Hi all not sure if this is the right place to put this but im a first time poster so if it is im sorry. i have been creating a custom character for unreal 3. This character is a quadruped. The reason i did this project was to investigate the uses of non-bipedal characters in current games vs bipedal characters. There are far far more of the later but for no clear reason. Anyway this character is in the unreal engine and functions fine, what i really want feedback on is: A: The appearance of the character B: What impression does it give you i.e how does it attack C: Would you want to play as this character D: What else would you do to enhance the character. E: What name would you give this character plus i forgot to mention, i will be presenting the character in it's own type of deathmatch game, its the same rules as deathmatch but the creatures gore each other, it's very fast paced and there is a LOT of killing. Huge kill streaks can be built up and taken away just as quick. It has a custom weapon which kills on contact nearly everytime. Question C is the main one i would like some answers from, i want to know if people would be interested in playing as a character like this. cheers
I agree. The metal's too shiny and clean. I think the bigger issue is that it just looks really simplistic compared to the more details organic portions.
The horns and tusks also seem a little off to me. Again, you might want to up the detail in their textures. Maybe look at some real horns for reference. They tend to not be tubes but more... trapezoidal in nature?
Pretty good start so far. The walk loop definitely looks solid though the paws seem a bit stiff. You might want to have them bend a bit when they touch the ground or something. Maybe check out a video of a running... tiger or dog or something.
The chain makes the creature look like a pet or a slave. Not very usual choices for a playable character because those are non-autonomous roles whereas the player character is usually very autonomous. But it could work. Maybe the setting of the game is "dogfighting but with genetic engineering and cybernetics"?
I have a hard time imagining that creature in a natural environment even minus the cybernetics. What would it eat and how would it get food into its mouth? This, of course, is irrelevant if the creature is engineered for some purpose and fed.
What others said, the robotic parts look off. I have to wonder why they are robotic and the rest of body is normal (?). Is it a performance enhancement, and if so, what kind of performance? Maybe they are designed for a single, very explosive forward jump from a standstill which lets it get where it needs to be in combat? But you'd expect a more frog-like structure and more traction surface for that purpose. Maybe they are replacements that roughly tie the original legs in performance but weigh less and/or are harder to damage - this would makes sense if the creature participates in competition/sport which has a weight limit. I don't think the hind legs seem especially good for sprinting (longer distance running is sabotaged by the high-mass front legs anyway), especially compared to what I'd expect that shape of creature to naturally have.
The presence of robotic parts also make me wonder why the rest of such an obviously combat-bred creature is not armored. Maybe this is due to rules again, but serious competitors would try to stretch the rules as far as they can to use artificial materials so that they at least do double duty as armor.
The front part is strong, ridiculously strong. The structure resembles a bench presser on steroids. This thing is obviously designed to approach combat by closing in with its head low and goring the opponent by explosive motions rising almost straight up. There's enough power there that I'd imagine the creature will throw opponents of its own weight or lighter clean in the air. It's essential the creature gets in below its opponent because the hind legs' geometry is not great for pushing power. Anything that grabs or jams the horns/tusks would be a problem for this creature because that is its only visible means of attack. The front limbs look quite flexible, though. I think the creature's reaction to having the horns jammed would be to push itself loose with front limbs and start from the beginning by charging under the opponent again.
Oh yeah, I think the chest might not need to stretch so far down. It looks like it will get in the way of the creature.
Anatomically it just doesn't look like this creature would be very mobile for some reason but even worse, it doesn't look like the creature could even be alive. The head and the neck and the body all seem like they were taken from different creatures and snapped together like a mr potato head. For a quadrupedal animal (assuming it was quadrupedal before it's hind legs were replaced) it's forelegs are too widely spaced. Alligators and lizards have their legs off to the side but they also don't run for extended periods of time like a dog. The forelegs are also way too small for the deepness of the chest.
Maybe you should look at some pictures of elephants and walruses. The tusks are such a dominating visual I think the viewer is inclined to look for a creature who's neck and shoulders more resemble one of those creatures.
Original post by Hypnotron For a quadrupedal animal (assuming it was quadrupedal before it's hind legs were replaced) it's forelegs are too widely spaced. Alligators and lizards have their legs off to the side but they also don't run for extended periods of time like a dog.
Like I said, the creature looks designed but that's not wrong if the backstory says it's designed. The wide spacing is a positive thing for close combat because it results in more stability.
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Maybe you should look at some pictures of elephants and walruses. The tusks are such a dominating visual I think the viewer is inclined to look for a creature who's neck and shoulders more resemble one of those creatures.
Function, not incidental resemblance, is the important thing.
Well it looks like a failed design if it's role is close combat. It looks too slow to catch it's prey, it appears to have limited dexterity, and it's hind feet wont provide much stability and grip on any surface.
Why bother designing such a creature when you can just cybernetic ally enhance a grizzly bear or hyena instead?
A) I keep imagining it without the cybernetics, and its abdomen is weird, just a stump. I guess that's okay if it's genetically engineered to be equipped with the legs, but the rump-bump is not satisfying to me, aesthetically. Maybe a tail?
I agree about the shiney metal, and would go a step further and suggest that they whole thing is too clean. It's got perfect skin, the horns aren't stained or chipped, there are no scars or evidence of chafing from the chain around its neck or from the prosthetics, and I can't tell if the red on its eye socket is pigmentation or bruising. It's like it's going to be in a dog show, rather than a deathmatch.
Also, they eyes are huge, it looks like a baby animal, more cute than savage in appearance. Maybe that's what you're going for, but with the sunken sockets and general pointiness of the thing, beady, sinister eyes seem more appropriate.
B) With the pneumatic legs and the horns, this thing looks like a straight-up battering ram. Charge in bullishly, then thrash the head frantically from side to side and gore up a storm.
C) Yeah, I'd love to play as this little guy. It's small and beats the crap out of things, like a delicious combination of Odd-Job from Goldeneye and the Xenomorph from AvP, minus the stealth and wall-crawling. I think kills with this guy would be very satisfying, and if he runs super fast, the gameplay would be reminiscent of the sprint/knife loadout from Modern Warfare 2.
D) I'm not sure what you mean by "enhance". Apart from his look, all I know about him is stuff I made up. Based on that, I'd have his upper horns point more outward, so a side-to-side thrashing motion would be pointier, and I'd shrink down the eyes, made the more pig-like. Also, the hindquarters continue to bother me. Is that hip-joint an axle going the whole way through the organic body, or is the rig affixed around the brisket and shoulder without being anchored farther aft? If it's the latter, I imaging the rump-stump wobbling comically while he runs, giving him a wormy, goofy wag to his meaty component, like it's a backpack full of non-combat organs he's carrying around, with no useful muscle in it. And finally, how about making the front paws scarier? The three-toed Scooby-Doo feet aren't really doing it for me, especially looking at how they're used in the walking animation. I'd like them to be graspier-looking, like bird/dinosaur/gargoyle feet.
E) I typed "gore up a storm" above, and immediately though to name him "Gorm". One-syllable, kinda beasty, but a familiar, dog-name sort of moniker.
First thing I noticed looking at him was those hind legs. This is a creature in a game where rockets fly and bullets ripe through you. Those little tiny pistons back there look like I could kick them off.
I would entirely recreate the cybernetic part. Secondly, It doesn't even honestly make sense right now. was this thing grown without hind legs? WHY?? Was this an injury its been fixed up from? It doesn't seem damaged. I would think about adding in organic hind legs with augmentation cybernetics instead of making it like this. Even with this design though, make the whole make more robust looking like it could really take a rocket.
Second, those horns and tusks immediately tell me this thing is meant to gore me right through. Add some detail to them and give it some teeth. Really give it a savage feral feel.
Anyway this character is in the unreal engine and functions fine, what i really want feedback on is: A: The appearance of the character B: What impression does it give you i.e how does it attack C: Would you want to play as this character D: What else would you do to enhance the character. E: What name would you give this character plus i forgot to mention, i will be presenting the character in it's own type of deathmatch game, its the same rules as deathmatch but the creatures gore each other, it's very fast paced and there is a LOT of killing. Huge kill streaks can be built up and taken away just as quick. It has a custom weapon which kills on contact nearly everytime. Question C is the main one i would like some answers from, i want to know if people would be interested in playing as a character like this. cheers
