I will always laugh at everything related to Xeno 2's character designs because it's like they read all there's to be read about the efforts of the West to stop the hyper sexualization of women in gaming and decided to do exactly the opposite just because they could.
It was like than in the original game too. The one exception was Yuffie calling her "Boobs" during Tifa's short tenure as party leader. And I chalk that up to Yuffie being Yuffie.
So far so good on the camera aspect. Let's just hope they can find it in themselves to keep it up.
The issue is that when it comes to writing it's like they feel obligated to have at least one line that points out "HEY DID YOU NOTICE THAT THIS CHARACTER HAS BIG BREASTS?!"
I think that there's too much overthinking about how a character is dressed, and not enough about how they're posed and presented. These factors can be even more important than the outfit a character is wearing. Hell, it's conceivable for a character to be completely naked, but still not be subjected to objectification if the presentation tells us otherwise.
Feel like the likelihood of this is close to zero. "A game character's breasts are news worthy" is the cringiest fucking sentence.
Deflated to B cups apparently, y'all.
Like I wonder what their response would be if I were to legitimately ask about Tifa's characterization in the game. 🤔
Yea really. Honestly seeing about her talk about her insecurities and having those insecurities completely unrelated to Cloud in the trailer was a good sign that at least SE is taking it seriously.
Regarding Aerith I'd blame SE on that one. Most of the FFVII cast got completely flanderized as a result of the compilation stuff. Aerith thus turned into a church girl like figure, (when the entire point of her design was to contrast with her personality)
I was always under the impression that was a direct result of them pandering to the fandom, since such alterations didn't come about until a good five years after the game's release.
Nah. The original concept art had her wearing a skirt and a boob-sock shirt, not to mention that one ridiculous CG cut scene (I'm sure Crossing Eden has the gif somewhere).
Yep.
It's funny because artists also don't have any trouble drawing sexualized versions of their favorite characters no matter what their official designs are.
I blame that on technical limitation of that time.
Yep, Advent Children is a perfect example of flanderization and completely ruined the perception of tons of characters.
I'll try to find it later but I remember a chart from an artist of how to properly design breast and how cloth properly conform, regardless of size.
And also profitable. In these crowdfunding days there's a lot of money to be made from drawing highly sexualised depictions of fan-popular characters.
My bad, I thought you mean the in-game model.
It's profitable for single artists. Statically they're still not making as much bank as actual devs.
The real reason is much more banal. Amano wanted money and more input in the game design process. Nomura was much cheaper and had no real ability to set terms yet. Due to FFVII's immense popularity however, we are still getting his god-awful design-by-belt decades later.
It's amazing when you consider how much of the PS1's limited ram had to go into processing this, not to mention how much time and money it took to make FMV's. Like this was a developmental priority.
Exactly.
Now I wonder if this at all influenced their decision to make Aerith look "western' and Tifa look "eastern." I feel like that would unintentionally be playing into stereotypes about both regardless of the costume design.
Man, I should have know it was because of money.
The whole thing reminds me of the MK11 reveals and me falling in love with Skarlet's design and then finding out a bunch of misogynistic assholes hate it.
He mostly just provides covers and posters, and only really freelances now. His relative contribution on the art and design fronts for Squenix is pretty non-existent. Which is also why most all of the designs from Squenix post-FF7 are generic and uninteresting.
I guess the only thing I worry about (as unlikely as it'll be) is that in an attempt to appeal to "both sides", they'll sneak in little references that her chest is even bigger than it appears because of the sports bra. Something like Yuffie walking in while she changes and exclaiming "Wow, how do you even walk with those???"
I just straight-up don't want her chest to be an in-joke, because a big part of the fandom already did that to a ludicrous degree, which is why I also winced whenever Square would nudge them along with cheeky references like this:
In Final Fantasy XIV, there is also a Tifa minion you can purchase, which is adorable and does a punch animation. The description calls it "a gravity-defying rendition of the famous brawler" and I can't help but think that's another boob joke.
It's honestly nitpicking and not a big deal in hindsight. The only reason I prefer they don't do this is because it's just adding fuel to an already smoldering fire caused by the online fandom. Ultimately, they were a major factor into why Tifa's design needed a revision in the first place.
I don't even see them as nitpicks since it's clear that you just want the character to be respected, which is a sentiment that I share.I guess the only thing I worry about (as unlikely as it'll be) is that in an attempt to appeal to "both sides", they'll sneak in little references that her chest is even bigger than it appears because of the sports bra. Something like Yuffie walking in while she changes and exclaiming "Wow, how do you even walk with those???"
I just straight-up don't want her chest to be an in-joke, because a big part of the fandom already did that to a ludicrous degree, which is why I also winced whenever Square would nudge them along with cheeky references like this:
In Final Fantasy XIV, there is also a Tifa minion you can purchase, which is adorable and does a punch animation. The description calls it "a gravity-defying rendition of the famous brawler" and I can't help but think that's another boob joke.
It's honestly nitpicking and not a big deal in hindsight. The only reason I prefer they don't do this is because it's just adding fuel to an already smoldering fire caused by the online fandom. Ultimately, they were a major factor into why Tifa's design needed a revision in the first place.
I'm a leg and ass man, but I'd probably be annoyed if Tifa was dummy thicc as well. I do agree there's a time a place for the stuff as long as the representation is equal. A swimsuit pack with some man service would be fine as well.
