Noble Savage
-
Posts
480 -
Joined
-
Love ya, man. All of you really.
Quote:Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
I have to single out David Nakayama for outstanding achievement. The man put up with so much **** from us, and his reaction was always "OK, I get that you don't like it. Let's try and figure out what we can do that you'll like better." Matt Miller may have been the one to make the "Give the players what they want." statement, but David Nakayama was the first and... Really, pretty much only developer I remember who actually sat down and ASKED the players what they wanted. My hat's off to that guy. -
Quote:You're on to me.Originally Posted by Chase_Arcanum
...and making note of which fans he should grant early alpha/beta access to whateverhesworkingon?
hint, hint, nudge, nudge, wink, wink. -
Quote:Heh.Originally Posted by Golden Girl
What's this intruder from the other side of the office doing here?
-
Quote:Warms my heart.Originally Posted by MisterMagpie
I'm glad I saw you guys when I went a few years ago, then. I even got my main drawn by David Nakayama
-
Quote:Also, I'm still here.Originally Posted by Golden Girl
You can still be a fan - and you'll also get to see more of his work once this top secret project is revealed
Been reading the forums steadily, though not posting too much because there's a lot of work to do on the new thing.
And I'm not really gone from COH either. There's still quite a bit of COH stuff coming from me (because concept always works months ahead of time), and it's quite possibly the best stuff I've produced for the game (though I'll let you guys be the judge of that). Some of it's been shown, like Penny Yin's new outfit and the big bad in i23, but there are some yet-to-be-announced surprises as well that I had a hand in. And very soon I'll be posting the actual concept art for all this stuff, so stay tuned if you're interested.
Also, I'll be at the Player Summit, to help out with the latest Costume Design workshop--hope to see you there!!
So yeah, working on something new that I can't wait to tell you about, but not completely gone yet either.
-
Quote:Moon zone was before my time, so I can't speak to that, but there's something coming soon that might make you very happy. Not a moon zone, but yeah...it's cool. Can't say any more!Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
No offense Noble but while I am excited about being able to vote...We are still waiting for our MOON ZONE!!! ...
As for Retro Scifi--yes, you can take this one to the bank. Not a hoax, not an imaginary story: this set will be built for realz based specifically on players' votes. And if it does well, you can count on more and more player-involvement in the future. Neat, huh?
-
Quote:Thanks, Rubberlad. I certainly don't manage all the art decisions alone, but I appreciate what you're saying.Originally Posted by Rubberlad
David, I gotta say I had you all wrong. For a long time I thought you were being very narrow-minded with your creative vision and style choices for various costume sets but after reading your thoughts on Penny's costume and now seeing what plentiful options you've had to conceive for the Retro Space set that may never make the final selection, I have to re-assess my understanding of how you manage this process and your level of creative flexibility and give you both my thanks and a well-deserved apology. I was *soooooooo* wrong about you. I'm sorry.
You really do a great job managing this process. Please keep up the good work - and thank you.
Game development is a a very iterative process, and whatever the project, we've always tried to think through all the possibilities and then pick the one that'll delight you guys the most. Concept art is all about throwing lots of choices at the wall and seeing which ones are the stickiest. For every good idea that makes it to final, there are always 5-10 more that don't. (Even on this Retro Scifi set, there were several more ideas that we proactively cut for various reasons).
I've always tried my best to involve you guys in the decision-making because, frankly, you know the game at a much deeper level than I do--you're the ones playing it every day, and you know the ins-and-outs. That's why I've always consulted your opinion over the forums and why I'm now doubly excited for the possibilites offered by the player-driven costume set initiative.
I can't think of any other games that have ever done anything like this, and that's really cool. It's historic and unprecidented yet totally in keeping with what we've always tried to do, which is to give you guys a voice in what goes into the game and to give you more and more ways to customize your gaming experience.
Anyway, thanks for playing, and I think you'll be pretty excited to see what's coming next.
NS -
Quote:I'm sure you realize that it's a logistical challenge to even allow voting at all.Originally Posted by Oathbound
Honestly, the fact that these are presented wholesale, as a single choice for the entire set, as opposed to more of a piecemeal approach leaves too much room for exactly what's been happening in this thread -- "I like the boots from C and the Chest from A and the Pants from RXQYZ."
... Players should simply look at the options, do a macro level gut-check, and then decide which overall "vibe" feels like the best fit. If we get into the particulars of Glove A vs. Boot C, the process would almost certainly slow to a crawl and collapse under it's own weight.
Definitely better to vote broadly; it'll make it easier for us to offer this unprecedented level of choice again in the future. -
As I understand it, not everything that'll eventually ship with the set is up for a vote. Most of it, yes. All the essential stuff, yes. But certain costume pieces will simply be developed internally and make for a nice surprise later. Stay tuned for details on what makes the final cut.
-
Quote:So now you guys know how we feel.Originally Posted by Equation
Now, I'm going to be honest and say up front that I voted for C. However,...I feel, in order for this to be a complete set, some options from A and B need to be included. The reality of game development is that it takes a LOT of time for a 3D artist to model all this stuff out, texture it, add all the modern bells-and-whistles that players expect, and finally, get everything into the system. So while it's easy for me to concept a billion ideas, it's never possible to make ALL of them in 3D.
Therefore, the trick is in picking the ONE set that best captures the chosen theme, and fortunately, you guys will be helping us do that on this one. We're putting the "wisdom of the crowd" to the test, and I'm really interested to see which options you all choose. -
Quote:Very true! While everyone gets to guide development of this set by voting on the individual pieces, our Player Summit Costume Workshop is the place to go if you want to help choose the high-level theme and begin the process of parting it out. Last I heard, we're definitely planning to do this again at the next Player Summit, so if you want to really get your hands dirty with costume design, you might consider coming out.Originally Posted by Golden Girl
They'll be doing the sme again at the next Player Summit in Arpil - players attending it will be able to choose a theme for a costume set, and then brainstorm ideas for what parts it should have.
Looking forward to seeing you guys there! -
Quote:Yes, exactly! Those 4 issues were really cool and introduced a lot of new concepts into X-lore that are still around today. Marc's very brief run on the Hulk recently was sweet as well, but way, way too short.Originally Posted by ThePill
Was that the future time-jump? I liked those issues.
Hope he hasn't given up on monthly comics completely.
-
Quote:As some of you may know, my first job in the comic industry was working for Marc Silvestri's Top Cow Productions (on the CoH comics and others). I spent over a year as Marc's apprentice, working directly with him in the studio, and it's one of my very fondest memories. The man's a legend and one of the greatest talents ever seen by the comics industry. He's fundamentally reinvented his art style several times over the years (a great source of inspiration to me), but the underlying quality always remains a constant: he's always been an expert draftsman with a natural flair for style, and no one puts as much raw energy into their pages as Marc.Originally Posted by warden_de_dios
Those are Silvestri pencils and David should be honoured to have his work be compared to that man. The comics that made the Xmen a household name where drawn by Marc Silvestri.
So yes, I'll gladly accept any and all comparisons.
If you haven't checked out Marc's work since the 90s, look up the New X-Men volume he did with Grant Morrison. Mind-blowing, envelope-pushing, beautiful stuff. -
Quote:I'll have to remember that for April Fool's.Originally Posted by Mr_Morbid
You could really freak people out with some 'leaked' concept art. Try putting Captain Mako in a Longbow Uniform. Or Lord Recluse wearing Statesman's faceplate fighting Sister Pyche with an Arachnos tatoo on her cheek.
-
Quote:Was going for a sort of Roman laurel thing there.Originally Posted by Golden Girl
Is that also what Mother Mayhem's headpiece does?
-
Quote:Kind of what I was thinking, yes. Sort of like the tech equivalent to that psychic butterfly thing that Psylocke used to manifest.Originally Posted by Golden Girl
I think that the face plates might be to enhance/focus/contain her psychic energy.
-
Quote:Word.Originally Posted by Johnny_Butane
...
If I was you, on the next unique costume I design, I'd put a random and unexplained symbol/marking on it, just to watch people go nuts speculating on the significance.
Btw, guys, we're going to have news about Retro Scifi soon, including info. on how the players can specifically control the art direction. So if you want to really get into the nitty-gritty of costume design for the hero set, this is for you. Stay tuned! -
Quote:Sure. This is a young woman with a flair for fashion, so while the rest of her uniform communicates "superhero" and "modern tech," I wanted her outfit to include a couple of touches that reflect her youth. A bare midriff and the punky haircut hit exactly that note for me, and I can imagine a girl like Penny making those kinds of choices for herself. Take away either of those notes, and the design becomes pretty stodgy and standard issue--not young or girly enough for this character.Originally Posted by Oathbound
Can we get the reason for the exposed belly?
Bottom line, this is a battle-ready, functional design that 'means business,' but it also has character and tells us a little about the young woman who wears it. -
Penny's story will begin to unfold in the near future, so I'm not going to touch that with a 30' pole, but in the meantime, here're a couple of design notes about the costume, which I think will help answer some of your questions:
--the costume color palette (red, white, and blue), and it's distribution across her figure were very carefully chosen to fit the character as we know her and to acknowledge where the lore's taking us in the future. As some of you correctly guessed, the palette does tie back to her original, civilian colors.
--simultaneously, it's meant to emphasize the 'good guy' colors (red and white) already established throughout Paragon (e.g. the Freedom Phalanx logo and the uniforms of organized hero groups like Longbow and Hero Corps.)
--and of course, red/white/blue is the classic American color palette. Not an accident.
--black is a neutral color that always looks cool, but it's de-emphasized here because it doesn't have any special meaning in the lore (unlike red and white) and because black tends to look both grim and mature, neither of which would be a good fit on Penny. She's a young gun, so light, bright, and more traditionally saturated super-hero colors are the best fit for her character.
--regarding the tech pack and what it does: think Cyclops' visor or Banshee's rig in X-men: First Class. Penny's new rig both focuses and intensifies her already formidable psychic powers, and visually, it gives us something different and new, beyond the normal Jean Grey/Sister Psyche template.
I could get way, WAY more specific and tell you why every rivet and strap is where it is, but I think I'd rather do that later, when you can see the actual concept art.
It's fun to watch you guys get this deep into costume design.
-
Quote:I spoke with Positron and Dr. Aeon quite a bit about who to include in the image and where to put particular characters--esp. around the coffin. There's a specific reason why each sig. character is where they are.Originally Posted by Haetron
On the big picture, you can see Dark Watcher in the upper left hand corner between red clockwork guy and green guy.
I'd expect, given him and States history, he wouldn't be so far back, but then, for the character, maybe it fits.
Also, I just realized that this means Dark Watcher is the last living original Phalanx member. -
Quote:Remember the multi-month "Funeral for a Friend" storyline that followed the Death of Superman? For me, that was the part of the story that had the most impact. I was thinking of that and the "Wake" storyline in Sandman when I drew this.Originally Posted by KnightofKhonsu
You know...that scene has to be the saddest moments in recent history for Paragon City, its Heroes, and its citizens. It serves to drive the point home, Statesman is dead.
I think the most telling is Ms. Liberty's focus on the casket with Mynx and Aurora there to support her. Call me an ole softy, but it is a very sorrowful and touching scene that choked me up.
As the permanance of Statesman's death sinks in, devs and players alike will eulogize and commemorate in their own way. This is how I chose to do it. -
Quote:You will soon! ;POriginally Posted by LISAR
Well can we see a bigger picture please sir?
-
Quote:WarWitch's position is symbolic. The other characters are doing all the heavy lifting; she's just floating nearby. And no, you're not seeing everything--this is a cropped version of the picture (Note how Ms. Liberty's legs are cut off).Originally Posted by Paladiamors
Yup, was about to point this out. Pretty sure ghosts in the CoH universe are able to manifest themselves physically in some manner. And even if Warwitch CAN'T...its not like they actually need her help to carry the casket. Could just be symbolic. ...
Edit: I don't think we are seeing all of that proccesion. -
You heard right, folks: winner gets a custom sketch. The opportunities I have to do these are getting rarer, so if you'd like a sketch, definitely consider entering this contest!
Good luck to all!
NS -
You heard right, folks: winner gets a custom sketch. The opportunities I have to do these are getting rarer, so if you'd like a sketch, definitely consider entering this contest!
Good luck to all!
NS