Concept Art on Item Descriptions

[Neversleep]

One of the details that meant a lot to me in Baldur's Gate was the concept art drawings that appeared on the backgrounds behind the text of item descriptions. I would love to see these included in PE!

 

They make it clear that a lot of attention to detail has gone into the creation of the items in the world. This goes hand in hand with the unique item descriptions that many (or most) magical items had in Baldur's Gate. This attention to detail enhances the perceived value of these items to the player. A Longsword +2 is just a weapon with a number on the end, but a weapon with a unique story of its own and a beautiful piece of art that shows the exquisite detail on the hilt or blade will mean a lot more to the player.

 

Much of what made the old infinity engine games so fun was the item hunt, the collection of rare and powerful artifacts steeped in history waiting to be discovered down the depths of some forsaken pit. Therefore, these items should be as rich in detail as possible to enhance their appeal.

 

To be clear I would not expect this for every item in the game. "Regular" magical items (not unique) might share their concept art/description with their non-magical counterparts, thus greatly cutting down on the required work to implement the feature.

 

P.S. As a side note, this is the reason why I am not a big fan of crafting systems in these games. Making items should not be a mundane activity as this reduces the perceived value of the items you find out in the world. I did like the system in Baldur's Gate 2 (although i'm not sure if you would call it crafting exactly) as the items created hence were unique and featured their own lore. Their assembly could also hardly be called a mundane activity.

[DocDoomII]

I'm with you Neversleep.

And, I'd like to point out DA2 as a strongly negative example for this matter.

[sesobebo]

Pledge $1,000 or more

HELP DESIGN AN EPIC HIGH LEVEL WEAPON, ARMOR OR ARTIFACT. Help us design PROJECT ETERNITY! Your personalized item will be used by thousands of players and will be one of the best in the game. You can provide the lore, look, and type of the item (within reason), and we will put it in the shipped game.

 

i don't think You need to worry, at least as far as lore goes. and i doubt they'll be making any kind of models without concept art.

[Sick]

This is really an excellent idea!!

 

And, I'd like to point out DA2 as a strongly negative example for this matter.

I have yet to find something in DA2 that is not to take as bad example (except Varric)

[hideo kuze]

This has already been discussed in some other threads, but it is never too much to remind everyone else of it.

 

My name really doesn't matter, and I support this thread.

[Neversleep]

I consulted the omnipotent oracle known as "google image search" and found some examples of the kind of stuff i'm talking about!

 

BG vets won't need any reminder, but it's not inconceivable (and rather melancholy) that some of our younger PE supporters might not have had the pleasure of seeing item descriptions with art like this in cRPG's before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carsomyr is particularly beautiful imo - although i'm not sure how you would hold it without skewering yourself on those downward protruding needles on the hilt!

 

Come to think of it, Celestial Fury also seems to have some dangerous pointy bits pointing in the wrong direction

[Shades]

I loved having these too, it worked well with the old paper background. One thing that might be a problem though: Crafting. If you had any choice over bits and pieces of say armour you wouldn't be able to get art to match it. But since we're dealing with isometric here I'm guessing maybe you would have a set look/piece of concept art for each different material (steel, giant fish tail, whatever) or perhaps you can just choose which piece of concept art you want to use with a crafted item.

[hideo kuze]

I consulted the omnipotent oracle known as "google image search" and found some examples of the kind of stuff i'm talking about!

 

BG vets won't need any reminder, but it's not inconceivable (and rather melancholy) that some of our younger PE supporters might not have had the pleasure of seeing item descriptions with art like this in cRPG's before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carsomyr is particularly beautiful imo - although i'm not sure how you would hold it without skewering yourself on those downward protruding needles on the hilt!

 

Come to think of it, Celestial Fury also seems to have some dangerous pointy bits pointing in the wrong direction

 

 

You forgot the most important part: lore!

 

 

 

 

Now, for what I'd really like to see is for the player to be able to, in some way, to interact with this pieces of history.

 

Example 1: you get into your hands a magical item (by killing some powerful foe or stealing it from a lord's house or some other way). Your skills allowing (Lore or Speech through NPC conversations), you discover the story behind it and the location where his owner/crafter lived...

So you get a small dungeon to explore for more secrets, history and maybe some loot too.

 

Example 2: you're exploring a dungeon (now infested with critters) that was the center of operations of a bandit group. His leader was famous for his cunning and deadly ways. Luck can only last so much... eventually he was killed in a deal as he failed to comply with a gentleman's agreement to deliver the supposed goods.

Again, your skills allowing (Search), you are able to find a parchment under a brick. In it, you find a riddle where he tells where the non-delived goods were buried (Cartography, Outdoorsman).

 

NOW! This is what I'd like to play. To be able to discover things, solve puzzles and embark on different adventures!

IMO these are great side quests examples.

[rjshae]

I'm all for illustrations, but I don't necessarily expect it will look anything like the BG interface.

[Tauron]

Ah the memories...this so simple yet powerfull. Something like this i would like to see.

[Sensuki]

Wertle wertle woo

[Silver6986]

I could not agree with you more OP!! Compared say to NWN and the crafting feature in HotU there was no lore, nothing at all more then an upgrade to your weapon, which didn't feel epic at all when compared to upgrading your items with Cespenar, that familiar was so awesome

[Bobby Null]

This is on my design list of wants. While not confirmed, I'll venture a guess we will go this route.

[Chunkyman]

Yes, PLEASE add item descriptions and pictures. It's really important for having a good inventory system. Take DA:O and DA2.

 

DA:O had it where every item was accompanied by a small picture and at least a basic item description. This made it so that items felt more precious, and I cared about what gear I was using based upon it's looks and backstory/basic info. This enhanced tinkering with my inventory because I could read interesting tidbits about items and see how they look, which also allowed for deeper roleplaying.

 

In DA2, this was my inventory:

 

RING

RING

FIRE RESISTANCE RING

RING

RING

BELT

STAMINA BELT

BELT

BELT

NECKLACE

MANA NECKLACE

NECKLACE

NECKLACE

 

It was boring, ugly, and cheap feeling inventory system. In DA:O I hoarded Items because I liked them so much and they felt unique. In DA2 I sold everything because I didn't care.

[Neversleep]

I could not agree with you more OP!! Compared say to NWN and the crafting feature in HotU there was no lore, nothing at all more then an upgrade to your weapon, which didn't feel epic at all when compared to upgrading your items with Cespenar, that familiar was so awesome

 

"Hindo's Doom! Can you say it? Hindo's Dooooooooooooooooom"

[hideo kuze]

This is on my design list of wants. While not confirmed, I'll venture a guess we will go this route.

w00t!

 

Bobby, and is there any chance for including something like what I mentioned above?

Or would that be far-fetched?