Rynn
Rynn is a fictional character and protagonist of the Drakan series of fantasy action-adventure video games by Surreal Software, featured in the games Drakan: Order of the Flame and Drakan: The Ancients' Gates, and in their comic book adaptation.
Rynn | |
---|---|
Drakan character | |
Rynn in a concept art for Order of the Flame | |
First appearance | Drakan: Order of the Flame (1999) |
Last appearance | Drakan: The Ancients' Gates (2002) |
Portrayed by | Myrna Blankenstein (promotion) |
Voiced by | Lani Minella (The Order of the Flame) Jocelyn Cammack (The Ancients' Gates) |
Motion capture | Michelle McVadon, Brittany Billmaier (The Order of the Flame) |
Appearances
Design and promotion
Rynn was made using a skeletal animation to make her motions as smooth and realistic as possible,[1] with a very large at the time repertoire of 200 animations.[2] According to Game Developer Magazine, "Rynn's highest polygon count was only 538. Single-skinned characters such as Rynn generally look much better with fewer polygons compared to the segmented characters traditionally used in most game animation systems."[3] In the sequel, her model was built out of 3,000 polygons.[4] Drakan was promoted by a Rynn model known as Myrna Blankenstein,[5] who studied in San Francisco and originally came from Eastern Europe.[6]
Reception
Rynn was very well received by video game media outlets and general public alike. Reviewing the first Drakan, David Wildgoose of PC PowerPlay wrote, "A scantily-clad girl involved in an unnatural relationship with a dragon - could you ask for anything else?"[7] Many, including Hyper,[8] France's Generation 4,[9] Poland's Gambler,[10][11] and German magazines Mega Fun,[12] PowerPlay,[13] PC Action,[14] PC Games,[15][16] PC Joker[17] and PC Player,[18][19][20][21][22] compared her to Lara Croft, often favorably. PC Zone opined the "busty heroine Rynn and her dragon could give Lara a run for her money" as "there's no point denying that Rynn is Lara Croft with swords and axes, and given teenagers' enthusiasm for Xena The Warrior Princess, she should prove a big hit among the testosterone-driven population of gamers."[23] Computer & Video Games commented: "Could the heroine Rynn, be the new Lara Croft? Well the boobs certainly match up."[24] Ritual Entertainment co-founder compared Julie from his game Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.² to both Rynn and Lara.[25]
In 2000, readers of GameSpot, impressed "because not only was she a fighter but also she had a fire-breathing dragon, Arokh, as a loyal companion," voted her and Elexis Sinclaire from SiN together at eight spot in "Readers' Choice - The Ten Best Female Characters".[26] That same year, IGN editor Tal Blevins chose her as "the hottest videogame babe" due to her looks and leather outfit.[27] Rob Wright from Tom's Games included this "impulsive, strong-willed warrior" in his 2007 list of the 50 greatest female characters in video game history.[28] When Edge "asked a variety of industry women for their favourite female videogame characters," Total War series' producer Luci Black chose Rynn: "Unashamedly hard as nails, nicely sharp and contemptuous attitude, looks great in armour and gets around on a dragon."[29] GameStar included Rynn in their 2008 list of "power women - the 25 heroines who dominated games"[30] and featured her in a 2013 article discussing the graphical progress of "babes in games".[31]
References
- "PC Action Magazine (January 1999)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "Power Play Magazine (October 1998)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "GDM March 2000". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "GDM July 2002". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "Myrna Blankenstein as Rynn from Drakan: Order of The Flame". Thegamecodex.com. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "PC Action Magazine (July 1999)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- PC PowerPlay 43, p. 70.
- Hyper 58, p. 31.
- "Generation 4 Magazine (French) Issue 129". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "Gambler Magazine (November 1998)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "Gambler Magazine (January 1999)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- Mega Fun 6/2000, p. 38.
- "Power Play Magazine (July 1998)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "PC Action Magazine (September 1999)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "PC.Games.N071.1998.08-fl0n". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "PC Games Hardware German Magazine 2000-11". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "PC Joker Magazine (October 1999)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "PC Action Magazine (July 1998)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "PC Player German Magazine 1998-08". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "PC Player German Magazine (December 1998)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "PC Player German Magazine (September 1999)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "PC Player German Magazine (October 1999)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "PC Zone - Issue 082 (1999-11)(Dennis Publishing)(GB)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "Computer and Video Games - Issue 206 (1999-01)(EMAP Images)(GB)". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "PC Games Hardware German Magazine Premiere". Archive.org. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "GameSpot's Readers' Choice TenSpot: Best Female Characters". Web.archive.org. 2000-10-18. Archived from the original on October 18, 2000. Retrieved 2015-07-22.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
- "formen.ign.com: Babes of Videogames". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on December 6, 2000. Retrieved 2015-07-22.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
- Rob Wright (2007-02-20). "The 50 Greatest Female Characters in Video Game History | Tom's Games". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007. Retrieved 2015-07-22.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
- Edge 121, p. 61.
- "Powerfrauen - Diese 25 Heldinnen haben Spiele geprägt - Seite 8 - GameStar" (in German). Gamestar.de. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- "3D-Grafik im Wandel der Zeit, Teil 5 - Babes in Spielen mit Community-Update - Seite 2 - GameStar" (in German). Gamestar.de. Retrieved 2015-07-22.