Sexy fantasy armor...

[Rebel_Raven]

And I just stumbled across this:
http://fashionablygeek.com/womens-apparel/this-comic-reveals-why-female-superheroes-wear-skimpy-armor/

And I remembered seeing this which talks about the problems with fantasy armor:
<youtube=lIwFTU7zAbg>

Honestly, videogames, movies, etc, these things are fantasy, and I can easily suspend disbelief enough to enjoy some fanservice, nice designs, etc.

Still, expecting everyone to have that suspension of disbelief, and seeing boobs that put SNK, and Tecmo-Koei to shame is a bit much. Not everyone likes it, not everyone tolerates it, and as much as I like it, it doesn't need to be the norm as it pretty much is, still. It can still exist, though.

You may want to see this (slightly NSFW), well ok it's not the same thing per say (talking about girls clothing in fighting game but it's still similar but I suppose it's no brainer that the clothing they wear in games is not pratical in real life.

Yeah, one thing videogames have going for them is that clothes are rarely fluid, and almost never fluid when against skin. Wardrobe malfunctions aren't a huge concern.

Thinking about it, though, while the video you link has merit in that there's limits to physics, and double sided tape, odds are every character has their outfits tailored to them, and have time, and work put into them. A custom fit might help avoid wardrobe malfunctions, even in some absurd designs.

If those outfits offere something, though, it seemed like mobility was high amongst what's offered. Aside from the realities of having to adjust clothes, anyhow.

A point of view I have is that few fighting game characters wear what they fight in all day, every day, so the idea of looking stylish for a bit is something more natural.
Honestly though, outfits might be more interesting if they were the sorts of things a combatant would wear in public.

Looking at the big picture, though, Ivy's outfit might be worn temporarily as a form of psychological warfare.

I wouldn't discount the notion of escapism. Maybe the inability to get away with dressing in such outlandish clothes can make some of it appealing, even if it's just in a virtual space.

But this is just me rambling.

 

[SUPA FRANKY]

Can we please stop with the obvious hyperbole that sexy armor is everywhere? It gets pretty annoying.

 

[lacktheknack]

What if I find practicality sexy? Huh? What then?

Doublets and correctly shaped cuirasses totally turn me on.

So where's my gratuitous practicality fanservice?

This.

I'm sick and tired of people acting like "boob plates" are somehow good design. They're TERRIBLE design, they'll guide blades directly into your sternum. D:

"Well designed" female armor is almost identical to male armor: It will squash the boobs down and out of the way of the flying blades. So I speak for the practical fetishists when I request MOAR SQUASHED BOOBS! MOAR SQUASHED BOOBS!

(And if you doubt the squashiness of boobs, watch a well-endowed woman have a mammogram. To quote my mother, "It's like pizza dough.")

 

[CloudAtlas]

I disagree with people who say that sexy/revealing armor is wrong and should be abolished from games at all costs.

Who said that? My strawman sense is tingling.

I welcome sexy impractical armor in fantasy-themed games (e.g. fantasy MMOs or RPGs) where realism is not really a priority.
People who point at sexy armor saying "that's not practical!" or point at heels saying "how can she fight in that?!" are probably missing the point of videogames, especially when they'll happily ignore the fact that said character is throwing magic spells, running at supersonic speeds or swinging around a car-sized sword.

Many games, even fantasy games, are trying to portray a believable, authentic world though. Like Skyrim, for example. You claiming otherwise doesn't make it so. As much as you claiming things that didn't actually happen make them so (see above).

But what do I know? Maybe everything is like you say. Maybe developers clearly spending a lot of time on achieving such an authentic feel is no indication for this authenticity to be "a priority" after all. Maybe players looking to immerse themselves in games, players looking for game worlds that feel consistent, authentic, real even, maybe those players are all missing the point of video games - this point apparently being within your authority to decide for each and everyone. Maybe players would indeed not complain if railguns suddenly pop up in your semi-realistic fantasy world, because as you so aptly demonstrated, internal consistency is something that does not matter, and if it matters to you, you're playing it wrong.
Maybe.

 

[Souplex]

And I just stumbled across this:
http://fashionablygeek.com/womens-apparel/this-comic-reveals-why-female-superheroes-wear-skimpy-armor/

And I remembered seeing this which talks about the problems with fantasy armor:
<youtube=lIwFTU7zAbg>

Honestly, videogames, movies, etc, these things are fantasy, and I can easily suspend disbelief enough to enjoy some fanservice, nice designs, etc.

Still, expecting everyone to have that suspension of disbelief, and seeing boobs that put SNK, and Tecmo-Koei to shame is a bit much. Not everyone likes it, not everyone tolerates it, and as much as I like it, it doesn't need to be the norm as it pretty much is, still. It can still exist, though.

You may want to see this (slightly NSFW), well ok it's not the same thing per say (talking about girls clothing in fighting game but it's still similar but I suppose it's no brainer that the clothing they wear in games is not practical in real life.

Also, boob-plates would guide attacks into the center as opposed to deflecting them.

 

[xmbts]

I like that some people are calling chest plates with boobs sculpted onto them practical when that's more like a death sentence for the wearer. Granted it does look nice from an aesthetic standpoint.

 

[wulf3n]

You claiming otherwise doesn't make it so.

There's a humorous irony in that statement. If one claiming something doesn't occur doesn't make it so, why does the other claiming it does exist somehow make it so?

 

[Eddie the head]

Ok fist no you weren't. I can't speak to your intentions, but your vernacular was in the rhetorical realm.

Second my inability to imagine an answer would be just as irrelevant. And just because I might not have an answer doesn't' mean that yours is in any way good.

Third there is the simplest answer.(Witch I did say already.) That he just likes to look at woman in skimpy clothing, and there is nothing more to it. That one is a null hypothesis I'm not assuming any links. Until you can show a link in his psyche between the killing and sexual gratification then your position is irrational.

So, you're saying that my hypothesis has no more possibility than yours does.

Okay, well, given in the post after that, he literally talks about dressing sexy whilst "Doing your job".

I'm gonna put 2 and 2 together over here...

No I'm not. What don't you understand about the null hypothesis? It's the position you take on everything until you can demonstrate a link. You clam there is a link between his sexual gratification and killing people. Show it.

Just so you know it would be really hard to be intellectually honest and demonstrate a link like that. The guy has given 4 sentences, at most, on the subject. You can not use any amount of psychology knowledge to understand someone in 4 sentences.

sinp

I hope you don't mind that I have been arguing on your behalf, but this is so stupid.

 

[loa]

I don't like any armor that is clearly just a designer jerking off with no understanding of how armor works.
"Sexy" armor is just another symptom of this "style" over substance mentality.
See: most clothing in league of legends or most fantasy armor in general.

 

[Artemicion]

Only to some extent. Immersion (not only, but also) depends on internal inconsistency, which is not subjective. How sensitive you are to specific violations of internal consistency, THAT is in the eye of the beholder.
And as it happens, many people became quite sensitive when it comes to unreasonable female armors, thanks to discussions like these. They just notice it immediately.

That's a mighty fine opinion you've got going there. Careful not to forget it's not fact.

It was your statement. You stated there's nothing wrong with someone liking sexy armors. I stated that this is not the question here. Which it isn't.

Well, okay, sure. That's neat and all, but the thread isn't about a specific question, so. You know. Actually, thinking about it, the thread was about how people shouldn't make such a big deal about sexy fantasy armor. My initial post was in support of this, saying I used it, that was okay, and I tried to write it in a way that wouldn't make a big deal about it. Then you and several others proceeded to make a big deal about it. I'd recommend listening to the original poster and, in the future, not making a big deal about it.

No, there are no lore friendly "sexy armor" mods (i.e. mods featuring distinctily sexualized armor) for Skyrim. In the world of Skyrim, all female warriors wear reasonable armors (apart from mild boob cups). Female characters in general are (almost) not sexualized whatsoever in Skyrim; the most you get in terms of titilation is a bar maid with cleavage.
Thus, no "sexy armor" will be be consistent with what you see in Skyrim otherwise, and consequently no "sexy armor" can be lore friendly.

Funny how I specifically mentioned "not just Slave Leia" and you continue to say "Slave Leia".
Lore-friendly Sexy Armor: SFW [http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/27147/?]. Sure, it's got its artistic flair (BELTS EVERYWHERE) but based on the other armors and clothing items in the vanilla game, that's perfectly reasonable.

Additionally, the Savior's Hide [http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Savior%27s_Hide_%28Skyrim%29] and Nocturne's cloak [http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Nocturnal] would like to disagree with your assessment about in-game revealing clothing. With all of that said, you're now cutting into my Mario Kart time, so good day to you.

I hope you don't mind that I have been arguing on your behalf, but this is so stupid.

Appreciate the gesture, but I'd recommend not wasting any more of your time on him. The amount of absurd assumptions he's making combined with his vitriol is making it incredibly hard to take him seriously.

 

[Aaron Sylvester]

I disagree with people who say that sexy/revealing armor is wrong and should be abolished from games at all costs.

Good thing no one here has actually said that. Don't let that stop you from pretending they have though.

Just making my stance clear. You didn't need to respond if you don't feel that way, but I've seen plenty of people on these forums in the past who say that and my post was intended for them - not you.

Who said that? My strawman sense is tingling.

I think you need to look up the definition of strawman. I never implied you said that, I never said that anyone in this thread said that either. Was just stating my stance to those people (who DO exist no matter how hard you want to pretend they don't). If it doesn't apply to you, then you needn't bother responding to it.

Unless you feel you HAVE to respond to it no matter what (which would be weird).

The problem isn't solely "practicality" or "realism." It's when men get to be dressed practically and realistically whereas women get lingerie because "fuck you, men need to masturbate to this video game!"

I'm not seeing the issue here considering the target demographic that said games are typically played by. It's catering to them. Is there something wrong with catering to demographics now? It's fantasy, anything is allowed IMO and nothing is "bad" as far as I'm concerned. If there was a fantasy MMO where all the men ran around in underwear and women wore full armor sets, I'd be fine with it - I can understand that it's catered to an audience that I'm not part of.

I don't complain about stupid/unrealistic male depictions in Yaoi and Shoujou manga because I respect the demographic that loves that stuff and I'm free to...you know, not read it. I understand that all types & trends we see in entertainment today were born (or popularized) by consumer demand.

Many games, even fantasy games, are trying to portray a believable, authentic world though. Like Skyrim, for example. You claiming otherwise doesn't make it so. As much as you claiming things that didn't actually happen make them so (see above).

But what do I know? Maybe everything is like you say. Maybe developers clearly spending a lot of time on achieving such an authentic feel is no indication for this authenticity to be "a priority" after all. Maybe players looking to immerse themselves in games, players looking for game worlds that feel consistent, authentic, real even, maybe those players are all missing the point of video games - this point apparently being within your authority to decide for each and everyone. Maybe players would indeed not complain if railguns suddenly pop up in your semi-realistic fantasy world, because as you so aptly demonstrated, internal consistency is something that does not matter, and if it matters to you, you're playing it wrong.
Maybe.

Yet Skyrim has you instantly killing enemies by shouting at them. Sounds like authenticity and believability are completely up to opinion. My own opinion is that in fantasy anything is allowed, I'm open to it.

Also tell me the number of games that are trying to be "authentic" or "real" and have female characters forcibly wearing lingerie armor. My strawman sense is tingling.

AFAIK the most popular fantasy games in the world have a fairly good balance of everything, so I don't even know why this thread exists.

Perhaps it's to whine about that 1% of Japanese/Korean games that decide to specifically pander to the male demographic. Oh no, how dare they :O

 

[Ushiromiya Battler]

I can't think of one game that has ever depicted armour realistically in the fantasy genre.
Not one.
I get that you don't like how only women have stupid revealing armour, but saying it's stupid because the men get practical and realistic armour is bullshit.

Apart from that, I'd prefer more choice when it comes to armour looks. Why shouldn't I be allowed to play as a sexy manbeast in a chainmail speedo? Normal armour for all and chainmail bikini for all. Only way it's fair.

 

[Zakarath]

I can't think of one game that has ever depicted armour realistically in the fantasy genre.
Not one.
I get that you don't like how only women have stupid revealing armour, but saying it's stupid because the men get practical and realistic armour is bullshit.

Apart from that, I'd prefer more choice when it comes to armour looks. Why shouldn't I be allowed to play as a sexy manbeast in a chainmail speedo? Normal armour for all and chainmail bikini for all. Only way it's fair.

Mount&Blade did a pretty good job, but I guess that's because it's medieval fiction instead of fantasy. Guess when you add magic, plate armor automatically gets boobs. (Dark Souls at least did a good job of generally not making female armor any more absurd than it's male counterpart, which is not to say that numerous sets of its armour weren't pretty infeasible anyway.)

 

[Ryotknife]

Wait hold on, timeout.

Is there ANY fantasy setting in which armor as a concept is practical? In skyrim for example you have people (and weapons) shooting lightning, ice, fire, or paralization. Sometimes multiple at once! Then you have dragons and giants and other such lovely creatures who would make armor pointless due to the sheer amount of force they hit with. The ability to shoot lightning bolts would make any metal based armor pointless by itself. Realistically, you would be better off not wearing any armor at all or something like leather in Skyrim and focus on mobility other than against other non magic humanoids.

If armor, as a concept, is impractical in that world then i dont see why sexy fantasy armor is any worse. So long as you are fair about the sexy armor (ie optional)

I mean, wearing heavy armor in the Soul games is even worse than adding boob plates as many of the enemies are the size of a house (if not bigger)

 

[Erttheking]

Let's just make something clear.

Men in practical looking armor and women in practical looking armor? Not sexist. (I said practical LOOKING. If you can convince me it's practical, even if it really isn't, just by looks, I'll buy it. That excludes boob plates)

Men in sexy armor and women in sexy armor? Not sexist. In fact it can be interesting. It's why I want to check out Loren the Amazon Princess.

Men in practical looking armor and women in sexy looking armor? Sexist.

Just be consistent to your own internal logic.

 

[Nurb]

It's a fantasy, and I like looking at pretty fictional characters in a fantasy game sometimes. It doesn't need justification to anyone. Sometimes I like realistic armor on fictional characters. Depends on my mood and what sort of game I want to play

Call the tumblr social justice police, I've just confessed to a crime

 

[mecegirl]

Wait hold on, timeout.

Is there ANY fantasy setting in which armor as a concept is practical? In skyrim for example you have people (and weapons) shooting lightning, ice, fire, or paralization. Sometimes multiple at once! Then you have dragons and giants and other such lovely creatures who would make armor pointless due to the sheer amount of force they hit with. The ability to shoot lightning bolts would make any metal based armor pointless by itself. Realistically, you would be better off not wearing any armor at all or something like leather in Skyrim and focus on mobility other than against other non magic humanoids.

If armor, as a concept, is impractical in that world then i dont see why sexy fantasy armor is any worse. So long as you are fair about the sexy armor (ie optional)

I mean, wearing heavy armor in the Soul games is even worse than adding boob plates as many of the enemies are the size of a house (if not bigger)

Who said that the armor has to be made out of metal though? Like you said, leather armor could work. I've even read fantasy books with armor made out of clay and even dragon scales.

But beyond all that, it isn't uncommon in Fantasy games for armor and weapons to have specific stats. The better the armor is the higher the defense stat. Generally speaking cloth armor would have a lower defense stat (I should say physical defense stat but that's the part of me who used to play too many rpg's as a kid) than plate armor (but equipping plate armor could lower your agility). And some times certain armors are resistant to certain elements, like fire or lightning. So when you know that you are going to enter a part of the game that has a high concentration of fire based enemies then you equip your fire resistant armor. Your armor would need to be tough enough to protect the wearer from human weapons(and the claws and teeth of minor beasts). But all one would also need is enough money to purchase an armor that was enhanced by a mage's spell. Or pay a mage to enchant the armor you already have. Something we do all the time in games. Even to the point of equipping armor that increases our speed or that automatically heals us.

So really. Why are folks acting like none of this has been thought out? Or have I just played too many old school RPG's or something?

And if we are gonna go the route of giving skimpy armor a super protect spell why not treat both gender's equally? It's not like there aren't dudes who like showing off. Give a guy random openings in his armor while they are at it, and no one will complain about the obvious double standard.

 

[Ryotknife]

If armor, as a concept, is impractical in that world then i dont see why sexy fantasy armor is any worse. So long as you are fair about the sexy armor (ie optional)

Because, at least when you have more realistic armor, it at least functions as armor against the more mundane threats that far outnumber the fantastical. Most warriors who aren't the chosen one seemed to spend most of their time in Skyrim fighting the warriors of other factions, with few giants or dragons or mages entering into the equation.

Sexy armor not only looks like it'd take longer to make and thus cost more, but removes a good amount of the benefits of actual armor and makes everything much more dangerous, all for the sake of going "Look! Boobs!" It's an extra special detriment, just for the ladies.

Mages are common in skyrim. Most bandit camps have a least one spellcaster. Also, the vampires who attack towns and the townspeople far more often than plain ole thugs do. Thalmor are chocked full of mages and the people of skyrim are under constant threat from them.

Regardless, Armor as a concept is impractical in a fantasy setting. Funny enough, a chainmail bikini would be more practical than "normal" armor because it wouldnt weigh you down.

Listen, if this was say...Lord of the rings, armor as a concept still has value (mostly because magic was kinda lame and incredibly tame). But in say World of Warcraft, wearing armor is completely unrealistic. But thats fine, because its FANTASY. If you can get past the fact that wearing heavy armor in most fantasy settings is an incredibly stupid idea, that magic is unrealistic, and that many fantasy creatures are unrealistic, then it seems weird that people are hanged up over adding boobs to armor for aesthetic purposes considering that armor IS aesthetic in those worlds.



Now, if this happened in Mount and Blade, then have at it. But that is a fictional setting, not a fantasy setting.

 

[Ryotknife]

Wait hold on, timeout.

Is there ANY fantasy setting in which armor as a concept is practical? In skyrim for example you have people (and weapons) shooting lightning, ice, fire, or paralization. Sometimes multiple at once! Then you have dragons and giants and other such lovely creatures who would make armor pointless due to the sheer amount of force they hit with. The ability to shoot lightning bolts would make any metal based armor pointless by itself. Realistically, you would be better off not wearing any armor at all or something like leather in Skyrim and focus on mobility other than against other non magic humanoids.

If armor, as a concept, is impractical in that world then i dont see why sexy fantasy armor is any worse. So long as you are fair about the sexy armor (ie optional)

I mean, wearing heavy armor in the Soul games is even worse than adding boob plates as many of the enemies are the size of a house (if not bigger)

Who said that the armor has to be made out of metal though? Like you said, leather armor could work. I've even read fantasy books with armor made out of clay and even dragon scales.

But beyond all that, it isn't uncommon in Fantasy games for armor and weapons to have specific stats. The better the armor is the higher the defense stat. Generally speaking cloth armor would have a lower defense stat (I should say physical defense stat but that's the part of me who used to play D&D as a kid) than plate armor (but equipping plate armor could lower your agility). And some times certain armors are resistant to certain elements, like fire or lightning. So when you know that you are going to enter a part of the game that has a high concentration of fire based enemies then you equip your fire resistant armor. Your armor would need to be tough enough to protect the wearer from human weapons(and the claws and teeth of minor beasts). But all one would also need is enough money to purchase an armor that was enhanced by a mage's spell. Or pay a mage to enchant the armor you already have. Something we do all the time in games. Even to the point of equipping armor that increases our speed or that automatically heals us.

So really. Why are folks acting like none of this has been thought out? Or have I just played too many old school RPG's or something?

And if we are gonna go the route of giving skimpy armor a super protect spell why not treat both gender's equally? It's not like there aren't dudes who like showing off. Give a guy random openings in his armor while they are at it, and no one will complain about the obvious double standard.

Except they still will. See TERA for example. People upheld TERA armor on a certain race as a prime example of the evil of female skimpy armor, completely glossing over the fact that the male armor was just as skimpy.

Yea, armor is nothing more than a stat piece, which is why it doesnt matter if boob plates are practical or not. Because there is nothing practical about someone in Steel plate armor surviving a hit from a giant who can hit with enough force to flatten a car. Now if you dont like boob plates from an aesthetic point of view, that is completely legit, but dont bring realisim into this (not directed at you btw)

Dont get me wrong, if your game has skimpy female armor then by all means add skimpy male armor. I applauded when DOA added costumes that were just speedos for the guys. I am all for adding more customization options, but i am not for removing customization options.

 

[mecegirl]

Except they still will. See TERA for example. People upheld TERA armor on a certain race as a prime example of the evil of female skimpy armor, completely glossing over the fact that the male armor was just as skimpy.

Dont get me wrong, if your game has skimpy female armor then by all means add skimpy male armor. I applauded when DOA added costumes that were just speedos for the guys. I am all for adding more customization options, but i am not for removing customization options.

It's still better than upholding a double standard though. And the skimpy female armor in TERA was pretty ridiculous. Like, some of it was really bad, and a lot of it was ugly IMO. What are people supposed to do? Not call skimpy armor skimpy? Not call ridiculous armor ridiculous?