You may not have noticed (because, uh, you apparently live under a rock inside a cave) that Harry Potter fans have a lot of reasons to be excited right now. There's a new movie and a new book on the horizon (ohgodnospoilersplz), and we thought it might be a good time to celebrate our Harry Potter love by dedicating this week's Mii Spotlight to all things Potter. So if you (or someone you know) has a Potter-themed Mii banging around the ol' Plaza, snap some pictures and send them our way at mii [at] nintendowiifanboy [dot] com. We will totally accept Photoshopped scars, too.
We're taking a break this week from our usual Mii Spotlight format to discuss the future of Miis, including the forthcoming Mii-focused channel, and what we would like to see in the way of updates to the Mii creation process. We hope you don't mind ... and anyway, we're short on Miis! We can only guess you guys were far too busy immersing yourselves bodily in E3 videos and news to create any new little people this week.
But no worries! Not only will we have new and interesting ways in which to wield our Miis in the near future, games like MySims seem to be running with the super-cute avatar idea, and soon we'll be able to expand our tiny armies of near-lookalikes to epic proportions. Miis even turn up in Wii Fit, though there it seems they must do battle with faceless VR mannequins who threaten to take over our exercise plans.
Actually, Miis v. Mannequins could be an excellent game inside Wii Fit. Too bad we're mostly sure it isn't included. We do love our cartoon violence ... perhaps a little too much.
Well, you're not ugly, but there are a lot of ugly Miis out there. We just can't resist moving facial features around and into places they're not supposed to be. Sure, sometimes you do that and you get Admiral Ackbar, but other times, it looks more like what's under the hockey mask in the Friday the 13th films. Not pretty.
But even ugly Miis need a little time in the spotlight, so we're dedicating this week's edition to the worst of the worst. Check out the parade of awful after the jump!
It seems like everyone loves to make Mii versions of their favorite characters, whether they're from films, games, or television shows, and who can blame them? It's very satisfying to finish a Mii that turns out well and show it off, just to see if it's immediately recognizable. Considering that, it's no surprise that people send us lots of random characters, and often, they're Miis of characters that are just so brilliant, or from things that we love, and we can't resist them.
We dedicate this week's Mii spotlight to all the great character Miis we haven't seen yet ... and we wait with bated breath to see what else you guys can come up with after seeing this week's submissions.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, (or, last week in the Mii Spotlight) some pretenders rolled in here and tried to get everyone psyched about Star Trek. Please. We know what's better. We know that Star Wars is really where it's at -- especially when it comes to Miis. Does everyone have Spock on their Wii, ready to get his tennis on? We think not ... but there sure do seem to be a lot of Admiral Ackbars out there, ready to warn us of impending traps.
It's Saturday, and obviously, that means another week in the Mii Spotlight! This week, however, we offer something a little different than our usual fare. Or, depending on how you look at things, it could be seen as exactly the same as our usual fare. Decide for yourself!
Don't forget -- we've got two Mii requests for anyone who'd like to be in our weekly Mii Spotlight. Send us your ugliest Miis, the worst you can manage to make (funny is a bonus), and we also want reader Miis for a special edition Mii Spotlight. Don't be shy! Snap a few pictures and send them to us at mii at nintendowiifanboy dot com.
We'd also like to ask: what challenges would you like? Television show casts (old and new), or cult movie characters, or ... what? Suggest it and we'll see about making it happen. There was a suggestion around here about requesting Welcome Back, Kotter Miis, and that made us think maybe what we really need is Travolta-through-the-ages ... but we're not sure our Mii Plaza can handle a disco inferno turned hitman.
The best sort of Miis seem to be made from those people who already look like walking caricatures -- the kind of people who have such distinctive features that you could guess their identity from seeing only their left eye, perhaps, or their signature grin. So it follows, of course, that iconic characters also tend to make for good Mii material, though not always, as we here at the Fanboy learned ourselves to our great chagrin ....
You guys have sent us a lot of Miis, and some of them are pretty random. We mean seriously out there. And that's just fine with us -- we like random and weird! In fact, you could probably say that we appreciate the more creative, out-there Miis more than any other, so how could we not devote an entire week's Mii Spotlight to the weirdest of your submissions?
We just had to. Besides, we think you'll enjoy them as much as we did.
Another week has passed, so it must be time for Wii Fanboy's Mii Spotlight! Last week, after Eric showed off how good it was to be a gangsta, we sent out a request for musician Miis, and we got a few that we're excited about showing off. If you haven't yet seen your Mii here, be patient -- we're saving some of the submissions for later editions. If your Mii is creative, well-made, and interesting, don't despair. You'll probably see it here eventually! It just takes time to get enough that are thematically linked.
But we also need to make something very clear: the Miis you send us need to be your own, or you need to credit the original maker if you're sending photos of other people's work. We've had some complaints that not all of the Miis we've featured were actually made by the person claiming credit. It's one thing to see a Mii somewhere and make your own based on that, and another thing altogether to take someone's photos and send them in as your own. We can't check everything, and there's no real way to verify, so we ask you simply to be honest, and please remember to be respectful of people who put their spare time into creating Miis for your enjoyment.
But enough with the lectures -- let's see some Miis!
Now that we've introduced our Mii Spotlight feature and its star-studded cast, we're just about ready to get this party started -- this gangsta party that is. Before we start gettin' low and backing our things up though, don't forget that we're still on the lookout for new and exciting Miis! If you have any that you'd like to share, especially if they're music-themed like this week's collection is going to be, take a few pics and send them to mii at nintendowiifanboy dot com.
So what's the rapper to non-rapper ratio in your Mii Plaza? On my console, it's an easy 3:1. I created most of the hip-hop cartoon figures out of boredom, but there's a number that were produced for the specific purpose of motivating other Miis to throw their hands in the air, waving them as if they didn't have a care in the world. Jump past the post break for some of my favorite rapping Miis and submissions from our own talented readers!
We're test-driving a new feature here at Wii Fanboy, but there's an essential element we lack, and that's your participation. See, we know that Miis are the hotness and no one can resist twisting the system to produce Admiral Ackbar, but we want to see what you have to offer. Who lives in your Mii Plaza? This is your chance to show off all your hard work. Just send pictures of your best Miis to mii at nintendowiifanboy dot com, and the best of the best will appear right here in the Mii Spotlight on Saturdays.
But don't just send any old Mii; everyone's seen the title character from V for Vendetta, and we've all seen Peter Griffin and the cast of The Office. Send us your creative Miis, or even just the Miis you made for yourself and your friends, perhaps along with a picture of the real deal. We want to see how good you are at making Miis.
After the jump, we've got a few examples from around these interwebs, as well as tools that may help in the creation process.
