Big Jiggly Boobs in Games... is it really worth all the QQing?

[Saint of M]

The problem with this subject is the same one we have with violence, or sexualety and gaming in general. In certain situations its OK, and even expected. However the moment where you go "meh" after seeing an a large pair of boobs and or couple of gallons of blood, we official have a problem, and we are going "meh" big time.

 

[MrGalactus]

The reason we don't like it is that it paints gamers as childish and immature.

 

[Neverhoodian]

I just wish the new Lara would take a minute to rinse herself off. I looks like she fell into a septic tank (and I am NOT into scat, thank you very much).

I don't mind attractive female characters in games at all, I just don't like it when it's their ONLY reason for being in the game. I find it insulting whenever the "ideal woman" or "love interest" in a game is some brainless bimbo flaunting her breasts and spouting nothing but thinly veiled innuendos. Moreover, it reeks of sheer laziness (and a dash of insensitive chauvinism, if I might add) on the developer's part. An attractive, smart and sympathetic female character trumps the braindead bimbo for me any day.

 

[coldshadow]

I am offended when a game dev thinks I wanted that more than an engaging character and story.

 

[feeback06]

There you go.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

I think that it is appalling to think that women are stupid or to be shunned just because they have large breasts. Larger breasts and hips don't make people any less worthwhile. In the case of Lara Croft the changing breast size is always a talking point, I guess, but it rarely changes the enjoyment you can get from the game in any meaningful way. Tomb Raider games are not really about seducing men. If people want to be puritanical and say that they only play games that don't feature main characters with obvious feminine "dirty pillows" that are not properly covered with modest garments then I don't think they should really deserve any moral high ground.

As individuals, we often have body types that we prefer, "boyish" female body types are often more appealing to a lot of people. But it's best not to decide that "bimbo" female characters with obvious hips and tits are more or less morally correct than ones with boyish figures.

 

[Taunta]

I think that it is appalling to think that women are stupid or to be shunned just because they have large breasts. Larger breasts and hips don't make people any less worthwhile. In the case of Lara Croft the changing breast size is always a talking point, I guess, but it rarely changes the enjoyment you can get from the game in any meaningful way. Tomb Raider games are not really about seducing men. If people want to be puritanical and say that they only play games that don't feature main characters with obvious feminine "dirty pillows" that are not properly covered with modest garments then I don't think they should really deserve any moral high ground.

As individuals, we often have body types that we prefer, "boyish" female body types are often more appealing to a lot of people. But it's best not to decide that "bimbo" female characters with obvious hips and tits are more or less morally correct than ones with boyish figures.

I don't think that anyone is discriminating against women with large boobs, nor are they asserting that large breasts = bimbo. They're asserting that it is a trend in games to have air-headed female characters whose only purpose in the game is to have large breasts and be a sex object. One characteristic does not imply the other, rather they both are present.

Personally, I think large breasts are fine, when used in moderation. Designers tend to forget that not every woman in the world has large breasts and a tiny waist, and there are perfectly attractive women out there with smaller breasts and not such a tiny waist. In fact, some people prefer their women that way. In fact, you'd be surprised how few women actually fit this mold, you know, without implants. As a female gamer, it all feels very idealized, and kind of...alienating, to put it bluntly. It's the same thing as watching porn and expecting it to be like how sex is in real life.

So if your game is Tits or Alive: Boobs Volleyball, then by all means, stock the roster with porn stars, but honestly, when was the last time you saw a female protagonist in a serious game that wasn't thin, and had small breasts?

 

[More Fun To Compute]

They're asserting that it is a trend in games to have air-headed female characters whose only purpose in the game is to have large breasts and be a sex object. One characteristic does not imply the other, rather they both are present.

Then why is Lara Croft often named? She is characterised as a very well educated and self reliant person. Why do people suddenly like the character a lot more when she has a new model with smaller tits and a stupid "look at my attitude" face that she learned in modelling school, called blue steel or whatever.

As a female gamer, it all feels very idealized, and kind of...alienating, to put it bluntly. It's the same thing as watching porn and expecting it to be like how sex is in real life.

Some men are alienated by the male characters in games as well. The skinny boyish look has also probably done more real harm to women in terms of self esteem and medical issues. When I hear older feminists talk about things like DOA or Tomb Raider they think it is good fun if not a bit silly but see the prevalence of skinny role models for women as deadly serious.

So if your game is Tits or Alive: Boobs Volleyball, then by all means, stock the roster with porn stars, but honestly, when was the last time you saw a female protagonist in a serious game that wasn't thin, and had small breasts?

What is a "serious game?" Which of these serious games has a female lead like Mama Cass? And female protagonists are rare in games at the moment because many men are simply refusing to play as them.

 

[Lullabye]

I am offended when a game dev thinks I wanted that more than an engaging character and story.

Me too.......
*sigh*
Normally I'm all for pretrty women, but with all the apparent fan service going on in games these days, it's getting harder for me to find a decent female character.
Seriously, it's getting to the point where Armored Core has the best female cast.

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

I can see it from both sides.

On the one hand, devs can be a little over the top sometimes.

On the other, who cares? If you're not interested in them, either don't play the game, or focus on something else. Seriously, it annoys the piss out of me when people think EVERY game needs to be tailored to their demands. This was my complaint when Extra Credits bitched about oversexualization in some games. Look, like it or not, some people LIKE oversexualized characters in games. They shouldn't be deprived just because you think all games should be mature and have something serious to say about life or whatever. Some people just want to play a fighting game where gigantic breasts sway comically back and forth. Deal with it.

 

[le531]

She was still this super smart, super savvy, super kick ass first true super heroine of video games that could turn you on as quickly as she could snap your neck.

The fact that you say this invalidates the rest of your argument.

Samus Aran was this heroine you speak of, sorry. Or hell, even Chun Li, the First Lady of Fighting.

I'm sorry but neither one of those count. Most didn't even know Samus was a woman unless they played through the whole game, and her being a woman didn't change anything. Chun Li isn't a heroine because there is NO STORY IN FIGHTING GAMES, i.e. no opportunity to be a HEROINE. He said heroine not character. Lara was not just a woman in a game, her being a woman was important in the game. She was the first Heroine.

 

[pretentiousname01]

but honestly, when was the last time you saw a female protagonist in a serious game that wasn't thin, and had small breasts?

Fem shepard, is the first that comes to mind.
A quick look down my game rack also brings up,
Femwarden from dragon age
Lilith from borderlands. Although she could be considered a bit on the thin side.
Zoey from l4d
Rochelle l4d2
trainer from pokemon.

Okay so the last one is a joke, while still true.

ot.There is "too much of a good thing".

 

[Muta Ro]

She was still this super smart, super savvy, super kick ass first true super heroine of video games that could turn you on as quickly as she could snap your neck.

The fact that you say this invalidates the rest of your argument.

Samus Aran was this heroine you speak of, sorry. Or hell, even Chun Li, the First Lady of Fighting.

I'm sorry but neither one of those count. Most didn't even know Samus was a woman unless they played through the whole game, and her being a woman didn't change anything. Chun Li isn't a heroine because there is NO STORY IN FIGHTING GAMES, i.e. no opportunity to be a HEROINE. He said heroine not character. Lara was not just a woman in a game, her being a woman was important in the game. She was the first Heroine.

Samus was shown as a woman in 1987, did she suddenly stop being a woman during the rest of her games? No. So she still counts. Just because she started as a pixel model doesn't mean we should discount her. From Metroid 1 we knew that Samus was female under that power suit of hers and she did change things, she was the first female heroine we got, she wasn't just some dumb princess that required you to save her.

 

[teh_Canape]

but honestly, when was the last time you saw a female protagonist in a serious game that wasn't thin, and had small breasts?

maybe not serious, but Ayumi from X-Blades was actually pretty well balanced overall =P

You sure about that?

idk about him

but I'm sure

 

[The Heik]

Okay, so I "get" that some game developers went through a period of shameful exploration (or is it exploitation?) of the beautiful, round, over the shoulder boulder holders that the fairer sex taunts us with incessantly. But are people making TOO much of a big deal about it? Is it REALLY that offensive?

If you've seen the pictures of the "newly designed" Lara croft (made to look more "gritty, and emotionally realistic... the new fad in Hollywood and games), then you'll understand my sort of concern that we may be taking things too far in the other direction. To me, some characters are simply meant to look a certain way. It's part of their identity. If Wonder Woman was suddenly reduced to a B-cup, she would become odd looking, not familiar or comfortable. Lara, whom I have played as and enjoyed since the very first Tomb Raider... Ok yeah, those boobs weren't always tastefully presented, but while they were definitely eye candy for some, I don't feel that they overshadowed Lara's IDENTITY as a character. She was still this super smart, super savvy, super kick ass first true super heroine of video games that could turn you on as quickly as she could snap your neck.
Does the redesign really need to turn her into an emo-looking, angsty, Twilight saga reject? Even more to the point... All of this talk of turning her into an emotional, slightly insecure, horror movie survival type girl who at first cries and shivers and acts desperately and then is stronger for it leaves me a bit concerned. I'm all for deeper characters, but is the answer to her being a "sex" symbol to take her the complete opposite direction and make her severely "vulnerable?" Lara, while buxom was always a rather strong feminine character, and while I'm sure there is some merit to the argument that she (as a role model) might have encouraged those unrealistic expectations of the female form, trying to turn her into an "every woman" type character doesn't exactly feel as if it's going to accomplish much either, other than to make a large number of insecure women who don't like being reminded of how physically inadequate they might be compared to other girls feel a bit vindicated.

So what say you, Escapist community? Is the "big boobs", "women as visual sexual objects" stuff truly as relevant as it's being made out to be, or should we stop being so sensitive about the whole issue?

Jiggle Boobs. They are ALWAYS worth it.

OT: While yes Lara Croft is and always will be a sex-symbol (and now evidently a graduate of the Metroid Other M school of the emotional wheel), people always seem to forget that both genders have been idealized/archetyped, and as much as people complain about either one, those classes are still ridiculously popular. This is because games have nearly always been about appealing to our inner desires and ambitions. We want to be those superhuman individuals, those "perfect beings" who always end up victorious, and to put anything else would break that dream. If we were to replace amazonian Lara with a your average treasure hunter (no not Nathan Drake), no one would play it, because that's not what they want to do. They want a perfection, because that's what they want to be.

 

[Nimcha]

As long as 90% of the male protagonists in games are big burly men with gritty voices in power armor, I do not think this is a valid concern.

 

[Gigano]

Well crying about that it exist in general is just stupid, if it's any kind of a problem don't look for it.

Complaining if "big boobs" etc. start to overshadow or replace characterization, personality, and/or other traits, skills, and merits in products which otherwise had those qualities to its characters and storyline is another matter though.

So the "Oh dear god, female sexuality, I'm so offended"-angle is pretty laughable, while the "hey, didn't she used to have a personality and wider purpose, and when did she take up water melon smuggling for a living?"-angle to it can hold merit to it at times.

"Oversexualization" is just one of the potential ways to ruin a character, storyline, or fictional universe, there are plenty of other ways, and it doesn't always work against (Lara Croft) or can even benefit (Bayonetta) the character and setting. So make it a potential and proportional quality concern along with all other forms of simplification or cheap shots, it's nothing more and nothing less.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Because big boobs are best boobs...

Do you honestly believe that? While I would generally agree that I favor larger breasts over smaller breasts, there is definitely a tipping point somewhere around the D-cup size. Yes it catches my eye but I find myself wondering about the mechanics of it as often as not (i.e. do they throw the person off balance, do they cause back pain, etc).

As far as I'm concerned, after you hit a C there really isn't anything to be gained. God forbid you find someone with DD or larger. As the saying goes anything more than a handful is a waste. What are you going to do with the rest? Convince your partner to let you use them as speed bags?