Ben-DutkaThe Internet is a very sick place. And males between the ages of 15 and 35 can be one-track-minded. Hence…
Bioshock Infinite will undoubtedly be one of the year's best, and franchise fans will also be introduced to a new character: Elizabeth. Now, she's a very important character in the story and chances are, she'll be well-liked. But there's another aspect of her that has received a fair amount of attention online…
Her chest. And Irrational Games boss Ken Levine isn't amused. In speaking to OXM UK , he spoke at length about the process of creating the character in question, and why he's a little disappointed in the aforementioned immaturity. Said Levine:
"In terms of her body type, I think certainly people on the Internet have spent way more time thinking about Elizabeth's chest than I have. It's something I've barely thought about."
He goes on to say that Elizabeth has evolved over time, and may continue to evolve right up until the point of the game's release. But he certainly doesn't spend much time thinking about how much cleavage she'll have; he has more important factors to consider. Elizabeth can tap into other dimensions, remember, and she's central to what is guaranteed to be a complex and riveting plot. Finished Levine:
"It's disappointing when [Elizabeth's appearance] becomes a focus for conversation because that was never my intent and it's sort of a disincentive – I'd much rather talk about what she's going through as a person, but whatever, they have the right to shout out whatever they want."
We hear ya, Ken. It's the Internet. What can you do?
Related Game(s): Bioshock Infinite
I'd be lying if I said I didn't notice them, but for her cleavage to be the focal point of my interest? No. Hell, it's not even a tenth of a percent of what interests me in Infinite.
When I heard there was a new Bioshock coming out, the first thing that came to mind was, "Pass!". I didn't like the 2 games. The environment was an interesting take on a new world, that's for sure. But the game didn't grab me like it did others, which is unfortunate because when I got the game I tried so hard to like it. When I saw the trailer for Infinite, I tried not to hype myself because I thought I'd be disappointed. After seeing the E3 gameplay trailer, who can not fall in love with Elizabeth, as a character, and the game. It's so lively and interesting.
I'd be disappointed if Levine altered her look. I'm comfortable with the way she looks and would hate for it to change.
Some people will always be immature about it, but keep in mind a lot of those people are horny teenagers. It's natural for this to happen. He needs to relax a little. Men like tits. Always have. People will still see the character for who she truly is while playing the game.
It's not like this is new to gaming. When FF7 was about to come out everyone was interested in Tifa's chest. "Polygonal boobs?! Holy ****! They could probably poke your eye out, but who cares!?"
Don't even get me started on Tomb Raider. During the Internet's rise to popularity (of which Tomb Raider was coming out around the same time, I believe) I remember there being a site called "Nude Raider" which drew a lot of attention. He can at least take solace in the fact that there hasn't been any Internet porn about his beloved Elizabeth yet…unless there has…which I actually wouldn't be very surprised about either.
Lol… You put it very bluntly of course, but correctly… we do like'm, what's not to like Levine…
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
Last edited by Qubex on 1/4/2012 12:17:27 PM
Closed Dress, problem solved.
They expect to shove her cleavage in your face and then not talk about it…mhm..
I know. It's like a girl at a party with double d's wearing a low cut dress wondering why nobody has been talking about her personality. She might be interesting, but who would know until you get to know her more?
Yeah like it's totally not possible to notice that chest on that girl. Levine should either A. Cover it up or B. Get over it. I love the guy and I will most definitely purchase this game Day 1, but come on her boobs are all in your face.
thats exactly the problem.
its not exactly helping the stereotype that games are for kids, especially when this is all there worried about, and the way they act.
i for one have not noticed at all, to be honest she can be butt naked or in a armour suit for all i care!
the emotion she displays, especially to the main character is what makes her such a interesting character.
not because of her cleavage.
I agree with Zen and Legend…if you don't want her appearance to be noticed, don't dress her in that manner. It's not Ken's first rodeo, he knows the demographic he's attempting to entice into buying his game. So if he says "oh I hate that she's being looked at for her cleavage" he gets more press and the game gets more press.
Definitely looking forward to this game – but that would be with or without cleavage.
OK – just noticed I'm using my Barbie Clan avatar – which actually makes this comment pretty funny in an ironic sort of way…
Last edited by mick on 1/4/2012 5:59:32 AM
they made a character that is fully dressed but decided to leave the cleavage region bare…… now he's mad that people notice/talk about it…. if they covered that area up with a layer of clothing then this wouldnt really be an issue at all. if you ask me, they knew full well what they were doing when they designed her. she may be more than just breasts but to some people, thats exactly what you're showing them. it a guy doesnt know anything about bioshock and you show him a picture like that, what do you think hes going to think of? if he passes by the games section and the box art was like that, hes definitely going to go stop and look. its a guy thing, the level just varies from person to person.
Bah – let us play the game and get a chance to get to know her first. Right now all we got are more or less some video snippets and screenshots. Of course we notice the cleavage.
If he doesn't like people talking about her chest so much then why the hell was her outfit designed in such a way that it makes her chest area stand out like a sore thumb? Would it really have been that hard to give her something less revealing? Developers can be really clueless sometimes. It's like a guy flushing all kinds of unsafe stuff down his toilet and then can't figure out why it doesn't work.
Having said that people can certainly be sick. But Levine's apparent lack of knowledge of this as well as his evident failure to anticipate this kind of reaction just reflect even more poorly on him. I hope the rest of the people working on the game did better than the character designers did (which unfortunately probably wouldn't be saying all that much if you know what I mean).
haha
Well… at least he's gone on record about it. ;P
Nothing wrong with having tits and a deep character! Like Chloe Frazer's ass, it will just make her hotter.
Can't wait to play this game, The Bioshock games is one of my favorites.
Mr. Levine,
Now while I understand the fact that you, as Bioshocks creator, are after the same type of respect for your characters that one might find with award winning Uncharted protagonists, I urge you to take a step back and take a look at the character named Elizabeth from an objective standpoint.
I will admit that the very first thing that stands out is her eyes. For that, I commend you. Yes, they are out of proportion, but with that said, they do have a mesmerizing quality about them. However, as you move lower, you'll notice the disproportioned trend continues with Elizabeth's virtual figure.
Now while I do enjoy the breasts, I must ask you this question. It's obvious someone your design team was realizing his fantasy with Elizabeth, and due to that, I find it hard to understand the reason why you expect the internet (of all places) to grow up. From a pure game player standpoint, while I play Bioshock Infinite I will be forced to view this virtual bosom in all its glory as I move on from one chapter to the next. What type of reaction were you looking for? They ARE in your face afterall.
I guess what I am saying is, you could always just… cover them up.
Internet. Serious business. 😉
Last edited by maxpontiac on 1/4/2012 2:25:01 PM
I like boobs, always have, always will till the day i'm gone. It doesn't matter which girl is wearing them, they are appealing because I don't have any myself, but know how they feel and look. It's like a vehicle or your favorite color, you know what you like, you show it, and it hurts no one's feelings. I don't see what the big deal is here…