Sexy Gaming: A Do's and Do Nots Discussion
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As an interesting comparison, look at the portrayal of women (and men) in movies.
You have your Catwomen and your Bonds, sure. But you also have the more genuine characters with reasonable physical appearances. Such films typically have a more "human" character as a way of helping the audience connect with the protagonist. Does anyone really cry when Bond looks sadly over the cliff the most recent Bond-girl just fell down? A Bond movie is about seeing some guns, explosions, and sex, NOT establishing a deep emotional connection to the characters.
But a movie like Slumdog Millionaire revolves around an emotional connection between viewer and character. The characters are often made to look nice, but aren't thrown in as sex objects.
It would be excellent to see a similar trend in videogames. If a fighting game wants to have musclebound men and nearly-naked women, so be it. Just like a Bond girl, no one should be looking to these characters as role models. I doubt anyone considers Ivy a role model.
What we're missing is the contrasting selection of games with reasonably-depicted characters, especially in regards to women. If games are to be taken seriously in the future, developers will need to improve their designs in that regard. Don't make your characters over-sexed if you want to establish a serious storyline. There's no need to make your characters "ugly for the sake of ugly", but there's also no need to make them "nude for the sake of nude", if you will. If Slumdog Millionaire were acted out entirely by models in their underwear, no one would have taken it seriously and it would have been a flop.
When you think about it, movies have undergone a similar transition. If you look back to the 70's and 80's, forgettable and overly sexual movies were often pumped out on low budgets as quick cash grabs from the horny part of the audience. We still get mindless films now, but they're clearly marketed as such and are becoming less common. In the history of film, people occasionally took the risk to make a more emotionally-powerful movie, had the good luck to find someone willing to fund it, and created a classic. With the massive size of modern movie making, an emotionally-driven storyline has become a larger focus and we're seeing fewer trashy films in the mainstream. Well, arguably. In any case, the awards and huge box-office grosses tend to go to the "higher-class" movies.
Videogames are still a young art form. In order for games to develop, we need to see more examples of reasonably-designed people in the big titles. Characters like Faith (Mirror's Edge), Jade (Beyond Good & Evil), and Alyx (Half-Life 2) are a good start. Let's take it further. Buy and promote good games with reasonable characters. Feel free to buy the occasional "trashy" game. Complain when a good game features overly-sexual characters and damages the industry.
You have your Catwomen and your Bonds, sure. But you also have the more genuine characters with reasonable physical appearances. Such films typically have a more "human" character as a way of helping the audience connect with the protagonist. Does anyone really cry when Bond looks sadly over the cliff the most recent Bond-girl just fell down? A Bond movie is about seeing some guns, explosions, and sex, NOT establishing a deep emotional connection to the characters.
But a movie like Slumdog Millionaire revolves around an emotional connection between viewer and character. The characters are often made to look nice, but aren't thrown in as sex objects.
It would be excellent to see a similar trend in videogames. If a fighting game wants to have musclebound men and nearly-naked women, so be it. Just like a Bond girl, no one should be looking to these characters as role models. I doubt anyone considers Ivy a role model.
What we're missing is the contrasting selection of games with reasonably-depicted characters, especially in regards to women. If games are to be taken seriously in the future, developers will need to improve their designs in that regard. Don't make your characters over-sexed if you want to establish a serious storyline. There's no need to make your characters "ugly for the sake of ugly", but there's also no need to make them "nude for the sake of nude", if you will. If Slumdog Millionaire were acted out entirely by models in their underwear, no one would have taken it seriously and it would have been a flop.
When you think about it, movies have undergone a similar transition. If you look back to the 70's and 80's, forgettable and overly sexual movies were often pumped out on low budgets as quick cash grabs from the horny part of the audience. We still get mindless films now, but they're clearly marketed as such and are becoming less common. In the history of film, people occasionally took the risk to make a more emotionally-powerful movie, had the good luck to find someone willing to fund it, and created a classic. With the massive size of modern movie making, an emotionally-driven storyline has become a larger focus and we're seeing fewer trashy films in the mainstream. Well, arguably. In any case, the awards and huge box-office grosses tend to go to the "higher-class" movies.
Videogames are still a young art form. In order for games to develop, we need to see more examples of reasonably-designed people in the big titles. Characters like Faith (Mirror's Edge), Jade (Beyond Good & Evil), and Alyx (Half-Life 2) are a good start. Let's take it further. Buy and promote good games with reasonable characters. Feel free to buy the occasional "trashy" game. Complain when a good game features overly-sexual characters and damages the industry.
...This sounds a lot like gibberish to me...brunt32 said:
I find plenty sexy that doesn't involve destruction. Being an single player gamer primarily games for me are all about story and character, and in my original post I was pointing out the fact that I often like said characters sexy. I honestly don't give two shits about a "head shot" or a "crit" and the sexiness there of.
I've always liked Ivy. She has an ass, and a different build to most female fighting game characters.
BACK ON TOPIC.
I don't think sexiness is an issue in games, realistically. Bikini armour shits me, but I can live with it. Certainly, I will take the bad with the good, and if a character is there for ogling but is also awesomely written and characterised? That's A+ in my books.
It's when female characters become nothing more then eyecandy then it becomes an issue.
And whilst there are plenty of sexy male characters, I can't think of one that's just there to be eye candy.
I definitely don't think characters should stop being made attractive, though christ knows, there's more that makes a character attractive then bulging muscles or short shorts.
But I remain positive that gaming will continue to improve.
BACK ON TOPIC.
I don't think sexiness is an issue in games, realistically. Bikini armour shits me, but I can live with it. Certainly, I will take the bad with the good, and if a character is there for ogling but is also awesomely written and characterised? That's A+ in my books.
It's when female characters become nothing more then eyecandy then it becomes an issue.
And whilst there are plenty of sexy male characters, I can't think of one that's just there to be eye candy.
I definitely don't think characters should stop being made attractive, though christ knows, there's more that makes a character attractive then bulging muscles or short shorts.
But I remain positive that gaming will continue to improve.
Using the word "slut" says more about your own sexual prejudice than the person you are describing.vivaldiscool said:
I think you've hit on a major point of the issue... there are no purely eye candy male characters where as more often then not there are a bevy of poorly characterized, vapid and purely sexual female characters who are often shoe horned into major roles to give them maximum exposure.ix_tab said:
It's probably the main place where there is no "equal opportunity".
The problem is not that only females are made to be attractive but that the female sex icons are WAY overblown and fake.
lets use your examples:
Ivy:Looks like 2 basketballs glued to a board,
Prince:Looks like somthing achivable by an actual human being.
That isin't to say more reilistic atractive females don't exisit in gaming. The main charicter from mirrors edge was mentioned (don't know her name), and she is attractive without being fake.
But even Chris Redfields biceps don't look as fake as Ivys chest. I don't know when breasts larger than your head became attractive but thats just me.
On a side note to people saying that you don't think Ivys sexy, your missing the point. The thred isin't "do you think these peopele are sexy". While I agree that she is way to overblown, replying just to say that isin't forwarding the intended topic.
lets use your examples:
Ivy:Looks like 2 basketballs glued to a board,
Prince:Looks like somthing achivable by an actual human being.
That isin't to say more reilistic atractive females don't exisit in gaming. The main charicter from mirrors edge was mentioned (don't know her name), and she is attractive without being fake.
But even Chris Redfields biceps don't look as fake as Ivys chest. I don't know when breasts larger than your head became attractive but thats just me.
On a side note to people saying that you don't think Ivys sexy, your missing the point. The thred isin't "do you think these peopele are sexy". While I agree that she is way to overblown, replying just to say that isin't forwarding the intended topic.
This is a theory I've had for awhile and it does seem to be one of the good reasons... though since men don't feel any "offense" at unrealistic male body types... I figure it still "might" be an unfeasible "answer" to the question.Eric the Orange said:
And Ivy's boobs don't look "completely" fake, they're just too big and too gravity defying.
It simple really, because its biology - being "blessed" in certain areas automatically makes almost every single human being who looks at the picture more attracted to that image. Even if you don't personally find it "sexy", you the filtering part of your brain makes you look there first because it fits the better frame of what your brain is looking for. Males and females both look for these characteristics in each other, regardless of gender. Thats right - females automatically catagorize females by the same standards as men do, and vice versa.
What are these characteristics you may ask? Well, its rather simple. In females, its the chest/waist or the ratio of those two, and in men it is the shoulder-waist ratio. In essence (remember, these are all within reason, so get extremes out of your mind - and yes, Ivy does fall "within reason") the more "pear shaped" the woman the speed and span of any subject pay attention paying attention to them increased. Or, the larger the chest or waist appeared to be, the faster and more attention they got. Hence, the DOA girls(and Japan games in general).
With men, the more "v" shaped they appeared to be, the more attention they drew, and they faster they got it. Or in essence, the larger their shoulders to their waist, the better. Example: Chris Redfield in RE5.
So since game devs have access to this kind of information in droves, what do you think they're going to do in order to try and get more attention to their games? Take advantage of something you can't even control - your brain's natural biological filtering process: something make decisions before any cultural, social or personal values come into play.
So yes, you may like Faith more, but you "see" Ivy first. You might like the Prince better, but you noticed Marcus before him.
It is simple business - that which gets noticed first often gets bought first.
What are these characteristics you may ask? Well, its rather simple. In females, its the chest/waist or the ratio of those two, and in men it is the shoulder-waist ratio. In essence (remember, these are all within reason, so get extremes out of your mind - and yes, Ivy does fall "within reason") the more "pear shaped" the woman the speed and span of any subject pay attention paying attention to them increased. Or, the larger the chest or waist appeared to be, the faster and more attention they got. Hence, the DOA girls(and Japan games in general).
With men, the more "v" shaped they appeared to be, the more attention they drew, and they faster they got it. Or in essence, the larger their shoulders to their waist, the better. Example: Chris Redfield in RE5.
So since game devs have access to this kind of information in droves, what do you think they're going to do in order to try and get more attention to their games? Take advantage of something you can't even control - your brain's natural biological filtering process: something make decisions before any cultural, social or personal values come into play.
So yes, you may like Faith more, but you "see" Ivy first. You might like the Prince better, but you noticed Marcus before him.
It is simple business - that which gets noticed first often gets bought first.
I really don't think MASSIVE BOOBS and HUGE ARSE are really attractive at all... makes them look fake. I much prefer understandable attractiveness, like with Alyx Vance from HL2. she isn't exactly the most "sexy" game character in the world, but her flaws make her more believable (not just the amazing detail Valve put in the characters).
If they had this more moderate attractiveness for both genders in a video game, i think that game could be viewed as very mature (depending on the rest of its content)
If they had this more moderate attractiveness for both genders in a video game, i think that game could be viewed as very mature (depending on the rest of its content)
You aren't looking at the right bits.Simalacrum said:
Alyx is not a "normal" looking person, she's based on an actress for fuck's sake, and they specifically prettied up her image from the original speccy girl with braces design just before they announced her for the game.
She is just as much a fantasy figure as any other female character in gaming.
ONE DAY CLOSE?! If you have a problem with big breast in games, have big...male hands in others. Instead of saying men are being "perverted" then you be "perverted". You may like it, now I'm not supporting this per say, I'm just saying don't try to change something that will ruin it for others, change it so that everyone's happy. If I'm playing a game that has a "fan-service for girls" male character I laugh and keep playing (and make a few jokes with my friends). If you don't like don't take away what others like, add what you like. Then everyone can drool over main/support characters...and do other stuff you dirty dirty girl. lol
I like the Futurama joke.
And I have a solution. Ugly Betty, The Video game.
No more problems everyone is happy?
And I have a solution. Ugly Betty, The Video game.
No more problems everyone is happy?
I think imperfections help the cuteness a little. I didn't mind the look of Faith.9of9 said:You know, I always figured the same - that there's gotta be a decent compromise between sexiness and not alienating the gender completely. As far as female characters go, Faith in Mirror's Edge is the epitome of the strong, realistic woman, right?
Right?
No. When you try to do this right, you immediately get hundreds of whiners complaining that this looks butt ugly:
And that she should have looked like this:
There's just no winning with these things. If you try to add even the slightest semblance of realism into your female characters, your adolescent male demographic starts throwing a tantrum over the fact that the protagonist doesn't sport double-D breasts.
You know...I honestly wouldn't have minded seeing the face of the first Faith with the gifts on the second.....but thats not helping is it?
