09-05-2013, 05:19 PM
Edit: This original post is largely outdated. Scroll down to the March 3, 2014 post for the latest details.
Original post:
Well, here's a piece of trivia that was rejected for insufficient/ineffectual evidence. It was recommended that I post my findings here for discussion, possibly to figure out a better way to present it.
Batman: Arkham Origins (unreleased) appears to use multiple instances of graffiti replicated from actual walls of the developers' city: Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Specifically, it seems to be all tags by one local artist in particular.
I've made some comparison images with screenshots next to photographs, and put them on a page with further information. With this in mind, I'm not sure how to explain the trivia any better, since the images make it a self-evident fact, and I included site addresses of the photo owners where you can find out exactly where in Montreal the graffiti resides.
Here are my images:
http://noproblo.dayjo.org/ArkhamOriginsGraff/
Please note: I was told that posting images was not allowed in this forum. Because I can only access the internet on my phone via wi-fi spots, I get the mobile version of the forums, and I was not able to find any 'rules' posts or notices that said anything about posting (non-permanent) links. Therefore; Click at your own risk, even though I promise the link is safe. ;)
The first image is clear as day and I don't believe it needs any further explanation. It appears slightly warped in the game, but this is because of the depth-of-field change that occurs when Batman fires his grapnel gun (an effect seen in the demo video as well as both previous Arkham games). This is also the tag that I saw the most times in the demo video.
The second tag is quite dark and fuzzy, and it may appear at first like I made a shot in the dark and just assumed that it matched the photo. But take a few moments to look closely and you can see that certain shapes and features of the tag actually do match up.
Would it help my case at all if I added some coloured dots to the comparison image to show exactly where and how certain parts of the tag align? I may also be able to get a higher-quality copy of the video...
The third tag, as you can see, is not an exact match. But it's very similar in the game, and quite clearly displays the same word (name) as the real-life tag.
If the photo predates the game's dev cycle, which I recall it does but will have to hunt down that info again, then this proves one or both of two things. 1) That the graffiti artist has indeed reused that style and written another tag somewhere that turned out with the dimensions and serifs slightly different, in a way that would match the in-game tag. 2) That an artist at WB was inspired by this real-life tag and drew a replication that turned out a bit different.
As a matter of fact, if you search for graffiti images by that artist, you'll find that he does have a handful of (relatively simple) tag styles that he often reuses. And as a matter of further fact, I actually DID recently find the matching real-life tag in a photo (EDIT: Wrong, I only found a very similar one), but my phone browser would only show the thumbnail, and wouldn't even save a copy to the memory card. A common problem with Android. :P I'm presently trying to get in touch with the photographer for a copy of the photo, or at least the tag's location so I could head out and shoot my own.
There you have it. I'm sure more instances will turn up sooner or later. Feedback is appreciated, as is any advice or help to get this posted on the VGFacts main site. Thanks!
Original post:
Well, here's a piece of trivia that was rejected for insufficient/ineffectual evidence. It was recommended that I post my findings here for discussion, possibly to figure out a better way to present it.
Batman: Arkham Origins (unreleased) appears to use multiple instances of graffiti replicated from actual walls of the developers' city: Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Specifically, it seems to be all tags by one local artist in particular.
I've made some comparison images with screenshots next to photographs, and put them on a page with further information. With this in mind, I'm not sure how to explain the trivia any better, since the images make it a self-evident fact, and I included site addresses of the photo owners where you can find out exactly where in Montreal the graffiti resides.
Here are my images:
http://noproblo.dayjo.org/ArkhamOriginsGraff/
Please note: I was told that posting images was not allowed in this forum. Because I can only access the internet on my phone via wi-fi spots, I get the mobile version of the forums, and I was not able to find any 'rules' posts or notices that said anything about posting (non-permanent) links. Therefore; Click at your own risk, even though I promise the link is safe. ;)
The first image is clear as day and I don't believe it needs any further explanation. It appears slightly warped in the game, but this is because of the depth-of-field change that occurs when Batman fires his grapnel gun (an effect seen in the demo video as well as both previous Arkham games). This is also the tag that I saw the most times in the demo video.
The second tag is quite dark and fuzzy, and it may appear at first like I made a shot in the dark and just assumed that it matched the photo. But take a few moments to look closely and you can see that certain shapes and features of the tag actually do match up.
Would it help my case at all if I added some coloured dots to the comparison image to show exactly where and how certain parts of the tag align? I may also be able to get a higher-quality copy of the video...
The third tag, as you can see, is not an exact match. But it's very similar in the game, and quite clearly displays the same word (name) as the real-life tag.
If the photo predates the game's dev cycle, which I recall it does but will have to hunt down that info again, then this proves one or both of two things. 1) That the graffiti artist has indeed reused that style and written another tag somewhere that turned out with the dimensions and serifs slightly different, in a way that would match the in-game tag. 2) That an artist at WB was inspired by this real-life tag and drew a replication that turned out a bit different.
As a matter of fact, if you search for graffiti images by that artist, you'll find that he does have a handful of (relatively simple) tag styles that he often reuses. And as a matter of further fact, I actually DID recently find the matching real-life tag in a photo (EDIT: Wrong, I only found a very similar one), but my phone browser would only show the thumbnail, and wouldn't even save a copy to the memory card. A common problem with Android. :P I'm presently trying to get in touch with the photographer for a copy of the photo, or at least the tag's location so I could head out and shoot my own.
There you have it. I'm sure more instances will turn up sooner or later. Feedback is appreciated, as is any advice or help to get this posted on the VGFacts main site. Thanks!