(04-29-2015, 11:11 AM)FreelanceWizard Wrote:(04-29-2015, 11:04 AM)Hyrist Wrote: I'm sorry to say, but that sort of design is kind of intrinsic in all character/race design systematically in roleplaying games.
After all, if you don't, you don't appeal to your base and you hurt your bottom line. Games like Dark Souls get away with having more grotesque designs because they appeal to their player's niche. Bethesda has such widely variant design because it appeals to their more western targeted audience. Everyone makes targeted decisions on character design based on what they feel their target base feels appealing.
Then difference is that Yoshida went out and said it plainly, rather than cover it in some corporate PR distraction that waifs the scent of finely minced and measured feces.
Oh, I don't disagree. The video game space is by definition very conservative, which means not taking a risk on an artistic decision when you could make a finance-driven one. SE has a bit more freedom than, say, someone being published by EA, but ultimately they're still beholden to their shareholders. If Heavensward doesn't produce a sub bump -- even if it retains the current player base -- it's not going to look good, despite XIV being a wild, runaway success for the company. The artistic choices are the ones you're more likely to see in indie gaming.
That said, I'm still unhappy about it.
My hope is that if Heavensward does really really well maybe the next xpac will have more breathing room in terms of art direction. Though, really, I suppose it might be grounds for a "keep doing what you're doing" mindset.
Argh. It's frustrating to me because I picked catgirl because I wanted a runty street kid. And I like cats. And it was something that was very different from what I normally played: tall, muscular badasses (WoW troll 4 lyfe!). I was inches away from picking a roe, but in the end they were too big for what I wanted to do with this character. It pains me that Zhi is part of the problem. And now with the xaela being nomads, I'm being hooked for them.
I think I'm gonna have to make a highlander or roe to even out my character creation karma. :<
