How to best make characters look appealing when viewed from behind or a top down view while playing?

[Val the Moofia Boss]

When browsing through artbooks and concept arts for videogame characters and armors, the view of the character/armor/outfit from the front is almost always given priority, and a back view (if there even is one) is stuffed further in the back or shrunk down on the page to be smaller. Top down views, almost never.

But 99% of the time in a videogame, you are not viewing you are not looking at the front of your character during normal gameplay. Maybe if you open up your character screen or you are taking a screenshot, but you are almost always driving your character while looking at his back. Or if it's a top down game then he might be rotated in any one of the four cardinal directions. Or maybe it is a first person game where you only see your character's arms holding a weapon, and maybe look down and can see clothes.

Are there any considerations to be had when trying to make characters and outfits that look appealing when viewed during normal gameplay? (Viewed from the back in 3D RPGs, top down CRPGs, or when in first person staring at your arms)? Would adding billowing cloaks make your character more attractive to look at when viewed from behind?

[rusty_shackleford]

Have the character walk backwards.

[Oyster Sauce]

Use a perspective that doesn't make any sense

[Tweed]

In EQ the female dark elf leather armor has the buttcheeks cut out of it.

[Vergil]

Games that give me a billowing cape almost always get a couple extra hours of playtime out of them.

[Tadeusz]

Are there any considerations to be had when trying to make characters and outfits that look appealing when viewed during normal gameplay? (Viewed from the back in 3D RPGs, top down CRPGs, or when in first person staring at your arms)? Would adding billowing cloaks make your character more attractive to look at when viewed from behind?

Fancy hats and cloaks are the way to go in this case.

[Tadeusz]

I think Dawn of Magic nails this back view problem pretty well with morphing - give player models some wing-like structures and tails on the back.

Water magic

voda20jo.jpg

Air magic

are28zs.jpg

Alchemy

alh24xt.jpg

Earth magic

a20ew.jpg

[gerey]

Are there any considerations to be had when trying to make characters and outfits that look appealing when viewed during normal gameplay? (Viewed from the back in 3D RPGs, top down CRPGs, or when in first person staring at your arms)? Would adding billowing cloaks make your character more attractive to look at when viewed from behind?

I think Dead Space is the gold standard in this regard. Not only are the important parts of the interface on Isaac's back, like his health and statis meter, but the back of the armors is also quite intricate, and with a lot of moving parts.

Plus, the other cool aspect of the armors, the helmets, also get shown when Isaac stars looking around during idle times.

[J1M]

Are there any considerations to be had when trying to make characters and outfits that look appealing when viewed during normal gameplay? (Viewed from the back in 3D RPGs, top down CRPGs, or when in first person staring at your arms)? Would adding billowing cloaks make your character more attractive to look at when viewed from behind?

I think Dead Space is the gold standard in this regard. Not only are the important parts of the interface on Isaac's back, like his health and statis meter, but the back of the armors is also quite intricate, and with a lot of moving parts.

Plus, the other cool aspect of the armors, the helmets, also get shown when Isaac stars looking around during idle times.

Diegetic UIs are stupid.

[traxtan]

Games that give me a billowing cape almost always get a couple extra hours of playtime out of them.

Watch Dogs 1

[Vergil]

Games that give me a billowing cape almost always get a couple extra hours of playtime out of them.

Watch Dogs 1

That is an example of such a game