Gender locked race?

[SomeRandomHuman]

They're all distinctly male though. Ranging from 'classically handsome' to 'ruggedly handsome'. Very few characters are outright androgynous or feminine to the degree that some are requesting within this thread and painting as much more common than they actually are. Masculinity is a broad spectrum and need not be fixed on the 'bara' side of the spectrum.

When people are saying they want the male Viera to be large and muscular under the guise of "we don't need another small race" it pretty much boils down to the idea of bara.

I just want something on the opposite end. If we can't get the feminine and androgynous male at least give us a body shape that isn't a superhero. Lalafells are the only males in this game that don't have any sort of musculature. They're just fat and chibi.

But I guess I'm wrong for wanting a male that isn't toting wide shoulders and any semblance of a six pack. Glad to know that parts of this community are as closed minded as modern NA politics.

[Gwenorai]

When people are saying they want the male Viera to be large and muscular under the guise of "we don't need another small race" it pretty much boils down to the idea of bara.

I just want something on the opposite end. If we can't get the feminine and androgynous male at least give us a body shape that isn't a superhero. Lalafells are the only males in this game that don't have any sort of musculature. They're just fat and chibi.

But I guess I'm wrong for wanting a male that isn't toting wide shoulders and any semblance of a six pack. Glad to know that parts of this community are as closed minded as modern NA politics.

Yeah, you're probably not going to get a race that doesn't have a 'sixpack' or a somewhat 'defined torso'- which is honestly a weird thing to want since a character like that is going to be not only skinny but lacking any sort of muscle development - goes against Viera lore on that one. Flat, maybe - but super skinny plus underdeveloped/flat? Yeah, unless there's a 'scale' then I'm certainly on the 'heck no' brigade for that.

[SomeRandomHuman]

Yeah, you're probably not going to get a race that doesn't have a 'sixpack' or a somewhat 'defined torso'- which is honestly a weird thing to want since a character like that is going to be not only skinny but lacking any sort of muscle development - goes against Viera lore on that one. Flat, maybe - but super skinny plus underdeveloped/flat? Yeah, unless there's a 'scale' then I'm certainly on the 'heck no' brigade for that.

Again, I'm up for compromise. You can still be in shape and not have a six pack. I'm not asking for something totally soft and underdeveloped. I just want something that isn't bulky and wider than a truck with a pretty face(which we can do already on every race)

[Thefates]

Yeah, you're probably not going to get a race that doesn't have a 'sixpack' or a somewhat 'defined torso'- which is honestly a weird thing to want since a character like that is going to be not only skinny but lacking any sort of muscle development - goes against Viera lore on that one. Flat, maybe - but super skinny plus underdeveloped/flat? Yeah, unless there's a 'scale' then I'm certainly on the 'heck no' brigade for that.

You really have to stop bringing up the lore as if it's an impending barrier for how the male viera have to look. The very first thing you must acknowledge is that female Viera are not only seen as the dominant gender in Viera society but as warriors in their own right, yet this does nothing to stop them from being the feminine icons they were designed to be. There is no reason to assume that the males must be exceedingly different on that end, it's ultimately up to the designer.

Even if we were to go purely off the lore, as it's been told to us, it could still go either way. We are told that they live a harsh lifestyle to an extent, yes, and that certainly leads credence to the idea of them growing to be quite masculine. Yet, we also know next to nothing about their physiology, and we're told that until puberty they're impossibly similar to the female Viera children. The changes they undergo after that point are, for the moment, completely left up to Square's interpretation.

Continuing to argue about it based on the lore we've been given is just silly. Better to just wait until JP Fanfest than to declare some glaring inaccuracy in the opinion of someone who you don't agree with. If we were exceedingly lucky we could even see some of the first clan dimorphism since Midlander and Highlander in order to meet some of these differing opinions, although that would be an unforeseen treat.

[Gwenorai]

You really have to stop bringing up the lore as if it's an impending barrier for how the male viera have to look. The very first thing you must acknowledge is that female Viera are not only seen as the dominant gender in Viera society but as warriors in their own right, yet this does nothing to stop them from being the feminine icons they were designed to be. There is no reason to assume that the males must be exceedingly different on that end, it's ultimately up to the designer.

Even if we were to go purely off the lore, as it's been told to us, it could still go either way. We are told that they live a harsh lifestyle to an extent, yes, and that certainly leads credence to the idea of them growing to be quite masculine. Yet, we also know next to nothing about their physiology, and we're told that until puberty they're impossibly similar to the female Viera children. The changes they undergo after that point are, for the moment, completely left up to Square's interpretation.

Continuing to argue about it based on the lore we've been given is just silly. Better to just wait until JP Fanfest than to declare some glaring inaccuracy in the opinion of someone who you don't agree with. If we were exceedingly lucky we could even see some of the first clan dimorphism since Midlander and Highlander in order to meet some of these differing opinions, although that would be an unforeseen treat.

Yes, the designer/developer that has sadly stated that he thinks the male Viera is 'weird' and that he finds them to be 'too cute' - in regards to concept art that was anything but cute. This was the concept art where they had a very defined muscle development. I don't know, am I out of line for being for making that connection?

[Thefates]

Yes, the designer that has sadly stated that he thinks the male Viera is 'weird' and that he finds them to be 'too cute' - in regards to concept art that was anything but cute. This was the concept art where they had a very defined muscle development. I don't know, am I out of line for being for making that connection?

One designer has publicly stated that many years ago, yes. The situation could have changed since then, not to mention their cooperations with the Viera race's original creator may have yielded different results as well. It's fine to assume they'll be masculine, that's great, and it probably will happen. But to tell someone that it's impossible, with what we've been shown right now, for it to be a more feminine design is silly. You simply can't be certain without it being announced, let alone the fact that it's not absolutely certain male viera will even be playable at all.

Edit: Also let's not pretend that we've never seen the final product of a race differ VASTLY from it's concept art.

[Gwenorai]

One designer has publicly stated that many years ago, yes. The situation could have changed since then, not to mention their cooperations with the Viera race's original creator may have yielded different results as well. It's fine to assume they'll be masculine, that's great, and it probably will happen. But to tell someone that it's impossible, with what we've been shown right now, for it to be a more feminine design is silly. You simply can't be certain without it being announced, let alone the fact that it's not absolutely certain male viera will even be playable at all.

Mhm, that's where the big line is really. If he still thinks they're weird/cute then chances are that we won't be getting them or it's going to be overly masculine which still doesn't give what folks want in that trope. Hence why I mentioned the 'scale' so that it can be given in regards to height/muscle and weight. Yes, but the logic I'm following is that if they were seen to be too cute and then they went away from the concept art, then why would they be cuter and not more feral/rough? It's certainly possible they could go route but still.

I guess I just disagree with you on that.
All we know about viera men is that they live alone and will shoot you for entering their neighborhood without warning and that you never see them.

Idk how you can determine there musculature from that

I'm a human biologist who focuses on human anatomy/physiology - during exercises we tend to make rough concepts and the likes for individuals who go through a certain lifestyle/background as well as baseline history in regards to genetics - for identification and portrait building. Of course, can't always be applied in regards to fantasy - hence why I'm going off the lore that's there + the concept art and the words of the developer to picture the imagery. If they happen to make some sort of imagery that is beyond that and they're skinny and small, then all the power to them - it wouldn't be what I would have liked of course. But the image put forward from the lore and the concept art paints a rather well-defined individual.

If it makes you feel any better; I hate seeing Lalas/skinny cat girls etc wielding huge weapons because I tend to nitpick how silly they look with zero muscle development wielding such a heavy instrument - I do it in every game, to be honest.

We shall see come fanfest in high hopes that a) they're not genderlocked and b) they have a wide range so both parties are happy.

[MrKimper]

One designer has publicly stated that many years ago, yes. The situation could have changed since then, not to mention their cooperations with the Viera race's original creator may have yielded different results as well. It's fine to assume they'll be masculine, that's great, and it probably will happen. But to tell someone that it's impossible, with what we've been shown right now, for it to be a more feminine design is silly. You simply can't be certain without it being announced, let alone the fact that it's not absolutely certain male viera will even be playable at all.

Edit: Also let's not pretend that we've never seen the final product of a race differ VASTLY from it's concept art.

I actually think it would be rather poetic. people complain about au ra not looking demonic so yoship figures he'll give us a real monsterous looking race, even if it's only genderlocked to males, and then people(disclaimer: not me, I'd be fine with that) complain about that race not being a pretty boy race.

The cycle continues.

[Thefates]

I actually think it would be rather poetic. people complain about au ra not looking demonic so yoship figures he'll give us a real monsterous looking race, even if it's only genderlocked to males, and then people(disclaimer: not me, I'd be fine with that) complain about that race not being a pretty boy race.

The cycle continues.

To be fair, even then, people were also wanting the demonic female designs as well. Getting a bodytype you don't like might displease some people, but genderlocking never makes anyone happy, it only makes people disappointed. The default reaction is neutrality and it only goes downhill from there.

[Theodric]

Glad to know that parts of this community are as closed minded as modern NA politics.

That's a pretty loaded statement to make in regards to a disagreement over something as trivial as a fictional race in a fictional setting. I'm not even American, on that note.