Meet the Real Face Behind The Nameless One

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Meet the Real Face Behind The Nameless One


Meet the face behind the face on the front of Planescape: Torment.

Planescape: Torment [http://www.amazon.com/Planescape-Torment-Pc/dp/B00002EPZ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319645709&sr=8-1] is one of the most famous RPGs of all time. It also happened to come in one of the most famously ugly boxes of all time: a close-up of some guy with filthy dreadlocks and a face like chewed leather that's made even less appealing thanks to a hideous blue-and-orange color scheme. Interplay managed to put together a semi-famous cast of voice actors for the game, but where did it ever find that awful, awful face?

Pretty close to home, as it turns out. The day before the cover photo shoot was scheduled to take place, the model contracted to appear on the box backed out over a scheduling conflict. With no time to arrange anything else, someone suggested that Guido Henkel, a producer on the game, should do the job.

"I thought it was a joke at first but everyone in the room looked at me and went, 'Yeah, why don't you?'" Henkel revealed on his blog [http://guidohenkel.com/2011/10/whats-in-a-face/].

Hollywood special effects wizard Star Wars Holiday Special [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0122207/]] was contracted for the job, so Henkel dutifully reported to his studio for about two hours of makeup work. "Applying layers and strips of latex to my face, he slowly transformed me into a demonic-looking creature," Henkel wrote. "Then, to top it off, he hand-painted the entire makeup to give it a realistic look that would hold up under the glaring light of a camera."

After 45 minutes of photography, it was time to take it off, which is when things got a bit ugly. "My face was red as a beet and burned for the rest of the day, because of the solvent that was used to remove the appliances," he added. "Nonetheless, it was all well worth it."

Along with Planescape, Henkel's credits include Jason Dark: Ghost Hunter [http://www.amazon.com/Interplay-40515Fallout-2-Fallout-Download/dp/B004EYT1BW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1319646027&sr=8-4] series of "dime novels" that he publishes through his company G3 Studios. All very cool, but he's got a long way to go before he out-cools his gig as gaming's original Blue Man.

via: Twitter [http://twitter.com/#!/AllenVarney/status/128997760409149440]


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NLS

Norwegian Llama Stylist
Jan 7, 2010
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"Nonetheless, it was all well worth it."
Oh, I'm not so sure about that...
The original picture looks quite alright though, compared to that hideous thing also known as the front cover.
 

StreetBushido

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Nov 22, 2009
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Cool piece of trivia! Still a pretty ugly cover though. Considering the themes that are handled in the game you'd think they could come up with something better.
 

Nenad

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Mar 16, 2009
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What the hell? The cover is perfectly fine!

I never got why everyone was saying it was ugly... I liked it ._.
 

Yeager942

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Oct 31, 2008
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I'm glad they got him. I really can't imagine the Nameless One with any other face.
 

doublenix

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Jul 16, 2009
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EverythingIncredible said:
I've known people who said that they refused to play Planescape Tourment because the box art was so ugly.

Yes, I am serious about that.
They lost out on one of the best games ever because of box art? Foolish move on their part. Torment is always the game I point to when talking about a good story.
 

Leftnt Sharpe

Nick Furry
Apr 2, 2009
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I wonder how many sales PST lost because of that Fugly box art? Always preferred Baldur's Gate 2 to Torment, but its still a hell of an RPG.
 

Addendum_Forthcoming

Queen of the Edit
Feb 4, 2009
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Well ... I thought the cover art was okay, it fit the mood of the setting ...

Planescape setting books have *the best* artwork of any D&D setting. Cool, crisp, alienesque features that blue the lines of fantasy and science fantasy in some parts. If p[eople were to pick up some of the old planescape books they'd realize the creators captured the mood, the setting, and the art direction of the books perfectly ...
 

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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I can see it. The Planescape setting isn't/wasn't nearly as famous as the Forgotten Realms, so Torment really relied on the cover to attract gamers who might otherwise not be aware of it. It sure didn't do anything to attract me to the game; I didn't play it until a few years after it came out. The box art didn't keep me away from the game, but it sure didn't do anything to convince me to buy it, either.
 

Dr. wonderful

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Dec 31, 2009
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"I thought it was a joke at first but [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MyGodYouAreSerious] everyone in the room looked at me and went, 'Yeah, why don't you?' [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SureLetsGoWithThat?from=Main.ptitlelfjoyg5d]" Henkel revealed on his blog.

Fixed that for you.


To be honest, I love the cover. It told me that this will NOT be a pretty game.
 

Eleima

Keeper of the GWJ Holocron
Feb 21, 2010
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Nenad said:
What the hell? The cover is perfectly fine!
I never got why everyone was saying it was ugly... I liked it ._.
Oh I'm glad it's not just me! I liked the cover art. I thought it perfectly portrayed the image of a cursed, condemned man. It's nice to see how that cover came to be, though.



octafish said:
It takes more than latex and paint to change the nature of a man.
You, my friend, get a cookie. Scratch that, a LOT of cookies.
But of course, that just leaves us wondering, as we always have... What CAN change the nature of a man?