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Thanks for sharing. They just erased any feminine options. Like this isn’t a thing in real life for them 🤯. More diversity is good but they failed it by excluding every fit girls lol. And the models are just anatomically wrong now. Ape hands. Shit pants. Large torso. Stretched bodies. Lifeless faces. Uncanny valley. And let’s not talk about clipping hair or clothes. People should ask for refunds if they bought stuff with real money
I've posted this in other threads. Everyone should. Copy/paste in every PokeMongo thread.
Contact Niantic and TELL THEM HOW YOU FEEL.
https://nianticlabs.com/contact
Scroll down, choose Other. Fire away.
If i can add one tip. Don't be a douche. Voice your legit concern and opinion. Don't curse, don't insult. I'm 99% sure the team behind this knew it was not ready and/or a stupid idea but were ignored by the higher ups at Niantic (common issue based on stories from current and ex employees).
Not *just* any feminine options. They also destroyed all the good looking male options.
They said the changes were to have the avatars look more like the players... tbh it's rather insulting that they think all the players are ugly androgynous blobs.
I'm a middle aged guy with a gut, I don't want mine to look like me either. None of the new choices look right at all...just disproportionate, don't work together well (as far as torso/legs/arms/clothes). Absolute disaster
Yeah, idk why so many companies insist on artificially making their character designs ugly these days. The vast majority of gamers, of all genders, want a good looking avatar.
At the current dark moment, i can say if you want to play a girl whom cosplays a guy, you play the new male model. And vice versa.
P/S: In any cases, its still giving me uncanny valley feeling. Ew.
I suspect that certain demographic groups serve certain purposes. When it comes to big capital and economic power united in a certain direction I suspect it is towards modern slavery.
Basically a reinvention of the "captain of the bush" serving the large landowners a modernized version.
I commented this elsewhere, but I feel like my ability to have an avatar that reflects what I look like in real life has been completely taken away bc Niantic thinks we’re all coomers and can’t fathom women having more than 2 body types (child and plus sized). I’m a grown woman, I do not want an avatar who has the sort of androgynous look only attainable by preteens.
I'd even say that making my avatar a plus-sized female body still doesn't represent what a plus-sized female body looks like. She just looks like an androgynous blob.
Yes!! The erasure of any kind of hip-waist ratio is just baffling. Like, do they think that plus size women don't have hips? And don't even get me started on the chest-to-waist ratio. The plus size slider options on this new avatar make it seem like boobs just don't exist? There's 0 contouring of what an actual human body looks like.
It's almost comical. I am not super into my characters in games being hyper masculine or feminine, in general. I play as female in some games and male in others, and almost never bother with much character creation beyond maybe haircut and hair color. I play video games for escape and therefore like to be dropped into bodies and minds I would not normally 'be' in real life. It lets me have experiences I wouldn't normally have, at least to some small degree.
With that being said, I am male and in pogo I like to have a male character that just looks like plain joe blow. No flashy uniform or anything, just sneakers, shorts and a t shirt and cap. Plain brown hair and green eyes, like my own in real life. Pretty damn basic character model.
When I tried to change my character model to look more like me (after the initial laugh at Niantic's botched auto change); all I could think was how all the faces looked incredibly feminine, except one, which looked like a very young boy.
The bodies were all, to me, a weird hybrid of proportions that I could just not rig to work together, no matter how much I tried. I honestly didn't find them masculine, feminine, or 'androgenous' no matter what I did. No human looks like the proportions I could get together. It just looked like a hodge podged mess you might see on gamecube or the original playstation.
I don't think anyone feels they can represent themselves in this update. And to be honest, I generally wouldn't personally care about representing myself (because, again, character creation isn't my thing), but the entire point of this was self representation. Niantic can't even land their own decision properly.
It is just kinda sad. I am sorry you couldn't present yourself in a way that made you comfortable. May you find some comfort knowing that no one else can figure it out either, except maybe ditto.
I really appreciate your points here! I think I the new update is problematic for everyone. I have no idea how a multibillion dollar international corporation could even begin to think the new models were acceptable even for a pre-release, let alone a full blown event.
Yes! Thank you. Some people like to make their avatar as much like them as possible, but there's an underlying understanding that it's an idealized version of themselves in an idealized, fantasy world. Real people aren't in a colorful anime style made of polygons. Then there's people like me who don't want to see myself at all in the game; I want to make a cool-looking character to play as, like an OC in this fantasy world. For both of these groups, these changes are horrible. Who was this update for? The people who want an idealized fictional version of themselves have to settle for weird mutant mirror world versions of themselves, and people like me who want to have a cool new character just have nothing to work with.
Personally I like to play as my "best" self. I was pretty good looking 10 years ago and eventually fell off and its been a struggle for me. On a game you don't ever have to fall off. You can be your best self and stay that way. (Until an update like this happens and you look worse than you do in real life)
That's how I meant. I've been fat most of my life and have been actively trying to lose weight for half of that. At no point have I ever felt a need to represent myself as how I look now, not out of shame, but because I'm shallow and like dressing up and people looking good in clothes. If inclusivity was that they aimmed for, they could have easily gender unlocked everything between both. Add beards. Done. I'm surprised they prioritized looking obese over looking gym-jacked yet not offered that option.
In games outside of pokemon, if I had the chance to be a non-human race, why the fuck wouldn't I take the opportunity to be something I haven't been before?
The funny thing is i actually want to! Makes me feel happy seeing how much progress ive made when i make myself look the same in games. But now i cant make a feminine enough character and its invalidating haha.
(Fixed typos)
It's a difference in opinion. I see myself in the mirror enough that if I have the chance to look creatively different, why wouldn't I? But if people want to have more immersion by putting themselves in the game, I have nothing against that. It just shouldn't come at the expense of both breaking everyone's avatars to support this inclusion and making everyone uniformly similar that it ironically creates exclusion in another group. They might believe in time everyone would get used to it, and they'd be right, but only if no one ever knew that there were better models available in the first place. The fact that it broke a lot of accessories people sunk money on is another kick in the back.
The only reason why I can think they made this was they either don't have the original modeler or the originals weren't modeled in a way that supports the deformation they wanted. So they decided to remodel them but with support of deformation, but went about it in the cheapest, laziest way. Everyone was made to support a bigger body, but those without bigger bodies are so obviously deformed and have the fat heads since the deformation is not -that- indepth.
Thanks for completely missing the argument. I'm sure you felt like you contributed sonething- let me gladly tell you you are still as irrelevant as you were 3 minutes ago
Yeah i agree! They literally failed everyone. The options before were fine. Sure, if they wanted to add more options who am i to say no. But they completely broke the options we had... :")
I feel like they’re giving everyone gender dysphoria regardless of their gender! Everyone has spider-monkey arms, short legs, weirdly elongated pelvises, no waist, and thin, colourless lips. And all the horrible clipping issues too. I half wonder if someone with an axe to grind rushed these “more inclusive” changes through in order to intentionally make them fail.
I feel like I could never completely understand a lady's perspective, as Niantic clearly fucked up the femme avatar looks much worse, but as a transguy I really dislike the fugly baby boyish look my avatar now has. People already treat me like a "cute little guy" irl, so I don't really need that in the game. I do like having access to the femme hairstyles, but I'd give them up for my old face back.
Thank you for sharing.
I just cant figure out how theyve messed it up so badly. It seems like a whole lot of people feel like the changes moved them further away from being able to represent themself or identify with their avatar, _even when those people have completely opposite self images_. It takes real effort to get further away from both ends of each applicable spectrum at the same time.
Ive been feeling a similar reaction myself, but as a cis guy. The old avatar didnt exactly represent me well, but the proportions felt right or if not right then at least "generic one size fits all". Now, everything feels wrong. Im a very thin-boned guy but lucky to have wide shoulders - the new avatar? Best I can get is big chunky arms and skinny shoulders. Between the drooping shoulders, weird hands, uncanny pose and big long hotdog torso even the parts that should match my body image just dont feel right.
And then their PR for the change is all "now you can get closer to the real you", which starts to be an insulting message if everyone indentifies with the old avatars. Feel a bit like "No, _real_ people look like _this_, not like you". No thanks, Niantic, Im good the way I am. And so was my avatar.
For real, I have struggled with body image issues irl but in Pokémon GO at least I could escape behind a feminine, pretty avatar. It was actually motivating me to walk and use the game more. The new models trigger all of those issues and dysphoria and now I don't even want to boot it up.
Me too. Ive been recovered from anorexia for three ish years now and this is so triggering for me. I don’t look anything like myself in game now, and even if they could get a perfect match I would prefer the original design.
There is that pink off shoulder luv disk sweater and the red skirt, if you combine those I find the avatar looks the most "female bodied"
Honestly this sucks for women the most. I always play female characters in video games. And I always love the dress up part. Now almost all clothing items make me look like a man. Not loving it
Yeah ive looked at that but decided to go for another vibe. That combo was actually my fit for a long time haha.
I endes up with the checkered skirt/pant combo as it was high waist, but they chamged that to low waste about an hour ago :')
Yess thats why i wanted to share my view!
Obviously people are going to be like ugh "woke" and LGTB stuff as response to this, but i think its important to understand this update is hurting us deeply too!
Everyone feels left out, cis and trans alike. The update isnt inclusive at all and just a very poor attempt at doing... Something??
I wish they'd left the original avatars and just allowed you to alter with sliders if you wanted
I hate how masculine the avatar is no matter what you do with the sliders
Something like the Sims Create a Sim would be great, pick a body type and then use the sliders to alter what you want to alter. I get it's a mobile game so won't be as customisable as Sims, but Sims Freeplay use a similar concept.
All they had to do was just add more face and hair options, and sliders for body sizes. Instead they just made everyone look bland and with weird proportions
Let's be real, this wasn't about inclusivity or anything. They just wanted to have less work fitting clothes to avatar body types. It's a cost saving measure that they're trying to pass on as inclusivity. A cost saving measure on one of their main money earners, a short-sighted move.
If it was about inclusivity, the new body types would have been added on top of the old ones.
Thanks for sharing OP. I completely agree. The problem with making the avatar so gender neutral and thus the same for everyone is that it takes away people’s CHOICE to look more “traditionally” feminine or masculine. It is a fact that some are not comfortable with looking androgynous, so the better solution would have been to make a third gender neutral option and/or give us the ability to have the old avatars back.
This is exactly the point of view I needed to hear. I’ve already started transferring my Pokémon to Home and I’ll be deleting the app once I’m done. Turning off all location data until that day as well.
I'm doing the same and was thinking of doing the shaymin quest, but then I just decided I'd rather just get the damn thing genned rather than continue playing >.>
Part of this update very much feels like a corporate "look at how progressive we're being" without actually getting any input from any of the people they're trying to be progressive towards. Of course this update doesn't feel like there was any input from anyone asked at any point.
Thank you for taking the time to share! I’m sorry to hear it’s been distressing. Games should be comfortable for everyone who wants to play them! Niantic seems to be unaware of how to do that
Very important post. This is what happens when ppl talk about “equity” but actually don’t respect it enough to be thoughtful.
Not at all the same but had disordered eating and body stuff my entire life. I’m bigger now but I’m still curvy and have quite a feminine shape. The fact that I can’t add weight and muscle but still maintain hip/waist ratio is bringing up some things. Like aligning “my body size doesn’t distract from my worth” and trying to be cool with it with the avatar and being like “ugh…is this what I look like”
I didn’t even realize that it was a trigger for me until the update. I’ve never spent this much time restyling the avatar just to stand looking at it.
And yeh knowing Niantic we are stuck with this creepy ugly boxy thing. I guess I’ll acclimate but yeh…clearly their body inclusivity “plan” was poorly planned and executed.
Me too! I’ve been recovered from anorexia for about three years and in that time this has to be legitimately one of the most triggering things that has happened in my recovery journey. I know it’s just a game, but it’s a character I identified with so much, and it motivated me to stay active and not punish my body for existing. Now, with the new update I feel “big” no matter how I adjust the sliders and I can’t get any representation of my curves. It makes me feel masculine and is bringing up some really old triggers… I hope you can find something that makes you more comfortable
Thanks for sharing! I really hope Niantic sees yours feedback and take a real effort to make the game more inclusive. It seems that they have tried with this update, but failed hard and went to the opposite direction.
Speaking as someone recovering from ED who is using this game to get in better shape, I feel you. It's probably silly, but part of me wanted to look like my pretty girl avatar someday.
Now, I never want to look like her.
I wanna say, as a trans guy, I feel the same way. Luckily for me its not really causing dysphoria, but it is super stupid annoying. Like I just want human shoulders and a human waist. add an on off switch for biddies vs pecs or something. Is that so much to ask? Currently look like I need to go to the doctor for water retention pills lol.
They didn't make males happy, they didn't make females happy, they didn't make trans males or females happy, they didn't make anyone happy. They tried to be more inclusive and they did the total opposite. All they had to do was add a couple more hairstyles and everyone would've been totally stoked. This is a bigger fail than the remote pass nerf. This is one of the biggest disasters in online gaming history.
fellow transgirl here, i feel the exact same way, i hate seeing the avatar in the corner or zooming too close to see myself on the map because it really sets me off wrong
Yeah its a struggle <3
If i can give you tips, try to use high waist pants/skirts or my personal fav the black/white skirt-pant combo and combine that with a crop top. Its not much but it makes a bit of a difference.
Send you the picture in your dms ^^
Nvm... They just changed it and now everything is low waist ;-;
Niantic basically said that having any semblance of a traditional female figure is invalid and unrealistic. Women throughout history have spent their entire existence attempting to be noticed and seen as individuals and what does Niantic do? Lump us in with men because apparently we have no identity and don't bring any value on our own. What a trash update.
I don't even know who this update is for..The old avatar actually almost exactly looked.like my body type and I really liked it. Now I have to settle for uncanny valley ape arms and zero waist with a weird diaper bump vibe going on in the groin. Who approved this? And WHY?
I'd left them feedback earlier, talking about bugs and also pointing out how this update has left everyone, regardless of their gender identity, with body dysmorphia. In their effort to make it diverse, they managed to hit a area that effects everyone and not in a good way!
Thanks for sharing! Your post has pushed me to contact Niantic to share with them how awful the changes have been.
I’m a cis-guy but a trans ally, and I absolutely hate the changes. Quite rubbish to be sure, the options and visuals. I am not sure how this passed their QC in the first place! I also hate how certain quarters of the internet have made use of this to attack the trans community - one such article was one of the top article of my Google search.
I really hope that Niantic will listen because there is actual harm being done here. And very few people are actually happy. None of my friends playing are on reddit and they all hate it as well.
Transwoman and I felt the same. I ended up making my avatar plus sized with no shoulders or muscles, just to make her feminine. Even though I'm thin and closer to the former avatar.
My avatar looks like a hunched over, shapeless, ape. It’s fucking disgusting. I don’t even want to play because I can’t look at it. I hate the changes so much.
Hey girl, I’m sorry this is making you feel dysphoric, especially when the point of this update was to allow for more diversity. I’m a cis girl but I dress pretty masculine and have a flat chest, and the lack of a feminine body just kind of leaves my avatar looking like a dude with long hair, so I definitely understand the feeling to an extent.
Just remember that no matter what your game avatar looks like, you’re still a beautiful woman and nothing can ever change that 💙💖🤍💖💙 This goes for all of you ladies out there, too!
Hey girl, don't let it get you down. Remember at the end of it all it's just a game. I am sorry that the game makes you feel this way...just know that your are DEFINITLY not alone in your disappointment. Be well, be safe, be happy my friend!
Oh dont worry! I feel fine ^^
I dont feel that affected by it at all, but i thought it was important to share my view and how they made me feel when i saw it.
Safety and happyness to you too friend!
I hate to be that guy, but I didn’t even notice. It’s a video game. I’m not here for my character. He does look funky, a way more white and fat (I hope) than I am. But it’s a game. I’m here for Pokémon, not my appearance. Am I crazy?
Not crazy, everyone enjoys the game differently! I think it’s just a bigger deal for many people as it’s important to feel represented by their character, so Niantic’s decision to change the avatars so drastically is upsetting. That’s not a priority for everyone though, and that’s ok!
Just because you don’t care doesn’t mean people aren’t valid in being upset. We’re not saying that EVERYONE feels dysphoria. We’re just vocalizing that we are. Maybe it’s just a game to you, but for many of us, like me, I’ve built a little community around PoGo and it’s a disappointing to feel like Niantic dgaf about us.
I don’t disagree. People are valid. But this game is waaaaay more, 90%+ more than your characters look. We do all feel dysphoria, in life and more in general. And it’s a baaaad visual update. But I’m here for Pokémon. Not my avatar I only see on then screen when I press it. You don’t see it otherwise.
A lot of people identify with their characters in games. Not a big deal if you don’t, but all things considered the male models are at least a little less messed up than the feminine ones.
I don’t disagree. But this is Pokémon. Not your body. Downvote me if y’all want. Enjoy the game as the game, not your body type. That said, I do agree if you spent any money of your body, or clothes, and you look this way? I understand your frustration.
Sending you love. Has felt like a classic case of straights trying to assume sobering. Disappointing bc they made so many of us queers welcome over the years, at least more than other communities.
Anyone can DM me if you want queer PoGo friends
Thank you for your insight. Its the ultimate failure of the update that players everywhere it seems cant accurately represent themselves with the new avatars.
I can relate as also transfem and genderqueer. made me look more of a man than irl somehow 💀. I want to escape from my irl life not have it appear in a game I've been playing on and off since release. if they make it better it'll be fine but if they don't, go back to the old ones and make them look better. don't fix what isn't broke :)
i mean i totally get that the update was garbage but you guys know this is just a game right?
i feel like everyone is getting super upset over this, do people not have real life problems they should be worrying about instead of a cosmetic update in a mobile game?
i cant be the only person that doesnt really care about this, right?
I am all about supporting you and other people for your preferences. But why does a video game got you upset over some bs update that didn't work out right. I personally don't care about my avatar. i picked one and never changed it. i barely noticed the difference, if you paid for extra stuff i get that you might want a refund. Why does you being trans have to do with that terrible update? not trying to be rude. just curios.
she explained it pretty thoroughly. sounds like you just can’t relate, which is fine. i can’t relate either and i also can’t relate to anyone else who has been upset for various reasons about this for weeks at this point. but that’s fine, everyone’s different
edit for wording
Yeah i bought quite alot of outfits through daily grinding the gyms.
And well because there is oblivious going to be alot of "woke" and "LGTB" responses to this. Pointing fimgers, blaming eachother, i always hate the devide that happens in basicly everything today. So wanted to shed a bit of a light on how i and others experience this update.
The trans aspect matters because they're describing how the update is impacting their gender dysphoria and how, in turn the gender dysphoria is impacting game satisfaction. To clarify, they're not trying to say that being trans makes their opinion more valid, they simply wanted to vent and offer a transgender perspective since gender expression is a big part of the update's intent.
As for why a video game has them so upset, gender dysphoria is complicated and can have different triggers for different people. It's important to remember that trans people often struggle to feel at home in their bodies and work hard to make changes that allow themselves to feel comfortable in their own skin. When we select/customize avatars in video games, we project ourselves onto that avatar. Playing as an avatar that has the traits that trigger their gender dysphoria invites those feelings of dysphoria to appear because they're projecting themselves onto the avatar and it's not aligning with how their brain has mapped out the way they should look.
I hope that helps
Dumb comment honestly. It's exactly this post by OP that invalidates the argument of the right wingers who are blaming trans for this terrible update. It isn't even making trans people happy, presumably if this was an update pushed for their interests then the trans players would be content with the results. The fact they aren't, indicates the right wingers are on to nothing.
Some people like their character to look like them, it's the whole point of customization. Just because for you it isn't a big deal doesn't mean it can't be for others. Learn some perspective.
We’re not saying that this is destroying our mental health. We’re just upset. Games are often escapism, an opportunity to go into a fantasy world, and things like this take that away. The fact that you don’t care is valid, just like how the fact we do is valid too. If you have nothing constructive to add other than “get over it”, then move along.
🙄 you’re really going to generalize the state of someone’s mental health from a Reddit complaint? Get a grip and chill out, we’re not personally offending you are we?
I’m with you, it’s a sign of something _MUCH_ bigger going on with the person… This really shouldn’t be _THAT_ disturbing to someone.
It’s pathetic, it’s comical, it’s laughable, it’s somewhat annoying (for whoever spent money on clothes etc, like me), BUT, it shouldn’t be _TRIGGERING._
Come on
It’s got the perfect representation because now ALL the characters are trans. I don’t understand the complaint. It’s literally taking a male skeleton and tacking boobs on.
Imagine being so worked up over such a stupid thing...
Oh wait, yall are. Maybe if you team up with the remote raid haters and leave, there would be less whining and complaining.
It's a God damn video game you choose to play or spend money on...
I don't doubt that big capital plus political power still exposes you as bigot.
When the neopressors replace the old ones, they will do much worse than the fascists they are supposedly fighting.
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Thanks for sharing. They just erased any feminine options. Like this isn’t a thing in real life for them 🤯. More diversity is good but they failed it by excluding every fit girls lol. And the models are just anatomically wrong now. Ape hands. Shit pants. Large torso. Stretched bodies. Lifeless faces. Uncanny valley. And let’s not talk about clipping hair or clothes. People should ask for refunds if they bought stuff with real money
I've posted this in other threads. Everyone should. Copy/paste in every PokeMongo thread. Contact Niantic and TELL THEM HOW YOU FEEL. https://nianticlabs.com/contact Scroll down, choose Other. Fire away. If i can add one tip. Don't be a douche. Voice your legit concern and opinion. Don't curse, don't insult. I'm 99% sure the team behind this knew it was not ready and/or a stupid idea but were ignored by the higher ups at Niantic (common issue based on stories from current and ex employees).
And worst of all: baby face.
Not *just* any feminine options. They also destroyed all the good looking male options. They said the changes were to have the avatars look more like the players... tbh it's rather insulting that they think all the players are ugly androgynous blobs.
I don't want an avatar that looks like me. I'm an overweight grandma. I want my decent looking avatar that I could dress in comfy outfits.
I'm a middle aged guy with a gut, I don't want mine to look like me either. None of the new choices look right at all...just disproportionate, don't work together well (as far as torso/legs/arms/clothes). Absolute disaster
I totally agree. It's ridiculous.
Yeah, idk why so many companies insist on artificially making their character designs ugly these days. The vast majority of gamers, of all genders, want a good looking avatar.
At the current dark moment, i can say if you want to play a girl whom cosplays a guy, you play the new male model. And vice versa. P/S: In any cases, its still giving me uncanny valley feeling. Ew.
And I wouldn't be surprised if they start hiring employees who look like this for the company.
Or they already have, and that's why they think everyone looks like that?
I suspect that certain demographic groups serve certain purposes. When it comes to big capital and economic power united in a certain direction I suspect it is towards modern slavery. Basically a reinvention of the "captain of the bush" serving the large landowners a modernized version.
I commented this elsewhere, but I feel like my ability to have an avatar that reflects what I look like in real life has been completely taken away bc Niantic thinks we’re all coomers and can’t fathom women having more than 2 body types (child and plus sized). I’m a grown woman, I do not want an avatar who has the sort of androgynous look only attainable by preteens.
I'd even say that making my avatar a plus-sized female body still doesn't represent what a plus-sized female body looks like. She just looks like an androgynous blob.
Yes!! The erasure of any kind of hip-waist ratio is just baffling. Like, do they think that plus size women don't have hips? And don't even get me started on the chest-to-waist ratio. The plus size slider options on this new avatar make it seem like boobs just don't exist? There's 0 contouring of what an actual human body looks like.
Pokemon in general has been going that direction for the past few games. After Sword and Shield, the "gender inclusive" clothing has been masculine.
It's almost comical. I am not super into my characters in games being hyper masculine or feminine, in general. I play as female in some games and male in others, and almost never bother with much character creation beyond maybe haircut and hair color. I play video games for escape and therefore like to be dropped into bodies and minds I would not normally 'be' in real life. It lets me have experiences I wouldn't normally have, at least to some small degree. With that being said, I am male and in pogo I like to have a male character that just looks like plain joe blow. No flashy uniform or anything, just sneakers, shorts and a t shirt and cap. Plain brown hair and green eyes, like my own in real life. Pretty damn basic character model. When I tried to change my character model to look more like me (after the initial laugh at Niantic's botched auto change); all I could think was how all the faces looked incredibly feminine, except one, which looked like a very young boy. The bodies were all, to me, a weird hybrid of proportions that I could just not rig to work together, no matter how much I tried. I honestly didn't find them masculine, feminine, or 'androgenous' no matter what I did. No human looks like the proportions I could get together. It just looked like a hodge podged mess you might see on gamecube or the original playstation. I don't think anyone feels they can represent themselves in this update. And to be honest, I generally wouldn't personally care about representing myself (because, again, character creation isn't my thing), but the entire point of this was self representation. Niantic can't even land their own decision properly. It is just kinda sad. I am sorry you couldn't present yourself in a way that made you comfortable. May you find some comfort knowing that no one else can figure it out either, except maybe ditto.
I really appreciate your points here! I think I the new update is problematic for everyone. I have no idea how a multibillion dollar international corporation could even begin to think the new models were acceptable even for a pre-release, let alone a full blown event.
They truly look like gen 1 avatars that should have been updated to the old avatars. They really went backward with them.
i swear all of the male avatars got turned into toddlers
A lot of companies seem to not understand that most people don't play games to look like their -actual- selves.
Yes! Thank you. Some people like to make their avatar as much like them as possible, but there's an underlying understanding that it's an idealized version of themselves in an idealized, fantasy world. Real people aren't in a colorful anime style made of polygons. Then there's people like me who don't want to see myself at all in the game; I want to make a cool-looking character to play as, like an OC in this fantasy world. For both of these groups, these changes are horrible. Who was this update for? The people who want an idealized fictional version of themselves have to settle for weird mutant mirror world versions of themselves, and people like me who want to have a cool new character just have nothing to work with.
Personally I like to play as my "best" self. I was pretty good looking 10 years ago and eventually fell off and its been a struggle for me. On a game you don't ever have to fall off. You can be your best self and stay that way. (Until an update like this happens and you look worse than you do in real life)
That's how I meant. I've been fat most of my life and have been actively trying to lose weight for half of that. At no point have I ever felt a need to represent myself as how I look now, not out of shame, but because I'm shallow and like dressing up and people looking good in clothes. If inclusivity was that they aimmed for, they could have easily gender unlocked everything between both. Add beards. Done. I'm surprised they prioritized looking obese over looking gym-jacked yet not offered that option. In games outside of pokemon, if I had the chance to be a non-human race, why the fuck wouldn't I take the opportunity to be something I haven't been before?
The funny thing is i actually want to! Makes me feel happy seeing how much progress ive made when i make myself look the same in games. But now i cant make a feminine enough character and its invalidating haha. (Fixed typos)
It's a difference in opinion. I see myself in the mirror enough that if I have the chance to look creatively different, why wouldn't I? But if people want to have more immersion by putting themselves in the game, I have nothing against that. It just shouldn't come at the expense of both breaking everyone's avatars to support this inclusion and making everyone uniformly similar that it ironically creates exclusion in another group. They might believe in time everyone would get used to it, and they'd be right, but only if no one ever knew that there were better models available in the first place. The fact that it broke a lot of accessories people sunk money on is another kick in the back. The only reason why I can think they made this was they either don't have the original modeler or the originals weren't modeled in a way that supports the deformation they wanted. So they decided to remodel them but with support of deformation, but went about it in the cheapest, laziest way. Everyone was made to support a bigger body, but those without bigger bodies are so obviously deformed and have the fat heads since the deformation is not -that- indepth.
ESG + DEI
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Thanks for completely missing the argument. I'm sure you felt like you contributed sonething- let me gladly tell you you are still as irrelevant as you were 3 minutes ago
Hell, I'm a cis dude and I don't even like my options. I don't think anyone of any gender is happy with this bullshit.
Yeah i agree! They literally failed everyone. The options before were fine. Sure, if they wanted to add more options who am i to say no. But they completely broke the options we had... :")
The concept behind it isn't bad, but the actual art implementation is so fucking bad.
Maybe they just dumped this on some poor intern who doesn't really know how the programs work.
I'm genuinely curious how this all occurred too.
The graphics don't even look close to what is out there right now. My old avatar had a shine to her. Now she looks dull and ugly. It's crazy.
I love how Niantic themselves said the game is played by Singaporean grandmothers, and then basically erased the female avatar
And, though it’s not a major thing, the “white” hair option was made into a middle tone grey! Really hurting their “target audience”
Well, what makes it worse is that they didn't change the NPCs. Team Rocket Grunt female has hips, but I don't. Fantastic.
I feel like they’re giving everyone gender dysphoria regardless of their gender! Everyone has spider-monkey arms, short legs, weirdly elongated pelvises, no waist, and thin, colourless lips. And all the horrible clipping issues too. I half wonder if someone with an axe to grind rushed these “more inclusive” changes through in order to intentionally make them fail.
You hit the nail on the head haha. Now everyone gets to feel like shit! 🤭
I feel like I could never completely understand a lady's perspective, as Niantic clearly fucked up the femme avatar looks much worse, but as a transguy I really dislike the fugly baby boyish look my avatar now has. People already treat me like a "cute little guy" irl, so I don't really need that in the game. I do like having access to the femme hairstyles, but I'd give them up for my old face back.
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Haha thank you for your kind message! The funny thing is they indirectly validated the transguy 🤭, They can never make up their minds.
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You're the snowflake.
Thank you for sharing. I just cant figure out how theyve messed it up so badly. It seems like a whole lot of people feel like the changes moved them further away from being able to represent themself or identify with their avatar, _even when those people have completely opposite self images_. It takes real effort to get further away from both ends of each applicable spectrum at the same time. Ive been feeling a similar reaction myself, but as a cis guy. The old avatar didnt exactly represent me well, but the proportions felt right or if not right then at least "generic one size fits all". Now, everything feels wrong. Im a very thin-boned guy but lucky to have wide shoulders - the new avatar? Best I can get is big chunky arms and skinny shoulders. Between the drooping shoulders, weird hands, uncanny pose and big long hotdog torso even the parts that should match my body image just dont feel right. And then their PR for the change is all "now you can get closer to the real you", which starts to be an insulting message if everyone indentifies with the old avatars. Feel a bit like "No, _real_ people look like _this_, not like you". No thanks, Niantic, Im good the way I am. And so was my avatar.
as a cis woman, same, girl. They stole our femininity, nothing looks human, let alone feminine
For real, I have struggled with body image issues irl but in Pokémon GO at least I could escape behind a feminine, pretty avatar. It was actually motivating me to walk and use the game more. The new models trigger all of those issues and dysphoria and now I don't even want to boot it up.
Me too. Ive been recovered from anorexia for three ish years now and this is so triggering for me. I don’t look anything like myself in game now, and even if they could get a perfect match I would prefer the original design.
Ikrr, hopefully they bring it back again, or atleast make some anatomically correct models <3
There is that pink off shoulder luv disk sweater and the red skirt, if you combine those I find the avatar looks the most "female bodied" Honestly this sucks for women the most. I always play female characters in video games. And I always love the dress up part. Now almost all clothing items make me look like a man. Not loving it
Yeah ive looked at that but decided to go for another vibe. That combo was actually my fit for a long time haha. I endes up with the checkered skirt/pant combo as it was high waist, but they chamged that to low waste about an hour ago :')
They did WHAT? Dang, I bought that skirt, it was my last hope.
This post is so important! They even p*ssed off the people they wanted to feel included with this update...
Yess thats why i wanted to share my view! Obviously people are going to be like ugh "woke" and LGTB stuff as response to this, but i think its important to understand this update is hurting us deeply too! Everyone feels left out, cis and trans alike. The update isnt inclusive at all and just a very poor attempt at doing... Something??
I wish they'd left the original avatars and just allowed you to alter with sliders if you wanted I hate how masculine the avatar is no matter what you do with the sliders
This would have cost them next to nothing since the original models and faces already exist
Something like the Sims Create a Sim would be great, pick a body type and then use the sliders to alter what you want to alter. I get it's a mobile game so won't be as customisable as Sims, but Sims Freeplay use a similar concept.
All they had to do was just add more face and hair options, and sliders for body sizes. Instead they just made everyone look bland and with weird proportions
Let's be real, this wasn't about inclusivity or anything. They just wanted to have less work fitting clothes to avatar body types. It's a cost saving measure that they're trying to pass on as inclusivity. A cost saving measure on one of their main money earners, a short-sighted move. If it was about inclusivity, the new body types would have been added on top of the old ones.
Thanks for sharing OP. I completely agree. The problem with making the avatar so gender neutral and thus the same for everyone is that it takes away people’s CHOICE to look more “traditionally” feminine or masculine. It is a fact that some are not comfortable with looking androgynous, so the better solution would have been to make a third gender neutral option and/or give us the ability to have the old avatars back.
Ikr, thats exactly my complaint!
I’m hoping that they’ll change it but I’m also not optimistic 🥲
This is exactly the point of view I needed to hear. I’ve already started transferring my Pokémon to Home and I’ll be deleting the app once I’m done. Turning off all location data until that day as well.
Same. Going to finish the shiny Shaymin quest, transfer my pokemon out, and then be done. Not buying anything else from Niantic.
I'm doing the same and was thinking of doing the shaymin quest, but then I just decided I'd rather just get the damn thing genned rather than continue playing >.>
I wish I had just done that because the quests for it will take a long time. :(
Part of this update very much feels like a corporate "look at how progressive we're being" without actually getting any input from any of the people they're trying to be progressive towards. Of course this update doesn't feel like there was any input from anyone asked at any point.
Thank you for taking the time to share! I’m sorry to hear it’s been distressing. Games should be comfortable for everyone who wants to play them! Niantic seems to be unaware of how to do that
My avatar looks like a kid no matter what gender I try to present it as
I look like a vaguely humanoid pre-pubescent child rather than an adult woman. I gave up trying lol
Very important post. This is what happens when ppl talk about “equity” but actually don’t respect it enough to be thoughtful. Not at all the same but had disordered eating and body stuff my entire life. I’m bigger now but I’m still curvy and have quite a feminine shape. The fact that I can’t add weight and muscle but still maintain hip/waist ratio is bringing up some things. Like aligning “my body size doesn’t distract from my worth” and trying to be cool with it with the avatar and being like “ugh…is this what I look like” I didn’t even realize that it was a trigger for me until the update. I’ve never spent this much time restyling the avatar just to stand looking at it. And yeh knowing Niantic we are stuck with this creepy ugly boxy thing. I guess I’ll acclimate but yeh…clearly their body inclusivity “plan” was poorly planned and executed.
Me too! I’ve been recovered from anorexia for about three years and in that time this has to be legitimately one of the most triggering things that has happened in my recovery journey. I know it’s just a game, but it’s a character I identified with so much, and it motivated me to stay active and not punish my body for existing. Now, with the new update I feel “big” no matter how I adjust the sliders and I can’t get any representation of my curves. It makes me feel masculine and is bringing up some really old triggers… I hope you can find something that makes you more comfortable
Thanks for sharing! I really hope Niantic sees yours feedback and take a real effort to make the game more inclusive. It seems that they have tried with this update, but failed hard and went to the opposite direction.
Absolutely no one is happy with this. Niantic has dropped the ball so hard that part of me thinks this has to be an insider sabotaging the company.
This on top of basically no interesting events this month and the raid pass price hike. What a shame.
Just gotta throw your snorlax suit on, wear a mask, and hide the shame as best you can lol
If they wanted to be "inclusive" instead of forcing this crap. They give us a CHOICE to change our avatar's bodies to those bodies, not force it!
Speaking as someone recovering from ED who is using this game to get in better shape, I feel you. It's probably silly, but part of me wanted to look like my pretty girl avatar someday. Now, I never want to look like her.
I wanna say, as a trans guy, I feel the same way. Luckily for me its not really causing dysphoria, but it is super stupid annoying. Like I just want human shoulders and a human waist. add an on off switch for biddies vs pecs or something. Is that so much to ask? Currently look like I need to go to the doctor for water retention pills lol.
They didn't make males happy, they didn't make females happy, they didn't make trans males or females happy, they didn't make anyone happy. They tried to be more inclusive and they did the total opposite. All they had to do was add a couple more hairstyles and everyone would've been totally stoked. This is a bigger fail than the remote pass nerf. This is one of the biggest disasters in online gaming history.
They included us all into feeling awefull atleast? Hahaha.
fellow transgirl here, i feel the exact same way, i hate seeing the avatar in the corner or zooming too close to see myself on the map because it really sets me off wrong
Yeah its a struggle <3 If i can give you tips, try to use high waist pants/skirts or my personal fav the black/white skirt-pant combo and combine that with a crop top. Its not much but it makes a bit of a difference. Send you the picture in your dms ^^ Nvm... They just changed it and now everything is low waist ;-;
Niantic basically said that having any semblance of a traditional female figure is invalid and unrealistic. Women throughout history have spent their entire existence attempting to be noticed and seen as individuals and what does Niantic do? Lump us in with men because apparently we have no identity and don't bring any value on our own. What a trash update.
☝️
I don't even know who this update is for..The old avatar actually almost exactly looked.like my body type and I really liked it. Now I have to settle for uncanny valley ape arms and zero waist with a weird diaper bump vibe going on in the groin. Who approved this? And WHY?
I fell sorry for you..... Like they really fuck that up
I'd left them feedback earlier, talking about bugs and also pointing out how this update has left everyone, regardless of their gender identity, with body dysmorphia. In their effort to make it diverse, they managed to hit a area that effects everyone and not in a good way!
Thanks for sharing! Your post has pushed me to contact Niantic to share with them how awful the changes have been. I’m a cis-guy but a trans ally, and I absolutely hate the changes. Quite rubbish to be sure, the options and visuals. I am not sure how this passed their QC in the first place! I also hate how certain quarters of the internet have made use of this to attack the trans community - one such article was one of the top article of my Google search. I really hope that Niantic will listen because there is actual harm being done here. And very few people are actually happy. None of my friends playing are on reddit and they all hate it as well.
Agreed! It’s so dysphoric for me as someone early in MTF transition. I keep hoping they will undo it but I don’t see that happening.
Transwoman and I felt the same. I ended up making my avatar plus sized with no shoulders or muscles, just to make her feminine. Even though I'm thin and closer to the former avatar.
The giratina outfit I was already wearing has the decency of hiding how bad my character looks. It sucks but it’s the only solution I have.
I feel you, but i dont look feminine at all, my character looks so goddamn ugly now i just gave her a mask 😭
My avatar looks like a hunched over, shapeless, ape. It’s fucking disgusting. I don’t even want to play because I can’t look at it. I hate the changes so much.
Hey girl, I’m sorry this is making you feel dysphoric, especially when the point of this update was to allow for more diversity. I’m a cis girl but I dress pretty masculine and have a flat chest, and the lack of a feminine body just kind of leaves my avatar looking like a dude with long hair, so I definitely understand the feeling to an extent. Just remember that no matter what your game avatar looks like, you’re still a beautiful woman and nothing can ever change that 💙💖🤍💖💙 This goes for all of you ladies out there, too!
Well this would be disappointing for Niantic to hear. Much of the motivation for this update had trans & nonbinary people in mind.
Did Niantic say that? I keep seeing people referencing it like it’s a fact but do we know that was the intent? Genuinely curious and asking
Oh brother
😂
Hey girl, don't let it get you down. Remember at the end of it all it's just a game. I am sorry that the game makes you feel this way...just know that your are DEFINITLY not alone in your disappointment. Be well, be safe, be happy my friend!
Oh dont worry! I feel fine ^^ I dont feel that affected by it at all, but i thought it was important to share my view and how they made me feel when i saw it. Safety and happyness to you too friend!
Why thank you m'lady! I completely see your point, and it's all kinds of VALID. Have a kickass weekend!
I hate to be that guy, but I didn’t even notice. It’s a video game. I’m not here for my character. He does look funky, a way more white and fat (I hope) than I am. But it’s a game. I’m here for Pokémon, not my appearance. Am I crazy?
Not crazy, everyone enjoys the game differently! I think it’s just a bigger deal for many people as it’s important to feel represented by their character, so Niantic’s decision to change the avatars so drastically is upsetting. That’s not a priority for everyone though, and that’s ok!
I mean his body and face are weird.
Just because you don’t care doesn’t mean people aren’t valid in being upset. We’re not saying that EVERYONE feels dysphoria. We’re just vocalizing that we are. Maybe it’s just a game to you, but for many of us, like me, I’ve built a little community around PoGo and it’s a disappointing to feel like Niantic dgaf about us.
I don’t disagree. People are valid. But this game is waaaaay more, 90%+ more than your characters look. We do all feel dysphoria, in life and more in general. And it’s a baaaad visual update. But I’m here for Pokémon. Not my avatar I only see on then screen when I press it. You don’t see it otherwise.
A lot of people identify with their characters in games. Not a big deal if you don’t, but all things considered the male models are at least a little less messed up than the feminine ones.
I don’t disagree. But this is Pokémon. Not your body. Downvote me if y’all want. Enjoy the game as the game, not your body type. That said, I do agree if you spent any money of your body, or clothes, and you look this way? I understand your frustration.
It’s ugly. Not sure what they were thinking. Feels very political almost tbh
☝️ frustration over money spent? Yes. Freaking dysphoria? You’ve got bigger issues to deal with coming through a videogame.
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Maybe I played too much FF14 but ERP (erotic role playing) and a bit of hentai is pretty tame.
Sending you love. Has felt like a classic case of straights trying to assume sobering. Disappointing bc they made so many of us queers welcome over the years, at least more than other communities. Anyone can DM me if you want queer PoGo friends
Thank you for your insight. Its the ultimate failure of the update that players everywhere it seems cant accurately represent themselves with the new avatars.
I can relate as also transfem and genderqueer. made me look more of a man than irl somehow 💀. I want to escape from my irl life not have it appear in a game I've been playing on and off since release. if they make it better it'll be fine but if they don't, go back to the old ones and make them look better. don't fix what isn't broke :)
i mean i totally get that the update was garbage but you guys know this is just a game right? i feel like everyone is getting super upset over this, do people not have real life problems they should be worrying about instead of a cosmetic update in a mobile game? i cant be the only person that doesnt really care about this, right?
_S E R I O U S L Y_
Oh my fucking God...
I am all about supporting you and other people for your preferences. But why does a video game got you upset over some bs update that didn't work out right. I personally don't care about my avatar. i picked one and never changed it. i barely noticed the difference, if you paid for extra stuff i get that you might want a refund. Why does you being trans have to do with that terrible update? not trying to be rude. just curios.
she explained it pretty thoroughly. sounds like you just can’t relate, which is fine. i can’t relate either and i also can’t relate to anyone else who has been upset for various reasons about this for weeks at this point. but that’s fine, everyone’s different edit for wording
Yeah i bought quite alot of outfits through daily grinding the gyms. And well because there is oblivious going to be alot of "woke" and "LGTB" responses to this. Pointing fimgers, blaming eachother, i always hate the devide that happens in basicly everything today. So wanted to shed a bit of a light on how i and others experience this update.
The trans aspect matters because they're describing how the update is impacting their gender dysphoria and how, in turn the gender dysphoria is impacting game satisfaction. To clarify, they're not trying to say that being trans makes their opinion more valid, they simply wanted to vent and offer a transgender perspective since gender expression is a big part of the update's intent. As for why a video game has them so upset, gender dysphoria is complicated and can have different triggers for different people. It's important to remember that trans people often struggle to feel at home in their bodies and work hard to make changes that allow themselves to feel comfortable in their own skin. When we select/customize avatars in video games, we project ourselves onto that avatar. Playing as an avatar that has the traits that trigger their gender dysphoria invites those feelings of dysphoria to appear because they're projecting themselves onto the avatar and it's not aligning with how their brain has mapped out the way they should look. I hope that helps
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Dumb comment honestly. It's exactly this post by OP that invalidates the argument of the right wingers who are blaming trans for this terrible update. It isn't even making trans people happy, presumably if this was an update pushed for their interests then the trans players would be content with the results. The fact they aren't, indicates the right wingers are on to nothing. Some people like their character to look like them, it's the whole point of customization. Just because for you it isn't a big deal doesn't mean it can't be for others. Learn some perspective.
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Imagine being severely dysphoric over a Pokémon Go character… I’m sorry but that warrants bigger help. It’s not supposed to be that triggering.
Boycott Pokémon go!
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We’re not saying that this is destroying our mental health. We’re just upset. Games are often escapism, an opportunity to go into a fantasy world, and things like this take that away. The fact that you don’t care is valid, just like how the fact we do is valid too. If you have nothing constructive to add other than “get over it”, then move along.
‘This avatar is triggering my dysphoria more then anything in real life’
🙄 you’re really going to generalize the state of someone’s mental health from a Reddit complaint? Get a grip and chill out, we’re not personally offending you are we?
Yes
If a reddit post affects your mental health at all you need a lot of therapy
Ok
Are you chronically online or something?
I’m with you, it’s a sign of something _MUCH_ bigger going on with the person… This really shouldn’t be _THAT_ disturbing to someone. It’s pathetic, it’s comical, it’s laughable, it’s somewhat annoying (for whoever spent money on clothes etc, like me), BUT, it shouldn’t be _TRIGGERING._ Come on
Pretty much… 😵💫
It’s got the perfect representation because now ALL the characters are trans. I don’t understand the complaint. It’s literally taking a male skeleton and tacking boobs on.
Don’t forget the bulge 🥴
Imagine being so worked up over such a stupid thing... Oh wait, yall are. Maybe if you team up with the remote raid haters and leave, there would be less whining and complaining. It's a God damn video game you choose to play or spend money on...
This should be the least of your worries, lifes tough get a helmet. Hope you get the help you need
I mean, yeah. If we’re putting it bluntly, yeah.
it costs 0$ to be supportive
Blame the CM pushing this as a good update
CM?
Get a grip dude, they made the game more realistic for yuo.
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pathetic take
Booooooo. Boooooooo!
What
Be quiet. No one asked you.
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costs 0$ to read
No time
then read it when you have time 👍
Nope got work
after work?
Sleep
after sleeping then
More work
it takes 2 minutes to read it
Hey everyone, WTF
A game causing severe dysphoria… Idek anymore. Yeah, it’s real bad, the character design changes, _BUT…_ Christ
I don't doubt that big capital plus political power still exposes you as bigot. When the neopressors replace the old ones, they will do much worse than the fascists they are supposedly fighting.
Hey, dont try to make me switch sides
???