Forums » Elder Scrolls

Proper formatting, great screen shots/pictures over Originality?

    • 38 posts
    January 24, 2014 5:34 PM EST

    First off i want to say this has nothing to do with my first build or one coming out, and also i know that proper formatting and originality are what we are shooting for when making/posting builds. I have been on his site going on two months, and i have noticed that someone can put a build out that has been done 1,000 times but have proper sentence structure, formatting and awesome pictures and it will soar to the top, but then i see builds that i think are very original, have great roleplay and tactics, but have some spelling errors and crappy pics and that build not only doesn't get very many likes but it gets poked fun at and eventually ends up staying in bloodworks until killed in a deathmatch. Does a build get your like souly on pictures, formatting and spelling?

    • 38 posts
    January 24, 2014 5:48 PM EST

    Yeah, good point, i see a some great characters that have rather poorly put together builds, i was counting the build and character as the same. But the question I'm trying to get across is if a character has been done over and over again but has a perfect formatted build and great pictures, does it get your like only based on the good build?

    • 56 posts
    January 24, 2014 6:06 PM EST

    A good presentation is what keeps the reader going on in the first place. If I look at a build which has poor grammar, no pictures or bad pictures I am likely to skip it, but if the build starts off with a nice introduction/ back story with an eye-catching picture/screenshot I am automatically interested in reading the build and even give it a like and a feedback comment. For both things, the presentation and the actual character, one needs imagination, they go hand in hand. If the presentation is poor, 90% of time the character is bad too. This is my point of view, though.

    • 158 posts
    January 24, 2014 6:26 PM EST

    If I think a build has the core of a good concept, and could have the good mechanics to go with it, but perhaps isn't presented well, I will sometimes like it and then give feedback in the comments.  I wouldn't withhold a like based solely on presentation.  But there needs to be enough evidence that I can see the core of the build, and what it could be if properly developed.  Poor presentation obscures the usefulness of the concept underneath; if I can't find it, I can't like it.  

    • 38 posts
    January 24, 2014 6:30 PM EST

    Yeah, everything you guys are saying makes sense, but the core question is, if a build is executed perfectly but you have seen the same character over and over in so many other builds, does it earn your like just because of presentation?

    • 56 posts
    January 24, 2014 6:32 PM EST

    Straight away: Yes!

    • 158 posts
    January 24, 2014 6:33 PM EST

    Not necessarily.  It doesn't have to be totally original, but I do need to see some aspect - even if it's just a role-play aspect - that brings something new to the archetype, or perfects the mechanics in some way.  It can be only slightly different, but if that slightly different is new and interesting to me, I will like it.

    • 739 posts
    January 24, 2014 6:34 PM EST

    It's just the direction that the group eventually took. It wasn't always this way, at one point we just posted pretty loose character concepts and the one picture. As the group got more popular and we started using a ranking system to keep things in order the competition started to increase...more pictures, better attention to detail, 'special moves', demonstration videos. It's like there are a number of rings people have to jump through first before their build even gets read properly...

    Think of the CB group as a car showroom.

    A new car has just been brought out that has an amazing engine, unfortunately the designers forgot to include a nice leather interior and alloy wheels and used a crappy suspension system. It's only available in pink and has the body design of a goat.

    They probably also forgot to title the new model correctly because they refused to bother reading the guidelines and added weird brackets after its name because they hoped it would make them...... 'different'.

    • 622 posts
    January 24, 2014 6:41 PM EST

    If only I could like your comment... :P

    • 38 posts
    January 24, 2014 6:43 PM EST

    Yeah, i wasn't referring to a 100% totally original build, i just cant get into a build that is almost the exact same as 300 other builds but uses a ebony sword in place of a skyforged steel sword and has almost the same roleplay/gameplay even if the build is perfect.

    • 38 posts
    January 24, 2014 6:50 PM EST

    That was a great analogy, while that amazing engine will give you great enjoyment, that body of a goat will get you laughed at by every hot girl in town. Now i understand

    • 38 posts
    January 24, 2014 7:11 PM EST
    But what if the car had a flawless sports car body but a crappy old Kia motor that had high miles and millions were produced? Would you like that?
    • 739 posts
    January 24, 2014 7:22 PM EST

    Yes.

    Because if a car is capable of high mileage you're dealing with a good engine and if millions were produced it proves it sold well.

    If it now looks even better without being a rip off of another model (read build) then maybe it's good to go.

    And for the record Kia have come a LONG way!

    • 739 posts
    January 24, 2014 7:55 PM EST

    Same thing can be applied to the builder.

    If they really have something good to show that they spent hours playtesting and refining they simply won't present it badly when they put up the build. They will have pride in what they have made. They will spend (at the very least) 20 minutes going through google images to find a nice piece of artwork to present their build with...

    Unfortunately it does work in reverse though. I've seen builders locate some great images and then quickly try to throw together a build to fit the images. It doesn't work because they leave holes all over the place that draw attention to the fact that the build wasn't playtested.

    It all comes down to how much you love your own build. If you cherish the character that you've made you won't betray it by presenting it like a piece of crap and your writing will flow nicely because you know your character inside and out...

    • 249 posts
    January 24, 2014 8:45 PM EST
    At the VERY least, twenty minutes. Goddamn! It can be a real pain for unique builds too :p

    I've said it before but if you spend at least one playthrough with your build all the way to Lvl 50 AND enjoyed it, you're going to have some stuff to say about it. Probably a lot, to be honest. If a build consists of three paragraphs, there is no way it was tested. On that same note, if you take some pride in your creation, you're gonna make it look nice.

    All that aside, I pretty much look at every build anyway. If there is good effort, I'll usually offer advice and encouragement. If they make further effort to fix the build, then they get a 'like'. I don't want to like a build that is 'okay' but will never get polished. Ya dig?
    • 490 posts
    January 24, 2014 10:14 PM EST

    I just got a Kia! Pretty cool cars for the cheap price.

    • 89 posts
    January 25, 2014 12:18 AM EST

    Precisely. Would you rather read the Lord of the Rings trilogy written by a five year old or the Magic school bus series written by an actual author?

    • 95 posts
    January 25, 2014 1:08 AM EST

    I think there are so much build here, it is impossible to show new in mechanism. I mean perk, stat spread and equipment. That's why the presentation is very important because it is what sells the build. The players must see why a character (the Shaper is a good example, one of my favorites here) is different, and why not just another mage.

    A good example from life: HTC produces very good smart phones, not worse than Samsung, but somhow they cannot sell it to people, and this leads to serios financial problems (e.g. doesn't get as many likes as he deserves  )