Boss boobs

Well, i think it is time to elaborate a little about my opinion.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a game where a mad guild of alchemists used two childs (Miriam and Gebel) to summon demons from hell and prove their superiority over science. The villian is a madman that massacred a whole guild and summoned a devil castle from hell itself to serve as his personal lair.

And some of you are offended by a hideous-monstruosity showing her huge breasts.

So, let me see if i get this right:

Sacrificing two childs to invoke demons from hell: fine.
A massacre of a whole guild by the hands of a hurted madman: fine.
A monstruous creature showing off her big boucing breasts: not fine.

I respect everyone's opinions. But to me, this doesn't make a single bit of sense.

Forgive me if I'm wrong...

But I'm reading the posts and I'm reading two different distinct arguments here...

Argument 1:

"The boobs look kinda silly and detract from the boss' design."

Argument 2:

"There's nothing wrong with sexualization in the game. IGA should't compromise his vision over it."

The thing is ... almost no one here - if anyone - appears to disagree with argument 2, including those who've made argument 1.

So I think opinion here on the boobs and what should be done is not as divided as it looks. In fact, overall the debate doesn't even seem to revolve around sexuality at all: it's just that some people find the boobs creepy in a good way, and others find them silly in a bad way.

If there's anything to discuss it's this particular difference of opinion.

I personally get the feeling that argument 2 is being directed at the more extreme "any-and-all-sexualization-is-demeaning-to-women" faction, which is pretty much absent in this discussion. This is not something we should lose sight of.

Yeah, I'm talking about the artist themselves.

As far as argument  1 goes, I am of the opinion that the breasts don't look that silly on the boss and in fact are a fine addition to the boss's design for what it looks like they were going for with the half-pretty lady that happens to be pregnant, half-sea monster thing. Maybe the art style doesn't lend itself to evoking that in a creepy way, but maybe that's for the best. The concept is there and that's enough for me. These kind of games have never been horror games despite having drawn inspiration from horror. Not every boss has to look creepy to fit in to the feel of the game, but they do have to look interesting and memorable in whatever setting they are placed in, which I think Vepar does a fantastic job of.

Argument 2 is where I get a little scared. While thankfully no one here seems to really be going against that argument, I really wouldn't want the devs or art team to get the idea that they should change the boss because they might think that people are complaining about the boss being sexualized. It might set a precedent for making "safer" art decisions on other enemies and settings, which would really disappoint me. I like it when they don't limit themselves on how horrific or sexual or goofy or badass they are willing to make enemies, so long as they match the setting of course. I wouldn't want a Lilith or Succubus-like enemy for example to end up being pulled back to a safer design because "people complained about Vepar's look" or whatever. That would be even more disappointing than if they decided to change Vepar, which I think would already be kinda lame, because those kind of enemies are supposed to be sexualized! They're sex demons for goodness sake!

Haha hitting them was fun for some reason. And since he's a water creature, doesn't it make sense for them to act like water balloons?

I'm on the camp that thinks they do look a bit silly.
But I don't really take the game that seriously. I love the fact that Igas games have mostly been that way. I don't want an edgy dark Lords of Shadow feel to this game.

Silly is good!

Kind of strange nobody has really brought this up in this discussion.

My immediate reaction was that the boss itself was inspired by anglerfish.



Anglerfish use an appendage that is often bioluminescent as a lure to attract prey.  Fish can be attracted to lights, especially in deep sea settings, so it evolved to be an effective means of predation.

Now, for this boss, we're obviously talking about a demon - and throughout various religions, demons often are portrayed as pursuing and attempting to seduce humans by appealing to their lust, avarice, and so forth.  Sailing, historically-speaking, has been a predominantly-male profession, particularly in the time period in which large wooden galleons were in use.

Like how an anglerfish would use a shiny light to lure in fish to prey on, what might a giant sea-dwelling demon use as a lure if its prey of choice were men?

To this end, the design makes complete sense to me.

it seems you are far from getting my point to be honest, I am basically talking to those who are saying : "it is killing the experience or feeling offended by a single enemy design".

See, here's what's worrying to me about this discussion: I have seen no one say either that he or she is offended by the content and that it must be removed, yet people are acting like they have.

People are overreacting to an hypothetical overreaction from potential SJWs who are nowhere to be found in these forums.

There are no antagonists here, guys.