Poll: Do you hate sexy armor on female characters?

[Nexxis]

Personally, I hate "sexy" armor on female characters in general, but I dislike it more in areas where armor is meant to be practical. Armor on fighting game characters tend not to have a specific purpose, so it's not a bad thing if it's skimpy (I still hate it), but in a game like an MMO or RPG where armor has a point, it's kind of stupid for a character to be running around with a metal thong that, realistically, doesn't protect anything. In the case of MMOs, I also don't like it when the male version of the same armor looks different. World of Warcraft was (and sort of still is) guilty of this. A suit of armor for a guy gets a midriff or low, v-cut collar for females to show more skin which I find to be rediculous. Some older armors change even more drastically than that becoming bikini outfits on any female form.

 

[Neonit]

ahh yes, this thing....

i think it looks stupid in pretty much all cases. you go on site with oblivion/skyrim mods, 1/2 will be "sexy armor" type. the other half consists of huge breasts, and a bit of real mods.
yeah, its that bad.

then again, there are games where it does fit. i have yet to see that kind of game, but still - they must exist.

voted "Most of the time, but there are a few exceptions."
because i believe there is a market for this kind of things (ya, no shit right?) so i guess there are exceptions, but personally i dont like it.

then again im a weird guy that hates a lot of things i should love, like sex scenes in movies, or naked ladies everywhere you look....

 

[boag]

Recently there has been a division among my group of gamer friends...Sexy female armor. Half of them wish the armor on a female would look more realistic than form-fitting or showing off skin. While the other half says it's just a game and if a creator wants to make their character look and dress sexy it's perfectly okay.

I can understand each sides argument, but I lean more towards the not being bothered by it. I am female and I don't find sexy armor on females exploiting or offensive in any way. At the end of the day it's just a game and the character isn't real.

As long as it fits the class and job of the character, I dont mind the armor.

Although its really hard to keep a serious face when a Male Palading Wearing Full Plate, has as much Def modifiers as a Female paladin wearing the same armor, but now it looks like a metal micro bikini.

 

[boag]

Hmm? Sorry, I was just focused on my FemShep's uh... HAIR! That's it! Hair! >_>

I can kind of understand why some people would be annoyed by sexy armor. But I don't really mind it myself. At the end of the day, it's just a game, suspension of disbelief and what not.

Yeah, I uh wear the shield grieves instead of the med braces, because I uh, like shields more than health, yeah.

 

[Erttheking]

Is there some reason that the escapist is so up in arms about sexism nowadays? Well anyway, I really don't have a problem with it, if it's done in a dignified manner and the woman has a strong personality I really have no problems with it. Really Femsheps armor? Pffft, that's nothing.

 

[silasbufu]

I welcome sexiness in my games, thank you.

 

[flatten_the_skyline]

I like the amazon armor in dRakensang. It is feminine, but still armor.

 

[Strain42]

For me it depends on both the game and on the character itself.

Lets use Soul Calibur as an example and compare three characters. Ivy, Sophitia and Hilde.

Ivy is a character that's clearly an example of titillation, but can you really argue that it doesn't fit her character as basically a Sedusa type character who uses a whip sword? Her costume works because it fits her character. A good mix between sexy and logical

Now lets look at Hilde. She's dressed pretty much head to toe in large clunky armor, hardly any flesh exposed, and most of her armor isn't even like tight fitting to show off her curves. Now, maybe I'm weird, but I still find Hilde to be a very attractive and sexy character, despite not showing off much of her body because again...her design fits her character. Balances sexy with logical.

Lastly we have Sophitia, who is supposed to more or less be this virtuous character who is trying to portray herself as a serious warrior character...yet basically wears a thin toga to show off the boobage and cleavage so massive it leaves an echo. Sexy yes, but not very logical. Through this thought process, Sophitia is actually my least favorite of the three characters.

That's my take on it anyway. Just kinda depends on who the character is.

We let characters like Ivy get away with stuff like this because since her conception we've known that's what type of character she is.

It's also why we get mad when you take a beloved powerful female character like Samus and have her running around in a skin tight body suit for no reason other than fanservice.

 

[Agayek]

[sub](Oh look it's this thread again etc etc...)[/sub]

Context, madam.

Context is everything.

If the game wants me to take it seriously then the ol' chainmail bikinis and whatnot are idiotic. They make as much sense as going into battle wearing clown shoes and a tube dress. For example, Samara in Mass Effect 2. She's supposed to be a vigilante warrior-monk who enters combat on a semi-regular basis. She is presented in a straight faced manner. Yet she wears high heels and a what looks like a swimsuit with pauldrens. As much as I like the character, that visual design is a bad joke. It's not exploitive or offensive, it's silly.

On the other hand, if the game is intentionally over-the-top or tongue in cheek, then I'm fine. For example, I have no problem with any of the character designs in the various Japanese fighting games. Their whole premise is already ridiculous and both the players and developers are fully aware of that. We're talking about games where a roster of invincible caricatures with super powers conduct combative fireworks displays around the world. Sticking the women in sexy outfits does not make that scenario any more ridiculous.

When all is said and done, I've never really seen the point of it. I don't play games to ogle the pixels. Its just not what I'm there for.

Exactly this. It all comes down to how it's presented and the particular work in question.

The only time I really have an issue with it is when things are supposed to be serious, yet someone walks out in 1/3 a suit of armor. It breaks suspension of disbelief so fucking hard.

 

[go-10]

do Kratos or Conan count as sexy armor?

because if it is, its safe to say we ALL love sexy armor

 

[DrunkPickle]

Yes, I don't like it. I think that it "distorts" the overall theme/atmosphere of the game. I don't support the idea of female characters wearing high heels and mini-skirts in a medieval RPG; it makes me feel like I'm just playing through a "remake" or an adaptation of the medieval setting, rather than the real thing. This is one of the reasons I don't like most Asian-styled games...

 

[boag]

Is there some reason that the escapist is so up in arms about sexism nowadays? Well anyway, I really don't have a problem with it, if it's done in a dignified manner and the woman has a strong personality I really have no problems with it. Really Femsheps armor? Pffft, that's nothing.

Now a days?

Way before I officially joined the forums and I just lurked as a guest, there has always been one or another thread talking about sexism.

 

[Erttheking]

Is there some reason that the escapist is so up in arms about sexism nowadays? Well anyway, I really don't have a problem with it, if it's done in a dignified manner and the woman has a strong personality I really have no problems with it. Really Femsheps armor? Pffft, that's nothing.

Now a days?

Way before I officially joined the forums and I just lurked as a guest, there has always been one or another thread talking about sexism.

Weird, I only noticed it recently, call me paranoid but I think the need Ashley Williams design had something to do with a spike in it.

 

[AngelicSven]

I think every female in League of Legends (at least the humans or close-enough-to-humans-that-it-wouldn't-be-illegal-to-hop-in-bed-with) is dressed as sexy as possible. French Maid Nidalee, Leblanc's Christmas skin....

Kayle, Leona, Soraka, Riven, Lux, Karma. Based off the majority of their skins.

Job's done.

 

[tmande2nd]

I honestly cant stand it.

I mean in Skyrim why does female armor have boob shaped plates?
WHY?

Or in Mass Effect 2....Miranda, Samara, and Jack never left the ship because of their brain dead armor. No get some REAL armor you clowns or stay on the ship.

 

[God's Clown]

I like a mix really. Form fitting is good, but it also has to cover most of her body. A thigh or two sticking out is fine. I don't really like Chain Mail Bikini's and overly revealing armor, at least not with games I am to take serious.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

http://kotaku.com/5873885/nerds-and-male-privilege-part-2-deconstructing-the-arguments

This.

Ah, the 3Ds. Also notice how the Ds are iterative, in that they can be used on their own arguments.

Problem: The comic book industry is inherently sexist. As is the romance novel industry, in the opposing direction.

Former is treated as "just for boys". Latter is treated as "for mature people".

The arguments are now so mixed we're reverting to Latin terms just to dismiss each other's arguments.

Way before I officially joined the forums and I just lurked as a guest, there has always been one or another thread talking about sexism.

TBF, I think sexism has been a major talking point long before any of us were even born. All we're doing now is blaming strangers for things other strangers might have once done to our relatives.

 

[LiquidGrape]

The only thing more annoying than people who insist everything is overtly sexualised are the people who claim sexualisation can't be problematic.

 

[Agayek]

I honestly cant stand it.

I mean in Skyrim why does female armor have boob shaped plates?
WHY?

Or in Mass Effect 2....Miranda, Samara, and Jack never left the ship because of their brain dead armor. No get some REAL armor you clowns or stay on the ship.

At the very least, the Skyrim example you put forth here actually makes some modicum of sense. There is some degree of logic in crafting armor that actually fits the wearer. Like it or not, women have large globes of fat on their chest that tend to get in the way of a "standard fit" breastplate.

I'm not saying that's how it would play out in real life (I'm fairly certain they'd simply make the breastplate bigger around instead of adding protrusions for enemy weapons to snag), but there is some logic there.

The ME2 examples you have here make absolutely 0 sense and are much better examples of this type of thing.

 

[Lunar Templar]

it very much depends on the design of the armor for me, like

Spoiler: this is sexy

Spoiler: while this is sluty

and i generally prefer armor designs that look like they'd actually PROTECT the woman in side rather then make her look like a prostitute