NeoGAF

The advent of furries have pretty much ruined this sort of character design for me.

It doesn't really have anything to do with 'sexual deviants' or whatever to me, I just simply don't like playing as anything other than a Human. If I am playing an MMO or other type of RPG, every character I make is a Human or at least Human-like.

Originally Posted by Creaking

I know where you're coming from, though I think you can find a lot of differences between an intentional furry and an anthropomorphic animal character.

Huh.

Often times it's good design instead of something overzealous and neon colored.

Its not there is hasn't been characters that exist in media before the popularization of the web that aren't neon colored anthropomorphic animals.
* looks at my avatar* Oh wait.

Not to bash the whole furry community, it just seems strikingly common (not green necessarily, but similar design--or even art--styles, and garish colors to differentiate characters in the most extreme way possible. And thus, I stopped going to deviantart). Hair atop fur his another good indicator.

Well shit I gotta tell warner bros about the looney toons then.

Originally Posted by Village

Huh.

Its not there is hasn't been characters that exist in media before the popularization of the web that aren't neon colored anthropomorphic animals.
* looks at my avatar* Oh wait.


Well shit I gotta tell warner bros about the looney toons then.

I'm being inductive here. Just a couple of signs, nothing definite. Of course there are numerous exceptions.

Originally Posted by Creaking

I'm being inductive here. Just a couple of signs, nothing definite. Of course there are numerous exceptions.

There aren't even signs, all the things you named are popular artistic tropes , and probably will be well after you are gone.

You are gonna have to get better "signs"

Originally Posted by Tokubetsu

I would like Dust a lot more if it didn't feature devianart-esque furry art yes.

Funny, I came in here to say something similar. I typically don't have anything against anthropomorphism though, so it must have been that particular style of art (and the voices).

Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours fetching seafood ingredients for the cook hired by my town in Animal Crossing. The cook was a turkey named Franklin, who was very conscience that this Thanksgiving feast would be seafood based. I found it hilarious.

So no, I don't have a problem with this.

Huh? No, they are video games after all. Every game isn't supposed to be a realistic human world. Where is the fun in that?

It doesn't affect me at. I had a little crush on Gadget from Rescue Rangers when I was 8yo though. ;)

Originally Posted by Boss Doggie

Exactly. Something off about female characters who look more human than anthropomorphic. Like it's some sort of overdone make up.

I definitely have this problem with Blizzard and their sexual dimorphism in WoW, but obviously they've done their focus testing and arrived at what they have.

Originally Posted by v1oz

I don't see it. They tried to make an animal look cute. But I don't see the over sexualised bit. It's nothing like Lara Croft or anything like that.

Consult your ophthalmologist.

Originally Posted by Boss Doggie

Sexualization of anthropomorphic characters isn't a recent phenomenon. That's why I'm wondering if people were sheltered from stuff like this.

Not sheltered, but internet and forums brought all kinds of sub-cultures and fetishes to broad daylight. And yeah it kinda affects your view on things if you happen to witness something disturbing relating to things you viewed as harmless before.

Animals that stand up on two legs, or have vaguely human characteristics are fine with me. When they have basically human bodies but with animal heads, I'm out.

Originally Posted by zoukka

Not sheltered, but internet and forums brought all kinds of sub-cultures and fetishes to broad daylight. And yeah it kinda affects your view on things if you happen to witness something disturbing relating to things you viewed as harmless before.

Eh, it's no more disturbing than seeing this



or this



or this



And then there's stuff like Bastet and the like.

Lewd stuff exist on pretty much almost anything, so seeing furries in skimpy clothing is a given.

I guess sheltered is the wrong term. They probably saw them as kids but forgot about them.

I never felt like Sonic was a dealbreaker or anything like that. Or Khajiit. These things are freaking boss, like that space Samurai bear posted earlier. Crazy cool stuff. But, for me, there are definitely limits. There's a couple of games I'd probably have liked on a gameplay level, that I skipped because I found the art unpalatable. But that's my personal opinion. Basically, call me insane or whatnot, but when I feel that it's not just an artstyle decision, well that's when I am out.

A whole lot of fursecution going on in this thread

I refused to play Dust: An Elysian Tail because of the furry-pandering artstyle

Originally Posted by User33

I refused to play Dust: An Elysian Tail because of the furry-pandering artstyle]

What in all the levels of hell are you talking about?

Originally Posted by Earthpainting

I don't like how the female characters have much more human faces than the male ones in this. You can tell they didn't go all the way on the female designs because they wanted to keep them attractive in some shape or form. Pretty lame.

Which is weird, because personally they look more monstrous.

Would like another banjo

I've found myself pretty immune I guess to the various styles of anthro characters I've seen over the years so it doesn't really make any difference to me.
If anything I see an underutilised potential in using these sort of designs more often, of course the art direction it takes plays a huge role in how well received such things are as this thread demonstrates, it's a shame that for some it all gets lumped together these days because of seemingly furry based fears.

Dust always sticks out to me as an interesting one for the varying reactions, I can see where people are coming from not liking the art direction whether it being deemed a lack of quality or just the direction in general yet the idea that its direction is pandering I just don't see at all.

Depends on the art style, really. The art for a given would have to be really bad to make me consider avoiding a game because of it.

But most of the time I don't have a problem with it.

Originally Posted by Kurdel

As soon as they are sexualized I am out.

Originally Posted by Jinfash

I usually avoid games with blatantly pandering designs. Aesthetically speaking, I'm simply not target audience and it gets harder to care.

^ drunk post.

Furries are to anthropomorphic characters as Moe is to cute 'n colorful. Once they get their paws on an artstyle, it's ruined, and there's those amongst their numbers and some of their loudest detractors who would paint all walkin' talkin' animals as furry bait ruining the whole thing for everyone else.

I will say though, animal head + human eyes (pandaren women) = instant douchechills and no buy from me

Art style and character design rarely affect my gaming decision so long as the game itself is a good game.

On the subject of anthropomorphic characters, I will appreciate it a lot if that technique is used to create interesting, original, and well-designed characters that stand out from the generic human or humanoid characters in most games. Variety is good and you get plenty of generic humans everywhere else - it's Earth after all, there's billions of them.

I don't care for the more ungainly styles of anthro characters (don't like "Sonic"-derived stuff at all, for example), but even the awkward NPC designs in Dust didn't make me avoid the game.

Originally Posted by revolverjgw

Having grown up in the era of Bubsy Bobcats and Rocky Rodents and Alfred Chickens and Fox McClouds and Sonic the Hedgehogs and Awesome Possums and Aero the Acrobats and Zero the Kamikaze Squirrels and Gex the Chameleons and Ardy Lightfoots and Dinosaurs for Hire and Wildwest Cowboys of Moo Mesa and Bucky O'Hares and James Ponds and Psycho Foxes... no, not really. I can deal. I don't have any particular affection for them though. In fact, I think one of the reason Mario is one of my favorite "mascots" is because he's NOT an animal (granted, he is a furry). Sly Cooper is one of my favorite series', but I think I'd like it more if Sly and his universe were human... the Carmelita Fox sexualization is kind of offputting sometimes...

Yeah... my childhood was filled with more than enough anthropomorphic animals to last me a lifetime. From Disney's plethora of Chip and Dales, Animaniacs, Chester the Cheetahs, Mutant Turtles, Biker Mice from Mars, Street Sharks etc. etc.

I could live a happy life without ever seeing another anthropomorphic character.

So yes, I skipped Dust specifically because of its art.

Im not on the the "its a furrie" bandwagon, but they are offputting. I want to pick up overgrowth when it finally releases but i dont understand why dude had to use anthropomorphic rabbits. It just looks weird.

Originally Posted by Village

What in all the levels of hell are you talking about?

Isn't the artist/designer well known in the furry community? His artstyle made that quite obvious in any case, IMO.

Game looked pretty swell and I'm sure it's great, but with that art? Hell no

Nope

Originally Posted by Boss Doggie

tbqh I never had any crush on any furry character save for a very few...

Alef from Shining Force and Dora from FEDA are the only furry female characters I got a crush on. Maybe Reeva from GW2 too.

I also have mancrush on any anthro character voiced by Tetsu Inada (save for Komamura, fuck Bleach). A good thing about it is that they tend to be muscular (for the most part - Panther is athletic). That's why I really like Doggie Kruger.

Well, I was 8. It was more like: "I wish the girls in my class were as cool."

Any other obsession would have led to a waifu like this:

;)

Originally Posted by Kai Dracon

On the subject of anthropomorphic characters, I will appreciate it a lot if that technique is used to create interesting, original, and well-designed characters that stand out from the generic human or humanoid characters in most games. Variety is good and you get plenty of generic humans everywhere else - it's Earth after all, there's billions of them.

Personally, I find these characters less interesting, original or well-designed. Usually they lean almost entirely on their "other" visual appearance to distinguish them apart that if you were to strip them of their look then there wouldn't really be of any character to speak.

Granted, as I've said, I generally avoid most of these sorts of things so I may be missing something. But when I see advertising for something like Mist of Pandara, it just looks like the pandas are being used as a lazy shorthand to channel some generic east Asian flavour.

Originally Posted by F0rneus

Isn't the artist/designer well known in the furry community?

I have no Idea

His artstyle made that quite obvious in any case, IMO.

You mean animals with clothing? I gotta call The Sly cooper people, sonic, looney tunes ect ect ect.

HOWEVER, it is poorly drawn character wise, so if that is your issue. I agree, dude needed another artist doing the character art. The character designs themselves aren't super hot either.

Originally Posted by F0rneus

Game looked pretty swell and I'm sure it's great, but with that art? Hell no

What exactly do you find issue with, so I can gain some perspective.

Only if they're clearly designed to appeal to furries.
I don't want to support practices & products that might somehow benefit furries.

So something like Dillon's Rolling Western (it has an antropomorphised Armadillo) is fine because it's only one character, whereas Star Fox goes into the bin because it has a furry fox in a bikini.

Sorry Furries.

Ew, furries are posting in here now.

Dust is a boring game with a shitty artstyle. It doesn't help that all of the voice acting is incredibly cringy as well.

Originally Posted by Grakl

Ew, furries are posting in here now.

In every thread. Every, single, thread.

Don't mind anthropomorphic characters, never did. Grew up with Sonic games and cartoons like Swat Kats. I don't think I go outta my way to play games with anthropomorphic casts though, with the exception of Sonic games . . .

I don't mind unless it's in Dust, because the art is poorly done.

But in games like Lugaru? They're very well made.

Unless it's some blatant fetish pandering, I don't care. A lot of people are saying they stayed away from dust because of it's furry art style but I think the real problem those people had isn't that dust was furry but that the style felt very amateurish in how it came across in the game. Dust and overgrowth have been brought up a few times so I'll use those as examples. On the left is a rabbit character from dust and on the right is rabbit character art from overgrowth. Neither is necessarily more "furry" than the other but one is more realistically represented and better drawn. It's not furry art that's making you avoid a game, it's just what you perceive as poor art.

Originally Posted by BeesEight

Personally, I find these characters less interesting, original or well-designed. Usually they lean almost entirely on their "other" visual appearance to distinguish them apart that if you were to strip them of their look then there wouldn't really be of any character to speak.

Granted, as I've said, I generally avoid most of these sorts of things so I may be missing something. But when I see advertising for something like Mist of Pandara, it just looks like the pandas are being used as a lazy shorthand to channel some generic east Asian flavour.

If you took the costuming, so to speak, off most characters of any kind there wouldn't be much left to look at. The WoW example is interesting - the pandas are used because they're icons of east asia. I don't think that's lazy; it's just using an icon as an icon. It doesn't have to be any deeper than that.