as long as I can use a token to do it more easily
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Meet Mortal Kombat's First Gay Character
- Thread starter Shizuka
- Start date
as long as I can use a token to do it more easily
Majukun
Member
it's the fact that he's gay and it's not a big deal.
that's what most people on the internet don't get about "social justice",it's about EQUALITY,is about everything being completely fine and normal..not treating something with more regards because it's part of a "minority"..that usually has the opposite effect
AWizardDidIt
Member
Uhh... no?
PfantzyPantz
Member
Wow that's pretty cool, was expecting the typical
girl/girl
When it hits Steam
reminiscingLemon
Neo Member
Found out about this yesterday when a housemate said that pretty much everything he found on gameFAQs was just people raging over a gay Kombatant
Even people going as far as to state no desire to buy the game because one character was hinted at being gay.
and even now im seeing other people say that they'll pick this game up purely because it had the guts to put in a gay character, even though its a noble gesture dont buy the game BECAUSE it has a gay character in it, buy it because you want it.
Nether realm could have very easily played this for brownie points with the borderline extremist left games media but they didnt and id like to think its for the following reason
Gay characters need to stop being something to write about, they need to be a complete non-issue it just needs to be normalized which seems to be what they're attempted here once gay characters stop being something everyone feels the need to jump up and congratulate or condemn it'll become status quo, it'll no longer become a political statement and it will just be considered normal which is what the real goal for equality should be.
Once gay characters stop being an event and become normalized then the people condemning them will ostracize themselves from the rest of us more so than they already do and then eventually they'll fade away.
It's already happening all we need to do now is let it happen stop talking about characters because theyre gay, talk about them because they are awesome and respect the fact that they are gay but do not define them by it.
Even people going as far as to state no desire to buy the game because one character was hinted at being gay.
and even now im seeing other people say that they'll pick this game up purely because it had the guts to put in a gay character, even though its a noble gesture dont buy the game BECAUSE it has a gay character in it, buy it because you want it.
Nether realm could have very easily played this for brownie points with the borderline extremist left games media but they didnt and id like to think its for the following reason
Gay characters need to stop being something to write about, they need to be a complete non-issue it just needs to be normalized which seems to be what they're attempted here once gay characters stop being something everyone feels the need to jump up and congratulate or condemn it'll become status quo, it'll no longer become a political statement and it will just be considered normal which is what the real goal for equality should be.
Once gay characters stop being an event and become normalized then the people condemning them will ostracize themselves from the rest of us more so than they already do and then eventually they'll fade away.
It's already happening all we need to do now is let it happen stop talking about characters because theyre gay, talk about them because they are awesome and respect the fact that they are gay but do not define them by it.
FranXico
Member
Great post. My feelings exactly. Acceptance of anything also means not making a big deal of it.
You had the right idea - it shouldn't be a rare occurrence worth making a big deal about. But you don't accomplish this by not talking about it, lol, but by actually making these characters a common thing instead of something that hardly ever happens.
TheChillyAcademic
Member
What you're asking for is certainly a wonderful notion and and at some point the industry may very well end up having such moral clarity as the norm. Sadly, this is something we can expect to happen anytime soon so for the time being, we must trudge on how we can.
I agree with you, but we're not at that point yet, we still need awareness. The more gamers and developers see a high-profile game like Mortal Kombat has a gay character, the more common it could become.
Developers could take a note and do that in their future games, I hope we get to the point you just made, that it's common and it doesn't become a big deal everytime, but until then, the more we talk about it, the better for the games (good and/or free publicity, depending on the POV) and for gay people to be represented in a positive way.
bone_and_sinew
breaking down barriers in gratuitous nudity
Surprisingly tasteful and subtle for a franchise built on the opposite, lol.
Bugs Bunny
Banned
Yeah pretty sure he is talking about being a theif, that's what the whole flash back is about. How even a theif can be redeemed & become good. People are reading into this too much.
Sylverstone14
Member
I agree. I didn't even know until I read between the lines. Good on NRS.
If only the developers had confirmed it, right?
Weltall Zero
Member
It's one think to praise a character for being gay and yet not acting stereotypically.
It's a very different thing to say that a scene supposedly revealing a character's sexuality is well done in proportion to how many people will entirely miss the fact. You're literally saying that the fewer people who notice there's a gay character, the better. That's not how you improve minority visibility: that's the exact opposite.
I think people are too often confusing the both, in this thread and in general, and that worries me. "Subtlety" is a two-sided sword, and making stuff ambiguous for the sake of people who "don't care" about characters' sexuality (read: assume heterosexuality) is not necessarily a good thing.
Read the rest of the thread.
Gold_Loot
Member
Thats how i saw it as well. I guess you can read into it multiple ways. Was it aomeone from another clan? Race? The Netherrealm? Gay?
I guess it doesnt matter in the end . Hes a good character for sure though.
BiGBoSSMk23
A company being excited for their new game is a huge slap in the face to all the fans that liked their old games.
Next up: Fox News claims that videogames promote brutal homophobia.
NoirVisage
Banned
No they haven't..not even close. Their last game showed as much.
HeartlessNobody213
Member
Surprised people didn't catch it. I watched the story on YouTube and as soon as he said it I immediately knew what it was about.
TheChillyAcademic
Member
Nether Realms Guy said:
The hell are we praising them for? Are we to be happy with subtle exposition? Thinking about this more, this hardly seems so momentous a triumph and certainly not something we should be tossing golden laurels about.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
It is indeed funny in the context of a series that's always been about the outrageous. But perhaps it also fits with a general theme in MK X of trying to ground things a bit by injecting some depth and sublety (by MK standards) into all the characters.
I mean, even some of the villains are slightly less one note than they usually are, with mooks (in a storyline sense) like Reptile being portrayed as intelligent and involved with stuff like politics. When playing the game the last few days, my SO remarked that the style for the gore in the game somehow seemed more refined than any past MK title. It's still crazy with the fatalities and x-rays. But there seems to be an effort to make it more eye-winking and darkly humorous than ever. Rather than shock material for 15 year olds to feel grown-up with because they're watching a naughty thing.
I mean, even some of the villains are slightly less one note than they usually are, with mooks (in a storyline sense) like Reptile being portrayed as intelligent and involved with stuff like politics. When playing the game the last few days, my SO remarked that the style for the gore in the game somehow seemed more refined than any past MK title. It's still crazy with the fatalities and x-rays. But there seems to be an effort to make it more eye-winking and darkly humorous than ever. Rather than shock material for 15 year olds to feel grown-up with because they're watching a naughty thing.
In theory I agree with you, but given how completely marginalized every non white, non male group has been in video games, I have to say you're wrong, and they do need to be included.
As an example, one of my favourite webcomics right now is Dumbing of Age by David Willis, and that cast is largely female and has several non-white, LGBT characters. Is it wrong to specifically focus on those groups when the majority of media won't even bother to acknowledge their existence as anything more than props?
The only reason I'm not getting MKX is because I don't have a PS4. That it is incredibly respectful to diverse groups is something I actively seek out and something I shouldn't have to, but do so anyway because more often than not, it doesn't happen.
Infinite Justice
Member
Very interesting.
if that's the case Raiden wouldn't have said "whom" in his response.
He could have replaced it with "what" and that would have been more ambiguous.
if that's the case Raiden wouldn't have said "whom" in his response.
He could have replaced it with "what" and that would have been more ambiguous.
Because in a venerable series with over 70 different characters, it's nice to finally have a character who's gay.
TheChillyAcademic
Member
Majukun
Member
and why should we improve minorities' visibility?
what would that accomplish exactly..making aware people that gay exist?i think they already know that.
make being homosexual a normal thing,not something to underline...that is the challenge.
Visibility helps things become perceived as normal.
Best character in the game. No, not because he's gay, but because he's fucking awesome to play as and by far the best new character to me.
I did notice the line when I played it, but I didn't immediately make that connection. I'm glad it wasn't shoved in the players face because that's just unnecessary. It's such a non-issue in terms of how the character is presented, that's why I like how they did it.
I did notice the line when I played it, but I didn't immediately make that connection. I'm glad it wasn't shoved in the players face because that's just unnecessary. It's such a non-issue in terms of how the character is presented, that's why I like how they did it.
Mortal Kombat 10's story has two prominent straight romances and one character who is offhandedly mentioned as gay.
Normal in this case would be giving Kung-Jin his own romance subplot. But somehow, I doubt you'd find that palatable.
TheChillyAcademic
Member
Far too risky!! Let them have their subtlety and thank us for it!!
Majukun
Member
on the contrary
makes thing being perceived as something different,something important.
someone's sexuality is NOT important
if you keep telling the majority that they should threat the minority better,all you get is that the majority will continue to perceive the minority as something "different" then themselves.
Oh. That's about him being gay? It flew right over my head. I'd think I'd know since I'm gay. Thank you to NR if that's the case though.
On that note, this game is glorious......as long as you play it for fun. Because the AI can be cheesy as fuck. Takeda sucks though. Hate controlling him in the story mode. Kitana and Sub Zero are OP as fuck. Kitana's chain combos are deadly.
On that note, this game is glorious......as long as you play it for fun. Because the AI can be cheesy as fuck. Takeda sucks though. Hate controlling him in the story mode. Kitana and Sub Zero are OP as fuck. Kitana's chain combos are deadly.
I don't think that's how creativity and expression works.
People will keep wanting to express things about love and sexuality, and the hope of gay acceptance is not that those topics will become boring, but that people will treat those expressions fairly.
I mean, I don't really know how to comment on what Mortal Kombat is doing...it's mostly still disbelief that they're doing anything thoughtful at all with the story. But I'm a little disappointed with the responses here that sound like "I'm happy they didn't rub it in my face".
Messofanego
Banned
That is awesome to hear about the diverse cast.
Reminds me of how Fast and Furious 7 (and previous movies) did gangbusters with their diverse casts, where majority of audience was non-caucasian, Hispanic (37%) demographic led while caucasian and african americans were neck and neck. Goes to show you won't lose sales with a diverse cast, even if we have to coach this argument with established franchises.
Really? Why do we see straight romance in gaming as normal and not worth of special attention? Hint: because it has been there since the days of Pac Man. We have seen gay characters become less and less of a deal on movies and TV, because it's becoming more common and not because people don't talk about it.
Save 'N Quit
Banned
MK already had someone long before Kung Jin
It's weird how nobody plays the "someone's sexuality is not important" card when it's for a straight character.
Hours Left
Member
I think this is an important point. As I mentioned previously, there are many ways to show diversity, but the amount of "I'm glad it was subtle/not shoved in our faces" responses in here is a bit off-putting.
If they did decide to make it a larger part of the storyline, that would of been a fine way to go about it too. Overt displays of homosexuality are not a problem anymore than straight ones are.
yeah you can't walk around without tripping over all the "in your face" gay characters in video games these days
do me a favor and name all of them, there are about 700 thousand video game characters so let's name all the "in your face" characters that are an overrepresentation of 10% of our population, there's gotta be tons
if this game had multiple instances of this character making out with dudes it would in no way be a "shoving it in your face" situation, no more than the countless straight relationships shown in games/film/whatever are considered shoving heterosexuality in anyone's face
it is considered "in your face" because people aren't used to homosexuality being represented in media and they are uncomfortable or just flat out prejudiced
gay characters with no fanfare and that are "just treated like normal" are great but a gay character that is in a relationship or just has their sexuality made more evident in whatever way is also fine and is in no way "in your face", unless you consider a straight character who makes out with a woman or whatever "in your face", which no one does, despite people who are called out saying otherwise, like that lady who complained about the michael sam kiss
people have different standards for what is "in your face" or "making a big deal" about sexuality for straight and gay characters, that's that
Majukun
Member
because nobody makes a big deal about it.
just like if you find that one of your co-workers is gay.
a guy that perceives that as normal will continue with his life as nothing as happened.
something that sees that as different or not normal will start telling it to everybody he knows,and making a big deal about it.
also..him being present as an homosexual character,still makes gay characters more common in the media,but also accomplishes the big goal of not making it being identified by his sexuality