I know that this topic has been beaten to death throughout the WoWblogoshpere, but...I felt that I needed to weigh in on it. Perhaps not the most auspicious first post for a blog, but why not start with something tried and true, eh?
From the advent of custom avatars on, I have been drawn to females as my representative in digital environs. The reasons for this are complex and varied enough that it will likely get its own post in the future. So, I have seen a pretty good range of how various games deck out the women of their world. And I have to say that, while WoW isn't the worst offender of "less armor is more", it certainly does suffer from it.
Recently, my baby paladin had asked the guild's resident healdin, disguised as a mage, for a port. Upon arriving in Silvermoon, said pala-mage commented, "Wow, I forgot what low level paladin gear was like." I had noted, but hadn't really noticed, that my paladin was wearing the article depicted to the right.
Yes, that's right, my paladin was wearing "pants" that would get her arrested. That's not pants. That's not shorts. That's not even a loincloth.
That is a strip of fur on the front and a piece of fabric on the back that don't meet between the legs. Her bits are...getting an airing. And this is mail armor. /sighNow, in all fairness, this particular piece and related pieces (see left) are almost as bad for males. They at least meet between the legs for males, though.
Running around in these, I kept thinking, "Boy, I wish I was wearing pants. I'm glad I have a cloak long enough to hide that from the back at least." I was embarrassed for my character. I was quite glad when I finally upgraded to real pants:
That's some respectable mail armor! Now I get to look forward to bared mid-riffs on plate armor! Yay! (/groan)
...In other news: Have you ever spent a decent amount of time staring at the idle animation of a blood elf female? (The percentage of gamers I don't need to point the following out to is probably larger than I wish to admit or know.) If you've never taken the time or had the curiosity to note this, watch the hips, pubic mound and crotch as she shifts positions. It's...hypnotic. And not just in a sexualized way. There's really a lot of realistic body motion animation going on there.
Posts
I've never stared at Akro's...bits, but I've been hypnotized by her facial expressions. There's a little tilt of the head and an incredulous eyebrow raise that cracks me up all the time!
ReplyDeleteThe human female has this wonderfully bored "okay whatever" expression.
ReplyDeleteThe gnome female is more of a "ready for anything" look.
The night elf, though, doesn't seem to move above the neck or below the belly when idle.
I don't play my dwarves much, but I think it's more of a smiling yawn?
And strangely I don't pay attention to my draenei, they always have visible helmets. I'll have to change that.
As an on-topic aside, this was my hunter at 40, wearing a full set of the Captain's mail (level 34?-38 mail)
ReplyDeleteRuth (pic hosted at wow.allakhazam, yes it's old)
Welcome to the grind! :)
ReplyDeleteI've never really been bothered by the mid-riff bearing chest pieces. Obviously they're not practical. But practicality also tells me not to charge a three-story tall lich that can blast me with frost-bolts, wielding only a pair of daggers. XD It also tells me I can't wield an axe twice the size of my head or wear shoulders even larger.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have never been a fan of the less-than hot-pants. Sometimes a little left to the imagination is way more inticing than the actual view. All practicality
aside, as well as the pin-up set I did. I just don't find them attractive.
-Larscelia
I'd love to get a job for Blizz designing armor.
Kim - Thanks for the link. =)
ReplyDeleteMichael - When I was playing my nelf, I mostly noticed when she bounced. Heh.
Lars - You make some very good points. Not practical at all. =)