The game fantasy of dressing and costuming

As i continue to research game costume designs and looking through many concepts arts i begin to ask myself what is the role of costuming in the game industry. As a gamer myself i note myself attracted to the aesthetic designs of games, which present the essence of a game and ofcause visually artistic and satisfying to look at during gameplay. As a huge part of gaming is about fulfilling an unrealistic fantasy of being in another world, to immerse yourself into the world mentally and visually. This is why stereotypically games are believed to be made by men for men. By making women dress less in battle, and men in full body armor to express masculinity.

The above is an example of how differently male and female are presented in the majority of popular massive multiplayer online games these days. Visually stunning graphics and very intricate armor details. However the differences in the amount of armor and the way genders are portrayed is interestingly very subjective. Along with the unrealistic armor, the style of the figures were also made to look like something straight out of fantasy. The unnatural curve of the spine, unreal proportions, are just some of the characteristics of the fantasy game world. To study images like this it is clear the most designs actually serve no real practical or protection purposes. Instead most of it are there just to look good for the viewers.
Which again ties in with the unreal aspect of gaming and its society. While a player can achieve and do anything in a game they choose, they can also choose to dress their avatars just the way they like. This enables a player to take on a whole different identity that is an extension of their real life identity. Players would judge eachother depending the portion of personality they get to see in the game world as well as the way they stylise their characters. Interestingly very similar to how the real world functions.
As a gamer myself i have personally witnessed complete strangers, countries apart, upsetting eachother or pursue one another for a relationship, from the attraction they feel for the other's avatar in this cybernetic social space.
Therefore in a way, i feel that the visual deigns of a game, mainly the costumes, serves a large purpose in self expression online. Which is exactly as how fahsion functions in the real world.

One interestin article i found: Gender Comparisons within Reenactment costume describes:

" Fantasy is a topic of interest not only to scholars in the clothing field but also to professionals interested in the role that fantasy plays in individuals' lives. Fantasy and daydreams are believed to play important functions by reflecting current concerns, regulating moods, organizing experiences, providing self-relevant information, facilitating learning, and stimulating decision making (Klinger, 1990; Singer, 1983). Klinger (1971) defined fantasy as all-mental activity, as we come to know it through participants' verbal reports, except for instrumental problem solving and the processes involved in the scanning of external stimuli. The element that distinguishes problem solving from fantasy is that during problem solving, participants experience a sense of effort, whereas fantasy feels spontaneous. A person's level of fantasyproneness has been studied by researchers interested in predicting the occurrence of imagery, imagination, hypnosis, and creativity (Lynn & Rhue, 1986; Wilson & Barber, 1983). Fantasy-proneness is defined as participants' ability to "set the theme, and then an imaginative scenario unfolds that has some of the characteristics of a dream and some of a motion picture" (Wilson & Barber, 1983, p. 342). Perhaps those who are involved in reenactments look forward to weekends when they can shed their workday dress and indulge in serious play acting. Currently, research in clothing and textiles cannot help scholars explain the role that dress plays in allowing people to escape their everyday lives and explore less serious parts of the self"

 http://wesclark.com/jw/costume.html

This reinforces on what i mentioned about the detachment from the real world and practicality. Therefore for my own project, my designs and ideas are not restricted to reality.

Another function is the pleasure of customizing and being different. There are many games that do not stick to the less armor is more mold. Such as my favourite game Mass effect.

Women can be just as well protected just as men are in Mass effect. And its the sleek, science fictionly rich designs that is the allure for many fans of Mass effect. As it visually seduces players.
However even with full body armor, players take in great pleasure of changing their armor colors, patterns, helmet or no helm. Therefore the costomization options are still there to satisfy the want to be an indivual and different.What is different of games like Mass effect and the ones such as Tera Online, is the fact that Mass effect is story driven and it is single console. Meaning that the player go through the story by themselves. Tera Online or any other massive online multiplayer games are player community driven. The story side of the games gets toned down, with very shallow back stories. Players play for the community and with eachother to make the game fun. Therefore visually, games like these need to be part of the main focus for attracting players wanting to continue playing and spend money on buying the latest fashion from store. Which is part of the main income source for the developers.

Which led me to come back to my own project on The Secret World. The Secret World is also an massive multiplayer online title. Very different style to games such as Tera Online, but concept wise similar. Players are still attracted to what is avaliable to wear in the game, and how they can dress themsevles. Many ingame prizes or achievements for defeating certain bosses are clothing items. Which would drive players to play just to get a certain outfit.
For me to make works to fit the game i need to consider what are the aspects of The Secret World that is visually unique, that make people want to be part of this virtual world. Such as the feel of the game, the concept of old magic and technology coming together in a modern setting is mentally and visually interesting. And this is the idea i want to explore with my works, creating designs that is a combination of the old, the modern and the futuristic which would reflect the essence and style of the game.