BROKENH'S PROFILE

author=SorceressKyrsty
Have I not stated that sexualization is fine? Fanservice is fine, too. In moderation, otherwise it comes across as unappealing and off-putting. None of these characters reflect their personalities, they reflect what you find attractive. If you were making this game entirely for yourself that's fine, but you're sharing it and that puts it in the limelight for public critique. And it's not attractive, for the record.

And are you kidding me? You do realize the entire reason this debate exists is because games solely appealed to the male gaze for a very, very long time? A number of the examples you listed such as Raiden cartwheeling were done by the Japanese, who despite their love of hentai and tentacles do seem to have a more balanced scope in regards to women and men being sexualized. Western games, though?

I didn't have friends until I was around 16 years old because I loved videogames, and it was socially unacceptable. I didn't find people I could talk to videogames about until I was 18 because I am doing a University course specifically designed around games. I didn't get to geek out and enjoy videogames without the whole underlying debate over sexism and the male gaze BECAUSE I AM FEMALE. I had no peers who enjoyed the same things I did, so your 'missing of the old days' is your view. This debate and topic exists because exactly half of the world's population, until very recently, was completely excluded from games culture.

I am not a part of your geek subculture, or I wasn't until the last five years. And most women weren't. We were pushed into a tiny 'niche' group with pink swirly games and Barbie Horse Riding. The debate exists because women want to be included in that culture of videogames without feeling objectified or being submitted to harrassment. MEN ARE OBJECTIFIED, YES. But in NO WHERE NEAR the same degree as women are, and ALMOST NEVER as badly. A man with their shirt off is not the same as a woman with nothing on besides a vagina cup and an impossible shirt covering her nipples.

Female enjoyment culture like yaoi exists and IT SHOULD because women should be able to enjoy that sort of thing too. It was ok for gamer magazines to write about how they thought yuri between Lightning and Serah was hot, in an official publication, but imagine the freaking uproar that would happen if the same thing happened with the genders reversed ten years ago. THAT IS WHERE THE ARGUMENT IS. It's about sexualization in equal doses, on an equal ground, rather than it solely being women and one or two men.

I am not saying you shouldn't sexualize your characters, or censor everything and I have been saying that from my very first post. I am saying that it can be done tastefully, in an appealing manner, that fits the characters and context of the game. Hell, I read your character profiles and only one even slightly fits into the guise of someone who's sexually aware. You can have your short skirts and low cut tops and what have you but tastefully is the issue here. Your designs have no taste. They are obnoxious, not sexy.


And for the record, my avatar clearly states that I pair Cloud with Squall.

author=SorceressKyrsty
Just because there are issues in other countries does not mean there are not issues in the Western world, I hope you understand. My father pulled the same thing on me when I told him I was suicidal- "there are people starving in Uganda, how can you be suicidal?" Just because there are other people suffering does not make my own issues any less real.

I have no doubt I'm in a privileged position, even if I have gone from abusive household to abusive household. You cite the rights I have, but despite my ability to vote my country currently has a devoutly Catholic misogynist in power and our House of Representatives has all but one woman. My rights are being rebutted because people still hold the view that women are lesser than men. I don't doubt we are not physically equal, but many of us are intellectually equal, and can do the same jobs with equal prowess.

You are coping out by saying you have the right to portray women this way and they're objects anyway because they're in 'videogames', but you know what? That's not true. They are part of media, and media is representational of viewpoints. The lazy term 'it's just a game' doesn't apply any more, and never really did. If we're going to be trying to blame videogames for how they create violence, they can be equally called out for misrepresenting females.

These few examples you have mentioned are among the many hundreds like God of War, Duke Nukem, World of Warcraft, and a massive percentage of other mainstream titles. You are not unique in your portrayal. And that's where it's wrong, because it's the norm to oversexualize without a basis not even for the purpose of fanservice but for your own pleasure.

Stop citing Twilight, too. Twilight is extremely recent and part of the growing trend where women are able to find their voice as also being sexual creatures rather than all media conforming and appealing to men. Majority of media still conforms to men's viewpoints and attractions rather than it being an equal balance. Adverts meant to be selling to women have girls dancing around in their underpants, which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

I doubt I'm going to be able to sway your view since you've outright decided it's within your 'creative rights' to portray women like this. Thank you for continuing a way of viewing the world that makes it hard for me to have a good night out, since if I dress nice I'm immediately a target for men, makes it a scary experience to so much as step foot out of my house after dark, and have random guys in vans pull up next to me and ask me on a date. I'm not viewed as equal, I'm viewed as a conquest. And neither are the women in your concept art equal, because if they were, they'd be dressed equally as well as the men.
I'm not saying you're one of the people who would touch me inappropriately, or leer at me because I'm wearing a specific kind of boot- I'm saying your craft and your art is part of a culture that says that kind of behaviour is 'ok'.

author=Gourd_Clae
I'm curious if there's any way you could make me a save file for right before the hole? You know, just set me to begin right before it with a suitable party and all that jazz?

author=Marche100
Hey, I'm willing to try this out. I've actually had my eye on this game in the past, but never downloaded the demo. Honestly, I never really took a good look at it, but hey, the game is out, now! I'll give it a go and give you some feedback as I go.

I have to say, it sounds like a plus that you made leveling up faster so that the narrative can move along. I'm a person who tends to like RPGs with little-no grinding and enjoys a game for its story, so hopefully this aspect lives up to my expectations. We'll see...