[Art] Flying
Just a head study I did a while ago. :P Heather Marks is the lovely reference.
Recent Play Magazine had come in, and I was glad to find this point under the "Five Things Western Developers Still Suck At":
"1.Character Design
Western developers have always had trouble making decent characters, and this is the year it officially become ridiculous...As a result, the west's video-game hero output is an endless sea of rippling biceps and forgettable faces. Why can't we craft the sort of intriguing, unconventional heroes who can carry a series, like Dante, Link, or Solid Snake?"
Thank you, Play Magazine. That has always been one of the things that turned me off western video games for so long. It's the reason why I buy games like Devil May Cry, and Final Fantasy despite their negatives. Japanese character design is appealing. I wish western developers would just get it. Of course, Play stated exceptions like Altair, and Kai, and the infamous Lara Croft, but in general, you're playing the average Joe.
I also think the key word may be "unconventional", and the not the type of "unconventional" that means underdog, but the type that has an unique air to be an unexpected hero. I mean, look at Dante. He's cool, period. He's someone you would go back to for a sequel. Now try to describe Uncharted's Drake, and you're pretty much left with a, "uhhh...he was wearing some white shirt, right?" :P
But that's a good goal for us budding artists hehe. But truthfully, 2007 was a great year in gaming, with games becoming more intelligent and graphics richer and more beautiful than ever. I can't wait to look to see the future of games as developers become more familiar with the next-gen stations. *drooool*