Oh for goodness sake. People want to mis-quote me, fine. Yes, I did/do find it hilarious that men are complaining about this, and seem to want a conventional scantily clad Barbie type companion in this game too, when that archetype has been around all along. Men have had all the eye-candy options in games and fantasy illustrations for YEARS. Decades. All one has to do is look around at fantasy book covers, or just about any fantasy or game illustrations in general. While "the male gaze" is very much an art school term, its perspective has become so pervasive, so ingrained in our media that we hardly notice it, and assume it is the norm.
It's only in recent years that game designers have realised that women play RPGs too, that we've always been here, and have started to cater to that. And what is hilarious is that men, who have had their eye candy across the fantasy genre of books/movies/illustration/games all along, for decades, are now complaining about the apparent lack of this eye-candy equality in this one particular game. Why suddenly demand balance when there has never been balance in the fantasy genre, to begin with? Why can't we women have something nice for once and be allowed to enjoy it?
For me as a female, this game and its characters are a breath of fresh air. Female character armour design in this game is also a breath of fresh air. Also, while this has been a primarily "straight" discussion, I do find Lae'zel and Minthara attractive in different ways, and in fact am surprised that they are dismissed out of hand so easily.
So there we have it, everyone. Someone honest enough to loudly (and gleefully) declare that there is indeed an imbalance in the game regarding which sex gets more enjoyment out of the game on the eye candy front.
And of course, it's accompanied by the "it's my turn" argument. The tit-for-tat argument.
And it's all up to Larian to right the wrongs of the past! To institute eye candy reparations!
Originally Posted by Alexandrite
You know what else is getting out of hand? This discussion. Probably. I'm out.
Maybe don't cackle and be dismissive about issues others have with the game, and it might not come back to bite you in the ass next time? Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
