Let's Talk About the Genshin/Wuthering Waves Design Discourse

I don't usually talk about anything that would be considered "drama" on this channel, but being in one of the fandoms involved in some recent character design discourse that I'll be covering in this video, I felt the need to give my two cents. I'll be analyzing the character designs for both Genshin and Wuthering Waves from as neutral a standpoint as possible, commenting on their strengths and weaknesses as well as what makes them distinct. Join me for some interesting design comparisons! (Along with the usual spaghetti, but that's besides the point :P )

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(I'm not entirely sure if I need to put the fair use disclaimer, but I'm doing it for my own sanity hAHAFHDSHGDF)

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☕ Music Used (in order) ☕

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☕ My Whereabouts ☕

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#characterdesign #genshinimpact #wutheringwaves

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[tirramasu]

Let me tell you they are both painful to draw

[insecent]

imo, the designs in genshin are definitely very eye catching and distinct, however in comparison to the game's npcs it just feels off putting and makes playable characters feel out of place. Though in wuwa, playable characters fit in with the npcs very well and it doesn't make them seem like some variable.
I also noticed how characters (wuwa) all share certain elements to their design that npcs also have, kind of are like fashion trends or clothing styles unique to the region. This actually does make characters less recognizable tho.

[namaenonai]

The repeated patterns in wuwa (like the belt and flowing cloak-things) are based off the area's fashion. The NPCs wear similar ideas of fashion, and the playable characters hold similar fashion while still looking distinct from the NPCs.

[lexipatel]

I do love how much wuwa is willing to show age in their designs. And not just npc grandmas/grandpas in genshin, like how some character’s faces show maturity and age that isn’t immediately 80s. Like two characters with facial hair, and the adults actually looking like fully grown adults. One npc in the newest main quest literally had some wrinkles, but wasn’t hunched over any old sounding, just a normal person with wrinkles. It’s so refreshing to see people portrayed as normal people and not skin like dolls😭

[thatlittlecrab]

Quick fun fact about Calcharo:

His design is particularly unique in the fact that he is not a native of Jinzhou and runs a faction in possibly the next nation, The New Federation.
While striking a deal with Jiyan in order to fend off Tacet Discords, Jiyan made it clear that it was in his best interest to wear an attire similar to Jinzhou natives while in Huanglong.

I love this little detail because it really speaks a lot about Jinzhou's formal fashion where as, Encore, Aalto, Verina, and possibly Camellya (all also from New Federation) have an individual style, despite three of them being from one faction. If Kuro Games introduces skins soon (which is super likely) I feel Calcharo will be apart of that list for early skins.

[noomynarpa]

the random ass picture of a grandma eating as a reference caught me off guard that was insane 😂

[eikonokitsune]

In my opinion both games have designs and design philosophy that people will like and dislike, for example i like wuwa more because of it simplicity(depending of the characterof course), maturity and as well the pos-apocalyptic motif(and because the men are to much hot as well), in contrast with genshin that i like the colors and each regional clothes as well but i hate it over detailment. So i all comes in question of people taste.

[ahrisse]

I don't get why this should be a debate. There's no such thing as better when it comes to design and theme. It all comes down to preference.

[Brenilla]

My only issue with the designs of WuWa is how similar they end up looking due to the heavy use of whites/blacks and general shape of clothes. (The female protag, and first girls we meet wear similarly cut/sectioned clothes so it kinda poked the issue more). And for a gatcha game they neiched the corner quite a bit for the launch. The newer revealed characters do show promise. So i hope they expand their parts on this.

Edit to more better explain the whole Black & White thing: the issue isn’t the black and white it’s how they use it. Ratios, positioning and detail. You can make a verry diverse cast of characters in monochrome or with the same pallette. Wuwa just hasn’t utilized it to a point where it works the best.

Anyways, hope to see what comes. I really enjoy some of thease designs.


Also small thing i noticed is that almost every single girl character has bow(s) in their hair. They all are diffrent kinds but it’s kinda funny design trend.

[FayinKay]

Genshin's character's having very distinct character silhouettes is a pretty important part to me. I just love when a character is just easily recognizable even when only a part of them is shown.

[higan]

In my opinion, there are no winners here, because both designs are good
Genshin touches with its brightness, color combination, and some people like it
wuwa touches with its monochrome, post-apocalyptic and, to some extent, its simplicity
I really like dark and monochrome colors, so wuwa is very attractive to me, and especially PGR - their designs are amazing!

[Bluey_g]

Why compare designs of a bright and colourful fantasy word to a post-apocalyptic world? If anything wuwa should be compared to like arknights(?) and Genshin one of its own company’s (HSR, HI3)

[eclunakitty]

Tbh, with how much the atmospheres of these games impact the fashion of their characters, it almost feels unfair to compare the two. Genshin's atmosphere is whimsical, magical, and beneath that lies something incredibly dark. While with Wuwa, that grim and dark atmosphere is on the surface for everyone to see! This also heavily impacts the character designs imo. They're tailor made to fit the contexts of their respective worlds. I think it's only natural that the fantasy game will have more colorful and whimsical designs. While the post apocalyptic one will have less of those. If you really wanted to compare wuwa designs to anything, Arknights (specifically endfield) would be much more fitting to use.

[thatnerdyvonne]

This is such an interesting analysis! I definitely prefer Genshin’s designs primarily because of my bias towards brighter color palettes but I definitely agree that there’s still some merit and room to grow on WuWa’s end. PS I love your art style 🪑

[niconii]

thank you for looking at it in a neutral way, i said i prefer genshins over wuwas character designs (i still like some wuwa characters a lot) and i got so many insults and people called me a "typical mihoyo bootlicker" and that genshin characters are all bland and have zero details.. how has a character like navia or furina "zeo details". 😭 some people dont understand that this is not a competition and especially with character designs its often just a matter of taste

[DreamyAileen]

There are certainly subjective aspects of character design, but there are objective aspects too. Speaking as someone who _subjectively_ prefers the style of WuWa's character designs...I think Genshin's character designs are _objectively_ better. For the simple reason that they _inform character_ -- something you touched on in your video but didn't discuss as much as I expected. For an easy comparison, look at Yangyang and Amber. What can you tell about either character just by looking at them?

Yangyang:
1. She's got very long black hair and an outfit that resembles a formal dress, as well as a cap with a big bow. Is she some kind of heiress?
2. The feathers in her hair indicate she's got some supernatural element to her, but it's only on one side. Maybe it's a result of contact with a supernatural entity?
3. She's often depicted carrying a sword, so she's clearly a fighter.
Based on these traits, my assumption would be that she's a young noblewoman who became a fighter after some incident in the past resulted in her gaining powers from a greater supernatural entity.

Amber:
1. She has goggles around her neck. Maybe she's a pilot?
2. Her gloves, the pouches hanging from her belt, and the leather parts of her outfit all suggest that she's someone who spends a lot of time in the wilderness.
3. Her outfit has gold badges and emblems all over, suggesting she works for a state authority, perhaps a royal military. Her outfit is also very well-maintained, suggesting a pride or diligence in her work.
4. She has a bunny-ear-like ribbon on her head and a pair of feather hanging from a trinket on her belt, indicating a free-spirited attitude.
Based on these traits, my assumption would be that she's an explorer in the employ of the state, who relishes the freedom of the wilderness while also earnestly carrying out her duties. And also she might be a pilot or something.

But who are they in canon? Surprise! They're both Outriders of their respective nations' militaries. For Amber, this makes a lot of sense -- she _looks_ like an Outrider for a fantasy military force. She _looks_ like someone as free-spirited yet diligent as she's shown to be. She _looks_ like someone who fell in love with gliding on the wind from a young age. But Yangyang? Yangyang doesn't look like an Outrider _or_ military personnel. Now, she _is_ from a well-off family, so that aspect of her outfit does make sense, but that means Yangyang's design tells one part of her character at the expense of the others, as opposed to Amber's design which hints at many parts of her character.

And this extends to either game's playable 1.0 rosters overall. Most designs in Genshin's 1.0 roster inform a lot about each character at a glance -- Xingqiu the educated young heir with an interest in traditional swordfighting techniques, Barbara the sweet and gentle idol singer church girl, Bennett the young adventurer who gets into dangerous situations frequently but always manages to come out the other side with positive attitude no less intact, Sucrose the shy researcher who works for the same military force as Amber, etc. Whereas most designs in WuWa's 1.0 roster _don't_ inform much about them -- can you tell anything about Calcharo or Jiyan beyond "badass fighter men" just from looking at them? Can you tell that Baizhi and Mortefi are researchers at the same institution? Would you have guessed that Yuanwu is a boxing gym owner, as opposed to, say, a smooth criminal?

At the end of the day, for narrative works like Genshin and WuWa, character design is first and foremost a tool for worldbuilding and characterization. WuWa's 1.0 roster does great at the former, but leaves something to be desired for the latter. While Genshin's 1.0 roster does pretty good at both the former and latter. And that's why I think Genshin's character designs are _objectively_ better.




also great job on the Furina artwork, I love it :)

[Unrealistic_Fox]

I feel like my favorite part of Wuwa is the diverse body shapes, for example, Taoqi has a wider frame and a bigger chest than lets say Danjin, this makes it feel like the characters are actual characters instead of dummies with different clothes on

[babatea]

Even if your not planning on playing WuWa i highly suggest you download and log in to check out the character's in game model just for an artistic view. Just base on the splash art WuWa color may be a bit muted and doesn't stand out to Genshin's colorful palette. But once you see the character models they are gorgeous especially thier gold, silver, and jade accessories contrasting their monochromatic palette. Not to mention you'll appreciate their silhouette alot more too since WuWa characters seems to have all unique models for their characters and doesn't use the same model for multiple characterslike genshin.

[liyan]

I've played both games and I like the style of both games.

The characters from Genshin are easy to recognize and understand upon first look because of their motifs, general fashion, and color, however it does have a more cartoon style that relies on those motifs and silhouette. Some characters look...odd because of their unique silhouettes and overall the playable characters stand out so much from npcs that it can feel like they don't even belong in the world. I think it will become more a problem in the future as there are only so many color palettes with wildly different colors that look good together before you run out.

As for Wuthering Waves, I can see how the character designs may look too monochrome for a lot of people. However, when playing the game it feels more correct when meeting the characters and seeing who they are paired or in alliance with. It's more subtle as the characters blend into their world more (with some exceptions) and makes it more believable when Yangyang talks to a soldier who she shares similar motifs with vs when Amber talks with a guard who she shares no motifs with. The only thing I can see being a problem in the future is if other regions don't lean far enough away from other ones to make it distinct from the others.

Overall, Genshin's playable characters scream "look at me, I'm playable" while WuWa's playable characters take a subtle approach of "I may look like a playable character, but so does that npc over there" (Yhan, please become playable 😭)

[sasvkeee._]

4:26 OK I KNOW YOU’RE NOT GETTING INTO LITTLE DETAILS BUT i love her sm so i just wanna point out some elements !!
- 5 ruffle things on the cape thingy IDK WHAT ITS CALLED? represents 5 centuries of suffering
- different coloured eyes shows the different archons
- justice symbol on the bottom of her shoes, showing disrespect towards it ?
idk that’s how i interpret it im done yapping now