Exactly! : )
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Hey guys, check out this really cool and neat as well as interesting Soul Calibur-related video 
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Yoshi vs nightmare
7/13
Ivy vs Zasa
7/14
Vocals are intact
I’m kinda irked about the multiple voice files overlapping at points
Wow, I remember that/
Sexualization is an interesting topic in gaming in 2018, because I think there’s finally some push back against it, which I see as a good thing.
A few misconceptions I’d like to throw out there. Sexualization is not simply “less clothes,” but more the attempt to titillate the gamer. Voldo is not there to titillate gamers. He’s just not. If you know any women or homosexual men whose jaws drop to the floor when they seem him writhing around in that outfit, congrats, because I’ve never seen them in the 20 years I’ve been playing this series.
Also, the idea that men are sexualized as well. That’s true, to an extent. Yes, there are male characters that don’t have their shirt on or their armor breaks to reveal their bulging muscles. But a few things… One, the amount of women sexualized versus men is still heavily leaning towards women. HEAVILY. So doing the whatabout with a character or two still feels like dropping a male dime in a female ocean and pretending they weigh the same. They don’t.
Furthermore, the men being sexualized being brought up at all doesn’t somehow negate the fact that women are sexualized. Two wrongs don’t make a right here, they just make two wrongs.
All that said, I want to be clear about why I dislike this kind of sexualization, because I don’t dislike sexualization in general. My issue is that putting Ivy in a bunch of straps with giant, heaving breasts isn’t creative, unique or compelling. It’s borderline embarrassing because for one thing, it’s not realistic in terms of the game world, but also, it’s appeal is to the lowest, basest male urges, and I don’t really need that in a fun fighting game built around awesome gameplay, an interesting story and cool characters.
If you want to make Ivy a more alluring character, that can be done with how she talks, how she walks, how she acts, her body language, and no, I don’t mean walking like she’s on a catwalk or acting like a pole dancer.
My feeling is that there are more modern, more mature / mentally grown up ways of displaying attractiveness, allure, or even a character with some level of S&M in their personality that’s not just giant cans and a lot of skin shown. To me, that’s the type of complexity used to lure horny 15 year olds, and someone that’s not 15 and hasn’t been for some time, it just seems lazy, and a little pervy too.
I’d like to see sexuality, allure, flirtation, confidence, a demure nature, an aggressive nature, etc expressed in a believable, complex manner that’s actually consistent with the game world, if it actually needs to be there at all. Sometimes, these can be compelling traits, but sometimes, they feel superfluous.
Fighting games start to look silly and even embarrassing when they continually shoe horn this 90’s era level of simplistic sexuality in to games that either don’t need it or look awkward with it. It makes some of these games appear as though they’re stuck in the past.
Please don’t take this as me wanting the women of SC to wear burkas or pajamas or whatever. I just think that there are better ways to depict men and women in games than the way some fighting games still choose to do it.
Sorry if this was too topic adjacent, but I do think that Soul Calibur is part of this conversation because I’d really kinda like to see what imaginative, character / story relevant outfits Namco could come up with for some of these women if they weren’t so concerned with making them look a certain way. I won’t keep harping on this though, because Skeletel’s right, no one’s minds are changing. But I still think it’s worth talking about, even if we don’t come to a consensus.
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I think Namco is a little more worried about what will or will not cause their game to sell. And the truth is, Ivy has always looked like this, or some variation on it. People flip out when their beloved characters don’t look the way they always have (Rise of the TMNT, Banjo and Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Orchid’s KI2 Retro). I think namco was scared of the backlash completely reinterpreting her could have brought. Not saying that it 100% would have, but there is a precedent. And like I said before, I don’t think this excuses it. But I think knowing why someone does something is a useful tool in getting them to do what you want.
So, who’s hoping this week they reveal new characters? If not then SDCC then?
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When is San Diego Comic Con
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Omg that’s this freakin weekend 
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Yup, and I know I’m beating a dead horse here but I want to see four characters get revealed. Aeon, and Astarooth better be two of them.
Better yet, why not five?
Well, the idea that sex sells is a myth that’s been disproven time and time again. But I think you’re more speaking to the fear of a backlash? Sure, I think that some would be angered if she didn’t show up the way she has in the past, but if they did a good job with the redesign, I don’t think that’d be as big a deal.
If anything, that’s more of an argument to change things up a bit in the 6th installment of a game, isn’t it? I also don’t love the “that’s the way we’ve always done it” line of logic as a cause to avoid change. Not saying you’re advocating for that. You’re just stating a fact, after all. But I tend to like it when fighting games evolve characters’ looks in each game. Don’t you?
Yeah, people do that. A lot. Just as an example, nothing like seeing a grown men rail against the new She Ra art style because it’s not beautiful and the character’s supposed to be beautiful or whatever. You also provided some great examples.
I’m not saying that everyone has to like everything. I can see a reinterpretation of something or a new art style for it or whatever and thing it looks bad. But when people really flip out about stuff like this, insult the artist or threaten not to consume that product, etc? That’s when I stop listening.
Granted, I have that luxury as a fellow consumer, but even product sellers have to have the perspective that they can’t please everyone. All they can do is try and please as many as possible. Put out the best product they can.
If they work their tails off to find a unique, compelling new look for Ivy and it falls flat? At least they tried. I don’t think that most people would begrudge them for trying to update her look. Some will, certainly, and I’m sure they’ll be a loud, vocal minority. But like I said above, if it’s a great design, hopefully that would help.
Then they shouldn’t be making games. The second you bow that hard and that low to your fanbase, that’s when they own you, and that’s not right. Fans should recognize that it’s not fair to the developers. We have every right to complain about something we don’t like, but at the end of the day, it has to be the developers that make the decisions and it’s up to us to decide whether we can live with them or not, and if people can’t live with Ivy looking like less of an S&M blow up doll, then that’s their problem.
That said, if this is how Namco or Project Soul want her to look, then that’s their prerogative. I don’t agree with it. As I said, I think it’s a very 90’s, outdated way to present sexuality in a game, but that’s my opinion to share or not share, and FWIW, I’ve never said anything to Namco or Soul Calibur’s twitter or anything like that about this opinion. I don’t feel compelled to screech it from the rooftops because I’m not getting my way.
But that’s just me lol. I’m sure there are others that give them an earful about it on both sides of the issue. Again, ya can’t please everyone.
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I wonder if SDCC will premiere the usual 2p costumes!
We haven’t seen anything on these, and they definitely switch those up every game!
I hope that cadet outfit wasn’t Ivy’s 2p
I think the cadet outfit was showcasing the things you can edit. I’m not sure why they never showed alt costumes. i guess their gonna let us come up with the costumes in character creation. Perhaps maybe we can even get to see them as unshockables.
(\I wonder if this means Lizardman gets to have things like horns, feathers or fins as a customization for him.)\
If customization is like sc5 you can make them if they aren’t there with the shape tools
@Iago407 thank you for your really well thought out and thorough posts. By now you have a pretty good idea that we agree on a lot of things, but your last two posts so eloquently sum up a lot of things that I have been too ineloquent to say. It’s greatly appreciated.
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“D-daddy…”
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I think it will be a big improvement I know that much.
Speaking of SDCC, I’ll be there. I’ll let you know how it goes on the SCVI front.
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