429 réponses à ce sujet

[zambingo]

I don't find this very pleasing to my eyes, so I'd rather have them go for realism.



Unfortunately it seems too late for that.

To be fair, that look has to be designed off of French Musketeers. So in that it is valid.

[metatheurgist]

Personally I prefer function over form. When you look at some detail and realise it's not merely there to be pretty it's cool. Having said that it's nice for things to look good.



Posted this before, but Alice's armor from Wonderland is a fave.





Best Kristen has ever looked IMO.


 

I'd have thought you'd post a picture of that armor that Jake quested to find after being ridiculed for not having armor instead.

[In Exile]

one thing then I'll go... please no literally skin tight leather armours, that was more annoying the the skimpy ones. other that as long as there not armors from wow I don't care.

 

Sometimes I want my male PCs to look like Captain America. 

[Hanako Ikezawa]

Sometimes I want my male PCs to look like Captain America. 

Spoiler

 

That looks practical and stylish. 

[Matt Rhodes]

This is one of my favorite things to talk about, and this thread has inspired me to try to write a more comprehensive post about it soon. There are so many things to consider when you design armor for a videogame. Can animators get it to move well? How well does your engine handle drapery and reflective surfaces? What are all of the combat designers requirements? How many characters will be able to wear it? How far are you willing to go to create a distinct visual identity while still fulfilling genre expectations? And sooooo many more.

But, the biggest question of all, more important than bad-ass-ratio or realism, the question that begins to emerge after ingesting countless books and documentaries about armor:

What is the economic history of the armor?

Who commissioned it? For what purposes (combat, intimidation, propaganda...)? How much was spent? How well has it been cared for? If its for a soldier, how much was that soldier worth? An elite guard worth hundreds of thousands? Or a peasant recruit worth very little? The list can go on as long as you have the stamena for it. Its all about story telling/world building. The more the armor (or frankly anything you're designing) says about the world and the characters the better.
I feel like I scratched the surface, but want to do this subject more justice. I'll write up something more thorough as soon as I can.

[AresKeith]

This is one of my favorite things to talk about, and this thread has inspired me to try to write a more comprehensive post about it soon. There are so many things to consider when you design armor for a videogame. Can animators get it to move well? How well does your engine handle drapery and reflective surfaces? What are all of the combat designers requirements? How many characters will be able to wear it? How far are you willing to go to create a distinct visual identity while still fulfilling genre expectations? And sooooo many more.

But, the biggest question of all, more important than bad-ass-ratio or realism, the question that begins to emerge after ingesting countless books and documentaries about armor:

What is the economic history of the armor?

Who commissioned it? For what purposes (combat, intimidation, propaganda...)? How much was spent? How well has it been cared for? If its for a soldier, how much was that soldier worth? An elite guard worth hundreds of thousands? Or a peasant recruit worth very little? The list can go on as long as you have the stamena for it. Its all about story telling/world building. The more the armor (or frankly anything you're designing) says about the world and the characters the better.
I feel like I scratched the surface, but want to do this subject more justice. I'll write up something more thorough as soon as I can.

 

Have you had a chance to look at this thread?   http://forum.bioware...-in-inquistion/

[Altima Darkspells]

Armor can look realistic AND pleasing to the eye, so I say, why not both?

Of course, what looks pleasing is entirely subjective. Still, if must choose between one or the other, I choose pleasant looking.

Still, in the end, I'll settle for something that just doesn't look ridiculous.

[Iakus]

I'm not so sure armor needs to look "realistic"  Armor could be made out of fantastic metals, be magically enchanted, and so on.  So a suit of chain mail doesn't have to look like a twenty pound metal sweater.  But I do think it should look functional.  That it could turn aside a blade or an arrow without having "boob windows", or spikes that serve no purpose but to get caught on things.  

[TKavatar]

This is from Matt Rhode's blog

I'm not sure if I agree with the visual interest part. Those clean hard edges and sharp angles look more scifi than medieval.

[Dabrikishaw]

Armor should look like it can protect you if you wear it.

[Eveangaline]

Give realistic armor that looks pleasing to the eye.

 

And give unrealistic but fanciful and awesome hats.

[Stiler]

This is one of my favorite things to talk about, and this thread has inspired me to try to write a more comprehensive post about it soon. There are so many things to consider when you design armor for a videogame. Can animators get it to move well? How well does your engine handle drapery and reflective surfaces? What are all of the combat designers requirements? How many characters will be able to wear it? How far are you willing to go to create a distinct visual identity while still fulfilling genre expectations? And sooooo many more.

But, the biggest question of all, more important than bad-ass-ratio or realism, the question that begins to emerge after ingesting countless books and documentaries about armor:

What is the economic history of the armor?

Who commissioned it? For what purposes (combat, intimidation, propaganda...)? How much was spent? How well has it been cared for? If its for a soldier, how much was that soldier worth? An elite guard worth hundreds of thousands? Or a peasant recruit worth very little? The list can go on as long as you have the stamena for it. Its all about story telling/world building. The more the armor (or frankly anything you're designing) says about the world and the characters the better.
I feel like I scratched the surface, but want to do this subject more justice. I'll write up something more thorough as soon as I can.

 

Looking forward to what you write.

 

Regarding the economic value of the armour, there were a ton of factors involved. There could be quite a difference of value between lower quality armour vs high quality, then you get into second hand armour, who made it, etc.  A full suit from a master armoursmith (usually for royalty) could cost a ton, whereas the lower quality or more outdated armour could be afford by mercenaries and other soldiers.

[Mes]

I'm not so sure armor needs to look "realistic"  But I do think it should look functional. 

 

That's a good distinction, and I actually hadn't thought of it that way til you pointed it out. I too definitely prefer something that looks functional, and also flattering on my character. 

 

I'll be honest and say I really, really don't like King Cailan's armor. Those enormous shoulder things just kill it for me. They make the wearer's head look like a hedgehog popping out of a burrow or something. Unfortunately this look seems to be pretty common in the games.

 

 

 

 

However Cassandra's new armor, I love. The shoulder things are toned way the heck down, and instead the armor resorts to smaller details to provide visual interest.

 

[TKavatar]

Cassandra looks really thin and suffering from the 'Noodle Arm' syndrome that's plaguing every women in Thedas.

[Hanako Ikezawa]

However Cassandra's new armor, I love. The shoulder things are toned way the heck down, and instead the armor resorts to smaller details to provide visual interest.

 

[AresKeith]

This is from Matt Rhode's blog

I'm not sure if I agree with the visual interest part. Those clean hard edges and sharp angles look more scifi than medieval.

 

I like it

[In Exile]

Cassandra looks really thin and suffering from the 'Noodle Arm' syndrome that's plaguing every women in Thedas.

 

I disagree. Her arm looks thin only because all men in fantasy games are jacked as sin when it comes to their biceps (like the arm for the Male Mage's Champion armour). 

[AresKeith]

That's a good distinction, and I actually hadn't thought of it that way til you pointed it out. I too definitely prefer something that looks functional, and also flattering on my character. 

 

I'll be honest and say I really, really don't like King Cailan's armor. Those enormous shoulder things just kill it for me. They make the wearer's head look like a hedgehog popping out of a burrow or something. Unfortunately this look seems to be pretty common in the games.

 

 

 

 

His concept armor was so much better

[Volus Warlord]

I like my armor to be extremely realistic and practical. 

Stuff like this:

is too clunky and bulky. 

 

 

For instance:

 

 

 

This would be extremely realistic and practical for LARP night at a strip club. There is no greater form of realism than this. 

[deuce985]

This is one of my favorite things to talk about, and this thread has inspired me to try to write a more comprehensive post about it soon. There are so many things to consider when you design armor for a videogame. Can animators get it to move well? How well does your engine handle drapery and reflective surfaces? What are all of the combat designers requirements? How many characters will be able to wear it? How far are you willing to go to create a distinct visual identity while still fulfilling genre expectations? And sooooo many more.

But, the biggest question of all, more important than bad-ass-ratio or realism, the question that begins to emerge after ingesting countless books and documentaries about armor:

What is the economic history of the armor?

Who commissioned it? For what purposes (combat, intimidation, propaganda...)? How much was spent? How well has it been cared for? If its for a soldier, how much was that soldier worth? An elite guard worth hundreds of thousands? Or a peasant recruit worth very little? The list can go on as long as you have the stamena for it. Its all about story telling/world building. The more the armor (or frankly anything you're designing) says about the world and the characters the better.
I feel like I scratched the surface, but want to do this subject more justice. I'll write up something more thorough as soon as I can.

 

Being a game dev sounds hard.

[Nyeredzi]

This is one of my favorite things to talk about, and this thread has inspired me to try to write a more comprehensive post about it soon. There are so many things to consider when you design armor for a videogame. Can animators get it to move well? How well does your engine handle drapery and reflective surfaces? What are all of the combat designers requirements? How many characters will be able to wear it? How far are you willing to go to create a distinct visual identity while still fulfilling genre expectations? And sooooo many more.

But, the biggest question of all, more important than bad-ass-ratio or realism, the question that begins to emerge after ingesting countless books and documentaries about armor:

What is the economic history of the armor?

Who commissioned it? For what purposes (combat, intimidation, propaganda...)? How much was spent? How well has it been cared for? If its for a soldier, how much was that soldier worth? An elite guard worth hundreds of thousands? Or a peasant recruit worth very little? The list can go on as long as you have the stamena for it. Its all about story telling/world building. The more the armor (or frankly anything you're designing) says about the world and the characters the better.
I feel like I scratched the surface, but want to do this subject more justice. I'll write up something more thorough as soon as I can.

Exactly! (goes to the front lines wearing a cowboy hat)

[Cainhurst Crow]

I don't find this very pleasing to my eyes, so I'd rather have them go for realism.

 

 

Unfortunately it seems too late for that.

 

Has the opposite effect on me, I love it and am glad its too late for them to change. XD

 

Anyway, I don't find the argument of realism vs fantasy to be a very valid framework, because of how fantastical realistic armor could look, and how utterly unrealistic armors that actually existed could look like and the stupid trends we see in a lot of dumb designs. Things such as a single shoulder pad, oversize shoulder pads, pouches and belts that make no sense, stupid oversized helmets, armor that should weight a lot, armor that covers far too little, etc, are all armors that in one part of the world or another, actually existed.

 

What I find to be a better framework, one that actually address at least my concerns for aesthetics, is the balance between practical vs extravagant. Do you want to look like an average joe in adequate looking armor, or do you want to look like a phoenix peacock rising with the sun at your back and looking like a goddamn supernova? Sometimes going one way is good, sometimes the other, and most times a mix of both is really the best to look not boring and not ridiculous.

 

That armor in the picture, in my opinion, leans closer to the extravagant route, but in all the right places. Like an expensive car and how you want it to look just a mild bit extravagant and ridiculous like a Lamborghini or Ferrari, and not like an everyday suzuki SX4 in calming beige.
 

[Shaftell]

I really think Dragon's Dogma had the best armor design I've ever seen in a video game.

[Mes]

I really think Dragon's Dogma had the best armor design I've ever seen in a video game.

 

That and combat.  I loved DD. If it had companions and story like Dragon Age, I'd probably waste my life away playing it. But alas.

[CENIC]

There is a special place in my heart for armor that doesn't change much whether it is on a man or a woman, but I understand that my preference for conservative styles is not shared by all.

Isabela's choice of attire didn't bother me because I could believe that was something she would choose to wear. In that vein, I fully expect (and support) that when you equip the same set of armor across various party members in Inquisition, it will change to suit each character's personality. I may not like all of them, but MY character won't be wearing them. As long as there is a wide variety of styles for my Inquisitor (and I'm not stuck with a bikini or boobplate) I'll be happy.