Armor for dummies and game developers

Introduction

Apparently, some designers of game characters, never in their lives without taking up arms and being exposed to the dangers of a real battle, can not understand the basics of functional design of armor. In this regard, I present to you this express course. If you want a little bit of armor in your game, it’s not so obviously impossible or dangerous to wear, I hope you find it useful.

But first, I would like to clarify that I understand why you are developing cool or sexy outfits with distinctive silhouettes - of course, continue. Not all armor needs to be realistic. Also note that many of the games mentioned below I really like. If some aspects of the characters need to be improved, this does not mean that the games get worse.

Why do we need armor

Why does someone decide to put on a large amount of metal and leather, if he is not going to attend a heavy metal concert? Most likely, in the near future he expects to be in battle and does not want to suffer or die in it. He expects that the armor will prevent sharp objects from entering his body and soften the blow of a blunt object, which otherwise would, for example, break their bones. The stronger the blows from the weapon and the intensity of the expected battle, the heavier the armor should be. For example, a knight who is expecting a spear attack must turn to tin cans for inspiration, and a person with a powerful bow can go into battle even in his pajamas.
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Metal properties

Weight

To make sure that we understand each other correctly, I would like to say a couple of things. In our world, metal is heavy. Steel weighs 8 g / cm ³ , which means that a three millimeter sheet of steel weighs 26 kg per m ² . Maybe it will not tell you anything, so let's just agree that a heap of steel, fastened to the body, is heavier than a little bit of steel. Carrying heavy things slows you down, forces you to spend more energy in combat and makes it harder to parry quick attacks.

Take a look at Sarevok's armor from Baldur's Gate (BioWare, 1998). Looks cool that good. But it would also be good to survive in battle. These thorns will not kill anyone, unless the style of his battle is not very unusual, which means that they only make his armor heavier. Of course, few people without hesitation will get involved with him in battle - but if they decide to test their luck, Sarevok will have a kilogram of ten unnecessary ballast. Come back to the easel, Sarevok.

Strength

I doubt that you need to be reminded of the rigidity of solid bodies - namely, the solid state is required from the armor, when you impose it on a mortal body. This means that the armor does not move particularly with the upper body. To make such armor beautiful, the animator will have to suffer, but it is worth bearing in mind.

Cost of

Another point is that the metal is not cheap. And if the noble knights wear full gear, the less fortunate will have to be content with something simpler . If your lord requires taxes, and the vault requires winter stocks, you are unlikely to invest in armor. Do not forget about this, dressing characters.

Vital parts of the body

Since armor is supposed to protect you, I would like to point out exactly which parts of your body you need to protect in anticipation of a battle. First you need to try very, very hard not to get a sword in the face. Of course, you need to show lip synchronization and hair animation in the game, but no intelligent soldier will break into battle without a protective helmet.

In the neck are pieces that are really useful for those who enjoy breathing and blood flow to the brain, and the heart, although already protected by the chest, is necessary for the life of even the most heartless creatures. You can reach the heart not only from the front and the back, but also from the sides. Armpits are two more areas that really need to be covered to the maximum. In addition, it is easy to get into the stomach and there is everything in it that is necessary in order not to die. The groin is a good place to access the stomach from certain angles, and there is also a lot of blood in it. Note: the groin and armpits due to their location is very difficult to protect, especially if the enemy is closely matched with a bullock-type dagger - but it’s worth a try.

The remaining parts of the body would also be nice to leave intact, especially those places through which a lot of blood passes. But from a wound in the leg, for example, which will put you in a very disadvantageous position, and in the worst case can lead to amputation, it is still unlikely to die instantly.

Purpose

Having dealt with this, get down to business. The first thing to consider is the appointment of your reservation. Who wears it? Is he poor or rich, likes to put a knife in the back or use a two-handed sword , of low birth or a knight? What armor for this character makes sense?



To demonstrate your point of view, I will ask you to look at the first example of armor. This is Leliana from the Dragon Age series in the inquisition armor (BioWare, 2014).

Who is Leliana? She is a master spy, in connection with which she, apparently, must move in the shadows. Even if she is not hiding, her clothes and armor should demonstrate her career choice (or not, if she wants to be really secretive). And the hood with chain mail give the desired effect. They are as fashionable as they are practical, and together they make suitable armor for the lady of her profession and rank. The problem here is below. If you need to move so that no one sees you, then the choice of legs as a place for the location of armor will probably be the worst. Imagine that you need to attack someone, wearing ski boots. Made of steel. That's it. If you need to be secretive, do not wear heavy armor. If you want to wear heavy armor, choose a design that protects vital parts of the body.

Use outside of battle

Even professional warriors spend most of their lives outside the battle . For the main character of the game, this may not be the case, but this is so for someone who gets tired after a few hours of running and giving away punches. Before and after the battle, you are likely to get together with your fellow soldiers in the camp, and, more simply, the thorns on your armor will lead to people not wanting to sit with you at dinner. Also, you may find it difficult to find a squire who is suicidal enough to decide to put armor on you. In fact, even finding a person who is ready to fight with you side by side will be difficult, because on the battlefield you will most likely find yourself next to a friend rather than an enemy. And since the game characters usually do not change clothes, they will need to endure the weight of the armor, not only in battle, but also in eight-hour hikes. It is worth remembering that you most likely would have removed the armor and walked in ordinary clothes during marches or travels around a friendly city or castle.


Yes, Bob, your armor looks charming, only this spike pierced my knee (Monster Hunter, Capcom, 2004)

We put on and remove the armor

By the way, about the squires: I would really like it if the game took into account that putting on armor takes a lot of time . It is hardly necessary to spend the time of the players, putting them on and taking off armor for hours, but this can be used to inflate the tension: there was no friend, and the hero did not have time to put on armor during the attack on the camp (oh, you). It is difficult to put on full knightly armor without help, which means that you will not bother with it if you do not have servants or friends with a lot of free time. It's easier with chain mail, but it still makes you take interesting poses, as in this illustration from the medieval manuscript.

Deviation, not direction

Example of reservation from Guild Wars II (ArenaNet, 2012)

Back to the spike armor. In addition to the +2 bonus on irritating people who fight with you, the spikes increase the danger of armor for the wearer as well. One of the missions of armor is to deflect a weapon so that it slides off the body without causing harm. Look at the image above. In this case, the spike will catch the blade and direct it to the side of the hand, rather than from it, increasing the risk of injury to the hand that serves as the main one in 70-90% of the population . In my opinion, this idea is bad.

Soft tits

Turn to the breasts. Some of you may have touched them. In this case, you may have noticed that they are usually quite soft. This means that when temporarily staying in armor in a compressed state, they will not be damaged. If this were not the case, then hundreds of years of fashion for corsets would have exhausted entire generations of breasts. This means that armor with tits, that is, a plate with bulges for the breasts, is absolutely not necessary. It is even more dangerous than normal. As I already mentioned, it is necessary to take the blade away from the body, and not to lead it to your heart, you know.


Choose the left option (this girl wins battles with swords ). Right - Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios 2011)

Bare skin

Now examine the armor of the Night Elf (World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment, 2004). If I wanted to kill this lady, I would try to pierce her face, neck, chest, stomach or groin with a sword. Of the above, only the latter is more or less protected. I appreciate trying to protect the legs - this is a good idea if you are going to constantly kick people and block their kicks - and the outer part of the arms. Part of the hand with a brush in battle is closest to the enemy. However, let me have this illustration:


Yellow - areas that need to be protected. Blue - areas that are protected by this armor.

Tight armor and layers

If you look at Demon Hunter (Diablo III, Blizzard Etertainment, 2012) in the picture above, you can see that although its lining under the shoulders and scarf increase in size with increasing armor, her waist does not. In this case, it looks as if she wears a kind of leather corset to protect the abdomen, and the rest of her body pulls on the extra metal from which the spare armor is built. Honestly, I would advise her to change her sexy silhouette for real protection. To add, for example, a piece of cloth , and to pry a chain mail under the armor, which would increase her waist.



This artist shows in his series of drawings how the armor of the Commander Cullen character (Dragon Age: Inquisition, BioWare, 2014) can look in layers (although he may not have set such a goal during drawing). The drawings demonstrate well how the armor is put on layer by layer, although in that layer, which is similar to the skin, one would have to add inserts to soften the blows, and the armor, to all appearances, is too tight to move. Unfortunately, you have to choose between aspen waist and survival in battle.

High heels

By the way, about Demon Hunter. Have you ever seen a man in high heels trying to run? Do modern women soldiers wear court shoes? If you answer "yes" and "no", I am sure that you caught my thought. If not, I wonder who you are and where are you from. We have already established that armor should protect its carrier, and it would be nice to avoid death. Therefore, I am sure that most girls will agree to sacrifice a beautiful pose for a few hours if it helps them to move correctly and reduces the risk of injury. This means that no woman with the instinct of self-preservation will not go to the battle in heels. If you develop a character so dependent on fashion that he will die better than he will walk without heels - please. Just do not give heels reasonable women. This makes no sense. And in the picture is Fran from Final Fantasy XII (Square Enix, 2006).

High heels make sense if the lady will ride, because some believe that the first heels for this were invented . But their use was not common historically.

Bullets? Get rid of heavy armor

Just as the guns nullified the ability to hide in the castle, so the firearms, which constantly increased efficiency, reduced the benefit of armor. Why fasten 30 kg of armor, if the only bullet can still pierce it and kill you? In short, increasing the effectiveness of firearms has led to the fact that the soldiers have moved from metal armor to uniform, because it is better to increase mobility, if armor still does not help you.


Pillars of Eternity Armor (Obsidian Entertainment, 2015)

Conclusion

To create characters you are free to dispose of all available artistic freedom - but to create realistic armor, think about why the character needs it at all. Few people do anything for nothing - especially when it comes to protecting life. You must be very much confident in your ability to fight if you decide that you do not need any defense on the battlefield.