Armor Expert Reacts To Sci-Fi Video Game Armor

[@ledor2457]

I really like how he looks at the style and desgin and how it was influenced and not simple if its realistic or historical

[@FIVEBASKET]

Nice

[@SL4PSH0CK]

same, there's that essence of aspirations in design and thats like a DNA of how far has technology has become

[@Dargonhuman]

That's largely why I stopped watching Shadiversity's sci fi weapon videos. Too often he would reject an alien weapon simply because it failed to match his preconceived notions of what a weapon should be or couldn't step out of his personal biases to comprehend how it could be used in combat. Primarily, when he looked at Star Trek and Star Wars weapons like the Klingon bat'leth and the Jedi lightsaber - he said the crescent design and four pointed design of the bat'leth was impractical and wouldn't stand up to a traditional straight edged sword, despite many scenes in TNG proving the exact opposite when Worf wielded it against straight edges with lethal proficiency. He also said that the lack of weight of the lightsaber would be a hindrance in a fight as the wielder would overcompensate and hit themselves with the blade, which completely disregarded the fact that Jedi (and Sith) would have trained with the lightsaber exclusively and never had the need to compensate for the weight of a metal blade, to say nothing of using the Force to augment their handling of the weapon; in fact, I'd go so far as to say that a Jedi/Sith would have a hard time wielding a metal blade as they wouldn't be trained to compensate for the weight and momentum of the metal blade. This guy, though, he points out why certain things wouldn't work _for us,_ but is also able to conceptualize and articulate why those things would work within the settings they were designed for.

[@ledor2457]

@@Dargonhuman I agree fully. I would ad with the bat'leth that it has also massive importance in the Culture of Klingons which is important because something with enough importance in culture or religion doesn't need to be practical. Which is similar to the Wrist-Blades of the Predator maybe they are simple able to use them practically but maybe there are other reasons why they use them. Which is an important point for me when it comes to stuff that is in fiction not supposed to be desgined by Humans, it doesn't in lack of better words needs to make fully sense to Humans, despite being made by Humans out of fiction. Naturally there is a tipping point from where it becomes to much of a strech.

[@jprior1427]

​@@Dargonhumanthat's the difference between a KZbinr and a scholar

[@aerthreepwood8021]

I love how much he engages with the subject. Like, he puts himself in the perspective of the video game universe.

[@tomraineofmagigor3499]

exactly. Even from the first one with fallout he brought up the context of the setting and to how/why people would have come to that design. Afterall it was a very intentional thing to emulate romans for a whole list of reasons

[@RosefMudson1414]

No Crysis, TimeShift, or Doom, so failed video

[@GodofWhoopass]

Where's Doom and Boba Fett?

[@asherandai2633]

Exactly. So many of these “experts” rag on things without any understanding or consideration of the context. It’s like they just want to flex their cred. But not this guy, he really pays attention to all the aspects. He has real credibility.

[@Frungle_]

@@RosefMudson1414they’ve done sequels for lots of video concepts so I’m assuming they will do another if people like this one

[@francescogreggio6712]

I love how Dr. Capwell's commentary never stops at the "how" of armour, but always delves into the "why" of it as well, especially in terms not of sheer practicality, but rather in what certain choices reveal of the man that made the armour, the man that wore that armour and how those that witness that man and his armour might think because of those choices. The "psychology" of armour, so to speak. That and how expertly he discusses aspects that are normally not even considered by non experts, such as how one perceives themselves while wearing armour, and the effects that the increased bulk of wearing one has on the wearer's mind. Truly fascinating to listen to.

[@Darkvalentine333]

Yes, exactly. He engaged with the material based on the philosophy of design both from a historical, armor based perspective AND from a piece of fictional media.

[@confusedcabal342]

The fact that Capwell mentions Don Quijote in the Reinhardt section based off of his armor and character design alone without knowing that Quijote is one of the major inspirations behind the character just goes to show both how amazing Blizzard's art team is and how well versed Tobias is when it comes to armors! Truly a great vid!!

[@GreatistheWorld]

Oh that’s wild. Love to see everyone succeed at their job here

[@dryerofdoom]

I really love how he embraces the different types of armour and doesn't just say " thats impractical and dumb" he looks at the design and the character that wears the armour and understands the concepts

[@christophersharp2212]

In the last 15 years game designers for most of these games realize that ancient armors can be transitioned to a more futuristic design. Halo, destiny and anthem are prime examples(ugh I would love more content for anthem and armors). Then you have some that overdo the bulky armor overwatch and Warhammer. But hey, they're games.

[@jndvs95]

​@@christophersharp2212shoot. With how good halo did on master chief armor, I'm still not convinced someone couldn't make semi reasonable real life halo armor yet. Not while composite body armor is becoming a thing.

[@corvidcorax]

​@@christophersharp2212Would you still consider Primaris armor to be too bulky?

[@F4Wildcat]

4:29 Another thing to note= The OG dead space creators went for alot of "skeletal" looks. Not just the armor of Isaac, but for example, the USG Ishimura. The design of that ship is modelled after a ribcage.

[@Theycallmeyoshi1]

yeah, the original creators have mentioned that they wanted to make everything 'ribbed', as much as possible, down to the safety railings.

[@HannahFortalezza]

@@Theycallmeyoshi1 you could say it’s ribbed for our pleasure

[@F4Wildcat]

@@HannahFortalezza ah yes you mean crips right...right?? RIGHT?

[@MrPikaGammer]

It was supposed to look like a whale carcass in space.

[@TheRedWon]

Toby is one of those people that you can listen to for about half a sentence before you realize they are absolutely brilliant.

[@TheWarmotor]

AGREED!

[@Shinzon23]

And that everything you thought you knew about his subject matter Is paltry next to their sub of knowledge?

[@yutro213]

*HE

[@skepticalbadger]

​@@yutro213Are you simple? This person is talking about experts in general. Some of which are female.

[@jeremyh6686]

I haven't heard him say anything that isn't fairly basic

[@camomurf5182]

I never considered that point of view on the Predators' armor. I've always thought it evoked a sort of gladiatorial image, to kind of go along with the whole 'hunting for sport' thing they're doing. However, adding on the given analysis, I feel like the image has become far more complete.

[@user-ow1bc4sx2r]

Was having the same sort of thought! The impracticality ties in very well with the background established for the predators: they are essentially sport hunters. In a war within their own species, the predators would surely have more practical weaponry and more traditional looking armor, but when they go off to hunt the pink monkeys for fun, they are doing a much more ancient style of fighting and survival

[@crystallogic2543]

That's so interesting how they made Predator wear that net to help bring about that gladiatorial feel, even though nets were used to entrap enemies lol!

[@BaeBunni]

@@user-ow1bc4sx2r after he described the gauntlet claw, how the arm movement would be so awful and how often it's used as the main weapon against humans does make it seem like predators are literally trying their best to handicap themselves so they can fight humans it's kinda nuts.

[@ZannNewman]

@@BaeBunni they could have slightly different muscle proportions, so the slash of the blades is stronger than with a human, though they often use them to stab and impale more than slash. But it does seem they're using weapons for style not practicality

[@Judge_Jon]

Yeah, I guess you could think about it like we hunt deer. There's usually a bow season (major handicap) for the whole duration and about half the season you can use a muzzleloader, and at the very end you can use certain rifles and you can only hunt a certain number of deer, etc.

[@SGTKILL995]

Fun fact: Master Chief's armor in Halo 1 is based off of a Japanese Mountain Biker. That's why his helmet looks like a motocross helmet (Used by mountain bikers).

[@LaughingMan44]

In a way helmets made for sports will follow the same principles as medieval armor, same anatomy, just biased towards impact from different directions.

[@jurassicarkjordanisgreat1778]

halo 1s concept art is heavily Japanese inspired. proof that halo works really well with the anime style. (halo legends already showed this too)

[@blueshit199]

in-universe terms, does the cap help by blocking out the sunlight? does it have HUD projectors pointed at the visor mounted on it?

[@NarutoMagicCyclops]

@@blueshit199 It might, but in likelihood it helps protect the visor, gives a better chance of preventing it from getting shattered when falling face down and could likely redirect a shot from specific angles from going straight through. I don't know the lore specific reasons.

[@zombieoutbreakprod]

@@blueshit199 as far as I know it's just a sun blocker

[@AdmiralBlowhole]

Going off what he said about alien armour, you should have him react to Mass Effect armour. Lots of different styles that work differently depending on the species. It would be interesting to hear what he has to say.

[@barrybend7189]

Same.

[@PolymurExcel]

Same, but also with the Covenant as well.

[@DrL00se]

Same, also the Eldar

[@kieranhosty]

Tobias here is so good as recognising the artistic and practical aspects of armor, and finds ways to appreciate armor in way's I'd never thought of. Love this guy, and love the theme of more videos talking about the practical realities that influence and inspire games!

[@Archer-1453]

One aspect I really appreciate about how most of the Hunters’ armours are designed is that it reflects…well…a hunter. They don’t have full coverage, they utilise asymmetric weapons intended as quick and non-skirmishing tools. It definitely reflects an absence of conventional warfare to the point where approaching it from that frame of mind just immediately counts it as dangerously impractical.

[@residentroofkorean]

Another thing about the Master Chief's armor is that it's very inspired my motorcross equipment including the helmet peak resembling a motorcross helmet sun shade

[@Moroklumpen]

I really love his ability and willingness to not only analyze the practicalities and historical inspiration of the various armors, but to engage with the premise and intention behind them in good faith. There's a lot of good insight here and it's very well conveyed.

[@TH3SLEEPING]

The Halo MK VI armor is so clean, especially the helmet

[@ALX_6.11]

And they make it even better in Halo Infinite, it's so beautiful.

[@PolymurExcel]

@@ALX_6.11yeah, we just have to ignore that 10 year gap where it looked kinda like nerf armor.

[@Somanous]

Toby always understands the context behind games, movies and their design. Such an amazing quality which demostrates how widely knowledgeable he is beyong historical accuracy. He understands design, writing and narrative functions.

[@GeneFOX70]

Should've included the armors from Metroid and Metal Gear. The Power Suit and OctoCamo are insane in lore.

[@Thornbloom]

The Chozo armor is anatomically impossible.

[@saschahofmann2421]

Or the H.E.V suit from the half-life games.

[@isaacmayer-splain8974]

​@@saschahofmann2421i always figured that originated as a HazMat suit but it had a secondary function as physical armor.

[@yocapo32]

@@Thornbloom Which is like he said, what makes it obviously alien, because no human would've come up with that design. Also, the Super Metroid manual shows that Samus's shoulders aren't actually in the suit's shoulders, the super bulky torso is designed that way for her arms to go through the sides into the arms.

[@zombieoutbreakprod]

@@isaacmayer-splain8974 It was a hazmat suit that could deal with all the extra stuff on Xen like the animals, a lot of stuff throws acid there.

[@silverviper360]

The idea that good sci-fi plate will inevitably look medieval because we figured out how to armour up the human form a long time ago is very funny and fascinating.

[@toomanyaccounts]

history tends to have a pattern to it that can be recognized. history may not repeat per say but there are patterns that are going to be repeated because they just work.

[@jeremiahkivi4256]

Always thought Vader was a very good play on the representation of a German stahlhelm and gas mask combo.

[@Necromancist]

I can see that. I also think they tried to make it resemble a human skull, especially with the ridges around the eyes.

[@Chvse4U]

There's definitely a samurai influence, as well. Such an amazing design.

[@crimcrusader8459]

@@Chvse4U The helmet resembles a typical Kabuto Samurai Helmet

[@jeremiahkivi4256]

@@crimcrusader8459 Kind of. It's missing the front visor, the neck articulated plates, the articulated plates on the back flair, and it looks like some of them came to a small point at the top of the head. Maybe George used it as inspiration, but we're talking about the 60s and 70s when there was no internet. It's very possible he never saw nor knew about the helmet. Whereas the German stahlhelm would still be in world public consciousness from the last roughly 20 years at the point he wrote the novels. I'd say there's a lot more Eastern influences in modern Star Wars aesthetics than back then, especially with all the Force monks walking around.

[@Theycallmeyoshi1]

@@jeremiahkivi4256 I believe George Lucas has gone on record mentioning that of all things old Samurai movies were a big inspiration for Star Wars (more than likely the legendary Akira Kurosawa), hence the insistence on having future-tech sword fights, which led to arguably the single most coveted item in all of science fiction. I do believe Darth Vader's helmet is actually meant to evoke "here comes the big bad boss samurai" with its general shape. that said, it's almost certainly a mixed influence design, as much about the Galactic Empire was meant to subtly flag them as expies of the nazis.

[@Scandic45]

I love the posetivity and interest he has while explaining history, You see a lot of "Expert reacts" but he really does a great jobb

[@TheStraussable]

Bring this guy back for all the armor breakdowns. Love this.

[@umbraviventem]

To make a note on the predator armor. In the comics this is actually addressed. There is a human who becomes an honorary predator and her forearm blade system had to be custom made for her. Instead of being the 2 (or 3) claw blade, it was a single blade like a sword. The female character notices the difference and actually notes that the way her arm muscles are "built" are the opposite of the predator. Their arms are built in such a way that the clawing motion uses their stronger muscles, where as if they did a human slashing motion it would not be as strong. She uses this anatomical difference during numerous fights against predators to her advantage.

[@killer900rocks]

The synopsis he gave for the Legion Armor is actually a really great breakdown of Caesar's Legion in total. Caesar is less attempting to fully recreate the Roman Empire, and more so bringing back the harsh ideologies. As the Caesar, he's a bit of an armchair philosopher, so he broke down what made the Roman Empire great (to him, the brutality, reliance on well trained and disciplined men, total power, etc) and rebuilt it as best he could. All he's got to work with is backwards savage tribes that he's conquered and scrap armor.

[@marcusrobinson-johnson]

I love these expert reacts videos. Doesn't matter what the topic is bc I always end up learning something new. Great job with these videos.

[@DerTypDa]

Tobias is a particularly fun guest for this series because he's willing to engage with the subjects in the contexts they are placed in. He points out historical influences and parallels without getting hung up on nitpicking about "realism" in aspects that clearly were never meant to be realistic.

[@stefanandrews5098]

Dude is casually dropping amazing game dev analysis at the same time His commentary on Dead Space was excellent - imagining how in the future a visual display of a soldiers “stats” on their back could be useful to a commanding officer - and how that also relates to UI and putting the character information on the model’s back for the player to see without screen clutter - and the artistic merit of the design looking skeletal and spinal Crazy amount of perspective for such a short moment

[@cynthius6567]

Wow. I still remember the first episode with Tobias, and you guys have really hit the nail on the head now with the tone for this series! Great insights and a passion for the subject while still keeping a positive mood. I'm looking forward to further episodes! I gotta say, I'm pleasantly surprised and impressed! Keep it up!

[@LordAnubisGaming]

There's still quite a few bits of Armor Mr. Capwell can go over. The inexhaustible amount of Mass Effect Armor, especially Mass Effect 3, the Power suit/armor from Crysis, Doomslayer's various armor, the other variations of Mjolnir armor from Halo 3, Reach, whichever you pick. I saw someone mention Samus Aran's armor that'd be wild too. There's so many yet still to cover and it'd all be awesome to watch/listen to.

[@Skycrown92]

Great Video, always a pleasure to see Dr Capwell!

[@chrisdt2297]

This is one of the best expert react, he take way more context into account therefore give a much more detail explain and fullpicture judgment

[@nomar5spaulding]

This dude is my favorite guy online for critiques of a fictional thing through a historical lense. I love how he really points out things where he thinks there is a good reference, or a good example of something realistic, rather than poking holes in stuff.

[@AcM.5233]

You need to have him on again and do a part two. I follow his main channel and absolutely love it and his breakdown on science fiction armor and the relations with real world armor was absolutely fantastic

[@benjaminhilsdon2238]

I appreciate his interest and understanding of the use of armor in artistic settings and his insight into how the armor communicates to their respective audiences that comes from his historical background and knowledge.

[@DoominalCrossing]

Really hope we get more of these, would love to see the Varia & Praetor suits from Metroid & Doom!

[@parkercloud7893]

Great commentary! Beyond just practical or impractical he discusses so much. Well said!

[@yuen4817]

Absolutely love it every time you bring him on. More please.

[@AustinFoss00]

Should also be noted that Isaac's armor was designed for harsh environments while mining. Not for warfare.

[@carroboi2981]

Mining or engineering work yes. I think this is the best part about Isaac Clarke's entire deal. He isn't a soldier or a warrior or anything else. He's just some engineer desperately using his tools and his equipment to survive a hellish situation. Its what really makes Clarke probably one of the best examples of a non military character still being able to deal with deadly threats. He's up there with Ellen and Amanda Ripley. I feel like it was a missed opportunity not to engage with his gear from the perspective of simple utilitarian practicality. We've seen military gear in the Dead Space setting and it isn't anything like Clarke's gear.

[@Malacite]

Maybe it's slightly out of his wheelhouse, but when he was describing John's armor I thought he was going to point out the polarized lenses, which is not something you generally see - in fact I think Halo might be the only Sci-Fi that actually does that. Good on him though for picking up on the other stuff ^^

[@jaywerner8415]

Man, all these "Expert React" videos are always fascinating to watch. Just seeing how they React, Explain and just put their perspective on things. Plus its cool to hear about where the inspirations for these various designs come from.

[@michaelstrohl9476]

Fascinating video! The last portion about the video with the Predator intrigued me. With the wrist blades, he mentioned swinging down. However I would of loved to hear his thoughts on swinging up, like a upper cut. I believe in the first Predator movie, Dillon meets this fate.

[@Rando-ly1sk]

I love that he works to find what the creators incorporated and why, and that he takes time to think and speak meaningfully.

[@sophwhy]

Please get this guy to react to Destiny's exotic armour pieces!!!! This would be so funny and interesting :)

[@gozillabk]

Even just the Iron Banner armors would be great too, especially since the Iron Lords really tried to go big on the knightly aesthetic as well.

[@TheNeilBlack]

I love the positivity he looks at these armors with. Too often this sort of video will nitpick every design and focus on the flaws, but Toby instead looks at what they did right.

[@hunk-909]

wish there was a deeper dive into Dead Space RIGs, its a really good sci-fi universe

[@crwydryny]

One point I will argue is in regards to the predator. There are similar human concepts for it's weapons and armour. Such as Roman gladiators and some Indian weapons. Granted they're not battle field weapons or armour but we do have similar concepts in history Also the wrist blades while having slashing ability are designed for stabbing much like the Katar and other punch knives

[@josephgregory7981]

What an articulate, thoughtful and positive person!

[@josephgregory7981]

Views the world as an artist.

[@TheNukedNacho]

Talking about the Asymmetric armor, I think it would’ve been nice to show him the cutscene of Commander Zavala using his enlarged shoulder armor to block a shot from Season of the Worthy

[@PalleRasmussen]

Toby is such a nerd in the best of way. And seems like the nicest guy. And he is so engaged in the context of the games. Always good to see him.

[@vladyvhv9579]

The impracticality of the Predator armor and wrist blades fits into their culture. They view challenges as honorable. They're intentionally handicapping themselves to give the Hunt more of a challenging aspect. Wolf from AVP Requiem, chooses the cutting whip and has many gadgets that a Hunter wouldn't use, because he's not there to Hunt. He's there to Exterminate the Alien infestation before Chet (the Predalien) can morph into a Queen. Chet is stated by the creators to be in the pre-queen stage. This is why she can't actuall lay eggs yet, but can produce chestbusters by effectively face-hugging people herself.

[@garrenbrooks4778]

Kinda contradict the fact they turn literally invisible to hunt lol

[@DBreviews777]

"The Predator armor is defined by it's impracticality." That line really struck a cord as someone who is an enjoyer of Female Fantasy Armor haha.

[@MrGrimsmith]

More from other experts, please! You currently have Jonathan Ferguson as a regular on the firearms side but there's been little on melee weapons and armour which I find equally as fascinating from a practical perspective.

[@AntisepticHandwash]

This guy has the most analytical and insightful commentary I've seen from an expert on anything

[@Darkvalentine333]

Not only does he engage with the content WITHIN the context of the content instead of "realistic VS nonrealistic", which us awesome He also engages with the meta concept of "this is fictional, so we have to look at it from the perspective of design AND function"

[@Tombstone23]

This was very cool. These expert reaction videos are always top-notch. Need a part two for this with Mass Effect armour and other game armour.

[@richbuilds_com]

Get this guy on again! He's great! Thoughtful, measured, well spoken. Great stuff.

[@dplocksmith91]

Darth Vader's armor is inspired by Japanese Samurai armor and the German Stahlhelm. He as a character is based on the "Dark Knight" trope, the soulless, evil knight who enforces the will of the Dark Lord.

[@DSlyde]

On the armored space suit discussion, I remember hearing that NASA looked at Henry the VIII's tournament armor at the Met when designing the space suits, due to the similarities in constraints. The story might be apocryphal though.

[@b1w0c]

13:20 now i'm just imagining all those ppl with epic looking oversized shoulder pads in RPGs shimmying thru doors if it was irl 😂😂

[@DSlyde]

I absolutely love these Expert Reacts videos, and Dr Capwell is a great guest as always. Make more, please!

[@anthonyschemel3706]

I really enjoyed that. He thought of things from a different angle that I never even considered before.

[@crimson182]

Vader's armor was inspired by the Japanese Kubuto infact that is the same reason why the lightsibar fighting style makes no since. it is kendo when it should be fensing, but they wanted the Samurai feel.

[@Lolzer621]

Now this is some proper interesting stuff, lovely video! Hoping we can get some more from this guy eventually!

[@kalebsmith4159]

The info on the back was an aspect I never thought of as being handy or practical before. That's an interesting point.

[@YukonWilleh]

Became my fave expert you guys have on. Always manages to find some interesting detail, even if he thinks something isn't even close to practical

[@2rustysporks]

That was really great. Thoughtful about the design, and the context of the fictional world that design comes from. Would love to see more from this expert on stuff that IS trying to be "more hostorical" and get his perspective on why you might want to fudge things away from 'realistic', and when not to.

[@williamtaftt]

this man genuinely thinks about the roman empire every day

[@Swedishmafia101MemeCorporation]

One thing I noticed in Cyberpunk is how the helmets that some Arasaka guards wear are very much modeled after the Kabuto, aka samurai helmet.

[@blackvial]

The Tyger Claws also sometimes wear the Kabuto

[@Swedishmafia101MemeCorporation]

​​@@blackvialIndeed they do! The unique thing about the Arasaka helmet is that it has roughly the shame of a kabuto but it's made of kevlar (or something).

[@vali6717]

The Arasaka helmet also closely resembles Briareos from Appleseed, which bears the kabuto helmet with split horn style as well.

[@wilhelmscream6919]

I'm pretty sure that He has featured in many videos on a similar topic and earlier (many months if not years ago) on He wasn't quite so understanding (sounded more dismissive) of the medium. Thankfully He has adapted in a way that feels honest. Always happy to hear His thoughts on the topic :)

[@Killingsworth92]

I love these videos. I think it'd be cool if there was a 05-30sec portion at the beginning where the experts could explain their experiences with video games if they have any!

[@gunnarhassing5875]

This guy and the gun guy should do an episode together. Like the interaction of the armor with the weapon.

[@chrisball3778]

I think it actually makes sense for sci-fi armour to look a bit like medieval plate armour. After all, form follows function, and medieval plate armour evolved over several centuries to find the best combinations of protection and flexibility it could for different combat roles. Plate armour fell out of favour much later than some people realise, with some types persisting in limited roles until WWI. It makes sense that if new materials became available that offered a similar type of lightweight protection against modern weapons that suits made from it would take on similar shapes to those of the late medieval period that were designed for foot combat. The one part most likely to differ would probably be the helmet, as future sensors and breathing systems might allow the elimination of the eye slits and breathing holes that were potential weak spots. Master Chief's armour bugs me a little, because if you ever found yourself going up against him (and you couldn't just run away, obviously), then you'd definitely try to aim for his gut, as it's very obviously got so much less protection than most of the rest of him. That's not really a valid strategy with medieval plate armour- MC might actually be better off with a medieval-style breastplate.

[@HyPNoTiKx]

The Great Hunt armor from Destiny reminds me of the Dragon Age Origins-inspired set from Mass Effect 2, I love the medieval/sci-fi combo

[@artloverivy]

Finally someone who doesn’t just judge designs based on their adherence to historical accuracy, but instead by how they achieve their goals within the story and what previous artworks inspired their creation.

[@ricashbringer9866]

Genji's armor is not simply armor. It is a part of his body. He is a cyborg.

[@enocescalona]

dude, i love how he talks. He's like the Johnathan Fergurson of armor and i love it! I wonder how'd they interact if they met. I so want to see a collab.

[@dyfe3140]

I would for him to review a bunch of the custom armors of halo

[@scubaad64]

I like how he's never really critical of any of the designs. He points out some impracticality, but points out how it works in the context of the given armor. I also like how he seems knowledgeable of the games these characters actually come from. Great expert to have on your video.

[@MorganChaos]

His width point made me smile because as someone who has worn historical non-military costume, you get the same problem with a hoop skirt. Even one that's not that big! I was wearing a fantasy costume with a knee-length skirt, my lowest hoop was just above my knee and it had a circumference of 120 inches, which works out around 38 or so inches wide and even that became something I had to account for a ton. I ended up just wearing my chemise and top (and belts, boots, accessories, etc) in the car, and putting on my hoops and skirt when we got there. Floor-length hoops are routinely more than 5 feet wide. Fortunately, hoops aren't that hard to deal with getting through doors or whatever. You're always wearing something under them, so you can just lift it up at the side. A lot of hoops are also flexible (sometimes this is period accurate but a lot of people will also make hoops of modern, more flexible materials for this exact reason, my favorite is synthetic whalebone aka Rigiline) and can be compressed if necessary, which is sometimes useful for sitting. But most of the time, again, you either sit in a backless chair so your hoops can go over it, or you just lift your hoops in the back and have a petticoat showing underneath.

[@heneagedundas]

Rigiline is so useful. I made use of it when making corsets 30 years ago in exactly the way you describe.

[@yanliechocki]

I love how he got the Caesar Legion concept just by looking at the armor

[@CptSourcebird]

This guy is really good at his insight, but I actually love his insight for Star Wars, Dead Space and Halo the actual most! Please do bring this guy in for fantasy titles this time, especially with From Software's games!

[@saricubra2867]

Star Wars is fantasy lol.

[@ghostrights9314]

He isn’t only an expert in armor-he’s very knowledgeable when it comes to aesthetics and storytelling. He clearly has a great understanding of, and respect for, artistic decisions. I don’t know much about his career (beyond what the video and description tell us), but Mr. Capwell must be a very creative person.

[@austin9521]

This guys actually really chill. Cool vid

[@bellidrael7457]

I have to disagree on one part, which is the Overwatch one. Rather than it being a sort of mocking of the disconnection from reality/falling behind the times or things like that, it's more about the idea of knights in shining armor, that it's not so much the person in the armor that people see, it's the armor itself, and so, aside from the power a massive suit of power armor has, it's also meant to be a morale boost to have these big, heroic looking, shining suits of armor fighting alongside people. It's not really about the 'two extreme ideas of what an armored knight can be'. One is meant to be a walking tank, a machine. The other is a ninja, and isn't even really armored, they are a cyborg so they just kinda look naturally armored. Sure Genji wears a helmet, but most of the rest of him is cybernetics. In the case of the story, Genji is only armored as he is because he is part machine, much of his body that you see, that's not armor, that's just his body. And in the case of Reinhardt and the other crusaders, they were designed to fight the Omnics which most often took on legged forms and were extremely mobile, so they needed a weapon that could match them. Russia went for mechs, Germany said 'let's make people into mechs'. Maybe the original reasoning for creating the character in the first place, by the artists, was to have that extreme level of armor that is ridiculous to look at. But when it comes down to the story and design within the Overwatch, I think the reasons are a lot different than what he mentioned.

[@Subreon]

missed out on fallout 4 power armor. could've gone really deep in on that. like how in lore, it was used more as a tank, with support infantry around it to keep in eye where it can't. and in the game practicality, it really does feel like the vehicle of the wasteland, since cars aren't around. you have to fuel it, and park it somewhere when not in use. it's a glorious armor system unique to that game

[@bigfrankfraser1391]

darth vader is in fact a space samurai, as the original star wars was based on hidden fortress by akira kurosawa

[@lilgnida]

really great video as usual

[@quickscopeoneeighty9158]

I always imagined the Master Chief's armor being an Abrams Tank that you can wear

[@BigWhiskey09]

Mjolnir is actually much much tougher than an Abrams you can wear 😂

[@Hyster1aMcR]

Toby is a legend i want his books on arms and armor byt they are quite pricey and i cant guarantee id read them cover to cover

[@RhodokTribesman]

I remember another one of these videos where the guy recommended a ballistic skirt for Master Chief's midriff and that's honestly such a genius idea for more protection while keeping mobility (and the spacing of the armor would help)

[@andrewlynch9971]

I love the original Halo trilogy. I really like this guy’s other breakdowns…but I’m really kind of upset that he mentioned Master Chief’s helmet visor and didn’t say anything about how his helmet is entirely based on a paintball mask.

[@AJordan44-]

Best Gamespot video yet!! I feel like everything he said i was saying right before, and been saying for years!! Armor designs and historical basis is extremely important to me, as well as sci fi, and this video is wonderful. Im curious how he feels about the Halo 3 EOD helmet, but im sure thats obvious due to my profile picture.

[@josephphelps5213]

Pretty sure that New Vegas centurion's pauldron is the top half of a car transmission casing. That seems impractically heavy to wear as armor.

[@aviatorengineer3491]

If you mean the Centurion's right arm, it's scavenged from a suit of T-45 power armor. The pauldron does have a similar shape to a transmission case, and probably would be just as heavy if not even more so.

[@josephphelps5213]

@@aviatorengineer3491 Oh awesome! Thank you for that tidbit, I love New Vegas and never put that together before.

[@Tekdruid]

16:10 It also visually represents Reinhardt's role as the "tank" character archetype, whose main function is to withstand tons and tons of damage while shielding the more vulnerable team members from enemy attacks. 16:50 Genji represents the _other_ warrior archetype that is focused solely on skill, speed, and the ability do most damage per second (called "DPS:er"), hence the natural-looking, unburdened armour design.

[@DementedWisdom]

A breakdown of the starcraft marine armor would be nice to see. Specifically, Jim Raynor sc3 marie suit.

[@0num4]

Dr. Capwell is an international treasure. When he speaks, people ought to (and do) listen.

[@haravikk]

I'd like to see one of these covering some of the Fallout power armour, probably more from Fallout 4 (so T-45, T-60, and maybe the X-01). Though the T-60 is also featured in the Fallout tv series, they made some goofy choices with it (jump-jet arms, and the helmet having at least two flip up parts that seem like structural weaknesses for "wearable tank" armour), though they otherwise do a good job with it.

[@CallanElliott]

I think it's worth stating on MJOLNIR armour, the helmets seem to take a few notes from motorcycle helmets.

[@matts5247]

You can tell how disgusted he is by all this. Love it 😂

[@matts5247]

He’s trying so hard not to criticize anything and reaching so far to come up with positive things to say lol

[@thetalantonx]

1:17 - I really like how he picked up the possibility that someone was consciously modeling on Roman society, at least to some extent.

[@shaitei2397]

I had a motorcycle jacket, that had reinforced shoulder pads with some kevlar parts, which increased the width by 2-3 cm on each side and got stuck between a wall and pillar, which i always squeezed between beforehand instead of walking around the pillar... that was quite strange. So yeah, his point about armor changing the body proportions is a really good point.