Friday, 27 April 2012

Worgen

Both sexes of worgen had their faces changed before the release of the game. The body models are the same or very similar:

The female worgen's overall model is probably one of my favourite ones in the game. I really like the dynamic animations and the way armour looks on them, and I have to say the hair I think is an improvement over the alpha model. However, I do have a few problems with it, which is why my main wears this:
I hate the vapid, rigid, shark-like faces both sexes suffer from. Adding animations to the eyes and mouth would work wonders for these characters' appeal, but I can't understand why in the first place they pulled the perfectly acceptable alpha faces and replaced them with these, severely limiting the options for players. The males have about four faces to choose from, and the females get 'face options' of a selection of different markings on the same one face. It would have given everyone much more choice if they'd left the other faces in as well. I think I would also pay money if it meant my main could have a mastectomy -- the huge bosoms just look wrong on a character who can run on all fours. 

Svelte Belf

I don't much like the male blood elf's body. His biceps look nearly as big as his thighs. However, the original male belf in the beta of the Burning Crusade was much more svelte and elfin in the shape of his body. Although this body type is not selectable on player characters, it still exists in the form of the Silvermoon guards, and I think they look much more elegant and aristocratic, traits I think of as being Blood Elven by nature. Think Scarlet Pimpernel, that kind of foppish decadence in the costumes and attitudes. In contrast, the current player model more resembles an effeminate boy on steroids.

Real Trolls

 This is the original female troll from the earliest alpha version of the game.
 Despite its age and lack of detail, the model manages to be quite expressive in its basic animations and face, and I would even say is better than the one currently in game. The troll walks with a shambling gait, her shoulders swinging, and her ears animate much the same way as the Blood Elves, her topknot gently swaying with the motion. She also blinks.
 The body assumes a more bent stance most of the time, although she does occasionally stretch and crouch similarly to the current male troll as an idling animation. Her figure is long-limbed and pear-shaped, and this combined with her exaggerated physiognomy give her a far more troll-like appearance than her current incarnation in the game.
 Rumour has it that the model from the alpha was changed because male players didn't think it was 'sexy' enough and the designers decided a troll should look like a woman from a lads' magazine. (!)