Character Costume Design

[Iron Croc]

How much thought do we really put in to the costume design of our characters? How much "real-world" logic are we going to allow into our game(s)?



What are your personal methods? Do you give that one chick gravity-defying hair, knowing fully well that hair doesn't work that way IRL? Or do you give the island native barely anything at all, knowing fully well that he must be hella cold under that island loin cloth?
I'm curious... when designing costumes, what makes YOU tick? Do YOU apply real-world logic to your outfits?



Why or why not?



Talk to me!(x posted)

 

[HotfireLegend]

Tales of Zesteria has the best costume design I've seen in a long time.

Normally I consider their profession or role when making with the generator.

 

[David FoxFire]

I employ "Rule of Cool" when it comes to costume designs, and zero fucks over whatever sensibilities I might offend. (Note: Nowadays it's not too difficult to offend someone over character design.) My rule of thumb is, if a character's costume would resemble the Sorceress from Dragon's Crown, said character would actually wear said costume in a somewhat believable fashion in my world, and some jackoff bitches about it on tumblr or deviantart, guess what? She's going to dress like the Sorceress from Dragon's Crown, and . . . . . ahem ahem.

You have to excuse me there. I've had quite a bad experience with some of my game designs as of late. I once designed a game where a bunch of Disney-like Princess go into Sucker Punch mode in a post-apocalyptic world where they're rebuilding civilization, and someone claimed that they were my harem. It kinda rubbed me the wrong way.

Also, I don't want to discuss politics here, especially topics that are still very tender.

 

[Amysaurus]

Most of my stories are set in realistic places, so often my character designs reflect that. Many of them wear the same kind of outfits you or I could go out in, and I think that's fine as long as it works with the character's personality.

 

[MinisterJay]

I use a combination of mythological real-world. I had a commissioned artist make some nice flying fairies for VX Ace, and I cannot wait to convert them over.

 

[Micro]

Normally I consider their profession or role when making with the generator.

This.

also, if the story is set in a magical world, I try to give the characters themed outfits. such as... water mage? probably going to have blue hair/clothes and maybe some seashell accessories. I don't want my characters to look generic, I try to make them all unique somehow.

I haven't really made many characters who could fit into the real world.

that said, I do try to make their outfits make sense/something they would be comfortable in.

 

[Bizarre Monkey]

How much thought do we really put in to the costume design of our characters? How much "real-world" logic are we going to allow into our game(s)?



What are your personal methods? Do you give that one chick gravity-defying hair, knowing fully well that hair doesn't work that way IRL? Or do you give the island native barely anything at all, knowing fully well that he must be hella cold under that island loin cloth?
I'm curious... when designing costumes, what makes YOU tick? Do YOU apply real-world logic to your outfits?



Why or why not?



Talk to me!(x posted)

Me? Eh, I used to put really none at all. Too lazy.

Hell, where ever I could, I wouldn't even clothes.

Now though? It's a little different.

I don't usually go super complex, but I do try to make costumes relevant and fitting to the characters and time period.

 

[Amysaurus]

I think it's important to put some logic into what characters are wearing, but it's also important to experiment and have fun with designs.

Sure, Mr. Buff Swordsman might need some awesome armor, but heck! Why not cover it in giant bows for a scene or two? Sometimes a brief break from logic/realism can make a game just a bit more interesting for the player.

 

[Bizarre Monkey]

Sure, Mr. Buff Swordsman might need some awesome armor, but heck! Why not cover it in giant bows for a scene or two? Sometimes a brief break from logic/realism can make a game just a bit more interesting for the player.

YOU ARE MAKING ME DRAW UNSPEAKABLE ATROCITIES.

THIS IS THE FUTURE YOU CHOSE!

I AM BEING VERY SILLY TODAY.

 

[Sonicboy95]

When I design a character for my game world I use the logic of my game world. For example, if I decide to make a world that has its own set of rules apart from our world then I make the character based that the rules of that world. If by chance (wink,wink) that my game world doesn't make sense in terms of logic, then the characters would also defy logic and have designs like those from the craziest of anime.

sometimes characters just pop into my head when i'm dreaming. Most of the time it doesn't make sense and I wake up wondering what the **** did I just come up with. Sometimes I scare myself.

by the way the **** translates to the word heck. What were you thinking? Get your mind out of the gutter.

 

[Luninareph]

Do you give that one chick gravity-defying hair, knowing fully well that hair doesn't work that way IRL? Or do you give the island native barely anything at all, knowing fully well that he must be hella cold under that island loin cloth?

I try to strike that fine line between "memorable" and "logical." It's okay, for example, to give that chick gravity-defying hair... if she is, perhaps, a mage, and therefore might be able to defy the laws of physics. Or if she's particularly vain and would use the metric ton of hair gel every morning to get her hair to look that way. Or, to be really out there, if she is perhaps part harpy and her hair has a consistency more like feathers that makes it stand on end. That island native might be proud of his heritage and insist on wearing his tribe's clothing styles, thereby explaining the loincloth and incidentally opening the door to have him complain about how cold he is constantly, adding color to his dialogue. But I wouldn't put that flyaway hair on a down-to-earth, practical human paladin, and I wouldn't put that loincloth on a man who left his tribe in anger and has abandoned their traditions (nor would I leave the temperature undiscussed if he was wearing it).

 

[Iron Croc]

I try to strike that fine line between "memorable" and "logical." It's okay, for example, to give that chick gravity-defying hair... if she is, perhaps, a mage, and therefore might be able to defy the laws of physics. Or if she's particularly vain and would use the metric ton of hair gel every morning to get her hair to look that way. Or, to be really out there, if she is perhaps part harpy and her hair has a consistency more like feathers that makes it stand on end. That island native might be proud of his heritage and insist on wearing his tribe's clothing styles, thereby explaining the loincloth and incidentally opening the door to have him complain about how cold he is constantly, adding color to his dialogue. But I wouldn't put that flyaway hair on a down-to-earth, practical human paladin, and I wouldn't put that loincloth on a man who left his tribe in anger and has abandoned their traditions (nor would I leave the temperature undiscussed if he was wearing it).

Very nice reply! I like your reasoning a lot! :D

 

[Luninareph]

Very nice reply! I like your reasoning a lot! :D

Thank you! I'm glad ^_^

I like the idea of creating entirely logical costumes for characters, but that takes so many creative and visually appealing options away from you. I mean... that would mean no dresses for anybody going into combat, ever, and that is just unbearable to think about. Where would we be without Rozalin's pimped out ballgown of gunslinging phenomenal?

Spoiler

 

[Fynnmellex]

This is actually a pretty hard question. I do try to make my characters wear somehow realistic clothes, but that wouldn't stop me from going apesh** in terms of appearance. FF VII comes to mind, when I think about this. They all had actually pretty realistic clothing, but their hair? The weapons? Just think of the Bustersword. There's no way that that sword could be realistic anyhow. I try to look at it that way: Your protagonist has to stand out from the mass of NPCs. The easiest way to do that is to give him something unique in his appearance, so there can be no doubt that he is the main character. The floating hair, a ridiculously surreal costume, a huge weapon, or what ever usually does the trick. So I don't really dive that hard into realism when it comes to my characters, apart from giving them clothes that could be made IRL (you know, stuff that cosplayers do). Especially since I probably won't make any game that is based upon our real world. (I like myself some good fantasy )

 

[Bizarre Monkey]

I just draw regardless of logic and awesome characters are then just there. There's no process or logic, I see where a character is not, and I say "No. This will not do."

Also in realism no girls would wear plate, if they did they'd have their boobs chopped off/be super flat.

Oh you think I'm joking?? Nope, boobs are a pain in the ass when it comes to combat, just ask the Amazons, who no joking, removed their breasts so they could throw javelins properly.

This modern depiction of the amazon's as these busty woman warriors is gravely false where history deems accuracy, but it's more fun to be illogical.

They were still woman and warriors but busty isn't a way to describe them!

 

[Iron Croc]

Whatever works and as long as you can MAKE it work, I say!

 

[MinisterJay]

Whatever works and as long as you can MAKE it work, I say!

I like what you just said. Something that work for one person may not work for another. If you can make it work, then make it work. Sometimes there is a niche looking for something that others may not comprehend or desire.

 

[Bizarre Monkey]

Whatever works and as long as you can MAKE it work, I say!

I have just watched all of One Punch Man, I can confirm the wisdom of this is infinitely true.

 

[SlySly]

How much thought do we really put in to the costume design of our characters? How much "real-world" logic are we going to allow into our game(s)?



What are your personal methods? Do you give that one chick gravity-defying hair, knowing fully well that hair doesn't work that way IRL? Or do you give the island native barely anything at all, knowing fully well that he must be hella cold under that island loin cloth?
I'm curious... when designing costumes, what makes YOU tick? Do YOU apply real-world logic to your outfits?



Why or why not?



Talk to me!(x posted)

I like to think about a characters past and their current situation... I do like to keep it realistic though

 

[ejronin]

I wanted to make a game but didn't want to worry about the costumes. The solution was porn, where no matter how bad it is - there's still a market and clothes are in the way.

On a serious note, I try to put them in something that fits their primary role. I'm not going to have the super evil barbarian rocking skinny jeans and a vintage tee, I try and consider their movement and climate.