Update #64: Developer Q&A with Kaz

[lolaldanee]

It has also come to my attention, that You (and not Polina) is the one behind this:

 

I am now sooooo incredibly glad, that you are the one making portraits.

Josh confirmed the portraits will be shoulder up, so this probably wont end up being a portrait

which is a shame! this picture is an amazing piece of art by Kaz and would more than deserve to end up in game

it's up there with the very best pieces of art in icewind dale 1 and 2, and those are probably the best ever created for a video game

 

the godlike "portrait" we have seen is also very good (but is Polina's work, isn't it, her work is great too!)

artwise, this game really could rock the nation

Edited September 18, 2013 by lolaldanee

[rjshae]

 

 

 

 

Wow super Update but can you give as a hint about what next update will be?

Honestly, I am not sure what the next one will be yet. There are a few ideas running around right now.

 

Is there any chance we could have another class update? I believe there's still a few classes left about which we've only heard a smattering of detail. Thank you!

[Atreides]

Nice update!

 

When there's more time, could we consider different skins for the GUI?  For example the BG granite look, wooden panels, vines/leaves, biomass etc.

[Hormalakh]

 

Will Eternity really have such gratuitous chest shots, if so I may have to inform the Sarkeesian Death Commando's of this blatant demonstration of misogyny and the patriarchy!

 

 

 

God ...that took me 4 re-reads and a once-glance-over to get the joke. funny nonetheless.

[Jajo]

 

It has also come to my attention, that You (and not Polina) is the one behind this:

 

I am now sooooo incredibly glad, that you are the one making portraits.

Josh confirmed the portraits will be shoulder up, so this probably wont end up being a portrait

which is a shame! this picture is an amazing piece of art by Kaz and would more than deserve to end up in game

it's up there with the very best pieces of art in icewind dale 1 and 2, and those are probably the best ever created for a video game

 

the godlike "portrait" we have seen is also very good (but is Polina's work, isn't it, her work is great too!)

artwise, this game really could rock the nation

 

 

IWD portraits are my favourite (by far) too.

IWD portraits came in different sizes, like the ones in P:E will. The biggest image was always the full body character rendition, while only the head cut-out has been used for smaller ones. So... is it confirmed, that all portraits (meaning all sizes) will be shoulder up, or just the smaller ones?

 

I've re-read my post. I guess I should clarify, that me being so incredibly glad that Kaz is making the portraits is purely because he's done an excellent work on them (it) so far and not an implication, that other artists suck and should better stay away from the portraits. Because they don't. I've mentioned Polina only because I thought that she was the one who made the Sagani portrait.

[Sensuki]

Josh confirmed the portraits will be shoulder up, so this probably wont end up being a portrait

Got a link for that?

 

If it's true, then hmm that's a step away from the Icewind Dale style, but I did enjoy the BG1 style portraits.

 

This was one of my favourites, I've never not had an IWD party without it (not just because 32DD).

 

Edited September 18, 2013 by Sensuki

[Malekith]

 

 

 (not just because 32DD).

 

 

Liar...

[Sacred_Path]

"not a vertical slice video"

No worries, you're right up there with pictures of a Tim Cain chocolate cake.

[J.E. Sawyer]

Yeah, we're doing head and shoulders portraits because it will allow us to do many more of them.  Also, it's generally easier for players to match a portrait to a variety of character concepts if the body/equipment isn't visible.  The IWD/2 "knees-up" portraits were cool but very time-consuming.  On IWD, it took almost all of Jason Manley's time on the project just to generate the portraits.

[PrimeJunta]

I for one prefer Kaz's art style to Polina's, although I like both a good deal better than most game concept art that's out there.

[Gumbercules]

I for one prefer Kaz's art style to Polina's, although I like both a good deal better than most game concept art that's out there.

 

I really like Polina's creature designs and environment art, but Kaz's humans/humanoids have been more characterful and less awkward IMO.

[Sensuki]

On IWD, it took almost all of Jason Manley's time on the project just to generate the portraits.

It definitely shows.

[C2B]

 

I for one prefer Kaz's art style to Polina's, although I like both a good deal better than most game concept art that's out there.

 

 

I really like Polina's creature designs and environment art, but Kaz's humans/humanoids have been more characterful and less awkward IMO.

To be fair, the only full "portrait" art we have seen of Polina was the godlike. The others were concepts in the concepty sense.

[Tauron]

I really like current artstyle direction and illustrations! Very nice, keep up the good work...

 

On that list were some awsome artitists...picures really says more than a thousand words. Just to add one of my fav illustrators : http://www.komarckart.com/ 

[Lephys]

Clearly, we're going to need to form up into either Team Polina or Team Kaz, and fight to the death using weapons crudely fashioned from office/computer supplies. That's the only possible solution, here.

 

[Malekith]

Clearly, we're going to need to form up into either Team Polina or Team Kaz, and fight to the death using weapons crudely fashioned from office/computer supplies. That's the only possible solution, here.

 

Whose team wins dictates who takes the coffee machine

[Kaz]

Kaz, can you speak as to the scope of the world you guys are creating how big it is in relation to BG one or two?

 

This would be a question best answered by Josh or another designer. But I think it's a bit early to give you an accurate answer.

 

Also, as far as the paper doll inventory, could you guys try to create something like this only cropped in on the characters so it looks like they are standing on something and not arbitrarily floating in space? 

 

Not going to promise anything, but if it fits with our layout / aesthetic I don't see why we couldn't include a simple dais or platform to help ground the character.

 

Nice to "meet" ya, Kaz.

 

Likewise!

 

In the area concept art shown in this update, I'm guessing the top left is the rich part of Defiance Bay, the bottom left is the flooded ruins of the old city, and the bottom right appears to be a nearby quarry. What's the top right illustration? It reminds me of a park, yet it also appears...swampy?

 

I can't go into too much detail about specific districts. The top right image shows a district that is fairly preserved since colonial times, making it one of the older parts of the city. It boarders a river and is actually built below the water level, with a large levee protecting the district. The last description was added after the sketch, which is why you see the streets above water level in the picture.

 

On that list were some awsome artitists...picures really says more than a thousand words. Just to add one of my fav illustrators : http://www.komarckart.com/

 

Sweet jesus.. the colors.. Really great stuff in there, thanks for sharing!

[Sensuki]

How are the environment art paintovers going? Having fun doing 16K pixel wide maps ???

Edited September 18, 2013 by Sensuki

[rjshae]

Yeah, we're doing head and shoulders portraits because it will allow us to do many more of them.  Also, it's generally easier for players to match a portrait to a variety of character concepts if the body/equipment isn't visible.  The IWD/2 "knees-up" portraits were cool but very time-consuming.  On IWD, it took almost all of Jason Manley's time on the project just to generate the portraits.

 

Yeah, definitely prefer the character busts as they show more facial detail.

[Archmage Silver]

Good update.

 

Hey @Kaz. Good to see more of the dev team introduced.

 

 

Yeah, we're doing head and shoulders portraits because it will allow us to do many more of them.  Also, it's generally easier for players to match a portrait to a variety of character concepts if the body/equipment isn't visible.  The IWD/2 "knees-up" portraits were cool but very time-consuming.  On IWD, it took almost all of Jason Manley's time on the project just to generate the portraits.

Mr. Manley's efforts weren't in vain though, those portraits turned out great and memorable.

[Oner]

As an aside, are the current companion portraits final, or will you swap them later for different pictures?

[lolaldanee]

Yeah, we're doing head and shoulders portraits because it will allow us to do many more of them.  Also, it's generally easier for players to match a portrait to a variety of character concepts if the body/equipment isn't visible.  The IWD/2 "knees-up" portraits were cool but very time-consuming.  On IWD, it took almost all of Jason Manley's time on the project just to generate the portraits.

and you can see that, every damn pixel of the portraits screams MASTERPIECE in your face, Polina's and Kaz' portraits shown for PE are the first ones to rival them as far as i'm concerned

still not happy with the decision here   and while i get the "not enough manpower/money" thing, i still think the IWD portraits are far far more inspiring for different and cool character concepts than the BG ones ....

i'd take 10 awesome portraits over 40 good to very good ones any time of the day

oh well, the die is cast, all i can do is to cry *crys*

Edited September 18, 2013 by lolaldanee

[Ineth]

IWD portraits are my favourite (by far) too.

 

+1

 

The BG1/2  portraits were okay too, but not nearly as cool as the IWD1/2 ones.

 

Yeah, we're doing head and shoulders portraits because it will allow us to do many more of them.  Also, it's generally easier for players to match a portrait to a variety of character concepts if the body/equipment isn't visible.

 

I get that, but wouldn't it be possible to partially mitigate that by creating multiple variations of the same portrait with different weapons and other small differences?

The artists will work digitally anyways, so if they use different layers etc. then shouldn't this be possible with minimal overhead?

 

I've never seen this done in a game before, but I imagine it could be an effective way to increase the "coverage" of the shipped portraits (i.e. make them cover as many different character builds as possible), without making them less expressive.

Edited September 19, 2013 by Ineth

[Jajo]

 

IWD portraits are my favourite (by far) too.

 

+1

 

The BG1/2  portraits were okay too, but not nearly as cool as the IWD1/2 ones.

 

Yeah, we're doing head and shoulders portraits because it will allow us to do many more of them.  Also, it's generally easier for players to match a portrait to a variety of character concepts if the body/equipment isn't visible.

 

I get that, but wouldn't it be possible to partially mitigate that by creating multiple variations of the same portrait with different weapons and other small differences?

The artists will work digitally anyways, so if they use different layers etc. then shouldn't this be possible with minimal overhead?

 

I've never seen this done in a game before, but I imagine it could be an effective way to increase the "coverage" of the shipped portraits (i.e. make them cover as many different character builds as possible), without making them less expressive.

 

 

In the same post you've quoted he heavily implied that even making full body portraits with just one weapon/armor combination would take too much manpower. Your suggestion would require even more effort, regardless of how difficult it is or isn't to achieve that (and my guess would be, that it's not something that can be done quickly and still get good results).

 

Interestingly, I've never seen anybody mentioning portrait matching problems until Josh brought it up.

Why I regret the decision to get rid of full body portraits the most is, because I feel that IWD portraits show not just what character's face looks like, but rather what the character is like. And I don't mean the class and proficiencies (anyone can hold a mace for the photo and nobody is walking bare shouldered through the winter); I mean the stance and the poise. It gave you something much more to choose from than just the prettiest face.

 

If the finished portraits will be on par with IWD's I'm fine with it. I really hope they will be at least comparably as memorable.

[Messier-31]

In the same post you've quoted he heavily implied that even making full body portraits with just one weapon/armor combination would take too much manpower. Your suggestion would require even more effort, regardless of how difficult it is or isn't to achieve that (and my guess would be, that it's not something that can be done quickly and still get good results).

 

Too bad they cannot re-use the IwD portraits, then

 

Add some hair to the halflings, and voila! You have an orlan.