Male Viera as a playable character! show your support

[Gwenorai]

Honestly, given everyone's gripe and what not. The concept art that most people were hyped for is the way to go. That is the safest bet for square in my opinion. I think folks forget that a minority is just that, a minority. Square is a business - pandering to the minority doesn't always work and sometimes just isn't where the money is. While it's nice to get that good old 'validation' - looking for it in a game is not the way to go. Believe me, I've been there - I've told the story multiple of times in this thread where Fran was the first 'black female' character in a game I had come across as a child, and that was neat. But after that, it just goes downhill.

Before someone starts screaming at me for being against minorities. I'm going to say this and roll my eyes so far in my head because I know someone is going to throw a disgusting tantrum. I am a minority, I'm a woman of colour who just happens to be pansexual. Big whoop. The fact I have a feeling I have to even mention this to stop someone from throwing the 'You don't understand our woes' argument, makes me so bloody tired.

Someone pass me a bottle of wine to wash down this thread, god dang. Minority arguments suck, people should stop using them.

[Theodric]

Someone pass me a bottle of wine to wash down this thread, god dang. Minority arguments suck, people should stop using them.

I have a bottle of red to share!

Fully agreed, though. I dislike 'minority' arguments as well. I'm technically one myself by virtue of being a bisexual guy in a relationship with another man. I'm not going to use that as a shield or blade to try and get what I want, though. Hence why I haven't mentioned it so far. Though I feel compelled to state it now to counter any potential accusations.

[SturmChurro]

I have a bottle of red to share!

Fully agreed, though. I dislike 'minority' arguments as well. I'm technically one myself by virtue of being a bisexual guy in a relationship with another man. I'm not going to use that as a shield or blade to try and get what I want, though. Hence why I haven't mentioned it so far. Though I feel compelled to state it now to counter any potential accusations.

You shouldn't even have to say that you are minority to be able to make an opinion. Everyone's opinion is just as valid as someone else's. Whether you are a minority or not. They might be wrong, but it's still a valid opinion. I really hate the "you don't understand our plight" thing as well. Like God, we are talking about a game here.

I won't even state if I am a minority or not because I do not think it is relevant. Take my opinion at face value, or don't.

[Gwenorai]

Snip

I can only upvote you once and this really upsets me. Preach this. Most of the time even when someone is 'championing' the cause, there's always going to be more than a few people in that minority who aren't even in agreement. So it's just? S t a p h.

Snip

Ah, you're a saint Theodric.

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What you are in real shouldn't honestly factor into a fantasy races design unless you are originally the designer of said race and even then you shouldn't do it. Self-insert races and characters in fiction are usually really bad and not well done.

To be more clear, it's more than fine to create yourself in a fantasy game but you shouldn't always expect it to be near perfect. You need to adjust, get what you can take. But also have respect for what the designer have already put in place - which makes sense for them to be there. Boundaries are set, most MMOs have them in regards to races and they tend to follow the strictness of the lore that is put in place with a little leeway.

When you start to twist that and push against the boundary then, in reality, you're not wanting that 'race' anymore, you're wanting something else. Example; a hyur with elf ears, a lalafell that is 5ft tall. A Roe that is under 5'5 or doesn't have the muscles on them. Or an Elezen with the muscle development of a Roe/Hrothgar.

If you want the above then you're petty off going outside of the game and writing stories or roleplaying elsewhere without the restriction that your 'toon' has. Or swallow the pill that your character isn't going to be a perfect representation of what you desire.

Add on; as someone can say this is an argument against male Viera. Not at all. The lore of the Viera has it where they can leave if it's to protect the wood. This is the leeway mentioned.

[Lauront]

Although people are free to play themselves if they so wish, I also don't see a responsibility on the devs to make that possible. I'd imagine it's the farthest thing from their mind, when their goal is to create a fantasy world and not Second Life.

As for the Viis, I think it made sense given the overall style of the races they went for with the Rak'Tika Greatwood, but at the same time, I'm not particularly invested in how they look. I'm sure when we see more of the Viera we'll see more distinctiveness between the two subraces.

I won't even state if I am a minority or not because I do not think it is relevant. Take my opinion at face value, or don't.

Yup - it's pretty much a logical fallacy, anyway, trying to dismiss arguments solely on the basis of who is putting them forward.

[Ayuhra]

Sounds like we need sliders for all races!

In all seriousness though I would love to see more diversity in body types in this game. More choices for making your character "yours"? Excellent.

But the customization options should fit the lore of the race.

To me the Viera men would not be small and child like because that doesn't fit the lore for the version of the Viera we got. We got the Viera that already existed in Ivalice. They're fierce warriors and hunters who devote themselves to the forest. Males, once they reach a certain age, are taken into the forest by the other rare males and raised to be completely self reliant. They live in the tree tops and attack anything that gets too close to the village. That, to me, would suggest a more strongly built (though not broad) character.

If you want an androgynous race, hope for or request for one to be included. The Genomes of Final Fantasy IX come to mind there.

...All of the above is just my opinion, others should feel free to have their own.

[Mugear_bahamut]

If you want an androgynous race, hope for or request for one to be included. The Genomes of Final Fantasy IX come to mind there.

That's the most unlikely thing that will be implemented. Note that everyone roots for their ideal body type for Viera basically because Viera and Hrothgar are the last races as mentioned by YoshiP.
If it wasn't so, those who didn't get what they want with Viera still have hopes for future races. Sadly, "technical limitations".

[Ayuhra]

That's the most unlikely thing that will be implemented. Note that everyone roots for their ideal body type for Viera basically because Viera and Hrothgar are the last races as mentioned by YoshiP.
If it wasn't so, those who didn't get what they want with Viera still have hopes for future races. Sadly, "technical limitations".

Eh, never say never with new races.

We might skip them for an expansion but they are a major selling point and a huge part of the "RP" aspect of the game, which YoshiP wants to nurture.

Things can change. They might figure out a better system for armor fitting for example. Games like WoW use anchor points for that (albeit at the expense of clipping, anchors cause sooo much clipping).

I mean, yeah, the odds of Genomes specifically are slim to none, they're basically Miqo'te with human ears and Viera faces anyway, they're just an example of an androgynous race from the franchise.


...And, yes, I know YoshiP said no more races after this. I just don't completely believe him, especially if there's a continued demand for them. Game devs sometimes say things like this to temper expectations.

[Mugear_bahamut]

Eh, never say never with new races.

We might skip them for an expansion but they are a major selling point and a huge part of the "RP" aspect of the game, which YoshiP wants to nurture.

Things can change. They might figure out a better system for armor fitting for example. Games like WoW use anchor points for that (albeit at the expense of clipping, anchors cause sooo much clipping).

I mean, yeah, the odds of Genomes specifically are slim to none, they're basically Miqo'te with human ears and Viera faces anyway, they're just an example of an androgynous race from the franchise.


...And, yes, I know YoshiP said no more races after this. I just don't completely believe him, especially if there's a continued demand for them. Game devs sometimes say things like this to temper expectations.

I guess so. I don't want a childish race like Zidane though. I just want a shorter option than Miqote, which actually looks matured.
Maybe if Au Ra males were proportioned like the females, I wouldn't even bother with anything else. Less people would debate over this, I think.

[Theodric]

I just want a shorter option than Miqote, which actually looks matured.

In which case you're better off just asking for expanded customisation options for the existing playable races. Though I quite like that FFXIV does not take the approach of 'anything goes' in regards to what is possible in the customisation screen. Miqo'te can already be made to be pretty short and mature looking, anyway. I'm not sure why you're so keen to push boundaries any further. Just how short do you want them to be, exactly?

Maybe if Au Ra males were proportioned like the females, I wouldn't even bother with anything else. Less people would debate over this, I think.

Ugh. No, thank you. I love the design of Xaela and Raen men. I see a lot of them around these days. The original concept art even depicted the women as being closer to the men in terms of height so it would make more sense for the female model to be closer to the male model rather than the other way around.