On Friday, xkcd #1190—Time—came to an end.
It was a huge project, but since it was all concealed within a single comic panel, I thought I’d end with this short post to explain what was going on. If you want to see the story yourself before I spoil anything, you can use one of the many excellent third-party Time explorers, like the Geekwagon viewer, or one of the others listed here.
When the comic first went up, it just showed two people sitting on a beach. Every half hour (and later every hour), a new version of the comic appeared, showing the figures in different positions. Eventually, the pair started building a sand castle.
There was a flurry of attention early on, as people caught on to the gimmick. Readers watched for a while, and then, when nothing seemed to be happening, many wandered away—perhaps confused, or perhaps satisfied that they’d found a nice easter-egg story about castles.
But Time kept going, and hints started appearing that there was more to the story than just sand castles. A few dedicated readers obsessively cataloged every detail, watching every frame for clues and every changing pixel for new information. The xkcd forum thread on Time grew terrifyingly fast, developing a subculture with its own vocabulary, songs, inside jokes, and even a religion or two.
And as Time unfolded, readers gradually figured out that it was a story, set far in the future, about one of the strangest phenomena in our world: The Mediterranean Sea sometimes evaporates, leaving dry land miles below the old sea level … and then fills back up in a single massive flood.
(A special thank you to Phil Plait for his advice on the far-future night sky sequence, and to Dan, Emad, and everyone else for your help on various details of the Time world.)
Time was a bigger project than I planned. All told, I drew 3,099 panels. I animated a starfield, pored over maps and research papers, talked with biologists and botanists, and created a plausible future language for readers to try to decode.
I wrote the whole story before I drew the first frame, and had almost a thousand panels already drawn before I posted the first one. But as the story progressed, the later panels took longer to draw than I expected, and Time began—ironically—eating more and more of my time. Frames that went up every hour were sometimes taking more than an hour to make, and I spent the final months doing practically nothing but drawing.
To the intrepid, clever, sometimes crazy readers who followed it the whole way through, watching every pixel change and catching every detail: Thank you. This was for you. It’s been quite a journey; I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did!
P.S. A lot of people have asked if I can sell some kind of Time print collection (or a series of 3,099 t-shirts, where you run to the bathroom and change into a new one every hour). I’m afraid I don’t have anything like that in the works right now. I just made this because I thought it would be neat, and now that it’s done, my only plan is to spend the next eleven thousand years catching up on sleep. If you liked the project, you’re always welcome to donate via PayPal (xkcd@xkcd.com) or buy something from the xkcd store. Thank you.
xkcd 
Another on the pile of thanks. Even if you never do anything more with Time – no sequel, no t-shirt, no book, although I’d buy all three – it is a fabulous achievement and I’m glad I got to witness it.
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While I abandoned the forum thread shortly after my one and only post, I watched every day since the beginning. There is so much I could say, but I don’t have the space or the words. So, I will echo what others have already stated: “Thank you.”
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I really enjoyed it, although it drive me a little crazy!
Also as a fan living on GMT, I appreciated the fact that things happened whilst I was awake.
Not get too gushy, but it thought it was a very interesting and artistic delivery mechanism, not sure it’s been done before?
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Many others have already said it, but thank you for four of the best months of my life. I smiled, I laughed, I cried, I saw castles and molpies (animals) and a waterfall, I learned about baobab trees, trebuchets, cairns, theodolites and surveying, the Château d’If, and the Zanclean flood. Time will stay with me for the rest of my life.
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Was there any intended significance to Antares being missing? Did a supernova have anything to do with the future state of human civilization? To me this feels like the biggest feature of the story that wasn’t fully resolved in the forums. (Other than the end of story loose threads — Hoping for Time 2 someday — Waiting for it…) (By the way, a big thank you to everyone in the online communities who contributed their expertise in putting together the pieces of the big puzzle.)
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Thank you, thank you, thank you! Time was a fantastic work of art, and you should know that the amount of effort you put into it was appreciated by us all. Also, thanks for addressing it here on the Blag. I think this was exactly the closure most of us were looking for. (Now to go write a sequel to my Time analysis on my blog…)
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I was too busy for Time.
That fact became irrelevant soon enough. The story was magical in its initial simplicity as well as with the increasing developments, so I followed whenever I could. Even installed the live wallpaper app that was built especially for Time and gave hourly updates.
I’d also recomment the OTColored gallery of art frames from Time. Look for it in the wiki.
I would recommend for those who wish to experience this story in all its glory, to read the forum thread from the beginning. It’s long, but exciting, and while it won’t be in real time, chances are that you won’t be alone.
There are open questions, but that’s okay. Thank you for something great and new.
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What they said. AKA: thank you so much for this, the last four months has been a marvellous puzzle and an adventure and an obsession, and like so many others I was heartbroken that it finally had to end.
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We. Are. Not. Worthy. Thank you.
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Just had to leave the same comment as everyone else: Thanks. It’s been fun.
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1190: Time is one of the funnest art projects I have seen in years and years. Every part of the experience was fun. Thank you. Thank you.
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I would just like to throw my thanks into the pile. It was a wild ride and it is very clear how much time, effort, care and attention to detail went into every frame.
I’m glad to have been a part of the gang who got to witness it first hand, because it is as much a piece of art as any other creation. But more, it was a new and unique method of storytelling, which we may never see again.
Sublime from start to finish, I’d call it your magnum opus, except I can’t possibly know what you have in store for us in future. Needless to say, I’ll be waiting for it.
Thank you.
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It was a privilege both to read Time and be a part of the community following. I was originally one of those who saw the initial frame, assumed it to be just some statement on staring into infinity, and moved on… only to hear about a week later what was going on, and dive headlong into the One True Thread on the forums to ketchup.
One can only wonder how you will top this! (once you get some sleep back)
PS: Please authorise your minions to put a simple “wait for it” t-shirt in the store. A way for followers of Time to spot each other in the wild from time to time would be lovely.
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I’d like to chime in all the ch*rping thankyous. Incredible project, skillfully done, I lift my dragondasheried hat to the genius Randall.
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That was one of the best stories I’ve read in my (albeit short) life. I’m going to save it and show it to my children to inspire them to always ask questions, even if there’s no answer. Thank you.
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Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you (times 3099) is insufficient to express my joy and amazement of Time. I am being ninja’d to the nth degree here (especially by my fellow Timewaiters) but this has been a wonderful time.
And Thank You for this blog report as a footnote to the experience.
I would like to add that it would be neat if you could (eventually) add some TIME related items to the store. (I’m going to suggest on the thread (The OTT) that we update the t-shirt suggestion page of the Time-wiki with any and all new items…)
Once again: Thank You.
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All I can say is thank you, and that I doff my hat/beanie in awe and appreciation. Two amazing things were created: the OTC (“Time”) which was entirely your doing and a staggering accomplishment, but without it there would not have been the almost-as-remarkable phenomenon of the OTT (in the xkcd forums). The combined experience was wowterful … but, like you, I think I will be glad to have at least a little time back. Thank you again.
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Just wanted to say that this hooked me early, and I kept the time comic as one of my open browser tabs during its run. It’s an amazing piece of work and I am grateful for your sharing it with all of us.
It’s not much, but I’m going to go buy something from your store, thanks for making the world a bit more amazing (or occasionally helping me stop and realize how amazing the place is)
-Sopchoppy
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So amazing…
Been following this since it first came up, had a browser tab opened with it for the first month or so, but kept checking in every few days after that. Thanks to the people cataloging every frame as well so I didn’t miss most of everything.
After a few months I was starting to wonder if it would ever end (and a few spots where I thought it might have already ended). It was a thing of beauty and I love it.
Thanks Randall.
*thinks it might not actually be over*
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TIME was amazing, blew my mind, I didn’t think you could top click and drag, and then, then, then, … my god you did! Thank you so very much.
Please, Please, Please, i want to put in my order now for the signed edition of the “xkcd/time” book!
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Add another unit of thanks to the well-deserved heap of praise! And I went over to the XKCD store and bought an armful of loot, because you can’t heat your house with praise. 😉
Nominating “Time” for a Hugo is an excellent idea. This was a groundbreaking science fiction telling, and it deserves wide recognition.
Hope you get a chance to catch up on the rest of the things! “Time” continues to echo through the ongoing ‘OTT’ (One True Thread) and many spin-off efforts and creative outlets. This wellspring will keep flowing for quite a while…!
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Just want to add my voice to the cascade of thanks. Time was a unique experience, blending the best aspects of mystery, art, and adventure. The sense of exploration and discovery was incredibly rewarding and the community that sprung up around it is one of the funniest, warmest, most creative places to hang out on the internet I’ve ever encountered.
There is a very special pleasure in solving a really good puzzle – one that entertains, teaches, amuses and diverts while stealthily providing clues, leading to a conclusion where everything makes sense, but is still open-ended enough to allow imagination to flourish. With Time, I have to say, you really nailed it. Thank you!
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I’m a longtime reader, and when I first saw this, I fell into the group who thought it was just a thing about sandcastles. I just happened to read the blag today, and went to one of those sites to watch the whole thing and…
…holy crap. I mean, really. Holy crap, that was so cool. Between this and the giant one with guy on a balloon exploring the world, you really continue to astound me as an artist. This is why I love this comic so much.
Thanks for taking the time to make such an amazing piece of work.
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I hope so much that we will be able to see more of the beanish language. You went to aaall that trouble to invent it. Do we have enough clues to decode it yet? I think perhaps we don’t, though we’ll keep at it with what we have.
When you rest up enough to start thinking about the sequel, I’d love to see La Petite travel back to the Castle d’If with the maps Megan borrowed, perhaps taking along some of the other youngsters from the Forty. They all need to be educated, after all. Some of the beanish technology might be extremely helpful to the survival of such a small group. La Petite might even grow her hair out and become Rosetta’s successor someday. She’s one smart little girl!
Also, can you tell us the real truth about Lucky and the attack? Did Lucky think Cuegan were coming to feed him, and was he just excited to see humans back again, and hopeful that some food might be in Cueball’s bag? I was thinking they probably carried dried fish on the journey with them, and that might smell very delicious to an upland kitty. He just looked so tame and happy, not at all like a cat stalking prey. I may be fooling myself just from my inordinate fondness for meowlpies, though.
I’ve been thinking more about what was so amazing about this new art form, trying to understand it better. I think us having to wait for it was crucial. The pauses gave us time to speculate, puzzle over the puzzles, study the new information, and input our own thoughts and creativity into the process. Meanwhile, the thread let us collaborate and brainstorm ideas. Obviously the community was a brilliant part of the process, particularly Blitzgirl whom someone described as the heart and soul of the OTT, and that would happen differently every time. Still, it was the comic itself that acted as the bones of the community, with the pauses leaving plenty of room for the thread to flesh out the artwork into an organic whole. I’d be interested to see what happens if you double or quadruple the wait between frames. There’s probably an optimum wait time that gives maximum impetus for interactivity while still keeping people interested enough to care. I’ll say for my own sake that one hour between frames was probably too fast.
More questions: Were we meant to solve the hash so we could look ahead? Or was that unsolvable?
Can you give us any hints on understanding beanish?
Is it known exactly what caused the strait to become blocked this time around?
Did Anteres play a part in the fall of civilization?
Are Megan and Cueball going to get together and live happily ever after? The shippers want to know.
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One more question: Did you intend all along to start the frame rate faster, to grab people’s attention, then slow it down later? That was a great idea!
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Thank you for giving us the privilege of sharing this amazing tale. I do hope that one day you will see fit to publish this story as a book.
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I’d like to add to the heap of thanks. It has been awesome to follow the OTT and the OTC.
Is the Beanish language fully invented, a modification of an existing language or complete and utter bullchirp?
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Thank you! as my fellow Timewaiters have already expressed more eloquently than I. Time was a beautiful story and, I feel, groundbreaking in its exploration of a new form of internet-platformed performance art. Waiting for it through the months has been an experience that I will long cherish. Follow-ups, T-shirts, book versions, a sequesl whatever may follow or not, but even a re-run won’t be the same – nobody else can ever again experience the sense of wonder, can capture the uncertainty that accompanied each and every frame. That your audience became as much a part of the performance as the instrument was a things of wonder to be part of.
Thank you again. (And if you find yourself in the vicinity of ɐɔıɹɟɐ – perhaps on route to Madagascar – you’re most welcome to drop by to sample the Ale named and brewed in honour of Time.)
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Thank you Randal. This was another brilliant step taking web-comic into true art-form and deserves to be recognised as such.
Thank you also for the closure provided by this post. It may sound overly dramatic but the sense of loss from not having newpix to see this morning was strangely real and is relieved by the post.
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I just thought of two questions:
1) On JoCo Cruise Crazy you were asked what you were most proud of, and you answered Click and Drag. Is Time now the thing you are most proud of, and were you already working on it when you answered that question?
2) How much did you actually understand Tatiana’s questions, given all the OTTish words?
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thank you so very much for this incredible piece of work/art/inspiration.
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Having seen how you usually let your comics stand on their own (you never said Boo! about “Click and Drag”) I never dared to expect a blag post. So, strongly suspecting the presence of your spies on the One True Thread, I posted this somewhat fulsome thank-you there Saturday night:
http://fora.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=101043&p=3423916#p3423916
But I’ll say it again here, much more briefly. Thank you and congratulations, Mr. Munroe, for a unique and challenging experience. You stretched the canvas once again.
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Thank you for taking us on a fantastic voyage. I got hooked immediately and although I followed the threads from afar (as a so-called “lurker”), the speculation going on was nearly as entertaining as the OTC (“one true comic”) itself.
It must have been challenging to plan, write and draw all of this, but if you feel like it… please do it again!
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Not that this needs re-saying, but hey . . .
MOMA needs to know about this! Seriously.
And, of course . . . Thank you!
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Just too awesome to put in words. Thank you.
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Just too awesome for words. Thank you.
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Thanks for everything. But don’t listen to them. Please do not do anything like this ever again. The sheer number of man-hours spent (I’m not going to say wasted) on the OTT was astounding. I lurked the whole four months. Read every page until Friday happened. I estimate something like 6 man-years on the thread alone. Not to mention the Wiki, Map, and heretical forums.
One thing amuses me. Here we are on your blog using words like Beanish and La Petite, (and I even used OTT). You may or may not even know what those refer to or why. I love the idea of you having to go read the Wiki about your own comic, just to understand what your fans are thanking you for. 😉
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Since people are asking questions, I might as well add mine: You seemed to leave one major Chekhov’s gun unfired: what was the third “Squareish” language that the leader of the hatted people (Ms. Rosetta Stone aka Hairdo) spoke?
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Thank you for a very engrossing four months! Time is something I’m going to remember for many years.
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Loved this project. I was continually amazed that it was still going. Now that it’s done, I spend a ‘few’ hours, and put together an animation for YouTube. I attempted to use some appropriate background music and sounds to make it more interesting to watch, and I think it turned out reasonably well.
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I don’t want it to end 😦
Thank you, it’s been awesome. Any place where translations of the unknown language can be found ?
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The Pulitzer committee ought to start awarding prizes for achievement in internet media, because this comic – and I use that word for convenience, because Time is more than just a humorous doodle – deserves one. Thank you, Randall.
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your work helps me feel happy when it’s difficult to feel happy, and this masterpiece is especially inspiring and beautiful.
thank you.
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Any chance we will see more of the “Beanish” language? It may help people who are trying to crack it 🙂
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Dude, make a single, limited edition set of 3,099 t-shirts with one shirt per frame. Let people claim frame #’s and then print when all 3,099 are claimed.
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Um, thanks. I can’t pretend that Time fundamentally changed my life as it did for others, but I can say that I was looked at oddle by others when I tried to explain Time, the OTT, and my facination with it.
I’m not sure if you wrote Time for us, or for you, but it is apprecaited none-the-less.
As a loopist, I am only slightly disappointed in the end of Time. The disappointment is quickly overcome when I consider the extent of the thought put into Time. Having it linear makes us continue to….
Thanks Randall!
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