LGBT topics in Video Games

[Gralian]

Having them for the sake of having them is inappropriate and disrespectful.

Oh, and the proper term is LGBTQ. If you want to be as PC as possible, QUILTBAG.

Queer/Questioning
Undecided
Intersex
Lesbian
Trangender
Bisexual
Asexual
Gay

I shit you not.

This just made my day. I know it's completely irrelevant, but QUILTBAG is hilarious. It sounds like something you could use in lieu of an offensive term.

"Damn you, you quiltbag!"

"I... what?"

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OP: I don't see why all genders and sexes couldn't just be romanceable as seperate plotlines in games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age as long as 1) Their orientation is purely incidental to their character rather than a primary trait that's exaggerated and a constant focus defining who they are and 2) The player must always be the one to initiate the romantic interaction and interest without feeling it's either being forced down their throat or that the 'romance' is the result of a 'hey let's do a quickie' rather than that of prolonged emotional connection with the character(s) in question. I think the player has to really grow attached to the love interest before sex or physical affection even enters the equation. Leliana was a perfect example of this. She wouldn't just jump into bed with you. You had to get to know her, what she loves, what she hates, her past, her pious nature, what she's left behind and who she's become. It's only until she finally uttered the words 'I love you' that you ended up in bed together, and that didn't come easy. (If you didn't cheat with the feastday gifts that is)

Most of all though, i don't want homosexual relationships to degenerate to the point of pure caricaturism such is evidenced in this comic:

Spoiler: How Anders is presented in DA2

They should be more fleshed out like in Leliana's case. I know you're going to say "But that was just Anders' nature, the fact he's bi has nothing to do with it", but they did the same with Zevran. It just seems a bit fishy to me that they choose to make two male bisexual characters into promiscuous manwhores.

 

[sylekage]

Does it really move the game along if there is anyone like that in it? I'm gonna say no. Unless it's a game Like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, or any other RPG where you can create relationships, it's just unnecessary. And I'm not saying that to be a douche, but imagine, if you will, that you're playing a game where you have a companion who's flat out gay. His posture, the way he talks, the way he acts, just implies that he's gay. As long as they don't overdo it, I think that that works, it doesn't get in the way of whats going on.

Now, if you take this guy and the way he acts, and then amplify it by 100 and have him announce it every time he talks it would get annoying and you'd want to destroy him. I think that, yes, LGBT should be a topic in video games, but not to the point where people would get annoyed. Just ease it in until we can accept it.

Like the whole Dragon Age II thing, this is only what I've heard from, you know, everyone, but if I was wondering the world and got hit on by most male characters, I would break the game. It doesn't move the story and is completely unnecessary.

Anyone want to flame me? Have at it

(please don't)

 

[seraphmaclay]

Prior to this topic I hadnt ever encountered 'LGBT'. I've worked out more or less what it is through reading replies, but I still think it was a bit odd to create a topic abour promoting understanding, but then doing it in a way which forces them to know already or be left in the dark. Like the original post didnt exactly shed much light on what he was talking about.

Well, let's start off simple. LGBT (or the similar GLBT) is a common acronym for the four most common (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender). From there, "Alphabet Soup", or the slightly more humorous "Quiltbag" (though, that might get offensive), starts to take effect, with gender identities and sexualities outside of hetero-normative (heterosexual and cisgendered, or born as the gender they identify as).

Beyond that, the Thread's been more or less about whether or not elements of the sub-community of the European and American worlds should be included in more video games. The Japanese have been including them for decades, and some big name Western Devs have just started dipping their feet in (in a good light) over the last eight years (Thank you, Bioware).

The question is whether or not more of these themes should be included, and if so how?

 

[KalosCast]

Now, if you take this guy and the way he acts, and then amplify it by 100 and have him announce it every time he talks it would get annoying and you'd want to destroy him. I think that, yes, LGBT should be a topic in video games, but not to the point where people would get annoyed. Just ease it in until we can accept it.

Well yes, doing this with a straight character, or an ethnic character would be equally as annoying... because it's bad writing. Nobody wants this in a game.

 

[Kingsnake661]

I don't much care for ANY "message" that jumps out and smacks a player (or viewer) in the face. And a lot of, mainly movies atm, do just that.

So, i suppose that if it's woven into the story and gameplay(somehow, gameplay that is) and it isn't forced or overbearing, then i wouldn't MIND it. Not being a memeber of the LGBT community, topics dealing exclusively with it, well, don't matter, or really intrest me at all. I'm not gay. So, gay stuff in games does little for me. Much the same reason i play a boy in Harvet Moon and not a Girl. My the same reason I play Male Shepards in mass effect.

So, the best i can offer is, i'd be indifferent to more LGBT stuff so long as it isn't preachy and hitting you over the head with it.

 

[SanguineSymphony]

Kanji Tatsumi Persona 4... They even had an episode of Extra Credits about him.