[quote]12/23/2014 Edit:[b] [u]This thread was made before Destiny was released. [/u][/b]We didn't know how things were going to be yet![/quote]
There's a certain type of response that I'm expecting for this thread (immature and full of boob jokes), and then there's a certain kind of response I'm looking for (responsible conversation). I'm not telling either of you types of posters to leave. It's okay.
I would like to talk about breasts. Specifically, armored breasts. I don't want Destiny to go down a dark path of poor anatomy.
Allow me to say that the more unbalanced the ratio of female to male artists there are on a project, the higher the likelihood of us seeing game armor like [url=http://pds22.egloos.com/pmf/201101/18/68/e0072368_4d34afdf54228.jpg]this[/url]. It's annoying enough to have two melons on your chest, but when they're held up by gravity-defying pieces or metal, that's painful. Bras filled with cushioning and breathable material can still be painful. Imagine chicken wire holding up your moobs.
But that's an over-the-top fantasy MMO, not a space opera. So let's pick a space opera. [url=http://loschaos.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Mass-Effect-Ash-and-Shepard.jpg]Why does the world of Mass Effect require lady lumps on armor?[/url] Why are those emphasized boob pieces necessary in a game that made some huge strides in female representation in games? Do sports bras not exist there? Can we top that off with the idea of a blunt object going towards someone's chest? [url=http://media.tumblr.com/74cddede528b5731359fcfec48885cbd/tumblr_inline_mgc3zjXIsW1rnp9q5.png]Lady lump armor will make things slide into the -blam!-ing sternum[/url]. You know, the bone right in front of a shit ton of vital organs.
So what's the solution for this problem?
1. Cut a hole in the box.
2. Make sure your artists/modelers are well versed in proper female anatomy.
3. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag4C0MFRnmE]Buy a sports bra[/url].
4. Take the awesome male armor you had before and put a woman in it. Don't get me wrong! People come in all shapes and sizes. Breastplates will sometimes need to be a bit bigger for some people and some people will need slimmer sets of power armor. Sometimes people wear form-fitting armor, but that still doesn't excuse outlining the breasts on the armor. [url=http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/yummie-tummie-joelle-shaping-tank/3218774?origin=related-3218774-0-0-1-1-Rich%20Relevence]Even casual form-fitting clothes do not work that way.[/url] What you get is the "uniboob."
[b]Wanting armor that caters to the female anatomy doesn't justify overcompensating for the female anatomy.[/b] Armored breasts do not need to be [url=http://www.wethegamerz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/me3duo.jpg]lifted and separated when one encapsulated piece suffices in the first place[/url].
Done.
You think I'm kidding? I'm -blam!-ing serious.
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I want to start by saying how impressed I am with the quality of this thread from what I've read of the responses. OP is good too. I understand your point. As everyone else has already noted, Bungie hasn't normally had problems with portraying women in a realistic way. I don't, however, agree with the contention that female armor should look just like male armor. You are indeed correct that under a regime of strict realism this would essentially be the case. However, under a regime of strict realism, there are a lot of other things that wouldn't be happening in video games. Video games [i]aren't[/i] strictly realistic. Therefore what I propose is modified realism of the sort many games have already offered: there are differences between men and women and we shouldn't shun them or stick our heads in the sand and insist they don't exist. But in the fantasy world of entertainment, we accept things like little 10 year old Hit Girl punching 200 pound men through doors in Kick Ass. We accept it because it's fun and amusing. We also accept that the feminine form shines through armor restrictions to a moderately greater extent than it realistically "should" in sci-fi games because it's fun and pleasurable to most gamers. I have no data to back this up, but most female gamers, from my interaction with them on a personal level, would be comfortable with the example of male-female armor difference you showed in Mass Effect. There's a lot of mileage between that example and having every female character in your game built and dressed like Isabella from Dragon Age II. Also, this is the best topic title I've ever seen on B.net.