Nudity, inclusivity and racial representation in RPGs

Daniel D. Fox · Feb 23, 2017

So, today we made a statement on race and gender inclusivity, along with nudity and sexuality in my book ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grimandperilous/zweihander-grim-and-perilous-rpg/posts/1813848

Hey gang,

Our art director Dejan is about to wrap up the remaining four pieces of art this week. In the meanwhile, I wanted to share our philosophical vision to art direction in ZWEIHÄNDER.

Our personal values strongly guided the writing process and art direction. On the outset of the project, Dejan, Tanner and I made the joint decision to include representation of all real-world races and genders throughout the book. In addition, these races are expressed in the art using female and male genders. This includes instances of transgendered and intersex characters and creatures.

We also use nudity and sexuality throughout the book. In most cases, nudity is represented as the natural state of creatures, and at other times, we use it in tandem with sexuality. We hope you won't be dissuaded from enjoying ZWEIHÄNDER because of this.

Now... with that out of the way, I wanted to give you a taste of some of the new illustrations from our bestiary. Enjoy, and let us know what you think in the comments section!

I figured I'd nip this one in the bud before fulfillment, so nobody is surprised. Most opinions in our comments section and on Facebook have been positive and supportive, whereas others have been damning. We've already received some requests for refunds, which I fully intend to refund at 100%.

Lovely bits; bait and tackle; cash and prizes - however you want to categorize them, the full monty is on display in our artwork. Sometimes, it's done tastefully. Other times, it's lurid and purposefully sexualized. My initial takeaway from this is that violence = okay, but when it comes to penises, vulvas and/or intersex = offensive.

What are your thoughts on nudity and inclusivity in RPGs?

EDIT - UPDATE
We've always aimed for contextual appropriateness in the artwork. For fans of Warhammer, the context is readily apparent. For others that are unfamiliar with the work, you have to read into the creature's descriptions to get a good feel for why a handful of creatures have their naughty bits exposed.

For clarification, however, the only nudity we have up to this point is restricted to the bestiary.

While I can concede to the 'inappropriateness' of sexualized nudity in the book for those who wish to expose their little ones to ZWEIHÄNDER, I personally believe that it's no different than having a discussion with them about emulated violence in a game that's intended to be violent. Frankly, ZWEIHÄNDER - and Warhammer in general - is and has always been for mature audiences.

EDIT 2 - UPDATE
Just posted this over at Kickstarter:

Hey gang, we had a long, hard talk internally last night.

While we can concede that some of the artwork needs to be changed, we also want to keep the integrity of our artistic vision intact regarding nudity. Our first step is to 'desexualize' the artwork, and address the penises and breasts in a more natural way. Some may be tactfully changed, whereas others may disappear entirely. However, we intend to keep a few creatures in their 'natural' state (such as the Nephilim & Skrzzak Broodmother). We are also going to readdress the Carnal Demon (daemonette) in a way that's less fetishized and offensive to our transgendered fans. I'll post another update once we make the changes.

And, as before, if you are dissatisfied with our approach, we'll give you a refund, no questions asked. Thanks!

So naughty bits still exposed in a few rare cases, but less sexualized and more natural. Thanks everyone for your comments - constructive, supportive and otherwise!

EDIT 3
Just posted this over at Kickstarter:

We appreciate everyone's feedback on the recent batch of artwork for the bestiary. It's a critical part of our design process, and a way for us to self-check ourselves against the needs and wants of the community.

Following this, we spent the weekend revising a number of creatures from the bestiary. This includes dialing back the explicitness, and revamping a handful of creatures whose images could be taken out of context. The changes manage to 'sanitize' some of the images, while keeping with our vision of the bestiary.

The following includes revised images and a handful of ones we haven't made public yet. Kickstarter's interface won't allow us to dial in the image size correctly, so they may appear to be of lower quality than they actually are.

We'll work on releasing Professions and Races images later this week, as to better explain our approach to real-world racial and gender inclusiveness in the character artwork.

Thanks everyone, and happy gaming!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects.../posts/1817859

Ralif Redhammer · Feb 23, 2017

Hmmm… A game not having an inclusivity statement won’t necessarily stop me from playing it, but if there is an inclusivity statement, and the follow-through in the content, that’s very much a positive thing in my book. It certainly makes me more likely to support an RPG line.

Nudity on the other hand, if it’s gratuitous, exploitative, or fan service-y, will definitely make me less likely to pick up a game. But that’s a subjective line drawn, certainly. Lamentations of the Flame Princess, which can get quite graphic and lurid, doesn’t bother me and I actively support. I guess because it’s presented as part of the horror aesthetic of the game, and assuredly not placed there for titillation.

RedSiegfried · Feb 23, 2017

Ralif Redhammer said:
Lamentations of the Flame Princess, which can get quite graphic and lurid, doesn’t bother me and I actively support. I guess because it’s presented as part of the horror aesthetic of the game, and assuredly not placed there for titillation.

This.

Usually, I tend to be on the more conservative side when it comes to these matters, but LoTFP didn't bother me exactly for the reasons you cited. The whole weird fantasy feel of the game assured that the art was certainly not pornographic, though it was explicit in places.

arjomanes · Feb 23, 2017

It really depends on the quality of the product. The Game of Thrones TV show certainly has plenty of nudity, and honestly, a lot of that nudity seems gratuitous. But it's never been too much for me to not want to watch the show. If the illustration isn't high quality it comes across as juvenile fantasies, like a lot of the AD&D nude monsters.

Context also helps. Does the scene seem natural, or is the nudity artificial? Nymphs, harpies, and other classical creatures should be nude. A satyr may be disturbing, even pornographic, if shown nude, but it would be true to the folklore. Nudity was often a part of punishments, so crucifixions and impalement probably would be historically accurate if the victim were nude.

To speak to the examples here, there's nothing there that I think is inappropriate or scandalous. It would probably get a "mature content" label, but beyond that, it's all tasteful and feels more authentic than if they had to wear breeches or fig leaves.

Derren · Feb 23, 2017

As long as it is appropriate but in my opinion those who make big announcements about being inclusive do it either only as marketing gig, do it in preemptive obedience because they fear a internet shitstorm as some minority might object or because they think that because they do something those people will dislike (nudity and sexual representation of woman) they have to gather bonus points by including LGBT to cancel the negativity out.

MNblockhead · Feb 23, 2017

I echo the statements of the above posters. From the example given, I think they fit. The naturalistic portrayal of the monsters shown seem far less gratuitous than the sword-and-sorcery, women in chainmail bikini art that is so common in fantasy RPGs.

Sunseeker · Feb 23, 2017

Frankly, if I didn't know what sort of artwork I'd be seeing in a product I was purchasing, I wouldn't purchase it. So to me, something seems like it's missing from this story. How did people not know this was going to be the case? Was there no promo artwork? Did none of your artists or developers mention you'd be going full-monty? Because as a business (and as a human being) the idea that you somehow missed the fact that violence is A-OKAY but sex is a dangerous NO-NO ground seems woefully ignorant, to the point of willfully ignorant. That's really something customers should know about up front before committing funds to any project or investment. If it is a direction you decide to go later then it may be something worth running by your customers before even creating the art. Seems like a potential major sticking point that could be worth getting investor approval.

Now, I personally won't be buying your product. Not for any particular reason, it just isn't up my alley. But you seemed genuinely confused at how this is upsetting people, which I think is just plain ignorant.

Lanefan · Feb 24, 2017

Doesn't bother me in the least...but then I don't really subscribe to the ways of the (usually American) prude.

The Crimson Binome · Feb 24, 2017

I'm not down for that sort of thing. Whether or not it is inherently distasteful, this is a group hobby, and I wouldn't want to make that decision for anyone else in the group. I feel the same way about profanity.

Daniel D. Fox · Feb 27, 2017

We appreciate everyone's feedback on the recent batch of artwork for the bestiary. It's a critical part of our design process, and a way for us to self-check ourselves against the needs and wants of the community.

Following this, we spent the weekend revising a number of creatures from the bestiary. This includes dialing back the explicitness, and revamping a handful of creatures whose images could be taken out of context. The changes manage to 'sanitize' some of the images, while keeping with our vision of the bestiary.

The following includes revised images and a handful of ones we haven't made public yet. Kickstarter's interface won't allow us to dial in the image size correctly, so they may appear to be of lower quality than they actually are.

We'll work on releasing Professions and Races images later this week, as to better explain our approach to real-world racial and gender inclusiveness in the character artwork.

Thanks everyone, and happy gaming!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grimandperilous/zweihander-grim-and-perilous-rpg/posts/1817859