The thing is though, they don't care about women in video games, they just care about "ugly" women in video games. as long as they can look at an hourglass shaped woman with massive curves in a skinsuit they don't mind.
don't go down the rabbit hole of "fixing female characters"...
yes I really liked it. Even the analysis/hypothesis that it really is the moment of „not getting pandered to“ that enrages that demographic. Any moment they do not feel like the target audience they take grave offense.
Who the fuck finds game Ciri to be unattractive? She was specifically made prettier for the new medium. The books describe her as a tomboy with ashen hair, huge green eyes, young face, tall and slim. Later on, "losing on her charm" by being fed meals for what basically amounts to supersoldiers, despite being a kid and putting on weight. Even in the trailer for W4 she is depicted as the game version - no babyface, no "tomboyishness" etc. She literally is an hourglass shaped woman in a skinsuit.
What's annoying as fuck is her being a mutant, not her being a woman. Witchers were successful because they had gone through mutations, which had like a 30% success rate for boys in the optimal moment in their life - pre puberty.
At the end of Witcher 3, she is a 20 year old woman. Post puberty, hasn't been brought up preparing for the trials, quite the opposite - she had a relatively normal life. It's like comparing a chess prodigy that has played the game since they were 4, and a random dude starting chess at 30 yo. Multiply that by 300x - since the mixtures were specifically made with human physiology in mind - with Ciri basically being a demigod in the universe past Witcher 3. Add in the fact that passing the trials basically slows down aging to a crawl, but she looks way older in the trailer.
The reality is, it doesn't make sense from a lore perspective. But someone who doesn't care about the lore made a decision that Ciri is now a Witcher, so she somehow has to be one. In reality - the trailer basically made her a Mary Sue of the universe (if she wasn't that already). She is both a witcher and a mage and has unique bloodlines that give her additional powers.
What they could have done, is a million other things. Prequel to where witchers were created / early days of the cataclysm - conflicts between the original occupants of the universe and humans and monsters. They could've done a prequel with Vesemir. They could have continued wirh Ciri, but with her actual powers, instead of making her a witcher. They could've made a character creator letting everyone design their own witcher - with whatever characteristics they want.
People are pisses off for the same reason why the Netflix show quickly started sucking and why Cavill left it behind. Writers not caring about previous lore at all, pulling their own out of their ass because they think they know better than the author of the universe (who granted is a fucking asshole, but still).
this wasn't even about witcher specifically... and sure, CDPR could have done all that, but they can also do what they showed in the trailer because it's their game 🤠
The two were always inconsistent. It's not the same universe. They're two separate but related universes. CDPR takes pieces of the books to make the games that they want to make, and change pieces that don't work. This has been the case since The Witcher 1. They are not consistent with each other, never have been, and never will be.
This is true for most series inspired by books. For example, the current Dune cinematic universe is inconsistent with the books. That's fine. Sure, us book fans complain that the books were better, but we don't complain that they can't diverge and be their own thing. They must or they'd be bad adaptations because they're different mediums.
You're judging a made up story. CDPR obviously does care about the lore. We've seen that. Sure, they break from the books in order to make the games they think are best. They still care about the lore though. Wait for the game to come out and I'm sure it'll all be explained. They've said she takes the trial of the grasses somehow. I'm sure it's not just handwaved away like your made up story implies.
Again, it's a separate universe to the books. Established bookore isn't established game lore. Wait for the game to come out, then you can judge the story that's actually there, rather than making something up and judging it.
The thing is though, they don't care about women in video games, they just care about "ugly" women in video games.
Welcome to 2024, where preferring art to not be that is not ugly is despicable behavior.
I know most left leaning people aren't this extreme, but this really gives them a bad image and puts off a lot of people. Especially when the non extreme people jump to the defense out of the feeling that opposing extremes is the same as promoting the right.
You conveniently ignored the quotes around "ugly" to go on your little rant there. These people already flip their shit when the woman is a mere mortal normal looking woman and not the perfectly shaped ridiculously curvy imperfection-free woman that incels think is the gold standard of attractiveness. Point in case: Star Wars Outlaws bad, Stellar Blade good
So they like their art to not be average looking, big deal. Different people have different preferences. If you prefer more average looking women, than say so and leave it at that. No need to belittle other peoples preferences or push your preferences onto others.
Yeah I guess we should just let people keep over analyzing the women in video games, pointing out every single imperfection, every pimple, every asymetry because thats what incels do. I'm sure the women in the real world love that behaviour 🤠 maybe you try talking to a women and see how she likes the portrayal of women in video games, and the coomers consuming said games
Yeah I guess we should just let people keep over analyzing the women in video games, pointing out every single imperfection, every pimple, every asymetry
Yes, you should let other people analyze whatever they feel like analyzing.
because thats what incels do. I'm sure the women in the real world love that behaviour 🤠
What does that have to do with you? If they want to stay incels, that is their problem.
I'm not gonna keep arguing because you're clearly not interested in thinking about how the portrayal of women in media affects societies perception of women in real life. I urge you to take my advice and talk to women 🤠
One last try of getting you to understand this: when you go around and point out every single flaw in a female characters design you are setting a beauty standard for what a woman should look like (one that is most likely completely unrealistic anyways). letting people keep bullying game studios into designing their characters that way just reinforces that image. you're essentially saying "a woman isn't worth being in my art unless she adheres to these unrealistic standards". women have imperfection, news flash.
it makes even less sense because male characters usually aren't held to the same standards. it's because gamers (mostly men themselves) don't care about male characters because they're not trying to satisfy their sexual frustration through them.
and it makes even less sense when the female character in question is living in a literal wasteland or on a dangerous quest. Senua has better things to do than perfecting her outfit, makeup and getting a plastic surgery to appease some lonely men in front of the screens.
the "art" as you call it is just gooning material for lonely men
point out every single flaw in a female characters design you are setting a beauty standard for what a woman should look like
If anyone is determining their self worth by comparing themselves to video game characters, they should probably seek out help, regardless of if it is Seuna or what's her name from Stellar Blade.
letting people keep bullying game studios into designing their characters that way just reinforces that image.
To be clear, I am against bullying game developers in either direction. Seuna fits well in her setting and I don't think anyone bullied them into her looks. Ciri is even better example of well made character overall.
I oppose things like Sony forcing censorship on Stellar Blade. I oppose DEI "consultancy firms" lobbying and even extorting game companies to make their characters uglier. Let game devs create their art as they see fit. And let gamers vote with their wallets on whether they like the games.
Most people including me did not complain about "ugly" characters in games until the above came to light. And since it is difficult to say which games are affected, there are innocent games caught in the crossfire.
it makes even less sense because male characters usually aren't held to the same standards. it's because gamers (mostly men themselves) don't care about male characters...
I mean, yes. You are correct that we care less about male characters. I don't follow why that would not make sense. Especially, since there was no push to make male characters uglier as far as I know.
because they're not trying to satisfy their sexual frustration through them.
the "art" as you call it is just gooning material for lonely men
Idk how to react to you fixation on how you imagine some gamers reach sexual gratification.
I guess I can only add that IRL I know two people who oppose this push for uglier game characters, and both are happily married.
Dude, a lot of the most highly praised art in this world is weird and usually "ugly." Art has nothing to do with being something you can masturbate to.
And this kind of shit is what I was talking about in the first place. Now it can't even be art because it looks too lewd to you. Art is subjective, if you prefer
weird and usually "ugly."
art, that is perfectly fine. But you don't get to dictate what art other people like or what other people consider art.
What? It can be lewd too. Wtf? Art can be anything. You are the one that implied it has to be "beautiful." Hell no. You don't get to both act like you're the dictator of art and that other people are actually being too strict with art. Art is whatever the creator wants it to be. You don't get to decide that just because you can't masturbate to the character that it isn't art.
Yeah, that's correct. You can like or dislike any art. The people arguing it must only have sexy women or it's bad are in the wrong. You can like sexy women, but that's not a requirement and has a totally different set of goals to The Witcher 4 presumably.
Yeah, that's correct. You can like or dislike any art. The people arguing it must only have sexy women or it's bad are in the wrong.
Yes, you are correct. But that is a small minority of trolls.
What most people protest against is that publishers like Sony force censorship on developers and that self proclaimed "DEI consultancy" firms, "game journalists", and other people lobby, pressure and extort developers to make characters uglier.
That they're being forced to make characters ugly. In the case of The Witcher 4, she looks how you'd expect given her age, physical abilities, what she's gone through, and also the book descriptions. (The books basically say she looses her physical appeal.)
They're making games primarily to make money. The companies are trying to maximize that. If they're telling them anything about character design, it's to make characters that sell the game. I think it's significantly more likely games with the ridiculous clean, skimpy, sexy characters are having that dictated from above. The Witcher 4 is designing the character that they think works with the game they're making.
Complaining when art isn't being made to appeal to you specifically is the most entitled thing you can do. Play the game or don't. I don't care. If it doesn't look appealing to you, then fine. You don't get to have every game made for you. If you only want to play games with sexy women, there's plenty of those. Go play them and stop complaining when anything else is made.
The Mona Lisa isn't a particularly attractive woman, but it's one of the most famous and renowned pieces of art. Personally, I think it's highly overrated, but that's just my opinion and doesn't change the fact other people love it and DaVinci chose to make it on purpose.