Shadowrun Returns - GenCon Updates

Dhruin

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Harebrained Studios has posted some updates from their time at GenCon, including concept art of the basic in-game look for Shadowrun Returns they are shooting for:
While this is concept art – not a screenshot – it’s representative of the fidelity and art style we’re shooting for. For the uninitiated (or those seeking a quick refresher!) the concept above depicts the infamous Redmond Barrens* of the mid 2050s.
The game environment will be composed of painted 2D elements, so we should be able to deliver the level of detail, depth and expressiveness that you see here. Characters in Shadowrun Returns, on the other hand, are being constructed in 3D – which allows them the fluid movement and wide range of character design and equipment options you’d expect from an RPG. We’ve done a number of tests and the 2D/3D mix feels very natural.
We’re really excited about the direction we’re heading in and the progress we’ve made in the last 3 months. We look forward to showing you more soon!
barrens_street_market1.png
More information.
 
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impressive

these guys are heading my way
 
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Looks really good, but it bothers me a little how much this world looks like Blade Runner. Obviously cyberpunk is very heavily influenced by the style, but the concepts look like they might as well be from Blade Runner. Well, minus the fantasy creatures, of course. :) But IMO it's crossing the line between "influenced" and "copying". A little more visual creativity and originality wouldn't hurt...?
 
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I really don't like the hand-painted style for the characters. Especially because it almost certainly means we'll have primitive animations with a very limited amount of cells - that won't mesh well with the backdrops.
 
I don't understand how you reached that conclusion.

Looks fantastic to me - great to see.

Hand-painted style with that level of detail takes a huge amount of work to animate with any detail. I've seen it used in other games - and it invariably results in a few cells for each animation.

Unless, of course, they chose that style because they wanted a major workload - and not because they wanted to make it economically feasible to pull off.

I think it's visually jarring and I think it meshes very poorly with the Cyberpunk backdrop - based on the screenshot. Almost like having cartoon characters in a dystopian setting.
 
I really don't like the hand-painted style for the characters. Especially because it almost certainly means we'll have primitive animations with a very limited amount of cells - that won't mesh well with the backdrops.

Doesn't bother me with there budget it fits the game. I'm more interested in the story and game length. Graphics are always secondary to me.
 
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They're secondary to me as well, but not secondary as in not being very important.
 
Re-reading the text - I see they're actually doing the characters in 3D?!? Doesn't look like it - but if true, they should be easy to animate.

Still don't think they mesh well with the backdrop, though.
 
Don't worry DArtagnan that image is only concept art. I thought it was an actual screen also. I'll just say wait and see it might get better.
 
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Yeah, I guess the characters are some kind of placeholders - as they definitely don't look like textured 3D objects.

But the style turns me off, regardless.

Anyway, whatever. It's just yet another game in a sea of upcoming and interesting kickstarters :)
 
"Placeholders"? It's a painting.

I hope they stick to the art style, it's nice to once in a while play something heavily stylized instead of the usual semi-realistic style almost every developer is going for.
 
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"Placeholders"? It's a painting.

I hope they stick to the art style, it's nice to once in a while play something heavily stylized instead of the usual semi-realistic style almost every developer is going for.

Call it what you will. They're obviously temporary characters created for demonstration purposes. As such, they're holding the place of the real 3D characters, if the game is supposed to look like that.
 
Looks great. Kickstarter has indeed yielded some interesting projects. Now, if only more people would back Expeditions: Conquistador….I'd like to see that one get made. :please:

Who needs publishers, anyway? Let them burn, I say. Burn… :cm:
 
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Looks really good, but it bothers me a little how much this world looks like Blade Runner. Obviously cyberpunk is very heavily influenced by the style, but the concepts look like they might as well be from Blade Runner. Well, minus the fantasy creatures, of course. :) But IMO it's crossing the line between "influenced" and "copying". A little more visual creativity and originality wouldn't hurt…?

Funny. Blade Runner copied alot from "somewhere" too.

Anyways, I like the style they are looking for, but lets see what they actually end up with.
 
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Looks great. Kickstarter has indeed yielded some interesting projects. Now, if only more people would back Expeditions: Conquistador….I'd like to see that one get made. :please:

Me too but at this pace it's highly unlikely that it will happen.

Who needs publishers, anyway? Let them burn, I say. Burn… :cm:

Unfortunately we still need publishers at this point there isn't enough money on kickstarter for mid/high budget projects(even Wasteland's 3M $ isn't particularly big budget for game that ambitious),neither there is enough money for larger quantity of smaller projects.But I am hoping for the day when EA's and Ubi's headquarters will burn.
 
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Funny. Blade Runner copied alot from "somewhere" too.

The movie BladeRunner was released in 1982 and the game Shadowrun was released in 1989 if you are implying that the former copied from the latter.
 
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but does this concept art answer the question, do androids dream of electric sheep?
 
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