On the subject of armors appropriate for the cold climate, let’s have a look at LoL’s Sejuani, pre- and post-redesign.
We do (and will continue to) have reservations about the portrayal of women in League of Legends, but it would be unfair to overlook Riot’s first big token of answering audience feedback: turning Sejuani from a bikini-armored warrior woman riding an arctic beast to a boobplate-armored warrior woman riding arctic beast.
Obviously, we do take issue with the new design, particularly its boobplate, lack of any sort of protection for the neck and a waist so small that it suggests nothing’s underneath, but the noticable bingo score reduction speaks for itself. It was an improvement, even if questionable.
And now, seeing as they introduced Illaoi, we truly hope League of Legends gets continuously better with their female characters.
~Ozzie
So, I decided to try out @bikiniarmorbattledamage‘s female armor bingo. Here we have Headhunter Nidalee from League of Legends, a purchasable customization for the champion Nidalee (who doesn’t have a single non-sexualized appearance option available). Above is the splash art, and below is her in-game model.
She’s supposed to be a badass shapeshifting assassin, and while her cougar form captures this, her human form most certainly does not.
Note the spine-breaking pose, the ridiculous top, and the loincloth.
(Cue “But it helps with her agility!”)
A perfectly timed reminder of why we’re so excited about the
Illaoi, the Kraken Priestess. Hopefully she reflects a shift in Riot’s art direction.
– wincenworks
We’ve had a few people contact us with great excitement to let us know about Illaoi, the Kraken Priestess – and I was initially reluctant to look at any design by Riot that could potentially involve tentacles. After all, they are basically the go-to for the creatively bankrupt seeking to produce “sex sells” fantasy artwork.
But now I look at it and the videos showing her attacks…
This is what improvement looks like. While there’s still room for discussion, this is a clear shift away from their old design principles. And special thanks to @lightlunas for directing us to this gem:
“This isn’t a commonly known fact, but a huge chunk of League’s female characters actually share an identical (or near identical) face and body, and are only differentiated by their hair and clothing.”
– wincenworks
If by “not a commonly known fact” they mean “public knowledge”…
~Ozzie
I find Katarina perplexing as she seems to be some sort of strange combination of sexy assassin and Red Sonja – with Riot deciding they don’t want to commit to either and instead thinking up all kinds of silly costumes for alternative skins.
It seems extra silly since… well in game she’s not exactly displayed with the same level of drama or detail.
– wincenworks