Talk:Steve

"Genderless"

Is it really accurate to say Steve is genderless? I think "sexless" would be more accurate, if at all - I say that since 1. Notch is no longer involved with Minecraft, and Alex (the first female skin) was introduced not that long after he left; and 2. Notch is a known transphobe so it's unlikely he'd make the distinction between sex and gender, especially not in 2012. --What could possibly go wrong? - BubzieBobkat (talk) 01:53, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

I agree with both of these statements, but to my knowledge it's still the latest official word that Minecraft is "genderless" rather than "sexless", and the way he phrases it implies it lacks both sex and gender (animals have male and female aspects and any of one species can breed with any other). It's weird, considering he wrote in the blog post that he wishes he had used the singular "they" rather than "he" to describe Steve, but he for some reason holds totally opposing ideals now. It's also worth keeping in mind that Alex isn't referred to as female just as Steve isn't referred to as male (though I've noticed promo material uses "he" and "she" anyway, so maybe sexless would be more accurate?). I think the overall idea is that sex and gender are non-issues in the world of Minecraft so calling it "sexless" or "genderless" doesn't really matter one way or the other. ~ Serena Strawberry (talk) 02:40, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

Can you link to promo material calling Steve a "he" and Alex a "she"? If those were after Notch made those comments about Steve being genderless, then they would probably be above those due to being more recent. 72.219.72.215 15:17, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

Here's an example of Steve being referred to as "he" in 2020. But it doesn't necessarily invalidate the original claim, as the same comment about Minecraft being genderless uses "he" to describe Steve. ~ Serena Strawberry (talk) 15:59, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

The genderless article uses "he" in quotes, clearly indicating that they are intentionally using the wrong pronoun.

Smells like a retcon to me. TheNuttyOne 16:08, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

I didn't really interpret it like that, but I guess either way we'll see which pronouns to use by the Mr. Sakurai Presents about it; I wouldn't be surprised if they did use "he" and "she". (Though in that case it'd just be changing "genderless" to "sexless", as Bubzie suggested.) ~ Serena Strawberry (talk) 16:15, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

An official tweet more recent than whenever Notch called Steve genderless is enough for me to say that we should call Steve a he, lest this becomes another Garfield Wikipedia fiasco. Notch doesn't work for Mojang anymore, and he certainly holds different views now, and if Sakurai calls Steve a he, then that will be the final nail in the coffin. If the infobox calls Steve sexless, that's fine, but the rest of any mention of Steve should call refer to Steve using male pronouns in my opinion. 72.219.72.215 22:55, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

Since the broadcast used "he" and "she" as predicted, I guess this topic comes back around again. Should we keep "genderless" on the page at all? I still think so, anyway, but it's a bit hard to explain what "genderless" or "sexless" means in a case where they're still referred to with gendered pronouns. ~ Serena Strawberry (talk) 11:24, October 3, 2020 (EDT)

Don't even mention it in the infobox. This is becoming another Garfield Wikipedia fiasco. One quote from a guy who doesn't work for Mojang anymore and clearly holds different views now does not stand up to recent official tweets calling Steve a he, and even the Sakurai video calling Steve a he. The genderless idea likely was not meant to be taken literally, and more as a metaphor to not call Minecraft a boy's game. 72.219.72.215 11:28, October 3, 2020 (EDT)

Mind you, the "guy who doesn't work at Mojang anymore" is the guy who made Steve. I get the "Garfield Wikipedia fiasco" reference, and I hate Notch as much as the next reasonable person, but it's an important part of Minecraft's design—even after he left—that everything in Minecraft is supposed to be genderless. Not just metaphorically, but in terms of biology as well, such as with animals. ~ Serena Strawberry (talk) 11:35, October 3, 2020 (EDT)

Steve and Alex on the same page

Should Alex really be grouped with Steve? Zombie and Enderman have separate pages as well as other alternate characters like Alph and the Koopalings. I think Alex should have her own page. Diddy Kongstar (talk) 12:41, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

• My nitpicky side agrees, but in all honesty Alex doesn't really have a history beyond "there's not enough girls in this game" "we added a girl" "thank you" so it's probably best to lump her in with Steve. --What could possibly go wrong? - BubzieBobkat (talk) 14:01, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

Alex is more in line with Leaf or female Byleth (who also has a different name in Japanese) than Alph or the Koopalings. She is a female variant of Steve; she was just given the name Alex. TheNuttyOne 15:35, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

Agreed on this. ~ Serena Strawberry (talk) 15:59, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

While Steve and Alex definitely belong on the same page, I think the page should be renamed to "Steve & Alex" or "Steve/Alex". Unlike with Red and Leaf, who share a page under the same title, Steve and Alex are just referred to as their names in-game. Leaving Alex out of a page title feels a little unfair. Personally, I'm leaning towards to "Steve/Alex" option, because it is how they are referred to as on the official website. Xm0c (talk) 18:28, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

This I can also see the case for, as Steve and Alex are both given equal priority, but at the same time, it would make things a bit more clunky compared to "Steve" being simple and consistent, and it's likely that in-game text will default to just "Steve" as well. I could also make a case for changing the article name to merely "Player (Minecraft)", matching the Minecraft wiki, but that'd probably be even more confusing. ~ Serena Strawberry (talk) 18:40, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

While "Player (Minecraft)" would make sense, every fighter uses either their in-game name, or in cases like Fox McCloud, their full name referenced in the game. I don't think having the dash in the title would be a huge problem, especially because there is precedent with Burning Knuckle / Crack Shoot. Xm0c (talk) 19:25, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

"Player (Minecraft)" would make sense, if they weren't called "Steve" and "Alex" in-game. The same goes for the protagonists from Persona 3 and Persona 4, but for the opposite reason; they are not called Makoto Yuki and Yu Narukami in Smash, so we use the generic term. Aidan, the Spooky Rurouni 19:33, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

I'm thinking Steve/Alex for the character page but Steve SSBU for the fighter page. If the main website considers Alex important enough to mention in the title then I think we should too. Guybrush20X6 (talk) 19:58, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

I could understand the comparison with Leaf and Female Byleth in Japan, but Smash just uses Pokémon Trainer for both Red and Leaf and Byleth has the same name in English regardless of gender. Steve and Alex are different cases from these as they have different names in all regions and in Smash. Diddy Kongstar (talk) 22:39, October 2, 2020 (EDT)

I think we should split Steve and Alex. Alex can be treated like Alph in this case and it will be consistent with Zombie and Enderman. Leaf and female Byleth can remain on their male counterpart's pages to avoid headaches on what to title them. Kazooie is separate from Banjo and Luma is separate from Rosalina. But Nana and Popo were always combined as Ice Climbers. "Steve/Alex" would make the wiki software treat it as a subpage of Steve, and "Steve & Alex" would imply a fighter duo and not an alternate costume. SeanWheeler (talk) 02:40, October 3, 2020 (EDT)

With the broadcast over, I think I agree that the page should be changed to "Steve & Alex", since that's the official terminology used and Sakurai essentially treats them as an interchangeable duo in all promotional material outside the game itself. ~ Serena Strawberry (talk) 11:24, October 3, 2020 (EDT)

Strongly oppose move. Steve is the default and the multi-name page titles are awful and clunky. It's one thing when we have no choice for special moves, but in this case, there is absolutely zero reason to overcomplicate this and make it look ugly in the process. They're one character. Steve is the default, Alex is the female version. TheNuttyOne 17:03, October 3, 2020 (EDT)

Let's just split Alex into her own page. Zombie and Enderman have their own pages. Alph is separate from Captain Olimar. I think the split would be the best way to handle the name debate. Alternate gender counterparts should only share a general page with their default versions if they share the same Fighter name in the English version. If an alt has a different name, then they get their own pages. And if we can't get enough info on Alex to write her page, then I'm with Nutty on the opposed move. SeanWheeler (talk) 18:25, October 9, 2020 (EDT)

I disagree on this because Alex and Steve are pretty fundamentally just different versions of the same character, like Pokémon Trainer, rather than unique individuals like Olimar and Alph. The different name shouldn't matter, and there clearly wouldn't be enough info to distinguish her from Steve. ~ Serena Strawberry (talk) 18:30, October 9, 2020 (EDT)

Minecraft promotional material constantly depicts the two as completely separate characters. But mechanically in-game, Steve and Alex are no more different from each other than a cow between two texture packs. As far as I'm concerned, this argument could be taken either way, so I propose the page be retitled Steve / Alex. Sincerely, Samuel the Banjo-Kazooie Boss. 16:39, October 10, 2020 (EDT)

I also lean towards a "Steve & Alex" or "Steve / Alex" rename, but I know it's been rejected before. Still, I feel like it more accurately depicts how the characters are featured in marketing; they're basically the same character, but they're treated as a pair rather than one being lesser than the other. ~ Serena Strawberry (talk) 17:22, October 10, 2020 (EDT)

Steve skin used

This isn't a very big deal but anyway, should the image of Steve used here be of his former skin only used in promotional artwork and Smash model, or his current beardless skin used as of Java Edition Classic which replaced it only a few months afterward in 2009? Personally I'm leaning towards his current skin as it's a better representation of the character from Minecraft itself, but I could also understand wanting to showcase the origins of the skin used in Smash. RoadSmasher420 (talk) 03:50, October 3, 2020 (EDT)

This isn't something up for debate. We ALWAYS use imagery shown in Smash only, including promotional material. We'll use the skin you suggested if, and only if, it changes to that in the game. Black Vulpine of the 🦊Furry Nation🐺. Furries make the internets go! :3 04:31, October 3, 2020 (EDT)

Okay, disregard my last message. What I said is true for the fighter pages, but I overlooked the fact that your enquiry is about the character themself. And the answer is, probably yes. If you can find an image, feel free to upload it and add it. Black Vulpine of the 🦊Furry Nation🐺. Furries make the internets go! :3 04:35, October 3, 2020 (EDT)

The intention of the profile art on the character page is to show the origin of the design used in Smash. If we use Sheik's Twilight Princess concept art, we should use Steve's promotion-exclusive bearded form. TheNuttyOne 15:26, October 3, 2020 (EDT)