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Facial Expressions Appreciation Thread

CitizenOfMeleeCitizenOfMelee
edited October 2009 in Tales of Monkey Island
I don't know if this has been properly said yet.. but congrats to Telltale on this one.

Never really have I been so entertained in a MI game with the facial expressions. These are the cherry on top of this game for me, and some of the most hilarious parts in the episode are a result of the great facial expressions.

I'm going through my second play-through now.. the facial expression of Guybrush when he tries to steal the bottle-breaker is hilarious.. as is his expression along with "So... unicorns huh?".

It's great, well done. Discuss.

Comments

  • Bloody EugeneBloody Eugene
    edited July 2009
    Absolutely!!!!!
    I really LOVE those facial expressions! :D
    Congrats, Telltale!!!!

    Bloody Eugene
  • Mad MaryMad Mary
    edited July 2009
    There are no words for how great those facial expressions are!
    When Guybrush talks to Elaine in the Intro, when he tries to steal something, when he successfully did something mischievous... just wonderful.
  • PirateguybrushPirateguybrush
    edited July 2009
    Agreed, some nice work on those.
  • LuigiHannLuigiHann
    edited July 2009
    I agree! Great stuff
  • SHODANFreemanSHODANFreeman
    edited July 2009
    /agree
  • onlyamonkeyonlyamonkey
    edited July 2009
    signed, signed, signed
  • BeeKay84BeeKay84
    edited July 2009
    Well said, folks & well done, Telltale Games Team! :D
  • HuwbuttsHuwbutts
    edited July 2009
    Are you freaking kidding me?! Apart from the odd line here-and-there, the characters have NO facial expression whatsoever, just a blank look while their lips move up and down!

    Please, Telltale, PLEASE give the characters more facial expression during the dialogue (especially with the eyes) in the remainding episodes. It's a great game, I'm enjoying the first episode - I believe it stays true to the previous games, and this is my only gripe. But alas, for me, it is a big one. x
  • laryslarys
    edited July 2009
    I loved the facial expression of TOMI. nice work telltlales. nice touch
  • Steverin0Steverin0
    edited July 2009
    I thought they were good too - slight concern over the amount of white used in Guybrush's eyes at time, his iris disappearing into his cheeks leaving a quite scary looking set of eyes, has to be said. Other weird thing was when characters were talking, why did they crouch/cower down a few centimetres every other second?

    Not very important, just a couple of observations, it's good to talk..
  • IrishmileIrishmile
    edited July 2009
    Its not just the faces they make, but the posture and mannerisms that go along with it, Like Guybrush rubbing the back of his neck when he is guilty, but is trying to hide it.

    Or the moment at the beginning when Elaine and Guybrush looked at each other knowing the ship was about to blow up... there was a real moment where these two 3D puppets where pulling off some real dramatic acting... and the voice work really went on to sell it.
  • VainamoinenVainamoinen Moderator
    edited July 2009
    It's only been three months since I worked myself through Gary Faigin's The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression. ;) And, yes, I considered Guybrush's plethora of expressions very impressive. I assume that lots of hard work went into that, and it REALLY enhances game immersion. However, not many characters receive the same treatment Guybrush did, and remain flat; most expressions are Guybrush-only.

    Nonetheless, I appreciate the effort very_very_much. It's what so many other games still lack. Get the expression engine to work with other characters as well, and you'll have at least one thing in which ToMI surpasses the previous games without doubt. :D
  • CapotastoCapotasto
    edited July 2009
    Points for the eyebrow.
  • IrishmileIrishmile
    edited July 2009
    Some of the other characters do have facial expressions, but of course not as many as GT.
  • Steverin0Steverin0
    edited July 2009
    To illustrate my eye thing I wrote about above, Guybrush seemed to do this a lot:

    _46046547_bruno226_getty.jpg

    :)
  • VainamoinenVainamoinen Moderator
    edited July 2009
    guysurprised.jpg

    Guybrush - and most of the other characters, too - have very high-set upper eyelids. That way, the slightest twitch of the lid-lifting muscle exposes the iris in its entirety and shows white above it, which might not occur quite as often in real life.
  • IrishmileIrishmile
    edited July 2009
    yeah when it does the people become internet celebrities.
  • VainamoinenVainamoinen Moderator
    edited July 2009
    My American cousin has eyes like this, with the upper lid exactly touching the upper iris rim in a resting eye position. Makes him look alert at all times - it can be irritating to people, but also, girls obviously dig this. ;)
  • VainamoinenVainamoinen Moderator
    edited October 2009
    I have to bring this thread up, of course, because of Lair of the Leviathan's rather silly, but still superb
    face-off contest
    !

    That sent the idea of facial animation over the top, pretty much. It was also nice to see that someone else finally sports a comparable range of emotional expression our main hero has, though focused on the "making faces"-part.

    I'd really like to see what can be done with these animation options in future episodes - and other TTG games, also.

    What did you think?
  • hplikelikehplikelike
    edited October 2009
    I just thought it was clever how they used the contest in more then one way.

    (But I never got the point of making Noogie crack. He doesn't do anything.)
  • SilverwolfpetSilverwolfpet
    edited October 2009
    hplikelike wrote: »
    I just thought it was clever how they used the contest in more then one way.

    (But I never got the point of making Noogie crack. He doesn't do anything.)

    Well, it's funny, and funny means cool! or something like that. :p
  • AwesomepantsmanAwesomepantsman
    edited October 2009
    hplikelike wrote: »
    I just thought it was clever how they used the contest in more then one way.

    (But I never got the point of making Noogie crack. He doesn't do anything.)

    I don't think that the
    mouth of the manatee
    is in the pool of bile until you crack all of them. Anyway, the game wouldn't be complete without
    Sister Agnes
    !
  • barchettabarchetta
    edited October 2009
    I think I read somewhere that the engine got a little overhaul, with emphasis on the faces and it's expressions. Indeed the
    face-off
    couldn't have worked if it wasn't upgraded.
    I'm sure the next TTG game will benefit from this (unless it's Homestar Runner ;))
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