Poll: Games aren't gay enough.

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I don't particularly care to play a game about sexuality, which is the only real reason I can imagine having a specifically gay protagonist would be (ie. where their sexuality is an important element of the plot).

In Mass Effect 3, Jade Empire, DAII and perhaps a handful of others where a homosexual relationship is possible, I don't know if the OP's friend would consider these to be "sufficiently" gay protagonists, particularly as they are only what we allow them to be. In both cases, sexuality didn't define the protagonist (mostly because we did much of the defining ourselves) or play a role in the story.

If the sexuality is important, I personally wouldn't really want to play it, regardless of orientation. I'm not interested in a game about politics, gender issues/equality, sexuality, discrimination, race relations, etc. If it isn't important, then what difference does the protagonist's sexuality make?. That's not to say I wouldn't mind playing a game in which there are racists, homosexuals/homophobes, sexists or feminists, provided that it is background and flavour and not front-and-centre/driving the plot.

My question then is this. If a protagonist is established as gay at the very start of a game, but no mention or reference to such is made thereafter, nor is there anything about sexuality or even any relationships to pursue, what would the OP's friend say on that? And why would a protagonist need to be specifically gay and able to be decided by the player? It kinda makes it annoying for players who would prefer to play a straight protagonist.

 

[Vault101]

Gays and pedophiles are both minority sexualities. Its easy to compare them.

being gay is a far cry from paedophilia

one hurts people in horrific ways

one hurts NO ONE

I dont even really see homosexuality as stretching the norm that much anyway...much like how a straight couple might be into kinky BSDM rather than "straight up missionary"

You feel frightened by people who have a differant opinion? I never condemned gay people I just shrug. To my reasoning a sexual preferance is what you prefer to have intercourse with and often it isn't a choice. Some people are born gay, some develop it over time or just go through a phase. Just think its a bit odd that we advocate one group and are meant to do the 'right' thing and support them while condeming other minorities who share the same trait of being differant.

so you cant see the distinction between homosexuality and paedophilia? you cant see how one is harmless and the other isnt?

from your posts I'm getting a serious sense of "I see no problem therefore there is no problem" you've pretty much admitted your ignorance on the matter

 

[Baron_Rouge]

I'd also like some well written heterosexual characters, while we're at it. I mean, I know they exist, but they're few and far between, and I'd love some well written romances of both a heterosexual and homosexual nature.

On that note, Catherine is an amazing game!

 

[VeneratedWulfen93]

Gays and pedophiles are both minority sexualities. Its easy to compare them.

being gay is a far cry from paedophilia

one hurts people in horrific ways

one hurts NO ONE

I dont even really see homosexuality as stretching the norm that much anyway...much like how a straight couple might be into kinky BSDM rather than "straight up missionary"

I'm obviously not talking about predators and people who take advantage. In England 16 is the age of consent. What we consider legal is a crime to Americans. If love is not bound by gender then why should it be bound by age as well? I just nearly threw up. I don't believe in love as an emotion, I believe its a concept for stories and fairytails.

Back to being serious a girl in my class was 14 when she had a 19 year old boyfriend, nothing happened other than usual bullshit relationship arguments. No one got hurt. In fact she hung around with all the girl who were like that. I wouldn't call it common but the fact I'm trying to put across is that a sexual predator isn't the term for this. Nobody was harmed.

 

[mgirl]

No. I implied he was homophobic for comparing gays and transgender people to pedophiles, and saying that having homosexuality 'shoved in his face' in a video game would make him not buy a video game. He said nothing about how characters would be implemented, so I didn't infer that from his post.

Gays and pedophiles are both minority sexualities. Its easy to compare them.

Wow. That's just outright disgusting. I seriously have no words for that. Apart from, as a gay individual, how dare you compare relationships between consenting adults to the people who abuse and rape children.

 

[VeneratedWulfen93]

@mgirl See above post.

 

[Vault101]

I'm obviously not talking about predators and people who take advantage. In England 16 is the age of consent. What we consider legal is a crime to Americans. If love is not bound by gender then why should it be bound by age as well? I just nearly threw up. I don't believe in love as an emotion, I believe its a concept for stories and fairytails.

Back to being serious a girl in my class was 14 when she had a 19 year old boyfriend, nothing happened other than usual bullshit relationship arguments. No one got hurt. In fact she hung around with all the girl who were like that. I wouldn't call it common but the fact I'm trying to put across is that a sexual predator isn't the term for this. Nobody was harmed.

what?

ok...so your not talking about paedophiles now?...your talking about relationships with reasonably large age differences?...heres a newsflash for you

1. they exist

2. they are not the same as peadophelia (were talking about adults..not children)

3. as much as some might raise their eyebrows they harm no one

Wow. That's just outright disgusting. I seriously have no words for that. Apart from, as a gay individual, how dare you compare relationships between consenting adults to the people who abuse and rape children.

actually what he just said

ummmm...yeah I don't get it eather

 

[mgirl]

@mgirl See above post.

No, I'm sorry, the very second you describe pedophilia as a legitimate sexual preferance, when, by definition they are the people who prey on children, you have no argument, and no crediblity, and you've annoyed me considerably. I'm absolutely sick of people comparing what I AM to rapists.

 

[Soxafloppin]

Another thing is that many lead characters sexuality is never defined or proved..therefore we assume that they're straight.

I'l be honest though..I'm stuck to think of a well written gay/lesbian character.

 

[VeneratedWulfen93]

I'm obviously not talking about predators and people who take advantage. In England 16 is the age of consent. What we consider legal is a crime to Americans. If love is not bound by gender then why should it be bound by age as well? I just nearly threw up. I don't believe in love as an emotion, I believe its a concept for stories and fairytails.

Back to being serious a girl in my class was 14 when she had a 19 year old boyfriend, nothing happened other than usual bullshit relationship arguments. No one got hurt. In fact she hung around with all the girl who were like that. I wouldn't call it common but the fact I'm trying to put across is that a sexual predator isn't the term for this. Nobody was harmed.

what?

ok...so your not talking about paedophiles now?...your talking about relationships with reasonably large age differences?...heres a newsflash for you

1. they exist

2. they are not the same as peadophelia (were talking about adults..not children)

3. as much as some might raise their eyebrows they harm no one

Okay my comments were hurtful, I kinda meant for it to be because I'm a bit of a hateful prick. However I still want an answer to this resolved. People are born gay, can discover they are gay or move through a phase. They are called gay. people could be born a paedophile, discover they are one or move through a phase and these people are hated and abused rather than given the means to reform themselves. If its a sickness cure it, just remember that people once considered being gay an illness.

@mgirl It was my ignorance that caused that. I was unaware that paedophiles had to rape or whatever. I believed it was just the term for having sex with an under-age partner.

 

[Pegghead]

Personally I think that putting more LGBT characters into games could do a lot of good for the world. Considering how widely the medium's loved (especially by younger generations) if more of these characters could be subtly worked into games then it could go well towards making such a thing just another part of life.

Obviously even heterosexual relationships aren't too well done in games at the moment, but they wouldn't have to be overt, or shoe-horned in, or jarring with the rest of the world. Implement these characters in subtle ways, like Arcade Gannon: wise-ass, good at seeing things as they are, bloke with a rough past, man caught up trying to do a little bit of good in a world where that shit doesn't fly...and he likes men.

 

[BathorysGraveland]

Well, I'm not gay myself, so I guess less gay? It isn't something I really want to see much. That said, I had no problems with Cortez in Mass Effect 3 because he didn't make a deal out of it. So take that how you well.

 

[VeneratedWulfen93]

Just so you know I'm not here to poke fun or be an arsehole. I'm here to find an answer to a question I've had stuck in my head recently. Any insensitivity is probably due to the fact I care very little about polotical correctness and I lack alot of tact when it comes to matters such as this.

 

[The Lunatic]

There's a very big difference between Paedophilia and Ephebophilia.

Knowing the difference when talking about such things is fairly vital.

 

[Zeckt]

So your talking that ME3 does not count which in my eyes it really should, because I believe sexuality should be an OPTION in games and I hate it when gay AND straight relationships get shoved into my face. I think your seeking to detract from gaming by forcing views on people who just don't care, because that seems to be the point your getting across to me with you saying you don't want it to be optional and you want it to be mandatory.

I DON'T want to play oversexualized games, and I don't want to be criticized for not wanting to ever see them and be accused of being a gay hater or something ridiculous. I'm bi irl, and when I play games sexuality is the last thing on my mind. Please keep it optional because I DON"T want to see it! Your talking of forcing sexuality down peoples throats where it has no business being.

If a game gets praised for having gays or lesbians make out and FORCING the gamer to suffer through it, I will not buy it. Sexuality in gaming should always be OPTIONAL gay or no! in a way this topic reminds me of that gay couple in American dad. No one cares they are gay, so they go out of their way to seek attention because of it. And its funny because that is an accurate assessment of ALOT of the gay community.

Sexuality = OPTIONAL!! don't force it on me like you think it should be! thank you!

 

[Vault101]

Okay my comments were hurtful, I kinda meant for it to be because I'm a bit of a hateful prick. However I still want an answer to this resolved. People are born gay, can discover they are gay or move through a phase. They are called gay. people could be born a paedophile, discover they are one or move through a phase and these people are hated and abused rather than given the means to reform themselves. If its a sickness cure it, just remember that people once considered being gay an illness.

@mgirl It was my ignorance that caused that. I was unaware that paedophiles had to rape or whatever. I believed it was just the term for having sex with an under-age partner.

uh huh...so now your back peddling out of that double hole you dug

because you then took another non conventional but harmless relationship (age difference) and compared it to paedophilia...nice going

weather or not paedophelia is a sickness (it seems more like an unfortunate fetish but I'm no experet) It still should not be compared to homosexuality because aside from the "harms no one" factor..."what to do with paedophiles" is a SEPERATE issue alltogther...in regards to that people should understand you cant make people just "go away" there needs to be a solution for those to prevent them from offending...

I'm also somwhat bothered by your previous comments about england...I mean I could just as easyly say "well where I come from furries are everywhere and completly open about it! whats the problem bro?"

 

[Vault101]

snip

and take issue with this only because....it kind of feels like me complaining I'm having "guns" shoved down my throat in a game like uncharted

It may be somthing that you personally are not interested in seeing in a game but I belive that its whatever the creator wants to create

 

[Starik20X6]

There could stand to be more homosexual game protagonists. That said, the only thing worse than diversity is forced, stilted, pandering, 'for the sake of it' diversity. If you want to say something about what it's like to be gay or whatever, go for it. If you're just doing it as a "hey look everyone, we've got a gay main character, everyone give us free publicity" type deal, that's kinda crap. The fact that your character is gay shouldn't define them as a person, so to speak. It shouldn't be the only character trait they have.

 

[The White Hunter]

I know no gay people because like I said, in England its no big deal.

Idk, I went through high school being open and it was pretty hellish, and I encounter a fair bit of discrimination based on my orientation and i live in England.

That said it's like water off a ducks back, i couldn't care less what they think of me.
It's definately less of an issue here than the US though, much less extreme opinions on the matter and I definately found people at uni more accepting of it.

For me at least, in the North-East we take the piss to show we care. The common greeting around my friends is "Areet shithead." to which the response is "Ah fuck off ya twat." Everytime something happens we just rip the piss out of eachother. We have thick skin over here, can't speak for anywhere out of the North East however but insults and people saying shit really doesn't matter. People use Gay as an insult which I find hilarious because I'm pretty sure a gay person won't be insulted by getting called gay. People can say and do what they want, i really don't care unless its something I feel deeply passionate about then it gets real.

Its hard for me to grasp it as well as americans because like I said I know 1 lesbian and thats it. Surely your Uni experience didn't involve getting beat up or murdered.

We do that here a lot in the northwest too, but there's a difference between taking the piss out of each other in a friendly way and directed hate. There are a lot of ignorant people and ahardline christians around here unfortunately so that probably lent itself to it a lot.

No my uni experience so far has been good and nobody cares that I like other boys, high school was hell but uni is great, can't wait to move out of this part of the world though.

People calling me gay isn't insulting, though I'm bisexual (even the gay kids picked on me in highschool for being "selfish", whatever the fuck that means), but being called a worthless ****** all the time is.

I'm glad that isn't my world any more =]

 

[fuzz]

If developers want to create gay characters then I'm all for it. If they don't it's no skin off my nose.