More visuals

From: Michael Beggs <aop13_at_hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 08:43:25 GMT


Mike Dawson:
>there are more people willing to write for crappy money than there are
>people willing to draw for crappy money.

True. Maybe we should keep the really good artists caged up somewhere and drag them out when needed. We can give then Lunar Army service terms.

>role playing is by its nature a medium for storytellers, not artists.

This is also true, but I would suggest that this relative lack of visual references in gaming material make what IS there all the more important. When I think of trolls, I think of Lisa Free and Dan Barker. When I think of Maidstone Archers I think of that thing in Elder Secrets (the image is seared in my mind for ever).

>Back when Codex was in production, my number 1 production problem was art.
>And I was lucky to live in a town with a major art college. That's the only
>reason there are pictures of Toadface and his gang.
>
>Getting good art is HARD.

Again, point taken. I remember when I bought Codex there were appeals for art. Hell I even tried (and to this day still try) to persuade my girlfriend to give it a shot, but she keeps pointing out her degree is in fashion & textile design. Now if anyone wants a costume of Fazzur or Gunda knocked out, give me a shout.

Codex was fine visually because, in my opinion, you didn't panic and fill it with bad art. The minimalist approach can work fine if the other content is strong. The Harald Smith's NLG is perhaps another example.



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