Dumb question about Konami sprites

MOSQUITO FIGHTER · Post by **MOSQUITO FIGHTER** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:06 am

Ok, so this is something that I just don't understand and would like the ask about. I've never seen anyone mention it before either. Why is it that so many of the player characters in Konami games are faceless? I always thought it was kind of creepy. They kept doing it even in later games like Symphony of The Night.

BryanM · Post by **BryanM** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:20 am

I was going to take the time to draw a face on Richter to explain it, but then said screw it.

Quickie answer: because it would look like crap.

Ex-Cyber · Post by **Ex-Cyber** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:44 am

It's the cost of having a realistically proportioned head instead of a cartoonishly massive one, which gives you a face area approximately the size of Super Mario's nose.

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:47 am

16x16 tiles do allow a lot of room for detail, but not when you're working in a 2x2 area.

EmperorIng · Post by **EmperorIng** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:54 am

Are Konami sprites really 16x16 as a norm?

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 5:32 am

Haha, I saw a thread with the title "faceless Konami sprites" or similar some years ago at another forum.

Silent Hill uses faceless enemies sometimes...

louisg · Post by **louisg** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 7:05 am

Didn't CHC have faces?

BIL · Post by **BIL** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 7:10 am

^Some human characters have suggestions of a face ala FC's Ralph Belmont (Ray), others are straight-up nothingface apparitions from the abyss (Sheena). I remember fooling about in SOTN, hitting the Map button right on the turning frame of Alucard's where he's facing towards the camera so he looks like a shop mannequin with a panto wig, heh.

Always thought it was a good compromise for the benefit of more proportionate human figures, though, as noted above. Mind's eye fills in the details, etc etc.

Ed Oscuro wrote:Silent Hill uses faceless enemies sometimes...

All 'bout dat sweet ass.

Skykid · Post by **Skykid** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 3:18 pm

EmperorIng wrote:Are Konami sprites really 16x16 as a norm?

The PSX tile editor is 16 x 16, in ref to SOTN. I was talking about the area available to fit a face into, which is going to be about 4 tiles big.

KAI · Post by **KAI** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:03 pm

Faceless

Konami™

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 5:07 pm

I thought it was kinda creepy when I first got Belmont's Revenge way back in the day. Still kinda do.

Come to think of it, didn't the manuals also leave the faces mostly blank? We're talking Gameboy/NES days. CVIII has character artwork, but I swear the early GB CV games had faceless characters.

Jeneki · Post by **Jeneki** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 7:57 pm

Oddly enough, I thought the faceless population in PS1 Kings Field games added a lot of atmosphere.

Udderdude · Post by **Udderdude** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 8:21 pm

Clearly all the developers have Scopophobia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopophobia

shmuppyLove · Post by **shmuppyLove** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 12:58 am

Wow Snake's come a long way, baby.

shmups.system11.org

Dumb question about Konami sprites

Dumb question about Konami sprites

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