Indivisible - Action RPG by Lab Zero Games

A) Of course its a bow, just stylized. It's akin to:



B) There have been so many variations of axes across games - not all of them being practical. I'm not seeing why this is bothering you here. (Tomahawks are also specifically Native American)

C) Shaman, Witch, Black Mage, whatever its the same ballpark of archetype (I don't think many games have all 3 but they basically always have at least one of them). I don't know of another character that hits all the same marks as Razmi (which is a good thing or else she'd just be a copy & paste character) but there are familiar elements there.

D) What does trying too hard even mean here? This bothers you but would say a standard whip or a scimitar be ok? Why? Unique or "impractical but cool" weaponry is a par for the course in video games (RPGs, Igavanias, etc.)

Like I don't think I've ever seen anyone criticize a game because it wasn't generic enough. That's why I'm so puzzled.

-A lighter shaped like a gun is not a gun, but a lighter.
Notice the length of the pulled line, if you see no issues there then you should probably google how a bow works.

-I'm pointing out that it's an unorthodox choice of weapon, as its original use is for woodcutting. It's akin to choosing a kitchen knife or baseball bat as a main weapon.
It's there to make a statement, unless there is no other weapon at hand.

-Only if you classify them all as magic casters.
Sure, the character here has familiar elements from various magic classes, but they're blended in an unfamiliar mess that lacks synergy, at least to me.

-That they've intentionally picked an unusual weapon to add to the original content flavor.

Never said that. I believe I was quite clear in my original statement.
I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to twist my words.

A) It's clearly a bow. Are you really trying to argue it isn't a bow? I know how bows work and what they look like. There is a huge variation in how bows are constructed in real life and an even bigger variation in fantasy (video games) where you can take designs that wouldn't be feasible in real life and make them work.

B) You say that as if kitchen knifes and baseball bats haven't already been used as weapons in critically acclaimed and well loved RPGs already Anyway, saying that anything that isn't a broadsword (or whatever is on your seemingly narrow list of "acceptable" weapons) is "trying to make a statement" and using that as a pejorative is absurd. I mean its fine if you don't like axes I guess or prefer other weapons types but your stated position reads as alien.

C) She's seems to be a slightly off-kilter (and perhaps sleep deprived) shaman. She wears a pretty standard dress with a Tiger pelt on top. It seems to be a pretty straight forward and simple design. A mess would be like whatever Velvet from Tales of Berseria is wearing. Like I need a frame of reference here because I'm not sure what you consider a clean design (while I expect a certain amount of subjectivity, I feel like most should be able to agree on what design looks clean and what does not).

D) "That they've intentionally picked an unusual weapon to add to the original content flavor." is a neutral statement and something tons of games do. You specifically used "try too hard"  which is a negative critique. Since I fail to see the error they've made nor do I know what would constitute "trying the right amount" your critique confuses me. That is my only point.


Sorry I must have missed your post. *Jumps on purifyweirdsoul*

I dunno, asking for something to be "more generic" has to be one of the more disheartening & depressing things you can ask of a creative endeavor. Personal preferences and all that but all I can do is That's even putting aside that "anime artstyle" can mean a wide range of things. I've seen way too many Steam or KS games try for that "look at how stereotypically anime we are!" and my eyes couldn't roll in their sockets any faster. Even though the art for Castlevania games like Dawn of Sorrow & Portrait of Ruin and the games Kojima did art for SOTN, Aria of Sorrow, etc. or the art done for Order of Eccelsia by Masaki Hirooka were all "anime styled/influenced", there is a reason (at least among the Western fandom) that the art of DoS/PoR are at best tolerated and at worst despised and Kojima's/Hirooka's art is lauded. I feel pretty confident in saying Bloodstained would have failed to garner quite as many backers if it looked like DoS or PoR.

The type of bow Zebei uses is a stylized (as in not an exact recreation and it has some exaggerations/flourishes added to it) Mongolian Bow. It's a type of Recurve Bow - this falls under the bit when I said Bows come in all shapes and sizes and is even listed as a bow type in your Wiki-link. Did you watch the prototype video? Because even though the character uses the bow in some unusual ways, the body of the bow still clearly bends and flexes when the string is tugged - just as any bow would. I don't need to guess how the bow works, I can literally watch how it works. I honestly don't think you are arguing with me in good faith here.

The potential energy that is used to launch a projectile comes from bending the bow. The string's length remains fixed during the process.
In this case the string clearly gets longer when drawn (as evidenced by the video) while the bend itself is minimal, meaning that a good chunk (likely the vast majority) of the energy comes from the string.
Whether the string is elastic or it functions like the aforementioned wind-up mechanism is up for debate, but neither option will make it a bow.

You could have done without the faith remark.


@rvmcy; I explained it in the very post you're quoting, the lower portion of the "bow" has something that resembles a thread spool with additional string wrapped around it.

"This fantasy weapon in a fantasy video game doesn't adhere to real world physics with 100% accuracy!" Is this a serious complaint? The man puts arrows in his bowstring, pulls it back (why would you assume the string lengthens as if the bowstring was at maximum tension at rest?), the bow flexes and shoots arrows at his enemies. If it looks like a duck, moves like a duck, quacks like a duck, etc. You can argue that maybe the the bow needs to deform more or whatever but you can't argue its not a bow (What weapon type are you even arguing it is? Just say it outright.). You're familiar with Occam's Razor right? You can make all sorts of assumptions about wind up mechanisms or whatever nonsense but the simpler explanation is that the physics aren't 100% spot on because they don't have to be and that's not a realistic concern for the vast majority of videogames (including the ones I assume brought you to this message board). Even the presence of convoluted windup mechanism wouldn't make it not a bow in this universe (again this is a video game).

Have fun with this.

"Dacron - (strength per strand = 22.5 kg (50 lb), stretch = 2.6%), a polyester material. Because of its durability and stretch, Dacron is commonly used on beginners' equipment, wooden bows, and older bows. The relatively high stretch causes less shock to the bow, which is an important consideration for wooden-handled recurves. Dacron strings are easy to maintain and can last several years."

And here we have a string stretching double its size. What you have here is a stylized slingshot, not a bow.
Call it a combination of the two if you want.

We're done with this.

As for the rest of the discussion, I've no desire to continue it as I grow weary of the snide remarks and lack of actual arguments.


@rvcy; I know that your other question was serious, I just didn't bother replying because you strayed from the current discussion and I didn't want to increase the number of topics in the conversation.
But alright, let us make this short. If the artist wants to call it a bow, they're free to do so. That doesn't, however, stop me from making a comparison with the real life version or generally commenting on its design. That's all I've done in this case.
Exaggerated movement and shape deformations do come into play, but seeing how the characters displayed a great deal of consistency in their body proportions during movement, even when attacking with their body parts, there is no reason to believe that the bow was undergoing a different treatment.
 
Also, that toy bow is just that, a toy. It looks like a bow, but doesn't work like one, even though it can fire a projectile. It's akin to an air gun in that department, which can look like a specific firearm and fire a projectile, but it does so in a different way from the original.

Oh wow. I don't even want to guess where you drew this one from.


EDIT: Fair warning, I'll be off for a day or two, so don't expect a quick response if you decide to reply.

Oh no, I'm not out to have everything generic anime. My point is similar to what was stated earlier, the issue is more that it's trying quite very hard to be not that. If you asked the guy what his art style is, I imagine he'd say something like "not anime", partly because Mike is the type of guy who would say/do something like this lol. There's being different, which is cool, but this comes off as sprinting desperately in the other direction almost like it's out of spite. BECAUSE THEY CAN. Sure, it might seem really weird to you, but you're a weeaboo for thinking so. F off, waifu nerds.

"So the main character is a girl, and she's of color. Wait! Native tribe girl, even. Who's done that? With an axe. No girls use axes, right?"

That's kind of how I see it in my head, lol. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops and I will donate to it because the concept alone is amazing. I haven't had a chance to watch that gameplay video yet, either. I hope it's more traditional VP than Exist Archive, which looks too very generic 3D. Here's a generic smiley. Generic generic generic. This conversation reminds me I need to pick up my reflux medicine.

tl;dr - I need anime injected directly into my veins every day.