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

[The Lugz]

Hah, well there you have it.

most people don't care because they're fantasy characters ( and or insert other reason )
and a similar amount of gamers love and hate 'exaggerated aesthetics'

basically what the gaming industry says, there is no way to win.

personally i'd like to see more generalised and less exaggerated characters that are still attractive ( if that is the goal of the design )
dragon's crown or whatever it's called ( i care so much ) and similar stupidly broken or deformed characters should just go away. it isn't sexy it isn't funny and it's kind of gross. look at the sorcerer from the side.. her spine is at a z angle and her tits jiggle like a pair of balloons being tossed around... it's not even logical.
i'm ok with generally plain or 'ugly' characters so long as the entire game isn't painful to look at! borderlands is a perfect example of this, body image varies all over the place in that game yet it's still good.

 

[Kargathia]

I certainly enjoy sexy characters, and love a good pair of tits.

It's just that I don't think chainmail bikini's and F+ cups are sexy. They vary between ridiculous, and downright ugly. Not to mention I feel dirty playing things that are so crudely trying to pander to me.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

I voted can't stand because it was probably the closest to my actual answer out of the options given.

I'll say this right off the bat, I don't care if there's sexy characters or characters with large breasts. That alone doesn't bother me. What does bother me is how they present that character to the audience, what reasons there are for a skimpy appearance, and how prevalent those characters are in both the game and games in general.

It might be a bit vague what I mean by how they deliver the character, but basically what I mean is how they expect the audience to react to them. For instance, in a game where they give frequent glamour shots or throw them into erotic positions it's clear who they expect the player to be, a straight guy (Leaving out lesbians because often there's quite a bit of difference between the tastes of straight guys and lesbians and I'm preetty sure that lesbians aren't in their target audience when they consider putting it into the game). It's not just glamour shots either, there's plenty of other more subtle ways to treat the character as an object of attraction to the player

Also, this is a bit of a sidenote, but how many characters are there that have large breasts but aren't presented at all sexually? I'm curious, because I've heard people say that you shouldn't have an issue with large breasted characters because women in the real world have large breasts, so why can't they be represented (This much I absolutely agree with). But I've got to say I almost never see them on a character who isn't used for titilation, let alone ones that actually dress conservatively

 

[Lilani]

If we ignore the attitudes and such behind the whole debate, I find such designs thoroughly unappealing. When you have an otherwise normal female character in an otherwise non-weird setting wearing in an outfit made up of about half a cat worth of material, it comes across as extremely forced. In a combat scenario, dress your female character like this:

Spoiler: Lieutenant Mira from Space Marine

And not like this:

Spoiler: Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII

Basically, I like it when the outfits match with the setting. Skimpy is fine in the Dead or Alive Volleyball games, but not so good in a combat situation.

I'm tempted to give Final Fantasy a pass on this, or at least not condemn them for this, because they don't do this to just females. Both sexes get ridiculous outfits that are not fit for combat. It's sort of their thing--aesthetics and fashion above all.

Spoiler

[/img]http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101110151706/finalfantasy/images/6/68/Dissidia_Kuja.png[/img]

So, yeah. The Final Fantasy games may not be prone to making combat-ready armor, but at least they do it equally to both sexes.

OT: To me, the "big deal" is that it's just transparent and unnecessary. There are parts of Mass Effect that really affected me, but every time I think of the game as a whole I feel a tinge of cynicism and ire against Samara's ridiculous outfit and Miranda's ass cam. [http://i39.tinypic.com/9as2hd.jpg] It just seems really out of place in a game that otherwise treats itself with a general amount of respect. In the Final Fantasy games I'm willing to forgive it because there are no other parts of the game that set the bar higher--everybody is dressed ridiculously, so that ridiculousness taking the form of ridiculous sexiness doesn't phase me. But in a game like Mass Effect where in every other aspect it strives for realism and practicality over pure aesthetics, having two such blatant exceptions to the rule is just out of place and disappointing.

 

[Strain42]

To me, big boobs are a tool in design, and like any tool they can be mishandled and misused. And this isn't strictly a woman thing, things like overly large biceps can be misused on guy characters as well. A character's attractiveness comes from the sum of its parts in a way where they all work together and create something visually appealing.

Do I like big boobs? Yes, I'm a boob man. I'm not going to even try to cover that up. I am attracted to large breasts.

But when poorly implemented into a design, they stop being sexy and just become unnerving.

So yes, I like big boobs. Yes, I like sexy character designs.

But big boobs don't automatically make a character sexy. Sometimes it's just weird.

Lulu from FFX is someone I consider to be a good example of a character who is sexy, and whose sexiness just so happens to be enhanced by also having an ample bosom.

Something like the Dragon's Crown Sorceress...isn't. It just comes across as big boobs for big boobs sake (like Yahtzee says, you can talk about it being satirical or ironic all you want, but you know someone out there is getting off to it right now)

 

[grey_space]

Look, I'm a heterosexual male, I like boobs of all shapes and sizes. The problem is that lots of games go for "Tits are your motivation" and that annoys me greatly. Give me a reason to love the person behind those ridiculously over-sized funbags.
.
Although there is a limit. I don't care if you managed to give Ivy the most compelling backstory in any medium on this Earth, the fact that her globes should have their own orbit, the size that they are just throws me off completely.

I Kinda agree. I'm not a big fan of Big titted character design for no real reason. It just makes me feel a little uncomfortable and patronised, like the only reason I'm playing is because of the big boobs.

I played through the latest Tomb Raider games and didn't once really become aware of Lara as a sexual creature. Because she wasn't, in my opinion. The only time I mentally commented on her body at all was when she did the first climbing sequence and that was more of a 'fuck, she's agile'.

As for a lot of the female characters on DOA and SK....no thanks.

 

[Snotnarok]

She's one of a a few characters, so it's kind of silly to take issue with it when you don't have to pick her.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I am indifferent to big boobs in games, if I want to look at big boobs especially I'll ring your sister. I'll watch porn.

 

[Da Orky Man]

If we ignore the attitudes and such behind the whole debate, I find such designs thoroughly unappealing. When you have an otherwise normal female character in an otherwise non-weird setting wearing in an outfit made up of about half a cat worth of material, it comes across as extremely forced. In a combat scenario, dress your female character like this:

Spoiler: Lieutenant Mira from Space Marine

And not like this:

Spoiler: Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII

Basically, I like it when the outfits match with the setting. Skimpy is fine in the Dead or Alive Volleyball games, but not so good in a combat situation.

I'm tempted to give Final Fantasy a pass on this, or at least not condemn them for this, because they don't do this to just females. Both sexes get ridiculous outfits that are not fit for combat. It's sort of their thing--aesthetics and fashion above all.

Spoiler

[/img]http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101110151706/finalfantasy/images/6/68/Dissidia_Kuja.png[/img]

So, yeah. The Final Fantasy games may not be prone to making combat-ready armor, but at least they do it equally to both sexes.

OT: To me, the "big deal" is that it's just transparent and unnecessary. There are parts of Mass Effect that really affected me, but every time I think of the game as a whole I feel a tinge of cynicism and ire against Samara's ridiculous outfit and Miranda's ass cam. [http://i39.tinypic.com/9as2hd.jpg] It just seems really out of place in a game that otherwise treats itself with a general amount of respect. In the Final Fantasy games I'm willing to forgive it because there are no other parts of the game that set the bar higher--everybody is dressed ridiculously, so that ridiculousness taking the form of ridiculous sexiness doesn't phase me. But in a game like Mass Effect where in every other aspect it strives for realism and practicality over pure aesthetics, having two such blatant exceptions to the rule is just out of place and disappointing.

I actually thought about that as well before posted, but then realised that I dislike it when done to male characters just as much. I never really got into games with that kind of art style, I prefer a more muted approach. Though I still like the 40k massive pauldron thing for some reason.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

I picked the "it doesn't offend me" option, but really it's a tad more complicated for me. I don't mind them, and they're not a deal-breaker, but they can get really annoying. Especially if the game tries to (sometimes literally) shove them in face.

 

[Mikeyfell]

I don't prefer gigantic boobs and massive asses.
I prefer my vixens more...

Spoiler: streamlined

http://agarest.ghostlight.uk.com/images/characters/FYURIA.png[img][/spoiler]

Hourglass figures are all fine and good but if you go beyond a C-cup that's just overkill.

The title is a bit misleading are we supposed to be talking about sexy character models in general, or big boobs specifically?

The thing about Dragon's Crown that I don't get is what people want? (Because I think it's to complain about something)

I (Haven't played) but I've seen gameplay footage from Dragon's Crown and the characters aren't really... um... characters. They're hitboxes with a move set. They don't have personalities. None of them do. Not the males not the females so if people don't want the characters to be visibly engaging, and the nature of the game didn't make them emotional engaging. What do they want?

If all the characters looked like
[spoiler=this][img]http://www.jenndaly.com/digital/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/pic4.png

The game wouldn't be very interesting would it?

 

[Something Amyss]

Specifically: is it REALLY that big of a deal for a female character to be designed with a sexy figure?

Wait, are we still talking Dragon's Crown? I find most of those designs to be gross.

Look, there's a few issues with the phrasing here, which others have at least somewhat covered.

1. People are rarely talking about just being "sexy."

There's a ton of attractive women in games who get no or little backlash. I'm sure there's that one feminist out there who actually wants to burn down ALL THE GAMES, but for the most part, it's not about attractive women (or people in general).

2. It's the context.

Hitman: AbFab has come up a lot lately on this. And the fact is, I doubt stripper nuns would raise many eyebrows if not for the whole "let's strip off our disguises right before we use an RPG in an attempt to kill someone!" thing. Let's face it, sexy women aren't a problem.

Placing them in games as setpieces or solely for sexualisation purposes? Kind of a problem.

3.

To have big bouncing breasts that jiggle with every step she takes?

It's kinda...not just that. People are bothered by her poledancing, or whatever. The Amazon apparently does some deliberately sexual stuff, too.

You're oversimplifying this to the point of a completely different argument.

Are game designers completely missing the mark by continuing to design female characters that way? Or are they actually justified in doing so because a lot of people like it?

That depends. A lot of gamers were pissed off by the description of Dragon's Crown as pure adolescent fantasy. It obviously sells, which makes me think they're not off the mark. But people enjoying adolescent fantasy then crying about it seems ridiculous to me.

When women exist in games primarily or solely as sexual pandering, yeah, that's a problem.

That's the reality of the situation you're asking about, but not the question you asked. As such, I haven't responded to the poll.

 

[Psychobabble]

I would personally love to see far more body type customization options for both sexes in video games. But at the same time I'm not offended by the current over-stylized exaggerations of both male and female game avatars. Expecting absolute reality from superficial escapist fantasy is completely absurd.

 

[RJ 17]

That's the reality of the situation you're asking about, but not the question you asked. As such, I haven't responded to the poll.

Actually I'm pretty sure the question asked boils down to "Do you like sexy/curvaceous female characters in games? Yes? No? Or Don't Care?" As the topic title implies: I'm looking for honest answers...specifically to see how many escapists out there actually PREFER scantily clad and well endowed female characters. In truth I think the "I really don't care" option winning by a landslide so far is pretty telling, and is giving me exactly the answer that I'm looking for: it's NOT that big of a deal to most people.

You're reading a bit too much into a rather simple question, as I already know it's the objectification factor that pisses people off, not necessarily the fact that any characters in question are voluptuous.

 

[TehCookie]

I personally dislike them because they fall right into the uncanny valley. People do not have boobs that huge, and most people with huge boobs are fat, not thin. When you go that over the top it's ridiculous. Not to mention jiggle physics look painful. I do not like my boobs to jiggle, that's why I wear a bra. If someone else likes titty monsters, whatever floats their boat. I don't find them offensive, just hideous.

 

[LiberalSquirrel]

I voted for the third option, but my opinion's a little more complicated. See, big boobs don't offend me at all. I have a pretty sizable chest myself, so if I was immediately offended if someone had anything over a C-cup, I'd be one confused lady. The problem I have isn't when female characters have big boobs... nor is it even when they're presented as sexy. My problem is when games cross the line from "this lady is good-looking" to, say, "this lady is nothing but an object here for your entertainment" (e.g. - objectification, or not creating a character beyond "a lady with big boobs" despite her nominally being a main character) or "this lady is wearing nothing but pasties and a thong despite fighting on the front lines against men in plate armor" (e.g. - my suspended disbelief crashing to the ground because of how differently the genders are getting treated).

And I have a whole 'nother problem when the main marketing tool or camera angle around a female character is "HEY LOOK AT THESE BOOBS." Because there's nothing that alienates me quicker than a game trying to shove in my face (nearly literally, in some cases) that I'm nowhere near its target audience. I mean, really, I'm pretty sure people can notice that a gal has a chest without the camera going spelunking in her cleavage.

Moral of the story? I'm not bothered by sexy characters or big boobed characters, in and of themselves. I'm bothered by how they're treated in the medium.

 

[immortalfrieza]

I downright despise scantily clad unrealistically big breasted women in video games and I'm a straight male. Not only do I hate the fact that these kinda women tend to have the personality of a rock, but because their entire look isn't sexy, it's just disgusting to me. I don't know about everybody else, but I greatly prefer women to have realistic proportions and enough clothing to leave at least a few things to the imagination.

 

[The_Echo]

I really like the tweet Jesse Cox made concerning this topic.

Have we asked any large breasted women what they think about boobs in video games before we say "they're unnatural and upsetting"?#JustSayin

I don't have much to add on that front. Anyway.

In these sorts of discussions, it always feels like people are implying every single game to ever exist has oversexualized women and quite frankly, that's so beyond incorrect it's almost funny. There are a lot of fucking games out there. For every Dragon's Crown Sorceress, there's five of Uncharted's Elena Fisher. Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they don't exist. And even if it were the case that every girl in gaming had D-cups, we should want more effort put into the character, not the design. Because that's the thing that actually matters.

[sigh and shrug for infinity]

Me personally? I don't put too much focus on a character's design. If I like 'em, I like 'em. If I don't, I don't. And I move on and keep playing the game. That's what the devs wanted to do; why should I say they're wrong for doing so? It's their game, not mine.

As long as it doesn't stand out against the general aesthetic of the game, I tend to have no problem with any character's design. (Except for Final Fantasy X's Seymour. I mean, Jesus, who greenlit that hair?)

 

[TheCommanders]

Sexy? I'm fine with. This... uhg... it's not even attractive; it makes me think these people have horrible cancerous growths all over their bodies, and I'm not just talking about the women. Am I the only one who thinks that all the art for this game looks terrible? I get that it's supposed to be super stylized, but that seems like more of a cheap cop out any time any of the models end up looking misshapen or ugly. Also, I find it strange that the witch's magic extends to switching which side of her dress is open depending on which side is facing the camera. Seriously developers? Were you that desperate that we see her leg at all times? I'm not really offended, just... annoyed that they think this is appealing to anyone (and even more annoyed that they're probably right).

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

I don't find that sexy, more grotesque, really, and I'd rather not see more of it, but it seems huge jiggly breasts are quite popular, so I guess I'm out of luck.