Here we go again! First it's boob gate (thanks to the very awesome Blair Butler for coming up with the term), now we have Lara Croft's mammeries to argue about. The most famous pair of video game breasts this side of Soul Calibur's Ivy are getting a reduction and it's caused quite a few arguments to start on the interwebs. I hit the floor of E3 this week and got a behind-closed-doors look at the upcoming reboot of Tomb Raider. You can read my preview here on Coming Soon for info on game play and why it seems weirdly masochistic, but today I'm talking about boobs.
Maybe she uses super glue?
Lara Croft looks very different this time around. Certainly more realistic. Her chest has gone from one that made her look like she would face plant if she stood on her toes to a large B/small C. Some have argued that this is a non-issue, but the truth is, the game has been famous for more than just it's action. There have been nude hacks, posters, fan clubs...even Angelina Jolie had them enhanced (not surgically...don't sue me) for the films. Her breasts are a signature part of the character and there is no way this wasn't going to be noticed.
Let me be clear here. I don't care how big or small her chest is. I mentioned it on Twitter and Facebook last night and the discussion was intense. Friendly and intense...I'm not trying to start a war here or imply in any way that there ever was one. I was just really surprised at how many people felt that I should be thrilled by the change. So many, in fact, that I thought I'd share my feelings about it all here.
The new, less busty Lara Croft.
I have many issues with the way women have been portrayed in film and television. It's changing, of course, but there is a long way to go. I've also had issues with stupid/weak women in video games. There is no way in hell that you could ever call Lara stupid or weak. This goes back to the discussion about sexuality and geek women, and whether or not we need to neuter ourselves to be taken seriously. As the very awesome Jane Espenson told me in our interview for Huffington Post, "I like to think of sci fi fans as people who genuinely embrace the idea of infinite diversity in infinite combination. Diversity includes the sexy. It just does. There's no way around that. We are simply going to have to embrace the sexy." Nothing wrong with being sexy AND kick ass. And nothing about being sexy takes away from what you can do with your brain or your sword.
The incredibly talented Jane Espenson.
All I care about is game play. I don't care if Ivy's boobs are the size of pumpkins and there is no way they could stay in that strip of tooth floss. That's the unrealistic style of Soul Calibur. I don't think Siegfried could hold a sword that size either.
That's some sword you've got there, Siegfried! Ahem.
I do not ask for realism in video games. I ask for art design. I ask for fun. I ask for object permanence so my feet don't go through the stairs instead of standing on them and my arms don't poke through walls. I ask for fewer fire bats. I ask for kick ass characters. I laughed my ass off when someone told me on Twitter that it was unacceptable that her breasts were so unrealistic. Realistic? Oh, because it's totally realistic to have magic, or carry 50 items (including armor) in an invisible backpack, or to find treasure chests in every household, or to die and respawn or find giant spinning coins lying all over the world. Hedgehogs do not skateboard. Girls in bikinis do not play sexy games on a private island that only you have been invited to. Zombies are not running around, waiting to be taken down. (Well, not yet. I'm prepared for the zombie apocalypse, just in case.) Why the hell should I care if a character has large, unrealistic boobs? I'm not looking to video games to tell me how I should look. And if some guy won't date you because you don't look like Lara Croft...run from him. Hell, he's probably not out of his basement anyway.
I hope there's a pony inside!
Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Pontificate below and happy gaming.
.JPG)
.jpg)
)))moon)
I like that you noted the general unrealistic universe that video games thrive in. Somehow people get more upset over physical appearance than being able to jump ten feet in the air (as a strictly no-powers human), but I think the latter would actually bother me more.
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/#!/science_mcgee
The doctors said Herpes virus do not have medical cure because the virus is capable of hiding within the human cells, it remains protected from your immune system. Herpes isn’t a special virus – your immune system has the tools to fight it back. But because it is able to lay dormant in protected cells, your immune system is unable to remove it from your body,But with strong reactive herbal medication is capable of getting rid of the virus gradually and totally from your body without damaging any of your cells,natural herbs kills the virus totally not just reducing the out break. Get natural herbs cure Email DR. VOODOO at voodoospelltemple66@gmail.com Add Dr voodoo on whatsApp +2348140120719
DeleteI like the new look. She's still hot. I think she looks more powerful and I don't have to worry about her falling over any more.
ReplyDeleteLove this post! I think you very elegantly summed up my feelings on the matter.
ReplyDeleteI am all for the new look, kinda goes with the overall realism of the new look. Hearing about other's reaction reminds me of another article I read about music about who actually should be calling the shots, the artist or their fans.
ReplyDeleteI actually adore the new look. She's gorgeous and the game looks amazing. I look forward to kicking bad guy butt as one of the coolest characters in video games.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I can't imagine who thought her old look was better than this one.
As one of your retweets pointed out, it's an origins story is it not? She's younger, less developed and as such less busty. Even if not so, she's essentially an olympic class gymnast and heptathlete with the actions she performs all the time, she clearly should be slimmer than she is in the other games.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with her in either guise though, as you said she's a very famous character for her bust and her looks, she's a gaming sex symbol but she is a STRONG character. I appreciate that, I like my women with a spine.
I also like Ivy. She's awesome.
Having said all this, I've never been a big fan of the tomb raider series. It's never really captured me.
David, she's 21. Your boobs don't grow after 21. :)
ReplyDeleteThe original Lara is very cartoon-y, because the graphics weren't very advanced at the time. Would her knees really be so skinny? Her legs so long? Her waist so thin? Now that the graphics have become so much more realistic, maybe it isn't unreasonable to make her whole appearance more realistic, proportions included.
ReplyDeleteI get what you're saying, that how realistic her boobs are shouldn't matter in a world that is clearly unrealistic. But some things in the game are realistic (ocean is blue, water puts out fire, etc.) and others are obviously not. The designers get to choose which things they want to break from reality. I guess I don't care much whether they decide to put her breasts in the realistic or unrealistic category--I never played the original games, so I have no attachment to her old look. But I am pleased to see her more modest bust here, since it seems the designers are not pandering as much to the teenage boys/teenage-boys-at-heart/guys living in their parents' basements that make up a large part of the target audience.
Uh-oh, I used the word "pander". I should probably go hide now.
I´m totally into hot woman who kick ass. My "idol" in that sense is Beka Valentine from Andromeda: She is attractive, she is strong, she is intelligent, she wears clothes that are sexy and practical at the same time, she kicks ass.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Andromeda is a TV show which is again very different from a game. Still I have similar expectations for female game characters: They need to be attractive, they need to be intelligent, they need to kick ass. For me the size of Lara´s boobs influences neither her attractiveness nor her BAMFness. So I don´t really care if she has breasts as big as her head or if they are more of a B cup.
In my personal opinion, she looks even more attractive now, just because the design is better. But for all I care she could use her breasts as weapons (you know, hit people with them...) and still be awesome.
I love how people act like only teen aged boys like large breasts. I wouldn't decide whether to play a game based on them, but I do like them and I happen to have a pair myself. (Natural F no less)
ReplyDeleteMy broken relationship has been restored by Dr.Unity the best spell caster online that is powerful and genuine. My boyfriend of 4yr broke up with me i have cried my self to sleep most of the nights and don’t seem to concentrate during lectures, sometimes I stay awake almost all night thinking about him and start to cry all over again.Because of this I end up not having energy for my next day’s classes ,my attendance has dropped. Generally he is a very nice guy ,he ended it because he said we were arguing a lot and not getting along.He is right we’ve been arguing during the pregnancy a lot .After the break up I kept ringing him and telling him I will change.I am in love with this guy and he is the best guy I have ever been with.I’m still hurt and in disbelief when he said he didn’t have any romantic feelings towards me anymore that hurt me faster than a lethal syringe.He texts me now and then mainly to check up on how am doing with the pregnancy,he is supportive with it but it’s not fair on me, him texting me as I just want to grieve the pain and not have any stress due to the pregnancy.i was really upset and i needed help, so i searched for help online and I came across a website that suggested that Dr Unity can help get ex back fast. So, I felt I should give him a try. I contacted him and he told me what to do and i did it then he did a spell for me. 28 hours later, my bf came to me and apologized for the wrongs he did and promise never to do it again. Ever since then, everything has returned back to normal. I and my bf are living together happily again..All thanks to Dr Unity. If you have any problem contact Dr.Unity now and i guarantee you that he will help you. Here’s his contact.Email him at: Unityspelltemple@gmail.com ,you can also call him or add him on Whats-app: +2348071622464 , His website: http://unityspelltemple.yolasite.com .Thank you so much for reading Sonia Williams from England.
ReplyDelete