@rjejr If you play old console games on a TV screen, either legitimate "virtual console"-style or through less legal means, the image you're seeing very often has a default level of screen-level post-processing applied. There are a number of very good interpolation algorithms out there, and they're especially effective when you're dealing with 2D sprite-based titles like Advance Wars. They're far less effective with low-resolution 3D titles. I'm not sure how you're playing the game, and what I'm saying might not be valid in your case, but that might be something to consider.
I consider myself a feminist gamer, and I do my best to walk the walk. I purchase a lot of games, and nearly all of my dollars go to games that offer an option for non-sexualized playable female characters, either as the primary character or a customization option, even imperfect indie titles that I buy primarily to support devs willing to make such games. Still, I can't say I would really prefer any of these redrawn protagonists (I'm excluding the fairy, since it's a low fidelity N64 model).
I'm not going to criticize these drawings, though. I do appreciate artists who do things like this because I see a need for deconstructing female video game character design. Even if actual development character designers don't make these same choices, having images like this within the zeitgeist creates a broader palette of design ideas to be chosen from. Sometimes introducing alternatives into the collective unconscious accomplishes a great deal.
I would like to respond to a few specific lines of commentary, though. First, regarding Zero Suit Samus being "nearly naked" and innately sexualized. It feels horrible to hear things like that. The same way that not all gamer guys are fat neckbeards, not all gamer girls are inactive homebodies. That outfit isn't suitable for action? It's innately slutty? I count myself as a serious cyclist and swimmer. I trained as a dancer for several years when I was younger. I was stronger and faster than nearly every gamer guy I knew. What kind of clothes do you think I wore while doing those activities? It wasn't stuff designed to hide my build or obscure my silouette, since those things aren't innately sexual. Was I nearly naked?
Please remember the importance of context. If the Zero Suit wasn't a full bodysuit, I might understand. But in that outfit, as long as she's still doing Samus things, all I see is Samus in a practical unarmored outfit. Please be wary of criticisms which perpetuate female body shame.
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Re: 3DS Homebrew App Turns 3DS Into PC Remote Desktop, and Naturally Plays World of Warcraft
@rjejr If you play old console games on a TV screen, either legitimate "virtual console"-style or through less legal means, the image you're seeing very often has a default level of screen-level post-processing applied.
There are a number of very good interpolation algorithms out there, and they're especially effective when you're dealing with 2D sprite-based titles like Advance Wars. They're far less effective with low-resolution 3D titles.
I'm not sure how you're playing the game, and what I'm saying might not be valid in your case, but that might be something to consider.
Re: Gallery: These Artistic Recreations of Women Characters Set a Different Tone
I consider myself a feminist gamer, and I do my best to walk the walk. I purchase a lot of games, and nearly all of my dollars go to games that offer an option for non-sexualized playable female characters, either as the primary character or a customization option, even imperfect indie titles that I buy primarily to support devs willing to make such games. Still, I can't say I would really prefer any of these redrawn protagonists (I'm excluding the fairy, since it's a low fidelity N64 model).
I'm not going to criticize these drawings, though. I do appreciate artists who do things like this because I see a need for deconstructing female video game character design. Even if actual development character designers don't make these same choices, having images like this within the zeitgeist creates a broader palette of design ideas to be chosen from. Sometimes introducing alternatives into the collective unconscious accomplishes a great deal.
I would like to respond to a few specific lines of commentary, though. First, regarding Zero Suit Samus being "nearly naked" and innately sexualized. It feels horrible to hear things like that. The same way that not all gamer guys are fat neckbeards, not all gamer girls are inactive homebodies. That outfit isn't suitable for action? It's innately slutty? I count myself as a serious cyclist and swimmer. I trained as a dancer for several years when I was younger. I was stronger and faster than nearly every gamer guy I knew. What kind of clothes do you think I wore while doing those activities? It wasn't stuff designed to hide my build or obscure my silouette, since those things aren't innately sexual. Was I nearly naked?
Please remember the importance of context. If the Zero Suit wasn't a full bodysuit, I might understand. But in that outfit, as long as she's still doing Samus things, all I see is Samus in a practical unarmored outfit. Please be wary of criticisms which perpetuate female body shame.