Ladies of Lake and Forest...

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 1:21 am

Not a terribly serious thread, but I just noticed something while replaying The Witcher so I have a save game for the upcoming sequel.

Is it just me, or does the Lady of the Forest in Dragon Age bear a striking resemblance to Witcher's Lady of the Lake?

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 4:43 am

It is possible, and probably true, that they had the same inspirations.

Although a female spirit ruling forests is a common thing both in games and books. Both now and a thousand years ago.

You've made a new thread. You're officialy alive again.

QuenGalad · Post by **QuenGalad** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 4:57 am

Dragon Age and Witcher have quite a lot in common, especially their understanding of "mature content".
And the portrayal of these Ladies is, in both cases, quite stereotypical. Female, naked, with just a smudge of "Natural" motfis, but not enough to make them unattractive. Not the greatest leap of creativity ever made

Tricky · Post by **Tricky** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 5:05 am

Comparison pictures?

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 5:06 am

Tricky wrote:Comparison pictures?

Sorry Tricky, but the only pictures i have of both of them is from the bath-party last summer.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 10:07 am

I should have used some images in my original post, here there are:
@Stworca,
Well I wasn't actually dead, just wasn't really posting

Agreed that this type of being has been part of our mythologies for a long time, I was more so remarking on their artistic styles, they are very visually similar.

@QuenGalad,
Very true, though I'd be hard pressed to find any RPG (or fantasy novel for that matter) these days that is truly original. The last original RPG I played was Planescape: Torment.
I actually think the depictions in and of themselves are quite tastefully done. But where I have a problem is the pathetic guys who fantasize over a collection of pixels and basically demand at least semi-nudity in games.... I mean come on guys.. get a life..

[url="http://www.dragonageguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/lady.jpg"]Lady of the Forest from DA:O[/url]

[url="http://vnmedia.ign.com/witchervault.ign.com/fms/images/artwork/9/1225231378_fullres.jpg"]Lady of the Lake from TW[/url]

Tricky · Post by **Tricky** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 1:37 pm

I am officially impressed, DW.

DesR85 · Post by **DesR85** » Sat Mar 19, 2011 11:30 pm

QuenGalad wrote:Dragon Age and Witcher have quite a lot in common, especially their understanding of "mature content".
And the portrayal of these Ladies is, in both cases, quite stereotypical. Female, naked, with just a smudge of "Natural" motfis, but not enough to make them unattractive. Not the greatest leap of creativity ever made

When the majority of the gaming crowd and developers are males, that is the end result. Pretty much been this way ever since the early days of video/computer games and I don't think this stereotype will go away anytime soon as long as it is considered 'acceptable' among the crowd.

And yes, when I first encountered this Lady of the Forest in Dragon Age, she also reminded me of the Lady of the Lake in The Witcher.

QuenGalad · Post by **QuenGalad** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 6:28 am

Yeah, that's sadly true. And it bothers me more than I would like, not because I'm an exceptional prude (actually, my friends would probably tell you it's quite the opposite :laugh: ), but because it's stupid.

I mean, I have nothing against eye candy, even if I would like to see some more of the kind I would like, but hey, sexual attraction is a natural part of life. What really annoys me, is that in the case of every female character, her body is always the first and foremost characteristic. We get powerful, magical creatures that are probably beyond anything humans will ever be. What are the chances that they will want to flash every passing adventurer?

This is actually one of the reasons why I'm an antifan of the Witcher books. Every female in the saga is just a way of moving the body around. The author describes a huge mage's guild with hundreds of allmighty sorceresses, but the only things on their minds is new clothes and plastic surgery-magic that makes them look sexy. Apparently all those years of study and dangerous research result in a magical cheerleader.