Companion Set Box Cover (C) Larry Elmore What gender do you assume the knight is?Consider that real female armor looks the same as male armor.
The rules of the game tell us how to play it, but the art of the game tells us what the world of the game looks like and more than that it inspires us. I started playing DnD when Larry Elmore, Clyde Caldwell and Jeff Easely were the dominant cover artists for products, and interior art was all black and white. The covers often featured big roaring dragons being battled by knights and scantily clad women. As a teenage guy I loved it all. After all I was a guy and scantily clad women were permissible in art and forbidden in photographs.
This was the time when the term “glass ceiling” entered the common language, AIDS hit the news and condoms became easily accessible (even if the sex wasn’t for a shy, skinny nerd). Of course since then I’ve grown older, married, and had children. I’ve also become more involved with the gaming community. Afterall when I was growing up the internet wasn’t even thought of in sci-fi, that didn’t happen until I was a young adult! These changes have given me an awareness of things that as a teenage guy I couldn’t comprehend, especially around how men and women are portrayed in our society.
The High Couch of Silistra (C) Boris Vallejo 1977 I hope she lives in a jungle!
The 80′s was a time of big hair, shoulder pads, and fantasy artists such as Vallejo and Frazetta moving from book covers to calendars and posters available in a store near you. It was when DnD moved into the awareness of our society. Now I love Vallejo’s work both for its content, and its artistry but not everyone feels the same way. Vallejo’s art is a celebration of the human form, and certainly once he had success he used models (usually found at the local gym) to pose for his paintings – meaning that beyond his skill with the brush his art has people in achievable positions more often than not (some earlier works are questionable for example). The work of Vallejo and Frazetta are the “go to” looks for the fantasy barbarian; furs, axes, bare muscled chests, gold bikinis and leather boots. The fact that these looks often had little to do with the content of the books they graced the cover of mattered little, so little in fact that the association with the word “Barbarian” in fantasy is as strong as horns with Viking helmets; despite neither having any connection with reality.
This way that art creates reality is why the art of RPGs is so important. Art forms the reality of the viewer, far more potently than words. Tabletop RPGs also have so little words dedicated to description that art is far more potent in sending a message than mere words will ever be. This is why making good art decisions is so important, and why I am looking forward to the art and design columns for DnDNext. We, as adult gamers, have a responsibility to make that art create the right reality for the gamers of the future.
Dungeon Delve (C) Wayne Reynolds Is her back broken?
Why do I mention the gamers of the future; well because in my house the gamers of the future are both women, and I know a lot of other gamer parents with daughters. Now RPGs (digital and tabletop) have a long history of how females are portrayed in art, a history closely reflected by how women are portrayed in classic stories and comic books. In some places this is a strong connection with independence, courage and making good moral choices at least in the words of the story. In the art of the last 40 years the story is often very different; often the art is a story of an impossible body contorted into an impossible position to display sexual attributes as much as possible while remaining “comic code approved” (which is about an E10+ to Teen rating). DnD has only compounded this with much of the art featuring men protecting women; the traditional damsel in distress story, often even when the woman is supposed to be a competent warrior as well.
The Wayne Reynold’s art originally previewed for the 4E PHB, and eventually released on the Dungeon Delve product, highlights the core of the problem. In the art the female character is posed and dressed so as to highlight her gender and sexual attributes. Her cleavage is exposed and her butt is thrust out, in fact if you rotate the picture so her back is horizontal to the ground it seems far more likely she can achieve that position while lying on a bed than it is that she can do it standing up. This is art DnDNext can do without.
Cersei Lannister (C) Michael Komarck 2004 A poisoned kiss on offer.
I’m not saying DnDNext can skip on art that has sexual implications, on the contrary art that alludes to romance, or just good old sex is fine. But that art needs to be couched in the appropriate environment. In battle it is time for armor that looks like it works and poses that suggest the person is actually fighting someone/thing. In this day and age of high-definition video and readily available action movies showing combat there is no excuse for an artist to be using poses that belong in the bed chamber in fight scenes (if there ever really was an excuse). Yet even within those ideas there is some leeway; in the fantasy lands where barbarians are mostly naked (despite living in a region that gets snow) not everyone needs to be fully dressed all the time. However that variation needs to reflect a culture and not merely be adopted for titillation or because “sex sells”.
Frenzied Berserker (C) Steve Argyle Not a stick figure.
When my daughters and other young ladies read DnDNext I want them to glance through the books and see art as powerfully inspiring as the young men who pick the book up. I want them to see women who are dressed and posed in such a way that their gender is secondary to their job in the picture. I want them to see heroes. I want them to see women who are enjoying their life of action and adventure, I want them to see the sorts of people they would want to be, and I want them to be able to do that without having to call their appearance into question because the art of women is overly sexualized. It might seem strange to say all of that beside the frenzied berserker and after Cersei Lannister, but those two pictures serve to make a point; Cersei is overtly sexual but she is so in a situation where that is appropriate, the frenzied berserker is dressed equivalent to male counter parts and the picture shouts “death from above” not “I’m really in bed”.
TL;DR
Lady Helene (C) Michael KomarckGreat armor, pity about the storm!
Art is critical to how we perceive things, far more so than words, and so how we portray men and women is critical to how everyone perceives our games. As such we have a responsibility to ensure that our games create a message that is appropriate for the sort of world we want; and we need to recognise that what is “great for a young man” might be “bad for a young woman” (and vice versa). As the history of art in our games and the larger fantasy genre has seen women, in particular, overtly sexualized as sales target a presumed male audience now is a good time to work to make sure that sort off art is not supported in DnDNext. Good art shows people dressed and behaving appropriate to the circumstance they are in, sure there can be some fantasy tropes like barbarians in furs without a shirt or armor, but those tropes need to treat the genders in a balanced way. DnDNext needs to adopt art standards based around the situations being portrayed and battle calls for protection, while social allows for the elements of romance. We owe it to ourselves, and the potential future gamers to portray both genders in a balanced way.
What About…?
I realise I’ve spoken exclusively about gender above, however the same principles apply to matters of skin colour and physical impairment. There is no reasonable reason, especially with Forgotten Realms as a base, for DnDNext art not to include a wide variety of skin tones fulfilling all sorts of roles in the narrative of the setting. Similarly a fantasy setting that is still rooted in a pre-1800′s world has plenty of scope for showing scars and other battle-wounds. All of these things can be treated appropriately to the setting and story we want DnDNext to tell, and when the opportunity presents itself as adults we owe it to the future to advocate for their inclusion and balanced treatment.
13 comments
2 pings
Stuart says:
January 13, 2012 at 12:44 pm (UTC 0 )
A flirty remark is E10+
Provocative clothing is Teen.
Appropriate Sexiness and Sexuality (as seen in the art of the woman lying seductively in front of a roaring fire symbolizing her sexual desire) is Mature.
All are fine if consumers know which audience the material is intended for and can make an informed choice about which they would like to enjoy or share with their family.
ObsidianCrane says:
January 13, 2012 at 3:38 pm (UTC 0 )
Seriously you think Cersei is sexual content?
She definitely fits “suggestive themes” in much, and Teen is somewhere between a movie that is PG13 and R under the US system, and I note movies like Scott Pilgrim vs the World have a PG13 rating despite having a scene far more suggestive of sex than Cersei laying, clothed on her bed with a come hither look.
I think we’ll just have to disagree about Cersei being sexual content vs suggestive of sexual content.
Benoit says:
January 13, 2012 at 4:02 pm (UTC 0 )
This topic really hit home for me a couple of months ago. I had introduced my 11 yo daughter to D&D, and after our first session at the FLGS, I wanted to buy a mini for her character. After she sifted through all her options, she sounded disappointed as she made the comment: “Why do all the female minis have barely any clothes on?”
I had a hard time answering that one, let me tell you.
Stuart says:
January 13, 2012 at 4:47 pm (UTC 0 )
Provocative clothes make it Teen. Sexual situations could make in M. I’m not sure which it’d be, but it’s certainly more Mature in nature than Betty and Veronica at the beach. The ratings aren’t just about % of skin showing.
@Benoit More options is always better, and Teen rated or Mature content might not be a good choice for an 11 year old. That’s where having some material at the E10+ level for younger players (or those who don’t like Teen/Mature content) would be a good option.
Tim says:
January 13, 2012 at 5:03 pm (UTC 0 )
I greatly appreciate this topic. I have kids myself and I look forward to the day I can introduce them to the game I love. Even more ideal – to a game that celebrates men and woman as equals and neither as sex objects.
Thanks for the article. I hope people take notice.
DigitalDraco says:
January 13, 2012 at 5:17 pm (UTC 0 )
I’m going to go with ObsidianCrane on the matter of that Cersei photo.
I’d give that last piece an “almost”, due to the chest piece. There are better examples on the Women Fighters Tumblr: http://womenfighters.tumblr.com/
Otherwise, spot on. I believe there’s absolutely room for the Vallejos and the Royos of the fantasy art world, I just don’t think that place is in D&D proper, especially if the goal is to grow the hobby.
Stuart says:
January 13, 2012 at 6:15 pm (UTC 0 )
I’m not much of a videogamer but the ESRB site will let you look up games to see what rating they have and the various types of content they contain.
This is a list of games that have “sexual content” according to the ESRB which isn’t included in Teen rated games, only Mature games: Assassin’s Creed II, Dragon Age II, Fable III, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Fallout: New Vegas, Dragon Age: Origins Awakening, Mass Effect 2, Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars, Dragon Age: Origins
These are some of the games that are at the Teen rating and have “suggestive themes” which you can have at the Teen rating but not E10+: SOULCALIBUR V, Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, Planescape Torment, BloodRayne: Betrayal, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Lineage II: Goddess of Destruction, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, Tomb Raider: Legend, World of Warcraft
These are some E10+ games with only “minimal suggestive themes“: Dance Magic, Spider-Man: Edge of Time, DanceDanceRevolution II, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, FINAL FANTASY IV, The Secret of Monkey Island, Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2
I think all RPG publishers (not just Wizards) needs to think about who their target audience is, how old they are, and what a suitable level of content would be for that audience.
Most of the art on the pretty girls in conservative armour tumblr would be E10+ — except when they have severed heads and what not in the background which puts them at a higher rating. Games are rated on a number of things, not just provocative clothing. Excessive blood and gore can make something not suitable for a younger audience.
ObsidianCrane says:
January 14, 2012 at 2:22 am (UTC 0 )
@Stuart Well fortunately DnD isn’t a video game, and further it lacks, in it’s raw text explicit mention of sex & gore. Like its game counterparts it would get a Teen rating (NWN etc), even with Cersei in the book. Ultimately I’m less concerned about rating than how people are portrayed in the art, because that matters far beyond the words given to description.
@Draco – oh I could have used Joan of Arc from Komarc’s site, she has totally realistic armor. However the Frenzied Berserker and Lady Helene were chosen to highlight that the fantasy nature of their appearence is fine. It’s pictures like the Dungeon Delve cover that need to go.
@Benoit & @Tim: indeed thinking about this stuff as a parent gives it a very different perspective.
Stuart says:
January 14, 2012 at 3:30 am (UTC 0 )
Ultimately I’m less concerned about rating than how people are portrayed in the art, because that matters far beyond the words given to description.
Some people might be more concerned about provocative clothing, others violence, or drug use, or something else (see the ESRB FAQ for the full list). It’d be very strange to ask for E10+ character art but want M or AO material in a book for example. It needs to all be at the appropriate level.
Right now we’re talking about a future product that hasn’t been made, but there are plenty of previous RPGs that do mention sex (AD&D – Random Prostitute Table) and gore (AD&D – Vorpal Sword, Rot Grubs, etc).
ObsidianCrane says:
January 14, 2012 at 8:05 am (UTC 0 )
The portrayal of people has nothing at all to do with trying to achieve a particular rating, it has everything to do with portraying people appropriately to the circumstances they find themselves in. Historically the portrayal of women in dnd has often been over sexualised, just as in comics, that isn’t appropriate. This matters. Talking about ratings for books that are not rated is not really necessary.
Stuart says:
January 14, 2012 at 2:08 pm (UTC 0 )
The portrayal of people has nothing at all to do with trying to achieve a particular rating, it has everything to do with portraying people appropriately to the circumstances they find themselves in.
There’s no consensus on “appropriate dress” in the real world, or when people wear make-believe costumes (Halloween, Cosplay, etc) so when we’re talking about worlds of fantasy (not historical period costumes) there will also be no consensus on what is appropriate to wear. Maybe you want to dress in heavy plate armour, maybe I want to dress like a Spartan from 300. Telling people they are dressed inappropriately is a problem.
I think you can say “this product is for kids (E10+)” but if it’s for adults then you need to accept that some people will want to dress differently from you.
0blivion says:
February 29, 2012 at 9:53 pm (UTC 0 )
I’m agree with all of your words. It’s so hard for my aestethetic tastes to look at D&D’s Player’s Handbook becouse of all these ridiculous illustrations. You pointed well faults of latest D&D iteration and it’s art. I hope your voice (and my considerations) isn’t a single voice and artists will take the right way now.
Cheers!
ObsidianCrane says:
March 1, 2012 at 9:44 am (UTC 0 )
I don’t think we are voices in the wilderness, the styles we enjoy are popular and have a history in fantasy art; be it RPGs or CCGs.
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