I can't fight in this, it's demeaning!

[lielac]

Ok. This sort of thing is, as far as I can tell, a problem in most games that allow gender customization for one's character, but Runescape has been pretty good about this until recently and I really don't like my last bastion of reasonable armor going the way of the boobies. Therefore, rant ahoy!

Right. So. The title. On the 6th of March this year, Jagex rolled out a massive change of all the various player-worn armors. Despite a couple hiccups in the coloring department (but my personal disgust with the new color of rune armor is not the subject of this rant) and a few other disappointments (okay so actually I think a lot of the changes were COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY) things seemed pretty ok!

(When there are two characters in one image, before's on the left and after's on the right. Also, a note: the befores here are from August 2010 because I am terribly lax in updating my outfit folder and I hadn't changed my basic outfits since then ANYWAY, so there isn't actually quite as much a difference in the character features as they look because the base character model itself got tweaked a bit between the two images. Armor's the important bit, though, and that's been pretty much the same for a long while.)

For instance, my usual close-quarters combat outfit looks pretty awesome and much more realistic:


Archer's armor for male characters also looks REALLY cool:


Unfortunately, considering that female's leather armor bared the wearer's midriff for a very, very long time, I probably shouldn't have been surprised when this happened:


Without the clunky amulet:


Okay, yes. Looking at the skin shown between the old and the new, it doesn't look that different. I'm pretty sure guys had the same neckline then though so it was at least equal-opportunity skin, and if you look at the placement of the stone in the amulet relative to the neckline said neckline definitely dipped some.

What I'm really complaining about: Guy's leather armor is unbroken coverage up to the throat. Ladies get a cleavage window. And I hate that Runescape is going that way.

I'd like to note, though, that I'm not against cleavage in general. People can wear what they want, and should have the choice to cover themselves or not cover themselves (within legal reason for the 'not' bit, of course) as much as they want. Also, I'm gay; I'm far from against looking at T&A. Heck, my character's default outfit (what she wears without any items on) involves a nearly backless halter top that shows almost as much cleavage as the armor I'm complaining about!

I just hate that the armor shows cleavage. I hate that the armor looks different on females beyond the obvious differences needed to account for the different body shape. I hate that I don't have a choice in whether my character shows cleavage if she wears that armor. Showing cleavage was a deliberate decision on the graphics designers' parts, and it's sexual objectification where there should be only joyful running around killing shit and looking awesome while doing it. I hate that.

On a related note, this is why my favorite race to play in WoW is the dwarves. Armor, at least as much as I saw of it, actually looks fairly reasonable on female dwarves. Also dwarves have guns. I like guns. Guns are cool.

So! Who else is incredibly frustrated by the tendency in games for female 'armor' to be designed to show off the wearer's body, while the exact same piece of equipment actually covers their male counterpart like armor should? Anyone else have stories of changing graphics increasing that inequality?

Comments

[randomling]

THIS.

I don't really play Runescape (I've tinkered with it a few times but never really got into it) but I did play WoW for a long time, and it has the same problem. I find it very annoying! The sets of armour that for male characters cover all the vulnerable areas - for female characters, they show off cleavage, midriff, legs, or some combination of the three.

A big part of my problem is things like close-combat characters who have bare midriffs, which is frankly much the same as a big sign saying "please, disembowel me!".

[lielac]

And that is why I love playing some of the (apparently few) female dwarves. If I'm going to be killing things, I should look dressed for the occasion, thank you very much!

A big part of my problem is things like close-combat characters who have bare midriffs, which is frankly much the same as a big sign saying "please, disembowel me!".

ARGH YES. It's like, are you trying to get killed? What the armor looks like doesn't actually matter usually, of course. And, so many female characters, in games and in other media, are designed with titillation in mind when they're supposed to be competent fighters. The 'distract the enemy with your feminine assets then kill them' only works if the enemy is exclusively heterosexual males, anyway. And fairly green recruits, because I'm pretty sure a seasoned soldier will just go 'oh hey bare midriff STAB' and then you're dead.

[miss_s_b]

YAY! Let's expose her heart and lungs to stabbing! After all, she's only a WOMAN!

* headdesk headdesk headdesk *

[lielac]

That's pretty much what I said when I exploded all over the official forum's thread for this update. My exact words were "Can I say HUGE FREAKING TARGET? Because HUGE! FREAKING! TARGET!" but yeah. FAAAAAAAAIL!

Also I <3 your icon.

[miss_s_b]

Aww thank you.

[sugar_cookie]

I whined about female characters in City of Heroes not getting actual full length dresses and only skirts.

Most of my characters were girls, but I admit I made quite a bit of them to look sexy because I am not. :( edit: And I like women too.

[lielac]

Boo, lack of full-length dresses! I love dresses, OK. I love long skirts. They are awesome and I don't know what I'd do without 'em. Especially since my idea of what's appropriate to wear in-game is heavily affected by the actual weather IRL, so in winter I really like being able to put my RS character in a heavy-looking ankle-length skirt, sleeves to the wrist (and gloves!) and a neckline to her throat plus scarf item.

I admit I made quite a bit of them to look sexy because I am not.

Hey, I play RS with the goal in mind of kicking ass and being awesome because I do neither in meatspace. Looking good's equally OK! :D

[sugar_cookie]

I heard people complain of the omission of huge super muscular women too. Your three choices of body shapes were men, women, and huge men. NCSoft said they couldn't do that because it would require altering all costume bits. :/

[lielac]

It's because huge super muscular women are ugly. -sage nod-

Okay srsly what the hell. They'd already have to make three different costume bits for any costumes that can be worn by all three body shapes, whats's so terrible about adding a fourth?!

(Also, the mean little voice in my head is saying 'it's probably because the heterosexual males with delusions of superiority in the audience would be frightened off by the idea of women who look like they could kick the asses of said males, and you can't lose those subscribers' money!')

[strikeslip]

Tanked all of Icecrown Citadel with midriff baring golden rune armor. Happily, I could put a shirt under it and a tabard over it, but still. It was silly. I was a tank.

[lielac]

So silly. Armor is for protecting you, not keeping enough covered to appease the censors! And if you're being a tank, well, then it just gets sillier because it's hard to believe that the armor's actually able to protect you when it barely covers you.

[faesdeynia]

The game that's really bad about this (which springs to mind since I'm currently playing it) is Diablo 3. My mage might be wearing a thong; it's hard for me to tell since there's so much cheek exposed, and her robe covers her like a little loincloth.

[lielac]

-boggle-

I- ah- buh- what

Okay. Okay, wizards are generally squishy. There's no need to make that obvious by having them wear practically nothing!!!!!

Oh dear. Was that five exclamation points? I think it must have been.

[trialia]

*just snarling with every breath now*

[lielac]

I'm imagining River Song's drinking that coffee with her eyes closed so she doesn't have to look at the person who's pissing her off. You know, so she doesn't murder them for making females into sex objects.

[trialia]

Exactly the spirit in which I'm using it. *nods*