DiabloFans

For what reason would male monks need to shave their heads that wouldn't apply to females?

Quote from "italofoca" »

Because no beard = girly.
Men must have hair coming out from every single place in his body. Thats a manhood law.

Cultural inconsistencies never cease to puzzle me.

Men: To be hairier is always manlier, except when it grows from your scalp, where it must be kept as short as possible. Extra points for a bald scalp, especially if you're black. If it passes your eartips, you're a fag or a hippie.

Women: To be less hairy is always more ladylike, except when it grows from your scalp, where if it does not pass your earlobes, you're a dyke. If you're bald, you're a hideous, sexless alien thing with cancer and AIDS. Women cannot be judged to be hippies by appearance, only by diet.

Other possibilities:

• Pirate
• Zombie
• Nazi
• Robot
• Alien

I'm very sorry, but you had to know this was coming.

Quote from "Hans" »

Who says the monks have to come from the same region. I think the monk is more based on religion.

Of course, I'm just wondering if this means that their order is that widespread. Everything in Sanctuary has been really culturally insular, so far, each region being quite independent of the others. A worldwide religious order would be quite a new achievement.

I wasn't trying to make an issue of it, though, I just find it curious.

I hadn't the slightest idea that Brom was involved with the art team. Very classic. Though I haven't seen his work in a game since Vanguard.

I find it strange that she appears to hail from different climes than her male counterpart, with her fair(ish) skin, blond hair and Nordic craniofacial morphology. Do they not both hail from any single monastic order, or if so, is it Sanctuary-wide?

Whatever its traditional usage in prominent religions, monk is not etymologically masculine. It simply means 'solitary.'

Quote from "Quze" »

the most pics i see here are dudes with big tits lol!
C'mon guys a bit curves ok but.. dudes on steriods with tits..sjiizz

Can't say I've seen any 'dudes' except in jest.

Do you mean in this thread or the contest in general?

I think the spells are fine, really, but that doesn't mean I can't think of any ways they might be improved, so I'll just dump my thoughts:


Spectral Blade

I really think something ought to be done to give it more depth. It currently looks less like the slashes are penetrating the enemies and more like they're being projected on the ground or floor, to me.


Magic Missile

I like when 'raw magic' is purple. It always seems a poetic pairing: magic doesn't exist, and neither does purple. I also like the plasma-like behavior of Magic Missile. Like tiny coronal mass ejections.

What I don't like about Magic Missile is how it sounds. It sounds like a large spring launching water balloons or something. It gives the impression that these projectiles are liquid, even gooey, and I doubt that is the intention....


Wave of Force

If only it was a distortion effect without the cyan glow?or just a fainter one, anyway.


Disintegrate

It looks and sounds very technological, so perfectly straight with that high-frequency whine?a time-honored sci-fi representation of death-rays of all kinds.

Without changing the beam mechanic of it, perhaps if the core of the beam were transparent, it may seem stranger. Alternatively, Diablo's Red Lightning Hose from Diablo II comes to mind.

Whatever the case, I think changing the sound is most important. Anything that sounds less like a dental drill, yes?


Slow Time

I think it would come across better if it wobbled and flexed a bit, or if a faint 'smokey tendril' effect moved around inside it?some kind of chaotic element to disturb its uniformity.


Arcane Torrent

Yanking rocks out of space to come crashing down on one's enemies seems really out of place amidst all the other spells in the Arcane tree, doesn't it? There has to be a better way to visualize a high-tier targeted AE that's more congruent with what seems to be the concept of this tree.


Electrocute

The arcs look a hell of a lot more powerful than they sound. Anyone ever heard an arc like that? Serious business.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GiIVze2Tac
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cbP2_AMN7U


Horrify

Surely this could be done in a more in-world way than a hologram going 'oogly-boogly' over the caster's head.


Locust Swarm

What is with the bright green glowing and the brighter green flashes? Locusts are huge insects. You can't miss them in reality, and I'm sure in Sanctuary they're bigger and meaner. They really don't need to be incandescent, do they?


Plague of Toads

Explosive acid-blooded toads. Oll korrect.

Not scarabs, not venomous snakes, not even starving maggots, but toads? Which explode. Acid blood. Glowing acid.

I don't want to be one of the people who can't let this one go, but it's hard. I know there are plenty of myths about how evil toads are, but....


Firebats

Also crazy, but I just love the homage to the poor, forgotten StarCraft unit that didn't make it into StarCraft II, so I guess it's an awesome sort of crazy.


Acid Cloud

Obviously the acid which the toads are filled with. May also be the 'plasma' of Fallout 3.

I agree with Bashiok that pixie cuts are, indeed, hot. However, it irritates me a little that they found such a difference necessary. Reminds me of the army's double-standard with male and female hair. If my girlfriend needn't shave her beautiful head of hair, why in Hell should I?

By the looks of it, and the fact that it is a Blizzard game, I'm certain it will barely utilize systems half as powerful as yours, let alone the average gaming PC by the time of release. I wouldn't worry about that.

You may want to upgrade your desk and chair to an altar and throne, however. Your immersion may get choppy, otherwise.

Quote from "Elyk" »

If that happened, I'd turn Christian... I don't see that happening anytime soon though.

*rejects Catholicism silently...*

Aside from also being hilarious, what does Christianity have to do with Mayan calendars?