Video games are meant to be representations of unachievable fantasies. Characters are created to be idealistic heroes that could never exist in the real world. The point of stepping into a game is to step out of the real world and into a universe created entirely for enjoyment. There is one argument, however, that continues to plague the gaming society: are female characters in video games over-sexualized?
In a world where you can shoot fireballs out of your hands and battle demons, one would think that developers wouldn’t be overly concerned with making characters with unrealistic proportions. However, as Riot Games quickly figured out, there can be heavy backlash for making a character “too sexy.” One of the champions they released for League of Legends this year, Kai’Sa, had a plunging neckline that screamed “scantily clad” and not “battle ready.”
Riot quickly apologized, as they only meant to represent the character as human, not as sexualized. But that’s the keyword: represent. Players today are wanting accurate representations of themselves in games, not hyper-fantasized versions of themselves. When gamers sit down in front of a screen, there is a yearning to see a character that looks just like them accomplishing tasks that are impossible in the real world.
So what’s the solution? Do we stop creating over-sexualized characters for more realistic ones to avoid player backlash?
There is no clear answer, but there is a general consensus that, to a point, developers can make sexy female characters as long as it doesn’t cross a line. Developing characters whose sole purpose is to look unnecessarily sexy for no reason can be perceived as borderline offensive to the gaming community. Not every character needs to have realistic proportions, because some of us still do want to play as those perfect, ideal bodies. Creating a character who is defined solely by their looks rather than their personality, however, is where that line is crossed.
