Good Female characters that aren't attractive or have unique body types

[DataSnake]

Eve from Mass Effect 3. Strong, smart, and oh yeah, she's a Krogan. You don't get much less "conventionally attractive" than that.

 

[Erttheking]

If you thinks THOSE characters are what passes for an ugly female character, it just demonstrates that sexism in videogames does exist.

Yeah, that's what I thought, although I don't think it really reveals sexism, just how deeply ingrained these ideas are.

No offence, erttheking, but it's a bit of a weird premise/set-up for a thread, isn't it? Perhaps well intentioned, but it almost comes across like 'Let's not talk about the heteronormative ideas of attractive females, and talk about the ugly one's instead' - which just reinforces what you're perhaps trying to subvert.

Wouldn't it be more productive to just post about good or dynamic characters regardless of how they may or may not relate to any ideas of cultural, conformist beauty?

I already made a thread about generally good female characters. It lasted for a grand total of three pages before sizzling out.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.862637-Best-female-characters-introduced-to-gaming-in-the-last-decade#21490369

And to put it simply, I was trying to talk about characters who take paths that are rarely explored by female characters in gaming. If you want changes to be brought into a field, you have to actually point out what you want don't you? And I want more female characters that don't look like super models. It gets in my way of enjoying a game where I'm playing a game where all the guys are grizzled ugly fucks and all the women are hot super models. It doesn't feel real.

 

[mecegirl]

I'm not exactly a big fan of the re-design of Amanda Waller, but it kind of makes sense in the context of all the other changes in the New 52. I get Waller can handle herself in a pinch, but she doesn't exactly have the body or age to really do any real "field work", so to make her more of an active participant I can see why they decided to make her a tad younger and fitter. That was pretty much one of the main ideas behind the New 52 reboot actually, to make all the heroes a tad younger and rollback the DCU's odometer. Again, C.C.H. Pounder will always be "The Wall" in my eyes, I just understand why they made the choice. Hopefully they'll start leading towards a look similar to what they had in Arkham Origins, which basically looked like a younger version of the original Waller rather than a Halle Barry look alike.

I can see your point.. and then I can't and I rather not want to. Summo Hung is a great example of a person who moves literally like a freaking ninja (even though he's Chinese) and is still what's considered heavy. The Kingpin is known to be all muscle. Granny Goodness, The Penguin, Tobias Whale, Doctor Octopus... Amanda Waller made Gods fear in spite of her stature. That's what made her so damn appealing. She wasn't anything to look at, and she delivered wholesale terror among those she deemed worthy. She made it happen because of her. And the fact that she was 'below average' made her capabilities even more frightening.

Now. Average really hot lady. It's gotten to the point that a beautiful woman is BORING now. Give me 'the Wall' any day.

Just to add on. Pre 52 Amanda Waller was never depicted as a young woman except in flashbacks of her own life as a normal working mother. Waller was already a middle aged heavy set woman when she first started working for the government. There was literally never a time when she was a young field agent in the old continuity. That is a part of what made her so badass. She was a working class woman who hit financial hard times and had lost love ones to violence. She then clawed her way up government ranks in order to put a stop to things like that happening ever again. They didn't just de-age Waller. They changed her back story completely.

 

[chikusho]

Makoto, from Third Strike.

Spoiler

She's got a strong, tomboyish look and freakishly large hands and feet.
Also, her story is sort of empowering. She's a highly skilled martial artist who's fighting in the tournament to earn money and recognition for her very own dojo. I have a bit of a crush on this girl.

 

[loa]

Midna.

Spoiler

Unlike other zelda helpers/princesses/annoying fairy things, midna actually gets shit done and has a character.

 

[Someone Depressing]

Pretty much all of the female cast of Homestuck.

Miranda from... Miranda.

Most of the female characters from Silent Hill belong here, though it's a bit subjective. Heather was hard to find cute, what with all of the "fighting for my life against the manifestations of my teenage fears" and didn't have much of a figure. Angela was pretty much the opposite of sexy, and for good reason, and Shattered Memories actually had this as a gameplay mechanic of sorts, though it quickly dipped into the unsexy.

I mean, the Rawshock.

Spoiler: Lookit dat booty

And yes fans still think they're sexy, right next to Pyramid Head and the Bubblehead Nurses of Dracos With Leather Pants. Seriously, what is wrong with Silent Hill fans?

Nyatta from Cat Soup.

The all-female cast of Skullgirls tend to have varied body types and faces. And horrible physical deformities. And horrible mental disorders.

Lots I can think of, but here are a few from the top of my head.