BioWare - Progressive Sexual Politics

[Couchpotato]

Jason Johnson of Kill Screen Daily published an article that takes a look at BioWare’s progressive sexual politics, and is based on a PBS Game/Show on YouTube.

Sonic Chronicles was the exception to the rule, thankfully, but BioWare has earned the reputation as the RPG studio who lets you go to bed with your party. The tradition goes back to the inception of the stone-cold classic Baldur’s Gate in the ‘90s and has continued into the modern day, as we saw with last month’s Dragon Age: Inquisition. They haven’t always gotten this right, as we witnessed when queer players were exiled to their own remote gay planet in Star Wars: The Old Republic, but there is a refrain of sexual liberation that you don’t find in other big studios’ games. Players are free to live out any sexual orientation they want, including, gay, lesbian, or bi.

Still, there is always room for games to be more gay-friendly. Previously, being gay was an opt-in activity in BioWare titles. If you weren’t interested, homosexuality was totally off the table and you didn’t see it in your game. But for Dragon Age: Inquisition, BioWare included two exclusively gay characters: the mustachioed and chiseled elemental mage Dorian, and his female counterpart Sera, an elf raised by humans who only dates other women. No longer do your love interests waffle between sexualities depending on your inclination. These characters are decisively gay.

More information.

 

[joxer]

No comment from anyone yet? Odd…

there is a refrain of sexual liberation that you don’t find in other big studios’ games. Players are free to live out any sexual orientation they want, including, gay, lesbian, or bi.

This is partially true as Sims games work exactly the same. So perhaps it should say EA, not just Bioware.
Definetly true about big studios as there is a bunch of worldwide small studios who don't escape from it but integrate it in games, althoguh not necessarily RPGs.

IMO it's not the politics and correctness behind all of this, it's all about money.
I remember the fuss all over internet when LotR online decided not to support same sex marriages in the game. It wasn't a decision because someone hates that stuff, they just decided not to invest money into it. Dunno if it ment less sales for them, nor care really, it's MMO. On the other hand IIRC it was MapleStory, another MMO, that advertised their same sex marriages possibility.

When it comes to business, I really don't think any company is LGBT friendly, LGBT phobic or something. Why would a business company care for politics at all? Sure, they can always make PR around it and make things look like they care for people, but the truth is all they care about is $.

If something means more sales, and in the case of EA seems it does, the company will continue investing into it. If it means more content, and not grinding over the same bloody thing, I can't object. So EA, feel free to bring me more LGBT characters in games, just please, no more bears*.


——————
* Yes, it's not just DA3, recently they added damned bears in Sims 4 too and now I'm panicking because it feels like I'll see them also in ME4.

 

[Thorwyn99]

No comment from anyone yet? Odd…


This is partially true as Sims games work exactly the same. So perhaps it should say EA, not just Bioware.
Definetly true about big studios as there is a bunch of worldwide small studios who don't escape from it but integrate it in games, althoguh not necessarily RPGs.

IMO it's not the politics and correctness behind all of this, it's all about money.
I remember the fuss all over internet when LotR online decided not to support same sex marriages in the game. It wasn't a decision because someone hates that stuff, they just decided not to invest money into it. Dunno if it ment less sales for them, nor care really, it's MMO. On the other hand IIRC it was MapleStory, another MMO, that advertised their same sex marriages possibility.

When it comes to business, I really don't think any company is LGBT friendly, LGBT phobic or something. Why would a business company care for politics at all? Sure, they can always make PR around it and make things look like they care for people, but the truth is all they care about is $.

If something means more sales, and in the case of EA seems it does, the company will continue investing into it. If it means more content, and not grinding over the same bloody thing, I can't object. So EA, feel free to bring me more LGBT characters in games, just please, no more bears*.


——————
* Yes, it's not just DA3, recently they added damned bears in Sims 4 too and now I'm panicking because it feels like I'll see them also in ME4.

The horse is pretty dead now I think, although that article is weird, nothing in DA3 pushes you out of your comfort zone that you don't iniate yourself.

Just wanted to comment on Lotro, I actually believe Turbine's reasons for dropping the whole marriage thing.
Their plan was to allow only lore fitting marriages, so no same sex but also no interspecies marriage except for elves and humans( which I find both pretty reasonanbe for Lotr).
After some controversity over this they decided to drop the whole Idea, instead of dealing with the why can't my dwarf marry this hobbit, why can my guy not marry his boyfriend etc.(It probably also saved them some money though).
They still get flack once in a while for not having female dwarves in game after all.

 

[Thorwyn99]

Umm which bears ?

 

[Thrasher]

ELITE GREAT BEARS. (are really pushovers, BTW)....

 

[joxer]

For all those who don't know what am I talking about when I mention bears:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKbTmza5nxI

Watch (and listen) at least first 3 minutes.
That's 10/10 game - by Escapist.
GOTY by numerous sites.

And because that game is so goooooooood, I don't want to see another bear in my life again.

 

[Thrasher]

Hmm, this sort of farming never appealed to me. Unnecessary (on normal at least).

 

[ToddMcF2002]

I "get" the desire to roleplay characters any way you choose with the romance stuff. Its called RPG for a reason. I just wish Bioware would work on making the core game itself better instead of investing in this silly stuff.

 

[Couchpotato]

Well modern BioWare fans seem to care a lot about this silly stuff. Just read the BioWare forums to get all the information you will need on these topics.

 

[Carnifex]

Poor Bioware……I'll have to remember when they were good and decent. Now anything I read concerning them seems degenerate and gross, if they weren't involved with EA/Origin, this new nastiness would be enough to keep me and my money far far away. But, once upon a time, they created non-invasive, intelligent games that were fun to play.

 

[joxer]

Hmm, this sort of farming never appealed to me. Unnecessary (on normal at least).

The problem is not the "farming". The problem as you can see in that video is you kill a bear, another one spawns instantly. Endlessly. And instead of playing the game, you're forced into erradicating neverending horde of - bears.

 

[txa1265]

I "get" the desire to roleplay characters any way you choose with the romance stuff. Its called RPG for a reason. I just wish Bioware would work on making the core game itself better instead of investing in this silly stuff.

I thought that was true with all of those silly 'makeup simulators' where you can spend hours tweaking eye colors and giving yourself a nose job ... whatever. Save a million dollars or so giving a dozen variants of appearance with some eye and hair color changes and call it good

But others find that stuff essential to role playing.

 

[SpoonFULL]

The problem is not the "farming". The problem as you can see in that video is you kill a bear, another one spawns instantly. Endlessly. And instead of playing the game, you're forced into erradicating neverending horde of - bears.

I can see what you mean, but surely you can just skip and run past them spawning bears!

Other thing that I noticed from your video is that the bears seems to have ignored the other NPCs back in the tent and ran towards the player's party with vengeance! So much for AI!

 

[Couchpotato]

I can see what you mean, but surely you can just skip and run past them spawning bears!

Other thing that I noticed from your video is that the bears seems to have ignored the other NPCs back in the tent and ran towards the player's party with vengeance! So much for AI!

If you could out run the bears I wouldn't hate them as much as Joxer. I swear the bears have a vendetta against my character. He must of killed all of their family members.

 

[SpoonFULL]

If you could out run the bears I wouldn't hate them as much as Joxer. I swear the bears have a vendetta against my character. He must of killed all of their family members.

Yeah, they are bearing vengeance :lol:

 

[joxer]

I can see what you mean, but surely you can just skip and run past them spawning bears!

Other thing that I noticed from your video is that the bears seems to have ignored the other NPCs back in the tent and ran towards the player's party with vengeance! So much for AI!

Another AI thing you could spot is when Sera went invisible the bear just froze briefly not knowing what to do until got hit by another sidekick so turned on that one. You can solo this game with any class that can go invisible as no mobs, that includes the biggest baddest dragon too, don't know how to deal with protagonist's invisibility.

 

[Deleted User]

Another AI thing you could spot is when Sera went invisible the bear just froze briefly not knowing what to do until got hit by another sidekick so turned on that one. You can solo this game with any class that can go invisible as no mobs, that includes the biggest baddest dragon too, don't know how to deal with protagonist's invisibility.

I actually prefer that, rather than a system like Morrowind where if you go invisible and touch a chest or something, everyone knows where you are.

 

[Thrasher]

The problem is not the "farming". The problem as you can see in that video is you kill a bear, another one spawns instantly. Endlessly. And instead of playing the game, you're forced into erradicating neverending horde of - bears.

I found that if you just keep away from them you are OK, there are few spots like this. But if you're trying to look through an astarium when that happens, argggghhh.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

The reason it is so cringe worthy is that Harlequin never started pretending that they made "progressive" novels rather than lurid, wish fulfillment fantasies à l'eau de rose bought at a small kiosk in a drugstore or a Wal-Mart by bored middle-aged ladies. It is the constant grandstanding by Bioware and all the "progressive" click-baiting Internet sites who support them that is so insufferable, when anything Bioware now makes is no different than a Harlequin or erotic fantasy novel for women in videogame form, and just as forgettable, hackneyed and devoid of any meaningful content.

The difference now is that RPG releases used to be so rare that gamers were still dependent on Bioware. Now that there are many more offerings gamers don't need Bioware anymore, they can ignore all their products, play true RPGs that don't try to be creepy visual novels with 3D graphics and a fantasy coat of paint, and laugh at how horrible their material and writing now is.

 

[Ripper]

anything Bioware now makes is no different than a Harlequin or erotic fantasy novel for women in videogame form, and just as forgettable, hackneyed and devoid of any meaningful content.

But let's be honest - how many rpgs rise above the level of pretty hackneyed, genre fantasy writing anyway? I don't see any crpg writing that will be troubling the Nobel Literature commitee any time soon. It's all pretty lightweight entertainment - why object to a bit of smoochies in the mix?