The Unexpected
by FEMAELSTROM, HSM team writer
I am not here to tell anybody what to think, and I am not here to be told what to think, but there was something on my mind that I was troubled with here in Home.
Recently there was a glitch in our beautiful Home from a line of clothes that was made by Konami. It is the Go-Go clothes. There was (and I say ‘was’ as the glitch was fixed, so I am not giving instructions on this, just informing everyone of what has been fixed) a glitch that made it so when a female avatar was put in certain bodies of water, their tops would disappear. It is the result of this that got me thinking.
I did have the opportunity to see this glitch first hand and was amazed at one thing. The female avatar is (at least from the waist up) anatomically correct. She comes complete with a fully rendered breast with all the details.
Now by my age of 44, most people have seen a naked breast, in person or through t.v. or cinema. Some may not like talking of these issues and some are perfectly comfortable with it, but let me say that the issue of the decency of seeing a bare breast, I will leave to the individual reader. This article is not about that decency or indecency.
This is what we should see under it all.
Here is the issue at hand.
I was curious to discover that Sony and the developers that produce for Sony, actually use anatomically correct models.
I fully expected to see a “Barbie” style naked form. A figure that lacks any real detail, but has the body to wear the clothes. Nope, I saw something that you would see in other media circles that allow nudity.
I was really surprised to see this and frankly a little bothered with this in Home. I used to run a software program called “Poser” and it was a 3-D rendering software. In the software, they had many stock items like cubes, pyramids, spheres and human forms. The human forms came in several styles like gender and age class, so that the user could use a child’s body or one of the elderly. There were templates for average humans that were both anatomically correct and not. These figures did have all the details of a fully nude human male and female, as the non’s had simple “Barbie” and Ken” bodies. I don’t know the inner workings of the software used to produce the avatars in Home, but I have to be certain that it is far more advanced than my program was, and in that program, I was able to design clothing and render it without having to use the anatomically correct forms. Placement of the clothes on the avatar was never an issue.
Of course it seemed to be a simple conflict issue of sorts. That texture and/or color hit certain elements and disappeared. I have had that with some eyeglasses, where if I see myself through another person’s avatar ghost, it takes away part of the glasses. It is a matter of seeing through one thing to another. In this case, seeing through the water to the now naked form.
Even with ‘Safe search’ on, this was the best picture that came up when I typed in ‘go-go’ on Google.
I just think that there has to be a deeper level of testing and control in matters like this. Though I am 44 and am not shocked by this, the minimum age for the Home user is 13, and openly welcomes anybody into a family friendly environment. Some parents and people out there may not be bothered by a naked breast, but there are others that, and let’s look at reality here, let the TV babysit the kids or don’t know where the kids venture when gaming.
Now the ramifications of theses last two statements are articles in and of themselves, but I just think that from Sony’s standpoint, and that of all the developers involved, there has to be a far better level of attention paid to details such as this. A simple fact is that stories like the ladies going topless, spread like a disease when it comes to word of mouth.
NASCAR has a saying, and that is “safety is a moving target”. This means that you can be vigilant, but sometimes the next accident will show you your next flaw to look into. The same goes here. Sometimes even when companies are being watchful, stuff still goes wrong, and that’s the next place where developers have to be careful. But here’s the catch: this has happened before, with another piece of clothing. This is not the first time, and if developers are not careful, it wont be the last, though it should be.
Home is not like other online social realms. We don’t have adult sections and are not programmed for this kind of activity. This is designed to be a place that people can dress and roam, and things like nudity are not programmed in, even in private places. This should be watched closer and perhaps, design the avatars a little more like “Barbie” so that when these errors do happen, it is a little less objectifying.
I am not trying to tell people what to look at or find offensive, that is not my job or purpose, but I am suggesting one small thing and one big thing.
The one small ting: Make the avatars more like “Barbie”, so that when these things happen as they are so bound to, the younger or more sensitive audience don’t feel offended and parents of kids may not walk in on kids ‘testing’ glitches.
Sony asks us to keep it this way. So should they.
The main thing is this – as we have seen with things like the 1.75 update that went so wrong, QA has to test a lot more and focus on doing the job right in test beds and offline test environments.
So many of us have seen nudity, and that should not lessen the fact that there are some out there that don’t want to or maybe shouldn’t be exposed for the various reasons that people have. I don’t lessen people’s objections. Many people still see nudity as private and personal. I think that Sony and the developers need to pay far more attention to the details and help us keep this truly family friendly.
March 29th, 2013 by FEMAELSTROM | 17 comments
FEMAELSTROM came to Home in June 2011 and never wanted to leave, even at weekly maintenance when he usually gets booted. The sand box environment appeals to the explorer in him and often is out and about as he ‘geeks’ out dressed like some sort of sci-fi character, while he people watches in popular public spaces. An artist and writer, FEMAELSTROM loves making friends and meeting people. He loves sci-fi and decorating Home estates and loves to respond “here” when people ask “where are you from?” in public places.
Share
| Tweet |
You, sir, are the voice of truth here.
One of the main reasons I’e kept quiet on this because I was literally stunned. I first loved Konami with their Fashionista line but then this Go-Go line just took it a bit too far for me. As a person who uses a female avatar exclusively, even I just don’t see myself in that sort of light that way.
It’s almost a disrespecting way to depict myself in that get-up. I don’t mind at all anyone feeling a bit sexy but seriously, when i saw it I truly wanted to fire off at them for creating something like that.
Sadly, it is very easy to sit on a pedestal and claim something is too ‘this or too that’.
Konami made realistic fashion for the style of ‘go-go dancers’. Doing a vague search of just ‘go-go’ is like going to the internet and typing in the words: be and bee. Actually, searching for the word and culture the proper context is ‘go go dancers’ for starters…
Keep in mind that go go dancers were the rage of the 1960’s and also served as entertainment for the troops during the Vietnam war.
The odd part is it was women who actually helped create the culture of go go dancing.
Konami culturally created a faithful line of outfits based on the facts.
If you want to fire off on someone for the fashion blame women because they helped make it what it is today…
Its a good line that any fashionista can turn into fun combinations.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This comment has been edited in order to remove unnecessarily disparaging personal commentary.)
Hmm. Cant say I was all that shocked when I was sent a pic of this glitch in action. In fact, I just chuckled then forgot about it. The age of entry in U.S Home is a good few years younger to that of the E.U. I’m not entirely sure why, but then I don’t get how kids are allowed to get behind the wheel of a car at such a young age over there either, guess it’s just a cultural thing?
The thing here though, is that when you consider what today’s teens (and pre-teens) are exposed to in the way of sexuality and violence, and even have direct, always on-tap access to from a selection of devices via the oh-so-wonderful internet, this becomes nothing more than my initial reaction -- a chuckle. This isnt going to corrupt or shock anyone under 16, the majority of them have seen, heard and probably even gone looking for much, much worse.
And if you think kids -- or if you’re *that* nieve -- YOUR kid would be shocked or (and I lol at this notion) lead astray by some pixel-breasts, you need a wake-up call. A bucket of water on your face as you sleep kinda wake-up call, y’know.
I’ll finish by saying this; This is not me shooting down the article, we’re all entitled to our own views and opinions -- the above is simply mine. I enjoyed reading this, and think it raises a very good point. But to me, that point isnt about where we should censor Home even more, but maybe take a good look at the age of entry and the content within Home already.
KF, it’s not that I’m naive, I just think that because kids get corrupted early does not mean we aid it or give up on trying. Second, the article is also largely about asking why does Sony and the devs need to show lady parts on a public forum when that’s not part of our landscape. My simple point is for the mistakes that Sony and the devs seem to make, why are the lady parts so detailed and that there are some folks that don’t want kids exposed and themselves want a clean family friendly environment.Sony and the devs need to make this more family safe and do a far better job in quality control to meet that end.
I agree with you, completely. But in E.U the legal age for use of Home is 16, not 13. In my opinion 13 is too young to be exposed to social networks such as Home without some kind of supervision in place. That’s generally down to the users of Home and the way/things they talk about publicly, not so much the content -- although the content is getting more and more raunchy as time goes by. Again, (in my personal opinion) devs like Granzella are bordering on the extreme side of creepy with their constant flow of children’s school uniforms and bikinis.
If my daughter was 13, I would not allow her on Home without me putting some rules in place. And even then, I’d be likely to be looking over her shoulder while she was on it, a lot. The thing about Home to me, is that it’s quite clearly NOT for kids. It’s NOT “clean family fun”. It’s full of people using bad language, bad manners and really really bad spelling! I’d exercise the same parental caution on a child using Home as I would Facebook, or any other internet social scene. I have been asked to cam, asked for pics and all the rest; and I’m a BLOKE! I can’t imagine what the girls/women have to put up with, or what happens when they’re silly enough to agree to these things.
Again, what Sony need to do is raise the age of entry, not crack down on the censoring. And if someone is irresponsible enough to allow their child into that environment then sorry but, more fool them -- they can reap what they’ve sown. It should NOT be Sony’s responsibility to babysit lazy parent’s children.
This may or may not come as a surprise, but I agree with KrazyFace on this one.
To put it bluntly the real world is already jaded. We can’t un-see half the things that have been seen in any ones life, at home, in PSHome, on the internet, in school…. or anywhere else.
So to what extent does censoring help? As a parent I knew I couldn’t be with my child 24-7, so I talked and talked, always keeping the door open for questions and anything else. That’s all you can do. Life, is out there.
Even if if it was meant to be or not, Home is for adults, it may not be Second life, but it has a “second life” for some.
If minors are to be on Home then they should perhaps have their own version. To me the Konami go-go line is more “stripper line”, but there is an audience for it.
Good article Strom.
I loved the Konami go-go top.A friend told me about it 2 or 3 days before it was fixed so I wasn’t able to do everything I wanted but I did take advantage of that rare opportunity.I had never seen my avatar in that way and I was very impressed with the detail.If only Jam Games would have released the Loft seen in the Painted Bare advert,I would have been able to realize a vision.As it was,I bought Glittering Sands Personal space specifically to have access to water in a private location.I spent a few more dollars on props.Just to be able to get unique,rare photos of my avatar I spent about 10 bucks on the Tuesday before the update that I knew would fix the glitch.I’m crazy about spending when it comes to photography in Home.I bought the LKWD Mech Jet for a photography experiment.A $10 experiment that failed,but I didn’t care.I was hoping the camera would follow during the Super Jump and allow me to take unique photos while at the apex of the jump.It didn’t work but thats ok.I guess my point is,I would gladly pay for certain options in Home,but certain options should have limits to where and how they can be used.
Jeff_psn, are you saying that you’d pay for the option to have private space nudity, I’m unsure? If that’s what you’re saying, that’s a whole separate article.
Write it! LOL
Yes Femaelstrom I guess that is what I’m saying.I would like the option to be available.I’m not opposed to the idea.
I have often thought of having a nudist colony at one of my private spaces. Not that I would ever really care to visit a real one. LOL! I just think the idea is hilarious.
When I was 13 there was not lock smart enough to prevent me from doing exactly what I wanted to do. My dad just handed me the keys after awhile and said be responsible. Having a really good dad that took the time to show me responsible behaviour helped. I did okay. Most of the time.
I think the taboo for this sort of thing in Home needs some adjustments. The kids I know (my really way younger brothers)are as proficient a killer, murderers even, as any adult. Though I hear my dad sometimes tell me on the phone that he doesn’t understand why games are as violent as they are now.
Why people even like that sort of thing.
It is a much deeper question that I am still considering.
I feel that if Sony is going to allow their partners to raise the bar in terms of racey content, then Sony should also raise the age limit for using Home.
Other companies do this with their worlds. As much as I do have a problem with the many twisted nutjobs that like to use and flaunt this content around in the forums and their clubs or heck just the public spaces, I don’t think the content itself is the problem.
Like any tool it’s the wielder that has the power to do good or bad with it. Raising the age limit would at least for a reasonable part stop the kids raiding mommy and daddy’s tool shed or knicker drawer.
The presence of the nipples is a developer tool, just as Mattel has in-house Barbie dolls with certain areas marked off so that clothing designers won’t create anything that’s too revealing.
The accuracy of the model serves two purposes: First, it allows developers to see if the clothes are exposing too much in areas they should cover. Second, it shows whether or not clothes with translucent effects are opaque enough.
Did these need to jump from dev kits into the live Home? For the sake of 100% QA accuracy, yes, and they were designing nipples for male avatars, so why not women too? They could just as easily have that part of the avatar shaded in black if they wanted to. Maybe we’ll get a topless Granzella beach someday.
Ultimately, it’s a QA failure, for the second time, which let this get through. There are solid reasons for the avatars to be anatomically correct on the development side, but it’s QA’s responsibility to make sure those elements aren’t on display throughout Home. Unless we’re getting that topless Granzella beach. I could go for that.
Interesting. Are there any other reasons why they made the avatars anatomically correct that you didn’t mention? I’m just curious. I thought it was odd that they put that kind of detail into their design but your explanation gave me a better understanding.
It seems like some folk are not getting the point of my article. If you like or hate the clothes, I leave that to your opinion and tastes and I am not here to tell anyone what to think, guy or girl. My point more than anything is this and simple: Konami, and the other devs on Home as well as Sony, let’s make sure that the clothes is designed to cover us up. HearItWow had a great insight, thank you sir, but that still leaves us to the place where the article stands. Make the clothes so that in the real world we live in, where 13 year olds live with us in Home and so do people that don’t want that element of wardrobe malfunction (and I could name names as they are out there), all involed from Sony to all the devs have to be more careful.
Konami also released some new clothes for their Raver line. One of the new shirts and pants is named “Blood Splatter”. Basically solid black clothes with blood all over them. I’m not sure if that helps with the family friendly atmosphere.
i pretty much find ANY complaints on the ‘mistake’ pointless. wow….nipples. seriously? i mean considering the ENDLESS raunchy, naughty, near-naked, boobtacular clothing lines for us women to ‘strut our stuff’ in, or the now endless overinflated male chests among other male add ons that have saturated home, what seriously is the complaint? so someone accidentally went that one teeny bit to far. pffft. considering from the beginning they’ve pushed the family entertainment angle but its failed horribly on endless occasions. this is things ive brought up before. eons back, the amazon boob top. lets try spaces. the dead island space; lets kick heads across the plaza after mutilating a human body (zombie or not, still walking and…well, grunting). lets take a shot at ‘uproar'; promoting gang style violence against others? get the point? home is riddled with holes like a piece of swiss cheese when it comes to ‘inapropriate material’ for children. its not a point of the developers being more careful; to me, seeing some boobs is far less anoying than someone hacking, slashing or blowing bits off human (non) bodies walking around. yes, RAISE the age limit. brimstone dancers? come on. ok, got to say it. (No, no you don’t -- Editor.) or putting on the naughtiest costume he could find to put on his female avatar and taking endless pictures for god knows what use? what im curious about is does sony have final say on what the developer is about to put out. if they do, does ‘family entertainment’ get pushed to the back of thier mind when they see things like the top heavy line only for the sheer fact of the amount of money its going to produce? with me, i have no problem what so ever with ANY of it. i rather liked the dead island and the killzone spaces.and the brimstone dancers are wonderful in the background for the music and just movement in general (though i STILL want at least ONE male fireman dancer. COME ON GUYS, DO THAT FOR US!). its just that all of it has failed so miserably at attempting to be ‘child safe’, considering over sixty percent of the clothing out there most of us women wouldnt be caught dead in,….unless in private…..on a honeymoon….with the lights off…maybe. oh….and hi everyone
mouse