Building a better Alphinaud

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Originally Posted by Zanarkand-Ronso

Hrothgar weren't created to lure in the WoW crowd. You say some silly things.
They were created as a new Player Character Option that wasnt just another human. Variety/Diversity.

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Given that the Hrothgar are based on the Ronso from FFX, and are literally given the same name on the first, if they were made to "appeal" to any demographic, wouldn't it be fans of FFX who really liked Kimahri? But yeah, it's a silly thing to say, not every decision is to appeal to the "WoW crowd" (I dispute a demographic like that even exist in the first place, WoW's popularity was huge and you can't really do anything to appeal specifically to a WoW player because different people played that game for different reasons.)

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Originally Posted by tokinokanatae

Why should they bother when those characters can't even beat Alphinaud's popularity, nevermind the three I just mentioned?

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I thought representation was important? It sure would be nice to have more testosterone present in the game in the form of conventionally attractive male characters - especially for those of us who are drawn to masculinity for the sake of representation and/or sex appeal. Not everyone is interested in feminine or androgynous aesthetics, after all.

I know a lot of people who aren't all that thrilled by the lack of an ability to design a tall, handsome human who is muscular and with authentic eyebrows. It's one of the most common aesthetic choices in pretty much any major game.

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Originally Posted by tokinokanatae

Why should they bother when those characters can't even beat Alphinaud's popularity, nevermind the three I just mentioned?

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Why should they bother adding Hrothgar, by that logic?

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Originally Posted by Theodric

I thought representation was important? It sure would be nice to have more testosterone present in the game in the form of conventionally attractive male characters - especially for those of us who are drawn to masculinity for the sake of representation and/or sex appeal. Not everyone is interested in feminine or androgynous aesthetics, after all.

I know a lot of people who aren\\'t all that thrilled by the lack of an ability to design a tall, handsome human who is muscular and with authentic eyebrows. It\\'s one of the most common aesthetic choices in pretty much any major game.

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It would be nice if FFXIV would give you the option to make a adult male that is more "normal" built.

And what I mean with normal built is not a dadbod, but rather a male that works out a little, has a bit of broad shoulders, slim arms, normal legs and have maybe 15-20% body fat instead of 8%.

I myself am slim and have muscular definition,
workout 1 hour a day (30 mins before breakfast and 30 in the evening).
I eat breakfast and lunch. Skip dinner, but I am absolutely not at 8% bodyfat. The majority of people that workout are not anywhere near 8% bodyfat.

Also... chest hair/facial stubble - which would go a long way in aging up the male characters.

There is not enough of the representation of traditional proto European men in the story due to the system oppression against the majority groups that happen everywhere. Tradition value is important. The value about the superiorly of monarchy like the Garlemald and the Ascian people above the inferior race is not respect by writers and they try to drag down. As the humble Garlemald soldier myself who love monarchy I am disappoint by this. Why can the Garlemald not have the Czar Nerva instead of the voting. This is not the place for the university campus politics statement with the high cost coffee and the burger.

I find this suspicious that the game take away the eyebrow of the high minestrone race like Highlander and only give back the drawn marker eyebrow. Yet they do not make the character lose the head hair because of the high minestrone. How can you be the Garlemalding player otherwise??

They can use WOW: Battle for Azurite system with the Allied Beast Tribe to give more race customing. Introduce the Garlemald and the Ascian as Allied Beast Tribe system so when you do the quest you can play with the alternate start. Can be similar on the Highlander except with the third eye and with the eyebrow. I know this is move away from the Alphanaud post but is important to say.

This is fiction story and I do not see why some post want to force the view just because the player force like the Yoshi World. Don't agree? Disagree to agree then.

I think if the Alphanaud was Garlean soldier this would not happen. He would not have time for the books and democracy because he have to do pushup and lift the bench.

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Originally Posted by Graeham

I think if the Alphanaud was Garlean soldier this would not happen. He would not have time for the books and democracy because he have to do pushup and lift the bench.

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I know I'm just replying to the last entry of your post, but this is really something that annoys me about most MMORPG's; the idea that "bookworms"(casters) should be skinny and frail

You want to have a strong mind? Then build your body. Having a strong body is the very foundation for evolving your brain.

A great bookworm is someone that would both hit the books and the gym.

Agree. I play the muscle magic chara. I use the muscle to cast the spell while I attack with the stick. I know this is difficult part of the Garlemald story and people challenge the rp because the bias against the spells but I have overcome the problem by train hard like wrestler.

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Originally Posted by Eldtagg

It would be nice if FFXIV would give you the option to make a adult male that is more "normal" built.

And what I mean with normal built is not a dadbod, but rather a male that works out a little, has a bit of broad shoulders, slim arms, normal legs and have maybe 15-20% body fat instead of 8%.

I myself am slim and have muscular definition,
workout 1 hour a day (30 mins before breakfast and 30 in the evening).
I eat breakfast and lunch. Skip dinner, but I am absolutely not at 8% bodyfat. The majority of people that workout are not anywhere near 8% bodyfat.

Also... chest hair/facial stubble - which would go a long way in aging up the male characters.

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I mean... okay as a customization option? But in-story it wouldn't make much sense given that WoL is a workaholic who exercises constantly either by fighting or obsessively training when they're not doing something else. In the Monk questline their exercise regimen is over ten hours of continuous exercise with ten-thousand reps of multiple fighting moves. Several cutscenes also have WoL exercising when not doing anything else, like doing squats whlie "eavesdropping" on Ryne and Gaia or doing pushups on a fishing boat. Numerous characters also comment on WoL having the "rugged looks" of an adventurer as well as how much muscle they've put on since their last meeting.

Dad bod WoL doesn't really make sense given their constantly active lifestyle.

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Originally Posted by Eldtagg

I know I'm just replying to the last entry of your post, but this is really something that annoys me about most MMORPG's; the idea that "bookworms"(casters) should be skinny and frail

You want to have a strong mind? Then build your body. Having a strong body is the very foundation for evolving your brain.

A great bookworm is someone that would both hit the books and the gym.

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Urianger has strong arms to the point that his minion comments on them. Alisaie trains to be physically fit so she can handle the physical demands of being a red mage. Alphinaud is skinny because he's sixteen and has yet to hit Elezen puberty.

Any caster WoL is still canonically ripped from how much training they do.

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Originally Posted by Eldtagg

I know I'm just replying to the last entry of your post, but this is really something that annoys me about most MMORPG's; the idea that "bookworms"(casters) should be skinny and frail

You want to have a strong mind? Then build your body. Having a strong body is the very foundation for evolving your brain.

A great bookworm is someone that would both hit the books and the gym.

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Except in this case it's less about stereotype but more about cultural differences. Compared to modern western culture Japanese always seemed to put almost androgynous, lean and "pretty" males at the pinnacle of beauty. They also seem to put slightly higher values at intelligence and academic records which do put people in the spotlight compared to western media/culture where characters showing those traits are usually social outcasts. Japanese are honestly pretty close minded even when it comes to game development. They rarely try to appeal to westerners and when they do it's very obvious. And honestly i prefer it that way since recently we really lack that end of the spectrum.

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Originally Posted by Dikatis

Dad bod WoL doesn't really make sense given their constantly active lifestyle.

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On the contrary, it makes perfect sense as an option - there's tribal warriors who have the equivalent of a 'dad bod' but are ridiculously active and strong. Equally, there's many construction workers who are active every day of the week but boast such a figure.

ESO has body sliders to allow a wide variety of body types ranging from slim to average to muscular to obese.

I think it's more likely that it's an aesthetic the game is reluctant to embrace. 'Realism' doesn't strike me as the reason for the absence of dad bods when the game has everyone equally capable of everything despite their height or other attributes...and if the game is willing to handwave those differences with 'aether' or 'dynamis' then such could be expanded elsewhere anyway.