So in total, there are six female characters in the core fantasy game Massive Darkness kickstarter pack (some more in expansion packs). Four have an aggressive focus on their boobs, all of them have some degree of bare leg on display and one of them has actual armor that protects her actual body (though as we see later, she’s a distaff version of a male character stretch goal)
What do the dudes in the stretch goals look like?
So the female High Elf gets a mask to hide her face (but still has long hair out because woman) and the male Thief gets his cleavage covered up and body bulked up. As for the barbarians… yeah.
I feel that this perfectly sums up so, so many issues that the fantasy genre has with women…. and how’d they go you ask?
These are, just the default characters but there are also characters in expansion packs that further perpetuate the double standards – though there is one which at least includes an female gendered monster that is isn’t sexualized… shame about the two female adventurers in the same pack.
Ostara would have been pretty good if they’d have avoided the showing thigh fetish, but Moira (who covers up her thighs) well….
– wincenworks
(ht: @tharook, @filipfatalattractionrblog)
@xagrok asked:
I know you already wrote a bit about Velvet Crowe’s design from Berseria, but may I ask for your opinion on Magilou’s? I think you’ll find her design… charming, especially her book skirt.
Well… the hat works.
Honestly though with the book skirt I’m not sure what’s more upsetting – the idea of the bruises and chaffing you’d get from leatherbound books slapping and rubbing on your legs… or that someone would do that books!
Also it looks like the buckle on top edge of that front book is resting… right on her mound. So yeah, for her sake I hope nothing bumps it.
– wincenworks
Riders of Icarus
@vonboomslang submitted:
Dear BABD
Please let me share with you a tale of hopes and disappointment, starring Riders of Icarus, by our old mutual friend Nexon.
“Well, that is an interesting looking class. I wonder how it looks on females. It probably has a battle skirt or something.”
“Good lord, is that actual full plate? Armored legs and everything?”
“Oh. I don’t know what I expected.”
Yours, vonBoomslang
Nexon is such a wild ride, I mean I struggle to understand how the same people publishing Vindictus also publish Dirty Bomb!
Looking at the promotional screenshots for this game, one might easily be tricked into believing that the armor for ladies would not be terrible:
I mean it doesn’t look great, but the main issue is the stock-standard boobplate that seems to be mandatory in so many fantasy RPGs these days. Even the trailer isn’t too bad for the first sixty seconds… then:
Apparently there are still people out there who believe that the MMORPG market is not yet over saturated with this exact same style of double standard nonsense. Somehow.
– wincenworks
Riders of Icarus
@vonboomslang submitted:
Dear BABD
Please let me share with you a tale of hopes and disappointment, starring Riders of Icarus, by our old mutual friend Nexon.
“Well, that is an interesting looking class. I wonder how it looks on females. It probably has a battle skirt or something.”
“Good lord, is that actual full plate? Armored legs and everything?”
“Oh. I don’t know what I expected.”
Yours, vonBoomslang
Nexon is such a wild ride, I mean I struggle to understand how the same people publishing Vindictus also publish Dirty Bomb!
Looking at the promotional screenshots for this game, one might easily be tricked into believing that the armor for ladies would not be terrible:
I mean it doesn’t look great, but the main issue is the stock-standard boobplate that seems to be mandatory in so many fantasy RPGs these days. Even the trailer isn’t too bad for the first sixty seconds… then:
Apparently there are still people out there who believe that the MMORPG market is not yet over saturated with this exact same style of double standard nonsense. Somehow.
– wincenworks
@bleedinginkxiii submitted:
Found this oh so lovely set of female mage armor on Artstation. I had some time so I decided to make some fixes. They’re not amazing by any means, but at least these women can move without worry of a breeze or breaking an ankle/neck in the heat of battle.
The artist also made a set of male counterparts to these and they look nothing alike (surprise, surprise).
Here’s the link:
Very nice redesign. Personally what I find amazing about the male counterparts is that it seems their outfits are already very unisex and would be quite flattering on many bodies:
Looking around these appear to be concepts for a new “card” game by the creators of Vindictus. It seems, that they’ve been quite free and loose with the art direction, but apparently quite determined to maintain double standards.
This is why we can’t have nice things.
– wincenworks