Poll: Let's Get Some Honesty, Shall We? (Regarding Big Breasts/Sexy Female Game Characters)

[Abomination]

I really don't give a shit but I'm not who they're aimed at. They're aimed at people who do like that sort of thing and they rely on the fact that it's not going to effect me negatively.

I'm honestly quite numb to attractive females in games. The "hottest" females I can recall are the dwarf princess and the lizardwoman princess in Dragon Commander - and that's because they're not stereotypically attractive. The dwarf is short and very curvy with the sexy secretary thing going on whereas the lizardwoman princess has exotic down pat... if one can ignore the scales, forked tongue and rows of sharp teeth.

In the end I view the whole debacle as people fashioning a storm in a teacup. There's just as much of this in almost any other visual medium. Why are most actresses attractive? Because we enjoy looking at pretty things. Why not apply it to video games?

 

[floppylobster]

What is sexually attractive is as varied to an individual as what people find funny. So when a developer tries for sexy by just adding big tits then it can be a hit for just as many people as it is a miss. If they just establish a character and let the player fall in love with them (if they're that way inclined) then it is far more successful and admirable than aiming for the typical teenage male demographic. That stuff is not subtle and somewhat embarrassing when you look back on it when you're older. (It does nothing for the games are art debate either).

Even to equate big breasts with sexy, as in the original poll question, is not acknowledging the perspective of a large part of the the potential audience for video games. I think the Dead of Alive volleyballs games are a classic example. They may have sold enough to make sequels but the people who buy those games are of a certain type. They're not buying them for the volleyball and nor is anybody else. My answer is I cannot stand them. It just feels cheap, lazy, manipulative.

 

[faefrost]

Sexy is good. But a diversity of sexy is better. Women come in all sorts of sizes and shapes. Sexy is fine, big breasted is fine, even occasionally impractical or downright slutty outfits are fine. But context is everything. The problem with Dragons Crown isn't simply the size of the characters breasts (which to be honest are so oversized to be into the territory of grotesque and disconcerting) It is also the really really creepy motion of them. Which makes you wonder exactly how the guy doing the character designs and animations perceives females of the species?

beautiful woman? Sure! Big Boobs? Why not? Also throw in some small medium and whatever! Short tall, skinny, curvy. All are great for games. Just treat the subject with a bit of respect and class. Would you enjoy playing a game where the characters balls were the size of engine blocks and kept slapping against his knees as he ran? How about every game? At what point would the joke wear off and it just seem stupid? Now look at our friends the female gamers.

 

[WanderingFool]

Is there a "I really find it hard to give a shit about it one way or the other" option?

*Edit*

Well, actually, thats not completely true. While I dont care about it on the more basic level of "will this make me not want to play this game?", I do care about it on a level of "well, thats just unnessecary..." in some more extreme cases. But like I said, just because the sorceress has huge breasts or the Amazon has massive thighs, wont make me not want to play as either of those characters.

 

[Yuuki]

So far "prefer them that way" (17.5%) + "do not prefer, but not offended/upset" (62.1%) = 79.5%.

Some faith in the Escapist community has been restored.

So only 20.5% of us can't understand that game development studios being almost entirely male combined with gamer/nerd demographics being dominantly male is absolutely relevant to the current situation. That's a lot fewer than I had thought, thank goodness.

Is there a "I really find it hard to give a shit about it one way or the other" option?

Might as well put your vote for "prefer them that way" then, if you don't give a shit then you wouldn't mind seeing sexy fantasy women absolutely everywhere! Tee hee

On a more serious note, yeah this poll could definitely do with a "Don't care" option. It is a little biased since 2 out of 3 options support "do not prefer".

I prefer game characters to be sexy and have large breasts. It's fantasy for me and it's something I like.

BTW, I also have a young, attractive, intelligent girlfriend and a healthy sex life

I can respect that, but if my boss walks past my monitor while your avatar is doing...that...I'll have shit to explain :S

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I don't mind big breasts or sexy female characters, I do welcome them in fact. I like breasts in all shapes and sizes.

For example, the breasts of the sorceress from Dragon's Crown are way bigger than they should be. I seem to ignore them completely because you have more important things to focus on while playing.

 

[Laser Priest]

I'm not exactly out decrying it in the streets or writing shock articles for gaming websites about it, but I still think (at least in the case of Dragon's Crown) it's just lame.

Sexy characters are okay, as long as there is more too them, and their appeal isn't used as a selling point. That said, nothing about the designs in Dragon's Crown are remotely sexy. They just look awful. I haven't paid any mind to this game to really see if the designs were used as a selling point, but in my opinion, the designs are thoroughly awful-looking. The art style itself isn't bad, but I think only the Elf character has anything resembling proportions. The rest look simply ridiculous. I'm not offended by the sexualization of the others; I'm offended that I am expected to find them sexy.

I think the thing the designers need to learn is that women can be attractive without having breasts bigger than their head and that giving them personalities might be better than giving them skimpy outfits.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Depends on the design and the fiction. But sometimes the designs are a bit... WTF...

 

[Eddie the head]

I frankly don't give a shit. I am trying to find something else to say to this, but I can't come up with a fraction of enthusiasm for the topic. I am more motivated to tell people I don't care about the topic then the topic it's self. That's how much I don't care.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

Maybe every other 15-30 year old male gamer is too busy licking his screen while playing Dead or Alive to care, but I doubt it.

Wow way to generalise I like Dead or Alive (well 2,3 and 5 anyway) I dont remember licking the screen though also know who I main? Ayane yup a chick. I also play Soul Calibur I play Siegfried in that but I suppose I should be playing Ivy since shes somehow the face of SC now, most people think SC = Ivy anyway it seems.

I tend to think Misturugi when I think of Soul Calibur. My favorite character and who I'm the most competent playing. xD I always thought Ivy a bit on the ugly side. :/

I don't personally have a problem with over exaggerated features. Do I want them? Certainly not. Acually, I prefer women with breast in the medium-to-small range. The new Lara Croft is a perfect example, actually. [sub]Dem eyes...[/sub]

As far as I'm concerned, devs are free to do as they like with their games. If I like it, I like it. If not, someone else does.

 

[Tono Makt]

There are two times when boobs offend me in artwork.

1) Boobs for the sake of boobs. Alice Eve in Star Trek: Into Darkness is an example of an offensive boob shot. Not because boobs offend me - they don't, I loves me some boobies - but because the scene was stupid. I would have had no problems whatsoever if Rachel Nichols (Green chick) had been topless in Star Trek 2009 - she was making out, in the dark, with Kirk, it would be entirely plausible for her to have her shirt off. Alice Eve in her bra and panties had no relevance at all for the scene, which makes it nothing more than blatant sexplotiation. (The writers and director have apologized for leaving the scene in the movie) It offends me because it says that the creators of the artwork in question believe that they can raise my enjoyment of their artwork simply by flashing a pair of tits on the screen.

2) A LACK of boobs when there should be boobs. See: Nearly every (non-Cable) TV show/PG-13/Soft "R" rated movie with a sex scene where the woman is on top, riding him hard and passionately... and she's still got her bra on. And her skirt. And her shoes. Or there is a dark screen with the sounds of passionate lovemaking coming to a climax, then the light is turned on and she's wearing her bra still. Passionate love scene without boobs offends my sensibilities as well, as they are normally saying that the creators think that I will be offended by the mere sight of a boob, so they simply won't show them when there is a situation which pretty much requires them.


There are always exceptions, and there are always going to be places of disagreement - as an example, I'd say that the boobs in Starship Troopers weren't gratuitous due to the nature of the military that is presented in the movie. Quite a few people find the entire situation is just a way to justify seeing Dina Meyer's boobs. (twice!)

 

[DeltaStrata]

Poll results: Most people don't care, which I take to mean tits/not-tits aren't what they play games for to begin with. I think it'd be interesting to see the gender breakdown on that, though.

Me, I like me some titillation in games. Certain games. Games I play when I want titillation. But when I don't want titillation, unnecessary boobs are unnecessary, normal ladies plz.

 

[DeltaStrata]

See: Nearly every (non-Cable) TV show/PG-13/Soft "R" rated movie with a sex scene where the woman is on top, riding him hard and passionately... and she's still got her bra on.

Erm...that does happen, you know. Tits being out is not a necessary condition for intercourse.

 

[Ikasury]

*shrugs* as funny as it is seeing all this hullabaloo about the BB-Spellcaster and Amazon with probably the most chiseled ass i've ever seen (and i've studied greek statues XD) but for all the bitching about those two, why is no one complaining about the dwarf's overly-rediculously ripped-ness and that other fighter dude that looks like he can crush anything with one ab? (and he's got like a billion of them XD)

i'm just saying, if we're gonna be nit-picky about the art style of the overly sexualized character designs, why not pick on the male ones too? oh they don't jiggle, they're just rock-solid GRRRR!! on toothpick calves *snickers* its weird that i probably find that more offensive the the casters jiggly-gainaxing-jugs or the amazon's buns-of-literal-steel XD i mean those two i can laugh at, the dwarf i can laugh at too, but the fighter dude just sets off my squik-dar *shrugs* maybe i just have a thing against over-ripping-of-muscles XD

i mean really i find the whole art style beautiful in its own way and the caricature designs amuse me because really, its just taking the 'generic' class ideas and over-exagerating them, its hilarious XD though it is kinda funny the one i really like is probably the only one not 'overly exagerated' but that's kinda joke in itself, Elves are generally androgynous, suppose its interesting just to be able to tell its female *snickers* and a relatively decently designed and proportional female that's not overly gainaxing or sporting thunder-thighs...

so really, for all this bitching i just really don't get it, both genders are overly sexualized in these characters, jokingly and in caricature fashion appropriately, and there's a neutral representative~ so... what's the bitching for? ._.?

*shrugs*

 

[MrHide-Patten]

And alas it looks as though I'm the only person that likes jubbliee's, if my recent devianART contribution was any more of an indication towards that I don't know what is. Butwhilst I do like the mammary glands on the large side, I do like a girl that's evenly weighted.

At the end of the day I remember a character with a better personality and presence.

 

[Defenestra]

The answer I want is not on the poll.

"Yes, I like breasts. Within a certain size range, because there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Also, hypersexualizing characters can get really creepy, really fast, and that it is disproportionately female characters who are handled in this way does not strike me as a good sign."

 

[lacktheknack]

Where's the middle ground of "In all honesty, they irritate me but not to the point of rage"?

I don't have a problem with characters having big breasts. I'm a Tomb Raider fan. However, in Tomb Raider, no made a big deal out of her breasts. They were just... there.

And frankly, my annoyance mostly stems out of a lack of interesting females and frustration with the idiotic excuses I'm given ("Oh, I can't write a good female, because I'm male and don't have the right frame of reference" YOU MASSIVE SEXIST TWAT). So in exchange, I'm given... bigger boobs.

No thanks.

 

[Ikasury]

Sexy females are overused, sure. I'd like more ugly and monstrous females. (Along with females who are stupid, lazy and evil. These traits are almost overwhelmingly given to males)

But sexy females are not offensive to me (and it wouldn't matter if they were). I certainly enjoy quite a few games with sexy females in them, but I can't say the sexiness itself was a major draw, but I don't know for sure. Perhaps I'm being disingenuous.

To me, Bayonetta and Dante from Devil May Cry are of similar sexiness, but I'm only actually attracted to one of them... and it isn't the one with big boobs. So, *shrug*

Cheers!

i agree with that last point... OG Dante, just something about him~

as for the first, 'sexy female' is really just a generic 'type' nowadays, like the 'damsel' its not even really a 'person' just an object... but then again i suppose all those poor MALE mooks that get nothing beyond a general model have no real 'person' to them either, their purpose is to be the thing between point A and B that bugs you and gets in your way, so i suppose 'sexy female' is just there for her namesake... and i suppose 'sexy male' variation is occasionally there, or mingled with the intended hero-person *shrugs*

i too would like to see more variety... and less giant boobs that defy gravity, seriously only Tsunade pulls off boobs of steel trope right, and really, Morrigan from DA:O is one of my fave female support characters and she's got like, no boobs XD Elle and Tiny Tina from boarderlands are also some of my favorite chikas, they're funny, but i kinda don't want to see them become a trope, too many ruins the fun, ya know~

 

[Rebel_Raven]

I like boobs. I like big boobs, and I cannot lie! I like the Sorceress' boobs, but they're at a limit of it, with the amount of focus on them, though.

I recognize sex sells. I'm okay with it so long as the game doesn't depend on it when it's not a sex/sexy game.
That, said, however, it doesn't need to be the norm! I'm okay with small boobs (aka, variety!). The female player character option in monster hunter's character creation is damn near flat chested to me, but I have no problem with it!

I also take the time to sculpt boobs in games that will let me, in hopes of finding an aesthetically appealing ratio of boob to body.
I doubt i'm alone as a person on this one, gender be damned.

I'm not in a position to have moral high ground, or disdain for people who like boobs. Of course how they express it can come into question. <.<
I'm also understanding of why people don't like boobs as much as I do, though!
Lack of empathy for the other side, IMO, is part of the problem here. Not just for the people who take offense at big boobs, but the people who don't take offense at big boobs.

What bothers me, when it comes to sexualized (Heck, they don't even have to be sexualized. <.<) characters is what the character is to the game, to the developer, and what is those characters do in game. And this goes for males, or females, frankly.
Factors come in to play. Does the character have good writing? How good is the game? Just how much does the character do in the game? Does the sexuality have any purpose at all other than to sell a game?
It's no simple question, and there's no simple answer. Infact the poll doesn't really reflect my answer.
I'm actually kinda okay with sexuality, but there's limits of taste, and it shouldn't be the norm!

Heck, I've played Saints Row games in nothing but shoes, and socks as a female character for a while. Novelty wore off eventually, but still!