“There are technical reasons for Tracer's butt's plumpness.”

September 18, 2017 11:46 AM

Getting to the Bottom of Tracer's Derrière By Laura Kate Dale [Kotaku] “It feels like a hell of a lot longer, but it was only a little over a year ago that Tracer from Overwatch became the most newsworthy butt in gaming. [#buttgate] Her posterior, which was undeniably shapely, made a stir when developer Blizzard changed one of her in-game poses to reduce the emphasis placed on her buttocks. The replacement pose still showed her butt, and said butt was still perky and visible, but the new pose was intended to fit better with the character's backstory as a pilot, as well as echoing traditional pin up images from the previous century. What was not, however, covered at this point was something more fundamental. Why is Tracer's butt so pronounced no matter the pose it's hanging off? Even after an alteration of poses, the butt remains eye-catching.”
posted by Fizz (25 comments total)

The first picture in that article looks like a mis-rendered frozen chicken.
posted by lagomorphius at 11:56 AM on September 18, 2017 [4 favorites]

"Character's backstory... Something more fundamental..."

(like!)
posted by chavenet at 12:00 PM on September 18, 2017 [3 favorites]

the primary cause of Tracer's plump backside is an inhumanly deep buttcrack. In fact Tracer has a butt crack so deep that regular humans could not possess similar physiology and survive.
posted by Beardman at 12:11 PM on September 18, 2017

can we also address the question as to why genji refuses to wear pants

zenyatta wears pants so genji is has deliberately chosen to remain robonude except for his metal robothong
posted by poffin boffin at 12:14 PM on September 18, 2017 [3 favorites]

Oh, video games, every time I need a WTF!? Expression, you are there for me, you toxic mess.
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:15 PM on September 18, 2017 [3 favorites]

>zenyatta wears pants so genji is has deliberately chosen to remain robonude except for his metal robothong

Zenyatta is a robot seeking his humanity. Genji is a human struggling with his post-humanity.
posted by turntraitor at 12:18 PM on September 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

Look, Genji likes to show off. It's worked out well for him hooking up with Mercy though.
posted by Oktober at 12:29 PM on September 18, 2017

Blizzard directly responds to three interview questions related to sexualized character costumes in a 2013 interview about Heroes of the Storm:

[PR motions that time is running low]

RPS: You have some interesting alternate outfits for heroes. Roller Derby Nova, especially, caught my eye. On its own, that’s totally fine – just a silly, goofy thing. A one-off. But it got me thinking about how often MOBAs tend to hyper-sexualize female characters to a generally preposterous degree – that is to say, make it the norm, not a one-off at all – and StarCraft’s own, um, interesting focus choices as of late. How are you planning to approach all of that in Heroes?

posted by crysflame at 12:36 PM on September 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

I appreciate Blizzard making Overwatch as filled with diversity as it is. [Polygon: Overwatch's Search for Diversity] We have a range of cultures and sexuality represented. [Previously: Cheers love, the calvary is queer!] But there's still room for improvement and progress to be made.
posted by Fizz at 12:53 PM on September 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

Hit post too soon, this article is also worth reading in regards to what they do not get right about diversity:

'Overwatch' gets a lot right about diversity, but totally fails with Symmetra [Mic]

“According to Overwatch lore, Satya "Symmetra" Vaswan was raised in Hyderabad, a city in southern India. At a young age, she was taken out of poverty to learn from and work for the multinational Vishkar Corporation. Despite her entire life spent in India, Symmetra has never spoken Hindi, or any of the other 415 Indian languages, within the context of the game. It's inexplicable — a disconcerting oversight given the care with which the game's developers have fleshed out her character. Blizzard's failures when it comes to Symmetra don't stop with her language. A February 2016 Reddit post titled "The Blizzard design team should really research India before making an Indian character" critiques her "ridiculous dance" and clothing.”

posted by Fizz at 12:58 PM on September 18, 2017 [3 favorites]

Metafilter: the butt remains eye-catching
posted by allegedly at 1:16 PM on September 18, 2017 [5 favorites]

If Symmetra is from Hyderabad, she should speak Telugu. But yes, she should speak some. They missed the boat on this with Pharah, too— she speaks no Arabic— but fixed it with Ana.
posted by zompist at 1:17 PM on September 18, 2017 [3 favorites]

can we also address the question as to why genji refuses to wear pants

if orisa wore pants would they be like this or like this?
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:08 PM on September 18, 2017 [5 favorites]

See also Lucio, whose accent is American, despite originating in Brazil, and speaks no Portuguese. That's just the tip of the iceberg where his problems are concerned.
posted by jsnlxndrlv at 2:23 PM on September 18, 2017 [3 favorites]

Well, where else is a teenage boy to go to see pronounced female butts if not in every videogame, on every website, in every comic book, in every movie and television show, or on every piece of outdoor or indoor advertising? Where, huh? On bottles of beer? Well, yes, there too, but they're not even old enough to drink! It's getting to the point where boys can't talk about pronounced female butts or even cleavage (for heaven's sake!) on EVERY. SINGLE. INTERNET. FORUM. OR. COMMENT. SECTION.
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:15 PM on September 18, 2017 [17 favorites]

Other than the rather grotesque bent-over close-up picture (what is that, her LABIA?) I don't see a difference in degree of buttock showcasing from the "bad" butt to the "good" butt. It's just... a butt. A cartoon butt.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 4:26 PM on September 18, 2017

butts
posted by turbid dahlia at 12:15 PM on September 18 [9 favorites +] [!]

Mm, mm. (takes notes)
posted by Sebmojo at 5:02 PM on September 18, 2017

Now do Widowmaker's butt.
posted by davros42 at 5:45 PM on September 18, 2017

Mm, mm. (takes notes)

Dammit.
posted by turbid dahlia at 5:47 PM on September 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

Okay, but what's the in game explanation for why Widow's ult adds 20lbs to her posterior?
posted by pwnguin at 5:50 PM on September 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

What’s the in-game explanation for how Widowmaker was a principal dancer with the Paris Opera? I’ve known a lot of principal dancers, none of them had her figure.
posted by sixswitch at 6:34 PM on September 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

And don’t get me started on how they’ve sexualized Doomfist

Doomfist & Roadhog are so obviously a couple
posted by sixswitch at 6:40 PM on September 18, 2017

technical reasons for Tracer's butt's plumpness

Fanservice
posted by oheso at 5:36 AM on September 19, 2017

I always assumed that any runner that fast must have epic glutes. Cases in point: Usain Bolt, Carl Lewis, Flojo.
posted by panglos at 7:29 PM on September 19, 2017

if orisa wore pants would they be like this or like this?

if orisa's halloween costume isn't the horse version of the human costume that looks like a person riding a horse i will launch blizzard's hq into the sun
posted by poffin boffin at 7:45 PM on September 19, 2017