Impractical Character Designs

[Leodiensian]

Big Daddy, love the costume, but if your practical, lunging around 3 tons of metal is not good for you. Unless you have been spliced....I mean spliced ALOT.

Don't get me wrong, I love Big Daddies.

If you're a Big Daddy, you HAVE been spliced a lot. That's how people become Big Daddies; they get all spliced out, essentially becoming burned out junkies but with genetic engineering instead of heroin, and all they're good for is sticking in a Big Daddy suit. After some more splicing to make you strong, and to bond you to your Little Sister.

A lot of criticism is laid against Final Fantasy X's designs, and rightly so. Tidus looks like he didn't so much "dress" as "fall into a child's wardrobe while covered in glue". However, it's a good shorthand to show a fantasy world - you can tell the world is different in an instant because the people dress funny.

Though I did like Auron's outfit quite a bit.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

Most Stormtroopers et al. They're wearing claustrophobic masks that give them terrible field of vision, and make it hard to breathe.

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/257/177868-helghast_large.jpg

Despite being impractical I actually like the Helghast design.

IMO Team Fortress 2 is the pinnacle of great character design

The helmets have a breathing apparatus(you can see that on the picture) but i can agree with the field of vision

 

[CmdrGoob]

Everyone in FFX looks so fucking stupid, it's a goldmine of impracticality.

Worst character designs ever.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Most Stormtroopers et al. They're wearing claustrophobic masks that give them terrible field of vision, and make it hard to breathe.

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/257/177868-helghast_large.jpg

Despite being impractical I actually like the Helghast design.

IMO Team Fortress 2 is the pinnacle of great character design

The helmets have a breathing apparatus(you can see that on the picture) but i can agree with the field of vision

Which is why I think Helghast is a good design. Do Star Wars Storm troopers all have asthma as well?

 

[Melion]

Honestly im waiting for the day a game has a protaginest with just jeans, white shirt and trainers. If this person was a kick arse female well my mind would be blow.

Here you go.

Not the same but damn near.

 

[Xodion]

Altair wears far too much to keep cool in the desert

Altair's clothing is very appropriate for a desert, you need to wear light-coloured baggy clothing to keep the sun off your skin, otherwise you overheat. You'd probably also get ridiculous sunburn without it, can you imagine trying to climb over rooftops with massive sunburn? Ouch.

 

[Spectrum_Prez]

Honestly im waiting for the day a game has a protaginest with just jeans, white shirt and trainers. If this person was a kick arse female well my mind would be blow.

Here you go.

Not the same but damn near.

Alternatively

 

[Jiggabyte]

Honestly im waiting for the day a game has a protaginest with just jeans, white shirt and trainers. If this person was a kick arse female well my mind would be blow.

Here you go.
Not the same but damn near.

Alternatively

Alyx Vance? Except she's a side-kick...

 

[Spectrum_Prez]

Honestly im waiting for the day a game has a protaginest with just jeans, white shirt and trainers. If this person was a kick arse female well my mind would be blow.

Here you go.
Not the same but damn near.

Alternatively

Alyx Vance? Except she's a side-kick...

That's not Alyx. That's Zoe Castillo, the protagonist in Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.
But now that you mention it, they do kind of look alike.

 

[Skuffyshootster]

I mean... wtf...

"Under the monastery?"

Kids these days and their crazy slang...

OT:

Spoiler

How the hell are you supposed to maneuver around on a battlefield while wearing...that?

 

[GameOverGoblin]

Because somebody had to do it.

Wow, I finally just realized that her whip is actually a sword! I guess I missed it the first time 20 times I saw this picture because I was too busy looking at... well, you know...

 

[Mortons4ck]

The most impractical would have to be bastilas outfit from kotor. it just barley covers her, i mean when you equipt nothing that show less.

True, but she is a jedi. They don't tend to wear anything aside from robes or form fitting suits. Because if you're a jedi, and you are getting hit with blaster bolts, you're doin' it wrong.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

Alyx vance anyone?

Honestly im waiting for the day a game has a protaginest with just jeans, white shirt and trainers. If this person was a kick arse female well my mind would be blow.

quote]

Alyx vance much? She fits all the criteria rather nicely. I liked alyxes cahracter design, she was likeable and not dramatically over done as it is with many side characters that follow you.

 

[XMark]

It seems a lot of fantasy-themed games have female characters wearing armor that reveals their midriff. Looks sexy, but at the same time they might as well just have a note written on the armor "for maximum damage, please stab here" with a little arrow.

Okay, obviously this thread would be mentioning a lot of sexualized female character designs, so let's think of what's impractical on the male side...

- Pretty much every JRPG hero who wields a sword twice their size.
- Sunglasses worn regardless of lighting conditions
- Frickin' huge armor suits... I give a pass to power armor though because the mechanisms of the armor allow you to move in them.

 

[Beldaros]

Lets take it back to one of the originals "impossible bodies" Barbie. Most women designed by men are either impractical or have an unrealistic personality. It's the way they are designed. Some characters are made to be aesthetic ally pleasing first others are made for story mode where the aesthetics are less important. Personally I prefer the latter and find them more attractive but that isn't going to stop them being designed and sometrimes its nice to just get lost in a pair of impossible tits. TBH though I think it sets us up for a world of dissapointment in life. Women are not that willing to show flesh all the time. Most anyway.

Fun topic OP.

 

[Jiggabyte]

Alyx Vance? Except she's a side-kick...

That's not Alyx. That's Zoe Castillo, the protagonist in Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.
But now that you mention it, they do kind of look alike.

Sorry, bad wording. I knew it was Longest Journey, I was just replying to the chain. Jade and Alyx look quite alike indeed to me, though.

 

[Delock]

OT:

Spoiler

How the hell are you supposed to maneuver around on a battlefield while wearing...that?

I was wondering if anyone would mention that. After all, take a good look at the size of regular humans in that game and you'll wonder two things: how do they run and how do they take damage from bullets?!

Also, on a related note, any soldier that goes out without a helmet if your game involves guns. Sure it will be easy to see them, but you're going to get killed.

Lastly, KRATOS! Sure, for him it's no problem, much like all other scantly clad characters, but get into a fight with that on and you're going to come out with some injuries.

 

[CmdrGoob]

Anything with dual wielding is highly impractical.

Dual wielding guns means you can't use both gun sights and holding a gun one handed reduces your ability to control the gun and keep it on target as you fire. You will have worse accuracy and will end up firing slower anyway because it's harder to control the gun as well. Plus it makes reloading incredibly slow.

Dual wielding swords is incredibly arwkard. It lacks the reach, armor penetration and power of a two handed weapon and a shield is much better defensively for both melee fighting and protection against ranged attacks. It's almost completely unused in real life because it's just not good at anything.