POLL: What Do You Think of Iceman's Art?

135

Comments

  • Mawtful
    Mawtful Posts: 1,646 Chairperson of the Boards
    theHappyDance wrote:
    Here's another good question: Why do they keep releasing teenage versions of superheroes?

    Unless they mean for the game to only be played by teenagers with far too much time on their hands (and sic release variants they feel will most resonate with that player base), but that runs contrary to their apparent financial structure of pushing high value micro-transactions.

    18-25 is the age group that most freemium games are aimed at. These people are old enough to be considered in charge of their own finances but often still developing mentally and so susceptible to the tricks they use to encourage spending real world money.

    So at least two of the ages in that range are still considered "teenagers".
  • IceIX
    IceIX ADMINISTRATORS Posts: 4,320 Site Admin
    JordonLee wrote:
    Woah, he sounds like such an old man!
    This character you keep referring to. I do not think I mean, what you think I mean.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    IceIX wrote:
    I can certainly say that the next two releases are *not* teenagers. One hasn't seen that age in decades.

    I'm not sure I believe you. You're releasing a teenage Voldemort right now, so I'm pretty sure the next character will be Harry Potter. icon_lol.gif
  • Xeonic-Ice
    Xeonic-Ice Posts: 176
    I realize that it's a small sample size but seeing that the opinions are overwhelmingly in the negative direction, I really hope that they'll take a look and see what they can do to improve it. We're all fans here, which is short for fanatic, meaning we're sometimes irrationally passionate over the little things. At this point, the game is as much ours as it is Demiurge's. The art doesn't break the game, but it sure does make it less enjoyable for me when I have to look at something that makes me cringe.
  • Xeonic-Ice
    Xeonic-Ice Posts: 176
    aesthetocyst wrote:
    Xeonic-Ice wrote:
    I realize that it's a small sample size but seeing that the opinions are overwhelmingly in the negative direction, I really hope that they'll take a look and see what they can do to improve it. We're all fans here, which is short for fanatic, meaning we're sometimes irrationally passionate over the little things. At this point, the game is as much ours as it is Demiurge's. The art doesn't break the game, but it sure does make it less enjoyable for me when I have to look at something that makes me cringe.

    You could look at this (non-scientific) poll and extrapolate with some confidence that 80+% of the reaction is negative.

    ... but you could also dismiss it as representing a tiny, tiny, infinitesimal sliver of all players, by disregarding the main conceit of polling, that a sample can indicate the opinions of the whole.

    A better indicator to the devs would be the level participation in and resources consumed during this weekend's PvE.

    Unfortunately, it IS a new character, the initial take on his stats is positive, and there is a token_legendary.png in the progression, so participation will not be dulled by the atrocious art. It will be declared a success by the bean counters.

    .

    Well, his abilities are top tier so I imagine that that has more of an influence on putting time and resources into a character. I know I'm going to have to get him if only to stay competitive. I'll hate every minute he's on my screen though.
  • Xenoberyll
    Xenoberyll Posts: 647 Critical Contributor
    Xeonic-Ice wrote:
    Well, his abilities are top tier so I imagine that that has more of an influence on putting time and resources into a character. I know I'm going to have to get him if only to stay competitive. I'll hate every minute he's on my screen though.

    Agreed. I hate his art but i'm working hard to get him because of his power. Players will play a turd heap if it comes with strong abilities.
  • puppychow
    puppychow Posts: 1,453
    Iceman will be a welcome addition to my roster as an anti-HB personnel. That said, here's my initial reaction to the artwork: "Hello munchkin!" icon_mrgreen.gif
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This is not Iceman, it's goofy alien boy.
  • Omega Red
    Omega Red Posts: 366 Mover and Shaker
    My first reaction was rather apathetic, maybe I found him a little weird looking but nothing that turned me off or made me not wanting him in my roster.

    I think it's hilarious that a comic book character is labeled as "creepy-looking". Comics are full of weird, exuberant, quirky, deformed, whimsical characters. Superman looks creepy, a grown man wearing colorful skin-tight fabric and his trousers. What about wolverine? A hypermasculine guy with retractable claws that come 8out from his backhands whose scars heal up right in front of your eyes, creepy as **** if you ask me.

    Suddenly, a guy who can cover his body with snow or ice gets the creepy label because he has black eyes and looks like an alien? What kind of alien anyway, a Shi'ar alien? A Simpsons alien? A monster from planet x alien? Now even aliens from fantasy properties are expected to look a certain way?

    Is iceman supposed to look more human-like? What kind of traits are supposed to achieve that look? Hair, blue eyes and eyebrows? Jack Kirby's original version didn't even have a face at all, he was all covered by snow!

    I think the negative response to this character, squirrel girl and Kamala is very telling. A lot of traditional values seem to be desired by many players. Women are expected to look young and attractive while males are expected to look imposing, masculine and have eyebrows and light eyes.

    I love Kamala's artwork, please don't change it. Her smile when she heals up is actually uplifting and puts me in a good mood even if I'm getting my **** kicked by hulk buster. I love my sexualized female characters - hello Mystique and OBW- but I don't need all of them to fit that look. Similarly, I love feeling manly when I play with Thor or Cage but I don't need every other male character to do the same for me. I'm rather indifferent to iceman's artwork, but I'm voting "I love it" on account that I approve the devs going for an offbeat look rather than a traditional one.
  • Jack0fAllGames
    Jack0fAllGames Posts: 65 Match Maker
    Omega Red wrote:
    My first reaction was rather apathetic, maybe I found him a little weird looking but nothing that turned me off or made me not wanting him in my roster.

    I think it's hilarious that a comic book character is labeled as "creepy-looking". Comics are full of weird, exuberant, quirky, deformed, whimsical characters. Superman looks creepy, a grown man wearing colorful skin-tight fabric and his trousers. What about wolverine? A hypermasculine guy with retractable claws that come 8out from his backhands whose scars heal up right in front of your eyes, creepy as tinykitty if you ask me.

    Suddenly, a guy who can cover his body with snow or ice gets the creepy label because he has black eyes and looks like an alien? What kind of alien anyway, a Shi'ar alien? A Simpsons alien? A monster from planet x alien? Now even aliens from fantasy properties are expected to look a certain way?

    Is iceman supposed to look more human-like? What kind of traits are supposed to achieve that look? Hair, blue eyes and eyebrows? Jack Kirby's original version didn't even have a face at all, he was all covered by snow!

    I think the negative response to this character, squirrel girl and Kamala is very telling. A lot of traditional values seem to be desired by many players. Women are expected to look young and attractive while males are expected to look imposing, masculine and have eyebrows and light eyes.

    I love Kamala's artwork, please don't change it. Her smile when she heals up is actually uplifting and puts me in a good mood even if I'm getting my **** kicked by hulk buster. I love my sexualized female characters - hello Mystique and OBW- but I don't need all of them to fit that look. Similarly, I love feeling manly when I play with Thor or Cage but I don't need every other male character to do the same for me. I'm rather indifferent to iceman's artwork, but I'm voting "I love it" on account that I approve the devs going for an offbeat look rather than a traditional one.

    Regarding Kamala: in all other artwork I've seen of her, she IS young and attractive (although not necessarily "sexy").

    If she were middle-aged in the comics, her artwork here would be fine.
  • PuceMoose
    PuceMoose Posts: 1,445 Chairperson of the Boards
    Interesting post Omega Red. I agree with you on Kamala's glinty grin - well, as long as she's on my team when she does it. ^.^

    For me, my initial revulsion to this new iceman stemmed from my immediate association with a creature from a movie that scared the beans out of me - The Descent. I am quite claustrophobic, and the cave scenes combined with the monster (and watching it in a dark room with the volume turned up) made it one of my scariest/creepiest ever horror experiences. MPQ's take on Iceman immediately reminded me of maybe a juvenile form of one of these horrific creatures.
    q4ER5Dy.jpg

    Once my brain made that connection (fair or not) he became a creepy monster oh God oh God kill it with fire. Maybe with time the connection will dissolve and I can view him with a bit more objectivity.

    I was picturing something like this -

    iceman-xfactor.jpg

    but with less herp-derp and more of Demiruge's usual fine interpretation of outfits and less-angular body parts.
  • TheRealJRad
    TheRealJRad Posts: 309 Mover and Shaker
    My first reaction was "there are no less than 4 players having flashbacks to childhood nightmares".

    IceIX wrote:
    I can certainly say that the next two releases are *not* teenagers. One hasn't seen that age in decades.

    I wonder if it's the first one for awhile...
  • Dragon_Nexus
    Dragon_Nexus Posts: 3,701 Chairperson of the Boards
    Omega Red wrote:
    My first reaction was rather apathetic, maybe I found him a little weird looking but nothing that turned me off or made me not wanting him in my roster.

    I think it's hilarious that a comic book character is labeled as "creepy-looking". Comics are full of weird, exuberant, quirky, deformed, whimsical characters. Superman looks creepy, a grown man wearing colorful skin-tight fabric and his trousers. What about wolverine? A hypermasculine guy with retractable claws that come 8out from his backhands whose scars heal up right in front of your eyes, creepy as tinykitty if you ask me.

    Suddenly, a guy who can cover his body with snow or ice gets the creepy label because he has black eyes and looks like an alien? What kind of alien anyway, a Shi'ar alien? A Simpsons alien? A monster from planet x alien? Now even aliens from fantasy properties are expected to look a certain way?

    Is iceman supposed to look more human-like? What kind of traits are supposed to achieve that look? Hair, blue eyes and eyebrows? Jack Kirby's original version didn't even have a face at all, he was all covered by snow!

    I think the negative response to this character, squirrel girl and Kamala is very telling. A lot of traditional values seem to be desired by many players. Women are expected to look young and attractive while males are expected to look imposing, masculine and have eyebrows and light eyes.

    I love Kamala's artwork, please don't change it. Her smile when she heals up is actually uplifting and puts me in a good mood even if I'm getting my **** kicked by hulk buster. I love my sexualized female characters - hello Mystique and OBW- but I don't need all of them to fit that look. Similarly, I love feeling manly when I play with Thor or Cage but I don't need every other male character to do the same for me. I'm rather indifferent to iceman's artwork, but I'm voting "I love it" on account that I approve the devs going for an offbeat look rather than a traditional one.

    Not sure why you find it difficult to understand how art can be creepy looking.
    Example. She Hulk, I got the True Believers issue #1 of her, one of my fave characters, and I'm really not keen on the art work despite the story being fun.
    http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/wp ... ulk1-1.jpg
    http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/sca ... nt_lr3.jpg

    She's got derpy-**** eyes for one thing. The facial proportions look off too. There's a fine line between stylistic and creepy and often it's down to inturpretation. I'm all about faces when it comes to characters.

    With your example of Kamala, the only thing I dislike about her art is her roster image.
    http://www.demiurgestudios.com/uploads/ ... laKhan.png
    IMO they used too much shading, too many lines and it ages her. She has something of an old-lady face. Her actual art in-game is great, especially her fight pose.

    Squirrel Girl, as I've said before, is too cartoony. And cartoony is fine if you draw in a cartoony style, but making a realistic character have cartoony features sets off the uncanny valley alarm in our minds. It looks wrong. It looks just human enough that the cartoonishness stands out way more. It doesn't fit. It should not be.
    Cover her mouth and she actually has quite cute smiley eyes, but that toothy grin is terrifying.

    I dislike the insinuation that because these characters aren't fashion models we instantly hate them as if we're all somehow shallow for disliking stuff that is genuinely unsettling looking. The "alien" remark is simply to suggest "not of this Earth" not "Like that alien I saw off that one show some time". Again, not sure why that was a sticking point.

    I don't think anyone here's realistically arguing that every male should be a huge, bulking wodge of muscle and anger while every female should be a lithe, busty temptress with a come-hither stare.
    Look at Silver Surfer. The dude basically is, in appearance anyway, a metal version of Iceman. He's naked, toned, bald, no eyebrows and has non-flesh skin. And in-game he looks perfect. Ice Man just...doesn't. I think what also throws it off is the shading on his neck, it makes his head shape stand out a lot more, and his head shape already looks kinda not-right though I can't quite place why. A big forehead-to-face-ratio, perhaps? Honestly, I think frosting his eyes might have gone further to making him look relatable than the creepy blue-black eyes he has now.

    I mean, look at this.
    http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/i ... h_1072.jpg
    This is pretty much ice Silver Surfer, right?

    Or how about this from a rival game?
    http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_Pyi21FzJSo/hqdefault.jpg

    Or this?
    http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/ ... covcol.jpg

    So many different versions of the same character and they went with...*shudder
  • limonade
    limonade Posts: 41 Just Dropped In
    He looks like an albino alien. Capcom made a fine rendition of Iceman. I was hoping D3 would take a cue on that.

    But whatever.

    Not every art in this game will appeal to me.
  • shatland
    shatland Posts: 42 Just Dropped In
    an attempt to fix - fixed the toddler skull but couldn't take that creepy grin away...

    icemantake2.jpg
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I saw his art in-game, thought it was creepy, showed my friends, then came here to find this thread. Not vice versa. I wouldn't mind an Iceman (Iceboy?) cover because he seems pretty good, but I'll need to hide my iPad when playing with him or I might scare my kids.
  • Etheus
    Etheus Posts: 56
    My first thoughts upon seeing the new artwork.

    Smeagol-My-Precious-Funny-Shoes.jpg
  • Xenoberyll
    Xenoberyll Posts: 647 Critical Contributor
    Etheus wrote:
    My first thoughts upon seeing the new artwork.
    Smeagol-My-Precious-Funny-Shoes.jpg

    yours was my thoughts when i read his powers. his art reminded me more of this:

    alien1.jpg
  • Xenoberyll
    Xenoberyll Posts: 647 Critical Contributor
    this is a tiny poll with just a few voters but it's a real landslide. i wonder if the devs will acknowledge this...or the people at marvel.
  • Chrono_Tata
    Chrono_Tata Posts: 719 Critical Contributor
    Xenoberyll wrote:
    this is a tiny poll with just a few voters but it's a real landslide. i wonder if the devs will acknowledge this...or the people at marvel.
    Nah, they are probably doing more important things like "fixing" art that no one complained about, such completely redrawing Wolverine or redrawing Cap's face or making UI overhauls.

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