Why does Blizzard see Pandaren as the "Fat Panda" Race?

[Deleted]

Base a race around drinking beer all the time and you don't expect them to be fat? :C

[Dhrizzle]

Pandas are bouncy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...Wnj8kKVs#t=32s

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Only one image shows a truly skinny Pandaren, and you happened to find that one image.

[mvaliz]

Considering Blizzard designed the fat, anthropomorphic panda almost ten years before that film came out, care explaining how they did that? Magic? A time machine?

a) Chen wasn't fat in the game (see game screens). He had a chubby face (nothing like today's Pandaren) but not a chubby body.
b) Chen didn't use Kung-Fu in the game (he just swung a staff like any dolt and hit people with a keg. Prior to MoP - all Pandaren had swords and staffs in the art, now they're all punch/kick physical and a staff is secondary...)
c) The environment, sky and architecture of the game is an exaggerated cartoon/animated version of classic China (which happens to look damn near exactly like Kung Fu Panda's style)
d) the racials:
Epicurian - Po the Panda is a very accomplished chef
Food buff - Po the Panda trained in martial arts via his desire for food
"Bouncy" - Po the Panda used his fat as an actual defense in combat.
e) ALL BEARS EAT A LOT - it's not something unique to pandas that people keep trying to shoe-horn into. Hello?? Yogi Bear!?
f) 95% of all the Pandaren/Pandyr art and environments made by Samwise do not look like the in-game Pandaren. (yes, 5% does...)

I FIRMLY believe all these people who deny that the inspiration for designing the racials, the setting and everything was inspired by Kung Fu Panda (ie. NOT the creation of them... just the DESIGN of their abilities, culture and enviroment) CLEARLY have not seen Kung Fu Panda.

They didn't make Po fat and love food because he was a Panda and that it was funny - they made him fat and he loved food because it was an integral part of his character! Him being fat was WAY beyond comic relief jokes (though it also worked that way too...) He was a big fat fanbody nerd who worshiped the other Martial artists... the whole POINT of the movie was he was physically miles away of being able to do ANY martial arts, but he learned that martial arts goes beyond physical ability.

Again, watch the movie, and then go watch the MoP trailer and see for yourself. The enviroments aren't just Chinese architecture inspired. I've seen PLENTY of other games that are inspired by Chinese Architecture (Dynasty Warriors comes to mind) and don't look so damn similar to Kung Fu Panda's. And don't say "The MoP design looks cartoony because WoW's game art generally looks cartoony" because I can raise you one there - the Vrykul. If they can pull off 9ft tall savage Viking Barbarians with WoW's art style and engine, they could pull off a non-cartoon-looking landscape with more "Dynasty Warrior" looking Pandaren.

Even if you somehow disregard ALL of that - I ask you this. You SERIOUSLY think that, after over who knows how many years of development MoP has been in, and over 3 years since the movie came out - that Blizzard - never - EVER - looked at the movie, then looked back at MoP and said "Hrm... do you think the art styles might be too similar?" Keep in mind that these are the same guys who have ripped off the entire story of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Rambo and CSI for whole zone-wide stories... and are also directly ripping off the exact game engine mechanics from Pokemon (not just the idea of monster combat/collect em all). You seriously think they're somehow incapable of basing an art style off of an incredibly popular movie series?

And finally - above all else - here's my favorite way to put the whole argument into perspective that these "Pandaren came before KFP!" people seem to forget:

Player 1: I hate MoP! It looks like Kung Fu Panda!!

MoP Fan: I hate to break it to you, but there was a Pandaren in Warcraft III - and plenty of art that has existed years before the movie ever came out.

Player 1: So what? What does that change? The game still LOOKS like Kung Fu Panda!!

You can link all the art, architecture, screenshots, RPG books, design docs, Panda documentaries, cartoon pandas through the ages... hell, lets even say there's a fictional video existing of Metzen drawing a picture of MoP in 2007 - 1 year before KFP hit theaters... ALL of that does NOT change the fact that the game LOOKS like Kung Fu Panda. And that is what people who hate MoP don't like.

[roahn the warlock]

Pandaren would have been 10x cooler if they weren't so fat and cuddly. I am not talking blood elf skinny here but just a little for shape and tone you know?

they will 100% be updated before the game comes out, or did you not see how the panda doesn't currently compare to the goblin or worgen. Let us recall a moment the original Worgen, it will be updated to make more sense but they will still be pudgy.

[Aoi]

Pandaren would have been 10x cooler if they weren't so fat and cuddly. I am not talking blood elf skinny here but just a little for shape and tone you know?

But then they wouldn't be kung fu panda



I wonder if jack black is going to voice them in MoP? May as well go the extra mile and copy their voice acting too.

[redruMPanda]

Anyone who doesn't understand why pandaren are fat should go look at a panda. Pandas are fat.
Anyone who doesn't understand how pandaren fit into WoW, should go kick a panda. Pandas are bears, they'll rip yer frickin leg off.

That being said, we've only seen one player model. It could very well be a placeholder/prototype version.

Yea they never use the original models they come up with look at the worgen for instance. All I know is I can't wait to play me a panda.

[Queen of Hamsters]

Why the hell would you need to point this out?

Because a lot of stupid haters always want to make it out that only kids/females will be attracted to MoP?

/Another female gamer that shoots heads off of zombies in RDR, then zooms in on them with a rolling block rifle.

---------- Post added 2011-11-24 at 06:54 AM ----------

a) Chen wasn't fat in the game (see game screens). He had a chubby face (nothing like today's Pandaren) but not a chubby body.
b) Chen didn't use Kung-Fu in the game (he just swung a staff like any dolt and hit people with a keg. Prior to MoP - all Pandaren had swords and staffs in the art, now they're all punch/kick physical and a staff is secondary...)
c) The environment, sky and architecture of the game is an exaggerated cartoon/animated version of classic China (which happens to look damn near exactly like Kung Fu Panda's style)
d) the racials:
Epicurian - Po the Panda is a very accomplished chef
Food buff - Po the Panda trained in martial arts via his desire for food
"Bouncy" - Po the Panda used his fat as an actual defense in combat.
e) ALL BEARS EAT A LOT - it's not something unique to pandas that people keep trying to shoe-horn into. Hello?? Yogi Bear!?
f) 95% of all the Pandaren/Pandyr art and environments made by Samwise do not look like the in-game Pandaren. (yes, 5% does...)

I FIRMLY believe all these people who deny that the inspiration for designing the racials, the setting and everything was inspired by Kung Fu Panda (ie. NOT the creation of them... just the DESIGN of their abilities, culture and enviroment) CLEARLY have not seen Kung Fu Panda.

They didn't make Po fat and love food because he was a Panda and that it was funny - they made him fat and he loved food because it was an integral part of his character! Him being fat was WAY beyond comic relief jokes (though it also worked that way too...) He was a big fat fanbody nerd who worshiped the other Martial artists... the whole POINT of the movie was he was physically miles away of being able to do ANY martial arts, but he learned that martial arts goes beyond physical ability.

Again, watch the movie, and then go watch the MoP trailer and see for yourself. The enviroments aren't just Chinese architecture inspired. I've seen PLENTY of other games that are inspired by Chinese Architecture (Dynasty Warriors comes to mind) and don't look so damn similar to Kung Fu Panda's. And don't say "The MoP design looks cartoony because WoW's game art generally looks cartoony" because I can raise you one there - the Vrykul. If they can pull off 9ft tall savage Viking Barbarians with WoW's art style and engine, they could pull off a non-cartoon-looking landscape with more "Dynasty Warrior" looking Pandaren.

Even if you somehow disregard ALL of that - I ask you this. You SERIOUSLY think that, after over who knows how many years of development MoP has been in, and over 3 years since the movie came out - that Blizzard - never - EVER - looked at the movie, then looked back at MoP and said "Hrm... do you think the art styles might be too similar?" Keep in mind that these are the same guys who have ripped off the entire story of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Rambo and CSI for whole zone-wide stories... and are also directly ripping off the exact game engine mechanics from Pokemon (not just the idea of monster combat/collect em all). You seriously think they're somehow incapable of basing an art style off of an incredibly popular movie series?

And finally - above all else - here's my favorite way to put the whole argument into perspective that these "Pandaren came before KFP!" people seem to forget:

Player 1: I hate MoP! It looks like Kung Fu Panda!!

MoP Fan: I hate to break it to you, but there was a Pandaren in Warcraft III - and plenty of art that has existed years before the movie ever came out.

Player 1: So what? What does that change? The game still LOOKS like Kung Fu Panda!!

You can link all the art, architecture, screenshots, RPG books, design docs, Panda documentaries, cartoon pandas through the ages... hell, lets even say there's a fictional video existing of Metzen drawing a picture of MoP in 2007 - 1 year before KFP hit theaters... ALL of that does NOT change the fact that the game LOOKS like Kung Fu Panda. And that is what people who hate MoP don't like.

All of that is nicely written and has a point, but still doesn't change that people are pretty annoying with their hating on a game, and an expansion that's not even out yet and will see many changes. However I do not hope they change the settings to something "dark", I don't want friggin' Horde...I want Pandaren.

[apepi]

I think the pandas are going to be fat, bears need to have this fattness, if not they could not hibernate. It is a way of storing food, so in essence they are not 'fat' if almost every bear is like this, the bigger fatterish ones would be fat:}

[Bombkirby]

More recent (2007ish) Pandaren art from Samwise has them as being fat. So... yeah.

[starlord]

You can link all the art, architecture, screenshots, RPG books, design docs, Panda documentaries, cartoon pandas through the ages... hell, lets even say there's a fictional video existing of Metzen drawing a picture of MoP in 2007 - 1 year before KFP hit theaters... ALL of that does NOT change the fact that the game LOOKS like Kung Fu Panda. And that is what people who hate MoP don't like.

Wow, ok. So basically what you're saying is people will deny all logic and evidence and hate mop cause part of it vaguely resembles some movie. I guess they hate it cause it looks like mulan too, that had architecture that looked the same and a fat guy that loved food. And a panda.

Kung fu has also been a huge part of chinese culture for hundreds/thousands of years, so it would kind of make sense to feature it.

Also its pretty obvious who hasnt seen real asian architecture before, if they complain about it looking similar...

[Samin]

You can link all the art, architecture, screenshots, RPG books, design docs, Panda documentaries, cartoon pandas through the ages... hell, lets even say there's a fictional video existing of Metzen drawing a picture of MoP in 2007 - 1 year before KFP hit theaters... ALL of that does NOT change the fact that the game LOOKS like Kung Fu Panda. And that is what people who hate MoP don't like.

No. Actually that is what people who hate MoP for whatever reason use as an excuse to flame MoP.

Let's just assume they were influenced by that movie when they created the artwork for the Pandaren in the game.

WHAT IS THE GOD DAMN PROBLEM?

Explain. Reasonable.

It is NOT Kung Fu Panda The Game. They're pandaren. Yes their art style has maybe received influences from that movie, but their nature and culture will still be their own.

It's not as if WoW was never influenced by a movie or anything. And it's really not like when they were influenced that they adopted EVERYTHING from that source.

Blizzard has always shown that they know how to take ideas and put them into their own context in WoW. Just read up on D&D gnomes, dwarves and elves. The personality of these races is sometimes very different from their originals.

So I'm not sure if it's that people hate that movie and say everything is as bad that just looks like that or if it's that people hate MoP because they are sick of WoW and try to find anything to make it look as miserable as they feel.

You know when they announced Worgen the comparison to Twilight was ALL OVER THE PLACE. And what do they have in common with Twilight werewolfs? Okay seriously I don't know I've only seen the first movie yet and there were basically nothing about them. But I don't hear those complains anymore so I assume it was bullshit. It's the same story.

Shup up. You're just desperately trying to find ANYTHING to proof to yourself to stop with WoW. Don't drag others into that, don't make it as if the game was bad. It's your very own problem.

But maybe you just have some identification problem. You shouldn't reflect on yourself completely via the game. I think that especially applies if you also feel that Pandaren were a "joke race" and that this is outrageous that they add a joke race to the game that is based on some movie. RABBLERABBLE.

(Btw, I really don't see how this is influenced more by Kung Fu Panda than general chinese culture and stereotypes that go along with that. Nice referencing Mulan above me, completely forgot about that movie too)


Also - yes they racials are probably at least partly based on the movie (shock horror, have you checked the other racials ever?) - because if based on real pandas they would have to eat MORE to receive the same benefits than other races. Pandas are so horrible inefficient (and picky) eaters. (And that's sadly part of the reason why they are probably the species that has the hardest time adjusting to human intereference to the point that it won't ever be able to if humans don't watch after them)

[dope_danny]

bears are not known for having a svelte and streamlined morphology. We are talking a race of Buddha bellied men and women who value balance and peace. They spend their time enjoying brewing good ales and tending gardens more than killing their neighbours who they literally just built a wall between. they are bouncy and enjoy food. they are not tauren or night elves or trolls. They are something different from the same era in azeroths history. if you dont like it then pick one of the other options there are. They shouldn't all be the same and this build makes the pandaren look how they should. essentially the hobbits of wow. They dont fight even though they could, they enjoy peace, ale, and good tilled earth. their design reflects their nature.

[mvaliz]

All of that is nicely written and has a point, but still doesn't change that people are pretty annoying with their hating on a game, and an expansion that's not even out yet and will see many changes. However I do not hope they change the settings to something "dark", I don't want friggin' Horde...I want Pandaren.

Hehe - well, that's one point where I can't offer an argument for the number of posts (apart from the idea that a lot of people apparently don't like them :P)

But, then again, I've seen plenty of the opposite of "QQ about panda QQ" posts too. those are equally as annoying, and (depending on the day) more prolific than the Panda-hater posts. :P

---------- Post added 2011-11-24 at 07:32 AM ----------

I don't care about their opinions, but please.. for the love of God.. bring some decent arguments to the table if you want to bash MoP.
Don't like it? Fine..
Trash-talking that they ripped off KFP? Than you get counter-argumented that Pandaren preceeded KFP.

First off - I like MoP and the Pandaren...(I really should start my posts off more with that). I'm not hating on them, I'm offering an insight into why other people don't like them as I've heard the arguments and I, myself, can see why they might not be reacted well towards.

Which, incidentally, I noticed you didn't quote the VERY part of the dialogue and others above what you quoted of me - which is the whole "dirt" you're claimed I was "lacking" as well as the reason all the Panda-lore doesn't mean squat in the eyes of the Panda-haters.

But I guess it's easy to say I got no dirt when you conveniently "delete" it from your eyesight and your post, itsn't it? :P

[mvaliz]

No. Actually that is what people who hate MoP for whatever reason use as an excuse to flame MoP.

Let's just assume they were influenced by that movie when they created the artwork for the Pandaren in the game.

WHAT IS THE GOD DAMN PROBLEM?

Explain. Reasonable. <snip>

Me personally? None! I like the Pandaren AND the new style - and since I liked Kung-Fu Panda the movie, I liked how the style of MoP mimicked the movie. ^_^

To me, that's fine... but to other's - it's not because it feels like they're jumping from a Tolkien'eque DnD with a dash of Steampunk world into a very cartoony land. (I have a bit of a broad mind that can actually encompass why other people don't like the things I do. It comes with the territory of being a bit of a "black sheep" when you're the one who always goes fishing while other's are raiding and stuff like that. :P)

The art in the most recent comic they're apparently about to sell (Pearl of Pandaria) isn't going to help this argument either.
http://wow.gamona.de/wp-content/gall...andaria_01.jpg

And, again, while I LOVE the art style - I can totally see why people who were long-time WoW vets are going "WTF!?"

It's VERY rare for a game with a long history to go from serious to toon-style and light-hearted. The closest thing I can think of would be Zelda: Wind Waker or maybe Team Fortress 2... lets just hope (like in Team Fortress 2's case) that gameplay speaks louder than visuals. :P

[Dhrizzle]

a) Chen wasn't fat in the game (see game screens). He had a chubby face (nothing like today's Pandaren) but not a chubby body.

Compared to Rexxar's itti-bitty waste Chen has a fair gut.

b) Chen didn't use Kung-Fu in the game (he just swung a staff like any dolt and hit people with a keg. Prior to MoP - all Pandaren had swords and staffs in the art, now they're all punch/kick physical and a staff is secondary...)

You're confusing Pandaren with Monks, and Brewmasters will very likely use staves.

c) The environment, sky and architecture of the game is an exaggerated cartoon/animated version of classic China (which happens to look damn near exactly like Kung Fu Panda's style)

Yeah, they both look like cartoon versions of an early Jackie Chan film, much like the story og KFP and inspiration for the Brewmaster came from early Jackie Chan films.

d) the racials:
Epicurian - Po the Panda is a very accomplished chef
Food buff - Po the Panda trained in martial arts via his desire for food
"Bouncy" - Po the Panda used his fat as an actual defense in combat.

For the first two, pandas are famous for spending most of their active hours eating. As for bouncy, Pandaren don't have it as a combat ability, it reduces fall damage in much the same way pandas can fall from trees with no harm.

e) ALL BEARS EAT A LOT - it's not something unique to pandas that people keep trying to shoe-horn into. Hello?? Yogi Bear!?

Pandas eat more, though this is mostly because of their awful diet.

f) 95% of all the Pandaren/Pandyr art and environments made by Samwise do not look like the in-game Pandaren. (yes, 5% does...)

That's because Samwise drew the national animal of China in the national dress of Japan which is culturally a huge no-no.

I FIRMLY believe all these people who deny that the inspiration for designing the racials, the setting and everything was inspired by Kung Fu Panda (ie. NOT the creation of them... just the DESIGN of their abilities, culture and enviroment) CLEARLY have not seen Kung Fu Panda.

I have seen Kung Fu Panda, it was a cartoon version of Jackie Chan and looked like a cartoon version of China. MoP looks like a cartoon version of China. One is not ripping off the other any more than Skyrim (which is fricking awesome by the way) is ripping off WotLK.

They didn't make Po fat and love food because he was a Panda and that it was funny - they made him fat and he loved food because it was an integral part of his character! Him being fat was WAY beyond comic relief jokes (though it also worked that way too...) He was a big fat fanbody nerd who worshiped the other Martial artists... the whole POINT of the movie was he was physically miles away of being able to do ANY martial arts, but he learned that martial arts goes beyond physical ability.

Which is different to the Pandaren who are physically capable of performing martial arts.

Again, watch the movie, and then go watch the MoP trailer and see for yourself. The enviroments aren't just Chinese architecture inspired. I've seen PLENTY of other games that are inspired by Chinese Architecture (Dynasty Warriors comes to mind) and don't look so damn similar to Kung Fu Panda's. And don't say "The MoP design looks cartoony because WoW's game art generally looks cartoony" because I can raise you one there - the Vrykul. If they can pull off 9ft tall savage Viking Barbarians with WoW's art style and engine, they could pull off a non-cartoon-looking landscape with more "Dynasty Warrior" looking Pandaren.

Vrykul are still cartoony, they're just made to look fierce and ugly so we feel better about killing them.

Even if you somehow disregard ALL of that - I ask you this. You SERIOUSLY think that, after over who knows how many years of development MoP has been in, and over 3 years since the movie came out - that Blizzard - never - EVER - looked at the movie, then looked back at MoP and said "Hrm... do you think the art styles might be too similar?" Keep in mind that these are the same guys who have ripped off the entire story of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Rambo and CSI for whole zone-wide stories... and are also directly ripping off the exact game engine mechanics from Pokemon (not just the idea of monster combat/collect em all). You seriously think they're somehow incapable of basing an art style off of an incredibly popular movie series?

Do you think they also ripped the architecture from Indiana Jones, or perhaps they both had inspiration from the same source?

You can link all the art, architecture, screenshots, RPG books, design docs, Panda documentaries, cartoon pandas through the ages... hell, lets even say there's a fictional video existing of Metzen drawing a picture of MoP in 2007 - 1 year before KFP hit theaters... ALL of that does NOT change the fact that the game LOOKS like Kung Fu Panda. And that is what people who hate MoP don't like.

Just think yourself lucky Wrath came out before How To Train Your Dragon otherwise you'd have had to quit two expansions earlier.

[mvaliz]

I know, I never said you disliked them.
Everyone can have his own opinion, but I just hate it if people start to troll or use crappy arguments.

Your previous quote;

Don't like it? Fine..

You just accused me right there of disliking it, and now you're saying you never did. Are you, like, schizophrenic or something? :P

My post actually was about that quote
Complaining that it looks like KFP: Sure, fine.. I don't mind, I hate the movie but to me the only comparance is that it has panda's.
Claiming that they ripped off KFP: Yeaaah, people slap around with facts.

Allthough, on the 'looking like KFP'-part: You can't really blame Blizzard.
Person makes product A.
Person copies A and calls it B.
Product A gets bashed for looking like B.
Riiiiiiiiiiight :O

Wait... if Product A is Kung Fu Panda... and Product B is MoP...
...how again is Kung Fu Panda looking like Mists of Pandaria?

Or are you saying Kung-Fu Panda copied Chen Stormstout from WCIII? PAH! Yeah right! ^_^ They made a whole movie off of one anthrapamorphic panda that didn't use kung-fu that was an obscure joke in a video game not aimed at a target audience ?

I can put the game image of Chen next to a screenshot of KFP and they don't look anything the same. I can't say the same about KFP and MoP.

Hrm... maybe that's how Blizz was able to figure out how to make a whole expansion based on one character since it was already done FOR them back in 2008! ^_^

Oh... and, BTW, if you think Blizz made the first concept of upright anthropomorphic Chinese warrior Panda person:

[Veyne]

When was the last time you saw a skinny panda bear?

[mvaliz]

Just think yourself lucky Wrath came out before How To Train Your Dragon otherwise you'd have had to quit two expansions earlier.

Yeah - because the Vrykul and all of Northrend looks so much like an animated kids movie. Oh wait, no, they don't. Actually they're pretty angry and Badass. :P

Please think before posting...

And AGAIN, I actually LIKE MoP's new style and the Pandaren! Please see my subsequent responses! (Man... lesson learned that I should write that bit first! Yeesh! >_<) My point is I see the other counter arguments... and seeing how you totally ignored them and deleted EVERY explanation I had for the "reasons" you "explained" with (...which is a VERY petty tactic.)

Particularly the Samwise art bit... You KNOW I'm not talking about the specific armor, I'm talking about how the actual people LOOK. To hell with the armor! :P

---------- Post added 2011-11-24 at 07:59 AM ----------

When was the last time you saw a skinny panda bear?

When was the last time you saw a skinny bear in general? (apart from a bear-skin rug, I mean ^_^)

Even cartoon bears (Yogi Bear, Barney Bear, Baloo, Chronos the bear from Johny Bravo, Tim the Bear from "The Clevland Show"...the Berenstein Bears (adults anyways...)... the bear family from Looney Tunes... )

And I can even raise you one thin Panda cartoon character who was thin - Andy Panda. :P

[Deleted]

Agreed with you OP, I'd have nothing against pandaren if they actually looked like they did in WC3. But they do look like Kung Fu Panda and not like that. If they would have looked like that nobody would have even thought of Kung Fu panda.