Indie developer made heroines less sexualized based on Reddit advice and was criticized by other forum users

NewsИсточник: Paper Pigeon Games
10 Jun 20:56

The creator of Black Ledger: The Antique Mafia decided to listen to user advice and revised character designs. Not everyone appreciated his decision.

Paper Pigeon Games studio is currently developing Black Ledger: The Antique Mafia. It's an antique shop management simulator with a criminal element – during the day, the player runs a legal business, and in the evenings, manages a criminal organization.

Developer Background_Cow_6701 decided to feature several female characters in the game and asked Reddit forum users to evaluate their design. He was advised to make them less sexualized, and he fulfilled the request:

Many noted that some of our female character designs leaned too heavily towards “sexuality first.” Fair point. So we decided to shift direction a bit. We toned down the emphasis on sexual attractiveness and focused more on character, silhouette, clothing, pose, and making the characters feel like distinct individuals from the game world.

Before (first image) / After (2-3):

Paper Pigeon Games
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Paper Pigeon Games

Many users praised the updated design, but some participants in the discussion noted that sexualized versions of the girls should not be discarded:

Are you serious? Like, why can't a sexy character have a normal story? That's actually super weird.
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prancas noted that it's important to consider the context of the location when choosing character designs, rather than blindly redesigning based on the advice of a random user who might not even buy the game:

Who is your target audience? Reddit users? Be careful: this is a product you want to sell – who will ultimately buy it? Words are worthless, and ostentatious “correctness” to appear good is worth even less. Just maintain balance: in a tavern or at an auction, host characters can wear more provocative outfits because attention in such places is currency. In other locations, like a market or a bank, make them more restrained. This is art, creativity – like a song: you need both high and low notes to complement each other and stand out simultaneously. If everything is the same, nothing will stand out.

You can add Black Ledger: The Antique Mafia to your Steam wishlist via the following link.

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