Recently, "Star Blade" is undoubtedly the popularity of the Top1, friends who don't play games around you can brush up on news and scolding in various forum communities, why did this ARPG developed in Korea suddenly become a traffic password? In order to help the people who don't know the melon to understand the reason, we have to start with the story before the release.
>>> "Greasy Senior Sister" ignited the Internet when it debuted
Back on April 4, 2019, SHIFT UP Studio, founded by Kim Hyung-tae, the original art director of "Sword & Soul", announced the trailers of two new projects, "ProjectEVE" and "Project NIKKE", the latter eventually evolved into the mobile game "Goddess of Victory: NIKKE", the former is now "Star Blade".
The trailer immediately detonated the Internet, and regardless of whether they have played Sword & Soul or not, Chinese gamers are always quite familiar with the fake web game advertisements of "Greasy Senior Sister". What's more, behind the gimmick of Kim Hyung-tae's first triple-A open-world ARPG, the character modeling, scene lighting and shadow have been significantly improved, and the protagonist Eve already has the potential to become a cyber bodhisattva at that time.
>>> questioned and criticized sexy characters followed
With the increasing number of promotional materials, the actual machine demonstration also showed good playability, and the action system and sense of impact made many players shout beyond expectations. Coupled with the addition of facial capture and 3D scanning systems, the realistic sexy and hot image of the protagonist has almost become synonymous with the game.
The craze reached its peak in January, when the game was officially titled Stellar Blade, and it was officially revealed that the protagonist's body model actor was South Korean model Shin Chae-eun, and a video of her doing a full-body scan was leaked on the internet. One thing to say, it is difficult for both men and women to have any resistance to this, and the attention and expectations of players are even greater.
However, all kinds of "troubles" are also coming one after another, and now I don't need to repeat the attitude of the West towards film and television entertainment works, look at the casting and adaptation of film and television dramas, as well as the intervention of the SweetBaby organization in video games, you will understand that SHIFT UP Studios and Kim Hyung-tae are bound to be criticized.
From the end of January to the beginning of February, there was no shortage of criticism on social media, both Chinese and foreign, about the straightforward portrayal of sexy characters in Star Blade. During this period, developers were basically asked to answer relevant questions in every interview, and it became routine to explain the reasons for the design from a personal perspective to marketing.
Of course, the solidarity of players has never stopped, and various critical voices seem to have strengthened the cohesion of the community, but this power has not rushed to the outside world, and everyone has expressed more that they will use their actual purchasing power to support good works that serve the audience. Until the "rising bird" lit the powder keg......
At the end of March, the French IGN wrote a preview article for "Star Blade", in which it made a very harsh critique of the character design of the protagonist Eve. "Compared to Bayonetta in Bayonetta and 2B in Nier: Automata, Eve seems bland, like a 'sexualized' doll designed by someone who has never actually come into contact with women," they said. ”
In fact, at that time, most players did not experience "Star Blade" in person, and they did not know about the heroine's life from the war machine at the beginning to gradually embrace more rich emotions. It is not difficult to simply point out the shortcomings, and there is a partial conflict between the sexy image and the serious atmosphere, which makes the character image appear incomplete and unified, and this is almost the case. After all, the quality of the artwork is different, and it may even gain the support of some players.
However, the above remarks were clearly biased, and even directly attacked the developer, which completely angered the player community. The ideology of the French IGN stood on the opposite side of the masses, so it was inevitable that the Great Flame would be on the rise, and the official IGN account immediately received tens of thousands of bad comments.
Everyone should be familiar with the following process, no one is willing to openly confront the monstrous public opinion, IGN headquarters issued a formal apology for the recent inappropriate remarks of the French branch. Originally, the matter was almost over here, watching the lively fun people rush to the next game, and the players who bought the game are waiting for the release, but there are people who are not shocked and die.
Erwan Lafleuriel, editor-in-chief of IGN France, spoke out again, saying: "Is there anything wrong with the character design of Star Blade? Go tell women who have been beaten, killed, belittled, or committed suicide because they couldn't live up to the fictional standards men expect." The problem is not in the sexy design itself, but in the fact that only a subset of men will pursue this fictional body proportions in reality. ”
This remark is eye-catching, but there are fewer players willing to respond again than expected, after all, Ah Xu in "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" said: "People who are looking for realism in the virtual world must have a problem with their brains." "If you want to seriously discuss society, the male gaze, patriarchal shackles, or women's issues, perhaps the vehicle should not be a video game with an overly entertaining background.
>>> Kim Hyung-tae's response and commitment stabilized the player's base
Several times of serious criticism, in a sense, free to help "Star Blade" successfully out of the circle, you melon-eating people are probably the first time to learn about this game at the above stage, but the reason for really retaining the paying crowd is probably the main creator Kim Hyung-tae's several responses and promises.
Kim Hyung-tae said, "The game will not contain any microtransaction content, but if it is linked with other IPs, the costumes launched may need to be paid for. There will also be a free update with new costumes for the main character Eve, as well as new game+ options. ”
If you've ever been tortured to death by a continuous service game, or a player whose wallet has been crushed by all sorts of DLC hell, that's enough to win over you.
Putting aside the bells and whistles, picture quality and frame rate performance are one of the most important factors in action games, and Star Blade promises three graphics modes, and 60 FPS smooth operation is also an indispensable requirement for gamers considering the optimization and rollover of many recent blockbuster games.
Even though this is Shift Up's first console game, Kim Hyung-tae has high quality standards, saying, "The main character, Eve, wasn't a great presence at first, and she will gradually take on more responsibilities as the process progresses." At first, as a soldier or war machine, she didn't show too many emotions and expressions, but as the story progresses, players will see her change. ”
The plot, gameplay, frame rate, and costumes are all guaranteed in one go, and a large number of orders were received during the pre-sale period, which is obviously a matter of course. And of course, let's not forget the most important promise: "All regions of the game will be released in the same discord version, including the Japanese region." ”
>>> the day-one patch under Sony's censorship brings a new battleground
As we all know, Star Blade had a strong debut, topping Amazon's game sales charts in multiple countries, with sales possibly exceeding 1 million copies in 24 hours. Do you think it's a happy ending after all, and the matter is over?NONONO, this time Sony and the developer have made another big wave together~
An update patch was released soon after the release of "Star Blade", but sharp-eyed netizens found that you are not the right version! The promise made before the release is now directly in vain? Cyber scam, right?
Within 24 hours, events quickly unfolded, and since the game was exclusive to Sony's PlayStation platform, players pointed the finger at Sony's anachronistic censorship.
"I don't care about a few more pieces of fabric, but casual censorship is unacceptable. "Why is a Korean-developed game coming to Japan subject to censorship by U.S. companies?" and "Another example of Asian culture being suppressed by the West", there are countless comments on social media platforms, and a large number of players have signed petitions saying that they will not renew or cancel their PS+ membership until Sony offers a discordant version of Star Blade.
Obviously, Sony has taken over the French IGN and become the target of criticism from players, and now the topic of "Star Blade" has opened up a new battlefield against Sony. While censorship is more relevant to the game itself than political correctness, it's clear that no one wants to see a never-ending war of words.
But the fire has been lit, and the so-called discordant version is probably only in a dream. It is unclear whether it will eventually go to Sony and the developers, or whether the players will gradually die down......
>>> conclusion
Although "Star Blade" has not yet reached the national level, it is undoubtedly the most discussed work in recent times. Looking back at the harsh discussion of the French IGN, which was full of politically correct words, it undoubtedly ignited the enthusiasm of the princes of the 18th Route for "Bianjing", and the first-day patch under Sony's censorship system filled the furnace with a new firewood.
As for the level of character and boss design in the game, is the plot watered in addition to being dressed in revealing clothes, and what is the quality of the action system and gameplay part? All these seem to be no longer important, and the traffic-hungry media are targeting the characters in a leopard-like way, and then taking care of themselves to defend themselves against the so-called "male condensation" A large number of special criticisms, and some extreme players regard it as an anti-politically correct banner, and there is no room for the slightest question, otherwise they will regard you as a heretic.
Objectively speaking, the character, plot, and gameplay of "Star Blade" are not perfect, but they are all above average. The action system with 3 special bounces is full of playability, equipment and RPG upgrades, and even the picture quality and frame rate performance are excellent. It's a pity that it's hard to analyze how many people are willing to try this ARPG in the Internet scolding war, but maybe putting aside positions, prejudices and filters, and simply playing the game is the best posture to experience the "greasy sister". Are you right?