By popular demand I present the "Heroes VI graphic design poll".

The Heroes games have always been firmly rooted in Western traditions when it comes to how the games look. Heroes I was straight from an old fairytale, HoMM II practically smelled of ancient Europe with some mythological spices and HoMM III was much the same albeit perhaps not quite as feudal as II.

However, with HoMM V the style changed. While still western there were aspects of what some called Warcraft, some copycat, some anime and others brilliant. And in Clash of Heroes it is quite evident and even a part of the official concept that the Might and magic franchise has the first Anime member of the family.

The question then is, is this the future of Heroes? Is the old look just an artifact which some of us stubbornly cling on to, unwilling to see that it really is quite boring, typical and unappealing to most of the world? And do styles like anime and manga perhaps fit our more globalised and exciting world better than the old frozen image of European grandeur?

Question:
What kind of graphical design should the future Heroes games use?

Choices:
Anime is great - would love it in Heroes
Some degree of anime is quite fine
Somewhat like in Heroes V is just me
The pure and more western themed look of the old games simply fits the game best
I would prefer something new.

 

Go back to the good old days, Ubi

Just so it's clear: I DON'T WANT ANIME in HEROES!

Pretty please don't use it for Heroes VI

Anime doesn't go well with Heroes, it loses a big part of its charm.

Correction: I meant to whole M&M franchise.

Actually, I have no problem with the fact that they're using anime for Clash of Heroes, as that's a new spin-off. It's just the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise I'm worried about

If HoMM VI is in the works - KEEP ANIME CRAP AWAY FROM IT!
If you look at HoMM III - the sprites, cities etc. are actually pretty realistic looking.
Does that look like anime to anyone? Or even "cartoony"?
Vibrant, detailed, colorful - YES. Anime, cartoony - NO!

The second picture is... wow, pretty cluttered.

I guess it's a player-created map

Yeah, it is. I don't remember it and I have played all the original ones and a good deal of the player made ones.

But personally I don't like even the small amount of anime'ish/Warcracft or whatever it is art in HoMM V since I think it just looks best with the European Medieval theme.

European Medieval of course Not so much out of nostalgia, I just find the style more.. aesthetic. While I cannot really complain about H5 some design models made me cringe. And I could not take a heroes game seriously if I saw cute anime style heroes like in clash of heroes.

Of course I do not object to a new style but I prefer a measure of realism over over-exaggerated features. And well.. I wouldn't want heroes to be a plain copycat of other games like warhammer.

I voted western style... if western fits with the "Old style" I don't imagine a fort with infantry vs indians and mexicans...

When you try mm:hk you will laugh and cry...
I suppose this is as you say cartooné/anime style???

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mtkyebra,

I voted option 4 (Western is best for M&M), not because I don't like the anime in V, since I think a little is okay (like option 2), but because I think it is -best-.

I certainly don't mind the Arcangel look in V (for example), but I liked it much better in III. Heroes is just very western mythology, so a western style fits it drastically more than an eastern style. This was one of my major problems with the Teen Titans cartoon, though Ubisoft handled it MUCH better and not so "LOOK WE CAN DO ANIME GUYS!"

So yeah. Anime in heroes is okay, but Western is -best-, and that's the important part.

Off topic a bit, kudos to you, Justice, for your exceptional wording in the the poll options. You didn't make any option seem bitter or biased, and that's how poll options should be.

I prefer the western style. I'm not a big fan of anime but it doesn't really overly bug me. I am more concerned with gameplay than graphics.

Thanks EBugle

quote:

Originally posted by mtkyebra:
I voted western style... if western fits with the "Old style" I don't imagine a fort with infantry vs indians and mexicans...

Haha, good one


Well, the overwhelming majority seems to prefer the old style (I would have expected a few more votes for HoMM V?), but then again there aren't that many of us to be voting, so we probably have a slight bias towards hard core fanatics having followed the game since ages ago

Yeah, it's just us old farts. Mostly.

But where are the other old farts?

Chuck, Zamolxis(?), Red Orbit, Dergos etc.

what does "western" means?
I hope "western" means something like Valejo not something like South Park ?
I definetly don't want to play Heroes which looks like South Park

Western is a traditional Western game like HoMM as in traditional old school European/American

Eh.. I'd prefer the style of HoMM V to be honest, didn't think it anime in any way.. just cartoonish and bright

But i don't want anime in any way, and if i have to choose any other direction, go for a more realistic one i suppose, there were a few things i did have trouble with in HoMM V, like the academy hero and the peasants ..

I found it more childish and bright actually Cartoony is more like HoMM II which, in my mind, had way the best atmosphere and graphic design.

But still, rather funny that you think that, since Ubival proclaimed high and low that they were taking the series in a more realistic, mature and dark direction