ToR's Expansion introduces Planet of the Gays

[Sepko]

So, as Bioware have promised, we gamers of the same-sex-loving inclination will finally be able to have flirty dialogue/companion/romance options with characters of the same gender--oh, wait, they're still working on that.
With its upcoming Expansion Pack Rise of the Hutt Cartel, The Old Republic will give us the chance to roleplay a bit more deeply and--why is there a gay planet?

Ooookaaaay...so it seems a planet called Makeb, housing most if not all of the galaxy's gay elements, will be added in the expansion while we wait for the companion stuff.

It comes off as weird more than anything really, I've always respected Bioware's attempts at being inclusive as best they can but in this instance it just comes off as alienating and, quite frankly, lazy. I won't harp on them too much about it though; their track record with LGBT characters and issues is above-average at worst, but they should know that having what essentially amounts to a gays-only paddock for us to frolic in is not the way to go about it.

In the meantime, for the homophobes who will undoubtedly find their way here, in the words of [URL="http://www.destructoid.com/star-wars-the-old-republic-and-its-new-gay-planet--242389.phtml" (title,target)]Jim Sterling[/URL] on his article about all this:
"I hope you wake up one day, sucking on the biggest penis ever, belonging to a guy dressed up like one of the Cantina band. And you love it. And you ...

Don't.

Know.

Why."

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I was willing to give Bioware the benefit of the doubt on this, but seriously? If all of the gays are lumped onto one planet, I'll be annoyed. There better be some more stuff on other planets, or this is just lazy.

 

[Fappy]

That's... really stupid. Homosexual characters shouldn't be a novelty. They should be characters that just happen to be gay.

 

[Andy Shandy]

That's... really stupid. Homosexual characters shouldn't be a novelty. They should be characters that just happen to be gay.

Which you think Bioware of all people would know how to do well, since that was how Cortez was portrayed.

Also Planet Of The Gays sounds like a version of Planet Of The Apes.

Spoiler: In fact, I found this.

So it seems I'm not the only one.

 

[Sixcess]

The class storylines in all their fully voiced cutscene glory are TOR's unique feature and biggest draw by a long way, and when Bioware called same sex relationships a "post-launch feature" I think most people who wanted this assumed they would go back and add the option for at least some of the existing companions. Certainly Bioware said and did nothing to dissuade that belief.

But it's just too expensive and time consuming. If SWTOR had been the runaway hit that EA/BW dreamed of then maybe they could have afforded to do it, though I still doubt it. As it is we get this and it's rather sad. Given the fixation most MMO dev teams have on level cap/endgame content I'd be very surprised if they ever go back and add this layer to the existing storylines.

captcha: tickled pink

Why captcha, I never knew you were that way inclined.

 

[Fappy]

That's... really stupid. Homosexual characters shouldn't be a novelty. They should be characters that just happen to be gay.

Which you think Bioware of all people would know how to do well, since that was how Cortez was portrayed.

Also Planet Of The Gays sounds like a version of Planet Of The Apes.

Spoiler: In fact, I found this.

So it seems I'm not the only one.

Now if they could only make Cortez an interesting character! >

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you! GOD DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!

 

[alphamalet]

All of them segregated to one planet?
Absolutely hilarious! What the hell is Bioware doing? It comes off to me as more than lazy.

By the way, I'm not too familiar with Star Wars, but I'll just float this out there. If it's a planet of nothing but homosexuals, which can't procreate, wouldn't that planet have an issue sustaining its population? Just saying... Or is this planet some sort of a token gay bar?

 

[Ascarus]

With its upcoming Expansion Pack Rise of the Hutt Cartel, The Old Republic will give us the chance to roleplay a bit more deeply and--why is there a gay planet?

Ooookaaaay...so it seems a planet called Makeb, housing most if not all of the galaxy's gay elements, will be added in the expansion while we wait for the companion stuff.

that is freaking "hilarious" if true. cause we all know that the best thing we can do with all them gays is isolate them on their own planet. wouldn't want them infecting the rest of the galaxy with their gay.

It comes off as weird more than anything really,

that is putting it mildly in my opinion. hell in ME3 Steve was openly gay. did it detract from the game or him in anyway? nope. in fact i found his character to be more compelling than some of my squad mates.

 

[Sixcess]

Oh christ, I see this has made it to Fox News. [http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/01/14/star-wars-game-segregates-gay-characters-on-gay-planet/] Needless to say it's ill informed and inflammatory.

I actually feel really sorry for Bioware now. They screwed up by not having this in TOR from launch, but now they're going to take all kinds of shit from the mass media for introducing "The Gay" into good old family-friendly Star Wars. I guess they can either fight it out with Fox et al (and I hope they do) or, god forbid, pull the same-sex content, perhaps at the behest of the licence holder if they feel it's bad for their brand image.

And if Bioware do give in to pressure, be it internal or external, and pull the content then their fandom and the wider gaming media will crucify them. Even more than they usually do these days.

Actually, having thought about it, it would have been worth their while to go back and add this to the existing content to some degree. For a lot of Bioware fans that would likely be enough to inspire them to level up new characters.

 

[Agayek]

So the game has gone... *glasses* pay2gay?

 

[Tom Artingstall]

So the game has gone... *glasses* pay2gay?

Bravo, sir. Bravo.

Onto the Op's point: If Bioware can have an entire SPECIES of lesbians, why not a planet of gays? It seems only fair, lest they be accused of alienating non-female homosexuals in their games.

 

[Erttheking]

And people honestly called me entitled for criticizing Bioware.

This is just lazy and insulting.

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

IT"S NOT SEGREGATION!

Ahem. Go read the article the OP linked to: Bioware intends to fully integrate the game, but they don't have the money or the resources to produce the many hours of voice-work necessary to do it right at this time, because (in case you didn't know) the game is not making money, and they're trying to keep it afloat by switching to Free to Play and pushing out other content to keep what few players they have.

You can argue that it's tasteless, but it's born of an attempt to give players who want gay characters the opportunity to be gay now, rather than waiting for a more comprehensive update that may never come.

 

[hazabaza1]

Ho-leeeee shit.
Bioware just got buttfuck retarded to the extreme.

 

[daveman247]

... People are still playing this? I was under the impression that it was dying a slow death.

I think once again, bioware is damned if they do and damned if they don't. I mean, this is a start right? And lets not forget star wars hasn't really touched on this subject much either so theres that. Add the fact that the game aint doing well and what some of you are calling "lazy" i would call "lack of resources". Would you rather they at least try this or just not bother at all due to fears of "not being able to do it right".

Just saying

 

[The Madman]

An entire planet of gay people? So how does the planet maintain a population, or are all the planets inhabitants immigrants from other planets and cultures?

The sheer logistics are just confusing.

 

[Xdeser2]

So the game has gone... *glasses* pay2gay?

Bravo, sir. Bravo.

Onto the Op's point: If Bioware can have an entire SPECIES of lesbians, why not a planet of gays? It seems only fair, lest they be accused of alienating non-female homosexuals in their games.

In Biowares Defense, The Asari Really arent Lesbians, as they have no real gender, but thats just me being a Lore nut, and I totally get your point

Onto OP's point: This is really contrived. Seems like this was more of a thing where EA was concerned. "Hey, we need to expand our Demographic!"

Lo and Behold the subtlety of Bioware/EA as they create an Entire region "just for Gays" and likely wont get why they're being shouted at about it

 

[Paflick]

IT"S NOT SEGREGATION!

Ahem. Go read the article the OP linked to: Bioware intends to fully integrate the game, but they don't have the money or the resources to produce the many hours of voice-work necessary to do it right at this time, because (in case you didn't know) the game is not making money, and they're trying to keep it afloat by switching to Free to Play and pushing out other content to keep what few players they have.

You can argue that it's tasteless, but it's born of an attempt to give players who want gay characters the opportunity to be gay now, rather than waiting for a more comprehensive update that may never come.

Basically, this. For those of you who haven't played ToR, the amount of work that goes in to the storyline is insane. Every single option is voice acted (by pretty awesome voice actors as well, if I do say so myself), which I'm pretty sure takes up quite a bit of time and cash.

I have to agree that Bioware is really just screwed either way at this point. It's not exactly a happy thought, but it is what it is. They get flak for introducing homosexual content now, and they also get flak for not making it available in all of the pre-existing storylines.

If they get the resources to introduce it in to the earlier content, I'd be so happy. As it is, I'm a bit confused at their decision, but I can see some of the angles. Only time will tell how things pan out, really.

 

[Newtonyd]

I can't really imagine a way this can possibly be tastefully done.

In their defense, it sounds more like they are just adding a planet to avoid having to modify their old content. Essentially they are doing it to be lazy. Make of that what you will.