Art Vs. Photo for Legends

[wildfire]

I was wondering, was there ever any consideration of using a photo (either black and white or color) for the legends cards?

[BDS]

This is a great topic and a great question that I'd love to see discussed in much more detail here. Lets all post in a manner conducive to that end. Thank you.

EDIT: For clarification, posts were deleted and this thread has been rebooted.

[lwffantrav]

I would have said if photos started off in Legends, I wouldn't have minded it. But since we have all drawings, I'm kinda stickler...and would want them consistent.


But another reason I like the drawings is it looks like there was effort put into the product, rather than "taking a photo" and sticking it on the card

[wildfire]

I never thought about it that way... I was thinking that it would seem more 'official' with a photo.. and might be easier to market...
and seems like it might be cheaper to produce, depending on rights and trademarks and such..

OTOH, I agree with you that the drawn art is nice, it differentiates the product from other things out there (like the WWE CCG, for instance) and gives it a 'sameness' to the CoTG stuff..

[graymar]

I have used photos (both color and B&W) for bootlegs. It just isn't the same. The drawing adds a distinct quality to the product.

Graymar

[lwffantrav]

Mar 6, 2008 20:10:10 GMT -5 wildfire said:

OTOH, I agree with you that the drawn art is nice, it differentiates the product from other things out there (like the WWE CCG, for instance) and gives it a 'sameness' to the CoTG stuff..

I agree...I think it gives the FIlsinger Games brand a certain uniqueness to it

[antimony]

On the one hand, there's a lot of logic in that. Cards with hand-drawn representations are a Filsinger Games standard.

That said, consider two points.

1) There has been some discussion that the Legends cards are separate brand than the traditional CotG universe. At one point, there was consideration of a "conversion chart" to reflect that (PLEASE don't let this thread get derailed by discussing the chart--the nature of the idea doesn't matter, just that it was considered). Using a photo on the Legend cards would further establish LoW as a different entity than CotG (even though they were obviously mechanically compatible).

2) Pegasus, Wolf, and Lord Nexus do not exist outside of the Filsinger Games universe. If a drawing of one of them is "sub-standard"--or, for that matter, if it's good but someone doesn't care for the pose, or the shading, or some other feature, there's no real "let down" for someone coming into the game brand new. Even if you're a long time player and don't care for a character's new illustration, you are only considering it in the context of other illustration seen of the same (or similar) characters within the game.

On the other hand, if you are enough of a wrestling fan to consider buying a game of this nature, you have likely seen many, many photos and videos of, say, Jimmy Snuka or the Midnight Express. A picture (i.e., an actual photograph) is what it is. A drawing is more subjective, and someone looking into the Legends game for the first time (someone who would not be interested in the more SF elements of the GWF, POW, or aCe) could be turned off by a picture that isn't as crisp as it could be, or that simply does not live up to their stylistic preference. If a bad picture could "ruin," say, your enjoyment of Pegasus or Lord Nexus (who you've only seen in one or two other versions, ever), how much more would you be turned off by a picture of someone you've followed for many years, and who has played a role of some significance in your development as a wrestling fan?

Just putting that out there.

Oh, and regarding using photos for bootlegs--it may look glaring, but only because we're conditioned to use illustrations. If the LoW set had been photo-based from the start, it may not seem so strange to use them for LoW bootlegs.

[lwffantrav]

Mar 7, 2008 0:52:22 GMT -5 @antimony said:

On the one hand, there's a lot of logic in that. Cards with hand-drawn representations are a Filsinger Games standard.

That said, consider two points.

1) There has been some discussion that the Legends cards are separate brand than the traditional CotG universe. At one point, there was consideration of a "conversion chart" to reflect that (PLEASE don't let this thread get derailed by discussing the chart--the nature of the idea doesn't matter, just that it was considered). Using a photo on the Legend cards would further establish LoW as a different entity than CotG (even though they were obviously mechanically compatible).

2) Pegasus, Wolf, and Lord Nexus do not exist outside of the Filsinger Games universe. If a drawing of one of them is "sub-standard"--or, for that matter, if it's good but someone doesn't care for the pose, or the shading, or some other feature, there's no real "let down" for someone coming into the game brand new. Even if you're a long time player and don't care for a character's new illustration, you are only considering it in the context of other illustration seen of the same (or similar) characters within the game.

On the other hand, if you are enough of a wrestling fan to consider buying a game of this nature, you have likely seen many, many photos and videos of, say, Jimmy Snuka or the Midnight Express. A picture (i.e., an actual photograph) is what it is. A drawing is more subjective, and someone looking into the Legends game for the first time (someone who would not be interested in the more SF elements of the GWF, POW, or aCe) could be turned off by a picture that isn't as crisp as it could be, or that simply does not live up to their stylistic preference. If a bad picture could "ruin," say, your enjoyment of Pegasus or Lord Nexus (who you've only seen in one or two other versions, ever), how much more would you be turned off by a picture of someone you've followed for many years, and who has played a role of some significance in your development as a wrestling fan?

Just putting that out there.

Oh, and regarding using photos for bootlegs--it may look glaring, but only because we're conditioned to use illustrations. If the LoW set had been photo-based from the start, it may not seem so strange to use them for LoW bootlegs.

Dang PS, don't be trying to change my mind there!!! No seriously, they are good points and your point in number 2 (the GWF guys not existing) and the Legends guys exisiting is valid.

Then again, maybe Tom is a time traveler from 150 years in the future! He could have saw the future (which is the GWF) and came back to this time to write it out! ;D

[lwffantrav]

Mar 6, 2008 20:10:10 GMT -5 wildfire said:

and seems like it might be cheaper to produce, depending on rights and trademarks and such..

You know, I've always wondered about the drawings and the reference source they take it from. I wonder if anyone would have the rights to those photos on any of the drawings that have been done?

[Justin Case]

I think if the art is done well, photos really wouldn't matter too much.