Today we will discuss a controversial feature of many games that comes from manga and anime, namely fan service. This trend is not new, but in modern titles we notice it more and more often. Many developers add it to attract a new audience, sometimes forgetting about the gameplay, plot and other important aspects of the game. But first let’s define what it is.

What is fan service and why is it needed??

Fan service is a technique designed to attract the viewer’s attention (literally, “fan service”). These are scenes, individual objects in the frame, sometimes references aimed at satisfying the aesthetic needs of a group of fans. Fanservice usually does not affect the plot. The viewer is given what he wants to see, be it armored bras, giant robots or references. Fanservice has long been an integral part of world pop culture. But today we will look at armored bras, although there are other types of fan service described above.

Examples of proper fanservice in games

The famous heroine from this game, namely 2B, immediately won the hearts of gamers. She’s in a skirt and high heels, with an attractive body shape. It’s immediately obvious that this is definitely fan service.

But this is where the screenwriter caught you, because behind the beautiful heroine hides an extremely cruel story, full of creepy scenes. The conflict between robots and androids reveals the world after the fall of humanity to an incurable virus. Robots try to imitate people and give life, forming their own small settlements in a destroyed city and deep forest. The plot is fully revealed only after the third playthrough and spontaneously develops bizarre philosophical themes, in addition to biblical references, metaphors in the names of the main trinity of characters and complex twists and turns of plot moves.

In this case, fan service performs its function correctly, to attract the audience by inserting a provocative heroine.

From the very moment of the announcement, the main character was captivated by the gaze of many gamers. And when they showed her going down the stairs, what tight-fitting and very provocative costumes she had, there was a real sensation. And this is not surprising because after many games that were ruined by the agenda, she became a bright star and a huge audience became interested in the game, even though it is a PlayStation 5 exclusive.

This is the debut console project of Shift Up and it turned out to be very interesting in terms of gameplay, but not the plot. The plot is quite mediocre, the characters will be forgotten immediately after the end credits. In this regard, this is not NieR: Automata.

But the gameplay is one of the best in the genre. You will always find a chest, or a riddle with a reward at the end, in general the world is beautiful, stylish, rich and interesting to study. Battles also evoke a feeling of admiration; a large number of resources and skills force you to juggle them and choose the right path to kill the enemy.

Here the developers used fanservice a little differently, but just as correctly. To attract people not to plot twists and turns and living characters, but to exploring the world and enjoying every battle.

Examples of bad fanservice in games

The First Descendant

The most attractive skin of this game is of course Bunny with his already too tight outfits.

This is another Asian looter-action game that copies icons, mechanics and weapons from Warframe and Destiny 2, justifying this by the fact that it is difficult to come up with something new. And if it weren’t for these outfits, much fewer players would have known about the game; online would not have been so high. The gameplay for a looter-action game is quite good, all weapons are pleasant to shoot. A huge amount of loot drops, different guns, chips for them, etc. d like in all normal games of this genre.

But you won’t stay in it for long, you immerse yourself in it, get out, and move on to releases that are more interesting to you. And the fanservice is here for the sake of fanservice, it works as a plug so that you stay in it longer and throw more money at the developer for the next skin.

Snowbreak: Containment https://noaccount-casinos.co.uk/review/aztec-paradise/ Zone

(Substitute any 3D anime girl)

This is one of the most filler gachas I’ve played. Everything here is so sterile that there is nothing to discuss here other than good shooting. Standard 3D anime graphics, standard extremely drawn out dialogues, standard gacha with beautiful stretches. You can’t even get caught up in the plot, it’s the most standard one here. Even The First Descendant has its own at least some zest. She’s just not here.

Although wait, there was a new update with erotic dates that raised her online. And this is the most obvious example of the absolutely wrong use of fan service in games. It was added not to attract attention and tell or show something interesting inside the game, but simply to draw attention to the void! Into the emptiness of the world and the plot. Into the void of gameplay and mechanics. Into the emptiness of characters and their experiences that are not here.

Fanservice is only good in certain games, bad in many others. He is neutral. This is a technique, a tool, and if the screenwriter knows how to use it, he can please and attract the viewer without detriment to the work.

The main thing to remember is that this is an important part of the industry. Some studios stay afloat mainly thanks to fan service. Some weak games win only at his expense. The task of a good writer who makes fanservice is to make it organic to the game. And make it so that it complements it and only improves it.

NieR: Automata

Stellar Blade

The First Descendant

Snowbreak: Containment Zone

Best comments

The case is interesting to analyze, but the author described only examples of a “sexual” nature, although he himself wrote at the beginning that fan service can be not only in the form of beautiful girls, but also in the form of various references and other various things that attract players, without affecting the plot in any way, etc.n.

One could mention the M-7 Lancer from the Citadel, with the same overheating mechanics from the first Mass Effect.

Or how the developers of the fourth post, seemingly filling the game with references to the second part, completely forgot about the main idea about how ordinary things like cashing a check or buying milk can turn into chaos – which is why the game, due to the amount of ordinary trash, began to look more like the infamous three, IMHO.

My answer: fan service is great, but when it’s done well. I love him very much, I often miss him and I have someone to strongly reproach for his crooked implementation.

As for me, the fan service of Stellar blade is not very different from The first descendant. Vulgar animations of going down the stairs, jelly physics of the entire heroine, frequent emphasis on the 5th point of the heroine in cutscenes and during boss battles. What exactly is unnerving is the too obvious discrepancy between such overt (if not pornographic) sexualization and the character of the heroine, who is all such a cute innocent lamb for all the good against all the bad.

Like the other guy I can say, it’s moderately good. I even like female characters, but covered up. Examples:

Selena (PGR), Ravness loxaerion(tactics ogre), Aurelia (Trails of cold steel 3). This is offhand.

Fanservice isn’t bad at all. It just matters how much there is of it, otherwise I’m going through Fire Emblem fates right now. Camilla is a good example. But Charlotte is already hentai, just an armored bra and straps, bruh. Although I think that the most fanservice outfits should be in the DLC so that it’s less distracting.

And so I just want at least normal/beautiful women’s faces. And not like the current Western gaydev.

When Popeye is poked at the screen too obsessively, you can simply not play, it’s enough just to become interested in another kind of fan service. I would correct that this is not at all “recently”, this trend has always been there, an uncountable number of sensual maidens, sprawled in the arms of a mighty warrior, a completely typical picture of the same books, even from the last century. The developers do not forget about the gameplay, they just need to recoup the investment by offering a slightly different copy, where everything is so familiar, understandable and loved, maybe it will work, then you can think about the game of your dreams, and not an eternal beta, for the general consumer. I once watched a few years ago, the history of armored bras.

That’s right! This is exactly what I had in mind when writing the blog.

Fanservice is only good when it’s in moderation.

Here I really want to agree with the author. When “sexy” fan service is not just a gimmick, but also a way to draw your attention to other things that the game hides behind itself. Although you look at the stellar blade and you understand that with some things, the developers went a little OVER.

In fact, this is true, it’s just that the gameplay and world in Stellar Blade are much better than in The First Descendant. The First Descendant doesn’t even have this advantage.

Actually this is what I wanted to say.

Because the general and merciless desexualization and deobjectification. Stupid hypocrisy and cheap morality. Sargsyan and sweetbaby. Concord, TLoU2, Fable3, ME:Andromeda and countless other games with new ugly female characters or, worst of all, remade into ugly old ones.
Camera removed from Miranda’s ass in the end!
And everyone is tired of it.

About a year before 2012, beauty and sexuality were the norm, and only one fan service was not allowed:
— Everyone has beauties and tight suits, what do you want to surprise?? Show us what else is in the game.

And then everything rolled into asexual darkness, forgetting about the audience. Until it reaches the level:
— The game has breast physics and tight suits?! Shut up and take my money!

And although there were bells earlier (the same Subverse blew up Kickstarter in 1919), but, perhaps, it was by 2024 that the eternal truth of SEX SELLS began to come to life, and God willing, it will come to life. Even Blizzard, filled with repulsed sjws, remembered which “rule” the lion’s share of Overwatch’s fame lies on, and rolled out the most lovely Juno. What can we say about the others who sell projects on the advertising of just a character editor with 4 ass customization options (hello Mecha Break).

And the most ironic thing is that for all this we can thank the main progressive cancellers and other babyinks, who forgot that it is not their Twitter audience that buys games, and brought the industry to such an extreme state. And the beauties make the cash.