Don't care if this gets me in trouble. This character design is disgusting. Our industry should be better than this. http://t.co/4CCaF1qNEP
— David Ellis (@DavidEllis) September 6, 2013
Halo designer David Ellis reacted to Hideo Kojima’s tweets yesterday, calling his design plans for Metal Gear Solid 5 character Quiet lazy and uninspired.
As you can imagine, Kojima has been getting similar reception from others in the blogosphere since he sent out those tweets and has been trying to clarify recently. In an interview with Polygon, Kojima concedes that erotic may not have been the word he was looking for. Via translator, Kojima explains he wants to make unique characters, and that he intended Quiet to be unique. He says he thinks of Quiet as sexy, in the same way that he looks at a weapon or a vehicle and thinks of it as sexy.
Quiet’s face and body mo-cap model Stefanie Joosten chimed in, explaining that there is a context for Quiet to be wearing her outfit (which consists of a bikini and torn stockings) in the story. She is not allowed to talk about these details at this time, but she hopes fans will play the game and experience it for themselves.
Getting back to Ellis, he refers to the character design as disgusting, and says that the gaming industry as a whole should be better than to condone this. Furthermore, he reacts to a fan’s characterization of Metal Gear as eccentric as a cover word for objectification and sexism.
Ellis concludes that he does not object to sexuality in gaming 100 %, and points to Bayonetta as an example of a game that does it right. If you’re still wondering who David Ellis to be saying these things, he helped design Spartan Ops for Halo 4, under 343 Industries. I’m sure you’re already forming your opinion on what to make of this conversation, so I won’t chime in with my own, but I suggest you take care to read and understand what both men are saying so you don’t make mistaken assumptions.
Image is from Halo 4.
Source: OXM
