UNITY'S PROFILE

I wanna be clear that I'm not against sex appeal in theory, I just want creators to be mindful of how it affects immersion and that it can cause a rift between players and the content. I'm not necessarily against characters being all sexy if their personalities match with that (and it's done with some tact).

Say someone wanted, for example, to make a game that's pure titillation, with all the ladies dressed like bikini-Squall or similar. I'm not going to automatically condemn that game and say it's worthless. I probably won't, however, be able to buy into the characters and my immersion will probably be ruined.

For example, there's a game on the DS called Super Robot Taisen: Endless Frontier. It's an RPG with a really neat battle system where you have to time your attacks to send your enemies flying in the air where you air-juggle them as long as you can to rack up damage. (The 3DS crossover game, Project X Zone, was made by the same team and uses a similar mechanic). That method of play is really cool to me and there's a variety of interesting characters, but, there's this little thing about all the female characters...

Take the female lead, Kaguya Nanbu. She's from a fantasy puesdo-Japan world. She's a badass female swordsman who is fearless in battle but has a bit of a shy side and gets embarrassed on occasion by the flirty male lead. I like this character idea in principle.

But what does she look like? Here she is:



Boom. Now we have a gap between the character description and the character design a mile wide. Why is she wearing such a skimpy outfit, in the context of the story? Because that's the outfit that she was given when she completed her training, and they just happen to make it too small. And even with the shy side to her personality, she just wears that the rest of the game. Bull. Shit.

"But unity! The whole point of Endless Frontier is an alternate world game with half-naked girls with jiggly breasts and fanservice to the max!" Indeed! And I'm not saying there's no place for that. But, if you're looking for believable female characters, you have to stretch your suspension of disbelieve so very very far. If you don't enjoy fan-service of the female variety, then even the best battle system in the world isn't going to help you get in to the game.

Let me get a little personal here. I'm bisexual. I find the human body of either gender to be a wonder to look at. So yes, I get it. These girls running around and fighting with nothing on is hot. There's bucketloads of titillation. But, I will never ever be able to take Kaguya seriously as a real character. No matter how much ass she kicks. And I think that's a bit of a shame.

Name: Cherusta

Type: City

Biome: Plains, with forests to the east

Character tie-ins: Kathleen, Leigh and Hazel (and any others that work :D )

Districts: Holy District, Government District, Commercial District

Notable features:

Tower of Cherusalas, dedicated to the God of Love (in the Holy District, and where Kathleen comes from): The tower is the largest building in the city, and the oldest as well. It's located in the center of the city and can be accessed just as you enter the Holy District. Sixteen priestesses live here and keep everything in order. Despite the city being named after Cherusalas, most of the citizens have converted to worshiping Tovinari, leaving few visitors that actually come to the tower for worship. Weddings are often held here, however, and some of the priestesses are on hand to give couples advice about love.

Saint Sloan Hospital with attached medical school: (Government District, where Hazel comes from) The healers at Saint Sloan are said to be able to cure just about anything, even if the need is cosmetic. Many of the continent's healers and doctors come from the attached Saint Sloan Medical School. There's a bit of a conspiracy about some of the senior healers having the government of Cherusta in their pocket, but no credible proof has been turned up as of yet.

Uiraran Barracks (Government District, where Leigh comes from): The Knights of Uiraran have bases on every continent, and this is one of their larger establishments. Their main goal is stated to be world peace, and their knights train diligently towards this cause. They haven't launched an official attack against the Wyrm Wizard of yet, claiming "the time is not yet right" and other vague reasons.

Government Capital (Government District): An old building where those who run the city work and reside. Normal residents are forbidden to enter.

Tovinari Cathedral (Holy District): A large church dedicated to Tovinari. Is almost always crowded with worshipers and those who want to serve The Light.


Description/other details: The City of Love tries to live up to its name; Flowers are everywhere, the entire city is illuminated by torches and magic stones in the night, and couples flock here to be blessed. There is a thriving commercial district with shops, hotels, a museum and an art gallery. Artists, poets and dreamers can be found wherever you look. The Government district isn't quite as pretty, and perhaps there's something foul afoot; whether or not it has anything to do with the events of the game is another matter.

Hope I didn't go too overboard with this: Feel free to trim back anything as needed. Also, I can totally draw a map of how I envisioned the town if needed at all XD;;