International Explorers Renowned Society and its wonderfully diverse character design

[Amaror]

I dunno, it doesn't look that diverse to me. Only ONE of the female cast is not a typical pretty lady.

...Eh, I'm gonna play the S/M lady with a whip anyway.

By God, you really really want to look at ugly people, don't you?
Literally every post i have seen of you has you complaining about diversity, because characters aren't ugly enough for you.
To OP, yeah those character look pretty neat and interesting, too bad i am not into roguelites that much

 

[Treeberry]

Topics like this and the responses they tend to receive make me wonder how some people never get bored of stereotypically designed characters. They also make me remember why Nier as a father is far better than Nier as a brother character. Both his appearance and motivation(s) become far more interesting. I notice people like to pretend you can only focus on appearance or character. I wonder if these people have even played many games.

Mainly because after enough playing time most people don't really pay attention anymore to the main characters (especailly if it's a first person game), besides there's enough games if you want non standard player designs. I haven't played Nier with the brother character but I kinda find it ironic using him as a good example despite being the stereotypic (for japan) american player character.

In general, I don't care for diverse character designs, but if every character is unique a la' Valyria Chrnociles, then that's something to recommend about.

I get the irony of using Nier as an example - it's not a great example - but in that case I was mainly referring to the aesthetics and the fact that it's nice to play a parent as opposed to a sibling.

 

[Amaror]

By God, you really really want to look at ugly people, don't you?

Yes. It's called preferred art style. I don't like your tone, as if my tastes were something bad only because they aren't yours.

For example, 95% of the characters in Asterix&Obelix are "ugly", including the two protagonists.
For example, another comic I grew up with, Dylan Dog, doesn't feature pretty characters except for the protagonist and one woman.
For example, one of my favorite cartoons, the classic Inspector Gadget, doesn't feature "pretty" characters either.
Same goes for League Of Super Evil, a much more recent cartoon.

Those were just some examples of what I mean. I like visual diversity. In the real world, people have imperfections - and physical imperfections can do wonders in underlining a character's personality. I like it.

You can prefer whichever art style you choose. You can also advocate it as much as you want.
What i have a problem with is when you portray your particular taste as a grand ideal that every game should strive to fullfill.
Games and their characters can be diverse even if they don't include ugly characters.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I supposed I have to thanks this thread since I haven't heard of it until now.

Sure I wasn't sold on the whole "diverse characters" gimmick but seeing the trailer it look interesting enough for me to put it on my wishlist.

 

[Redryhno]

Topics like this and the responses they tend to receive make me wonder how some people never get bored of stereotypically designed characters. They also make me remember why Nier as a father is far better than Nier as a brother character. Both his appearance and motivation(s) become far more interesting. I notice people like to pretend you can only focus on appearance or character. I wonder if these people have even played many games.

It's sorta for me always just been a "this is my avatar in this gameworld, anything they do that's much more than positioning and scale is largely just gonna be a pain in the ass on my screen" situation. I don't really place much value on a character's appearance and possible background unless it's somehow relevant to the story being told.

And with western(and somewhat with some Japanese) RPGs, you can make whatever character you want. Though I will admit that the prevalence of voiced protagonists has since sorta shit all over my fantasies on what they sound like while I'm playing them...

 

[MerlinCross]

Sterotypes can be used in entertaining ways, especially when not used to insult or single out one single race or ethnicity. Punch Out is a good example of a game that does it very well. I feel like it works in this game because its used to create a colorful and wacky world.

All Scotsmen wear kilts, the Indian has a turban and ruby, the Mexican is OF COURSE a luchador, the big Russian can fight but can't talk well, Spanish woman is a heartbreaker, and of course the Voodoo pirates. Just a few examples.

Granted this doesn't bother me nor do I care, just playing devil's advocate. That and if I can see someone agruing that this game as "An Imperialist Simulator" then people will take anything for use as an argument. Not here just elsewhere have I seen this claim but only in small dosages.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I don't really know how much you can define games as a "visual medium", as it relies mroe on gameplay than graphics, besides, I'm not making a topic about how awesome Tekken (or just any fighting game) is because all the diversity in the cast.

Yes, it stands to reason that videogames are in large part a visual medium. They're an amalgam of audiovisual stimuli and interactivity.

Just think about all the visual feedback that gameplay relies on. When I had to design a game for a project incredible amounts of time went towards its visual design and for good reason. Think about multiplayer shooters for instance. Imagine one where every character look alike, you can barely distinguish teams and the levels are absolutely filled with clutter. That has strong impact on how the game plays.

That's not even talking about two less technical things, namely aesthetics and the fact that videogames are still works of culture (whether they're art or not).

 

[Batou667]

Man, I wish people would stop harping on about "diversity" in gaming. By all means we should acknowledge games that do diversity well, but this obsession with diversity first and foremost isn't helpful. A bit like people who primarily judge a game based on its graphics, you have to question whether they want a *good* game, or one that just ticks arbitrary boxes.

 

[Zhukov]

I don't really know how much you can define games as a "visual medium"...

How many games can you name that it would be possible to play with your eyes closed?

 

[crimson5pheonix]

I don't really know how much you can define games as a "visual medium"...

How many games can you name that it would be possible to play with your eyes closed?

Just to be a jerk, the final boss of Drakengard 3 is easier if you don't look at the screen.

 

[Erttheking]

Man, I wish people would stop harping on about "diversity" in gaming. By all means we should acknowledge games that do diversity well, but this obsession with diversity first and foremost isn't helpful. A bit like people who primarily judge a game based on its graphics, you have to question whether they want a *good* game, or one that just ticks arbitrary boxes.

I...did mention that I found the game to be fun and that the diversity was just something that helped me enjoy it. The point of this thread was to have a more positive thread about diversity considering how people are always complaining about how negative they are.

Sterotypes can be used in entertaining ways, especially when not used to insult or single out one single race or ethnicity. Punch Out is a good example of a game that does it very well. I feel like it works in this game because its used to create a colorful and wacky world.

All Scotsmen wear kilts, the Indian has a turban and ruby, the Mexican is OF COURSE a luchador, the big Russian can fight but can't talk well, Spanish woman is a heartbreaker, and of course the Voodoo pirates. Just a few examples.

Granted this doesn't bother me nor do I care, just playing devil's advocate. That and if I can see someone agruing that this game as "An Imperialist Simulator" then people will take anything for use as an argument. Not here just elsewhere have I seen this claim but only in small dosages.

The woman in the dress is from Argentina. You make good points about the rest of them but I'm just pointing that out. And the main point I was trying to make is that it didn't make everyone except one race or ethnicity normal, everyone is a wacky stereotype which is rather endearing and has a unique charm. Plus even then they still do things with them, because you rarely see female masked wrestlers or female brutal Greek mercenaries, or all of these peopel working together.

I don't see how it can be Cultural Imperialism when you can play as characters from Africa bursting into a Saxton Abbey and taking their crap.

 

[Rahkshi500]

Agree with you completely, Erttheking. This game does look like fun, so I'll certainly consider getting it and checking it out. Thanks for sharing this with us.

 

[K12]

To the people making comments along the line of "diversity isn't as important as being a good game" or "why are you talking about diversity instead of gameplay" I'd just like to ask if you ever make these kinds of comments about any other aspect of a game.

Perhaps responding to a thread saying "new game by X developer has a cyberpunk theme" or "new multiplayer game has assymmetric gameplay" with "why are we talking about themes/ symmetry, what matters is if it's good or not".

A diverse cast of characters full of colour, variety and personality is part of a game's aesthetic that is worth praising or at least worth discussing (at least to me, I'm sure there are people out there who want to play as the same 3 or 4 characters over and over again) and saying that there are other parts of the game that are more important is largely irrelevant... especially when the OP has stated that the gameplay is fun too.

Not every positive or negative comment about a game is meant as a review of the game's overall quality.

 

[Redryhno]

To the people making comments along the line of "diversity isn't as important as being a good game" or "why are you talking about diversity instead of gameplay" I'd just like to ask if you ever make these kinds of comments about any other aspect of a game.

Perhaps responding to a thread saying "new game by X developer has a cyberpunk theme" or "new multiplayer game has assymmetric gameplay" with "why are we talking about themes/ symmetry, what matters is if it's good or not".

A diverse cast of characters full of colour, variety and personality is part of a game's aesthetic that is worth praising or at least worth discussing (at least to me, I'm sure there are people out there who want to play as the same 3 or 4 characters over and over again) and saying that there are other parts of the game that are more important is largely irrelevant... especially when the OP has stated that the gameplay is fun too.

Not every positive or negative comment about a game is meant as a review of the game's overall quality.

It's because if diversity is the sole talking point, then there's not much being said unless it's both story focused and story reliant. Which International Society isn't. It's alot more about the situations RNGesus puts your ragtag band in.

Cyberpunk theme? It gives you a pretty good idea of what the gameplay's gonna be like, namely either shooter or turn-based grids. Assymetric gameplay means that it's a multiplayer focused title and to not be looking forward to the single-player portion.

Diverse cast? Really doesn't say much about it. It could be any number of things with a diverse cast. And this is ignoring that this is a rogue-lite game. Diverse cast is one of those things that comes with the territory because the gameplay is about beating the system multiple times over and over again. And that gets boring if you have nothing but 5/10 in every aspect characters.

Hell, alot of the people that are praising it for the diverse cast have often turned their noses up at other games where heavy stereotyping exists in lesser forms than it is here. And that's sorta funny for some people.

 

[MerlinCross]

To the people making comments along the line of "diversity isn't as important as being a good game" or "why are you talking about diversity instead of gameplay" I'd just like to ask if you ever make these kinds of comments about any other aspect of a game.

Perhaps responding to a thread saying "new game by X developer has a cyberpunk theme" or "new multiplayer game has assymmetric gameplay" with "why are we talking about themes/ symmetry, what matters is if it's good or not".

A diverse cast of characters full of colour, variety and personality is part of a game's aesthetic that is worth praising or at least worth discussing (at least to me, I'm sure there are people out there who want to play as the same 3 or 4 characters over and over again) and saying that there are other parts of the game that are more important is largely irrelevant... especially when the OP has stated that the gameplay is fun too.

Not every positive or negative comment about a game is meant as a review of the game's overall quality.

Eh, debatable. "Game with Cyberpunk Theme" tells us nothing of how the game actually plays. Is it RPG, Platforming, strategy? The Multiplayer game, are the two sides balanced and how do they play differently?

Game with a huge colorful cast of characters to pick from? Okay, what makes them different and worth using otherwise people WILL keep picking their favorites and ignoring the rest. And is the game actually fun because if it's not, look at this huge cast of characters you're gonna have to slog through a boring 1-2 game with.

Do you see why people might actually wonder how the mechanics and gameplay are instead of caring what the theme is? Granted, Renowned Explorers hit it pretty well on the gameplay front too(OUTSIDE OF THE LAST 2 VENTURES!!!), and I wish there was more. But given that it is a Rogue like(lite?) and those vary from game to game, I know I would like to hear about how the game works before caring what the characters look like.

Meanwhile, need to see what my next venture out has in store for me. Only beat it once thus far and it was really lucky for me to do so.

 

[EyeReaper]

Man, Now I'm going to have to get this game.


... more games need playable luchadores.

I'm being serious. I will so support a game based on it's ratio of Luchadore playability.

 

[Elfgore]

Er, come on bro. You've been here long enough to know. You are never the only one... ever.

Spoiler: duh duh dunnnnnnnnnnn

Anyway, you're not wrong when you say AAA development is stale. It's pretty stale and rather repetitive. Now, unlike you I don't care about changing it or seeing more of something. I care about more about gameplay, setting, and story. What color, gender, sexual orientation, is usually pretty damn low on my list. Diversity usually gets a "cool" out of me, but doesn't impact my buying choice.

Watch_Dogs would still be boring in my opinion if I played as women, LGBT, or color character. The game you mentioned got a cool out of me for the character designs, but the gameplay isn't my style.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

When we talk about design decisions we don't like we are told that we should be more positive and bring up games that do it right and not just bash games. When we bring up games that made design decisions that we like we are told that it doesn't matter. Once again the internet proves that you can never win a discussion on it.

Also, that game became an instant buy for me, thanks Ert!