Poll: The clothes professional women wear on TV shows. Suitable for video games?

[Uhura]

Do you think that the outfits professional women wear in modern, female oriented TV shows could also work in western video games?

Here are a few examples. I specifically picked characters that could also appear in games, hence the abundance of detectives (instead of florists/teachers/etc.) Feel free to use your own examples.


Kate Beckett from Castle (NYPD homicide detective)

Spoiler

Temperance Brennan from Bones (Forensic anthropologist at the Smithsonian institute)

Spoiler

Abbie Mills from Sleepy Hollow (Lieutenant, Westchester County PD)

Spoiler

Catherine Chandler from Beauty & the Beast (NYPD homicide detective)

Spoiler

EDIT:
Additional question: What type of clothing would you like to see female characters wear in video games?
EDIT 2:
The examples relate mostly to games that are set in modern times, but you can apply the basic idea (professional looking) also to more fantastical settings.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

You mean, like... normal clothing? Sure they could work, but publishers would worry about that 5% drop in sales from the pocket-mining demographic. So look forward to more ridiculously-revealing, nonsensical clothing designs.

Spoiler: Boob window ahoy!

 

[mecegirl]

You mean, like... normal clothing?

I just have to say that you took the words from my brain. I agree with the rest of your statements as well.

To the OP. Those clothes could work just fine depending on the genre of the game. If it were set in the future or space it wouldn't work, but you wouldn't want to use contemporary styled clothes for stories set in such places anyway.

 

[Uhura]

You mean, like... normal clothing?

Yeah. I feel like the question I proposed is a no-brainer but the recent gender threads (gave me an aneurysm) threw me off and I just have to check if people have issues with this concept.

To the OP. Those clothes could work just fine depending on the genre of the game. If it were set in the future or space it wouldn't work, but you wouldn't want to use contemporary styled clothes for stories set in such places anyway.

I think you could modify some of those outfits for futuristic/space settings (-> casual wear in Mass Effect games) but yeah, I was mainly talking about games set in contemporary times.

 

[mecegirl]

You mean, like... normal clothing?

Yeah. I feel like the question I proposed is a no-brainer but the recent gender threads (gave me an aneurysm) threw me off and I just have to check if people have issues with this concept.

This is the internet. I could see a situation where a female detective was dressed provocatively/unprofessionally/impractically, and a thread was made suggesting that they should be dressed in a similar fashion as the examples you gave. It wouldn't take long for someone to compare it to covering her up in a burqua. Because this is the internet and that happens.

 

[Uhura]

This is the internet. I could see a situation where a female detective was dressed provocatively/unprofessionally/impractically, and a thread was made suggesting that they should be dressed in a similar fashion as the examples you gave. It wouldn't take long for someone to compare it to covering her up in a burqua. Because this is the internet and that happens.

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if that happened in this thread. I think one problem with many of the gender threads is that sexualized women are the starting point of the discussion which then determines the entire trajectory of the discussion (= people "taking away" the sexualization). I'm hoping that a thread which starts with more sensible outfits avoids some of the drama found in the other threads..

 

[Vegosiux]

For contemporary times, that's perfectly fine and would be my preference. Different settings would of course require different choice of attire, but I will note that futuristic interpretations often turn out to be pretty funny...when the future arrives. I'll quote Douglas Adams on this one:

"Zeerust: the particular kind of datedness which afflicts things that were originally designed to look futuristic."

Like, I don't know, how a few decades ago, according to fiction in the 90s, people would wear pocketless silvery form-fitting clothing all over the place and stuff.

Like this is supposed to be commonplace in 1997:

 

[Wraith]

--snip--

Yes. They are no different from the clothing some male characters wear. A hoodie, a jacket, a sweater, though plain is really no big deal for gaming. Some of my favorite game characters wear average clothes. For example:

Spoiler: Alex Mercer

Spoiler: Alan Wake

Spoiler: Cole Macgrath

As for your bonus question, I can't say I care much about what a woman wears in my video games just as long as it goes with the setting and doesn't distract from the tone. For example, I wouldn't be able to take a Max Payne style shooter with a female lead seriously if said female lead was only wearing a tube top and booty shorts the entire times she mopes about her husband and child being dead.

 

[Auron225]

When I read the thread title, my first thought was fashion shows and strange shit they wear on those;

Spoiler: stuff like this

"You mean, like, for a JRPG? Sure. No weirder than whatever anyone else is wearing"

OT: Yeah that stuff you showed works well; so long as it works with the setting that is.

 

[Smeatza]

I don't get this thread.

Could these type of clothes work in video games?
Do you think that the outfits professional women wear in modern, female oriented TV shows could also work in western video games?

You mean, like... normal clothing? Sure they could work

To the OP. Those clothes could work.

Could? As if you've never seen professional outfits, on women, in video games?
Or are we talking about the specific outfits listed here?
I'm confused.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Err yeah? I mean some female characters are already wear normal looking clothings in some games anyway. Don't quote me on this asking for examples as it's no brainer which games have modern day clothing.
On the other hand, olden day clothing like medievil time is a different matter (e.g. Sophitia from Soul Calibur).

 

[softclocks]

I was about to say, most women already wear normal clothing in most video-games set in contemporary, average our-world.

 

[Bertylicious]

I dunno, I kind of like pocket mining and boob windows. Maybe it would be better if all the blokes had to have boob windows, arseless chaps and anorexia?

 

[Ubiquitous Duck]

I believe they already do and will continue to do so?

I am confused by the question.

Sure, it is not universal or maybe to the extent it should be (such as the instances of unnecessary clothing choices in games), but I don't think you can ask whether the gaming industry is ready for women to just wear normal clothes. Surely the answer should be: 'They already do'. Not 'yes', 'no' or 'maybe'.

 

[josemlopes]

Those shows all take place in the average normal world, and most games that take place in that same average normal world do have clothing like that. Any GTA game basicly.

 

[Uhura]

I'm confused.

I am confused by the question.

Yeah, some women already wear professional outfits in video games. The reason why I made the thread was that some recurring comments in gender/sexism related threads gave me the impression that there is some kind of resistance to this type of character design in games (the whole "too bad, sex sells/ do you want to dress her in a burqua?/ do female characters have to be ugly & obese to stop the gender wars??" commentary). I mean, surely the easiest way to solve some of the ongoing drama would be giving female characters more realistic/professional clothing? Most of my examples relate to modern settings but you can easily take the basic concept (professional looking) and apply it to more fantastical settings.

To me it just feels like this idea somehow drowns out in the ongoing discussions. There is a lot of "well women like to wear sexy clothes and that makes them feel empowered" and very little "well women like to wear professional clothing and that makes them feel empowered".

(Damn, I feel like I butchered my OP. Never post threads on a whim in the middle of the night! Sorry for any confusion.)

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

Yeah, I'm not quite sure of the point of this thread, but you did post a picture of Stana Katic, so it ain't all bad. (note to self: remember to watch Castle)

I do think sexism's an endemic and pervasive problem, but I think most moderately savvy people will, by now, conclude that 'whatever works for the game' is the only thing you can say about character design/aesthetics. I'm also struggling to think of any game in my collection that actually features 'professional, empowering' clothes - and I'm also not sure how that might relate to most genre games.


Apropos clothes for female characters in general: FemShep's N7 dress has always bugged the hell out of me in ME3... Sod the kerfuffle over the ending, why the hell would FemShep need an N7 LBD? For spec-ops cocktail parties?

 

[AntiChri5]

A characters clothes have to meet three requirements for me.

They have to:

1 Suit the character.

2 Suit the setting.

3 Fit the context.

I am fine with characters wearing sexualised outfits where appropriate. Isabella in DA2 wears a very sexualised outfit, and that is fine because she is an extremely sexual individual. Another BioWare character, Miranda, is a walking joke, costume wise. Her stupid catsuit doesn't suit the character, she is cold standoffish and professional, something more along the lines of a lab coat or business suit would be much more appropriate for her non-combat attire. It most definitely doesn't fit the context. She runs into battle in places exposed to space in high heels, skin tight spandex and a silly little plastic cup on her face while others wear full combat armour with sealed helmets and combat boots. No, bad developers. Bad!

 

[Uhura]

I'm also struggling to think of any game in my collection that actually features 'professional, empowering' clothes - and I'm also not sure how that might relate to most genre games.

Well, I'd say Shepard's armor fits the bill. That's something a pro space soldier would probably wear. I'm not referring to any elaborate outfits. Just basic stuff a person in a certain profession would wear. A warrior would have an armor, a cop would have an uniform etc. (And they probably wouldn't wear the smutty Halloween versions of said outfits).