Guild Wars 2

I want Rox’s bow and quiver.

Euin.3578:

Brutalistik.6473:

It’s a good thing it can happen in a video game right?

I would really rather it didn’t. Too much like a worgen for my tastes. Animals wearing makeup. Eugh. Talk about the creepiest thing ever.

Worgens are humans after all that’s their storyline. Charr storyline with makeup is influences from human culture I can predict since they’re trying to form a treaty. Yeah I know your type of vision with this stuff, but just think of it this way. Humanoids with animal like features because if they were animals then charrs would be rangers pets 24/7 that can only say meow or roar instead of For the legion / For great Justice!.

Get it now?

I find her rather cute, but then I have a thing for Charr.

Brutalistik.6473:

I would really rather it didn’t. Too much like a worgen for my tastes. Animals wearing makeup. Eugh. Talk about the creepiest thing ever.

Worgens are humans after all that’s their storyline. Charr storyline with makeup is influences from human culture I can predict since they’re trying to form a treaty. Yeah I know your type of vision with this stuff, but just think of it this way. Humanoids with animal like features because if they were animals then charrs would be rangers pets 24/7 that can only say meow or roar instead of For the legion / For great Justice!.

Get it now?
[/quote]

No, not really. Charr are not humans, they are not bound by our beauty standards as humans, and it would be incredibly silly to force it onto them. I don’t think there’s many humans adopting charr standards of beauty either. But from an aesthetic standpoint, tribal-esque makeup would be more of a thing for charr, not this strange mascara thing that poor Rox has going on. Hoping that Anet doesn’t try too much more cute cuddly stuff for the charr.

Euin.3578:

No, not really. Charr are not humans, they are not bound by our beauty standards as humans, and it would be incredibly silly to force it onto them. I don’t think there’s many humans adopting charr standards of beauty either. But from an aesthetic standpoint, tribal-esque makeup would be more of a thing for charr, not this strange mascara thing that poor Rox has going on. Hoping that Anet doesn’t try too much more cute cuddly stuff for the charr.

I don’t think you caught on to what I mean influence, like some charrs might do it and some won’t sticking to their charr code. Tybalt didn’t have make up on, but he sure was a different attitude charr. I can say Charrs that were raised in Lion’s Arch probably would try it out more than Charrs from Black Citadel..

Looking at Rox she’s probably was a adventurous charr. Even though their isn’t enough background lore to know why she wanted to get eyelashes. We just know its on her. It’s a new approach after all.

Brutalistik.6473:

I don’t think you caught on to what I mean influence, like some charrs might do it and some won’t sticking to their charr code. Tybalt didn’t have make up on, but he sure was a different attitude charr. I can say Charrs that were raised in Lion’s Arch probably would try it out more than Charrs from Black Citadel..

Looking at Rox she’s probably was a adventurous charr. Even though their isn’t enough background lore to know why she wanted to get eyelashes. We just know its on her. It’s a new approach after all.

Tybalt is quite the special case, and well, I can’t explain too much about him without going into spoilers. I don’t think he can be included in this at all though. He most certainly lives by charr code.
Either way, I truly wish that Arenanet doesn’t go too far down the “cuddly kitty cat” spectrum for a long time. Poor Rox has sparked quite the discussion and while discussing Charr aesthetics is very interesting, its not going to lead to Rox getting her eyeballs re-examined, you know?

You can always get someone else to do your makeup for you if your claws are too sharp, or invent a machine to do it for you. I for one would love more options for my charr.

That said, Rox’s pupils need to be less dilated.

Euin.3578:

Tybalt is quite the special case, and well, I can’t explain too much about him without going into spoilers. I don’t think he can be included in this at all though. He most certainly lives by charr code.
Either way, I truly wish that Arenanet doesn’t go too far down the “cuddly kitty cat” spectrum for a long time. Poor Rox has sparked quite the discussion and while discussing Charr aesthetics is very interesting, its not going to lead to Rox getting her eyeballs re-examined, you know?

Maybe they will on some faces and maybe they won’t because they have to please both crowds. So expect some cuddly kitty innocent look and expect mean grouchy grumpy kitty look.

• Everyone wins

Brutalistik.6473:

Euin.3578:

Tybalt is quite the special case, and well, I can’t explain too much about him without going into spoilers. I don’t think he can be included in this at all though. He most certainly lives by charr code.
Either way, I truly wish that Arenanet doesn’t go too far down the “cuddly kitty cat” spectrum for a long time. Poor Rox has sparked quite the discussion and while discussing Charr aesthetics is very interesting, its not going to lead to Rox getting her eyeballs re-examined, you know?

Maybe they will on some faces and maybe they won’t because they have to please both crowds. So expect some cuddly kitty innocent look and expect mean grouchy grumpy kitty look.

• Everyone wins

I hope so, and hopefully they won’t scare people as badly as poor Rox did. Now, talking about this has given me a really funny idea, I just need to draw it out real fast.

Euin.3578:

I hope so, and hopefully they won’t scare people as badly as poor Rox did. Now, talking about this has given me a really funny idea, I just need to draw it out real fast.

Rox didn’t scare anyone. The people scared themselves on what they did not like =O

I’d rather more Asura options

After reading on the forums last night, then getting to see Rox in game, I think she looks just fine, and I didn’t notice her looking “strange” at all. I liked the look, and if we have more facial options in the future, I’m all for it. As a younger kitten look it was pretty spot on, but I think her voice should have been younger to go with the look.

Why does everyone want their Charr to look like grumpy cat?
http://www.catster.com/files/original.jpg

I don’t understand how they went about designing her like this.

http://i.imgur.com/1hKr6ea.jpg
This is the concept art from the hatchery and she looks perfect in this, then they give her a completely different look. What? What was wrong with the art’s depiction? Now she just looks freakishly out of place.

It doesn’t even make sense lore wise either, NO charr has eyes that big, not even the charr children. Even if the kids are just minimized versions of normal charr models the eyes still make sense to be that small, felines and humans in real life never have HUGE eyes while they’re young.

Brutalistik.6473:

Euin.3578:

Tybalt is quite the special case, and well, I can’t explain too much about him without going into spoilers. I don’t think he can be included in this at all though. He most certainly lives by charr code.
Either way, I truly wish that Arenanet doesn’t go too far down the “cuddly kitty cat” spectrum for a long time. Poor Rox has sparked quite the discussion and while discussing Charr aesthetics is very interesting, its not going to lead to Rox getting her eyeballs re-examined, you know?

Maybe they will on some faces and maybe they won’t because they have to please both crowds. So expect some cuddly kitty innocent look and expect mean grouchy grumpy kitty look.

• Everyone wins

I really wonder what the male depiction of ‘kitty/house cat’ like Charr will be like if they are planning to expand and give more variety to both genders…XD

Lol! Mascara tubes, charr claws and eyeballs being a recipe for disaster. I don’t have anything against makeup, but that is quite a funny image to picture.

FantasticHaz.9804:

I don’t understand how they went about designing her like this.

http://i.imgur.com/1hKr6ea.jpg
This is the concept art from the hatchery and she looks perfect in this, then they give her a completely different look. What? What was wrong with the art’s depiction? Now she just looks freakishly out of place.

It doesn’t even make sense lore wise either, NO charr has eyes that big, not even the charr children. Even if the kids are just minimized versions of normal charr models the eyes still make sense to be that small, felines and humans in real life never have HUGE eyes while they’re young.

If you read the Art leads post he states that they wish to have a wide variety of Charr appearance reflecting many forms of cat.

Her appearance looks kind of freaky but I dont mind having characters with odd appearances. If they had made her cutesy it would be annoying but shes not. As a result, for me, her appearance simply becomes an odd querk of her character.

Cute is fine. Seriously, the only thing that’s really that bothersome about Rox is her eyes are twice as big as the rest of the charr models. If they were scaled down, she’d be just as cutesy with none of the freaksy.

Rox eyes don’t make her cute to me. I don’t think you can make a Charr cute. Those horns, that maw, that voice…

The baby devourer was a weird kind of cute though.

Awww, I really like Rox. I thought her and the pet devourer were absolutely positively adorable I’d love to see more of the two of them. I think it’s great to introduce more “exceptional” characters of each races.

For example, Efut is an Asura but also in a high rank in the Vigil — some people might also scream “omg that’s against the lore”, but that’s not true. Exceptions like that only make the game seem realistic. Not everyone’s the same. Not every Asura is obsessed with brainpower, and not every Charr is super rough and tough. Rox is an adorable young charr (and still pretty tough, btw!) and I wish I could use her face or at least her hair options for my own charr seriously, her hair is awesome!

Ben K.6238:

Cute is fine. Seriously, the only thing that’s really that bothersome about Rox is her eyes are twice as big as the rest of the charr models. If they were scaled down, she’d be just as cutesy with none of the freaksy.

My thoughts exactly, her eyes could be half the size they are now and she’d still be a “house cat cute” in appearance but wouldn’t look like a parody of the other charr by comparison.

I thought she looked fine. On the mascara bit, my cat’s eyes are black-ringed and I’ve gotten that same comment on more than one occasion.

I finally played her mission and overall she’s not that bad.
Maybe its because she reminds me of my cat, maybe its her enthusiasm to join Rytlock’s warband, or because she was a decent ranger, but overall I can’t find too much to hate on her.

I’m still playing Braham’s stuff first because he’s Guardian and Norn and I like both of those things first, but I won’t neglect her side of the story.

Rox had great dialogue and demeanor, her eyes need to be adjusted to be slightly smaller. They are just too large to make sense to my brain. (like Uncanny Valley/Cognitive Dissonance.)

I don’t know how I forgot about this..

http://mgame.kongzhong.com/bl/

http://goo.gl/UUhsz

Although I find this image the most interesting

http://gw2.kongzhong.com/style/banner/wallpaper/27/wallpaper-1680x1050.jpg

Just my two cents.

I think the reason why Rox bothers some people and not others is precisely because of something similar to the Uncanny Valley effect with robotics and CGI humans. If something looks “off,” some people recognize it as being so and are disgusted, unsettled, or horrified by it. Me? I’m rarely deeply bothered by anything uncanny valley, but I still recognize it. Here’s an example of a robot that falls hard into the valley.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF_8gM4urmA

She most likely looks fine to her creators. She doesn’t bother me, but I see regardless that she looks terribly wrong. To other people, she’s completely terrifying.

Rox, to me, is sort of the same deal. People know the general facial layout of the Charr as a species, and how they look, even when their features vary considerably. Rox breaks that for many people – she falls far outside the design presented by Anet originally, to such an extreme degree that she looks like an entirely different species of Charr, just as tigers and housecats are different species but are still cats. She obviously looks fine to whoever designed her, and fine to many players, but it isn’t shocking or surprising at all that she really puts off a lot of people.

As an illustrator, if I had the time, I could sit down and draw countless Charr that are entirely unique by only stretching the morphology of the species, not shattering it entirely. You could even pretty easily make a housecat looking Charr that doesn’t look as bizarre and out-of-place as Rox.

And talking about design, her “cute” kitten face along with those gigantic horns, large body, and enormous claws look.. Jarring, to me. There’s no flow to the design, the whole thing clashes and, frankly, her face looks transplanted on. I also have a feeling her skull would be pretty unstable and frail with those giant orbits, mashed in sinus (she’d probably have the same issues as a bulldog or persian cat with breathing) and massive horns on top of it all, but this is a game with talking plant people so I suppose I can let anatomical nitpicks like that slide. But not the fact that she doesn’t even look like she falls into the same art style, much less species. You can totally design very unique Charr that don’t look like mutants – Caithe, Trahearne, and the Pale Tree’s avatar look entirely unique in their faces, and they still look like Sylvari.

Brutalistik.6473:

Jemmi.6058:

Euin.3578:

Jemmi.6058:

Also, why is it that Rox cannot wear mascara? Confused.

Also, for everyone complaining that Rox does not fit the Charr theme. Why does every Charr have to fit under a certain characteristic? Can there not be a variety??

A big cat wearing makeup is a little out there, no?

Less out there than a big cat talking. This is a fantasy game and these are humanoid creatures. If they can walk around, talk, wear armor and clothing, why can they not wear make up?

Oh you know the orange and apples syndrome….

• History always repeats itself

Euin.3578:

Mascara is actually extremely sticky, sticky and fur do not go together, secondly, charr claws, mascara tubes, and eyeballs also don’t mix together. That just sounds like a recipe for disaster. As long as they don’t start all wearing makeup its fine though. And no lipstick. Unless its for parody use.

It’s a good thing it can happen in a video game right?

Confused about the apples and oranges comment? Are you saying that I am comparing apples to oranges? Because, I wasn’t comparing anything. I was stating that in a fantasy based game, anything is fair game for what is ‘far off’.

As for the mascara on fur, I agree, ‘it can happen in a video game’. This is a fantasy world, who knows how they make their mascara. Perhaps it is made with asuran technology? Who knows?

Also saw somewhere people talking about makeup on ‘animals’. Charr are a sentient humanoid race, so it is not exactly comparable. Humans are technically animals, as are Charr. The reason why putting makeup on ‘animals’ is so disgusting is because humans do it to them without their consent. Are you suggesting some human scientists in game were experimenting on the Charr?

This all just seems ridiculous.

I personally do not like the mascara on the Charr (however, I am not a fan of the race as a whole). I do support the idea of variation within a race. To assume monoculture in all non-human races is racist.

Jemmi.6058:

Brutalistik.6473:

Jemmi.6058:

Euin.3578:

Jemmi.6058:

Also, why is it that Rox cannot wear mascara? Confused.

Also, for everyone complaining that Rox does not fit the Charr theme. Why does every Charr have to fit under a certain characteristic? Can there not be a variety??

A big cat wearing makeup is a little out there, no?

Less out there than a big cat talking. This is a fantasy game and these are humanoid creatures. If they can walk around, talk, wear armor and clothing, why can they not wear make up?

Oh you know the orange and apples syndrome….

• History always repeats itself

Euin.3578:

Mascara is actually extremely sticky, sticky and fur do not go together, secondly, charr claws, mascara tubes, and eyeballs also don’t mix together. That just sounds like a recipe for disaster. As long as they don’t start all wearing makeup its fine though. And no lipstick. Unless its for parody use.

It’s a good thing it can happen in a video game right?

Confused about the apples and oranges comment? Are you saying that I am comparing apples to oranges? Because, I wasn’t comparing anything. I was stating that in a fantasy based game, anything is fair game for what is ‘far off’.

As for the mascara on fur, I agree, ‘it can happen in a video game’. This is a fantasy world, who knows how they make their mascara. Perhaps it is made with asuran technology? Who knows?

Also saw somewhere people talking about makeup on ‘animals’. Charr are a sentient humanoid race, so it is not exactly comparable. Humans are technically animals, as are Charr. The reason why putting makeup on ‘animals’ is so disgusting is because humans do it to them without their consent. Are you suggesting some human scientists in game were experimenting on the Charr?

This all just seems ridiculous.

I personally do not like the mascara on the Charr (however, I am not a fan of the race as a whole). I do support the idea of variation within a race. To assume monoculture in all non-human races is racist.

I was giving ya a reason about the apples and oranges syndrome because the person you was talking to was doing that. Calling Charrs animals ignoring the fact they’re not because they’re humanoids with animal like features.

I’ve even said about the make up idea on charrs most likely came from humans influence like charrs living in Lion’s Arch or adventurer charrs, but they do not want to believe that either. It doesn’t fit in their vision and probably never will.

It’s funny that some want to bring up other games anthros into this silly issue like worgens from WoW ignoring the fact that before they turned werewolves, They were humans so make up on them is understandable because some humans like to put make up on.

@Brutalistik

Oh sorry, my bad. Totally misunderstood your comment then!

If I was a furry I’d ask her out on a date.

I have to say after seeing her IG she really doesn’t look bad at all.
They did nail the cutesy charr look.
Problem is Rox’s appearance seems to clash allot with her personality, so it feels awkward.
Her voice sounds way too mature and serious to go along with that happy cat face.
Also the eyes could still be a tad smaller or a bit more closed.
Otherwise I do like the design and even the character overall so far.

Jemmi.6058:

@Brutalistik

Oh sorry, my bad. Totally misunderstood your comment then!

It’s cool, just quote the person you was referring to so no misunderstanding.

Deim Hunir.8503:

I have to say after seeing her IG she really doesn’t look bad at all.
They did nail the cutesy charr look.
Problem is Rox’s appearance seems to clash allot with her personality, so it feels awkward.
Her voice sounds way too mature and serious to go along with that happy cat face.
Also the eyes could still be a tad smaller or a bit more closed.
Otherwise I do like the design and even the character overall so far.

Her voice was quite understandable for me because I knew it would of been similar to the female charr voice we play. They have big bodies after all so at her size something sounding close to a asura voice or human would not fit her character besides the cute look.

Cutie Pie Kitty Cat.

Then perhaps Chauncey Von Snuffles III will be the inspiration for the Male version.

Mountain Lion cubs are cute. Lion cubs are cute. They somehow manage it without the cutesy anime crap.

ReginaBuenaobra.6953:

Hi, everyone. The team has been following the spirited discussion about Rox (and Braham). I just wanted to pop in with a note from our Lead Character Artist so he can provide some background information and clarity about the art direction for Rox.

Aaron Coberly, Lead Character Artist

Hey everyone, this is Aaron Coberly, the Lead Character Artist here on Guild Wars 2. I can see that there are a lot of strong feelings about the design decisions for Rox so I wanted to come on and set the record straight. The goal with Rox was to expand the charr’s visual options. She is a young charr so we thought it would be a good opportunity to introduce the cute kitty cat end of the spectrum. This isn’t a change of direction but an expansion of the race. Our goal is to add more variety to all of the races over time and we saw this as a good opportunity to do this with the female charr. The charr are a feline race, which gives us a lot of options—from the grizzled matronly lioness to the strong puma and even the cute house cat. We don’t want to limit our options to just one section of the feline genus. Our designs are inspired by all the feline variety that exists in nature.

Further on down the road, it does mean that if we introduce new faces into character creation, they will include a broader range. Does that mean that this particular face will be in there? No, because she is a main character, but there could be a cute kitty cat style face.

Hope that information helps you all understand the thinking behind Rox’s appearance.

I don’t think anyone isn’t necessarily disputing that idea of cute kitty faces for charr, so to speak, as they are disputing the idea that Rox is cute.

She’s really quite terrifying.

THOSE EYES, OH GOD WHY.

Dear Anet,

Plz plz plz plz make moar big eye female charr. Certainly it can’t be an exact Roxx clone, but make the cute one big eyed.

Biiiiig. Roxx big. Maybe a little bigger. I hunger, and the forum angst regarding this non-issue will quench my appetite.

Please and thank you!

No but seriously, the most vocal people about this are folks using some hardcore furry terminology. That right there should tell you enough. It didn’t need to go there.

There’s nothing wrong with Roxx to most sane people. She’s legit. She’s a young charr with big cat eyes. Deal with it.

They could have made them even bigger and it would still be natural. As natural as huge horned bipedal hell cats come.

This forum <> logical, honesty, thinking

Teofa Tsavo.9863:

Cutie Pie Kitty Cat.

Then perhaps Chauncey Von Snuffles III will be the inspiration for the Male version.

Mountain Lion cubs are cute. Lion cubs are cute. They somehow manage it without the cutesy anime crap.

My Charr would not follow a Charr with a bowler hat and monocle.
Now a pimp cane….maybe.

CETheLucid.3964:

Dear Anet,

Plz plz plz plz make moar big eye female charr. Certainly it can’t be an exact Roxx clone, but make the cute one big eyed.

Biiiiig. Roxx big. Maybe a little bigger. I hunger, and the forum angst regarding this non-issue will quench my appetite.

Please and thank you!

No but seriously, the most vocal people about this are folks using some hardcore furry terminology. That right there should tell you enough. It didn’t need to go there.

There’s nothing wrong with Roxx to most sane people. She’s legit. She’s a young charr with big cat eyes. Deal with it.

They could have made them even bigger and it would still be natural. As natural as huge horned bipedal hell cats come.

This forum <> logical, honesty, thinking

If they make a charr that looks exactly like photo #1. I will roll it.

CETheLucid.3964:

Dear Anet,

Plz plz plz plz make moar big eye female charr. Certainly it can’t be an exact Roxx clone, but make the cute one big eyed.

Biiiiig. Roxx big. Maybe a little bigger. I hunger, and the forum angst regarding this non-issue will quench my appetite.

Please and thank you!

No but seriously, the most vocal people about this are folks using some hardcore furry terminology. That right there should tell you enough. It didn’t need to go there.

There’s nothing wrong with Roxx to most sane people. She’s legit. She’s a young charr with big cat eyes. Deal with it.

They could have made them even bigger and it would still be natural. As natural as huge horned bipedal hell cats come.

This forum <> logical, honesty, thinking

I like your logic… and omg look at the cute lil kitty cats eep i wanz to cuddles em.

CETheLucid.3964:

No but seriously, the most vocal people about this are folks using some hardcore furry terminology. That right there should tell you enough. It didn’t need to go there.

I didn’t want to put it like that but this is exactly the reason, fear that some of these forums people have their vision set towards and nothing else which is very sad.

Thanks for bringing that logic out. It was going a bit too deep for no reasons over

• eyes.

Quarktastic.1027:

I want Rox’s bow and quiver.

YES! You and me both. Plus quiet a few other Rangers I know of.

Also, Braham looks like Miley Cyrus.

ReginaBuenaobra.6953:

Hi, everyone. The team has been following the spirited discussion about Rox (and Braham). I just wanted to pop in with a note from our Lead Character Artist so he can provide some background information and clarity about the art direction for Rox.

Aaron Coberly, Lead Character Artist

Hey everyone, this is Aaron Coberly, the Lead Character Artist here on Guild Wars 2. I can see that there are a lot of strong feelings about the design decisions for Rox so I wanted to come on and set the record straight. The goal with Rox was to expand the charr’s visual options. She is a young charr so we thought it would be a good opportunity to introduce the cute kitty cat end of the spectrum. This isn’t a change of direction but an expansion of the race. Our goal is to add more variety to all of the races over time and we saw this as a good opportunity to do this with the female charr. The charr are a feline race, which gives us a lot of options—from the grizzled matronly lioness to the strong puma and even the cute house cat. We don’t want to limit our options to just one section of the feline genus. Our designs are inspired by all the feline variety that exists in nature.

Further on down the road, it does mean that if we introduce new faces into character creation, they will include a broader range. Does that mean that this particular face will be in there? No, because she is a main character, but there could be a cute kitty cat style face.

Hope that information helps you all understand the thinking behind Rox’s appearance.

I like the idea of having some more options in regards to race. I think the problem is that since she’s the ONLY charr like this.. so she currently looks out of place.

I think though that Charr purists like myself don’t really want Charr to reach the level of house cat though. House cats are viewed as pets and we would rather Charr designs be based off of cats that aren’t your typical domesticated cat. It seems to me that Rox is mostly based off of the Lynx. That’s fine. I just think that people (including myself) are just afraid that you will overstep the boundary between big cat and house cat.

Euin.3578:

ReginaBuenaobra.6953:

Hi, everyone. The team has been following the spirited discussion about Rox (and Braham). I just wanted to pop in with a note from our Lead Character Artist so he can provide some background information and clarity about the art direction for Rox.

Aaron Coberly, Lead Character Artist

Hey everyone, this is Aaron Coberly, the Lead Character Artist here on Guild Wars 2. I can see that there are a lot of strong feelings about the design decisions for Rox so I wanted to come on and set the record straight. The goal with Rox was to expand the charr’s visual options. She is a young charr so we thought it would be a good opportunity to introduce the cute kitty cat end of the spectrum. This isn’t a change of direction but an expansion of the race. Our goal is to add more variety to all of the races over time and we saw this as a good opportunity to do this with the female charr. The charr are a feline race, which gives us a lot of options—from the grizzled matronly lioness to the strong puma and even the cute house cat. We don’t want to limit our options to just one section of the feline genus. Our designs are inspired by all the feline variety that exists in nature.

Further on down the road, it does mean that if we introduce new faces into character creation, they will include a broader range. Does that mean that this particular face will be in there? No, because she is a main character, but there could be a cute kitty cat style face.

Hope that information helps you all understand the thinking behind Rox’s appearance.

Can we please have some meaner faces too?

Have you not created a Charr character? Some of those faces couldn’t look more mean if their muzzles were dripping blood.

Kreslin.6832:

Shiren.9532:

I don’t think I’ve ever seen an anime about giant cat people. I’m sure it exists, but I wouldn’t think it was common enough to provoke this kind of hysterical reaction from the paranoid anime haters.

As someone who watches anime, I have no idea what any of you are talking about, she looks far more like she belongs in GW2 than any anime I’ve ever watched.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

Well that’s one of the least constructive posts in the thread.

The whole anime thing seems like a very emotive overreaction rather than constructive criticism. No-one has even posted a picture of an anime character that looks like Rox let alone demonstrated she somehow resembles some kind of anime style. As others have noted, bigger eyes can be a feature of felines and there are real cats with eyes that look similair to the ones Rox has. If you actually compare Rox’s eyes to most anime eyes you can clearly tell they are distinctly feline (an anime character with her eyes would not look human). It’s not imitation you’re seeing, it’s variation. For some reason people see big eyes and don’t like it so they tear it down as some anime rip off (what about Disney, you can only be a hipster if you hate on anime?).

I am glad they are expanding the charr. The races other than human have been lacking in customisation options (they are usually very different from each other, but fewer in number than what humans have). I hope they add a face like this (or this one) to the customisation menu. I think a lot of players would enjoy it. I hope they don’t reserve these options just for NPCs (this goes for Braham as well). If I can look like Destiny’s Edge, I don’t see why I can’t look like Rox or Braham. The option exists now, it’s part of the world. It’d be great to see it used more often. The breadth of unique looks you can create with sylvari and asura should show you how diverse a race can be within the race. Some asuran eyes look nothing like the others, some sylvari hair styles are dramatically different (mushroom heads, tree branches, shrubs etc). The idea that charr draw their looks from all kinds of felines is not a stretch. I’m sure there have been people who wanted to create a more kitten-like appearance for their charr.

Crimson Magdelana.9024:

Braham looks like Miley Cyrus.

The real question becomes, is that because Miley Cyrus looks like a dude or because Braham looks like a girl?

I wish they’d expand the charr without resorting to THIS.

Egon Vidar.9125:

Just my two cents.

I think the reason why Rox bothers some people and not others is precisely because of something similar to the Uncanny Valley effect with robotics and CGI humans. If something looks “off,” some people recognize it as being so and are disgusted, unsettled, or horrified by it. Me? I’m rarely deeply bothered by anything uncanny valley, but I still recognize it. Here’s an example of a robot that falls hard into the valley.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF_8gM4urmA

She most likely looks fine to her creators. She doesn’t bother me, but I see regardless that she looks terribly wrong. To other people, she’s completely terrifying.

Rox, to me, is sort of the same deal. People know the general facial layout of the Charr as a species, and how they look, even when their features vary considerably. Rox breaks that for many people – she falls far outside the design presented by Anet originally, to such an extreme degree that she looks like an entirely different species of Charr, just as tigers and housecats are different species but are still cats. She obviously looks fine to whoever designed her, and fine to many players, but it isn’t shocking or surprising at all that she really puts off a lot of people.

As an illustrator, if I had the time, I could sit down and draw countless Charr that are entirely unique by only stretching the morphology of the species, not shattering it entirely. You could even pretty easily make a housecat looking Charr that doesn’t look as bizarre and out-of-place as Rox.

And talking about design, her “cute” kitten face along with those gigantic horns, large body, and enormous claws look.. Jarring, to me. There’s no flow to the design, the whole thing clashes and, frankly, her face looks transplanted on. I also have a feeling her skull would be pretty unstable and frail with those giant orbits, mashed in sinus (she’d probably have the same issues as a bulldog or persian cat with breathing) and massive horns on top of it all, but this is a game with talking plant people so I suppose I can let anatomical nitpicks like that slide. But not the fact that she doesn’t even look like she falls into the same art style, much less species. You can totally design very unique Charr that don’t look like mutants – Caithe, Trahearne, and the Pale Tree’s avatar look entirely unique in their faces, and they still look like Sylvari.

You make an excellent point. Uncanny Valley probably is the reason why she puts off people. I’m quite sure now that Arenanet originally designed her to look like a normal charr, but decided to change her at the last minute to make her to make her more “unique”, hence the gruff voice, large horns, dreadlocks, and awesome concept art. Not that change is a bad thing, but just an extremely out of place one such as just changing her eyes to look larger is strange, particularly since her eyes aren’t as animated as most charr either.
Also, all this makeup on Rox discussion made me doodle up this comic: http://i.imgur.com/y7nbjgu.jpg. Rox was actually booted from the Legions because she was applying her makeup during mortar training, she just doesn’t want to admit it

Conncept.7638:

Have you not created a Charr character? Some of those faces couldn’t look more mean if their muzzles were dripping blood.

Aw, I honestly think they’re all very pretty. Only the old charr face looks any mean, and that one I used for quite a while for one of my charr. Needs to be more mean and more cute too.

I don’t mind the kitty face.
And I really like the taurine horns. I missed those in character creation and I hope you add them for players eventually too.

What annoys me is those dead fish eyes.
When her dialog portrait is automatically generated, her left eye looks straight to the camera instead to her front like all other charr, because her eyes are too angled outward.
Charr eyes, like cats, are oriented directly forward.

Charr have feline faces, and it’s not like cats can’t suffer strabismus, but when that happens, they are usually extremely young. Once adults, if strabismic, they usually cross-eyed inwards, not outwards.

Her eyes look more like those of an elonian centaur, or a tuna, than charr eyes.

Make both eyes less strabismic, so they both are more oriented towards the front, and that’ll be fin by me.

ReginaBuenaobra.6953:

Further on down the road, it does mean that if we introduce new faces into character creation, they will include a broader range. Does that mean that this particular face will be in there? No, because she is a main character, but there could be a cute kitty cat style face.

This is… unfortunate. Lynxes are probably my all time favorite wild cat, and I was quite disappointed that I couldn’t make my charr in the image of a lynx. Seeing as Rox is the only face that, so far, has this style (eyes are still WAY to big on Rox though, but I like the face) and you go and say it won’t be available for character creation, makes me sad.

Kravick.4906:

ReginaBuenaobra.6953:

Further on down the road, it does mean that if we introduce new faces into character creation, they will include a broader range. Does that mean that this particular face will be in there? No, because she is a main character, but there could be a cute kitty cat style face.

This is… unfortunate. Lynxes are probably my all time favorite wild cat, and I was quite disappointed that I couldn’t make my charr in the image of a lynx. Seeing as Rox is the only face that, so far, has this style (eyes are still WAY to big on Rox though, but I like the face) and you go and say it won’t be available for character creation, makes me sad.

They will probably add another lynx base face for males and females… as well as other new world cats and domestic cuties… oh hey they might make one based off a main kitten cat… I want my cute male charr and i want him now… I want to play the runt of the litter… so keep your chin up they will come… they will come…

Her head is really small and her eyes are really huge [like somebody tried to choke her to death as a cub]. Not that I haven’t seen this kind of miscreant creativity before but what is it with dev teams and abusing the poor npc’s? LOL.

And this is why the Cuddlekitten warband was disbanded. I guess they didn’t want the genes spreading.

She looks ridiculous.