The Citadel

TBH i think if the mod doesnt resemble the HBO show 80-90% of the people wotn feel inmerse sicne the show popularity superstedes even the book popularity for good or bad and i thionk the mod should be faithful to the show for a larger target audience

Encadi wrote:TBH i think if the mod doesnt resemble the HBO show 80-90% of the people wotn feel inmerse sicne the show popularity superstedes even the book popularity for good or bad and i thionk the mod should be faithful to the show for a larger target audience

In any case, the baseline should always be "What would CK2 look like if Paradox had made it a GoT game", so confidence in having an individual style is key. If the mod sticks slavishly to the show, you have the advantage of being able to say "we know it's not like it was in the book, but look, the show depicted it like this". However, you will NEVER be able to bring the look and feel, especially of the characters, in line with the show, nor will you be able to create a representation of the book that fits everybody's idea 100%.

Yes, there will be the need to get used to the way Westeros is depicted in the mod, just like viewers had to get used to its depiction in the show and in fan art; and similar to the many different interpretations of Middle Earth or Discworld or many other settings out there. I don't think that this is a bad thing that should be avoided at any cost. Those who find that certain depictions destroy their sense of immersion will make a mod-mod. Those that don't will soon feel at home with the mod.

This is not to say that the show and fan art can't provide some guidance (for example as seen with the crown graphics), but in my opinion those creating the characters in question should be the final authority on what look they will adapt in accordance with the team, based on "what feels right", not "what looks most like the show".

Edit: Also, of course, the "to reach a larger audience, we have to..." argument falls kind of flat considering that this is not a commercial project but a community-made mod.

Its not comerical but every author lieksw hen his project is apreciated by a large number of people

Encadi wrote:Its not comerical but every author lieksw hen his project is apreciated by a large number of people

It is a fair point that a major proportion of the current GoT/ASoIaF has either only learned about the franchise via the show or is not aware of other graphical representations of Westeros besides the show.

However, I see multiple problems with keeping to the show that have been enumerated in this thread and other places, and that include the point I made above, namely that any sort of attempt to model the look and feel after the show would remain an approximation, and those demanding perfect compliance with the TV series would be disappointed in any case.

Secondly, there is of course the matter with rights and the worry that Cyanide/HBO, the parties responsible for the TV series' license and its use in computer games (not sure if Cyanide has licensed ASoIaF for more than two games, though), could shut this down if they so wanted. As evident in the course of many Lord of the Rings themed mods and games, a game keeping to the books without using assets directly derivative of any commercial graphical representation is safer, although of course not unaffectable by such action.

Thirdly, the team is already making assumptions and creating original content for various aspects of the world that have not been covered yet. Since all of this is based on a "shared vision" much rather than a single design guideline, I reckon that keeping to the dynamics of a shared vision for ALL elements of the mod is much more constructive and productive rather than measuring things in their resemblance to the show.

Encadi sums it up well.

Just to ensure this debate won't get dragged up again, there will be a graphical sub-mod for anything/everything HBO.

Ogaburan wrote:Why not build 2 Eiffel towers, and let the people choose just one of them?

Well played, ser!

Edric Storm wrote:Encadi sums it up well.

Just to ensure this debate won't get dragged up again, there will be a graphical sub-mod for anything/everything HBO.

That's probably one of the better ways to go about this, that way people can play how they desire