Topic: Honest Opinions on the Look of WiiSports

[Infernal Monkey]

That reminds me, WiiSports would be the best family fun game ever if you could have sex with prostitutes on the court in WiiTennis and jack golf carts in WiiGolf (then turn up the radio to listen to death metal).

[Mario]

Quote
Originally posted by: Artimus
Animal Crossing = fun character design
Wiisports = bad character design

If you guys are going to be jerks and insult people on my side of this discussion then at least get your facts straight. Stop hypberoling the thing up the wall. You know very well we're not arguing for things like GTA but you're going there anyway. It's childish and flippant. It's also so tired and exhausted that I can't believe you'd still make that type of comment. No one (except perhaps Ian) was insulting you, but the fact we don't like something you do immediately made you go off. Seriously, why? Can't we discuss something without someone getting attacked? Read what we say, and stop making up arguments to mock.

Who's being attacked? Nobody. Until your post that is, where you called people jerks and childish. Calm the HELL DOWN! The only person going off is you! Why is that?

Oh alright, I wasn't aware Wii Sports having bad character design was a fact. Nothing to even discuss then!

[Infernal Monkey]

Maybe the characters need huge jaws and massive dicks and boobs that act as slides at the pool and also they cut eachother with knives and chain guns while smoking palm trees rolled up in blood and urine soaked paper. Tennis would be a hidden mini game!

[Bill Aurion]

Oh dear, lots of drama going on in this thread...

*adds self to list of people who actually love the simple art design of WiiSports*

[Ceric]

That's enough Infernal Monkey.  We get the picture.

As mentioned, these are killing time games.  Think Bookworm or Bejeweled.  That type of game.  You play some to wind down and maybe kill a few spare moment.  they are not "Final Fantasy XVIXVIX: The Sport Of Reckoning" where using an insanely complex system of upgrades and a battle systems that is totally different then the great ones they had before will win you a 15 minute long ingame movie for every contact with the ball (Which is in fact an alien invader plotting to take over the world by using the energy that it collects being knocked around as a tennis ball to remold the world to it's vision).  Any story that would be appropriately brief would be hokey.  No story is better.  I do think that it's funny that there is a camp here that doesn't like the models because of there plasticy look but love the Pokemon Wii video and there severe plasticy look.  If they bumped the level of detail up to say looking more like an actual fisher price toy, you know having something better for hair.  How would you feel?

I can see a little game like this having ways to open new costumes and accessories.  So you start with Mr. Basic.  Then you play enough and have hats, vests, hair, etc the standard stuff.  People like those sort of things.  Even better yet you can win those things from acheiving stuff in other games as well, much like getting a new trophy in Melee from having a certain game saves on the same card.  So now you have a reached a level 60 character in WoW Wii.  Loh and behold when you go to play WiiTennis there is a plasticy version of you armor that you can equip onto your player.  Sweetness.  Or you completed your collection of all the Mario games on VC.  Now you have the covetted Mario Hat for your character to wear into Homerun slugging battle.  The characters could get very interesting very quickly this way.  There are possibilities for such basic beginnings.  From what everyone says the gameplay is solid.

Now on another note.  Where is all the news Nintendo promised.  They said that they would be releasing little bits of information all they way up to launch and we've barely gotten even crumbs.  It's mostly "he says that she says that they said" very little real data from the source.

[Infernal Monkey]

Phew, my job here is done for another day!

[Ceric]

lol.  I liked how your avatar changed on that particular post Infernal Monkey.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Hey Pokemon looks fine.  The plastic look is appropriate for the character design.  That is, it's not falling anywhere near into the UNCANNY VALLEY UNCANNY VALLEY like Prey does with its Digital Plastic Native American Turok Family.

Plastic Wannabe-Realistic People = digital barf

Plastic Cartoony People = neato  

[Requiem]

Quote
Originally posted by: Artimus

Quote
Originally posted by: Requiem
You guys "honestly" need to stop bitching.

The only people I've heard complain about the models used in WiiSports are people that haven't played it.


Coincidence?

Eh...

"The characters in the game are fairly basic. Plain, even. And the animation needs work. At times, it was difficult for us to tell if we were delivering a forehanded or backhanded shot because of the primitive graphics, which seemed to negate our attempts at trying different moves with the controller."
"Although not graphically great, or even good, the style of the characters will be the last thing on your mind when you grab the remote control."
-IGN

Both from different people, btw

First of all that was IGN --

IGN...Just making sure you know that.

Secondly, the last qoute is exactly what I was talking about. The "complaints" you tried to refer to me were more like observations. Observations that don't deter from the game's goal and overall "fun-ness" level.

[Artimus]

Quote
Originally posted by: RequiemFirst of all that was IGN --

IGN...Just making sure you know that.

Secondly, the last qoute is exactly what I was talking about. The "complaints" you tried to refer to me were more like observations. Observations that don't deter from the game's goal and overall "fun-ness" level.

Yes, IGN, the most influental Nintendo website on the internet.

Last time I checked this thread was called "Honest opinions on the look of WiiSports" not "Honest opinions on the fun-ness of WiiSports." I don't see anyone saying the character models will make the game less fun in this thread. I see people saying they feel the character models could be better, and that they're not very nice to look at or artistic.  

[Artimus]

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
I disagree. I think that you're underestimating the amount of industrial design that goes into things like tinker toys and other assorted children toys. And I think that you're mistaking simplicity for carelessness. You don't need visual clutter to be "good art design" you know.

I happen to think that the Wii sports art style is very aesthetically pleasing.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

I never asked for visual clutter. I am very familiar with art direction, trust me. And I do think WiiSports is lazy as far as characters go. Look at a game like Meteos. It's a very simple game, doesn't need flash or bang, but it got far better reviews than Polarium. Part of that may be gameplay, but no-one was calling Meteos bland, a complaint leveled against Polarium (a very clean and tidy game). WiiSports doesn't need to be like Meteos (exciting and dynamic) but why should it be ugly? Strong presentation and appealing designs  make a huge difference in a game. They seperate the ok games from the better games.

Parents don't play with Fisher Price. Nor do grandparents or girlfriends. So why make a game with Fisher Price characters? Lord knows we don't need realistic humans, heck no. But why not a cross between what we have and a Mario-type character? Something simple and fun, but not plain? You don't need to complicate things in order to improve them.

[The Omen]

The games look like garbage, but so what?  I was just playing Solomon's Key on the NES and the graphics are far worse than Wii sports.  But I had a great time.

I understand the initial surprise upon seeing the game, but I think it's best to shock people into attention.  This is a fun game and you will like it even with its simplistic appearance. That takes some balls, I must admit.  And that's something Nintendo has lacked for over 10 years, frankly.

[Artimus]

There's a difference between an NES game and a Wii game. Solomon's Key looks pretty good for an NES game. But WiiSports doesn't even look bad. The enviroments are quite nice. I'd say the enviroments are exactly what the game needs. The characters are just ugly, to me, that's all. I just feel Nintendo should be saying "Look how much fun this simple looking game is!" instead of what they seem to be saying: "Look how much fun this game is despite its looks!"

[Spak-Spang]

Artimus:  I think that is alittle too harsh.  I don't think Nintendo is at all trying to make the game look bad.

I really think they have done some research and believe this art direction is nonthreatening and actually INVITING for people to play.  True it isn't sleek at all, but it isn't trying to be.  All it is trying to be is nonthreatening to the nongamer (the audience the game is geared for).  I personally trust Nintendo's research and direction...after all look at the success they have been receiving for DS games branching out to new markets.

[Kairon]

Well, in a thread about honesty, you can't suppress your own personal artistic sensibilities. If some people think the Wii characters look ugly, then that's perfectly fine.

Personally, I'm quite enamored with them, especially since they'll be the recipients of my caricatured face texture.



Read Katsuya Eguchi's own opinion on the subject here.

Quote
Katsuya Eguchi: Sure, there are games that require more sophisticated graphics. But there are also titles that require more simplified graphics. Our priority with Wii Sports isn't graphics; what we were trying to show through these games is how the controllers works, how sensitive it is. Our goal wasn't to create a realistic baseball game with real-world pro athletes, it was to create soemthing familiar, something that isn't intimidating, something that anyone in the family would be comfortable pickign up and trying out themselves. That's why we went with the simpler graphics.

Also as you saw in the media briefing, you saw Iwata, Miyamoto, and Reggie playing tennis. we are looking to implement a similar kind of editing feature into the hardware that will allow users to create caricatures of themselves, members of the family, people they would potentially play with. and so when they go to play tennis, those would be the faces in the game. a more sophisticated graphic look wouldn't match well with the caricatures, but a simpler one does.

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com  

[Ian Sane]

"I really think they have done some research and believe this art direction is nonthreatening and actually INVITING for people to play."

Oh great.  Corporate game design.  I'd rather think that the art design was based on whatever the developers thought fit the game, ignoring the business side of things.  Yeah games are a business but I find I enjoy them more when I can pretend they aren't.  Designing games with certain demographics in mind is EA stuff.  I prefer Nintendo's old fashioned "make a kick ass game" approach.

[Spak-Spang]

Ian:

No not corporate game design.  That isn't what I meant.  What I mean is an artist approaching his canvas from the question of "What am I trying to achieve?" "Who do I want this to appeal to?" "What is the best means to achieve those goals?"

When the purpose of the artist is to create something for himself then he can do whatever he wants with his canvas...he only has to please himself.  But when an artist is hired to create something, then he must think first about his client, second about artist desires.

Well in any market you are selling a product the client is the demographic you hope to sell the game to.  So I am not saying corporate did the research.  I think the designers asked themselves who their market was.  Read the above quotes.  Then decided an art direction that would accomplish this task.

I do not think it was a corporate decision at all.  

[couchmonkey]

Of course artists can find the nature of working for clients too restrictive and may wind up producing inferior work because of it.  See Frieda...or the Pokey-mom episode of the simpsons.  Go Pumas!

Edit: my final word on this topic is that I'd still like to see more variety in body shapes, but I'm fine with the design overall.  I like the caricature feature, especially since I learned that you can draw your own parts.

[Kairon]

Quote
Originally posted by: couchmonkey
I like the caricature feature, especially since I learned that you can draw your own parts.

"parts?"

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[GoldenPhoenix]

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon

Quote
Originally posted by: couchmonkey
I like the caricature feature, especially since I learned that you can draw your own parts.

"parts?"

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

Couchmonkey is a very naught person. Shame on you, no wonder they have friend codes