Breakfast Topic: Skimpy armour
by Jennie Lees 
Mar 2nd 2006 at 7:00AM
This debate is a perennial topic amongst MMOs, thanks to their often-stylised representations of reality. It
goes like this: why does some armour barely large enough to cover one's modesty offer the same (or better) protection
as head-to-toe chainmail? More importantly, why does some armour appear as a bikini top for female characters and yet a
hefty breastplate for males?It's a toss-up between realism and artistic licence, and Blizzard seem to have gone for the latter every time. While I don't personally mind the chainmail-bikini wardrobe, I know of players (especially those who RP) who aren't keen on it at all, and others who purposefully dress their Night Elves in Black Mageweave Leggings for fun.
What's your stance? Do you seek out or avoid skimpy armour? Any particular favourites?
Filed under: Items, Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dr. Woo Mar 2nd 2006 7:45AM
I try to avoid the loincloth-style stuff for my male characters, but the females are an entirely different story.
Though it always comes down to the best stats. Even if my toon does look like a rainbow.
Timmay! Mar 2nd 2006 8:42AM
They're still basically trying to cater to the much larger male demographic. You give a bunch of teenage male players a female character with a skimpy outfit and you're basically set to make sales.
toolmonkey Mar 2nd 2006 9:49AM
Looks don't mean anything to me. As long as I can survive 90% of the mobs that I grind everyday then I could wear a loincloth and a bright pink robe and be fine with it. Obsession with looks in an online game boggles my mind, it's all about the stats.
GlennZilla Mar 2nd 2006 10:24AM
As a warlock who went into Alterac Valley in a pink dress, I can say that the looks for me don't matter at all.
However I doubt I'd ever play a druid as I don't want antlers. I'd much prefer the horns of the PVP head gear.
Delaney Mar 2nd 2006 11:44AM
The pictures - are they the same armor on a male & female character? Seriously is that a joke?
mat Mar 2nd 2006 11:58AM
I side with artistic license on this one every time. I mean, if you want something to be *real* in that full chainmail is better than a chainmail bikini then you probably shouldn't be playing something with dwarves and gnomes and elves, OH MY! :)
That being said, I'm always up for most customization of your character and/or equipment. Variety is the spice of life!
PickyPants Mar 2nd 2006 12:09PM
I frequently roll my eyes at how skimpy armor gets on my character (she is female).
It is awesome, however, that the armor is skimpy on her, being that she's a female Tauren. Nothing is funnier than a female Tauren with a skimpy plate bikini.
I know the armor caters to the jackals (i.e. 15 year-old males) but the Tauren seems to be a little nod to humor in their choice of artistic expression.
elizabeth Mar 2nd 2006 12:22PM
My shadow resist gear set includes runed stygian leggings and the polychromatic visionwrap, and I have to say I feel very goofy wearing it. (And I won't go into the "interesting" comments I've gotten before.) I engaged in an epic struggle against monsterous dragons while clad in the tiniest scraps of fabric...
Verrine (Boulderfist) Mar 2nd 2006 5:33PM
my current noob gear of choice,
http://tn3-2.deviantart.com/fs9/300W/i/2006/061/3/c/ScreenShot_030206_142113_by_gmcq.jpg
chief brigadier
red and black
it's one of the skimpy sets and i spent way too much gold getting it.
plus it looks good with my axe :)
the ravager! :)
http://thottbot.com/?i=4578
this whole have to have all of the set mania hit me just the other day, and a complete waste of time. :)
Dearcy Mar 2nd 2006 5:37PM
This is a point of constant humor and occasional disgust with my guild. The black mageweave ensemble holds a special place in our hearts and makes one of our priests thankful for the tabard.
Our GM actually bought a full set of mageweave just for fun and proceeded to dance outside the Inn in Stormwind.
Mageweave on a gnome is almost as good as plate bikinis on a Tauren.
Brian McBride Mar 3rd 2006 1:11AM
The fact is, most game designers are rather sexist nerdy guys who probably masturbate at their creations. Now, I don't say this without experience as I worked in the game industry for many years and met many of these guys.
Franky, many of the skimpy-clad overly large breasted women that were modeled in 3D never even had a thought to what a 16 year old would like. Typically, they are created by 25-45 year olds and the older the developer, the more sexist his work tended to be (and himself for that matter).
Go figure. It is enough, however, to where my wife does not like playing WoW. She tells me again and again how she does not want to support a game that degrades women. I am sure she is not alone.
Funny, WoW could probably increase the US subscriber base by a large margin if they made the game more targeted to women.
obo Mar 3rd 2006 4:34AM
I don't think I've ever seen skimpy armor on my girlfriend's level 55 warrior, except for some mail leggings that showed a little leg. But they did on the guys too, so meh.
My only complaint is that she looks like a bottle of mustard now.
mat Mar 3rd 2006 11:46AM
lol wow discriminates against women.
maybe the community does, but in terms of the game I'm afraid I'll have to disagree. look at the male chars, they're rippled and cut with six packs... doesn't that discriminate against men in the same way that a skinny, sexy female char does?
also, female chars are paid the same amount of gold for completing quests as male characters are. if the game was a mirror of sexism in the US, the female characters would only get 75% of what the male characters get for doing the same thing.
:)
Azghoul Mar 5th 2006 4:23PM
Im not surprised with this at all. Nor do i ffind it sexist or anything close to it. This has been a trend in fantasy art for a long long time. Everything from forgetton realms to d&d to dragonlance. Remember people it is a fantasy ie NOT REAL. So it is really a moot point to how effective such armor would be IRL. How effectiv would a dairy cow be if you gave it a polarm? Not very b/c its not the same as a video game now is it? Just like a human wearng a cloth robe in real life would not fare to well against a broadsword but in the game they seem to do pretty well. It all has to do with fulfilling the idea of fantasy. It makes the female characters look female and the males look male. Is this always good perhaps not but again its fantasy. It is just following the trends set in generations of fantasy literature, gaming and artwork.