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Valygar and Nalia

Has anyone noticed that Valygar looks like Vin Diesel and Nalia looks like Drew Barrymore? I am guessing this was done intentionally?
ThacoBellButtercheese

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  • GallowglassGallowglass Member Posts: 3,356

    Has anyone noticed that Valygar looks like Vin Diesel and Nalia looks like Drew Barrymore?

    It hadn't occurred to me, but now that you mention it, I can see a slight resemblance ... but to my eye, only slight.

    I am guessing this was done intentionally?

    I doubt it. Major entertainers like Diesel and Barrymore charge fees for licensed use of their images, and unlicensed use of their images in a commercial product would get their lawyers very excited.
  • SirBundlesofJoy_1912SirBundlesofJoy_1912 Member Posts: 57
    edited December 2016



    Maybe I'm just seeing what I want to see, but she looks like a 90% match. I guess it could be coincidence.
    A lot of other gamers have also noticed the resemblance, from what I could read about it on the internet.
    Aerakar
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Nope, I see it too. I don't see people make the Valygar connection as often, but a LOT of people see Drew Barrymore in Nalia. Even the strategy guide mentioned it at one point.
    Nimran
  • sibakruomsibakruom Member Posts: 28

    Has anyone noticed that Valygar looks like Vin Diesel and Nalia looks like Drew Barrymore? I am guessing this was done intentionally?

    My timeline might be fuzzy but I think Vin Diesel was little known when BG2 was released (2000). A quick look at his wikipedia page would place his ascension to fame following The Fast and the Furious (2001) and xXx (2002). That would suggest Valygar's likeness to him might just be a coincidence.

    Major entertainers like Diesel and Barrymore charge fees for licensed use of their images, and unlicensed use of their images in a commercial product would get their lawyers very excited.

    BioWare actually ran into problems with this in Neverwinter Nights, where they used portraits based on pictures of real life celebrities they wrongly assumed they had licensed. They had to change these portraits to original ones in a patch.
    Gallowglass
  • Interesting! I have seen custom portraits on the internet that you can use for the character portraits. These are done by fans, and some are pretty cool. My favorites are the ones that look like Arnold Shwarzenegger and Daniel Craig. I am guessing they used pics of these people and photoshopped them to look like the portraits in BG1 and BG2. If you google "Baldur's Gate Character Portraits" or something like that, you'll see a ton of images pop up.
    DJKajuruKilivitz
  • sibakruomsibakruom Member Posts: 28
    Which portrait they had to change and why can be found on the wiki: http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Portrait#Changed_portraits
    ThacoBell
  • GallowglassGallowglass Member Posts: 3,356
    @SirBundlesofJoy_1912 - yes, there are many amateur portraits available, often based on real photographs of famous people, and quite likely without permission from the owner of the original image rights.

    The lawyers won't usually bother going after some random fan who is offering such unlicensed adaptations as a freebie, but if anyone tried to charge for such material then the lawyers would be much more likely to take an interest.
  • recklessheartrecklessheart Member Posts: 692
    I always thought Nalia's portrait - one of the best portraits in the games, in my opinion - looked quite like Drew Barrymore. She's got such a wonderful face though, I can see why she was used as a model, even if her image was not ripped directly for use. There's something very watchable about her.
    Kilivitz
  • recklessheartrecklessheart Member Posts: 692
    @Kilivitz

    Preach it. I think it's so important that people know that before they write off Nalia, as people often do. Imoen was actually the interloper Thief/Mage of BG2! :p

    You can see a slight adaptation of BG1 NPC personalities into BG2's NPC roster, which was smaller and more detailed. To use this thread's characters as my main examples, we can see that Valygar is quite like Kivan in many respects: he is a silent, stoic Ranger whose story arc fundamentally revolves around revenge and redemption. Nalia might be an evolution on Dynaheir as a high-birthright Mage, or an evolution on Skie as a sheltered aristocrat trying to make her way in the adventuring world.

    To corroborate this, though it is a bit of a shallow addition to the argument, if you choose Valygar's portrait for your PC, he will have Kivan's portrait as his substitute when you meet him. If you choose Nalia's portrait, she takes Dynaheir's.
    KilivitzAerakarButtercheese
  • ButtercheeseButtercheese Member Posts: 3,766
    edited December 2016
    I noticed the Vin Diesel part but never the Drew Barrymore one.
    Now I can't unsee it :neutral:

    I doubt it. Major entertainers like Diesel and Barrymore charge fees for licensed use of their images, and unlicensed use of their images in a commercial product would get their lawyers very excited.

    Well, some famous actors made it into Neverwinter Nights, such as Angelina Jolie, Cathrine Zeta-Jones and Joseph Fiennes: http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Portrait
    BioWare changed some character portraits in a patch. Many of the BioWare character portraits are modifications of photographs that were obtained from an agency, but for one reason or another that collection of photographs contained some that were not authorized for modification and use in a computer game. Once BioWare was made aware of the images that were not authorized, replacement images were produced and then distributed as part of the normal patching process.


    I think there is a good chance that something simmilar happened with BG2 prior and simply no one noticed/ cared.
    Troodon80
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