Some more information has been released from the NinjaBee secret vault. Microsoft is allowing devs to create costumes for avatars, and we’ve taken the opportunity to make some fun stuff, themed around the pending A World of Keflings (sequel to A Kingdom For Keflings):
A World of Keflings Avatar Store Preview
(this graphic is copied from there, but it’s worth clicking through for some extra details)
A World of Keflings Costumes
…and some of the pieces of those costumes are found here.
It’s a curious thing, this new MS policy, allowing devs to have a bit more to offer in the avatar customization arena. Not only is it a way to maybe monetize interest a little more, but it’s also advertising of a sort, not unlike branded t-shirts. It’s also fun; I can’t wait to see someone meandering around in a NinjaBee costume. I think it’s a good thing, and I’m very curious to see where things go.
Beyond this being an announcement for my company, though, I get to show off some concept art that I did for the male Arabian-flavored costume:
Arabian Male Concept
I spent a fair bit of time painting this costume over a generic avatar, offering this as a proof of concept for what we might offer for avatar costuming. The final male Arabian costume doesn’t quite match up with my original concept, but it’s fun to see that it’s at least similar to what I dreamed up. It’s especially fun that they kept the little trim decoration design. I doodle that sort of thing all the time in my notebooks and sketchbooks, and it’s fun to see it get through the production pipeline.
Y’see, concepts don’t always come out in the final game as intended or originally conceived. Larisa lamented this a while back, wherein I responded with a bit of a peek into the dev process in the comments section, here quoted for completion’s sake:
Might I chime in as a game artist with a background in film production? I’ve worked with some fine concept artists, but inevitably, given engine or time constraints, the final implementation of concept art will not match the concept perfectly.
Some companies do try to match it as tightly as possible, and others use concept art as mood pieces to set the emotional tone for a piece of the game. Still others are mere color studies, a great many others are merely experiments, and it’s even likely that the bulk of concept art is merely sketch work. It’s impractical to polish it all up to “museum” quality. I’d go so far as to say that we’re not likely to be seeing even 5% of the concept art created for the project, and what we do see is likely a cross section of varied types. Straight up production pipeline concept art almost never makes it out of the studio.
Even if it did, probably only 10% of that art is faithfully represented in the game down the most granular details. There are simply too many compromises to be made in the translation from fine art to game art, most especially in the change from 2D to 3D.
If the final game art can match the mood and spirit of the concept art, evoking the emotional response that the devs desire, even if some details are lost along the way, the production is successful.
Think of concept art as a sketch (as so many of them are for various reasons; trying to make the equivalent of the Mona Lisa in 3D would be ridiculous in game production schedules) that must be translated into something playable. Much as the translation from vision (or reality) to painting can lose fidelity, translation from concept to final can lose fidelity.
The best production pipelines don’t sweat that loss. They find the most important parts of the art and focus on those and let the unnecessary bits go. That’s where the artistry and skill comes in on the production floor, making the choices on where to spend time. That’s where the art director steps in and keeps both the concept artists from going too far and the production artists from endlessly chasing miniscule details. It’s a matter of scope… and a LOT of game devs don’t do that well, to be blunt. That’s an article in itself, though.
To be sure, it’s possible to take concept art and match it to a high degree of fidelity, as in a Pixar movie, but the practical realities of game production mean that a different approach is necessary. (This, both in the production cost and the lack of prerendering… Pixar’s 30 frames per second are typically rendered over the course of DAYS, while we have to render in real time.)
So, concept doesn’t always translate directly to the final product, for a number of reasons. I also intend to dig into this a bit more with Yet Another Artisty Article over at the official NinjaBee blog… but I’m not done with that article yet, and it might need to fit into the promotion schedule. I’ll mention it when it comes up. There’s only so much detail I can get into for a variety of reasons, but I really want to show a bit more about how things go from concept art to final game asset.
Until that time, then…
I want a Bee in a ninja costume to fly around my head like the Halo avatar accessory/companion. :) Occasionally playfully swooping in and out, or maybe being ninjaish and sneaking up behind you to scare/playful sting you.(Playful sting? WTF?)
There *are* pets and widgets that players will be able to purchase (and maybe just unlock?) for their avatars. I’m not sure what we have in the pipeline, but I’m sure we’ll offer *something*. A NinjaBee could be a lot of fun.
It would be! I dunno, I don’t really have my pulse on the whole avatar clothing thing, I dressed him once when they dropped the stuff, and added the the Halo pet cause I got it for free. I have a tough time paying for that stuff, but I think they are awesome add on rewards. I think MSoft should encourage developers to tie those kinds of items to the achievement system as rewards. The clothing would be much cooler if you saw someones clothes and could say damn that means they beat XYZ achievement on ZYX game, that’s really hard!
I’d be much more impressed with the ‘I’ve beaten every achievement on at least 25 full 360 games outfit’ than I am with people spending money on digital clothes.
I am definitely not the demographic to look at when trying to profit on these. (Male 25 employed above poverty line homeowner.)
I’m not really the target audience for this sort of purchase either, but I know there’s one out there, and it’s cool to see options for those players. *shrug* It’s the same rationale for clothing and appearance tabs in MMOs (though only some of them actually monetize that demand). People like to stand out from the crowd and use avatars to show their personality (real or assumed). Customization options are a Good Thing in an industry built in letting the end user have control.
I agree! I’m just the ‘free customization’ type. I wouldn’t worry if I were you though, I’ve been on Live since it debuted, and when they dropped the avatar update, people started eating it up. You will make money of those items.
very cool ;)
It’s amazing what you’re put through when you have to decide what to throw on the cutting room floor, whether you’re a game designer or a movie director. There’s so much good stuff that you don’t really WANT to throw any away, but you know you have to, so you try not to let yourself get attached too much. Sometimes though, something just HAS to go in :P
My 360 busted before the whole avatar upgrade so I missed out on all of that. Some cool artwork, and it is nice advertising too, as people will see them and wonder what game it’s from.