Do you want your character portraits to be like Baldur's Gate or NWN2?

[Hormalakh]

I'm not sure if this has been answered and this question came up in another thread (Beard technology). I wanted to get everyone's opinion: would you like to have your portraits show up as they did in Baldur's Gate (an artist's rendition) or as they did in Neverwinter Nights 2 (as a 3D model)?

 

Please tell us why in either case. In my case, I've detailed my own pros and cons.

 

Baldur's Gate portraits: Limitless customization. Ability to truly make your character look how you want them to. Inability to change the portrait when wearing different headgear or armor, or showing injuries. (Could use layered images to fix this however)

 

Neverwinter Nights 2: Ability to change portrait due to injuries, different armor, etc. Easier to make animated portrait (head looks around, makes faces, portray emotions, etc). Will never be as detailed as artist's rendition. Limited by polygon count can make faces look blocky. Takes longer for devs to implement.

Edited October 19, 2012 by Hormalakh

[sollus]

How about 3d + touched up by an artist, similar to the scenery/map creation.

[Hormalakh]

Touch ups by artists limit your ability to customize them during character creation. I don't think it's a bad idea, you just have to keep in mind th time that it takes to do that and the limitations it places on you when making a portrait.

 

Ultimately even 3d models touched up by artists would either have to use the engine to render or be a pre-rendered jpg or something like that.

[Infinitron]

Neverwinter Nights portraits were 2D. You're thinking of Neverwinter Nights 2.

[Hormalakh]

Neverwinter Nights portraits were 2D. You're thinking of Neverwinter Nights 2.

 

Thanks. Fixed.

[rjshae]

How about 3d + touched up by an artist, similar to the scenery/map creation.

Yup. Possibly this may be the most cost-effective approach, depending on how hard it is for an artist to fix the 'uncanny valley' problem.

Edited October 19, 2012 by rjshae

[Gallenger]

I wouldn't mind the portraits being like they were in KOTOR or Planescape - because you can impliment subtle visual changes - if they intend for you to be able to influence your character and their alignment etc. Otherwise, I'm a sucker for those old BG/IWD drawings.

[Dangermouth]

BG2 works fine. Might be nice to see the portrait change a bit over time. Just a little thing like slightly different robes e.g. once they hit lvl 10, but nothing to the detriment of the game (and open-endedness).

[Tsuga C]

I'll take the NWN2-style portrait that reflects what the avatars actually look like in the game. I ended up using the "blank face" option in NWN1 quite a bit as the supplied portraits simply didn't reflect my character concept, so I'm content to let A = A in this case.

[Sylvius the Mad]

Let us import our own portraits.

I'll take the NWN2-style portrait that reflects what the avatars actually look like in the game. I ended up using the "blank face" option in NWN1 quite a bit as the supplied portraits simply didn't reflect my character concept, so I'm content to let A = A in this case.

If you import your own portrait, then you can have it match your character concept pretty much exactly.

[Hormalakh]

I'll take the NWN2-style portrait that reflects what the avatars actually look like in the game. I ended up using the "blank face" option in NWN1 quite a bit as the supplied portraits simply didn't reflect my character concept, so I'm content to let A = A in this case.

 

I had the same issue when I first played BG/2. But after looking online for a bit and learning how easy it was to upload my own portraits, I really liked it. The biggest pro that the older artist's rendition has is its ability to be modded easily.

[eimatshya]

I think it will depend on how detailed the in-game character models are. For me, the character models in the BG and IWD games had so little detail that having a picture that didn't match up didn't bother me. In NWN2, however, with the more detailed character models, I think the painted BG style pictures would have seemed a little off. I suspect that P:E will not have that much detail in their character models, which would make the painted portraits seem like the better choice. So for me, it all comes down to how detailed they make the character models.

[Nihatek]

I thought we are making isometric game. Please no 3D.

 

Honestly you can customize injuries too - if you just make several archtypes portraits to all race/class combinations. You can also customize armor (hats, necklaceses, etc) when someone wear them - you just make more pictures

[FlintlockJazz]

Baldur's Gate, and I do mean Baldur's Gate not the second one as the portraits in that one were just horrible: the pretentious added scars, fugly dreadlocks, and my god what did they do to Imoen's face...and Jaheira's, and Minsc's! BG1 just seemed to be more awesome while BG2 seemed cartooney and actually badly drawn (Jaheira's eyes seemed wonked out).

[Pope]

IWD pls

 

I like the style of that early dwarf ranger art.

[Suen]

Baldur's Gate portraits with the little icons of buffs/curses outside the image, like in NWN2.

 

But I don't dislike what they did in NWN2, so I'll be happy either way.

[Rahkir]

I felt like the portraits in the BG series painted a stronger picture of character/personality right off the bat. Tiax had a haughty expression, with the light casting an almost other-worldly glow across his face; and the pipe! Xzar seriously looked like a psychopath who was potentially going to murder you in your sleep. So on and so forth. The essence of a character is not the hat he or she wears, it is not the armor they have, or the 'power' they get when leveling up. The essence of a character is their personality, their traits, the stuff that remains in your mind a decade after you first meet them! Thus, I prefer artistic portraits that are well done and display character.

 

I don't know about everyone else, but when I think of a real companion or friend I don't think of them with whatever 'hat' they happen to be wearing (unless it's a distinct part of who they are to me), I think of them as they are naturally. You could stick Garrick in a full suit of plate armor and close the visor, but he'd still be a clueless pretty boy underneath, and that is what his portrait displays.

[Hormalakh]

I thought we are making isometric game. Please no 3D.

 

Honestly you can customize injuries too - if you just make several archtypes portraits to all race/class combinations. You can also customize armor (hats, necklaceses, etc) when someone wear them - you just make more pictures

 

The game is isometric/cavalier oblique in setting, but the characters and some props are going to be 3D models. Thi will be a little different than older IE games and I think that this is actually a good thing. However, since the characters are 3D models, they can go both ways with the portraits here - engine rendered 3D portraits or prerendered artist's renditions.

[Gorionsson]

IWD pls

 

I like the style of that early dwarf ranger art.

 

Yes. This.

[FlintlockJazz]

The essence of a character is not the hat he or she wears, it is not the armor they have, or the 'power' they get when leveling up.

 

Why did Tyler Durden enter my head as I read that?

 

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo-wkv8gW6k[/media]

[Gorth]

IWD pls

 

I like the style of that early dwarf ranger art.

 

 

I prefer 3D paperdolls on my inventory screen, reflecting what I'm wearing but on my "HUD" or UI or whatever I prefer nicely rendered 2D images. One of the reasons being the traumatic experience that was the most ugly conceivable head wear in the two Kotor games and the blank faced, low detail heads in NWN2,

[SKahn]

Other: Take some of that money and hire Mark Ryden to do the portraits.

 

But srsly, BG style please. 3d faces look awful and would bring the overall quality down considerably. Drawn portraits have the potential to add tons of feeling and personality to the game. it would be nice to have an armored and an injured version, but ultimately I don't really care about that a much as I care about them having "character".

 

(Click to enlarge)

Edited October 19, 2012 by SKahn

[Daulmakan]

I prefer BG option, but having the option to use custom portraits solves this issue in a satisfactory manner for everyone.

[romka-unknown]

Initially you need to see the 3D models of the characters in the game. Then we'll make a choice. Now is too early to discuss.

and while

My preference-portraits BG2 =)

[LadyCrimson]

Artist portraits with ability to import my own custom ones, like in BG1.

 

I'd prefer they weren't completely (constantly) animated. I always find it a little weird/distracting to see npc avatar icons moving around out of the corner of my eye. But if they were, something akin to what Might and Magic 7 did would be tolerable. Slight eye shifting and reaction expressions to being hit in combat or diseased and such. Altho, in M&M, those open-mouthed expressions were pretty silly, heh.