Armor vs. Boobs

Things like this sadden me because they just damage the already poor image of games held by many people who don't play them. In the end, all we're doing is hurting ourselves and the game that we love.

But are we asking for it with the art in League? Well, let's look at why Riot might put splashes like this in their game, lack of armor and all.

Character Design is a Thing

Part of having a league of 100+ champs is that they have to each be distinct and unique. If you were to cover every champ in fully functional, protective armor, you'd end up with the 100+ Mordekaisers slugging it out.

Eve dresses like a dominatrix because she's basically a half step down from a succubus. Shaco doesn't wear armor because he's a psychotic demon jester, not a psychotic demon knight. Veigar is, well... he's a final fantasy black mage with a height complex and a wardrobe change, and black mages wear robes and have pointy hats. If you covered all those characters in a layer of steel because what they're wearing wouldn't protect them, those characters' themes would be destroyed, and League would be a worse game for it.

You're 500 Feet in the Air

The issue of character design is compounded when you think about perspective. As a player, you're basically floating 500 feet above the battlefield. Most details are not visible at that height.

For weapons to be distinct, they have to be gigantic (see: Riven). In order for female champs to appear female, they have to be petite, busty, or have long hair (or if that female character is in full armor (Kayle), she has to have decidedly anti-functional boob armor). In order for male champs to appear male, they need ridiculous muscle definition or five foot wide shoulders.

So since the splash art and the game model are supposed to match, the splash art needs to be exaggerated because of the requirements of the game models.

Larger Than Life

But really, we all know that the true reason for the busty, bootylicious splash art is that sex sells, right? Well yeah, there's no arguing that sex DOES sell, but let's look closer. League of Legends is a game about... well, legends. Characters that are larger than life.

In "real" life, physical traits that lend themselves to combat are not typically attractive in the feminine sense. If you want an example of a fantasy female warrior who is more constrained by these "real world" limitations, go look at Brienne of Tarth. However, when you want to make a female warrior who's larger than life, what better way to do so than to make them a deadly fighter AND attractive? This combination immediately pushes them into the extraordinary category, even when you're already working in a fantasy world.

And before you cry "stereotypes" and "misogyny", realize that Riot does the exact same thing with their masculine characters. Ryze has a physique that makes most professional athletes look like wimps. Brand has muscles where I'm pretty sure the human body doesn't even have muscles. Mad Scientist Singed has pectorals four times the size of his own head.

These champs are mages and scientists. Typically those types of characters are brainy but weak. But remember Ryze running from Nocturne in A Twist of Fate? Instead of making Ryze a dusty old man who hasn't gotten out in years, Riot made him into a parkour-ing, tough as nails badass. Oh yeah, and he can melt your face off with magic. It's almost like he belongs in some sort of LEAGUE for people who are LEGENDS or something...

So with both male and female champs, Riot adds physical traits (like beauty or raw physicality) to the characters to make them really stand out as someone incredible.

Wrapping it Up

It's easy to glance at splash art and roll your eyes because "omg Rito just loves the bewbs", but before you start complaining or pointing fingers at the game, think over the goals and constraints tied to the creation of splash art and really try to figure out what will make League the best game it can be.