Poll: Ladies and Gentlemen, a hypothetical situation concerning homosexuality in games
- Thread starter thirdsonsaburo
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For me, it would have a negative affect unless it didn't involve the player character. This is not because I hate gays or anything like that, it's because I am not gay and I would not be able to play as a character who is. My character in a game is a fictional representation of me so I have in the past stopped playing a game because the main character does something I would not do myself. It just breaks the immersion for me.
HOLY SHIT! It could be game set in prison, and could have a fallout 3 combat/weapon mechanic (repairing/creating items). That could be such a fun game and..... and I'm going to stop now before I get myself banned.
Commander Shepard used to be able to romance Kaiden/Ashley/Liara without any gender discrimination (as in, all three could be romanced whether you were ManShep or FemShep) but for some reason they cut it out of the final edition. Fairly certain that the dialogue lines are still in the game files though, so it's moddable to get them back in.
And no, it's not a big deal. Besides, weren't the main characters in Gears of War 2 gay? /snark.
In fact, I generally assume most characters are bisexual until they express an interest one way or another.
And no, it's not a big deal. Besides, weren't the main characters in Gears of War 2 gay? /snark.
In fact, I generally assume most characters are bisexual until they express an interest one way or another.
I'll be honest and say it would be huge elephant in the room for me personally. But that's because almost evey game forces a romance on you. And I'd just feel much less disconnected to the character if he had a romance with a girl than if he had one with a guy.
But if you told me that Mario or Abe was gay, I wouldn't give a toss since they're characters who never have forced romances.
But if you told me that Mario or Abe was gay, I wouldn't give a toss since they're characters who never have forced romances.
What if the player character had a set personality? Cloud Strife could only be so much of a "fictional representation" of the player, as he had a set personality, goals, and interests.Flames66 said:
Consider for a moment how the "other side" feels. Forced romance with girls is just as awkward as you'd find forced romance with a man.Casual Shinji said:
I had absolutely no problem with the homosexuality in DA:O. I thought it was great that developers acknowledged that there are many different kinds of people in the world, all with different preferences and point of views.
Whether or not there is homosexuality in a game is the same argument as whether or not an ethnic person should be a lead character, or a female, and so on. Diversity is a good thing, because gamers come from all sorts of backgrounds. But there is always a group of individuals that will be offended, regardless of what type of content is in the game. Some because it simply is a game, and they find them offensive in general. Others will be put off by specific design choices such as ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, or religious views.
In the end it's all just a game. As long as it's fun and has a purpose for being in the game, I'm fine with it.
Whether or not there is homosexuality in a game is the same argument as whether or not an ethnic person should be a lead character, or a female, and so on. Diversity is a good thing, because gamers come from all sorts of backgrounds. But there is always a group of individuals that will be offended, regardless of what type of content is in the game. Some because it simply is a game, and they find them offensive in general. Others will be put off by specific design choices such as ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, or religious views.
In the end it's all just a game. As long as it's fun and has a purpose for being in the game, I'm fine with it.
I know,....but what can I say? I have no rebuttal for this AT ALL.thirdsonsaburo said:
Maybe if there were more RPG's like Dragon Age that gave you the choice, it might balance out the sectrum a tiny bit.
I'd love to see a gay main character, as long as they didn't resort to cheap stereotypes to wring laughs from the player. Stereotypes about gay people piss me off to no end.
I worked so hard not to go on a massive off topic rant there. I'm learning.
I worked so hard not to go on a massive off topic rant there. I'm learning.
Only if the homosexuality adds something interesting to the game. Gears of War, no story or characters to begin with, just gameplay, so homosexuality would be irrelevant.thirdsonsaburo said:
In a character/story-driven game, it'd need to use the homosexuality to drive events/interactions, or else it wouldn't add any interest. In most game plots, the hetero guy ends up having to chase after his girlfriend. If it was a gay guy chasing his boyfriend...it wouldn't actually have changed anything.
A more interesting development would be character conflicts over the homosexuality. Like a team member leaving you upon discovery of their leader's homosexuality. Or the heroine finding herself abandoned when her husband admits to himself that he's been gay all along. These are interesting stories with interesting outcomes...but can they fit into a /game/?
Sexual preference is largely unrelated to game play, which is at the heart of what makes games...well, games. I don't think that the genre is really equipped to explore these scenarios, at least not yet. I'm sure some of you have read the gaming news articles (maybe it was even on Escapist) talking about how games may be held back from interesting directions of evolution by the requirement of being "fun".
Depends on the story of the game and if he/she being gay helps the story along
if its just in there to have a gay character than its a waste of time
Personally, I would have it where the player gets to choose that kind of thing, so no one gets upset.
if its just in there to have a gay character than its a waste of time
Personally, I would have it where the player gets to choose that kind of thing, so no one gets upset.
So a game can only feature something that's not mainstream if it doesn't "add" to the gameplay in a new way? Would you say that about having a female protagonist rather than a male one, or having a game set in one setting rather than another?
Why should he flounce any sexual preference, would something like say...half life been any better if Gordon went on and on about how he loves to have sex with women.
Straight relationships are hard enough to stomach in games, I hate to sound like a dick but would it honestly be an improvement to any game to have an obvious gay relationship?
Straight relationships are hard enough to stomach in games, I hate to sound like a dick but would it honestly be an improvement to any game to have an obvious gay relationship?
I still find it hilarious that my mate got me to do the gay kissing achievement on Bully, even tho he's worked with gay guys and doesn't have a problem with them, he couldn't pretend to virtually kiss some boys in a game. Yet he's too achievemnent obsessed to just leave it 
Sadly, people still can be ridiculously homophobic however and just wait for the Daily Mail / Fox News reports on 'the new video game that will make your child want gay sex'.
As has been stated tho, so often the sexuality of a character is irrelevant, So often the human shape in a game is just a vehicle to send bullets at enemies, it's gender preference will generally be irrelevant to the game and storyline.
In deeper games like RPGs however, I don't see why you can't pick your sexuality along with your race, age, gender, class, hair colour etc. Even a simple toggle would be a start.
Sadly, people still can be ridiculously homophobic however and just wait for the Daily Mail / Fox News reports on 'the new video game that will make your child want gay sex'.
As has been stated tho, so often the sexuality of a character is irrelevant, So often the human shape in a game is just a vehicle to send bullets at enemies, it's gender preference will generally be irrelevant to the game and storyline.
In deeper games like RPGs however, I don't see why you can't pick your sexuality along with your race, age, gender, class, hair colour etc. Even a simple toggle would be a start.