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Female Game Characters With Average American Body Shapes

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GTA bikini girl realistic body shape

Female game characters are often ridiculously misrepresented. Video games often exaggerate their characters’ body shapes, sometimes to ridiculous extents (I’m looking at you, Dead Or Alive). Bulimia.com, a site dedicated to providing support and information on eating disorders, has reverse photoshopped some of the world’s most iconic female game characters so that they have the average American body shape.

“Video games have grown increasingly realistic over time,” the site says. “Some gaming studios boast their hyper-realistic lighting techniques, touting natural cloud movements as the latest features of their games. And with that kind of attention to detail, it makes us wonder, why can’t they accurately portray the female body?”

sonya blade

 

nabooru

That example of Nabooru from Ocarina Of Time is actually quite disturbing. The original makes it look like she’s starving to death.

Of course, video games are not the only culprit here. The media overall has a tendency to depict women unrealistically. Video games do, however, tend to be among the worst offenders. It’s also important to note that games depict male characters unrealistically too. Male characters tend to be overly huge and muscular and that equally creates an unrealistic standard for men. However, the misrepresentation of female bodies in the media is arguably more harmful, since it can lead to health problems and eating disorders.

“The perpetuation of unrealistic body imagery in the media can have decidedly negative repercussions,” the site says. “One could argue that the social pressures to obtain perfection are reinforced even through the depiction of video game characters. Girl gamers – especially young ones – could develop a skewed image of how the female body should look. This might mark the beginning of obsessive thoughts about their own bodies, and self-questioning as to why they don’t align with their perceived ideal. When dangerous, compulsive eating behaviors develop alongside these negative obsessions, young women can quickly find themselves struggling with an eating disorder. Whether it’s the drastic restrictions in food intake seen in anorexia, or the relentless purge behaviors of bulimia, all types of eating disorder are tragic end-points potentially exacerbated by body image issues.

“The incidence of eating disorders is markedly higher in females. Furthermore, the average age of onset for various eating disorders spans from the late teenage years through the mid-twenties. The health repercussions of eating disorders are amongst the most severe of any mental health condition, with alarmingly high mortality rates if left untreated. If you are concerned that compulsive and maladaptive eating behaviors are negatively impacting your life, or know someone close to you who might be struggling with an eating disorder, help is available.”

lara croft

It’s not all bad news, however. The example above of Lara Croft is from the original Tomb Raider games. The new Tomb Raider titles are an example of games that are moving towards a more realistic depiction of their female game characters. “If you look at how her form has changed from the original, it’s clear developers are listening to feedback from consumers. They’re definitely moving in the right direction,” a bulimia.com spokesperson told Motherboard.

Lara Croft new

Lara Croft from the new games, featuring a more realistic body shape.

“If video game creators are going to pride themselves on accurate digital representations, then it’s time for them to get real about women.”

Rhiannon likes video games and she likes writing, so she decided to combine them. As well as writing about video games, she also belts out the occasional science fiction or fantasy story, edits videos, and eats strawberry oreos. In that order.

Gaming

Helldivers are angry at Arrowhead because the community manager was fired without due process

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Throughout history, it has become evident that, in the face of tyranny, those who cherish liberty and democracy will stop at nothing to defend them. They will fight relentlessly, using every last round of ammunition and shedding the final drop of blood. In a stunning turn of events, it appears that developer Arrowhead is facing a potential revolution, as previously loyal Helldivers 2 players who once supported the developer are now expressing their outrage. They passionately advocate for justice and the inclusion of the undemocratically dismissed community manager, who has affectionately been nicknamed “General” Spitz, into the official in-game lore.

In typical fashion, an overnight Change.org petition (courtesy of RPS) has garnered nearly 4,500 signatures at the time of writing. This is an attempt to make Arrowhead reevaluate their decision to let go of Spitz, a community manager who has been an integral part of the community since the game’s release. In the midst of the PC/PSN account linking debacle, Spitz, like a game critic sensing the winds of fate, rallied the community on Discord (as seen on Twitter) to express their discontent through reviews, refunds, and other means. It enhances our influence in the discussions with Sony. They completely disregard our discord.

After the chaos subsided the following day (yesterday), Spitz addressed the community, describing this action as “almost.” It hasn’t exactly resulted in their termination. Shortly after, a final transmission was confirmed where Spitz disclosed that they had been released, expressing their resilience by saying, “Every war has its casualties.”

On May 7, 2024, around 11:45 PST, the Helldivers Discord community made an interesting discovery. It seems that the community manager, Spitz, had been unexpectedly removed from his position, and any evidence of his previous involvement in the discord was completely wiped out. This incident seems to have ignited a revolution, with Helldivers demanding the immediate reinstatement of Spitz and his immortalization in the game for his self-sacrifice.

“We strongly advocate for the official canonization of General Spitz in Helldivers lore. Embracing the spirit of liberation. Supporting democracy. For the betterment of the game and its devoted community.

It’s interesting to see how this situation unfolds. Arrowhead CEO Johan Pilestedt himself commends the determination of players in the Sony showdown, but there seems to be a hint of contradiction here. “General” Spitz provided us with some thought-provoking words to ponder: “I was well aware of the potential consequences when I made my statement about refunding and altering reviews; nevertheless, I remain steadfast in my position. I fulfilled my role as a representative of the community, just as I was expected to.

Spitz is no longer the Community Manager.
byu/Tabub inHelldivers

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Ciri from The Witcher expresses her hope that fans will give Liam Hemsworth a fair chance in his portrayal of Geralt

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Netflix’s The Witcher has been at the forefront of the recent trend of video game IP transitioning to TV, alongside HBO’s The Last of Us and Amazon’s Fallout adaptations. In 2022, it was announced that Henry Cavill would be stepping away from his role after Season 3, making way for Australian actor Liam Hemsworth to become The White Wolf in Season 4.

In an interview with Collider (courtesy of Eurogamer), Freya Allen, the actress who plays Ciri in the series, has reached out to fans who may find the change to be a challenge. Allen expressed his view of the situation, acknowledging that it may not be ideal and that fans can be quite critical. He mentioned that he doesn’t want to speak on behalf of Hemsworth, but based on his understanding, it seems like Hemsworth is aiming to inject some heartfelt elements into the project. I’m eagerly anticipating his performance after all that training. And he’s truly a delightful individual. I hope people give him a fair chance, you know?

It’s unclear why Henry Cavill decided to depart from the show, despite his previous commitment to stay for the entire seven seasons if needed. Netflix has announced that The Witcher has been renewed for a fifth season, which will be the final installment of the series.

 

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CEO of Helldivers 2 commends the remarkable determination displayed by the community during the intense Sony showdown

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The experience for Helldivers 2 players has been quite turbulent lately, and we’re referring to a community that is accustomed to leaping from great heights into the most intense and terrifying battlegrounds imaginable. In the midst of a highly debated PSN account requirement for PC players and facing intense backlash, Sony has made a surprising reversal, yielding to the overwhelming force of public opinion. The CEO of Arrowhead, Johan Pilestedt, has displayed an intriguing attitude throughout this challenging period. He has shown remarkable composure, actively engaging with community managers and experiencing the difficulties they face firsthand.

Pilestedt expressed his admiration for the community’s determination and praised their ability to work together on Twitter, following Sony’s reversal. He sarcastically expressed gratitude towards Sony for their “prompt and efficient choice to make PSN linking optional.”

In the future, Pilestedt expressed his vision of working closely with PlayStation and the players to establish a groundbreaking benchmark for the concept of a live game. The aim is to foster a strong partnership between developers and the community, ultimately resulting in an unparalleled gaming experience.

What are your thoughts on the commotion surrounding Helldivers 2? What are your thoughts on Sony’s involvement, Pilestedt’s attitude, and the community’s reaction? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

 

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