@Shun_Akiyama said:

Irony, because Isabella is a whore.

@ArfArfPsycho said:

@Storms: Heh fair enough. I meant when mentioning chainmail that while it would also work - though slightly less effectively than plate armour - it would be too cumbersome.

And while I see what you're getting at with the some parts soft, some hard leather thing, it would have to be very small amounts of chainmail used so as not to make it too heavy. It's really easy to underestimate just how heavy chainmail is, especially for a woman of her stature. If you could somehow make armour of soft leather with small fortifications of chainmail however so as to make it effective in battle but still light, it would be great attire for a rogue. However it would take one hell of a designer and smithy to pull it off properly.

The thing is though the fantasy concept of the rogue doesn't really exist in actual history, it's more of an amalgamation of assassins, diplomats, and thieves. While certainly there could be situations where these people would find themselves in direct combat, it would almost always be something they'd actively want to avoid: disguises, infiltration, bribes, poisons and deception would much more commonly be the weapon of choice. So trying to draw direct historical comparison doesn't work as well as it might.

While there is an argument to be had in what kind of equipment a female mercenary/scout would want to wear that wasn't really the original point of the thread. If something looks like a butterfly and flaps around like a butterfly, but talks to me in a stern knightly voice about it's adventures in camalot, I'm still going to think that butterfly is a whore... Wait what am I talking about again?

@Lazyaza said:

@Veektarius: Did you ever stop and think maybe she likes wearing that weird stuff and its completely comfortable and practical for her to wear? She's not exactly a normal character within the games fiction, if you complete the main story you'll see. Way I see it if we're going to complain about an elf lady wearing leather straps, why not complain about soldiers running at the speed of a small automobile wearing top heavy full body plate armor while wielding swords 6 times their size and weight.

The "I don't want to see silly outfits in an already silly game" argument is old, tiresome and stupid. People need to stop with it already.

Yeah, you're just justifying sexism. I don't know why people need to take this position at all. Many articles have been written taking apart arguments to the contrary, so I encourage you to find them.

In sum, Alyn Shir, and Dokkalfar in general from the 40hrs I've played, are dressed scantily to appeal to the perceived male gaze. They all have equally large breasts, too little clothing or too provocative clothing for what they do in the world, and a figure that DOES NOT SUPPORT THAT BREAST SIZE. Breasts are fat. Skinny waifish chicks only have D-cup breasts like that if they have work done. Amalur does not have plastic surgeons and independent rogue types wouldn't use them if it did.

Indeed, thinking about this in-game has its own faults. Games have designers. When you complain about shiny loot or poorly designed weapons, it's a similar complaint of design. However, that just makes weapons boring. Alyn Shir's design objectifies women.

Why the Dokkalfar need to be the sexualized race is unclear. But that's what they are. That was a sexist choice. Let's stop arguing about what is clear and move on.

@Kierkegaard: You're yet another person throwing around the word sexist when talking about character design without seeming to actually know what it means. But yeah your right threads like these never go anywhere so probably should leave it be.

IMO: Best part is where I can't remember any other female in the game dressing even remotely similarily.

Then again, beyond General Tilera, can' think of many other significant female characters in the story. What I'm trying to say is that she doesn't even seem to fit into the world very well.

@Kierkegaard: I think it's way more disrespectful for you to go around calling people sexist than it is for video game designers to put large breasts on a character, or for people who play that game to like it. So if we're concerned about respecting others, let's start with that.

If Alyn Shir sounded like a random moei girl I'd absolutely hate her, but anyone with a decent voice can dress up like a whore all they want (applies to pretty much any medium).

@Fredchuckdave said:

If Alyn Shir sounded like a random moei girl I'd absolutely hate her, but anyone with a decent voice can dress up like a whore all they want (applies to pretty much any medium).

So you're trying to tell us you'd like to see Giant Bomb's own Jeff Gerstmann dressed up like a whore?

@BelligerentEngine: That man is one sexy beast

@Lazyaza: Diminishment of women through objectification in character design. If you wanna play a semantics game, let's just say "offensive to humankind" shall we? Cuz that's what any form of degradation is. And I quite like this game.

@Veektarius: 1. I didn't call anyone sexist. It's dangerous to proscribe a person as endemically sexist or racist or homophobic or just as a meany because of one argument or comment. I try not to do that. 2. If you're not going to reply to the argument, that's fine. Just think about it.

Hey, guys (I presume). It's okay to note a degrading depiction of a woman in a game. Games are actually really advanced in a lot of their attitudes toward the world. Calling them on mistakes is just part of the necessity of media criticism--you see something, you say something. Things eventually change.

@Kierkegaard: I'm a woman, and I don't really think the depiction of Alyn Shir's character is sexist. In reality, some women do just choose to dress like that. I do however see what you mean about the Dokkalfar on the whole, as its hard to believe that every single one of those women have the same dress sense and confidence... and body shape. Though the Dokkalfar are described as wily, persuasive and cunning, so I don't know if they were trying to represent that in a femme fatale sort of way? Or maybe I'm just giving them too much credit. Who knows?

@BelligerentEngine said:

Sorry for the very short rant, but god every time this character comes on screen I can help but face palm. She's basically wearing a leather pair of panties and bra with a bunch of belts strapped on it's utterly ridiculous. I'm a pretty big proponent of sensible armor on female characters in rpgs, but I understand marketing and that other people have differing opinions on what they like, so normally I can handle a little cleavage or say a armored breastplate with an exposed mid-drift. It bugs me, but it's really not too troubling. This on the other hand is nearly unbearable... every time I see this character it is completely destroys any sort of immersion I felt.

God it feels good to get that off my chest, apologies to anyone who read this but arrghh... so annoying.

Edit: Damn is there anyway to write a blog post without associating it with a forum? I didn't really want to spam this out anywhere since it's purely for personal cathartic reasons. Oh well...

I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE YOU DO, MY FRIEND.

Saw two forums threads relating to this character they were titled: "Hottie Alin Shir" and "Do I get to **** Alin Shir"
 
It seems they reached their demographic.

@ArfArfPsycho said:

@Kierkegaard: I'm a woman, and I don't really think the depiction of Alyn Shir's character is sexist. In reality, some women do just choose to dress like that. I do however see what you mean about the Dokkalfar on the whole, as its hard to believe that every single one of those women have the same dress sense and confidence... and body shape. Though the Dokkalfar are described as wily, persuasive and cunning, so I don't know if they were trying to represent that in a femme fatale sort of way? Or maybe I'm just giving them too much credit. Who knows?

Okay, new piece to the puzzle. Lore from a book in game (found in Terin's Rest), "Dokkalfar Appearance: ... On average, they stand at 2m tall and weigh between 160-170 lbs. Scholars debate the origin of their naturally 'athletic' biology, but most Dokkalfar conform to a slimmer body type. Typically, temporary accents to hair, face, and clothing are worn to fit the situation or guest, and much of their garments are considered 'seductive' or 'disarming' by Almain, Ljosalfar, or even Varani standards." ... "The Dokkalfar are matriarchal."

I don't really see your distinction between her character's outfit which is the most bondagey I've seen in game and the race as a whole. However, that in-game lore is really interesting. It's both excusing making the whole race look "seductive" and failing to explain why in the hell it does. Its got female empowerment in the politics but gives no explanation as to why all the Dokkalfar women would chose to dress with their breasts all wobbly.

I guess props to Big Huge for calling it out, but still... not cool.