Ubisoft Writer Predicts No Gay Game Heroes Anytime Soon

grigjd3

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Funny, a number of the companions in New Vegas are gay. Granted it's not the main character but you play a silent protagonist in NV. This makes me wonder, does Red Lucy still sleep with your character if your character is female? I hadn't tried that. There are certainly lots of gay characters and gay romance possibilities in Bioware games. At any rate, I imagine that this is a sad left-over view that will be washed behind us in the next decade. All the guy really knows is that he only ever makes games with annoying dark-haired white dudes. Besides, the vast majority of the time, sexuality of any sort in a video game is a complete joke.
 

michael87cn

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Who cares?!?! WHO CARES?!?!

I am so sick of gay people shouting to the heavens their sexual orientation. GOOD FOR YOU! But it's kind of supposed to be... a PRIVATE thing. It's YOUR business not MY business what you do when you're naked with other people. I do NOT care, I do NOT want to hear about it all day every day everywhere I go.

Again... GOOD FOR YOU! NOW SHUT UP ALREADY!

Is a video game hero gay? GOOD FOR THEM, I don't care. I just want to play the game.

Gay people are fine. Except when they're exceptionally needy and attention whores. No one likes an attention whore.
 

franticfarken

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If they started doing homosexual protagonists they'll most likely just offend/annoy MORE people with Gay stereotypes.
 

Azure23

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michael87cn said:
Who cares?!?! WHO CARES?!?!

I am so sick of gay people shouting to the heavens their sexual orientation. GOOD FOR YOU! But it's kind of supposed to be... a PRIVATE thing. It's YOUR business not MY business what you do when you're naked with other people. I do NOT care, I do NOT want to hear about it all day every day everywhere I go.

Again... GOOD FOR YOU! NOW SHUT UP ALREADY!

Is a video game hero gay? GOOD FOR THEM, I don't care. I just want to play the game.

Gay people are fine. Except when they're exceptionally needy and attention whores. No one likes an attention whore.
It must be so hard for you, I feel for you, I really do. I can't imagine how hard it must be to have your attention drawn to hate crimes and other horrible social injustices. Is this a joke? Do you not understand relationship dynamics or something? It's about more than what people do when they're naked, like there are more aspects to homosexuality than gay sex. And where are you living that you are constantly bombarded by people shouting their gayness from the rooftops?

You know that when sochi was selected to be the site of this year's olympics they claimed that all their gay residents just suddenly didn't exist anymore? That's pretty shitty, so even if these people that so annoy you are simply shouting that they're gay (and they're not, thats fucking stupid, they're generally shouting for progressive social change) they have good reason to. In short, I am sorry that everytime you see an expression of gay pride you feel annoyed that people would have the temerity to announce their continued existence. Now I have no idea who you are or your ethnicity, sexuality, or background, but judging from that post you're not someone who is extremely marginalized, so how about you use that privilege for something other than bitching on the internet.
 

CelestDaer

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michael87cn said:
Who cares?!?! WHO CARES?!?!

I am so sick of gay people shouting to the heavens their sexual orientation. GOOD FOR YOU! But it's kind of supposed to be... a PRIVATE thing. It's YOUR business not MY business what you do when you're naked with other people. I do NOT care, I do NOT want to hear about it all day every day everywhere I go.

Again... GOOD FOR YOU! NOW SHUT UP ALREADY!

Is a video game hero gay? GOOD FOR THEM, I don't care. I just want to play the game.

Gay people are fine. Except when they're exceptionally needy and attention whores. No one likes an attention whore.
Agreed, in part. I'm not interested in hearing what your personal sexuality is unless I'm trying to get into your pants, and if I AM, and haven't figured it out already, I really shouldn't be trying to get into your pants. BUT, and here's the important part: People are still forcing others to yell and bring attention to their sexuality, because these people are trying to pretend these other sexualities don't exist. Basically, this is a shouting match between two kids, one with their fingers in their ears yelling, "La la la la la la! I can't here you, the only people who exist are straight!" And the other kid yelling, "I'm not straight, AND I exist, so you're already wrong."
 

jackinmydaniels

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I would really rather writers just be able to do whatever they want, why must we shoehorn in all this political nonsense?
 

Erttheking

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...So, just about everyone here doesn't like Bioware romances? *Sigh*...do I have the popular opinion of ANYTHING on this website? I mean Christ, seeing this happen day in and day out...really it can actually get a little depressing.
 

Casual Shinji

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CriticKitten said:
Which is another reason I didn't like the implications from Last of Us. It wasn't added to "enhance the character", it was added to check off a box on someone's "equality" checklist. And that's sad.
A lot of people didn't even notice it however. I still see comments from people that don't realize Bill was gay. And that's what makes it work; His preference gets as much exposure as Joel or Tess'. With Joel and Tess you can tell there's something going on between them, but you're not exactly sure what. And so it is with Bill and Frank.

But more than that their relationship is interesting, not because they're gay, but because they have this love/hate relationship.

Compare that to the Left Behind DLC where the gay implications were thrown in simply to make it interesting, since the actual relationship in it wasn't.
 

martyrdrebel27

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in State of Decay Eli Wilkerson and Jacob Ritter are gay. I thought the way that game handled it was excellent, which is to say, not at all different than a straight couple. it's never said HEY WE'RE GAY! and they aren't typical flamboyant characters, just two people in love. it comes across as standard and understated, not making a show of it.
 

Kingjackl

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Prejudice in general is just a symptom of cowardice. There's a reason the well-travelled tend to be the least prejudiced, and it's because once you grow to understand a particular person, community or culture, they cease to be 'the other' and you're just left with a group of people who are diverse, yet human.

Bearing that in mind, it sounds to me like a Metroid-style stealth reveal would be your best bet for introducing a bit of sorely needed sexual diversity in game protagonists. By the time you get to the denouement and your hypothetical hero has just pulled his hot male love interest into a passionate embrace, you've already spent a whole game playing as him and getting to know him, so him coming out as a homosexual shouldn't spoil anything (this is assuming you weren't already onboard with that to begin with). Best case scenario, you have a new appreciation for a previously unknown facet of your hero, worst case you cry like the coward you are, but it doesn't matter because the publishers already have your money and your backward opinion ceases to have any value to them. Everybody wins.
 

Farfelkugeln

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AntiChri5 said:
I would love a game where you are the stereotypical "mid-30s stubbly-bearded brown-haired white guy with a raspy voice" whose lover (who has a gender neutral name) was abducted by the villain. After fighting through all the bad guys, he is finally reunited with his lover who turns out to be a dude. The reactions would be so goddamn funny.

Anyway, what about New Vegas? I was under the impression that that handled it's gay characters rather well too.
Rather late reply but this exact, almost literal thing happened to me in Dragons Dogma.
I did some quests for a random guy (who, if I'd actually read the quest texts, were the main character's childhood friend)
and nothing hinted at that he became a love interest, except for perhaps the text, which I didn't really read.
I also had an convoluted affair with a dutchess, so imagine my surprise when, after slaying the dragon, som guy I didn't even recognise (did those quests waay back) leapt into my characters arms and got all amorous.
It was all pretty funny, really.

OT: I wouldn't mind playing a gay/bi/whatever character as long as that wasn't the character's main/only defining trait.
 

[REDACTED]

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michael87cn said:
Who cares?!?! WHO CARES?!?!

I am so sick of gay people shouting to the heavens their sexual orientation. GOOD FOR YOU! But it's kind of supposed to be... a PRIVATE thing. It's YOUR business not MY business what you do when you're naked with other people. I do NOT care, I do NOT want to hear about it all day every day everywhere I go.

Again... GOOD FOR YOU! NOW SHUT UP ALREADY!

Is a video game hero gay? GOOD FOR THEM, I don't care. I just want to play the game.

Gay people are fine. Except when they're exceptionally needy and attention whores. No one likes an attention whore.
So what counts as "Shouting to the heavens"? Mentioning that they're gay? Kissing in public? Existing?

Tell me, have you ever commented on a member of the opposite sex being attractive? Mentioned your boyfriend/girlfriend in conversation? We don't see the simple fact of being straight as a "private thing", so why should it be any different for gay people?
 
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Brian Tams said:
How about a game where two gay characters can exist on the same squad but not be attracted to each other romantically or sexually? I mean, in mass effect 3, the only squad mates that came out as gay/bi were the ones that could be romanced by shep. How come you couldn't have a gay squad member who just wasn't attracted to Shepherd?

Petty complaint, I know, but just because two characters are gay doesn't mean they're obligated to fuck somewhere down the narrative line.
TV Tropes [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheLawOfConservationOfDetail] does a respectable job of explaining why this idea won't really work.

A book might explore such an idea but a game or film really can't. While good world-building and character development are integral to a good narrative, you only have so much time or space in which to tell a story. If one were to include details about two characters' sexuality and further, establish that they aren't attracted to each other, then it needs to be because it's important to the story and/or world. If it is unimportant, it doesn't need to be there and can safely be removed without making any difference to the story (except perhaps by improving it by removing superfluous fluff).

Round characters are important ones with a role to play and can have many distinct characteristics and deep personalities. Flat characters are there for window dressing or as a plot device and have one or two characteristics that simply let the player/reader/viewer identify them quickly. Assigning "gay" as one of the defining characteristics to a "flat" character would mean that would have to be their entire personality and whenever we encounter them, they're being gay. Assigning it to a "round" character is more significant and can comprise just one facet of their personality, but again it would only be done if it had some relevance and importance.

Ultimately it comes down to significance. If it is not important, it doesn't need to be there. If it is, then it should be there. But if you are making someone's homosexuality important then it will have to serve a purpose in the story and the above example doesn't do that. It's not even like having a racial minority character on the squad where we visually absorb it in an instant without any narrative time devoted to it; you have to go out of your way to include voice assets and a situation to explain their homosexuality.

Having a gay squad member that Shepard couldn't hook up with would've meant writing/voicing dialogue and interactions to little purpose. If it has no effect on the player, gameplay or the story it doesn't need to be there (note again: this takes nothing away from the importance of good world building). For a game's protagonist to be gay, there needs to be reason to make that choice, particularly since only ~3% of the population could easily identify with them. What story might we play as a gay protagonist where their homosexuality is significant enough that it is an important characteristic, and would it be a game that people would want to play when there are other games where sexual preference is entirely irrelevant?
 

Dr. Thrax

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Chaosritter said:
Pink Apocalypse said:
Was it a straight character 'turned gay'? Or was it a bisexual character that remained bisexual?

Weird how people still insist on black-or-white absolutes.
Well, he was originally only a romance option for female characters, and only mentioned finding female characters attractive. So if he was bisexual from the start, they did a great job at hiding it.
Actually in ME1 there were files hidden that were disabled that allowed Kaidan to be romanced by MShep as well as FemShep. As I said, however, they were disabled with the release of the game and can only be re-enabled by importing a save game of mucking about with things.
I do apologize if this has already been mentioned, but I'm in a bit of a rush.
 

Spade Lead

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Adam Jensen said:
He's right about sales. I wouldn't buy a game with a gay protagonist. I don't have a problem admitting that because I'm not homophobic. I don't feel the need to fake extra political correctness. I don't have anything against homosexuality, I just hate mandatory romances in video games. That's not why I play them. And it would be especially weird if that mandatory romance isn't something that I can relate to. I want to relate to the protagonist. I can't do that if you shove his/her sexuality in my face like it's somehow important. RPG's like Mass Effect and Dragon Age I'm OK with because I can just choose not to engage my character in a romantic relationship if I don't want to. And having that freedom makes it more likely for me to explore the possibilities.

There is one thing that does bother me even about those games. Take Mass Effect for example. Characters in that game react to Shepard like they don't know that he/she is hetero/homosexual. They should fuckin' know! So why not simply let people choose their sexuality in the character creator before the game?
I feel the same way. I think it would be hilarious to fire up a game, play through as a gay guy just for the lols and no further fanfare is required. But if a game says "You are James Reynolds, a Gay Space Marine who sets out on a mission to save the world," Pass. I don't care one way or the other about "Marriage Equality" but if you make me play as a Gay Guy just because he is Gay and that is controversial, I won't buy it.
 

Menno Deen

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I think the game landscape can clearly benefit from a gay perspective (and others :).

To enrich above discussion, we organized the Games [4Diversity] Jam in the weekend after GDC (March 22-23) during the 24hour development session we will design games from a feminine or LGBTQ perspective, in order to explore how this may incite new and innovative games. Please feel free to join and contribute in a positive and constructive manner to more diversity in games :D

More info on www.gamesjam.nl
 

MeChaNiZ3D

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So large publishers are risk-averse backwards fuckwits. Cool.

And gay characters are being introduced quietly and to the same standard as the other characters. Cool.

HOWEVER.

I'm happy to have all kinds of sexualities and races and whatnot represented, but what I do not like is the majority of the cast of an RPG being bisexual for tolerance. I'm looking at Mass Effect. That is both a statistically outlying percentage of bisexuals and in some cases, a reversal of what has previously been established. Maturity in this topic is having NPCs react according to their identity, not fluidly adapt to whatever the player character fancies.
 

The_Echo

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Video games is still such a very young medium. Even film, which has about four decades on top of games, is still a bit shit at minority representation. It's just not something that can happen at the snap of a finger. It's gotta be the right people making the right decisions with the right work.

I feel like a lot of people are pressuring video games to mature faster than it naturally would. I can't necessarily blame those people, but I'd like it if they stopped. I feel such people may be enforcing "interactive experiences" and narrative-focused games which we're seeing more and more of in AAA titles now. And I'm not sure that's a direction we need to be heading in.
 

Sofus

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I'm okay with gay protagonists... so long as it's optional.

Imagine, if you will, that the protagonist of an AC game just happens to be gay... seriously, think about it. AC4 Black Flag with a gay Edward Kenway? ahh.. so that's why almost all the sailors were male back then.

Remember how Ubi talked about Edward and his first mate having a close relationship?? now think about that comment along with a potentially gay Edward Kenway.