Disclaimer:
If you're not interested in this whole sexualization/exploitation discussion, feel free to skip past this post and continue to discuss other aspects of the game or the trailer. I'm purely responding to those who have quoted me or discussed my position on the matter. No one is keeping you from looking forward to this game.
Well if you had seen the fucking game before at least you would see how this game has odd proportions for all the characters (and it seems you still haven't looked at the other characters). Hell, all Vanillaware games are like that. You seen one fucking character (that you don't have to play as) and deemed the game trash.
I'll jump right to the issue here: I have no problem with unique character designs, oddly proportioned characters, etc. And I'm pretty sure I did see the other character designs in the opening of the trailer. Some huge muscular woman in a bikini, a dude with enormous chest/armor, etc. And this is going to speak to later points on the sexualization of the men in this game:
I see a clear distinction in terms of sexual exploitation between a man's arms and a woman's breasts.
So when you say
Sure she has ridiculously oversized breasts that bounce up and down even in her idle animation, but that guy has big arms! I don't see that as 1:1 in terms of sexual exploitation. Which is the key issue I've focused on right from the beginning.
Why do the guys all have to be so muscley? I'm not speaking to the author's intent. I'm speaking to how most men would interpret this. Most men would look at art of the dwarf, and see it as the statement, "Big muscles are what's desirable in men."
But no, we had to turn into a gender war, one set of rules for the men and another for the women. Why do you hate equality Mike?
I understand if some of you are overly defensive perhaps because you've had your Dragon's Crown threads "derailed" in the past, but I'll point out that Fusebox's final sentence in the post I just quoted is just one of multiple times that people have made gross assumptions about the type of person I am merely because I don't like the character design of a woman with breasts the size of weather balloons and a waist like a lamp post. So evidently I hate equality now.
I don't hate equality and I'll reiterate that while overly-muscular men can certainly be perceived as an increased sexualization of said characters, I would not put it on the level as breasts.
Yet this thread has blown up due to White Knights who are either pussy whipped, ashamed to play their hobby in public or view by the family/peers playing this, or the new breed who magically speak on behalf of woman, because they both have the same things in common, a vagina between their legs
More labels and assumptions. I must be either pussy whipped (nope), ashamed to play my hobby in public (nope, I play games with my girlfriend, my brother, and my friends whenever they're over), or a "new breed who magically speak on behalf of woman because they both have a vagina between their legs". I'm speaking on behalf of myself and myself only when I say the character design is a joke, much akin to your level of discourse.
Mike, if you care to actually learn more about this game instead of just one character, please do so. You've got google and it will point you towards all sorts of info.
If you care to only incessantly criticize this one part of the game with blindfolds about everything else, why bother doing what you are doing? Yes, the game has a ridiculously overly-sexualized character. Maybe you really hate the idea of women being portrayed as ridiculously sexualized or something. If that's your thing, then fine. If that stuff embarrasses you immediately and you have no will to look past it or even the context of it, then why bother continuing to express your opinion on it when it's so clear? There is stuff in video games that I too would write off the entire game from one small part. But if I found it, I wouldn't constantly express how embarrassing I find it and be unwilling to look at the game as a whole. I'd either challenge my perception or just leave it be.
I've already stated that I bear few qualms with over-sexualization in videogames in general. I don't have much interest in those feminism debates that have popped up in the gaming forum recently, and I've never actually stopped myself from buying or enjoying a game because of scantily-clad male or female characters. From what I can tell, this witch is one character of many, but she is still a main playable character - important enough to get her own character trailer. Do you have to play as her? No. But my initial comment was geared toward playing as her, as seen in that trailer, and my subsequent comments clarified my position. As for your following points, I've posted about this game literally three times tonight and ever. I understand the desire to avoid a circular argument, but if people are wanting to address certain claims and issues with me, I'm happy to discuss those with them.
As I suspected.
This sexualized, exaggerated style doesn't appeal to you, so you conclude it must be morally wrong. Because clearly appealing to you is a moral obligation.
Yet another gross assumption: I have apparently deemed the witch's character model "morally wrong". Where can you find this assertion? No where, because it doesn't exist.
But if had been sexualized in a way that did appeal to you (and to more people overall, lots of people think the exaggeration goes too far to be appealing) then you would be, and I quote, "fine with that."
So essentially, if the artist pandered to you by abandoning their vision and making the character standard sexy for a wider audience, you'd be all for it. But by sticking to their vision and using exaggeration that some find off-putting, you call that pandering.
You want to hear something perhaps unexpected? I would be totally okay with the witch character design IF there was a main male character with a normal, maybe somewhat skinny frame, and a huge, floppy penis bulging out of his pants. The artists could animate his veins bulging through the denim. That'd be something, huh? Actually, that'd be more than something: it would be consistent.
You and others have claimed that the artist is simply following his style of human (figure) exaggeration, and yet why are the men only "sexualized" with big arms, yet this witch figure is given huge tits pouring out of her top while she rubs a staff in between her ass cheeks? I don't see that as being on par.
Mike turns off Mad Men whenever Christina Hendricks comes onto the screen.
Which coincidentally is about the same time I come onto the screen.
*boom-tish*
If Christina Hendricks came onto screen with that waist, she'd fall the fuck over. And Roger would probably say something funny. So no, I wouldn't turn the show off for that.
Feminist parent upbringing? Insecure girlfriend? Lack of sex drive?
Gross assumption, gross assumption, gross assumption.
Do you guys notice how I haven't made
any about you? Do you know how amazingly easy it would be, given the nature and content of this game?
Discuss the topic, not the person.
I suspect most people who find this game embarrassing feel so because they think others will think the breasts are why they play the game. I say don't bother trying to control people's perception. Let them think what they want.
I'm fine playing whatever kind of game I want in front of anyone. I got ridiculed for playing Gitaroo Man in front of my friends when I was younger (jokes on them though, that game was fucking gold). I don't care what people think about me and the games I play (granted these days it's just been Bethesda games and NHL for the most part).
I appreciate that there must be a level of frustration having people come in and comment solely on a character model in a negative light, but for all of this alleged "distraction" these complaints are causing, I point to you another set of posters who also came in this thread to talk about her tits and sexualization:
Game looks cool. Her breasts could be bigger though.
+1 for bigger breasts. Who give a damn at this point, just go all out.
Glad I'm not the only one that caught dat walk
She should wrap the enemies in her happy boobs.
Wow at them tig ol bitties. Makes DOA girls look almost moderate.
Not sure if I'll get it on Vita or PS3. . .
I want to be a sorceress, I want to have big boobs.
The most impressive magic she has is the magic she's using to keep that top attached to her breasts.
Bigger then her head, her stomach. LOL dat proportion
I can spot a good couple of reasons why she'll end up being my favourite character.
Well, she does look fun to play lol.
I LOVE the exaggerated proporitons. Sorceress looks like a flirt, Knight looks like he is on steroids, Amazon looks like she could deadlift an elephant. They look like there roles.
This is giving me a video game boner
So you'll have to forgive me if I don't feel any guilt for "detracting" from this thread's course and focus. Look at where it started.
Bottom line, the character looks fucking stupid to me. And that's okay. Others like her. That's okay too. Big arms do not equal big tits. Bring in the dicks. Let's sexualize the fuck out of everything.
My two cents.