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[strange headache]

I care about Solider 76 being gay as much as I care about the sexual orientation of a CT in Counter-Strike, which is exactly zero.

The lore behind Overwatch is tacky superficial bullcrap anyway, it's an arena shooter for Christ's sake. Are people really that concerned with the background stories of these characters which serve merely as a vehicle for gameplay? I've honestly got better stuff to do than waste my time with Overwatch's narrative framework as there is a plethora of much better and more meaningful literature out there that deserves my attention.

The fact that it adds nothing to the overall gameplay and is merely important to the most niche audience even among hardcore Overwatch fans, makes it seem like pandering. In the greater scheme of things, this is so unimportant that it really doesn't matter. Soldier 76 being gay is equally as unimportant as him being straight.

That being said, I generally find people who are in desperate need of personal validation from their vacuous entertainment to be fools who will never find happiness in life. Do people have so little to care about, so few real problems, are their lives really so devoid of existential meaning that the sexual orientation of a character in a huge roster of an arena shooter becomes such an important issue? This obsession over identity is just so narcissistic, self-centered and petty, that to me it seems to be the very definition of a privileged first world problem.

 

[888]

Also, cmon man. Really?

Come on what? I think you are reading into things as you are passionately participating in the topic. I misread his post and thought you were talking about something else.

Edit - Didn't misread original post.

 

[Cornucopia]

I would be highly surprised if this was ever planned. This feels like a "spur of the moment" deal that was done to assuage the angered fans because "yay diversity".

If Blizzard really want to write some romance of LGBTQs,they could announce it at the beginning.

Now it remind me of Kevin Spacey.

I mean at this special time,few will trust Blizzard even it's really ever planned.

 

[888]

And if he was confirmed straight in the comic you wouldn’t have posted a damn thing about it.

Move along.

This thread has been eye opening. I’m sincerely disappointed.

I never said how I felt about his reveal. I used it as a springboard to talk about feeling represented in games and how or what is important to enjoy the game for people.

I could care less about Soldier 76 being gay and don’t believe I even gave my opinion about the characters reveal. When people talk about feeling the need to have people like them in games to enjoy them is where the topic came from. I responded to a few things, one of which was the spider man kerfuffle and the other about presuming straightness if nothing was said at all.

I think maybe you should move along and chill out. You are obviously very passionate to the point of what looks like anger. Maybe an exit from the thread is a good idea.

The thread is way different than what the original topic was about and like someone said before way busier than anyone could have thought. Been through all sorts of stuff down to Pedos.

 

[Ascend]

I'm genuinely shocked how busy this topic has been. I'm one of the first to criticize identity politics and SJW values, but as a long time player of OW I really don't get the big deal here. There is no tokenism going on, this isn't "Hi, I'm Soldier 76 and I'm gay" like some Bioware bullshit. It's literally an anecdote to his character provided in a side story comic that the vast majority of players would never know if it wasn't explicitly told to them. This is actually diversity done right, and I know that because I can say I don't give a shit that the character Jack Thompson is gay. Just like I don't care that many many people in the real world are gay.

If he were suddenly posing flamboyantly in all of his emotes and flirting with reaper while speaking with a lisp, I'd be all on board with those criticizing this event. But as it is, I really think a lot of people in this discussion are drawing an arbitrary line in the sand that is completely unreasonable and probably a little damaging to their future credibility on these topics.

My first post in this thread I said I only played Overwatch once, where I got the sense that the game is a multiplayer shooter, and I asked why the sexuality of the characters are relevant in a multiplayer shooter. You're free to go back and look at the responses. None of them were really satisfactory. Why? Because right now, there is this duality going on. Want to know what it is? The sexuality of the characters isn't important, but then it is. Yeah... Exactly.

I sense that even in your post. It isn't important for the game apparently, because it doesn't matter for the game, and a lot of people don't care. It's only an anecdote. Ok that's fine. But then... If it's so insignificant, why does it suddenly become so important when someone asks why it's there? If the majority of players will never know of it, why make it? If it's so insignificant, why is there such a defense force in here?
I think the majority in this thread arguing against whatever you think they are arguing against, are more frustrated at the defense force in here, rather than at the irrelevant backstory itself, and that's why the thread became so large. There are too many double standards.

Either something is important, or it isn't. In this case, either it adds to the game and is important, or it doesn't really add to the game and it is unimportant.
If it doesn't add to the game, and is unimportant, the question inevitably arises why it was made. And I guess the possible reasons to that are quite obvious... And not everyone is happy with those reasons.

 

[InterMusketeer]

If Blizzard really want to write some romance of LGBTQs,they could announce it at the beginning.

This is how Blizzard has been telling the 'story' of Overwatch since the beginning. Bit by bit, small snippets of information are shared about the characters over a long period of time. It's a method they've been doing for a while. It's also a method no one cares for and that bores the audience to death.

In that sense I agree with JareBear: Remastered . This 'representation' (if you can even call it that) is totally inconsequential in the game. It's exactly the same as J.K. Rowling saying Dumbledore is gay. "Oh yeah, he's gay, we're never gonna show that, talk about it or cover it in any way in the books/movies/games, but it's true guys!" It's lazy, feels tacked on (but well, that's OW's stort in a nutshell) and is entirely pointless in the grand scheme of things. But if that's the kind of representation gay people are happy with, then fine by me. It doesn't affect the game in the slightest and it's not shoved in our face either since it's hidden in some dumb comic thing no one reads, so we can all go and ignore it while the gay community has something to talk about and pretend it actually matters. I say win-win for everyone involved.

 

[DynamiteCop!]

I've played Counter-Strike for 18 years now and not once did I ever look at these characters and think...

Like really people...

 

[Deleted member 77995]

For all the people saying they don't care one way or the other for a character to be gay or straight kudos to being so open-minded and progressive. However, some of you might have a blindspot. What might be normal or acceptable in your world may not be so in someone else's. There are still plenty of closeted LGBT that live in a hostile environment due to fears of rejection by their family or friends or living through those fears realized. Teens are still bullied at schools, parents may have disowned them, their environment in general may be hostile and/or violent towards them. The internet however is an escape for them and games are a crutch. Maybe, just maybe finding out one of their favorite characters in their favorite games is gay brings a little light to an otherwise dark world. It's okay to realize something just isn't intended for you. Breathe in, smile and let go of the things you can't control. Life will continue on and so should you.

 

[base]

LBGTQABCDEFGHOLYFUCK.

I hear there are more than 50 sexes on the planet. I thought there were only men and women. Surprised every day.

 

[Alexios]

LBGTQABCDEFGHOLYFUCK.

I hear there are more than 50 sexes on the planet. I thought there were only men and women. Surprised every day.

So which of these you really thought doesn't exist? Lesbians? Bisexuals? Gays? Or trans? The Q is for queer, just a blanket term for all, in the past used derogatorily but adopted more positively since for some.

Either way, glad you're now more aware of the realities of the world surrounding you.

 

[base]

I'm sorry. I mistook sexes for genders. There are 51 genders at the moment.

 

[bigedole]

My first post in this thread I said I only played Overwatch once, where I got the sense that the game is a multiplayer shooter, and I asked why the sexuality of the characters are relevant in a multiplayer shooter. You're free to go back and look at the responses. None of them were really satisfactory. Why? Because right now, there is this duality going on. Want to know what it is? The sexuality of the characters isn't important, but then it is. Yeah... Exactly.

I sense that even in your post. It isn't important for the game apparently, because it doesn't matter for the game, and a lot of people don't care. It's only an anecdote. Ok that's fine. But then... If it's so insignificant, why does it suddenly become so important when someone asks why it's there? If the majority of players will never know of it, why make it? If it's so insignificant, why is there such a defense force in here?
I think the majority in this thread arguing against whatever you think they are arguing against, are more frustrated at the defense force in here, rather than at the irrelevant backstory itself, and that's why the thread became so large. There are too many double standards.

Either something is important, or it isn't. In this case, either it adds to the game and is important, or it doesn't really add to the game and it is unimportant.
If it doesn't add to the game, and is unimportant, the question inevitably arises why it was made. And I guess the possible reasons to that are quite obvious... And not everyone is happy with those reasons.

There is no duality. OW did this exact thing before in this exact same way with Tracer. Their creative/story staff has some backstory in mind for the game and its characters and the tiny amount of exposition the game gets is expressed through these side stories/comics whatever. They've shown characters in happy hetero relationships and characters in happy homo relationships. In none of these occasions is it being shoved in anyone's face or being used as a token to make a statement. It's simply the game's staff telling some inconsequential story they wanna tell.

I'm not even a defender. I really don't give a shit. I enjoy OW as a game, I spend a lot of hours playing it and watching professionals play it and that is the only reason I'm in here. My very first comment on the first page was literally "Meh, who cares about soldier, but the PTR patch is lit" and I'm genuinely shocked at how big a deal this has become in this discussion. It's so silly and it really does make me question the judgement of people making this big a deal out of it.

 

[DynamiteCop!]

So which of these you really thought doesn't exist? Lesbians? Bisexuals? Gays? Or trans? The Q is for queer, just a blanket term for all, in the past used derogatorily but adopted more positively since for some.

Either way, glad you're now more aware of the realities of the world surrounding you.

Reality is too strong of a word to use, a reality is not the same as reality.

 

[JCK75]

For all the people saying they don't care one way or the other for a character to be gay or straight kudos to being so open-minded and progressive. However, some of you might have a blindspot. What might be normal or acceptable in your world may not be so in someone else's. There are still plenty of closeted LGBT that live in a hostile environment due to fears of rejection by their family or friends or living through those fears realized. Teens are still bullied at schools, parents may have disowned them, their environment in general may be hostile and/or violent towards them. The internet however is an escape for them and games are a crutch. Maybe, just maybe finding out one of their favorite characters in their favorite games is gay brings a little light to an otherwise dark world. It's okay to realize something just isn't intended for you. Breathe in, smile and let go of the things you can't control. Life will continue on and so should you.

I'm bothered by it TBH and not because I think there is anything wrong with being gay, I just hate how inorganically they keep shoehorning this stuff into one game, Nobody feels more comfortable in their own skin just because a game turned a known character into a gay known character.. black kids in Uganda didn't suddenly become Tony Stark because some fictional black kid name Efi reprogrammed Orisa and kids in Counter-Strike don't stop calling each other homophobic slurs because Soldier now takes it up the pooper. These are just meaningless moves by people who pat themselves on the back and build up their egos and eventually the progressive motivations overtake the content and you end up with Battlefield V.

 

[Alexios]

I'm sorry. I mistook sexes for genders. There are 51 genders at the moment.

Some of those on facebook may mean the same thing as others, I would suggest reading into it if you care rather than just look at the amount of options facebook gives as a total.

Reality is too strong of a word to use, a reality is not the same as reality.

In what reality do those in your quote not exist in and which don't exist there? Gays? Bisexuals? Lesbians? Or Trans?

I just hate how inorganically they keep shoehorning this stuff into one game

It's not in the game.

 

[Ascend]

For all the people saying they don't care one way or the other for a character to be gay or straight kudos to being so open-minded and progressive. However, some of you might have a blindspot. What might be normal or acceptable in your world may not be so in someone else's. There are still plenty of closeted LGBT that live in a hostile environment due to fears of rejection by their family or friends or living through those fears realized. Teens are still bullied at schools, parents may have disowned them, their environment in general may be hostile and/or violent towards them. The internet however is an escape for them and games are a crutch. Maybe, just maybe finding out one of their favorite characters in their favorite games is gay brings a little light to an otherwise dark world. It's okay to realize something just isn't intended for you. Breathe in, smile and let go of the things you can't control. Life will continue on and so should you.

Cocaine might also bring a little light in an otherwise dark world. That doesn't mean it makes it right to use it. It doesn't help you escape the dark world. Not really. It's the road to an addiction that avoids you from solving the real problem.

If someone really becomes happy because a random fictional character happens to have the same sexual orientation as them, they need a LOT more help than just said fictional characters... And I don't say that to be condescending. I say that with genuine concern.

 

[YayNJ]

Who gives a shit.

 

[DynamiteCop!]

In what reality do those in your quote not exist in and which don't exist there? Gays? Bisexuals? Lesbians? Or Trans?

To the extent of genders existing outside of the two there are, the guy said something about 51 and you said "Either way, glad you're now more aware of the realities of the world surrounding you." as if meaning that is actually reality and not the mental formula of confused individuals.

 

[Alexios]

Cocaine might also bring a little light in an otherwise dark world. That doesn't mean it makes it right to use it. It doesn't help you escape the dark world. Not really. It's the road to an addiction that avoids you from solving the real problem.

Yes, winners don't do drugs, except when they do, but then that's not really a functioning analogy.

If someone really becomes happy because a random fictional character happens to have the same sexual orientation as them, they need a LOT more help than just said fictional characters... And I don't say that to be condescending. I say that with genuine concern.

Yes, most people he described need help, yet don't receive it and in its place find hostility as he described. It's pretty awful, that's for sure. Well, on this board people were happy for people that got through tough times via games and gaming rather than go huh, dude, you needed a lot more help than games. It would be nice if they had such a story too rather than end in suicide or something due to the real world issues. It would also be nice if characters that share some traits with them or their creators or their fans aren't full on verbally assaulted just because of those shared traits.

 

[Pejo]

I don't get it, did he get a new ability where he can bang male characters or something? Is there a new love meter in the game? Otherwise, how is it even an issue or why did it need to be specified?

This has me asking lots of questions now. Is the ape-guy gay too - if not, does he prefer ape women or human females? How does the D.Va's robot feel about the holocaust? Is Reinhardt's hammer a metaphor for the daily difficulties of immigrants in Germany? Why isn't there a game journalist asking these questions!

 

[Alexios]

I don't get it, did he get a new ability where he can bang male characters or something? Is there a new love meter in the game? Otherwise, how is it even an issue or why did it need to be specified?

This has me asking lots of questions now. Is the ape-guy gay too - if not, does he prefer ape women or human females? How does the D.Va's robot feel about the holocaust? Is Reinhardt's hammer a metaphor for the daily difficulties of immigrants in Germany? Why isn't there a game journalist asking these questions!

Nothing in the comics and side stories really needs to be specified for the game and the game ignores it all anyway and pits friends against each other and foes in the same teams. It's still all neat side media.

Agreed that there's no reason for people to be up in arms about it though. Hope your own new questions are answered in future side media that you can then delve into or choose to ignore as the game does.

 

[Thiagosc777]

I don't get it, did he get a new ability where he can bang male characters or something? Is there a new love meter in the game? Otherwise, how is it even an issue or why did it need to be specified?

How else would a billion dollar corporation be able to score political points in the oppression olympics?

 

[Ascend]

Yes, most people he described need help, yet don't receive it. It's pretty awful, that's for sure. Well, on this board people were happy for people that got through tough times via games and gaming, it would be nice if they had such a story too rather than end in suicide due to the real world issues. It would also be nice if characters that share some traits with them aren't full on assaulted just because of those shared traits.

Well... I sort of agree. When gaming helps people in life, that's a great thing. And that should not be something to somehow remove...

Identifying with characters based on sexuality alone is an issue though... Because there are so many aspects people can have in common, that the sexuality really is and remains something trivial. I watched Philadelphia (the 1993 movie), and thought it was a great movie. I could connect with the main character that was gay, even though I am not gay myself and my life has basically nothing in common with him. I can be a black woman and identify how Batman is feeling in a certain situation. I can be a fisherman and identify with a billionaire when he's afraid to approach a hot woman.

Point is... Generally people can do this. This is the aspect that movies work with, or music works with. It's the root of empathy and compassion that arises within us that helps us identify with any character whatsoever. That's all true, unless sexuality is really a huge personal issue that hampers that individual from having that experience, where that individual can only connect based on their sexual orientation. Excess emphasis on sexuality is not healthy. Then you really need professional help for that, and not re-enforcement of said issue in the media.

 

[Cornucopia]

If Blizzard really want to write some romance of LGBTQs,they could announce it at the beginning.

Now it remind me of Kevin Spacey.

I means at this special time,few will trust Blizzard even it's really ever planned.

This is how Blizzard has been telling the 'story' of Overwatch since the beginning. Bit by bit, small snippets of information are shared about the characters over a long period of time. It's a method they've been doing for a while. It's also a method no one cares for and that bores the audience to death.

In that sense I agree with JareBear: Remastered . This 'representation' (if you can even call it that) is totally inconsequential in the game. It's exactly the same as J.K. Rowling saying Dumbledore is gay. "Oh yeah, he's gay, we're never gonna show that, talk about it or cover it in any way in the books/movies/games, but it's true guys!" It's lazy, feels tacked on (but well, that's OW's stort in a nutshell) and is entirely pointless in the grand scheme of things. But if that's the kind of representation gay people are happy with, then fine by me. It doesn't affect the game in the slightest and it's not shoved in our face either since it's hidden in some dumb comic thing no one reads, so we can all go and ignore it while the gay community has something to talk about and pretend it actually matters. I say win-win for everyone involved.

If there's no misunderstanding,I think you mean that Blizzard's obscure storytelling has no or less external effect.It means almost nothing in majority of OW players and meanwhile satisfies the minority of LGBTQs.

You're right but I guess fewer people think so.They regard this as a PR gimmick of Blizzard,not an OW activity.That's the origin of divergence.

And there are more complicated reasons
make the majority think that isn't mean nothing,something's bothring them again and again.

All of these make things far from simple.

 

[Sygma]

I mean all that time I've been drilling people inside out as Soldier, who's now arguably the true big D of Overwatch's cast. Pretty rad, will make gay haters mad in comp to get free sr

Oh god imagine if it was mccree. Fan the hammer somebody, teabag, make a point that you're gay and then double down with a c9 comment

 

[STI]

Don’t care about the lore, only care about stats and abilities. The new guy could be an asexual pile of goo, as long as he’s good, I’m down

 

[strange headache]

The internet however is an escape for them and games are a crutch. Maybe, just maybe finding out one of their favorite characters in their favorite games is gay brings a little light to an otherwise dark world.

I'd rather these people find the love and care of a couple of real life friends, rather than obsess over trivial Overwatch lore. A little bit of escapism is fine, but if your situation is that dire, it might be the last thing you need. I get that games can help you through some tough times in your life, but it shouldn't be a substitute for the real world out there. Escapism will only ever treat the symptoms, but never the cause.

In general being that obsessed over a piece of entertainment isn't healthy. No matter who you are, everybody can make friends. And don't tell my it's impossible, you're gay, it's no biggie, you're not a leper and it's not the end of the world. Plenty of open minded, nice and tolerant people out there, but they won't fall into your lap if you're glued to your computer screen obsessing over meaningless Overwatch lore.

My gay friends don't care about this stuff and I hope they will never need to because they have good friends to rely on.

 

[888]

I've seen recently conversations regarding Into the Spider-Verse how people are now relating to Spider Man because he isn't white.

Ahem

I’ve seen recently conversations regarding Into the Spider-Verse how people are not relating to Spider Man because he isn't white. - What you posted as his quote.

So I went back and compared since I saw his post first. I stand by my first post that he wasn't saying anything bad about miles. Look at the original post and the quote you provided. Someone edited something. Since you were tossing so much attitude about this I had to go back a page to verify why I originally commented what I did.

What I took from this is that people are NOW able to relate to Spider-Man because he is represented as Miles in Spider-Verse. Not that anyone had an issue with Miles.

and his post doesn't look to be edited. So did you manually type that out?

 

[zenspider]

I was thinking about this the other day before this came out, regarding something I heard about a thread on ERA about a racist 'spirit' in Smash Ultimate.

Personally, they could make the whole cast of the game The United Color of Intersectional Oppression for all I care - in fact, I think it would probably be great.

What gets me about Overwatch in particular is how it mirrors the progressive movement in that, as long as everyone is represented properly, it doesn't really matter how anybody treats each other.

I left Overwatch because of it's incredibly toxic playerbase, which I think is very strongly related to how the "meta" is incentivized at the level (and hardware) where it is completely innapropriate. They pay lip service to the vox populi, but it's pretty clear the game is balanced towards the Overwatch League.

Smash, however, is inclusive in it's gameplay. It doesn't feature superficial representation, but damned if one of the 70+ characters doesn't resonate with you. There is fun, inclusiveness, and camaraderie at every level of skill, and the top-down message- from hardcore FGC to the devs - is always, first and foremost, have fun. Not "go kill youself Hanzo", "i play carry", "2/2/2 or you're throwing", " Get off Widow look at my hours", etc.

 

[CDiggity]

Plot twist, tactical visor is actually gaydar and the reason it targets everybody is because they are all gay. Yes, even the omnics.

It is also fun to have my mind in the gutter and recontextualize all his voice lines.

 

[kingbean]

By the time the game is done with it'll be nothing but LGBQ+ fighting each other in the game.

Maybe it's because I'm mostly white and straight but it means nothing to me.

 

[AngularSaxophone]

You know, this level of ignorance is astounding.

There are plenty of characters like that in 80s in Japanese shows. In a super sentai series I used to watch as kid there was a female character with a man's voice. She was called "shema", because the Japanese was referencing the English word "shemale". She was an alien, so that explained why she was like that.

Did anyone complain? Nobody gave a shit. Not the kids, not the parents, etc. Maybe the kids made a few jokes, but that was it.

Many anime shows have effeminate characters and many of those were created in the 80s and watched by millions of kids all around the world. Their "gayness" was never made explicit, but they looked different. And in some cases they were one of the protagonists of the series.

Did anyone complain? Nobody gave a shit.

The only ones who care about this nonsense are NPCs. And they like to ignore reality and history and pretend they are "fighting the power" to introduce these poorly written characters that are little more than political propaganda.

This was done better long before these clowns (Blizzard) even existed.

Yeah look at men woman and birth rates in Japan now with their confused populous.

THERES NOTHING IN THE GAME ABOUT BEING GAY!

Also, homosexuality is real. Are you saying kids should be completely sheltered from the idea that homosexuality exists?

I’m getting uncomfortable with this narrative, honestly.

Maybe I would be better off at Era, which sucks but man I’ve seen real ugly comments on here go uncontested the last 24 hours.

The people upset about a gay hero in a side comic book might have a personal issue they need to cope with.

Wtw? There was absolutely nothing ugly about my comment. What’s ugly is people being ok with sexual agendas being pushed on CHILDREN and THAT being uncontested. You’re the problem. When you’re an adult, do as you wish but kids need to be left the hell alone. Talk about child abuse.

 

[zenspider]

I think it matters. People like seeing parts of who they are and what they like represented in entertainment. It's important to some and not to others, just like most everything.

I really wish we (mostly on social media and the gaming press) could get away from over-analyzing everything. I constantly see a contradictory belief that all entertainment must represent everyone while still exclusively catering to me. I'm not even sure how possible that is. It's one of the worst traits of our current culture.

I love there are gay characters in Overwatch! The characters and art matter a lot. Lots of people write fan fiction, draw fan art and cosplay as these characters so they do matter outside of just gameplay. Of course, for others this is a competitive sport first and foremost so adding sexual preferences to backstories is at the bottom of the list of things to care about. Some seem to look at it as getting in the way. It's a tough situation.

I think we'll have to get over complaining about this kind of stuff or gaming will be an impossibly frustrating medium. It's a fairly unique dilemma since games are one of the only things I can think of that are a storytelling art medium and a full sport. Overwatch having the backstories in comics and the game be centered only on gameplay seems like Blizzard thought this out already, but it doesn't seem to matter much in this era of daily bickering.

I think I think it's great too. At least, it's not a bad thing. The political component is discussed to death and I have nothing new to add.

There's two things that strike me as odd, however. First, I never identified with any character for having any a sexual preference. Critical theorists would argue that my default assumption of straight-ness and cis-ness was a comfort, but honestly I don't think about it. In fact, most character representation of any sexual preference is really off-putting to me and makes me "identify" with them less.

Moreover, I don't identify at all: I relate or I don't. 'Identifying' is the politicization of relating. In fact, it closes the door to relating to people you can't identify with in a brilliant language game.

The second, and funner issue I have, is with how safe a play it is. If Soldier 76 is gay, I want him talking about taking loads from a bunch of rough characters in El Dorado. The whole push to the objective is non-stop chatter about the men he rode hard and put back wet. Not this 'Modern Family' marriage and a house and a white picket fence assimilated, pasteurized nonsense. Give me a proper Stonewall father-fucker who makes men out of other men. Make a real fucking statement.

 

[Redneckerz]

I generally don't really pay attention as to who i play against. If possible, like in UT99, i try to have the player have some facial gestures resembling myself. After all, I am playing this character.

So i wouldn't mind another LGBTQ character. I mean, it means a lot for that community and it literally has no personal effect on yourself. What's not to like.

 

[autoduelist]

I’m not talking about every creative decision ever made. I’m talking about the OW comic released yesterday confirming Soldier is gay.

Nice try though! So condescending, I love it.

What about Soldier 76’s sexuality has harmed you, personally?

See how fast you are to assume I care if a character is gay? I'm willing to bet I've supported gay marriage longer than you have.... I certainly have for longer than it's been in the public eye. I don't care who anybody sleeps with, as long as they are relatively responsible about it in regards to childbirth and avoiding spreading disease - that is, don't harm society and it's all good.

I'm certainly not trying to be condescending. I am however, hard line against the onslaught of regressive leftist identity politics that plagues us today. I do not care if any specific character in gaming or media is gay. I do care when it's quite clear there is a massive politically based push of ideology in all entertainment and those defending it are offen two faced ideologues that actively try to shut down any opposing viewpoint.

We exist at a time where comedians are being prosecuted in the UK and shamed in the US, where terms like 'free speech' are now called dog whistles for racism. All of this goes hand In hand. Those partaking in identity politics, dividing us, claiming the moral High Ground all the while literally criminalizing and shaming free speech need to be called out as enemies of the people, regardless of how moral they think they are being.

Your reductionist attitude in trying to claim that you are only talking about this one incident as being a " harmless creative decision" is absurd. You can defend anything that way, but it ignores the forest for the trees.

It is absolutely fine to have gay characters. It is not fine to engage in idealogical identity politics and hide behind morality.

 

[Akira1983]

https://m.ign.com/articles/2019/01/07/overwatch-new-short-story-explores-soldier-76s-lgbtq-backstory

So they have revealed Solider 76 to be gay. Overwatch has been the most open about adding pretty much everything to it as far as representation.

My question is, how much representation do you need to enjoy something. Granted this is only in a short story and isn’t in the game per say, so in a way you could not watch this and go along your merry way. But I was talking with my friend about how much representation do you really need to enjoy a game.

Does the charcter HAVE to look like you.
Does the charcter HAVE to have the same sexual preferences.
Does the charcter HAVE to have the same personality style.
Do you even need to relate to the charcter?

Does this even matter to most people?
For me personally almost none of this matters. I don’t look at a charcter and say hey, they look like me (or doesn’t). I have never thought about a characters sexual preference unless it was detrimental to a story.

If any of the things above I tend to gravitate to it’s more the personality of characters that I find awesome. Geralt, Solid Snake, Kiryu and Majima from Yakuza, hell even Solider 76 himself(I tend to dig the strong, gruff type that doesn’t take crap from anyone). I would much rather see fleshed out good characters than worry about what sexual preference they have. If for some reason there is a good reason for it, then fine.

I tend to play characters for who fits my play style better and could honestly careless what they look like. Most of the characters I play in OW are female and in Rainbow I play Female for Defense and Male for Offense and until writing this I never really even thought about it. I just found the play style I liked and went with it.

Anyways, this wasn’t a hugely thought out post. More of a rant to a degree.

Does any of this matter to you guys or do you just play and not think about it.

Is this needed, wanted? Or is it something along the lines of ticking boxes to appease everyone?

Good news, since you just said you don’t care at all or are affected by a characters sexuality then Blizzard could make them all gay and it wouldn’t change your opinion on Overwatch, right?

 

[Hinedorf]

From my own perspective, I've become far more irritated with male protagonists of any sexual orientation being replaced by females. I'm far more sexist than I am homophobic.

Example: Alexios from AC:O. I banged women, I banged men, I BANGED OLD WOMEN......but I'll be damned before I play through this experience as a female when given the choice to play as a male.

However I'm not refusing to play a game if there is a female protagonist such as Aloy from HZD.

As a male, I prefer a male POV whether it's the straightest or gayest dude on the planet, but I am deeply offended at Geralt being replaced for Ciri.

So how fucked up am I?

 

[Helios]

He’s good especially for the traditional FPS players

I don't think a character that has aim assist is something a traditional FPS player wants. I would also complain about the character focusing on hitscan weapons but I know the gaming industry left me behind on this one a long time ago

 

[888]

Good news, since you just said you don’t care at all or are affected by a characters sexuality then Blizzard could make them all gay and it wouldn’t change your opinion on Overwatch, right?

Sure. Go for it. My opinion won’t change on how the game plays. I enjoy the gameplay for the most part. I didn’t stop playing when tracer was announced to be gay. I stopped playing after a crazy amounts of hours played and got burnt out.

Making it a game full of gay characters would lead to a BFV ordeal again.

As a matter of fact I believe in the OP I said those things weren’t important to me to enjoy a game.

 

[Thiagosc777]

Yeah look at men woman and birth rates in Japan now with their confused populous.



Wtw? There was absolutely nothing ugly about my comment. What’s ugly is people being ok with sexual agendas being pushed on CHILDREN and THAT being uncontested. You’re the problem. When you’re an adult, do as you wish but kids need to be left the hell alone. Talk about child abuse.

You are arguing against any and all representation of anything different than the standard straight sexuality.

I am arguing for representation that makes sense in context, and not tokenism, political propaganda and identity politics in media.

Let's agree to disagree, because your point of view is dumbest thing I have ever read and I see no point in further discussing it.

Please feel free to add me to your ignore list and let's refrain from responding to each other's comments.

 

[zenspider]

By the time the game is done with it'll be nothing but LGBQ+ fighting each other in the game.

..so basically, the intersectional identity politics game: The Game.

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

In unrelated but relevant news:

The GOATs nerf patch that hit PTR yesterday is legit.

Reapers buffed passive healing is borderline insane.

 

[guggnichso]

Why is a character "presumed straight" according to you when no sexuality is mentioned? As long as sexuality is not mentioned, a character can technically be anything. And even if it is mentioned, that's not a guarantee. Even if a male character has a son, he can still technically be gay, but tried to live as a heterosexual sometime in his early life where he got his son, for example.

These are all fictional characters, and anyone can make up whatever background they want for them. You love to presume a straight default because it enables you to victim-play for the LGBT community. I guess you subconsciously do know that heterosexuality is in reality the default, and the rest are.... Divergent. Yes. I said it. Heterosexuality is the biological default of a species, because sexuality is first and foremost a method of reproduction, and without heterosexuality, the species goes extinct. This translates into a cultural default, of what people are generally willing to see and aren't willing to see. You can try and create a culture that goes against biology, but ultimately, it will lose, sooner or later.

That being said... For me things are simple. Anyone is free to do what they want with their own life, as long as it's not imposed on others. That means, the default can be presented easily, while the divergent aspects, unless made for that specific divergent audience, will always be an imposition from the divergent on the default.


See above, regarding the default and divergent perspective. Additionally... I have to ask... What's the limit here? Next thing we'll have to accept looking at people making out with children because pedophiles also want to be included.


As previously mentioned;

Ok, so we went from „I don’t care about this at all“ on your side to equating homosexuality with pedophilia.

I think it’s quite clear who has an AGENDA here.

 

[AngularSaxophone]

You are arguing against any and all representation of anything different than the standard straight sexuality.

I am arguing for representation that makes sense in context, and not tokenism, political propaganda and identity politics in media.

Let's agree to disagree, because your point of view is dumbest thing I have ever read and I see no point in further discussing it.

Please feel free to add me to your ignore list and let's refrain from responding to each other's comments.

It’s so odd how people that think along your lines of thinking will be totally against a parent “pushing” religion onto their child but openly allow these corporations to continue pushing this “new normal” onto kids at the same time.

You are arguing against any and all representation of anything different than the standard straight sexuality.

I’m arguing that kids should have no God damned concern about sexuality. They’re kids. Look around you. We were all blind to it growing up while at the same time complaining about teen pregnancy and never made the correlation. I listen to some of the music I did when I was younger now and think how did they ever allow any of this shit? And we all wonder why culture is hyper sexualized now but you know just blame all the males.

 

[Ascend]

Ok, so we went from „I don’t care about this at all“ on your side to equating homosexuality with pedophilia.

I think it’s quite clear who has an AGENDA here.

I never equated homosexuality with pedophilia. I clearly stated it as an escalation of an issue that is currently on-going, which is propagandizing LGBT as something positive. The pedophile crowd is already trying to normalize pedophilia as a sexual orientation. That doesn't concern you?
If you're LGBT, you do you. I don't care what you do with your life. But if you have the need to put it into every media out there as something to be praised, sorry, I have a problem with that. Especially if that media is related to children and/or teenagers.
Again, anything that is forcefully imposed, is generally bad.

 

[guggnichso]

I never equated homosexuality with pedophilia. I clearly stated it as an escalation of an issue that is currently on-going, which is propagandizing LGBT as something positive.
If you're LGBT, you do you. I don't care what you do with your life. But if you have the need to put it into every media out there as something to be praised, sorry, I have a problem with that. Especially if that media is related to children and/or teenagers.

Stating it as an inescapable escalation is very much equating it. Don’t try to be obtuse.

But I have to give it to you, you’re the first of all those dudes here stating they „don’t care at all“ being honest enough to openly state you oppose any Display of homosexuality in media.

Which,by the way, makes your first post in this thread rather disingenuous. As was expected.

 

[Mihos]

I guess diversity is a great thing in a game where you can shoot each other.

 

[WhiskeyDiver]

To be honest, it doesn't even matter to me one bit. I play overwatch, because it's fun. Added backstory to characters is almost always interesting to me, but it doesn't affect me in anyway. I really don't give a shit if such and such character is this, that, there, here, where, everywhere.

To put it bluntly, I only care if I continue to enjoy playing overwatch.

 

[JimiNutz]

Doesn't matter to me whether a character is gay or not but it was a missed opportunity not to make Doomfist also a gay character.

 

[guggnichso]

Doesn't matter to me whether a character is gay or not but it was a missed opportunity not to make Doomfist also a gay character.

Lol