Tattoos is SotA?.....

EDIT -- sorry .. on topic: +1 to tattoos and as much customizing as the devs can handle!

yes please!



credit due to our good friend Aarne Bielefeldt & his Terminal Length Beard Club

 

I'm concerned that tattoos could be implemented in a way that would lead to them being dominant (such as through the character creation menu selection). The problem with having them readily available upon character creation is that, the better the tattoo system is (IE the more tattoos, higher texture quality, and more custom placement options available), the more likely the system is going to be used in excess. If tattoos become more common than plain skin, they'll lose a lot what makes them desirable in the first place. This isn't to say that people shouldn't be allowed to have tattoos, just that they shouldn't be something you can be born into the world with. If tattoos were implemented by a form of quest (as was suggested), or by NPC tattoo artists (which wouldn't be free), that giant ankh on your chest, or your clan insignia, or branding, or whatever it is would have a lot more uniqueness and expression to it.

 

I'm down with that, Mordecai. Again, as a tattoo gal, it did feel like they took thought and time (AND MONEY) so it would make sense for them to take a little something special in SotA.

 

I don't know.. the last time I trusted an NPC tattoo artists in a Lord British game it I got sick.. nasea.. vomitted all over and it nearly got me killed.

 

Sounds a lot like Portland... I think it makes good sense that your tattoo would be paid for and administered in-game, after creation. You could also make them rarer or more valuable by location or number of vendors. In pre-made tattoos, maybe there are places in the game where they are given as badges of honor.

 

I especially like this. Nothing makes your Paladin's Ankh Tat of Virtue more meaningful than having it administered exclusively as a result of some prior virtuous action.

An additional consideration for tattoos (and making them more meaningful) would be color. There are a number of ways colors could be distributed for tattoos in SotA (see below), but the point I want to make is about the value of certain colors being more rare (due to how they are obtained) than others.

Regarding Colors
Personally I prefer soft quiet colors over unsightly neon hues, but that is a topic for another thread. More importantly, a few potential methods of acquiring tattoo inks:
1. buying them from a tat artist
2. rare drops from certain fitting creatures (similar to savages in UO)
3. special quest rewards
4. backing pledge
5. crafting product (perhaps cooking and/or alchemy?)
6. dev-distributed rewards for special events, actions, or feats.

Anyway, the specific suggestions above are not as important as is having a diversity of methods, so that, while some colors can be easier to obtain, others can remain rare, prized, and meaningful.

 

I'm all for as much character customization as possible.

What I think would be interesting is if tattoos are something you have to earn in game. When I see a character, I might see their title, but seeing a tattoo on them might also tell me more about that character.

 

A bit late to the discussion, but better late then never. Also a bit late as I've only recently caught up with the recent Deep Dive videos. One thing that was distressing about one was how quickly they brushed over the tattoo idea, as if it was something they would (and could) quickly implement. Not sure how likely such a thing is, as after all these years of gaming, I have yet to see any game get it "right"; about the closest I've seen was, as previously mentioned in this post, The Sims 3,and it took them three games and two expansions before they got around to it. As a generalization, I have lumped the various video game tattoo systems into the following categories:

1. You have a pre-selected set to choose from, which are pre-designed to be on specific body parts, usual the face and arms. Usually can't change the color.Y
2. You can choose among a set of designs to put on a list of body part locations, and can usually recolor them.
3. You can choose a number of different designs from a pre-made set, layer them, re-size them, and recolor them, placing them on specific body parts, sometimes with the ability to move them around a little.
4. You can design your own using an in-game pixel paint program, placing them on specific body parts.

I have yet to see a theoretical "5" on this list that lets you place tattoos anywhere you want. This would be tricky from a design perspective, as you have to come up with a system that actively scales the tattoo with the skin that it is placed on, otherwise they would stretch in weird ways. It's theoretically possible, though, and I'd love for this to be the case. That way, a player can design whatever arrangement they wish, without relying on mod tools or something (which in a game like this wouldn't work for online mode). At the very least, I'd like SotA to have option 3, preferably with as many locations as possible (such as shoulder, upper arm, lower arm, hand, upper leg, lower leg, foot, front neck, chest, stomach, full front, back neck, upper back, lower back, full back, cheek, around the mouth, on the lips, around the eyes, on the eyes {yes, tattooing your actual eyes}, forehead, top of head, back of head, and ears, with left and right versions of applicable parts).

Whatever system they choose, they can still add branding and scarification as well, as from a game design perspective it's the same as tattoos, just as long as skin tone is something that is considered (which is how it should be for tattoos anyways, typically using translucency). Of course, I'm sure the community can help with artwork submissions, especially if they can be converted from a simple picture file.

Actually like the idea of having to buy tattoos in-game rather than clog up the initial character customization (just as long as it's made clear you can get them later, perhaps at the "new you salons" that were mentioned); also a thought I had was that you had to wait a while for a tattoo to "heal" before getting a new one (which is not fixed with healing spells), and big ones have to be obtained in multiple steps.

On a related note, I'd actually vote against tattoos having any power outside of decoration, as it forces players into having tattoos rather they want them or not, or pick designs they may not want. Still, the ability to earn tattoos as quest rewards or something is fine, as well as specific things such as guild tattoos, your coat of arms, runic tattoos, and fantasy things like magic glowing tattoos or something.

 

From squids.. and giant squids even

 

I think tatooing would be a great addition. Even just having the same sigils available as the heraldric crests at launch would be enough, and can be expanded later. Either the New You salons or a player Tattooing skill could be used to apply them, at a price, with a temporary debuff while you recover. Could be a lot of fun.

 

Yeah, good idea about the sigils. After all, the College of Arms has already done a good job of making a varied bunch of usable images, so they might as well use them for tattoos as well. It saves development time, ensures a large amount to start with, and keeps visuals consistent.

 

I would support tattoos in the game as long as they were available below the neck.

 

I have never cared for tats in games. But i guess if i don't like it, I don't have to get one right?

 

I think it's fine... and is a feature in many other MMOs, so it's certainly do-able... what I have often found, however, is there's never a huge variety of tatts, so many people end up having the same ones, in the same spot.

So, essentially, one whole reason for having them -- to look different to others -- goes right out the window. That doesn't mean I don't support them -- I'm just saying what tends to happen.

 

Maybe we need a tattoo generator! The College of Ink!