Using dolls as 'sprites' ?

[ebi brain]

Since I can't draw at the moment ( and even if I could, it'd suck right now ) but still want to be able to make a visual novel ( or at least a demo ), I thought it would be fun to use dolls ( e.g. Obitsu dolls or Pullip or Barbie) for character sprites.

Expressions would be a bit uhm...nonexistent though.

And for backgrounds I'd probably try my hand at building miniature sets where needed ( and I'd take pictures of things like parks/neighbourhoods etc. where needed ).


My questions are:

1) How much are you turned off by such an idea lol.

But most important:

2) Is it legal?
The game would be free, but still, would taking pictures ( of the dolls that I bought ) and using them in the game be legal? Or is this one of those cases where you'd have to ask permission/ pay the company etc etc?

I know a lot of people take pictures of their dolls and make them into picture stories etc. and they post them online and it seems to be accepted/tolerated.... But somehow it feels like putting the pictures into a game changes things.

[clannadman]

1) It all depends on how professional you can make it look but also, on whether your story draws me in.

2) It's pretty much legal. I doubt the companies will chase you up for using photographs of their products in a free game.

[shwippie]

I really like this idea! The lack of expressions wouldn't bother me a bit, as long as some body language could be there? I'm crazy about miniatures, so you might draw in others who like that kind of thing ^^
As for legal, I have no idea, but I think if it's a free game it shouldn't be too much of a problem?? Not sure

[Aleema]

The idea is very tempting, but here's a few cons:
- The characters end up looking all the same, not matter how different you try to make them. They're all from the same mother, so they'll all look similar in some way (usually the body/face).
- Lack of expressions. Doll makers usually don't have different emotions, just different clothes or hair styles.

But I wouldn't be turned off by it. Dolls were meant to be played with, and I know I spent a large portion of my childhood telling stories with my Barbie dolls.

[Greeny]

I am tempted to dig out my legos and make a VN.

[ebi brain]

Thanks for the input guys!

Kosetsu, I would most likely use poseable dolls, so I could play with body language a bit.

Greeny, I never even thought of that! That would be really cute.

The idea is very tempting, but here's a few cons:
- The characters end up looking all the same, not matter how different you try to make them. They're all from the same mother, so they'll all look similar in some way (usually the body/face).
- Lack of expressions. Doll makers usually don't have different emotions, just different clothes or hair styles.

These are two things that concern me as well. I could experiment with photoshopping the expressions, but I don't think that would work out very well.

The nice thing about obitsu's is that you can easily pose them (they have poseable joints) and you can customize them all you want (you can buy different types of bodies (e.g. big/medium/small bust, tall/short, slim male/super hero/female and quite a bunch of different heads). But you'd need to be somewhat skilled to paint a realistic face.

Pullips can be customized to a certain extent. Despite sharing the same type of body/head, they have different face ups and you can change the eye colour and rewig them. If you're feeling bold enough, you can sand off the face up and paint it on yourself or even carve the face.
You can also switch their poseable bodies with obitsu bodies for variety.

Barbie, and similar dolls, would probably be the least customizable of the bunch...


But still, even with all these options available, they would probably look somewhat the same (or like they're all really just cousins or something) and the emotion would still be lacking.


As a temporary alternative though, it definitely is very tempting :\

[Samu-kun]

It's been done before.

http://renai.us/game/real.shtml

[Aleema]

I am tempted to dig out my legos and make a VN.

OMG, I spent a lot of time story-telling with Legos, too. >_< Gah, I just couldn't get away from it. I LOVEZ STORIEZ.

[Camille]

I am tempted to dig out my legos and make a VN.

OMG, I spent a lot of time story-telling with Legos, too. >_< Gah, I just couldn't get away from it. I LOVEZ STORIEZ.

Like this?



On-topic, I think it'd be fine? Just depends on how it's executed.

[Aleema]

That just made my day.

[HikkiPanda]

I will love it if you can use nendoroid as the characters ^^

[ebi brain]

That star wars video is so awesome!

Hikki, I don't own any Nendoroids:(
But, that would be a great idea lol.
The only disadvantage would be that they're basically all anime/manga characters and I think it might be hard for people to seperate the character from the anime/manga from the one you're trying to portray.

[HikkiPanda]

The only disadvantage would be that they're basically all anime/manga characters and I think it might be hard for people to seperate the character from the anime/manga from the one you're trying to portray.

yeah, that will be a problem .. especially if you meet those hardcore fanboys/girls XD

[emmychu]

I suppose it depends what types of dolls or figures were used that determines the versatility of the sprites.

For example, lots of things like Nendoroids and Figmas come with multiple expressions and can be posed for effect, but they are most likely highly recognizable characters already. For things like BJD (such as Volks), the dolls will be original and look different from one another, but of course they can't change facial expression. : 3

Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing figures or dolls as sprites as long as the quality of the photograph is nice!

[Dollywitch]

You could try tracing over in Flash. Flash provides a wonderful interface for people who basically can't draw. Of course, that means it looks obvious it was done in Flash... you need to be good at it to do something interesting. Kind of a double edges sword.

Srsly thinking of doing a Touhou VN like this now. Or maybe a Marvel one. Might photoshop the faces though.