I’m starting to feel that some of those ridiculous projects are made not necessarily just to pander to cishet men, but (also?) to spite anyone who’s upset by female sexualization.
I refuse to think ALL THAT was made with zero self-awareness, only because the creators genuinely thought those miniatures were “sexy” and “cool”. No-one would go this overboard with objectifying women without knowing exactly what the reactions would be.
Also seems like Prodos Games gained some infamy amongs their Alien vs. Predator Kickstarter backers for delayed and incomplete deliveries. Funny thing how awful sexist design goes hand in hand with shitty business practices.
ht:/ @sisterofsilence who sent this our way
~Ozzie
Commenter, David McGuire, pointed this company out a couple of months ago when the BattleSister with Anal Hook figure was featured.
As he mentioned there, the company got hammered on DakkaDakka – which means that even the infamous Warhammer 40K bros thought this was too ridiculous. Which is kind of impressive when you consider jokes about the 40K world are funny because they’re true.
Prodos were, in fact, so ridiculed they ended up making a PG-13 version. Ridiculed by a populace who are generally comfortable with repentant warrior nuns running around in kinky leather/latex lingerie.
– wincenworks
ze submitted:
First costume
Stockings rather than boots and there’s a window to her bare back, though it’s mostly covered.
Second costume
You’ll have to take my word for it, but stockings again rather than boots.
This is literally the first time she’s introduced wearing her new outfit. I did not crop her face out; the devs did.
Not sure if it counts for boobplate; there is skin-tight armor on the boobs, it just doesn’t connect in the front.Third costume
Two versions of it because she later sheds almost all of it for a single scene. Again will have to take my word for there being heels, and the outfit being mostly worn in a cold area. (You can’t see it, but the more bare one is in a rather small valley surrounded on all sides by snow-covered mountains.) Does this count as boob window and boob plate though?
I might be being generous with the “no padding” since there’s some kind of thin bodysuit under it. And with “no head protection” since there’s kinda some ornaments that were stated to be protective, but uh… yeah. There’s also no male equivalent to any of her costumes, but if matching armor designs in this game have any kind of theme going, it definitely follows the stereotype. (Minus being practical. Holy crap this game loves impractically ornate/pointy armor.)
Of course there’s also the in-universe excuse that bare skin = more sensitive to photons (basically any and all energy for both combat and resources) so you’re stronger. Except the outfit descriptions for full, flowing robes say their material is specially made to absorb said photons to make you stronger… So there’s still no real reason to not have more armor.
Do note that this “armor” doesn’t affect stats or gameplay in any way. It’s just flavor text for clothing to try and justify itself.This character, Matoi, is hardly the only offender in the series, but there’s too many costumes to go through since it’s an MMO. She’s just the worst offender from the main cast (not counting the player character, who can wear anything– even Matoi’s outfits).
First I thought this might be a Scarlet Blade character (as we asked for bingo propositions from it), then I noticed the name Phantasy Star Online 2.
Needless to say, being easily confusable with Scarlet Blade says everything we (don’t) want to know about this game’s design priorities.
And judging by their breathing through skin, I mean photon magic excuse AND how it is directly contradicted it for other costumes, Phantasy Star’s writing isn’t worth anyone’s time either.
While you probably are too generous with a few squares, ze, I wouldn’t say that in regards to “No padding”. Personally I don’t count something that looks like bodypaint as “padding”.
~Ozzie
Some asked me if there were any male characters in Scarlet Blade. Well, here you go, two NPCs. For the last guy, I say props for giving him some pink with a heart and no shirt… but he goes nowhere near the extremes the ladies do. Nowhere near.
Also, a male class is currently on it’s way, as can be seenhere. If you watch the video, you’ll notice there is a big difference between the women’s armor.. and his.
Rest in peace Scarlet Blade, you’re no longer expected to produce amazing beefcake for their singular male class…
The pressure to maintain this level of empowerment for men must have been overwhelming… especially once they got out of character creation and gained levels. (Video below is NSFW)
– wincenworks
