We as humans tend to place value on things that are pleasing to the eye. Most of the time, it is pure instinct, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, I have noticed in gaming forums that one of the things they tend to gravitate toward is whether the protagonist, or any significant character, is attractive or not. Even though this is not unique to the gaming industry, I find it peculiar since the point of video games is to immerse yourself in an interactive environment…not find someone to date.
The most obvious example was the uproar of man-babies when Aloy’s new look was revealed for Horizon Forbidden West. Many complained she was too masculine and/or too fat instead of applauding the stunning graphics. Some fans remade Aloy with a slender face and tons of make-up.
Wait.
Isn’t this a post-apocalyptic game? Where’d she get that eye-liner?
The muscular Abby from The Last of Us 2 baffled many gamers. The character seemed to spark confusion as to why a woman’s biceps were so huge. The focus shifted from away from the stellar and heart-wrenching story about revenge and hate.
So this begs the question, do gamers focus too much on physical attraction of characters in video games? And don’t get attraction mixed up with quality of overall graphics. It is just food for thought since it’s such a shame conversations like these can overshadow what a fantastic video game can offer as an experience.
If you are interested in this topic, check out this insightful editorial by our very our LeRon on Misogyny in Video Games.
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It’s definitely a disturbing trend, no question about that. When I was seeing the controversy around Aloy’s look (and saw that horrific fanmade art with her looking like a model) it made me realize how misogynistic and sexist many gamers are. Notice how it mostly happens around female characters? As many times as Leon Kennedy’s look has evolved in the Resident Evil series, there aren’t comments about him, even when he looks like a perfectly normal person! The double standard is infuriating. I’m hoping people will learn to not judge a character by how they look, but I think it’s going to be a while, sadly.
Awesome and insightful post! 🙂