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Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn concept artwork.

Aloy (Horizon Zero Dawn)

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Updated Feb 16, 2022 at 01:46PM EST by Adam.

Added Jun 01, 2021 at 01:39PM EDT by Philipp.

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About

Aloy is the main protagonist and sole playable character of the 2017 video game Horizon Zero Dawn and its upcoming sequel Horizon Forbidden West. In late May 2021, the character became a subject of controversy online after her renewed design was revealed, which reworked the shape of her facial features for the second game.

Origin

On February 28th, 2017, the action role-playing game Horizon Zero Dawn, developed by Guerrilla Games, was released for PlayStation 4.[1] The game, set in a post-apocalyptic era in which humans live in a world overrun by rogue animal-like machines, follows the story of Aloy, a young female fighter of the Nora tribe. The story revolves around Aloy's quest to find out the reason behind machines becoming increasingly aggressive and uncover the truth of the world.



Aloy is modeled after Hannah Hoekstra and is voiced by Ashly Burch.

Spread

Redesign Controversy

On May 27th, 2021, PlayStation unveiled the first gameplay trailer for Horizon Forbidden West, the sequel to the 2017 game.[2] In the trailer, the renewed design of Aloy was first shown (seen below).



Within five minutes of the trailer's premiere, Twitter[3] user @Nibellion posted a still image of Aloy from the trailer, with the tweet gaining over 80 retweets and 640 likes in six days (shown below, left). Two minutes later, an unknown 4chan[4] user posted the image to /v/ board, writing "OH NO NO NO" (shown below, right). The thread gained over 530 replies in the same timeframe.


STATE OF PLAY [539 / 173/ 281] Anonymous Thu 27 May 2021 17:05:57 No.557190770 View Reply Original Report Quoted By: >>557190876 >>557190935 >>557191021 >>557191026 >>557191042 >>557191053 >>557191169 >>557191251 >>557191271 >>557191320 >>557191376 >>557191410 >>557191504 >>557191556 >>557191624 >>557191638 >>557191641 >>557191719 >>557191981 189KIB, 1920x1080, 198FAE07-D10B-4231-B63A- A5372616A1E8.jpg >>557192032 >>557192209 >>557192292 >>557192337 View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO >>557192360 >>557192439 >>557192451 >>557192460 >>557192551 >>557192627 >>557192659 >>557192802 >>557192828 >>557192831 >>557192851 >>557192906 >>557193056 >>557193101 >>557193129 >>557193191 >>557193206 >>557193263 >>557193725 >>557193812 >>557193890 >>557193893 >>557193908 >>557194019 >>557194039 >>557194098 >>557194139 >>557194234 >>557194265 >>557194347 >>557194362 >>557194365 >>557194398 >>557194541 >>557194580 >>557194581 >>557194684 >>557194726 >>557194951 >>557194992 >>557195118 >>557195713 >>557195723 >>557195774 >>557195814 >>557195928 >>557195947 >>557196249 >>557196438 >>557196663 >>557196849 >>557197035 >>557197106 >>557197356 >>557197480 >>557197605 >>557197720 >>557197838 >>557198086 >>557198126 >>557198660 >>557198709 >>557199203 >>557199536 >>557199718 >>557199894 >>557200103 >>557200181 >>557200216 >>557200363 >>557200408 >>557200419 >>557200495 >>557200709 >>557201174 >>557201553 >>557201606 >>557201884 >>557202195 >>557202451 >>557202508 >>557203020 >>557203405 >>557203792 >>557204298 >>557204343 >>557204501 OH NO NO NO

In the thread, edits of the still image and negative comments about the change in the design were posted by 4chan[5][6][7] users (examples shown below).


STATE OF PLAY STATE OF PLAY THE ABSOLUTE STATE OF PLAY

In late May 2021, multiple threads about the character were posted on 4chan's[8][9][10] /v/ board, with users posting edits of still images from the trailer and discussing the change in the design (example shown below, left). On Twitter, a number of viral tweets about the character were posted. For example, on May 31st, 2021, Twitter[11] user @AscendedZen made a post in which they compared Aloy to character Buzz from Home Alone, which gained over 130 retweets and 2,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below, center). On May 30th, 2021, Twitter[12] user @IconicNephilim made a tweet complimenting the renewed design. The tweet gained over 2,400 retweets and 11,800 likes in 48 hours (shown below, right).


[578 / 79/ 209] Anonymous Sat 29 May 2021 19:46:12 No.557459557 View Reply Original Report Quoted By: >>557459627 >>557460457 >>557460553 >>557460624 >>557460639 >>557460784 >>557460889 >>557461065 >>557461415 >>557462542 >>557462706 >>557462721 >>557462785 >>557462817 >>557463029 >>557463173 >>557463314 >>557463418 >>557463554 309KIB, 714x434, 50B18376-CDFE-49A2-861F- 505C81F22AC2.jpg >>557463697 >>557463772 >>557463785 >>557464136 >>557464515 >>557464750 >>557464786 >>557465557 View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO + >>557466142 >>557466849 >>557467046 >>557468205 >>557468214 >>557468697 >>557469038 >>557469337 >>557469460 >>557469584 >>557469640 >>557470209 >>557470387 >>557471009 >>557471259 >>557471281 >>557471307 >>557471562 >>557472121 >>557473393 >>557473503 >>557473587 >>557473762 >>557474298 >>557475143 >>557475249 >>557475746 >>557476119 >>557478563 >>557478890 >>557481516 >>557482367 >>557484354 >>557484663 >>557486137 >>557486567 >>557486706 >>557487440 >>557489870 >>557490904 >>557491285 >>557491528 >>557491635 >>557492152 Someone just explain to me the design choice That's the part I'm stuck scratching my head A bunch of people literally were in a room and said yes, we like this for X reason What the f--- is the X reason when something like the right is clearly better in every way TELL ME Ascended Zen ... @AscendedZen Why does Aloy look like Buzz from Home Alone now? 5:40 AM · May 31, 2021 · Twitter for Android David * ... @lconicNephilim Dear game devs, keep creating female protagonists like them, not only are they cool as hell, but they make gamers mad 1:52 PM · May 30, 2021 · Twitter for iPhone

In late May and early June 2021, multiple news websites reported on the controversy, including articles by Comicbook[17] and Game Rant.[18]

"Is It Me or Sony Be Making Their Lead Female Protagonist Look Masculine As Hell" Copypasta

On May 29th, Redditor kennymc7877 made an ironic post in the /r/GamingCirclejerk[13] subreddit in which they photoshopped a still image from the Horizon Forbidden West trailer, giving Aloy a thinner face with makeup applied. The post received over 4,100 upvotes in the /r/GamingCirclejerk subreddit in three days. On the same day, Twitter[14] user @ApexAlphaJ praised the edit, misinterpreting it as a sincere fan attempt to improve the design, writing "Pic from the game on the left, fan-made on right. Hire fans lol" (tweet no longer available; shown below, right).


ApexAlphaj @ApexAlphaJ Is it me or Sony be making their lead female protagonist look masculine as hell..barely no curves or rough non feminine features..Unlike the average woman. Like *cough cough..TLOU2's Ellie...etc. Just saying #My2cents Pic from the game on the left, fan made on right. Hire fans lol 7:20 PM - 29 May 2021

Is it me or Sony be making their lead female protagonist look masculine as hell..barely no curves or rough non feminine features..Unlike the average woman. Like *cough cough..TLOU2’s Ellie…etc. Just saying #My2cents
Pic from the game on the left, fan made on right. Hire fans lol

Starting on the same day, users on Twitter and Reddit made posts parodying the tweet, using it as a copypasta. For example, on May 30th, Twitter[15] user @Voltaic117 made a parody tweet that gained over 1,900 retweets and 28,200 likes in two days (shown below, left). On May 31st, Redditor[16] Proxy_RQ made a post that gained over 17,900 upvotes in two days (shown below, right).


Gio ... @Voltaic117 Replying to @ApexAlphaJ Is it me or Nickelodeon be making their lead female protagonist look masculine as hell.barely no curves or rough non feminine features..Unlike the average woman. Pic from the game on the left, fan made on right. Hire fans lol 00 4:33 PM · May 30, 2021 · Twitter for iPhone Chilicookie @Proxy2077 En respuesta a @ApexAlphaJ Is it me or Sony be making their lead female protagonist look masculine as hell.barely no curves or rough non feminine features.Unlike the average woman. Like *cough cough..TLOU2's Ellie...etc. Just saying #My2cents Pic from the game on the left, fan made on right. Hire fans lol Traducir Tweet 3:34 p. m. - 31 may. 2021 - Twitter Web App

Why Does Aloy Have a Beard

On February 14th, 2022, Twitter user @9santy1 tweeted a rendering of Aloy with the peach fuzz on her face circled, asking "why the hell does Aloy have a beard?"



The tweet soon spread on social media as Twitter users dunked on it, noting that peach fuzz is a common feature on all humans, including women, and joked that it proved the original poster was clueless about women.



Various Examples


BLACK STATE OF PLAY I want my works to reflect the aesthetics of beauty, fitness and perfection of the human body. Like the heroes of our mythos they inspire virtue. Gonna make her fat and ugly compared to the first game to make the gamers mad
7* Lilith: Unrated & Uncropped O BLM ACAB ... @b0tster "hire fans lol" the person who drew 'non political aloy' did it as a sarcastic joke against gamers like you, you dork kennymc7877 · 1d Limeila 7h Hey everyone, I decided to make a less political Aloy Dammit OP incels ar ironically 17 3 kennymc7877 I hate and love tha 13 10:44 AM · May 31, 2021 · Twitter for Android TOONME.COM STATE OF PLAY

Search Interest

External References

[1] Wikipedia – Horizon Zero Dawn

[2] YouTube – Horizon Forbidden West – State of Play Gameplay Reveal | PS5

[3] Twitter – @Nibellion

[4] 4chan – /v/ Thread #557190770

[5] 4chan – /v/ Post #q557192659

[6] 4chan – /v/ Post #557195026

[7] 4chan – /v/ Post #557200103

[8] 4chan – /v/ Thread #557192818

[9] 4chan – /v/ Thread #557254870

[10] 4chan – /v/ Thread #557267076

[11] Twitter – @AscendedZen

[12] Twitter – @IconicNephilim

[13] Reddit – Hey everyone, I decided to make a less political Aloy

[14] Internet Archive – @ApexAlphaJ

[15] Twitter – @Voltaic117

[16] Reddit – I did it. It is OK now.

[17] Comicbook – PlayStation Fans Debate Over Aloy Design in Horizon Forbidden West

[18] Game Rant – The Upset About Aloy's Appearance in Horizon Forbidden West Explained

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Top Comments

Timey16
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Timey16

Of course anyone thinking those changes are "political" fail to see possible technical possibilities it could have:

1. simply unflattering angles in screenshots compared to in animation
2. to indicate her being decently older than in the first game. Could be set like a decade later or something.
3. Her face in the first was modeled after a real person, (Hannah Hoekstra), that person's face may have changed.
4. Maybe a change of face model, e.g. towards her VA. The reason is simple: if you do facial mocap, then you want your face in game to match the face of the actor as closely as possible. Otherwise the different facial structure will make the mocap data unusable and it will require a costly and pain-staking process of fitting the mocap data to the new face, which can take thousands of hours.

Different angle for comparison:

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