Just want to know if most people are going to change race and gender on 2.0.

[Ganvire]

I knew male mithra (well, i guess at this point male miqote, QQ) would be ridiculously popular but I'm getting the impression I have nooooooo ideaaaaaa...

I'm scared. I thought Westerners hated being pretty boys, isn't that why S-E felt the need to make the gruff looking guys? /lol

Well, if they make Manqo'tes more sculptured than I'm imagining, I'm sure they'll go over better if that's the case? I'm sure they've thought about it.

[Mirh]

more sculptured

at this point I'd imagine that would be counter-intuitive! Actually, the concept art has them looking pretty girly. Like crazy girly. But I suppose that just goes to show you that the Japanese can't really figure us out. Always keeping the stereotype dynamic.

Their entrance has thrown my entire perception of catgirls off. Like I don't think I even acknowledged I was a nyao nyao catgirl in FFXI/V all this time until now. It's crazy. But, that's totally off topic on my part.

[Ganvire]

at this point I'd imagine that would be counter-intuitive! Actually, the concept art has them looking pretty girly. Like crazy girly. But I suppose that just goes to show you that the Japanese can't really figure us out. Always keeping the stereotype dynamic.

Their entrance has thrown my entire perception of catgirls off. Like I don't think I even acknowledged I was a nyao nyao catgirl in FFXI/V all this time until now. It's crazy. But, that's totally off topic on my part.

No no, I completely understand. I just can't figure out why the west is "turned off" by... I guess what I call stylized male characters, in a way. They're characters and, since they're exactly that, why should it matter if they're "girly" or "manly" at all? Isn't every character unique in its own way?

I hope I'm making sense. xD

[Mirh]

No no, I completely understand. I just can't figure out why the west is "turned off" by... I guess what I call stylized male characters, in a way. They're characters and, since they're exactly that, why should it matter if they're "girly" or "manly" at all? Isn't every character unique in its own way?

I hope I'm making sense. xD

Oh, you're making plenty. I'm sure the average Westerner would just feel emasculated, probably a bit insecure. It's probably on the lines of you needing to be a big macho guy to be a true hero (Which is funny because in WoW and such people were upset the human males were too toned, lol)

In my experience, the younger generations appreciate the "stylized male character" a bit more than the older generations - the odd exceptions, of course, considered still. But I think more so it just depends on the goals - Japanese players probably prefer a more realistic look - which is more versatile in general (most gamers are going to be slim or , well, at least not totally buff, as well, so it reflects them better) and Westerners are going to be very high fantasy - towering, hulking, and intimidating. That's at least how Western IPs (Warhammer, Warcraft, tabletop, etc) handles it.

Not to be stereotypical, but I'd imagine most players wanting to be a marauder would want to be a highlander more than a midlander, let alone a miqote. If "Thief" ever comes out, male miqote will rule supreme (you know, like Zidane)


>.> Really, though, when it was said Highlander exists to satisfy westerners, I got a little laugh, because I don't know anyone personally who wanted to be a tough hero type, despite wanting to be sturdy and reliable (tanks, etc)

In the end, I just blame the lack of imagination. People don't delve into true character crafting so commonly anymore. They'd rather fit a visual archetype and leave it at that.

(crap, tl;dr now.)