Years ago, unbeknownst to the public, the U.S. government began to capture more and more various creatures, building a walled city and setting up an experimental testing facility on an abandoned island in the Pacific Ocean.
Within a few years the island was filled with hundreds of different creatures, and government scientists worked to understand them.
But in 2012 disaster struck and the island was evacuated. Now the inmates have taken over and gangs of different species fight for control within the city walls.
But something was left behind on Monster Island, something the government desperately needs. And the only way to recover it is to send an elite unit into the most dangerous place in the world: Monster Island.
How convenient that one of the iconic “monsters” happened to be an extra from “Generic Fantasy MMORPG” – to the extent where the only other monsters showcased on covers are a horned cyclops and an extra from 60s Planet of the Apes movie. (Zenescope’s collective creativity continues to shine)
I can’t help but feel that if I was going to pitch a project based on the idea of an island of monsters… that you might want to focus on a variety of horrifying monsters rather than horrifying and cliche outfits.
And oh, the “sexy Boba Fett” outfit in the middle, that’s a “cosplay” variant cover… that’s how committed to not showcasing their core idea on the cover that they are. They’d rather use other people’s ideas and use it as an excuse to put sexy women on the cover.
Probably a good time to bring this back since, well we’re still having people assuring us that Blizzard – a company with literally billions of dollars and armies of talent people… is really trying! Just look at them trying so hard with Overwatch! Examples include going from this:
To this:
This is not, by any stretch of the imagination – trying. There is no classroom in the world where this would be considered a passing grade improvement despite the claims of caring by lead. (If you missed the outrage by… people claiming others are outraged, there’s a great summary here.)
Yes, it is scary for companies to change up imagery when working with an established brand – but making the actual changes is the only way that it still perpetuates all the problems. Ultimately, all they’re doing is well…
The only way they’re going to fix things is to really take an actual whole new direction with it – and they probably won’t get that right the first time either.
Neither of these games improved by trying to get credit for minimalist changes and writing nice quotes about how their game is for everyone. They did by actually digging into what was wrong and looking at ways to avoid doing that.
Probably a good time to bring this back since, well we’re still having people assuring us that Blizzard – a company with literally billions of dollars and armies of talent people… is really trying! Just look at them trying so hard with Overwatch! Examples include going from this:
To this:
This is not, by any stretch of the imagination – trying. There is no classroom in the world where this would be considered a passing grade improvement despite the claims of caring by lead. (If you missed the outrage by… people claiming others are outraged, there’s a great summary here.)
Yes, it is scary for companies to change up imagery when working with an established brand – but making the actual changes is the only way that it still perpetuates all the problems. Ultimately, all they’re doing is well…
The only way they’re going to fix things is to really take an actual whole new direction with it – and they probably won’t get that right the first time either.
Neither of these games improved by trying to get credit for minimalist changes and writing nice quotes about how their game is for everyone. They did by actually digging into what was wrong and looking at ways to avoid doing that.
Though the future boasts endless technological wonders, only a very few can afford access to them. As a new virus rages through the rich and poor, threatening all of humanity, a warrior is awakened to stop the evil puppeteers behind it all! Centuries after her ancestor and namesake fought for China, a new Mulan has been chosen by the ancient Chinese immortals in a final battle for the world!
Story: Robert Alter, Marc Andreyko, art: Micah Kaneshiro
So this seems pretty amazing, and what I really like is that not only is the Mulan from Ancient China treated as a serious character who goes into battle ready and doesn’t have to stay looking pretty – but her cyberpunk counterpart looks pretty amazing too:
I don’t know if you’d seen these already but my eyes just rolled into the back of my head. Thanks for the crotch shot.
And of course the male equivalent is the opposite of sexualised.
Those posters sum up PERFECTLY the problem with gendered double standard in depicting fictional characters and how it traverses through various media, as an MMO gets adapted into a movie.
Everything about those characters that should be equal, isn’t: makeup, costume, posing.
@nicholaskoletook notice way back of how male orcs are big and unequivocally monstrous, while female ones are just conventionally pretty ladies painted green with small fangs (and that Garona’s mixed ancestry is not given justice either). Basically this:
edit: A number of people have rushed to remind us that in according to the character’s particular lore, she’s a half orc. While correct, this doesn’t address any of the key problems such as her pose and attire, that audiences unfamiliar with the lore won’t know that or that the character is essentially promoted as a sexy orc-like lady in juxtaposition to a powerful, well protected and dangerous orc man.
