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Characters in Everquest Next are they in the Uncanny valley
phoenixxus
Member UncommonPosts: 27
I am a EQ fanboy love the games been playing EQ one and two for years so when i heard that EQ Next was coming out i was excited to say the least, What it was announced and i saw the character graphics i was a little taken back. This year at EQ live i heard about stoybricks which is very interesting to me in a game mechanic but i keep getting pulled back to the character graphics. So i wanted to start a thread to have a constructive discussion on what others think. So what do you think?
Below i linked a video over at extra credits on youtube they made a great video on the Uncanny Valley.
Comments
You did not watch the video did you the uncanny Valley is much more that just a realistic style it is how human perception of the character graphic and any video is only 8 minutes.
a yo ho ho
wow is cartoon.. and still leading mmo after many years..
EQnext will be cartoony aswell. basic math
I have watched it a number of times.
My point still stands.
No he was right, its about being so real its scary but that small % off that makes it creepy because its not 100% like the real thing. EQN is not shooting for anything close to real looking. Its 100% stylized and shooting for something more like a Disney look. You want to talk about that, many of us are game but the title is off as this is not the uncanny valley. Its the point well behind where you get to the uncanny valley. IMO this is the rout to go with any MMO as it add longevity. The more close to real looking you make it the faster it goes out of style. I think games like Wildstar went to far info cartoonish but I think SoE found a balance that keeps EQN looking good but keeps away from to real looking so it does not get dated fast.
I think your right with Wildstar but did you see the EQ mote system that uses a camera to pick up your facial expressions and apply them to your avatar i was kind of creepy to me. Don't get me wrong i really want this game to make it. But i keep getting the ick feeling with i look at the character graphics but i also did with wildstar.
I use soemote in EQ2, its awesome. I hate with voice chat never knowing who is talking. With SoE mote you can tell who is talking and you get to know peoples voices faster. Its also a lot of fun to use. I know it sounds odd but sometimes in groups we have stopped just to make faces at each other lol. And that still not the uncanny valley. Here is a pic that may help you understand it better.
EQN char models would be to the left of that uncanny valley. Before you get to creepy on the right of it. EQN shoots for over sized eyes and expression that are larger then life. Thats how you know its stylized.
Somewhat ironic thread, as in reality EQ2 was the contemporary master of the Uncanny Valley in it's day, as was EQ.
It's the stylized cartoonish games that avoid it.
This pic makes me think of Disney so much it makes me laugh =-D
You can understand why some people dislike the art style of EQN when they compared it with Disney though.
I mean, Disney are lucky to still be going after 91 years...it is luck right, not skill or artistic talent?
I simply love SOEmote!
EQN art style is not for everyone. For me it one part of the art style I love, maybe its cuse I grew up on that crap lol
What ever happened to
"I don't care about graphic's, it's the gameplay and features that are important"
???
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
So far the graphics for EQN could be stick figures for all I care. What I have read about, seen video's of, had explained to me through reviews, experienced in Landmark and even had explained to me by the devs themselves tells me the game is going to rock. The fact I actually like watching Disney films and the art style doesn't bother me is just a bonus.
If you are trying to put a game down you don't use the same arguments that you have defended on other games you revert back to picking holes in the subjective stuff that is just a matter of opinion and bash everyone on that, not the most important part of the game.
As already stated by others, uncanny valley applies when anything, (robots, video games, movie CGI, paintings, etc) trying to look ultra-realistic, but are slightly off, so it looks weird/creepy.
EQN is stylized in it's character art, so Uncanny Valley doesn't apply here.
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This picture makes me think of Disney so much that it makes me cry.
It is not for everyone, much like Haggis is not for everyone.
The sad thing is that it would have been so easy to create an art style that is for everyone. There would have been so many possibilities. It could have been stylized or more realistic, but why the hell had it to be Disney? Why would anybody like EQN to be associated with Disney? Who wanted this?
The reactions I heard reach from "I hate it" to "it looks ok" and "I don't care about graphics". But I never heard someone saying "Wow, this looks just like Frozen. I always wanted Everquest to be like a Disney movie".
EQN looks so promising but character graphics and animations kind of spoil the fun.
I thought uncanny valley was the feeling you got from very realistic looking things that are just a little off / wrong / surreal.
EQNext is completely cartoony, it doesn't even come close to the concept as i know it.
I never played any of the Everquest games, but personally absolutely adore the character styles they're going with!
Yep even i am confused with your post. EQ Nextt is clearly stylized which put it out of the area of 'uncanny valley'.
She's so expressive and vibrant. I love it.
EQN's art style is endearing.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Exactly. It is stylized and to the left of the uncanny valley because it is stylized and even with soemote I doubt many will get creeped out because we've seen that same sort of style/emotions for a lot of years from Disney.
Personally, I was looking forward to this title until I saw the art style and the combat video drove the last nail in the coffin for me. Sorry, I am one of those that hate the direction SOE went.
MMOs aren't really suited for state of the art graphics. They have to display too much at a time. Life like graphics would just kill even top end systems.
Anyhow, I love stylized graphics. Love EQN/Landmark character looks. I get enough realistic graphics in real life.
I agree.. I can do with less "life like" and more performance.. I don't have a problem with stylized like EQN and GW2 art.. Heck I even liked WoW.. However, I think the world terrain can be toned down a bit.. To my eyes, the world is more "life like" then the avatars in the game.. They don't seem to match..
Anyways.. the reason I responded and wanted to add.. I would love to see less flash eye candy combat and allow today's machines to shine with combat performance.. I remember when lag was a huge problem when you get 30 or more people in a tight area.. Now, we have the technology to deal with that, but what did we do, we elevated the bar again (more detail) that still required our video cards to draw too much and lag is still a problem.. Grrrrr.. An example would be a ranger.. Do I really need to see some flash lightening bolt coming from bow where it looks like I'm stuck in some star wars combat scene? NO.. I don't.. When my warrior does a sweep move with his sward, do we need to see a rainbow of colors? NO..
Just my 2 cp