Originally posted by BadSpock

Originally posted by thegn
Just my preference I guess.  Hard to play a hardbitten and weathered warrior if you look like you might start crying at any moment.

Hah that made me lol

There is some hope - I really liked the character models for humans in TERA for example, that was/is a Korean made MMO and the males could look either very emo or quite "hardbitten" and rough.

I hope AA has a really great character customization system that allows you to make more than just emo tweens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqtd2hKKQbE

All i see is:

1) A group of Adventurers found something time ago.

2) Some time later, 3 of them fight for something (to get what they found?), and the girl use her power to move her people to protect them.

I don't know the plot of ArcheAge, but this is what i see.

Originally posted by thegn
Just my preference I guess.  Hard to play a hardbitten and weathered warrior if you look like you might start crying at any moment.

lol +1!

The game will not look that good if it is CGI cinematic. I would like better if they used in-game graphics for cinematics. Blizzard makes great cinematics, remember the D3 intro movie? But the game looks totally different.

Would like to see actual in game footage not this canned video.

It's not the idea of my character or others crying or being emotional that bothers me.  Honestly, such concepts would be refreshing in a typical western atmosphere.  My problem with the style of the characters in this CGI, and likely AA as well, is that they are all styled to look 15 years old.  I'm not 15. 

I don't care what 15 year olds think, I don't care what they do, and quite frankly, I think kids are treated like the center of the universe, while they have nothing but fluff between their ears,  We give them egos the size of the moon and they look down on everyone despite knowing nothing and aspiring to nothing. 

Kids should NEVER play a meaningful role in an RPG (exception for the 1 character in the story who's an heir to protect or some sort of genius/prodigy).   Nor should adult characters LOOK like 15 year olds.  Stop worshipping them in all media forms.  We do it here in the US, just not in our roleplaying games.  Asian countries seem to be compelled to do it through all media involving animation. 

Drop the hair gel, put on a beard shadow and some lines, and leave the heroics to those with some experience and wisdom.

Originally posted by Ingvar
What is going on in the trailer? who are the people? why are they fighting? where are they going? 

I'm not sure about the first part of the video, but the female character has been a recurring character throughout several videos. In regards to to 2 characters fighting, I assume it's the 2 different factions of the main continent fighting it out for control over areas . As for the part where a woman creates a gate for the people to go through, I've read that it's one of the goddess that sacrificed her life to save her people by sending them elsewhere (a different planet, plane, dimension, I can't remember).

Originally posted by ironhelix
I posted a comment about how I didn't like the way Asian males are portrayed as gay, and it got deleted. Can someone explain why? I didn't insult anyone, or use profanity, and I wasn't derogatory to gay people. I simply pointed out that Asian males are portrayed as gay. Are they NOT supposed to be seen as gay?

Perhaps it was the following.

Originally posted by ironhelix
I posted a comment about how I didn't like the way Asian males are portrayed as effeminate, and it got deleted. Can someone explain why? I didn't insult anyone, or use profanity, and I wasn't derogatory to gay people. I simply pointed out that Asian males are portrayed as effeminate. 

Are they NOT supposed to be seen as gay?

Not necessarily. Like I told someone another time. Even though gays are less gender role compliant, it does not mean all gays are effeminate. Hence why some people might take it personally. And it isn't meant positively anyways, in our society. Effeminate man = derogatory.

Asian ideals of what is desirable in a male hero do not necessarily match stereotypical Western conceptions of the macho muscle bound gruff manly man that overcomes through brute force and power.  In contrast, the preference is for willowy agile finesse types that have mad skills.  This concept can be seen in both anime and more traditional Chinese wuxia novels and writings.  There are also cultural/historical heroes such as Zhuge Liang that overcome through intellect and guile rather than force.  Sure there are a few "manly men" heroes as well but the field has a lot more variety.  

Just because the male characters are not the stereotypical Western hero though does not make them gay.  It is a false dichotomy to think that if it doesn't fit A then it must be B.  

In case you guys didn't know, I'm Asian. These comments about Asian concept of a "manly man" kinda affects me in a way. Nothing written in the thread so far has offended me yet though.

The game is being developed by Asians, for Asian audiences. I guess you're experiencing some sort of culture shock, but you should know how an Asian guy like me felt when I played my first Western RPG (Neverwinter Nights). I thought the characters were ugly! The portraits, though beautifully painted, were ultimately ugly in my eyes: prominent cheekbones, hard jaw lines, too deep eye sockets. All in all the faces just look too old and rugged. These facial features are simply not common in East Asian countries. People here have softer facial features, and tend to look younger than caucasians of the same age. When I was in Germany people I met couldn't believe I'm 29 and thought I was only 18-20 years old. Even as I look around people as old as me looked like my uncle, and girls who I'd "hit on" tend to be minors (14-18).

The only nitpicking point I have really is the fact the female character's shoes are unsuited for adventuring, and the combination of her Korean facial features (cheekbones and eyes are a giveaway) with the (presumably non-dyed) blonde hair is a weird combination.  

The closest example of the archetype of the heroes seen in the trailer I would say would be Legolas.  He fits the same theme of being thin and agile with skills that allow him to dodge blows and execute flashy martial arts-like moves.  

Anyway, I would say the ages of the characters are more in their 20's based on their looks.  People guessing them in their teens are likely underestimating their age based on comparing to white Caucasian appearances.   Caucasians are scientifically known to age faster in their looks than other ethnic groups due to susceptibility to sun damage and having looser and thinner skin.    

Originally posted by Ingvar
What is going on in the trailer? who are the people? why are they fighting? where are they going? 

Korean fans will know them far better because the lore has gone mostly untranslated so far, but this is the First Expeditionary Force, from the story of the same name. Some thousands of years before the game begins, they marked their names in this cavern, which the mages among them considered to be the center of the world.

The Korean lore writing has made them Obviously a Big Deal and profiled each of them, but for those of us not fluent, it all remains pretty mysterious.

Originally posted by Scarfe

Originally posted by JudgeUK
These kind of cinematics make me wish they would make a film as well as an mmo

I dunno, a film generally needs a plot.  What the hell was going on there?

EXACTLY what I was thinking.