Over the years of playing MMO's I have seen more women complain of ugly un-sexy armor than i have of them having too sexy armor.
For the most part I guess as long as they do not have to run around in granny pannies they are usually ok with most of the outterwear that is in most games. Outside of a lot of the Asian games which really seem to be catering to ( for lack of a better term ) something really close to sexual predators or boyhood fantasy's.
Does every Asion MMO have to have women in some version of a sailor outfit or school girl uniform? SRSLY?
Say hello, To the things you've left behind. They are more a part of your life now that you can't touch them.
They make me LOL, but drew me in about 5 times when I was younger...
I know they aren't Asian, but whatever.
"We got rid of the trinity." How'd you do that? "Now everyone can heal." Sounds like you just took the mechanic and spread it thin. "Well no, there's one class that can do it better than others." I see, so they're healers. "No. They're.." -mind asplode-
Over the years of playing MMO's I have seen more women complain of ugly un-sexy armor than i have of them having too sexy armor.
This has been my experience, too.
What I don't understand is why its so rare to just give players the choice. For both male and female characters, at every level, they could have realistic versions and skimpy versions. Let players dress their characters however they'd prefer, rather than trying to pin down what most people want.
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
Just because you have a ring of +1 protection doesn't mean I do.
My plate mail armor made of steel may not protect me as much as your enchanted adamantium with the Blessing from the Goddess of Shutthefuckup.
It's fantasy for God's sake.
Doesn't mean things should make no sense at all. Even fantasy or sci fi follows a certain logic. Not a realistic one but a logic nonetheless . And i can't find any logic behind: women don't need to wear full covering armor but males do .
Maybe i care too much about logic but i'm a logical person and i can't immerse in something that makes no sense even from a fantasy point of view.
Ironically i've also just read in a newspaper on a study done by univercity students about female gamers and apparently what many find a major disapointment is the whole "hot chicks barely wearing clothes" . (Apparently most prefer being strong and beautiful women and not slut-looking ones. But that's not my business , my concern is the lack of any sense/logic behind it)
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt. Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
Just because you have a ring of +1 protection doesn't mean I do.
My plate mail armor made of steel may not protect me as much as your enchanted adamantium with the Blessing from the Goddess of Shutthefuckup.
It's fantasy for God's sake.
Doesn't mean things should make no sense at all. Even fantasy or sci fi follows a certain logic. Not a realistic one but a logic nonetheless . And i can't find any logic behind: women don't need to wear full covering armor but males do .
Maybe i care too much about logic but i'm a logical person and i can't immerse in something that makes no sense even from a fantasy point of view.
What part of sci-fi style "forcefields" make more sense than a bikini with magical protection?
I can make up a bullshit reason for the thong as well.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4 Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
Just because you have a ring of +1 protection doesn't mean I do.
My plate mail armor made of steel may not protect me as much as your enchanted adamantium with the Blessing from the Goddess of Shutthefuckup.
It's fantasy for God's sake.
Doesn't mean things should make no sense at all. Even fantasy or sci fi follows a certain logic. Not a realistic one but a logic nonetheless . And i can't find any logic behind: women don't need to wear full covering armor but males do .
Maybe i care too much about logic but i'm a logical person and i can't immerse in something that makes no sense even from a fantasy point of view.
What part of sci-fi style "forcefields" make more sense than a bikini with magical protection?
I can make up a bullshit reason for the thong as well.
Yes you could but can you find a bullshit reason why it magically only works for female warriors ?
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt. Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
Just because you have a ring of +1 protection doesn't mean I do.
My plate mail armor made of steel may not protect me as much as your enchanted adamantium with the Blessing from the Goddess of Shutthefuckup.
It's fantasy for God's sake.
Doesn't mean things should make no sense at all. Even fantasy or sci fi follows a certain logic. Not a realistic one but a logic nonetheless . And i can't find any logic behind: women don't need to wear full covering armor but males do .
Maybe i care too much about logic but i'm a logical person and i can't immerse in something that makes no sense even from a fantasy point of view.
What part of sci-fi style "forcefields" make more sense than a bikini with magical protection?
I can make up a bullshit reason for the thong as well.
As I recall, Aes Sedai did quite well without a full suit of metal armor.
It's fantasy. Just like all the girls are 'too sexy' the guys are usually too muscular, or whatever.
You can shoot lightning bolts from your finger tips. You can fly with wings. You can teleport across the world. You can turn yourself invisible. You can wield a sword that can burst into flames, and kill a dragon. You can mesmerize creatures so they are stopped in their tracks. You can shoot a laser gun, or fly a space ship that can travel across the galaxy.
And you can't make magic armor that protects without covering? Or you can't make armor that produces a forcefield, instead of covering your body with metal?
Bikini Armor is magic, or technology. Just like flaming swords, teleporting, or shooting lightning out of your fingertips, or shooting a laser gun.
It's also been around in comics, book covers, movies, etc., long before MMORPGs and the home computer.
im honestly not surprised on how the vote is going, (though i am a male and i voted oops, should have read the question first)
the top 2 are dont care as long as it looks cool and more armor = more cover.
but one has to understand the demographic targeted, forget about age and lets go for the 2 bigest groups in the WORLD! male and female. no one can argue that males are the dominant gender (or species as some like to refer to us) in the gaming community. therefore in the marketing point of view men like women (generally) more specifically, men like "perfectly designed,proportioned, women" also another thing men tend to like is their own perfectly designed, chizled body.
so all in all the video games are not targeted towards average women (or very little)
Yes you could but can you find a bullshit reason why it magically only works for female warriors ?
Nobody said anything about the thong not working on men, we all just assumed the discussion "wouldn't go there". I'd wear it on my head if need be.
Btw, Conan wore a thong and could kick the ass of anyone calling him on it.
So? He wasn't granted armor stats for an armor he didn't wear he was just much stronger himself than the others.
And lets make a little comparison. What they do with female armor in fantasy games would be comparable if in EvE online they'd decide some ships only need shields covering half the ship and still granting the same amount of defence. Would that make sense? (and just in case: realism =/= logic ) . The fact is most (!) sci-fi and fantasy things have an unrealistic premise but follow a logic based on that. Like shields = unrealistic but the way it works will still be logical , it won't magically work in an other way for no reason . And sure there are some who just throw in stuff as they please without even trying to keep a certain amount of logic and well , i don't like that . That's how i'm .
But i guess sci fi and fantasy don't need to bother about major plot holes either anymore because heh , its fantasy/sci fi , anything can happen .
PS: if you like it that's your choice and i respect that , but don't try to convince me that it being fantasy makes it right by default to bring in the most illogical concepts like female don't need to cover themselves but males do . (i just happen to care about it )
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt. Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
I like the skimpy armor on females in MMORPGs. I mean if a character is conjuring up fireballs and thunderstorms I don't think it's a far stretch for females to be fully protected by a little bit of armor =P. If the MMO is supposed to be realistic on the other hand, sure make the armor realistic too, but hopefully not too ugly. Tldr dressing up your avatar to wear cute, sexy, or funny clothing is fun.
-------------------------- Playing: FFXIV, TERA, LoL, and HoTS My Rig: GPU: GeForce GTX 770, CPU: i7-4790K, Memory: 16 GB RAM
I have no idea what women are thinking about this sort of armor, but I like it. I am usually playing female characters because I like to see something attractive on my screen during long hours of grinding. Shapes is a problem of taste: some players like Barbie dolls, some Jessica Rabbit. Discussions about tests are known to be not very productive. But what I don’t like are childish faces and voices in Eastern games.
Male armor: Usually I do not care in case it is nicely modeled and textured, but sometimes I am puzzled (in game that looks significantly more impressive because of the extensive use of shaders):
Lol. I didn't know my thread was about owning and getting owned, or who has the biggest e-peen, but it's never too late to learn, thx
Originally posted by GTwander
Originally posted by Ihmotepp
Is that the Jungle Queen from The Maxx?
If so.... God I loved that show. Mr. Gone is friggin awesome, and I quote him very often.
Eh, what? Jungle Queen? Maxx?? Mr Gone??? Out of reference scope, at least mine
Originally posted by NovaKayne
Outside of a lot of the Asian games which really seem to be catering to ( for lack of a better term ) something really close to sexual predators or boyhood fantasy's.
Does every Asion MMO have to have women in some version of a sailor outfit or school girl uniform? SRSLY?
You forget the maid outfits, for some strange reason also very popular there.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Originally posted by Aeroangel I like the skimpy armor on females in MMORPGs. I mean if a character is conjuring up fireballs and thunderstorms I don't think it's a far stretch for females to be fully protected by a little bit of armor =P. If the MMO is supposed to be realistic on the other hand, sure make the armor realistic too, but hopefully not too ugly. Tldr dressing up your avatar to wear cute, sexy, or funny clothing is fun.
. Anyone remember when they nerfed orc shoulders? Orcs had these huge pieces of shoulder armor making their already huge shoulders massively huge shoulders. . The artists reduced the shoulders in size to prevent clipping. . This spawned a huge outcry in the player community, at least among those who played orcs. . I remember teasing the orcs, pretending like I mistook them for goblins, etc. . But it was all so serious to them. . So the devs relented and gave the orcs back their huge pieces of shoulder armor.
I'm not a woman, but I think all this talk about skimpy armor is ridiculous. It's a game. If they made male armor that was skimpy, but looked cool, I wouldn't really care. Basically, whether the armor is skimpy, or covers the whole body, it doesn't matter. If the armor would be effective in real battle or not, doesn't matter. The only thing I care about when it comes to armor style is if it looks good.
Having said that, I believe MMOs need to give players more options. Armor should be more for looks and not stats. You should be able to choose if you want to look like a slut or a regular woman. This way people can look however they want, and nobody can cry about it.
My main MMO is LOTRO, which went with "realism" and put both genders in full armour if that's what the class wears. A chain shirt is a chain shirt and fully covers from the neck to the waist, even on the women. This is a rare exception amongst the MMOs I've played (around 30 and counting). Asian-developed games definitely favour the "less-is-more" theory of protecting their female avatars. I know a couple of the women in the guild I belonged to in Aion got uncomfortable with what passed for armour in that game, although to be fair, one absolutely loved the look.
Personally, I prefer "realism". If someone is going to charge into a melee, they probably want to wear as much protection as possible. The way I rate armour - would I, as a male, wear the female version and feel equally safe? The answer in most MMOs is "no".
Yes you could but can you find a bullshit reason why it magically only works for female warriors ?
Nobody said anything about the thong not working on men, we all just assumed the discussion "wouldn't go there". I'd wear it on my head if need be.
Btw, Conan wore a thong and could kick the ass of anyone calling him on it.
Rofl! Go anywhere you like In fact, it was one of the discrepancies I commented about.
Originally posted by Ihmotepp
You can shoot lightning bolts from your finger tips. You can fly with wings. You can teleport across the world. You can turn yourself invisible. You can wield a sword that can burst into flames, and kill a dragon. You can mesmerize creatures so they are stopped in their tracks. You can shoot a laser gun, or fly a space ship that can travel across the galaxy.
And you can't make magic armor that protects without covering? Or you can't make armor that produces a forcefield, instead of covering your body with metal?
Bikini Armor is magic, or technology. Just like flaming swords, teleporting, or shooting lightning out of your fingertips, or shooting a laser gun.
It's also been around in comics, book covers, movies, etc., long before MMORPGs and the home computer.
Originally posted by Senadina
As a female, I am as used to seeing skimpily clad women as the rest of our society. As you pointed out, it isn't just games, but all popular media.
However, occasionally it pushes the boundaries even for a jaded individual like me. Case in point: Aion. The female toons had to fight in high heels for god's sake. And there was no escaping looking like a hooker. Now that was more a consequence of design than amount of armor.
Originally posted by Aeroangel
Tldr dressing up your avatar to wear cute, sexy, or funny clothing is fun.
Originally posted by Plutonicwoes
As I recall, Aes Sedai did quite well without a full suit of metal armor.
It's fantasy. Just like all the girls are 'too sexy' the guys are usually too muscular, or whatever.
It's safe to say that most men have no problems at all with skimpily-clad women running around in their game.
We like looking at lots of bare skin and hot bods no matter where, it's basic nature. 'But it's just pixels' is no counter argument, I could as well say 'it's just ink' when it comes to pictures in a magazine.
Doesn't mean we automatically feel the urge to hump anything that looks good as a dog looking for a leg, but we're thus wired that our brains go 'ooooh, nice' when confronted with a good looking female figure. Yes, also in games. And the designers know it well.
It doesn't only apply to scantily-clad female figures, also good looks. It's why you see so many more catwalk model-like characters ingame to choose from than obesily overweight or 60yr+ grannie characters, heck, it's even why in WoW's tBC expansion the Blood Elves were part of the Horde (wanna go Horde + still look good => Blood Elves)
I've the impression that most girl/woman gamers don't mind the skimpy clothes much as long as it looks good (+options to accessorize), and as long as it's not the only choice, having to walk around dressed as the fantasy or elven equivalent of a street hooker.
But it's why female characters in a lot of MMO games have far less skin coverage with their armor than male characters, and why there are far more female stripper outfits than male stripper outfits. Fair? Lol, no (but who cares?) Commercially understandable? Absolutely!
But about skimpy female armor being the same as magic and sorcery when it comes to believability, that I don't agree with: when we read a fantasy book or play a fantasy (MMO) game we suspend disbelief to 'accept the fact' that all the action is taking place in a world where magic is common, that's the nature of the world the book or the movie or the game describes.
That doesn't have anything to do with why female armor in that world can be mere pieces of leather or metal, where the male armor is more covered, as is the case in a lot of (MMO) games. In the descriptions in many fantasy books there is no difference between heavy armor for men and women.
Sure, there have been many drawings and images of scantily clad women in fantasy and sword & sorcery covers from the beginning, best examples are probably Conan and Red Sonja, so it suits Age of Conan in a way.
But another example is the Lord of the Rings movies: a fantasy world made believable, but without a Arwen or Eowyn running around in a Princess Leia slave outfit as armor.Liv Tyler still looked sexy, only not as a Middle Earth stripper.
In short:
- presence of magic => that's the way the created world works, still consistent within the boundaries of its own internal logic
- skimpy (heavy) female armor in contrast to male armor => commercial reason, 'sex sells' motiv
Of course, in the end we take it all for granted. After all, it's just a game
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
I've always thought that a nice option in your character sheet under "armor types" would be: Standard vs Stylized. Standard would be armor looks more real. Stylized is my euphemism for "hottie." That way people can look more like they wish, and not have to wear a thong if it makes them uncomfortable.
Now everyone is happy except the coder who has to do two versions of many armor pieces.
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Personally, I prefer "realism". If someone is going to charge into a melee, they probably want to wear as much protection as possible. The way I rate armour - would I, as a male, wear the female version and feel equally safe? The answer in most MMOs is "no".
Yep. You'd also look silly, wearing the female version of the armour, but by looks it would stand to reason that it would protect less
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
(It's so funny that my first post here is on this topic xD )
But yeah, girl gamer here and honestly, maybe all of these skimpy armors on female characters are to satisfy the requirement of the idea "sex sells". But who honestly cares?
I, for one, do not really care. As it was said earlier in this thread, let me just have my gaming time please. I'm used to the fantasy/gaming society of having girls running around in skimpy things while the guys are usually fully armored and it makes no logical sense at all considering the time and place these characters are in. But my first question is: is something made completely for fantasy or something that has trees fighting you, orcs throwing boulders at each other or whatever...do these really need to have realistic anything? Logic?
I honestly think not. My opinion is I could care less how my characters are dressed as long as they have something on. And it should look cool of course xD It doesn't matter if skimpy or not. If it makes logical sense or not. From an artist's point of view, I also kind of see it as a form of flattery and appreciation for the female body. Of course some overdo it with the measurements but meh lol It's fantasy. Now that could be the artist in my talking but in the end, I just wanna' play my game and looking cool. Period.
As a female player, I'd totally rock the Tera armor. I actually look to see what type of armor games offer before I play them. If the women are covered up and look like men, I don't play the game. The armor is part of my fun..questing, raiding for it or what have you. I think thats a huge part of why I got bored with Lord of the Rings.
"It is better to die on one's feet than to live on one's knees,"
Protip: Contrary to popular belief, some girls actually like it when you treat them like sex objects and vice versa. It's part of our evolution ... enjoy the ride.
You mean, I hope, when your having sex or something. Ive never had a girlfriend who wanted to be treated like a sex object and I can imagine what they would have done to me if I even tried.
Comments
GUY Post.
Over the years of playing MMO's I have seen more women complain of ugly un-sexy armor than i have of them having too sexy armor.
For the most part I guess as long as they do not have to run around in granny pannies they are usually ok with most of the outterwear that is in most games. Outside of a lot of the Asian games which really seem to be catering to ( for lack of a better term ) something really close to sexual predators or boyhood fantasy's.
Does every Asion MMO have to have women in some version of a sailor outfit or school girl uniform? SRSLY?
Say hello, To the things you've left behind. They are more a part of your life now that you can't touch them.
LOL.
Anyone seen the Allods ad?
And Evony? And the Evony copycat?
They make me LOL, but drew me in about 5 times when I was younger...
I know they aren't Asian, but whatever.
"We got rid of the trinity." How'd you do that? "Now everyone can heal." Sounds like you just took the mechanic and spread it thin. "Well no, there's one class that can do it better than others." I see, so they're healers. "No. They're.." -mind asplode-
This has been my experience, too.
What I don't understand is why its so rare to just give players the choice. For both male and female characters, at every level, they could have realistic versions and skimpy versions. Let players dress their characters however they'd prefer, rather than trying to pin down what most people want.
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
Is that the Jungle Queen from The Maxx?
If so.... God I loved that show. Mr. Gone is friggin awesome, and I quote him very often.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4
Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
Doesn't mean things should make no sense at all. Even fantasy or sci fi follows a certain logic. Not a realistic one but a logic nonetheless . And i can't find any logic behind: women don't need to wear full covering armor but males do .
Maybe i care too much about logic but i'm a logical person and i can't immerse in something that makes no sense even from a fantasy point of view.
Ironically i've also just read in a newspaper on a study done by univercity students about female gamers and apparently what many find a major disapointment is the whole "hot chicks barely wearing clothes" . (Apparently most prefer being strong and beautiful women and not slut-looking ones. But that's not my business , my concern is the lack of any sense/logic behind it)
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt.
Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
What part of sci-fi style "forcefields" make more sense than a bikini with magical protection?
I can make up a bullshit reason for the thong as well.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4
Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
Yes you could but can you find a bullshit reason why it magically only works for female warriors ?
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt.
Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
As I recall, Aes Sedai did quite well without a full suit of metal armor.
It's fantasy. Just like all the girls are 'too sexy' the guys are usually too muscular, or whatever.
Nobody said anything about the thong not working on men, we all just assumed the discussion "wouldn't go there". I'd wear it on my head if need be.
Btw, Conan wore a thong and could kick the ass of anyone calling him on it.
Writer / Musician / Game Designer
Now Playing: Skyrim, Wurm Online, Tropico 4
Waiting On: GW2, TSW, Archeage, The Rapture
im honestly not surprised on how the vote is going, (though i am a male and i voted oops, should have read the question first)
the top 2 are dont care as long as it looks cool and more armor = more cover.
but one has to understand the demographic targeted, forget about age and lets go for the 2 bigest groups in the WORLD! male and female. no one can argue that males are the dominant gender (or species as some like to refer to us) in the gaming community. therefore in the marketing point of view men like women (generally) more specifically, men like "perfectly designed,proportioned, women" also another thing men tend to like is their own perfectly designed, chizled body.
so all in all the video games are not targeted towards average women (or very little)
So? He wasn't granted armor stats for an armor he didn't wear he was just much stronger himself than the others.
And lets make a little comparison. What they do with female armor in fantasy games would be comparable if in EvE online they'd decide some ships only need shields covering half the ship and still granting the same amount of defence. Would that make sense? (and just in case: realism =/= logic ) . The fact is most (!) sci-fi and fantasy things have an unrealistic premise but follow a logic based on that. Like shields = unrealistic but the way it works will still be logical , it won't magically work in an other way for no reason . And sure there are some who just throw in stuff as they please without even trying to keep a certain amount of logic and well , i don't like that . That's how i'm .
But i guess sci fi and fantasy don't need to bother about major plot holes either anymore because heh , its fantasy/sci fi , anything can happen .
PS: if you like it that's your choice and i respect that , but don't try to convince me that it being fantasy makes it right by default to bring in the most illogical concepts like female don't need to cover themselves but males do . (i just happen to care about it )
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt.
Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
I like the skimpy armor on females in MMORPGs. I mean if a character is conjuring up fireballs and thunderstorms I don't think it's a far stretch for females to be fully protected by a little bit of armor =P. If the MMO is supposed to be realistic on the other hand, sure make the armor realistic too, but hopefully not too ugly. Tldr dressing up your avatar to wear cute, sexy, or funny clothing is fun.
--------------------------
Playing:
FFXIV, TERA, LoL, and HoTS
My Rig:
GPU: GeForce GTX 770, CPU: i7-4790K, Memory: 16 GB RAM
I have no idea what women are thinking about this sort of armor, but I like it. I am usually playing female characters because I like to see something attractive on my screen during long hours of grinding. Shapes is a problem of taste: some players like Barbie dolls, some Jessica Rabbit. Discussions about tests are known to be not very productive. But what I don’t like are childish faces and voices in Eastern games.
Male armor: Usually I do not care in case it is nicely modeled and textured, but sometimes I am puzzled (in game that looks significantly more impressive because of the extensive use of shaders):
http://requiem-wiki.org/w/images/b/b4/Kruxena_M_Temperion.jpg
http://requiem-wiki.org/w/images/1/10/Kruxena_M_Poise.jpg
http://requiem-wiki.org/w/images/1/13/M_Xenoa_Honorable.JPG
http://requiem-wiki.org/w/images/e/e3/M_Xenoa_Robust.jpg
http://requiem-wiki.org/w/images/1/18/Turan_Cats_M.jpg
Lol. I didn't know my thread was about owning and getting owned, or who has the biggest e-peen, but it's never too late to learn, thx
Eh, what? Jungle Queen? Maxx?? Mr Gone??? Out of reference scope, at least mine
You forget the maid outfits, for some strange reason also very popular there.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Anyone remember when they nerfed orc shoulders? Orcs had these huge pieces of shoulder armor making their already huge shoulders massively huge shoulders.
.
The artists reduced the shoulders in size to prevent clipping.
.
This spawned a huge outcry in the player community, at least among those who played orcs.
.
I remember teasing the orcs, pretending like I mistook them for goblins, etc.
.
But it was all so serious to them.
.
So the devs relented and gave the orcs back their huge pieces of shoulder armor.
Well shave my back and call me an elf! -- Oghren
Umm, keep male armor the same, skimpier clothes for female, best way to go.
World of Warcraft is the original creation of God. Real Life is in fact a WoW clone.
I'm not a woman, but I think all this talk about skimpy armor is ridiculous. It's a game. If they made male armor that was skimpy, but looked cool, I wouldn't really care. Basically, whether the armor is skimpy, or covers the whole body, it doesn't matter. If the armor would be effective in real battle or not, doesn't matter. The only thing I care about when it comes to armor style is if it looks good.
Having said that, I believe MMOs need to give players more options. Armor should be more for looks and not stats. You should be able to choose if you want to look like a slut or a regular woman. This way people can look however they want, and nobody can cry about it.
Male here.
My main MMO is LOTRO, which went with "realism" and put both genders in full armour if that's what the class wears. A chain shirt is a chain shirt and fully covers from the neck to the waist, even on the women. This is a rare exception amongst the MMOs I've played (around 30 and counting). Asian-developed games definitely favour the "less-is-more" theory of protecting their female avatars. I know a couple of the women in the guild I belonged to in Aion got uncomfortable with what passed for armour in that game, although to be fair, one absolutely loved the look.
Personally, I prefer "realism". If someone is going to charge into a melee, they probably want to wear as much protection as possible. The way I rate armour - would I, as a male, wear the female version and feel equally safe? The answer in most MMOs is "no".
Rofl! Go anywhere you like
In fact, it was one of the discrepancies I commented about.
It's safe to say that most men have no problems at all with skimpily-clad women running around in their game.
We like looking at lots of bare skin and hot bods no matter where, it's basic nature. 'But it's just pixels' is no counter argument, I could as well say 'it's just ink' when it comes to pictures in a magazine.
Doesn't mean we automatically feel the urge to hump anything that looks good as a dog looking for a leg, but we're thus wired that our brains go 'ooooh, nice' when confronted with a good looking female figure. Yes, also in games. And the designers know it well.
It doesn't only apply to scantily-clad female figures, also good looks. It's why you see so many more catwalk model-like characters ingame to choose from than obesily overweight or 60yr+ grannie characters, heck, it's even why in WoW's tBC expansion the Blood Elves were part of the Horde (wanna go Horde + still look good => Blood Elves)
I've the impression that most girl/woman gamers don't mind the skimpy clothes much as long as it looks good (+options to accessorize), and as long as it's not the only choice, having to walk around dressed as the fantasy or elven equivalent of a street hooker.
But it's why female characters in a lot of MMO games have far less skin coverage with their armor than male characters, and why there are far more female stripper outfits than male stripper outfits. Fair? Lol, no (but who cares?) Commercially understandable? Absolutely!
But about skimpy female armor being the same as magic and sorcery when it comes to believability, that I don't agree with: when we read a fantasy book or play a fantasy (MMO) game we suspend disbelief to 'accept the fact' that all the action is taking place in a world where magic is common, that's the nature of the world the book or the movie or the game describes.
That doesn't have anything to do with why female armor in that world can be mere pieces of leather or metal, where the male armor is more covered, as is the case in a lot of (MMO) games. In the descriptions in many fantasy books there is no difference between heavy armor for men and women.
Sure, there have been many drawings and images of scantily clad women in fantasy and sword & sorcery covers from the beginning, best examples are probably Conan and Red Sonja, so it suits Age of Conan in a way.
But another example is the Lord of the Rings movies: a fantasy world made believable, but without a Arwen or Eowyn running around in a Princess Leia slave outfit as armor.Liv Tyler still looked sexy, only not as a Middle Earth stripper.
In short:
- presence of magic => that's the way the created world works, still consistent within the boundaries of its own internal logic
- skimpy (heavy) female armor in contrast to male armor => commercial reason, 'sex sells' motiv
Of course, in the end we take it all for granted. After all, it's just a game
TL;DR
in a MMO game world, anything is possible.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
I've always thought that a nice option in your character sheet under "armor types" would be: Standard vs Stylized. Standard would be armor looks more real. Stylized is my euphemism for "hottie." That way people can look more like they wish, and not have to wear a thong if it makes them uncomfortable.
Now everyone is happy except the coder who has to do two versions of many armor pieces.
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Yep. You'd also look silly, wearing the female version of the armour, but by looks it would stand to reason that it would protect less
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
(It's so funny that my first post here is on this topic xD )
But yeah, girl gamer here and honestly, maybe all of these skimpy armors on female characters are to satisfy the requirement of the idea "sex sells". But who honestly cares?
I, for one, do not really care. As it was said earlier in this thread, let me just have my gaming time please. I'm used to the fantasy/gaming society of having girls running around in skimpy things while the guys are usually fully armored and it makes no logical sense at all considering the time and place these characters are in. But my first question is: is something made completely for fantasy or something that has trees fighting you, orcs throwing boulders at each other or whatever...do these really need to have realistic anything? Logic?
I honestly think not. My opinion is I could care less how my characters are dressed as long as they have something on. And it should look cool of course xD It doesn't matter if skimpy or not. If it makes logical sense or not. From an artist's point of view, I also kind of see it as a form of flattery and appreciation for the female body. Of course some overdo it with the measurements but meh lol It's fantasy. Now that could be the artist in my talking but in the end, I just wanna' play my game and looking cool. Period.
As a female player, I'd totally rock the Tera armor. I actually look to see what type of armor games offer before I play them. If the women are covered up and look like men, I don't play the game. The armor is part of my fun..questing, raiding for it or what have you. I think thats a huge part of why I got bored with Lord of the Rings.
"It is better to die on one's feet than to live on one's knees,"
You mean, I hope, when your having sex or something. Ive never had a girlfriend who wanted to be treated like a sex object and I can imagine what they would have done to me if I even tried.
/theinhibitor/