Hiding Logos on In-Game Gear

To continue the multi-article topic of immersion, today I would like to talk about brand names and sneakers, and the damage they do to your in-game image.

When you are an NPC, the occasional jeans or sneakers is quite all right.  Sometimes you just forget to pack black slacks and boots.  Everyone has done it, no harm-no foul.  We just kind of assume that NPCs are going to be in the less detailed costumes anyway, as they are probably working out of a bin, and someone already snagged all the good armor.

However, for players, the little things like seeing a brand name on your shoes can make someone forget that they are talking to an impressive mage.  Your image is everything, and you want people to know what you are.  If you have a football helmet on and have made no effort to make it look in-game, I am going to have a lot of trouble taking you seriously.  I just can’t bring myself to be afraid of someone called “Brigard the Barbarian” in Nike Hockey Gear.

Thus, today I have a few quick fixes for gear to make it look more in-game!  If you have any additional ideas, please add them in the comments section.  I love new things.

Armor

Sports padding, sneakers, jeans, and even gloves often look incredibly out of game, and there are really quick, simple fixes for all of them.

The answer, almost universally, is spray paint.  If you want it quick and dirty, hang your armor on a fence post two days before the game, and douse it with spray paint.

Ta-da!  No more Nike on your lacrosse pads (those are a thing, right?).

If you want to get a little more detailed, cut out a neat design from fabric, and glue it onto the armor.  If you do this with pleather, or perhaps even a shiny, metallic fabric, then your armor suddenly looks much less like padding and much more in-game.

Glue/sew some spikes on there.  Maybe cut and shape some cheap metal siding from Home Depot to fit over the bigger parts, so that the shoulders don’t look so rounded and foot-ball-y.  (Be careful with this.  Later I will have to post a tutorial on making safe metal additions to your armor.)

Shoes

As for shoes, try to get yourself some boots/sandals/moccasins that match your costume.  Most can be gotten cheaply at a local large-chain store.  If you can’t afford crappy 10 dollar shoes, or don’t want to WEAR crappy 10-dollar shoes, take a comfortable pair that you have, cut the sleeves off of a tee-shirt, and then tape the edges down to the sole of your shoe.  Wrap the top around your ankle, so that the sleeve covers the entire shoe, and tape it a little around your ankle, or tuck it into your sock.  There, you have hidden your sneaker, and at the low cost of a tee-shirt that probably has a stain on it anyway.

Jeans

There is no useful fix for jeans.  Try to remember your black pants.

Gloves

A lot of people like to wear sports gloves, because we are swinging pipes at each other in the dead of winter, and that hurts your hands sometimes.  Again, cover the logo!  If you can remove it without ruining the gloves, wonderful!  That takes a few minutes, and no money, and thus your outfit looks even better.  If you cannot safely remove it, slap some tape over it.  Sure, it is a quick, dirty, sort of ugly fix, but at least your gloves won’t have a football on them.

Slightly more detailed fixes include sewing patches on the gloves, painting over the logos, or adding pieces of metal.

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Your character stats can say that you are the Lord High Grand MurderFace of Death-ville…  Your outfit, however, says Adidas, Nike, and Hot Topic…  I have a few things to say about that…  First: brand-loyalty, dude!  Second: remember that other players don’t know what is on your sheet.  They can only see how scary you are by your appearance and your actions.  If you want to advertise that you are awesome, make sure that your costume reflects this.  There are very cheap ways of doing so, and you will be that much more badass.