Aya

*stands up violently with Osric and slams her hands down on the tabletop* C'kayah Polaali!

Eorzea has a pretty wild mixture of technological development. I think you can imagine most real world arts being practiced, and no doubt others based upon magic and magitek. I think you can use your imagination pretty safely

Hello new forum goer! Welcome to Balmung!

Hiiiiii Makyn!

Oooh, because its User: Manasas Reed. I've seen that happen before, I have no idea why that is :-X It looks good!

Looks great? *places a stamp of approval* Why couldn't I find it

Do you have a link? I can't find you on the wiki

Large mushrooms. Now... back on topic... Um, well, at least I think we know the Roegadyn and Highlander ladies are quite popular on Balmung! There are so many more Highlander ladies than Midlanders that I see!

Well it began with a quote about Au Ra so its not surprising! And they're like.. a hot topic right now! Au Ra... Must.. resist.. derailing... (I love that move.. ; . ; )

Well it began with a quote about Au Ra so its not surprising! And they're like.. a hot topic right now!

I play a barbie! That actually was the first thing Aya-Midlander got called by an FC-mate after I switched from Highlander.

Here's the thing. I disagree with you. I do not care for the way they have characterized Female Au Ra. I have my reasons for such, which I have expressed. I don't think they're sinister. I don't think they're stupid. I don't think they've made a bad decision. I don't think people who disagree with me are wrong. I simply do not care for their aesthetic choice. Will it work out? Yes, no doubt it will. Are many people happy with it? Yes, yes they are. Should that change my opinion? I don't really think so. I'm happy for those looking forward to Au Ra, its always good to have things to look forward to, and SE deserves all sorts of credit for coming up with content and additions that have people so excited.

Honestly, Mister Helix, I feel like you have not read anything I've said in this entire thread.

The original thread is filled with this sort of testimonial. I wouldn't play Au Ra anyway, I don't think, but I certainly understand it. In that sense I'm part of the data set that SE used to reach the conclusion that the more feminine females are preferred. I would still preferred they not bend them that way, but what can you do?

Thank you for literally saying all that I was saying. I really do appreciate that! All credit and discredit for it goes to SE. We may disagree on our own judgement of the decision (that's personal opinions for you!) but I really didn't think that saying SE was responsible for a decision that they made could ever be so controversial.

I am curious who you think suggested it was!

Who knew SE wasn't responsible for their own game design decisions. I'd never have guessed before this thread! Edit: And I suppose that means all discussion of whether it was a good or bad decision is really, really silly, since it wasn't their decision at all.

So who made the decision to make a race that looked like races people wanted to play? Did the players make that one too or was it just inferred, and if it was, by whom I wonder?

This is ridiculousness on stilts. They had a decision to make. They could have used input as varied as astrological signs, a game of cards, or comparing noses in making it. The method doesn't matter, the responsibility for that decision lies with them. That they chose to use a particular set of data does not shift that responsibility to those who generated the data.

We didn't make the decision. Period. SE did. There's no debate, Warren!

This is a dodge. They made the decision. That's all that matters in that regard. Honestly, this issue doesn't bother me much. Mild personal disappointment, an eye-roll over the visuals of the race itself. Its not going to stop me from enjoying and appreciating SE products, but the amount of dissembling in this discussion is getting silly.

What bothers me is the degree of sexual dimorphism introduced simply to appeal to conventional notions of attractiveness: Males can be beastly. Females cannot. I don't care for that. The style of the race should make sense as a holistic whole. It doesn't, and the reason is because they were afraid the player base would reject a beastly female. I don't see a positive in this, though it is not surprising.

I don't recall ever suggesting it was a bad idea for SE. I, in fact, recall just moments ago in a post you quoted, saying that I exactly wasn't doing that! For personal reasons I'd rather see the female Au Ra be like the male Au Ra. I find what they have done to be rather demeaning. Not a big deal, in the grand scheme of things, and perhaps still their best business decision. Nonetheless a disappointment to this player, that's my personal judgement and that's all I can offer.

There was never really any doubt as to why they made the Au Ra females so ridiculous, but it is disappointing to learn that they considered a more reasonable take and declined because of their view of what the player base would want. I disagree that making the new female race conventionally attractive is "giving the player base what it wants", in the sense that there already are conventionally attractive female options. It was a decision made because they want Au Ra females to be popular with that portion of the player base. That's really a bit of a different decision. They could have designed Au Ra in line with their original intent without it being bad customer service, and without reducing players' options. I'm not saying its a good, or a bad one (though I do seem to recall saying early on that I assumed it would be a good decision using SE's own criteria), I'm just pointing out that its not so simple.

You're so not my friend any more, Franzie! *sticks tongue out at*