OK, y’all know I’m all about xenoergonomics around here. Let’s point out everything wrong with what Fox James is wearing in this picture and what I would do instead.

Minor caveat: I’m extrapolating some of this from what I know of dog anatomy and behavior, so I could be wrong.

First, his helmet. What is it covering? I’ve already ranted about exposed ears on animal characters, namely that they themselves would never design a piece of protective headgear that leaves the ears unprotected. However, there’s another tidbit to consider. The bones of a fox’s skull do not protect the tops of the eyeballs, so he’s extra vulnerable.

It’s also not clear if that mic boom brushes against his whiskers. Whiskers are very sensitive, and touching them typically results in a reflexive movement away from the stimulus. It’s also not clear how he’s getting sound output from the headset. There may be an earpiece in his left ear, but I doubt the interior of an arwing is quiet enough to just have a loudspeaker on the helmet or integrated into the cockpit.

Next, those aviator glasses. Setting aside the crappy helmet design, it was smart to depict the glasses attached to the helmet. Yinrih HUD specs have a broad bridge that friction fits against the muzzle, though they wouldn’t wear them in a situation like this where they could get easily knocked off. Instead a doggles-like visor is worn.

The last thing I’ll complain about is the zipper on his jacket. I have to wonder if the teeth get caught in his neck fur. Yinrih go nekkid where possible, but clothing fasteners, such as on rain gear or cold weather gear would probably use snaps, magnets, laces, or velcro St. Starlight’s Fabric[1].

  1. named for its inventor, Saint Starlight, a research monk, botanist, and healer who lived during the yinrih’s age of aviation. She was inspired by the plant burs that would stick to her fur. ↩︎

  • early_riser@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    5·
    15 days ago

    Addendum: I’ll also point out that this sort of hyperrealistic anthropomorphism gives me the willies. The yinrih were originally your standard bipedal animal characters, but I “devolved” the more anthropomorphic characteristics to arrive at a more simian body plan, arriving at the current monkey fox design.

    Also, seeing other screenshots from the game, It’s interesting that they made Falco barefoot, or at least have open-toed footwear, as he’s a bird with prehensile feet. While this is extremely useful, I wonder how they could be acccounted for ergonomically, like foot-actuated buttons and switches. Though non-avian pilots don’t have prehensile feet. So are arwing cockpits modular to fit different body plans?

    Fox’s gloves also have claws. A more natural way to do that would be to have his natural claws emerging from the gloves or have hard caps on the end of each finger. However, canine claws are thick and blunt, used for traction when running or climbing, and less for combat as cat claws are. Theoretically they would be less useful on paws that have converged to be more hand-like for grasping.