Ugly Syreen in Star Control 3

[PabloLuna]

I came to see Star Control 3 at a friend's home.
Not only it is crappy (I have seen better freeware games) but also Syreen are ugly.
It seems like they are witches, instead of the sexy Amazons I always imagined.

I may imagine a Star Control 4 version of this...



or this...

http://www.freewebs.com/marvelgazette/BlackCatDeodato.jpg

http://thequarterbin.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/msmarv039_cov.jpg

[Kerma]

Those Don't look anything like Syreens...

[PabloLuna]

I know.  But the concept is some sort of warrior with such arts...
Or perhaps something like

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/6997/warriorym0.jpg

[Nuclear]

The StarControl 3 Syreen were just plain puppets (totally demonstrated when a Harika eats a Yorn!) Its kind of hard to make a budget puppet look pretty but a good start would be to tilt the camera down a couple notches and maby take off that stupid mage cap....

[Kerma]

I don't think any character in video games should be seductive. It ruins the appeal for me, because I know that most creators are just trying to make them seductive to get a wider fanbase. I wish the Syreen would look more alien-ish, because it just seems like a cash grab to me. If I want to get seduced, I'll just watch an adult video or something, not pop in a video game. 

[Eth]

  Are you seriously implying that more people bought SC2 because of the sexy Syreen in it?

[Lukipela]

I don't think any character in video games should be seductive. It ruins the appeal for me, because I know that most creators are just trying to make them seductive to get a wider fanbase. I wish the Syreen would look more alien-ish, because it just seems like a cash grab to me. If I want to get seduced, I'll just watch an adult video or something, not pop in a video game. 

I'd think this pertains more to modern games. There's a metric ton of games out there that heavily feature scantily clad ladies with improbable proportions without explaining why they need to be dressed as such. The Syreen on the other hand, have a backstory and depth. They're not there to just make the player go "ooh, squishy fun!" but are an ally that need to be won over. As Hayes said:

Most raw recruits see the Syreen as nothing more than warm, breathing pin-ups.
Warm they are, and yes, they do breathe most magnificently
but Captain, they are far more than simple joy units.
Their history shows that the Syreen established and maintained a peaceful culture
from their Bronze Age through their discovery of starflight.
Before their planet was destroyed in a horrible cataclysm, their world was an Eden.

[Son_of_Antares]

I like them the way they are.

If you want a blue-skinned space amazon go watch avatar

Although I do hope that that movie might influence the Activision board to rethink their decisions concerning the fate of SC franchise. Maybe if some sc fans would stalk them when they go to the cinema and every time some of those blue elves or mech infantry shows up on the screen people from the row behind would say out loud something like:

*cough* Syreen *cough* 200 millions opening weekend *cough*

"Did you hear that?" "Umm, hear what?" "Probably nothing."

2 min later

*cough* Orz battle suits *cough* market success guaranteed *cough*

"I don't know why but this movie reminds me of SC" "Really? Me too." *confused and lost in thought*

*cough*  *cough*

I know I would wanna do this

[PabloLuna]

How about some alien robotic females?
http://fantasyartdesign.com/free-wallpapers/imgs/mid/287char_feng_image-m.jpg
http://www.salem-news.com/stimg/november222008/asian_female_robot.jpg
http://rasquitek.000space.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/robot1.jpg

[Lukipela]

Ugh. Those Japanese things are Uncanny Valley right there. They make my skin crawl. I like people to look like people and things to look like things.

[Angelfish]

I don't think any character in video games should be seductive. It ruins the appeal for me, because I know that most creators are just trying to make them seductive to get a wider fanbase. I wish the Syreen would look more alien-ish, because it just seems like a cash grab to me. If I want to get seduced, I'll just watch an adult video or something, not pop in a video game. 

I'd think this pertains more to modern games. There's a metric ton of games out there that heavily feature scantily clad ladies with improbable proportions without explaining why they need to be dressed as such. The Syreen on the other hand, have a backstory and depth. They're not there to just make the player go "ooh, squishy fun!" but are an ally that need to be won over. As Hayes said:

Most raw recruits see the Syreen as nothing more than warm, breathing pin-ups.
Warm they are, and yes, they do breathe most magnificently
but Captain, they are far more than simple joy units.
Their history shows that the Syreen established and maintained a peaceful culture
from their Bronze Age through their discovery of starflight.
Before their planet was destroyed in a horrible cataclysm, their world was an Eden.

Yeah, they lived on a beautiful world which got destroyed etc etc, but their backstory is quite shallow and hardly developed beyond that point. Don't make the SC2 Syreen more than they are. They just serve as an attraction factor for young males during the course of the game.
In that case, Mass effect did a much better job with their Asari, and I personally also really like the development of the blue females in Outsider.

[Lukipela]

Yeah, they lived on a beautiful world which got destroyed etc etc, but their backstory is quite shallow and hardly developed beyond that point. Don't make the SC2 Syreen more than they are. They just serve as an attraction factor for young males during the course of the game.
In that case, Mass effect did a much better job with their Asari, and I personally also really like the development of the blue females in Outsider.

I think you're being a bit unfair here. I mean, you can't just look at a much newer game that contains a much more detailed backstory and cry foul. Look at the other SC2 races, that's what you need to compare with. There's a lot of races with considerably less backstory in SC2, making the Syreen no less complex than most others. I mean, the Supox (We're plants!", the ZFP (We're funny mushrooms!) the Shofixti (We're angry and extinct!), the Pkunk (We're cooky and related to the Yehat!) are all either less detailed or similarly detailed. To call them an attraction factor seems pretty odd as well. They fill a pretty small role, as you say. If they were hanging around and jiggling their bosoms all the time you'd have more of a point.

Was there a lot of marketing going on when the game was released that implied that there'd be lots of Syreen? I don't recall, but I remember that I was pretty surprised when I encountered them and certainly didn't sit at the edge of my seat up until that encounter and wait for blue skinned maidens.

[Angelfish]

Yeah, they lived on a beautiful world which got destroyed etc etc, but their backstory is quite shallow and hardly developed beyond that point. Don't make the SC2 Syreen more than they are. They just serve as an attraction factor for young males during the course of the game.
In that case, Mass effect did a much better job with their Asari, and I personally also really like the development of the blue females in Outsider.

I think you're being a bit unfair here. I mean, you can't just look at a much newer game that contains a much more detailed backstory and cry foul.

I don't see why not. Old games can really shine today because of their great story and perhaps great gameplay (though modern technology has opened up new types of gameplay). Storywise, games of all times are comparable. Keep in mind that i'm not saying that the Syreen character development sucks, i'm just contradicting your statement that the Syreen have an in-depth backstory.. They don't really.

Look at the other SC2 races, that's what you need to compare with.

So now your argument of the past about scantily clad ladies in other games is no longer valid, and we need to look at other SC2 races?

There's a lot of races with considerably less backstory in SC2, making the Syreen no less complex than most others. I mean, the Supox (We're plants!", the ZFP (We're funny mushrooms!) the Shofixti (We're angry and extinct!), the Pkunk (We're cooky and related to the Yehat!) are all either less detailed or similarly detailed.

I think therein lies the crux of the shallow character development of the syreen. TFB, when making SC2, tried to cover too many bases, which was not possible given the time given to them. Perhaps it'd been a better game if they made it with 75% of the races that are currently present, giving more depth to all of the remaining races.

To call them an attraction factor seems pretty odd as well. They fill a pretty small role, as you say. If they were hanging around and jiggling their bosoms all the time you'd have more of a point.

Was there a lot of marketing going on when the game was released that implied that there'd be lots of Syreen? I don't recall, but I remember that I was pretty surprised when I encountered them and certainly didn't sit at the edge of my seat up until that encounter and wait for blue skinned maidens.

I don't think SC2 was marketed at all where I'm from, so I can't judge on that. But since Zelnick, a young guy from Vela, falls head over heels in love after he sees her and is influenced by her.. charming methods, I can imagine that young adult males might feel the same .

[Lukipela]

I don't see why not. Old games can really shine today because of their great story and perhaps great gameplay (though modern technology has opened up new types of gameplay). Storywise, games of all times are comparable. Keep in mind that i'm not saying that the Syreen character development sucks, i'm just contradicting your statement that the Syreen have an in-depth backstory.. They don't really.

So now your argument of the past about scantily clad ladies in other games is no longer valid, and we need to look at other SC2 races?

Er, what? I've been talking about SC2 all the time. The original comment that set this off was Kerma saying that he doesn't like games with seductive characters. I pointed out that I don't think the Syreen were meant to be just a seductive element and that they have a backstory and purpose in the game beyond just being nubile. You then chimed in to say that you agree with Kerma, that the Syreen are just luscious scenery. My argument was that unlike scantily clad ladies in various more modern games (and older ones too I guess), the Syreen actually have a back story and a purpose. They aren't just there to attract players.

You then followed that up with some stuff about Mass Effect and how it is superior. I simply pointed out that comparing the Syreen that way doesn't quite work out, you have to see how developed something is inside it's own mythos, not compare it to something else. Otherwise you might just as well say "Well Mass Effect is bit trite and the character development is really quite bad compared to say, War&Crime". Apples and oranges.

I'm sorry if you misread this to mean "The Syreen are awesome, have more backstory than every other race in the world but may only be compared to other SC2 races". I guess I'll have to be clearer in my statements next time.

I think therein lies the crux of the shallow character development of the syreen. TFB, when making SC2, tried to cover too many bases, which was not possible given the time given to them. Perhaps it'd been a better game if they made it with 75% of the races that are currently present, giving more depth to all of the remaining races.

This is certainly true. You could flip it around as well and say that if the producing company hadn't been retarded enough to want to ship the game with dialogue such as "Ilwrath goodbye 1" then the rest of the races could have been fleshed out a bit more as well. Another angle is, does every race need to be completely fleshed out? I don't know every person around me as well, why should I know everything about people in games I play.

I don't think SC2 was marketed at all where I'm from, so I can't judge on that. But since Zelnick, a young guy from Vela, falls head over heels in love after he sees her and is influenced by her.. charming methods, I can imagine that young adult males might feel the same .

But again, Kerma said that he feels that seductive characters are just there to make him buy the game. If it wasn't marketed this way, then that isn't the angle. I mean, I've read several good books that contain some risqué scenes. But if the scene isn't mentioned anywhere on the back, then I haven't actually bought it for the racy content have I? That's the point I'm trying to bring forth here. Sure the Syreen are seductive. But I don't think they're in the game just to be seductive.

[Kerma]

I don't see why not. Old games can really shine today because of their great story. Storywise, games of all times are comparable. Keep in mind that i'm not saying that the Syreen character development sucks, i'm just contradicting your statement that the Syreen have an in-depth backstory.. They don't really.

The problem with your theory is that Atari games have no story at all (not counting ET and Indiana Jones) but were acclaimed to be some of the best games ever.