First of all, hi everyone! :)

[the_escapist]

I've been a member for a while, posted the odd comment in response to entries, but never posted an entry here myself. I just made a post to my own journal in regards to all the discussion that's going on around the Internet's gaming circles about BioShock: Infinite, Elizabeth and her art design, and wanted to share my thoughts here and see what you guys made of it all. So here's what I posted to my own journal verbatim:


The never-ending debate on the portrayal of women in media and what constitutes sexism and exploitation rages on in the gaming community. Recently, Ken Levine, creator of the BioShock series, has spoken out against those who have of late been focusing on the bust (and not much else) of Elizabeth, the female lead in the soon-to-be-released BioShock title, BioShock: Infinite.

First, meet Elizabeth ...

Now here's what Ken Levine said:

"You know, I think there's two questions there. One is 'does she need to be pretty?' and another is 'does she need to be voluptuous?' or whatever. In terms of her body type, I think certainly people on the Internet have spent way more time thinking about Elizabeth's chest than I have. It's something I've barely thought about.

"I've spent way more time thinking about her eyes than her chest because eyes show a ton of expression, and you see her at a great distance. AI characters get very, very small very, very quickly, so you need to be able to recognize her silhouette, the shape of her body. Her color scheme's actually very simple, you know, the sort of two tone color look. That's all to do with this sort of exaggeration."

For my part, my first consideration is whether she works as a character. Judging from the E3 demo, that would be a resounding 'Yes!' She's multifaceted: vulnerable in her plight to escape Songbird, and her tenuous at best grasp on her powers; headstrong in her will to fight; playful in her sense of humour; courageous in sacrificing herself to save Booker by doing the very thing she fears the most. And this we get in a mere fifteen minutes.

Then comes the question of art design. Does a character as well drawn (excuse the pun) as she is need to also be visually alluring? Elizabeth is quite petite, almost child-like in her stature, and there's no denying that she is rather busty for her frame. I do hope no one is arguing that in itself is a problem, otherwise it starts to imply that large breasts or physical attractiveness (in addition to, and not meaning to imply that is what entails physical attractiveness) devalue a person's character, and that one cannot be taken seriously if they are well-endowed.

So specifically, we are talking about her clothing. As with the past two iterations of BioShock, the setting is a decaying utopia. This time around, it appears more political than literal, and we've gone from a mid twentieth century aesthetic to Victorian. The style of her clothes, in that regard, I think, are spot on. They fit the style of the game as a whole. They're simple, and yet iconic. Does her corset need to be so tight? Does the neckline need to be so low? Debatable. (And for Great Justice, I personally would love to see that corset have an effect on her as she's doing all this running around.)

In a way, I think the character would have been served by greater modesty in her presentation. But where Elizabeth has a definitive air of innocence and naivete, I'm also hoping that it's something of a caudal lure. BioShock, in the past, has never resorted to cheap titillation, and whilst any titillation gained from Elizabeth's outfit would have to be mild at best, I am giving the developers the benefit of the doubt and not assuming it was a choice made purely for marketing reasons. That her outfit does make sense in the context of her character and the setting.


What do you guys make of it all?

Comments

[miss_s_b]

I don't think there's a problem with any one character in particular, but with female game characters overall being petite, big-breasted, wide-eyed... Sure, there's a degree of sameness about male characters too, but there is more variation among males than females.

[the_escapist]

That's generally what I find. I thought Elizabeth was an interesting focus for the argument, because all things considered, she's FAR from an extreme example of the issue. I think perhaps the concern comes from the fact that she's otherwise a genuine, well-written (so far) character. That she's cheapened by it because she's otherwise not cheap in the slightest. Whereas the example of the Japanese cover of Soul Calibur V is is less of a hot topic because it is quite clearly titillation for the sake of selling the product.

But yes, the tendency for male characters (particularly protagonists) to be beefy brutes is problematic in its own way, but I personally have never encountered a lithe or physically unattractive male character to be pulled to bits for being "ugly" by the community the way it happens to female characters.

What's ironic, perhaps, it that female characters, like Alyx Vance from Half-Life 2, who do not conform to the stereotype, are generally rather unanimously loved characters regardless. I wish developers would pay more attention to that.

[havocthecat]

I think that when I see a video game character who's doe-eyed and large-breasted, I know that I (a woman) am not the target market of this video game.

It would be really nice to be the target market of an action video game instead of Cooking Mama.

[the_escapist]

I do get that message from them as well - "this isn't meant for you" - but I play them anyway. :/

And yes, it really would. I think it's part of the reason I enjoyed Mass Effect and Dragon Age so much. The female protagonist is mostly a clone of the male, so she doesn't get treated differently.

[havocthecat]

Oh, I also play them anyway. But there are times when the message is a little too clear, and I don't bother with those games.

I haven't played Dragon Age 2, but Dragon Age: Origins does well by its protagonist, I think, since it doesn't much matter about the protagonist's gender.

[eleanore]

I'd also like to throw my proverbial hat into the ring by saying that, as a rule, BioWare does a fairly good job at keeping their protagonists on equal footing. I also think that Dragon Age is a good example because it matters less about the Warden's/Hawke's gender and more about the race/backstory/choices they make in game.

[the_escapist]

Which is precisely why I love BioWare as a developer (that and they're pretty good about being inclusive with the romance storyline options). Mass Effect is exactly the same in that way, and the female Commander Shepard has got to be one of my favourite female video game characters pretty much ever.

Interesting!

[innatizzy]

I actually find the argument of "something I've barely thought of" kind of sad. Now, I'm not going to say that being petite and big breasted is in any way bad in real life, but the fact of the matter is that it's the norm for video games, and rather obviously pandering to the male demographic. The fact that this guy didn't even have to consider making a female character large breasted is somewhat the problem. He considered her wardrobe, her eyes, her color scheme, but just skipped thinking about her form and automatically put large breasts on? That, I think, is the problem with game designers.

I agree with your assumption that the choice was not made purely for marketing, but I think that's because, as Levine says, it simply wasn't thought of or talked about that much. It wasn't an attempt to drive up sales, it's just become automatic to see female characters with tiny waists and big breasts. Which is a problem.

Re: Interesting!

[the_escapist]

... skipped thinking about her form and automatically put large breasts on ...

That is a good point, and a way of looking at what he said that I didn't consider. BioShock, for me, had always existed in that corner of the gaming world that didn't bow down to marketing pressure in that sense, so her design is a bit of an anomaly in that it so easily fits.

It reminds me of the lead-up to Rift, wherein a subset of the community was vocal about the (apparent) need for breast size customisation during character creation. Not so much that they wanted it (which is more a symptom of the bigger problem), but that they called the women depicted in the promo material "flat-chested", when they were (to my eyes) an average B cup. It wasn't about customisation, it was that the model as is was deemed "not good enough". Worrisome indeed. :/

[themadmermaid]

I think that her outfit is really unflattering, distractingly so. Specifically, the bodice being super low cut. It's funny that she's crossing her arms in the this protective stance... and still has about a foot of skin from chin to cleavage completely bare because of her dress.

[eleanore]

I noticed that too. :P

[the_escapist]

It is very low. The tightness of it bothers me moreso, I think. I don't understand how she can breathe, let alone talk or move in it. What Levine says about exaggerated character design is true enough - especially for BioShock, in which the art design has always been a bit doll-like (for all characters) ... so I'm still kind of torn.

[themadmermaid]

Yeah, I mean I think that she's rather... oddly designed, in some ways, but I don't feel that she's been made to be overtly sexual, especially compared to many video game heroines.