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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Snarf Zagyg" data-source="post: 9692798" data-attributes="member: 7023840">Honestly, I think Morrus put it best above, when he was talking about the various signifiers of James Bond.I've written various essays about design decisions in D&D, and a lot of it comes down to the idea of why designing for a brand and for a popular market is a lot different than designing something from scratch.* Yes, designing for a brand and a mass market is great, because you have a built-in audience and advantage!But it's also a gilded cage. Because you don't have a blank slate- you have to make sure of two things- first, of course, that you make something "good" that is also definitely in the continuity of the product- in other words, you have to be careful about what things you are changing, and how much they change. Second, designing for a mass market is different than just making something that you like. Broadly popular things have to appeal to lots of people, and lots of people have different tastes.With Bond, things do change, so there is always a question of what is really the core of his identity. For example, arguably Aston Martin is a signifier of Bond, but Bond has also used other high-end cars.The martini** is also a Bond signifier. It's hard to imagine him drinking anything else, even though he does (everything from frequently drinking champagne, to a mint julep in Goldfinger). But this is a Bond movie signifier- in the books, he was a heavy drinker, but his drink of choice was scotch and soda. Followed by "more."And so on. There are so many Bond signifiers. Gambling (casinos). MI6. British (albeit played by Connery (Scottish), Lazenby (Australian), and Brosnan (Irish)). He's very classy, but some of the portrayals have also given him ... let's say a bit of earthiness that existed in the books (Connery, Dalton, Craig). But there's also been a lot of play within the structures of Bond- perhaps most easily identified in the "camp" factor. There is a massive difference between the apex of the Moore films and the Craig films, for example. In short, Bond is both always changing, but must maintain certain continuities. And whenever a continuity is challenged, people will yell and scream (A BLOND BOND??!!!!) unless and until they see that it works. *And commenting on the internet about what the designer should do. **I will call it that, even thought it's just a VODKA COCKTAIL. Real martinis are made with gin. And yes, I will die on that hill.</blockquote>

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