The word "fan cast" implies that this is a cast he wants to play these specific characters, not that he thinks they look the part, so you're right - I did misinterpret the point of this guy's cast. I didn't realize that a list that made it into gamespot news had such little thought put into it.
This is a horrible fucking fan cast and whoever made it clearly doesn't know the characters very well.
Ciri is exactly like Arya - it's even more prevalent if you read the books. None of Emma Watson's roles, or even her acting style come remotely fucking close to this archetype.
Emma Stone as Triss..? Right... no. She's a fine actress, and has established that she can do serious roles - but that just doesn't work. So many actresses would be a better fit for the character besides Stone. Hell, Scarlet Johannson? Just spit-balling here, but Alice Eve would also play a good Triss.
I'm okay with Jeff Bridges as Vesemir. Mads Mikkelsen was only chosen because of that fanart.
Anyway, I digress. Casting choices are bad.
Jonathan Banks should play Leo Bonhart though. He fits the appearance and deadpan demeanor perfectly.
@PrpleTrtleBuBum: Obviously if the devs wanted to do that then they would have. I'm sick of people continuously insinuating that whenever a dev decides to represent women as more than just basic sex objects, that somehow they must be artistically stifled.
Enough. You people are making a mountain out of a molehill.
Inb4 people on here take gender equality in the game as the devs getting pressured be feminists, as if they originally planned on making the female cast dumb, useless sex objects. Seriously though, this is great news.
"A vapid sex object is not an improperly developed female representation. Elizabeth Comstock is not a properly developed female representation"
But it is. Characters like Kasami from Dead or Alive aren't even characters - they're just eye candy, and thus can't represent anyone. And on the flip side - Elizabeth is a three dimensional character that's self-sufficient and actively helps Broker throughout the game. Hell, she even stars in one of the DLC campaigns and can fight. Granted, not all women are self-sufficient, and not all women can fight.. obviously - I'm just saying that we need more of that in video games. But then the whole vapid sex objects and useless damsel troupes are two different things entirely. All I'm really saying is that we need more strong female characters in video games, and vapid sex objects... that's iffy. Sexiness is alright in my books, but flat out objectification is another story entirely. Discouraging that is really no different than discouraging racist stereotypes in serious movies and tv shows. Obviously satirical mediums are still fair game, of course.
"And there is TONS of room for compromise here. That's the most galling part of this, from my perspective. I've seen plenty of female representations that were targeted primarily at girls and women, accepted by girls and women, and they were perfectly serviceable for my prurient interests."
But being "accepted" by girls and women is kind of an iffy subject too because many girls are conditioned by society to accept those representations of women, even if that representation is wrong.
"But no, because I've been branded a misogynist regressive, there's pretty much no way to have a sensible discussion with the PC Authoritarian brigade. Yet I know for a fact that there are ways of making this Daphne thing work for both of us."
I don't get the impression that you're a misogynist - for what it's worth. And I've argued these issues with many people, so I know how to spot them. I'm sorry if you've been called that, but I hope you don't get the impression that all feminists throw that word around willy-nilly.
@Kungfu_Kenobi: I think I can condense most of your first paragraph, so I'm not going to reference all of it.
From what I gather - you're scared, or rather - you think that feminism and the rise in political correctness is responsible for this new outlook in game development. And you're correct - because people are talking about these issues, more and more developers are inspired to put extra effort into properly developing their female characters. But is that really such a bad thing? I mean look at how it impacts you as a player. Sure if you really like saving dumb, useless, helpless sex objects - then it definitely inconveniences you. But think about all the female gamers who are now getting properly represented in all these games. The impact it has on them is a lot more significant - and a lot more important. Now they can feel what we feel playing games. Despite the fact that many male characters are portrayed as very buff, attractive men - the way they're represented is fundamentally different with how female characters have been represented since gaming started. For example, as I said in an earlier post - the male equivalent of Daphne would be a shirtless man wearing nut huggers and having a huge bulge sticking out, while he gyrates his ass around.
it's actually funny because in Sons of Anarchy [I don't know if you watch that show but if you do you'll see exactly what I mean] Jax Teller is oversexualized throughout the whole show with very focused shots of his ass in almost every sex scene - of which there are many. It's still not quite as bad as how many female characters are treated on television, but most guys I'm sure eye-roll like hell during those scenes, and it kind of gives perspective of what new media must be like through the eyes of a woman.
And as for your assertion of "encouragement" being slang for pressuring devs to act a certain way, that couldn't be further from the truth. Developers don't have a gun to their heads - because lord knows plenty of devs still portray women as sex objects without much backlash. The ones who don't do it by their own admission, and should absolutely be encouraged to do so. This isn't just a boy's club anymore - this is no different than the movie industry being encouraged by activism to stop portraying people of colour in a racist light. It still happens satirically, but you can see why it was important that they change their ways in that department. It's still a problem, of course - but it's better than it was, and poc are more fairly represented now. Black kids growing up can see black action movie stars, like Finn in the new Star Wars - and little girls growing up playing video games can be empowered by characters like Lara Croft and Elizabeth Comstock [granted, they probably aren't playing m rated games but you get what I mean] when before they could only see themselves being represented as damsels in distress and less important than the male characters, which trains them to view themselves as lesser as they grow, at least subconsciously.
Sorry for the tl;dr, but I'm quite passionate about this topic and I feel like you're a person who's fairly open minded, as opposed to a lot of people on this site. I feel like if I can give you my perspective, maybe you can learn a thing or two and I can actually for once accomplish something in these discussions. lol It's okay if you still disagree afterwards too though.
"Fair point, and I freely admit that it's not a great analogy and that I didn't entirely think it through. You certainly can lose the damsel and keep the sexy. Likewise, Jessica Rabbit is sexy and an agent who takes plenty of action on the basis of her own motivations (spousal devotion, sure, but no one forced her to marry Roger. She chooses to support him)."
Bingo. It's less about taking away the sex factor and more about increasing the "do shit" factor. Of course there's a fine line too.. for example I consider Lara Croft a very attractive woman and the fact that she's strong, independent and likable on top of not being paraded around as a sex object makes her a hell of a lot more appealing to me than say... any of the characters from Dead or Alive, which are basically just sex objects with no personality.
So having more of the former helps the game industry from my view.
"Sure I do. But I also want more vapid wasp waisted damsels to rescue.
And there's nothing wrong with that."
Ask yourself why you want that. Is it because you genuinely enjoy seeing weak, useless damsels in video games? Or are you just fighting for them simply to oppose feminism? Because from where I'm standing, damsels add nothing to video games. In fact, quite the contrary - they detract from the experience. Granted, that doesn't mean there shouldn't be any scenario where a female character has to get saved. I mean look at Elizabeth at the end of BioShock Infinite. There are appropriate times for it.. but if a character does nothing but get captured and be overall useless compared to the male cast, that's where there's a problem.
Now, I'm in no way advocating that devs be forced to portray female characters a certain way - and I don't think anyone really is, but that doesn't mean they can't be encouraged to portray female characters as independent and strong as males. There's a severe lack of that in video games.
"And having a Dragon's Lair movie without sexy Daphne is a bit like having a Roger Rabbit movie without sexy Jessica. Sure neither one is the focus of the work in question, and both will be substantially intact without, but both would be diminished."
You're confusing objectification for sexiness. See - Daphne is a stereotypical blonde bimbo in the game that's only purpose is to give the children playing some fap material. If they're going to make a movie off of that, and make Daphne a dignified character, then they simply can't portray her like she was in the games. They just can't.
"Either you have never actually listened to Anita and company, or you're hoping that none of us have so we don't know what utter fiction this statement is."
No, that statement is EXACTLY what Anita and feminist gamers have advocated for. Less objectification in games - more strong female leads. That's literally it.
"Feminists want to be authoritarians who are consulted for permission before anything sees the light of day, much like the governments of North Korea or China. They can't bear the idea of not being the center of the universe, and video games are the most high profile example of a mostly male community that doesn't care what they have to say."
None of that is even remotely true. Baseless conjecture and anti-feminist rhetoric. You clearly aren't well versed on the issues, so I suggest for future reference that you refrain from ever talking about feminism again.
The irony of your username is astonishing too. Had to point that out.
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