The Lunatic said:
As a homosexual, what do "I" want?
Well, less heavy-handed Bioware stuff would be a nice start.
Bioware stuff is pretty cringe-worthy and I've always felt it was more tokenism than much else. The fact they basically use it as PR is also pretty eye-rolling.
For me, I just want games that have good characters. If they happen to be gay, then, that's neat, but, making almost all of your cast have leanings of homosexuality is just trying too hard and seems disingenuous.
I'm not asking for the main characters of games to be homosexual, I'm not asking for even supporting characters to be homosexual, it's such a small percentage of the population that it's pretty unlikely it'd happen, but, sure, it's nice if you do.
However, what I am asking for is just acknowledgement. If you have an open world game, and somewhere in that game, there's an NPC who passingly mentions he or she is gay, then that's completely fine with me. You accept that homosexuality exists and that's really all I want.
In a remarkable display of diversity of opinions within the gay community, I will say I vehemently disagree with this point. Hooray for heterogeneity among the homosexuals! I'm also gay, if there was any question.
I love the inclusion of LGBT people in the BioWare games. I'm playing through Dragon Age: Inquisition right now, and I can't think of a better way to include gay and transgendered people in media in general, let alone games. Dorian, for example, is upfront about his sexuality, and it's a major part of what defines him as a character without being his ONLY characteristic.
It kind of amazes me that you think that
four out of eight romance options who aren't exclusively straight (2 are gay, 2 are bisexual) is too many to seem like....what, exactly? A gathering of people that could actually happen?
If you think the gay content in BioWare games is "heavy-handed" and "cringe-worthy", there's a good chance you're just not over the newness of a gay character in a AAA game.* The writing is, in my opinion, very much up to BioWare standards and is no more forced than a romance with a humanoid bird/insect hybrid.
*Note to straight people: we watch and play the same stuff you do. When we see gay characters in media, they're just as novel and "shocking" to us as they are to you.
Vigormortis said:
It's always felt like an incredible disservice to the LGBT community in how Bioware handles the 'relationships' in it's games, as well as the related marketing.
Tokenism is
NOT inclusion, Bioware. Especially when you make a point of telling us, "Look! Gay characters in our games! My, how inclusive and progressive we are!"
For me, I just want games that have good characters. If they happen to be gay, then, that's neat, but, making almost all of your cast have leanings of homosexuality is just trying too hard and seems disingenuous.
I dunno. For me it would depend on the context of the game. Or, more to the point, the story. But I kind of agree.
Still, if a dev wants to make a COD-clone with an all-gay cast of main characters, I'd say, "Huh. That's cool. The character design for the brunette over there is kinda cute. Can I have my sniper rifle now?"
However, what I am asking for is just acknowledgement. If you have an open world game, and somewhere in that game, there's an NPC who passingly mentions he or she is gay, then that's completely fine with me. You accept that homosexuality exists and that's really all I want.
This is how I feel, in a nut shell.
Openly accepting homosexuality as a "thing[footnote]And by 'thing' I mean a natural part of life ostensibly no different than heterosexuality.[/footnote]" is
far more inclusive and progressive-thinking than just adding token gay characters to the main cast.
What exactly is "tokenism" in your opinion?
I don't understand how I'm supposed to be offended by the inclusion of gay characters in BioWare games. There are aliens and wizards and people with wood-varnished hair in BioWare games, I don't think that gay people are an outlandish concept in the universes they create.
Hell, I hate the entire concept against tokenism of minority characters. It implies that straight, white, and male is "default", instead of just one of several options to base your character upon, and that there must be a
reason to deviate from this template. And that reason, apparently, can't be "just because".
We play BioWare games because we love the characters they create. They're complex, developed characters with personalities that resonate with us because they could be real people. These are games in which combat, gameplay, and even plot take a backseat to exploring the people within the universe put before us.
If the inclusion of a small number of people who don't gag at the thought of their genitals mashing against similar-looking genitals in a game that thrives on the diversity of its cast feels "token" to you, I don't know what the hell you'd consider appropriate.
**Edit, fixed typo