This morning I got asked a question that knocked me off-kilter for a minute. I honestly had no answer for it. I spent some time sorting through images of Eve characters and I still don't know the answer. So I'm going to write this post with the following question, "Where are all the heavy-sized individuals"?
Looking at the body types generally represented in Eve Online promotional materials you get the sense that 25,000 years from now everyone is pretty much the same body type - athletic, thin, and long-legged. Where is the variety of body types? What makes this even weirder, is that in-game - none of us are visible to each other. We abandoned Walking in Stations years ago and now you can only see your own full body in the character sheet. So why is the promotional material so singular in its, some might even say, nordic idealism?
I'm actually not trying to stir any pots here. But genuinely shocked that I hadn't noticed this before. Our community contains multitudes, and not just geographically or culturally. We also contain people of all shapes, colors, and everything else under the sun. Odd that material intended to sell our game to a wider audience doesn't, at least in some way, reflect that wide spectrum of potential audience members. And I come from an advertising background - so I know all about 'aspirational' marketing. And yes there is some fundamental truth to setting generally accepted aspirational idealism in your marketing efforts. Companies do this all the time. But I do think that "all the time" is the true measure here. And I also believe we can do better.
I was in a conversation this morning with a friend of mine and the subject came up. There are no XXL Capsules? Well no, one size fits all. And this makes sense from an in-game perspective. But now I'm wondering, how much variety is there in character creation? I haven't made a new character in a very long time. I need to go exploring this avenue myself now. I'm extremely curious.
When we created character sheet commanders for War For New Eden we managed to work in a pretty wide variety of body types into the aesthetic of the board game.
Maybe I'm missing something, I certainly haven't done a deep dive into Eve's promotional materials recently. Perhaps there is more variety than I'm giving credit for here. If so, then great. If not, then I think a wider spectrum would be more representative and more compelling if used in the right ways. Characters are not the true selling point of Eve Online anyway, we all know that this is a spaceship game. But I think some tasteful integration is long overdue.
What do you think? Have you noticed this as well?
Comments
If only Fenris would ever think about about implementing walking in stations :)
Ultimately, this discussion is a valuable one. It highlights that even in a game about spaceships, where our characters are often just portraits, the details matter. A wider spectrum of body types in promotional art and character creation wouldn't just be more representative; it would make the universe of Eve Online feel even more compelling and believable. It is a small change that could speak volumes about the future we are choosing to build, even in fiction.