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[Arc Christelle]

For the longest it has always been in our in entertainment in one form or another. But recently and by recently I'd say the past decade, it's like suddenly people find it offensive. Despite if a game may have multiple characters which have various themes and characteristics, it always seems like people will always have it out for a character with sex appeal regardless of the character.

If they show skin, or might seem "too sexy" suddenly some people get sensitive to these things as if the concept of surrealism flies over their head.

Putting cries of pandering and fetishism aside, How do feel about sex appeal in character design?

Me personally, I love it. I'm a fan sexy. I don't think it defines a character, but I see it as one of many that can make a character appealing, and sometimes sadly, overrated.

Also, I feel that there is a such thing as well executed sex appeal (which doesn't mean covered up or small breasts) and there is also very bad attempts at achieving it (nude means attractive regardless of design/ armor g-string/ etc),

What are some examples you might have that are good/bad ways of approaching it?

Also note that I'm speaking of all types of styles and design, realistic/athrop/chibi/SD/"anime" etc.

And let's try to avoid any Over the Top or unnecessary images and fan art.

 

[shinobi602]

The more sex the merrier.

 

[Epcott]

I'm only bothered when it's the game's major selling point (or one of them).

Edit: And it depends on the game.

 

[Silky]

Sexy is fine.

Classy is better.

People can make clothes look good. Art design needs to focus less on showing skin, and developing a character to match with the outfit that they wear.

Case in point: look at SNK fighting games. Beautiful, attractive women, decorated in classy and tasteful clothing.

 

[genjiZERO]

I feel like characters have become over sexualized over the years. Take Final Fantasy for example. Sure Tifa has abnormally large breasts, but she wasn't half-naked like they are now.

Edit:

People posting pictures of Amano paintings: The in-game art looks nothing like that.

Also, I'm pretty sure that Nomura Tifa illustration isn't from the original game and even if it was - it's nothing like what you actually see in the game.

 

[Marauder Shields]

I was drawn to it a lot more when I was younger. Now it's not that big a deal to me.

 

[DeaviL]

Apparently it's because sexy women are the only kind of women that are being featured in games. Which is true if you just ignore enough games that prove the opposite.

 

[Rocky]

What are some examples you might have that are good ways of approaching it?

For starters, Konami could localize the Love Plus series.

 

[XANDER CAGE]

Sex appeal is vastly different from sexism. Well written, sexually potent characters are awesome, they're just few and far between in video games.

I also find it amusing that you seem to consider smaller breasts "not well executed sex appeal."

 

[Manmademan]

I feel like characters have become over sexualized over the years. Take Final Fantasy for example. Sure Tifa has abnormally large breasts, but she wasn't half-naked like they are now.

...but please, continue

 

[Orayn]

A bad way of approaching it, as you alluded to, is using it as a character's only defining characteristic. Even when it's not the only thing about a character, sexiness can easily come off as a distracting, cynical marketing ploy when it's tacked on and clashes with other forms of characterization present in-game.

 

[drtomoe123]

Because they design it around a 13-year old boy's concept of sexy.

 

[balohna]

I really like the sexy character designs in Skull Girls, because I think they're genuinely cool looking and that titillation factor is just a bonus.

I think the sexy character designs in Dead or Alive are sort of silly.

 

[Mr_Antimatter]

It's not so much sex appeal, as, well, dressing them in nonsenical outfits what only serve to show skin whilst giving them huge boobs.

Now, you can do sexy without being, well, slutty. Quistis (FF8), Mitsuru Kirijo (Persona 3), Elena and Chloe (Uncharted), etc. The key I think is to rely on more then just skin, but instead to highlight their feminine assets, while not overpoowering the plays sensibilities.

Everything from hair, to body language, facial features, voice, etc, factors into things.

 

[PK Gaming]

There's nothing wrong with sex appeal, or sexiness for that matter.

The issue lies in sexual objectification. It's why i'm down with this:

But not this:

Half naked picture of Aya Brea

 

[Silky]

It's not so much sex appeal, as, well, dressing them in nonsenical outfits what only serve to show skin whilst giving them huge boobs.

Now, you can do sexy without being, well, slutty. Quistis (FF8), Mitsuru Kirijo (Persona 3), Elena and Chloe (Uncharted), etc. The key I think is to rely on more then just skin, but instead to highlight their feminine assets, while not overpoowering the plays sensibilities.

Everything from hair, to body language, facial features, voice, etc, factors into things.

Nailed it.

--

One of my favorite examples of the bolded above.

 

[Clefargle]

It's not wrong, it's just cheap and easy. You can cater to the lowest common denominator, but don't expect to be congratulated for doing the easiest possible thing when creating a character.

 

[entremet]

...but please, continue

Character art. Not really in game, which is a big difference. Moreover, game consoles didn't have the tech back then to portray either.

 

[Arc Christelle]

Apparently it's because sexy women are the only kind of women that are being featured in games. Which is true if you just ignore enough games that prove the opposite.

lol I raised my eyebrow till I read the bolded.

I also find it amusing that you seem to consider smaller breasts "not well executed sex appeal."

Nope homie. I was saying that smaller breasts does not equal well executed sex appeal. Because some people would seriously have a problem with a character due to bust size.

Smaller breasts can be attractive, but that doesn't mean, well executed sex appeal. It just means she has smaller breasts.

 

[Al Gore's Thermostat]

In my opinion, most of the time it's corny, some of the time it is gross (sexualizing prepubescent girls... or boys). It's offensive when it's exaggerated. Kind of like that wrestling game with chicks in bikinis. Alive or Dead or something. Tecmo knows young boys jerk off to that game. Do you really want your teenage boy jerking off to some virtual women?

Heh.

 

[Paches]

I feel like characters have become over sexualized over the years. Take Final Fantasy for example. Sure Tifa has abnormally large breasts, but she wasn't half-naked like they are now.

Actually, she doesn't really wear much.

 

[Frumix]

Tits are life.
Ass is hometown.

 

[Orayn]

Because they design it around a 13-year old boy's concept of sexy.

This too. The most common attempts at visual sex appeal in video games are basically equivalent to monster closet jump scares in the horror genre: They have their place in certain contexts, but it's pretty fucking stupid when they're the only thing you use.

 

[Austriacus]

I feel like characters have become over sexualized over the years. Take Final Fantasy for example. Sure Tifa has abnormally large breasts, but she wasn't half-naked like they are now.

I assume you consider adult Rydia a part of your imagination or something?

 

[Thoraxes]

I understand that people have different perceptions of what they want to do with the characters they create, so i'm always open to letting someone show me their vision for a character.

Sex appeal doesn't bother me. Fanservice, manservice, who gives a shit? I'm pretty comfortable with myself that I don't mind seeing boobs and bulges, chests and crotches in games. They're video games, not a person who lives in your house.

Yet again, I have a really open personality in that i'm pretty much never offended by anything ever.

 

[Manmademan]

Character art. Not really in game, which is a big difference. Moreover, game consoles didn't have the tech back then to portray either.

In game is just as bad, and that's the official art for the character.

Kuja was designed to be a hyper sexualized dude, wearing a codpiece and some billowy sleeves.

and "the tech didn't exist?" was I hallucinating CG cutscenes?

 

[XANDER CAGE]

It's not so much sex appeal, as, well, dressing them in nonsenical outfits what only serve to show skin whilst giving them huge boobs.

Now, you can do sexy without being, well, slutty. Quistis (FF8), Mitsuru Kirijo (Persona 3), Elena and Chloe (Uncharted), etc. The key I think is to rely on more then just skin, but instead to highlight their feminine assets, while not overpoowering the plays sensibilities.

Everything from hair, to body language, facial features, voice, etc, factors into things.

I think even this is perhaps a bit too far. It's entirely possible to have a "slutty looking" well-written character, if their dress, mannerisms, and attitudes make sense for the character. Problems arise when it feels like characters are dressed or act a certain way specifically for the sake of it, like the stupid bullshit surrounding Lightning Returns.

It's also worth pointing out that Quistis and Mitsuru both lean heavily into stereotypical dom mistress tropes for pretty much no reason other than sex appeal and stylization. It's not offensive or anything, but it is pretty transparent.

 

[Manu]

I feel like characters have become over sexualized over the years. Take Final Fantasy for example. Sure Tifa has abnormally large breasts, but she wasn't half-naked like they are now.

The nakedest (?) FF character is Rydia from FFIV.

EDIT: She's wearing less in The After Years. That's what I had in mind.

 

[Steel]

Ridiculous outfits for the character's situation is why. Hardly a deal breaker for me, but when a chick is in bikini armor or some other completely ridiculous outfit for combat it does make it seem like the game is trying too hard to get a rise out of you(Yes, literal and all that). This is one thing that hurts the experience in my opinion, because every little thing that makes me roll my eyes makes me take some games less seriously. But as I said, not a deal breaker.

 

[Silky]

Actually, she doesn't really wear much.

That's not even Tifa's new design. Her new design is better.

 

[Salex_]

Apparently it's because sexy women are the only kind of women that are being featured in games. Which is true if you just ignore enough games that prove the opposite.

 

[PK Gaming]

...but please, continue

There is so much to Kuja's character though.

He just isn't a (snicker) sexy looking dude, he's so much more than that. Which is the problem with a lot of "sexy" female characters in video games, because they're nothing more than just sex objects to be gawked at.

 

[Hedge]

I don't hate sex-appeal. I hate badly executed sex-appeal. The ones where the character only has big breasts going on, or a tiny thong, or a big burly chest. They are their appeal. And that is both shallow and base.

I also don't like if an otherwise stoic and powerful character gets put in "sexy" gear. It seems like pandering to the masses, instead of choosing something that emphasizes their already existing virtues.

I don't mind if a person whose persona is defined by trickery and manipulation to dress "sexy", since that would help define their characteristics. But if you're an inspiring and well-known paragon for justice, and you're wearing a mini-skirt/loincloth, there's a dissonance between the visual characteristic of the character and their "goal" as a personality.

I don't hate sex-appeal. I hate it when it serves no other purpose than to sell the character without that dull use of personality.

 

[DeaviL]

Because they design it around a 13-year old boy's concept of sexy.

I don't think that the RPG's with those sexy characters have all that big of an audience among the young.

 

[Silky]

I understand that people have different perceptions of what they want to do with the characters they create, so i'm always open to letting someone show me their vision for a character.

Sex appeal doesn't bother me. Fanservice, manservice, who gives a shit? I'm pretty comfortable with myself that I don't mind seeing boobs and bulges, chests and crotches in games. They're video games, not a person who lives in your house.

That's fine and all, and I agree. But the main issue is that other people do care about the sex appeal in a game. Some consider it too much, and find it insulting.

Which I think is really fucking stupid to feel such, but I can respect their thoughts.

 

[Manmademan]

There is so much to Kuja's character though.

He just isn't a (snicker) sexy looking dude, he's so much more than that. Which is the problem with a lot of "sexy" female characters in video games, because they're nothing more than just sex objects to be gawked at.

We're not talking characterization here, only sexualization. and pretending that sexualization and half naked characters in video games is some kind of recent thing is just hilariously wrong.

edit: bonus-

This guy here sure is manly

..until he turns around. Hel-looooooooooooooooo asscheeks!

 

[Arc Christelle]

It's not wrong, it's just cheap and easy. You can cater to the lowest common denominator, but don't expect to be congratulated for doing the easiest possible thing when creating a character.

I don't know, I've seen a lot of people fail trying to be sexy, simply because they don't understand sexy.

[The picture is not my point but conveys a parody of what I'm trying to say.]

 

[entremet]

In game is just as bad, and that's the official art for the character.

Kuja was designed to be a hyper sexualized dude, wearing a codpiece and some billowy sleeves.

and "the tech didn't exist?" was I hallucinating CG cutscenes?

Ah!

I confused him with another Amano art character from the SNES FF. Paladin Cecil. I still haven't played FFIX. Still in shrink-wrap lol.

 

[Arc Christelle]

In my opinion, most of the time it's corny, some of the time it is gross (sexualizing prepubescent girls... or boys). It's offensive when it's exaggerated. Kind of like that wrestling game with chicks in bikinis. Alive or Dead or something. Tecmo knows young boys jerk off to that game. Do you really want your teenage boy jerking off to some virtual women?

Heh.

What the hell is wrong with you?

 

[Silky]

There's nothing wrong with sex appeal, or sexiness for that matter.

The issue lies in sexual objectification. It's why i'm down with this:

-Mitsuru image-

But not this:

I'm pretty sure there was a reason for this to happen in the game.

In my opinion, most of the time it's corny, some of the time it is gross (sexualizing prepubescent girls... or boys). It's offensive when it's exaggerated. Kind of like that wrestling game with chicks in bikinis. Alive or Dead or something. Tecmo knows young boys jerk off to that game. Do you really want your teenage boy jerking off to some virtual women?

Heh.

First of all: You're confusing DOA with Rumble Roses.

 

[GrizzleBoy]

Idk about you guys but the pics of this tifa lady im seeing on image search are quite intredasting....

On a serious note, whats the opinion on the psycho ladies from mgs4

 

[DeaviL]

I don't know, I've seen a lot of people fail trying to be sexy, simply because they don't understand sexy.

[The picture is not my point but conveys a parody of what I'm trying to say.]

Sexy is a lot of things to a lot of different people.
Fetishes can make you shudder.

 

[KJ869]

This is why I like Saints Row Third/IV charachter creator, you can make them as much sex appeal as you like ( it even has slider for it, that just changes the size of mans crotch and womans boobs)

 

[KoopaTheCasual]

I don't hate sex-appeal. I hate badly executed sex-appeal. The ones where the character only has big breasts going on, or a tiny thong, or a big burly chest. They are their appeal. And that is both shallow and base.

I also don't like if an otherwise stoic and powerful character gets put in "sexy" gear. It seems like pandering to the masses, instead of choosing something that emphasizes their already existing virtues.

I don't mind if a person whose persona is defined by trickery and manipulation to dress "sexy", since that would help define their characteristics. But if you're an inspiring and well-known paragon for justice, and you're wearing a mini-skirt/loincloth, there's a dissonance between the visual characteristic of the character and their "goal" as a personality.

I don't hate sex-appeal. I hate it when it serves no other purpose than to sell the character without that dull use of personality.

All of this.

 

[Kenai]

Sex appeal doesn't bother me much, but it seems like several games do go overboard to the point where what said character is wearing for the situations they are in make the whole experience entirely unrealistic and cringworthy, which is jarring to me and can certainly affect my enjoyment of the game.

Another good point is the characters who have nothing but their sex appeal to contribute. that is just shallow and vapid in any circumstance.

 

[TatteredHat]

I don't have anything against sex appeal, I just don't really like it when developers translate that into a woman in her underwear.

Although I suppose that might come off as a bit hypocritical given my avatar.

 

[Thoraxes]

That's fine and all, and I agree. But the main issue is that other people do care about the sex appeal in a game. Some consider it too much, and find it insulting.

Which I think is really fucking stupid to feel such, but I can respect their thoughts.

Yeah. I'm not saying others shouldn't be (because we're all different people), but I just find that it's something that doesn't affect me at all. I don't really take offense to anything ever, for real. But I have a different personality than the next person.

I don't have anything against sex appeal, I just don't really like it when developers translate that into a woman in her underwear.

Spoiler

I had to.

 

[XANDER CAGE]

I think it's also pretty interesting to note that most of this thread is discussing portrayals of women (of which I'm equally guilty). That tells us something about the situation, I think.

 

[PK Gaming]

I'm pretty sure there was a reason for this to happen in the game.

Her clothes flying off after she takes damage is a gameplay mechanic. Aya isn't even supposed to look like that in the story, because she

Spoiler

takes over the body of certain characters during most gameplay.

 

[Professor Lich]

I would guess it has to do with a character having sex appeal and it making sense over characters being drenched in sex appeal for no reason other than being a flat image.