First and foremost, this is fantasy. This is the fantastical we are talking about. Anything and everything can happen here because of it.
I mean we can have teleportation, magic powers, interest creatures, monsters....and the thing we worry about is...High Heels ? Eye Candy treatment ? Give me a break, the pungent smell of hypocrisy is getting on my nerves.
This the realm of the fantastical where imagination goes wild, where artistic vision comes to life and where we can make any character that wear whatever they wear and look however they like.
Just because CDPR makes characters that look beautiful and wears high heels, does not mean they are anti-believabilty or pro-objectification. This is their artistic vision, it is not harming anyone and its main purpose is to entertain people. CDPR is not perpetuating some "women are weak" social justice agenda.
All in all, this is a fantasy interactive entertainment. Characters can wear whatever they like, behave the way the writers want them to and have abilities and powers the writers want them to. Because its fantasy, not reality. Also, wearing high heels is not a sign of disrespect.
I am of the opinion that CDPR is having a mix of the fantastical and of the real nitty gritty, which is perfectly fine by me.
I don't agree that just because you categorize something under the "Fantasy" genre, then everything can go. Or that there is nothing that should not go. My personal preference is that fantasy remains coherent with itself and sticks to its general tone. Some choose to go for the extravagant, with very bulky armor like in WoW, or a stimulating lack thereof.Anything goes in the fantasy genre. I personally try not to over think cosmetics/fashion in the fantasy realm; a losing battle indeed.
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.
Giselher did not answer. He picked up a rock, took aim and sent it crashing against the door. ‘Come out, Bonhart!’
‘Come out, Bonhart!’ The Rats repeated in chorus. ‘Come out, Bonhart!’
Steps echoed from inside. Slow and heavy. Mistle felt a chill run down her spine.
Bonhart appeared at the door.
The Rats instinctively took a step back, dug the high heels of their boots into the ground, and moved their hands to their hilts.
If you want to talk realism in a fantasy game...
If I am one of the most powerful sorcerer in the game, I should be able to wear what I want and look cool, especially if I can time travel or teleport. Functionality for walking would be the least/none of my concern.
We don't even know how much we'll see Ciri in the first place, time spent doesn't even come into the equation we could be seeing her for very short whiles until the very end for all we know.how much time will Ciri be spending on a horse realistically? Is she going to fight on a horse all the time? The logical thing would be to compromise and make the heels sensibly shorter.
Ciri is not the most powerful sorceress. She's the most powerful if she was taught be Philippa or Francesca since she has the most magical potential also she disavowed magic and almost never uses it (didn't read the books though).
Ciri is a swordsman witcher first and foremost and even if she's the best swordsman she still wouldn't wear those heels.
@Guy N'wah how much time will Ciri be spending on a horse realistically? Is she going to fight on a horse all the time? The logical thing would be to compromise and make the heels sensibly shorter.
But seriously, heels and swords don't work together very well.