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So... Where is the body fat?
- Thread starter Fredrik
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It simply makes the suspension disbelief smaller. It of course depends on the tone of the game. Last Of Us 2 would simply feel off if Ellie or Abby weren't fit looking. It would be inconsistent with the rest of the game. Same if they were sexualized super models.
Something like Warcraft then goes for a completely different tone that doesn't require much authenticity so pretty much anything goes.
Not just "doing parkour", but specifically the Assassin's Creed style of climbing. And why wouldn't it? The best Olympians in the world wouldn't be able to do what the Assassin's Creed characters do, but it's easier to suspend disbelief if the in-game character is built like an Olympian.
Because it's a video game and does not have to mirror real life?
You'll generally find more diverse body types in games with an ensemble cast, in order to increase diversity.
You'll rarely, if ever, find less represented body types as the sole protagonist, because most games tend to be power fantasies, and most people would prefer to be fit/muscular/etc.
You'll rarely, if ever, find less represented body types as the sole protagonist, because most games tend to be power fantasies, and most people would prefer to be fit/muscular/etc.
Probably not, in this case I guess it would be more focusing on improving yourself instead of just staying satisfied being big. It's just an idea I had using my own experience as a big guy.
In a way it might be relatable to a lot of people who are trying to improve themselves or need motivation. Especially having a character that isn't blessed by the gods physically from the get go.
It's just something I thought of, I used to be super obese, 80 lbs down and now I'm just fat lol
It also depends on the video game.
With a game that aims for grounded realism in its story, like TLOU2, the characters need to seem physically able to do what they're doing to make the suspension of disbelief easier.
With other games that's less of an issue, and I'll definitely agree that there's more room for a range of body types in those titles. If there's no aim for "realism" there's no reason to not have a variety of body types.
The real answer to all of this, though, is that our shitty societal expectations mean that games with attractive protagonists sell better.
Yes, of course it depends on the game. If you've got realistic humans in a "realistic, gritty world" like in the Last of Us franchise, then sure, you're going to want to stick within the realm of reasonable body proportions and physical actions, slow wind-ups for animation, and all that bullshit. But, at the end of the day, video games allow you to do whatever the fuck you want to do. And I want more interesting settings, more interesting character designs, more interesting stories, and more interesting art styles. If my protagonist is fat, or is even fat and is climbing around doing shit, I'm really not going to give a fuck if they and the world they inhabit are interesting.
I was thinking on making a thread but about male pattern baldness.
Like 2/3 of men will experience some kind of baldness, complete baldness of maybe just a little bit noticeable receding hairline, but it will be present, yet, aside from Rockstar Games i can't think of another developer giving realistic hairlines to their MCs
Like 2/3 of men will experience some kind of baldness, complete baldness of maybe just a little bit noticeable receding hairline, but it will be present, yet, aside from Rockstar Games i can't think of another developer giving realistic hairlines to their MCs
it's a garbage preference. you wouldn't accept someone who proudly exclaimed that they wouldn't want to play someone of a different race or gender, but body discrimination is so easily accepted that people don't even think twice about it
It makes a lot more sense for Japanese games, as obesity and even being overweight is definitely not as widespread as it is in the west. But yeah, american games lacking overweight people is kinda ridiculous.
I think this happens in pretty much all visual media. Almost everyone on TV or movies is incredibly attractive unless a character specifically isn't supposed to be.
Edit: maybe I remembered wrong about the voice actors modeling for the characters, but I do remember that the devs specifically wanted more realistic body types for the characters.
I think in the in-game commentary, the l4d2 devs said that they wanted normal-looking people for the characters rather than people who looked like models or movie stars. The voice actors for the characters were used as a base for their models.
There's Coach from Left 4 Dead 2
It seems like it's more popular for video games with character creation or with character selection like Bob from Tekken and Rufus from Street Fighter. There may be negative perceptions about the marketability of obese main characters from the companies too.
Edit: maybe I remembered wrong about the voice actors modeling for the characters, but I do remember that the devs specifically wanted more realistic body types for the characters.
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I'd be fine with it being a option for those that want it, but I wouldn't use it myself. It just wouldn't look right to me.
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I'm sure your wife is spectacular but I'm not talking about a toned "curvy" gym body. I'm talking about a really big bust and wide hips as seen in some games, in real life those two features can absolutely exist but not without body fat. You can build muscles and tone your waist to give you a slightly more hourglass figure but how will you lower the body fat just on your stomach and keep it in your breasts?
Yeah, there's not as much overweight characters. Only recent game I can think of with realistic weight is RDR2 and it's online component, but there's quite a bit of clipping on bigger characters so animation might be what's holding it back? Fat Arthur however, in my opinion, is canon.
Aside from his horrible-as-fuck taste in shoes, this guy looks cool.Barry from TMS#FE. Not necessarily a fan fave, and he's a retired musician(and based off a real life one) but he's a more average body shape compared to most of the other cast in said gamr
admittedly a side character though
His main schtick is being heavily obsessed with an 11 year old girl. He's really not.
But if we had a wider representation of different body types in gaming, do you think that would go away? If we made games more inclusive and diverse, there would be no fit or healthy characters left? (Also assuming that only the fittest of the fit and muscular perfection have healthy lifestyles)
No-one is asking anyone to delete all fit characters from gaming, just allow more diverse bodytypes to be in games in bigger roles. Why do you people come in here and say 'it's a good thing!'.
Maybe you could also find motivation in a semi-fit guy? Or a guy who still 'looks' a bit 'overweight' but is pretty strong and has good cardiovascular function?
🥰Thanks, I know I'm not alone, it's just so accepted and pervasive sometimes it gets to you 😅
User Banned (1 Week): Hostility; Prior Bans for the Same
Someone says something you don't like so they should be banned? Sorry you don't like hearing the truth.
It was a quickly typed post, don't have a hissy fit.
yeah barry is disgusting
in this case 'the truth' is discriminatory
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Oh that's great. Can you look like that in the single player portion by eating "wrong"?Yeah, there's not as much overweight characters. Only recent game I can think of with realistic weight is RDR2 and it's online component, but there's quite a bit of clipping on bigger characters so animation might be what's holding it back? Fat Arthur however, in my opinion, is canon.
it sucks that you have to like go out of your way to get him to look anything close to thisYeah, there's not as much overweight characters. Only recent game I can think of with realistic weight is RDR2 and it's online component, but there's quite a bit of clipping on bigger characters so animation might be what's holding it back? Fat Arthur however, in my opinion, is canon.
i played like 50 hours of this game before i even knew weight gain and loss was even a thing
Yep, exactly that. You can be underweight or overweight depending on what you eat, and I think how much you run around too. It works well.
If the poster replaced "fat spider-man" with "trans spider-man" and "fat lara croft" with "trans lara croft", they'd be banned. Permanently. Why are they not both unacceptable?
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Yeah options are fine, I just want my hero to have a nice hairy belly really, to me it would look perfect, and it's about time the male characters get something to add physics on too ;)
Nah, thanks. I've been chubby for most of my life (and still am today), but I could really do without this kind of "representation".
I absolutely don't want my media to perfectly reflect real life, whatever the studies may say about the supposed benefits of it. I'm here to be absorbed in a better, fictional world, where most characters are forever beatiful, thin and young, and would much prefer it to stay that way.
I absolutely don't want my media to perfectly reflect real life, whatever the studies may say about the supposed benefits of it. I'm here to be absorbed in a better, fictional world, where most characters are forever beatiful, thin and young, and would much prefer it to stay that way.
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Holy crap I didn't know this, this is fantastic, finally a reason to do another playthrough! 👍
Exemplary answer when someone doesn't like a thing you do, just say 'don't have a hissy fit'
You just came into a thread where people are wanting more representation for diverse body types and say that people don't want that, and then you are weirded out when people get confrontational?
Generally when someone says they want something, or wonder why something is a certain way, you try to show understanding. Not tell them their opinion is invalidated by the masses who think otherwise.
You do know that your argument can and has been used for every thing ever?
"But 'people don't want': black people, brown people, hbtq people, women"
won't sell, people don't like it, sorry move on :(
Depending on the game, I disagree. If it's my job to be The Witcher where I spent my entire life jogging, horseback riding, and sword fighting until I'm exhausted, I'm guessing I'm gonna be pretty shredded.
No, it's called a choice. Your wanting to play as a fat person is no different than my not.
Did you even read my post? The hissy fit was directly in response to the person who just had to quote me with a "FFS" for quickly typing Laura instead of Lara. It had absolutely nothing to do with anything else.
Your entire post is based on an exchange you don't even understand.
your choice is to be discriminatory
but their point is still entirely valid. you chose to use wide sweeping language by baselessly saying most people don't want this to try to justify your discrimination. and then, when called out on it, you retreat back to just talking about you and your individual choice. which, still, is discriminatory
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I'm going to guess that you think this way because of how chubby characters are represented in media as of right now. As others have said, usually to make fun of them or for villains.
I don't see what would be bad about giving Nathan Drake some more body fat if he's still a likeable and strong character and hero.
If they would just add a bunch of chubby characters to make fun of or to show how weak minded they are, then yeah, no thanks!
User Banned (3 Days): Fatshaming
Yeah I mean is it believable that Lara Croft loves her Big Macs every day when she's travelling the globe running climbing all over mountains and if she does love her Big Macs I'm sure that activity means she burns it all off no problem 😂
Why what exactly?
Why do I use media for escapism?
Why do I prefer looking at characters who are conventionally beatiful, regardless of their gender and race?
Now that I think of it didn't they use fat Thor as a joke in the last avengers movie
How come that didn't receive a lot of outrage it was fat shaming to no end but he's a average White guy so it musta been ok
How come that didn't receive a lot of outrage it was fat shaming to no end but he's a average White guy so it musta been ok
haha fat people could only ever be fat because of a lack of impulse control and constant desire for fast food 🤣🤣🤣
Sorry, man, yeah I misunderstood the part about the hissy fit, I was a bit quick on the reading there :)
And I'm not good at the quoting function haha.
I'll quote your post here that I was also referencing to:
This was the dismissive attitude I was talking about and the way you called your post 'the truth'.
Having some body fat doesn't automatically equate to being overweight. Over the last couple of decades for movies in particular things have been leaning so heavily in the other direction that actors are constantly dehydrating themselves to an unhealthy degree in order to show unnatural amounts of muscle definition.
I think a good example to demonstrate just how extreme things are today would be Shatner from Star Trek TOS as he's a pretty archetypical action hero of that era from the 60's to 80's (which is when post Schwarznegger beefcake action stars started to take over). They took pretty much every opportunity they could to show him bare chested and his physique didn't look anything like we expect those characters to look today.
It did receive a lot of outrage and criticism, you just didn't see it, appearantly
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