There are games in which even experienced player characters can be killed with one hit. Sure, it's just gameplay mechanics, but they define the inner logic of the game world. If an adventurer experiences that wearing armour doesn't have a large effect on the damage he takes and on his chances to survive combat, what should he "think" of it? That he's just lucky all of the time? The conclusion that wearing full armour isn't all that important is more plausible.
It's like taking stuff from containers. If nobody in the game world objects when you smash all barrels and loot all chests that you can find, it might just be gameplay mechanics. But it defines the inner logic of the game world and it wouldn't be fair to still call this "theft".
But that isn't the conclusion, and even if it was we're going down a path that isn't relevant. I'm not arguing about the *type* of armour, I'm arguing about the *design* of the armour. Plate offers the best protection, but at the expense of mobility and how long you can fight for. If you go down in full plate, you're screwed.
Realistically, the most practical armour for video game characters would be mail with either leather (for 'lighter' characters like mages and rogues) or sections of plate for melée characters.
Originally Posted by Lurker
I think there's quite a difference between bikini armour on the one hand and plate armour with boob cups on the other hand. If players (both male and female) want a female character to be recognizably female although she's wearing plate armour and just a few centimetres tall on the screen, boob cups are a way to achieve just that, and it doesn't have much to do with anything else either.
They are a way to achieve that, but they're not exactly the best way. You compare the models in Div 2, and there's a clear difference in the builds of the characters. You can use animations, height differences, different models (e.g. wider hips, narrower shoulders for female). That's what Skyrim uses. Many of the armours are fairly neutral but you can tell the differences (and there's really only one plate 'boob armour').
Originally Posted by Lurker
As said before, having similarly revealing armour for male characters would just be fair. I don't know why it isn't done. Perhaps there's not enough demand for it?
Who knows? I don't think it's a demand issue, it's more a social one. If you look at fashions, men's clothing tends to cover, women's tends to reveal. You get the idea. But there's no real reason to reveal anything. Even just some cloth padding can be useful as armour.
