BioWare: Sex Scenes "Tasteful" in Dragon Age: Inquisition

[tzimize]

I'm going to be honest - Is something like this really necessary in the first place? Is such a thing something you want to define your series and must be in every game? If your PC and another NPC/PC fall in love with each other, then sometimes it's just better to let the player make assumptions on things such as sex. If these two people go somewhere alone where the camera can't see them, and the screen fades to black with a bit of an "audio cue", it's pretty obvious at what's going to happen, and at that point it's better to let the player imagine what happened; no need to show the oft-awkwardness of what is happening.

Its not necessary to have in every game, however it can add a lot of nice flavor. I for one LOVED the "sex scene" with Tali in ME2. The build up to it was hilarious, with focus on the Quarian physique and how sick she would get, and Mordins doctorial advices. The scene itself was also very satisfying to me. To see normally shy Tali jump on top of me in excitement ^^. The aftermath was just as awesome, with Tali snotting all over the place and being sick like hell, but still pleased with the result. Absolutely awesome in every way.

The dragon Age scenes were...mostly awkward though. Its much harder to do sex/love scenes well/right in games than on film, but when its right, its awesome. Thats my 2?

 

[Kikosemmek]

You guys know that the game is going to be a piece of shit, though, right?

 

[Dendio]

This is why I love bioware! They put so much effort into character development. Each game truly comes alive

Bravo

 

[hazydawn]

You guys know that the game is going to be a piece of shit, though, right?

Nah, piece of shit is exaggerated... it's gonna be a culmination of mediocrity and wasted talent just like the "sex" scenes.

I'd love to see a romance where sex happens around the beginning, and there's more of a relationship to pursue afterwards. Rather than just acting nice to them so you get a generic underwear scene with them at the end.

They did that once with Morrigan in DA Origins. But you pointed out one of the problems quite nicely, respect ^^

 

[Frankster]

This makes me want to re-buy Dragon Age: Origins on the PC just to try out those mods. They look incredible!

Thank you for this link. I'm keeping this and... seriously considering rebuying the game just for the mods.

Do mods work with the Steam version? I assume so, but I should probably make sure before I drop any cash on this.

I can confirm all these mods work on the steam version! Only ones i haven't personally tried is the white teeth mod and alistair morph since im ok with his default look+dont like everyone having pearly whites.

Also steam version is ultimate edition so you get all the dlc in 1 package, can't go wrong with it.

Also link to some da mod installers which you would probably want if you're gonna be installing tons of mods:
http://dragonage.nexusmods.com/mods/286/?
http://dragonage.nexusmods.com/mods/277/?

The dragon age nexus has tons of other mods that weren't mentioned so worth a browse for other mods besides the 31 in the list (notably it didnt include any clothes or armor mods, and more clothing options can't be a bad thing can it?)


Glad the link was of use to someone

 

[Darth Sea Bass]

From the Bioware into English translator... Tasteful = Awkward, Really really awkward.

 

[Anachronism]

My theory is that they decided to dial back on the sex scenes - hence the characters still wearing their underwear - after the uproar about the ones in the first Mass Effect.

What uproar? Literally the only thing that I remember happening at all was Fox news having a hernia, which is something that improves sales as it generates increased interest and free advertising to anyone who was remotely interested in the first place. It was like a half second of liara/femshep butt. No one who bought Mass Effect freaked out over it, except maybe to be disappointed that they didn't get to see more.

I'm not trying to say this is definitely what happened, it's just my theory about why the sex scenes in Origins are the way they are, because I can't imagine the finished product matched up with the original plan. The fuss Fox News made was still arguably pretty bad publicity for them as far as the mainstream press was concerned, even if core gamers didn't pay the slightest bit of attention. I'm well aware that Fox's reaction was complete nonsense, I played Mass Effect, enjoyed it, and thought the sex scene was very, yes, tasteful.

Besides, whatever the reason for it may be, you can't deny that their sex scenes have gotten tamer since the first Mass Effect, even though they were very tame in the first place. Even when they don't just fade to black, you don't actually see anything; even in Mass Effect 3, where the love scenes were a lot longer than in the first game - and, in my opinion, very well done - you don't even get the glimpse of Asari arse that you did in the first one. For some reason BioWare have toned the sex scenes down in all their games since Mass Effect, and I think my theory is a pretty reasonable explanation why the ones in Origins ended up as they are.

 

[putowtin]

Don't worry bioware, this is something the modding community handles already when it comes to dragon age games (not so much for mass effect to my knowledge).

http://girlplaysgame.com/2013/08/02/dragon-age-31-mods-you-never-knew-you-needed/
Check the romance mods for a taster

....

This makes me want to re-buy Dragon Age: Origins on the PC just to try out those mods. They look incredible!

Thank you for this link. I'm keeping this and... seriously considering rebuying the game just for the mods.

Do mods work with the Steam version? I assume so, but I should probably make sure before I drop any cash on this.

The mods are great, I couldn't play the game without them, not sure on steam (can't see why not though)

OT: so Bioware are going from shouting "boobies" from roof tops to what? ... Chinese whispers?

 

[Kahani]

I'm going to be honest - Is something like this really necessary in the first place? Is such a thing something you want to define your series and must be in every game? If your PC and another NPC/PC fall in love with each other, then sometimes it's just better to let the player make assumptions on things such as sex. If these two people go somewhere alone where the camera can't see them, and the screen fades to black with a bit of an "audio cue", it's pretty obvious at what's going to happen, and at that point it's better to let the player imagine what happened; no need to show the oft-awkwardness of what is happening.

Even that is showing much more than is needed. Look at Baldur's Gate 2, for example. The first time I played it, I had no idea romance was even a thing that existed in it. It's a game consisting of top-down down low-res sprites and static avatars, so of course there was nothing shown at all. Yet it did romance far better than any Bioware game since. In contrast, Mass Effect was just "click blue text to unlock pants", while Dragon Age had little more than straight up bribery. That's not romance, it's a basically just a prostitution simulator. And the idea that we should be excited about shit character models is just bizarre. If all you want is to see some sex, the internet already has that covered far better than Bioware will ever manage. Badly animated sex scenes as a reward for clicking the right box is not romance.

 

[Amanda Diamond]

Honestly? The romance scenes were fine in Origins(and if you didn't like vanilla, there were some good mods) Because you were able to establish an emotional connection with the other characters through numerous conversations. They DIDN'T work in Dragon Age 2 because A) All your interactions with your other party members take place in scant contextualized, Bioware-approved playdates and B) No payoff.

 

[Annihilist]

That's good, they'll be just like all the sex scenes in films

 

[Marik2]

This may surprise you Bioware but... you don't really need sex scenes to get us attached to characters.
In fact, most sex scenes from games like Heavy Rain, Mass Effect 3, Far Cry 3, God of War, Grand Theft Auto-

Doesn't matter how well their plot is or how 'detailed' the sex scenes are. Doesn't matter how serious the sex scene is or if it's just thrown there to arouse people. Sex scenes are, if not at all... pointless. I didn't get attached to Tali from the ME series because of sex. In fact you can't even do it in the first game. I got attached to Tali because of her character development, how fleshed out she was and unique dialogue that wasn't poorly written. In fact she gets even better by ME 3 and made me laugh a lot with her mishaps. ESPECIALLY in the Citedal DLC. Holy crap was that golden.

My point is, I don't understand why Bioware feels the need to address that they're trying to improve sex scenes. I don't play Bioware games for the sex, let alone cock teasing. I just want to play a really defined game with great story telling, amazing characters, awesome choices to make, and a whole lot of... choices to make!

If anything, sometimes it's best not to include a sex scene. Because more likely then not, it'll be ether out of place or feel off. I admit some sex scenes like in ME2 were emotional if say you got with Jack and went Paragon route... but hardly has any other sex scene really been... emotional for me. It just never does. If you want me to get emotional, have that moment like with Tali's loyalty mission in ME2. That was quite emotional.

But what about Katawa Shoujo? The sex was understandable and suited the characters for the most part.

 

[Reincarnatedwolfgod]

Of course it will be tasteful because It will be tame, Awkward sex scenes. The screen fading to black would be better then Awkward sex scenes due to it being less Awkward if left to the imagination.
If want to play games then I play a games. If I want to look at porn then I look at porn. when you mix it together you just get sub-par porn. well that is my logic at least for most(there might exist a few rare exceptions) sex scenes in games.

But what about Katawa Shoujo? The sex was understandable and suited the characters for the most part.

yes Katawa Shoujo does kinda gets away with including sex scenes and it uses a it's Awkwardness as opposed to just being Awkward like dragon age sex is. I'm also not sure if I would call Katawa Shoujo a game. It seems more like a virtual novel.

 

[Mycroft Holmes]

Even when they don't just fade to black, you don't actually see anything; even in Mass Effect 3, where the love scenes were a lot longer than in the first game - and, in my opinion, very well done - you don't even get the glimpse of Asari arse that you did in the first one.

You do see a lot more of Liara side boob though.

For some reason BioWare have toned the sex scenes down in all their games since Mass Effect, and I think my theory is a pretty reasonable explanation why the ones in Origins ended up as they are.

Yeah it's a fine explanation; I'm just saying that there really wasn't any uproar. Bioware is always hyper reactive though so them freaking out to bad press makes sense.

It's just idiotic because anyone who would freak out over optional space butt, probably wasn't going to buy Mass Effect anyways; whereas people(such as myself) who really hadn't even heard of Mass Effect before saw it in the news, looked into what it was and got interested by the actual game.

 

[AngryBritishAce]

Call me boring, but the pre-final battle sex scenes are the least of my thoughts when I romance a character. In fact, I only romance characters if I'm genuinely attached to them. If I wanted soft-core porn, there are plenty of... erm, "gentlemen's websites" where I might get such a thing. But if a character's personality and backstory have moved me enough to consider a romance with them, then I go about and romance them.

For me it's the build up to the event and post-sex scenes that I like about BioWare relationships. Tali's romance I immediately fell in love with, her whole build up in ME2 felt moving, and then in ME3 the scenes on Rannoch where Shepard and her discuss building a house together gave me a goal to work towards in the battle to defeat the Reapers. Hell, I felt all emotional during the "Witch Hunt" dlc for Origins, where: [spoiler/] The Warden insists on following Morrigan through the Eluvian, and you can see Morrigan genuinely conflicted about whether to let her lover come with her. [/spoiler]

Tasteful or not BioWare, just make the characters well written and likable (or unlikable, as long as they're unlikable for genuine reasons, not just because they won't stop brooding or stay silent about being oppressed).

Anyway, I've been excited for DA:I for quite a while and this news hasn't dampened my enthusiasm, so I say good-o BioWare, see you Autumn next year.

 

[cikame]

I believe all love scenes are terrible, in every medium, the only people to see their own love scene in real life are the two people involved, i think it's far better to imply a love scene happened than to actually display it.
People spectating a love scene will be thinking either that it's softcore porn, or "lol i'm seeing these guys naked", hardly anyone will be thinking it's a satisfying emotional moment for the characters.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

I thought the ones in Mass Effect were pretty tasteful and well done. I never romanced Jack but I watched them all on youtube and I thought the romance scene between her and male Shepard was pretty touching. Especially coming from such a hardass person as her. I'll be honest, I had a tear.

The Dragon Age scenes (Origins anyway- never finished DA2 so I can't comment on that one) were decent, but not as good as those in Mass Effect.

You're lying, those were atrocious in DA:O. If you don't want to show actual nudity, less is more. ME2 understood that. DA2 also has that since it doesn't really go past the foreplay stage.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

*sigh* Why is sex scenes even a valid discussion about a RPG game?

I can't be the only one who doesn't like kissing scenes in movies, or sex scenes in RPG's can I?
This series is feeling more and more like a dating sim if I just went with what is being said about it.

Bioware has essentially always had them. Even Baldur's gate had romance subplots. In the least, you get the option to not experience the romance subplot if you don't want to.