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"Bioware Neglected Their Main Demographic: The Straight Male Gamer"
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WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
HK-47 said:
...Morrigan?
ultron87 said:
My absolute top request if I could add anything to Persona 3? The ability to hook Mitsuru up with that girl in the school hallway. I wanted nothing more than to help love bloom between those two!
(And, really, I find that to be a very interesting potential aspect - not just the ability for the player to work on their own relationships with others, but help foster relationships between NPC characters.)
TheSeks said:
"Uproar" is a pretty strong word.
And I'm almost positive that there were complaints when Mass Effect 1 was released that there was a lesbian romance option but nothing for gay men. So it wasn't an issue that no one has ever brought up before.
Obviously there is still a hetero-normative bias in video games (and in all media really), but it's certainly something that is gradually moving towards a more middle ground. I'd kind of hope that in the future it's handled a little more elegantly than Bioware has handled it in DA2.
shidoshi said:
I think my number one request in terms of P3 relationships is the "just be friends" option that they had in P4. I don't want my main character to have to juggle 17 girls at once just to play the game optimally.
Kind of forgot about KOTOR. Looking back I'd say that the Bastila romance thread is probably the most successful in gaming for me. It evolved naturally, had some layers (you couldn't just click the 'heart' option to win), and there were real and unexpected endgame consequences depending on how things turned out. Felt like much more than a side quest.dionysus said:
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
HK-47 said:
You can have sex with her, but no matter what you do she ditches your ass in the end. Pretty funny, IMO.
tomegatherion77
Neo Member
TheSeks said:
Great question. Basically I didn't say it was ok, I just stated that for me personally I dont think I would enjoy the game as much, because I cant really relate to the storyline. So I guess it would be the same for homosexuals when the roles are reserved.
Now we are both getting choices, so like I said earlier it was a smart move to do this, because we all win.
TheSeks said:
That wasn't what I was implying. I think more options is always better, and I feel that Mass Effect tries to have its cake and eat it too with Liara and Kelly. If they're going to include that, they should probably include a gay option as well to balance things.
But unless a romance is mandated by the game, I feel that it's up to a game developer what they want to include. If that's just straight, that's fine. If that's just gay, ditto. If it's a mix, even better.
This is one area where I go all free market: There's nothing that says you have to play the game or support it any way. And you're free to criticize as much as you want (and probably should, since Bioware seems inclined to listen to player feedback). But, as I said before, Bioware's free to include what they want.
The only part about Dragon Age I liked is reading somewhere that many people didn't realize they were romancing with some male character until far into it.
It's awesome, and Bioware should get like a medal for that (along with a kick to the balls for the game itself though.)
I always thought all characters should have a romance option - Whether you're playing as male or female, though the difficulity of the romance will change significantly depntding on the NPC's... Openness to new ideas
It's awesome, and Bioware should get like a medal for that (along with a kick to the balls for the game itself though.)
I always thought all characters should have a romance option - Whether you're playing as male or female, though the difficulity of the romance will change significantly depntding on the NPC's... Openness to new ideas
This was the only good thing about DA2.WanderingWind said:
nckillthegrimace
Member
shidoshi said:
I'm pretty sure you can do that in the Harvest Moon games, well, at least HM64. It would be neat in the Persona games, too.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
I think if you're going to include "romance" options in your games, it needs to be done as close to realistic as possible. Some characters are straight, some are gay, some are bi. If you can't handle not being able to virtually fuck the elf girl/dude, well, your life is really sad.
dude said:The only part about Dragon Age I liked is reading somewhere that many people didn't realize they were romancing with some male character until far into it.
It's awesome, and Bioware should get like a medal for that (along with a kick to the balls for the game itself though.)
I always thought all characters should have a romance option - Whether you're playing as male or female, though the difficulity of the romance will change significantly depntding on the NPC's... Openness to new ideas
This is the one thing I disagree with: I don't think everyone should be an option for everybody. Frankly, I think Dragon Age got the closest: Some people were bisexual, and some were just straight. All they were missing was a purely gay male and a purely lesbian female.
A situation like that is more reflective of the real world, where some people just don't swing the way you wish they did no matter how hard you try.
Of course, this reasoning flies out the window if you view the whole thing as simple wish fulfillment, at which point everyone should be bisexual in order to fulfill everyone's desires.
Femmeworth
Banned
Chihori totally had a thing for Mitsuru.shidoshi said:
I wonder if Persona 5 will be more progressive. :3
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Patryn said:
Like the wife....
Hehe you said "empty vessels"fernoca said:That too.
I mean, imagine all the "drama" in Gears of War with Dom and Maria during the first 2 games, but instead of Maria it was his boyfriend or husband Luis or whatever; something more evocative than the usual "I'm gay because I have sex with men".
But in games, gay characters are usually either the flamboyant characters that has crushes with the main character or this empty vessels that are gay, because you have sex with other male characters.
And I can understand that they do it precisely because of the "straight male gamer" demographic, and the shock it may cause if characters don't go around announcing that they're gay.
Haha..that's worst than I thought actually.
Then again, seeing the whole debacle that caused the "sexual acts" of the first game too, I don't blame the team for it.
At least they still put some "gay options" for their games, which is more that can be said of other developers.
Hehehehehehe
Femmeworth
Banned
Not possible. Shinjiro x Akihiko is the real truth.ultron87 said:
I'm always down for some man elf on man elf sex, the faux-Enya music is just the icing on the cake
Ivan A Nguyen
Member
No one finds it odd that the guy is complaining about wanting more straight romances when they are all penned by the same guy?
Ickman3400
Banned
FINALBOSS said:
Agreed, and the Bioware forums are beyond fucking creepy always flooding the boards of each new game with romance requests and questions. They're pretty much on par with anime weeaboos.
I'd like to think my character is such a sexy god of beauty he can convert anyone if he tried hard enough. Sure, it's not as realistic, for various reasons, but it's a fantasy game, brah. If I can kill demons and conquer the land of Generic-Fantasy-Ville, I don't see what's so unrealistic about me seducing some macho man...Patryn said:
It would be nice if they made the more... Closeted characters harder to romance for dudes, you know, for the challenge.
Dr. Kitty Muffins
Member
I actually agree with the article.
tomegatherion77
Neo Member
One thing you need to keep in mind is that first and foremost game companies are out to make money, and the biggest demographic is the 18-34 male, which the majority are straight. For a major company that invests millions into a game it would be taking a huge risk to totally cater to a very small demographic.
I can not control the fact the we live in a society where the majority dominates in most facets of our lives. Its not fair, but things are starting change, and the fact that a very popular and anticipated game has included options for a small minority of gamers, is huge. Maybe the implementation was not perfect, but this should be seen as a victory for the homosexual, and bisexual community.
Also I concur, I could care less about romance in fantasy rpgs, I want to slay the dragon, and get the loot, and forget about my daily grind for a few hours. Besides Im married I know how real relationships work, and no amount of fantasy can spice that up lol.
I can not control the fact the we live in a society where the majority dominates in most facets of our lives. Its not fair, but things are starting change, and the fact that a very popular and anticipated game has included options for a small minority of gamers, is huge. Maybe the implementation was not perfect, but this should be seen as a victory for the homosexual, and bisexual community.
Also I concur, I could care less about romance in fantasy rpgs, I want to slay the dragon, and get the loot, and forget about my daily grind for a few hours. Besides Im married I know how real relationships work, and no amount of fantasy can spice that up lol.
What the hell, man. You're always taking shots at everyone, man. That's not cool, man. What have weeaboos done to you, man? That's not cool, man, that's not cool. Man.Ickman3400 said:
I dunno, Garrus fangirls are hilariously awkward. It's like going to the zoo.FINALBOSS said:
Can we have a show of hands for who plays these games for the combat mechanics versus the story and it's related mechanics (dialog, romancing, etc)?
The thing that is most egregious about Dragon Age 2 being stream-lined or dumbed down or whatever, to me, is that Bioware seems* to be taking the focus off of the combat mechanics and the things associated with that and in it's place pushing for more story, more character interactions, more romances, internal conflicts in your party, etc.
Not to say older Bioware titles didn't have that stuff, but I feel they're pushing it much more to the foreground at the expense of the combat. This is especially bothersome because Dragon Age was their "old school Bioware game" as opposed to Mass Effect with it's newness.
* I ain't played Dragon age 2 yet, so I might be pissing myself in the face here.
The thing that is most egregious about Dragon Age 2 being stream-lined or dumbed down or whatever, to me, is that Bioware seems* to be taking the focus off of the combat mechanics and the things associated with that and in it's place pushing for more story, more character interactions, more romances, internal conflicts in your party, etc.
Not to say older Bioware titles didn't have that stuff, but I feel they're pushing it much more to the foreground at the expense of the combat. This is especially bothersome because Dragon Age was their "old school Bioware game" as opposed to Mass Effect with it's newness.
* I ain't played Dragon age 2 yet, so I might be pissing myself in the face here.
Ickman3400
Banned
Brobzoid said:
They're pushing romance and companion interaction at the expense of the story as well. ME2 as we all know is largely a recruitment game and the main missions are almost all character related, there was virtually no story.
Same thing with DA2. Too focused on who you can bang and didn't have a real centralized story (each Act has a different main focus). Bioware is slowly turning into a dating sim dev.
HK-47 said:
The response says it all. Defending, no, embracing, all sexes and orientations with DA2 in the name of political correctness or whatever it may be, while Mass Effect 2 in particular went through great lengths to offer a veritable torrent of straight romances, individually flavored by paragon or renegade, and not offering a single legit homosexual romance barring the lesbian fling with Kelly.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
tomegatherion77 said:
Dragon Age 2 begs to differ.
Kinspiracy said:
...so there.
I never cared about combat mechanics.Brobzoid said:
Old school BioWare games never focused on combat. BG2 for example didn't have the best combat, it could be pretty slow and cumbersome at times. It was good, but definitley not the game's high point - The writing was. Each character felt real, I almost felt like I bonded with them through the game, I felt bad for Nalia when I dumped her from my party. I felt bad for an imaginary character.
BioWare's recent effort lack any of this, despite being better at most other things than their previous games. And that's how I felt with the DA series, the writing was so boring, I couldn't master any interest in any of the caracters. Sure, the interactions were much better than in BG, as the technology is much better, but the script itself is just terrible.
I was the opposite, but then again I played Baldur's gate when I was a lot younger than I am now and didn't have a particular interest in reading large blocks of text in English. So maybe they've always had their priorities like this, but that's not how I remember them damn it. :cdude said: