Define "A Well Writen Gay Character" in Gaming.

[RJ 17]

I decided to make this topic in response to a topic that I (and a lot of you, my fellow Escapists) posted in the other day that questioned why there aren't more homosexual characters in games.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.387320-Poll-Games-arent-gay-enough?page=1

In particular, the OP brings up this point:

I mean, I'm not exactly a champion of political correctness, but that kind of horrifies me that 2012, we only have ONE well-written gay guy in the whole mainstream gaming spectrum. 0 well-written lesbians.

This brought me to the question that is in this topic's title: "Just what IS a 'well writen' gay character?"

I think it's a good and valid question. Is it not enough to simply state that Shepard's shuttle pilot is gay and have him struggling over the loss of his husband? Is HE not a "well writen" gay character? Just what exactly are you looking for in a well writen gay character? Should they be flamboyant stereotypes like limp-wristed interior decorators? I'd argue that it's enough to simply have it in a character's background that they're gay - the way it is with Cortez - rather than having it be their sole defining characteristic.

Cortez, as a character, is a top-notch fighter pilot that stayed on with the Normandy and became the shuttle pilot. A vital member of the crew, he fearlessly drops Shepard's squad off in some of the hottest battlefields in the war and genuinely worries for Shepard's safety. An upstanding soldier in the Alliance, and all-around just a good man. Oh, and he's grieving over the loss of his husband.

While the grieving is a major part of his story, it has nothing to do with his homosexuality. He could just as easily have been grieving over the loss of his wife or his child or something. That his lost loved one was his homosexual partner really isn't important to his story, it's just another detail about him as a character...but not the ONLY detail about him as a character.

Soooooo yeah. What do you consider to be a "well writen gay character"?

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Cortez sounds like a good example to me. A well written gay character is just a well written character who happens to be gay.

 

[Vault101]

*sigh*

I guess you could say a charachter who's gayness only comes up when relevant

"I had a husband"
"Yeah I been in love...I think she loved me too"

but seriosuly

[img/]http://www.writingforums.com/attachments/debate/1598d1294313889-should-we-forgive-just-understand-i_like_where_this_thread_is_going_again.jpg[/img]

 

[Andy Shandy]

I think you're spot on with Cortez. They don't make a big fuss about him being gay, he's just a well-written character who happened to have a husband instead of a wife.

Also, obligatory Chang gif.

 

[piinyouri]

When it's used to enhance a characters story, without defining them entirely.

 

[KhaoticOne]

Well in the simplest of terms wouldn't a well-define gay character be somebody who is gay but it isn't their only/defining trait. So i guess it could potentially be most well-written characters if only they were gay as well.

But since we need to know that person is uhm gay then it may produce a counterproductive method of showing their gay but show too much and it gets show-horned into their defining trait (which is bad right?).

Its pretty rare that a character's sexual orientation is essential to themselves (or the plot) of a story (with the notable exception of course). So the lack of gay characters from my perspective comes from story-telling, and characters with undefined orientations (never been stated so we naturally assume they're hetero).

The only other gay character i could add is Anders from Dragon Age (awake/2).

 

[CannibalCorpses]

Define "A Well Written Gay Character" in Gaming...

Unless the game wants you to shag the same sex for whatever reason then a well written gay character has no reference to their sexuality at all. Just give me a few hints in the storytelling and don't make a big deal about it. In real life i can't always tell someones sexuality and unless they are trying to feed me a sausage then it is irrelevant.

 

[Mirroga]

When the character considers it as normal as being a man or a woman. It should be subtle as to how his gender interacts with everyone.

Gender issues should NEVER be drama nor should it be deliberately flaunted.

EDIT: In other words, the gay aspect should never be considered a stereotype nor should it be considered as a character's ONLY characteristic.

 

[DarkishFriend]

When they are a person who happens to be gay, not a person who is gay. Their orientation can be used to add depth to their character but should not be a cop out to overly sexualize them and stereotype them. Me personally, I liked anders and actually felt an urge to try a relationship with him on my first play through, though I hated how he kept getting mad and kept begging throughout the game because I decided that my hawkes wasnt gonna get with anyone

 

[Eddie the head]

A well written character, that's gay? Gay people are not some subset of the human race. They are people that just happen to be gay.

 

[White Lightning]

Oh geez is this going to be the flavour of the month?

A well written Gay character is a well written character who happens to be Gay. That's it. That's all there is too it.

OR

They are a Lesbain and they have lots of Lesbian sex with other Lesbians and do Lesbian things all day and are Lesbians. and Boobs.


Lesbians.

 

[ThePuzzldPirate]

A well written gay character is one that when everything is said in done, being gay isn't the defining point of the character. When gay sexual preference is treated the same as straight sexual preference, that is when the good characters come out...but we have to wait till society as a whole stops finding it weird.

 

[Vegosiux]

A character that happens to be gay. As opposed to a character that pretty much says "Hey, I'm gay" before they even tell you what their fucking name is.

A well written gay character is one that when everything is said in done, being gay isn't the defining point of the character. When gay sexual preference is treated the same as straight sexual preference, that is when the good characters come out...but we have to wait till society as a whole stops finding it weird.

Egads, ninja'd.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

A character that happens to be gay. As opposed to a character that pretty much says "Hey, I'm gay" before they even tell you what their fucking name is.

A well written gay character is one that when everything is said in done, being gay isn't the defining point of the character. When gay sexual preference is treated the same as straight sexual preference, that is when the good characters come out...but we have to wait till society as a whole stops finding it weird.

Egads, ninja'd.

Ive noticed whenever a character is gay in a game they are pretty good guys. Like in our desire to be non discriminatory we put gay people on a pedestal when we should be treating them as equals. But a gay person can also be a bad person, just like a straight person can be bad. Imagine if the villain was gay. Right now that would probably rustle a lot of peoples jimmies.

 

[Vegosiux]

Ive noticed whenever a character is gay in a game they are pretty good guys. Like in our desire to be non discriminatory we put gay people on a pedestal when we should be treating them as equals. But a gay person can also be a bad person, just like a straight person can be bad. Imagine if the villain was gay. Right now that would probably rustle a lot of peoples jimmies.

Well, there was that fat guy in Assassin's Creed...and, well I suppose there's Zapp Brannigan, too.

I think the jimmies would be rustled because of how the writing totally fails most of the time, makign "gay" the guy's first and only defining charactetistic, that's the problem. Your usual straight hero or villain can be aloof, charismatic, determined, ferocious, ax crazy, or a complete dork. Gay heroes or villains, what are they like? Well, they're just...gay.

No wonder jimmies get rustled, as they should.

 

[Nieroshai]

To me a well-written gay character is one that's played exactly like a straight character, except his/her love interest is the same sex. No flamboyant gays, no in-the-closet either unless it's a plot point. Just be a person, character!

 

[Kopikatsu]

To me a well-written gay character is one that's played exactly like a straight character, except his/her love interest is the same sex. No flamboyant gays, no in-the-closet either unless it's a plot point. Just be a person, character!

Apparently that's how you're supposed to write a strong female character. 'Write a man, and then give him boobs.'

Actually, that just seems to be the basic template for everything. 'Write a stereotypical white man, then turn him into . Boom, well written '.

I'll use Ripley as an example. You know, Aliens Ripley. The character widely recognized as one of the best female characters of all time. Neither the story nor the character would have changed in any significant way had she been male, but she's considered a 'strong female character'.

Edit: The reason I use 'man' specifically instead of 'person' is thus: A man acting like a stereotypical woman would draw ire and complaints. And God forbid if he dressed like one. But a woman who acts like a stereotypical man, and dresses like a man (Not really dressing 'like a man', but yanno...jeans and junk) is considered a strong character.