South Korean game developer Kim Hyeon-tae once again defended the use of attractive female characters, saying that Western companies are basing their character models on the problematic concept of overlapping characters.
Shift Up CEO Kim faces backlash from Western media over his studio’s games stella bladeA Korean model was used Shin Jae Eun As the basis for the main character Eve.
Korean website Ruri Web Kim asked about Western media expressing displeasure with the portrayal of women in games.
“I know that in the West, game characters need to reflect a realistic appearance in many ways, and there are a number of issues intertwined, such as gender and racial diversity,” Kim said. It was written in the translated answer. “But Stellar Blade is, to some extent, entertainment and a cultural piece.”
Kim added that he hopes viewers will pay attention to the “fun action game” that was just released.
Prior to the release of Stellar Blade, media and journalists did indeed accuse Kim of sexism surrounding her character design.
video game journalist Karim Jovian It took new york cityscape Ask residents about potential sexism in characters.
“She looks like a 14-year-old,” the green-haired woman told reporters. Another woman said it “failed” because the developers focused on the physics of “how the characters move.”
Two other respondents claimed that the game “oversexualized” the characters.
Many journalists don’t seem to consider the possibility that the main character is based on a real woman. IGN France found this to be exactly the case, calling the character “a doll sexualized by someone who has apparently never seen a woman.”
as That Park Place The outlet later said it had apologized for the “offensive text that should never have been retained.”
IGN added, “We are truly sorry and sincerely apologize to everyone associated with ShiftUp Corporation who felt personally targeted and insulted by this article.”
John F. Trent, editor-in-chief of That Park Place, said: “Kim is clearly attracted to women and does not believe they should be transformed into men to promote transgender ideology.” “No, and I don’t think we can.”
These comments reflect what Kim herself has said. game radar In February 2024.
The developer said he believed his character design actually “made it somewhat brave to try and try.”
“Personally, I think I’m especially strict about games compared to movies, anime, manga, etc. Games contain all the opinions of the people who play them.” [which are] I’m not necessarily positive about unrealistic and beautiful characters,” Kim told the magazine.
“Honestly, when I play games, I want to see people who are cooler than me. That’s what I want. I don’t want to see something normal, I want to see something more ideal. “I think that’s a very good thing.” “This is important as a form of entertainment. At the end of the day, this is entertainment aimed at adults,” he added.
in 2021 interviewSo, the developers were asked by host Kim Seong-hoe about their philosophy regarding games and business.
He pointed out that too many games are “clones” of each other, explaining, “We believe the games we make should be unique.”
The developer reiterated that idea in 2024, emphasizing that there should be a noticeable difference between games in South Korea and the rest of the world.
“What we need more than anything in our industry is diversity.”
Kim’s push for greater simplicity included a return to games with actual endings rather than endless content. He went on to claim that there is a “strong will” in games where players “see the ending” and then “come back to reality feeling good.”
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