Sexuality in Mass Effect

[RyVal]

I don't think gamemakers who want to make a game with ordinary sex are obligated to add my fetishes, nor do I think that game makers are obligated to add gay sex scenes. There is a difference between oppressing a minority and simply not including them. If Mass Effect came out and said that God hates gays and they should burn, then yeah, I would be pissed.

Your comparison of homosexuality to a sexual fetish is...off, to say the least.

Maybe it was cut for time. Or maybe, just maybe, they were exercising their right as the WRITERS to dictate a character trait. You aren't, after all, playing as *insert your name here* You could just as easily argue "why can't I play as gay Link?"

Does the phrase "Role-Playing Game" mean anything to you?

What is the point of Mass Effect if not to play out your characters in a way that reflects your own self. There's a reason why JRPGs get so heavily condemned for dictating your character's every action; RPGs are about making your own choices, not having them made for you.

 

[RyVal]

Meh. I don't much like cutscenes anyway (not true), and I'm not gay either.
Sorry, but homosexuals are still the minority.

most people have a small attraction to people of the opposite sex. in other words, most of us are bi

Just don't tell that to Richard Littlejohn.

 

[LiquidGrape]

It is classic double standards, to be honest. Lesbian sex is hot but gay sex is icky.

Indeed. But I can remedy that mentality.
Instantly.
Serge Gainsbourg and James Dean.
Give it a minute to sink in.

 

[RyVal]

I do not hate gay people at all. As long as they do not force it in my face all day.

So as long as homosexuals do not try and force you to tolerate them - not even accept, just tolerate - you are fine with them. The moment they, y'know, try and ask for the same consideration as a majority of the population, they cross the line. Right.

Are you being slow on purpose, or are you just so full of political correctness that you can't disagree with someone homosexual? What he's saying is that he doesn't like it when they have to open up a conversation with "I'M GAY!" or something similar to that.

He preceeded this comment with the line "Your whole "oh you do not tolerate us 100% so you are a homophobic bigot" stupidity."

So in return, I must ask - just how much of your defense of his comment is actual ignorance, and how much of it is selective bias?

 

[RyVal]

It is classic double standards, to be honest. Lesbian sex is hot but gay sex is icky.

Indeed. But I can remedy that mentality.
Instantly.
Serge Gainsbourg and James Dean.
Give it a minute to sink in.

Now, let's just Google Image "Serge Gainsbourg" and-

Oh. Oh my.

 

[LiquidGrape]

Now, let's just Google Image "Serge Gainsbourg" and-

Oh. Oh my.

My work here is done.

 

[katsa5]

I thought that myself. The big question (at least for me) is: Which one? *shrug*

 

[RyVal]

I thought that myself. The big question (at least for me) is: Which one? *shrug*

Jacob [http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac171/mdsx1950/320px-Jacob_Taylor.png?t=1259772419] seems an obvious choice, what with his propensity for going topless.

 

[Sir Strange Of The House Lycan]

Because gay people in videogames appear to be controversial.
This is all I can think of.

 

[IrrelevantTangent]

I think it's more of a call back to the old Captain Kirk style of integrating with alien species.

I don't think Bioware are homophobes though, they just know that considering the controversy about the first one, that including the option to be an active homosexual male in that would lead to a total furore, such is the double standards of the knee-jerk crowd in the mainstream media.

Also, I could imagine a situation where they might even face legal action by backwards parents, concerned that their child is playing 'This sick filth' as they would most probably call it.

I think they're just erring on the side of caution, they don't want any more bad rep for the series.

This. Bioware got enough flack as is for portraying sexuality the way they did in ME 1. It was definitely more fleshed out than most romance sidequests in other games, but they probably chose not to have a male homosexual romance option to minimize the controversy.

We might see something along those lines in ME 3, though; I heard that there actually was some unused code in ME 1 for a male homosexual romance sidequest, but it was scrapped.

 

[SteakHeart]

Simple.

Guys (usually) think that girl-on-girl is really hot. So if you avoid controversy by eliminating guy-on-guy, but add to the "hotness" with girl-on-girl, you're pretty much set when it comes to male (or lesbian) gamers.

But OP, I do agree that less games take the gay option. I have nothing against homosexuality, and I think it would certainly diversify people's minds about the whole aspect to put it in games.

 

[Sir Strange Of The House Lycan]

But if a gay person reveal himself to you you'd hate him. But you're not homophobic. Seriously, kid, how you manage to make it through the day without your head exploding is beyond me.

Ya know. It is people like you that make people actually hate gays. Your whole "oh you do not tolerate us 100% so you are a homophobic bigot" stupidity. I do not hate gay people at all. As long as they do not force it in my face all day. But you are not going to understand that are you. No. You are happy viewing the entire world as being against you so you can feel special. You are not. No one cares about you, your views, your "uniqueness" or anything about you as long as you do not use it to cry for attention.
And you called me homophobic before I said anything about them so do not try to justify your ignorant labelling.
Oh and don't call me "kid" you condescending fuck. I am probably older than you.
I hate when idiots say "oh you are probably just a teen" then try to use that to invalidate peoples arguments.

But why was there no gay male option in the first game?

This is the game that got called the rape simulator just for having a single ass shot. They were pushing the boundaries enough as it was in the first one. Seriously. You people need to stop whining. I almost wish Bioware would release a patch for DA:O making Zevran straight since you people are going to be using the "But DA:O had a gay character so why don't the rest of your games?" for years to come. Take what you are given and be thankful for it. Not every story needs a gay option.

You know what I find rather amusing about this?
The fact that your on her friends list, when you were having a extremely heated argument.

 

[RyVal]

Bioware got enough flack as is for portraying sexuality the way they did in ME 1. It was definitely more fleshed out than most romance sidequests in other games, but they probably chose not to have a male homosexual romance option to minimize the controversy.

We might see something along those lines in ME 3, though; I heard that there actually was some unused code in ME 1 for a male homosexual romance sidequest, but it was scrapped.

But that then raises the question as to why male homosexual romance options were available in most of the other BioWare RPGs. Really, it seems that BioWare is trying to market Mass Effect to the frat-boy shooter demographic of the Xbox. Hence why the role-playing elements are downplayed somewhat, and "hawt" lesbian sex is on the menu but "icky" gay sex is discreetly tucked under the rug.

 

[IrrelevantTangent]

Bioware got enough flack as is for portraying sexuality the way they did in ME 1. It was definitely more fleshed out than most romance sidequests in other games, but they probably chose not to have a male homosexual romance option to minimize the controversy.

We might see something along those lines in ME 3, though; I heard that there actually was some unused code in ME 1 for a male homosexual romance sidequest, but it was scrapped.

But that then raises the question as to why male homosexual romance options were available in most of the other BioWare RPGs. Really, it seems that BioWare is trying to market Mass Effect to the frat-boy shooter demographic of the Xbox. Hence why the role-playing elements are downplayed somewhat, and "hawt" lesbian sex is on the menu but "icky" gay sex is discreetly tucked under the rug.

I don't know if it technically counts as lesbian sex, though. The asari are a one-gender race; they don't have 'males' or 'females,' as we understand it.

And honestly, I think that if BioWare was really trying to market this game to the frat-boy demographic as opposed to the thinking-man's-shooter demographic, they would have made the sexuality elements more explicit, and they would have included more blood and gore.

Mass Effect Uno was relatively tame as far as blood/gore was concerned and the sex scene is like 5 seconds long and nothing explicit is shown. Plus the whole game's emphasis is that choices matter. If Mass Effect was aimed towards the frat boys, there'd be more of an emphasis on 'do whatever you want.'

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

Do you know how I know this? Because there was no gay option in the first one. Not even the slightest hint of him being gay. So it would be retarded to suddenly change him unless as I said, Cerberus brought him back flawed. Do you then want Bioware to claim that the only way for Shepard to be gay is if he came back wrong?

Woah can we have spoiler tags on that sort of thing, the games only been out a few days here.

EDIT: On topic, it might have been due to time restraints, or could have been that Bioware couldn't be bothered with the outrage it would likely cause.
Then again, the way things are going, a gay option may be DLC

 

[oppp7]

I think that's kinda wrong, but I'm not going to do anything with the sexuality options unless they unlock achievements anyways so I don't have much of an opinion.