Same-Sex Romance Coming to The Old Republic

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Same-Sex Romance Coming to The Old Republic


Bioware says that same-sex relationships will be coming to Star Wars: The Old Republic after all, as a "post-launch feature."

It got ugly in a hurry way back in April '09, when a Bioware forum moderator put the kibosh on a discussion about same-sex relationships in official statement on same gender romance arcs in Star Wars: The Old Republic [http://www.swtor.com/]" posted on The Old Republic forums.

"Due to the design constraints of a fully voiced MMO of this scale and size, many choices had to be made as to the launch and post-launch feature set. Same gender romances with companion characters in Star Wars: The Old Republic will be a post-launch feature. Because The Old Republic is an MMO, the game will live on through content expansions which allow us to include content and features that could not be included at launch, including the addition of more companion characters who will have additional romance options."

"Post-launch" is admittedly not the most precise time frame but it's a lot better than a flat "not gonna happen." More to the point, the simple acknowledgment that homosexuality does in fact exist in the Star Wars universe is a much-needed admission from Bioware that its initial handling of the issue was way off-base. I don't see videogame romances as something worth getting terribly worked up about, but denying the very existence of homosexuality is a real slap in the face for an awful lot of people.

Reaction to the decision has come fast and furious, as you might expect. The original thread announcing the change of heart rocketed to 326 pages in less than 48 hours, after which it was closed for exceed thread length thresholds; a new thread [http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=488493], currently at 39 pages and growing, has taken its place.

via: Rock, Paper, Shotgun



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Studs MacKenzie

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Aug 6, 2011
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Same-sex romance post-launch sounds like an odd concept. I wonder why BioWare has it slated for after release. Maybe it'll be - like - an expansion pack, complete with half-naked Twi'lek companions and Hutt-like harems to compose hedonistic, inter-terristrial orgies with your team... for Yoda-knows-why.

All kidding aside, this game is fantastic! BioWare is really going to leave their signature story-driven narrative marks on the MMO genre, no doubt about it.
 

Saviordd1

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Studs MacKenzie said:
Same-sex romance post-launch sounds like an odd concept. I wonder why BioWare has it slated for after release. Maybe it'll be - like - an expansion pack, complete with half-naked Twi'lek companions and Hutt-like harems to compose hedonistic, inter-terristrial orgies with your team... for Yoda-knows-why.

All kidding aside, this game is fantastic! BioWare is really going to leave their signature story-driven narrative marks on the MMO genre, no doubt about it.
Story wise it will be awesome, i really wish the gameplay was a bit better though.
 

GonzoGamer

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Apr 9, 2008
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Andy Chalk said:
I don't see videogame romances as something worth getting terribly worked up about, but denying the very existence of homosexuality is a real slap in the face for an awful lot of people.
Especially C3PO fans.

Then you got R2 who was bi: he just stuck his sensor into any ship/space station/colony mainframe he could find. It's how he got cyber-herpes.
 

Worgen

Follower of the Glorious Sun Butt.
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Apr 1, 2009
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Whatever, just wash your hands.
I dont really get how you work a romance plot into a mmo like this let alone have actual sexuality in starwars
 

thiosk

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Metal Brother said:
Jedi lesbians. The world is now a sexier place.
Excuse me, thats jesbians.

This seems like much ado about nothing. Why is there romance in this game anyway? Isn't it an MMO? There will be plenty of midnight samesex cyber romps, as in any other MMO. Does this have something to do with profile settings? I DON'T GET IT.
 

Lerasai

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Aug 14, 2010
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And now a reason for slash fans to play.

And by slash fans I mean me.

And by fan I mean pervert.
 

Alluos

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Nov 7, 2010
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I might be thinking a bit far ahead, but I think I can see a time where "Bioware game has same-sex romances!" isn't news anymore :p

In other news: I don't really see how romances would work in an MMO, I suppose it'd be similar to how a Mass Effect game would work if there was an extensive online co-op mode. Minus the differences in game-play of course.
 

HerbertTheHamster

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Apr 6, 2009
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It's a fucking mmo. You interact with real people, make some real goddamn connections.

this is fanservice at it's worst.
 

The Forces of Chaos

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Mar 25, 2010
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HerbertTheHamster said:
It's a fucking mmo. You interact with real people, make some real goddamn connections.

this is fanservice at it's worst.
Aye ! Seriously Bioware WTF ! First the Origin debarkle now this? looks like they want this mmo to fail.
 

WouldYouKindly

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Apr 17, 2011
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Metal Brother said:
Jedi lesbians. The world is now a sexier place.
Why else would some lightsaber bases look so phallic?

OT: Options are always nice. Though, if I get this, I'll be playing an Imperial Agent, perhaps the word romance doesn't quite fit.
 

Chappy

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May 17, 2010
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I don't understand what the benefit to having romance options in a MMO is? Your just going to have a thousand people all running around with the same person ruins immersion a bit I would imagine.
 

FaceFaceFace

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Nov 18, 2009
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To those who are confused, it's a story-based MMO, as in, all the basic plot/leveling missions follow a cohesive storyline that is basically any other Bioware game, with the same conversation and plot choices, i.e. allowing you to kill puppies or get into relationships.
 

dyre

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Mar 30, 2011
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A bit strange to have romances in an MMO, but I'm sure Bioware can make it work. I guess this means there will be more conversations with NPCs besides "I need 10 Jedi skulls please. You get 500 exp and 2000 credits."
 

wilsontheterrible

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Jul 27, 2011
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Chappy said:
I don't understand what the benefit to having romance options in a MMO is? Your just going to have a thousand people all running around with the same person ruins immersion a bit I would imagine.
No more than seeing your friend playing a game with the same romance option that you chose. Since you're character's story is dependant on your characters class and specializations I'm guessing that the romance options will be as well. So while its possible it's going to be slightly more unlikely.

When I played wow I think I can count the number of times I met another ruin build undead warlock on one hand and I played for years. I'm guessing that meeting another person with my class, my build options, my party, and my romance option is going to be even more unlikely than my 4 random encounters with warlocks that were somewhat like me.
 

GameMaNiAC

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Sep 8, 2010
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Why is every game developer being proud as they announce this? I'm not homophobic but it's really annoying to see yet another article titled "X ANNOUNCE GAY RELATIONSHIPS IN Y". Okay! Fine! Good for them! You have gay relationships! Cool! Your game rocks! And why are you rubbing this info in my face like it's something holy?

Besides, this is a MMO. What are relationships even doing in a game like this?
 

Alar

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Dec 1, 2009
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Sadly, the allure of lesbian relationships is not enough to get me to buy this game.