Social NintenZone Social 4 - Bring It In, Guys!

[ChikoLad]

Reminder that the first prototype of Mighty No. 9 looked like this:

I have to wonder what exactly went wrong with the development of the game.

Gonna play devil's advocate and point out that what they have here is pretty much just bog standard UDK lighting effects and probably some assets too. What they have here looks functional but it's a seven day prototype for a reason - it has no style.

I'm not saying the final product looks all that great but what you are seeing in that prototype is very bland graphics-wise anyway and can be achieved by an amateur at literally no cost, so it's not anything worth boasting about.

I know this because I use UDK myself.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

I just saw a Fire Emblem Fates advert on TV just now.

Well that reason is just that anime fans are one of the most toxic fanbases out there. And I say this as a fan. I freaking love anime and discussing it but holy hell, it's fanbase is bad and it's just an easy target because that, how modern anime is now portrayed and how it's still not as mainstream despite what companies may believe.


People will rather accept animation from their home land or from the west. And most of it being super cartoony or realistic. Anime hit that middle ground but isnt well like that what it should. There's a reason why anime swordsman is the main complaint in Smash roster.

Not enough cartoonist look or realistic looks of characters

Pretty much this. Between obnoxious fans, several recurring tropes in anime that just rubs people the wrong way and the perception of modern anime being too samey in character designs and artstyle and you got a case where hating on anime is pretty common. As you yourself noted, there's a reason why the overtly "anime" characters like Corrin, Shulk and such gets accussed of being a "generic anime swordman"

 

[Spikeez]

Honestly I lost all of my interest for MN9 lately, seeing the trailers for it made me glad that I that I didn't back it up, the game just seems like a slap in the face for the people who are fans of Mega Man and it's just there because of merchandise.

 

[Wario Bros.]

Since MN9's Kickstarter was basically running side by side the Kickstarter of Shantae: Half-Genie Hero way back when (which I've happily dropped 200 smackeroos on it), I almost supported MN9.

Glad I didn't.

Speaking of Shantae: I just ordered this baby:

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Honestly I lost all of my interest for MN9 lately

We're at a point people only want it to come out so the delays end and it fades into obscurity

Since MN9's Kickstarter was basically running side by side the Kickstarter of Shantae: Half-Genie Hero way back when (which I've happily dropped 200 smackeroos on it), I almost supported MN9.

Glad I didn't.

Speaking of Shantae: I just ordered this baby:

That reminds me! did anyone show the recent 'rival genie' design that was shown?

 

[Wario Bros.]

We're at a point people only want it to come out so the delays end and it fades into obscurity

That reminds me! did anyone show the recent 'rival genie' design that was shown?

You mean this?

 

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

Speaking of Shantae: I just ordered this baby:

I don't need it
I don't need it...

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

I didn't bother getting a tier I could vote in Shantae

After I realized my vote didn't really matter in the Mighty No 9 poll

 

[Cutie Gwen]

You mean this?

Bingo! I feel like this design is fitting for a rival of Shantae, they look similar but have their differences, like how both genies bare their midriffs yet their hairstyles are different, meaning this lovely lady could have 2 hair whips

 

[Frostwraith]

To be honest, the "generic overly designed pretty boy/girl" anime art style is to Japan what the "overly manly gun-toting dude" brown shades realistic art is to the West. It's basically the overused kind of art that is mainstream in each place.

Because pictures are worth a thousand words:

Spoiler: Big pictures ahoy!

I mean, you can still find variety of art styles in both places, but there is something a bit more ubiquitous about what the images above show, no?

You can also have these:

Spoiler: Big pictures again!

Both sides can have their own "generic style", but it's the more creative works that will stand out more, don't you think?

 

[True Blue Warrior]

To be honest, the "generic overly designed pretty boy/girl" anime art style is to Japan what the "overly manly gun-toting dude" brown shades realistic art is to the West. It's basically the overused kind of art that is mainstream in each place.

Because pictures are worth a thousand words:

Spoiler: Big pictures ahoy!

I mean, you can still find variety of art styles in both places, but there is something a bit more ubiquitous about what the images above show, no?

You can also have these:

Spoiler: Big pictures again!

Both sides can have their own "generic style", but it's the more creative works that will stand out more, don't you think?

I actually like the design and art style of the Overwatch characters.

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

Overwatch to me seems like it's something design by the millennial generation

Like, all hipster and junk

 

[Con0rrrr]

For those who are loving Overwatch... watch this new Cr1t1kal/Penguinz0 video.

For those who don't watch this guy. He's easily one of the funniest guys on Youtube if you're into dry humor. He's also one of the nicest guys. He donates all his Youtube earnings to charity and does all his videos from his dorm. One of the most naturally funny guys ever.

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

For those who are loving Overwatch... watch this new Cr1t1kal/Penguinz0 video.

For those who don't watch this guy. He's easily one of the funniest guys on Youtube if you're into dry humor. He's also one of the nicest guys. He donates all his Youtube earnings to charity and does all his videos from his dorm. One of the most naturally funny guys ever.

I'm actually watching that right now

 

[ChikoLad]

To be honest, the "generic overly designed pretty boy/girl" anime art style is to Japan what the "overly manly gun-toting dude" brown shades realistic art is to the West. It's basically the overused kind of art that is mainstream in each place.

Because pictures are worth a thousand words:

Spoiler: Big pictures ahoy!

I mean, you can still find variety of art styles in both places, but there is something a bit more ubiquitous about what the images above show, no?

You can also have these:

Spoiler: Big pictures again!

Both sides can have their own "generic style", but it's the more creative works that will stand out more, don't you think?

Your comparison kinda falls flat on the fact that Assassin's Creed and Uncharted are extremely different stylistically, with AC having huge historical and cultural influences in it's design, as well as some virtual reality aesthetics going on. Uncharted is focused on creating lush natural landscapes with city locations being rare. And UC4's promotional art is only like that because it's supposed to be a sort of climax. Uncharted games are a far cry from being dark and gritty, they are popular because the characters are quirky and charming, like comic book characters or something. The Last of Us was Naughty Dog's gritty Hollywood movie-alike.

Also I don't see how the characters in the Tales of Symphonia and Fairy Tail are "over designed" by any stretch of the imagination. They're actually really simplistic (which is probably intentional since in Japan, those would be aimed at younger audiences so they want the characters to be fairly easy to draw for the kids). They're also very different stylistically with Tales having simple, flat colouring and obviously being traditional art, and Fairy Tail having a much sharper look to it, and it's also obviously digital.

Honestly if you wanted to give an example of an over-designed character, just post almost any character from Kid Icarus: Uprising.

 

[Professor Lexicovermis]

Oh God them dislike and that quote:

"Will make your enemies cry worst than a anime fan on prom night"

Whew, thank goodness I didn't back this!

Spoiler: Why

And that narration:

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

Another good reason I got it for 3DS

I'm not going to have to see THAT on a large screen

 

[AwesomeAussie27]

I'll just say this, Shantae: Half Blood Genie AND Shovel Knight look and play so much better than Mighty No. ****.

Yes, I am seriously going there mates.

 

[Frostwraith]

I just found this video and, damn, it's kind of disturbing, to be honest.

Though, I do admit this technology could be useful in other areas.

Your comparison kinda falls flat on the fact that Assassin's Creed and Uncharted are extremely different stylistically, with AC having huge historical and cultural influences in it's design, as well as some virtual reality aesthetics going on. Uncharted is focused on creating lush natural landscapes with city locations being rare. And UC4's promotional art is only like that because it's supposed to be a sort of climax. Uncharted games are a far cry from being dark and gritty, they are popular because the characters are quirky and charming, like comic book characters or something. The Last of Us was Naughty Dog's gritty Hollywood movie-alike.

Also I don't see how the characters in the Tales of Symphonia and Fairy Tail are "over designed" by any stretch of the imagination. They're actually really simplistic (which is probably intentional since in Japan, those would be aimed at younger audiences so they want the characters to be fairly easy to draw for the kids).

Honestly if you wanted to give an example of an over-designed character, just post almost any character from Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Well, I kinda changed my argument midway and forgot to delete that part about characters being over-designed. My bad.

Still, Western games tend to focus on realism more.

Also a lot of stuff you said (i.e. character characterization) is irrelevant, I was strictly talking about visual art.

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

So, battle.net is requiring me to upload a picture of my ID in order to get rid of the authenticator on my account

WTF?

 

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

I'll just say this, Shantae: Half Blood Genie AND Shovel Knight look and play so much better than Mighty No. ****.

Yes, I am seriously going there mates.

I wish Mighty No.9 went for a hand-drawn approach. Something like this one piece of concept art.

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

I wish Mighty No.9 went for a hand-drawn approach like Half-Genie Hero. Something like this one piece of concept art.

That takes effort and skill though

 

[ChikoLad]

I just found this video and, damn, it's kind of disturbing, to be honest.

Though, I do admit this technology could be useful in other areas.


Well, I kinda changed my argument midway and forgot to delete that part about characters being over-designed. My bad.

Still, Western games tend to focus on realism more.

Also a lot of stuff you said (i.e. character characterization) is irrelevant, I was strictly talking about visual art.

Characterisation directly relates to visual art because they both reflect each other.

I was briefly mentioning it (i.e it wasn't most of what I said, it was literally a single sentence of my post) in relation to Uncharted because I don't know how one can say Uncharted has a dark and gritty visual style when it doesn't have that and the characters don't reflect it. The cover art of UC4 isn't like that for the sake of it or as part of some design fad, it's a reflection of where the story of the series is at, that being a climax where things are getting serious.

It's like how the Harry Potter cover art gets more and more foreboding or tense as the books/movies go on, because the story gets more and more tense. That's not some Western fad, it's common promotional sense. Plenty of Japanese games do it too. Like how the SSBB cover art is a little more serious than the others because that game actually had a storyline that was somewhat serious in tone.

 

[Frostwraith]

Characterisation directly relates to visual art because they both reflect each other.

I was briefly mentioning it (i.e it wasn't most of what I said, it was literally a single sentence of my post) in relation to Uncharted because I don't know how one can say Uncharted has a dark and gritty visual style when it doesn't have that and the characters don't reflect it. The cover art of UC4 isn't like that for the sake of it or as part of some design fad, it's a reflection of where the story of the series is at, that being a climax where things are getting serious.

It's like how the Harry Potter cover art gets more and more foreboding or tense as the books/movies go on. That's not some Western fad, it's common promotional sense. Plenty of Japanese games do it too. Like how the SSBB cover art is a little more serious than the others because that game actually had a storyline that was somewhat serious in tone.

I just think you're over complicating this. =/

I was speaking broadly and didn't exactly account for the nature of each work in the images.

I merely focused on the visuals, and the visuals alone, to make a point on common patterns of art styles across two different regions of the world.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

Your comparison kinda falls flat on the fact that Assassin's Creed and Uncharted are extremely different stylistically, with AC having huge historical and cultural influences in it's design, as well as some virtual reality aesthetics going on. Uncharted is focused on creating lush natural landscapes with city locations being rare. And UC4's promotional art is only like that because it's supposed to be a sort of climax. Uncharted games are a far cry from being dark and gritty, they are popular because the characters are quirky and charming, like comic book characters or something. The Last of Us was Naughty Dog's gritty Hollywood movie-alike.

Also I don't see how the characters in the Tales of Symphonia and Fairy Tail are "over designed" by any stretch of the imagination. They're actually really simplistic (which is probably intentional since in Japan, those would be aimed at younger audiences so they want the characters to be fairly easy to draw for the kids). They're also very different stylistically with Tales having simple, flat colouring and obviously being traditional art, and Fairy Tail having a much sharper look to it, and it's also obviously digital.

Honestly if you wanted to give an example of an over-designed character, just post almost any character from Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Best example ever

Spoiler

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

I'm worried sending Blizzard a copy of my ID in picture form is going to result in identity theft

I dunno why ANYONE would ask for a picture of your ID online

 

[Cutie Gwen]

I just realize something about the Ace Attorney anime. They ****ing better have a heart-wrenching remix of this

So beautifully tragic

 

[ChikoLad]

I just think you're over complicating this. =/

I was speaking broadly and didn't exactly account for the nature of each work in the images.

I merely focused on the visuals, and the visuals alone, to make a point on common patterns of art styles across two different regions of the world.

And as I said, your point was made poorly because not only are the examples you chose not comparable to each other on a visual level, but the Western examples aren't exactly visually dark and gritty.

Like one glance at those pictures and I was confused because they really aren't similar to each other.

The way you worded your post implied some kind of generalistation that Western promotional art is dark and gritty "for the sake of it" but I don't see how you can assert that when Japanese stuff do the same thing when the situation calls for it. This is why I pointed out how Uncharted 4's art is only like that for a reason, not for the sake of it, much like these images from Japanese products:

Spoiler

If you wanted to point out generalised stuff in Western media, comparing stuff like Halo and Mass Effect would have made much better sense since they have much more similar art direction than any of the examples you listed.

Or just point out visual similarities between a lot of games made in Unreal Engine 3 and 4 because a lot of them just use stock assets.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

“You interested in Mighty No. 9? This new trailer will fix that!”

— Michael Sawyer (slowbeef) (@slowbeef) May 25, 2016

I'm actually looking at the trailer for the sake of curiosity. Damn

 

[Red & Green]

the upcoming movie

Wait wait wait. "upcoming movie"? Like... full motion theater picture?

I... I don't even believe it. And this was announced a year ago?
I thought that was an animated series for something like Cartoon Network.
How the hell are they gonna hold up a movie???

But yeah, on Shantae...
The game certainly looks interesting, and definitely an upgrade to the more pixel-y prequels.
I'd DEFINITELY take it over Mighty No. 9 when that comes out.
admittedlyi'dlovevoiceactingbuti'malittlemorethansadthatstretchgoalwasn'treached[/QUOTE]

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Wait wait wait. "upcoming movie"? Like... full motion theater picture?

I... I don't even believe it. And this was announced a year ago?
I thought that was an animated series for something like Cartoon Network.
How the hell are they gonna hold up a movie???

But yeah, on Shantae...
The game certainly looks interesting, and definitely an upgrade to the more pixel-y prequels.
I'd DEFINITELY take it over Mighty No. 9 when that comes out.
admittedlyi'dlovevoiceactingbuti'malittlemorethansadthatstretchgoalwasn'treached

[/QUOTE]
http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/mighty-no-9-videogame-live-action-movie-1201534145/
lol when typing in mighty no 9 movie, 'money back' was the first thing after movie

 

[ChikoLad]

This looks like it would be terrifying for drivers.

China's new elevated bus design looks awesome. Drives over cars on the roads. pic.twitter.com/MBhb2d15Fq

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) May 24, 2016

 

[Frostwraith]

And as I said, your point was made poorly because not only are the examples you chose not comparable to each other on a visual level, but the Western examples aren't exactly visually dark and gritty.

Like one glance at those pictures and I was confused because they really aren't similar to each other.

The way you worded your post implied some kind of generalistation that Western promotional art is dark and gritty "for the sake of it" but I don't see how you can assert that when Japanese stuff do the same thing when the situation calls for it. This is why I pointed out how Uncharted 4's art is only like that for a reason, not for the sake of it, much like these images from Japanese products:

Spoiler

If you wanted to point out generalised stuff in Western media, comparing stuff like Halo and Mass Effect would have made much better sense since they have much more similar art direction than any of the examples you listed.

Or just point out visual similarities between a lot of games made in Unreal Engine 3 and 4 because a lot of them just use stock assets.

Even with FMA:B and Parasyte, you see more similarities with other anime and manga styles than compared to anything realistic.

Uncharted and AC try to depict characters as close as they would be in reality, common in many modern Western games and influenced from live-action works.

And for the last time, I'm not taking into account the stories. Just the visual character design.

My point:
Uncharted, AC = realistic style
Tales, Fairy Tail = manga/anime style
Overwatch = cartoon goofier style
JoJo = its very own eccentric style

Is this hard to get? I don't think it's rocket science.

 

[Con0rrrr]

I just watched the Mighty No. 9 trailer and I really don't understand what's so bad.

It looks fun. Sure the graphics aren't great but whatever. The game looks fun to play.

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

This looks like it would be terrifying for drivers.

China's new elevated bus design looks awesome. Drives over cars on the roads. pic.twitter.com/MBhb2d15Fq

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) May 24, 2016

I think that would be scary having that thing drive over you

 

[Z25]

I'm lmao at Twitter right now.


Everyone's in an uproar about that Captain America Comic.

What don't people understand about shocking temporally plots to sell issues?

 

[SegaNintendoUbisoft]

This looks like it would be terrifying for drivers.

China's new elevated bus design looks awesome. Drives over cars on the roads. pic.twitter.com/MBhb2d15Fq

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) May 24, 2016

I swear I've seen something like that in some sort of movie.

 

[Con0rrrr]

This looks like it would be terrifying for drivers.

China's new elevated bus design looks awesome. Drives over cars on the roads. pic.twitter.com/MBhb2d15Fq

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) May 24, 2016

I would actually piss myself. That is terrifying. I might veer into the lane next to me for god's sakes.

 

[Red & Green]

I just watched the Mighty No. 9 trailer and I really don't understand what's so bad.

It looks fun. Sure the graphics aren't great but whatever. The game looks fun to play.

You know shows that try to be hip but end up making a complete *** of themselves?

It's exactly like that, but made worse.

Because they literally just insulted a major part of their fanbase in that entire ****ing trailer.

I mean, who knows, game may be awesome. But why the hell would ANYBODY do that?!

This looks like it would be terrifying for drivers.

China's new elevated bus design looks awesome. Drives over cars on the roads. pic.twitter.com/MBhb2d15Fq

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) May 24, 2016

Now admittedly that's actually pretty ****ing funny. But really I think that if they're gonna do an elevated bus like that, they should at least put it on a rail or something, looks horribly unstable.

 

[ChikoLad]

Even with FMA:B and Parasyte, you see more similarities with other anime and manga styles.

Uncharted and AC try to depict characters as close as they would be in reality.

And for the last time, I'm not taking into account the stories. Just the visual character design.

My point:
Uncharted, AC = realistic style
Tales, Fairy Tail = manga/anime style
Overwatch = cartoon goofier style
JoJo = its very own eccentric style

Is this hard to get? I don't think it's rocket science.

But "style" isn't just simply defined as "realistic" or "not realistic". Anime and realism are also not mutually exclusive.

You can have "realistic anime", for example.

UC and AC are both realistic, but they are not stylistically similar. By saying they are similar, you are saying that current day civilisation doesn't have any stylistic difference between B.C times, the Renaissance, etc. Because Uncharted is set in the modern day with some fantastical locations on occasion, and Assassin's Creed is set throughout so many eras in history that each have their own visual style and flair, as they did in real life.

It seems to me like you are confusing "style" with "rendering method", or you could even say genre honestly. Style refers to the aesthetic elements of a visual piece, like cultural influence, colour tone, and the like. Rendering Method is how it's produced, be it photography, traditional 2D art, digital 2D art, or 3D CGI rendering. Two shows both being anime does not automatically mean their style is similar. Just like how, Pop Rock and Heavy Metal are not all that similar despite deviating from the same genre.