BROKENH'S PROFILE

author=SorceressKyrsty

author=BrokenH
You're welcome to feel this way. Again,you'd probably be surprised the portrayals of the females in the game are quite different but if it's this much of an issue for you I'm not going to force you to play something that might offend you more.

Personally I don't understand it when soccer moms drool over Justin Bieber. I cannot pinpoint the appeal behind 50 shades of grey,justify Twilight as "good literature",or fathom why bishonen yaoi themed slash fics are popular with so many female writers. However, just because I'm not fond of these things (As well as the fact I had to cartwheel around naked as Raiden in Sons Of Liberty) it does not mean such depictions of fantasy men (and boys) shouldn't exist.

I am not arguing for complete destruction of sexualization in games because that is suppressing what is a core and vital aspect of the human experience. We are sexual creatures. Just like you don't understand those examples, I don't understand the appeal behind yuri, most female comic characters, and many, many outfits over the years. I don't like 50 Shades or Twilight either, for the record. That's not what this is about.

author=BrokenH
I could go at length to argue that judging females simply for being in sexy poses and wearing sexy clothes is still judging them based on nothing more than their appearances or the fact that there are more pressing issues at hand in the real world more worthy of your time than a crusade to bring "realistic armor physics" to the fantasy/fictional medium. However, based on your writing above I assume you are intelligent enough to realize that. Think these drawings are "horrid"? You know what's more horrid? Being a woman in certain 3rd world countries. Y'know, the places where feminism would actually be of use!

Oh please. We're not going to help feminism in other countries if we don't fix it in 1st world countries first. We've now reached a day and age where we, as a species, are able to turn around and say "oh, hm, we treat an equal aspect of our species unequally". As much as it would be nice for their to be equality across the board overnight, it's not going to happen. The fact is that it needs to be acknowledged.

Yes, 3rd world feminism would be appropriately placed, but I don't live in a third world country and given you've developed a game and have a computer of some kind, the chance is neither do you. And in the western, english speaking world, females still get paid less just because of the fact they're female. There is inequality amongst males, yes- and that needs to be addressed, too, don't get me wrong!- but the fact is that majority of the portrayals and needless sexism are directed at females.

author=BrokenH
Lastly please,stop using the word misogyny without knowing what it means. Portraying females in a sexual way is not the same thing as hating a whole gender. It's funny you bring it up though because Hideo Kojima was recently called a "misogynist" just because he had one sexy female character design. Then people proceeded to argue about realism within a series that has mechas,psychics,nano infused vampires, cyber ninjas,and guys that shoot bees!

I actually was not at all angry by anything you wrote but when you tossed the lame "misogyny label" at me it kind of killed off some of your credibility. Should I call you a misandrist as a rebuttal just because you might have enjoyed certain romance,fantasy, or sci fi novels that had unrealistic sexualized portrayals of men in them? Should I call you a misandrist just because you are arguing with me or do not like something I have created? Of course not. That would be silly!

Look,calling someone a "woman hater" is a serious accusation. The sheer negativity of that label is something no one wants to be associated with. This is why you should really "think" before you sling it at someone like a bunch of mud. Don't like my art? That's entirely okay! Think my art reflects everything about my "real soul" thus I must have a rapey torture dungeon for all my female "conquests"? That's quite the stretch of logic there. (Not saying you've drawn that conclusion but calling what I do misogynistic implies roughly the same thing.)

As an illustrator and writer, I'm not obligated to appeal to you sensibilities. If you don't like my work RMN has plenty of other worthwhile adventures to embark on.

Although it came across that way (and I apologize) I was not directly calling you a misogynist. Your art, however, follows a trend and outline drawn by people who were a very long time ago. Sexualization for the sake of sexualization, completely directed entirely at women, is making them an 'object' and robbing them of the basic right to be considered a man's 'equal'. The reason I became so frustrated was because the art for this game does not have an equal spread in this regard- the women are sexualized and the men are not, and that's how it always is. If we don't question and say "Why?" to this trend, it'll never stop.

No, it's not a term to be thrown around lightly. But Hideo Kojima, in the same line you are following, is designing on principles outlined and defined by people who saw women as objects.

Now, I have not played this game. So I don't know what their personalities are like. But I won't found out, because visually I have made a judgement. You know that 'don't judge a book by it's cover' crap? It's just that- crap. People make a judgement based on the images they see. We're a visual species by nature and your game profile is a visual representation/advertisement for your game. And because your art is following a trend created and perfected by misogynists, that is how it is seen. That does not mean that is how it is, but myself and many of my fellow female developers feel that's how you've painted your game.

No one wants to be called a misogynist, no. It is a horrible term. At current I'm unsure if there's a better blanket term for dehumanizing women through portrayal, but at this point in the world-wide argument it's the term that's used.

It is entirely possible for a character to be sexually aware, sexy, and not be objectified. There are certain portrayals of Harley Quinn that I adore, because she's a very self aware character most of the time. The same goes for Catwoman. But not every Batman woman should be sexually comfortable or aware, and not every woman in every game should be, either.

There are few examples of women who are done right in that regard- my mind's sticking to Rouge the Bat, for pete's sake- and it's interesting to see, really! But when it's every character, in every piece of concept art, next to men who are fully clothed, how else is that meant to be seen, really? Like I said, I doubt every woman in your game is sexually aware and deliberately trying to get into the protagonist's (or anyone's) pants.

Concept and character art should express the character's personality. Fanservice, that kind of thing is fine! On my end of the spectrum, that picture I mentioned- he doesn't run around shirtless with his fly unzipped the entire game. It doesn't fit him as a character. Short-shorts, low cut tops, everything can be done in a tasteful and character-fitting manner, but when it isn't it feels tacky. Do they really enjoy or feel comfortable being exposed like that? If the answer is no, then why did they put on that outfit in the morning?

If your character wouldn't actually put on that outfit if given the opportunity, and can't move realistically in it, then why is she wearing it? That's the real question at hand, and it's an idea to really think about.

On Hideo Kojima's criticism: MGS has never been realistic and I don't expect a realistic outfit for Quiet. But tights would've been fair enough, and maybe a pair of bikini briefs. Have you ever worn a thong before? The problem is that he pushed it into the territory of being uncomfortable when she's an action orientated character, and that's where most of the problem lays. We have characters in MMORPGs with their boobs almost completely exposed, in an outfit that'd never work in real life, swinging around a sword? Pushing the envelope in that regard is fine because games aren't the realm for realism, but pushing it too far results in something that makes females queasy. If it's not going to be comfortable for you to wear, as a male, likelihood is it won't feel any better on a female. This stems into skirts and dresses, too, in regards to combat.

author=kalledemos
Dat tonfa

author=Gourd_Clae
I can't wait, dude! I'm so glad you finished~