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[Garrett Hawke]

Can we just stop all of this pointing fingers garbage. We're guys and we notoriously like younger women. Why? Because biologically they produce better (or in some cases more frequent) quality off-spring.

Its not sexist its natural science, asking them to stop is asking all men to apologize for being men. Yes, guys can be sexist pigs but that's more of a personal choice not a biological pre-determined decision.

No, it's sexist, and people should really stop using "boys will be boys!" to excuse shitty behaviour.

It makes sense to me, nobody wants to play as an old person.

Which is why nobody picks Soldier 76, Reinhardt, or Torbjorn?

 

[Izayoi]

Mercy is dead so that's probably the explanation for why she is 37 but looks 27.

Again, this is purely conjecture at this point. We have no concrete proof.

 

[dan2026]

D.VA is apparantly a movie star, a pop star, video game champion and a trained soldier/pilot.

And she's only what? 18?

Stretches belief somewhat.

 

[Gnomist]

I remember thinking something similar when looking through the roster for the first time. This fan-made character is noticeably older than most (all?) the current characters.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=206494359&postcount=1714

It's not a female but I agree that it would be nice to continue adding new characters that fill in obvious gaps in the roster. Hopefully the first new hero isn't just some dude/girl with the typical comic book hero looks/age/physique.

 

[Kintaro]

D.VA is apparantly a movie star, a pop star, video game champion and a trained soldier/pilot.

And she's only what? 18?

Stretches belief somewhat.

Not sure "belief" plays a factor in Overwatch.

 

[Peterpan]

Look at GQ covers vs Vogue covers. That's all I have to say about the topic.

 

[TatteredHat]

I expect that Blizzard is going to add older female characters in the future, there's no reason for me to assume otherwise. Especially with all the Sombra information floating around.

And to be honest, with the oldest female being 37 years old it's not that big of a difference.

 

[Dio]

Interestingly enough, Sayuri is in Senran Kagura, is playable, and is a badass:

So if god damned Senran Kagura can do it, I don't see why Overwatch can't. Sounds like a good idea.

 

[John Rabbit]

I think Mercy's voice actress sounds appropriate for the character's apparent age, whereas Mei's does not. I'd assume just from in-game assets/experience that Mei was younger than Tracer.

 

[ACE 1991]

It makes sense to me, nobody wants to play as an old person.

But there are old men in the game and not older women because those don't make good waifus.

 

[The Lamonster]

Thanks for this thread, OP. It was fun reading about the characters' ages and backgrounds. However, I don't necessarily agree that this is a problem yet, because we are bound to get countless more heroes in the months and years following launch. Blizzard has proven that they care about diversity and equality, and I trust they'll create new female heroes that aren't all young, fit and pretty.

side note: I thought it was interesting that the antagonist in this year's DOOM was an intimidating older woman.

 

[Izayoi]

Aren't these characters running about and engaging in fast-paced combat? That type of activity is much better suited to younger people, just like you see younger people in professional sports. I guess you could have an older person with bionic implants or something.

Well... pretty much everyone in the roster has some kind of cybernetic/bionic modification. Whether it be external power armor or an artificial limb, few rely on their own strength alone in combat.

 

[redcrayon]

Do people feel Mercy doesn't actually look like she's 37? Please note again that I agree that the lack of 45+ year old women in problematic.

.

Artists rarely seem to like putting any recognisable signifiers of age on female faces, particularly on a clean art style like Overwatch, but I'd peg her as anywhere from 25-30. Even then, that's only because they haven't given her big Disney eyes like lots of young female characters seem to get.

To be fair, athletic, attractive people often look younger than they are (not that I'm opposing the thrust of the OP or your point).

 

[Zaventem]

D.VA is apparantly a movie star, a pop star, video game champion and a trained soldier/pilot.

And she's only what? 18?

Stretches belief somewhat.

19 and in this game with the amount of age defying fuckery and robots i don't see how this got to you.

 

[HazySaiyan]

I feel like there's more to Mercy's age than they're telling us, because she would literally have to be 7 years old when Overwatch was originally founded, which makes no sense with Mei's line that says she looks the same as back then.

Yeah but you've got to remember that canonically Overwatch existed for years after the initial Omnic Crisis. People like Mercy and Tracer weren't in the organisation from the beginning.

 

[The Technomancer]

This is, ironically, probably less of an issue if the game only features young, hot men as well. But lots of hero games do this exact thing: make characters are able to run a full spectrum from hot (Hanzo) to ugly (Roadhog) to just unusual (Torbjorn), while female characters, even when they have diverse bodies (which Blizzard gets the props they should for!) still have to be "attractive".

The ugliest "hero" character I can think of in a hero game is Medusa in Dota who looks like this

And she still recognizably has a face in a game that includes characters like this

 

[3phemeral]

Some people are never fuckin happy...

How about we just let Blizzard's artists do the characters they want to do without starting to cry about that this and that isn't represented. This is pathetic at this point.

Yeah, because complaining about lack of varied body representation got us nowhere and was a waste of time... We should just be happy with whatever!

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

Every female character in the game looks like there around the 20s.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Look at GQ covers vs Vogue covers. That's all I have to say about the topic.

Because society puts things that way, so we should all be responsible for challenging it.

There are literally some women who are so afraid of getting old because of the way society treats them that their self esteem is ruined & they resort to extreme plastic surgery and other cosmetic treatment which ruins their bodies.

 

[spindashing]

D.VA is apparantly a movie star, a pop star, video game champion and a trained soldier/pilot.

And she's only what? 18?

Stretches belief somewhat.

You got a gorilla walking outside of its enclosure using ray guns against humans and that is what suspends your belief? lmao

 

[synce]

I remember reading the bios for the Overwatch girls and laughing out loud when I saw the ages. No girl in this game looks above 18

 

[broncobuster]

I can see what you mean. In truth, having ignored the backgrounds, I assumed ages of all characters skewed young, with few exceptions. Talking twenties range. Of the women, Zarya seemed like she's in her thirties. Of the men, only the turret building guy seemed 45+.

 

[LiK]

I think Mercy's voice actress sounds appropriate for the character's apparent age, whereas Mei's does not. I'd assume just from in-game assets/experience that Mei was younger than Tracer.

Mei is a young looking Asian woman. Totally believable.

 

[El Topo]

I'm struggling to think of any post 50 female hero in the MCU.

Well, I mean, there's not many female heroes/superheroes in MCU in the first place. It's hard to get age/ethnic diversity among women if the gender ratio is 1:4 (or worse).

 

[K' Dash]

come the fuck on, can't you just play the fucking game and have fun?

 

[SwaggerMcDagger]

76 is balding? I never even noticed.

Poor 76, I know his pain. ;_;

Yeah, his hairline doesn't look that good

I think it's common not to notice until it starts happening to you QQ

 

[Kinsei]

I remember reading the bios for the Overwatch girls and laughing out loud when I saw the ages. No girl in this game looks above 18

Zarya, Widowmaker, and Mercy all look over 20.

 

[Hentailover]

So, Senran Kagura is more progressive than Overwatch confirmed?


UPD damn too late

 

[Garrett Hawke]

come the fuck on, can't you just play the fucking game and have fun?

Does this stop anyone from having fun?

You can enjoy - even love - something and still be critical of it. If you are not critical of the media you love, you may as well be an open wallet, and just let companies have their say with you.

 

[VinFTW]

D.VA is apparantly a movie star, a pop star, video game champion and a trained soldier/pilot.

And she's only what? 18?

Stretches belief somewhat.

I can play as a fucking gorilla with glasses

Who cares about realism, like what

 

[DrArchon]

D.VA is apparantly a movie star, a pop star, video game champion and a trained soldier/pilot.

And she's only what? 18?

Stretches belief somewhat.

Never play the Ace Attorney games.

 

[Sheriff_Battlesnake]

We need more old women who play videogames so we can begin to represent them, duh

Eleanor, Margaret, Edith, and Gail... IT'S HIGH NOON and i think Oprah is back on syndication

 

[ACE 1991]

come the fuck on, can't you just play the fucking game and have fun?

Can't YOU? Why not just go play the game if you have nothing constructive to add to a conversation you've already dismissed?

 

[Interfectum]

Does anyone know any real-life examples they could use as reference? Older female athletes or something?

Not real life but

Grizzled military like the Boss from MGS3

An older version of Nadine from Uncharted 4

Maybe an older witch type character (though probably be called out for sexist "of course she's a witch")

Older Ripley character from Alien

There's a bunch of stuff they could do.

 

[The Technomancer]

Thanks for this thread, OP. It was fun reading about the characters' ages and backgrounds. However, I don't necessarily agree that this is a problem yet, because we are bound to get countless more heroes in the months and years following launch. Blizzard has proven that they care about diversity and equality, and I trust they'll create new female heroes that aren't all young, fit and pretty.

side note: I thought it was interesting that the antagonist in this year's DOOM was an intimidating older woman.

Eh, Blizzard was clearly trying to diversify with characters like Mei and Zarya, it can't hurt to talk about it more and maybe they'll listen on this issue too

 

[John Rabbit]

Mei is a young looking Asian woman. Totally believable.

That's why I referenced their voices and not their looks. I think people "buy" Mercy being in her late 30s because she sounds like a woman in her late 30s whereas Mei (to me) does not sound 31.

 

[Kalentan]

I can play as a fucking gorilla with glasses

Who cares about realism, like what

HEY! You watch your words! He is a Scientist!

Spoiler

 

[QuantumSquid]

come the fuck on, can't you just play the fucking game and have fun?

I imagine a lot of us in this thread are playing the game and having fun, but that doesn't mean we can't have a good discussion about this. Why try to stifle it?

 

[Ivan 3414]

It makes sense to me, nobody wants to play as an old person.

Besides the fact that there's quite a few "old" males in Overwatch and I haven't heard anyone complain, you're completely right

 

[Sheriff_Battlesnake]

I can play as a fucking gorilla with glasses

Who cares about realism, like what

idol culture, man. check out japan.

 

[NinjaCoachZ]

come the fuck on, can't you just play the fucking game and have fun?

It's entirely possible to enjoy something while also being able to provide it with constructive criticism, so it can be even better.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

That's why I referenced their voices and not their looks. I think people "buy" Mercy being in her late 30s because she sounds like a woman in her late 30s whereas Mei (to me) does not sound 31.

I honestly thought Mei was around 20 because of her voice and personality.

 

[Sapientas]

Can we just stop all of this pointing fingers garbage. We're guys and we notoriously like younger women. Why? Because biologically they produce better (or in some cases more frequent) quality off-spring.

Its not sexist its natural science, asking them to stop is asking all men to apologize for being men. Yes, guys can be sexist pigs but that's more of a personal choice not a biological pre-determined decision.

If you want your game to sell you have two choices.

Make a game with an amazing story and fluid mechanics (that make sense) -> Undertale
or
Make a game with a shitty story and "beautiful" women -> DOA: Extreme Volleyball

They both sell and that's the point, don't like it don't buy it.

This is very extreme and reductionist on all accounts.

Do you really believe that men, in this day and age, are attracted to young women exclusively because of biology? If not then your argument is invalid.
The current trend of women portrayal in games and other media is, at the same time, cause and effect. Trying to change that seems logical.

 

[Kai Dracon]

I will admit I don't think Mercy looks to have forced youthfulness. She always looked older than 30 to me. Age is also about more than how nice someone's skin looks; it's in voice, characterization, and mannerism. In those regards Mercy generally doesn't act or speak like a perky 24 year old girl. She comes across as her age.

 

[The Technomancer]

I honestly thought Mei was around 20 because of her voice and personality.

Same, seriously

 

[Diablohead]

Everyone could have been 17, in school and from japan.

Overwatch has a good age range of characters IMO, they are stylized quite a bit sure but it's better then a lot of games out there.

 

[TheGeniusArcana]

come the fuck on, can't you just play the fucking game and have fun?

I do play the game a whole lot, actually. I even have fun with it. It's entirely possible to enjoy something and still have problems with it.

 

[Interfectum]

Besides the fact that there's quite a few "old" males in Overwatch and I haven't heard anyone complain, you're completely right

To be fair the default skins pretty much mask up the old dudes and the dwarf, well, who doesn't want to play an old dwarf?

 

[LiK]

That's why I referenced their voices and not their looks. I think people "buy" Mercy being in her late 30s because she sounds like a woman in her late 30s whereas Mei (to me) does not sound 31.

Mei actually sounds older in some interaction dialogue when she's not doing her cute voice. I've had some people in my group saying "that doesn't sound like Mei!". I guess it just depends on her cadence but I personally think she sounds her age.

 

[Ronin Ray]

I would love a Sigourney Weaver/The Boss type character in the game. Older women are secretly the most badass.

It shouldn't be a secret, put in a Helen Mirren/ Angela Bassett type and let them just be a crazy intimidating.