Aesthetically pleasing female character designs.

[Mera]

 

FFS this thread is dull can somebody post some hot elf chick pictures plz.

 

Tx.

.

[Malcador]

[lord of flies]

Consider the following; video game's target demographic is male, the majority of game developers are male (women only make 3% of the industry)

Women may be gravitating more towards video games but they are still a minority and on the developer's side there isn't enough knowledge of what a realistic representation of a strong woman is (hell they can't even do realistic men, but we don't complain) Plus I don't see them rushing over to change things since the target demography is still predominately male.

I don't see how the gaming industry being a boys club is really an excuse. It seems more like a bad thing than a good one.

Yeah, call me again when World of Warcraft aimed for an realistic artstyle.

Funny how the male model, wearing the same armor, doesn't have a big hole in it.

This also counts for the first argument. And no those points aren't connected. Sure people wear things/train their bodies appropriatly/benefital for certain activities. That doesn't mean they do it always or that they are incapable of executing their abilities anymore. Well, not as good and in extreme situations there are exceptions but still...

I certainly wouldn't mind a female veteran who had "let herself go" (or whatever you want to call it) after leaving the service as a character. But I'd also expect it to be commented on, rather than assumed that thin, wasp-waisted, big-busted women are the "normal" design for female warriors.

[C2B]

Consider the following; video game's target demographic is male, the majority of game developers are male (women only make 3% of the industry)

Women may be gravitating more towards video games but they are still a minority and on the developer's side there isn't enough knowledge of what a realistic representation of a strong woman is (hell they can't even do realistic men, but we don't complain) Plus I don't see them rushing over to change things since the target demography is still predominately male.

I don't see how the gaming industry being a boys club is really an excuse. It seems more like a bad thing than a good one.

Yeah, call me again when World of Warcraft aimed for an realistic artstyle.

Funny how the male model, wearing the same armor, doesn't have a big hole in it.

 

 

No the male armors have

 

- Way too big shoulder pads with completly useless stuff on it.

 

I really can stop right there because the comical part is actually quite the opposite with Male armors. Way too much stuff and way too heavy. To actually put on that stuff you would easily need half an hour. Less time the more helpers you have. And you need them. And don't get me started on how much mobility you would actually have in that thing.

 

Though. To be fair. Fantasy in general ignores that/has that problem. Still, WOW armor is ridicules in that aspect.

 

 

 

 

As for rushing. Well, yes. It will still shift since that target demographic includes more and more female gamers. Again, its a process.

Edited April 5, 2011 by C2B

[pmp10]

It will still shift since that target demographic includes more and more female gamers.

I'm sorry but what makes you think that this is a major issue for female gamers?

AFAIK there have been attempts to change some questionable character models in MMO games but devs relented supposedly after protests form women themselves.

 

And dose arguing this issue from the perspective of reality or practicability really makes sense?

Most of the problematic character design assume the existence of female warriors in the first place.

That alone is already questionable enough to break immersion in the all-too-common pseudo-medieval settings.

[Starwars]

I think that's definitely something that should be considered. Not all female gamers are anti-sexiness. It was talked about a bit in the DS3 part of the forum when Katarina was revealed (not particularly pleased with the armor designs I saw there I might add). I have a female friend who *always* picks the sexy-looking stuff for her characters. I think this is pretty common.

 

It doesn't really bother me too much when characters are done sexually, I just wish there were more... balance in that, yes, one can design aesthetically pleasing armors/characters that doesn't reveal everything. I don't demand armors to be 100% logical, far from it. But I do wish more designs would meet half-way between being logical and nice to look at. A lot of the time, it seems *zero* thought is put into whether the armor would actually work in combat at all. And once again, one can design armors that are complimentary to the female form without making them look like porn-stars.

 

And semi on-topic, I really liked the designs for Safiya and Kaelyn in MotB.

[lord of flies]

No the male armors have

 

- Way too big shoulder pads with completly useless stuff on it.

 

I really can stop right there because the comical part is actually quite the opposite with Male armors. Way too much stuff and way too heavy. To actually put on that stuff you would easily need half an hour. Less time the more helpers you have. And you need them. And don't get me started on how much mobility you would actually have in that thing.

 

Though. To be fair. Fantasy in general ignores that/has that problem. Still, WOW armor is ridicules in that aspect.

Yes, but if you'll notice, those are exaggerations of actual features of armor. Armor is heavy. It has pauldrons. "Big hole in the stomach" has not been an actual feature of any armor since we figured out how to make clothing that covers the whole body.

And dose arguing this issue from the perspective of reality or practicability really makes sense?

Most of the problematic character design assume the existence of female warriors in the first place.

That alone is already questionable enough to break immersion in the all-too-common pseudo-medieval settings.

The "hyperpatriarchal" nature of the medieval era was not inherent (e.g. Japan had the onna-bugeisha, while having very medieval-esque social structures and technology), and even within Europe there were plenty of female warriors (e.g. Jeanne d'Arc, everyone on this list). You are attempting to rewrite history to remove all agency from historical women, a very common trend but ultimately one that is fictitious.

I think that's definitely something that should be considered. Not all female gamers are anti-sexiness. It was talked about a bit in the DS3 part of the forum when Katarina was revealed (not particularly pleased with the armor designs I saw there I might add). I have a female friend who *always* picks the sexy-looking stuff for her characters. I think this is pretty common.

Doing a brief skim of this article (which has an admittedly small sample size and qualitative analysis, but seems the most in-depth study on female perceptions of sexism in gaming), it seems as though women prefer to have a choice in the matter??? Non-gamers also view it as a heavy obstacle to entry, with one noting that "I

[C2B]

No the male armors have

 

- Way too big shoulder pads with completly useless stuff on it.

 

I really can stop right there because the comical part is actually quite the opposite with Male armors. Way too much stuff and way too heavy. To actually put on that stuff you would easily need half an hour. Less time the more helpers you have. And you need them. And don't get me started on how much mobility you would actually have in that thing.

 

Though. To be fair. Fantasy in general ignores that/has that problem. Still, WOW armor is ridicules in that aspect.

Yes, but if you'll notice, those are exaggerations of actual features of armor. Armor is heavy. It has pauldrons. "Big hole in the stomach" has not been an actual feature of any armor since we figured out how to make clothing that covers the whole body.

 

I agree on the female part by the way. There were multiple female warriors in history. Though they were rare, very rare exceptions.

 

About the armor. Thats just historically wrong. Full Body Armor isn't the only type of armor in history.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armour

[pmp10]

The "hyperpatriarchal" nature of the medieval era was not inherent (e.g. Japan had the onna-bugeisha, while having very medieval-esque social structures and technology), and even within Europe there were plenty of female warriors (e.g. Jeanne d'Arc, everyone on this list). You are attempting to rewrite history to remove all agency from historical women, a very common trend but ultimately one that is fictitious.

I'm not removing any agency from women merely questioning the outlook that they partook in combat.

That you need a separate list to name a handful over the course of a 1000 years and multiple cultures should make it clear enough how exceptional occurrence it was for a woman to have a commanding role in warfare.

We can easily surmise that participation in actual fighting was equally rare.

[HoonDing]

Thread needs more pics.

[Walsingham]

I have to agree with LoF. And I really mean HAVE to. Gut wounds being the incredibly painful slow death that they are, you just don't get armour which leaves you exposing your nice bare pregnantable midriff.

 

If anyone knows of any armour from ANY period or culture which does leave the stomach exposed, and protects your shoulders, do let me know.

 

Bare midriff armour is solely for the purposes of horning up male gamers.

 

Of course I'm hoping this is intended to nurture some counter-cultural movement to enhance positive and realistic women in games. By which I mean women who actually look as if they could pick up a rifle - Starbuck style. Rather than an excuse to found a government bureau which will try to stop unreasonable female sexiness by shooting devs in the face.

[C2B]

I have to agree with LoF. And I really mean HAVE to. Gut wounds being the incredibly painful slow death that they are, you just don't get armour which leaves you exposing your nice bare pregnantable midriff.

 

If anyone knows of any armour from ANY period or culture which does leave the stomach exposed, and protects your shoulders, do let me know.

 

Bare midriff armour is solely for the purposes of horning up male gamers.

 

Of course I'm hoping this is intended to nurture some counter-cultural movement to enhance positive and realistic women in games. By which I mean women who actually look as if they could pick up a rifle - Starbuck style. Rather than an excuse to found a government bureau which will try to stop unreasonable female sexiness by shooting devs in the face.

 

 

First off again its exaggerated. Armor pieces arranged like that? No. Its a comic style that doesn't want to be realistic in the first place. So what should we ban this artstyle? There are other examples that actually try to represent reality but fail way better for this cause.

 

Secondly: I don't have a picture but usually light infrantry troops didn't wear full torso armor and only armor to protect certain body parts. It usually depended. Romans come to mind.

Edited April 8, 2011 by C2B

[RPGmasterBoo]

I have to agree with LoF. And I really mean HAVE to. Gut wounds being the incredibly painful slow death that they are, you just don't get armour which leaves you exposing your nice bare pregnantable midriff.

 

If anyone knows of any armour from ANY period or culture which does leave the stomach exposed, and protects your shoulders, do let me know.

 

Bare midriff armour is solely for the purposes of horning up male gamers.

 

Of course I'm hoping this is intended to nurture some counter-cultural movement to enhance positive and realistic women in games. By which I mean women who actually look as if they could pick up a rifle - Starbuck style. Rather than an excuse to found a government bureau which will try to stop unreasonable female sexiness by shooting devs in the face.

 

Funny, Imperial Guardsmen in WH40 have their bellies exposed as well.

[Malcador]

Thread needs more pics.

 

This.

[obyknven]

[HoonDing]

[obyknven]

[Malcador]

 

Sister of Battle from the SS cover. Kind of an example of the opposite, maybe.

[C2B]

Sister of Battle from the SS cover. Kind of an example of the opposite, maybe.

 

Giant cross for nipples

 

....

 

I like it though. Too big/heavy armor again, though

Edited April 8, 2011 by C2B

[HoonDing]

Isabel from HoMM V (Sareth's mommy) wore realistic looking heavy armour.

 

[pmp10]

If you can tell it's a woman then it's not really realistic.

[Malcador]

Giant cross for nipples

 

....

 

I like it though. Too big/heavy armor again, though

 

Well it's supposed to be protective, well save for the shot trap the armour boobs make, anyway

[C2B]

Giant cross for nipples

 

....

 

I like it though. Too big/heavy armor again, though

 

Well it's supposed to be protective, well save for the shot trap the armour boobs make, anyway

 

Protection is worth nothing if you are rendered incapable of moving around.

 

I mean, just that huge thing that is around her neck. Can you imagine how much that alone weighs?

Edited April 8, 2011 by C2B

[Malcador]

The armour is powered by a backpack mounted mini-reactor.

[Tale]

Protection is worth nothing if you are rendered incapable of moving around.

 

I mean, just that huge thing that is around her neck. Can you imagine how much that alone weighs?

Do you not grasp the meaning of powered armor?

Edited April 8, 2011 by Tale