Why do your elfs in cinematics have normal human looking eyes?

francesinhalover

I would really like a explanation for this.

NotaDaedraWorshipper

I was thinking about making a post about this today as well, because I've been bothered by it for years. It's not just the eyes but their whole face and facial features. They look like humans with pointy ears, not mer.

It is getting very tiring at this point.

ESO is a very popular and large mmo, owned by a very large company which in turn is owned by one of the largest companies in the world. They have the money to get these custom made trailers for their games, but why can't they bother make them actually accurate to their game and Elder Scrolls?
If I recall correctly so is the trailers outsourced to a different company, but why aren't they given direction to make the mer look like mer? If I get a commission from someone I will do my best to make it to the customer's wishes. Not something kinda like it. Or vice versa, if I commission someone to make something for me, I definitely want it as close to how I vision it as possible. So say I wanted Elder Scrolls mer and I got what the trailers show I would not be pleased and have them change.

Jaraal

Budget constraints, obviously.

Syldras

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

ESO is a very popular and large mmo, owned by a very large company which in turn is owned by one of the largest companies in the world. They have the money to get these custom made trailers for their games, but why can't they bother make them actually accurate to their game and Elder Scrolls?!
If I recall correctly so is the trailers made by a different company, but why aren't they given direction to make the mer look like mer? If I get a commission from someone I will do my best to make it to the customer's wishes. Not something kinda like it. Or vice versa, if I commission someone to make something for me, I definitely want it as close to how I vision it as possible. So say I wanted Elder Scrolls mer and I got what the trailers show I would not be pleased and have them change.

The only reason I can imagine is that they believe a too unusual appearance would appeal to their (potential) customers less.

Vrienda

They outsource their cinematics so there's probably a lot of assets they use for other projects that serve as a base and it's hard to animate non-human eyes in a way that'll make people engage with the trailer. That said at least they tried to make Naryu look like an elf.

Show me Naryu and I might guess she's from elder scrolls.

Show me the Necrom Elf and I would be completely confused as to what she's from.

ArchMikem

It is pretty funny how in the Blur cinematics, all of the Elves are just Humans with pointy ears, even though in game Altmer and Dunmer have very distinctive facial features and bone structures that set them apart, besides the ears.

wilykcat

My first reaction when I saw the cinematic trailer and then saw the screenshots on this post:

francesinhalover wrote: »

I would really like a explanation for this.

I thought the first elf was an orc without tusk. The second elf is making the facial expression I get when I'm posting something funny on the forums(not these ones). The 3rd elf will look better if she got an undercut with small braids in front of her ears and long hair on top. I also did noticed that the elves in game have large colorful eyes and different facial structure and the elves from the cinematic have very small human eyes.

ArchMikem wrote: »

It is pretty funny how in the Blur cinematic, all of the Elves are just Humans with pointy ears, even though in game Altmer and Dunmer have very distinctive facial features and bone structures that set them apart, besides the ears.

I agree with your post that the elves look more human in the Blur cinematic than the elves in the game. Otherwise the cinematic was pretty fun to watch.

noblecron

See now Naryu is fine. I like her. She works. The elf works too because you can get that skin color for Altmer in ESO kind of using the lightest tone. That top one though from the Necrom. Her jaw and eyes make her look more like a half elf than anything

Syldras

noblecron wrote: »

See now Naryu is fine. I like her. She works. The elf works too because you can get that skin color for Altmer in ESO kind of using the lightest tone. That top one though from the Necrom. Her jaw and eyes make her look more like a half elf than anything

Naryu does look best of this selection, but also she has too chubby cheeks for a Dunmer and is missing the typical Dunmer brow ridges.

francesinhalover

noblecron wrote: »

See now Naryu is fine. I like her. She works. The elf works too because you can get that skin color for Altmer in ESO kind of using the lightest tone. That top one though from the Necrom. Her jaw and eyes make her look more like a half elf than anything

i'm still wondering if the one from necrom is a breton lol

Stx

I thought this exact thing when watching the necrom cinematic. That isn’t a dark elf. It’s a human cosplaying a dark elf, and it’s a bad cosplay at that. They didn’t even try to get the eyebrows, eyes, or facial features right.

NotaDaedraWorshipper

The new dark elf also looks a bit...derpy, in that picture.

SeaGtGruff

I honestly don't think I gave it much thought. I mean, I figured the actors don't look exactly like the humans they're supposed to be, so why should they be expected to look exactly like the elves?

Syldras

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

The new dark elf also looks a bit...derpy, in that picture.

Reminds me of her:
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Tirlarnar_Frozenfox
And she was a bit... slow.

LittlePinkDot

francesinhalover wrote: »

I would really like a explanation for this.

Maybe they're real actors?.. Therefore... Human.

maximusrex45

francesinhalover wrote: »

I would really like a explanation for this.

It is a cost issue.

My understanding is that ZOS outsources to Blur to make these. Blur builds their models off of facial scans and motion capture of real people, real people don't have the same features as the non-human ESO races, and it is not going to be simple to rebuild the faces to look more like ESO elf faces. So it is a choice between more accurate faces or making longer videos for the same cost.

Syldras

LittlePinkDot wrote: »

Maybe they're real actors?.. Therefore... Human.

So they are talented enough to animate all kinds of magic effects, extreme fighting scenes and monsters but can't make a human's face look a bit more angled?

TaSheen

Well.... of course. But there's CGI that could morph the eyes..... I mean, serious people? They're spending a BOATLOAD of money on trailers.... how much more could CGI for eyes cost?

Disclaimer: I don't care about the trailers, don't watch them, don't watch reveal or any other streams.

Jaraal

Maybe it’s a clue about the story. Perhaps someone has accessed Mora’s forbidden knowledge, and is corrupting the Dunmer blood with human genetics. The two worlds we need to save will be both Apocrypha and the Dunmer race.

Syldras

Found this about the creation process (first trailer, but it's still the same studio that does them today):
https://www.fxguide.com/fxfeatured/blurs-the-elder-scrolls-online-cinematic-8-minutes-of-action/
The process began with scans of the actual performers’ heads – but only for reference and to match the mocap, as character sculpts were done in ZBrush and Mudbox. “We then used 3ds Max for all the base meshes,” explains character modeling lead Mathieu Aerni. “We first create a polygon mesh and then send that to rigging once the proportions are approved. Then we sculpt it in ZBrush. The rigging is done in XSI which is also what we animated with. And then we rendered in V-Ray.”

So it's not technical limitations but must be intentionally done.

Faulgor

Syldras wrote: »

LittlePinkDot wrote: »

Maybe they're real actors?.. Therefore... Human.

So they are talented enough to animate all kinds of magic effects, extreme fighting scenes and monsters but can't make a human's face look a bit more angled?

Yeah, if they can do humanoid Daedra, if they can do Argonians, they can do proper Elves.

Suna_Ye_Sunnabe

This bothers me as well. I've always loved the way Mer look (in ESO in particular); they're unique, distinctly non-human, and beautiful. It's a real shame they look so human and generic in the trailers.

Jaraal

Suna_Ye_Sunnabe wrote: »

This bothers me as well. I've always loved the way Mer look (in ESO in particular); they're unique, distinctly non-human, and beautiful. It's a real shame they look so human and generic in the trailers.

Yes, the daedra in the trailer are very well done, as is the Dunmer male, but the female elf looks very ‘60’s B movie quality. As if she were on stage 10 filming a Star Trek scene as Spock’s long lost cousin, but got called over to another set to fill in for the elf actor who called in sick.

ArchMikem

I'm starting to wonder if the intention behind the cinematic character designs was a marketing ploy. To make the Elves more "familiar" to the viewer.

Also known as more sexually appealing.

Syldras

ArchMikem wrote: »

I'm starting to wonder if the intention behind the cinematic character designs was a marketing ploy. To make the Elves more "familiar" to the viewer.
Also known as more sexually appealing.

That's exactly my assumption. Some things common in Dunmer women, like sharp facial features and ridged brows, are considered rather masculine in humans and not as conventionally attractive in women.

colossalvoids

Still unsure if it's orc or not really. But zeni CGI is probably one of the worst I've ever witnessed, probably most MMOs doing exactly the same or even worse but that's still crazy to wrap my head about the purpose of those. They're as bland as can be, not informative and seem to be quite expensive to make.

Wish those money went into the actual product eh.

Maitsukas

Eveli Sharp-Arrow in the Gates of Oblivion CGI trailers:


Her face model used in-game:

Syldras

Well, Eveli's depiction is much more accurate. Probably they thought she looks appealing enough this way?

Bobby_V_Rockit

They’re in too deep to change now. I suspect originally it was to emulate Elves in movies and other live action media, not knowing whether or not the game would be a success. Too late to change them now!

Dr_Con

are people really comparing lower poly character models to game trailers that has a large budget & focus group testing and is specifically used to advertise the game to global audiences?

Syldras

Dr_Con wrote: »

are people really comparing lower poly character models to game trailers that has a large budget & focus group testing and is specifically used to advertise the game to global audiences?

Are you implying that if game graphics were better all Dunmer would look like the derpmer in the trailer?