Character Design

[Therumancer]

I remember the days when video games came with tons of extras, and titles like "Ultima IV" were simply bulging with the components. Not only that but people put time into comissioning decent artwork for their players manuals, and almost every RPG had a map in the box.

To me it seems that the "Collector's Editions" are an attempt to raise the price of a game artificially and charge people extra for the kind of stuff that you would had gotten for free years ago. Today a cloth map, an illustrated spellbook with translatable runes on the cover, and a little metal ankh will tack like $20 onto the price of a game.

Things like the action figures seem to be an exception, rather than the rule still, but yeah I agree something like that is kind of silly to stuff in a box for a game. I think Blizzard had the right idea with the way they released actions figures for their games after the fact for those that were really interested. People wound up buying them because they became obssessives about what were some very good games, and that is arguably what I think figurines should be all about.

Also for the record "Batman: Arkham Asylum" ruined collector's editions for me for a long time. I paid a not insignifigant amount of extra money for that special edition in order to get what was supposed to be a metal Batarang replica, which in reality turned out to be a scratched piece of plastic I'd be embarrassed to display even if I was a fanatic about the game to that level.

 

[ribonuge]

I usually never buy the collector's edition of a game. However I bought the Mass Effect 2 one for two reasons. It was the same price in GAME as the normal one (perhaps some sort of glitch) and the normal editions cover art was absolutely hideous. Any sane person would want more for their money anyway.

 

[Samurai Goomba]

My favorite thing about 47's design is that he's a bald white male of very decidedly average appearance. When he's wearing a disguise, you actually believe that he can convincingly pass as a number of different ethnic groups, just because (aside from the barcode) he's deceptively bland-looking. Imposing, yes, but not so much that you'd pick him out of a crowd (especially now that baldness and shaved heads are pretty fashionable here in the States). He's tall and muscular, but he's not Arnold from Predator beefy. And while the black gloves are eye-catching, they're understated enough most people probably won't really notice.

Another excellent character design is Wander from Shadow of the Colossus. I don't really have much time to go into it now, but everything about the way Wander looks and carries himself tells you most of what you need to know about him as a character.

 

[AlchemistMayCry]

Collector editions certainly look cool (my jaw had dislocated itself at the sight of the Climax Edition of Bayonetta, because of the sheer audacity of it) but all in all aren't exactly useful. I'm sure some Fallout fan bought the Super Collector's Limited Extreme Edition that came with a lunchbox, a Pip Boy replica watch, and a freaking Vault-Tec bobblehead, but in my honest opinion, collector's editions aren't worth the extra money. Remember the Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition with the night vision goggles? It's a game. Just buy the regular edition. Unless it's say...the BlazBlue collector edition, which came with tutorial DVDs for all the characters and soundtrack.

And character designs are an acquired taste. I took a look at the art from Darksiders and it looked kinda cool. And I'm one of those hopeless rejects who actually thought Wind Waker had a nice art style.

 

[Del-Toro]

Rather funny!

Hes right about Bayonetta though why would anyone want her guns??

Well they'd want her "guns" but I think whoever was in charge didn't understand the concept of entendre.

 

[Ragsnstitches]

I think people forget that games are released by different groups of people and not one big money hungry MONSTA.

The people who make the game (as in coding and designing) don't have much input in it's marketing (other then submitting artwork and concept designs or background stories)... there's a team for that. It is within this team that ideas like "limited editions" and "collectors editions" come to be. It's advertisement and marketing disguised as Fan service, something which developers and coders rarely have qualifications in.

Stop painting the industry with such a wide brush, a lot of developers attention is purely on the game, the production companies are the ones mainly responsible for the greedy money side of things and can also be blamed for the supposed decline in Game quality (games are getting harder to make and developers aren't getting sufficient increases in deadline).

Agent 47's design is good, he looks refined and intelligent but with underlying ruthlessness, plus his baldness and the bar-code on the back of his head makes him stand out. Makes you wonder how know one ever goes "I did see a man with a bar-code on the back of his head, when Big Tony was found stuffed in a laundry shoot. I wonder if it's related".

 

[ewhac]

The Fiend from Quake. Instantly recognizable visually and aurally, and its attack still makes me jump in my chair.

 

[snowman6251]

No addressing the reader comments

That's my favorite part.

As for me I don't own any special editions but its a battle every time. My irrational desire for useless things (Bioshock 2 vinyl record soundtrack, without a record player) has to combat my rational desire to not piss away an extra 40 bucks on something useless. So far my rational side has won every time but only due to limited funds. Should I see a massive influx of cash come my way I may not be able to resist paying for the extra crap.

As for Game of the Year edition, that's just the game with all the DLC so if I haven't bought a game and it has a GOTYE I will buy that version (Fallout 3). Getting the GOTYE for Fallout saves you like $20 in DLC.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

"Game of the year" editions are now the name for the packaging up of the original game and DLCs, so referring to special and collector's edition still as "game of the year" editions is not really accurate...

I'm quite liking the GOTY edition, to me it feels like a complete package when you buy it you get the the lot, game play wise.

 

[The Great JT]

I don't get special editions, myself, unless they come with a lot of stuff. Take the Fallout 3 special edition, for example. You get an art book, a "Behind The Scenes" DVD, a lunchbox and a bobblehead. Now I could possibly see shelling out another $10 American for the special edition since it actually gives you something you can use in addition to the bobblehead, book and DVD (especially since the place I bought it at was selling it for the same price as just the game, THANKS, BEST BUY!). However if it just gives you some dinky little figurine or something and an art book or DVD, it just kind of seems stupid to buy it since you're not going to get something useful.

Then there's the in-game special offers or the "I Bought The Special Edition" version. Primarily you see this in games where there's going to be a lot of multiplayer, like World of Warcraft, Warhammer Online and Star Trek Online and this is a growing plauge that GameStop is doing. Normally this will be a little in-game pet like a Frost Wyrm whelp (WoW) or a Tribble (STO) or a special piece of armor (Fable 2 did this with a 16th-century MJOLNIR Mk 6 armor set) or something. Do they provide any tangible benefit? No, outside of giving a big middle finger to people. Are they ultimately worth it? Not really. Do people buy it? Yes. Now do I have a problem with it? Not really, if you want to blow another $10 or $20 for a little pet that won't help you out in combat or anything or some special set of armor that confers no special bonuses, by all means do it.

As for the whole "GameStop Special DLC," I dunno, I'm not against buying at GameStop, I'm just against buying USED games at GameStop. Why? Because the game companies don't make money on used copies. If I buy a copy of Psychonauts, I'm going to want it new because I want to support Double Fine. If I buy Half-Life 2, I want my money to go to keeping Valve around so they can make more games. This is why I don't like places like GameStop who offer cheap used copies, because the money spent on that game won't go to supporting the development studios. However, this whole idea of pre-ordering the game and getting a special piece of in-game DLC is actually a good thing because you're buying a new copy (and thus supporting the producers of the game you've pre-ordered) and getting a little bonus, as if to say "hey, thanks for supporting us." Now do I think GameStop should be the only ones doing this? No. Do I think this is a great incentive to support companies? Yes.

 

[Earthmonger]

Increasingly, retail game sales have to rely on that section of the audience they still haven't lost to digital distribution, who prefer their games to take up space on a shelf with some kind of physical weight, the weightier the better.

That's me. I need physical evidence that a game exists. I don't need gaudy plastic junk in the form of figurines. I like the tin cases CE's are often found in nowadays. I like the art books. I love the soundtracks (arguably, half the reason I love games). And on rare occasions, a Making-Of DVD. Additional game content is negotiable. I'm competent enough to make my own changes to games and render new play experiences.

I'm a PC gamer, so rarely do I end up with a figurine. I believe the only one I may have somewhere is of a bent pewter Ordinator from Morrowind. But I truly loath the move to digital downloads, which bear no more significance than a disembodied prick drawn on a bar napkin.

 

[Mako SOLDIER]

Maybe Bayonetta will get carried away by Nightgaunts, being tickled the whole way. Actually, the image of Bayonetta thrashing around from being incessantly tickled is slightly erotic. Hmmm, Freudian 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon suggests that you do have a pulse after all Mr Croshaw

 

[John-Joe]

Wow, the blog you linked to is really interesting, and it is clearly visible from your article that you have been inspired by some of his points.

I guess the article was alright, not really the collector's type myself, but mostly thanks for linking to that blog, it's an awesome read.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

I think Agent 47's character design is quite good as well. There's just something about that look that screams "Professional." And too often, people focus on the "Killer" part of "Professional Killer" and forget about the "Professional" bit.

Compounded by the games themselves. You get the best ratings for making things look 'accidental' rather than just breaking out the dual pistols.

 

[Kurt Horsting]

Not all Collectors editions are just pricey rip-offs that work off of fan hype. Blazblue (A mildly popular Japanese fighting game)had it's collectors edition have the same price as the regular product, and came with a soundtrack and a tutorial dvd made by top Japanese and American players giving tips on the game to help new players understand the strategy and depth of the game. It also came with explanation of all the terms and mechanics in the game (now why they just didn't put that in the game is beyond my understanding). It was only available via pre-order, and now all material that was on the dvds is on youtube so anyone can get the info on the game if they didn't get the collectors edition.

Also, the game was out in arcades 6 months prior to the console release so people that where interested could try the game for 50 cents before they thought about the $60 purchase. Fighting games might not be most people's cup of tea, but it feels like Arc System Works where not trying to force people to get the extra bits for there its own sake, but a way to help the guys pre-ordering to justify their purchase.

My personal favorite section of the dvd is Mike Z's tutorial where he does a parody of the old school street fighter tutorials that where on VHS as he explains the finer points of Iron Tager. Here's a link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp8KOM2zw98

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

Does it uprise you that once again a female character in a video game is wearing something akin to either bondage wear and/or 50% less protection than would be proper when fighting hordes of slavering creatures? I know nerds are tiresomely predictable but won't we outgrow this eventually? I'm still waiting out for a sensibly dressed video game character that does look like a sex icon for men to slobber over. Personally I think Bayonetta will become the Megan Fox of the video game world. That aught to make everyone suddenly repulsed.

 

[Lono Shrugged]

I always had it in my head that No. 47 was bald so he could wear wigs etc. and make him more or less forgettable. The whole point in my mind was that he was a face in a crowd like Jason Bourne. I had that in mind from when I played the first game.

Abe from Abe's Oddessy is another one that springs to mind. goofy, jumpy and likable. but that game generally had great character design.

I always liked Conrad Hart in the same vein from Flashback and Fade to Black. An 80's straight to video action star trapped in an alien future.

The only Special Edition's I really liked was the Mass Effect 1 and Dreamfall collection. They came with neat little art books that were nice to read through when the game is installing. I got the big daddy figurine purely by mistake in order and felt horribly guilty when I looked upon it's obviously sweatshop painted features. It sits to this day in a box in my cupboard. Haunting me....

 

[malestrithe]

The only special edition I got in the recent past is the Tekken 6. I wanted the fight stick, so I paid the 150 dollars to get it. It served a purpose outside of looking purty because pulling off any of the super combos with the controller is a nightmare to do. The Fallout 3 Collectors edition I'll get because I can use the lunch box as a lunch box when it is time to do so.

 

[BlueInkAlchemist]

Indeed... I always thought Agent 47's ties and gloves made the character.

Hear, hear.

 

[Jared]

"Game of the year" editions are now the name for the packaging up of the original game and DLCs, so referring to special and collector's edition still as "game of the year" editions is not really accurate...

Yeah...and all you really get in these editions is a bunch of stuff which, if you think about it, truly isnt that important.

The only one I liked the Halo:ODST one as it offered a new controller. I needed a new one anyway, and I wanted th e game. So it actually cut my costs down.