Mirror's Edge dev bummed over curvier Faith
by Justin McElroy 
{ Nov 26th 2008 at 1:00PM }
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the image was fairly depressing for one of the game's producers. As Tom Farrer told MTV: "We really wanted to get away from the typical portrayal of women in games, that they're all just kind of tits and ass in a steel bikini. We wanted her to look athletic and fit and strong [enough] that she could do the things that she's doing."
It's a noble goal, and our hope is that it's one most people "got." Do you have a preference of Faiths?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Haggard @ Nov 26th 2008 1:04PM
The one on the right's pretty good...
*closes bedroom door*
mr_maroon @ Nov 26th 2008 1:05PM
Are you doing so to complete your homework set for today?
- @ Nov 26th 2008 1:07PM
why are you closing the door???
Hyams @ Nov 26th 2008 1:12PM
I think he's trying to insinuate that he's going to masturbate.
(And yes, I'm well aware that you all knew that. I just wanted an excuse to use the word 'masturbate'.)
Chin-Poh @ Nov 26th 2008 1:20PM
We can still hear you you know!
BananaBoat @ Nov 26th 2008 1:33PM
We can still SEE you, you know. Log off of stickam damnit!
On an unrelated note, I don't think an ugly eye tattoo was helping faith do parcour (or however you spell it). I don't think the addition of some tits is going to completely rain on her athletic parade either. The one on the right is superior IMO, but it would be kind of funny to see a poll on the question.
Mr.ESC Original Flavor Now Low on Sodium (May contain Win) @ Nov 26th 2008 2:53PM
And this is why I love this place.
xGeneral DEATHx (Mr ESC Welcome Back Party Ultimate Mega Action Force) @ Nov 26th 2008 3:02PM
FAPFAPFAPFAPFAPFAPFAPFAP--OH HAI!
kaneda @ Nov 26th 2008 3:35PM
Sure bananaboat. slim women with huge supple fun bags just love jumping around and running as fast as they can with out so much as a sports bra to support their giant sweater puppets. It's keeps their jublies nice and firm.
BananaBoat @ Nov 26th 2008 3:53PM
I'm not a girl, so I won't claim to be a master in the brassiere arts, but wouldn't a sports bra hold up big tits the same as it holds up pancakes? She could have a sports bra in the picture on the right, and until they invent X-Ray goggles that work over the internet on drawings of girls, we'll never know for sure.
Upon viewing the large image on Kotaku, it's clear that the tits and the tattoo removal aren't the only changes. Her eyes have been rounded, her jaw line has been rounded, and her cheeks have been puffed out. Basically they de-man-faced her. Good show, whoever made the image.
Donald @ Nov 26th 2008 5:35PM
*looks at the one on the left*
... I'll be in my bunk
John Patterson @ Nov 26th 2008 1:05PM
Hmm... I like boobies but I also respect women.
I'll go for the original, they're trying to make an important statement.
AwesomeTown @ Nov 26th 2008 1:33PM
Amen. Respect Boobies.
Shagittarius @ Nov 26th 2008 1:47PM
I like the revised version, not because of the boobie increase but beacuse the face seems softened somehow. Like the one on the left generates no attraction to me on a physical level beacuse she looks like she has no emotions, but the one on the right seems softer somehow and I can relate to that more.
Or maybe it is just the subliminal boobs, i dunno...
atrimus @ Nov 26th 2008 1:47PM
what: that curvy women can't be athletic?
Ricksta @ Nov 26th 2008 2:10PM
"I like your take on boobies"
-Ronnie from the movie "Role Models"
Vol @ Nov 26th 2008 2:19PM
If the male heroes have muscles, then the female heros should have boobies.
Then again, it doesn't really matter.. they are animated.
Dr. Stabbingworth @ Nov 26th 2008 3:21PM
The one on the right has a slightly wider face and slightly larger eyes. I think that is the affect Shag is referring to. It makes her look softer and less angry. The one on the left looks more realistic, though.
Seriously though, they're selling games to a mostly male crowd aged 10-20 something. When the game hits the marketing dept, they don't care about ideals. They care about how many copies they sell.
Darius @ Nov 26th 2008 3:50PM
I'll take the one on the right too.
Call me crazy, but I'm a sucker for athletic bodies like that. Sexy as hell.
Penguin Warlord @ Nov 26th 2008 4:46PM
Does it bother anyone that every single male character is ruggedly handsome with bulging biceps?
I don't see why this is any different. Yeah guys like boobs, girls like broad shoulders. (Obviously I'm talking statistically and not about every individual.)
And I think it's a little weird to insinuate that girls with boobs can't be athletic. Isn't that just as bad as changing her to be more sexually attractive.
There are athletic girls with big boobs naturally.
Sami @ Nov 27th 2008 6:54AM
Yeah, important statement: Asian women look evil.
The original face is just eugh. Never seen a woman who looked like that, even the lean ones.
Stavros @ Nov 26th 2008 1:05PM
I like the Photoshopped face of the new version way better. The whole chest thing... eh, I can see what they are trying to do with making her look athletic. I could leave or take the new version.
HAVOC @ Nov 26th 2008 1:07PM
the one on the left looks like a drug addict to me
Shroomsday @ Nov 28th 2008 10:15AM
Better that than a bigot.
Hamza @ Nov 26th 2008 1:05PM
Why does everyone have to look average so we all feel better about ourselves? It's a fictional character! She's a lot hotter now. With them tig bitties, and more symmetrical face.
Kamizar @ Nov 26th 2008 1:07PM
It's not like you're [free] running past a lot of mirror's anyway...
Michelobius @ Nov 26th 2008 1:09PM
First off, that's easy for you to say as a man. Second, implying there's one standard of beauty is problematic, and to say that the original faith is in any way unattractive is even more problematic.
Hyams @ Nov 26th 2008 1:13PM
I find the origional to be more attractice than photoshoped one. Her new boobs just look ... weird.
Hamza @ Nov 26th 2008 1:20PM
Michelobius, I don't get it. I've never felt the urge for the male characters of today's video games to look less attractive just to make myself feel better. Most of the male protagonists nowadays tower over me with their perfectly toned bodies and boyishly good looks.
potato @ Nov 26th 2008 1:54PM
It's not about feeling better about ourselves - it's about realism. It's like Dead or Alive - the amount of bounce in those tits is so excessive that it's downright unnatural (and consequently, unattractive). Mirror's Edge isn't a cartoony game where we can exaggerate physical features for the sake of the lulz, it's supposed to be something at least somewhat realistic.
Which means no huge DD's flying all over the place.
I get what you mean, I have similar misgivings about male portrayals in games too - why is it that every hero has to be more pumped and toned than a weightlifter in his prime? Why is it, that, after countless brutal adventures, our hero still has skin smoother than a baby's bottom?
Some games call for caricatures (or just pure fan service), but others do not.
kaneda @ Nov 26th 2008 3:59PM
I'm torn on the issue. The obvious is that games are about fantasy and escape from reality. But, we have proven, as popular as this game is, that we care more about how fun the game is than how hot the women in the game are. Compare sales of Mirror's Edge and the new Tomb Raider.
But I am disappointed with american culture. Not just America, but in japan it's not as blatant. I look to advertisements as demonstrations of our values. And I see that we are becoming complacent to be deceived on a daily basis. Either the majority holds no desire for natural, modest beauty or we just prefer fiction to reality.
I'll admit that it is possible for a person to look like the girl on the left naturally. It is very uncommon, but it happens. Though, from the girls I've met, and this is gonna sound pathetic and I'm sure many of you will miss the point, but in real life, I'm sure I'd prefer the personality of the girl on the left much more than the one on the right. No woman can look that way in this society and not have a ruined personality.
Sam K @ Nov 26th 2008 1:08PM
Notice also that they've made the large-chested Faith's eyes bigger, and her face has a rounder shape. Looks a text-book "western appeal" airbrushing job.
val @ Nov 26th 2008 1:25PM
the one on the right was meant to appeal to Asian demographics. Not western ones. Get it right.
Shagittarius @ Nov 26th 2008 1:53PM
Funny, I think Asian women are the most beautiful in the world yet in this case I prefer the one on the right.
Sam K @ Nov 26th 2008 3:03PM
" the one on the right was meant to appeal to Asian demographics. Not western ones. Get it right."
That's true. But take a look at most anime and japanese art, and you'll see that the "western appeal" is targeted specifically to the asian market. Japan has a fascination with the "round-eyed westerner".
Henry @ Nov 26th 2008 3:14PM
Actually, the one on the right is the one that is supposed to be more appealing to asian tastes. (follow the Kotaku link)
why not the LS2LS7? @ Nov 27th 2008 11:56AM
Actually, you should look up the history of the right image. The creator felt the image on the left was made to appeal to much to Westerners and thus made the right image.
See the link.
Kamizar @ Nov 26th 2008 1:06PM
I'd have a hard time believing the one on the right would do parkour, because of, balance issues...
Burritoclock @ Nov 26th 2008 1:17PM
Yeah I see women with boobs falling all over the place it's ridiculous! Poor things can barely make it down a flight of stairs! wait...
coil780 @ Nov 26th 2008 1:34PM
Maybe not falling down the stairs... but let me tell you if she *did* have a chest like that, she'd sure as hell put on a sports bra before doing *any* kind of running/jumping/climbing/rolling/etc.
Amoveo @ Nov 26th 2008 1:56PM
You actually have a good point. I watched an interview with a woman who does parkour and she said all women (not just women with large breasts) have trouble doing parkour because their center of balance is higher. So good for EA.
Kamizar @ Nov 26th 2008 1:57PM
Burrito, maybe you should remind them to hit left trigger before they hit the ground...
Burritoclock @ Nov 26th 2008 2:11PM
I do, that's why I'm single....
Zing!
Sarge @ Nov 26th 2008 3:33PM
Uh... women have a lower center of gravity than men. They balance better, typically.
kaneda @ Nov 26th 2008 4:03PM
Not when their boobs account for a 1/5 of their weight as it seems in the case of curvy Faith.
Master Bruce @ Nov 26th 2008 6:13PM
Actually Amoveo, the "parkour expert" is full of crap. Women have a lower center of gravity than men. A little extra padding on the top is not going to throw off someone's balance.
Mike M. @ Nov 29th 2008 7:06PM
Actually Amoveo, I'm pretty sure I saw that same interview. She said having a lower center of gravity made parkour more difficult for women because they have to move their center of gravity farther than men to get over the same barrier.
This is unrelated to the problem presented by a generous bosom. That throws off balance when moving quickly because of their inertia. To compare a girl moving in a normal day to day environment to Faith's acrobatics is silly. More to the point, you'll also notice that few gymnasts have much body fat at all, much less concentrated at the front of their torso. It's simply improbable with the amount of exercise she gets.
Chin-Poh @ Nov 26th 2008 1:07PM
The eyes on the right are less slanted as well. She is supposed to be Eurasian, half white, half east asian. I guess some of the art directors had a preference for less slanted eyes?
Great, now we're going to have people crying racism and turn this into an ugly mess. Crap.
Jakka ( The Order of Haters of Balance) @ Nov 26th 2008 1:26PM
True.I have both pure Chinese and English-Chinese friends and the difference is enourmous...
Archwright @ Nov 26th 2008 2:28PM
I much prefer the full-asian Faith. Perhaps it is because that's what I've seen so far, and that's what I'm used to. Perhaps it's because white-washing people PISSES ME OFF! They used to do the same thing to black heros in wild west, just to make them more palatable to the 'common folk'.
Ultimately, if it pisses off the creator of the game, it has to go. I don't think think cupsize + 2 is really going to push that many more copies. You won't sell any more to young boys (one of the core groups) because some of them find playing a female protagonist 'weird' and 'feminizing'.
Anyway. I like my female athletic leads nice and slim. You trip the excess 'fat' out of a game to make it run better, you should do the same (physically) with your heroine.