MK11 female designs are... extremely underwhelming

[Professor Oak]

It's just a giant false equivalency. Fighters never wear shirts. Not in Boxing, not in MMA. But they're also not sexualized. Doesn't mean that they can't still be sexy or whatever, but it's not the main point.

Female boxers and MMA artists wear gear that doesn't cover everything, but it's also not shaped like bikinis/thongs etc. It's not intended to be sexualized. It also generally minimizes cleavage a bit (since it's designed to keep things comfortable for fighting) rather than overemphasizing it the way sex-themed underwear does.

Then you have say, ring card holders, who are most definitely intended for aesthetic appeal. The issue is that from MK9 the female combatants were close to ring card girls than something resembling a fighter. It's not that people should have a problem with it, but if the franchise decides to grow up a bit, that should also be fine.

But this "Bruce Lee-stylefFighters without the shirts is the same as wearing stripper-eque outfits" is just a very poor connection to draw. It doesn't do justice to the legacy of fighting in media.

Youre absolutely misguided and out of touch if you think that 90% of what humans do and wear and present them as isnt for sexual appeal. Including why boxers and wrestlers are historically less clothed. Im going to end this conversation and move forward with the understanding that certain members here are deluded beyond reason.
Biology overrides a lot.

Point being; It is not necessary to have overly sexualized females OR males, but it should be OKAY to have them. No one should be mad at it, its reductive of real life issues. The “well what was she wearing when he attacked her?” Vibe is what I get from that mentality.

 

[R.E.D.]

I dont know why people assume that when you hate female outfit it means that we want skimpy outfits.

THIS! Why do some people think that giving constructive criticism about good and bad designs means you being/not being able to jerk off to female characters lmao, it's ridiculous at this point. What about using character designs to convey stories and personalities? I thought it was what we were talking about?

Except bale chested males intent is different from the intent of skimply dressed females. When ever people see a bare chested, muscular male in action movies, they are never seen as 'sex symbols' the way expsed skin dressed females. It's seen as masculine and heroic to the majority of the audience whereas a female fighter showing lots of skin is seen as a sex object. Ask any woman what a sexualised male might be in their mind and they aren't going to be mentioning 'Khotal Khan or 'Kano' the way nerdy males talk about Ivy Valentine. Its something like a sensetive male wearing a sweater and flowers on the cover of a magezine. Sure, ppl CAN be sexually attracted to bare chested males but generally the intent of their design isn't to be for sexual enjoyment. So the whole 'double standard' statement doesn't really work in terms of tropes, and is an emergency-pull chord argument I see most players use at best.

also this.

 

[CrimsonShadow]

Youre absolutely misguided and out of touch if you think that 90% of what humans do and wear and present them as isnt for sexual appeal. Including why boxers and wrestlers are historically less clothed. Im going to end this conversation and move forward with the understanding that certain members here are deluded beyond reason.
Biology overrides a lot.

Uh yeah... That's a very strange viewpoint. But it's not historically accurate. In MMA for example, it was removed specifically so that people couldn't grab the clothing and use it as a weapon (to choke people, yank them around, etc).

https://www.quora.com/Why-dont-professional-boxers-wear-shirts-when-boxing

They are functional reasons. I'm not sure where you're pulling this narrative from.

 

[DragonVenom]

Let's make everyone happy by having a National Geographic African Warrior Woman skin for Jacqui. Completely topless with sagging tits.

Completely not sexualized but makes it even with Jax, Kano, Kotal, Shao Khan, Johnny Cage

 

[Lisbeth]

Except bale chested males intent is different from the intent of skimply dressed females. When ever people see a bare chested, muscular male in action movies, they are never seen as 'sex symbols' the way expsed skin dressed females. It's seen as masculine and heroic to the majority of the audience whereas a female fighter showing lots of skin is seen as a sex object. Ask any woman what a sexualised male might be in their mind and they aren't going to be mentioning 'Khotal Khan or 'Kano' the way nerdy males talk about Ivy Valentine. Its something like a sensetive male wearing a sweater and flowers on the cover of a magezine. Sure, ppl CAN be sexually attracted to bare chested males but generally the intent of their design isn't to be for sexual enjoyment. So the whole 'double standard' statement doesn't really work in terms of tropes, and is an emergency-pull chord argument I see most players use at best.

But who's talking about skimpy clothes here? My examples were She-ra and MKX Kitana and Mileena, do you think their outfits are skimpy?? I'm not crazy to say that Ivy and Liu Kang look the same, Ivy is obviously sexualized.

 

[Briggsfan]

• I abhore the Edenian aesthetic being changed from vaguely Persian outfits to vaguely chinese (?) outfits. It's annoying enough with the women but if Rain shows up (you know, I hope) wearing not his cool prince of persia style look from MKX but wearing a kimono or some trash it's riot time.

Kimono's are Japanese, not Chinese.

• A certain cyborg doesn't look like a cyborg at all due to similarities with other fully human characters.

She actually does look like a Cyborg. Cyborgs are humans are humans with machine parts.

The issue is that MK Cyborgs usually look like robots. But most interpretations of Cyborgs do have fleshy bits.

They went with the Cyberpunk type of cyborg for you know who.

 

[Lisbeth]

My issue is that people can't seem to find a middle ground at all. They go either bikini armor or covered from head to toes with useless chunks pieces of armor in the most boring and uninspired way. But the thing is this magic middle ground was found once, in MKX.

 

[DarksydeDash]

All I have to say is thank god for Ponytail Skarlet.

I 100% agree that Cassie's skins are super boring. Her default look with the military outfit is a good start but the lack of the casual attire like her father when she is also comedic relief is super disappointing.

Even some of Sonya's gear has more variety and looks more interesting with the right shaders and at the gameplay reveal, I immediately thought her gear would be lacking as well.

Jade has her outfits from the beta, all that I am a fan of, but her newer outfits feel so similar to the others we've seen that it's hardly a difference.

Cetrion I honestly think looks really cool, but I feel you get more of a visual change from her crown and rock wings than her skins offer.

D'vorah and (of course) Kitana look incredible, with a honorable mention to Jacqui.

 

[CrimsonShadow]

He's a man, he wouldn't be wearing a Kimono anyway.

If you're going to try to son somebody, you've got to at least know what you're talking about
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimono#Men's_kimono

 

[Hacenit]

If you're going to try to son somebody, you've got to at least know what you're talking about
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimono#Men's_kimono

He likely meant that men in this game are dressed significantly lighter.

 

[Raider]

I haven't seen all the female outfits but about Cassie and Sonya i have to agree. Everything looks very boring and bland and sadly it's the case with most of the other females in the game. I feel like there is more varaiety for males. And it's really not about looking sexy or not.

On the other hand i couldn't resist and i looked at D'Vorah's skins and i was kinda blown away. She looks fantastic. Kitana and Skarlet also have some nice skins.

 

[Phased]

I have a friend who is in porn, I respect her. She is thrilled to hear that Ive watched her performances.

wut

 

[NothingPersonal]

I have a friend who is in porn, I respect her. She is thrilled to hear that Ive watched her performances.

Tell her I'll be glad to help her practice

 

[Phased]

so this mk doesnt have the most fashion savy outfits for female characters

it's almost like this game was designed by a bunch of nerdy men who dont know anything about female fashion


oh wait

 

[Briggsfan]

If you're going to try to son somebody,

I wasn't. I appreciate the correction regardless.

 

[MBZ_Gaming]

so this mk doesnt have the most fashion savy outfits for female characters

it's almost like this game was designed by a bunch of nerdy men who dont know anything about female fashion


oh wait

Judging from the outfit designs and colors combination? they really need to hire someone that has at least “a little” background in fashion cuz clearly the current one has zero background.

 

[Kitana Fan]

Not to offend anyone with this viewpoint, but I think it's a really weak argument to just assume "oh those who want the skimpier outfits/classic outfits just want to get off, masturbate to them" What about those of us who just want ohh I don't know, variety? Classic nostalgic outfits that you know made these characters who they are? Just because a chick in a game dresses sexy or clad doesn't mean she's an automatic "stripper" lol. "oh she's in a bikini looking she's a stripper" I'm sorry, but by this logic every woman who goes to the beach would be considered a "stripper" And that's clearly not the case.

I'm pretty sure most who want them don't wack it to that let's be realistic here lol. I mean I love the classic outfits and it's not because I want to rub one out (like others here seem to think or because I want them to look like strippers) I just think they look cooler and it's what defined them to begin with. For the former, as others including myself have mentioned already that's what A. real women/GF's/wives etc and/or B. porn are for) I'd also like to point out that I knew a girl who used to car model and they made her dress in clad, sexy outfits does that mean she's a stripper? I also have a friend who does modeling part time still, yet she's very conservative with how she dresses at the job I met her from(which was Target) and believe me there were women at that job I worked with who went out of their way to show cleavage, their asses with tight jeans etc, etc yet this girl did not. So did that make her a stripper? No, it was just her job. My point is not every women who dresses real or especially in a fictional video game is a stripper, degrading or sexualized. Some women actually want the attention, others just like wearing things that look good on them. But back on.

@Professor Oak also brings up a great point regarding MMA/UFC, I actually mentioned that in that other thread that got closed. Sure, a woman may not want to wear a shoelace top to a fight but she sure as hell ain't wearing leather from head to toe either. You want to be comfortable yet not have so much clothing to wear your opponent can grab onto it and use it to their advantage either. I can definitely see someone fighting in Sonya's MK 9 outfit, combat boots, muscle undershirt, hat and shorts before I can see someone fighting in all leather in heels.

For me, it's that and I want a little fanservice as well. I mean, what's wrong with that?

 

[MKF30]

For comparison and fun. If a woman was going to get into a legit H2H fight, which would be less restricting, easy to maneuver, kick, etc

Real life MMH/UFC women outfit for fights: sneakers or foot straps, short spandex shorts, sports spandex top

MK 9 Sonya alternate outfit:-Undershirt, Military Hat, really short shorts, combat gloves, combat boots

MK 11 Skarlet attire: Leather from head to toe, leather flaps on the lower back hanging down to the cavs as well as very long on the front, leather pants, leather on the arms and heels

Yeah...I can totally see Skarlet's flaps being advantageous in a fight....

For me, it's that and I want a little fanservice as well. I mean, what's wrong with that?

Exactly, I feel the same way man. Plus, I mean it's a video game not REAL people but yeah that's a whole can of worms.

 

[Briggsfan]

For me, it's that and I want a little fanservice as well. I mean, what's wrong with that?

Nothing inherently.

But like i said previously, I do prefer when there is a balance. Especially since it gives us a variety of designs.

 

[DragonofDadashov24]

Kitana, Frost, Jade and Scarlett look good so far
Kitana is gorgeous

 

[BS3OOO]

Cassie and Sonya definitely suffer from a lack of variety. They’re alternates are way too similar, and the color pallets are ugly. I’m sure NRS are holding back for DLC tho

 

[Hostile_18]

Is that everything in the game for her or do more exciting skins unlock?

Only her first is decent. That turtle neck looks ridiculous.

 

[Syd Barrett Lives]

To me the point everyone seems to miss is that this whole situation is not about relalism, not about empowering women, not about political agendas or social commentaries, it's about a videogame.
If a woman chooses to dress scantidly there's nothing wrong. It's her choice and I have no problem with that. Hell, I live in Italy in a beach resort town, we go around naked half of the year.
But these are not women, these are fictional depictions of women done by men for (mostly) men. So it's obvious that by depicting them in an over-sexualized manner it reeks of exploitative.

Now, personally I don't care that much anyway, but to me this is a videogame about fighting to the death and I want the characters to look cool looking so, just that. They went in a more "conservative" direction with the art design and I respect that, cause I don't think we NEED the female characters to be half-naked to look cool nor we need to be aroused by them to enjoy the game. Simple as that.

 

[AloneUA]

It's just a giant false equivalency. Fighters never wear shirts. Not in Boxing, not in MMA. But they're also not sexualized. Doesn't mean that they can't still be sexy or whatever, but it's not the main point.

Female boxers and MMA artists wear gear that doesn't cover everything, but it's also not shaped like bikinis/thongs etc. It's not intended to be sexualized. It also generally minimizes cleavage a bit (since it's designed to keep things comfortable for fighting) rather than overemphasizing it the way sex-themed underwear does. They don't look like they're dressed for seduction.

What's false is thinking you can decide what is sexy or sexualized for all the other people out there. Like, c'mon, you think men watching female MMA fights doesn't find them sexually attractive? Or strong? Or do you really think that every single woman out there thinks of Chris Hemsworth's bare chest as a symbol of empowerment and not "Damn, he's hot"? Lmao
Just to be on the same page, I think MK9's designs were pretty bad. That doesn't mean we need a complete 180 though (that only concerns females as well). And you, especially, can't decide for other people what's sexy and what they should or shouldn't like. That's what being mature and respectful is. You can have your opinion. You can't force it on others as the one and only truth.

 

[Hostile_18]

Its a slippery slope even if there wasnt this disparity between men and women in this game.

What if for MK 12 they wanted the violence to be more realistic and anyone wanting the traditional levels was said to just go watch gore-porn films.

The whole idea that a half naked character of any gender is worse than some of the violence on show here is absolutely absurd.