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On Final Fantasy XV and female characters

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
I was watching a TV show last night call The Garage, it was one of those reality shows kinda like pawn stars but in a garage.
Anyway there was a blonde who work there walking around in shorts and crop top
I was like
RG0BS1U.gif
 

Jennipeg

Member
The main cast of FFXV, who have been getting endlessly likened to boy bands ever since the reveal a decade ago, is not designed to look desirable? What is the purpose of their design then? To highlight their unique philosophy and approach to life? They might not look desirable to the typical 20-30 year old male, or to anyone with a good sense of fashion, but cleary the purpose of of their designs is to make them looking good, just as Cindy's.

The male characters in this game are interesting. They are meant to be desirable..... to somebody. But I can't see that them way because they are not attractive to me in the slightest (I say this as a woman) they are too 'pretty' even Gladio. Pure visual attractiveness isn't enough for me, not sure if that is just me or a woman thing, but eye candy alone does nothing, at least not in a cynical marketing way. I obviously notice good looking people out in the world.
 

Mailbox

Member
I feel like there's this weird over-arching idea in this thread that somehow a single sexualized character automatically means the game is utterly bad for all female representation in the game. When it comes to Luna, that is definitely a complete wait and see for me. She may very well be a damsel in distress (you know, considering her country is literally occupied by foreign invaders), but considering she seems more like the set-up, "getta get things a-going so that ambitions can happen and the world can be saved"-type, I find it kinda doubtful. A part of me is super worried that there will be confirmation bias when the game comes out. Like she gets captured and suddenly "she's a damsel!!!" despite other stuff she does or something. She's definitely wait and see, but i wouldn't consider her bad in any way.

Iris is an error in animation. Not much more to say on that front tbh.

I've already said my peace about all these characters before, and I'll say 1 thing again, the only character that is a straight up problem is Cindy. And even then, considering some of the designs FF has been known for, she isn't even all that bad. Maybe our standards have gone up, idk.

Parts of me just want to post pics of Ashe's super-mini skirt, Fran's whole race of bunny-negligee-wearing people, Yunalesca (among a multitude of FFx & X-2 characters), Lani(ff9), the Alexandrian soldiers'(also ff9) wedgie butts, etc just to prove a point that sexualization in a game or in characters doesn't necessarily make them bad characters nor does it make the batch of characters automatically lack good female characters.

Yeah, complaining about Cindy is fine and all (its healthy even), but lets not act like 1 spoiled apple ruins the bunch and lets not count our eggs before they hatch, shall we.

On a side note: If a character was designed like Beatrix today, would she be considered over-sexualized? Cleavage and meaty thighs and whatnot. Always thought of Beatrix as a super badass, never really "sexy"... hmm...

The male characters in this game are interesting. They are meant to be desirable..... to somebody. But I can't see that them way because they are not attractive to me in the slightest (I say this as a woman) they are too 'pretty' even Gladio. Pure visual attractiveness isn't enough for me, not sure if that is just me or a woman thing, but eye candy alone does nothing, at least not in a cynical marketing way. I obviously notice good looking people out in the world.

no that's not just you. iirc its pretty much been studied that heterosexual men are definitely more into looks where as heterosexual women are more into specific types of personalities and actions. edit: which is pretty easy to see when you look at either "side"'s erotica and depictions.
 
“People say Cindy is too sexy, but they also want female party members. That seems contradictory to me.”

This is a real quote? Jesus Christ. Is it still 1973? :|

I'm a white heterosexual male and Cindy is the reason I won't buy FFXV. I like sexy, don't get me wrong but Cidney isn't sexy, she is ridiculous. Characters can be sexy and still practically dressed. she makes me feel uncomfortable.
 

Mailbox

Member
This is a real quote? Jesus Christ. Is it still 1973? :|

I'm a white heterosexual male and Cindy is the reason I won't buy FFXV. I like sexy, don't get me wrong but Cidney isn't sexy, she is ridiculous. Characters can be sexy and still practically dressed. she makes me feel uncomfortable.

2 things:

1: Quote is from the co-host of the ATRs. Not the director, nor the character designer, nor the writer. Its a bad quote, sure. He deserves to be chastized for it. But lets not go out of our way to extrapolate his quote to the whole game

2: Not buying a game because of 1 side-character's (and as far as we have seen, LITERALLY a SINGLE side-character's) clothing is rather petty, i find. If Cindy is a huge problem, then how is Persona 5 okay, or previous FF's where many character's designs were much worse (and subsequently forgotten)?
 

Tomeru

Member
I never get why there are those who adress real life issues and video game issues the same way. What minority rights? Its a video game. Its not real. There is nothing to fight for.

This is about as wierd as it gets for me. I seriously can't understand this.

Its not real. There are no feelings in anyof the characters. None of them is goid/bad/sexist/feminist and so on. This nerrative, I just can't fathom it.
 

Mailbox

Member
I never get why there are those who adress real life issues and video game issues the same way. What minority rights? Its a video game. Its not real. There is nothing to fight for.

This is about as wierd as it gets for me. I seriously can't understand this.

Its not real. There are no feelings in anyof the characters. None of them is goid/bad/sexist/feminist and so on. This nerrative, I just can't fathom it.

uhm... pretty sure character design and cinematography are real world things. also no one is talking about "minority rights" in this thread...

so...

wthayta.gif
 

Zhutchka

Member
I'm a white heterosexual male and Cindy is the reason I won't buy FFXV. I like sexy, don't get me wrong but Cidney isn't sexy, she is ridiculous. Characters can be sexy and still practically dressed. she makes me feel uncomfortable.

The issue you and other people have with Cindy's attire is apparently not that it's impractical since that goes and passes by for the rest of the cast. If there are other factors at play, i.e. how she's been portrayed and marketed, then fair enough, but if you're critisising and boycotting the game simply because a female character's very revealing outfit makes you feel uncomfortable? Oh, boy... Has it ever occured that the issue might be with you rather than with the design?

There's correlation between repression of women and the modesty of their clothing. Culturally and historically. Young women often choose to dress revealingly if there is lack of outside pressure not to. Even less attractive ones do, and that's great, because they do it for themselves and not for the pleasure of the society.

I'm not upholding Cindy as a pinnacle of character design, and her purpose might very well end up being just cynical pandering to a specfic crowd. I for one would find it more interesting and appealing if she wore a baggy, blue overall. I take issue with how big of a thing people have made of Cindy's outfit though, and I think there are underlying reasons that are more problematic than the outfit itself. I don't go looking for and expect to find my baggy, blue overall in a game that was revealed to the world with fanfare that the main cast would be saving the world dressed in matching designer suits. In the end I think it's more healthy if the creators follow their vision instead of pandering one way or the other, while preferably still being open-minded about feedback.
 

PtM

Banned
Why does Cindy need a justification to wear an unpractical, revealing outfit while doing mechanic work, while they main cast get a pass for going on a grand adventure (most likely to save their kingdom, perhaps the world as well) in designer clothes?

Because those are two different things.
 
2 things:

1: Quote is from the co-host of the ATRs. Not the director, nor the character designer, nor the writer. Its a bad quote, sure. He deserves to be chastized for it. But lets not go out of our way to extrapolate his quote to the whole game

2: Not buying a game because of 1 side-character's (and as far as we have seen, LITERALLY a SINGLE side-character's) clothing is rather petty, i find. If Cindy is a huge problem, then how is Persona 5 okay, or previous FF's where many character's designs were much worse (and subsequently forgotten)?

1. Fair enough. That makes it better for the game but still insanely cringeworthy in every way as a quote. I just can't believe anyone would still think that way.

2. I don't know your stance on the game or Cidny but why would I buy something that makes me uncomfortable or annoyed? Some games are worse no doubt, I don't buy them either because it's not what I personally like or want. If it helps there are other things about the game I also don't really like the look of (The car, the combat, the main cast) but Cidny is by far the worst thing about it.

The characters in Persona V are no where near as bad....Seriously, why try and deflect from Cidny? "That game is worse" in no way makes another game better even if that was true in this example.

The issue you and other people have with Cindy's attire is apparently not that it's impractical.
Thanks for deciding my opinion for me XD

Joking aside you're totally wrong though, that is my entire reason as I explained in my original post I have no problem with sexy, it should just be appropriate. Cidny is not. If she had full overalls on unzipped showing some cleavage I wouldn't mind too much but the hot pants, tan lines and socks. Just unbearable as a design for me.

I'm not a fan of the main cast designs either but none of them make me as uncomfortable as Cidny does frankly, I can tolerate them but she is too far.

I want to clarify here that I am not against scantily clad women or men in video games. It should just be appropriate for the game and I don't think Cidny is.

I won't be responding any more in this thread because I get quite emotional over this issue and don't want to offend anyone.
 

Tomeru

Member
uhm... pretty sure character design and cinematography are real world things. also no one is talking about "minority rights" in this thread...

so...
]

While it might not be a focus here, it is mentioned in the op, and it does relate. I just see this whole issue as a real-world one. If I read a book and some of the female characters are described like how they look here, I'm not gonna go in this threads' direction.
 

Zhutchka

Member
Because those are two different things.

How come? I'm guessing cause revealing, impractical is bad and less revealing and just as impractical is good? Why?

If Cindy ends up being used as a pandering non-character in the game whose design's whole purpose was to appease a specific crowd then that's one thing - but I've only been talking about the outfit in isolation. And as far as that stands, that's the same shit as the main casts outfits. Looking cool while serving no other real purpose. So why the big deal except for skin fright/shaming?
 

PtM

Banned
How come? I'm guessing cause revealing, impractical is bad and less revealing and just as impractical is good? Why?

If Cindy ends up being used as a pandering non-character in the game whose design's whole purpose was to appease a specific crowd then that's one thing - but I've only been talking about the outfit in isolation. And as far as that stands, that's the same shit as the main casts outfits. Looking cool while serving no other real purpose. So why the big deal except for skin fright/shaming?
No, you've not been talking about it in isolation. You provided context and a comparison. Just now it is that you try to strap context, because it fits your argument.

And her cheap outfit's purpose is not the same as the main cast's outfit's. She does not look cool.

And it is stupid shaming, get that right.
 

Zhutchka

Member
No, you've not been talking about it in isolation. You provided context and a comparison. Just now it is that you try to strap context, because it fits your argument.

With the outfit in isolation, I mean as in being seperated from the other apparent issues surrounding Cindy, ie how she's been portrayed in promotions so far and the stupid camera angles, which I understand and agree with. Which I also made clear in my initial post in the thread and pretty much in every reply since. So how am I just now strapping context?

And her cheap outfit's purpose is not the same as the main cast's outfit's. She does not look cool, she looks desperate for attention.

Cool, seemingly more of this nonsense, ie that it's not appropriate for a woman to dress like that. I honestly find it weird that this view seems to be so prevalent on a liberal forum like this. Fair enough if it's just way out of line of your personal preferences and you find the game unappealing because of it. But if you argue like there is some objective truth to it, or that the design is (morally) disgusting or sexist by itself, then I'd say you're talking nonsense and probably have some disgsuting or sexist views yourself.
 

PtM

Banned
Cool, seemingly more of this nonsense, ie that it's not appropriate for a woman to dress like that. I honestly find it weird that this view seems to be so prevalent on a liberal forum like this. Fair enough if it's just way out of line of your personal preferences and you find the game unappealing because of it. But if you argue like there is some objective truth to it, or that the design is (morally) disgusting or sexist by itself, then I'd say you're talking nonsense and probably have some disgsuting or sexist views yourself.
I didn't say any of that.
Wearing skimpy clothes makes you desperate for attention now?

Okay.
Wearing them against all odds. Oh, and it makes you just look like it.

Okay?
 

Crossing Eden

Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
Cool, seemingly more of this nonsense, ie that it's not appropriate for a woman to dress like that. I honestly find it weird that this view seems to be so prevalent on a liberal forum like this. Fair enough if it's just way out of line of your personal preferences and you find the game unappealing because of it. But if you argue like there is some objective truth to it, or that the design is (morally) disgusting or sexist by itself, then I'd say you're talking nonsense and probably have some disgsuting or sexist views yourself.
Really going for a bingo there. We're talking about a character specified designed to pander to men, not an actual person with agency. -_-

Wearing skimpy clothes makes you desperate for attention now?

Okay.
No it doesn't, but let's not do the thing where people are gonna start to argue that she isn't designed specifically for pandering.
 

Zhutchka

Member
Really going for a bingo there. We're talking about a character specified designed to pander to men, not an actual person with agency. -_-


No it doesn't, but let's not do the thing where people are gonna start to argue that she isn't designed specifically for pandering.

I have 0 issues with people being critical towards the character and how she's been portrayed (though I think it's wiser to wait for the full game before judging). My issue is with the way over the top reactions towards - specifically - the outfit that have sprinkled throughout the thread. "Looks desperate for attention" and the like. That's really sexist, and I don't know if it's the same people arguing against the sexism of the developers but I think in some cases it is, and that's weird and interesting to me.
 

PtM

Banned
I have 0 issues with people being critical towards the character and how she's been portrayed (though I think it's wiser to wait for the full game before judging). My issue is with the way over the top reactions towards - specifically - the outfit that have sprinkled throughout the thread. "Looks desperate for attention" and the like. That's really sexist
Fine. Let me rescind. It looks stupid. Better? I guess with that all the over-the-top reactions like that in this thread are dealt with, okay?
 
The characters in Persona V are no where near as bad....Seriously, why try and deflect from Cidny? "That game is worse" in no way makes another game better even if that was true in this example.

I'm psyched for P5. And I think Cidney's design is dumb.

But a highschool girl in a red, skintight latex cat suit that unzips via the tail and has a cleavage window is somehow not similar in terms of pandering to male gaze? I'm not seeing the logic....

I suspect you're more into Persona than FF, so you're willing to look for excuses for the fan service. That's fine, but I'm still not seeing any clear arguments how Cidney is categorically more offensive than lots of other ladies in lots of other games (again, not an excuse, for Cidney or any of those other ladies).

fIDKoiP.jpg


And before someone says "well, they're not being ogled by the camera," they're clearly being served up explicitly for the male gaze:

DbokxFW.jpg


I'm not delighted with aspects of Anne's design, let alone that official art of her and Futaba contorted into T&A poses. The fan-service beach scene could repeat the train wreck of those P3/P4 moments, too. I also think it's a bit hypocritical to have harassment as a plot point for her, but then have the ol' 'boys will be boys' sexual harassment for laughs with the player party car scene.

That being said, Anne's treatment doesn't annoy me nearly as much as poor ol' Cindy's treatment, as outside of her Panther get up, Anne dresses like an actual teenage girl in her day to day outfits. ...

Oh, and I meant to reply to this -- you make lots of good points. The design in P5 is very sharp in ways that XV's may not be. But good design doesn't excuse male-gaze pandering. It just makes people less likely to pick it out to make an example of. In some ways it may be MORE insidious just because it tends to get a pass, despite reinforcing all the women-as-objects-of-desire undercurrents that folks are worried about.

And sure, the different girls in P5 all have different (and generally good) designs. So do the ladies in XV have different designs -- Luna is demure/classy, Gentiana is mysterious, Iris is all kawaii. You may or may not like the designs as much as those in P5, but each of those characters has at least as much relevance to the story (likely much more) than Cidney, and they are NOT designed as male gaze bait, whatever flaws their characters may have.

So when it comes to straight up design/pandering, I'm just not seeing a categorical difference. I suspect the girls in P5 will be more fully developed and more interesting characters than the ladies in XV, but not because they're more progressively written. Just because they're likely to be better written.
 

Zhutchka

Member
How is that sexist? That's interesting to me. Y'know, since I'm the only one who said that. None other the like.

It's sexist to think she looks desperate for attention since there are a number of other valid reason for women to dress like that, most of all that they should be able to wear what they like without people jumping to conclusions about what they want...

I think various comments throughout the thread referring to the outfit as "disgusting", "simply not appropriate" etc qualify as "the like".

Fine. Let me rescind. It looks stupid. Better?

That's fine, I think it looks pretty stupid myself.
 

PtM

Banned
You're judging someone's personality on how they dress.
I'm judging their sense of practicality. If you're valuing looks over practicality at the workplace, I'm going to question your senses.
It's sexist to think she looks desperate for attention since there are a number of other valid reason for women to dress like that, most of all that they should be able to wear what they like without people jumping to conclusions about what they want...
True, true. I fear I have there conflated the designer's intent with the fictional character's.
I think various comments throughout the thread referring to the outfit as "disgusting", "simply not appropriate" etc qualify as "the like".
Appropiateness can relate to her workplace, as have I. Nobody called it disgusting, from what I've gathered.
 

dramatis

Member
It's sexist to think she looks desperate for attention since there are a number of other valid reason for women to dress like that, most of all that they should be able to wear what they like without people jumping to conclusions about what they want...

I think various comments throughout the thread referring to the outfit as "disgusting", "simply not appropriate" etc qualify as "the like".
There's a difference between a woman choosing what she wants to wear for herself, and a female character designed with the male gaze in mind. Cidney (whatever her name is at this point) had no choice in what she was wearing.

It's similar to the case of Lightning Returns. We know from two games roughly what kind of person Lightning is, however conflicting the writing and characterizations for her are. But in LR, the player can choose to put her into a variety of bikini and skimpy outfits, which she as herself would probably never choose to wear for battle.

In short, it's not Cidney who chose her outfit, it's a male-gaze oriented costume. That's why it is gross, because it plays to a male sex fantasy rather than servicing a substantiated character.
 

.JayZii

Banned
I'm psyched for P5. And I think Cidney's design is dumb.

But a highschool girl in a red, skintight latex cat suit that unzips via the tail and has a cleavage window is somehow not similar in terms of pandering to male gaze? I'm not seeing the logic....

I suspect you're more into Persona than FF, so you're willing to look for excuses for the fan service. That's fine, but I'm still not seeing any clear arguments how Cidney is categorically more offensive than lots of other ladies in lots of other games (again, not an excuse, for Cidney or any of those other ladies).

fIDKoiP.jpg
I my opinion, it's the context of the outfit that makes the difference in how people are perceiving them. The characters in P5 become larger than life phantom thieves when they explore areas that are parallel to our own dimension. When they transition to that other place, their outfits change to resemble different picaresque or thief stereotypes, of which, a cat burglar woman in a catsuit is certainly one. The whole underlying theme of Persona games, and P5 in particular, is breaking out of the confines that society puts people into and liberating oneself. Wearing an interesting, revealing or provocative outfit can be quite liberating and is also a good visual metaphor for that counter-culture spirit. Anne is playing a fantastical and dangerous game of dressup with her friends, while Cindy is wearing this outfit day in and day out (she's got the tan lines to prove it). Not to say that a woman mechanic choosing to dress like this in her daily life couldn't be doing it in order to express her personal freedom or feminist ideals, but that's not the vibe people are getting from Cindy's character from what we've seen. If the Persona 5 character was walking around in an outfit like that catsuit in her everyday school and work life, I think it would be a more 1 to 1 comparison.

Also, Anne's phantom thief outfit is just a better design than Cindy's work outfit.
 

Crossing Eden

Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
I have 0 issues with people being critical towards the character and how she's been portrayed (though I think it's wiser to wait for the full game before judging). My issue is with the way over the top reactions towards - specifically - the outfit that have sprinkled throughout the thread. "Looks desperate for attention" and the like. That's really sexist, and I don't know if it's the same people arguing against the sexism of the developers but I think in some cases it is, and that's weird and interesting to me.
The reactions are over the top because she's designed in the most creatively lazy way possible. Seriously we have like three years worth of exposure at this point and they've done nothing to show that her entire purpose isn't by designed to be ogled by a perceived male demographic. In fact, they've done the opposite, they've used her as incentive for VR, made her into a car skin, had the mocap actress do some absolutely ridiculous posing, gave her a incredibly cliche accent, animated the camera specifically to hover over here in the same way it does with Quiet in MGSV, (man players sure were wrong about that one huh? /s), Like, even if she's a good character, it doesn't matter because whatever writing they come up with is constantly undermined by those facts. You keep trying to equate Cidney with the agency of real women, she has no agency, she didn't choose to get up in the morning and wear that outfit everyday, she was designed by a team of men with the intent of appealing to other men, get out of here with the "no you're the real sexist" shit.
 
This is a real quote? Jesus Christ. Is it still 1973? :|

I'm a white heterosexual male and Cindy is the reason I won't buy FFXV. I like sexy, don't get me wrong but Cidney isn't sexy, she is ridiculous. Characters can be sexy and still practically dressed. she makes me feel uncomfortable.

I don't know dawg, she's pretty hot.
 
I my opinion, it's the context of the outfit that makes the difference in how people are perceiving them. The characters in P5 become larger than life phantom thieves when they explore areas that are parallel to our own dimension. When they transition to that other place, their outfits change to resemble different picaresque or thief stereotypes, of which, a cat burglar woman in a catsuit is certainly one. The whole underlying theme of Persona games, and P5 in particular, is breaking out of the confines that society puts people into and liberating oneself. Wearing an interesting, revealing or provocative outfit can be quite liberating and is also a good visual metaphor for that counter-culture spirit. Anne is playing a fantastical and dangerous game of dressup with her friends, while Cindy is wearing this outfit day in and day out (she's got the tan lines to prove it). Not to say that a woman mechanic choosing to dress like this in her daily life couldn't be doing it in order to express her personal freedom or feminist ideals, but that's not the vibe people are getting from Cindy's character from what we've seen. If the Persona 5 character was walking around in an outfit like that catsuit in her everyday school and work life, I think it would be a more 1 to 1 comparison.

Also, Anne's phantom thief outfit is just a better design than Cindy's work outfit.

I agree it's better designed (but that might be a taste issue -- there might be plenty of good ol' Southern boys who grew up on Dukes of Hazard who would prefer Cidney by a country mile).

I suspect you're right that the context of the outfit is part of why people perceive it differently, and that's certainly fair. But as evidenced by Adieu, you can play a dangerous dress up game, and look good doing it, w/out going for all out titillation as w/ Anne and Futaba and, maybe, punch-san (that crotch window sure is something...).

But, impractical as Cidney's outfit is for a real mechanic, it does have a design consistency with her place in the world, at some kind of mid-to-late 20th century American South garage. As others have noted, she's basically Daisy Duke.

Also, there was still an explicit decision made to serve up the P5 female characters for the male gaze. Maybe it's better wrapped into the story, or does more interesting thematic work, but it's not an unavoidable corollary to the story.

I'm not against sexy characters, but I do think that Anne's outfit, particularly on a teenager, is still pretty blatant pandering.
 

Zoe

Member
There's a difference between a woman choosing what she wants to wear for herself, and a female character designed with the male gaze in mind. Cidney (whatever her name is at this point) had no choice in what she was wearing.

It's similar to the case of Lightning Returns. We know from two games roughly what kind of person Lightning is, however conflicting the writing and characterizations for her are. But in LR, the player can choose to put her into a variety of bikini and skimpy outfits, which she as herself would probably never choose to wear for battle.

In short, it's not Cidney who chose her outfit, it's a male-gaze oriented costume. That's why it is gross, because it plays to a male sex fantasy rather than servicing a substantiated character.

Cidney isn't just a design, she was also given a personality and a role, neither of which indicate that she is a desperate attention-seeker. To say that she is one requires more than just her outfit.
 

Crossing Eden

Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
But, impractical as Cidney's outfit is for a real mechanic, it does have a design consistency with her place in the world, at some kind of mid-to-late 20th century American South garage. As others have noted, she's basically Daisy Duke.

Also, there was still an explicit decision made to serve up the P5 female characters for the male gaze. Maybe it's better wrapped into the story, or does more interesting thematic work, but it's not an unavoidable corollary to the story.

I'm not against sexy characters, but I do think that Anne's outfit, particularly on a teenager, is still pretty blatant pandering.
We're talking about the most contemporary fantasy game being released this year where characters have iphones and such and somehow a mid-to-late 20th century American South garage fashion, (it's not btw i'm just humoring you), is consistent with that aesthetic? No. -_- And yea people should really stop trying to defend yet another case of a teenage girl being sexualized in a Japanese game.
 
We're talking about the most contemporary fantasy game being released this year where characters have iphones and such and somehow a mid-to-late 20th century American South garage fashion, (it's not btw i'm just humoring you), is consistent with that aesthetic? No. -_- And yea people should really stop trying to defend yet another case of a teenage girl being sexualized in a Japanese game.

The whole aesthetic of Lucis outside of Insomnia is clearly mid-to-late 20th century Southern Americana, (as filtered through 1980s TV) from cars to buildings. Is it a weird shift from neo-Tokyo Insomnia? Yeah, I think so, but that's how they did it none-the-less.

If Cidney were dressed as she is and worked inside Insomnia her outfit would be stupid, pandering and incongruous. As it is, it's just stupid and pandering.

Edit: after thinking about it more, it's actually some kind of bizzarro mashup of the good ol' south via 80s TV and Grease.
 
*CLIPPED OP'S ORIGINAL POST*


Look, sex sells, I get it. Sexy characters appeal to people. The problem lies in the fact that Cindy is purely there for her sex appeal. Her “pawpaw” is the actual Cid. So what purpose does Cindy serve, then? Eye-candy. That’s it. And sure, one fanservice character doesn’t make a game sexist. It’s the pattern. Where are the scantily clad male mechanics who cover their bare chests in grease and drape themselves over the hoods of cars? Oh wait, they don’t exist, because games are made for straight dudes. Silly me. Even so, even if Cindy were a purely fanservice character, what’s really so bad about that? Why is that offensive? Well, aside from the sleaziness of it, there’s that one comment that the game’s marketing director made during that one ATR…



Because the only reason people could want playable female characters is for sex appeal. Naturally. Brb, jumping off a cliff.

Next up, Iris. Give me strength.

I love this post and I agree with it. I still remember when Final Fantasy had that one game where the main character was a hot, scantily clad man, and how they changed it because he was "too sexy". Meanwhile women are expected to just accept these types of characters all of the time, even if we think it's "too sexy".

Honestly I'm still looking forwards to this game but the hypocrisy is annoying and one of the main reasons why I can barely stand gaming anymore. It's like we're going backwards. At the end of the last decade we were finally getting video games that were representing people properly, and now we're back to scantly clad women with no personality. And if we complain about it, then we're "SJW DEMONS COMING 2 RUIN GAMING" instead of concerned gamers who want some parts of the genre to grow the hell up like we've done.

Le sigh.
 

Zhutchka

Member
The reactions are over the top because she's designed in the most creatively lazy way possible. Seriously we have like three years worth of exposure at this point and they've done nothing to show that her entire purpose isn't by designed to be ogled by a perceived male demographic. In fact, they've done the opposite, they've used her as incentive for VR, made her into a car skin, had the mocap actress do some absolutely ridiculous posing, gave her a incredibly cliche accent, animated the camera specifically to hover over here in the same way it does with Quiet in MGSV, (man players sure were wrong about that one huh? /s), Like, even if she's a good character, it doesn't matter because whatever writing they come up with is constantly undermined by those facts. You keep trying to equate Cidney with the agency of real women, she has no agency, she didn't choose to get up in the morning and wear that outfit everyday, she was designed by a team of men with the intent of appealing to other men, get out of here with the "no you're the real sexist" shit.

There's a difference between a woman choosing what she wants to wear for herself, and a female character designed with the male gaze in mind. Cidney (whatever her name is at this point) had no choice in what she was wearing.

It's similar to the case of Lightning Returns. We know from two games roughly what kind of person Lightning is, however conflicting the writing and characterizations for her are. But in LR, the player can choose to put her into a variety of bikini and skimpy outfits, which she as herself would probably never choose to wear for battle.

In short, it's not Cidney who chose her outfit, it's a male-gaze oriented costume. That's why it is gross, because it plays to a male sex fantasy rather than servicing a substantiated character.

That still doesn't mean the outfit or design by itself is gross or male-gaze oriented, but rather the concept of making a character purely for the purpose of filling that pandering role (if that's what Cindy indeed is, and I'll concede that most of what we've seen at this point indicates that). And I've not once disagreed with the latter.

This goes for far from everyone criticising the concept/creation/inclusion of the character, but there's definitely an undercurrent of users in this thread that would struggle to look past her outfit no matter what, which I've specifically pointed out over and over. In the context of this thread it seems pretty hypocritical, and if you were to apply it to real life, pretty troubling. And part of this thread does indeed remind me of the reactions when the mainstream fashion trend of women wearing impossibly short jeans shorts during summer started about a decade ago where I lived.

I also think the practicality argument is completely nonense in the context of this game, and that it keeps getting brought up only for Cindy hints at something. I mean, even the main casts alternative costumes we've seen so far seems to be pretty much a competiton for being the most impractial outfit for their task at hand. Fighting giant scorpions in the desert sun in black designer suits... Pretty sure repairing a vehicle in the nude is a good idea in comparison.
 

Vlaphor

Member
Honestly I'm still looking forwards to this game but the hypocrisy is annoying and one of the main reasons why I can barely stand gaming anymore. It's like we're going backwards. At the end of the last decade we were finally getting video games that were representing people properly, and now we're back to scantly clad women with no personality.

Le sigh.

From what I'm seeing, this kind of content is becoming an notable rarity. You'll have your niche titles, and there will be games like this that have a fanservicey character but not have that character be too important (just guessing here, none of us have played the full game), but I highly doubt you'll see anything like a Bloodrayne anymore.
Just look at Tomb Raider for example. They got rid of a classic character and replaced her with a less fanservicey version for 2013 TR (which is technically the best selling game in the franchise, but it also isn't since it's two games released on five platforms instead of the one game on two platforms that Tomb Raider 2 was), then turned that character into the worst protagonist of all time for ROTR...and despite the fact that most people seem to hate the direction the character has gone and the fact that ROTR is selling poorly, it's very unlikely they would bring classic Lara back.
 

sn00zer

Member
They really had an opportunity to fix the Cindy design after Duscae....I think it was actually the No. 1 complaint in Europe....and they said "nope". While I don't agree the game is outright "sexist" [the guy trip road trip thing is pretty neat and I can understand why they wouldn't have women as a huge part of that story], I think the Cindy design has serious issues and the fact the DLC car doubled down on it instead of taking time to modify it was a huge mistake. Cindy herself is actually a neat character idea, but damn did they blow it in making her a weird fetish doll....thing.

Not to mention how the current design really goes against the whole "grounding the fantasy in reality" thing they kept trumpeting....she looks literally nothing like a mechanic.

They heard the complaints, they said no, so they shouldn't be surprised when people are still mad about it on release.

Also this looked awesome
tumblr_nh10n0K4951qc06c1o1_500.jpg
 

Derpot

Member
I love this post and I agree with it. I still remember when Final Fantasy had that one game where the main character was a hot, scantily clad man, and how they changed it because he was "too sexy". Meanwhile women are expected to just accept these types of characters all of the time, even if we think it's "too sexy".

Looks like Mobius FF protag wasn't blessed by the holy protection of "artistic vision" lol.
Let's be honest: if Mobius FF protag was a female character, it wouldn't have happened.
 

Crossing Eden

Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
The whole aesthetic of Lucis outside of Insomnia is clearly mid-to-late 20th century Southern Americana, (as filtered through 1980s TV) from cars to buildings. Is it a weird shift from neo-Tokyo Insomnia? Yeah, I think so, but that's how they did it none-the-less.

If Cidney were dressed as she is and worked inside Insomnia her outfit would be stupid, pandering and incongruous. As it is, it's just stupid and pandering.

Edit: after thinking about it more, it's actually some kind of bizzarro mashup of the good ol' south via 80s TV and Grease.
In outside of Insomnia they have iphones and such. She isn't wearing late twenties mechanic clothing.

That still doesn't mean the outfit or design by itself is gross or male-gaze oriented
That's LITERALLY what it means.

but rather the concept of making a character purely for the purpose of filling that pandering role - if that's what Cindy indeed is, and I'll concede that most of what we've seen at this point indicates that. And I've not once disagreed with the latter.
Again, just to bring up Quiet as an example, what about Cindy, or anything they've shown in the marketing, indicates that we're wrong in our assumptions, or that whatever characterization they come up with won't be undermined by the voyeuristic camera, VR game, car skin etc.

This goes for far from everyone criticising the concept/creation/inclusion of the character, but there's definitely an undercurrent of users in this thread that would struggle to look past her outfit no matter what, which I've specifically pointed out over and over. In the context of this thread it seems pretty hypocritical, and if you were to apply it to real life, pretty troubling. And part of this thread does indeed remind me of the reactions when the mainstream fashion trend of women wearing impossibly short jeans shorts during summer started about a decade ago where I lived.
Oh gee, it's almost like the camera is constantly ogling too, or that her mocap actress was instructed to pose in a very specific way. Even her idle pose has an arched back and you're trying to make it seem like we're the issue and not the design. It's not just the outfit, it's a combination of things.
 

.JayZii

Banned
Honestly I'm still looking forwards to this game but the hypocrisy is annoying and one of the main reasons why I can barely stand gaming anymore. It's like we're going backwards. At the end of the last decade we were finally getting video games that were representing people properly, and now we're back to scantly clad women with no personality. And if we complain about it, then we're "SJW DEMONS COMING 2 RUIN GAMING" instead of concerned gamers who want some parts of the genre to grow the hell up like we've done.
Are we? I'm having trouble coming up with modern, mainstream examples outside of this. Even with this silly looking character, I'm not even sure if the "no personality" part applies.
Or naming people with card names, or Lightning, Snow, Vanille, Fang... *Nomura style*
You mustn't speak his name. They'll come.
 
In outside of Insomnia they have iphones and such. She isn't wearing late twenties mechanic clothing.

Yes yes, FF's world design is full of anachronism, wow, who would've thunk.

But the area outside of Insomnia, the countryside of Lucis, is clearly represented as out in the sticks, with old-fashioned cars and a real southern country aesthetic to the garages and diners and gas stations. The thematic thrust is obviously that the city-boys are out of their element.

In that environment, Cidney is clearly supposed to look like something like this, a hot southern American apple pie girl who hangs around a garage:

lbCqEMc.jpg



That doesn't justify the outfit or the ogling. But it's not random. They didn't put her in, e.g., a skin-tight red catsuit w/ tail zipper. They put her in cut-off shorts and a trucker cap.
 
That "seems contradictory" quote is incredible. It's like some of these guys have never interacted with a female in their lives. Don't they have female friends? Wives? Hell, mothers? At this point, being a FF fan and having even the smallest hint of a feminist leaning (can't even imagine being female) seems like a recipe for heartbreak. I can only be grateful I stopped being the former years ago, if for different reasons.

Also, to people who complain that there's nothing unusual about having a main character helplessly slapped around (not being attacked, specifically slapped by a bad guy), think of it happening to a male main character, and how it affects your perception of him.
 
Yes yes, FF's world design is full of anachronism, wow, who would've thunk.

But the area outside of Insomnia, the countryside of Lucis, is clearly represented as out in the sticks, with old-fashioned cars and a real southern country aesthetic to the garages and diners and gas stations. The thematic thrust is obviously that the city-boys are out of their element.

In that environment, Cidney is clearly supposed to look like something like this, a hot southern American apple pie girl who hangs around a garage:

lbCqEMc.jpg



That doesn't justify the outfit or the ogling. But it's not random. They didn't put her in, e.g., a skin-tight red catsuit w/ tail zipper. They put her in cut-off shorts and a trucker cap.

But she's a mechanic? Not a pin-up model?
 

Crossing Eden

Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
Yes yes, FF's world design is full of anachronism, wow, who would've thunk.

But the area outside of Insomnia, the countryside of Lucis, is clearly represented as out in the sticks, with old-fashioned cars and a real southern country aesthetic to the garages and diners and gas stations. The thematic thrust is obviously that the city-boys are out of their element.
Yet incredibly close to this is Altissia, which is basically FF's version of Venice and looks modern as hell.

In that environment, Cidney is clearly supposed to look like something like this, a hot southern American apple pie girl who hangs around a garage:

lbCqEMc.jpg
If she's supposed to resemble a mid-late twentieth century mechanic, (while also simultaneously using an iphone but ignore that because reasons), she should look more like this:
na-2864-29686.jpg

or this:
700834-female-mechanics.jpeg


which not shockingly, looks incredibly similar to the outfit someone on tumblr designed. Her outfit as it's designed now, (especially with the thong and bra), is just pandering garbage that makes no sense in the grand scheme of things. And like the post above me said, she's a mechanic, not a pin-up model. Look at any of the other characters in that area and Cindy undoubtedly sticks out not just because she's more important but because she looks absolutely ridiculous.

That doesn't justify the outfit or the ogling. But it's not random. They didn't put her in, e.g., a skin-tight red catsuit w/ tail zipper. They put her in cut-off shorts and a trucker cap.
They're part of the problem, Japan is still many many years behind in terms of representation, inclusiveness, and equality, especially with their bigger games.
 
But she's a mechanic? Not a pin-up model?

Indeed, that's why the outfit is dumb. My point here was not that it's not a dumb outfit (as should be manifestly clear from my referring to the outfit as dumb multiple times).

My point was that it's design is not wholly incongruous w/ her in-game setting. Which was relevant to earlier discussion about whether Cidney's design, on top of being dumb and pandering, was also totally incongruous and thematically divorced from her place in the game world.

Also, of only tangential interest, but in Dukes-of-Hazard world Daisy is not a pin-up model either. She's a petty criminal/waitress/aspiring journalist.
 
Yes, SE are a bunch of biggots. In the world, there are only strong, powerful and virtuous women, any game that deviates from this true standard is clearly sexist, even if there is one strong powerful woman in it. No woman, like Cindy, would ever use her assets to seduce men. Luna, a character we know almost nothing about in the actual game, is clearly a misrepresentation of all women in the world.

Oh, and we have no black people, there is no gay dude, we still need that lesbian character, and we can't forget about our native american friends, and that other transsexual person too, until then SE is a bunch of no good sexist biggots. Man, I hate them so much, they are the true ailment that is bringing down our society with their backward views! They all should be, you know, like be jobless or something! They always in all of their games ever misrepresent women! Their portrayal of men is always adequate though.
 
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