The Half-Naked Elf Problem

[KoudelkaMorgan]

In Perfect World, you have your gear, and then you have your fashion. One is actual armor, the other is just for looks and you can toggle which set you want to show.

As pretty much all the armor is ugly people usually show fash. It is also nice to make people actually target you in range and click show info to see your real gear.

DC online has a system of letting you "learn" new gear types and then independently enabling each gear slot to look like any other piece of gear you've acquired.

So you get a new "techno watzit" boot and like it so you select it for looks while still having your old stuff equipped.

It amounts to all new loot being parceled out based on whether they have that style already and a game of dressup. At least it seemed to encompass the entirety of my roomates time with it. When he wasn't doing the same instances over and over and over and over for the crap to unlock the best gear.

I'll totally check out Tera when it goes free to play I think. Seems like it could be interesting. Though idk if my pc will run it well enough to be lag free.

 

[XenonZaleo]

This is an idea that should always have been a part of an MMO, but one that won't really solve the problem. The majority of those that are bothered by this will not be satisfied by the fact that you can make YOUR character not look like a slut, it's the fact that a bunch of other characters DO look like sluts will still draw the same reactions.

In other words, good idea, but it won't solve the problem you're trying to solve.

 

[XenonZaleo]

Its probably worth noting that the game is made by koreans, where the age of consent is about 13-14 years old. So making a younger looking sexually objectified character would not be as squicky as would be for more western audiences.

Maybe you forgot or somehow weren't paying attention, but most 13-14 year old girls have, in fact, gone though most of the dramatic puberty changes i.e. they have boobs.

 

[Screamarie]

As some women have stated before and as the article state I don't really mind chainmail bikinis if 1. You actually get to choose it. If that's what you want fine, I don't care. or 2. if the men are dressed similarly.

But something that I really hate is sexualizing an outfit that isn't supposed to be sexual.

Case in point

Spoiler: Ashley of Mass Effect 3

Now I'm not necessarily upset with Ashley's sex appeal update...I think it's rather out of character for her but...whatever. Pick your battles and all and Ashley was dead in my mass effect anyways.

Getting to the point though...this uniform is FUCKED up. Why? Because of that slit where her clevage is trying to strain free of its clothy bonds. Why is that there? I don't remember a slit over the chest in the men's alliance uniforms. So why is there one for the females? It doesn't do anything. It doesn't make it easier to wear, it doesn't make it classier...It is OBVIOUSLY there just so you can see boob and that's messed up.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all up for some eye-candy, male and female both...when it's appropriate. This is an Alliance navy uniform, it's essentially dress blues if I'm not mistaken! What the fuck?

 

[ms_sunlight]

Its probably worth noting that the game is made by koreans, where the age of consent is about 13-14 years old. So making a younger looking sexually objectified character would not be as squicky as would be for more western audiences.

I've been a 13-year-old girl. I looked a lot more grown-up than that at 13, as did my classmates. It's loli, people. Prepubescent-looking toons in baby doll nighties is pure loli, even if you shove fox ears on them. Deny all you want, my only response is, "methinks the lolicon doth protest too much."

 

[Screamarie]

As some women have stated before and as the article state I don't really mind chainmail bikinis if 1. You actually get to choose it. If that's what you want fine, I don't care. or 2. if the men are dressed similarly.

But something that I really hate is sexualizing an outfit that isn't supposed to be sexual.

Case in point

Spoiler: Ashley of Mass Effect 3

Now I'm not necessarily upset with Ashley's sex appeal update...I think it's rather out of character for her but...whatever. Pick your battles and all and Ashley was dead in my mass effect anyways.

Getting to the point though...this uniform is FUCKED up. Why? Because of that slit where her clevage is trying to strain free of its clothy bonds. Why is that there? I don't remember a slit over the chest in the men's alliance uniforms. So why is there one for the females? It doesn't do anything. It doesn't make it easier to wear, it doesn't make it classier...It is OBVIOUSLY there just so you can see boob and that's messed up.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all up for some eye-candy, male and female both...when it's appropriate. This is an Alliance navy uniform, it's essentially dress blues if I'm not mistaken! What the fuck?

She's wearing it more casually is probably the correct answer. I would imagine if worn correctly it would look pretty similar to today's military garb for women.


At least they give Ashley an armor option for combat.

Just to be certain we're talking about the same thing I'm speaking about the second and third pictures of Ashley, not the first with the zipper down.

In the second and third image, the slit doesn't have any buttons. It doesn't have a zipper. It's just a slit over her boobs. Tell me how she's supposed to wear that more formally?

 

[Screamarie]

As some women have stated before and as the article state I don't really mind chainmail bikinis if 1. You actually get to choose it. If that's what you want fine, I don't care. or 2. if the men are dressed similarly.

But something that I really hate is sexualizing an outfit that isn't supposed to be sexual.

Case in point

Spoiler: Ashley of Mass Effect 3

Now I'm not necessarily upset with Ashley's sex appeal update...I think it's rather out of character for her but...whatever. Pick your battles and all and Ashley was dead in my mass effect anyways.

Getting to the point though...this uniform is FUCKED up. Why? Because of that slit where her clevage is trying to strain free of its clothy bonds. Why is that there? I don't remember a slit over the chest in the men's alliance uniforms. So why is there one for the females? It doesn't do anything. It doesn't make it easier to wear, it doesn't make it classier...It is OBVIOUSLY there just so you can see boob and that's messed up.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all up for some eye-candy, male and female both...when it's appropriate. This is an Alliance navy uniform, it's essentially dress blues if I'm not mistaken! What the fuck?

She's wearing it more casually is probably the correct answer. I would imagine if worn correctly it would look pretty similar to today's military garb for women.


At least they give Ashley an armor option for combat.

Just to be certain we're talking about the same thing I'm speaking about the second and third pictures of Ashley, not the first with the zipper down.

In the second and third image, the slit doesn't have any buttons. It doesn't have a zipper. It's just a slit over her boobs. Tell me how she's supposed to wear that more formally?

Maybe that's why they cut those out? That design isn't in the game btw, that image you linked is concept art.

I'm well aware. Doesn't mean it's not still wrong.

 

[Mardok45]

I'm going to make broad statement about high-testosterone males here:

If this game DIDN'T have half-naked women elves with miniskirts revealing their undergarments, would you have even taken a second glance at this game? I don't know about you, but if I were to see two headlines, one about a nuclear threat from North Korea, and another with a phrase that has any one of these two words or its synonyms: women and naked, my first instinct is to click on the latter.

Luckily, before I click on it, I remind myself of why I'm clicking on it and I go sit in the corner and condemn myself for being such a primitive ape. I can just GOOGLE the phrase "naked women" if that's what I want to see!

I'm going to admit that the only reason I'm posting here is because of the headline. I know, it's sad, it's pathetic, but dammit, it's how I am, and companies are well-aware of this as well. Give one example of any kind of advertisement that has an average-looking female. And I really do mean average. Post one advertisement featuring a female that has no makeup, has zits, moles, a little weight, anything that would deteriorate the Hollywood-standard of a perfect-looking woman.

They exist, but they're extremely rare.

Games are not the only forms of entertainment that does this. Sexualizing females is pretty much everywhere, and it's a good marketing decision (as much as I'd hate to say it). It's a good way to get (heterosexual) male's attention to make us pay long enough attention to what they're advertising.

However, I'm not totally against this. We're sexual creatures, and it's the way we're wired. The only thing I ask is... you know what, I'll just point to Move Bob:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/4719-Gender-Games

 

[daftalchemist]

The nudity factor in Tera is just ridiculous. It really makes me not want to play the game at all, despite the fact I find the combat to be completely fun. I just can't stand all of these naked women running around, and then hearing that the most naked a female character can get is wearing plate armor at high levels. The MOST naked armor is PLATE. That doesn't even make sense!

Also, the jiggle physics are so bad. SO bad. NPCs standing still just looking around will suddenly have their boobs jiggle even though they are barely even moving. It's weird. It's really, really weird. And stupid.

 

[commasplice]

I liked Mabinogi's solution to the "dress practically or fashionably?" dilemma.

--disclaimer: I haven't played the game in years, so this may not hold true anymore, but at the very least, it did when the game was first released in the U.S.--

In Mabi, your armor doesn't really matter. Seriously. You have the best armor in the game equipped? Good for you, you'll still die in three hits if you screw up. So, in the end, EVERYONE ends up dressing according to aesthetics. Also, I knew people who dungeoned ass naked because there was no point in letting your clothes take hits to their durability. They weren't protecting you and there was a chance you'd fuck them up when you repaired them, so it wasn't worth the risk. The same was sometimes true of weapons, too, matter of fact.

In that game, it was more important to grow your character's abilities and use them with the proper timing than it was to have the end game equipment set.

 

[RobfromtheGulag]

Good suggestion Shamus. I have some friends starting on Tera, and as an MMO I probably won't after a fallout with WoW, but if I did I'd want a feature as was offered to allow optional beachwear rather than mandatory.

 

[intheweeds]

Surely a practical full-body armor suit can be made to look sexy? And as for existing preferences, why not just have the same design, but with stronger materials?.

I really hope you're kidding here, it's funny if you think that the only problem with it is that women are showing skin. We actually don't need to look sexy all the time, you know. Certainly not when we are wearing a full suit of armor. I mean, really... really?

It does, however, bring up my thoughts on this:

What if I want to play a bad-ass? Seriously, I'm a girl, if I'm playing a game where I my character requires armor, I am obviously playing a game where combat is a major focus. This is not an "I want to look my prettiest" situation. I want to look like a friggin bad-ass. If I'm carrying a massive sword, I want to look like I might be strong enough to actually swing it and smart enough to protect my friggin midriff in a battle.

It's pretty obvious by the huge muscular men and hardcore armor that is so standard to most genres that men like to play games to feel like bad-asses. We do too! Why should we have to look sexy all the time? I like that feeling of getting off work and relaxing by turning into an online warrior too, you know. I just want to be able to look like one. Why can't women look hard too?

I quit WoW a while ago, but I played for years. Most of my characters were male just because they are the ones who get to actually look like they could battle. I loved my female Pally, but mostly because I found it hilarious and cute that her tiny frame would be swinging around this massive axe. She shouldn't look hilarious and cute - she should look awesome.

I agree completely with this article, but even if every game moving forward implemented this, it wouldn't fix anything. Male devs would just think what this guy thinks: "Surely a practical full-body armor suit can be made to look sexy?" ...and they start using the same armor with the 'skin' part swapped out for an 'armor-like' color and call it a day. Instead of choosing between sexy and badass (which is what it should be, ideally) we will simply be choosing which type of sexy we prefer. The way I see it, unless there is a major shift in the way armor models for women are thought about generally, there won't be any actual choice.

 

[Moromillas]

SWTOR has the same problem, only the inverse is true. There is a class dedicated to wearing skirts that go down to your ankles, and if you want the best armor you have to wear them.

 

[Panayjon]

I'm only up to lvl 9 but actually some of the males do dress like strippers too. There are 2 "Elf" (one is a straight up Elf, the other is an Elf with a tan and horns) races and both their males dress is super tight pants and an open shirt. That's only one outfit though, maybe the rest aren't like that at all. The female clothes on the other hand, less clothes makes you more powerful apparently.

This doesn't change anything imo, but just thought I'd make it clear that the fan service does swing (almost) both ways in TERA.

 

[Adventurer2626]

Dear Developers,

I will still buy your game if females are dressed for combat/cold weather. I like the female form. It's pretty and I would like it to stay that way, so please give them some real armor protect themselves with.

Thanks,

A Concerned Male Consumer