@Ragdrazi said:

Yeah. We're stupid.  Her tits are about the size of her face.  Do you know a girl with tits the size of her face?   Let me answer that, before the kids start talking. No you don't. I mean, what would the harm be in having this woman just look like a woman. And not like two cantaloupes floating around.

Wow, are you bitter about your g/f being a washboard or something?

@Ragdrazi said:

Yeah. We're stupid.  Her tits are about the size of her face.  Do you know a girl with tits the size of her face?

My sister?  Edit: OK, I'll leave.

Yes, please make all video game women from here on out ugly, unattractive fat girls. That way it will be way more believable when the giant, muscled, gun-toting dude shows up to woo her. 
 
This is exactly what I've been saying!

It's a videogame. They know that they should present something fappable to the neckbeards.
 
I'd prefer if she wasn't showing quite so much cleavage but as far as videogame characters go she's fine.
 
Also the artstyle is pretty stylised so that's why her face looks kind of cartoony.

@Gnomicidal said:

Yes, please make all video game women from here on out ugly, unattractive fat girls. That way it will be way more believable when the giant, muscled, gun-toting dude shows up to woo her. This is exactly what I've been saying!

Same applies to the dudes. I'm pretty sick of the industry using the same boring male stereotype for the main characters. Have fat guys, have old guys, whatever ... the "muscular/fit dude with short hair"-design just bores me to death.

@ChickenPants said:

It's a videogame. They know that they should present something fappable to the neckbeards. I'd prefer if she wasn't showing quite so much cleavage but as far as videogame characters go she's fine.

Then why are their games that don't resort to these lazy designs? In the end, I have much more respect for games like Ico or SotC because I feel that the designers of such games also have much more respect for me as a gamer instead of treating me like a horny animal and go the easy route by catering to my primal instincts. In recent years I noticed that whenever it becomes too transparent for me how design decisions are influenced by marketing decisions, focus groups etc, I'm less interested in the game.

Yeah, i always thought her boobs were unnecessarily pronounced. The game certainly doesn't seem to need it, and it might give a misleading first impression to people.

That said, they're nice boobs.

I am rather tired of this trend in games. I know it's unlikely to change, but still, bleh.

@GuyIncognito said:

@Ragdrazi said:

Yeah. We're stupid.  Her tits are about the size of her face.  Do you know a girl with tits the size of her face?   Let me answer that, before the kids start talking. No you don't. I mean, what would the harm be in having this woman just look like a woman. And not like two cantaloupes floating around.

Wow, are you bitter about your g/f being a washboard or something?

Even (real) women with considerably large breasts do not have ones that are as large as their heads. 

CLEAVAGE?! IN MYYY VIDEO GAMES? *SLAMS DESK* I WONT HAVE IT!

nah. I don't see it as a problem. When I think of Elizabeth, I think about what she can do in terms of her rift powers before I think of her... gifted proportions.

It's a bioshock game, I doubt we will be gaping at elizabeth too often... too busy jumping off flying buildings and such.

@ChickenPants said:

It's a videogame. They know that they should present something fappable to the neckbeards. I'd prefer if she wasn't showing quite so much cleavage but as far as videogame characters go she's fine.

Then why are their games that don't resort to these lazy designs? In the end, I have much more respect for games like Ico or SotC because I feel that the designers of such games also have much more respect for me as a gamer instead of treating me like a horny animal and go the easy route by catering to my primal instincts. In recent years I noticed that whenever it becomes too transparent for me how design decisions are influenced by marketing decisions, focus groups etc, I'm less interested in the game.

@PenguinDust said:

I agree with this. Either the woman in question exhibits the genetic traits of being a good mate and child-bearer (large breasts, round hips), or she is helplessly child-like (remember Ico?).

Then why not do it the classy Ico-way? Would've been a much better fit. Now it just seems like they do it for lazy marketing reasons.

@ChickenPants said:

@CptBedlam said:

@ChickenPants said:

It's a videogame. They know that they should present something fappable to the neckbeards. I'd prefer if she wasn't showing quite so much cleavage but as far as videogame characters go she's fine.

Then why are their games that don't resort to these lazy designs? In the end, I have much more respect for games like Ico or SotC because I feel that the designers of such games also have much more respect for me as a gamer instead of treating me like a horny animal and go the easy route by catering to my primal instincts. In recent years I noticed that whenever it becomes too transparent for me how design decisions are influenced by marketing decisions, focus groups etc, I'm less interested in the game.

The games you cite aren't trying to appeal to as mass an audience as the guys at Irrational are. Everybody knows ICO AND SotC are small artsy games so using them as a comparison to a AAA release expected to shift millions of copies isn't really effective.

That's of course a valid point and I thought about it as well. I just think of Ken Levine as one of those few successful visionaries in the industry, who'd be able to put artistry before marketing even if it costs a few thousand sales.

Man, someone really has to do a survey about the tits=sales theory and whether it applies to all genres. Who are these people whose decision to buy a game like Bioshock Infinite is influenced by tit size above all other things?

@ChickenPants said:

Plus, I'm sure they focus tested the hell out of the animal thingy's appearance for the Last Guardian.

I highly doubt it. That thing still looks weird as hell and not at all mass-appealingly cute.

I agree that she's dressed for the time period and that that's what corsets do, but they could have reeled it back just the slightest bit to make it look a bit more in proportion. The biggest thing I noticed from the trailers were how cartoony her eyes looked.

There is nothing inherently wrong with designing a female character the way Irrational has designed Elizabeth, just because you design a female character to be attractive does not mean she will be treated like a sex object in the context of the story. 
 
Also would you consider it more feminist and realistic if Elizabeth was intentionally made overweight or if she had a crooked nose, some sort of physical characteristic that people would deem ugly.

@PenguinDust said:

@CptBedlam said:

@PenguinDust said:

I agree with this. Either the woman in question exhibits the genetic traits of being a good mate and child-bearer (large breasts, round hips), or she is helplessly child-like (remember Ico?).

Then why not do it the classy Ico-way? Would've been a much better fit. Now it just seems like they do it for lazy marketing reasons.

Well, with the implied romance, I get the feeling some people would be even more bothered by the idea of pursuing a waifish Elizabeth.

Really good point which actually answers the topic creator's question.

@thatpinguino said:

There is nothing inherently wrong with designing a female character the way Irrational has designed Elizabeth, just because you design a female character to be attractive does not mean she will be treated like a sex object in the context of the story.

She is treated as a sex object in front of the player.

@thatpinguino said:

Also would you consider it more feminist and realistic if Elizabeth was intentionally made overweight or if she had a crooked nose, some sort of physical characteristic that people would deem ugly.

The opposite of overly huge boobies is not "ugly".

@PeasForFees said:

Wow, the original design is much better in my opinion.

I'm so so with her design, but I really dig her voice right now.

Im surprised someone with the name @AssInAss: would tell other people to be classy.

Anyway it wasn't that rare for girls of that time to wear corsets, which highlights some of their sexier parts. Although I would have preferred they would have taken the classier route and took an example for characters like Alyx, Faith and Jade I think the way they made her look isn't overly sexualized and she does fit the style of the world and other characters in it.

Anyway it wasn't that rare for girls of that time to wear corsets, which highlights some of their sexier parts. Although I would have preferred they would have taken the classier route and took an example for characters like Alyx, Faith and Jade I think the way they made her look isn't overly sexualized and she does fit the style of the world and other characters in it.

She's one good looking video game character, deal with it.

Nothing I've seen of the game makes me think of Elizabeth as a sexual object.  Does the characters in the game treat her as one?  Does the game it self put any emphasis on her cleavage with camera pans?  Is her attire wholly inappropriate for the setting of the game?  We won't know the answer to the first two until the game is released and the answer to the third is a clear "no".
 
A female character does not become a sexual object just because "hey, she has breasts that I noticed."  She does so when the game itself is trying to tell you "LOOK AT HER BREASTS!  NOTICE THEM BOUNCING!" 

Nothing I've seen of the game makes me think of Elizabeth as a sexual object.  Does the characters in the game treat her as one?  Does the game it self put any emphasis on her cleavage with camera pans?  Is her attire wholly inappropriate for the setting of the game?  We won't know the answer to the first two until the game is released and the answer to the third is a clear "no".  A female character does not become a sexual object just because "hey, she has breasts that I noticed."  She does so when the game itself is trying to tell you "LOOK AT HER BREASTS!  NOTICE THEM BOUNCING!" 

Actually, I think that I have a theory. Men are pretty much hard wired to be sympathetic and protective of women, and especially attractive ones. It seems reasonable to assume that designers will take advantage of this in order to develop stronger relationships between the player and characters in the world. While I don't approve, I at least see the validity there.

Her childlike, anime face is dumb (but maybe it suits her personality more than the old design). I'm not too bothered by her boobs (although I don't much care for it), but her old face was much better than her current one.

Not to be judgmental, but if men where mature enough , she could be naked and it wouldn't matter. We are not there yet of course, but at least this things only matter if you give them importance. 
 
 The part where you wish for her to be more "covered up" comes from your own shame, not from the part where women should have to cover up. Unless you are from a Muslim country where that's the norm, in that case is your own cultural prerogative to demand it on the female gender so you can feel better and safer about your own sexuality. ( as well as the female gender to feel safer. Covering up means they don't have to be many things that another culture would demand them to be in order to be "attractive", but this is one hell of a tangent already and I'll stop here.)

Yeah, that's a big cleavage.

@thatpinguino said:

Also would you consider it more feminist and realistic if Elizabeth was intentionally made overweight or if she had a crooked nose, some sort of physical characteristic that people would deem ugly.

The opposite of overly huge boobies is not "ugly".

@PeasForFees said:

Wow, the original design is much better in my opinion.

I've seen what Ken Levine has said.  But it's still ostensibly a game where you protecting a girl from some terrible force.  I get the impression she isn't taking care of herself, she's surviving long enough for you to save her.  I really hope it lives up to their promises and the game goes somewhere interesting with it.  Like on mission 2 Booker gets killed and you play as Elizabeth for the rest of the game.

@PeasForFees said:

Wow, the original design is much better in my opinion.

I like her new hair style, looks less like a girl. Her neck could be a bit thicker, that might help. As for her chest, that I think was the style of the day. These days on an average basis you just do not see that much pronounced cleavage. I do believe I did when I was younger though.

@Turambar said:

Nothing I've seen of the game makes me think of Elizabeth as a sexual object. Does the characters in the game treat her as one? Does the game it self put any emphasis on her cleavage with camera pans? Is her attire wholly inappropriate for the setting of the game? We won't know the answer to the first two until the game is released and the answer to the third is a clear "no". A female character does not become a sexual object just because "hey, she has breasts that I noticed." She does so when the game itself is trying to tell you "LOOK AT HER BREASTS! NOTICE THEM BOUNCING!"

I agree. It depends on the context they give it in the game. This isn't Duke Nukem.

Side note, I'm trademarking the name "Duke Nukem Infinite".

And yes, just to mention it, Alyx is a supremely relatable character to me, except the duct tape patch might be overdone she might try to stitch a nice piece of leather on. She looks attractive in a almost hyper realistic way for games (that is real life, not cartoon hot), and is also costumed correctly for her times.

I'm suprised at the complaint about male stereotypes in this thread. Main male characters are often impossibly muscled because they're ninjas who defeat countless demons for hours at a time, they're hardened space marines, they're biologically enhancedsuper soldiers. Being ridiculously in shape kind of comes with the territory of being the avatar in a game where you kill hundreds of people without collapsing from exhaustion. The physique is in top form because the physically demanding tasks are impossible.

That being said, I see this issue in some kind of gray area. Yes, it's design was to make an appealing female character, but the corset style which really did make womens bust quite prominent was the thing to wear back then. Also, the fact that she isn't just some damsel in distress, but one with powers and functions tells me that there's going to be more to her in the game than just boobs.

For the love of god, not another discussion about Elizabeth's chest again.

She's supposed to fit in with the atmosphere of the place in the way that she stands out. The design is most likely inspired by turn-of-the-century propoganda drawings, if i had to guess.

Am I the only one who has a problem with the fact that this guy clearly wants to have sex with dolls?

Im more bothered by her goofy anime sized eyes.

Or maybe gamers just like big tits.    I think we're over-thinking this, honestly.