Eve's sexy look has received a lot of criticism. Photo: Shift Up . |
In 2024, Stellar Blade quickly became one of the most talked about games. This name gained more attention in early June, when it was brought to PC and quickly entered the group of most played games on the Steam platform, with more than 200,000 concurrent players.
However, the game’s appeal lies not only in its gameplay mechanics or unique setting. Instead, gamers and non-gamers alike have been talking about the design of the main character Eve, with her seductive appearance and sexy outfits.
Controversy over the shape
Some fans were delighted, while others criticized it as a gimmick by the developers. However, Eve’s case in Stellar Blade is not an isolated one. The sexualization of female characters in the gaming industry has been a hotly debated topic for years.
Stellar Blade was first announced by Korean studio Shift Up in 2019, when the game was codenamed Project Eve. The first teaser trailer only revealed an attractive female character.
It is worth noting that Stellar Blade is not a product of an internal Sony studio, nor is it a remake or sequel to a popular game franchise. In the context of the modern gaming industry, the appearance of a completely new AAA game is very new. Therefore, Stellar Blade quickly attracted the attention of a large number of gamers.
Using character appearance to increase game sales has been criticized by many players as "cheap". Photo: Shift Up. |
The studio behind Stellar Blade is also a curious factor. The company is known for Goddess of Victory: Nikke , an anime-style shooter. Notably, Shift Up's artists often do not hesitate to portray female characters with sexy looks.
Stellar Blade is considered Shift Up's first "blockbuster" game project for the console platform. The success of this game is said to decide the future of the studio, opening up opportunities to continue developing games for PlayStation 5 and next-generation consoles. Therefore, the development department must ensure that the game can attract as many players as possible.
The design of the main character Eve is also considered an important strategy to attract players. Eve is intentionally designed to appeal to the masses.
What the game developer says
Stellar Blade creative director Kim Hyung-Tae has made no secret of his views on Eve's character design. He has said that he prefers game characters that are "ideal" rather than "normal" in beauty, even surpassing his own. This approach is considered bold, especially in the context of the current gaming industry.
"When it comes to design, we paid special attention to the character's back because players always look at the character's back when playing. It's what they see the most, so we thought it was quite important," the game director commented on Eve's design features.
This approach has created a clear divide within the gaming community. Some have expressed their love for the protagonist’s design. However, many others have begun to debate whether this is yet another case of imposing unrealistic beauty standards and objectifying women in games.
Developer Shift Up revealed that Eve's appearance was 3D scanned from Korean model Shin Jae-eun. Photo: Gamerant. |
IGN once published an article harshly criticizing Eve's appearance, saying that the character was designed to be "unrealistic" and " overly sexualized." The article even made personal attacks on Mr. Kim Hyung-Tae.
However, this article immediately faced a backlash from the gaming community around the world . Many pointed out that Eve's design was based on 3D scanning technology from a real Korean model, Shin Jae-eun. Therefore, the claim that this image is "unrealistic" is unfounded. The strong wave of criticism forced IGN to delete the original article and issue an apology.
Mr. Kim Hyung-Tae has officially spoken out about the controversy surrounding the character design of Eve, and his statement is said to have clarified the developer's stance.
“I know that in the West, game characters need to be realistic in many aspects, and there are many issues involved such as gender and racial diversity. But Stellar Blade is just an entertainment work. I hope people will see it as another fun action game that has just been released,” he shared.
Source: https://znews.vn/van-de-gay-tranh-cai-nhat-cua-stellar-blade-post1561531.html
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