?

I hate to admit it, but the person sounds like he is very confident he could handle Labyrinth. And, with a broken leg and all, Labyrinth is momentarily 90% of our offensive power (so to speak).

I hate to say this, but might now be the time to run. Live to fight another day?

I'd absolutely hate to leave Isabel behind, but looking at our current situation...

>>339695
True, though Id feel like a completely heartless bastard. Id suggest letting Labyrinth distract him while we make a break for it with Isa, but then we might lose him and Id still feel like a bastard.

If only we had something we could use against the guy.

>>339695
True, though Id feel like a completely heartless bastard. Id suggest letting Labyrinth distract him while we make a break for it with Isa, but then we might lose him and Id still feel like a bastard.

If only we had something we could use against the guy.

Laybrinth nnnnNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooo--

...sorry... D:

I dunno, I look away for five minutes and you're getting him killed trying to be a tough guy. For shame, /quest/.

>>339812
To be honest, we were feeling a little too "safe" with labyrinth around. It's actually a "good" thing he died.

Also, my guess is that Herbert is actually a doll infused with some sort of spirit. Perhaps the lock to his mask will actually release the spirit? If that's so, then we might not want getting that lock open to be our primary goal.

>>339858
Endgame: By opening the lock, Happiness will be trapped into Herbert's body, replacing his spirit.

I think that eventually we're going to want to do that procedure that fucked up PROPERLY, with Isabel in one chair, Herbert in another, and Friend running the interface. Or maybe switch the characters around some. I'm not sure what it was trying to accomplish yet or how it worked.

Anyway the end result of this SHOULD be something that can stand up to Happiness.

Anonymous 2011/01/25(Tue)16:25 No. 30097 ID: 854ded
File 129600153868.jpg - (40.12KB , 327x500 , 27023292_4ec1c42c21.jpg )

I like that idea, though it might just get somebody killed. That dog person didnt survive it, thats for sure.


I actually think Herbert is some kind of biological robot, like an AI or a cyborg. He bleeds black, can breath (does he breath?) perfectly fine in smoke and fire, and isn't bothered by rat poison at all.
The sacksuit just protects his body, much like a Furby's outer fur.

Herbert 2011/01/25(Tue)21:39 No. 30123 ID: 9c9de5
File 129602039487.jpg - (165.43KB , 960x600 , bor.jpg )

I was really bored some days ago.

>>339923
Hnng, the cuteness-- it's too much.

>>339923
We must cause this scene to happen later; it contains a healed Herbert and a non-terrified Isabel. In a normal room, no less!

>>339923
I think I might die from the adorable.
We need to make this happen!

Don't get ahead of yourselves, first you have to survive.

Oh god my chest hurts.

>>339960
>>339980

>first you have to survive
>Oh god my chest hurts.

You're doing it wrong.

;_;

While it's fun to do a Vader impression I concur.

>>339897
I TOTALLY CALLED IT.
Fyi.

Is... is there still hope? Can we "repair" Herbert?

Isabel vs Sadness Quest now?

>>341159
If we can get her to pick up the doll, Im sure we can steer her back toward Nicola for repairs or something. If anything, Nicola would do it simply because she thinks Herbert's important or something. If not, we could try killing her for revenge.
Just sayin.

Even if we did fix him, Id hate to see how he'd react to this news. D:

>>341160
You dont suppose that the only reason Herbert could even understand the doll was because it's also got some electronics going on?
Does this mean no hope for Isabel unless she stumbles onto the exit?

>>341160
I, uh, really don't think the doll has anything to do with us.

>>341162
But Herbert didnt hear us until he got the doll, in a mysterious box mind you.

yeah, i think the doll is basically a radio transceiver with a camera in it. we transmitted commands through the doll to him.

>The least she can do now is to free her friend from the suit and let him spend his last moments without it.
She said, while tearing his head clean off his shoulders.

>>341167
Alright, that alone made me feel way better about all this.

>>341164
Except it can move, too.

Anyway, I'm quite glad that it turns out Herbert is a robot. It means there's hope he can be repaired. It also explains why everyone basically dismissed him offhand... and why he was able to carry things in his hands without thumbs or anything. Magnets!

>>341167

Yeah, I lol'd. But now we can salvage him in a convenient package.. or Isabel can.

>>341170
Then its also a robot. A ghost in the machine :3c

>>341170
>Carrying food packets with magnets
It's...rich in iron?

>>341170
I had been assuming he'd been carrying things like a person wearing mittens would. Id have to guess his hands are either pincer-like claws (judging by his face) or "hands" with very basic fingers. I don't expect too much detain to have been put into him, since they didn't even try on his face.

Anyone else notice the black vein things from earlier on him?

Bad end :c

>>341568

Its not over yet, I refuse to call it a bad end until Isabel dies. Which we wont let her.
Right? >_>

>>341573

I hope Happiness chokes on a dog bone. Because that's what is for dinner.

>>341574
Well, Im fine with this plan.

Did Happiness at least die?..

That flash animation was fantastic. Well done, author. Well done.

>>341578
DId you even watch the entire flash animation?

Brilliantly done, btw, Author. :)

>>341580
Posted before the flash.

>>341585
No it wasn't, check the times on the posts. It was posted a full hour after the flash.

>>341589
And if you'd check the IDs, you'd see it's the same person, so perhaps they hadn't watched it yet.

Pretty neat Flash. Not sure how Chapter 4 will continue from here, but looking forward to finding out.

>>341589
I was just pointing out that it was posted after the flash, not that they hadn't seen it yet.

allofmytears.jpg
finally got reading it all

Anonymous 2011/02/25(Fri)04:15 No. 31802 ID: d7be35
File 12986361151.png - (381.44KB , 650x800 , herbert_vs_happiness_ch3.png )

<-mfw flash update

Oh hell yes, it is back!!! And creepier than ever.

Also, art upgrade? Nice.

The squiggly lines are gone! What was causing it?

>>342362
The squiggly lines were caused by gimp (or at least by me not knowing how to correctly work with gimp.

I started to use illustrator when I had to do the flash and they were instantly gone. I'll try using this art-style for a while.

>>342367
This is a really good time to make the switch, honestly. It exemplifies the change in character perspective.

So are we actually the doll or are we part of Isabel's mind now?

>>344151

It's going to take some time until that's fully revealed - until then you're free to speculate. I tried to plant some hints, but maybe that didn't work.

i am 100% sure we are the doll. we can simply commune with the black goo that was part of herbert. when isabel touched it it bonded with her. but since she isn't a robot it is not as good.

We are kinda a subconscious influence.

>>344157
I like this theory best.

We are the First Monster. The prototype of Happiness. We are sane while he is not, because of the accident.

The doll is us. We can ALMOST move, but not quite. It's been shown by now that Happiness cannot die, but is not indestructable. We can chop him up.

Hmm. Happiness might be a robot. WE might be a robot.

Isabel 2011/04/04(Mon)13:18 No. 34683 ID: 9dd0ec
File 130194828674.jpg - (56.50KB , 606x966 , pixeltest.jpg )

My PC crashed today and while I was able to save the most important files, I lost the drawing program I was using. I guess unti I can get it back from somewhere, I guess I'll have to change the drawing style again, although I managed lessen the squiggly line effect somehow.

I hope you don't mind.

Looks fine. The main difference seems to be the lines are thicker but that's alright.

>>344483
What were you using, Happibert? I or someone else might be able to help you get it back provided you aren't too up and against pirating.

I was using Adobe Illustrator. I don't think it will be too hard to "legally purchase" it again. Thanks for the offer though.

Ahh man. Let me just say, I love the recent "rat chase" sequence. I can't put my finger on the particular thing, but somehow the "indirect" control we have other Isabel, guiding her away from wtf-face without her really being aware of the danger, while she still has a look of despair on her puppy-face... I don't know man, really chilly.

Hey uh... I'm happy for updates regardless of how often they come but, why's it slowed down?

>>345356
I'm sorry for that. Had some exams (and on some evenings I just got invited to barbecueing) and since making an updates takes a lot of time it's always the first activity I have to cease.

>>345357
That's a good excuse! Thanks for your time.

Just wanted to tell you I love where the quest is going. :)

It's been a month and a half. Are you still around?

Anonymous 2011/08/17(Wed)13:58 No. 41663 ID: 4e48cb
File 131361469986.png - (7.97KB , 191x234 , 1311090290408.png )

It's back! Yeaaaaaaaah!!

...and we're going to die D:

Hold on. The psychopathic scientist's name is Nicola Parter. The name tag on the headless corpse read Dr. Nicolas Parter. SHIZNITS

>>351470
...my mind is fully blown.

>>351470
Oh man
it is only one letter off too it could be a typo (either the company producing the nametag made the typo or the author did while making it) and she's dead or she's stealing the damn name of some other smuck here... or that could be her dad or something, whatever.

I really hope that's her and she died horrifically so we don't have to worry about her anymore.

Has anybody noticed that the labcoat guy with the "gravelly voice" bears a lot of similarities to the headless corpse, appearance wise? There's, like, no difference. Compounding to this is the fact that the corpse just RANDOMLY appeared. I think this guy's been stalking us for longer than we think.

Speaking of which, we really need to find a nickname for that guy. How bout Brom, the true name of the Headless Horseman?

>>351522
Sounds fine by me

Trout 2011/12/12(Mon)19:00 No. 47052 ID: 9c7c3b
File 132374525843.jpg - (222.36KB , 640x427 , original dogperson.jpg )

>WEST SIDE, MOTHERFUCKER

sorry

Shit balls, does Isabel have anything in her pack that can be even remotely used as a weapon?

>>356853
Like the pack itself?
Spinning it + pistol inside = club/sling

I feel like this is endgame. Won't be needing too much carry space soon.

Oh. Kay.

Anybody else feels like we should have tried to save Nicole? To prove our "moral superiority"?

Isabel seems to have snapped. Look at the image in the mirror. Is that her lost innocence? Or her goodness?

The roots which are mentioned, are those the black veins? Are WE the infection?

I don't even...

this is why you don't tell a peaceful person to kill. or what looks like torture on the surface.

>>359781
white veins. too much of anything is bad. we told her to do something she didn't want to do. deep down she still wanted to try and save her. and you all were saying to kill the insane person instead of fixing them.

>>359784
Forcing Isabel to kill while not wanting to kill? Agreed.
Would SANE Nicole try to gently caress us wher et hurts at any opportunity?
Now that's the crux of the matter.

I stand by all the murder votes. Fuck that bitch.
Besides, insane izzy has such a fun perspective on the world!

>>359784
If we spared her, we'd be as stupid as Rick is in The Walking Dead. She is NOT sane, she is NOT fixable.
Isabella is. It looks like she's human in this hallucination too, maybe instead of being a sentient genetic dog test subject she was also a human forced into a body, like that one other weird experiment that was on that one video but it went bad.

Isabella's probably a successful version of that process. I forget, but isn't the Dark Scientist guy the one from the weird mind switch video I'm talking about? Is he the dog or the scientist?

Is this a dream sequence though? Seems like Isabel is flashing back to something in her past, or, well, the past of one of the people/dogs she was cobbled together from?

I don't think it was wrong for Isabel to kill Nicola. I was hoping she could do so without enjoying it though. Murder is at best a dispassionate affair, and at worst an addictive nightmare you can get totally pulled into. Angsting over how horrible she is now that she killed in self defense will not accomplish anything. Instead we should focus on what we always do: only killing people who don't obey this rule recursively.

Either way it looks like Isabel is screwed once more. She's still no closer to finding her way out of this facility, if getting out would even help, nor to fixing Herbert.

>>359832
she was mind controlled in order to kill. she is not herself at the moment. she didn't want to kill, we MADE her do it. so her psyche split.

So uh, is Chapter 4 lost forever?

Whenever I click the archive link I just get 404’d (Same for Doki Doki Overlord)

Is this a case of waiting for all the April fools shenanigans to be undone, or is it really gone?

>>359833
We mind controlled her, yes. There was no psyche split, though- we were effectively 'overlaid' on top of hers. We were seeing US doing these things. The mind control didn't stop, by the way. Only when she let go of the doll was she released from our control.

I expect she's afraid of us now.

>>360869
It appears to be fixed now.

>>51229
It still seems to be gone...

>>57005
http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questarch/res/1001473.html

Anonymous 2012/11/10(Sat)14:43 No. 63398 ID: e7947c
File 135258740064.png - (213.96KB , 960x640 , 135130631201.png )

Looks like it's come back with a lovely art shift.
Am I the only one excited/who remembers it?

I love the new art, too. But that was a whole lotta big information we just pulled out of Eva's head.

Do you think that the dead going nowhere means they evaporate into nothingness, drift into a vast empty neverending void, or just kind of get trapped in their own rotting corpses (or the immediate vincinity thereof)? Cause maybe Labyrinth's ghost is still hanging around. Just kidding, he's gone for good and it's all our fault.

Or maybe her soul was just trapped before because of whatever science mojo that brought her back to life. Which means that dying for real this time either sent her where she needs to go or sent her into some purgatory until we can fix the bad in this place.

Id be willing to say she meant that there's nothingness after death, though there might be something else. They were doing some pretty lovcraftian shit in that lab, right?

Maybe the souls of the dead are going to some demon for eternal suffering? Or, assuming that she did some terrible shit, she just went to some kind of Hell?

>>64559
Not to mention her memory could be really fucked up. No one from the dead is particularly trustworthy on facts, especially someone in her state with all that trauma and regret.

Besides, to a dead mind nothing can be really peaceful. Or it's not even paying attention to its dead state, because it's fucking dead. Her death from her perspective could have felt like a millisecond, (at least the part where she's enert, not dying, that could last for an eternity for all we know, which could be filled with the hallucinations of a dying brain, including long parts of what seems to be nothingness, thanks to her perspective of time being fucked up)