Dragon Age 2 Lead Writer Blasts Homophobic Fan

[Quantupus]

What's he complaining about?

Gay gamers get emo JRPG douchebag Fenris and whiney, insufferable Anders - straight dudes get cute, nerdy Merril and slutty Isabella with her ridiculous tits.

Seems like the straight males/lesbian females got the better deal here.

That's the gist of what I was thinking reading that. I can't imagine every gay man who plays this game would want to romance Fenris. I also can't imagine every strait man who plays this game would want to romance Merril. This guy just personally didn't like the female characters he could romance and felt the need to tell the world that he cares way too much about a stupid little love scene in a video game. And this guy assumes that every strait male player makes a male character. I made a female character and feel no shame in flirting with the male characters. It gives me more friendship points dammit!

 

[GotMalkAvian]

Really? No romance options for straight males? Has this guy even played the game? Why do I get the impression that this kid may be in denial about some things, what with thinking that even every fictional male is coming on to him?

 

[SenseOfTumour]

If I had my way, and I worked for Bioware, I'd track him down by IP and CD key, and send a special patch his way, that sent every male in the game lusting after his pecs, and make him go thru a graphic, oily buttock based mini game to level up.

You know, just so he had a fair reason to complain

Some people like fucking in different ways, get over it. I also sense that he's got zero problem with any girl on girl action going on. I find that homophobia when it comes to on screen action very rarely extends to being offended by girls getting it on with each other.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

They should have introduced some characters as straight, some as bi and some as gay. It is more realistic than turning all the romance-companions into bi characters. They should have approached this sexuality issue in more creative manner, where the sexuality is part of the personality. For example, Merrill is straight and Isabela is bi.

I haven't read through 12 pages of posts, but if I agree with anyone it's this, and I'm surprised not that many more people are of the same sentiment.

If it's sensitivity, awareness, political correctness or whatever it is, then it's fair to mimic REAL LIFE right, so that there is a presence of all orientations, bi, homo, and hetero. Not having your WHOLE PARTY bi and hitting on you, what does that say about the development of each character? It actually makes them shallow as shit! Either have them one orientation, and stay that way. Even the bi metro Elf in DA:O had a very interesting angle to himself, explaining how he was a "wild card gambler who liked it both ways" (quoting living color), and this was a part of his reckless, no-consequence personality, (NOT insinuating that's how bi people are, but it had something to do with why he was bi). And I found him quite 3 dimensional. I would have no problems with strictly gay/lesbian characters either.

Having everyone open and hitting on you, just makes me feel like I'm running around with some lazily written characters, just put there to please the crowd. I wouldn't have a problem with it. Damn, if there was a really hot girl member of my party, and I found out she was lesbian, and had an angle to her character that supplemented that, I would be more impressed than to find out my character was such a stud that everyone hits on me. Anyhow, the romance options aren't really enticing in DA2 compared to other Bioware games, IMO. I actually found Hawke's sister to be the most enticing, unfortunately.

 

[mageroel]

Awesome, good job!!
It's great to see someone make a game that is accessible for everyone, and have the games break with 'tradition', to make way for something much better.
I approve!

 

[Woodsey]

Homophobia is a virus. The sooner it becomes extinct, the better. For everyone.

Funny, I just had the same thought about you. Twat.

Things that isn't: funny, clever, even remotely cunning, worthwhile, possessing of anything even mildly resembling a point.

Bah, totally misread you. Apologies.

I was just waiting for someone to inevitably come out with something like what I thought you said. I've deleted the quote from the original post.

 

[E-Penguin]

someone get that webcomic where the male Hawke is talking to the elf-guy, and says to himself "Okay, just let him down easy, don't want any rivalry points here" and then the next frame they're in bed, with him puzzled as to why.

Coming right up!

[http://img842.imageshack.us/i/cad20110314c6e0as.png/]

This was the one you were asking for, wasn't it?

 

[The Rockerfly]

Ok as a straight male gamer, I agree this guy is an idiot, don't like that Anders hits on you? Just tell him no, also on a side note, any other straight male gamers slept with Zevran when you had the chance?

yes but only because I made sure that I slept with nearly everyone and I picked the most psychotic lines of dialogue for the lolz

 

[Brandon Storck]

Good for Bio Ware. It's good to see some 1 standing up against these crazy ppl who preach Freedom of Speech and the 1st amendment but then always want to censor anything that does not conform to their personal norms.

 

[Saelune]

i actually had the same problem!
male characters were ALWAYS hitting on me, even though i was hitting on a chock that looked hot.
ijust wanted to kick the characters in the balls!
i think the game is a teeny bit *too*
homosexual
*i think the chick i was hitting on was isabela*

To think anything is too gay, well guess what? To a gay person, the world is too straight. Every movie a gay person sees most likely they are forced to watch such disgusting things like a man and a woman...kisssing!

 

[Mathak]

You forgot that the complaint was actually a bit racist too with its "only exotic options of women." I am still shaking my head at that. My wife and I found and still find Isabella to be very lovely. Her skin tone never occurred to me as a negative but apparently it did to the original OP.

I'm going to be very charitable and suggest he might have meant 'exotic' in the sense of 'unconventional'.

It's interesting because she basically has 'white' facial features with dark skin. I'd imagine based on that that she's meant to be mixed race, or perhaps of an ethnicity which doesn't exist in the real world. Still, I really don't see how the original complaint might construe her blackness as 'unattractive', because it literally is just her skin tone.

Actually, going through the game I'm starting to warm to her. I found her character a really offensive 'promiscuous' stereotype at first, but she does start to flesh out as the story progresses.

Want to know something really depressing? There's a mod out there that gives Isabella light skin, blonde hair and blue eyes. It's quite popular on the forums 'because now she's actually attractive'. Claims of racism are vehemently denied, lol.

 

[CleverCover]

someone get that webcomic where the male Hawke is talking to the elf-guy, and says to himself "Okay, just let him down easy, don't want any rivalry points here" and then the next frame they're in bed, with him puzzled as to why.

Coming right up!

[http://img842.imageshack.us/i/cad20110314c6e0as.png/]

This was the one you were asking for, wasn't it?

Just because of that comic, I now feel the need to immediately rush over and create a Male!Hawke for Anders. Ooooh! It's going to be fantastic.

'manaical laughter'

OT: The guy is an asshole that will now come to realize that he is indeed an asshole and will have to live with that for the rest of his life. Now if someone would be so kind as to leave his IP floating around....

And if the people thinking Isabela looks better as a blond, they have some damn awkward tastes. Even if she had a lighter skin color, she'd be better as a brunette than anything.

 

[Nieroshai]

Surely Bisexualism (I call Anders a Bisexual regardless of the magical parallel universe effect on his sexuality depending on Hawke's gender) is the "fairest" sexual opinnion for the companions to have.

I was personally disgruntled that there were no Furry romance options for the Companions. I really ruined the game for me that convincing humans were trying to hit on me...

*edit* How come a horny personality when it was on a Bisexual elf (Zevran) many found creepy, but it is regarded as "hot" when on a lady (Isabella)?

Because the average gamer male is going to see scoring with a lady as positive and find being hit on by a male NPC they don't know at least slightly uncomfortable. My friends are fine with my bisexuality, but if I hit on them you bet they'd be creeped out.
I don't condemn DA2's sexuality paradigm, but it should be a little more realistic, reflecting thaat gay gamers are rarer by making homosexuals a little harder to encounter than straights and less likely to flirt unless they know your orientation first. In sword-and-sorcery-style settings what comes to mind is that the only people who ever flirt with a protagonist (unless he has a natural 17+ Charisma) are whores with the clap anyway, so free love in a medieval setting confuses the hell out of me.

 

[StBishop]

You could hate Fenris for his ridiculous anti-mage stance, but he has a fantastic voice (Gideon Emery).

Whenever he speaks I think about fighting Russian space robots.

I actually hated his voice. It made me want to punch him right in his pretty-boy face. Especially when he was complaining about everything.

 

[Nieroshai]

Actually, going through the game I'm starting to warm to her. I found her character a really offensive 'promiscuous' stereotype at first, but she does start to flesh out as the story progresses.

I've found that Bioware's promiscuous characters tend to have a more satisfying conclusion to their romances.

If you look at their "slutty" characters (Jack, Moregain, Isabella) they all are really vulnerable, and use their sexuality as a shield. Moregain (I don't know if that's how you spell her name) had a literal witch for a mother who never showed her any love. Jack was taken as a kid and experimented on. Isabella had a jerk for a husband that abused her. So part of their romances are overcoming that, getting past those shields, and forging a deeper connection with them.

As an example of Jack's trust issues, despite being a "bad girl," you can't romance her unless you're perfectly dead-on with her paragon conversation options.

 

[StBishop]

However, it would be nice if the characters in the game were either bi straight or gay. Everyone being bisexual is just lazy writing more than anything else.

I disagree. A lot of fans complained in Dragon Age that they had to play a certain gender to romance Morrigan or Alistair.

By making everyone available, regardless of Hawke's gender, you don't have fans who want to try a romance between their character and companion X being pigeon-holed into playing a certain gender.

For example, I play female characters. I don't like playing RPGs as male characters. Nothing wrong with them, just a personal preference. But to romance Morrigan, I'll have to do a playthrough with a male character. But I have no issues pursuing who I want in DA2.

I wanted to romance Sten as a dude. couldn't happen. Same with Wynne. Although I will say, I'm glad not everyone is an option. It makes sense that some people just aren't interested.

 

[Nieroshai]

Good for Bio Ware. It's good to see some 1 standing up against these crazy ppl who preach Freedom of Speech and the 1st amendment but then always want to censor anything that does not conform to their personal norms.

We have no idea from the article abbout the guy's stance on freedom of speech. Not defending his letter, in fact he should be told off, but you're starting to lump groups into this that could lead places.

 

[luvd1]

I take it as a complement. I'm so good looking I can turn on men as well as woman. Oh yeah, what a guy.

 

[Red-Link]

It's one thing to allow homosexual relationships in a game. But for a developer to stand by it and counter attackers so strongly and openly? That's just awesome. Enough said.