Star Wars Outlaws lead, creative director Julian Gerighty, said that he does not plan to engage in "bad faith" discourse regarding the looks of Kay Vess, the protagonist of the new game.
The issue comes as there have been previews for the upcoming open-world Star Wars title that have rolled out this week.
During an interview, Gerighty said that he does not want to pay attention to some people who are posting on social media saying that the protagonist is not "attractive enough."
Star Wars Outlaws Controversy
He said that Kay was designed to be approachable as she is a petty thief who later ends up barreling through the story after making bad decisions. Her character is centered on a lot of humor, humility, and toughness.
Gerighty said that those were the factors that were important to him, saying that Kay is a "beautiful" woman. He noted that when you engage with "bad-faith people," there is no nuance and no possibility of real dialogue, according to IGN.
The game's publisher, Ubisoft, has seen itself at the center of several character-focused controversies this year.
Before Star Wars Outlaws' Kay, the studio struggled with criticism of its Assassin's Creed Shadows game for its representation of Yasuke, who is based on a real-life historical figure.
The comments regarding Kay are similar to the arguments that were made in relation to Aloy and Joanna Dark from Horizon Forbidden West and the Perfect Dark reboot, respectively.
Gerighty added that the only thing that developer Massive Entertainment was focusing on was making Star Wars Outlaws the "best game possible."
Since it was revealed, Star Wars Outlaws have been closely monitored by the community, partly due to the Kay issue. However, it was also partly due to Ubisoft's reputation as a whole, said The Gamer.
The Protagonist's "Attractiveness"
The main reasons for the criticism of Kay's "attractiveness" are her sharp jaw, softer features, muscular body, and the way she represents non-traditional femininity. Despite the widespread arguments, no one actually knows how or why the conversation started.
Gerighty's stance also strikes a much better and more practical tone than Ubisoft's apology for Assassin's Creed Shadow's supposed historical inaccuracy.
Whenever bad-faith arguments are involved, the best course of action is to ignore the people who are simply in it to stoke the fires of outrage.
It is much better to focus on making and enjoying good games and if you are unable to change the minds of the ones who are angry, simply move on to other things, according to GameHub.
