Playable Maxwell needs a visual pass to resemble his art and NPC more

[codenamecomlink]

Maxwell's playable character sprite has always struck me as... not great. It's been there for a long time, but I've only recently started to look at various depictions of him and notice how many things are wrong with the in-game sprite when compared to all kinds of art in the game. Most notably his portrait, statue, and NPC equivalent. Since it appears he mostly reuses Wilson's assets, a visual refresh for Maxwell's playable version is long overdue. If I had to suggest, his in-game sprite should be made to resemble his Forgotten Knowledge art:

Various pictures of Maxwell and his playable version from the Don't Starve Wiki:



For the sake of writing it down, these are some of the most notable inconsistencies in order:

1. His playable sprite does not have long sleeves. This is very noticeable and his most occurrent issue. It's especially noticeable when he performs his idle animation, where he tugs on his arm in place of a sleeve that isn't present.
2. His playable sprite's suit lacks its horned shoulders. This may be the result of his altered proportions, but if he is given new sleeve sprites it should be noted as they can definitely work.
3. His playable sprite does not have striped pants. This makes his suit feel incomplete.
4. His playable sprite's shoes are incorrect as they do not have heels. They instead appear to reuse Wilson's shoes.
5. His playable sprite has incorrect colors. His waistcoat is light as opposed to dark. His suit also has dark stripes, whereas he is often depicted with light stripes. This particular detail can vary often due to the illustrated art style, but his in-game sprite should at least use the correct colors.
6. it would be nice if his Shadow Puppets resembled their depiction in his vignette.

A lot of this may have been the result of him potentially being rushed as a playable character, as it seems like for the most part he reuses Wilson's graphics. For a character so pivotal to the game's story, his default outfit should be done justice and given a visual pass.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you have a nice day, -Comlink

(P.S. Maybe as an alternative to his codex he could use his NPC's cigar or a bubble pipe like the sculpture? It would distinguish him from Wickerbottom and add to his arsenal of magician's props. When he teleports in Don't Starve as an NPC he's probably using the cigar or his winter coat to do it, but a magician never tells their secrets... I would love if inspecting it allowed him to go "Say pal, you don't look so good..." Thank you again for reading!)

[Beetrice]

True... Given how many skins are released every update, I don't feel like it's a tall order.

[Pruinae]

Lmao, this always bothered me too. Usually I just slap a skin on top and stop thinking about it, but I am glad to see someone has made a thread for it.

[gaymime]

the cigar thing is not really gonna fly because of smoking laws in a few countries making the pegi rating weird BUT the rest i totally agree with~

[NPCMaxwell]

Was this thread kind of made for people like me who love Maxwell but are always bothered by the tiny Maxwell's look? I am sure I would be less annoyed of tiny Maxwell if your adjustments were made

Also thanks for assuming he uses his cigar as magic teleportation device xD That's exactly what I have him do lol

If they really rushed him as a playable character it's actually sad, considering in comparison to how long and probably how many approaches a beginner / struggling player takes to go through finding the Maxwell Door and make it through the adventure mode in DS to unlock him.

I would add his side-nose and general chin shape being adjusted a bit for the playable sprite together with the outfit but then not sure if anyone else mind such a small difference or not.

[codenamecomlink]

 

12 hours ago, NPCMaxwell said:

Was this thread kind of made for people like me who love Maxwell but are always bothered by the tiny Maxwell's look? I am sure I would be less annoyed of tiny Maxwell if your adjustments were made

Also thanks for assuming he uses his cigar as magic teleportation device xD That's exactly what I have him do lol

If they really rushed him as a playable character it's actually sad, considering in comparison to how long and probably how many approaches a beginner / struggling player takes to go through finding the Maxwell Door and make it through the adventure mode in DS to unlock him.

I would add his side-nose and general chin shape being adjusted a bit for the playable sprite together with the outfit but then not sure if anyone else mind such a small difference or not.

Granted, even as a rushed character he has ALL of the lines of dialogue and a new gameplay experience, so he's still a good reward. The ending of adventure mode is already worth it, so playing as him is like the cherry on top. It's mostly his visuals that have always bugged me.

[codenamecomlink]

17 hours ago, gaymime said:

the cigar thing is not really gonna fly because of smoking laws in a few countries making the pegi rating weird BUT the rest i totally agree with~

Ah, really? That would make sense, I figured it would be fine because it's already in the game, but its usage might be a different story... He never actually smokes it, after all.

That being said his character graphics were the primary focus of the post, so I won't feel too bad either way. That's just my pipe dream (hardy har har).

[NPCMaxwell]

15 hours ago, codenamecomlink said:

 

Granted, even as a rushed character he has ALL of the lines of dialogue and a new gameplay experience, so he's still a good reward. The ending of adventure mode is already worth it, so playing as him is like the cherry on top. It's mostly his visuals that have always bugged me.

He‘s obviously super fun to play and my main reason to make Wilson go through the door again and again. (I‘m not sure if I ever would have bothered with Adventure mode if I hadn‘t been told by a friend you unlock playable Maxwell this way)

I also like everything about playing him (in the single player game! I prefer my own version for DST) ASIDES the playable sprites, though in single player they bothered me way less since I didn‘t always have the comparison to the other characters that makes him look wrongly dressed compared to non-in-game clothed.