Suggestion: Purely Aesthetic Gender

So? All the other suggestions has pretty much the same concept (a girl and a guy doing an exact same pose).

Because having two characters do the same pose doesn't actually demonstrate anything. If I were to take a picture of me and some random woman doing the same pose, that would not make us functionally identical.

I don't really care for the other suggestions either, but at least it is more clear that they are using actual moves rather than just striking poses, which to me means they are at least better than the WFT image. I'd greatly prefer an image showing onscreen stats than an image of characters performing the same techniques; that would be a lot more demonstrative.

In fighting games moves tend to be as good as stats.

If they are different stats they typically have different animation speeds or charge times and such, those tend to be impossible to match up in a screenshot.

I would prefer stats too but I don't have one on hand that wouldn't be huge.

edited 4th May '15 4:54:41 AM by Memers

They're doing the same thing in a game. I don't see the problem. There's nothing that suggests that their gender is not interchangable.

Bump for votes; two in the green, one with consensus.

Yeah, I think having the same pose is a good visual shorthand, especially in a video game.

Nope, I'm still not buying this whole "same pose" thing. These arguments defending the image are not convincing at all. "They're doing the same thing in a game. I don't see the problem." By that logic, I could present an image of male and female versions of a character drinking the same brand of soda and it would be an adequate demonstration of the trope.

My vote on the WFT image remains . It just doesn't cut it for me.

The thing is that they're doing the exact same thing and also have remarkably similar design, which togheter suggest they are the same character with the genders swapped. I don't see us getting a better representation of it in image form without resorting to cold and not as straighforward stats screens.

Besides, this trope is not restricted to fighting characters and the like. Obvious action and attacks are helpful when illustrating the concept, but not necessary.

edited 5th May '15 8:57:44 AM by Elbruno

When you use the phrase, "by that logic", don't deliberately misrepresent said logic. That's just strawmanning. Unless you somehow think drinking soda is an accurate representation of something that could be expected to differ between genders.

Yeah, there's a difference in portraying them actually taking an action in the game as opposed to being just pictured doing some random thing.

That said, I do prefer the Villager pic for that reason; it's much more clear that they're doing the exact same action with the exact same animation (which implies that the different appearances are aesthetic), as opposed to the trainers, where it just looks like they're posing.

The caption can clarify that it's a fighting game and their stats are the same, or something like that.

While it's probably the best of the lot, I agree that the Wii Fit Trainers aren't a perfect choice. Mainly, it looks like a workout video (especially given their outfits and their name). And if you've seen workout classes, everyone's doing the same thing at the same time; though everyone's "stats" are almost certainly never exactly the same.

If we need to actually point out that it's a fighting game and not, for instance, a workout video, it's just highlighting what a poor visual aid the image is.

This is largely the point of my "drinking soda" comparison - the activity pictured is too mundane to represent the trope. Workout poses aren't really what come to mind when thinking of gender differences in video games. They're doing the same pose, so what? To the uniformed reader, it could be an Idle Animation or something. Outside of context, the pose is meaningless.

How about an image of showing the different-gendered counterparts actually attacking another character? Have one screen showing the male version attacking some other character, then have the other screen showing the female version doing the same damage to the same character with the same attack. That would demonstrate the trope better than all three of these images.

edited 6th May '15 7:52:43 AM by MyTimingIsOff

Well, it's not like sitting on a haniwa rocket would make you think about gender differences. Casting a spell I could see, though. Physical activity as well.

The thing is this trope is about the male and female counterparts in gameplay having no tangible differences. What is tangible depends specifically on the game it could be stats, the number of frames per move, height, reach, or more.

If it's just striking the same pose then a victory screen of Super Mario 3 D World would work [1] but that is not an example since in gameplay Peach floats and Rosalina has a spin move the others don't have. An image needs context.

In terms of smash and fighting games in general Clones will have the same moves but different attributes. such as Ganondorf and Captain Falcon have the same move set, literally every move has the same animation, but Ganondorf is slower, has charge times, thus hits harder. The image needs to show it is NOT that.

edited 6th May '15 9:08:58 AM by Memers

Alright, it's been a week and there's no consensus on anything...I'm gonna give this another day or two to see if something pans out; if not, everything will go on an Image Links page.

This one's dead in the water. The crowner options are on the Image Links page; locking up.

edited 11th May '15 11:04:21 AM by Willbyr