The cover art for Elder Scrolls: Arena is embarassing.

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Oh God, look at this disgusting box art! It's like some pervy girl's sordid dream. Don't boys and young men have enough pressure put on them to conform to aesthetic ideals? This is basically pornography! It's so undermining! They could have had the guy wearing a nice sensible sweater, a cardigan maybe, but noooooo, it had to be pecs out for the girls. What kind of sick female chauvinist do you think drew this pathetic fantasy scene? You can bet it wasn't a man.

That barbarian posted really falls completely short of objectifying men.

The guy looks powerful and strong. His posture and stance show that he doesn't need no freaking armour to beat that skeleton and bird-thing.

The Elder Scrolls woman however isn't posturing like that at all. She's posing, she's thrusting out her tits and ass so we can all get a nice good look at them.

Now if you want to see objectified men, have a look:

Spoiler: This is objectifying men

They're not even showing the faces of these guys...

You forgot to mention they're all written by WOMEN.

And this point is relevant how?

You don't see anything wrong with that? That these man-objectifying books are also written solely by women as most of those "romance" novels that objectify men are? That these books feed into the stereotypes of how men should be/look/act? That isn't relevant? Wow...

 

[Baneat]

What?

Okay, from now on, everypony in RPGs will be completely naked.
That way noone dies.

Everybody? This isn't the first time I've seen people insert pony instead of body in a strange way ; what's going on here?

 

[LilithSlave]

You're criticizing the boxart of a game that was released 17 years ago...

And there's nothing wrong with that. The Escapist didn't exist then. So it's time it got it's commentary on it's flaws. Just like various people like to mock Custer's Revenge on it's sexist silliness.

Also, boxart is something that is allowed to be criticized, too.

It isn't as prevalent in the gaming world as it used to be however, and perhaps you should have commented on that instead of taking issue with an old cover.

You can do both. And I did both. In fact it's pretty much the same thing.

By saying it's good we've moved on from that, you're essentially bashing the cover.

 

[Hagi]

Oh God, look at this disgusting box art! It's like some pervy girl's sordid dream. Don't boys and young men have enough pressure put on them to conform to aesthetic ideals? This is basically pornography! It's so undermining! They could have had the guy wearing a nice sensible sweater, a cardigan maybe, but noooooo, it had to be pecs out for the girls. What kind of sick female chauvinist do you think drew this pathetic fantasy scene? You can bet it wasn't a man.

That barbarian posted really falls completely short of objectifying men.

The guy looks powerful and strong. His posture and stance show that he doesn't need no freaking armour to beat that skeleton and bird-thing.

The Elder Scrolls woman however isn't posturing like that at all. She's posing, she's thrusting out her tits and ass so we can all get a nice good look at them.

Now if you want to see objectified men, have a look:

Spoiler: This is objectifying men

They're not even showing the faces of these guys...

You forgot to mention they're all written by WOMEN.

And this point is relevant how?

You don't see anything wrong with that? That these man-objectifying books are also written solely by women as most of those "romance" novels that objectify men are? That these books feed into the stereotypes of how men should be/look/act? That isn't relevant? Wow...

Objectifying men (and women) is bad. Period.

Whether or not it's done by women is irrelevant. If a man wrote these books it'd be just as bad.

I really don't see how objectification changes based on the gender of the author.

 

[BlindedHunter]

I think the people arguing /for/ covers like that are funny.
I mean go ahead and argue for it, but don't gives us crap about why - you want to see your game rife with the voluptuous and skimpy, it's okay to admit.
While I think we need to move away from things like this, I don't think it is quite as bad as it is often made out to be. As far as society goes, I think it is less important for men to stop looking at women they think are attractive (no matter how "stylized") and more important that men start understanding that women can and should be given similar opportunities.
I just take offense when armor like that is suggested to have any benefit and it sn't explained at all, my hope would be for a character like that that is actually a fertility god or what have you so it is very important divine armor.

 

[Trull]

To be fair she actually does have the body shape of an athletic warrior... Well, more of a swimmer, but I've never seen a warrior, and from the looks of things it'd be a better tactic for her, probably an assassin, to wear nothing, as it reduces sound. Just saying from a logical standing point.

From a guys POV: HOT DAMN

From the perspective of the fact it's the internet: So? Could be worse.

 

[Hagi]

and from the looks of things it'd be a better tactic for her, probably an assassin, to wear nothing, as it reduces sound. Just saying from a logical standing point.

Thus explaining why all the assassins of old went around completely naked... oh wait....

Don't really mind women in skimpy clothing all that much as long as there's some alternatives and it's not too crazy.
But all the 'logical' explanations for wearing a g-string in combat.... those are just downright silly.....

 

[Drake666]

I really just saw this, and it reminded me that I'm still trying to download this game, along with Daggerfall from Bethesda's website, but it doesn't seem to like Windows 7 much. Any help anyone?

OT: I don't have a problem with the box art. I prefer to judge games on how fun they are, not what the cover looks like.

For daggerfall, look up DaggerSetup. It's a key-in-hand for windows version (it include dosbox). Since Bethesda is distributing freely the game, I don't think it's considered piracy.

 

[Treblaine]

Ah the 90's, where women could show a bit of skin without being ashamed.

 

[tendo82]

This is why I love Skyrim. They finally axed their mid 90's fantasy trope obsessed art director for someone with a more original vision.

 

[Treblaine]

Oh God, look at this disgusting box art! It's like some pervy girl's sordid dream. Don't boys and young men have enough pressure put on them to conform to aesthetic ideals? This is basically pornography! It's so undermining! They could have had the guy wearing a nice sensible sweater, a cardigan maybe, but noooooo, it had to be pecs out for the girls. What kind of sick female chauvinist do you think drew this pathetic fantasy scene? You can bet it wasn't a man.

That barbarian posted really falls completely short of objectifying men.

The guy looks powerful and strong. His posture and stance show that he doesn't need no freaking armour to beat that skeleton and bird-thing.

The Elder Scrolls woman however isn't posturing like that at all. She's posing, she's thrusting out her tits and ass so we can all get a nice good look at them.

Now if you want to see objectified men, have a look:

Spoiler: This is objectifying men

They're not even showing the faces of these guys...

So it's not how sexual they are that matters, its their stance and characterisation?

The Arena cover art she is wielding a fugging sword! Yes, it is quite an odd pose but no odder than fabio's pose in the above picture to accentuate certain assets. Arena at least shows her face and looking out through the 4th wall rather than just staring off into nothingness with glazed eyes.

 

[RuralGamer]

Whatever people say, game front covers haven't changed much for a long time. Half the advertisements for F2P games are just like that too. I seem to have noticed a pattern for stuff like this; scantily clad woman on front cover usually means game isn't that good; most of the games I adore have very practical or austere covers.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Well, more of a swimmer, but I've never seen a warrior, and from the looks of things it'd be a better tactic for her, probably an assassin, to wear nothing, as it reduces sound.

Except that an assassin needs to not be recognizable on sight, most assassins in history just walked up to their victims in the street and killed them. Sneaking around is kind of an invention.

Even if she were sneaking around, wearing something like dark linen with soft shoes would be infinitely better than going around in the nip. I mean, imagine if you had to hug a really cold wall..

You don't see anything wrong with that? That these man-objectifying books are also written solely by women as most of those "romance" novels that objectify men are? That these books feed into the stereotypes of how men should be/look/act? That isn't relevant?

Has your life ever been significantly hindered by the fact that people around you expect you to be nothing but abs and biceps? Have you ever been turned down for a job because the panel (naturally composed of women) felt you were a dumb himbo with big pecs? Have you ever been improperly propositioned or harassed by women because your body resembles those images?

More importantly, have you ever read a romance novel? If so, I promise you'd understand why these things are so uncommon.

I'm also sorry to point this out but:

Spoiler: Image Heavy

,

,

,

Random aside: What the fuck is even going on in some of those images? Number 2 looks like she's just been chloroformed, and the last one looks like she's literally being held in the most uncomfortable position I've ever seen. BDSM much?

Romance novels don't 'stereotype' men at all, they stereotype a particular type of relationship and then sell it to women as a fantasy. The obsession with muscles is pornographic, but that doesn't make it objectifying, the muscles represent a man's physical superiority within the relationship - they actually do something - those bodies are drooled over because they do something, they exist for more than the gratification of the opposite sex.

The people who actually are stereotyped by those images do not suffer for it, they benefit enormously because they have a presumed power over women (or by extension submissive men). This contrasts very harshly with the kinds of images men tend to create of 'fantasy' women.

 

[TheFPSisDead]

CD-ROM version?
Yes, that's embarrassing.
Why is it not on DVD?
Nothing wrong with the art though.

Probably because the game came out in 1994.
Back then, CD-ROM was a big deal.

 

[Hagi]

Oh God, look at this disgusting box art! It's like some pervy girl's sordid dream. Don't boys and young men have enough pressure put on them to conform to aesthetic ideals? This is basically pornography! It's so undermining! They could have had the guy wearing a nice sensible sweater, a cardigan maybe, but noooooo, it had to be pecs out for the girls. What kind of sick female chauvinist do you think drew this pathetic fantasy scene? You can bet it wasn't a man.

That barbarian posted really falls completely short of objectifying men.

The guy looks powerful and strong. His posture and stance show that he doesn't need no freaking armour to beat that skeleton and bird-thing.

The Elder Scrolls woman however isn't posturing like that at all. She's posing, she's thrusting out her tits and ass so we can all get a nice good look at them.

Now if you want to see objectified men, have a look:

Spoiler: This is objectifying men

They're not even showing the faces of these guys...

So it's not how sexual they are that matters, its their stance and characterisation?

The Arena cover art she is wielding a fugging sword! Yes, it is quite an odd pose but no odder than fabio's pose in the above picture to accentuate certain assets. Arena at least shows her face and looking out through the 4th wall rather than just staring off into nothingness with glazed eyes.

Their stance and characterisation is a great part of what makes them sexual....

Fabio with his odd pose and lack of clothing is objectified.
That women with her odd pose and lack of clothing is also objectified.

 

[Herr Uhl]

This is why I love Skyrim. They finally axed their mid 90's fantasy trope obsessed art director for someone with a more original vision.

It is vikings killing dragons. How is that original compared to for example Morrowind?

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Elder_Scrolls_Arena_Cover.jpg
Take a look at it right here.

Do you see that? Of course you know what I'm talking about.

That lady, right there in the front. She's wearing almost nothing. That looks like porn.

And the whole thing just looks crass and bad. But especially the fact you have three fully clothed dudes in the back, and a half naked girl for "tee nund eeh" on the front. Right up front.

I am sure glad Bethesda learned their lesson and stopped doing this right away. All the other cover art for their others looks cool, like an old book. And not downright sleazy like this.

I mean, good Lord.

Just thought you Skyrim fans might like to see just how far the franchise has come in terms of cover art.

The game was rather mature for it's time, and without a rating system at that time, I suppose at least Bethesda was being upfront with the games mature content.

Imagine if that cover was exactly how it was except without the half-naked chick, what would stop a mother from looking at the cover art and thinking it would be a fun fantasy romp for her 9-year-old son? I never played Arena, but I certainly remember that Daggerfall had straight up uncensored nudity.

I'm not saying Bethesda made that cover for that specific purpose, I'm just saying at least they knew exactly who their audience was and how to sell to them without confusing people of what the content of this game was like.

 

[mattaui]

It's less about the skimpiness and more about it just not being a very good piece of art.

It was just drawing upon decades of fantasy art, a large amount of which included both men and women wearing very little, holding weapons and fighting bad guys. Go appreciate some Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell art, you'll feel better.

 

[kittii-chan 300]

You call that 'pornographic'? thank god you don't live in Tokyo because you'd have a fatal heart attack every time you passed a game shop. It's not that much of a problem is it?