When people talk about a character. And people discuss specific scenes. Or details on the attire. Or some cliffhangers left unresolved… It is a well written character. And we are discussing “I like it more than you” situation. But its still “well” written. Just not “perfect” for everyone. Like the BG3 example you mention.
And in the case of WoW, some characters are not “ok enough to be bad”. They are bad. period.
Not only in WoW. In other forms of media. And when that happens people discuss the obvious “toon is female/male. Black/white…” ect…
Probably another point is that without proper male character there is no factor of “powerfantasy figure” for majority of audience, that is male. Essentially in every game there is a character you look at and go “damn so cool, he is literally me” - not irl of course, but in imaginary escapistic world of games.
Tychus Findlay in StarCraft, Geral of Rivia in The Witcher, Aragorn in LotR, Gotrek in Warhammer Fantasy, Soldier Boy in The Boys, Ryan Gosling everywhere. In Warcraft there were Arthas and Illidan. In WoW we had Garrosh, Nazgrim, Greymane and many others.
Now in latest DLCs we are not getting a single testosterone infused, cracking skulls and cracking barrels hard as nails true gangster to scratch that itch. There is demand but no supply.
The fact that Alleria just starts running off and attacking things like an idiot says it all. They cannot write more than “female character gets angry and does stupid stuff”
You exemplify the core issue with the modern portrayal of women in entertainment. It’s no longer about character depth or substance—it’s about superficial appeal. This trend is glaringly obvious in games like the new Dragon Age. The focus has shifted away from who these characters are, the struggles they’ve endured, and how those experiences have shaped them in meaningful ways, influencing their actions, demeanor, and decisions.
Instead, we’re bombarded with “OMG, Queen Slay! Queen so hot!” This reduction of complex characters to mere superficial identities in cosplay does a great disservice to storytelling. Those who buy into this mindset need to rethink what truly makes a character compelling.
This shallow approach is why so many believe characters are interchangeable. It’s not about whether a character fits the narrative; it’s about inserting the next “muscle mommy” or fetish into the game. The irony is that in previous iterations, characters had both depth and appeal—they were attractive and relatable because they were written by people with actual life experience, who understood struggle and pain. Now, characters often come across as hollow, unattractive both inside and out, because the writers lack the life experiences necessary to infuse their scripts with genuine emotion and depth.
No its stupid if its like how she does it. Meant to be this 1000 whatever year old smart Elf and no, just yolo attack a character when surrounded by enemies… just the smarts goes out the window.
Anyway; I don’t care about people not liking a character. I care about people immediately jumping to agenda conclusions (which is an agenda in and of itself) or passing off completely biased subjective reasons as ‘facts’.
No, it’s not just subjective—there are specific traits and writing techniques that consistently make characters likable. It’s rooted in human psychology. The advantage of being human, not an alien, is that we share more similarities than differences, and we’re not as complex as we might think. There’s very little variability in what people generally like or dislike. While there are outliers, they only reinforce the rule. Creating characters and dismissing criticism by saying “it’s subjective” doesn’t work for the vast majority of people.
Talking about the past and having to use past talking points while doing so? Say it ain’t so. Reading comprehension helps mate.
Also there is a difference between him doing his stuff prior to WoW and the stuff Metzen tried to force him in in the game. There is a reason why they buried him way before Metzen left temporarily.
Everything you hear is ultimately opinion, though opinions are often rooted in facts. When a company has a DEI department mandated to influence its products, it’s impossible to ignore the agenda-driven nature of this setup. Nothing is more inherently agenda-driven than a corporate or government-mandated department which has its foot in every project.
And anyone who doesn’t want any of it in the game also has an agenda.
So they’re condemning Blizzard for having an agenda while they have an agenda of their own.
It’s astounding that I even have to explain to you that companies and individuals are fundamentally different and, as such, are held to different standards. The fact that you’re also trying to frame this as hypocrisy reveals a clear intent to maliciously deride those who hold this view.
The average person is expected to have a political opinion because they are political actors with a civic duty to vote based on their beliefs about what is right and wrong. A company, however, is not a political actor but an economic one, serving customers from diverse political backgrounds. Companies should stay out of the political process since their primary role is to provide a product, not to educate the masses on morality. If people sought moral guidance, they would turn to institutions like the church.
It’s understandable for people to be upset when a company injects ideology into their products, particularly when that ideology conflicts with the nation’s core values. Yet, it seems that only in Western nations are citizens expected to accept this without objection. Not only are they expected to accept it, but when they voice their concerns, they are often derided, humiliated, and harassed under the guise of virtue. This not only alienates and drives away customers but also harms the profitability of the company.
A lot of the problems nations face stem from business forcing themselves into politics and attempting to subvert the needs and desires of the people. So why would anyone want companies to do the same in the products they offer, especially when it feels like a bait-and-switch after decades of loyalty and playtime?
I have to disagree with a lot of what you say here. We have seen recently in modern entertainment major leaps in terms of female representation in leading roles and in depth of character. Yes there is still a long way to go and there are still some terribly written characters also. But finding someone hot and attractive is not something vulgar, demeaning or negative to that person. If they or you want to take it that way than that is your choice but that has never been my intent to offend or belittle that character in question.
Also, and I am sorry if this upsets you… but sex sells!!! People become fans of characters because they can be larger than life, they can have a hero appeal, be funny or be fit and attractive. I am not defending this I am simply stating a fact of life that is not going to change.
On the flip side what about men? If a bloke is not bristling with muscles and ripping through legions of Horde warriors he is deemed a psy. Anduin is a perfect example, he is flawed, has weaknesses, makes mistakes and the fanbase rip into his character because he sheds few tears every chance they get.
It is possible to have intriguing in-depth characters and allow to find them hot at the same time.
I’m not going to get into this discussion.
You sound like a fanatic. It’s best not to start a discussion with a fanatic.
But I’ll give you a tl;dr: You’re trying to justify racism and homophobia and such things. No matter what you say; it won’t justify anything. People who have those kinds of standards are bad people. End of story.
I am defending this. And I wish more people would. Look, I understand people have issues in real life. Some issues more serious than others. That’s reality. Thing is, if I want to find out more about those issues, let’s say for example morbid obesity, I’d go see a documentary or a movie that FOCUSES SPECIFICALLY ON THAT ISSUE.
But when I play a game, I don’t need to be “educated” about these issues. I don’t need to be “made aware” of them. I turn on a game to mess up dragons, or aliens or zombies, whatever. I wish these people would stop piggybacking on that desire to “make me aware” or “educate me”.