The Last of Us made the best gay character

[thenoblitt]

Spoilers


So from what we saw and was hinted at, Bill was gay. They way they did it, is really the way the should make all gay characters. He was just a person who happened to be gay. He didn't go around and throw himself praising how being gay was amazing. He was just a guy who happened to like guys. When Ellie stole his magazine and looked through it commentating to Joel. They didn't care or bring up even that it was full of dudes. They didn't care, cause he was just a person and that's all. That's how I believe gay characters should be. They should not be shoe horned in, or made to be anything they aren't. They are just normal people, and The Last of Us did it right.

 

[tilmoph]

You know they did that with Arcade Gannon in new vegas, right? If you had to list his most notable traits, highly moral, clever, and sarcastic as hell would come up pretty regularly. Gay didn't really come up all that much (I think he had one regular convo where he mentions "not meeting the right guy" in passing, while covering why he spends so much time alone and recounting people he has been close too.)

I agree that's how gay characters should be done; as actual characters, with traits and personalities that aren't dependent or reference their preferences. Have them mention their sexuality in the same ratio as any other character. Having them scream "I'M TEH GHEY, LOVELY KAWKS FOR ME!" every other line just screams "We want progressive points. Look at us and lavish us with praise, for we have brought gays into games" which is really dumb. Inclusiveness means normalizing being gay or a woman or whatever. Make them special as characters, not because they're your liberal points token.

 

[thenoblitt]

You know they did that with Arcade Gannon in new vegas, right? If you had to list his most notable traits, highly moral, clever, and sarcastic as hell would come up pretty regularly. Gay didn't really come up all that much (I think he had one regular convo where he mentions "not meeting the right guy" in passing, while covering why he spends so much time alone and recounting people he has been close too.)

I agree that's how gay characters should be done; as actual characters, with traits and personalities that aren't dependent or reference their preferences. Have them mention their sexuality in the same ratio as any other character. Having them scream "I'M TEH GHEY, LOVELY KAWKS FOR ME!" every other line just screams "We want progressive points. Look at us and lavish us with praise, for we have brought gays into games" which is really dumb. Inclusiveness means normalizing being gay or a woman or whatever. Make them special as characters, not because they're your liberal points token.

Never used him so I actually didn't know that. Really interesting. I feel like some companies, such as a bioware, are just trying to put them in games to win over the lbgt crowd. In dragon age 2, none of the male gay relationships are well thought out and just detract from the characters themselves because they just throw themselves at you. Never played a lesbian hawke, so I can't comment on a lesbian relationship.

 

[Windcaler]

Theyve been doing that with a lot of characters. Bill, Arcade, Veronica (Fallout new vegas), Kanji (Persona 4), the shuttle pilot from ME3 whose name I can never remember. Even the earliest gay characters I can remember (Hana & Rain that were a lesbian couple) were never made in such a way to glorify or draw attention to being gay. It was just one aspect of a wider character

This is the tasteful way to approach homosexuality/bisexuality and IMO games have been extremely good about approaching it in a tasteful manner

 

[thenoblitt]

Theyve been doing that with a lot of characters. Bill, Arcade, Veronica (Fallout new vegas), Kanji (Persona 4), the shuttle pilot from ME3 whose name I can never remember. Even the earliest gay characters I can remember (Hana & Rain that were a lesbian couple) were never made in such a way to glorify or draw attention to being gay. It was just one aspect of a wider character

This is the tasteful way to approach homosexuality/bisexuality and IMO games have been extremely good about approaching it in a tasteful manner

The shuttle pilot? Like the guy seth green voiced who was in love with EDI? Or am I dumb?

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

I haven't played Last of Us, nor do I intend to, but from your description, Steve Cortez from Mass Effect 3 seems quite similar. He was just a normal dude really, a good friend who happened to be gay and lost his husband in the war. He was naturally upset over that, needed some comfort and then back to business. No fuss, no big deal. Just a guy who was homosexual. I think that's a good way of doing it, don't make it a big deal or issue. Don't make it the defining trait of a character.

 

[Windcaler]

Theyve been doing that with a lot of characters. Bill, Arcade, Veronica (Fallout new vegas), Kanji (Persona 4), the shuttle pilot from ME3 whose name I can never remember. Even the earliest gay characters I can remember (Hana & Rain that were a lesbian couple) were never made in such a way to glorify or draw attention to being gay. It was just one aspect of a wider character

This is the tasteful way to approach homosexuality/bisexuality and IMO games have been extremely good about approaching it in a tasteful manner

The shuttle pilot? Like the guy seth green voiced who was in love with EDI? Or am I dumb?

No I dont think so. I cant be 100% sure since I boycotted ME3 but as I understand it the guy who flew you from the normandy to missions in a small shuttle was gay and you found out as shepard talks to him and he mentions he lost his husband

 

[tilmoph]

The shuttle pilot? Like the guy seth green voiced who was in love with EDI? Or am I dumb?

No that's Joker. He's the helmsman for the Normandy. The shuttle pilot with the dead husband is Cortez according to the internet.

 

[Casual Shinji]

It's pretty cool how it's left way in the background and doesn't call attention to it in that "look, we have a gay character in our game" sort of way. Sort of like how Joel and Tess' relationship wasn't set in stone. They probably just shacked up whenever it suit them.

It's obvious Bill cared a great deal for his partner, but this could just as easily have been a very good friendship. And the magazine could've just been part of a pile he picked up one time. We know it isn't, but it could've been, because the game doesn't in any way shove his orientation in our face. Just as it doesn't with Joel and Tess.

And the fact that he's this big hairy, grumpy hick, even makes it kinda endearing.

 

[556 and pineapples]

This is why Bioware games are shit and not "helping" gays.
I wish the Tumblr hordes and angry feminists would stop praising / playing them...

 

[quinquecirrha]

There's also Sir Hammerlock in Borderlands 2. He has a couple of lines in one mission introducing someone as an old boyfriend of his, but that's the only mention of it.

 

[Sonntam]

This is why Bioware games are shit and not "helping" gays.
I wish the Tumblr hordes and angry feminists would stop praising / playing them...

Meh, the social justice crowd at tumblr is actually very critical of Bioware's representation of LGBT characters. Those characters are really just fanservicel and not there to promote equality. All gay characters are romance options, after all.

Obsidian, for example, does a much better job at representing the LGBT community, creating many varied LGBT characters and never making the sexuality the main character trait, but simply another part of the many things that makes them unique.

 

[Zhukov]

Sort of like how Joel and Tess' relationship wasn't set in stone. They probably just shacked up whenever it suit them.

Y'know, I never could figure out how things were between them.

Neither of them express any degree of affection and only a minimum of concern. I assumed they were just comfortable business partners. But then when things go south Tess says that one line, something like, "There's enough here... *you-me gesture*... that you owe me this much."

Maybe you're right and they were just partners who happened to sleep together on occasion.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Sort of like how Joel and Tess' relationship wasn't set in stone. They probably just shacked up whenever it suit them.

Y'know, I never could figure out how things were between them.

Neither of them express any degree of affection and only a minimum of concern. I assumed they were just comfortable business partners. But then when things go south Tess says that one line, something like, "There's enough here... *you-me gesture*... that you owe me this much."

Maybe you're right and they were just partners who happened to sleep together on occasion.

There likely isn't much time for romance in such a world, so I would guess the occasional tumble to blow off steam is as close as most people there are gonna to get. The natural instinct to survive has practically taken over the need to nurture, so it's only logical that the natural instinct to "get busy" has replaced courtship and love. Except in rare examples like with Tommy.