Generally we try to avoid negatively highlighting indie games for a variety of factors.
- They’re more likely to be conforming to market expectations set by big companies than to influence the trend of the market in general
- They’re often being made as a singular creative vision rather than for-profit focus of making a marketable product
- Since they’re not working for profit and raising capital, indies often can’t afford to make their own assets and just have to use whatever’s available
- They’re often made by people still working out how they want to make games, and so commit all kinds of beginner mistakes
With the exception of a few games that get wide spread attention due to hilarious juxtaposition between what they promise and what look to they deliver (eg Haydee and Axe Princess) we tend to leave them alone.
So why am I bingo’ing The King’s Heroes? Because, well while Aldorlea Games claims indie status, it’s a bit confusing if you look at their Steam listing sorted by date (showing the oldest here)
They’re less of an Indie studio and more of a shovelware factory, and while this game does pretend (kind of) to have some male empowerment it also makes the ratio pretty obvious:
– wincenworks
So, as well as adding a sexy spider, Shadow of War also introduces us to
Eltariel, aka The Blade of Galadriel, who seems to be both better armored than
Lithariel and also to have been issued an odd suit of scale armor that is very specifically molded around her breasts and her hips unprotected and on display. Though on the balance of things, and compared to the industry in general – it’s a tentative positive example.
She’s an assassin, and seems to fill a similar role to Morrigan in that she’s a dark, mysterious adviser figure who seems to be… let’s say morally flexible with her own agenda independent of the player.
(Unlike Lithariel she may also get to be a fully playable character, rather than an alternative model with the same voice and cutscenes… but only in DLC)
Shadow of War really seems have leaned heavily into this idea that nobody will care about a female character unless they can confirm she’s sexy, or at least attractive… even if they they’re a spider or mostly tree:
I don’t think this was the game content I was supposed to find horrifying.
– wincenworks
Lorde for the Guardian ⚔
I have to say I do hope that more female singers will start dressing up in impressive plate armor for photo shoots. It’s really something I can get behind.
– wincenworks
So, remember that backlash that’s been occurring to the recent Star Wars movies where many individuals of a specific demographic were morally outraged that there were women portrayed as complex characters rather than disposable sex objects?
Well, the Jedi Knight games creating antagonists like Tavion Axmis, who’s overall goal was to be possessed by a long dead (male) Sith Lord, probably helped them with the delusion that media should be made exclusively for them.
Tavion also had another outfit, which is just as horrible… just in different ways:
– wincenworks
SMITE: Artio
@ultrapastaprincess submitted:
Smite’s newest goddess, Artio, seems to be an improvement. Reasonably dressed for a girl on the battlefield, and she switches to a bear form that is actually bearlike (although with some feminine hair). (full size)
Unfortunately, the same patch that’s bringing her is bringing this Awilix skin…
Oh SMITE, I’m not sure if I should be congratulating you on moving on from ripping off Dragon Age to ripping off Horizon: Zero Dawn (rather than, I dunno, looking up the difference between Gaulish Celts and Gaelic Celts… I see that tartan and faux woad), but it seems you also chose to rip off League of Angels as well.
As a side note, remember that time SMITE released Bellona, an almost reasonably well armored goddess? Check out what skins she has now:
With SMITE, hope truly is the first step on the road to disappointment.
– wincenworks
