I Don’t Want Safe, Sterile Designs. Give Me Style. Give Me Curves!

I’m going to say this plainly because I’m tired of dancing around it: I like attractive female character designs in games.

Yes. On purpose. Intentionally.

I like big boobs. I like thick thighs. I like exaggerated silhouettes. I like beauty. I like stylish, confident, over-the-top designs that know exactly what they are. And I am annoyed with by the constant moral panic every time a game leans into that or this argument of pushing for "Realism" whenever people want to make things ugly.

Somehow we’ve reached this bizarre point where fantasy is allowed to exaggerate literally everything — giant swords, men and women being torn limb from limb if gory detailed fashion, dramatic hair flowing in slow motion — but if a female character is stylized to be attractive on purpose, now everyone clutching their pearls?

Nonsense, I tells ya!

It’s a video game. It’s stylized. It’s escapism. I didn't hear a word of complaint when Leon Kennedy was out there practically seducing my girlfriend through the screen or when Kratos is out here delivering on the single dad fantasy by saying "Hm." stoically. That’s just “cool character design.” But when I say I want woman is caked up, now we need a think piece about the decline of civilization?

Come on!

I’m not talking about lazy design or scamming people like in Gacha's. I’m not saying big tits or thighs can be a universal replacement for a quality character (Though it does help).

But if a character is stylish, charismatic, powerful, and happens to be sexy too — I don't think that is a flaw. Attractiveness isn't somehow incompatible with depth. Bayonetta didn’t stop being iconic because she was unapologetically sexy. Karlach isn't less compelling because she's a stacked muscle mommy (Although Shadowheart will always be superior). Morrigan from Dragon Age didn't feel like less of a character because she was hot, she was still 100% a selfish jerk...and I still romance her!

I don’t want every game flattened into safe, sterile, focus tested neutrality just so nobody can accuse it of being “bait.” Let games be bold.

Anyway, thank you for coming to my TED Talk. 🙂