Homosexuality and Games

[CorgiShinobi]

I demand that us straight gamers bitch enough until we get the planet version of Whore Island

Otherwise we just have to get our fill from anything from SexuaLobster.

 

But that Whore Island has herpes...

[Thursday Next]

It's part of a long game:

 

All the gay players gather on Makeb.

Death Star expansion is released. It can be used to eliminate a planet for an exorbitant fee.

All Republican (GOP) players club together to rent the Death Star.

Death Star is used to destroy Makeb.

Gay players are able to continue their relationships on any planet they choose.

 

That's obviously not true. Don't even think about quoting it as an "Official EA source says".

 

EDIT: In other news Dean is not funny.

Edited January 15, 2013 by Thursday Next

[Waldorf and Statler]

When you say Republicans, do you mean supporters of the Republic and the Sith? Or I don't even know when this game takes place in.

[deanb]

EDIT: In other news Dean is not funny.

heheheh

I was like "what? What'd I say?" Then I remembered.

[deanb]

http://imgur.com/a/RHEEN

 

So the new Animal Crossing is pretty fine with cross dressing and such. There's quite a few more bits than what's in this album too, but more of a probably unintended euphemism types. 

 

r/gaymers are kinda fond of the game.

[TheFlyingGerbil]

Yeah, they're going mad for it on the gay gaming forum I use too.

 

edit: awww, that's quite a nice album. Gives me warm fuzzies.

Edited June 19, 2013 by TheFlyingGerbil

[Mister Jack]

It is surprisingly open-minded for a gaming company.  Good on Nintendo.

[Alex Heat]

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/194571/Video_Sexism_and_sexuality_in_games.php

 

I liked most of this speech, but I'm not so sure I care for how Gaider just kind of glosses over the reception for the romances in DA2.

[deanb]

I've yet to watch it, will give it a crack later on, but if this is a talk about homosexual relations from the guy who wrote Zevran, then it'll have to be mighty damn interesting.

[Hot Heart]

Relevant and well-said. http://www.heyash.com/in-defense-of-arbitrary-diversity/

[Vecha]

I kinda agree with the first comment in that article....

Why not just improve your damn writing AND include minorities? 

Personally, it doesn't bother me that much...especially in a game like Borderlands 2...story? What story?  

 

[Hot Heart]

Just remembered this thread where discussion would fit better: http://forum.pressxordie.com/topic/1799-gaming-and-catering-to-smaller-consumer-groups/

 

Anyway, I think 'quality' is not so much part of the equation in this regard. I mean, we all want better writing, the point is to ignore whether something feels 'forced' or not.

 

Borderlands 2 is just...dumb, but I'm all for more diverse, well-rounded characters, in general. Like I said before with the gay characters in Mass Effect 3, it doesn't impact on their ability to perform their duties; it's just who they are. Also, I can't remember if this was shared before, but I've always liked this perspective as well.

[deanb]

 

 

 If a writer arbitrarily makes a particular character a transgender, homosexual woman rather than a cisgender, heterosexual man, and if that character has a positive effect on an audience’s perception of transgender women — no matter how small the effect — then that writer has made the world a slightly better place.

 

"If"

[Thursday Next]

I actually kind of like the idea of arbitrary minorities. If writers start chucking in more minority characters, then we can move the debate on from "Why the hell aren't you including them?", to "Why the hell are you writing them so badly?"

[Hot Heart]

Yeah, that's pretty much the idea.

[Saturnine Tenshi]

Were they really poorly done in Borderlands 2?

[Mr. GOH!]

Video game writing always includes arbitrary constraints. Including minorities is likely one of the least constraining constraints out there.

[Saturnine Tenshi]

Isn't it best to write minorities the same way you'd write a, God I'm going to say it, cisgendered heterosexual male? If you're writing them specifically as a trans actress or gay cabby, you're just reinforcing the idea of "the other".

 

As far as forcing it goes, I guess it is forced if you're just shoving them in there for no other reason to have minorities present for the sake of representation. Which is only slightly less silly than not including them because they're minorities as far as I'm concerned. But that still doesn't mean you have to write them as a stereotypical gay gal. I don't see why it needs to be pointed out that a gay person is gay to begin with if they aren't in a situation or conversation that calls for it. Do people run around shouting their sexual orientation nowadays? I don't get out too often.

[Mr. GOH!]

"Do people run around shouting their sexual orientation nowadays? I don't get out too often." Pretty much, yes. Every time a person talks about a girlfriend/boyfriend (or, in your case, ST, dakimakurafriends), what they think is attractive, and so on, that person reveals his or her sexuality. 

[Saturnine Tenshi]

Someone has to give the dakimakura some lovin'. I'm doing them a service.

 

I'll concede the gf/bf point, and even attractiveness in others to some extent. I just don't get those as recurring or regular conversation topics. Excepting those obnoxious folk who go on about their S.O. relentlessly. Casual mention of a S.O. (or even an entire conversation) is one thing, but centering the narrative camera on that one aspect of a person is another. Like, I understand if that's a core character motivator or it's integral to their story. But generally it shouldn't make the character. "He's gay. That's the character."

 

There's a difference between revealing and shouting.

 

But maybe the case is that I don't get out often enough. In which case I'm glad I'm missing all these people going on and on about their significant others and ass-titties-dick-eyes-smile talk.

Edited September 23, 2013 by Saturnine Tenshi

[Mr. GOH!]

Generally, you learn about whether someone is married or dating within a few times of meeting him or her. Maybe not your barista, but any work colleague or social acquaintance. And when you're telling a story about a character, generally details that reveal sexual orientation are revealed early on. 

[Saturnine Tenshi]

I guess I've just had bad (or good?) work environments.

 

Regardless, I don't think it should be a big part of a character's story unless it's integral to the character. Overt, maybe, but not defining. That isn't helping to build better characters or working in favor of the LGBT community.

[Thursday Next]

Yeah, I generally hear if someone is attached early in social interactions (I assume to immediately identify them as not available). It also means that you don't have to ask the very loaded "So are you seeing anyone?"

 

I'm not suggesting that well written gay men should be prancing queens spreading glitter everywhere and painting their accessories with rainbow stripes. I just mean that if you write straight white males and then re-skin them them as black gay women you are going to miss some of the nuances of the mix of experiences that background brings with it.

 

For example, if you change John Mclane in Die Hard 6 into a gay guy who is going to meet his on again off again boyfriend Harry Genero at the train station, the inevitable part of the film where he does the "why do people keep trying to kill me?" speech takes on a different tone, because as a gay man in the police force he would have likely been the subject of persecution for many years.

 

You only learn by moving out of your comfort zone and making mistakes. Writers need to start making mistakes because they are writing minority characters poorly so that they can get better at it.

[deanb]

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/apr/10/sharing-joysticks-how-video-games-are-opening-up-to-lgbt-themes

 

This has been sat in my pocket for a while, figured I'd share.

[Alex Heat]

Can I just say that all this stuff with Tomodachi Life is really stupid and also a textbook case of Social Justice Warriors failing to pick their battles?

 

Because it really is.