[cosmonautcowboy]

Micky C, on 25 April 2017 - 06:23 PM, said:

I need to check out this game some time from a sale. Is patch 1.3 out yet?

Bombshell 1.3...like the Sasquatch; often spoken of, but never seen.

[necroslut]

Honestly changing Bombshell from a blonde was such a mistake. They really should, for the next game (preferable for Ion Maiden already) change her haircut and make her a blonde again. Now she just looks like a Mass Effect reject, and just three years down the line her design looks incredibly dated.
It's a bit weird that simply being a blonde would make her stand out more. What was the last game with a blonde female protagonist? Because I can't really remember one in years. They all look like Sandra Bullock.
The rest of her design would honestly be OK if they just changed the hair.

[Zaxx]

necroslut, on 16 August 2017 - 02:33 AM, said:

Honestly changing Bombshell from a blonde was such a mistake. They really should, for the next game (preferable for Ion Maiden already) change her haircut and make her a blonde again. Now she just looks like a Mass Effect reject, and just three years down the line her design looks incredibly dated.
It's a bit weird that simply being a blonde would make her stand out more. What was the last game with a blonde female protagonist? Because I can't really remember one in years. They all look like Sandra Bullock.
The rest of her design would honestly be OK if they just changed the hair.

Samus Aran? The chick from Lollipop Chainsaw? Lightning from Final Fantasy (or was her hair purple?)? I don't have an issue with her hair colour, I have an issue with the character being incredibly generic but the colour of her hair has nothing to do with it.

Bombshell is basically the slightly less cool version of Fedorova from Deus Ex:


The cliché is just incredible sadly but hey, I don't really care since Ion Maiden is an FPS. As for the original Bombshell game: when can I buy the soundtrack without having to buy the game?

[necroslut]

Zaxx, on 16 August 2017 - 09:59 AM, said:

Samus Aran? The chick from Lollipop Chainsaw? Lightning from Final Fantasy (or was her hair purple?)? I don't have an issue with her hair colour, I have an issue with the character being incredibly generic but the colour of her hair has nothing to do with it.

Bombshell is basically the slightly less cool version of Fedorova from Deus Ex:
The cliché is just incredible sadly but hey, I don't really care since Ion Maiden is an FPS. As for the original Bombshell game: when can I buy the soundtrack without having to buy the game?

True, although Samus is an age-old character. All those three are japanese games, interestingly...
Shelly currently looks like a less interesting clone of a number of characters from the past few years, visually she is completely void of identity IMO. Something really should be done about that, and I think making her a blonde again could be a good first step in this climate. And there's just something off about having a character called 'bombshell' who isn't... a blonde bombshell.

[----]

necroslut, on 16 August 2017 - 10:42 AM, said:

And there's just something off about having a character called 'bombshell' who isn't... a blonde bombshell.

This.

ALthough I don't mind the haircolor so much .... a bombshell looking like a bombshell would have helped.

[Never Forgotten]

fuegerstef, on 16 August 2017 - 02:01 PM, said:

This.

ALthough I don't mind the haircolor so much .... a bombshell looking like a bombshell would have helped.

Something more like this?

[Hank]

Never Forgotten, on 16 August 2017 - 05:50 PM, said:

[Something more like this?

Not really
I like(d) Bombshell, as a game.
Viewing her from top-down, it makes little difference what her hair cut is like or her hair color.

I think, I'm one of the few who still likes (liked) the game, but gave up hoping for a patch to fix up its flaws.

Even I can make a new better looking character with MakeHuman (or other software) to please the masses; but in the end it's how the game plays and if bugs need to be fixed, to establish a cool game. The latter (fixing it) never came to Steam-Updates. Thus, like other games, it ended up in my virtual trash compactor, never to be seen again.

Sound negative? Probably. I'm just fed up with the gaming industry, or better said, commercial gaming industry. It's almost like the movie industry now - repetitive, boring and extreme conservative, don't risk new stuff, we need to sell it.. I say - fuck it guys.

[necroslut]

Hank, on 16 August 2017 - 07:15 PM, said:

Not really
I like(d) Bombshell, as a game.
Viewing her from top-down, it makes little difference what her hair cut is like or her hair color.

I liked the game too. But I actually think the hair cut matters even more from a top-down perspective. It's one of the few things you can actually make out then, and giving her flowing blonde hair would have made her stand out more.

Quote

I think, I'm one of the few who still likes (liked) the game, but gave up hoping for a patch to fix up its flaws.

Even I can make a new better looking character with MakeHuman (or other software) to please the masses; but in the end it's how the game plays and if bugs need to be fixed, to establish a cool game. The latter (fixing it) never came to Steam-Updates. Thus, like other games, it ended up in my virtual trash compactor, never to be seen again.

Sound negative? Probably. I'm just fed up with the gaming industry, or better said, commercial gaming industry. It's almost like the movie industry now - repetitive, boring and extreme conservative, don't risk new stuff, we need to sell it.. I say - fuck it guys.

Indeed... Gaming is in a sorry state.

But really, the Bombshell character as she looks now, I just can't imagine her having any future. She's such a cliche, and a really aged one at that, without really any rememberable features (other than the cyborg arm maybe, and that isn't even in Ion Maiden). Somewhat ironically, I think if she had remained the mid-90's Pamela Anderson-esque cliche she was to begin with she would have been less of a tired cliche today.... At least the game had a couple of somewhat memorable weapons, namely the huge revolver and the bowling bombs.

[----]

Never Forgotten, on 16 August 2017 - 05:50 PM, said:

Something more like this?

No. The game is called "Bombshell", not "Bimbo", IIRC.

I personally (just my taste) would give her a look and feel like a modern version of Charlize Theron in the movie The Atomic Blonde (with at least a hint of some curves, though).
Some futuristic devices attatched to her dressing would also work (like those gadgets in 70s spy movies, without taking place in that time), instead of turning her into a cyborg.
She also needs a little self irony. Not as much as Ash from Army of Darkness, more like John McLane from Die Hard.
Then add a cosmetic trait that is recognizable without seeing the rest of the character, to have a memorable heroine.

Her name 'Bombshell' should come from other people describing her like that* or is only her cover name like Agent 86 or so.

*) Newspaper article showing a photo of her in action and having a headline like "Who ist that Bombshell?" could be one version.

[Micky C]

Maybe something can happen in the Bombshell prequel that causes time to be re-written (i.e the original game never happened), and the character looks different.

[necroslut]

Micky C, on 17 August 2017 - 03:26 AM, said:

Maybe something can happen in the Bombshell prequel that causes time to be re-written (i.e the original game never happened), and the character looks different.

I don't think you have to retcon to change a haircut or clothes, really. They're not built into her body.

[axl]

fuegerstef, on 17 August 2017 - 03:21 AM, said:

I personally (just my taste) would give her a look and feel like a modern version of Charlize Theron in the movie The Atomic Blonde (with at least a hint of some curves, though).

I agree with the Charlize Theron look in Atomic Blonde.

On the other hand, it doesn't bother me much as Ion Maiden is a first person shooter. So what truly matters is the gameplay, gunplay, ... as long as that's ok, I'm in

[----]

axl, on 17 August 2017 - 04:09 AM, said:

I agree with the Charlize Theron look in Atomic Blonde.

On the other hand, it doesn't bother me much as Ion Maiden is a first person shooter. So what truly matters is the gameplay, gunplay, ... as long as that's ok, I'm in

I am looking forward to IonMaiden too.

And I hope it comes up with clever, interesting and new gameplay ideas and level gimmicks.

Why?

Because that's what makes a shooter stand out from the crowd.

[Sledgehammer]

necroslut, on 16 August 2017 - 10:42 AM, said:

I think making her a blonde again could be a good first step in this climate.

Honestly, would be nice to see this short haircut as well (or the style close to this, there is shitton of good military bob haircuts), works great with blonde color, perhaps much better than her current side bob.

[Hendricks266]

Why does Shelly's hair color matter??? We're sticking with brunette.

As for the rest of the character design, wait and see.

[oasiz]

Am I the only one who thinks that the original one was a typical 90s juvenile teenager fantasy cliche ?

I mean I'm fine with either but the old one was clearly meant to pair with Duke and the game world that d3d set out.

[Zaxx]

Hank, on 16 August 2017 - 07:15 PM, said:

Sound negative? Probably. I'm just fed up with the gaming industry, or better said, commercial gaming industry. It's almost like the movie industry now - repetitive, boring and extreme conservative, don't risk new stuff, we need to sell it.. I say - fuck it guys.

While that represents a large portion of the gaming industry when it comes to Interceptor there was one very specific problem with them: incompetence coming from a lack of experience in game development. ROTT '13 never felt more than a competently made but unimaginative and unoptimized mod for UE3, Bombshell was a mediocre twin stick shooter disguised as a dumpster fire of an ARPG and it seems like that Rad Rodgers will be their first game that will end up actually promising and good. You know, something that shows experience and professionalism. They basically wanted to turn into "real" game developers from young modders while acting like a real development studio: that comes with financial loss, disappointed customers and potentially a dead company if the progress is not fast enough. Seems like they'll stick around now, though under a different name and I'm rooting for them real hard because we need good indie developers carrying the 90s torch.

[necroslut]

Hendricks266, on 17 August 2017 - 08:07 AM, said:

Why does Shelly's hair color matter??? We're sticking with brunette.

As for the rest of the character design, wait and see.

Because blonde is bright, heroic, cocky, it draws the attention, like Duke. Brunette is girl-next-door, relatable and "realistic", doesn't stand out, and it's every damn female protagonist from the past few years I can think of. Sure, the slim, brunette girl-next-door heroines of the 10's was born somewhat as a reaction to the stereotype of overly sexualized female characters of the 90's, but it's become another tired trope when it becomes the only available option.

Partly it's because she was "always" meant to be a blonde. It just comes natural. The name even implies it, IMO.

Duke wouldn't be the same with a different hair color either, honestly. I mean, change Duke's color scheme and he's not at all as striking. Just compare him to whatever-his-name was that they temporarily replaced Duke with for Critical Mass, which is essentially just a color swap. It's bland as hell. Yellow stands out.

oasiz, on 17 August 2017 - 08:13 AM, said:

Am I the only one who thinks that the original one was a typical 90s juvenile teenager fantasy cliche ?

I mean I'm fine with either but the old one was clearly meant to pair with Duke and the game world that d3d set out.

Of course she was. I don't think that design was stellar either. I probably prefer the 2007-ish EDF look posted a couple posts up. More Cynthia Rothrock than Pamela Anderson.

[Hendricks266]

necroslut, on 17 August 2017 - 09:04 AM, said:

Because blonde is bright, heroic, cocky,

[citation needed]

necroslut, on 17 August 2017 - 09:04 AM, said:

Brunette is girl-next-door, relatable and "realistic", doesn't stand out,

[citation needed]

necroslut, on 17 August 2017 - 09:04 AM, said:

and every damn female protagonist from the past few years I can think of.

This is a sort of inverse bandwagon fallacy.

necroslut, on 17 August 2017 - 09:04 AM, said:

Sure, the slim, brunette girl-next-door heroines of the 10's was born somewhat as a reaction to the overly sexualized female characters of the 90's, but it's become another tired trope when it becomes the only available option.

Hair color. A trope.

Really?

[necroslut]

Hendricks266, on 17 August 2017 - 09:10 AM, said:

[citation needed], [citation needed]

This is a sort of inverse bandwagon fallacy.

Hair color. A trope.

Really?

Never mind my wording, "trope" isn't the right word. I thought you would get what I meant anyway. It's not just the hair color, it's the whole look. Female characters in games (and movies) from the past few years look remarkably similar. Lots of people have written or talked about this before, I'm not the first to point it out.

And stop being such an autist - of course different colors signal different things and stand out more from others. I don't need a "citation" for that. You don't have to agree that it's "right", but there is such a thing as a visual language. As for "fallacy", the point is that if all horses in a flock are brown but one, the odd one will stand out more. It's not about "bandwagoning". Shelly, as she looked in Bombshell and from what little you've shown looks in Ion Maiden, doesn't stand out. She could be any character from a number of recent-ish games. That makes her forgettable.

If you think hair colors, or other use of colors, in character design is purely random, you're naive.

[Sledgehammer]

Hendricks266, on 17 August 2017 - 09:10 AM, said:

necroslut, on 17 August 2017 - 09:04 AM, said:

Because blonde is bright, heroic, cocky

[citation needed]

Check out European culture and folklore, Greek mythology is a good example (all of your gods had blonde hair while bad guys had it dark in most cases). And try to Google "blonde bombshell" what is considered a blonde stereotype.

Or better, I would say that "color meaning" is worth searching especially since this is where the roots lies. It was always about color meaning and this is how people are trying to show personalities of their characters visually. Here is a short example of yellow color meaning I found:

Quote

Yellow is the color of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.

Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy.

So, yeah, most of the time the hair color (and style) represents personality of characters in various media as well (and in real life too sometimes) and Duke isn't an exception either, pretty sure I would think of him differently if he was brunet. This description is almost exactly what I felt about Duke or what I think of Bombshell when I look at that image I linked above. Actually, if you tell me that you never ever felt any difference between blondes or brunettes in the media or even in real life I'll never believe you, so you're not fooling anyone here, Hendricks.

[Mblackwell]

In America blondes are not "badass" in media portrayal they are ditzy. Badass women are generally brunette or have black hair.

[Hendricks266]

Sledgehammer, on 17 August 2017 - 10:32 AM, said:

Actually, if you tell me that you never ever felt any difference between blondes or brunettes in the media or even in real life I'll never believe you, so you're not fooling anyone here, Hendricks.

Media portrayals are what MB said. They're arbitrary anyway, and completely ignorable. Real life, absolutely nada. Try me.

[necroslut]

Contrast and highlights, however, isn't arbitrary. And since it probably wouldn't have looked very serious to give Duke a bright yellow shirt like a superhero, his hair does serve that purpose.

[Hendricks266]

necroslut, on 17 August 2017 - 11:30 AM, said:

Contrast and highlights, however, isn't arbitrary. And since it probably wouldn't have looked very serious to give Duke a bright yellow shirt like a superhero, his hair does serve that purpose.

Nice goalpost shifting. Our artists are taking care of the character design, thanks.

[Mblackwell]

Considering it blends with his skin tone, it's not especially contrasting.

[MusicallyInspired]

I think someone left the snark on too high in here. Can somebody turn it down?

[Danukem]

MusicallyInspired, on 17 August 2017 - 12:15 PM, said:

I think someone left the snark on too high in here. Can somebody turn it down?

The dial broke off and it got stuck on high.

Also: let the player pick the hair color! Palette swaps. Still need an official color for media purposes, though.

[necroslut]

Hendricks266, on 17 August 2017 - 11:31 AM, said:

Nice goalpost shifting.

"Goalpost shifting", come on, it was used as an example and you know it.

Hendricks266, on 17 August 2017 - 11:31 AM, said:

Our artists are taking care of the character design, thanks.

Yeah, I sure hope they don't let the programmers do it.

[Sledgehammer]

Mblackwell, on 17 August 2017 - 11:02 AM, said:

In America blondes are not "badass" in media portrayal they are ditzy. Badass women are generally brunette or have black hair.

You must be talking about present, because as someone who started to get into American old movies, comics and shows recently (when American entertainment industry was at its peak), I would disagree if we speak about the past, especially about 80s and 90s. In stuff I read and watch I almost exclusively see blondes who are mostly play a main protagonist role. Blondes there are almost always "heroic" and have that "badass" trait sometimes too (not always and it's not sometimes too obvious since being "heroic" or the main guy is the most important thing about them). Maybe it's not like that anymore because of this:

necroslut, on 17 August 2017 - 09:04 AM, said:

the slim, brunette girl-next-door heroines of the 10's was born somewhat as a reaction to the stereotype of overly sexualized female characters of the 90's

Plus, it could be that people are trying to appease women who love generic girls since they have to self-insert themselves into "heroines" somehow. However, it was and still is like that at least in Japan (since it all comes from colors meaning as I already said), I bet if Duke was made in Japan he would be blond as well. Of course we have that "generic" girl niche too, Japan has shitton of niches unlike in the West, hard to not find something what could appeal to you.

There are a lot of "heroic" blonde women in American media too, Power Girl is probably my favorite one, whom you could easily call a "badass", by the way. Heck, in Japan there is still that old "blonde" stereotype about America to this day which is why in majority of video games American characters are presented as big blonde guys/girls and badasses, for example.

Note that necroslut didn't specifielly said "badass" either when he tried to describe blondes since again, being "heroic" is more important, he pretty much gave you a closest description of yellow color. But anyway, I didn't say all of this because I love blondes (I prefer brunettes mostly, though I like blondes too), it's just that there is a difference between blondes and brunettes, just like there is a difference between hair styles.

MusicallyInspired, on 17 August 2017 - 12:15 PM, said:

I think someone left the snark on too high in here. Can somebody turn it down?

It's already too late.

Trooper Dan, on 17 August 2017 - 12:35 PM, said:

Also: let the player pick the hair color! Palette swaps.

Just like in fighting games, would it be great. Make custom palettes like in fighting games for starters and then make the editor as an unlockable feature or make everything as ulockables.