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Are The Ren'Kai Finished Being Designed? Doesn't Seem Very Eastern Samurai To Me

Puck_GoodfellowPuck_Goodfellow Member
in General Discussion
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Only concept we have with clothes on.

While going over some races overviews I couldn't help but feel the asthetic of the Ren'Kai orcs was off. They are described as having an eastern and samurai warrior aesthetic to them but it doesn't seem that way to me.

You've got the right architecture, clothing and body for it but the faces don't seem to match at all or at least for what we have for concept art so far. Just looks like Warcraft orcs with eastern aesthetic paint.

Now the Vek look just fine. Although they don't look like that much of a different race from the Ren'Kai compared to what the other races seem to have.

What can be done? If you close your eyes and think, "Eastern orks," or something along those lines I wouldn't be surprised if at least some of you thought of the Mogu from World of Warcraft as that's the first thing that came to mind for me. Obviously you wouldn't want it to become a total 1 to 1 comparison as we still want orks and not a humanoid Foo Dog as that's what Mogu were modelled after.

Now Foo Dogs are a Chinese mythical creature whereas the Ren'Kai seem to be following a more Japanese aesthetic what with samurai and whatnot.

So what Japanese mythical creature aesthetic could be used to create a more Japanese ork? Again, not a 1 to 1 conversion as we still want an ork but something to draw upon. The first thing that comes to my mind are oni which is interesting since those scary masks you sometimes see samurai wear are based on them.

Now that would be pretty cool and a lot better than just having two orc races that look the same and thus couldn't really be called two separate races.

Would love to know your thoughts.

Comments

  • NagashNagash Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    they are inspired which means they are not 100% Eastern Samurai
    nJ0vUSm.gif

    The dead do not squabble as this land’s rulers do. The dead have no desires, petty jealousies or ambitions. A world of the dead is a world at peace
  • Puck_GoodfellowPuck_Goodfellow Member
    Nagash wrote: »
    they are inspired which means they are not 100% Eastern Samurai

    I don't discount that but the main issue, and I guess I didn't emphasize it enough, is that the Vek and Ren'kai look like the same race.

    With the other races you can already just look at their face and tell what race they are. Oh look there's a Niküa or islander dwarf, or look there's a Vaelune or desert human. Whereas if you look at the concept for the Ren'kai and the Vek, what little we have, they look the same. You could never point out which race they are by how their face looks.

    I'm merely suggesting a way that the two races could be differentiated. Would you disagree with that? If so we might as well just have one orc race.
  • UrgroshUrgrosh Member
    I’m pretty sure they aren’t close to having the renkai or vek in the game seeing as they were just talking about having the dunir implemented soon. But they were talking about concerns from us about the diversity between the dwarves, so I assume it’ll be the same with the orcs.
  • daveywaveydaveywavey Member, Alpha Two
    I don't think they're finished yet, but I still think they look pretty good. Almost good enough to make me lower myself to making one.
    This link may help you: https://ashesofcreation.wiki/


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  • Puck_GoodfellowPuck_Goodfellow Member
    Urgrosh wrote: »
    I’m pretty sure they aren’t close to having the renkai or vek in the game seeing as they were just talking about having the dunir implemented soon. But they were talking about concerns from us about the diversity between the dwarves, so I assume it’ll be the same with the orcs.

    Thank you! Finally someone answered the question. Glad to hear it.
  • NagashNagash Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Vizard Lizard Wizard wrote: »
    Nagash wrote: »
    they are inspired which means they are not 100% Eastern Samurai

    I don't discount that but the main issue, and I guess I didn't emphasize it enough, is that the Vek and Ren'kai look like the same race.

    With the other races you can already just look at their face and tell what race they are. Oh look there's a Niküa or islander dwarf, or look there's a Vaelune or desert human. Whereas if you look at the concept for the Ren'kai and the Vek, what little we have, they look the same. You could never point out which race they are by how their face looks.

    I'm merely suggesting a way that the two races could be differentiated. Would you disagree with that? If so we might as well just have one orc race.

    I see. well as the other have said we have not really seen much work art or models so it may just be a matter of time before we see a bigger difference
    nJ0vUSm.gif

    The dead do not squabble as this land’s rulers do. The dead have no desires, petty jealousies or ambitions. A world of the dead is a world at peace
  • RavudhaRavudha Member
    Vizard Lizard Wizard wrote: »
    Nagash wrote: »
    they are inspired which means they are not 100% Eastern Samurai

    I don't discount that but the main issue, and I guess I didn't emphasize it enough, is that the Vek and Ren'kai look like the same race.

    Yeah the concept art doesn't give scale, but I'm pretty sure Steven once said the Vek are shorter than the Ren'kai, so the main difference at this point is height.

    Looks like they might also have differences in skin colour options, but it's hard to tell right now.
  • BehagueBehague Member, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Samurai mask often looked rather Orc-ish. Oni or Demons 😈 often depicted to intimidate opponents. Though just like The Predator, the Kaivek probably look better with their mask on.
  • NagashNagash Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Behague wrote: »
    Samurai mask often looked rather Orc-ish. Oni or Demons 😈 often depicted to intimidate opponents. Though just like The Predator, the Kaivek probably look better with their mask on.

    I do love masks in games, just a shame we don't see more
    nJ0vUSm.gif

    The dead do not squabble as this land’s rulers do. The dead have no desires, petty jealousies or ambitions. A world of the dead is a world at peace
  • AtamaAtama Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    daveywavey wrote: »
    I don't think they're finished yet, but I still think they look pretty good. Almost good enough to make me lower myself to making one.

    I guarantee I’m making one. Maybe not as my main, but maybe I will switch once I see them. I’ve been leaning toward an Empyrean elf but I like the idea of the Ren’kai more over time. I might make a mage alt if nothing else.

     
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  • NagashNagash Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    I must say a Ren’kai blade master does sound like fun

    15e2dd679b981088ec882c55edea5ddd.jpg
    nJ0vUSm.gif

    The dead do not squabble as this land’s rulers do. The dead have no desires, petty jealousies or ambitions. A world of the dead is a world at peace
  • Puck_GoodfellowPuck_Goodfellow Member
    Nagash wrote: »
    I must say a Ren’kai blade master does sound like fun

    That does look pretty cool.
  • daveywaveydaveywavey Member, Alpha Two
    Have we been shown much Vek artwork yet?
    This link may help you: https://ashesofcreation.wiki/


    giphy-downsized-large.gif?cid=b603632fp2svffcmdi83yynpfpexo413mpb1qzxnh3cei0nx&ep=v1_gifs_gifId&rid=giphy-downsized-large.gif&ct=s
  • daveywaveydaveywavey Member, Alpha Two
    Nagash wrote: »
    I must say a Ren’kai blade master does sound like fun

    15e2dd679b981088ec882c55edea5ddd.jpg

    Look at those legs! He needs to cut out the pastries!
    This link may help you: https://ashesofcreation.wiki/


    giphy-downsized-large.gif?cid=b603632fp2svffcmdi83yynpfpexo413mpb1qzxnh3cei0nx&ep=v1_gifs_gifId&rid=giphy-downsized-large.gif&ct=s
  • NagashNagash Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    daveywavey wrote: »
    Nagash wrote: »
    I must say a Ren’kai blade master does sound like fun

    15e2dd679b981088ec882c55edea5ddd.jpg

    Look at those legs! He needs to cut out the pastries!

    he is just big boned
    nJ0vUSm.gif

    The dead do not squabble as this land’s rulers do. The dead have no desires, petty jealousies or ambitions. A world of the dead is a world at peace
  • AtamaAtama Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Verran holiday feast staple: Ren'kai drumsticks. Each one feeds a family of 4.
     
    Hhak63P.png
  • MarcetMarcet Member
    Ren'Kai look awesome, you can tell from a quick glance they are inspired from samurais. I don't know if it's good to make them more "asian looking" in a fantasy world. I mean they are orcs dude, personally I like oldschool D&D orcs, ugly, strong and badass.
  • NagashNagash Member, Leader of Men, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    I still think Warhammer have the best orks ^^
    nJ0vUSm.gif

    The dead do not squabble as this land’s rulers do. The dead have no desires, petty jealousies or ambitions. A world of the dead is a world at peace
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