The men seem older, and the women seem younger. How about cool young guy and tough older lady mercs?

(KayDubz) #1

Maybe its just my interpretation…but most of the male mercs appear to be men in their 30s and 40s…and more hardened characters. While the women seem a lot younger…especially Kira, Sparks and Proxy…they appear in their 20s. And they seem a bit more spunky and care free than the guys.

Could we get a cooler younger male merc? Or possibly some hardened older female mercs. I know this game is likely aimed at young men…but I got the vibe that the game went the usual route of older tough guys, alongside cute younger gals.

Like I said, it could just be me. But it does seem like that to me.

(Hexwall) #2

I totally agree and support this. All the girls, even Aimee who isn’t even out again yet, are younger than the men, whose age range is pretty balanced except for younger guys.

(Reddeadcap) #3

Vassili and Phantom have to be in their 20s, phoenix could be in his mid 20s but its hard to tell due to all his head gear, Thunder could be young, just really armored and turtle looks around his mid 20s but I agree.

The original Arty model made him look younger but it could be the hair and shades.

(DB Genome editor) #4

That’s not the original model, that’s an alternate model (they called them Elite Skins during the development) that was never release in game (might still be coming though…). The basic Arty always looked the way it does now. To my knowledge the only mercs models that changed significantly during the Alpha/Beta are Fragger (who used to wear glasses and a beanie when he was known as Dazzler) and Sawbonez whose original model looked much younger.

(Reddeadcap) #5

@Djiesse ah, I see. They should really reintroduce the old Dazzler model with his flashbangs again in my opinion, that is if Thunder’s concussion grenades aren’t going to act like flashbangs in a recent video showcasing missing merc ability and weapons, I might be wrong about how they function but didn’t they just slightly mess up a players vision and reduce movement speed/mouse sensitivity?

(Radford_343) #6

I agree with OP, but in fairness the age is hard to determine from looks alone, but I do understand the reasoning behind OP’s statement.

Clearly, we don’t have the same variety age-wise in the female classes as we do in the male’s. Variety is the spice of life c:

(RaubRitter) #7

Think Sigourney Weaver in Aliens - a true bad***

(Indefinite) #8

[quote=“Kay-Dubz;13448”]Maybe its just my interpretation…but most of the male mercs appear to be men in their 30s and 40s…and more hardened characters. While the women seem a lot younger…especially Kira, Sparks and Proxy…they appear in their 20s. And they seem a bit more spunky and care free than the guys.

Could we get a cooler younger male merc? Or possibly some hardened older female mercs. I know this game is likely aimed at young men…but I got the vibe that the game went the usual route of older tough guys, alongside cute younger gals.

Like I said, it could just be me. But it does seem like that to me.[/quote]
Joke’s on you. Aura, Proxy, Sparks and Nader in their 30’s. They just have a great exercise and diet regiment, as well as remarkable talent with combat makeup. Kira’s actually turning 40 this year, but don’t tell her I told you; You know how Asians age, though; won’t see a wrinkle until they’re 45 but then they’ll see twenty by the end of the year. :slight_smile:

Joking aside, I agree with what you say. I have a difference of opinion on perception (the women don’t seem that young, and the guys don’t seem that old; In fact, Skyhammer’s appearance looks identical to a guy I served with when he was around 22-25. But I would very much like to see a battle-hardened, older looking female merc, as well as a less stubble-and-grimace (or mask) male.

(ChinChill) #9

I’m totally game for this. There’s some tough old birds in this world of ours and it’d be such a fun character to join the cast of the game, taking nobody’s nonsense and kicking arse all the way.

(affableTricycle) #10

While I would like to see more diversity in the mercs, it doesn’t make much marketing sense. Judging by this survey that was on reddit a while ago, this game is unsurprisingly mostly played by men. It makes sense to have a lot of cool, bulky, macho men that you can feel like a badass playing as, and a bunch of pretty waifus.

(KayDubz) #11

^However Im a straight male saying Id rather see more than the typical pandering and stereotypes.

(JC916) #12

Merc: Beatrice
Age:80
Gender:Female
Ability:Throws hot oatmeal at mercs

(Monty) #13

It would be fun to have at least one fast running male character.

(Indefinite) #14

It doesn’t do the poll any favors that the demographic represented is proportionally exactly that of Reddit’s userbase. 25-44 is a huge age range, Reddit is predominantly male, then moreso among gamers participating in Reddit polls. Found it pretty funny that people loved Phantom’s personality but not his (lack of) balance.

(RadicalMac) #15

Not exactly sure why this would make a difference, technically speaking, women mature faster than men do so it would be logical to have them with the same power as men in their 40s. As well the best soldiers are the older soldiers, the veterans need to have the experience. Can’t just be 20, and immediately enroll and become a veteran in a year.

(CCP115) #16

Give me a 20 year old guy with some BUFF muscles and some rippling blonde hair.

Call him He-man, give him a pet tiger, and you’ve got me sold.

(Shinywindow) #17

Dirty Bomb’s character designs in general are also inconsistent; most of the men are old, gruff, and stubbly, while most of the women are young, thin, and stylish. Most of the guys look under dressed compared to the dyed hairs and tattoos the ladies got. Older gruff ladies with big silhouettes and younger guys with blue, purple, and pink hair could easily balance this out.

Splash Damage could even take inspiration from other old action ladies in gaming like Eileen from Bloodborne, Lupo from Resident Evil: Racoon City, Griselma from Gigantic, and Bonnie from Payday 2!

I’m not saying the current designs are bad, but Dirty Bomb can come up with really neat character designs and it’d be a waste to just stick with the usual macho soldier man and waify lady bases.

(KayDubz) #18

Women mature faster than men according to what? What women mature in their careers or in combat faster than men? Come on now. If it was really about experience, why are there no hardened female fighters who look like they have a lot of experience?

Lets be serious here, all I and a couple others have pointed out, is the typical convention in media where overused stereotypes are used to pander to straight men. Those overused stereotypes include the gruff, rugged, and muscular older man, juxtapose the cute, attractive, but feisty younger woman.

I mean, lets not pretend SD isnt using stereotypes at all in their game. I mean, the one black woman they used, they had to make her a stereotypical sassy black American woman.

(KayDubz) #19

It doesn’t do the poll any favors that the demographic represented is proportionally exactly that of Reddit’s userbase. 25-44 is a huge age range, Reddit is predominantly male, then moreso among gamers participating in Reddit polls. Found it pretty funny that people loved Phantom’s personality but not his (lack of) balance.[/quote]
Thats one thing I like about Phantom is his personality.

He’s fun, a joker, and seems like a young guy I can relate too. He just seems like a laid back dude in his 20s. He’s the first male character who seems more “chill” than serious.

EDIT: I might say that Fletcher is a laid back guy too given his taunts…but he doesnt seem as fun in his personality as Phantom. And the rest of the male characters are definitely serious acting.

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