Dragon Age 2 Lead Writer Blasts Homophobic Fan

Logan Westbrook

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Feb 21, 2008
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Dragon Age 2 Lead Writer Blasts Homophobic Fan

The romances in Dragon Age 2 are for everyone, says the games lead writer, not just for the straight, male gamer.

A disgruntled BioWare fan, who accused the studio of neglecting the "straight, male gamer" with the romance options in Dragon Age 2, has received a dressing down from the game's lead writer, David Gaider, who says that while straight, male gamers might be the majority, raw numbers don't give them any right to expect special treatment.

The poster was upset that male characters were hitting on him, and suggested that BioWare could easily have included a "No Homosexuality" option. He felt that BioWare had not tried to make appealing romance options for people like him, and that its focus had been on other, less numerous groups like women and homosexuals. Gaider scoffed at this idea however, saying that the romance options in Dragon Age 2 were for everyone, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation, and that no one group was being favored over any other.

Gaider also attacked the idea that the poster could speak for straight, male gamers at all, saying that he could certainly present his personal feelings - although Gaider felt they were based on ignorance - but that trying to speak for a whole group was a fool's errand. Gaider said that the poster's attitudes were rooted in a sense of privilege, and that he was so used to getting things his own way, when everything was fair, he perceived it as imbalance. Gaider thought that anyone who said that the only way to please them was to restrict the options of some other group, was - in his view - the least deserving of being accommodated.

It's great to see a developer trying to include as many people as possible with its games, even though they might not be the bulk of a games audience. You can read the entire exchange here [http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/304/index/6661775&lf=8], and if you've got a few minutes spare, I thoroughly suggest that you do. The original complaint has to be seen to be believed, and Gaider's full response is a joy to read.

Source: via Phyrra.net [http://phyrra.net/2011/03/why-bioware-enforces-they-deserve-my-money.html]






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Feb 19, 2010
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i actually had the same problem!
male characters were ALWAYS hitting on me, even though i was hitting on a chock that looked hot.
ijust wanted to kick the characters in the balls!
i think the game is a teeny bit *too*
homosexual
*i think the chick i was hitting on was isabela*

Mod Edit
 

MiracleOfSound

Fight like a Krogan
Jan 3, 2009
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What's he complaining about?

Gay gamers get emo JRPG douchebag Fenris and whiney, insufferable Anders - straight dudes get cute, nerdy Merril and slutty Isabella with her ridiculous tits.

Seems like the straight males/lesbian females got the better deal here.
 

Tireseas_v1legacy

Plop plop plop
Sep 28, 2009
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Because apparently "straight, male gamers" are not pandered to enough in games?

This guy knows Duke Nukem Forever is coming out this year, right?
 
Jul 11, 2008
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I think the male characters hit on you a little too quickly, though. But hey, if Anders happens to be a slut, what are you gonna do?
It's as simple as shutting him down, though. The only people who'd complain about this are the ones who have to please everybody at all times. And in that case, I'd hate to see what would happen if an actual gay guy hit on them.
 

scw55

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Nov 18, 2009
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Surely Bisexualism (I call Anders a Bisexual regardless of the magical parallel universe effect on his sexuality depending on Hawke's gender) is the "fairest" sexual opinnion for the companions to have.

I was personally disgruntled that there were no Furry romance options for the Companions. I really ruined the game for me that convincing humans were trying to hit on me...

*edit* How come a horny personality when it was on a Bisexual elf (Zevran) many found creepy, but it is regarded as "hot" when on a lady (Isabella)?
 

Morten Dall

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Jan 7, 2011
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Good to see them reply to these repeating waves of narrow-mindedness and ignorance. One thing is if you don't wish to explore the homosexual storylines (I don't plan to during my playthrough) but to want to be able to remove them??? What will be the next ? A no non-whites option?
 

Fappy

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Jan 4, 2010
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To be quite honest I think everyone but women got screwed over in the appeal department. All the girls I know who have played DA2 loved the characters they romanced (usually Anders or Fenris) where most guys who played the game (that I know), myself included, felt the female romance options were either boring/shallow (Isabella) or cliched (Merrill = Liara/Liana/Mission/etc.). I'm not saying any one group got special treatment, I just feel like the developers either did a better job writing the male romancable characters, or (and this is quite ironic) they just had a better sense of how to tickle the female gamer's fancy.

For the record my first playthrough was a female Hawke and Merrill, which actually had a great arch to it... unfortunately Merrill is just fucking boring :(
 

RobCoxxy

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Feb 22, 2009
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How dare Bioware accept homosexuality?
As a straight male, I demand Garrett Hawke to be swimming in poon-tang, not occassionally flirted with by other men! tsk.
 

JeanLuc761

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Sep 22, 2009
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Wow, impressive! Regardless of your feelings on the game, it's generally nice to see developers defending their work and their stance.
 

Harbinger_

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Jan 8, 2009
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I had alot of problems with Dragon Age II. I'll admit it is uncomfortable to have same sex characters 'hit on' my character but his reaction (the fan who isn't a fan of homosexuals) really isn't warranted.
 

Eruanno

Captain Hammer
Aug 14, 2008
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Wait, so everyone having the same amount of possible partners, regardless of sexual orientation is bad...? What... I don't even...

Also:
- If you feel "uncomfortable" getting hit on by a particular character, you do realize you can just push the "no, thank you"-button?
- Are we assuming that everyone who plays a video game plays as the exact same person they are in real life? I'm a heterosexual man IRL, and I played DA2 as a female Hawke that romanced Isabella. For my next playthrough, I will probably pick a different Hawke that romances someone else. I see no reason why I should be stuck playing a whose sexual preferences correspond to my real-life self. Who knows, I might play a male Hawke that romances Anders and Fenris. Shock and awe!
 

GenericPCUser

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Dec 22, 2010
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I always stay determined to make a gay character in the Dragon Age games, as it is really hard to find a game that allows or embraces homosexuality, yet I still ended up choosing Merrill because she is just too cute. So much for flamer Hawke, now it's just straight Hawke who likes to tease Anders and Fenris.
 

Scorched_Cascade

Innocence proves nothing
Sep 26, 2008
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"I just hope that the next game BioWare will get its priorities right or spend more time making the game." The "Or" rather than an "and" worries me.

I also like how he puts the homosexual figure at 5%, if this site is anything to go on your looking at, at least 35-45% possibly even higher especially if they game is actively welcoming the homosexual audience.

Now we need someone who is asexual and aromantic to complain to the OP that the characters keep bothering them with romance options when they arn't interested and they just want to play the game.

EDIT-Apparently I just activated the lucky 7s cheat
 

Super Jamz

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Apr 16, 2009
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I'm rather touched at how polite the argument was on both sides, but it still would've been way funnier to see all the flaming and troll comments in the original thread.

Also:
RobCoxxy said:
How dare Bioware accept homosexuality?
As a straight male, I demand Garrett Hawke to be swimming in poon-tang, not occassionally flirted with by other men! tsk.
I lol'd
 

Serfix

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Jun 16, 2010
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I wonder who he is going to complain to when some male in real world is hitting on him. I mean you can always say "no" or "I'm not gay".