High heels vs character-believability and respect
I'm going to try to phrase this as much in the vein of constructive criticism as I can, because I don't want to sound like I'm shitting all over CDPR.
I do in fact have a great deal of respect for CDPR, which is also the reason I'm going to bother writing this in the first place, I wouldn't bother if I
didn't think you would at least take the time to read it, and hopefully to act upon it.
Character-believability and respectful, non-exploitative representation of characters is of course immensely important in a game like The Witcher 3.
As it has been explained by two separate developers, in different interviews already, the character designers spent a lot of time tweaking the designs of each character in a way that makes them believable, and doesn't just try to make something look cool. And I quote: "Geralt needs to be able to kill monsters effectively" and "This isn't a fashion contest!"
Now while this is thankfully the case with Geralt and the other male witchers in the franchise, I find it extremely disrespectful to the character, that Ciri wasn't afforded this consideration. And judging by the nature of this oversight in believability and practicality it is simply because she is a woman, which apparently means that sex-appeal trumps believability and lore-accuracy, even when this character isn't, or at least shouldn't be romanceable.
Whether you consider Ciri to be a witcher or not, makes no difference. She is a swordfighter, and a bloody good one at that. Her fighting-style is the same as the witchers use, and I am flabbergasted (as our friend Johnny would say) that the very talented people designing the characters for TW3 decided to give her high heeled boots!
It should be abundantly clear to anyone who has ever used their legs for more than simply walking, that high heels are just the worst type of footwear imaginable.
Frankly, anything that impedes ones ability to function as a normal, healthy human being, is a terrible idea for someone who's life has revolved around fighting and training for fighting since the age of 11 to wear.
High heels have one single purpose in normal life, and that is to manipulate a woman's posture into an exaggerated state, that is meant to be sexually appealing. Basically: Tits forward, ass backwards, arched back, while simultaneously making her slightly taller.
Not only do high heels severely hamper a persons movement, but wearing them in the long run is very bad for you, as it makes you stand in an unnatural stance, and your weight isn't supported by the parts of your body that are meant to support it, but rather by the parts that are NOT meant to support your entire body-weight.
Because I don't want to make this text too long, and I don't think it should even be necessary, I will end by re-iterating that I think CDPR is doing a fine job with the game!
I am loving pretty much everything we have been shown so far, and Ciri's design is nothing short of excellent apart from the high heels! Give her some normal boots that are good for fighting and all will be well.
For the sake of making this thread a discussion, rather than just a "Heads up, we are not okay with this" kind of thing. Please feel free to discuss what other things you feel harms the believeability of a character/creature.
I'm going to try to phrase this as much in the vein of constructive criticism as I can, because I don't want to sound like I'm shitting all over CDPR.
I do in fact have a great deal of respect for CDPR, which is also the reason I'm going to bother writing this in the first place, I wouldn't bother if I
didn't think you would at least take the time to read it, and hopefully to act upon it.
Character-believability and respectful, non-exploitative representation of characters is of course immensely important in a game like The Witcher 3.
As it has been explained by two separate developers, in different interviews already, the character designers spent a lot of time tweaking the designs of each character in a way that makes them believable, and doesn't just try to make something look cool. And I quote: "Geralt needs to be able to kill monsters effectively" and "This isn't a fashion contest!"
Now while this is thankfully the case with Geralt and the other male witchers in the franchise, I find it extremely disrespectful to the character, that Ciri wasn't afforded this consideration. And judging by the nature of this oversight in believability and practicality it is simply because she is a woman, which apparently means that sex-appeal trumps believability and lore-accuracy, even when this character isn't, or at least shouldn't be romanceable.
Whether you consider Ciri to be a witcher or not, makes no difference. She is a swordfighter, and a bloody good one at that. Her fighting-style is the same as the witchers use, and I am flabbergasted (as our friend Johnny would say) that the very talented people designing the characters for TW3 decided to give her high heeled boots!
It should be abundantly clear to anyone who has ever used their legs for more than simply walking, that high heels are just the worst type of footwear imaginable.
Frankly, anything that impedes ones ability to function as a normal, healthy human being, is a terrible idea for someone who's life has revolved around fighting and training for fighting since the age of 11 to wear.
High heels have one single purpose in normal life, and that is to manipulate a woman's posture into an exaggerated state, that is meant to be sexually appealing. Basically: Tits forward, ass backwards, arched back, while simultaneously making her slightly taller.
Not only do high heels severely hamper a persons movement, but wearing them in the long run is very bad for you, as it makes you stand in an unnatural stance, and your weight isn't supported by the parts of your body that are meant to support it, but rather by the parts that are NOT meant to support your entire body-weight.
Because I don't want to make this text too long, and I don't think it should even be necessary, I will end by re-iterating that I think CDPR is doing a fine job with the game!
I am loving pretty much everything we have been shown so far, and Ciri's design is nothing short of excellent apart from the high heels! Give her some normal boots that are good for fighting and all will be well.
For the sake of making this thread a discussion, rather than just a "Heads up, we are not okay with this" kind of thing. Please feel free to discuss what other things you feel harms the believeability of a character/creature.
