Eternity Artists: Dragons should not (all) be Dragons any more!

[Arsene Lupin]

...I really hope I'm not developing a reputation here for talking way too much about my own, personal "pet-peeves." (My biggest pet-peeve? I hate-hate-hate the term "pet peeve").

 

Anyway.

 

Dragons and lizard-men are everywhere in fantasy games. Every-****ing-where. We all know know what they look like. There are Eastern-style dragons, which are snakes with eel-tails, lion-heads, arms and hair; there are wester-dragons with massive rear legs, smaller forelegs, giant wings, and a giant toothy beak.

 

And we all love dragons, don't we? And why not: they are THE apex predator. They are big and scary and intimidating and present a huge challenge.

 

...But Dragons, or rather, dragons as we know them, shouldn't really exist any more. I'm not saying we should get rid of the archetypal dragon designs altogether--but we need to modify and update the designs, at least in part, because our conceptualization of what a dragon looks like ought to be changed.

 

(O_O)

 

So: what am I talking about?

 

First: what is a dragon? Where do dragons come from?

 

The mythology of dragons is rooted in the realities of paleontology. Dragons are what we originally conceived Dinosaurs to be.

 

In the past several centuries, what or image of dinosaurs has changed a lot. Our image of Dragons? Not so much.

Oh, and have you heard the news?

 

Dinosaurs weren't lizards, they were birds. Feathers and all.

 

 

Everything from the Velociraptor to the T-Rex.

 

So I think it's about time we updated our Dragons to reflect reality: I want dragons with feathers!

 

Maybe not all dragons. But at least some--or better, most. I'm not saying we should get rid of the traditional dragon design completely, but we DO need to supplement it.

 

Because, come on--the real reason we love dragons is because they're dinosaurs, and we all love dinosaurs because they're awesome.

[Micamo]

I'm not saying that having giant-feathered-dinosaur-inspired monsters wouldn't be awesome and all, but I don't see much point in calling them "dragons." It'd be a bit like if they had tentacle-faced space aliens and then called them "Elves."

[Gorgon]

Must be a bitch trying to breathe fire and not set yourself ablaze

[Hormalakh]

Must be a bitch trying to breathe fire and not set yourself ablaze

 

That's also something that paleontologists have come to understand never happened with dragons. They didn't breathe fire, they shot lasers.

[LadyCrimson]

While they may share some genetic traits or whatever, no one is ever going to convince me that sauropods were giant ducks or flamingos.

 

I'd like some non-flying dragons. They can be tough skinned like a rhino if you want, instead of scaly. Charging rhino-dragon...I can see it.

[spudud]

If I remember correctly dragons are typically associated with serpents, not dinosaurs. Either way, I don't see a reason to change dragons; why not just create a new creature if they wanted to create something different?

Edited May 4, 2013 by spudud

[Hormalakh]

problem is, we've already got a creature named phoenix

[Gumbercules]

Even if we accept the idea that dragons have to perfectly reflect what we know about dinosaurs, there's no evidence that all large theropods were covered in feathers. In fact, preserved skin indicates that some such as Carnotaurus definitely weren't. From what I can tell, it's likely that many of the largest theropods either didn't have feathers, had them while young but not as adults, had some feathers for display but not covering their entire bodies, or were covered in feathers if they lived in cold climates.

 

That said, feathers are a way to make dragons look different (although eastern dragons tend to have fringes/fur/feathers already in many cases) so I'd be fine with PE dragons having them in some cases (if PE even ends up having dragons). The Dyrwood area is supposed to be a fairly warm climate, so for such a large creature to be covered in insulation would be silly, but if there are mountain dragons they could have more feathers.

[Nonek]

Couatl? Fine with 'em.

[aluminiumtrioxid]

Who said all large and dangerous creatures need to be dragons at all? Let's have fanged and tentacled monstrosities made of pure, swirling darkness instead. Or living mountains, which excrete diamonds when they die. Or sentient clouds, or giant aquatic worms or fleshy abominations made of rapidly proliferating human tissue! Who needs dragons when you can have imagination instead?

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

They should have a colossal creature that is a large mass of tentacles that drain life on contact. When said creature kills something, it absorbs the victim's soul into itself.

[Oerwinde]

They should have a colossal creature that is a large mass of tentacles that drain life on contact. When said creature kills something, it absorbs the victim's soul into itself.

Inlaws?

[MattH]

That's an interesting suggestion but weird in the assumptions of scientific objectivity...

[Sensuki]

To be perfectly honest, I do not think there will be dragons in Project eternity. I may be wrong but it seems unlikely.

[GrumpyOldschooler]

I say go for more realistic dinosaur like dragons, just because it would be refreshing take on subject that has been like beating of a dead horse for decades. Maybe some would even lack wings. That would be pretty original. Oh and please don't make them intelligent, that kills all the beasty and predatory feeling

 

 

I still don't find feathers a good idea though.

Edited May 5, 2013 by GrumpyOldschooler

[exodiark]

OP has a point, we need more diverse dragons.
I mean, most of the dragons we see in Western games are rather forgettable. I mean, can you tell the difference between Alduin, Paarthurnax, Dragon Age Dragons, etc without looking at the image?

If there's anything I like from Japanese games, they actually design great monsters:

Desert Lizard-like dragon:

 

Snake-like Dragon:



 

 

Plesiosaur-like dragon:

 

These dragons are tad bit colorful, but that biologically makes sense because of their habitat (camouflage and stuffs)
Anyway, more variety in shape and color would be nice, not just red/black/grey flying dragons.

Edited May 5, 2013 by exodiark

[Arsene Lupin]

Yeah, that's really mostly what I'm getting at--more diversity with art design of monsters; specifically with dragons.

 

But, inside that diversity, I'd still like to see a dragon with feathers. ~__~

[TrashMan]

Dragons are overdone.

 

Gimme Phoenixes.

Way cooler and more awesome.

 

 

https://www.google.hr/search?q=Phoenix&client=firefox-a&hs=1c1&rls=org.mozilla:hr:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=fnCGUZP0EcKj4gT11oGwAw&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1440&bih=717

Edited May 5, 2013 by TrashMan

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

 

They should have a colossal creature that is a large mass of tentacles that drain life on contact. When said creature kills something, it absorbs the victim's soul into itself.

Inlaws?

Yes.

[WotanAnubis]

To be perfectly honest, I do not think there will be dragons in Project eternity. I may be wrong but it seems unlikely.

 

I don't know. Considering their inspirations I would not be surprised if one made it in as a bonus boss or something.

 

But I kind of agree with the OP. I suffer a bit from dragon fatigue (though it's not nearly as serious as my zombie fatigue - seriously, let them rest in peace already). Surely we can think of some other big intelligent fantasy creature to take the dragon's place for a bit? Phoenixes have already been mentioned. Maybe Sphinxes. Griffons. Or just make something new up.

[TrashMan]

Well, the devs are free to think of anything, that's the beauty of your own IP.

 

Speakign of Phoenix(es), all the legeds and myths that I know off speak of *a* Phoenix-(singular). Eternal, undying, the only one.

And always in a positive context. While the Phoenix is symbolic of many, many things - including fire, death and destruction - odly enough it was never depicted as a negative or hostile force. (probably because it was also a symbol of power, freedom, life, rebith, hope, beauty, etc...)

[forfs]

Current image of dragon is very recent and may even be partly inspired by dinosaurs, but originally dragons were serpents. The fire "evolved" from a forked tongue that was over time depicted bigger and bigger until it didn't even resemble tongue. And given that dragons

 

do not exist,

 

I don't think they should resemble any particular creature extinct or extant. They are what they are, dragons. 

[Woldan]

If we're going to get some sort of dragons I hope they're more like Basilisks or Lindworms and less like the generic flying fire-breathing t-rex - but I really wouldn't mind not having any dragons in PE. 

Edited May 6, 2013 by Woldan

[rjshae]

For every person who is bored of elves, dragons, or dungeon crawls, there is a new player who has a burgeoning interest in the same. I say keep them in.

[Elerond]

If it is not broken don't try fix it, is first thing that comes in my mind about this topic.